"Blood Wounds" by Susan Beth Pfeffer ~YA Family Dynamics

Overview :  Blood can both wound and heal . . . Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear.

Particulars of the Book :

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Publication date: 9/4/2012

Pages: 256

Author:  Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre:  YA fiction/general

About the Author :

SUSAN BETH PFEFFER is the author of many books for teens, including Life As We Knew It, The Dead and The Gone, and the bestselling novel The Year Without Michael. She lives in Middletown, New York.

www.susanbethpfeffer.blogspot.com

The Dame's Review:

I'm a fan of Susan Beth Pfeffer's.  I absolutely loved her "Life As We Knew It" post apocalyptic series in the YA genre.  She has a fine eye for the YA crowd, and her books fit easily into the "cross over" fiction that I love to tell my readers about.  "Blood Wounds" is another of these books that YAs and adults will like reading.

Pferrer hits your interest from the beginning chapters as we learn about Willa and her juxtaposition of a dialog that tells us how special/loving her family is, versus the conflicting storyline that shows a family that allows her to be left alone and to forge her own way through a horror show of a personal crisis.  As a reader, I was swept up in this book's ability to keep me "fooled" with the conflicting stories...even to the point of wondering if the author knew what she was doing!  It was genius!  I loved how she brought the whole thing to a head in the later parts.  It's a wonderful ploy and one I don't want to destroy more by giving away here.

The characters in this novel are interesting and well worth investing in throughout.  I found Willa to be a particularly well-rounded and absorbing one.  However, the other characters are less developed than I'd like them to have been.  Her lost half-brother, in particular, was an engaging figure, but only developed in a shallow manner.  And, I thought her mother, though we learn a good deal about her, could have had more depth; as well as her step-father.  Adjunct characters such as a best friend of her mothers is rich and most enjoyable to read in the story.

The plot having to do with Willa's bloody biological father, her own "cutting" that mimicked his psychological bent in a minute way, and the dysfunctional family dynamics she finds herself in makes the book captivating.  This is a book I couldn't read fast enough to suit myself.

All in all, Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote another novel I can recommend to readers of all ages.  There's meat here psychologically for everyone.  The story is fraught with warnings about settling for less than we should as individuals and family members.  There is also good wisdom and advice about the psychological manifestation of "cutting."  The writing style is enjoyable.

4 stars                        Deborah/TheBookishDame

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Huge Giveaway! "Summerland" by Elin Hilderbrand ~Nantucket Lost

Summary: 

Publishers Weekly

Nantucket Island’s year-round residents are shaken when a car crash claims the life of driver Penny Alistair, a vibrant and popular high school student, and leaves her twin brother, Hobby, in a coma. The other passengers, Penny’s boyfriend Jake and their friend Demeter, each have secrets, and everyone is touched by the tragedy, in fact, practically everyone on the island feels some responsibility for the accident. What did Demeter, who had been drinking, divulge to Penny on the beach that night? Was it Jake’s indiscretion after the cast party for the high school’s production of Grease, or Hobby’s just before prom? Was it the newspaper publisher’s affair, or Penny’s knowledge of his wife’s depression after the loss of her infant son? Each character’s guilt rubs them raw with worry. The sparks that this story throws out becomes a current that circles the agitated kids and their parents, electrifying the atmosphere as they grapple with what happened. Hilderbrand (Silver Girl) has a gift for building tension, and the reader will be willing to do just about anything to discover the real reason why Penny would drive herself, her brother, and her boyfriend over an embankment into oblivion.

Particulars of the book :
Published by Regan Arthur/Little, Brown & Co.
Pages:  385
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Author:  Elin Hilderbrand
Find out more about Ms Hilderbrand here!:  Facebook
Pre-order on:  Barnes & Noble



A Bit About The Author :

Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.


The Dame's Review :

I've been avoiding reading Elin Hilderbrand for years!  Yes, I'm not a chick-lit reader and I haven't been interested in a dip in the Atlantic with light fiction.  But when approached to read and review "Summerland," something just clicked with me, and I decided to take a chance on it.  I'm so glad I did.  This is a fabulous book!  Contrary to my prejudices, Elin Hilderbrand is no light-weight author, and her story about a family in distress is one of substance and real values to share.

