Book Review | Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay

 

Title: Difficult Women
Author: Roxanne Gay
Release Date: January 3rd 2017
Page Amount: 272 pages, Kindle edition

GoodReads Link

GoodReads Blurb:

Award-winning author and powerhouse talent Roxane Gay burst onto the scene with An Untamed State—which earned rave reviews and was selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post, NPR, the Boston Globe, and Kirkus—and her New York Times bestselling essay collection Bad Feminist (Harper Perennial). Gay returns with Difficult Women, a collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection.

The women in these stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. A pair of sisters, grown now, have been inseparable ever since they were abducted together as children, and must negotiate the marriage of one of them. A woman married to a twin pretends not to realize when her husband and his brother impersonate each other. A stripper putting herself through college fends off the advances of an overzealous customer. A black engineer moves to Upper Michigan for a job and faces the malign curiosity of her colleagues and the difficulty of leaving her past behind. From a girls’ fight club to a wealthy subdivision in Florida where neighbors conform, compete, and spy on each other, Gay delivers a wry, beautiful, haunting vision of modern America reminiscent of Merritt Tierce, Jamie Quatro, and Miranda July.

Review:

This was the April book of the month for the book online book club that I'm in. I listened to the audio of this one. It's a collection of stories. Honestly. I find the title a little bit misleading. I almost feel like it should be called Damaged Women instead. Even so, there were some very good stories in this collection. There were some very affecting stories in this book. I thought that in general it was written quite well. 

These were my favorites:

I Will Follow You

North Country

Requiem For a Heart

These three affected me the most. But Requiem For a Heart is the one that stands out most in my mind. It was very metaphorical. I loved that about it. It was like a modern day fairy tale. A magical, whimsical tale. I loved this one. I would read this one again for sure. I would also definitely read more Roxanne Gay. I think I give this one 3.5 quills.

 

 

Book Review | The Elvis Presley I Knew by Robert C. Cantwell

 

Title: The Elvis Presley I Knew

Author: Robert C. Cantwell
Release Date: August 5th 2013
Page Amount: 175 pages, Kindle edition

GoodReads Link

GoodReads Blurb:

“I would have been duty-bound if I had recognized Elvis’ alleged drug abuse.”
Robert C. Cantwell

Elvis I knew was a superstar, authentic country gentleman and ‘unprejudiced’ that cherished being around those that regarded him as an ordinary person.

Review:

Yes, there were too many errors in this book for my taste. I think it could have benefited from being looked over one more time. However, the content of the book was really great. You got to hear more great stories about Elvis. The author spoke honestly about the person he knew. And my favorite thing about the book was that it showed Elvis as a normal person. I mean, he was and he wasn't. But this showed that under all of that he was a human being. He was wonderful but he still made mistakes. We're all human, we all do. So, even though this book had its share of errors I would still recommend it. 4 quills.

Book Review | Leave This Song Behind

 

Title: Leave This Song Behind: teen poetry at is best

Author: Teen Ink, multiple
Release Date: April 26th 2016
Page Amount: 216 pages, Kindle edition

GoodReads Link

GoodReads Blurb:

It's been 10 years since the last book in the Teen Ink series Written in the Dirt was published. Now, a whole new batch of teen writers has emerged with their own unique voices. Leave This Song Behind features the best poetry submitted by those writers to Teen Ink over the last five years.

The pieces in this book were chosen because they were so powerful that they stood out from the rest. Teen Ink editors took a deep look into each poem's strengths then divided Leave This Song Behind into seven sections based on the poetic techniques or qualities that moved them most. Vivid sensory details made some poems shine; others caught their attention with simple, sparse language. Still others were chosen because of their thoughtful use of form; compelling stories; strong figurative language; unexpected connections and wit; and fresh writing about familiar topics.

Dig in and let these brave young voices capture your heart and mind with their passion, their pain, and their amazing poetry!

Review:

I read Teen Ink fairly regularly in high school. Our teacher would get shipments of them and hand them out in Creative Writing class. Sometimes we'd spend the whole class looking through them. (IT was a pretty free form class.) I found a lot of inspiration in the pages of those magazines. They helped me grow as a writer.

I'm o Netgalley but don't use it a lot. However, when I saw this I knew that I had to request it. Besides the beautiful cover I really wanted to dive into the poetry. I adore poetry. Whenever I read it I feel the need to write it. It's like filling myself up with poetic creativity. Recharging myself and my poetry batteries. The poems in here were beautiful. I loved them and would reread this one for sure. I know not everyone is into poetry but I think this is a good one to try. Or if you love poetry check this one. There is definitely talent out there amongst today's teenagers. 5 quills.

