THE SUNDAY REVIEW | FREE DAYS WITH GEORGE - COLIN CAMPBELL

A heartwarming, true story about George, a rescue dog who helps his owner rediscover love and happiness. Marley & Me meets Tuesdays with Morrie and The Art of Racing in the Rain--get your tissues ready, animal lovers!

After Colin Campbell went on a short business trip abroad, he returned home to discover his wife of many years had moved out. No explanations. No second chances. She was gone and wasn’t coming back. Shocked and heartbroken, Colin fell into a spiral of depression and loneliness.
Soon after, a friend told Colin about a dog in need of rescue—a neglected 140-pound Newfoundland Landseer, a breed renowned for its friendly nature and remarkable swimming abilities. Colin adopted the traumatized dog, brought him home and named him George. Both man and dog were heartbroken and lacking trust, but together, they learned how to share a space, how to socialize, and most of all, how to overcome their bad experiences. At the same time, Colin relived childhood memories of his beloved grandfather, a decorated war hero and a man who gave him hope when he needed it most.

Then everything changed. Colin was offered a great new job in Los Angeles, California. He took George with him and the pair began a new life together on the sunny beaches around L.A. George became a fixture in his Hermosa Beach neighborhood, attracting attention and giving affection to everyone he met, warming hearts both young and old. Meanwhile, Colin headed to the beach to rekindle his love for surfing, but when George encountered the ocean and a surfboard for the first time, he did a surprising thing—he jumped right on the board. Through surfing, George and Colin began a life-altering adventure and a deep healing process that brought them back to life. As their story took them to exciting new heights, Colin learned how to follow George’s lead, discovering that he may have rescued George but that in the end, it was George who rescued him. Free Days with George is an uplifting, inspirational story about the healing power of animals, and about leaving the past behind to embrace love, hope and happiness. - Goodreads

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I was nervous about this book. I love animals; in many cases, I love them more than people. I feel an over-developed need to protect them and can't handle anything bad happening to them, even on the page. Because more often than not bad things do happen to them in books and films, I normally avoid reading or watching animal stories.

But this one tweaked my interest. It's the true story of a man who, after separating from his wife, finds himself alone and depressed. Outside of work, his life has fallen apart - he spends most of his time collapsed on his couch, drinking and watching TV. Then a friend suggests opening his home to a dog who is also in need of some safety and comfort. This suggestion, though at first seemingly crazy, ends up changing Colin's life.

After resisting for a few months, Colin finally starts browsing online websites featuring dogs who need a home, and stumbles across one that makes him pause. It's a dog with dark, soulful eyes that seem to contain immense wisdom and sadness. That these dark, soulful eyes belong to a 140-pound Newfoundland Landseer is both an exciting and terrifying prospect. Exciting because Newfoundlands are a gentle people-loving breed with a particular affinity for the water - they have often been used as water rescue dogs. Having grown up swimming, lifeguarding and surfing, Colin is also a water-lover. But it is also terrifying because Newfoundlands are huge - both in size and responsibility. They take up a lot of space, and they require a lot of attention.

So it's with no small amount of trepidation that Colin sets off to meet his prospective new pet.

I'm sure you can see where this story is going - the gigantic dog is soon riding shotgun in Colin's life (and car) and has changed... well, pretty much everything.

I won't say any more than that, because experiencing first-hand the relationship that develops, stutteringly at first, between Colin and George the massive Newfoundland Landseer is one of the most wonderful reading experiences any animal-lover can have. Suffice it to say that I picked this book up one evening intending to read a few pages, and next thing I knew it was 2AM and I was halfway through.

Reading this book brought tears to my eyes as often as it made me laugh with glee, and by the time I'd finished the book (the day after I started it - it would have been the same day had I started it in the morning), I was happier and more hopeful than I'd been in a long time. This is a story that will remind you what an amazing healing power love can have - whether it comes from another person or from a creature with fur and four legs. It will also remind you that sometimes taking a chance is rewarding in more ways than you could possibly imagine.

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On a serious note, I hope this book will also inspire readers who have been considering adopting a pet to rescue one instead. There are thousands of animals in need of a home, and trust me when I say that love you get from adding a pet to your life is worth so much more than the cost of adopting and feeding it. And remember, sometimes good things come in large packages! Larger dogs (as well as those with disabilities and older dogs) have a hard time finding homes - so if you've got the space in your home, yard and heart, please consider taking in a larger dog like a Newfoundland Landseer!

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**Thanks to Random House Canada for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

Book Title: Free Days With George
Author: Colin Campbell
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Doubleday Canada
Released: May 12, 2015
Genre: Memoir, Animal
Pages: 224

Date Read: July 16-18, 2015
Rating: 9/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | A LITTLE LIFE - HANYA YANAGIHARA

Brace yourself for the most astonishing, challenging, upsetting, and profoundly moving book in many a season. An epic about love and friendship in the twenty-first century that goes into some of the darkest places fiction has ever traveled and yet somehow improbably breaks through into the light. Truly an amazement—and a great gift for its publisher.

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.

In rich and resplendent prose, Yanagihara has fashioned a tragic and transcendent hymn to brotherly love, a masterful depiction of heartbreak, and a dark examination of the tyranny of memory and the limits of human endurance. - Goodreads

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The first thing I need to say is that no matter what I write, my review will not do this book justice. The second thing I need to say is that this book will destroy you. And you will be grateful.

