Thursday, December 31, 2015

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

18140047Love Letters to the Dead is about a girl named Laurel.  She is starting grade 9 at a new high school out of her district so that she won't know anyone and won't have to talk about her sister, May's, recent death.  Her mom couldn't cope with May's death so she skipped town and went to California.  Laurel divides her time between living with her Dad and her Aunt Amy.  Life isn't easy for Laurel.  She has a lot to deal with.  When her English teacher gives an assignment to write a letter to a dead person the novel Love Letters to the Dead is formed.

Laurel writes letters to all kinds of dead people such as Kurt Cobain, Amelia Earhart and Janis Joplin.  The letters tell Laurel's story and become therapeutic for her.  The novel is beautifully written but it is very sad and parts of it were hard to read.  Definitely not a book I will be getting for my school but would be appropriate for high school.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

18693763I love a story that gives you an understanding of how others might feel.  Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng does a fantastic job of invoking empathy for each of the characters in the story.  The Lee family is a complicated family.  Each family member lives with their own struggles and burdens.  

As a young child Lydia vowed to do anything to please her mother.  Lydia's mother life hasn't gone as planned and she's determined for Lydia to live her dream.  Lydia's dad also has expectations for Lydia that she can't live up to.  After years of pretending and over-achieving Lydia cracks and a tragedy occurs.  Lydia's older brother has just been accepted to Harvard and is successful but invisible to his parents.  Lydia's younger sister Hannah is a shadow moving around the house.

How did the Lee family get to this point and how do they now move forward without their beloved Lydia?

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Goodreads

I love tracking my reading on Goodreads.  This website is a great way to keep track of what I have read and what's on my to read wish list.  I can mark a rating on the books I've read by a simple star rating system or provide a more detailed review.  Goodreads also lets you connect with friends or other like minded readers.  You can see what your friends are reading and their reviews.  Another feature I love is that you can set a reading goal for how many books you hope to read in a year.  My goal for 2015 was to read 50 and so far I'm at 55.  Today they offered a cool little summary of your year in review.  Check mine out here:  Goodreads Year in Review



Want to be friends on Goodreads?  I'd love to connect.