Some of my favorite chick lit authors had books out this summer, heres my take on the new books Judy Blume, Jennifer Weiner and Marian Keyes
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
Goodreads Blurb: In her highly anticipated new novel, Judy Blume, the New York Times # 1 best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, creates a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by unexpected events.
In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place—Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable,” Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.
My Take: 2.5 out of 5. I really did not know what to make of this book. Definitely, being a Judy Blume book, its a disappointment, because the thing that i disliked the most about the book was the writing. There were too many characters, so many points of view that it just got confusing, annoying and hard to follow. It also made it hard to connect to the characters emotionally. It was also a terrible predictor of what was going to happen, definitely spoiler alerts. Whenever she introduced a random character or a random point of view, you just new it was a new victim of another crash. I finished it pretty much because at the end I really wanted to know what happened, I had invested enough time (its a long book) and needed to know where it would end up. Here are so many better books out there, i would not invest your precious time on this one. Also i had mixed feelings about the end. It really tells you what happened to every character and where they are 30 years later. As much as sometimes when i finish a book, i really would want to know what happens next, that’s also the beauty of a piece of work. The beauty of you being the one to use your imagination to path out what goes next. what could be. where to go. When its so clearly laid out, it gives closure but it takes the uncertainty out of it. Again mixed feelings.
Side Note: The thing that interested me more, were not the plane crashes but the whole mob/making of Las Vegas side story. That would make for some good book, can someone get on that or recommend me a good one?
Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner
Goodreads blurb: Rachel Blum and Andy Landis are eight years old when they meet late one night in an ER waiting room. Born with a congenital heart defect, Rachel is a veteran of hospitals, and she’s intrigued by the boy who shows up all alone with a broken arm. He tells her his name. She tells him a story. After Andy’s taken back to the emergency room and Rachel’s sent back to her bed, they think they’ll never see each other again.
Rachel, the beloved, popular, and protected daughter of two doting parents, grows up wanting for nothing in a fancy Florida suburb. Andy grows up poor in Philadelphia with a single mom and a rare talent that will let him become one of the best runners of his generation.
Over the course of three decades, through high school and college, marriages and divorces, from the pinnacles of victory and the heartbreak of defeat, Andy and Rachel will find each other again and again, until they are finally given a chance to decide whether love can surmount difference and distance and if they’ve been running toward each other all along.
My Take: 4 out of 5. This is a sweet little book, that brings you back to the old school Jennifer Weiner that I love. Although the prelude gives you a sense as to how the story is going to end up (i would have much rather have the book without it), it is still a very engaging story. I devoured it at the pool, a really great beach read, and by the end I was quite committed to their story and wanted to know more. Is it perfect? no, but you will get lost in it really easily. I will also make you believe that if things are meant to be, they will be and that soul mates actually do exist, two things that are quite nice to believe in 🙂
Side note: this is one book whose cover is absolutely perfect! i usually don’t say that but after you read the book you will agree that it just captures the book in a single image.
The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes
Goodreads blurb: Stella Sweeney is back in Dublin. After living the dream in New York for a year – touring her self-help book, appearing on talk shows all over the USA and living it up in her 10-room duplex on the Upper West Side – she’s back to normality with a bang. And she’s got writer’s block.
Stella wants a clean break as she didn’t exactly leave New York on a high. Why is she back in Ireland so soon? Who is it who keeps calling? Stella wants to get back to being the woman she used to be. But can she? And should she?
My Take: 4 out 5. This is a solid Chick lit book. A quick and engaging read, with well developed characters and what i liked the most, well developed mysteries. I like when i don’t know whats going to happen and when I cant predict the ending in chapter 2, and this book provides that. It has enough turns in its development that it keeps you guessing. I had been dissapointed with some of the most recent MArian Keyes books, but this one makes me happy to pick her up again.
Tati's Tidbits 