A Little Life is a story of friendship, of loyalty and of finding the strength to face the unimaginable - both good and bad. It begins with four friends, Willem, Jude, Malcolm and JB, who are college grads trying to make their way in New York. The story follows these four (mainly Jude and Willem) through nearly 40 years of their lives - but the story will spend as much time in the past as it does moving forward. Which it must in order for us to understand the gravity of decisions made and trust forged and broken. 

At the centre of this story is Jude St. Francis, a young man whose incredible intellect is housed in person who is so deeply damaged (physically, mentally and emotionally) that even his friends don't know the horrors his past contains.  

Jude is not easy to get to know. It isn't until about halfway through the book that you begin to see him take shape. Yanagihara took her time, she teased out his story one small thread at a time, just enough to keep the story moving and not a millimeter more. But despite her slow, deliberate and purposeful pace, I found that she addressed my questions almost as soon as I'd formed them in my mind. I'd wonder about a particular aspect of a character or the plot, and within half a chapter, she would have started providing answers (or at least discussed the lack thereof). The information she holds back she holds back because there's a better time and place in the story to reveal it, and I learned to trust that she knows what she's doing. 

Next to Jude, the most important character in the book is Willem. In contrast to Jude, who is aggressively private, Willem is open - sunny, even. Though he is promiscuous with women, he is fiercely loyal to his friends - above all to Jude. He is Jude's friend, roommate and protector. The book is formed around these two characters, and their steadfast friendship will serve as a beautiful counterpoint to the immense pain you will discover between the covers of this book.

Though the premise sounds simple - the story of four college friends growing up - it is anything but. This book tackles every shade of human experience and emotion you can imagine, along with a few you probably can't. So don't let the description fool you; this book will shock you. And I suspect that no matter who you are, there is a line, a page, a chapter (maybe even more than one) in this book that will stop you in your tracks and make you feel like Yanagihara wandered into your head and stole your innermost thoughts. As Alan Bennett put it:

“The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.” - Alan Bennett, The History Boys

This is an intensely personal book - not only because it deals in the secrets and personal lives of its characters, but because it will become personal to everyone who reads it. If you are human, this book will affect you.

It's also a very long book, and what makes it even more challenging is that, while the writing is a flowing style that would normally have you reading all night, the content won't allow for marathon reading. I found that I couldn't read more than 50 pages (100 tops but that was really hard) at a time. The emotional impact was such that it became physically uncomfortable to keep reading and I had to step out of the book and give myself some respite.

Which leads me into a very important piece of advice: Do not start this book when you're feeling vulnerable or have PMS. It is not that kind of book. It is beautiful and terrifying and you will feel, at times, like you can't take anymore. It will shake you to the core. It will tear out your heart and tap-dance on it with stilettos.  But it will be worth it. Every tear you shed, every desperate attempt to abandon these characters, every time you go back to them because you just have to know what happens - in the end this book is worth it. These characters are worth it. Because they come alive on the page, and you will be as invested in their lives as if they were part of your own family.

I read this book as a buddy read with Julianne from Outlandish Lit, and honestly I don't know if I could have handled it without her! I know it affected her deeply as well. She talks a little bit about her experience with the book in this post. 

A further word of warning: While I don't want to go into specifics as it's important to let Yanagihara unfold the story as she sees fit, this book tackles deeply upsetting and disturbing topics, and does so in great detail. If you find it difficult to read graphic content, or if you are triggered by the topic of abuse (and its considerable psychological aftermath), proceed with extreme caution!

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Book Title: A Little Life
Author: Hanya Yanagihara
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Doubleday
Released: March 10, 2015
Genre: Fiction, Character-Driven
Pages: 720

Date Read: March 26 - April 18, 2015
Rating: 10/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT - JUDY BLUME

In her highly anticipated new novel, Judy Blume, the New York Times # 1 best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, creates a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by unexpected events.

In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place—Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable,” Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.

In the Unlikely Event is vintage Judy Blume, with all the hallmarks of Judy Blume’s unparalleled storytelling, and full of memorable characters who cope with loss, remember the good times and, finally, wonder at the joy that keeps them going. - Goodreads

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I've only read one of Judy Blume's books for young readers (I know, I know), but when this book crossed my path, I was incurably curious.

It's an adult book, but I was surprised to discover that the majority of the characters from whose perspective it is written are teenagers. I suppose it's not a young adult book because of the way it's written and the length, but it feels like it's just barely over that line into adult fiction.

The majority of this story takes place in the 1950s, a time when air travel was new, girls were brought up to be "good," and pregnancy out of wedlock was still scandalous. Though the book has many characters and switches perspectives frequently, at the centre is Miri Ammerman, a 15-year-old who is living the most tumultuous year of her life.

It begins when she is out shopping with her mother, and a plane falls from the sky, nearly crashing right into them.Which is shocking enough, but that's not the end of it - two more planes crash into the town over the next several months. What follows is an account of how the community as a whole deals with the trauma, and how our key characters handle it (or don't).

Underpinning this traumatic event are the ongoing stories of Miri's family and the friends, and the secrets they're keeping. There's the mystery of Miri's father, who has never been a part of her life, and who her mother never talks about. There's Miri's best friend, whose mental and physical state take a sharp downturn following the crash. There's Miri's boyfriend, who lives in an orphanage and whose history isn't something he readily discusses. And there's Miri's mother, a beautiful woman who had Miri when she was a teenager, yet never seems to have any long-term relationships. Finally, there's the mystery of the crashes - is it really possible that they were just a freak coincidence, or is there something more sinister at play?

