Sisterhood Everlasting

Author: Ann Brashares
Author's Website: annbrashares.com 
Publisher: Random House
Released: June 14, 2011
Genre: Contemporary/Women's Fiction
Source: Library
Series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Challenge: None

Ten years after they've lost the pants that kept them together when they spent summers apart in high school, the girls of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants have traveled far and wide across America, and Tibby's even gone to Australia! But this time, being apart has put a strain on their relationship and they're hardly in contact with each other at all. The girls all feel something missing in their lives, and they are certain that if only the Sisterhood were whole again, everything would be perfect again. So when Tibby unexpectedly sends Bridget, Carmen, and Lena tickets to Greece, all three are delighted and highly anticipating reuniting the sisters. Nothing could have prepared them for what actually happens in Greece, but as each girl struggles with it, they confront their demons and learn what it means to love the way they used to.

First of all, though this is a continuation of the YA series The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, this book is decidedly not YA. It's dark and twisty and deals with concepts that place it firmly in the adult sphere.

That said. This book pulled me in, sucked me under like a whirlpool. The sadness of each girl is so palpable, the enormity of what they have to deal with so real. For most of the book, not much is happening, but the alternating streams of consciousness as each girl tries to go on after the devastating events are somehow so powerful, so raw and emotional. It's a mark of pure genius when a book manages to get the reader involved so quickly, even when the characters are not especially likable. Of course, that's balanced by the fact that we've been caring about these characters for four books now, so when they show their not-too-appealing sides, we care enough to stick around and hope that they'll figure it all out.

Still, I think this book works really well as a stand-alone if someone hasn't read all four books before. References to previous events are minimal, and the characters are so changed by this point - ten years will do that! - so even we old, broken-in readers have to adjust how we approach each girl.

The plot revolves around the emotions of each girl, and that works really well. Really, every part of this book works amazingly well. Each event is wrapped up in how each girl responds to it, and since the emotion is what this book is all about, that makes a lot of sense. Though the plot begins to develop more once the story gets going, and big events do happen, the point all along is internal conflict and resolution. Yes, Lena deals with Kostos again, but really what she's dealing with is her own fears and misgivings, her own inability to trust herself. And that's how it is for all the girls. Whatever they do is important only because it affects their own inner journey.

And I love books that manage to capture that inner journey so well - especially from multiple viewpoints. This is not a feel-good novel, but it gives hope for a beautiful, cohesive world.

Summer Blowout

Author: Claire Cook
Publisher: Hyperion
Released: April 7, 2009
Genre: Women's Fiction/Romance
Author's Website: http://www.clairecook.com/author/HOME.html

Bella is still trying to get over the fact that her husband ran off with her half-sister. Dealing with her big, messy family is never easy and she's sworn off men - at least for a while. But when she meets a cute guy giving away college application kits at the college fair where her family has a beauty booth, and that guy turns out to have an idea that might give her some independence from her family, Bella's resolution is sorely tested.

The cast of characters in this book is so great. From the despicable Craig to the almost-perfect Sean Ryan, every character is a full person, every character stands out from the page. And Bella - I loved her, for all her neurotic, sarcastic, zany personality! Even the dog gets to be a full character who in some ways helps the story along and plays a big part in the plot!

The plot of the story is really good. The reason I'm labeling this women's fiction/romance and not purely romance is because although the main point of the story is how Bella moves on from her betrayal and opens up to another man, the truth is that I read this as more of a woman-empowering story than a romance. Because the plot centers on how Bella moves on, how she takes charge of her own life and makes something of herself. I love that.

This is a good, fun read, with excellent characters and a wonderful story!

Simply Irresistible

Author: Jill Shalvis
Publisher: Forever (Hachette Book Group)
Released: October 1, 2010
Genre: Romance

Maddie just broke up with her boyfriend and lost her job, and she's heading out to Lucky Harbor, Washington, where her mother left an old inn to her and her two half-sisters, to start over. But the inn is in a much worse state than she expected, and her sisters are eager to deal with selling it and get back to their own lives. Maddie is determined to create a life for herself with the inn, and she sets about doing what has to be done to get it into shape. Which includes hiring a "master carpenter" who turns out to be a lot more than that! Jax is undeniably hot, but also kind and thoughtful and just what Maddie needs. Dealing with overcoming her past, getting along with her sisters, and struggling with the inn could be too much for Maddie, but building a relationship with Jax helps her out considerably.

