amazingtastic - My Shelf Confessions

Review: Wide Awake by Shelly Crane

May 7, 2013 by April · 7 Comments

A girl.
A coma.
A life she can’t remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she’s been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can’t remember them. She can’t remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can’t remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the ‘old her’ makes her start to wish she’d never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he’s dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

Wide Awake is probably one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. It’s really awesome when a book has you grinning even when you’ve got tears streaming or laughing out loud.

Wide Awake touches something that is a fascinating question for all of us – what would it be like if we got a “do-over” of our life? A blank slate. Who would we choose to be? And more than that even, do we choose who we are or are we made that way by our environment. CAN WE CHANGE?

Emma wakes up from a coma that was supposed to be her death. For her family, it’s a miracle. For Emma, it’s a confusing and jarring situation – she has no idea who anyone is, nor any memories of her past. It’s as if she’s retained all the information that she’s learned about practical things but none of the personal things one collects throughout their life. She has no idea WHO SHE IS.

It’s not all roses for Emma upon waking up. Sure she’s got a second chance at life, but she’s also got her families expectations. Everyone who knew the pre-coma Emma wants her back! She understands their grief and yet she can’t reconcile the things she learns about the pre-coma Emma with the person she wants to be. It’s a constant battle, trying to give the “old” Emma a try and figuring out where she can draw the line and be herself. Who will she decide to be in the end?

It’s strange enough for her to deal with her family who’s waiting for the pre-coma Emma to step back into her life. She has to contend with her former friends from school and her boyfriend. So many expectations.

Emma has to go along way with therapy before she even makes it home. She was in bed so long her muscles barely work and she has to learn to walk again. Her therapist Mason plays a big role in the book. I normally don’t swoon over book boys, but Mason is special. So much common sense, wisdom, kindness and a great sense of humor. What’s not to like??

I also love this book because I found some awesome music from it. I love when author’s mention real songs in their works and it relates so closely to the storyline. It helps me feel the book even more.

I could write a sonnet to Wide Awake. So much, MUCH. It takes you on a journey that feels very real. I was rooting for Emma all the way! And Mason, you just HAVE to meet him! Am I gushing? I’m totally gushing. Going off to fan myself now!

Go read it, you know you want to!

Wide Awake

Find: Amazon | Goodreads

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Filed Under: 5 stars, amazingtastic, buddy review, young adult Tagged With: amazingtastic

Review: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

July 3, 2012 by April · 16 Comments

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Marriage can be a real killer.
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

Gone Girl. Holy effing cow! I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel as big of a mind f*ck as this. I mean that in the most amazingtastic way possible!

Gone Girl is a novel you’re going to be begging EVERYONE to read just so you can have someone to talk to about it. I think I had more jaw-drops reading Gone Girl than any book I’ve ever read. You think you know what will happen but I highly doubt anyone will predict the end. I sure did not see it coming, which is awesomely refreshing.

I’ve had Gillian Flynn’s other novels: Sharp Objects and Dark Places, on my wish list for some time but after reading Gone Girl they’re definitely getting bumped up to “ASAP reading.” I think she’s found a fan in me for life. Gone Girl is such an intelligent novel. Its characters are so beautifully flawed. I was laughing even as I was mortified. I was hanging on every single page wondering what the next head-whipping twist was coming.

I think what I loved most was, in the beginning of the novel (about the first half) I was going back and forth between which character I sympathized most with, the husband Nick or the wife Amy. Nick is so likeable in a lot of ways, but he’s got issues. Amy, I felt almost bad for her in the beginning. It was fascinating to read her diary entries – have I said before how partial I am to diary entries? I can’t get enough of books with diaries or letters etc. Amy’s diary added an additional aspect of the book that kept me glued to the pages.

I wish I could say more, but really I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone! This is just such a purely delicious read. I should also mention there’s a treasure hunt complete with clues. I can’t even express how much I loved Gone Girl! This is me gushing!