Hilderbrand has hit a home run with her character development.  She not only knows women, but she has keen insight into the minds of young adults; particularly teens in trouble.  Her characters are well-developed, wholly alive and beautifully rendered in their dysfunctional ways!  I especially loved the character of Demeter, the girl who was on the fringes of the "in crowd," but who was pivotal on the fateful night of their destruction.  Her personal awakening and her mother's is a vital and gripping part of this story.  It was moving and read real to me. Nothing quite like denial!

The storyline was captivating. Difficult to pull myself away from after the first chapter. I found each of the several vignettes Ms Hilderbrand wrote into her book just compelling as they circled the main mystery of why a beautiful, successful and popular girl would floor her car and drive madly off the edge of the road to her death with her brother and friends beside her!  Each character developed was rich and exciting.  Their individual stories helped build the mystery and the plot of "Summerland," and their different insights into the behind the scenes of the summer "playland" of the wealthy and famous was just fascinating.  Nantucket never looked so interesting to me, and I'm a Massachusetts native (by way of the South!).

Drawing the curtain back on what motivates us to follow love, what pushes us beyond the pale and how we survive the choices we make as well as the choices of others that affect us, this book is one you'll remember a long time after the cover is closed.

"Summerland" is a book I would love to give to all my best friends, bookish friends, my daughter, my mother and my daughters-in-law.  I can't give it any better praise than that!  Not a disappointment at all, but a great surprise and an author I need to apologize to...Elin Hilderbrand is one I'll be going back to the stacks to read.

Highly recommended to everyone!  This one is a "Deep End of the Ocean"- type read.

5 stars

Giveaway!!!

3 copies of "Summerland"

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Giveaway ends on July 31st

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Thank you for visiting me, I know you have many places you could choose to be today.

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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Giveaway!! "Redheads are Soulless" by Heather M White~Bullying Answers for YAs & Fantasy, Too!

A Super Summary!!  High school senior, Sofia Black, has had a very hard life. Since her father's death 7 years ago, she has had to look after her drug addicted, alcoholic mother. School isn't any better for her either. The other kids constantly tease, and ridicule her. All she wants is to get out of her small hometown in Alabama.

When new student, Jason, shows up, Sofia's world is turned upside down. She doesn't understand why he wants to befriend her so badly... And, just when she thinks she can trust him, trouble appears.

Jason's twin brother, Robbie, moves into town, and things go haywire. Sofia is now running for her life - and Jason is forced to share hidden secrets with her. She learns the truth about her father's death, and finds out that she may not be as "human" as she once thought. She struggles to accept her fate, while fighting for her life.


Particulars of the book :

Published and Authored by Heather M. White
Pages:  213
Sold by:  Barnes & Noble



Heather's Guest Post for A Bookish Libraria!  – ‘A Day in the Life of ME’

I've always wanted to write a post about "A Day in the Life of ME". I don't know why, really, my day is NOT that interesting. (You will see).

My day usually starts somewhere between 7:30 and 9 am. That is when I get up and "write". When I say write I really mean: check my Twitter, email, Facebook, Goodreads, blog, etc... After that, I usually decide that I'm hungry. So, I eat cereal and watch something on Netflix. Then I think: OK, time to write. I go to my computer, open my book, and stare at my screen. I do this for a while then I decide, hmm... Maybe I should read something. So I do.

After lunch, I do pretty much the same thing. By dinner, I've probably finished the book I was reading ;). So now, it's 8pm and I think: I HAVE TO WRITE NOW. So I do. And it flows so well. I just can't write in the day, idk why. I honestly think my creativty is a vampire.

So, that's what a life of a write is like... Lots of procrastinating. Or, at least for me.

A Bit More About Heather:

Hi! I'm Heather M White, a YA Paranormal author. I'm 22 years old and I recently got married. I just moved from Saint Louis, Missouri to a very small town in Arkansas. My passion is: writing. I also like to read, and play guitar. And I love Dr. Pepper!

