Peeking Between the Pages

...escape into the pages of a good book

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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This is another YA novel and I had tried reading it once before and didn’t stick with it. Jenn, one of my PT sisters read it and really liked it so I gave it another go and I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed it and I’m looking foward to reading New Moon next. The novel is all about Bella meeting Edward who just happens to be a vampire. She finds out what he is but doesn’t care andn is hopelessly in love with him and he her. He worries for her safety all the time and is scared he could really hurt her. None of this matters to her-she just wants Edward. I really like the characters, especially Bella who is clumsy and quite funny-you just can’t help but like her. I found the book a bit slow off the beginning but then it picks up and by the end you are hooked on the story and looking for more.

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle

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This novel is described as being a heart rending story and it most certainly is. I haven’t even got words to convey all the emotions I felt reading this book. On the back cover it tells us that the dark and disturbing subject matter of this book will raise eyebrows and it does. At the same time, it makes us more aware of what may be going on around us in people or families who seem perfectly normal on the outside. People we felt sure we knew and even cared about. Things are not always as they seem. This novel takes us through a young boy’s struggles with wha’ts happened to him and his journey towards healing. It also brings us close to the struggles of the family helping him who have no idea how to deal with the situation but do their best. This book touched me on so many levels. The subject material horrified me yet as this story goes on and you see the strength and love of the people involved and the will of this boy to survive-you see that healing can take place even in the worst of circumstances and it gives you hope. The novel gives us insights into a world we’d rather ignore and pretend doesn’t exist and for this I think it’s a great story to bring about more awareness to people. Maybe from reading some of the things portrayed in this novel, another child somewhere can be saved. I hope so. I would highly recommend this novel.

Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall

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I can best describe this as a weird book. The novel follows Kitty’s life which is really messed up or Kitty is -mentally I would say. She loses a child to a miscarriage and goes off the deep end after that. She becomes obsessed with kids and anything to do with babies. She hangs around the school presumably waiting for her son to come out but he’s never going to. Throughout the story Kitty is trying to find out who she is-nobody can seem to tell her anything she wants or needs to know. Her mother left when Kitty was a young girl-she can barely remember her and her four brothers can’t seem to tell her anything about her mother-they all have different stories. The book takes several strange twists throughout before coming to an ending that I was surprised made sense. Reading this book makes you remember that things aren’t always the way they seem to be. I wouldn’t say it was a bad book or a good book-it was just ok. I’m donating it to the library though as it isn’t one I’d keep on my shelf.

and the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers

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What a great book! I do enjoy Francine River’s writing style especially in her books that focus on real life issues. This one doesn’t disappoint. I like the feelings of hope that her books leave me with. This novel focuses on a pastor, Paul Hudson, who is called to pastor a struggling church in a small town. He turns the church around and soon it is no longer struggling at all. What happens in the following years chronicles a man’s struggle with power and overcoming past hurts and future temptations. It shows a man’s slide from living his life for God to living his life for himself only. Paul hurts his wife and son deeply. He makes a mess of his life. He forgets that God and preaching his word is what is important, not the material things. This book really took me on an emotional journey with all these characters and I became attached to them and felt their joys and sorrows. I was sad to see the book end. I would have liked to know what happened still in the next few years. I would highly recommend this novel especially to fans of Christian fiction.

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

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Another great read from Sophie Kinsella. In this newest novel we meet Lexi Smart. The novel opens with Lexi being 25 years old, out with friends, struggling with her job. She falls on some stairs and hits her head and wakes up in the hospital. The thing is, somehow it’s three years later, she’s married, rich, and has a high-powered job-not to mention she can barely recognize herself because of all the changes to her appearance. The novel goes on and lets us in to learn the things that happened to Lexi in those missing three years and takes us through her struggles now as she’s learning about herself and finding that having it all may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. It’s a fast and light read-perfect for summer reading I think. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it for Sophie Kinsella fans and others.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shephard

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This is another young adult book and the first in a series of four books. The book starts with five girls-rich girls who have everything they could want. One dies-actually goes missing, and then life forwards three years for the others. The book basically goes through the girl’s lives. It does touch on some important issues for young people-body image, over achievers, and just struggling with who you are at 16 or 17 years old. Eventually the girls start getting messages from some mysterious person and they all start falling apart. The story is kind of creepy in that whoever is watching them knows all about them. The story ends with them all at the memorial service of their friend and getting a text from whoever this person is letting them know they are there and aren’t going anywhere. I found it a good book-it kept my interest and now I want to know who this person is who’s basically stalking all of them. So, it’s on to Book 2 to see what happens next.