Book Reviews

I’ve been really bad about keeping a list of books I’ve read recently. But here’s what I can remember…

Family and Forever by Karen Kingsbury: These are the last two books in her 2nd Baxter series (Firstborn series) and they were really great with a lot of focus on Katy and Dane and starting to show more of the Flannigan family (who are based on Ms. Kingsbury’s own family). I was sad to see the series come to an end, but there was another series that followed, which brings me to…

Sunset by Karen Kingsbury: I did everything all goofy, so I ended up reading bits and pieces of each series all at the same time, depending on which books I could get from which library. My church has them, and the 2 city libraries near here have them. But I was obviously not the only person to be reading them, so… Anyhow, this was the final installment of the 3rd and final Baxter series. They’ve already begun showing up as minor characters in the Above the Line series, but she says she’s done writing about them as the main characters. I loved this book, though it was bittersweet to have it end. And as a side note, it finally told me what the real point of having a VBAC was, as opposed to just wanting to do a natural birth for the heck of it. (FWIW, the answer is that it is better for a baby’s lungs to be pushed through the birth canal – more mucus and fluid is pushed out that way. I think I knew that, but that seemed to make more sense than the answer that I’ve heard from some about “I just want to know that I can do it” or whatnot.)
A Thousand Tomorrows by Karen Kingsbury: Obviously, I am a fan of this author. My grandmother gave me this book and I liked it, but I wished she hadn’t. It’s about 2 people who are rodeo participants who fall in love. That’s the good part. But the girl in the story has cystic fibrosis (what my nephews have) and she really struggles with it and the end of the book is very sad. There are lessons learned and a good point to the story, but I kind of wish I hadn’t read it, because when I think about it, it makes me sad for the kind of life that my nephews will have to lead eventually.
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin: My BFF gave me this book for my birthday and I really enjoyed it, even though it’s about a best friend who steals her friend’s fiancé only a few months before her wedding (the wedding was cancelled a week before the wedding date) and I kind of hate that sort of thing. But it was a fun book, despite that plotline and it intrigued me enough that I also read

Something Blue by Emily Giffin: This was the sequel to the above book and it talked about what the dumped friend did after she found out her best friend was having an affair with her fiancé. I remember telling my husband about halfway through the book that this girl was really stupid and if she never grew up, I was going to be really ticked off, but she did come to a mature realization at some point and did grow up and realized her mistakes and grew up. So that was good. I know that I tend to want to shake characters sometimes when they could so easily fix their problems by just COMMUNICATING or just doing one thing or whatever. I tend to get really wrapped up in what is going on in it and I think sometimes I bug my husband because I am always reading him some passage or talking about the plot like it’s real. But I liked the evolution of this character enough that I then went on to read…

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin: This is a new set of characters, but since they all originate in NYC somehow, the old characters are minor characters in this book (and in another there is a minor character from the first one as well) and it all flows well together. This one was good, and I liked the character, but I didn’t relate quite as well to her, since her big thing was that she didn’t want to have a child and I have never felt that way. I always knew I wanted to be a mother. But the character had a lot of depth and despite her anti-maternal feelings, I still understood her, which I thought was impressive. I am really loving this author.
Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin: I liked this one, because while I don't have exactly the same feelings for my ex (he's a real bastard), I do have an odd curiosity to run into him some how and show let him see how awesome my life is without him. With a handful of chapters to go, I was seriously debating how much damage would be done to the book if I threw it across the room if it actually ended where I thought it was heading... Since it was a library book, I was glad that she redeemed the character in the end and I didn't have to make that choice.
It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather Armstrong: I’ve mentioned this here* and here* so I won’t expound too much. But I love reading bloggers books and plan to read a couple more*(Rattled!) that are already out and buy a couple that are coming out* (Alexa) in the future* (Matt). And if someone would let me read her novel….
Mommy Tracked by Whitney Gaskell: I sort of just came across this book and author while perusing the stacks at the library and the title jumped out at me. It seemed light and my type of easy reading, so I grabbed it. It was great. Perfect for mommys who wonder if they are all alone in their stresses, no matter what those stresses happen to be. The characters are a single mother, a working mother of 2 (who has a stay at home house husband), a mother-to-be, and a SAH mother of 3 (or 4, now I can’t remember) and I loved it. So read this one the next time you need some mommy-related fun and encouragement.
Testing Kate by Whitney Gaskell: Once upon a time I volunteered at Teen Court for my community service credits in high school. I loved it. I loved being part of the legal system. (I’ll have to tell you more about the experience in another post) So this book about a law student and her friends at Tulane (New Orleans! I LOVE New Orleans!) was fun for me. It also was a good reminder that sometimes you have to take the time to figure out what it is you want to do with your life instead of just following the plan you THINK you’re on. A good lesson, sometimes.

I also attempted to read a book called SuperMom and I got about 5 or 6 chapters in and quit. Seriously. It was that bad. She was changed into a super hero by breathing in a bad mixture of cleaning products in an unventilated space. She squirted out cleaning fluid like Spiderman shot out the webs. Yeah. I rarely quit books without finishing them, but I just couldn't read this one anymore.