Blume does an excellent job of evoking her time-period. That she chose a catastrophe that played on the relatively recent advent of mass air travel was brilliant, since we tend to distrust what is new. Some of the theories cooked up by paranoid townspeople seem ridiculous now, but at the time, given how little many people understood of the workings of planes, was probably realistic. This naive view of the world and new technology is reflected in Miri's wide-eyed innocent and idealistic outlook on the world.

As I said at the beginning of this review, I have only read one other of Blume's books, but I think this story will have a familiar feel for her fans. Like her well-known books for teenagers, this book shows us the fallibility and vulnerability of its characters, as well as their strength and loyalty. It tackles important issues that affect people at different points in life, and reminds us that while we might make mistakes, particularly in intense circumstances, we're all striving to do our best by the ones we love.

I think the book was a bit longer than it needed to be, and there were a few too many characters. But nonetheless, it's got a lot of depth and substance to it, and is well worth the effort.

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**Thanks to Random House Canada for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

Book Title: In the Unlikely Event
Author: Judy Blume
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Doubleday Canada
Released: June 2, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction, Family, Character-Driven
Pages: 416

Date Read: June 13-29, 2015
Rating: 8/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE FEVER - MEGAN ABBOTT

The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community.

The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community.

As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town's fragile idea of security.

A chilling story about guilt, family secrets and the lethal power of desire, The Fever affirms Megan Abbot's reputation as "one of the most exciting and original voices of her generation" (Laura Lippman). - Goodreads

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This is going to be a short review. Not because I'm lazy or because my faculties have suddenly failed me, but because the less you know about this book going into it, the better.

When I started this book, I didn't even really know what genre it fit into. Mystery? Horror? Paranormal? Conspiracy theory? All of the above? By the time I was three quarters of the way through, I still wasn't sure.

The book starts with a girl having a seizure in class and ending up in a coma. Terrified, her classmates begin circulating information and rumours, trying to figure out what happened. Before anyone even has a chance to figure out what happened to her, another girl has had a seizure. Soon, three, then four girls are experiencing symptoms. The town is in a panic. Parents are demanding answers and placing blame, the CDC and law enforcement are conducting interviews, and every teenaged girl is wondering if she's next.

As the book continues, theories get wilder and wilder, progressing from suspicions about an HPV vaccine to the supernatural. And as a reader, I came up with plenty of wild theories myself.

I liked that this book kept me guessing - that every time I thought the book had finally showed its hand, the narrative shifted. And though the characters made me uncomfortable, they were consistently developed and fit into this odd plot arc flawlessly.

I read this book with another blogger and good friend of mine, Julianne from Outlandish Lit. This was a great book for a buddy read. The chapters are a manageable length, and the plot moves along fast enough to provide talking points at every chapter break.

I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys twists and turns in their plot, and if you're looking for a buddy or YA book club selection, give this some consideration.

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Book Title: The Fever
Author: Megan Abbott
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Little Brown & Company
Released: June 17, 2014
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult, Suspense
Pages: 303

Date Read: February 27-March 17, 2015
Rating: 6/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WE SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS - CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE

In this personal, eloquently-argued essay — adapted from her much-admired TEDx talk of the same name — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning author of Americanah, offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century, one rooted in inclusion and awareness. Drawing extensively on her own experiences and her deep understanding of the often masked realities of sexual politics, here is one remarkable author's exploration of what it means to be a woman now — and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists. - Goodreads
 

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If you only ever read one book about feminism, make it this book. If you're having a hard time making anyone in your life understand why feminism is important, this book makes a perfect argument on your behalf.

Succinct, no-nonsense and above all a really sensible explanation of what feminism is and why we (still) need it. Required reading for.... everyone.

I think it took me less than an hour to read this book, but  I felt like I got more out of it than out of several other books I've read on the subject that were more than four times longer.

I feel that a short review is fitting for this deceptively thin volume, but if you don't want to spend the time reading it, you can watch the video instead:

In short? Read it. Keep it by your side to dip into whenever you're feeling dismal about the inequality around you. This book is a vision of what I hope the future will bring.

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Book Title: We Should All Be Feminists
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Series: No
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Knopf Canada
Released: February 3, 2015 (First published July 29, 2014)
Genre: Essay, Feminism, Human Rights
Pages: 48

Date Read: April 4, 2015
Rating: 10/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LIFE AFTER LIFE - KATE ATKINSON

 

"Is there Life After Life, chance after chance to rewrite one's destiny? That is the question posed by Atkinson's tale and brought to life by the miracle of her talent." --Toronto Star

What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? 

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath. 

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale.

What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to?

Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, she finds warmth even in life's bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here is Kate Atkinson at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves. - Goodreads

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This book has been on my radar for a very long time, but every time I've picked it up, I've had to put it back down to finish another book first, and that just seemed to keep happening. When A God In Ruins appeared on the horizon, I figured this was the perfect kick in the butt I needed to finally pull this one off the shelf and finally find out what all the fuss was about. Very glad I did.

Now, if you've been around my blog for a while, you'll know that I don't normally do a whole log of historical fiction. I don't normally do science fiction (even sci fi lite), either. So this book, in terms of its premise, was a complete departure for me. But. There are a few things that saved it and made it very much my kind of thing.

First of all, the historical period that forms the background to this memorable set of stories (that particular choice of words will be explained further into this review) is England from just prior to the first world war up until the 1960s. This is one of the few historical periods (and locations - the location is important) I have a genuine interest in.

