A Week Of Kindness

November is here and for those of you in the U.S., Thanksgiving is on it's way. This week is Kindness Week so things here at My Title Wave are going to be based around kindness. To kick off this week, it's time for a book review.  The book I chose to review was once again an author I had the chance to meet at the Vegas Valley Book Festival. : )

Sarah Ockler's, The Book of Broken Hearts, was a book that hit close to home. Jude is the youngest in a family of girls, I loved how each of these girls had their roll in the family and when the family is dealing with hard things, these traits came out. Jude has grown up her whole life with one rule ... stay away from the Vargas brothers! They are notorious heartbreakers. Eapecially after one of the Vargas brothers cheats on Jude's sister, breaking off their engagement, Jude and her sisters make a pact in blood and forever sealed in the Book of Broken Hearts. never to be broken.

Years later, Jude is the only one living at home and is spending her summer trying to hold on to the one thing that she believes will keep her Papi with them. Jude's Papi has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and it's progressing rapidly.  The only time Jude sees her Father for who he truly is, is when they are fixing up his vintage Motorcycle. The only problem is that the only person who will fix the bike is non-other than the youngest Vargas brother, Emilio. She swears never to tell her sisters and before she knows it, she is caught in the Vargas trap and is starting to fall in love.  What will her sisters say? Will the restoration of the bike help her dad? Well ... you're going to have to read the book to find out.

Jude is one of the most selfless characters I have ever read about. She has stopped her life to take care of her dad who can't be left alone. Leaving behind the epic summer she was supposed to have with her best friends.

You can't help but fall in love with Emilio with his amazing dimple and cocky personality.  (Sorry.  I just love my bad boys.)

I think my favorite thing about this book is the sense of family. I love how close they are (which made the deterioration of Papi hard to handle at times), Oh ... and I have never wanted to make empanadas more in my life than I did while reading this book.

Needless to say, I loved the book! The language at times was not the best so it's a 17+ book but it's a must read. Just as your heart is breaking, something swoops in to put it back together.  (Mainly a boy named Emilio.)

If you would like to know more about this book, keep reading ...

Bring A Box of Kleenex

As is the tradition when a book is made into a movie, I am there opening night. (I even have my secret spot that I would say are the best seats in the house but no one ever sits there.) When I found out that Gayle Forman's "If I Stay" was movie bound, to say I was excited would be an understatement. The count down began and I watched the trailers over and over picking at it, trying to see if I could pick up if the movie would be true to the book. Opening night came at last. My friend and I talked throughout the day about how excited we were to go and the countdown had turned hourly. 

The movie did NOT disappoint! It was true to the book ... well at least as true as a movie can be.  I was in love with her parents.  Their rocker-down-to-earth attitude (what teenager wouldn't love to have parents like that) made for comedic points through the movie and brought a smile to my face while tears rolled from my eyes. To say you need a tissue in this movie is a sever understatement - you need the whole box. 

Chloë Grace Moretz as Mia Hall was amazing. She was believable and beautiful and I fell in love with her right from the start. To watch her play the cello and her love for music made me wish I could play and have such an all consuming first love like she did.

Now here is where the debate comes in ... I thought Jamie Blackley as Adam was a good match.  My girlfriend didn't agree.  She said he wasn't hot enough to be Adam. My thoughts are Rockers are not usually hot.  It's their music and their essence of coolness that makes them hot. I mean, don't get me wrong there are good looking rockers out there ... Jared Leto, Kurt Cobain, and when I was a 7 year old girl ... David Bowie in the Labyrinth.

 However, there are more not so good looking ones. You be the judge.  What kind of Rocker is Jamie Blackley?

Over all I loved loved loved the movie and can't wait to go see it again. I give this movie 4 stars out of 5 and would recommend this movie to anyone 17+ as there is some more mature content in the movie and the book. If you're reading this to find out if she stays ... well ... you're just going to have to go watch the movie or better yet, read the book first and then go watch the movie! 

To see the trailer keep reading...

"Enthusiasm"

(Don't forget our "Battle Of The Books" going on this week.

 Vote for your favorite vampire ... look to the right!)

"When someone asks for a reading suggestion, Enthusiasm is the first word off my tongue." --Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight

Prior to reading Enthusiasm, I read a novel that just left me feeling depressed. I knew the next book I curled up with had to be a super fun, cute, light book.  I talked to my mom and she suggested I read Enthusiasm.  I decided to give it a whirl and let’s just say … I LOVED it!  Right from the beginning it caught my attention and I could not put the book down.  These past few years I have become a huge Jane Austin fan so this book was perfect for me!  I also love how Enthusiasm focused on teenage relationships and how important they are.  My mom has always taught me that “High School is about finding bridesmaids, not husbands” and this novel shows loyalty and friendship between two girls … the way it should be.  Julie and Ashleigh are always there for each other, through thick and thin and I really admired that.  If you love Jane Austin, romance, and a book that just leaves you smiling - Enthusiasm is the book for you!

Check out what Enthusiasm is all about:

"To all the boys I've loved before"

After I bought "To All The Boys I've Loved Before", I was excited to sit down and cozy up with this book.  I wanted to get lost in the romance of it all. No one I knew had read this, so i was excited to be the first.

My feelings for this book are a little mixed.  I'll start with a few things that left me feeling a little "Meh" about the novel.  First of all ... Laura Jean.  Laura Jean is a sixteen year old girl who, in my opinion, acts like she is twelve.  At times, it was hard to remember that she was a junior in High school.  Maybe the author did that on purpose to show her growth throughout the story.  However, it was very distracting and made it hard to like her enough to care.

"The Help"

With all the hype this book (and more recently, the movie) has received, I kind of feel that it doesn’t need another review.  However, to be fair to all the other books I have read recently, it has to be included in my list of “Books You Must Read”.

When this book very first hit the bookstores, my daughter bought it for me as a birthday present.  Being so new, I had not heard much of a buzz so I didn’t have any expectations.  Expectations or not … this novel is amazing!  It is one of those books that kept me up late into the night reading. If I was to simply say it was story about the life of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's, I would be doing it a disservice.  The author succeeds in showing that we are more alike than we realize. This book shows the triumph of the human spirit.  Thanks Kassie for giving me “The Help“.

Here’s a quick look at what  “The Help” is all about: