Book Chatter

Knott's (Xcelerator) — The coaster that The Boy lives for!

Last week was Spring Break and it was lovely. We spent our first day at a theme park. The Boy rode every coaster known to man. So much so, that he was GREEN for the car ride home. The Girl rode one coaster three times and of course The Hub, had to go with her. I used to love a good roller coaster but this body just can’t take them anymore. Being tossed around and twisted into a formless mass of goo is not my idea of fun. Instead, I was in charge of the bags and if lucky, got to sneak in a few pages of We Need to Talk About Kevin every now and then. Speaking of which, that was one hell of a book and my mind is still reeling from it. Review to come.

The next day we headed out to Palm Desert. It was nice. Only 85 or so which was pretty much how it was at home so that was good. The Otter Pup did well on the car trip and she was a GEM at the place where we stayed. She was reintroduced to her crate after not being in one for over 6 months so that was interesting, but she took to it well. When we visited the in-laws, she was a bit of a bully with their 10-year-old Italian Greyhound but overall, she was very good. She is a cheeky little monkey!

All in all, we didn’t do anything special. I read, and I watched HGTV non-stop. It was perfect!! The kids bowled and swam and played golf. We also went to see a theatrical production one night which we all enjoyed. The entire week was very relaxing. I have no pictures! Why? Because I was a complete slug and didn’t feel like packing my big camera. I have my phone, but lately it’s been freezing up so I have no pictures to share. I do need to get you a photo or video of the Otter Pup soon as she is almost 2 years old now. Can you believe it? You all met her when she was just a pup. Now she is all set in her ways and quite the pistol! Just like The Girl.

After my lovely week, Monday came. Ugh. I spent most of the day catching up. I am all caught up with work, but not caught up at home so hopefully this weekend I will be able to do what I haven’t been able to do thus far…write! Oh, the reading is no problem, but I am still several reviews behind and what’s stopping me is one book that I really don’t know what to say about. Hint, it’s not We Need to Talk About Kevin. I have plenty to say about that one but this one showstopper left a bad taste in my mouth, yet there were things about it that I liked quite a bit. Plus, I see no other bloggers talking about it so it was either a real stinker or it is just a tough one to write about.

Someone explain the Independent Blogger Awards to me. I’ve never even heard of it before today. How did those blogs get nominated?

Okay, enough of my rambling. Back to work I go. Uh…yeah.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky
By Heidi Durrow
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Paperback, 9781616200152, January 2011, 278pp.)

The Short of It:

A tragic tale of a motherless girl and her struggle to come to terms with who she is. Strong in voice, but fell short in the execution.

The Rest of It:

After her family falls off the roof of their building, Rachel is the sole survivor and since her G.I. dad is not in the picture (by choice), she is forced to leave Chicago for Oregon, to live with her paternal grandmother.

At eleven years of age, Rachel finds the transition to be a rough one. In Chicago, the fact that her mother was Danish and her father was black, didn’t seem to be an issue, but when she moves to Oregon, her blue eyes cause her fellow classmates to raise their eyebrows over this “light skinned-ed” girl (as she is called by some).

Her innocence and confusion over what happened in Chicago, and her concern over how she will fit into this new world, is heartbreaking. Except, she’s not all that innocent when it comes down to it, and there are mysterious circumstances surrounding the true events of that fateful evening which is given to the reader in tiny pieces, as told by various characters and sometimes even moving back and forth in time.

What Durrow does well, is create a voice for this young girl that tugs at your heartstrings. Rachel is fragile, like a baby bird. You can’t help but feel for her and all you want to do while reading this book, is grab the girl and give her the biggest hug possible. Life without a mother and father, knowing what she knows, and knowing that there is no way to ever bring her mother back, is almost too much for this young girl to bear.

However, I did have some issues with the story. In a book like this, where identity is front and center, you expect the main character to come full circle or to at least feel comfortable in the skin she was born in. I’m not certain that this occurred by the end of the story. I don’t feel that she had any more of an understanding of who she was at the end, than she did at the beginning of the story which left me feeling lukewarm about all of it.

All in all, what could have been a great book was really just an okay read for me. It lost steam in the middle, picked up towards the end and then left me feeling so-so about it. However, as a book club read, which this is for me, I think there is plenty to discuss. The choices that the parents made, the need to fit in, mixed-marriages and issues of self-worth are all discussion worthy topics and if given a chance to read another Durrow book, I would.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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