Going into the book I was also very nervous about the time travel aspect of the book. The main character, Ursula, experiences a strange phenomenon whereby if she dies she goes back in time and gets a do-over. I'm usually pretty suspicious of books with any kind of time travel, because there's nearly always some glaring inconsistency created by the time travel that distracts me from the plot early on and by the end has me hating the whole experience. I just can't suspend disbelief to the level of ignoring plot holes so large you could drive a Mack truck through them. Fortunately, the time travel aspect in this book was dealt with perfectly. Atkinson uses it as a way to rewind the story and tell a similar but different one, so at any point in the book you're only reading one linear plot.

What I enjoyed most was that because of the do-overs built into the story, if you don't really like how her life is going, all you have to do is wait. In a few chapters, she'll be a different person in a different life - maybe even in a different place.Which was good, because I didn't get along with every incarnation of Ursula. Some I actively disliked, and others I just felt so terrible for that it was nearly impossible to keep reading. The story, in addition to rewinding and being written over, also jumps between time periods and characters, which helps us connect to and understand other members of Ursula's family and community.

The only problem I had with this book was that by the end it was getting a little bit difficult to keep track of the details that still applied to the current version from the past two or three. I wasn't too confused to be able to follow and enjoy the book, but I did feel like the size of Ursula's family and the addition of friends and community members meant that keeping track of what was the same and what had changed whenever her story rewound was difficult. That said, it's very likely this was more a result of my advanced age and failing faculties than of the book itself, and you probably won't have any trouble with it at all.

On a personal note, this book fascinated me because of my not-too-distant British roots. I feel a connection to England during the wars - particularly since some of my extended family lived through them. I've heard stories of how my paternal grandmother's love of reading was born during the blitz when she passed long hours in bunkers by reading books. Though reading about the horrors of the war isn't exactly fun, it does fill me with awe and respect for those who "kept calm and carried on."

I think that this book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys richly character-driven plots, historical fiction, and likes the idea of jumping between stories, time periods and perspectives. It's masterfully conceived and executed, and even the unlikable characters become interesting as you learn more about their inner workings in various permutations. It takes a little while to get into, but is well worth the effort.

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Book Title: Life After Life
Author: Kate Atkinson
Series: Yes
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Anchor Canada
Released: January 1, 2013
Genre: Fiction, Paranormal, Historical Fiction
Pages: 480

Date Read: April 30-May 12, 2015
Rating: 7/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE - ANN PACKER

From the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of The Dive From Clausen's Pier, a sweeping, masterful new novel that explores the secrets and desires, the remnant wounds and saving graces of one California family, over the course of five decades.

Bill Blair finds the land by accident, three wooded acres in a rustic community south of San Francisco. The year is 1954, long before anyone will call this area Silicon Valley. Struck by a vision of the family he has yet to create, Bill buys the property on a whim. In Penny Greenway he finds a suitable wife, a woman whose yearning attitude toward life seems compelling and answerable, and they marry and have four children. Yet Penny is a mercurial housewife, at a time when women chafed at the conventions imposed on them. She finds salvation in art, but the cost is high.

Thirty years later, the three oldest Blair children, adults now and still living near the family home, are disrupted by the return of the youngest, whose sudden presence and all-too-familiar troubles force a reckoning with who they are, separately and together, and set off a struggle over the family's future. One by one, the siblings take turns telling the story--Robert, a doctor like their father; Rebecca, a psychiatrist; Ryan, a schoolteacher; and James, the malcontent, the problem child, the only one who hasn't settled down-their narratives interwoven with portraits of the family at crucial points in their history. - Goodreads

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First things first, let's just take a moment to admire that cover, shall we? Okay, now, on to my thoughts. 

This book begins with Bill Blair. Fresh from military service, he is looking for a new start at life in California. He finds a tract of land where he can picture a house under the shade of a huge oak tree. He falls in love with the land, and with the life he can imagine there. His imagined life soon comes to include Penny, a young woman he meets by chance. 

Cut to several years and four children later. The house is built, Bill is a pediatrician with a thriving practice and Penny is struggling to handle four children and still find time for her artistic passions. Our first real introduction to the Blairs is when the children are still quite young. Robert is the oldest, serious and prone to nervous stomachaches. Then comes Rebecca, observant and smart as a whip. Next is Ryan, a soft-hearted, affectionate boy - and the only of the four children to attend an alternative school. The youngest, James, is a ball of energy. He's the most demanding of attention, often causing mischief and upsetting Penny. 

It's hard to describe this family without giving away any of the details of the adults they will become. Because the details are the entire point of this story. I found it fascinating to see how the personalities and characteristics each had as children translated into the life choices they made as adults - often leading them to their careers and partners. Each sibling is unique, yet their communal upbringing has shaped each life and created a shared history that affects every interaction the siblings have.

I loved how this book was structured. The perspective of the book shifts seamlessly between family members, and shows us the inner workings of each. This allows us to really get to know and care for every character. None of them are perfect - nor is their family (but what family is?), and yet they balance one another well, and each has one aspect of their personality that sets them apart from the others. 

As an only child, I found this insider's view of a lively brood of siblings riveting. The ways their roles reflect their relationships with one another, and how they can never quite manage to change them - no matter how many years or life changes intervene. 

This was undeniably a great read. I'm not big on family sagas - I don't know what it is, but they often lose me. Something about the pacing and focus that can drag for me, even when it's well done. That said, this was one of the best I've read, and I found that I was more drawn into the story and more attached to the characters than I expected to be. If you are a fan of family sagas (or if you haven't been in the past but want to try again), this is one you will definitely want to pick up ASAP. 

