Chels & a Book

If you had asked me a few months ago if I thought a graphic novel could break my heart, I would have said no. That was until I brought home my boss' copy of Essex County, by Canadian artist and writer, Jeff Lemire. A contender for last years Canada Reads, Essex County is a collection of three stories, all told in graphic novel format. Though each story is separate, they tie together some of the same characters at different points in their lives.The first story, Tales from the Farm introduces us to a young boy, who has lost his mother and never knew his father. Living with his uncle, who knows nothing about how to raise a child, the boy escapes into his imagination, where he is a superhero, as means of finding solace. The second story, entitled Ghost Stories, tells the heartbreaking and haunting tale of two brothers, whose relationship is strained by one terrible mistake. And finally, the third story, The Country Nurse, illustrates the life of a devoted nurse who places the happiness and comfort of others before her own. All stories take place against the backdrop of the small Canadian farm town.The honesty that radiates from this tender, touching and beautifully drawn book is stunning. After hearing such wonderful praise from my coworkers, I took this home on a cool fall evening. With the intention of reading one story before bed, I propped up my pillow and began. Two hours later, I closed the cover, feeling as though my heart had swelled in my chest. This is a very special book; not just because it is wonderfully written or illustrated with such precision, but also for the exquisite commentary on rural Canadian life. Jeff Lemire’s Essex County is a must-read for all.

As children, we grow up seeing our parents as invincible. They are our protectors, our teachers and our central support system. But what if those same people were also your greatest fear?Breed tells the story of Alex and Leslie Twisden, passionately in love, successful in their jobs but full of desperation over their inability to have children. As a last resort, the two travel to Slovenia to visit a controversal doctor, who performs costly, dangerous and horrifying procedures that almost always result in pregnancy. With the promise that this will be the last thing they try, the couple hand over the ridiculous sum of money and endure Dr. Kis’ experiment.Ten years later, twins Adam and Alice Twisden have finally decided to run away. Using a baby monitor that he found in storage and slipped under his parents bed, Adam listens each night to the primal sounds that come from their bedroom. His dreams of monsters watching him sleep seem so real that Adam wonders if perhaps, they are. Each night, as the sun sets, Adam and his sister are locked in their rooms. But are they being locked in? Or are their parents keeping themselves locked out? Desperate to escape their nightly captivity and discover the truth about their parents, Adam and Alice flee and discover that they are not the only children living this way. And so ensues a chase, as Alex and Leslie search for their young and Adam and Alice discover the terrifying and disturbing truth about their mother and father.I must admit that the synopsis of Breed had my head spinning. It was compared to Ira Levin’s 1960′s cult classic, Rosemary’s Baby (which I loved) and I couldn’t wait to dive in. As much as Breed was a fast-paced story, I just could not get into it. Novak definitely hyped up the creep factor, but I often felt that it was hyped up just to be creepy and not to serve as purpose to the story. What I did truly enjoy, was the descriptions of Slovenia, and the eerie back streets the Twisdens find themselves careening through in their search for Dr. Kis.Ultimately, Breed had a brilliant concept, but the path Novak chose to tell it, sadly, lost me. Though not for the faint of heart, this novel is definitely something that will strike a chord with horror fans who revel in the creep factor of their novels. Breed may have not been for me, but the audience for skin-crawling stories definitely exists. This is a book for them!