Simply Irresistible is not so much plot-driven as sex-driven. The plot is fairly simple, and the emotions are fairly simple, too, but it works because it's all written so beautifully. Maddie is a fully developed character, so I could follow her ups and downs about her sisters, Jax, and the inn very clearly. This seems to be a romance novel whose main point is the love scenes, which is not the type of book I usually go for, but I loved the book! Coming from attempting to read another book which jumped right into the sex and was very graphic and made me go "ew, why would anyone want to read this," I totally love how Jill handles the sex scenes - she somehow makes it so beautiful, so touching. So though the plot doesn't really happen except for at the beginning and the end of the book, there's so much in the middle that you can just sink right into!

In Office Hours

Author: Lucy Kellaway
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group)
Release Date: February 7, 2011
Genre: Women's Fiction

In Office Hours is a tragic romance, following two women, working in the same office though in different departments and at different levels, who each have a romance with a co-worker - in Bella's case with her boss, and in Stella's case with her assistant. Switching back and forth between the two stories, which intertwine at points, the book details all the steps of the relationships - from the first tiny buds to the dramatic end of each, and finally to the closure each woman attains when it's all over.

I love this book! Besides feeling like I got an accurate picture of what goes on in an office and how relationships and gossip work in this setting, I acutely felt the ups and downs of each saga. And there are many of both! It felt so real, each event following so naturally from the other, and the emotions feeling so authentic and so clearly portrayed.

The emotional roller-coaster both characters go though totally affected me. I felt along with each of them (so I guess it's a good thing that the arcs of the two stories follow each other pretty closely, or else I really would have been up and down and up and down...!). Even when they were doing things that made no sense and I was saying "no, no, don't do that!" I understood why they were doing such ridiculous things, and I could really feel how love makes you do crazy things that you would never do otherwise.

I like the structure of the book as well. The love and romance (if you could call it that) are grounded in real life, they don't exist in a vacuum - it's very clear how the affairs affect each woman's (and the men's) life at work and outside of work. The different parts of the story are so closely interwoven that all the various pieces work together to create the fuller picture of what's going on. I do like, though, that the outside world is marginalized, which gives the effect of magnifying the romances to epic proportions, which seems to be what the lovers would feel - obsessing with the affair to the point that everything else fades to be only a minor irritation, and disappears whenever they're with their lovers.

The e-mail technique works really well, too. The writing and thinking and re-writing and re-thinking and re-re-writing sounds so real, because that is what actually happens in real life - thinking about how each word sounds before hitting send, hitting send and then regretting it...

I kept flipping back to re-read parts of the book, because each page is filled with so much emotion, and I definitely will be reading this book again in the future! And it'll be released on my birthday!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for providing a digital copy for review.

The Last Summer (of You and Me)

Author: Ann Brashares
Publisher: Riverhead Books (Penguin)
Released: 2007
Genre: Romance/Women's Fiction

Sisters Riley and Alice are as close as sisters can be, even though Riley is sort of a tomboy and Alice is a sweet, girly girl. They spend all their summers on Fire Island, where they became fast friends with Paul, their beach neighbor. After two years spent away, Paul returns to the island for the summer and the trio tries to resume their friendship where they left off. But Paul and Alice change the rules of their relationship when Paul acts on the attraction for Alice he's almost always felt. They keep their romance quiet for fear of hurting Riley with the changed dynamics, but that becomes a moot point when Riley gets sick, making Alice promise not to tell Paul, and Alice abruptly leaves the island without explaining anything to Paul, feeling that she is being punished for her relationship with Paul. While Alice and Riley struggle with Riley's disease, Paul struggles with memories of his past. The trio seems about to be  torn apart, but real friendship and deep love can withstand the tests of time and trouble.

This is the type of book where you just feel a constant ache in your heart as you read it. What I kept thinking is that the emotions are really the main characters in the story. For the first part of the book, not much happens, and after the big events halfway through, not much else happens, but the emotions are stark and clear, and that's what makes this story.

I love Alice. And I love Riley. I like Paul, too, but not as much as the girls. Although the story is told from three points of view, letting the reader into each character's head for a few pages at a time, I sympathized with Alice and Riley a lot more than with Paul. The thing is, I think he's supposed to seem like a bit of a jerk in the beginning, though he does change towards the end. Especially when he and Alice get back together, he has to change a lot of his character in order to do that.