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**Thanks to Scribner on Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

Book Title: The Children's Crusade
Author: Ann Packer
Series: No
Edition: Electronic
Published By: Scribner
Released: April 7, 2015
Genre: Fiction, Family, Character-Driven
Pages: 448

Date Read: April 6-May 4, 2015
Rating: 8/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE - ALAN BRADLEY

Winner of the 2007 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger

A delightfully dark English mystery, featuring precocious young sleuth Flavia de Luce and her eccentric family.

The summer of 1950 hasn’t offered up anything out of the ordinary for eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce: bicycle explorations around the village, keeping tabs on her neighbours, relentless battles with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, and brewing up poisonous concoctions while plotting revenge in their home’s abandoned Victorian chemistry lab, which Flavia has claimed for her own.

But then a series of mysterious events gets Flavia’s attention: A dead bird is found on the doormat, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. A mysterious late-night visitor argues with her aloof father, Colonel de Luce, behind closed doors. And in the early morning Flavia finds a red-headed stranger lying in the cucumber patch and watches him take his dying breath. For Flavia, the summer begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw: “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

Did the stranger die of poisoning? There was a piece missing from Mrs. Mullet’s custard pie, and none of the de Luces would have dared to eat the awful thing. Or could he have been killed by the family’s loyal handyman, Dogger… or by the Colonel himself! At that moment, Flavia commits herself to solving the crime — even if it means keeping information from the village police, in order to protect her family. But then her father confesses to the crime, for the same reason, and it’s up to Flavia to free him of suspicion. Only she has the ingenuity to follow the clues that reveal the victim’s identity, and a conspiracy that reaches back into the de Luces’ murky past.

A thoroughly entertaining romp of a novel, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is inventive and quick-witted, with tongue-in-cheek humour that transcends the macabre seriousness of its subject. - Goodreads

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I thoroughly enjoyed Flavia de Luce. An eleven-year-old budding chemist, Flavia is part of a privileged family and lives in a mansion (seriously, it has wings and her own chemistry lab) with her father, sisters and the gardener/jack-of-all trades, Dogger. 

Flavia is something of a loner. Her mother died, and her father is distant. Her older sister Ophelia is vain and only interested in primping and flirting. Daphne, Flavia's other sister, lives in the fictional worlds of her beloved books and has little attention for the real world. Flavia's discovery of a chemistry lab that had belonged to a now-deceased family member led her to an interest and area of expertise all her own (and as a bonus, it also provides her with the means for petty revenge against her irritating siblings). 

One morning Flavia wanders out into the garden... and discovers a dead body. As a curious and tenacious child, Flavia cannot help following clues, despite being instructed by the police to leave the investigation alone. 

Before long she has found some disturbing information tying her father to the murder victim, and is forced to face the possibility that her father is at the very least caught in a murderous web, and at worst is a murderer. 

Flavia is such a winningly precocious character that I couldn't help but be won over by her. It helped that she was strongly reminiscent of some of my favourite childhood literary idols - from Nancy Drew to Trixie Belden to Harriet the Spy. Though the plot does challenge credulity at times, I found it easy to want to suspend my disbelief and trail Flavia as she fearlessly sets off to find out exactly what happened to the man in the cucumber patch. 

Related backlist reads:

• The Nancy Drew mysteries by Carolyn Keene (for young readers)
• The Trixie Belden mysteries by Julie Campbell and Kathryn Kenny (for young readers)
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (for young readers)
• The Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear (my review of Maisie Dobbs)
• The Maggie Hope books by Susan Elia MacNeal (my review of Mr. Churchill's Secretary)

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Book Title: The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie
Author: Alan Bradley
Series: Yes - Flavia de Luce
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Anchor Canada
Released: November 10, 2009
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 400

Date Read: March 22-April 2, 2015
Rating: 7/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | GOD HELP THE CHILD - TONI MORRISON

The new novel from Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.
Spare and unsparing, God Help the Child is a searing tale about the way childhood trauma shapes and misshapes the life of the adult. At the center: a woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life; but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love until she told a lie that ruined the life of an innocent woman, a lie whose reverberations refuse to diminish . . . Booker, the man Bride loves and loses, whose core of anger was born in the wake of the childhood murder of his beloved brother . . . Rain, the mysterious white child, who finds in Bride the only person she can talk to about the abuse she's suffered at the hands of her prostitute mother . . . and Sweetness, Bride's mother, who takes a lifetime to understand that "what you do to children matters. And they might never forget." - Goodreads

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There's something special about how Toni Morrison writes. She has a particular skill for writing prose that seems, at first glance, to be very simple. The language she uses isn't complex; her words are short and utilitarian. Her delivery is blunt and to the point. And yet. 

By the time I was halfway through this book I realized that her language wasn't simple, rather it was efficient. Economical. Exactly what was needed to provide maximum impact and not a flowery syllable more. This uncomplicated prose evokes a sense of vulnerability when it comes to her characters that cuts deep and bleeds you dry.

This book isn't long - it's only 178 pages (with wide-spaced text). So it's not a huge commitment and shouldn't take you long to get through. But it will be with you for long after you close its covers and place it back on the shelf with a lingering look. 

The book centres on Bride, the blacker than black daughter of light-skinned parents. Her mother and father both react badly to her dark skin - her father refuses to believe she's his and leaves, her mother avoids any physical contact with Bride. This upbringing leaves her both emotionally stunted, and driven to prove her worth. 

Years later, she is a successful businesswoman with an exotic beauty that draws attention wherever she goes. She is in a relationship with a man she enjoys, but knows very little about - exactly how she likes it. Then one day he dumps her and leaves, giving her no explanation. This is the first in a chain of events that will force her to confront her past and the indelible marks it left on her, and to really consider the shallowness with which she has been living her life.

The chapters swap perspective between Bride, the people in her life - among them her best friend, ex-boyfriend, mother - and a third person omniscient viewpoint that takes over when their stories cross. Through these different perspectives we learn what motivates the choices each makes, how they view Bride (and how she thinks they view her) and how the main characters evolve. 

God Help the Child, while short enough to be devoured in a single sitting, requires more attention than that. Despite Morrison's straightforward style, there are lines and passages that are so poetically evocative that they stand out in sharp relief against her prose and take your breath away. These passages will force you to stop, re-read, and revel in their beauty. 

If you can't tell by now, I'm blown away by this book. It is one of those rare reading experiences that isn't quite comfortable, isn't quite what you expect it to be, and isn't quite a happy story... but it will make you feel privileged to read it. This book may be fictional, but it holds more truth and observes more about human nature than anything you'll find in a work of non-fiction.

Some of my favourite quotes from the book:

"I don't think many people appreciate silence or realize that it is as close to music as you can get." - p. 69

"The moon was a toothless grin and even the stars, seen through the tree limb that had fallen like a throttling arm across the windshield, frightened her. The piece of sky she could glimpse was a dark carpet of gleaming knives pointed at her and aching to be released." - p. 83

"Whether he was lying under her body, hovering above it or holding her in his arms, her blackness thrilled him. Then he was certain that he not only held the night, he owned it, and if the night he held in his arms was not enough, he could always see starlight in her eyes." - p. 133

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**Thanks to Random House Canada for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

Book Title: God Help the Child
Author: Toni Morrison
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Knopf Canada
Released: April 21, 2015
Genre: Fiction, Character-Driven
Pages: 178

Date Read: April 17-21, 2015
Rating: 10/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD - JENNIFER EGAN

Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. With music pulsing on every page, A Visit from the Goon Squad is a startling, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption. - Goodreads

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This book has been on my TBR list for longer than I'd care to admit. In January, I decided it was time to try and get through some of my backlist reads, and this is where I chose to start. And I went into it with high hopes. It's also a Pulitzer Prize winner, which further raised my expectations.

It's really difficult to sum up what this book is about, because it's kind of about everything. Each chapter is like its own story. The stories all overlap with one another and have characters in common with each other - and they all have a connection to either Bernie the record exec or his secretary Sasha. The chapters are interwoven, but they're not in any kind of linear pattern. It's difficult to keep track, particularly since the stories jump around between different characters as well as different time periods.

This means that you have to read with close attention (maybe even make a list) and whatever you do, don't put the book down and try to come back to it later. Which is what I did, and man, did it complicate things!

Despite my difficulty keeping track of some of the characters, I have to admit that this book showcases some incredibly poignant writing. It's easy to see why it received such a prestigious award, and why it stands out. There really aren't any other books I can think of that bear any similarity to this book - either in terms of scope or structure.

It is perhaps because of this poignancy that I found myself needing to put the book down. The stories reveal the inner lives of characters dealing with a whole range of situations and events, and many of them aren't particularly happy. It's difficult to read at times, and will evoke an emotional response that can be a bit overwhelming, but also makes the book feel authentic. It shows the split between the persona each character projects to the people in their lives, and the hidden parts of themselves they don't let anyone see. It can be hard to look at the brutal truth, and even harder to witness one brutal truth after another.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys complex characters, fantastic writing and who isn't turned off by some abrasive and difficult personalities.

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Book Title: A Visit from the Goon Squad
Author: Jennifer Egan
Series: No
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Anchor Books
Released: September 2011 (first published 2010)
Genre: Fiction, Character-Driven, Experimental
Pages: 386

Date Read: January 8-March 17, 2015
Rating: 7/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BLACK DOVE WHITE RAVEN - ELIZABETH WEIN

A new historical thriller masterpiece from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth Wein

Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's survived, determined to raise Teo according to his late mother's wishes-in a place where he won't be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat.

Seeking a home where her children won't be held back by ethnicity or gender, Rhoda brings Em and Teo to Ethiopia, and all three fall in love with the beautiful, peaceful country. But that peace is shattered by the threat of war with Italy, and teenage Em and Teo are drawn into the conflict. Will their devotion to their country, its culture and people, and each other be their downfall or their salvation?

In the tradition of her award-winning and bestselling Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein brings us another thrilling and deeply affecting novel that explores the bonds of friendship, the resilience of young pilots, and the strength of the human spirit. - Goodreads

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This is the first Elizabeth Wein book I've read, but she's legendary for her WWII historical fiction novels, Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire. I've been meaning to read them for quite some time, so when I saw this book on the list of upcoming releases, I jumped at the chance to finally read some of her work. And she completely lived up to her reputation.

In her newest novel, Wein takes on a new locale and time period - and populates her historical landscape with some memorable characters bent on defying the rules of the time and place they were born to.

It begins with two female stunt pilots, Rhoda and Delia, one of whom is white and the other black. They're both American, but Rhoda is married to an Italian military pilot with whom she has a daughter, and Delia's son is the child of an Ethiopian government official she met in Paris. The two women are best friends, and they do stunt flying exhibitions.

The pair are unstoppable, taking on every challenge that comes their way fearlessly. Until one day tragedy strikes - during one of their flights, a bird hits their plane mid-flight and it crashes, killing Delia and injuring Rhoda.