I read Meg Cabot for the first time in my first year of university. I found her light and witty and though I don't read chicklit as much anymore, I always kept an eye on what she was writing. When I saw this on another blog, I fell in love. The premise of the Underworld and the re-telling of Greek Myths (Persephone and Hades). I wish wish wish I could have loved this book .. but it just didn't grab me. The book began with many references to things the reader doesn't know yet. I found myself anticipating when I would finally start understanding what she kept referencing: what happened to Hannah? What put Uncle Chris in jail? How did John learn to love her so quickly? How did John die? Not all of these questions are even answered in the text, and I know it is a series but I was still left unsatisfied. The idea of Furies was interesting, but the execution (aka who the Fury was) felt like it was taken from no where and didn't fit with the rest of the novel. I also had a hard time believing John and Pierce's love to be genuine with the very short amount of time they were together.Although I didn't like some of the execution, the history of Isla Huesos was extremely interesting and I loved all the crazy things that made the Island so original. I love the hurricane reference, the concept of Coffin Night (though it was never explained?) and the cemetery where all the action seems to take place. Cabot must have done extensive research to write this novel and I was very impressed. All in all, it wasn't my favourite book but it had a lot of potential. I think, even if just for the wonderful setting, I will still read the second installment!

For some reason, I am always drawn to stories about brothels in the 1800s. There is just something so interesting about the way women lived and the double life men engaged in just to be near them. In Richard B. Wright's Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard, prostitutes were tough women, boyish, rugged and vulgar. Amy McKay's "near-whores" were much different.I knew I had to read The Virgin Cure as soon as I read the synopsis. "The Virgin Cure" was the belief that men with sexual diseases could cleanse themselves by deflowering a virgin. Scarily enough, this is still believed in some cultures. Girls as young as twelve years old were taken off the streets and made into the most elegant of ladies to be sold off to the highest bidding gentlemen for sex or raped by vicious and selfish men in dark alleys as they went to and from their theatre shows. Ami McKay's narrator, Moth, becomes one such girl.After being sold off to a wicked wench of an aristocratic woman, Moth is tortured daily simply for being an attractive young girl. When she finally runs away, her fate is sealed by allowing herself to be taken to Miss. Everett's home, where girls are raised to be "near-whores" -- high-end and respectable girls who are lavished by their male suitors. Miss Everett promises luxury and safety to her girls in exchange for their virginity and continued services to men who pay a pretty penny.One woman stands in the way of Moth's lost innocence: a beautiful and kind-hearted doctor who has devoted her time to caring for the street kids, prostitutes and "freaks" who work for Mr. Dink's, a museum of fascinating talent. Dr. Sadie is modeled after McKay's own great-great grandmother who did exactly that. I fell in love with Dr. Sadie. I smiled through every scene she entered and found her to be my favourite part of the entire book. Her heart of gold glistened on each page and I could just picture the trunk at the end of her bed, holding all of her memories, dresses and dreams. Dr. Sadie refuses to let Moth give herself to the highest bidder and will do anything she can to stop her from being the next ruined woman.McKay's writing is beautiful, and I found myself marking pages to come back and re-read. (I thought of adding in a few here, but you'll just have to go see them for yourself!) This book was an absolute gem: hard to read at some points, raw, delicate and beautiful all at once. You have never seen the dark streets of New York quite like this. Ami McKay is a wondrous writer!

Romance novels always signal warning signs for me. It stems from the only other romance novel I have ever read. I was about 16 and had run out of things to read up north. I bought myself a mass market paperback that had the promise of a thrilling story. However, as the pages passed, I realized that all the book was about .. was sexual tension. I was so disappointed with is preoccupation with sex and not with the plot that I swore off romances -- assuming they were all like this. Boy, was I wrong! Darkfever was fantastic! The amount of research, both of the Irish Temple Bar District and of the ancient myths of the Fae in Ireland, captivated me. The narrator, Mac (as I was warned by Yaz) was a bit annoying at times, constantly referring to her own beauty but after a while, I grew to find her endearing. She is a Southern bell, who travels to Ireland to uncover the truth behind the brutal death of her sister, only to discover that she is a sidhe-seer (a human able to see through the mask -- or "glamour" -- of the Fae to their true hideous appearances). She teams up with the dreamy Jericho Barrons, a bookstore owner with too many dark secrets and the story just flies from there. At first, Barrons wasn't my favourite character but by the end of the book, I was softening up to him. Despite this being a romance novel, the focus is 99.9% geared towards the plot and story and the sexual tension only comes up every here and there. Barrons and Mac don't even like each other for the majority of the book. I am told it heats up later on in the series but I was happy to see the realisitic development! Plus, who doesn't love a steamy scene every here and there!! Looking forward to where their.. "relationship" will go. All in all, this was an exciting and rich read! Can't wait for the next one =).

