Bakers Dozen 2013: 10

Buddha Baby by Kim Wong Keltner

Buddha Baby by Kim Wong Keltner follows Chinese-American woman, Lindsey Owyang as she tries to find a happy medium between being a typical American and still trying to connect to her Chinese heritage.  She is a second generation born in the United States.  Her family settled in the China Town area in San Fransisco and Lindsey starts to discover her family roots.

I think I read this book right before I started this blog, because a part of me thought that I posted a review for it but then I remember that I read it when I went down to Florida in March two years ago.  This was one of those books that the humor really stuck out to me.  But also the idea of how main character Lindsey was kind of embarrassed by her traditional Chinese heritage.  Also the author stressed the fact that Lindsey's boyfriend/fiance is predominately white with only a very small fraction of Chinese heritage.  But he has made a huge effort to learn customs and traditions to show respect to her parents and grandparents.  Than enter a person from her past, who is 100 percent Chinese but doesn't care at all about his Chinese heritage but Lindsey knows that her family would be more accepting of him as opposed to the one that she loves.  Through out this book Lindsey struggles with finding a happy medium in life in general.  At parts you want to beat her because she's being very whiny and other parts you sympathize with her struggle to find peace with whom she is suppose to be.

Because I was on vacation I believe I read this book on the plane ride down.  It was a very quick read.  There were parts where I laughed out loud and then there were parts where I felt the emotional turmoil of the main character.  While this book isn't quite in the humor or romance realm, I guess the only genre that it could be in would be drama.  I've never read anything like it so I don't really know how to categorize it.

Book Review: Grand Avenue

Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding

Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding is a drama/mystery/suspense novel about four women who meet at the block park with their toddlers and form a friendship.  Now I have to be honest, if this book wasn't on my on deck I probably wouldn't have read it.  But this book was recommend to by my old book store supervisor, Kristi, who told me to read this book.  Now this is the second book by Joy Fielding that I have read.  While it isn't as morbid as the other book that I had read, the ending was shocking.

The four main characters of this book are Chris, Barbara, Susan and Vicki, each have different personalities and life styles.  Chris is the shyer of the four women and also has a lot of the focus on her character through out the novel.  Her husband is controlling and abusive and she doesn't know how to leave since she has no means to survive.  Barbara is a former Miss Cincinnati  and is obsessed with her appearance and fears the affects of aging.  She also fears that her husband will turn his affections to one of the young co-eds at the college he is a professor at.  Because of this she gets many plastic surgery procedures.  Susan, is the one who is in the most stable and happy marriage.  She's going to college to get her degree in editing and is trying to juggle school and family.  Vicki is the career woman who is a lawyer.  She is also married to the father of her old high school sweet heart so it was hinted from the beginning that there is a lot of tension in her family.  She's also very open about her numerous affairs and isn't afraid to sacrifice the ones she loves just to get ahead.

Each women went through their own little bit of drama but for the most part of the book, Chris's was highlighted the most.  She finally gets away from her husband but unfortunately she is kept from seeing her children and he stalks and harasses her causing her to lose jobs and move on a regular basis.  Barbara's fears come true and her husband leaves her for one of his students.  She clings to her daughter Tracy for support, affection and also for reassurance that she isn't looking old.  She also becomes slightly vindictive by abusing the settlement that her husband will pay her credit cards for five years after the divorce.  Susan finally gets a job working as an editor for Vicki's husbands magazine, but it isn't as perfect as she had hoped because her supervisor tells her that if she doesn't sleep with him she'll be fired.  She gets Vicki to help and wins a big settlement but unfortunately her marriage is rocky at this point and one of her daughters are rebelling.  Vicki probably has the least amount of drama but she is seen through out the book trying to locate her mother whom abandoned her at a young age.  She is also the final pin that breaks the women's friendship at the end of the book when one of the women is viciously murdered.  The end events shatter the strong bond that these women once held forever changing their lives.

This is one of those books that I didn't expect to enjoy but I did.  I read it in one day because I had to find out what happened next with the characters.  While it did seem like something that would be played out in a soap opera it was nice how the author brought the characters to life and drew me in as a reader.  I think anyone who likes reading dramatic books with a hint of suspense and mystery this would be a great book to pick up.  I know I wasn't disappointed after reading it.

Rating:
5 out of 5

On Deck:
No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Warrior by Kinley MacGregor
Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi and Deborah Baltuck

Book Review: Charmed Thirds

Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Charmed Thirds is the third book in a series written by Megan McCafferty.  The first two books are Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings.  Yes I have read both books before this one.  But I did read them quite sometime ago but surprisingly I remembered a lot of important details from the first two books to know what was going on with this one.  This is one of those series where I think it would be more beneficial to read the books in chronological order first, because the novel is written like a diary/journal by the main character. This book is in the young adult genre and is based on real life topics.

The novel and series is based off the life of Jessica Darling.  It is written in a diary/journal style but also with a slight first person point of view.  The book is about her life in college and dealing with her boyfriend going to a Buddhist school in California while she is going to Columbia in New York.  The character of Jessica Darling is your typical college student who is too aware of her surroundings and curses her not so glamorous life in Pineville, New Jersey.  While the first two books in the series is about Jessica in high school.  This book covers her whole college career.  There are a lot of conflicts in this story that shape the the plot but I think the main one were when Jessica cheats on her boyfriend Marcus and her parents decide to cut her off financially.  The whole book seemed very realistic and to a certain extent I think it is very easy to relate with.  The book end with graduation and Jessica going off to try and find her next step beyond college so of course there is a sequel to this book called Fourth Comings. What I liked most about this book and the two before is that Megan McCafferty is really good at adding humor into her stories.  It's almost as if Jessica Darling was a real life person, she would be a stand up comedian.

This was a really quick read and it was kind of hard to put down.  It was very addicting and I constantly wanted to know what would happen next to the character Jessica Darling.  I love the humor and plot in the story.  While it was kind of typical drama plot I think the style of McCafferty's writing kept it fresh.  There are definitely little parts and scenes that are easy to replay in your head and make you chuckle.  While there is sex and relationships in this book, there is no detail of the acts.  You just know that it happened.

I think anyone who is in the mood for a quick read with a little bit of drama and humor this is the book for you.  While there is a little bit of course language it isn't enough to turn me off from the book.  While it is addictive and a quick read, the chapters are broken up in year/semesters/months so it is easy to find a stopping point.  Again I really enjoyed reading the books.  McCafferty has done a good job developing her lead character through out the three books into an easy transition that is realistic.

Rating:
4 out of 5

On Deck:
Retribution by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Bubbles A Broad by Sarah Strohmeyer
Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding