This book was on my radar because I heard Ron Fournier talk about it on Morning Joe and as the parent of a child on the spectrum I was interested. Then it was a book of the month selection so I grabbed a copy.
I cried more than once reading this book. I learned not to read book that makes you cry when waiting in an exam room for a checkup.
Something Love That Boy really drives home is that part of loving our children is accepting them for who and what they are. He learned that from his son Tyler after Ty's Aspergers diagnosis. His wife pushed him to take the time to bond and get to know their son on this new footing and it was really lovely.
It isn't easy as I know all too well. I have to remind my husband, who I know loves our son J very much, when he tries to reason our son out of a repetitive string of speech. Just recently I door knocked for a political candidate and J loves this kind of thing and was ranting that it would have been better to do than to be in school. He was saying it in varied ways over and over and my husband tried to tell him that he needed to be in school because that's important. He missed the point. J knows he needs to go to school, in fact he is a very, very good student. He was just expressing how cool this activity was and how much he wanted to go. But until his differently wired brain was done with the thought he needed to say it. I have learned to allow this stream while my husband was trying to reason it away. We too are differently wired and I have spent more time in this special needs world and my husband is still using his regular way of parenting. It is a learning processes.
Fournier learned this from his road trips with Tyler, talking to experts, and hearing from other parents. He stops looking at Tyler through the eyes of his expectations and learns so much about not only Tyler but about himself.
Love That Boy is moving, interesting, honest, and a love letter.
(Finished September 12, 2016)
Monday, September 12, 2016
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1) by Graeme Simsion
Don is not like most people. He is "wired" differently.
Reading this book was interesting for me beyond the story itself. I am the mother to a young person with Autism. While my son isn't as rigid in his life as Don is there are areas where rigidity is an issue and so reading Don's story was like insight into my son's mind. Granted my son is 10 and not on the search for a life partner, yet. But when we are given Don's inner dialogue and his reactions I can see my son in many of them.
The Rosie Project grows out of The Father Project which grew out of The Wife Project. In the search for Rosie's father Don learns he is capable of love even if his ability to express it is different. He also learns he is able to change his behavior without changing who is he, a lesson we can all benefit from.
Something I found interesting here is that no one tells Don, nor does Don ever say that he is Autistic, specifically Aspergers. Even as he works on a project related to the diagnosis he doesn't see himself in the description. Others hint at it to him but no one ever comes right out and says it.
At the heart this is a love story of the kind that believes there is someone for everyone, but it is more. It is a story of how different is not bad, that even those who don't fit into traditional societal norms, who have less than ideal childhoods, who are just "fucked-up" as Rosie would say, can find love and fulfillment in life.
It took me a little while to get into this book but in hindsight it wasn't the fault of the book, it was that I was awaiting the next book in a series I love that was coming out the day after I started this one. Then I put this aside to read the other book and then had a few days of not being able to get the other story out of my head, I sometimes mourn in a sense the ending of a book I love. But then I was able to get back to this one and was pulled in and really enjoyed The Rosie Project.
(Finished September 7, 2016)
Reading this book was interesting for me beyond the story itself. I am the mother to a young person with Autism. While my son isn't as rigid in his life as Don is there are areas where rigidity is an issue and so reading Don's story was like insight into my son's mind. Granted my son is 10 and not on the search for a life partner, yet. But when we are given Don's inner dialogue and his reactions I can see my son in many of them.
The Rosie Project grows out of The Father Project which grew out of The Wife Project. In the search for Rosie's father Don learns he is capable of love even if his ability to express it is different. He also learns he is able to change his behavior without changing who is he, a lesson we can all benefit from.
Something I found interesting here is that no one tells Don, nor does Don ever say that he is Autistic, specifically Aspergers. Even as he works on a project related to the diagnosis he doesn't see himself in the description. Others hint at it to him but no one ever comes right out and says it.
At the heart this is a love story of the kind that believes there is someone for everyone, but it is more. It is a story of how different is not bad, that even those who don't fit into traditional societal norms, who have less than ideal childhoods, who are just "fucked-up" as Rosie would say, can find love and fulfillment in life.
It took me a little while to get into this book but in hindsight it wasn't the fault of the book, it was that I was awaiting the next book in a series I love that was coming out the day after I started this one. Then I put this aside to read the other book and then had a few days of not being able to get the other story out of my head, I sometimes mourn in a sense the ending of a book I love. But then I was able to get back to this one and was pulled in and really enjoyed The Rosie Project.
(Finished September 7, 2016)
Thursday, September 1, 2016
A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir
What a brilliant book!!!! Tahir does something that not many YA authors do, she treats her reader as if she knows they are smart and capable of enjoying a book that makes you think, a story that toys with stereotypical characters but upends them. No one is all good or all bad. Her "good guys" are imperfect and their flaws are on display. Her "bad guys" are more than they appear on the surface.
The story is interesting and exciting. Be warned, she has shares something with George RR Martin, a friend and I were discussing this series and she called it "Martinesque". If you have read any of GoT you know what this means, but you will love and hate characters anyway, trust me, I speak from experience.
In this installment we get a new chapter perspective, Helene gets some chapters and it is really good to see where she is and what she is facing as she does and not just because Elias was part of it. It adds a lot of depth to the universe of Ember.
As with the first book I already miss the being in this world and anxiously want book 3, yes, we are left knowing there is more to come. I am not telling you anything specific because I really don't want to spoil anyone, this is the kind of story you want to discover as you go and then talk to people.
Just know that we spend more time with Elias and Laia and they each grow and discover what they are truly made of. Helene is a really interesting character and not at all one dimensional. She is a lot more than the Mask that grew up with and had Elias' back. And the nasty Commandant, she is just as nasty as ever.
Really a brilliant series!!
My review of book 1
(Finished September 1, 2016)
The story is interesting and exciting. Be warned, she has shares something with George RR Martin, a friend and I were discussing this series and she called it "Martinesque". If you have read any of GoT you know what this means, but you will love and hate characters anyway, trust me, I speak from experience.
In this installment we get a new chapter perspective, Helene gets some chapters and it is really good to see where she is and what she is facing as she does and not just because Elias was part of it. It adds a lot of depth to the universe of Ember.
As with the first book I already miss the being in this world and anxiously want book 3, yes, we are left knowing there is more to come. I am not telling you anything specific because I really don't want to spoil anyone, this is the kind of story you want to discover as you go and then talk to people.
Just know that we spend more time with Elias and Laia and they each grow and discover what they are truly made of. Helene is a really interesting character and not at all one dimensional. She is a lot more than the Mask that grew up with and had Elias' back. And the nasty Commandant, she is just as nasty as ever.
Really a brilliant series!!
My review of book 1
(Finished September 1, 2016)
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander #8) by Diana Gabaldon
Outlander Series:
Outlander (Outlander #1)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
Voyager (Outlander #3)
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6)
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)
I was very much thrilled to find this volume getting back to what made me fall in love with the series in the beginning. There were no annoying kidnappings which was, as I said previously, getting old. The back and forth between what was going on with Jamie and Claire and what was happening with Roger and Bree created a sense of tension and with each shift left me feeling glad to be back with the other but wondering what the heck was going to happen next to the group being left for awhile. This was a good thing even if frustrating.
Jenny is back, not just physically, but the Jenny met in the earlier stories, who was tough and stubborn, but loving and fair, not the Jenny who was so unforgiving and harsh on Claire when she returned. This made me glad because Jenny was a character I loved and wanted more of but the way she treated Claire was so unlike the character she had been before that it felt untrue to her spirit. Yes, she is loyal to her brother first, but to do what she did and act so cruelly, it just didn't feel real to her and this turning back to what feels like the authentic Jenny is a relief.
It is really neat to watch these characters bump up against real people who play a part in the American Revolution. The fear and danger of war, even for those not directly fighting it is well written making the tension and danger is palpable.
At the core the Outlander series is a romance and where there is romance there is sex, and in this outing, there is some young and new love sex, and it is what we have come to expect from Gabaldon, but there is a lovely sense of innocence under it that makes it feel sweet and heartwarming.
I am now anxiously awaiting the 9th Book which I hope won't be too long, as we are left on a bit of a cliffhanger here...
(Finished August 17, 2016)
Outlander (Outlander #1)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
Voyager (Outlander #3)
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6)
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)
I was very much thrilled to find this volume getting back to what made me fall in love with the series in the beginning. There were no annoying kidnappings which was, as I said previously, getting old. The back and forth between what was going on with Jamie and Claire and what was happening with Roger and Bree created a sense of tension and with each shift left me feeling glad to be back with the other but wondering what the heck was going to happen next to the group being left for awhile. This was a good thing even if frustrating.
Jenny is back, not just physically, but the Jenny met in the earlier stories, who was tough and stubborn, but loving and fair, not the Jenny who was so unforgiving and harsh on Claire when she returned. This made me glad because Jenny was a character I loved and wanted more of but the way she treated Claire was so unlike the character she had been before that it felt untrue to her spirit. Yes, she is loyal to her brother first, but to do what she did and act so cruelly, it just didn't feel real to her and this turning back to what feels like the authentic Jenny is a relief.
It is really neat to watch these characters bump up against real people who play a part in the American Revolution. The fear and danger of war, even for those not directly fighting it is well written making the tension and danger is palpable.
At the core the Outlander series is a romance and where there is romance there is sex, and in this outing, there is some young and new love sex, and it is what we have come to expect from Gabaldon, but there is a lovely sense of innocence under it that makes it feel sweet and heartwarming.
I am now anxiously awaiting the 9th Book which I hope won't be too long, as we are left on a bit of a cliffhanger here...
(Finished August 17, 2016)
Thursday, August 11, 2016
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7) by Diana Gabaldon
My reviews of the other books in the series:
Outlander (Outlander #1)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
Voyager (Outlander #3)
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6)
Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander #8)
Outlander (Outlander #1)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
Voyager (Outlander #3)
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6)
Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander #8)
Another solid if long outing. While we spend most of the time with Jamie and Claire in the midst of the American Revolution there is time spent in 1980 with Roger and Bree and their children Jem and Amanda.
I was pleased that there wasn't what has become a routine kidnapping this go round. That doesn't mean the Frasers were safe, but I was, as I said in the A Breath of Snow and Ashes review, quite tired of Claire and Jamie being pulled apart by kidnapping.
There was however a kidnapping but it wasn't part of the pattern and was heart wrenching and a bit surprising. It isn't resolved at the end so to find out how the victim fares and what the fallout from the rescue attempt that is going off in a very wrong direction will have to wait for book 7 which I will be getting next week.
There is time spent back in Scotland with Jenny and Ian and their children and I shed some tears during this. I was frustrated with Jenny but haven't given up on her, there was a hint of the Jenny I liked in the end of this book so I hope she is back next book.
Ian (younger) has grown to be a character I love and I really like the Hunter siblings. I am not happy with where the Lord John storyline goes and I was disappointed in Claire in how this went, but that too is left unresolved and will take reading book 7 to find out if their is lasting damage from this bit.
I loved the first 2 books, maybe 3, but then have slipped into the really like column.
(Finished August 11, 2016)
Sunday, August 7, 2016
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6) by Diana Gabaldo
My reviews of the prior books in the series
Outlander (Outlander #1)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
Voyager (Outlander #3)
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)
Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander #8)
As we meet the Fraser clan again the date of American Independence is fast approaching. Back again is romance, adventure, intrigue, and sex.
While it is interesting to watch this family approach what thanks to its time traveling members know is coming, Revolutionary War, and how they prepare to take what they know will be the winning side, a side the members of the family born in this time are beginning to believe in, some of the plot devices are feeling over used. How many time can this family have members kidnapped? How many times will Jamie or Claire or Roger or Bree have to rescue or be rescued from abduction? Also I guess there are only so many words to describe the human genitalia and the acts that one can do with them so I give Gabaldo credit for trying to be creative with the sex scenes but at times the wording can be a little on the eye-rolling side. However what she really does best in these moments is the writing to make them seem to steam off the page with graphic description, it is that in these moments she captures the heart and soul of the connection that lives between Claire and Jamie. Their physical acts of love change in style and intensity to not only provide each other physical pleasure but to mend and heal each others emotionally. That after all these years and all the hard times Jamie still finds such enjoyment over the wonder he feels is Claire's bum just makes it kind of sweet and silly and endearing.
