9 in 09 Challenge Wrap-Up

I finally got around to doing the wrap-up post for the 9 in 09 Reading Challenge. As always, I love challenges that have fun criteria like this that has to be met.

Here is my final list:
1 Long - Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha (completed 5/10/09)

2 Free - Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler (completed 1/09/09)
3 Dusty - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Stout (completed 9/01/09)
4 Used - Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog (completed 7/22/09)
5 Letter - Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (completed 6/14/09)
6 Strange - The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul (completed 6/20/09)
7 Distance - The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (completed 4/30/09)
8 Alive or Not - The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (completed 7/25/09)
9 Cover - Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch (completed - 1/17/09)

Meridian by Amber Kizer

16 year-old Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra. She has always known she was different from the rest of the girls her age - for one, she has always been sickly, feeling ill and tired.. then there's her main problem, ever since she can remember - tiny animals (rodents, insects, etc.) have made their way around her... to die. Her parents and her younger brother have always gone out of their way to make her feel normal - but all that quickly changes when she witnesses a terrbile accident and unexplicably her body is wracked with pain.

Her parents quickly pack her up and send her off to live with her 106 year-old Auntie, in Revelation, CO, while they pick up all their belongings and try to make new lives for themselves. Leaving Meridian with instructions to never look back, that Auntie will explain everything and only the hope that one day they will meet again.

With the help of Auntie and her protector, Tens, Meridian discovers that she is a Fenestra - part-human, part-angel, who are born to assist souls into heaven. Yet she has very little time to learn exactly what she is, for Auntie, the town residents, and even Meridian herself, are all threatened by the presence of a sinister pastor who has transformed the idyllic town into a place of mistrust, intolerance and fanaticism.

I truly enjoyed this. I loved Meridian's innocence. She was such a likeable character. You felt for her and wanted to be there for her. Auntie, Tens and even their wolf friend, Custos - are all well developed and you quickly feel like part of their makeshift family. Tens has this dry sense of humor that I immediately felt drawn to and quickly brought a smile to my face. His witty banter back and forth with Meridian was a treat to read. This was a very unique story. It is dark and, it mostly revolves around death, but I thought Ms. Kizer did a fantastic job with it.

I will forewarn that it did start a bit slow for me, but about 50 or so pages in I became hooked and had a hard time putting it down. I thought it was well-written, evenly-paced and with a protagonist that you quickly fall for. Although I think Meridian could be a stand-alone novel, it seems a series might be in the works, not to mention the ending gives you the feel that there is more to come. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next installment.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life–sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition–its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires. [borrowed from GoodReads]

As I'm sure some of you already know, I'm not too fond of short stories - although I did purchase this with the hopes of enjoying it since they seem to be loosely related stories with one particular character, the ubiquitous Olive Kitteridge. And as expected Olive does appear in every story in the book - sometimes just merely by name, other times it's a cameo appearance, but her presence is definitely felt throughout these vignettes into the lives of some of the residents of Crosby, Maine.

Now let me shed some light on the infamous Olive Kitteridge. Olive Kitteridge = a bit nasty, a little on the heavy side and definitely older. That description alone should give you a feel for exactly what we're dealing with here.

As you go from story to story you read about Olive, her friends, relatives and acquaintances scattered throughout Crosby, Maine. And I will confess that the stories in this book will have you thinking not just about the fictional characters Ms. Strout has created, but about your own life and that of your friends and family. These are very real life characters that you can easily associate with yourself.

With that said, sadly, I just never got around to "really" liking any of the characters. Don't take me wrong, Olive was a force like no other. When she came into a room (or a story) her presence was definitely made known. But I think it made me feel preoccupied... in the sense that I was looking forward to Olive. When was she going to enter the story? How did this person know Olive? Was she their teacher? Was she a neighbor that lived down the road? Olive, Olive, Olive. In the end, I found it to be distracting.

I honestly thought the premise was unique and clever. And, needless to say, Ms. Strout's writing is superb... but in the end it just never clicked for me. I'm not sure if that was because the stories were too short or I just had "too" high expectations for this, but sadly it just fell flat for me.

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

When Sophy Stanton-Lacy arrives at her aunt’s doorstep little did they know what was in store for them. Sophy’s father is off on business and has asked his sister to mind after Sophy (quite possibly even find her a suitable match). Her aunt, although a bit reluctant at first, agrees to take Sophy in and introduce her to the ton. But upon her arrival Sophy finds that her cousins’ lives are in a bit of disarray. For one, her cousin Cecilia is smitten with what the family considers an unsuitable suitor (a poet). Then there is her high-strung cousin Charles Rivenhall who is determined to marry a horribly prosy bluestocking. Using unorthodox methods, Sophie sets out to put everything to rights... but staying with her relatives could be her biggest challenge yet... especially since it seems that she has finally met her match.

