Book Chatter

There are moments where I feel completely out of the loop and this is one of them. It’s not that I have too much going on. Yes, there are cross country meets and rehearsals and other dates to keep straight, but for whatever reason, I just don’t feel like keeping track of any of them. My calendar is in an awful state right now. The word “neglect” comes to mind. So tonight, while hanging out in my car for yet another rehearsal, I will get it all straightened out because the alternative it to just run around with my head cut off and that’s no fun at all.

That said, this weekend was busy:

The Boy is in ASB (associated student body) so they had QUITE the week planning the homecoming festivities. There were late nights. There were late, late nights and then a lot of other stuff like float building, setting up for the dance, etc. In the end, he decided to actually attend the dance. Yes, he actually thought he might skip it after all that planning, so I am glad he decided to go after all. The football game was fun (we won!) and then during all of this, he had a cross country meet. Running on so little sleep is a challenge, but he did great and managed to take 30 seconds off his previous run time.

Then this past Sunday, it was The Girl’s 9th bday:

The Girl’s birthday always falls during Fall break so we’ve never had successful parties due to no shows and it conflicting with family vacations and the like. This year though, the Girl decided to move her birthday to 10/21 so she can have a party. You know how that goes. You tell the kid, “Okay, we’ll celebrate on 10/21” and then what ends up happening is that she gets more than one celebration. So yesterday, we ended up at breakfast to celebrate her 9th birthday and then hit Six Flags, you know… to celebrate some more. It was a great day! Great weather and no crowds!

Maybe The Boy was in a really good mood from the successful dance and his great race time or maybe he was just feeling all warm and fuzzy but he was really nice to his sis for her birthday. He purchased this photo which is evidence of course that the two CAN get along after all. I was grateful because by the end of the day, I was passed out on a cement bench staring up at the blue sky. Theme parks wipe me out and I don’t even go on the huge coasters. However, I don’t do dizzy and one ride did me in. I was done at that point. The Hub thought it was funny that a little kid ride did that to me but it did.

I had no time to read this weekend, but I am on the final pages of The Lighthouse Road and I just started (for real) 1222. I finally finished IT. So, SO glad I am finally done with that one.

I am swamped at work with this looming, black cloud of a deadline so I may not be able to get to my Google reader today, but I am thinking of you all and hoping you had a nice relaxing weekend.

BTW, in case anyone wants to know.. the kids got parts in The Music Man. The Boy did not get Harold Hill but ended up with Marcellus, Harold’s friend so he has a great dancing and singing part. The Girl did not get what she wanted, but she got a part as a majorette. I’m not sure what happened as they said she did really well but she is now a majorette instead. She’s okay but every now and then, there is some drama. Fitting, isn’t it?

Blackberry Winter
By Sarah Jio
(Plume, Paperback, 9780452298385, September 2012, 320pp.)

The Short of It:

Short, sweet story with a little bit of mystery thrown in.

The Rest of It:

Claire Aldridge has suffered a terrible loss and although a year has passed, she is struggling to accept what cannot be changed, and in the process, realizes that her marriage to Ethan might very well be over. As she delves into her work as a newspaper reporter, mostly to numb herself against the pain, she stumbles across a story from the 1930’s. A story about a young mother by the name of Vera Ray, and her missing three-year-old son, Daniel who disappeared during a blackberry winter. Suspicious over why he was never found, Claire digs deeper, hoping for a story but also curious over what really happened to the little boy. While searching clues, she comes across some similarities to her own life that she finds impossible to ignore.

Out of the three Jio books I’ve read thus far, this was probably the most predictable story of the three. It was too sweet for me in places and the dialogue seemed a tad artificial, but after just a few chapters I was reeled in. Jio’s ability to take a reader back and forth through time is effortless. So much so, that you tend to overlook the fact that there are far too many coincidences in the story to be plausible.

As for the characters, Claire drove me batty. Her insecurities get the best of her and seeing her vacillate between devoted wife and “not so devoted wife” became tiring after a while. I wanted to know more about Ethan, her husband and the mysterious Vera Ray. Whenever a story is interwoven with a story from the past, I am almost always more interested in the story from the past. That was the case here.

Jio’s knack for creating stories that transcend time is what makes her so popular with her readers. However, with this being the third book following the same format, I’d like to see her go in a different direction for her next book. I keep coming back because no matter how “pat” an ending may seem or how many coincidences there may be, I still find myself getting swept up in the story, and you can’t say that with too many books these days.

Overall, a quick read to lose yourself in while the kids run amok around you.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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