This is one of the best suspense/thrillers, psycho-thrillers I’ve ever read and that says a lot considering thrillers is probably my favorite genre. I feel like this is one book I could write sonnets on how much it rocked. I BEG you – and you know I don’t do that often, give Gone Girl a chance if you’re into thrillers, psychological thrillers especially. Then come back here or email so we can TALK, because I can guarantee you won’t want to keep your thoughts to yourself.

If there was ever a book that deserved more than the 5 star rating of amazingtastic this is it – amazingtastic x10!

Find Gone Girl: Amazon | BD | Goodreads

Follow Gillian Flynn: Website | Facebook

5 AMAZINGTASTIC

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*Review Copy provided free of charge by the publisher in exchange for a fair review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Filed Under: 5 stars, amazingtastic, Best of 2012, book review Tagged With: amazingtastic, murder, mystery, psychological, thriller

Cover Reveal: The Weeping by O’Dell Hutchison

June 22, 2012 by April · 2 Comments

The Weeping by O’Dell Hutchison

Twenty years ago, Catherine Whitley was the victim of a horrible crime. Betrayed by her friends, including the boy she loved, she was left to die when the Rock Harbor Opera House caught fire, taking a disturbing secret with her to her grave.
Seventeen-year-old Heath Ingram was driving the night his Jeep careened off the road, killing three of his closest friends. Once a popular, outgoing athlete, Heath now suffers from severe depression and crippling anxiety. His parents decide to send him to stay with his uncle in Rock Harbor, Oregon for the summer, praying that by getting away he will be able to put this awful tragedy behind him.

When Heath starts working at the newly renovated Rock Harbor Opera House, he meets Molly, a young dancer who awakens in him a desire to start over and move on. But, when he begins having visions of a half-burned girl in a white dress, he starts to think he may be slipping even further over the edge.

As the apparent hauntings become more intense, Heath begins to fear for his safety. With the help of his friend Josie, Heath discovers an unsettling secret that ties the mysterious girl to both their families. When two of their friends die unexpectedly, Josie and Heath realize that something, or someone, is after the children of those who wronged Catherine, and they are next.

The Weeping is amazingtastic – check out my review HERE!

Special Note – The Kindle edition of The Weeping is on sale for $2.99 for a limited time – so snag your copy now!

Find The Weeping: Amazon | Goodreads

Filed Under: cover reveal Tagged With: amazingtastic, cover reveal, The Weeping

Review: Heft by Liz Moore

June 19, 2012 by April · 4 Comments

Heft by Liz Moore

Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn’t left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career if he can untangle himself from his family drama. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel s mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur s. After nearly two decades of silence, it is Charlene s unexpected phone call to Arthur a plea for help that jostles them into action. Through Arthur and Kel s own quirky and lovable voices, Heft tells the winning story of two improbable heroes whose sudden connection transforms both their lives. Like Elizabeth McCracken s The Giant s House, Heft is a novel about love and family found in the most unexpected places.

Heft. Seriously, this is going to be SUCH a hard review for me. I LOVED this book. Its beauty is revealed slowly, but once you see it – it can’t help but steal your heart.

I honestly was hesitant at first to accept Heft for review. I mean it didn’t sound TOO exciting – no paranormal characters, no real mystery… but SOMETHING nudged me and told me “take it, it’ll be worth it!” I’m SO glad I listened to that voice! Heft is such a special book.

Heft is told from two perspectives: Arthur Opp who’s a former professor who’s been a shut-in for 10 years with a serious weight problem, and Kel Keller who is just trying to survive high school with an alcoholic single mother and the prospect of college looming over him when all he wants to do is play baseball. I was wondering “how in the world is Moore going to pull this off, these characters are SO different!” Well Moore does it with a genuine knack for understanding the core of her characters – and helping us to discover the humanity in them and recognizing it in ourselves. We can’t help but relate in at least SOME way to these characters who you’d think are completely different from you.

Heft has a very distinctive “voice.” At first I wasn’t sure I liked it, but the more I read, the more it grew on me and I felt closeness with the characters and their world and more importantly – their struggles. This felt like almost a private documentary (without that weird feeling of intrusion) where we see inside these lives that we THINK we wouldn’t be able to relate to, and then we see they’re dealing with the same challenges that face each of us (in big or small ways depending) – loneliness, fear, longing.