Goodreads | Blog | Twitter

The Dame's Review :
Heather M White has written a book essentially about the affects of parental absenteeism and dysfunction on a child, and the resulting bullying they may experience as a result of it.  Her protagonist, Sofia, is a "good girl" who is a high academic achiever, a girl who has the unwanted and unreasonable responsibility of taking care of her addicted mother, and one who is sensitive to being an outcast in her town.  She's bullied at school because classmates find her weaknesses: she's embarrassed because she can have no social life since she has to look after her mother, and she's economically "poor." She has no clothes that would make her "fit in," and she feels the sense of being the town out-cast.  Basically, her mother is the town tramp, and the town drunk.

This character and her background makes the story compelling because it's so real.  It speaks to such a large population of children these days in public school systems.  Ms White's focus on the bullying is a perfect way to highlight for YAs the simple unfairness and hatefulness of it.  She takes time to break down these prejudices and to show how much character and inner strength Sofia actually has.  These elements give a strong base to the book.  I was moved by Sophia's courage in so many instances in this novel.  This all reflects on the courage of the author in digging down deep for such a character!

The fantasy elements of the story are sure to draw in a YA crowd.  In her readiness to find an escape from Sophia's real life, horrific situation, this is perfect for Heather's character.  From the perspective of young people who are bullied, this is a great fantasy story.  And, from the perspective of YA fiction, it's a great story, too!  I fell in love with the handsome hunk of a guy who would make Sofia feel "normal" and wanted as a friend in the midst of her heartbreaking life!  But finding out that she's not exactly "normal" in other ways was quite enjoyable in the mix.

This is an ebook publication, and that prohibits its sales in my opinion.  I think the book is a very good one and Heather would be wise to think about publishing her next book in the series in actual paperback format.  Possibly printing this one in book format, as well.  I think this is a winning novel and look forward to the next in the series.  It's a book teens would enjoy reading!

3.5 stars

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

An ebook copy of "Redheads Are Soulless"

will be given away!!!

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Giveaway Ends  July 31st

Thanks for stopping by today!  I know you're busy...

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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"I Couldn't Love You More" by Jillian Medoff~Startling Family Drama!

Being a step-mother has its pitfalls on a normal day, but being one when the chips are down is even more difficult.  In "I Couldn't Love You More,"   Eliot Gordon, referred to as the motherly "good one" by her sisters, loves her "steps" like her own children, but she's often stonewalled as so many caring step-mothers are.  In this close monologue of a book, we find out a good deal about mothering, how "Sophie" may have made her choice and why we take the roads in life we do.  This is a passionate book that calls to the mother and the fallible in all of us.  Read it and weep.  I did.  A book to share with your friends, mom, sisters and book group. This one will have you talking to yourself, so you'll need a friend to share it with.  You may have to buy two copies at one time!!

The book is published by:  Grand Central Publishing/Hachette and is written by Jillian Medoff.  You may find it at Barnes & Noble  and at Amazon
There are more than 400 pages to this book. 
You may also want to visit the author's website here:  http://jillianmedoff.com


Summary :

Which child would you save? A decision no parent can even fathom.

Eliot Gordon would do anything for her family. A 38-year-old working mother, she lives an ordinary but fulfilling life in suburban Atlanta with her partner, Grant Delaney, and their three daughters. The two older girls are actually Eliot's stepdaughters, a distinction she is reluctant to make as she valiantly attempts to maintain a safe, happy household . . .

Then Finn Montgomery, Eliot's long-lost first love, appears, triggering a shocking chain of events that culminates in a split-second decision that will haunt her beloved family forever. How Eliot survives-and what she loses in the process-is a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved a child. With hilarious honesty, wrenching depth, and a knockout twist, I COULDN'T LOVE YOU MORE illuminates the unbreakable bonds of family and reveals the lengths we'll go to save each other, even as we can't save ourselves.