It takes some time for Rhoda to recover - both physically and mentally. Her family takes care of her and both her daughter, Em, and Delia's son, Teo. Over time she gets better and decides that she must realize Delia's dream of moving the children to Ethiopia so that Teo might know his homeland. She leaves the kids and sets off for Africa, where she secures a plane from her husband and hooks up with a clinic, flying the doctor to remote areas and taking photographs to sell to magazines. Once she's set up a home and established a way to support them, she sends for the kids who quickly become at home in the Ethiopian countryside, abandoning shoes for bare feet and learning the local language and customs.

For several years their lives are wonderful and full of adventures and childhood fun... until the threat of conflict with Italian forces stationed on the Eritrean border looms, and a revelation about Teo's father shatters their idyllic lives.

Despite misgivings, Rhoda begins teaching the children how to fly so that if Teo is forced to fight, at least he won't be on the ground wielding a spear against an army with machine guns.

This book was not, in any way, what I expected. And yet, it was one that thrilled and shocked me page after page. This is not a conflict I had any prior knowledge of, nor was I well versed on Ethiopian history. While this book was a work of fiction, it was obviously well-researched, and Wein created such a vibrant cast of characters that I felt like I was right there with them as they took to the sky and faced some of their biggest fears.

This is one of those books that will have you at the edge of your seat as you're reading, that will have you pausing to re-read particularly affecting lines, and that will stick with you well after you've closed its covers. It also may teach you a bit about a history you were previously unaware of - maybe even send you looking for more information. Which is always a good sign. I'm going to leave you with some of my favourite passages from the book.

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One of the wonderful things about this book is the sheer guts of the characters (and their love of being in the air). This passage took my breath away. It's a description Em gives of the first time her mother climbed out of her seat to wing-walk while Em was in control of the plane. Her mother had been the aerial acrobat when she few with Delia, but since Delia's death she had remained inside the plane... until now:

"She didn't answer. I glanced back at her again, holding the plane as steady as I could, and saw her step up out of her seat and set a foot calmly onto the body of the plane. She wasn't wearing a line or anything - she wasn't even holding on to one of the straps from her seat. I ground my teeth together, aware of her reaching up into the wires that crisscross between the lower wing and the upper wing. I snatched another glance backward and she was sanding on the fuselage behind me, hanging on to a wire with one hand and waving at the men below with broad, happy sweeps of her other arm. 

"It is true that we have written about Black Dove and White Raven doing exactly this in the air. But writing about it is not the same thing at all as trying to fly a plane while your mother is standing on top of it waving at people." - p. 174

At its heart, this is a story about courage. The courage it takes to be different, to buck societal norms and to doggedly pursue your goals. Each character in this book either serves to reinforce the limits placed on us by time, gender, race or politics - or demonstrates just how much can be accomplished if we choose to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds for what we believe in and those we love.

"Doing the thing you are scared of is much harder than not being afraid of anything. It is easy to be brave. It is not so easy to be scared and do a brave thing anyway." - p. 236

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**Thanks to Random House Canada for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!**

Book Title: Black Dove White Raven
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Doubleday Canada
Released: March 31, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction, Conflict, Ethiopia
Pages: 352

Date Read: March 18-25, 2015
Rating: 10/10

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THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SWAMPLANDIA! - KAREN RUSSELL

The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline — think Buddenbrooks set in the Florida Everglades — and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator-wrestling theme park, is swiftly being encroached upon by a sophisticated competitor known as the World of Darkness.

Ava, a resourceful but terrified twelve year old, must manage seventy gators and the vast, inscrutable landscape of her own grief. Her mother, Swamplandia!’s legendary headliner, has just died; her sister is having an affair with a ghost called the Dredgeman; her brother has secretly defected to the World of Darkness in a last-ditch effort to keep their sinking family afloat; and her father, Chief Bigtree, is AWOL. To save her family, Ava must journey on her own to a perilous part of the swamp called the Underworld, a harrowing odyssey from which she emerges a true heroine. - Goodreads

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You're not exactly going to have a normal childhood if you grow up wrestling alligators in a Florida swamp. But even by these standards, the Bigtree family is anything but ordinary. The story starts as Swamplandia!, an alligator-wrestling family's theme park, is in its decline. The park is located on an island off the Florida coast and houses up to 100 alligators (along with various other animals) at a given time. The park boasts a champion alligator-wrestler - Hilola Bigtree, wife to Chief Bigtree and mother to our main characters, Ava, Osceola and Kiwi Bigtree.

It sounds like a rich, exciting setting, doesn't it? But within the first hundred pages they've lost their champion alligator wrestler, Hilola Bigtree to cancer, and the park's founder (and the children's grandfather) Sawtooth Bigtree to the mental labyrinth of old age. Not only that, but another amusement park has opened up on the mainland that steals their audience away. It's a confluence of unfortunate circumstances that creates a variety of negative effects on Hilola's husband, Chief Bigtree, and their three children. It's not long before the audience begins to falter, the park is temporarily closed, Chief Bigtree disappears to the mainland in search of "investors," and the oldest sibling, Kiwi, has run away in search of more viable economic prospects to support the family.

The book started strong. I loved learning about alligators (particularly after playing with a baby gator named Elvis when I was in Louisiana - go here if you missed my pic) and imagining what it would be like to grow up watching your mother dive into a pit of live gators night after night. The potential of this fictional landscape is immense. I expected a sense of the magical, even if it wasn't magical realism. With such an overstated setting, how could there not be?

Unfortunately the magic I got wasn't the kind I was hoping for. Ossie, the middle child, becomes obsessed with the occult - going to far as to begin "dating" a series of ghosts. At first it seems this is just a socially isolated teen's imagination running riot. Until it isn't, and soon her fantasies have taken over, and whether they're real or not, they're creating real-life problems for her and her sister.

