The Vacationers

The Vacationers by Emma Straub
292 pages. Published 2014
Amazon: 3 Stars
Me: 4 Stars


Seven people, four of them related, take a two week vacation together, and no one really likes each other.  Everyone was dreading the trip. How bad can it be?

The characters:
Jim: He's the father. He's also recently lost his job, and slept with a young assistant at his prior company.
Franny: Jim's wife; the mother; the martyr. She organized this vacation, and wants to make it work.
Sylvia: The daughter of Jim and Franny. She's 18, and going to leave for college shortly after this vacation. She doesn't really want too be around her family (but what 18 year old does?), and her goal is to lose her virginity this trip.
Bobby: Jim and Franny's daughter. He's 28, and works for a gym. Lives far away from his parents, and they kind of think of him as not starting his life yet.
Carmen: Bobby's girlfriend. Personal trainer. No one really likes her.
Charles: Franny's very best friend. Their relationship is a little intimidating for outsiders. He's married to Lawrence.
Lawrence: Charles' husband. Doesn't want to be with another family. Really wants to adopt a baby.

Everyone is staying at Charles' friends' house in Mallorca, part of the Balearic islands (these islands are just off the coast of Spain in case you don't know your geography like me). The seven main characters tell the story from their varying points of view. At first, everyone is miserable and trying to make the best of this tropical vacation.

I've read many books with characters I don't like, and with the female leads being a martyr, but still likable in some way.  Franny, is different. Emma Straub does a great job of describing her as a martyr, but it isn't in her descriptions from other characters so much as Franny's own inner dialogue.  She thinks things like, "women always have to plan the meals because the men would never think to do it." And, she is just so needy and insecure. I mean, her husband did cheat on her. She is trying to figure out who she wants to be, and if she even wants to stay in this marriage of 35 years. She's the planner and the coordinator of meals and trying to get everyone to hang out together and get along.

Carmen, seems the opposite. She doesn't want to hang out with everyone, and seems to make a point of avoiding conversations and everyone else. Lawrence, he doesn't want to hang out either, but he does. He tries to make the most of their time, and fit in some work.

At the beginning of the story each character is living his or her own life independently.  Straub creates a common setting that brings the characters together in the end.  The character development is really what makes this story.  The plot isn't one where the reader needs to know what happens next in the story, but, more, wants to know what a particular character will do next, or what character the reader will come across next.

I love stories that have in-depth character development; they are my favorite kind. That's why I gave this book 4 stars.  It wasn't a compelling story line, like the Lifegaurd by James Patterson, but I wanted to know more about the characters and what they were going to do next.

You can purchase this book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore.

Stiff

Stiff by Mary Roach
292 pages. Published 2003
Amazon 4.5 stars
Me: 3.5 stars

I don't often read non-fiction books unless it's a memoir. But, this was interesting because in my past life I'm sure I was a doctor or someone in the medical field.  This non-fiction book details the lives of cadavers.  Mary Roach tells the reader just some of the what happens to a body after the person has donated his or her body to science.  Roach takes an interesting approach in that she ads humor to what some people would find very disturbing, but it's done in a very tasteful way. She does an excellent job of informing the reader what happens to the cadaver in the present, as well as, the history of the subject at hand.

Roach begins with heads, and how plastic surgeons practice surgery on heads.  She moves on to dissections for anatomy teaching in universities.  This is what happens to most of the bodies that get donated to science. From there she discusses how a body decays; the use of bodies for testing car crashes; airplane crashes; the ethics of using a body to test weaponry; historical crucifixion experiments; the search for the soul; decapitation and head transplants; cannibalism; and composting a body.

I found this book equally fascinating and disgusting. It was also rather dense, and not a book that I could have finished in a couple of days, like some fluff novels.  And, that's why I gave the book 3.5 stars instead of 4.

You can purchase this book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local bookstore, or find it at your local library.

Hope in a Jar

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison
355 pages. Published 2009
Amazon: 3.5 stars
Me: 3 stars or Meh

I'm very comfortable reading Chick Lit. It's so very predictable, and almost always has a happy ending.  Usually, the main character is searching for her love, a new job, a new house, and who she will become in life.  She could be looking for one or all of those in any Chick Lit book.  Most aren't very memorable books, but they're an easy, feel-good read. Hope in a Jar is very typical of the genre.  I'll probably forget what this book is about in three months time.  

The story goes back and forth between Allie and Olivia's current life and their lives in middle and high school.  Both the past and present include their arch enemy, Vicky, and good friend, Noah. Allie and Olivia had a falling out in the past, but their 20 year class reunion gives them an opportunity to rekindle their friendship.  It's here that they find out that Noah is dating someone they do not like. And the story continues from Allie and Olivia's point of view until the nicely tied up, happy ending.  

I didn't particularly like the flipping to the past.  I didn't want to read about middle-schoolers and typical high school girls.  I've been there.  It was important for the story line, but it doesn't mean I liked it. 


You can purchase this book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local book store. 

Lifeguard

Lifeguard by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

393 pages. Published 2005

Amazon: 4 stars

Me: 4 stars

James Patterson can craft a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time.  It’s a quick and easy read, and not too long. (And, in the hardback books, the print is really big.)

In this stand alone book, Ned Kelly and four of his best friends live in Palm Beach for the summer.  Ned, a beach lifeguard, has just spent the day with the girl of his dreams, Tess.  The next night Ned and his buddies are going to pull the biggest heist of their petty theft careers.  Each is to walk away with $1 million dollars after they steal someone's personal art collection.  But, the heist is a bust.  The art is already stolen.