Book Review | How to Begin Again by Cindy Ray Hale

 

Title: How to Begin Again

Author: Cindy Ray Hale
Release Date: March 25th 2017

GoodReads Link

GoodReads Blurb:

Hannah Miller is stuck in the past. Although she hasn’t told a soul, she can’t stop thinking about her ex-boyfriend, Colin, the guy who pulled her into a lot of trouble at her old school. She’s working hard to move on with a fresh start. Her parents sent her to a private school to reform her and she loves the new friends she made there, but that hasn’t stopped her from secretly looking up romantic pictures of her with Colin. Despite her best efforts, she can’t let go.

But all she has to do is look out her bedroom window, which looks straight into the bedroom of Evan Bellingham, the hottie who goes to her new school. But when he invites her over and surprises her with the song he’d written for her, she begins to wonder if he’s the key to helping her learn how to begin again.

Review: 

This was a quick read and my introduction to Cindy Ray Hale's story telling. I enjoyed Hannah's story a lot. It was a short and sweet read. It made me curious to read more about the character. To learn more about her and to dive into Cindy's other books. The writing was clean and engaging. I have to admit, with the mention of Evan's southern twang and his blue eyes and the fact that he played guitar and sang...yes, I thought of Elvis. It was hard not to. But I liked it for more than just that. I look forward to reading more from this author. 4 quills.

Book Review | Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

 

Title: Kindred Spirits
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Release Date: February 26th 2016
Page Amount: 96 pages, mass market paperback

GoodReads Link

GoodReads Blurb:

'Everybody likes everything these days. The whole world is a nerd.'
'Are you mad because other people like Star Wars? Are you mad because people like me like Star Wars?'
'Maybe.'

If you broke Elena's heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she's expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she's not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels. Kindred Spirits is an engaging short story by Rainbow Rowell, author of the bestselling Eleanor & Park, Fangirl and Carry On, and is part of a handful of selected short reads specially produced for World Book Day.

Review: 

My sister and I decided to buddy read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. While she was getting the book I decided to pick up this short story by Rowell. I'm not a super obsessed Star Wars fan but I do like Str Wars. So it was fun to read about all of the Star Wars references in this story. I feel a little like Elena because I haven't seen the prequels...I'm still debating if I should.

Anyway, my favorite part may very well have been the Star Wars references but I enjoyed the interaction between the characters, as well. Elena and Gabe had an interesting dynamic. This story was short so I feel like I can't go into too much detail without giving things away. It isn't a super plot heavy story, it's more character driven, I think. I like character driven stories, though. I had fun reading this and liked the discussion thrown in about high school and cliques. I went to a pretty cliquey high school myself. If you love Star Wars I think you may enjoy this. I'd say about 3.5 quills.

Book Review | Off Duty with Private Presley

 

Title: Off Duty with Private Presley

Author: Memphis Recording Studio
Release Date: February 26 2010

GoodReads Link

Review:

In case you can't tell, I may be kind of in love with Elvis Presley. This book is filled with wonderfil pictures that I could look at again and again. It also has some information and anecdotes about Elvis when he was in the army. I really enjoyed reading this and it is displayed prominently on my bookshelf. And always will be. There is a C. D. in the back with recordings from when he was in the army that I really, really need to listen to!! A great addition to any Elvis fan's collection. 5 quills!!

Book Review | The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

 

Title: The Snow Queen

Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Release Date: November 5th 2002 (first published December 21st 1844)
Page Amount: 96 pages, Hardcover

GoodReads Link

GoodReads Blurb:

Reprinted here for the first time since the 19th century, these color illustrations by T. Pym make the classic Andersen fairy tale even more magical. One of Andersen's best-beloved tales, The Snow Queen is a story about the strength and endurance of childhood friendship. Gerda's search for her playmate Kay–who was abducted by the Snow Queen and taken to her frozen palace–is brought to life in delicate and evocative illustrations.

Review:

The Snow Queen was mt very favorite fairy tale as a little girl. There was a movie version if it that I used to watch a lot but for the life of me I cannot remember which one it was...It was animated, I know that. 

Anyway, I was in love with this story as a little girl. The idea recently came to me that I wanted to do a retelling of it. So of course, I had to read the original story again. I actually listened to the audio of it. I loved the story just as much as when I was younger. It is still my favorite and I can bet it will remain my favorite fairy tale. I love the message behind it and the magical feel behind it. I know it's a fairy tale so of course it has a magical feel. But if you've read it, you probably know what I mean. Actually, a character in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe reminds me very much of The Snow Queen. The message is beautiful. To keep it short: I love it!! Five quills!!