Book Review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The summary

It's 1931. Jacob Jankowski has lost everything near and dear to him. During the middle of a lecture at Cornell, Jacob is called out of the room and informed that his parents have been killed in a car crash. No longer able to join his father in his veterinary practice and overcome with grief, Jacob runs away from Cornell and hops a train. He discovers that it wasn't any old train that he jumped, but the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob becomes the circus's vet and cares for the menagerie. August, a paranoid schizophrenic and trainer of the animals, takes Jacob under his wing.

Jacob endures the squalid, filthy, and generally horrible conditions with traveling with the circus. Jacob is forced to sleep on an old, moldy horse blanket. The animals aren't cared for properly and are often abused by August. Uncle Al, the boss, doesn't pay his workmen and redlights them seemingly at random. August beats his wife, Marlena, the star performer and equestrian for the Benizi Brothers.

And Jacob falls in love with Marlena.

Jacob decides to take a stand and protect those who have been treated badly. He hides one of the sickly workmen in his room so that they won't get redlighted by Uncle Al. He stands up for the animals and for Marlena. One animal he stands up for in particular is Rosie, a bull elephant acquired by Uncle Al. August mercilessly beats Rosie when she doesn't obey him. Jacob discovers how to communicate with Rosie and forms a bond with the elephant.

Of course, because of Jacob's moral compass and his need to protect those who can't protect themselves, he just gets beaten up by August.

The book goes back and forth in time, between a 23 year old Jacob at the circus and a 93 year old Jacob in a nursing home. Living out his days in the home is frustrating to Jacob as his mind is still sharp but his body is decrepit. Jacob ruminates on the pains and frustrations of old age. A circus is coming to the nursing home, which prompts Jacob's memories of working for the Benizi Brothers.

The verdict

Water for Elephants is a beautiful book. It's emotionally heart-wrenching, but humorous at the same time. The juxtaposition of Jacob's colorful, action-filled past and mundane, dull present is brilliant. At first, I was taken aback with the chapters with Jacob in the nursing home. You get into a groove, a state of mind, when reading about Jacob and the circus, and then to suddenly be brought back to a nursing home is jarring. However, it creates such a rich and deep narrative, past versus present. Questions become more prevalent as you read since you know Jacob survived the whole circus, so you wonder, what happened? It moves the story forward, having these two, almost separate, narratives.

You can tell that Sara Gruen did lots of research before writing the book. The book is such a detailed account of circus life during the Great Depression. Gruen did a spot-on job of utilizing circus terminology and creating the atmosphere of the Depression. The story feels so real, as if it isn't fiction. You become so invested in the characters and feel as though you're in the book.

It is a little graphic in some parts, and I thought, oh I really didn't need to know that. But, I can really only think of two instances and it really doesn't detract from the book as a whole at all. I suppose the whole circus life was graphic. That's just how it is.

The ending is so strange, yet so satisfying (I don't want to give anything away!) You think as you read along, "Oh there's no way this can end well," but then...

Well.

You'll just have to read it and find out!

Grade: A

Book Review: The Host by Stephanie Meyer

The facts
The Host by Stephanie Meyer
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
First published: May 6, 2008

The summary
In The Host, Earth has been taken over by an alien species called "souls." These souls are a parasitic planet-hopping species, taking over civilizations in order to better them. On Earth, they have eradicated war, sickness, murder -- basically everything bad. The souls are kind, truthful and altruistic.

Though Earth may be a paradise, the humans want their planet back. Their kind is disappearing quickly, human bodies being taken over by souls. A small group of humans still remain, years after the souls have taken over the planet.

The books begins with Wanderer, a soul, waking up in her new host body. Wanderer finds though that her host refuses to fade away. Melanie Stryder, the human who Wanderer now occupies, is still very much alive and kicking in her mind. Melanie's thoughts and memories are strong, and though Wanderer tries to quiet her human host, she can't. Through Melanie's memories, Wanderer discovers two more surviving humans, Jared, Melanie's love, and Jamie, Melanie's younger brother. Wanderer alerts her Seeker, the one who captures humans to insert the souls, about this discovery. However, after doing so, Wanderer is sick to her stomach. Melanie's feelings are strong, and Wanderer feels the same love and longing for Jared and Jamie, just as Melanie does. With some persuasion from Melanie and their combined hatred of the Seeker, Wanderer leaves her soul community in order to go find Jared and Jamie and make sure they are safe.