Some of the hard choices they face this time are murder they get suspected of but didn't commit, murders they do, revenge vs justice, and the sacrifice of being togetherness to save one of their own.
While I am going on to the next book because I have really want to know how they are and where they end up, what will happen with William and John and will the truth of that come out. I am really hoping that there is more of the same heart to this family that keeps me coming back but that there are much less by way of kidnappings this time and maybe some run ins with the members of the group of founding fathers, this is after all the days of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Franklin....
(Finished August 6, 2016)
Outlander (Outlander #1)
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2)
Voyager (Outlander #3)
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander, #7)
Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander #8)
As we meet the Fraser clan again the date of American Independence is fast approaching. Back again is romance, adventure, intrigue, and sex.
While it is interesting to watch this family approach what thanks to its time traveling members know is coming, Revolutionary War, and how they prepare to take what they know will be the winning side, a side the members of the family born in this time are beginning to believe in, some of the plot devices are feeling over used. How many time can this family have members kidnapped? How many times will Jamie or Claire or Roger or Bree have to rescue or be rescued from abduction? Also I guess there are only so many words to describe the human genitalia and the acts that one can do with them so I give Gabaldo credit for trying to be creative with the sex scenes but at times the wording can be a little on the eye-rolling side. However what she really does best in these moments is the writing to make them seem to steam off the page with graphic description, it is that in these moments she captures the heart and soul of the connection that lives between Claire and Jamie. Their physical acts of love change in style and intensity to not only provide each other physical pleasure but to mend and heal each others emotionally. That after all these years and all the hard times Jamie still finds such enjoyment over the wonder he feels is Claire's bum just makes it kind of sweet and silly and endearing.
Some of the hard choices they face this time are murder they get suspected of but didn't commit, murders they do, revenge vs justice, and the sacrifice of being togetherness to save one of their own.
While I am going on to the next book because I have really want to know how they are and where they end up, what will happen with William and John and will the truth of that come out. I am really hoping that there is more of the same heart to this family that keeps me coming back but that there are much less by way of kidnappings this time and maybe some run ins with the members of the group of founding fathers, this is after all the days of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Franklin....
(Finished August 6, 2016)
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Harry Potter #8) by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne (Spoilers Inside)
There are two things to review here, contact and format.
Format First, No Spoilers In This Section:
This was not written in novel form but is the script from the London Stage Production. In the past I have found scripts can be a little harder to ready style wise. But this didn't feel that way. I was immediately sucked back into the world J.K. Rowling created and that I love so much.
I read this with my son and we did it all in one day sharing the parts. We both thought the non-spoken pieces added to the story and helped us imagine how this would look on the stage. The script format does not in any way make this a difficult or stilted read.
Content, Spoilers Contained In This Section, I Will Warn You When I Start To Say Things Spoilery:
Have you ever wondered what happened after the epilogue? Harry has told his son Albus Severus that he is named for two headmasters of Hogwarts one who was a Slytherin and the train departs and Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are left on the platform? Well this is that story. The opening is that scene on Platform 9 3/4. This is a story about the painful and messy that often fills parent/child relations. There is also a thread of the danger of messing with time, one which was addressed in Prisoner of Azkaban. But it was the characters we know and love all grown up. It has been a long time since this world has been so front and center and I was glad to have the chance to visit it again. There is action, some mystery (which was well spun I think and made me think how much better this was coming after Rowling having written a mystery series), adventure, and love.
Scroll for spoilers or stop here if you don't want to be spoiled.
Don't read on if you want to avoid specifics.
You have been warned. If you read further and then feel cheated you got spoiled it is on you...Read at your own risk!!!
Ron surprised me here. He still kind of gets overshadowed by Harry and Hermione but he has his moments where he really shines and you can see how he has grown into a fine and wonderful man.
Draco was still Draco but with something more, humanity. I felt for him and even cried for him.
Snape, oh my how wonderful and yet painful to see him again. His true strength of character, the part of him that made Harry name one of his sons for the man, he gets the chance to exhibit it again, even more heroically.
A man I never imagined would ever have a loss of composure does, and it makes him that much more loves, Dumbledore...and it was a moment of pure emotion.
