December Books That Did Not 'Make the Grade'

Although I read two amazing books this month, there were a few that just didn't engage me enough to be reviewed. So, here are the books for December that, unfortunately, did not “make the grade”:

The 100 year old Man Who Climbed Out if the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson- This was a fascinating story with great characters but the continuous flashbacks to the main character’s previous life was unnecessary and after a while they did not correspond to the story.  I understand Jonasson was trying to give back-story but it was, as previously stated, unnecessary; which brought the rest of the story down as a result.

Asta in the Wings by Jan Elizabeth Watson- The critics say that Asta is one of the most ‘appealing heroines of our time’ but unfortunately, I couldn’t find the patience to trudge through the many pages of seemingly unimportant information before I found the actual plot and see what they saw in Asta.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell- Right off the bat, the storyline eluded me. The story is broken up into several storylines sectioned off by chapters, but I couldn’t past the first one because Mitchell wrote the story was in a mix of Old English and Modern English, making it difficult to read and understand as well as making the story even more confusing and unappealing.

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin- I had high hopes for this novel but I found myself falling asleep as I tried to wade through the meaningless detail before getting back to the story. (This seems to be a common issue.) Personally, with Historical Fiction, it is a 50/50 chance if the book will be a success. This is because if there are people, like me, who know the truth behind the matter they are writing about, it will take a lot to make me a believer but sadly, this book didn’t take me to any kind of Wonderland but only land of disappointment. 

Thanks again for reading!

~Shelly-Beans

The Art of Giving Flowers by Callie Craumer

Illustrator: Fiona Kwan

Genre: Nature Guide/Non-Fiction

Date of Publication: March 6, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “One of the best reasons to send flowers is no reason at all.” (pg. 47)

Lasting Impression: This simple guide unlocks the secrets to not only the art of giving flowers but as well the components that will make your next bouquet of flowers that much more special and sentimental.

NOTE: This will be the first non-fiction book (more specifically the first guide) I am reviewing so my rating system will be different from the fictional novels.  Here are definitions to my rating components so no one is confused:

(This rating system will be for guides; for non-fiction, there will likely be a different system.)

Accessibility: Was the guide easy to understand for a wide audience?

Content: Was the subject interesting?

Creativity: Was it told in an interesting way or was it simply a bore to read?

Layout: Is the amount of text overwhelming? Are there pictures to break up the text to make it more visually appealing?

Overall Grade: Self- explanatory.

Accessibility: A+

Content: A+

Creativity: A-

Layout: B+

Overall Grade: A

Giving flowers to someone has become a customary way of showing one’s appreciation, support, sympathy, or any number of emotions that words cannot rightfully express.  Now, the secrets florists have known for so long about the importance behind certain flowers paired with the proper occasion is now accessible to the public with Callie Craumer’s remarkable guide, The Art of Giving Flowers.

 I reviewed a novel a few months ago called The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, which focused on the meaning or ‘language’ of flowers but this guide goes beyond the meanings (although it does have a chapter on it) and explores the proper steps as to how to select the perfect arrangement for someone. Craumer takes you through colors, the characteristics of certain flowers that make them unique, and the arrangements that go best with each holiday, leaving nothing to question and giving you all of the information you need to create a truly unique floral gift for anyone.

This floral guide is only 56 pages long but to my surprise it was not a quick read; it was packed with more information than I thought could fit into such a little book.  In saying so, that does not mean the content seemed to be squeezed into the pages; Craumer does an excellent job being thorough with her descriptions but not so much so that she will lose your interest.  What helps break up the guide are the beautiful watercolor drawings of many of the flowers describes, illustrated by Fiona Kwan.  The flower illustrations are simple yet full detail as they help tie all of the information Craumer is describing together.

The only downfall to this guide was the layout. Although I like how the sentences are broken up frequently with flower illustrations, the guide could have flowed better if the flowers described in certain arrangements had those flowers illustrated on the page.  Instead, the flower ‘arrangement’ on the page was at times random, leaving me disappointed in not being able to see what Craumer was trying to say due to the lack of visual aid.

Other than that small setback, everything is written beautifully in an informative, yet warm way. The Art of Giving Flowers is a must have guide for anyone who is interested in gardening, floral arrangement, or would like to know the secrets up to now only the florists knew about when it comes to ‘the art of giving flowers.’

~Shelly-Beans

Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Fiction

Date of Publication: February 7, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “I feel like I ought to ask more questions, ought to show more interest, but there is little point.  Anything he tells me now I will have forgotten by the time I wake tomorrow. Today is all I have.” (pg.30)

Lasting Impression: An electrifying novel of an amnesiac who plays both the detective and the victim as she tries to discover her memories and the secrets they hide about her past.

Storyline: A

Pace of Story: A+

Characters: A

Ending: A+

Overall Grade: A+

Memories: they define us.  Who are we without our memories? Who can we grow to be without remembering our experiences to learn from?  For most, these questions cannot be answered because not until we become elderly do we have to worry about them.  For forty-seven year old Christine Lucas, however, she wakes up every morning not remembering anything; rebuilding them throughout the day only to have them erased as she sleeps.