The pair create a strong bond during their perilous journey through the Arizona desert. They help each other survive -- Melanie gives Wanderer mental strength in order to survive the desert, and thus, Melanie doesn't disappear. When they are near-death in the desert, they are found by Melanie's crazy uncle Jeb. Jeb has created a hidden rebel cell in the middle of the desert. Among the surviving humans are Jared and Jamie, safe and sound. At first, Wanderer is hated by the humans. They believe her to be an evil, conniving parasite. The only ones who trust Wanderer are crazy uncle Jeb and Jamie. Eventually the rebels come to accept Wanderer, or Wanda, as Jeb dubs her. Living in the caves with the humans completely changes Wanda's view on humanity. Souls believe humans to be an evil, violent, irrational, distrustful species. However, Wanda finds that humans are also capable of so much love and compassion, more than the souls could ever give. Wanda refuses to believe that people like her Jamie could ever be evil.

Wanderer also experiences the intricacies complications of human emotion, made even more complicated by the fact that Wanderer is also sharing the emotions of Melanie. Melanie's body and her mind loves Jared. However, another human, Ian, finds his way into Wanderer's heart. Wanderer finds herself trapped in a complicated triangle -- her body yearns for Jared, yet Wanderer herself is falling for Ian. How can Melanie and Wanderer be happy? How can Jared and Ian be happy?

Through her experiences in the caves, Wanderer realizes that the souls were wrong to take over Earth, but she has fallen in love with the planet. Life on other planets fall short of life on Earth.

Can there be a future where souls and humans can live together?

The verdict
I've read The Host before, and upon reading it again, I found the book to have so much more depth than I thought the first time. I have to say I enjoy The Host much more than Meyer's Twilight series. It features a strong, smart female character -- or two female characters, I should say. Both Wanderer and Melanie are fearless and won't back down from what they believe in. The books deals with important subjects, like tolerance and humanity. Wanderer could be a symbol for so many things -- religious intolerance, sexism, homophobia, a general intolerance for anyone who is different. (Okay, so I might be taking that a little far, but, well, that's I do when analyzing!) Altruism is another theme throughout the book; the souls with their misguided but altruistic ways, and Wanderer with her true selflessness. In one instance, Kyle, one of the human rebels who still harbors a hatred for her, tries to kill Wanderer. In his attempt, he almost falls into running lava under the cave, but Wanderer saves Kyle and refuses to admit that he was trying to kill her. Wanderer will do anything for those she loves, including saving her own love's murderous brother (Ian and Kyle are brothers).  

I won't give away the end of the book, but it does show some hope for humans and souls to co-exist peacefully. (There's some statement there about the world we live in today.)

Meyers spent a lot of time developing her characters in The Host. The books is very well-written and thought-provoking with a solid storyline created by complex and complicated emotions. If you didn't care for Twilight, I would urge to to try out The Host. And, even if you do like Twilight, read The Host. It's very different and so much stronger, more compelling and just better, in my opinion, than Twilight. Though it is sci-fi, the story very much deals with humanity. It just sucks you in and you get so invested in the characters. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It is truly a good read.

Grade: A

(Sidenote - I read that The Host is being made into a movie. Should be...interesting. I'm curious to see how they pull it off.)

Book Review: L.A. Candy: Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad

Wow. It's about time I do another book review. It's been a while! Too long in fact. Sheesh.

The facts
L.A. Candy: Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad
Published February 2, 2010

The summary
Best friends Jane and Scarlett have moved to LA together after graduating high school. After a heartbreaking split from her high school sweetheart, Jane feels as though she needs a change. She wants to be "uncomfortable," thus moving to LA. In LA, Jane gets a job with one of the top event planners in the country and Scarlett starts her freshman year at UCLA.

One night as Jane and Scarlett are checking out the club scene in LA, they are approached by a TV producer, Trevor Lord. Trevor is working on a reality show project that he calls a "PG Sex and the City." He feels that Jane and Scarlett are perfect for the show. Jane is the perfect girl-next-door. She's a pretty blonde, but not the overly-fake LA type blonde. Scarlett is gorgeous without even trying and brilliant to boot. The two girls agree to do the show -- Scarlett wants independence from her parents, so being on the show means she can pay for her education herself. Jane feels as though it's the perfect opportunity to put herself in "uncomfortable" situations.

At first the girls are thrilled with their reality show gig. Once in a dingy, sketchy apartment by the highway, now they're in a fancy condominium paid for by the show. Being on "LA Candy" means they get into the hottest clubs in town and get to wear the latest fashions.