Okay, who doesn't love a good Canadian writer? Especially one who has won the Giller?! Not only this, but I am proud to say that Richard B. Wright is a current resident in my home town of St. Catharines, Ontario! When I saw a friend reading this on Goodreads, I couldn't help myself. I bought it and read it in time to write an entrance essay on it for a program I applied to. And I must say -- it was a great pick to write on!This is my first Richard B. Wright book, but definitely will not be the last. There are things I absolutely loved and some things I was a bit cautious about in the book. First of all, Wright writes from the perspective of two very different women: Shakespeare's mistress, the spunky Elizabeth and her aging daughter, Aerlene. I was nervous heading into a novel with a man writing as a woman as this is both difficult and rarely ever done flawlessly. However, Wright really surprised me with this! Elizabeth was by far my favourite character. She was so lovestruck and adventurous, chasing her constant desire to "touch" men, and ending up falling in love with the young and aspiring playwright. Aerlene's tale is much more subdued but a good contrast to her free-spirited mother. Although I found the voices pleasant to read, I was slightly disappointed by the lead up to Shakespeare's actual appearance and just how brief it was. Though he dealt with Aerlene's appearance in the only way you feel he could have (not rude but definitely not welcoming), there was just something missing for me. For all the magic and wonder that is expressed in the novel thanks to the perfect depictions of London in the 16th-century and the many references to Shakespeare's plays, the climax of the novel just didn't hit me hard enough. I must admit to enjoying the first half of the book (Elizabeth's tale) more than Aerlene's. However, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys period pieces. It was a beautifully written novel with prose that danced on the page!

*Holds hand over heart* Don't do this to me, Richelle Mead. That's all I can say. I finished this book in the early morning, close to tears in bed. When my roommate passed my room, I got a raised eyebrow to which I could only reply "it's just so sad!!!!". SUCH a great book. Adventure packed and addictive in the best way possible. Onto the next!

The perfect cover for this book! A more mature and solitary look at Belly.So my review for the second book was kind of marred by the fact that I just finished the third book and am extremely excited to blab about it!I LOVED this book. Series are tough. The author has to create characters that are extremely different — enough for you to remember them and their unique qualities from book to book. Han masterfully conducted the perfect set of characters. One of the things I loved most about this series was watching time pass and seeing how Belly, Conrad and Jere all developed. In this book, Conrad grew up A LOT, Jere grew up, but differently than you would expect and Belly became the woman that simmered in her teenage body in the previous books.One warning: this book is much different than its predecessors. I was hooked from the first page until the last. The wedding plans in the middle were a slight break from the crazy emotions that fly at the beginning and the end. I couldn’t believe that Belly was marrying Jere! And after the huge weight is put on their relationship at the beginning of the book, my thoughts about Jere totally changed.There is so much I want to say but can’t because of spoilers! What I can say is that this book is such a success in its portrayal of true, heart-wrenching, liberating, can’t-live-without-you love. Han played with my heart-strings like a violin and made me cry — more than once. This book also dove into family more. Laurel had a much more prominent part and the relationship between her and Belly was wonderfully written. Since this book takes place years after Sussanah has passed away, her presence was not as prominent in the book, but Han keeps her spirit there in the garden and the letters.If I can say anything, it would be – READ THIS SERIES! It was wonderful.

