The Last Summer (of You and Me) - Ann Brashares

This is a book about growing up, learning to love yourself, learning to love others, and how to forgive. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Riley, Alice (sisters), and Paul have been best friends their entire lives. Their respective families summer on Fire Island every year away from the hustle and bustle of the big city NYC.

Now they're all in their 20's spending one last hurrah on the island together before they officially venture into adulthood on different paths while trying to keep their relationships intact. Riley, steadfast and unchanging is still a lifeguard at the beach while Paul and Alice find themselves torn by feelings that have always shadowed their friendship. Where do they go without betraying Riley and endangering their friendship forever?

Then an unexpected illness sends the family back to NYC, Paul is left heart broken and angry on the ferry dock plunging in for the ceremonious dive as Alice walks away from their romance without reason. What happens next, you'll have to read it for yourself!

I'm a sap for a romance novel...and as soon as Brashares created the romance between Paul and Alice I was hooked. Paul is wealthy, sexy, and emotionally handicapped from the death of his father, his unstable mother, and the endless legal battles between his mother and paternal grandparents. Paul has always found his anchor in Riley and Alice - they are literally his best friends and the family he's ever had. But now in his mid 20's he allows Alice to become something more, something he's not sure he's ready for. The transformation is heart wrenching and the love scenes are steamy :) How could a girl not love Paulo by the end of this novel!?

I hope Brashares writes a follow up...in the meantime I've heard Warner Brothers bought the rights for the movie. The sucker in me rates this 4 stars...I was completely enthralled despite the slow beginning.

Light on Snow - Anita Shreve

I just finished a short and easy read by Anita Shreve- Light on Snow. The story is centered around Robert and 12 year old Nicky (Nicole) who live off the beaten path in more ways than one. While venturing on their evening walk, Nicky and her father discover a new born baby abandoned in the woods near their home.

The rescuing of baby Doris dredges up their own personal tragedy as Nicky and her father face the 2 year anniversary of her mother and baby sister Clara. Through flashbacks we learn of Nicky's mother and sister, her family life pre and post tragedy. While trying to deal with their emotions separately, Nicky and Rob receive an unexpected visitor in Charlotte, the mother who left her baby to die in the woods.

So that's the basic synopsis...it was a decent story, easy to read. But on another level, it didn't rouse the emotions in me that I'd expect from such an unsettling topic. The only time I felt really moved was Charlotte's visit to the 'scene of the crime' in the woods. Through Nicky's eyes I could see and feel the grief for myself. The descriptions were vivid and full of emotion. But other than that, I wasn't moved by the story. One could argue that was sorta the point, but to that I say...you can describe grief and loneliness in a multitude of ways that reach your reader.

The relationship between Rob and Nicky was so complicated, and then throw Charlotte in the mix - Shreve just scratched the surface and before you know it the book has come to an abrupt end. What happens to Rob, Nicky, Charlotte, and Baby Doris? She seems to foreshadow that Baby Doris will find a good home...but what about the rest of 'em? We're simply left wondering.

Two stars.....

What's up next you wonder? The Last Summer of You and Me by Ann Brashares. (Author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

Angela's Ashes a memoir by Frank McCourt is about his family and personal experiences from early adolescence until he is 19.

We first meet Frank and his family in New York...struggling to make ends meet. After a family crisis they all return to Limerick Ireland, (his mother's home town) for better job prospects; however, his father is unable to collect money from his previous military service nor can he get a job since the townsfolk don't look very kindly on those from northern Ireland. And the family continues to struggle.

As we travel through Frank's life we find nothing but extreme poverty, hardship, sorrow, hope and disappointment. If it isn't their father losing every job he gets, then he's spending all the dole (welfare) money at the pub. I was so mad at Malachy (the father)...yes, he was an alcoholic and had a problem BUT he obviously loved his children. How hard is it to give them SOME of the money for food. And then after he ships off to England, in sum they receive 3 shillings....and that's it! Pitiful excuse for a man...c'mon the kids are wearing rags, living in a flooded apartment, and eat nothing but BREAD all day. Unforgiveable.