However, it's not all glitz and glam. Compromising photos of Jane are leaked behind her back by one of her co-stars, Madison, and end up all over the tabloids. Being completely clueless of her true intentions, Jane turns to the manipulating Madison for help and away from her best friend, Scarlett.

In addition to the best friend's falling out and Jane's tabloid scandal, Scarlett is working on a little scandal of her own. Normally, Scarlett doesn't do relationships. However, she's fallen hard for one of "LA Candy's" cameramen, Liam. Of course any relations between the crew and talent is strictly prohibited, so Liam and Scarlett must keep their relationship a secret. Not easy when the cameras are around 24/7.

Will Jane ever realize Madison's true intentions? Can Scarlett and Liam keep up their relationship amid the cameras? Can they survive their show?

The verdict
Okay, so "LA Candy" isn't going to be winning any awards for immpeccable writing skills anytime soon. Conrad writes the way her characters would speak. For. The. Whole. Book. Pretty much. Which, I am all for adding in some dialects and such in dialogue. But, it's a bit much. I could just imagine our Fiction Workshop class ripping this book apart.

Regardless of writing skills, this book was entertaining. It certainly keeps you hooked, though a lot of the plot is pretty cliched (again, Fiction Workshop. Ripping this to shreds). But still, it is entertaining. This book would go under the category of "Mind Candy." They're quick, they're fun, they keep you hooked (I have to say that right after I finished the second book, I literally ran to Borders and bought the third).

I have a lot more to say about the second and third books, but those are for another post!

Bottom line: Though I was thoroughly annoyed by the cliches and the "sooooooo's" and "OMGs!" and "WTFs?!" I would reccommend it. Perfect book for the beach, or laying on a hammock, sitting on the porch, etc, etc.

Grade: B

Book Review: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

The facts
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Published March 10, 2005

The summary
Rachel and Darcy have been best friends since, well, forever. The book starts out with Rachel remembering looking up the days of their thirtieth birthday in the fifth grade. They just recently had their birthdays -- Rachel's on a Wednesday, Darcy's on a Friday. Rachel relishes in the fact that her thirthieth birthday will be on a Sunday, while Darcy's will be on a Monday. Thus, giving us the backdrop of Rachel and Darcy's relationship. Darcy constantly outshines Rachel. Their friendship is a competition -- and Darcy always comes out on top.

Fast forward twenty years. It's Rachel's thirtieth birthday, and Darcy is still taking the spotlight. Darcy put together a "surprise" birthday party for Rachel at a local bar. But really, it's all about Darcy. As Darcy gets incredibly drunk, her fiance, Dexter, persuades Darcy to go home -- she's had quite enough tequila. Once Darcy leaves, the party dissapates, leaving Rachel with Dex. Rachel and Dex end up going to a few more bars. One thing leads to another, and Rachel finds herself in bed with Dex the next morning.

At first, Rachel is horrifed that she slept with her best friend's fiance. Slowly, Rachel realizes that maybe it wasn't such a horrible mistake. Throughout the book, Rachel poses the situation as if on trial (she went to law school and is now a lawyer). She puts forth to the reader the wrong-doings of Darcy, and how sleeping with Dex is justified. Rachel waffles often though, thinking about the times Darcy was actually a good friend. And they've been best friends forever. Regardless of this fact, Rachel and Dex continue to see each other behind Darcy's back. Rachel finds herself falling in love with her best friend's fiance. Two of Rachel's good friends whom she confided with urge her to make a decision with Dex: either he leaves Darcy, or she leaves Dex. Rachel keeps on putting off the big discussion as the wedding date gets closer and closer. As Rachel delves into her past, trying to grapple with her situation, she realizes how much of a push over she was and how she let Darcy win. Rachel doesn't want Darcy to win anymore. Dex is Rachel's soulmate. Now, the question is, who will he choose?

The verdict
I enjoyed reading this book, however, I felt a little uneasy with it. Firstly, Rachel is having an affair with her best friend's fiance. Don't ever have affairs with your best friend's fiance. Not a good idea. And not only is Darcy her best friend, Rachel is also the maid of honor. Oy. Secondly, this affair goes on for MONTHS without any decisions made. The book really makes you feel uncomfortable and on edge with Rachel and Dex with Rachel's flashbacks to her childhood with Darcy and then the way Rachel is so deceptive with Darcy. I kept on flip flopping between who I wanted to win -- Darcy or Rachel. Thirdly, Rachel seems way too obsessed with Darcy. Like Notes on a Scandal obsessed. It's a little unsettling.

