Spring Break Books

Spring Break is almost over, and I have survived....... so far. We actually had some nice weather and I got to spend some time outside with the kids. On Tuesday we headed down to Turner Field (where the Braves play) to get some tickets for this weekend and we ended up taking a stadium tour - it was pretty cool and the kids loved it. We got to watch the Red Sox opener on Monday (they lost) but we were redeemed with a win last night. And I did get to have at least one fruity drink with an umbrella in it while sitting on my deck with some girlfriends - almost as good as being at the beach!

The one good thing about spring break is, I have read a TON of books this week, not having to get up at the crack of dawn has let me read late into the night. Here are some books I picked up this week:

Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb
LOVED this book, and I think I loved it more than I normally would because I read it after reading all about Margo on her blog tour ’07. Reading it, I couldn't help but think of my own kids and what would happen to them if I died suddenly. What would my husband be like as a widower father, would he meet and want to marry some crazy woman with lots of figurines? I am recommending this book to any teenager I know, some have lost a parent and will identify with Mia, some have both parents and hopefully might appreciate that fact for a second or two (hey, they are teenagers, I think that’s all you can ask for!)


Shug by Jenny Han
I finally got this book into my library and I snatched it up and read it in a night. Loved the character of Annemarie (Shug) and her struggle to go from being a kid to a teenager and what a difficult thing that is. As a mom to an 11 year old boy, I really took thought as I read about how Shug’s Mom & Dad interacted, how she talked about her Mom’s drinking and how she felt about the whole situation. I still see my kids as little, kids who don’t have an opinion about what my husband and I fight about or how much I drink, but through Shug’s eyes I am reminded about how “in tune” with reality kids can be. This is the reason why I think adults, especially adults with children should read intermediate and YA books, I think we “get” something different out of reading them than our kids do, but we DO get something from reading them.

Babymouse Rock Star by Jennifer Holm & Matthew Holm
Actually I checked this out for my 9 year old daughter, she is in LOVE with Babymouse right now and heck, so am I. Love her spunkiness and her dreams of stardom. Love the graphic novel format and as a fan of the color pink, I love the black/white and pink colors of the book – add Hannah and I to the Babymouse fan club! I just ordered the series for my library, I have a feeling they will fly out of there!


Waiting for Daisy by Peggy Orenstein
I am a sucker for the Mommy memoir – maybe it is because I can on some level connect with the author. This book is the story of Peggy Orenstein, she has put off motherhood and now she is READY to take a stab at it, only her body decides that she isn’t so ready, she has breast cancer. So she deals with that (she tells the reader very little about this ordeal, other than to tell us, she was diagnosed, she had surgery, radiation and she is cancer free). Then she goes full force into trying to make a baby with her husband and, well, it’s not as easy as it looks. So she takes us on her journey, and in the end, you will be surprised how it ends, but YES, it does have a happy ending (I have yet to see a Mommy memoir that doesn’t have a happy ending). I had a blip of infertility trouble (miscarriages, fertility drugs & hormones) and although I was young when this happened (I was 25/26) this book still brought back some of those thoughts and fears and the craziness of that time in my life. Who would have thought that once I got what we had been working toward and praying about that one day I would want to give them away (ok, might be kidding about that, but get back to me at the end of Spring break)


I Feel Bad About my Neck by Nora Ephron
I love Nora Ephron, love her writing, love her movies, love her (well, I’ve never actually met her, but I think I would love her) and although this book is talking about a time in my life that I have yet to experience (aging for the over 50 set) it was still an enjoyable read. One of the quotes in the book says “ Anything you think is wrong with your body at the age of 35 you will be nostalgic for at the age of forty-five” – that quote alone was worth reading the book for. At the age of 37, I see lines on my face, I see the pooch that is my stomach, no matter how many crunches I do, it is still there, reminding me that I gained and lost 40 pounds with each baby (3 times) and forgot to put stretch mark cream on religiously after I gave birth because, well, I was busy.
I am buying the book for my Mom for Mother’s day, she will enjoy it and hopefully we let me borrow it again when I hit 40 and 50 and 60.

Anatomy Of A Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
I picked up this book after Margo Rabb on one of her blog tour stops said that she was hoping to read this because it is like an updated Forever by Judy Blume. Well, I remember reading Forever, it was 8th grade and I stealthy checked the book out of the library (the adult section!) I read it during class and under the covers at night. It wasn’t that my parents would have forbid me to read it, but somehow I thought with it’s sexual content, that I was embarrassed to have my parents find me reading it. It was the first book I read that made me blush, and was certainly my first book with any kind of sexual content. GOD, I loved that book (note to self, pick up a copy..)

Well, Margo was right, even though I last read Forever about 20 years ago, I can see the similarities. The first love/first sexual encounter kind of story. The story follows Dom as the brainy, pre-med, serious high school student who suddenly (and unexpectedly) falls for a BOY! The relationship takes a while to get going (even I was yelling in my head JUST KISS HER while reading parts of the book) the relationship quickly becomes intense. Scenes like making out in the car and getting “caught” by the cops, almost every adult can relate and realize that even in this age of IM’ing and MySpace that teenagers still go “parking” (and get caught!) The end of the book is predictable, they go off to separate colleges, one of them starts to lose interest and the end is near. I see this book as this generations Forever, the first book that a young teen reads that explores sexuality in their terms. I actually bought this book because they did not have it at my local library, so I see my daughter and her friends in a few years (she is 9) stealing this book off our bookshelf to read between the sheets!

I have Clementine by Sara Pennypacker and Rules by Cynthia Lord left in my bag to read this week - hopefully I'll get through a few more too!

GO SOX!