The cause of her rare kind of amnesia is due to by a terrible incident that happened twenty years before.  To help her find her memories that she believes are still in her mind but have been suppressed, she takes her psychologist’s recommendation to write about her daily events in order to remember what had occurred and hopefully something would stay in her memory for more than a few hours.  Before we begin our journey through Christine’s written memories, we are confronted with three words that immediately give the readers a jaded view of Christine’s husband: DON’T TRUST BEN.  As we begin to read and understand Christine, the reader must ask: Are these three simple words just a way to mess with the reader’s sense of who to trust, as Christine would feel, or is this really a beacon of light that will help us see through the darkness that falsities have brought into Christine’s world and mind?

The story itself is incredible, and the amount of detail Watson puts into Before I Go to Sleep makes it hard to believe this is actually his debut.  From the first page, I was immediately sucked into the story and had a difficult time putting it down.  Watson has a wonderful way with words, arranging them to create emotion and sound in ways visual aid would normally be needed to express.  Christine’s journal is also broken up well, with interruptions to the flow and breaks that make it sound more realistic.  (I wish he would have used a different font for the journal entries but that is only a minor criticism.) 

What really made this novel stand out more than any psychological thriller I have ever read was the amount of twists Watson was able to incorporate into the storyline and not lose the reader in the chaos that he creates.  Not only does he do well keeping the reader’s attention with the twists to the story but more importantly, he has Christine roll with the punches her memory brings her as it slowly returns and the missing pieces of her life finally reappear, and the epiphanies they bring will continuously blow the reader’s mind. 

For such an intense novel, there had to be a powerful ending to conclude it properly, and Watson does not disappoint.  The ending is exceptional, tying everything together with a neat bow.  After everything is said and done, you may find yourself almost exhausted and with a slight headache from everything that had happened, but it will be worth the journey. Before I Go To Sleep left me with chills, even a day after I had finished it, and has left a chilling question stuck in my head: If you can’t trust your memories, who can you trust?

~Shelly-Beans

November Books That Did Not 'Make the Grade'

This is going to be a new installment in Shelly-Beans Book Reviews because I do not want you, my readers, to think that it takes me a whole month to read one or two books (although that may be the case every once in a while.)  In reality, there are many times when I will read a few chapters of 3 or 4 books but not be able to finish them before I find one that captivates me enough to read it in it's entirety, which will then reviewed here.

So to let you all know what books I couldn't get into or, 'didn't make the grade' and why, I will be writing a sentence or two as to why they didn't get a full review on them at the end of each month.  I hope you enjoy them as well as my regular reviews and thank you for your support in reading my reviews.  Enjoy!

NOTE: Although I cannot get into a certain book now does not mean I will not try to read it again in the future, so when you see a book end up in a 'didn't make the grade' post, do not be surprised if I eventually do read and review it.  Every book deserves a second chance, after all, and some books are meant to be read during different points in our lives.


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Here are is the book I tried to read during the month of November but either didn't engage me or interest me enough to read fully:

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie- Although Laurie has a unique writing style, the story did not flow well which led me to being confused more often than not.  His plot was all over the place, his character introductions were not the best and personally, I had a hard time appreciating his British humor.

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I look forward to your comments and thanks for reading!

~Shelly-Beans

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

Genre: Fiction/Psychological Thriller

Date of Publication: March 27^th, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “From the moment I opened the cadaver and saw the tendons, the nerves, the ligaments and the carpal bones of the wrist, I was in love. Not for me the heart, the lungs, or the esophagus--let others play in those sandboxes.  I want the hands, the fingers, the parts that connect us to the things of this world.” (Pg. 215)

Lasting Impression:  This is what it feels like to lose your mind...

Storyline: A

Pace of Story: A

Characters: B+

Ending: A-

Overall Grade: A-

As we get older, memory loss becomes an unfortunate part of aging we all must accept. Sometimes it is worse for others, but no amount of small forgetful moments can compare to the pain family members must go through when one of their parents or family members suffers from Alzheimer’s or Dementia. This is the fate of Dr. Jennifer White, retired Orthopedic surgeon, who at sixty-five is suffering from Dementia and is quickly slipping farther from reality, mentally. To add to the pain her family is going through with her illness, a murder has taken place in her neighborhood and Dr. White is the prime subject, for two reasons:

1.) The person murdered was her neighbor/best friend, Amanda, and Dr. White was the last person seen with her alive.

2.) Four of Amanda’s fingers had been cut off after her death, which leads to suspicion of

Dr. White because her surgical practice. 

Through Dr. White’s first hand account, the reader goes on a wild ride as they try to figure out if this murder case has nothing to do with her or if the holes in Dr. White’s memory are hiding the clues needed to uncovering the case.

