All The Truth That's In Me

I love books filled with fluff and as far from reality as possible.  I always say that I read books to get away from the real world for awhile.  So when I got the book All The Truth That's In Me ... 

I had no clue what to expect.  I mean, it's not a book filled with witches and wizards or sexy vampires.  It's a book about a girl and a boy and the challenges they face.  It's dark, but not in a Tim-Burton-darkness.  It's dark in a real life way.  All The Truth That's In Me is about two girls that go missing and 4 years later one returns.  Judith didn't come back the same little girl she was when she left.  Judith comes back silent, her tongue cut out and the truth buried with it. 

All she can do is silently pour out her thoughts, as if reading her journal, we see life through her eyes.  The cruel way she is treated from those in her community because "who's she going to tell anyways" ... the love she has for her childhood friend Lucus ... and the way her mother treats her because she is embarrassed by what happened.

However, after all the time she has spent learning to be invisible, just as her mother taught her, an attack breaks out at Roswell Station and only one man can help. Can Judith dare to bring him back with all the pain and horror?  And what would be the consequences if she did?

All the Truth That's in Me is a dark and chilling tale of abuse and secrets, of love and loss, and of silence and courage.  Its second person narration was one so unique and almost lyrical, with a rhythm and a kind of music I've never read before.  Each chapter is usually only half a page long, sometimes less.  It keeps with the way Judith might think, in short sequences.  She's a very calculating kind of person.  She seems to always see deeper than others, as if her lack of speech opened her eyes and ears to a far more intricate world only she can see and the narration portrayed it wonderfully.

As you go on this journey with Judith, you can't help but know the characters in this book so intimately.  You really have a chance to fall in love with the people she loves and hate the ones she hates.  This book had you guessing the whole time and you can't put it down until you put the whole puzzle together.

In the end, I was surprised by how much I liked this book.  There was no fluff and the story was something that could happen in our world today.  (But don't worry.  There was still the hot guy.)  I would recommend this book to anyone 17+.  There is more mature content to the book but the writing was amazing.  Bravo Julie Berry Bravo.

Keep reading if you want to know more about what this book is all about.

Lets Get Blown Away Together!

Okay ... wow! Just, WOW! I have no clue how to even start this book review. While I wrap my mind around what I just read, let me just introduce the book ...

Dorothy Must Die

When you think of the Land of Oz, what do you think of? I think of "Over the Rainbow", the yellow brick road, Dorothy and Toto, the Wicked Witch of the West, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly lion. 

If that's what you're looking for, put this book down!

Amy is a teenage girl who definitely got the short end of the stick when it comes to her life. She was bullied and called "Salvation Amy" by her peers.  Her Dad left her and her mom and her mom became an alcoholic who doesn't move off the couch for days at a time. When I started this book I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep reading. Her life was just a little to depressing for me.  However. it made me grateful for the life I have had and still do have. I am sure glad I kept reading!

Amy, like Dorothy, gets swept to the land of Oz by a tornado - but Oz has changed. We also find out that Dorothy went back to Oz after she clicked herself home and found magic and became evil. Os is now a land where good became bad and bad became ... well, I don't know if you can say good ... I'll say a little less bad. It's now Amy's job to save Oz by killing Dorothy. The largest problem is that Dorothy is not only ruthless but she has her Amy of evil doers ...

The Scarecrow

Oh, he got his brain all right but now he uses it to torture and mutilate the residents of Oz. 

The Tin Man

He now has a heart but his heart fell in love with Dorothy and will do anything she asks; even lead the ruthless police force sworn to uphold Dorothy's laws.

The Lion 

The Lion was the worst of the bunch. He is no coward anymore. He sucks the fear out of people until they are old and frail and then ... death.

Hold on! There is hope. There are a few groups rebelling against Dorothy, the big one being "The Order". The order is made up of the wicked witches of Oz. Oh, and a wizard! We can't forget Nox, our handsome Wizard who knows nothing more than how to serve The Order and seeking revenge on Dorothy. I can't wait to see what happens to him in the next book, due out March 30th, 2015.

This is a dark continuation of a classic tale. The story is more then Dorothy gone crazy. It a story about a girl who has to find out who she is and what she stands for. It's also about making choices and those choices creating the path of who you are going to become Good or Evil. It's Disney meets Tim Burton and my twisted mind LOVED IT! 

To read more of what this book is all about click here:

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...

"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: