Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

First off, I like this book-but I am not sure why. I can list all the things I didn't like, but not sure I can list what I did like. Among the dislikes: you can not tell the time period this book is set in, the ending is Hollywood cheap (not surprising-the author used to write for People magazine )-I could list the movies it steals from, but I would give away the ending-and I hate when authors spell out the dialect they want-it forces you to read it a certain way, rather than giving the reader the privilege of imagining things the way they like.

Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock is the story of Carrie and Emma. Two sisters who led a truly sad life. Their father died when they were young girls and their mother remarried to a man who abuses the girls physically, mentally and sexually. When faced with moving, the girls try to run away, but end up being caught and forced back into their horrible home.

The book moves along slowly, but surely. The abuse is heart-wrenching. However, there isn't much to keep the reader hooked. I only got through it as quickly as I did because of my 3 hour flight. I began and finished it on the plane.

The ending wasn't one I saw coming, but I was un-impressed. The fact that the author left a few things up-in the air as well bothers me. Nothing bugs me more than not tying up loose ends.

This book is take it or leave it. It may be more for readers who prefer traditional books with anti-climatic endings.

pretty little dirty by Amanda Boyden

Well, I have certainly started 2007 off right with my book reading. This will make up for the months when I am studying for my Series 7 and 66 and can't read a book for months.

The book pretty little dirty by Amanda Boyden is told from the perspective of two best friends-Lisa and Celeste-although you don't actually know this until the end. It's the tale of their high school years (with a few younger years stories thrown in) and how they went from the smartest, prettiest and most popular girls in high school to college drop-outs who sell drugs out of their home.

Although older people may be a bit appalled by this story, I think it's very relevant to kids today-GIRLS today. It doesn't matter how much privilege or opportunity you have. It doesn't matter if you are pretty or well-liked. All girls have issues with themselves, with insecurities, with sex and boys. And you learn at an early age that sex can get you pretty much anything you want-even if it's only for 10 minutes.

But who teaches you when to stop? When to say it's NOT OK to let boys use you, hurt you, make you feel like a THING. But maybe you don't have to stop. Maybe when you have a soul mate who makes you feel worthy-then maybe it's just fine to fuck boys randomly. Maybe it's OK. Or maybe it's self-destructive. I am not sure what conclusion the book led me to.

More than anything I think that life is hard for everyone. It's not easier because you rich or pretty or smart. You have just as many problems. Maybe you are poor. Maybe you are "ugly". But maybe you still have dignity. Maybe you still have self-worth. While other maybe be pretty and rich, but they hate themselves. Life is hard either way, just in a different way. My favorite thought is no matter how bad you think your life is at the moment, there is someone out there whose life is worse.

It's a good book. It's addictive and a bit painful to read, but it makes you think-which is always good.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Another book in just one day. I tell you this cold is the best thing that ever happened to my reading.

First thing's first. A week or so ago, a commenter left this for me:

" . . . I'm looking for another book with the same key points (young adult/late teen, deep, powerful, meaningful love but with a tragic twist). . ."

I wouldn't say that Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld fits that description exactly, but I think you may find what you are looking for in this book.

The novel is about Lee and her four years of high school. Actually, it's a boarding school thousands of miles away from her mid-west town.

Lee is painfully self-conscience. Seriously. It's painful. Throughout the book, she never realizes, what I think, what really makes her special. The fact that she took it upon her 13 year old self to research boarding school, apply, get accepted, get a scholarship and actually GO to the school. Most people I went to high school with have never even thought of leaving Albuquerque.

I get that Lee feels like she doesn't fit in. We all feel that way. As her fuck buddy* tells her towards the end:

"I bet things would be easier for you if you either realized you're not that weird or decided that being weird wasn't bad"

Of course, this is easy for the smart, hot, sports jock who everyone loves to say. And it has to be said that the poor girl didn't realize she was becoming the fuck buddy. Of course, in the end, even I will admit that if I were in her shoes, even if I knew, I would accepted it too.

I find this book to be so mundanely interesting. I feel like nothing is going on, yet I can't stop turning the pages to find much of the same. It's not quite a train wreck you can't turn away from, but it certainly has pull. I mean, clearly-I read it in a day.

In addition, being 25, I can't tell if I am too far removed from high school that I don't remember feeling the way Lee does most of the time or if I really didn't feel that way. Not to say I enjoyed high school-far from it. However, I don't remember finding it this painful. Was I lucky? I certainly wasn't Ms. Popularity.

Maybe I just found that happy medium between realizing I wasn't weird and deciding that being weird wasn't bad.

The Marriage Diaries by Rebecca Campbell

Well, it's a new year and I just spent $140 on books. I think we are off to a good start.

The book I chose to start with (I guess this cold is good for something) was The Marriage Diaries by Rebecca Campbell. This book is a journal by a husband and wife. Not to say they are co-authoring the journal. Actually, the wife, Celeste, discovers her husband's journal and begins her own counter journal, so to speak.

Sean (Celeste's husband) is a stay-at-home-Dad and Celeste is a high fashion something or other. Each of them don't realize that they are just a tad unhappy with how things are going until there is the opportunity for an affair staring them in the face.

Perception is reality. You hear it on TV, you see it played out in movies and, of course, you read about it in books. I may have said this same thing in other book reviews. However, it is a common thing in life. You can not escape it. What Celeste perceives is her husband-who no longer thinks of her "all the time". She perceives a husband who has a keen interest in a playgroup mother. Her reality is her marriage is falling apart. She uses it as her own excuse to stray. Only to realize that her perception is NOT reality. She loves her husband. Perhaps it's her who is not holding up her end of the bargain.

This book is well written. The characters are brutally real. It's a good start to 2007.