What a way to go - Julia Forster

1988. 12-year-old Harper Richardson's parents are divorced. Her mum got custody of her, the Mini, and five hundred tins of baked beans. Her dad got a mouldering cottage in a Midlands backwater village and default membership of the Lone Rangers single parents' club. Harper got questionable dress sense, a zest for life, two gerbils, and her Chambers dictionary, and the responsibility of fixing her parents' broken hearts. Set against a backdrop of high hairdos and higher interest rates, pop music and puberty, divorce and death, What a Way to Go is a warm, wise and witty tale of one girl tackling the business of growing up while those around her try not to fall apart. 

My thoughts:

This was a sweet book. Harper was a happy tween, well as happy as tweens can be. She has a bit of snark, sort of. She loved music. She wanted pets. And so the story begins.

We follow her going between her mother's house to her father's on weekends. Her father goes to a club for single parents and their kids. Her mother loves shoes and is trying to do her best to keep their house.

But it's not sweet all the time. There is a bit of heartache and loss. Though it's never sad. Do not worry. Well not crying sad. Just, life sad. And there are secrets. 

I enjoyed it. Harper has a nice way of looking at life. I can't say too much about the story without spoiling the whole thing. I mean she is just living her life.

Also, I did like that it was set in the 80s. Not that I remember a lot from the 80s, but hey everything got here 5 years later anyway ;)'

Conclusion:

Good book and one that fits everyone.

Cover

I had a pink one!

Paperback, 304 pages
Published January 7th 2016 by Atlantic Books
Fiction
For review

The Dirt on Ninth Grave - Darynda Jones

In a small village in New York lives Jane Doe, a girl with no memory of who she is or where she came from. So when she is working at a diner and slowly begins to realize she can see dead people, she's more than a little taken aback. Stranger still are the people entering her life. They seem to know things about her. Things they hide with lies and half-truths. Soon, she senses something far darker. A force that wants to cause her harm, she is sure of it. Her saving grace comes in the form of a new friend she feels she can confide in and the fry cook, a devastatingly handsome man whose smile is breathtaking and touch is scalding. He stays close, and she almost feels safe with him around.

But no one can outrun their past, and the more lies that swirl around her—even from her new and trusted friends—the more disoriented she becomes, until she is confronted by a man who claims to have been sent to kill her. Sent by the darkest force in the universe. A force that absolutely will not stop until she is dead. Thankfully, she has a Rottweiler. But that doesn't help in her quest to find her identity and recover what she's lost. That will take all her courage and a touch of the power she feels flowing like electricity through her veins. She almost feels sorry for him. The devil in blue jeans. The disarming fry cook who lies with every breath he takes. She will get to the bottom of what he knows if it kills her. Or him. Either way. 

My thoughts:

I do confess, it was soooo annoying reading this book. I really hope it did not reflect on how I liked it. See, the formatting sucked. I hate uneven edges, I hate when you turn the page and there is one word there, and then one on the next.

Sigh.

Ok, Charley has amnesia after a meltdown. Angels want her to leave this life. Her friends want her back. She works in a diner. All her friends are in town and trying to subtly nestle themselves into her new life without telling her YOU ARE CHARLEY!

The kid thing is still, omg, no, I could never do that.

Reyes, well i did like that she met him for the first time again and thought he was hot, mmmmmmm *melts into Reyes puddle*

I did like that she had her snark. That she solved 2 mysteries. It was old Charley you know. But what I did not like was that time stood still, nothing could happen to move the actual plot forward.

Conclusion:

Reyes! Oh I forgot myself. I meant to say good book. 

cover

eh

Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: January 12th 2016 by St. Martin's Press
Charley Davidson #9
Urban fantasy romance
NG

Carole's Sunday Review: All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

Author: Erich Maria Remarque

Title: All Quiet on the Western Front

Genre: Historical Fiction & Classic

Pages: 296

First Published: 1928

Where I Got It: My shelf (A used bookstore forever ago)

This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army of World War I. These young men become enthusiastic soldiers, but their world of duty, culture, and progress breaks into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. 

Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the hatred that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another... if only he can come out of the war alive

This has been on my list to read for a long time, but I just never could get myself to read it. Why? It was bound to be super dark and sad. I was right, but it is a book that needs to be read by everyone. War is so glorified and we are convinced its always needed. Politically it might be justified, but it is the young who will suffer for it in the long run. I learned that Hitler had this book banned from German hands when it came out. Of course he would! He wanted a war and reminding the young how horrible war is was not on the agenda. 

What I really adored about this book is that it is told from a German soldier's POV. So many books are told from the American, British, and even French side of the war. Rarely is it told from the "loser's" side of the war. It really shows that every young boy, no matter what country he hails from, has the same fears, hopes, and dreams especially during the First Great War. 

Poor Paul. It was hard to connect with him on a personal level, but I had so much sympathy for him. He was younger then I was.

Once I was finished with this book I had myself one question, "Was this the greatest war novel of all time?" My reply: I have read so many war novels in my time and there are SO many more that I plan to read. Is this truly THE greatest? I'm not sure. Is it the greatest World War One novel? I would say so far it is. 

Now, I only have two issues with this novel. One, I couldn't connect with the main person. I had a moment, though, when he was visiting home and the books he once loved he had no joy for them anymore. Other then that, I felt so distant with him. Two, the ending. I did not like it. It was sad, yes, but I expected it. However, the ending and the epilogue confused me. I had thought one thing happened, but then epilogue was like "haha fooled you! This is the real ending." Wait...what? Oooooo...kay. 

Other then those two things, I really enjoyed this book. It is the best WWI novel that I have read to date. Anyone who can handle a little dark and sad, I suggest this be your next classic novel you read. Just keep in mind that it was written in the 1920s. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 4. 

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-In Jan 8 2016 and dnfs

#FitReaders is hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About.

Join in 

Sat 1 h walk
Sun 30 min walk and 30 min walk
Mon 10 km bike, 30 min walk
Tue 6 km bike, 30 min walk?
Wed 30 min walk and, 30 min walk
Thu 4 km bike, 30 min walk
Fri 4 km bike, 40 min walk
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DNFS

Daughter of Siena

At 120 pages I just Let it Go.

I read in a 1 star review that it was supposed to be about the city. Who cares about the city! I want to read about people and care. If you can make the city thing work, then good. But here I was bored.

A Vision of Fire

Oh Gillian Anderson, give me the book! Oh bad move. Just cos someone famous had a tiny part in it does not mean it is good. And not my genre. Bored.

Pills and starships

It could have been good, but the writing was slow, and the whole writing to an imaginary friend thing, no. It dragged

13 to life

YA PNR, my bad! DNF. Yawn