But I think the biggest difficulty I had with this book was that it opened on such a down note, and every time you think things are looking up, something else goes wrong. Which isn't to say stories have to be happy to be good - they don't. But I think it would have really helped if the story had opened earlier so we could have experienced the park's heyday and seen Hilola as an gator wrestler and mother before her death. This would have helped the reader become more invested in her family and home. But because she is gone, with Grandpa Bigtree and the park following, it's hard to want to stick with the story to find out what happens. It's just a real downer.

Based on the description of this book, I expected: Quirky kids. A setting fraught with contained threat (dangerous alligators handled as part of a show). A bit of magical realism and probably some overcoming of obstacles - real or imagined. Such potential for a thoroughly enjoyable literary romp.

What I got: a book that, while beautifully written, started on a down note and continued to descend from there. Neglected children. A depressing set of characters handling everything from mental instability to social awkwardness to dementia to assault to bankruptcy. Does that sound like fun?

I think this is a book that will appeal to a certain type of reader. If you are one who has the stamina for a story that twists and turns through dark territory but has passages of beautiful writing and does an amazing job of setting the scene, this is a book for you. Likewise if you are fascinated by the Florida swamplands and/or paranormal stories, there's a lot here that will appeal to you. But if you like more entertaining books that have bright, shiny magic, this may turn out to be a bit disappointing. Many people I've talked to have loved this book, so if you feel like this is a story you'll enjoy, don't be deterred. I feel like it's one you'll either love or hate - but either way, it'll leave a strong impression!

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Book Title: Swamplandia!
Author: Karen Russell
Series: No
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Vintage Books
Released: July 26, 2011
Genre: Fiction, Family, Character-Driven
Pages: 400

Date Read: March 2-9, 2015
Rating: 5 or 6/10

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THE SUNDAY (BOOK & MOVIE) REVIEW | THE DROP - DENNIS LEHANE

Dennis Lehane returns to the streets of Mystic River with this love story wrapped in a crime story wrapped in a journey of faith—the basis for the major motion picture The Drop, from Fox Searchlight Pictures directed by Michaël Roskam, screenplay by Dennis Lehane, and starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, and James Gandolfini.

Three days after Christmas, a lonely bartender looking for a reason to live rescues an abused puppy from a trash can and meets a damaged woman looking for something to believe in. As their relationship grows, they cross paths with the Chechen mafia; a man grown dangerous with age and thwarted hopes; two hapless stick-up artists; a very curious cop; and the original owner of the puppy, who wants his dog back. . . . - Goodreads

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This one of those very rare cases when I watched a movie based on a book and liked the movie so much that I wanted to read the book right away.

Strangely, I've had a lot of trouble figuring out what to say about this book - in no small part because the part that made me love it is a spoiler, so I can't share it. So instead, I'm going to talk about both the movie and the book, and my impressions of both after watching the film and reading the book.

This is the story of Bob, a quiet guy who works at his uncle's bar as a bartender. Outside of work, he doesn't have much in his life. He lives simply in the house he inherited from his parents, he isn't married, doesn't have any kids or other close family, and his only social interaction is at his church.

Then one night he's walking home from work, and he hears a noise in a garbage can. When he investigates, he discovers a pit bull puppy that was beaten and left for dead. As he's rescuing the dog, the woman whose garbage can the dog was dumped in comes out to check out what's going on. Before he knows it, Bob has a new dog, and a new friend.

But life isn't suddenly perfect for Bob - or for his dog Rosco and new friend Nadia. Bob's neighbourhood is home to plenty of illegal activity, and the bar he works at is used to launder money from illegal betting. Not only that, but his uncle has a chip on his shoulder and delusions of what the world owes him. Which is never a good combination.

Pretty soon Bob's dealing with his bar being robbed, gangsters coming after their missing money, and Rosco's owner (not a nice piece of work) who wants his dog back - and who just happens to have history with Nadia.

I really can't say anything else without giving away important plot points. I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick read, and on the surface there's not much to it. But I loved the way the characters are drawn and developed. Normally watching a movie before reading a book ruins some of the scope for imagination, but with this book I was really glad I did things in that order. The movie was perfectly cast, and having the on-screen images flashing through my mind as I read really added depth for me. I will say, however, that because the movie and book are so close (the author worked on the script, I believe), if you watch and read too closely, it will feel a bit repetitive. Which didn't bother me because I liked the story so much, but fair warning.

The film stars Tom Hardy in the role of Bob, Noomi Rapace as Nadia and James Gandolfini in his final role as Bob's cousin Marv. It's an all-star cast, and they do not disappoint.

Take a look at the trailer:



I'd highly recommend both the film and the book. Aside from anything else, if you're an animal lover like I am, watching Bob's attachment to his adopted puppy is completely heartwarming, and his dedication to his furry friend will make you feel like the world isn't such a horrible place after all.

***Spoiler ahead!!***

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Book Title: The Drop
Author: Dennis Lehane
Series: No
Edition: Paperback
Published By: William Morrow Paperbacks
Released: September 2, 2014 (first published January 1, 2014)
Genre: Fiction, Character-Driven, Suspense, Drama
Pages: 224

Date Read: January 24-February 8, 2015
Rating: 9/10

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A spoiler for the animal lovers:

If you're a big softie, this story will probably scare you. Dogs don't often fare very well in this kind of set-up. But you don't need to worry. I'm not going to tell you exactly what happens, but I will tell you that the dog lives - so if that's the only thing giving you pause, add this to your to-read and to-watch lists!

Click here to show/hide spoiler