I did find one thing a little bit of an odd choice and I didn't stop thinking that even at the end of the story, the use of Cedric and his death as a catalyst for the action. There were other plot devices that I am sure could have been used that were less odd, like the title, The Cursed Child...the mystery of who it refers to would have done fine, the friendship between Albus and Scorpius was a match lit and would have been a starting point. Just being the offspring of Harry and Draco would have been enough to set them on the path for action and trouble. But Cedric was the chosen device.
But the biggest shocker but not really a shocker was Modly/Voldy-Bellatrix love child...I am not sure I want to know the specifics of them bumping uglies..literally and figuratively...But I always thought she was a little too crushey on him....
There was a nod to the badass that is Neville which was nice!! It was a great acknowledgement to his importance in the stories.
The Godric's Hollow scenes were so powerful and painful. The sacrifice was heartbreaking. Harry has proven once again his bravery and strength is only there when he is surrounded with those he loves and who love him.
Over all I was pleased with my return to the wizarding world and would love the chance to see the stage production.
(Finished July 31, 2016)
Format First, No Spoilers In This Section:
This was not written in novel form but is the script from the London Stage Production. In the past I have found scripts can be a little harder to ready style wise. But this didn't feel that way. I was immediately sucked back into the world J.K. Rowling created and that I love so much.
I read this with my son and we did it all in one day sharing the parts. We both thought the non-spoken pieces added to the story and helped us imagine how this would look on the stage. The script format does not in any way make this a difficult or stilted read.
Content, Spoilers Contained In This Section, I Will Warn You When I Start To Say Things Spoilery:
Have you ever wondered what happened after the epilogue? Harry has told his son Albus Severus that he is named for two headmasters of Hogwarts one who was a Slytherin and the train departs and Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione are left on the platform? Well this is that story. The opening is that scene on Platform 9 3/4. This is a story about the painful and messy that often fills parent/child relations. There is also a thread of the danger of messing with time, one which was addressed in Prisoner of Azkaban. But it was the characters we know and love all grown up. It has been a long time since this world has been so front and center and I was glad to have the chance to visit it again. There is action, some mystery (which was well spun I think and made me think how much better this was coming after Rowling having written a mystery series), adventure, and love.
Scroll for spoilers or stop here if you don't want to be spoiled.
Don't read on if you want to avoid specifics.
You have been warned. If you read further and then feel cheated you got spoiled it is on you...Read at your own risk!!!
Spoilers begin here:
You will find out where the Sorting Hat places Albus. It was the first of many gasps and surprised utterances let out during the read.Ron surprised me here. He still kind of gets overshadowed by Harry and Hermione but he has his moments where he really shines and you can see how he has grown into a fine and wonderful man.
Draco was still Draco but with something more, humanity. I felt for him and even cried for him.
Snape, oh my how wonderful and yet painful to see him again. His true strength of character, the part of him that made Harry name one of his sons for the man, he gets the chance to exhibit it again, even more heroically.
A man I never imagined would ever have a loss of composure does, and it makes him that much more loves, Dumbledore...and it was a moment of pure emotion.
I did find one thing a little bit of an odd choice and I didn't stop thinking that even at the end of the story, the use of Cedric and his death as a catalyst for the action. There were other plot devices that I am sure could have been used that were less odd, like the title, The Cursed Child...the mystery of who it refers to would have done fine, the friendship between Albus and Scorpius was a match lit and would have been a starting point. Just being the offspring of Harry and Draco would have been enough to set them on the path for action and trouble. But Cedric was the chosen device.
But the biggest shocker but not really a shocker was Modly/Voldy-Bellatrix love child...I am not sure I want to know the specifics of them bumping uglies..literally and figuratively...But I always thought she was a little too crushey on him....
There was a nod to the badass that is Neville which was nice!! It was a great acknowledgement to his importance in the stories.
The Godric's Hollow scenes were so powerful and painful. The sacrifice was heartbreaking. Harry has proven once again his bravery and strength is only there when he is surrounded with those he loves and who love him.
Over all I was pleased with my return to the wizarding world and would love the chance to see the stage production.
(Finished July 31, 2016)
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