Of course we see Frank develop into a young teen, eventually working enough to save money, feed himself, and get his family back under one roof. Obviously I'm skipping a lot of the details in order to avoid spoiling the book for you...but there are rays of light and endearing moments throughout the book. Without the love and companionship of his brothers and mom, I'm not sure how one would have survived.

It is a Pulitzer Prize winner, and was also developed into a movie...you may find the book slow at times but stick with it. It's a good story that reminds you just how lucky and fortunate you really are.

Note: Author also wrote a follow up titled 'Tis.

Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land by Sarah Nomber-Przytyk

Today I wandered through the library looking for books to read. After buying a few books from the library bookstore I ended up in the non-fiction section surrounded by books on the Holocaust. Yes, I've seen Schindler's List, Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Pianist, and other movies/shows about the Hitler and his heinous crimes. But I guess after reading Sarah's Key, a work of fiction - I thought why not read something true.

So I checked out two books: Angela's Ashes and Auschwitz. Though terribly sad, I found Auschwitz by Sara Normberg gave me insight into the plight of the thousands of Jews in this horrid German camp. Telling her own story, Sara takes the reader into the hierarchy of prisoners within the camp. I had an image of all these people in a similar situation - looking to one another for comfort..knowing they all shared the same fate. But alas, that's not how it was. Even within the concentration camp there was a hierarchy based upon what 'type of Jew' you were. For instance, a German Jew felt that they would be spared because they were of course "German" or the Hungarian Jews who were looked down upon by others simply because of where they came from.

Then there were the Jews who worked for the Germans as nurses, aides, couriers, etc. These Jews were well fed, slept in the best quarters (by concentration camp standards), and had access to liberties not available to those housed in the main barracks. This group was made up of those who could 'organize' - meaning they could move themselves into better positions within the camp. Maybe what was most surprising is that some of the punishment and death was handed out by a fellow Jewish prisoner.

I liked that this book educated me on the inner workings of the Nazi concentration camps; however, the book is still incredibly sad. Horror upon horror is described - from the killing of new born babies, burning of children, gassing, killing of over 20,000 people in a day, experiments performed on prisoners, etc. etc. etc. Can I recommend it as a read - not sure, its just so sad. If you're interested in learning more about the Jewish plight during the Holocaust from a unique perspective I think its definitely worth looking into. Keep in mind this book only delves into the woman's side of the camp...but its definitely a humbling read.

For now, I leave with you a quote from Albert Einstein that's definitely appropriate for the subject matter.

"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein

Sarah's Key - Tatiana De Rosnay

For our book club we just finished reading Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay.

The book is about an American born woman living in France as a journalist. She has a daughter, French husband and adores her Parisian lifestyle...until she's asked to write about France's blemish the Vél' d'Hiv'...the 1942 deportation of French citizens by French police to German concentration camps. Soon Julia finds that her husband's family and her soon to be new apartment may have played roles in horrible crimes against the Jews.

Amidst Julia's story we also hear from Sarah - a young Jewish girl whose family is round up one morning in July by French police. Afraid, Sarah has her young brother Michel hide in the secret bedroom cabinet until the family is able to return for him later. Sarah along with other families are sent to nearby holding centers around Paris before being shipped to Poland for extermination.

The book is a fast and easy read. Not only do you want to know what happens to Sarah but you become immersed in Julia's personal battles. The story is incredibly sad; though Sarah's Key is fiction, the Vél' d'Hiv' was a real event where thousands of Jewish people were handed over to the Germans by their fellow countrymen. What makes the Vél' d'Hiv so sad - is that the majority of those arrested were women and children.

I read the book, I enjoyed the story...even though it was terribly heartbreaking.