Book Review | Book Chatter

You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried
By Susannah Gora
(Three Rivers Press, Paperback, 9780307716606, 384pp, Feb 2011)

The Short of It:

If you watch Sixteen Candles EVERY time it’s on, or if you’ve ever wished Duckie Dale ended up with Andie at the end of Pretty In Pink, then this is the book for you.

The Rest Of It:

I love this book. I bought it over a year ago for my Kindle and allowed myself to read tiny bits of it between basketball practice, tennis lessons and doctor’s appointments. It provided me with a year’s worth of joy. What IS it about the 80’s anyway? Is that decade particularly special, or is it just special to me because those were my high school years? I wonder sometimes.

Gora covers all the movies of that time…the Brat Pack films that include Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, just to name a few. With interviews of the key players and inside scoops on casting…You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried is basically a touching collection of memories. These young actors grew up to depict the characters of our youth, yet the issues they dealt with were authentic and often issues that they were struggling with in real life. The struggle for acceptance, the awkwardness, the angst… it’s all here.

What I especially love about this book is that Gora gives you all the behind-the-scenes info on casting, who was seeing who, how the directors and producers influenced these actors on a daily basis, etc. Just the bits on casting alone were fascinating. There was so much going on with these actors that it’s hard to imagine that the movies were ever made!

After each chapter, I found myself pulling out all of my DVDs and loading up my iPod with songs of that time. I just can’t say enough about the book. If you loved the 80’s, you simply have to read it. I will leave you with one of my favorite clips from Pretty in Pink. Click here to view it.

Source: Purchased

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The Other Life
By Ellen Meister
Penguin
February 2011
320pp

The Short of It:

This book had me squirming in my seat. It asks the “tough” questions. The ones that we don’t like to ask ourselves unless we have to.

The Rest of It:

Quinn Braverman is happily married to Lewis. She has one son and is expecting a baby. This should be a joyous time for them all, but Quinn struggles with what she’s been given. Her life seems “safe” and at times, a bit mundane. When she discovers a problem with the pregnancy, she is forced to consider her options. Most of us, when faced with a grave decision, make the decision based on any number of things. We look for support in those close to us. We seek guidance from professionals, etc. But Quinn? Quinn’s a bit different because she can actually escape her current life, to visit her “other” life, where she is dating Eugene and doesn’t have to face any tough decisions. Through a portal in her basement, she attempts to live both lives.

As much as I enjoy portals and the idea of parallel universes, I struggled with the premise. Not so much the idea of it, because I can certainly suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy the story, but the execution of the portal pieces, didn’t come together for me so much. The appearance and the placement of the portals seemed a bit convenient and I had a tough time believing that a pregnant woman would even attempt to go through one, not knowing what would happen to the baby on the other side.

With that said, I was surprised at how anxious I was to get back to reading it! Some readers might argue this point but Quinn is a selfish character. Not overtly so, not enough to hate her, but enough to make me shake my head over her decisions. I kept reading it though because I wanted to see what she would do next and how her decisions would affect her life with Lewis and her son.

Overall, this would be a great vacation book. There is enough of a story here to make you want to turn the pages, yet it’s not just bubble-gum lit in that there is nothing to think about. Oh, there’s plenty to think about and if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself frustrated over Quinn’s decisions, but also cheering her on in the end.