To tell Dr. White’s story, Alice LaPlante uses an interesting writing style of using short sentences and having Dr. White’s voice in regular font while anyone else’s voice is in italics, making the voices of others seem shaky; Dr. White only certain of her own voice. 

The flow of the story is fluid, the imagery is lucid, and the thoroughness LaPlante uses in showing the ups and downs from the Dr. Whites point of view is eye-opening and sad; an amazing accomplishment with Turn of Mind being a fictional novel, at times feeling like a memoir. 

This feat in writing from the perspective of a Dementia sufferer also has its downfalls, do to the way different things are described and then randomly changes, most likely following the thought pattern of someone with Dementia, but it can frustrating for the reader with not understanding what is happening. The only other downfall to LaPlante’s novel is that the build up to what happened to Amanda takes a while; it is not until the middle of the novel the murderer is uncovered, and when that is revealed, it is in a quick sentence that will make the reader stop and say, “wait…what?” I promise, however, that the ending is worth the wait and will leave you practically speechless.

A carefully constructed story with many aspects relatable to older generations of our families undergoing increasing memory loss, Turn of Mind is a brilliant story full of twists and discovery of the mind and heart. The relationship between Dr. White and the reader is effortless as they embark on a voyage through her mind to try to cover any holes in her memory that could aid the murder investigation and help her mind piece together her fragmented thoughts and memories before she loses everything in her mind for good.

~Shelly-Beans

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy

Date of Publication: July 3^rd, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “It is these aficionados, these rêveurs who see the details in the bigger picture of the circus.  They see the nuance of the costumes, the intricacy of the signs. They buy sugar flowers and do not eat them, wrapping them in paper instead and carefully bringing them home. They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent.” (Pg. 184)

Lasting Impression: The Night Circus, or Le Cirque des Rêves (The Circus of Dreams), will leave you breathless with how vivid the story and the Circus are, leaving the readers as upset to see the last page as the last patron of the circus is to see the sun rise.

Story line: A+

Pace of Story: A+

Characters: A+

Ending: A+

Overall Grade: A+

Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus is nothing short of spectacular. There are innumerable reasons why this circus is so unique, the most noteworthy being that the circus does not adhere to the usual visions of what a circus is. The Night Circus is not only absent of clowns and elephants but also of color; the tents, booths, and costumes are all covered in shades of black, white, and gray; the lack of color giving the Circus a more sophisticated look.

Inside the walls of the circus are many stories to told, all of which are in some way tied to the deadly game of skill two magicians, Celia and Marco, have been unknowingly forced into by their instructors.  Through the third person perspectives of numerous characters, including the magicians themselves, we are shown a world where futures can be read in the stars, illusions are real magic in disguise, and forbidden love always finds a way with a little luck and perseverance.

 The description of the circus and everything it offers is exquisite, but it is Morgenstern’s description and personality each character is given that sets this novel apart from anything I have ever read.  When Marco first falls in love with Celia, for instance, the reader finds themselves falling in love with her too.  As the romance between the two magicians blossoms, they learn to express their secret love for one another through the different exhibits throughout the circus, a beautiful yet painful display of affection that will make anyone’s heart ache.

Another example of Morgenstern’s amazing storytelling is shown during the opening ceremony of the Night Circus, when the cauldron in the middle of the courtyard has a beautiful archery/fire display presented and everyone, including the reader, can feel and see everything as if they were there.  The amount of detail required to write such a book is extraordinary, and left me feeling breathless numerous times.

In an ironic way, the best feature of The Night Circus is also its worst.  It is amazing how much this novel draws the reader in and how full of detail the chapters are, but unfortunately the chapters do not always flow very well together.  Sometimes you become so deeply engrossed in one story line that going into the next chapter is a bit like being thrown into a pool; the coldness is shocking at first but once you get used to it, you adjust.

Personally, my soul has been stirred by this beautiful story by the beauty of the characters, the circus, the mysteries everyone is hiding for fear of being exposed. There is so much to be analyzed and discussed but fear of saying too much leaves me only brushing the surface.  If there is one novel I could recommend for you to take a journey on, it is The Night Circus, for it is not often that someone creates a novel made out of dreams and intertwines them with the most brilliant of words to capture them.

~Shelly-Beans

Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Genre: Fiction/Thriller

Date of Publication: September 3^rd, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “…something was driving animals to go haywire and the time to do something about it was running out quicker than the plastic wand supply at a Harry Potter convention.” (pgs. 23-24)

Lasting Impression: A unique and frightening vision of the end of the world; well-written but animal lovers should take discretion when reading.

Storyline: A-

Pace of Story: A

Characters: A+

Ending: B+

Overall Grade: A-

Over the last thirteen years, the world has been more concerned than ever about the Earth’s end.  From the new millennium, the monthly raptures that were supposed to occur, and the Mayan’s prediction of the end, December 21, 2012, it has almost become a norm to think about the world’s pending destruction.  Thinking of the world’s demise in a more scientific, yet more gruesome way, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge team up to create a novel about how modern day civilization has been brought to its knees not by aliens, ancient predictions, or raptures, but by wild animals and the pets we love as much as our children.

