BookSparks 2014 Summer Reading Challenge - Emily Giffin's The One and Only

Because I clearly don't have enough on my plate, I decided to sign up for BookSparks' 2014 Summer Reading Challenge, where I will be sent an early copy of an upcoming novel, in exchange for writing an honest review. I love books and I love writing reviews, so let's do this thing. If I complete the entire challenge, I'll be writing one review a week until September. 

The first book on the challenge is Emily Giffin's The One and Only. I've read all of Giffin's other novels and she is a favorite author of mine, writing chick-lit that's easy enough for a beach read, but carries enough emotional content to be taken seriously. I was excited to have her novel first up, as it is the only book on the challenge from an author that I recognize and a book that I would have made sure to buy upon release. 

The One and Only follows Shea Rigsby, a life-long football fan, turned sports writer. Shea is a bit of a free spirit and a contrast to her childhood best friend, Lucy. Lucy is married with a small child and owns her own designer clothing store. Lucy has taken a predictable and safe path in life and she wants nothing more than to see her best friend settle down with a husband and a stable career. Shea doesn't know what she wants in life. She drifts through different relationships and has spent her working life in a job, rather than a career. She is stalling.

Unfortunately, Shea has taken an interest in Lucy's father, the recently widowed football coach at her alma matter, Walker University. Shea bleed teal for everything Walker Football and also has a idol worship situation towards Coach Carr. Through most of the book it is a mystery as to whether Shea is attracted to him for the man he is or for what he represents. 

Despite all of the football jargon and two main characters (Shea and Lucy) that were fairly unlikeable, the story did hold my interest. I found the dynamic between Shea and Lucy, childhood friends who cannot relate as adults, to be captivating. It's a hard thing to grow apart from someone with whom you were once so close, especially if you have been treated as part of their family. Shea and Lucy try to navigate these tricky waters and still have a relationship, even when things have been strained. It's a compelling scenario. 

The other heart of the story is whether or not Shea is interested in this much older man, because he is her hero, he represents a father figure or she really loves him. There is much mention of her very broken childhood and her absent father, so this theme keeps replaying itself, especially when Coach Carr rescues her in a fatherly manner from a scary situation. The lines are blurred. Sometimes this made for a very uncomfortable story to read, although the taboo subject kept me interested. 

The story is about grey areas and following your gut instinct. 

Overall, I'd recommend The One and Only for fan's of Giffin's novels. I don't think that it's her strongest effort, but it was still a page turner. I plowed through it in just over twenty-four hours and skipped a lot of more important tasks to read "just one more chapter". Giffin is a solid storyteller and a writer worth checking out.

Book Review- Cheryl Strayed's Wild (From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail)

Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild is exactly the type of book that appeals to me. I love stories of people setting off on adventures and I also feel connected to stories of grief and attempts to find a place in the world.

After her mother's death, Strayed found herself in her early twenties and falling apart. Her once close-knit family took an isolationist approach to grief and grew distant. Strayed dropped out of college just shy of graduation, cheated on her husband and turned to heroin. She found a guide-book to backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, a trail that stretches from Mexico to Canada and although inexperienced, decided to give it a shot.

Strayed saved money from waitressing jobs, bought what she thought was proper gear and planned ahead, parceling out money and supplies sent ahead to post offices along the route. She decided to spend a few months along the trail from Death Valley, California to Portland Oregon. Strayed soon learned all of the book information and hiking tips from REI, did not adequately prepare her for this journey.

The brilliance in this memoir is Strayed ability to write about her life in a way that is so relatable. She exposes herself, warts and all, and her vulnerability makes her so likeable. It made me root for her to succeed on her journey, even though she has made some monumental mistakes in her life. She doesn't gloss over the spousal cheating and drug use. She doesn't make excuses or ask the reader to forgive her. She just exposes herself and it makes the reader accept her past, but love her for the person that she will become, as we get to be part of watching the transformation.

This book is exciting. It's filled with plenty of action and tense moments, as the trail is a harsh place and Strayed is definitely unprepared. Besides Strayed's story, the book is interesting because it exposes a subset of society, those who backpack on these trails. It's a culture and it's fascinating. Strayed makes plenty of friends on her adventure and each has an interesting story of why they are on the PCT. The PCT is its own character that's constantly changing and filled with surprises.

Strayed's memoir is rooted in grief and is very healing. It made me cry, in several places. I had been reading it during my lunch breaks at work, but found it to be so emotional, that I finished it in the privacy of my home. The emotional passages hit me like a ton of bricks and were hard to predict where they would fall in the book. They are profound and sprinkled throughout. Strayed is very self-aware and has a knack for keen observations often leading to profound statements.

This book is a must read.

Book Review- Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job

This is my second Christopher Moore novel, the first being Fluke, which I didn't really like, and I am glad that I gave him a second chance. Moore writes the quirky. Occasionally, it's nearly too quirky, but I found that with A Dirty Job, that just going along for the ride, makes for a fun read.

Charlie Asher is a lovable dork who unwittingly becomes a death merchant and must protect his unborn daughter from the rise of the underworld, which is about to occur in a mega showdown in his hometown on San Francisco. Moore's talent lies in creating memorable characters. Each character is nearly more bizarre than the very strange things that are happening around them. I love, love, love Audrey and her squirrel people. Best characters ever! Especially Bob with his spork.

I laughed out loud many times while reading this book and even had to read my boyfriend paragraphs that I thought were so well written. Moore is great with phrasing and writing comedy.I was mostly very entertained, which is why I gave this book a four star rating.

The bits that I thought were super dull were everything with the Morrigans, the central evil characters of the book. I found myself skimming through these parts just to get back to Charlie. I wish that a lot of it had been cut out and that the characters were kept more mysterious. It was tedious to read.

Also a bit tiresome was the picking up of vessels. At first, it was intriguing, but it went on too long.He kept having another name in his book and another person to track down. I felt that this book could have benefited from tighter editing. Maybe a few sections cut would have made a sharper story. A few of the scenarios were extraneous and didn't really drive the plot or character development.

Overall, I would recommend it and I look forward to reading another Moore novel. He has an interesting take on the world and is a unique author.