This is more than a romance, which is why I labeled it romance/women's fiction. Because the main point of the story is not so much the romance between Alice and Paul, but the dynamics of strong friendship and how real friends and sisters can overcome anything together. Publisher's Weekly says, "It's a beach read, for sure, but a mediocre one." I cannot disagree more! It didn't feel like a beach read to me. It's full of heartache and almost made me cry a few times. And I think it's anything but mediocre. It's brilliantly written, with a matter-of-fact voice belying the tremendousness of what's going on. I love this book!

Changing Tides

Author: Devora Weiner
Publisher:
Released:
Genre: Jewish Women's Fiction

When I first picked up the book Changing Tides, I prepared myself for a good laugh. Not because the author meant to be funny, but because the other books by Devora Weiner that I've read have been laughable - ludicrous. I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself liking the characters and getting drawn into and involved in their stories!

The premise reminded me of Sara Wiederblank's Just Between Friends - four friends having a reunion, then going on with their own lives, each with their own problems. The difference is that Just Between Friends deals with girls in their upper twenties, while Changing Tides is about women turning forty. It was interesting to see life from that perspective.

The characters are all complex (well, actually, two or three secondary characters are somewhat flat, but with such a large cast of characters, it's still good). Especially the four main characters have ins and outs to their personalities, and their reactions to every situation seem real and authentic to their characters.

The plot(s) are interwoven nicely, with the interaction between friends causing overlaps in each one's life story. What I found was that, although there are four separate lives to keep track of (more, counting some daughters whose voices are heard), it was easy to remember which life goes to which woman. That's a pretty hard thing to do, but Devora pulls it off!

Overall, this is a nice book to relax with and maybe provoke a little thought and introspection.

Stay

Author: Allie Larkin
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin)
Released: June 2010
Genre: Women's Fiction

Van (Savannah) has been in love with Peter ever since they bumped into each other on the first day of college. But now, she has to serve as maid of honor as her best friend Janie marries Peter. After suffering through the ceremony and being told off by Diane, Janie's mom and Van's mother's former employer, Van goes on a drinking binge to drown out her pain. And when reruns of Rin Tin Tin incite in her feelings towards canines, Van impulsively buys a puppy online. The puppy, Joe, though not at all what she expected, is just what she needs - especially since the vet is so adorable! Ready to start fresh, Van moves forward, but is held back when the newlyweds return from their honeymoon and bring their messy families with them. But with her new resolve and courage from Joe, Van will trimph over all!

It took me a few days to read this book, and my reaction came in stages. My first thoughts, when reading the blurbs and the first few pages, was - oh! My Best Friend's Wedding with a dog! In fact, The Way You Look Tonight popped up within a few pages, so I figured the author was very much aware of the allusion. But no, Stay doesn't really have much to do with the movie, aside from the beginning of the premise. And after I realized that, my interest sort of waned. Not because I wanted the connection, but because the beginning of the book didn't hold my interest. It's a little slow-going and hard to get into. I almost put it down and forgot about it, but I figured - just a few more pages, maybe it'll pick up. And it does - once you get into it, it's hard to stop reading. It's just those first few chapters that are difficult.

Van herself is amazing. I love her character! She actually reminds me of myself quite a it - the endless review of things she says and does, second-guessing people's intentions and her reactions... Her constant insecurity, when combined with her outspokenness and rash behavior, is very endearing. Besides, she's funny! Ask my mother (who was sitting there while I was reading) - I just kept on laughing out loud!

I especially like that she does things throughout the book. She doens't sit back and wait for things to happen to her. She actually says at one point that up till then, her life was defined by other people's decisions, and now she is deciding for herself. I think that before that point also, she had been making decisions - many bad ones, but still, everything that happened was a result of things she did. I really don't like when heroines have things happen to them, and Van is one strong heroine in that she does things herself. When she screws up, it's all her fault, but when she fixes it, it's all her credit.

I did find the romance a bit lacking, both when it came to Peter and Alex, the vet, though for different reasons. With Peter, I just couldn't figure out why Van would have pined for him so long. He's actually a bit of a jerk! That wasn't consistent - sometimes he seemed really sweet, but at times I was completely disgusted with him. As for Alex, though I liked him and could totally understand Van falling for him, I felt like, first of all, I didn't get to know him very well, and besides, the romance was a bit underdeveloped. And when he leaves her, it seems totally out of character. Though his friend Louis explains why what Van did hurt him so much, I did feel like - whoa! where'd that come from?

For a light summer read, this book is quite good - full of laughs and hope and love. Once you start taking it apart, though (unpacking it, as my lit professors like to say), there are some things obviously missing. My advice - read it, enjoy it, and don't think too much about it!