Reviews and Musings From A Reading Life.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016



The After Party by Anton DiSclafani
The After Party 

  by  Anton DiSclafani


This book is the story of the friendship between two girls named Joan. In kindergarten, their teacher decided that she couldn't  have two girls with the same name so she re-named the darker haired Joan, Cece, short for Cecelia, her middle name. Both  girls were born in the wealthy Houston suburb of  River Oaks. Most of the book takes place in 1957 with some flashbacks to earlier times.  As young adults, Joan and Cece are still living in River Oaks where their time is taken up with social events, Junior League and  garden parties. Joan is the toast of Houston society because of her beautiful blond looks and her sometimes outrageous, self-destructive  behavior. Her older, wealthy parents have always indulged her.  Cece is now married with a young son. She and Joan have been closer than sisters their entire lives and  Cece  has always protected Joan and watched out for her. Joan has a habit of disappearing, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days or even longer. W hen she was a senior in high school, she ran away to Hollywood leaving Cece behind, to wonder why she left.  Although she returns a year later, she was changed by her experience but she won't tell Cece what happened. Cece has an obsessive love for Joan and will drop anything for her. This is causing problems in her marriage and with some of her other friends.  No one can understand their attachment.

Even though I have a few reservations about some aspects of this book, I really like a lot of things in it. The 1950's setting and look into the lives of the wealthy elite  really pulled me into the story. I could feel how hot it was in Houston during the summer. Legendary places like The Shamrock Hotel and The Cork Club play a big role in this book. I could vividly picture them.  Joan has secrets and I was anxious to discover what they are.  Her behavior, mood swings, drinking, promiscuity and possible drug use are spiraling out of control but Cece is always right there to rescue her. Despite all that they have gone through growing up, it was a little bit difficult to understand her pull on Cece, especially when Joan would drop her whenever it was convenient.  Towards the end of the book when Joan reveals herself more fully, it took me by surprise and I'm not sure that I can fully accept her explanation. However, I couldn't stop reading! The ending left me with some unanswered questions.  The After Party is a fascinating, addicting but somewhat sad look at two women and their lifelong bond of friendship. 

 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book to review.

Grade: A-
Historical Fiction




The After Party by Anton DiSclafani
The After Party 

  by  Anton DiSclafani


This book is the story of the friendship between two girls named Joan. In kindergarten, their teacher decided that she couldn't  have two girls with the same name so she re-named the darker haired Joan, Cece, short for Cecelia, her middle name. Both  girls were born in the wealthy Houston suburb of  River Oaks. Most of the book takes place in 1957 with some flashbacks to earlier times.  As young adults, Joan and Cece are still living in River Oaks where their time is taken up with social events, Junior League and  garden parties. Joan is the toast of Houston society because of her beautiful blond looks and her sometimes outrageous, self-destructive  behavior. Her older, wealthy parents have always indulged her.  Cece is now married with a young son. She and Joan have been closer than sisters their entire lives and  Cece  has always protected Joan and watched out for her. Joan has a habit of disappearing, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days or even longer. W hen she was a senior in high school, she ran away to Hollywood leaving Cece behind, to wonder why she left.  Although she returns a year later, she was changed by her experience but she won't tell Cece what happened. Cece has an obsessive love for Joan and will drop anything for her. This is causing problems in her marriage and with some of her other friends.  No one can understand their attachment.

Even though I have a few reservations about some aspects of this book, I really like a lot of things in it. The 1950's setting and look into the lives of the wealthy elite  really pulled me into the story. I could feel how hot it was in Houston during the summer. Legendary places like The Shamrock Hotel and The Cork Club play a big role in this book. I could vividly picture them.  Joan has secrets and I was anxious to discover what they are.  Her behavior, mood swings, drinking, promiscuity and possible drug use are spiraling out of control but Cece is always right there to rescue her. Despite all that they have gone through growing up, it was a little bit difficult to understand her pull on Cece, especially when Joan would drop her whenever it was convenient.  Towards the end of the book when Joan reveals herself more fully, it took me by surprise and I'm not sure that I can fully accept her explanation. However, I couldn't stop reading! The ending left me with some unanswered questions.  The After Party is a fascinating, addicting but somewhat sad look at two women and their lifelong bond of friendship. 

 Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book to review.

Grade: A-
Historical Fiction


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Product Details

The Nightingale

 by Kristin Hannah

This is the first book, written by Kristin Hannah, that I have read but I will be reading more! Loved, loved, loved this book! I listened to it on audio and would give the reader (Polly Stone) ten stars if I could. She had to use French, German and American accents and she was perfect.