Our narrator and tour guide to how this fictional representation of our world collapses is Jackson Oz, better known simply as “Oz”, a Columbia University biology dropout who devotes his life to trying to expose the world to his theory, the HAC (Human Animal Conflict).  Although most scientists and government officials ignore his theory and deem it illogical, Oz soon becomes the only person who can save the world when his predictions and theories start to come true.  Animals from around the world go on killing sprees, with humans the only sustenance to quench their thirst for blood.  From lions escaping from zoos and attacking people to family dogs going crazy, biting and killing their owners, the reason (and solution) for the attacks lies within Oz’ theory of HAC. Everything depends, though, on if the world is ready to accept the reason and comply with what is needed to save itself.

The story is not only narrated by Oz but also by stories of attacks around the world caused by the HAC and, more interestingly, some of the animals that are slowly affected; one of them being Oz’s pet Chimpanzee, Attila.  The animal’s thoughts are visible in certain chapters to the reader, and helps give a better understanding of how the animals are being affected, which gives this story more depth due to the different viewpoints. What makes the telling of this story even more outstanding is the way Patterson and Ledwidge back up their fictional animal attacks with real animal and geological facts, making the tale seem even more real yet much more terrifying. 

I would agree with the critic’s ratings of this being James Patterson’s ‘best thriller ever’ if it was not for all of the gruesome, violent events and details that are described.  For animal lovers, including myself, the wild animal attacks are hard to read but the chapters in which pet dogs are described attacking their owners and therefore being killed are heart wrenching and upsetting, making this gory description nothing more than wasted space.

SPOILER ALERT:  Chapter 55- Dog lovers, take discretion.

For the problems that arrive because of the HAC, the solution Patterson and Ledwidge have Oz come up with for this epidemic is very clever and well thought out.  However, it is interesting that the way this fictional world responds to it is temporary compliance and then a continuance of their daily tasks, not realizing that what they are doing is making matters worse.  It is a terrible thought, to think that the animal attacks are a result of something so simple to fix but the world cannot unite in healing its wounds, but in this suspenseful and enrapturing novel, Patterson and Ledwidge surely outdid themselves in showing that we are the enemy not only to nature, but to ourselves as well.

~Shelly-Beans

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

Genre: Fiction/Thought-Provoking

Date of Publication: September 4^th, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And because of this, man suffers a paralyzing fear no other creature endures. A fear time is running out.” (pg. 8)

Storyline: A+

Pace of Story: A+

Characters: A+

Ending: A

Overall Grade: A+

Lasting Impression: This book will change your life and the way you look at the concept of time.

When everyone is born, we are given all of the time we will ever need to accomplish our goals, find our true loves, and create the lives that will make us happiest.  Unfortunately, measuring time in units of seconds, hours, minutes, and days do nothing but add stress to our lives and make us forget that we are never losing any “time,” it is all there; it just depends on how we use it.  Similar to his novels The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, Mitch Albom delves into areas of the human psyche we overlook everyday and challenges the reader to look past the bustle of everyday life and notice how much the little things matter.

Dor, a man who is alive during the creation of the Tower of Babel, has an interest in measuring, which inadvertently leads him to creating the measurement of time.  Similar to the way Eve defies the Garden of Eden by eating the apple, Dor defies God by taking away the gift of living by the day and making humans measure their lives with Dor’s time instruments (i.e. sundials and clock).  Because of this, Dor finds himself punished for eternity by being forced to listen to all the complaints people have about not having “enough time” and other phrases that incorporate the limited amount of time they believe they have.

To rectify his creation, Dor is told to change the lives of two individuals, one who wants more time and one who wants time to stop.  The journey he goes on, as well as the two people’s lives he will change, show the way we must realize that time is only a measurement and should not control our actions or the way we choose to live.

The characters in Albom’s novel are incredibly relatable and make Albom’s message of focusing on the days we have, not the time we have left, that much more powerful. The way the novel is written is exceptional, in its delivery of the delicate subjects of time and death as well as the way we are reminded to appreciate those who love us, for when they are gone there is no turning back time. 

The lessons that Albom has Dor teach the two individuals will stick with the reader for a long time, if not for the rest of their lives because each one of us tends to be someone who either wants less time or wants more of it:

For those who can relate to believing that the end is near or they want less time, Albom personifies through Dor that yesterdays are endings while tomorrows are beginnings, we cannot end what has not begun. For those who wish they had more time, they must remember that the concept of immortality, although tempting, should not be thought of as an immediate solution because knowing you will never die takes the thrill and joy out of everyday life and would be replaced with a boredom of endless, repetitive days.