I have been thinking about this book all day and still have no idea, even now, how I plan to proceed with this review. It is the first book I have had a hard time giving a star rating on Goodreads and the first book that I can’t specifically state if I loved or not. Let’s start chronologically.The very first page of the book is a letter — one that will have you tearing to the next page in anticipation. The first chapter is so gripping that you can’t believe a book got this good, this fast. One thing I want to credit Hodkin for, even at the beginning, is her chapter conclusions. Most of the time they end with this one liner that makes your jaw drop and your hands flip the pages in accelerated motion.The thing I loved most about this book is the constant question of whether or not Mara is crazy. Are her terrifying experiences really happening to her, or is it a result of her post-traumatic stress disorder? Mara doesn’t know and neither do you!What bugged me was the typical boy with bad reputation does a complete 180 for the girl. I couldn’t stand Noah’s smirking, which was mentioned every few pages. However, when Hodkin got past their initial interactions and pulled Noah into the meat of the story, he got much more appealing to me. This took just a little too long to happen.I loved that Hodkin never really tells you anything for sure. You are guessing for the entire book and the uncertainty makes for an extremely pleasurable read. Occasionally I would come up with a theory in my head — intricate and intense — only to find that the real solution was a bit more toned down. But perhaps that’s just my crazy imagination.This book was a wild ride of clues and non-clues, sanity and insanity and the constant question of, is this real? It opens the doors to so many opportunities for the next book in the series! I was always flipping ahead, attempting to innocently catch a line or two with a hint because I just couldn’t wait to find out what would happen (note to self: stop doing that). All that to say, when the book comes out in September — go and get it!

This was a very interesting read! I must say that while reading it, I did miss the whole "story" aspect of the novel. Some chapters were just her thoughts on a subject and not a progression (which is understandable seeing that it is a memoir, but still, I missed that). Also, regardless of the story being about her, I found her to be a little insensitive to other people's emotions at times (mainly her husband). I found myself sympathizing with him as she claims David to be the "love of her life" mid-book. Despite my minor issues with the novel, I did appriciate the beautiful images it creates and the extremely witty humour that Elizabeth Gilbert speaks with. It was an enjoyable read!

Although I found this book funny and cute at many points, I also couldn't seem to read it for more than 20 minutes at a time. The main characters constant inner dialogue, sounding more like a 13 year old girl than a grown woman, got a bit daunting. I craved something a little deeper than her insecurities over a man being too perfect to be interested in her. Not a bad book, but a bit of a fluffy one.

This brings you back to the fairytales you loved as a kid, and then turns them on their head. I loved most of them, especially The Lady of the House of Love. So beautifully written and so twisted around, only Angela Carter could have done this!

I read this book in a span of 24 hours (which, for me, is extremely quick). I couldn't put it down. Such a haunting tale of a man who believes that he was no different than those he was surrounded by in Auschwitz, but his survival compelled him to be the spokesperson for those voices who didn't make it. His story is heartbreaking but full of courage, love, and a desire to never let the voices of those who suffered the Holocaust be lost into the "Kingdom of Night".

This was my first Murakami novel and I loved it! He writes so elegantly. The prose of this book drew me in just as much as the storyline itself. The only part of the novel that didn't settle well with me was the very end when Toru and Reiko have sex. I felt like this was one thing that just didn't need to happen. I also would have loved for the end to return to the older Toru on the train to Germany to bring the narrative full circle. I can't wait to get another Murakami book!

I could not put this book down - mostly because I couldn't got to bed at night until I was sure that Baby was okay. O'Neill is extraordinarily talented at writing as an older narrator recalling her horrific early years as a child prostitute. The most captivating aspect of this novel was the nonchalance that Baby tells her story with; it makes the story even more shocking. Such a great book!

This book is not typical for me. I picked it up at the general store in our cottage town (population 500) because I absolutely needed a book. I didn't look at the publisher (Harlequin) until after I was back at the cottage. The story itself was intriguing, but the 8-paged sex scene was a bit much. Not that I don't enjoy a little steamy detail every here and there, but 8 pages just isn't for me.