Ordinary Grace - an adult story for teens through seniors...

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger is one of those books that crosses so many genre and age groups; it makes it hard to talk about it using only a few words. I can recommend this to women and men, to teens through seniors, to mystery lovers, to historical fiction lovers, etc. My book club selected this for our upcoming meeting and I am pretty sure we will have a ton to discuss.

The story is told from the perspective of 13 year-old Frank Drum. Frank is the middle child of Nathan and Ruth Drum, a minister and his artistic wife. A younger brother, Jake, stutters and is subject to ridicule for his handicap. Older sister Ariel, a very talented musician, originally plans on attending Juilliard in the coming school year, but becomes reluctant to leave. In addition, the family includes Gus, a war buddy who saved Nathan's life and needs help getting back on his feet.

It is the hot summer of 1961 in New Bremen, Minnesota, with the Twins baseball team playing their first season, and small town life is gentle, peaceful and innocent. But, for Frank and his family, this becomes the summer of lost innocence; a summer of death - suspicious, murder, suicide, and accidental deaths. In addition, there are secrets and misunderstandings, racism and bigotry, and a great deal of loss.

Through Frank's eyes we see marital struggles, misbehaving adults, injustice, and a tremendous amount of pain and loss. He and his younger brother Jake struggle to understand the world around them, and the impact of religion on many different lives. Both grow up during this painful summer of loss, and begin to see the world from the perspective of young men rather than boys.

Frank is an honorable, yet mischievous 13 year-old who has the normal boy's curiosity and the awakening interest in the opposite sex. He narrates the story, and the first person perspective works, as Frank is a tremendous eavesdropper and learns much from gossip. The story is heartwarming, yet tear-inducing, painful, yet funny, and the characters are common, ordinary townspeople, yet reflective of the best and worst of humankind.

Ordinary Grace is an extraordinary story that pulled me faster and faster through to the end. There is plenty of action to keep the interest of the plot-craving reader, but a tremendous amount of heart to keep the character-driven interest, as well. I laughed, I cried, I remembered. I recommend Ordinary Grace very highly.



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Satisfying Mystery Romance by Renee Collins

Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Until We Meet Again is a story of a time warp that brings together 17 year old Cassandra from 2015 with Lawrence from 1925. Renee Collins brings the two together in a story that combines romance with mystery in a very satisfying read.

Cassandra's family has rented a home along the beach in New England for the entire summer of 2015. The beach is private and consists of a stretch of sand along a rocky cove. This is Cassandra's sanctuary, as she is terribly bored and wishes to be anywhere but here; specifically Paris with her best friend Jade or NYC with her father and friends. She escapes to the beach to watch the full moon rise.

Lawrence has turned 18 in 1925 and his uncle Ned has thrown him a birthday party at the home he built in 1922; the same home rented by Cassandra's family in 2015. The party is not really to his taste and he escapes to the beach to watch the full moon rise.

Suddenly a flash of bright light allows Cassandra and Lawrence to see each other. This bit of magic only extends as far as the borders of the beach. They soon discover that leaving the beach causes Lawrence to return to 1925 and Cassandra to 2015. They only can see, hear and touch each other while on the beach. The couple meet often on the beach and find themselves falling in love.

Being the curious teen she is, and with access to information on the internet and through library microfilm, Cassandra makes a terrible discovery about Lawrence. Records from 1925 show that Lawrence will be murdered on August 6, 1925. That date is two weeks away.
Who would want to kill Lawrence? Can Cassandra and Lawrence stop the murder? What long-term impact will it have on history if they do? And, can Lawrence and Cassandra find a way to be together?

The theme of meeting across time is not a new concept, but Collins handles it well. The young couple is charming and yet very much the product of their ages and era. The mystery is well defined and the writing keeps us in suspense. The ending is satisfying and logical. The magic is kept to a minimum and never fully explained, as magic really cannot be.

I very much enjoyed the relationship of Lawrence and Cassandra and found the mystery kept me anxious to return to the story whenever my reading was interrupted. Collins gives us a glimpse into life in the Roaring Twenties and limits the connection to 2015. Cassandra's modern day relationship with a boy called Brandon feels very strained and his jealousy for Cassandra feels a little premature given their lack of contact. I don't really know if his presence adds much to the story, but this is a minor criticism.

