The Book Addict Reviews: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Genre:  Young Adult, Social Issues
Order Online: Amazon.com
Review for previous book in series: here
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
This book surprised me in so many ways--from a change in narrator to a change in the focus and feel of the story, but in the end I came to love it.  I do not know what more could be told of the story of Mia and Adam, but I really want to have them return because I am not ready to let them go.

Review:  
It took me longer than I initially anticipated to finish this series.  The first book had hit me so strongly that I just knew I was not emotionally prepared to finish Mia's story yet.  And in some ways, I am glad I waited.  But in some ways I felt this story lacked some of the power and emotional punch of the first.

A big part of the change was the complete change in narrator.  Instead of following Mia, we (the readers) are now following Adam.  This took me by surprise and took me a little bit to get used to--particularly since the title of the book was Where SHE Went. Eventually we learn where she went, but in reality this book seemed to focus a lot more on what happened with Adam after the end of If I Stay.

The change in narrator also affected the feel of the story.  Where Mia as narrator had a strong focus on her feelings and emotions--Adam as narrator had a stronger focus on actions.  He was so confused by emotions (both his and Mia's) that he kept his focus on the actions.  What Mia did.  What he did.  What his bandmates did.  This is not a bad thing--but it was unexpected after reading the first story where Mia was very focused on her own emotions and feelings about the accident.

But the end worked for me.  It made all of my confusion about the change in narrator and the change in focus work for me.  It made me glad I read this book and this series.  It made me hope that there was more to the story of Mia and Adam because I am just not ready to give them up.

Recommendations:
I was looking to see what else Gayle Forman had written, when I found a book I want to read because it reminds me a little of a book I had to read for school that really impacted the way I see globalization and its effect on the world:

The Book Addict Reviews: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Southern Fiction, Audiobook
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
Kathryn Stockett did a wonderful job putting together a story filled with intriguing characters and unexpected surprises.  I am pretty sure I will never look at chocolate pie the same way again.  In fact, I am not sure I will look at many stories about the South, about Jim Crow laws, or about civil rights the same way again.  But I did have some issues with the story--in particular some questions come off as being one dimensional.  However, these issues did not take away from a story that left me laughing and crying over and over again. 

Review:  
After my last couple of experiences with audiobooks I was beginning to question my appreciation for audiobooks--until I found this book. The Help capitalized on the opportunity to utilize multiple narrators in order accentuate Kathryn Stockett's use of multiple narrators to tell her story.  It was very easy to keep the different narrators separate in my mind because they literally had different voices.  My one complaint was that the narrator chosen to read for Aibileen sounded younger than the narrator chosen to read for Minny so I kept forgetting that Aibileen was really the older of the two characters. 

The Help capitalized on the opportunity to tell the story that brought a time and a place I did not personally experience to life for me.  I do not think I will ever think of Jim Crow laws or the civil rights movement or Mississippi without thinking of Aibileen, Minny, and the other maids telling their stories or Hilly talking about her Home Help Sanitation Initiative or Elizabeth's approach and treatment of her children.

But in some respects I felt some of the characters were a little over simplified (or maybe one-dimensional is a better way to describe it).  They seemed to lack some balance of good and bad traits.  For instance, I know that Aibileen commented that Hilly was a good mother to her kids--but otherwise I do not think she had a single redeeming quality.  And if she is really that bad then how could Skeeter (who is very much portrayed as a good virtuous person) remain close friends for her so long.  In some respects, I could attribute it to Skeeter not wanting to incur Hilly's wrath--but their friendship seems to go beyond the bounds of friendship for politeness.  They were college roommates.  They were in bridge club together (at least for a while).  These were closer bonds than many people in the town could boast with Hilly.  So did Hilly have redeeming qualities that were not shown to the reader or did Skeeter make a mistake being such a close friend with Hilly for so many years?

Overall though, the book left a good impression on me.  It gave me insight into the way that people in the South related to each other.  For someone who grew up well after the civil rights movement, there were some aspects of that culture that I could not appreciate as much before reading this book.  The feelings that are described by the narrators who had to hide they were friends because a real threat of retaliation touched me in ways I had not expected when I started this story. 
 
Recommendations:
I have been putting off watching the movie until I had a chance to read the book--now I cannot wait to watch the movie!

The Book Addict Reviews: Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

Genre:  Non-Fiction, Women's Health, Health
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 2 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:  
Admittedly, my opinion of this book could be affected by the audiobook format.  However, while I was impressed with the science and research displayed in the book, I felt like I may be able to implement some of her recommendations but I am not sure I can do them all. 

Review:  
For years I have lived a very sedentary lifestyle.  I ate fairly well so I was not significantly overweight--but one day I decided I wanted to make change.  I started getting up early so I could workout before getting ready for work.  I started getting workout DVDs to focus my efforts.  And I decided that at least once a month I wanted to read at least one book to learn more about living a healthier lifestyle.

I decided to start with Master Your Metabolism because I had purchased Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six-Pack and loved it. It totally killed my abs but was not so overwhelming (at least at level 1) for me.  However, this book left me a little underwhelmed or maybe it is better to say overwhelmed and under impressed.  The plan that she outlines seems very rooted in science but with as prevalent as the hormone inhibitors that she described are, I cannot see how I will be able to implement all of her ideas.

I am also not sure that this book works well as an audiobook--there was so much scientific data.  I could not always follow all of it well in audio format.  It may have been better if I could have referred to the PDF that came with the audiobook but I normally listen to audiobooks when I am in situations where I cannot hold a hardcopy book to read it.  In those situations, I cannot access a PDF either.  

Recommendations:
While this book left me wanting more, I still love this workout and do it about twice a week!