Anyhow, moral lessons and weird obsessive behavior aside, this was a pretty good read. It definitely pulls you in. I like the transformation of Rachel from a quiet, closed-off push-over to a more assertive, independent woman. It's kind of an underdog story -- Darcy is certainly painted in an unkind light for most of the book, and you do end up rooting for Rachel. Though she still sort of acts like a push over. And you do sort of feel like screaming at a fictional character to grow a pair and do something. But, SPOILER ALERT, Rachel does end up winning at the end. But at the cost of a lifelong friend.

I kind of wish Rachel dumped Dex. Sheesh.

Grade:  B

Book Review: Priceless by Nicole Richie

The facts

Priceless by Nicole Richie

Published September 28, 2010

The summary

When New York socialite Charlotte Williams returns home from Paris, she finds that her life has completely changed. Her father has been arrested for embezzlement and sent to a federal prison. Charlotte's pampered lifestyle is no more. In order to escape the chaos and scrutiny of New York City, Charlotte runs away to New Orleans where her former caretaker, Miss Millie, lives. There, Charlottle befriends Kat, fashonista and owner of a vintage clothing store. Kat is from a very influential family in New Orleans, and Charlotte ends up getting a job at her father's restaurant. She also starts singing with Miss Millie's son, Jackson, and his jazz band. As Charlotte and Jackson wow New Orleans with their music, they discover feelings for each other. Charlotte's life in New Orleans seems to be taking a turn for the better: she has found love, friends, a job and a renewed passion for singing. However, Charlotte has a murderous stalker on her tail from New York City and a malicious website posting cruel things about the ex-socialite. Things get dangerous when Charlotte lets her guard down.

The verdict
It's pretty much your typical spoiled-brat-fancy-pants-socialite-falls-from-grace-discovers-she-was-a-horrible-person-and-then-betters-herself-and-her-life. It's also a bit unrealistic in some parts as well (she burns down a Yale building because things weren't going so well with her boyfriend. Really? And, SPOILER ALERT, her stalker jumps off a train into a fountain and impales himself on the fountain. Really??) The suspense is lacking and it's a bit predictable (of course Charlotte and Jackson end up together. Even though he hated her guts when she came to New Orleans. But she's so darn pretty. AND she can sing!) That being said, I did enjoy Priceless. It does have a good message -- not-so-good people can change and become truly good and better people. Also, even if the situation looks bad, you can turn it around if you work hard and try. It was also entertaining, though ridiculous at times. But ridiculous isn't always a bad thing. Another good beach read for when it's (finally) summertime!

The grade  
B+

Book Review: Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

The facts:

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

Published: February 26, 2008

The summary:

25 year old Lexi Smart is just going about her normal life, trying to get by working at a carpet store. During a night out with her friends, Lexi takes a tumble and ends up in the hopsital. When she wakes up, Lexi is bemoans the fact that she missed her father's funeral. However, Lexi slowly realizes that things seem a little funny. For starters, her teeth are perfectly straight -- nothing like that former teeth she had that earned her the nickname "Snaggletooth." Her body is toned, her hair sleek and shiny. When Lexi asks for her things, the nurse hands her a Chanel purse. This is nothing like she used to be. How could have her whole life changed so much over the course of a few days in the hospital? Lexi has a revelation when the doctor asks her what year it is. She was convinced that it was 2004, but upon looking at the newspaper, Lexi realizes that it is 2007.

Lexi can't remember the past three years of her life. She finds out that she was in a car accident (in a Mercedes!) that landed her in the hospital this time. She has a millionaire husband (!!) and lives in an expansive, expensive loft with a housekeeper. Lexi has landed herself in the most perfect, fairy-tale life. But is it so perfect? At work, her friends have turned on her, calling her "bitch boss." Her husband, though a millionaire and completely gorgeous, slowly becomes not-so-perfect. Lexi pieces together the puzzle of her former life as she tries to figure out what to do with her current life.

The verdict:
Remember Me? is really funny and witty; I certainly enjoyed reading it. It's a little slow at the beginning, but picks up once Lexi realizes that it's 2007, not 2004. As I was reading it, I kept on thinking about Confessions of a Shopaholic. I LOVED Confessions of a Shopaholic (there's another review I need to do), and kept comparing the two. I felt that Remember Me? wasn't as funny as Confessions, but I still highly recommend it. It's definitely a good beach read, or travel-read (that what's I did -- read it in the airport and on the plane on my way back from Savannah!)

The grade: A