Albom has outdone himself in The Time Keeper, encouraging the reader through the perspectives of three amazing individuals to stop looking at your watches and clocks long enough to realize that we can all live better lives if we start measuring our lives by the moments, not the seconds.

~Shelly-Beans

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Genre: General Fiction/Contemporary

Date of Publication: April 3^rd, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “I’m talking about the language of flowers,” Elizabeth said, “It’s from the Victorian Era, like your name. If a man gave a young lady a bouquet of flowers, she would race home and try to decode it like a secret message. Red roses mean love, yellow roses, infidelity. So a man would have to choose his flowers carefully.” (pg. 29)

Storyline: A+

Pace of the Story: A+

Characters: A+

Ending: A

Overall: A+

When women are asked what their favorite flowers are, most will name a specific flower because of its color, scent, or general beauty.  What most women do not realize, however, is that flowers have a deeper purpose than most recognize.  Each flower has a specific meaning, and the truth behind each flower may make some second guess what their favorite flower really is. For example, Chrysanthemums mean truth, Lilies mean majesty, Pansies mean think of me, Sunflowers mean false riches, and orphan Victoria Jones uses these messages to convey her deepest thoughts and desires in a world she feels shut out from.  Moving from foster home to foster home, she keeps a rough and jaded attitude towards the world until a few special individuals enter Victoria’s life and show her that the past can be forgiven and her flowers are the key to her happiness. 

Similar to Caroline Clairmont's talent with chocolate and the way she changed people’s lives with it in the film Chocolat, Victoria’s passion for flowers help bring out the deepest of people’s desires through the language of flowers that many have forgotten and do not take the time to acknowledge. (Towards the end of the novel, Diffenbaugh includes “Victoria’s Dictionary of Flowers”, which gives the reader meanings behind many flowers and plants that would make anyone look at and appreciate gardens and flowers in ways they had never expected.)

Victoria’s journey from a sense of abandonment to her own happy ending creates an amazing novel that will keep its readers entranced from the first word to the last, with the meanings of many popular flowers used carefully throughout the story to convey important subtle messages of love and pain. The bold characters that are introduced at crucial points in Victoria’s life are another strong asset to Diffenbaugh’s stunning first novel, as well as the many forms of love that are described throughout the book, from maternal love to romantic love.  The romantic scenes between Victoria and Grant, the man she eventually comes to love, are as beautiful and delicate as the flowers described, which is important in a novel that is based on a broken girl who must be handled with care in every respect, especially emotionally and mentally. 

The exploration Victoria makes to find herself is fragile yet courageous, a young girl whose most representative flower begins with Common Thistle, Misanthropy (Distrust of Mankind) but in the end turns into the Daffodils, New Beginnings, a small way of saying that it is never too late for self-discovery.

~Shelly-Beans

The Other Woman's House by Sophie Hannah

Genre: Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Date of Publication: June 26^th, 2012

Memorable Quotation: “Crazy doesn’t have to mean made up. Insanity’s as real as sanity.” (pg. 67)

Storyline: B

Pace of the Story: C

Characters: B+

Ending: B

Overall Grade: B-

Everywhere we go, we pass houses we admire from a distance.  Our admiration for these houses is usually a fleeting thought as soon as they are out of sight; but for some, like Connie Bowskill in Sophie Hannah’s The Other Woman’s House, houses represent more than living quarters and a place to call home.  For Connie, an obsession with a specific house drags her down a dark road of truth behind her troubled marriage with Christian “Kit” Bowskill and how her paranoia made her closer to the truth than she would ever believe.  The specific house she is obsessed with is 11 Bentley Grove in Cambridge, and after viewing a virtual tour of the home on a popular real estate website, she spots a sight that will forever be engraved into her mind:  a woman lying face-down  in the lounge in what appears to be her own blood, dead.  After waking Kit in a panic and making him watch the tour to confirm what she saw, he tells Connie that there is no murdered woman in the lounge.  To her amazement, the body is not there after viewing the tour again herself.  This befuddlement only adds to her obsession not only with the house but also in proving that she is not as crazy as she appears to be.

The journey as to who this mysterious murdered woman is, though, is not an easy one, for the way Sophie Hannah incorporates several different sub storylines to bring them together in the end takes away from the immediate draw of the murder case.  From the conversations between the three detectives trying to figure out Connie’s story as well as the descriptions of fellow characters troubles in their marriages made the story wane in intrigue and mystery but the wrapping up all the information about the house and the different connections the detectives come up with is very elaborate, very creative, but very confusing. 

It is evident as to what Hannah was trying to create, which was a well-rounded story of who Kit and Connie really were and their struggles in creating their perfect world, but there was too much detail and too many voices to have the psychological twists shine as if they were supposed to.  As to whom the woman is and how she ended up in such a predicament is surreal and unexpected; leaving the reader satisfied with the surprise but somewhat frustrated with how long it took to uncover the truth. After all is said and done, the ending is better than expected, unexpected at that; a small twist that is a nice facet to the story but does not bring forth any strong revelations, as Hannah may have originally intended. 