Please take a moment to view this book trailer ~

Who Is Jillian Medoff ?
Jillian Medoff's bitterly funny, shocking third novel, I Couldn't Love You More, will be available from Grand Central Publishing in 2012. She is the acclaimed author of Hunger Point and Good Girls Gone Bad, both of which received surprisingly great reviews (surprising to her). A huge seller in the US, Hunger Point was the basis for the original Lifetime movie starring Barbara Hershey and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men). Although Jillian is proud of Hunger Point, had anyone asked, she would not have selected such a bright pink (any pink, frankly) for the trade paperback edition. Her books have been translated into many different languages, including French, Spanish, Hebrew, Turkish, Hungarian, Japanese (abridged), Polish, and German (forthcoming).
The eldest daughter of a traveling salesman, Jillian moved 17 times by age 17, ultimately ending up in Atlanta, where her new novel is set. She has a BA from Barnard and an MFA from NYU, and is grateful for having studied with such luminary writers as Mona Simpson, Jonathan Dee, Robert Coover, and Alice Walker. She also attended Master Classes with Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, and Grace Paley. Although these authors continue to influence her work in powerful and diverse ways, she suspects few of them, if any, remember her. A former fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Blue Mountain Center, VCCA and Fundacion Valparaiso in Spain, Jillian taught at NYU and the University of Georgia, but for only, like, five minutes. She currently lives in New York with her family, and has no plans to move anytime soon.

The Dame's Review :

I have been reading " I Couldn't Love You More" for over a week.  This is very unusual for me.  I just had to savor every word of it. I had to take time to take it all in.  Like a delicious Godiva truffle, I wanted to take my time to chew over what Jillian Medoff was "saying."  This is an extraordinary piece of literature.  It's one that warrants such time-taking.  It's a book I wanted  to cherish and reread, personally.  It may be one of those "nightstand" books because I'd like to keep opening it to passages to think on again and again.  This may give you some idea of the quality of Ms Medoff's writing. 

 I'm not surprised she worked under and studied with some of the finest authors of our times...

it shows up in her work.

I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't do some influencing herself.

The book also meant a great deal to me as a mother and step-mother.  Her ability to translate this very delicate balance of love and responsibility,

 of wanting to be loved and wanting to do what's right is just masterful.

Her telling of that risk of giving it all in mothering for what may be receiving little or no return in the long run is what each of us mothers understands...but it's more so for step-moms.

The risks in this book are just staggering.  And they kept me nailed to the novel mind and spirit.

At last, I thought, someone gets it down on paper.

I write notes about books as I read them, and I read without reading any reviews or summaries of my books if I can help it.  In this case, I kept things to a minimum.  So one of my notes to myself was about Sophie's choice.  Yes, there is that happenstance in this book and it's as horrifying here and as smashing of lives as you can imagine. The dysfunction of families, and the particular dynamics of three significantly different sisters (all playing their Shakespearean roles) is hilarious enough to break the underlying tensions. But, these are not the only things that captured me about this novel.

Primarily, and in addition to what I've already said about the mothering,  I was captivated by its quality of voice.  That's a rare thing to me. To so clearly hear the author's voice was stunning.  It was hypnotic.  It felt as if I were sitting on the sofa of my very best friend and she was telling me her life story.  I felt I was hearing her secrets; her intimate thoughts and feelings that she kept inside but was now sharing with me. 

This book begins in a sort of monologue.  At least, to me there was little dialog.

This sort of thing is ordinarily not appealing to me.  But, as I said, it was simply golden in Jillian Medoff's hands.  To this day I'm in awe of that. 

 As I write this, I wonder if my readers will even comprehend how something can be told without an emphasis on dialog and be so powerful and absorbing to the reader!

It would be redundant to tell you what "I Couldn't Love You More" is "about," so I won't do that.  Only, I will say it is such a beautifully created story of love and sacrifice and redemption.  I thought Jillian Medoff's quote of a Willa Cather saying was significant in the beginning of her book:

" There are only one or two human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before."

This is one of those tellings of one of those lives and times. It may be we've all experienced much of what Ms Medoff describes in her story. It may be this that makes it so relavant and so poignant. And, it's a profound and wonderful telling.

I hope you get your own copy to read and share.  You can never have mine...

5 stars

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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