What I Read Wednesday: Mystery Meh

It seems reading has slowed way down for me.  Thankfully, I had my book club to save me.  This one has been on my to-read list for quite awhile and I wish I could have enjoyed it more....especially since it's the only book I've finished in the last 2 weeks or so.

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson | Ever watched 50 First Dates with Drew Barrymore?  Or have you ever watched Groundhog Day with Bill Murray?  Perhaps you have seen The Vow with Rachel McAdams?  Answered yes to any or all of those? Well, then, you have pretty much seen a movie that is this book.

From Goodreads:  'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me ...' Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story. Welcome to Christine's life.

If only this book would have just moved on already. Part III really saved this one as I couldn't put it down! Christine wakes up every morning not knowing anything about where she is and who the man sleeping next to her is. So, each day her husband, Ben, has to give her a rundown before he runs off to work. But by Part II, we are introduced to the journal she is keeping and recording memories in. Slowly, we begin to learn more about what may have actually happened to her and why she feels so uncomfortable in her life as an amnesiac.

I won't say much more than that, because even though this is an extremely slow-moving book, Part III is most definitely a good payoff.  I thought I had figured out the ending about halfway through, but I was completely wrong!  

My rating:  3 out of 5 stars || Goodreads Average:  3.82 stars

What I Read Wednesday: A New Dystopian Favorite

Sooooo...I haven't exactly read much since I last posted 2 weeks ago.  How terrible of a reader am I?!  I cannot wait until my fall break starts the week after next, because I can hopefully sit and enjoy a couple books in that one week.  Big dreams and big hopes...we will see how well that works out for me, especially since I plan to do some fall cleaning and laundry catch-up!  Head over to Amy's post at Juice Boxes and Crayolas to check out other people's reads.

That being said, I did quite enjoy a dystopian fiction novel that has been on my to-reads list since I joined Goodreads almost 3 years ago.  Yikes!  Thankfully, I threw this choice in to my book club voting poll and it was this month's pick.  Finally, I was able to read it and it did not disappoint.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman | Seeing as how Hunger Games is my all-time favorite dystopian fiction novel, and many others that I have read have not topped it...I am happy to say this one is a definite stand-out in this genre. It has so many philosophical and morality issues faced in the present.  But because it is dystopian, it gives you a view into what all these arguments and violent reactions could possibly cause...AKA The Heartland Wars (the 2nd Civil War) over pro-life and pro-choice.

Kids can basically be "sold" by their families if they are unruly or not learning to be good and unwound so that every single body part and organ can be passed on to someone in need.  In this way, humans live on, thereby bypassing the whole dying or wasting a life argument.  But as one can imagine, this is still pretty darn immoral!  Any child can be unwound, until they turn 18.  Not only that, there are kids called tithes, who are born and then raised knowing they are going to be unwound because it follows their religious beliefs...a sacrifice.

You can possibly imagine how many people go against this insanely immoral practice, so many children run away and try to escape either before they are unwound or when they are on their way to be unwound at what they call harvest camps.  It just keeps getting crazier doesn't it?!

So of course, the main characters cover the gamete of children facing unwinding.  This story is told from each of their points of view (back and forth between chapters) and even random people or groups are thrown in to share their point of view.  I loved this style of writing as it really helped me see, feel, and consider all sides of this unwinding process brought on by the Heartland Wars.

Just know, you will question yourself as you read this as you are slammed with situation after situation of life surrounding Unwinding.  Neal Shusterman has definitely joined my list of authors I want to read more from...including the rest of this series.

From Goodreads:  The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

My rating:  5 out of 5 stars ||  Goodreads Average:  4.22 stars

Please feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow my reviews there.  I absolutely love discovering new and interesting books that I may not have found otherwise.  

What have you read lately?  Anything you care to share?  

What I Read Wednesday: Trying to Get Back

Back to school is always a rough and crazy time and now that I am not working on Boards anymore, I was hoping the insanity would die down.

Thankfully, I was able to finish two books in the last couple days...but only because one of them was for my book club with the girls this past weekend AND the other I raced through so I could get back to blogging this little post here and join up with Juice Boxes and Crayolas linky finally!

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult | This was my first Jodi Picoult read, believe it or not.  Not sure why I was refusing to read any books by her.  But let's just pretend I wasn't.  My book club girls and I read this for the month of August and had an awesome and insightful conversation about it around a table full of homemade baked goodies (a la the treats in the book itself).  I've read many a Holocaust inspired and nonfiction books, including The Reader (which I didn't like), a couple years back.  The Storyteller is similar to it in that a war criminal is living amongst everyday people and hiding his secret background.  But this story is done in a way that involves several different points of view from those who survived the Holocaust, were a part of it, or knew someone who survived.  I truly appreciated the storytelling nature of it on behalf of the main character's grandmother...so much so that I got lost in her story that I mixed up what was real and what wasn't.  Jodi takes you on an up and down journey as well as one that makes you question yourself over and over.  As you read, you meet the war criminal before anyone knows he is such (well, sort of...except for the synopsis tells you so) and you come to like him and enjoy him.  But just like the main character, Sage, you are taken aback and for the rest of the story can't decide what you would do in Sage's situation.  I look down upon war criminals for many obvious reasons, but I kept finding myself trying to decide if this man should be looked past.  Darn you Jodi for making me feel that way more than once!!!  Definitely pick this one up and give it a good read...especially if you are interested in the Holocaust and/or Jodi Picoult literature.

From Goodreads:  What do you do when evil lives next door? Can someone who's committed a truly heinous act ever atone for it with subsequent good behavior? Should you offer forgiveness to someone if you aren't the party who was wronged? And most of all - if Sage even considers his request - is it murder, or justice?

My rating:  5 out of 5 stars ||  Goodreads average:  4.24 stars

Infamous by Lauren Conrad | Let me preface this by saying I'm a huuuuuge fan of Lauren Conrad and have quite the girl crush on her.  If you must know more, take a look at this little blog post.  Sure, these books are for teenaged girls, but that's fine...because a good mindless book is good for the soul sometimes.  While this was my least favorite in The Fame Game series (her 2nd), I still had some fun reading it and trying to guess all about who she was ragging on from The Hills within these pages.  Jay was definitely supposed to be Justin Bobby...."crude lewd jokes, combat boots, cutoff shorts, Harley?"  Hmmmmmm...I think yes!  I can't help but wonder if Gaby and her obsession with Hollywood and becoming a Botox queen with too much plastic surgery represents Heidi as well. I'm fairly certain that only The Hills fans will ever really enjoy these books...that and 14-16 year old girls.  But if it suits your fancy to pick one of these up, then go for it!  Aside from my girl crush fandom, I do like reading about the little quirky spots in Hollywood and around L.A.  To me, Hollywood life always sounds like it could be fun for a little while, until you read all about the crazy things they do to keep up with the Joneses when they clearly aren't even remotely close to being the Joneses.  Heidi and Spencer much?!

From Goodreads:  Kate and Carmen are about to become big stars, but they’re going to have to survive some backstage drama first. Madison is learning hard lessons about fame as she deals with backstabbing “friends” and family, out-of-control paparazzi, and a scandal reported in every tabloid.

My rating:  3 out of 5 stars || Goodread's average:  3.54 stars

Please feel free to add me on Goodreads or follow my reviews there.  I absolutely love discovering new and interesting books that I may not have found otherwise.  

What have you read lately?  Do you have any book recommendations?  Or better yet...link up to Juice Boxes and Crayolas with your own What I Read (Am Reading) Wednesday post!