Although there are flaws in the pace of the story and the amount of perspectives used in the storytelling, The Other Woman’s House is a clever and original piece of writing. It is easy to connect to the main characters and believe in both of their arguments as to who is the crazy one, which will make this a page-turner for anyone who curious enough as to what secrets are hiding behind the doors of 11 Bentley Grove.

~Shelly-Beans

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

Translator: Sarah Jane Hails

Illustrator: Hilde Kramer

Date of Publication: November 7^th, 1997

Memorable quote: “My advice to all those who are going to find themselves: stay exactly where you are. Otherwise you are in great danger of losing yourself forever.” (pg. 11)

Captivating storyline: B+

Characters: A

Ending: A-

Odds you will remember this book in five years: A

Overall grade: A-

Two unlikely subjects, philosophy and playing cards, collide in Gaarder’s thought-provoking novel The Solitaire Mystery as Gaarder creates an elaborate story about a father and son, Hans Thomas, and their journey through Europe.  Their reason for the epic road trip is to find “Mommy,” Hans’ mother who left them to “find herself” in the fashion world eight years earlier.  During their journey, Hans’ meets a strange midget who gives him a magnifying glass and later stumbles upon an old baker who gives him a tiny book inside a sticky bun, which gives an amazing inner story about Hans’ family history.  (The “sticky-bun book” also serves as a means of answering mysterious questions about Hans’s father’s heritage and the reason why his father is obsessed with collecting Joker playing cards.)

The story within the sticky bun book is even more mystical than the main story-line, which at times keeps the reader wanting to know what is going to happen as much as Hans Thomas.  This was a great method to keep readers interested for when one storyline began to lose interest, the other picked up. The dynamic of playing cards throughout the novel is also fascinating, making every reader look at playing cards in a new fashion, especially the foolish Joker, and wonder the true meaning behind each card.

As Hans and his father travel through Europe, his father gives Hans random philosophy lessons about life, what it means to be human, and destiny.  Through the lessons, Hans’ receives and the jokes and interactions he has with his father, Hans’ relationship with his father is heartwarming and shows how the son helps his father to be a better individual and vice versa.

Sarah Jane Hails translated the novel from Norwegian, so at times, the translation is rough and difficult to understand, but the concept shows through.  The only other downside to this incredible novel is the way the storyline, both the main and sticky-bun stories, are long and drawn out at times but the ending is worth the wait!

If you are interested in philosophy, mystery, adventure, and playing cards, The Solitaire Mystery will keep you wondering what will be discovered until the very end.

~Shelly-Beans

Nectar by Lily Prior

Date of Publication: July 8^th, 2003

Memorable Quotation: “He held to himself the view that his wife would make a more competent grape picker than an opera singer. He had not the heart to tell her that her singing voice sounded like a cracked pot struck with a stick.” (pg. 52)

Captivating storyline: B-

Characters: B+

Ending: D-

Odds you will remember this book in five years: D+

Overall rating: C

The story follows Ramona, the arrogant and unappealing albino chambermaid of the estate, as she woes married men, old men, young men, any male with a non-congested nasal passage to a place of ecstasy simply from her natural fragrance. Becoming tired of working in the countryside, Ramona dreams of the city and stardom as an opera singer, but her arrogance and unworldly ways soon show her that the world does revolve around her and her magical scent.  

What starts as an erotic fairy-tale filled with magical realism quickly turns into a self-absorbed tale about Ramona and…that's about it.  With such a strong beginning, it is disappointing that the story loses its drive almost half way through the novel.  What first kept me interested was the way Lily Prior kept the story going at a nice, even pace with the humorous characters she created.  Unfortunately, the characters fell short of being memorable when their entire purpose turned into being pawns in Ramona’s game of life.  

As terrible as it is to say, the way I pushed through the rest of the book was through the hope that something terrible would finally happen to Ramona because she of the way she thought she could buy or be anything because of her scent. Unlike other books where I rooted for the main characters ambitions and goals, I hoped that she would not win and would finally get what she deserved after causing so much pain without caring about anyone but herself.

If you are hoping that the ending at least wraps everything up, you are mistaken.  Although the ending will remain untold, it does not solve all of the problems that are created throughout the novel and you will be left feeling neglected by the author.  All in all, Prior’s writing style is the only salvation to this tale of false love and misery but the storyline itself could have been so much better if the characters, other than Ramona, played a bigger part in the story.

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Thanks for reading! Until next time, happy reading!

~Shelly-Beans

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Date of Publication: April 6, 2010
Memorable Quotation: "i feel my life is so scattered right now. like it’s all these small pieces of paper and someone’s turned on the fan. but talking to you makes me feel like the fan’s been turned off for a little bit. like things could actually make sense. you completely unscatter me, and i appreciate that so much." (pg. 37) NOTE: The lack of capitalization in the quotation was intended; that is how part of the narration is written.
Grade: A-

Love is a word that has more meanings than any language can express. Some believe love is the highest form of affection someone can feel for another while others may see love to be a chemical reaction due to hormones and different neurological chemicals interacting at an enormous rate. For the story of Will Grayson, Will Grayson, however, bestselling authors John Green and David Levithan show their definition of that love to be accepting someone for who they are, despite the stereotypes of physical definition and sexual orientation. 

