March/April Book Reviews

Looking back, it appears I neglected to do my March book review, so I decided to combine March and April together.

In those two months, these are the book that I read:

23. Two Kisses for Maddy- Matthew Logelin
24. The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.-Sandra Gulland
25. The Dressmaker- Kate Alcott
26. The Eighty Dollar Champion- Elizabeth Letts
27. The Reading Promise- Alice Ozma
28. More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon- Stephen Davis
29. The Lost Girls- Jenifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, Amanda Pressner
30. Alice I Have Been- Melanie Benjamin
31. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty- Joshilyn Jackson
32. Bond Girl- Erin Duffy
33. Sarah's Key- Tatiana de Rosnay
34. Southern Lights- Danielle Steel
35. The Gilly Salt Sisters- Tiffany Baker
36. Maine- J. Courtney Sullivan
37. The Paticular Sadness of Lemon Cake- Aimee Bender
38. Snowflower and the Secret Fan- Lisa See
39. Sideways on a Scooter- Miranda Kennedy
40. Wanderlust- Elisabeth Eaves

Since I'm combining the two months, I'll go ahead and do a few more favorites, than my usual three.

1.The Eighty Dollar Champion

This book is about a horse, Snowman, that was rescued from being sent to the slaughter house. An enterprising,hard-working Dutch immigrant bought Snowman for $80 to use as lesson horse at the girls' school that he works at. After a series of events, it comes to light that Snowman is an excellent jumper. Snowman goes on to win the most important jumping competition in America several times. Nobody thought this old plough horse would be able to compete against some of the finest bred horses in the world and win. This book was heart-warming and I definitely teared up a few times.

2.  The Lost Girls

This book is about 3, late 20-something girls living in NYC who decide to put their jobs and personal lives on hold and travel around the world for one year.  Along the way they become like sisters, have their share of crazy adventures and meet lots of interesting people. It's not my favorite travel book that I've ever read, but it was still a good read.

3. Maine

I read J. Courtney Sullivan's first novel, but this book was so much better. This is probably my favorite book that I read in April.  The book follows four different women in the family and centers around their summer home in Maine. I loved the different characters and how developed they were. Definitely an awesome read.

4. Snowflower and the Secret Fan

I've read several of Lisa See's other books, but this has been my favorite.  It follows two young girls in China who become a kind of best friend/soul sister and follows them from the age of seven, through their adult lives and until their deaths.  The writing in this book almost reminded me of an Amy Tan novel and that is a very good thing.  I loved the book so much that I'm really wanting to see the movie. I just hope it does the book justice.

5. Sideways on a Scooter

This is another sort of travel book and it was my favorite of the travel-related books I read in these two months. Miranda moves to India for several years to try out her independence and work doing freelance news work.  She's explains her fascination of India that started as a young girl and it's interesting to see how her view of India changes in the years that she is there. I loved the descriptions of her friends and the various people she meets in her years in India.

Most Hated Book of March/April

1. Wanderlust

Do NOT read this book. I had high hopes for it as it was another book in the travel genre, but quite frankly, it sucked.  The book was less about travel and more about what drugs and various sexual partners this girl encounters in her travels through a span of about 15 years. Seriously, it got old really quickly. I'm not sure why she chose to focus on those particular aspects of her travel, as she was in so many interesting locations. I wish she would have elaborated more on them.  I am not alone in this review, as I checked out Amazon and she received many similar, scathing reviews on there as well.