Overall, this is a book I would recommend to teens looking for a romance with a good mystery. Light reading, but satisfying.




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Reviews of Paper Towns Are Not Encouraging

Rotten Tomatoes 56%

It just does not do Teen literature any benefit to make a well-loved book by a well-loved author into a poor film.  

It is so disheartening to see the reviews of Paper Towns as mixed as they appear at Rotten Tomatoes.  So many great teen reads are being turned into movies these days, but the result has not been all that great. 

When one of our favorite titles is announced as an upcoming film, the anticipation is high.  We watch for the casting, check out the trailers and wait for the opening.  Personally, I wait for the reviews.  

We all know the book is almost always better than the film, but that has to do with the inability for the film-makers to put all of the story into 2-3 hours and still do justice to the movie our heads created while reading the book.  Yes, film is a separate art form and it should be judged on its own merits and not compared to the original.  But, the purpose of the film is to capture the essence of the book.  

Too often the objective of the film-maker is to jump on the YA bandwagon and make some money from a popular author and/or title.  Seriously, don't do the author any favors.  If you can't take a teen title seriously and present a well-made film, please leave the audience to remember the book as they saw it in their mind's eye.

Some of the reviews are good, however.  Should I see the film?  Have you seen it?  Are the critics too harsh?  Or, did the film-makers take a great thing and make it so, so?

Let me know your thoughts....

Every Last Word is powerful

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Published June 2015

Every Last Word is a powerful story of the importance of identifying our authentic self, being true to that self, and being honest with others about who we are.  By presenting our authentic self, we risk being rejected, but we benefit by knowing we are loved and accepted for who we truly are.

Samantha has been a member of the group "The Crazy Eights" since kindergarten. This is a group that was originally eight girls and is now 6 who are very tight-knit. The "eights" are now in high school - they are the popular and powerful clique, the envy of others.  They are invited to all the parties, they all have attractive jock boyfriends, and one girl's father gets them tickets to all the most exciting concerts.

Samantha, or Sam, as she prefers, has been diagnosed with OCD - more obsessive thoughts than compulsive actions.  In order to continue to be accepted by the "eights" she has kept this from them.  They don't know she sees "Shrink-Sue", her therapist, every Wednesday, and that she is taking medication to control her thoughts and to sleep at night.  Sam feels she is near the bottom rung of the "eights" and would be mortified and ostracized if they knew of her OCD.

Shrink-Sue is concerned about Sam's reliance on the "eights" for her social life. From what Sam has told her, it is obvious Sue believes this group is toxic for Sam and she encourages her to seek out new friendships.  In addition, Sam is a stellar swimmer who has only focused on her swimming during the summer.  Sue and Sam agree Sam could possibly earn a scholarship with her swimming and should focus more on it during the school year.

As the new school year starts, Sam meets Caroline, who introduces her to "Poets Corner" and the poets who meet there.  Sam is sworn to secrecy as the location of the group and their meetings are to be kept quiet.  Here at Poet's Corner she meets AJ, a boy she cruelly bullied in 4th grade due to his stutter, which has now been resolved.  Not only is Sam sorry and ashamed of her bullying, but AJ is also the one to convince to be allowed access to Poet's Corner.

Throughout the school year Sam juggles time with the eights, keeping her poet friends secret, keeping her OCD secret, and increasing her time swimming.  She discovers a side of herself that loves to write poetry and is strongly attracted to AJ and the poetic songs he writes and performs.  During this time of juggling, Sue encourages her to be her authentic self and to let her friends know of her struggles, which Sam strongly resists as she fears rejection.  Only Caroline knows of her true self and accepts her.  But, Caroline has secrets of her own.

Every Last Word is a powerful coming-of-age story.  Sam reflects the teen we have all been or are who find themselves acting as a different person based on who they are with.  Along with Sam we begin to see that only with friends who know us and accept us as we truly are can we feel safe and free to be true to ourselves.  Sam begins to see her OCD as a part of her real self and not something she needs to be ashamed, but her struggles become harder before things improve. She slowly finds being her authentic self increases her confidence and reduces the importance of her illness, but only after some shocking revelations.

Every Last Word is a moving, tear inducing story of recognizing we are not alone in our feeling of being abnormal, but by being honest with others, we can find the person we are is good enough and worthy of love and friendship.  This is highly, highly recommended.



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