Although the story's narration is controlled by two teenage boys both names Will Grayson, the story line focuses on the extroverted and gay (in being both gleeful and homosexual) Tiny Cooper, a name ironic for his "more to love" body structure, and Tiny's musical about love, sexual identity, and the rises and falls that occur throughout life. Will Grayson, Tiny Cooper's best friend, is introverted and afraid to express himself but eventually overcomes his fears with the help of Tiny and a few epiphanies.  The Other Will Grayson, whose place in the story will be revealed upon reading, has his heart lurched left to right as the reader follows his moody nonchalance towards love develop into the motto "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

The theme of homosexuality is seen from two different stand points: Tiny knows who he is, as does the rest of the world, and switches between who he loves as if he is changing television channels while the other Will Grayson's sexuality is hidden initially while he loves a boy who he had yet to meet deeper than most can expect someone in high-school to feel.

One of the best features of this young adult novel is how the reader becomes so connected to the characters, cheering them on when things are going right and feeling their hearts tremble when the characters experience heartache. The way the turmoil and triumph love brings in the novel as well as the strain love puts on friendship is far more mature and real than most novels of this genre, mostly due to the characters feelings being expressed through careful precaution, not sexual innuendos as some other novels may describe.

Although the entire book was an amazing read, the way some of the climaxes the novel presents came too early was frusterating, leaving the reader to finish the book out of curiosity and the hope for more surprises. The ending itself was a surprise but some may not feel fulfilled by it because, long past the end of the book, they (including myself) will still be connected to the lives of both Will Graysons, Tiny Cooper, and their friends as we wonder what happens to them after the last page of their story.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts on my latest book review and the book itself in the comments below! Thank you and until next time, happy reading!

~Shelly-Beans

Whiskey Sour: A Jack Daniels Mystery by J.A. Konrath

Date of Publication: May 31, 2005
Memorable Quotation: ""Robertson." I nodded at the uniform.  "Sorry to hear about your dad." He shrugged. "He was seventy and we always knew fast food would kill him." "Heart attack?" "He was hit by a Pizza Express truck." (pg. 5)
Grade: A

Written with the fast pace of a James Patterson novel and the thoroughness of an actual crime investigation, J.A. Konrath enraptures his audience from beginning to end with his debut murder mystery, Whiskey Sour. This first installment in the Jack Daniels mystery series follows Lieutenant Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels (whose cleverness and  dedication to her job can be associated with The Closer's Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson) and Daniels search for the twisted serial killer dubbed "The Gingerbread Man."  Through the eyes of both Jack and the killer himself, the reader is given a new experience in reading a murder mystery, in that there are no loose ends to contemplate over and watching as the cat and mouse game between cop and killer continuously changes as to who is really hunting who.

The thoroughness Konrath writes with is a double-edged sword because although his style pulls the reader into the story, sometimes he gets carried away with the graphic details that could be left to the imagination i.e. the specifics of the crimes that are committed. To counterbalance the explicit imagery Konrath creates, the puns and one-liners he incorporates into the dialogue are original and add some spice to what could easily be an everyday murder case.    

The way the ending is rapped up is very clever, although it is important to keep in mind this is not the typical "who done it" crime novel.  What makes this novel so different, so extraordinary from other novels in its genre is being given the ability to read the thoughts of both the cop and the killer, which creates a sort of relationship with the reader. Although certain details could have been left unsaid, this novel is ready to amaze by giving the first real look into what it is like to be stuck not knowing if you are the hunter or the hunted.

My next book review is coming soon! Until then, happy reading and take care!

~Shelly-Beans

The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer

Date of Publication: March 2, 2010

Memorable Quotation: "Two moral forces shaped how we think and live in this shining twentieth century: The Virgin and the Dynamo. The Dynamo represents the desire to know, the Virgin represents the freedom not to know." (pg. 186)

Grade: A+

Dexter Palmer's debut novel, The Dream of Perpetual Motion, is one of absolute magnificence. Palmer's novel is told by Harold Winslow, a greeting card writer who is imprisoned on a Zeppelin created by Prospero Taligent, a scientist whose genius borders on madness, with Prospero's daughter, Miranda, who has gone insane due to the twisted love of her father.  The world they live in takes place in a Steampunk era that has replaced where angels once roamed free and people once believed in miracles, although this world of advanced technology cannot always replace the miracles that human love creates.   As the reader is transported back to Harold's childhood, they travel with him through his friendship with Miranda and the Shakespeare-worthy tragedies he must face to eventually find him writing his journey on paper.  