On his way back to the house, Ned comes across Tess’ body. When he reaches the house, the police are removing the bodies of his four best friends. Ned flees the scene.  He knows that he is innocent, and he also knows the cops will be looking for him.

In this fast-paced story Ned uncovers a more complex cover job than he could have imagined. Will Ned be able to prove his innocence before it’s too late?

You can find this book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore.

Once Again a Bride

Once Again a Bride by Jane Ashford

407 Pages. Published 2013
Amazon: 4 stars
Me: 3 stars

These types of historical romance novels are my guilty pleasure.  They are pure fluff, somewhat predictable, and I don’t have to think about anything while I read it.  I can just escape to the land the author has created without worrying too much over the story line.  I prefer a nice, happy ending, and these type of romances provide what I like.  With this book being set in London during the times of the young ladies’ coming out parties, it makes the history of the book a little more familiar to me since I've read many set in this time period.

After a year of a miserable marriage, Mrs. Charlotte Wylde becomes widowed after her husband is murdered. Henry was an eccentric antiques collector; his will stipulated that his widow couldn’t sell anything, and the house was to become a museum. Henry’s two closest relatives were shocked at his iron-clad will, but more shocked that he had a wife. Charlotte’s sister-in-law takes her around to the balls and parties during the London season to get to know her. And, Charlotte’s nephew, Alec, lets her stay in his house for a time, and Charlotte befriends Alec’s younger sisters. Charlotte gets to know her husband’s family, and learns some of their secrets.

This book takes several unexpected turns leaving the reader wanting to know what happened in the family’s past to lead to the present. It also contains more than just one story line, which makes the book a little more interesting.

This book can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local book store.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

265 pages. Published: 2009

Amazon: 4.5 stars

Me: 5 stars

I LOVE dystopian novels.  While this isn’t a dystopian novel, it is set in the future, and the medical system as we know it has undergone significant changes including increased government restrictions on medical treatment that proves fascinating.

After a quarter of the population has died due to the overuse of antibiotics and a rampant superbug, we meet Jenna Fox.  A seventeen year old girl who has just woken up from a year long coma with amnesia. Jenna desperately wants to know what happened in the accident that led to the coma, and who she was before the accident.

Jenna’s parents have moved her across the country to help with her recovery, but her room is strangely void of all familiar objects. Her father still lives in the old house for work, and Jenna lives with her mother and grandmother, who both act strangely around her. 

Enrolled in a new school, Jenna learns about blue gel, which can regrow any type of cell in the body. People are limited to the amount of blue gel allowed in the body to make sure they stay human. Jenna remembers that her father is the inventor of this controversial product.

As Jenna’s memories return she tries to figure out who she was, and who she is now. Her own self-discovery and what she uncovers along the way kept me turning the pages.

This is a teen book, so it’s a pretty quick read for adults.

You can purchase this book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore. This is also the first of the Jenna Fox Chronicles.

Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

322 pages. Published 2010

Amazon: 4 stars

Me: 5 stars

I fell in love with Lisa See’s writing in Snowflower and the Secret Fan.  It still remains one of my favorite books.  I picked up Shanghai Girls knowing I wouldn’t be disappointed. Sisters, May and Pearl live in luxury in Shanghai. Together they are painted and shown in local ads and living with servants in their father’s house. This all comes to an abrupt end when they discover the extent of their father’s gambling debt.  To save the family’s house and pay off his debt, their father arranged marriages for Pearl and May. At first, the girls don’t intend on following through with their marital obligations. But, when Japan invades China in 1937 they flee to Los Angeles where their new husbands live.  

The United States, and the sisters’ new family isn’t what they thought. Pearl and May spend the next twenty years loving, fighting, and protecting one another in the life they have made for themselves in the states.

Lisa See tells a fascinating story that integrates Chinese and American culture as it evolves through World War II and the threat of Communist China. Through the eyes of Pearl, See builds the lives of Pearl and May. The descriptive writing and strong character development puts the reader right in the story with the characters. Unfortunately for the reader, the story doesn’t end at the last page, but continues in See’s book Dreams of Joy, which I plan on reading.

You can purchase this book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble , or your local bookstore.

Innocent in Las Vegas

Innocent in Las Vegas by A.R. Winters

216 pages. Published 2013

Amazon: 4 stars

Me: 3 stars

If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, you will probably like this one too.  Personally, I didn’t like how similar this book was with Evanovich’s series. There were so many parallels that I almost forgot which book I was reading.  

Tiffany Black, a novice Private Investigator, gets her first case from a high school acquaintance, Sophia, who believes she has been framed for the murder of her husband, Ethan. Tiffany works this case while simultaneously working her steady job as a Blackjack dealer in Las Vegas. Tiffany realizes quickly this case might be over her head, and wants to quit when her life is threatened.  Sophia begs her to stay on, and hires a bodyguard for Tiffany.  Jonathan Stone, the bodyguard, reminds me of Stephanie Plum’s Ranger: he’s a man of few words; owns a security business; and seems attracted to the main character.

After several run-ins with someone who is out to stop Tiffany from solving the case she seeks refuge in a neighbor’s apartment. She, like Stephanie Plum, live in an apartment building filled with many older residents. Tiffany immediately likes the older man who feeds her sweets, and longs to set him up with her crazy grandmother, who lives with Tiffany’s parents (just like Stephanie’s).

In the end, no spoilers, Tiffany impresses everyone with her investigating skills, and makes a name for herself.  

To read Tiffany’s next adventures you can download or purchase A. R. Winter’s next book in the series, Green Eyes in Las Vegas.

You can purchase Innocent in Las Vegas at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Copies are free to your Kindle or Nook.