Besides Arthur and Kel, one of my favorite characters is the maid that Arthur hires. I think everyone has a person like her in their life. She helps you along and you’re not even aware at the time how much she has done for you or how she’s become part of your life. She’s just THERE and becomes someone you can’t let go of.

As I read Heft, I was completely absorbed and fascinated. This is not a book with a lot of “action” or mystery or anything that you can really latch on to like you’d normally have, and yet I couldn’t STOP reading. I became invested in Arthur Opp and Kel Keller so much, I was laughing with them, I was nervous for them, I wanted to hug them. Sometimes I cried with them or for them. I wanted the best for them. When the ending came, I had huge fat tears rolling down my cheeks. This is a life-affirming book and one of my favorites so far of 2012.

Heft is a book you will feel better for having read. I felt more compassionate. I felt like part of my soul had been revealed and laid bare. Like I said, it came over me slowly, it snuck its way into my heart and it’s a book I’m still thinking about.

I HOPE that even if you’re not an adult contemporary book-lover that you’ll give Heft at least a try!

Find HEFT: Amazon | BD | Goodreads

Follow Liz Moore: Website

5 AMAZINGTASTIC

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*Review Copy provided free of charge by the publisher in exchange for a fair review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Filed Under: 5 stars, amazingtastic, book review Tagged With: amazingtastic, contemporary, contemporary fiction, feel good, life-affirming

Review: White Horse by Alex Adams

May 11, 2012 by April · 5 Comments

Thirty-year-old Zoe leads an ordinary life until the end of the world arrives. She is cleaning cages and floors at Pope Pharmaceuticals when the President of the United States announces that human beings are no longer a viable species. When Zoe realizes that everyone she loves is disappearing, she starts running. Scared and alone in a shockingly changed world, she embarks on a remarkable journey of survival and redemption. Along the way, Zoe comes to see that humans are not defined by their genetic code, but rather by their actions and choices. White Horse offers hope for a broken world, where love can lead to the most unexpected places.

White Horse; people how to start off a review on one of my most favorite books of the year so far?

White Horse has one of the most distinctive writing styles of any book I’ve ever read – save Blindness by Jose Saramago [who if you’re unaware is famous for his lack of punctuation, etc, you think it won’t work but it does..anyway I’m getting off topic.] The first word that comes to mind when I think how to describe the writing style is: efficient. I tend to be a pretty word person [I’m sure you’ve noticed, heh] and at first the sentence structure seemed almost blunt and I had a harder time diving under the skin of the story because I was focusing on the sentences themselves. However, it didn’t take me long to appreciate the style and really come to see it as such a marvel. Adams has the gift of conveying a universe of meaning into a mere sentence. I often found myself re-reading passages to fully take in their impact. What at first came off as blunt and almost sterile began to unfold itself like a flower with intricate petals – you look closer so as not to miss the beauty. I came to relish each sentence as much as Zoe and her various companions relished the chocolate morsels they scavenged.

White Horse turned into something so much more powerful than I thought it would be. The characters in White Horse will make you feel. It’s intense. It not only conveys every emotion that humanity and humans can know you FEEL them. You feel hatred, pity, grief, joy, horror, restlessness, LOVE, hope, despair.. ,I could go on and on. It’s one of the most emotional books I’ve read in a long time.

As I turned the final page I wept. I felt like I had taken every single labored and hard fought step with Zoe on her journey. And just when I thought I had a brief reprieve, the final sentence sliced through me.

I am so thrilled White Horse is a trilogy. This is a strange new world and I’ll be interested to know how it evolves. How WE evolve. I’m so glad we’ll get to read more about Zoe as she’s one of my fiction heroes; I have so much respect for her.

This is an adult novel but I think older YA’s would enjoy it. If you’re into the post-apocalyptic books I highly recommend it.

I’m including a Youtube video of Ingrid Michaelson’s song End of the World because it SO much encapsulates White Horse for me and I think Zoe would have to agree.