 Wonderful book about two sisters who are living in Paris when the Germans begin occupying France.  They each take different paths but their love for each other overcomes their differences. A heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting story about sisters, family, betrayal, hardship, and the redeeming power of love.  Don't miss it!

My favorite book of 2015!
Grade A+
Adult Historical Fiction







Product Details

The Nightingale

 by Kristin Hannah

This is the first book, written by Kristin Hannah, that I have read but I will be reading more! Loved, loved, loved this book! I listened to it on audio and would give the reader (Polly Stone) ten stars if I could. She had to use French, German and American accents and she was perfect.

 Wonderful book about two sisters who are living in Paris when the Germans begin occupying France.  They each take different paths but their love for each other overcomes their differences. A heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting story about sisters, family, betrayal, hardship, and the redeeming power of love.  Don't miss it!

My favorite book of 2015!
Grade A+
Adult Historical Fiction








Pretty Girls

    by Karin Slaughter  


This is a really tough book to review and it isn't a book for the faint of heart. The first chapter grabs you and doesn't let go.  I listened to it on audio and the reader, Kathleen Early, was very good.  The story is set in Atlanta where young woman have been abducted and presumed to be dead.  Claire's sister, Julia, disappeared more than twenty years ago and the family fell apart after this tragedy.  Their parents divorced and her sister, Lydia, became a drug addict. Their father wrote heartbreaking letters to Julia before he died.  Claire is estranged from her sister, in part, because, Lydia is living with an ex-con, former drug addict and Claire is in the midst of the Atlanta social set. After another murder occurs, Lydia and Claire form a wary alliance to try and find out if their sister might still be alive.

There is so much going on in this novel and it is really hard  to review it  without giving away too much.  There is violence, sexual sadism and murder. It is also a stunning, suspenseful thriller that will keep you reading even when you don't want to keep reading it!

  Did I like it? Yes, and no... Loved the plot twists and the suspense but the violence was difficult to read, or in my case, listen to. If you like well written, psychological thrillers and  can handle sexual sadism, betrayal and violence, then  you will want to read Pretty Girls.

Grade:  A for plot and writing but this book isn't for the squeamish.

Adult Psychological Thriller

Pretty Girls

    by Karin Slaughter  


This is a really tough book to review and it isn't a book for the faint of heart. The first chapter grabs you and doesn't let go.  I listened to it on audio and the reader, Kathleen Early, was very good.  The story is set in Atlanta where young woman have been abducted and presumed to be dead.  Claire's sister, Julia, disappeared more than twenty years ago and the family fell apart after this tragedy.  Their parents divorced and her sister, Lydia, became a drug addict. Their father wrote heartbreaking letters to Julia before he died.  Claire is estranged from her sister, in part, because, Lydia is living with an ex-con, former drug addict and Claire is in the midst of the Atlanta social set. After another murder occurs, Lydia and Claire form a wary alliance to try and find out if their sister might still be alive.

There is so much going on in this novel and it is really hard  to review it  without giving away too much.  There is violence, sexual sadism and murder. It is also a stunning, suspenseful thriller that will keep you reading even when you don't want to keep reading it!

  Did I like it? Yes, and no... Loved the plot twists and the suspense but the violence was difficult to read, or in my case, listen to. If you like well written, psychological thrillers and  can handle sexual sadism, betrayal and violence, then  you will want to read Pretty Girls.

Grade:  A for plot and writing but this book isn't for the squeamish.

Adult Psychological Thriller



DEAD TO ME

Product Details         BY: MARY MCCOY
Los Angeles, 1948: “Don’t believe anything they say” were the last words that Alice’s older sister, Annie, said the day she disappeared.  Now four years later, 16 year old Alice is called to the hospital where she finds Annie, badly beaten and in a coma. Their father works for a movie studio and their mother was an actress in low budget films. They didn’t quite make it to the big time so they were grooming Annie and Alice to be stars. Annie didn’t want to be a star and, after a volatile argument, Annie disappeared.  For the past four years, her dysfunctional parents have acted like Annie didn’t exist. Now, drawing on her favorite detective novels from the 1940’s,  Alice believes that she can be as good as Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe in finding out where Annie has been for the last four years and why she was beaten, almost to death.