Two of the main characters, Prospero and Miranda (and one other that will be introduced to as the story goes on) are representative of Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, as Palmer has the characters point out but are not essential to understanding the story. (He does, however, make innuendos to the Tempest that can be best appreciated by those who understand the play.) 

Aside from the clever use of Shakespeare's characters in his novel, the imagery Palmer creates are paintings through words, from Ophelia (another Shakespeare reference), one of Harold's co-workers, posing in front of her bedroom mirror to Harold's repetitious dreams of the Virgin Queen.  The only downfall to this novel is a catch twenty-two;  the amount of detail Palmer puts into the story is what makes it so enrapturing, but at the same time, the momentum decelerates at points with how in depth he goes into with detail.  Nevertheless, if the reader is patient, the story will pick back up.

The Dream of Perpetual Motion is a piece of literature that has the ability to change the world through Palmer's beautiful and innovative visions, challenging the way people view art, philosophy, and the modern day takeover of technology.  

Thanks for reading my review! Until next time, happy reading!

~Shelly-Beans

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

Book: The Almost Moon

Author: Alice Sebold

Date of Publication: October 26, 2007

Opening line: "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily." (pg. 3)

(NOTE: The reason I include the opening line is because I have always felt that the first line will make or break the entire book.)

Pros:
The opening line to The Almost Moon caught my attention immediately but as the story continued, the reader learns that 49-year old Helen Knightly is not as disturbed as her actions towards her mother may make her out to be.  After dealing with her mother, Clair, who suffered from Agoraphobia and Dementia throughout Helen's entire childhood into adulthood, Helen shares her stories of the love and pain she felt as she found her way into the world and what led her to make such a decision about her mother's life.  The storyline itself was interesting and  the characters were easy to relate to, which made the reading accessible to a wide audience. I was also impressed with the depth of the back-story Sebold gave of Helen, her parents, and the way everyone operated around Clair's mental illnesses and the strains it put on the family and the neighborhood.  In looking at this family history, Sebold plunges into the dark side of humanity to expose how people do have terrible thoughts of things happening to the ones they love, and Sebold, in a way, fulfills this unsettling fantasy.  She takes risks in her writing, speaking of and thinking of death in ways that most people would never venture towards. I, personally, give Sebold major props for taking the dark road not taken and exposing a possible truth behind the closed doors of a family in a supposedly safe, suburban neighborhood.

Cons:

As previously stated, I enjoyed the depth of the back-story Sebold gave of Helen and her family, but unfortunately, it seemed to take over the actual storyline.  As the story continued, my interest was held at its highest when the police began investigating Clair's death, not when Helen was talking about her mother’s old modeling days.  Sebold’s transitions of past to present are not always clear and if the reader is not paying attention, they are thrown right back into the present story line in the blink of an eye after being engrossed in a memory about her Clair’s agoraphobia. The most disappointing aspect of the book was the ending and the way Sebold seemed to take the easy way out rather than creating a conclusion with more elaboration. Usually in reading novels, the readers come to expect certain things to happen, and in the Victorian Era, the readers were given the opportunity to read installments of books and write to authors, such as Charles Dickens, saying what they wanted to happen or who they wanted eliminated from the story.  In the end, taking the reader’s opinions into mind, the authors would change their stories to accommodate their readers.  Keeping this ideology in mind, Sebold does not follow this tactic because the ending did not leave any satisfaction for the reader. Instead, it left the reader (I, myself for example) sitting there, looking at the novel with a blank look, unsure if the ending was real or a joke.  This is not to say that present-day authors should give predictiable endings, because that would be boring.  What I argue is that the ending should have at least made sense and fit with what had been happening throughout the entire story, unlike the one that was given that left the reader feeling disgruntled and confused.

Overall rating: Average- 3/5.  The book kept my interest but the ending was abrupt and left many questions unanswered.

I hope you enjoyed my first review! My next one should be soon! :)

Forever More,

Shelly-Beans

Introduction

Hello world!

My name is Michelle, also known as Shelly-Beans, and this is my first entry for Shelly-Bean's Book Reviews!  Before I start the actual reviewing, I thought it would be important if you all knew a bit about me. Just to name a few basic things, I graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey in May of 2012 with a Bachelor's Degree in Literature, I love reading/writing, animals, making collages, and I'm a dog groomer.

As you read my reviews, I would like you to keep in mind that I will be writing about everything I read, whether it is a new and upcoming novel or something half the world has read.  I read everything from Victorian poetry to Japanese fiction, so hopefully my reviews will inspire you to read outside of your comfort zone!

The ratings I give the books I read will be letter grades going from an A+ down to F, and to add to the ratings, there will not only be an overall rating but some more components to what I believe help create a great novel.

I will be experimenting with the way I will be reviewing the books I read so please bear with me.

Also, I love hearing people's opinions about the books I review, the reviews themselves, and suggestions of books I should review.

Enjoy!

~Shelly-Beans