 Hiding the fact that Annie is in the hospital, her investigation takes her to the underbelly of Hollywood including a dangerous but very handsome movie star, gangsters, a hard boiled private eye who might or might not be trying to help Annie, pornographers, a runaway Annie was trying to help and a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department.  Snooping in her father’s office, Alice finds evidence that might implicate him, too. The more she digs into Annie’s dark past, the more see realizes that the shiny glamour of Hollywood is a facade. This gritty noirish style mystery has twists and turns, red herrings and a great setting. The author is a teen librarian at the Los Angeles Public library who has written articles about Hollywood’s dark past and her research is evident in this terrific book.

Grade: A-
Teen Historical Fiction
Grades 9- Adult



DEAD TO ME

Product Details         BY: MARY MCCOY
Los Angeles, 1948: “Don’t believe anything they say” were the last words that Alice’s older sister, Annie, said the day she disappeared.  Now four years later, 16 year old Alice is called to the hospital where she finds Annie, badly beaten and in a coma. Their father works for a movie studio and their mother was an actress in low budget films. They didn’t quite make it to the big time so they were grooming Annie and Alice to be stars. Annie didn’t want to be a star and, after a volatile argument, Annie disappeared.  For the past four years, her dysfunctional parents have acted like Annie didn’t exist. Now, drawing on her favorite detective novels from the 1940’s,  Alice believes that she can be as good as Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe in finding out where Annie has been for the last four years and why she was beaten, almost to death.

 Hiding the fact that Annie is in the hospital, her investigation takes her to the underbelly of Hollywood including a dangerous but very handsome movie star, gangsters, a hard boiled private eye who might or might not be trying to help Annie, pornographers, a runaway Annie was trying to help and a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department.  Snooping in her father’s office, Alice finds evidence that might implicate him, too. The more she digs into Annie’s dark past, the more see realizes that the shiny glamour of Hollywood is a facade. This gritty noirish style mystery has twists and turns, red herrings and a great setting. The author is a teen librarian at the Los Angeles Public library who has written articles about Hollywood’s dark past and her research is evident in this terrific book.

Grade: A-
Teen Historical Fiction
Grades 9- Adult


Product DetailsMONUMENT 14   (Book 1)

   BY: EMMY LAYBOURNE



Set in Monument, Colorado, Monument 14 is suspenseful story of survival. 14 kids are on their way to school when a giant hail storm suddenly starts. The hail causes the school bus to crash into a giant super store. While the bus driver goes for help, the kids take shelter in the Wal-Mart like store. After entering the store, the security doors slam shut and the kids are trapped inside. The kids are a mix of ages, six high school students, two eighth graders and six little kids.  When The Network, the communication hub for the town, goes down and their bus driver doesn’t return, the kids are cut off from the outside world. Trapped in the store with a mix of nerds, popular and unpopular kids, they must learn to co-exist by using their wits and the resources available to them in the superstore. When they try to escape, they find that the outside air and water are contaminated due to a chemical weapons spill, poisonous gas and an earthquake. Will they escape and find their parents or has the whole town, and maybe even the whole world, been destroyed?
This is the first book in the Monument 14 series.  It is well written with strong characters and an interesting plot. Readers of survival fiction should like it.  It is best suited for older teens due to some mature situations in the book.

Grade: B+
Teen/ Young Adult 
Survival/ Dystopianl Fiction
Grade: 9 and up


Product DetailsMONUMENT 14   (Book 1)

   BY: EMMY LAYBOURNE



Set in Monument, Colorado, Monument 14 is suspenseful story of survival. 14 kids are on their way to school when a giant hail storm suddenly starts. The hail causes the school bus to crash into a giant super store. While the bus driver goes for help, the kids take shelter in the Wal-Mart like store. After entering the store, the security doors slam shut and the kids are trapped inside. The kids are a mix of ages, six high school students, two eighth graders and six little kids.  When The Network, the communication hub for the town, goes down and their bus driver doesn’t return, the kids are cut off from the outside world. Trapped in the store with a mix of nerds, popular and unpopular kids, they must learn to co-exist by using their wits and the resources available to them in the superstore. When they try to escape, they find that the outside air and water are contaminated due to a chemical weapons spill, poisonous gas and an earthquake. Will they escape and find their parents or has the whole town, and maybe even the whole world, been destroyed?
This is the first book in the Monument 14 series.  It is well written with strong characters and an interesting plot. Readers of survival fiction should like it.  It is best suited for older teens due to some mature situations in the book.

Grade: B+
Teen/ Young Adult 
Survival/ Dystopianl Fiction
Grade: 9 and up

  https://llibrarygirlsguidetobooks.com/