Sophy is a this fantastic, fun-loving, unconventional, and adorable heroine. In my book of heroines, she is only second to one Miss Elizabeth Bennett. The fact that her motivation for all her escapades is a desire to make other people happy makes her absolutely endearing. Her determination to force Mr. Rivenhall to lighten up and the inevitable battles that ensue provide pure delightful entertainment. Although at first you are not too fond of Mr. Rivenhall, he actually turns out to be the perfect gentleman with a need for exactly someone like Sophy to provide just what his life was lacking. All the secondary characters were just as entertaining as her main characters. I loved them all - from the distracted poet to the lazy, Spanish Marquesa, even all of the crazy animals. In the span of a few pages, Heyer manages to break three betrothals, create two new engagements, one marriage, and through it all leaves everyone, including the reader, perfectly satisfied.

This is regency romance with a sense of humor. Sophy grabs you and takes you on a ride you don’t want to end. With fabulous characters, zany laugh-out-loud moments, and the need to see just what she will come up with next.

You just HAVE to read this!

and.... thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks I can help two lucky readers with that. That's right I have two copies of The Grand Sophy to giveaway. As always, leave a comment for one entry. Second entry if you follow, third if you follow on Twitter, and so forth.

Rules: Books will be delivered directly from Publisher so giveaway is only available to residents of the US and Canada. P.O. Boxes are okay. Winners will be drawn Friday, August 14.

I guarantee you won't want to miss out on this one. Good luck!

Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog

Morgan Sparks and Cam Browne are the couple that every one is jealous of in school. Cam is the cute quarterback - Mogan is the "normal" girl (I know, I found it refreshing that she wasn’t the mega-hot cheerleader). They have been the best of friends since they were in nursery school and it was only natural for their friendship to evolve into love. They are so meant for each other they even have the same birthday. In celebration of their Sweet 16 - they have decided to throw a joint 16 birthday bash. A week short of the party - Morgan starts noticing some slight changes in Cam. He’s not his normal happy-go-lucky self. She’s worried there might be another girl involved... she just can’t figure it out. That is until Cam shows her the wings growing out of his back. It seems Cam isn’t being seduced by a new girl but by a whole other realm. He’s slowly becoming a Fairy. Seriously... a Fairy.

Things start getting weird when a mysterious cousin named Pip appears, Cam can no longer throw a football, not to mention he’s getting smaller by the day, and he has no time to spend with her because he’s in "fairy" training. Once he confesses that he is a fairy king being called to the throne on his 16th birtday, it is up to Morgan to fight for their "perfect" love and do anything in her power to keep Cam... even if it means fooling the fairys and possibly putting herself in danger.

This is another one that I've been gushing to everyone about. I absolutely loved this story. It has such a unique blend of fantasy and reality. Morgan (our narrator) has this witty, sarcastic humor that I found myself laughing out loud over. I totally got her! Cam and Pip were just adorable and I was going through all the mixed emotions Morgan was experiencing. I enjoyed that it wasn't your average tale about a girl in love with a fairy - but instead it was a struggle to stay together when so many obstacles were driving them apart. I also found it neat that it wasn't told through the girl becoming the fairy but through the eyes of the person in love with the fairy... which was a very different take for me. Although towards the middle I had an inkling as to what the ending would be - I think Ms. Balog did a fantastic job in getting us there and making us (the readers) feel good in the end.

Fairy Tale is a charming story you won't want to miss - full of delightful characters, star-crossed lovers and plenty of magic.

The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul

Tipper, a young Emerlindian, has been responsible for her family’s upkeep since her sculptor father vanished several years back. It’s been years since she last saw her father, and her mother's, the Lady Peg, mental health has slowly been deteriorating since then, so she has had to single-handedly do everything in her power to maintain her family’s good name. She has even had to sell her father’s beloved sculptures for money in order to pay their servants and purchase food. Until the night her father, Verrin Schope, returns with tales of wondrous places, gateways, and the fact that he keeps appearing and disappearing and then reappearing through her mothers closet. It seems the gateway that brought him back home is unstable and keeps bringing him back and forth through time which is ultimately affecting his health in the process. Yet there is hope as three of his sculptures can save him, the only problem, Tipper obviously sold these pieces and she has no idea whom the buyers were or even in which town or village they might be able to start looking in. Thus the adventure begins for Tipper, Verrin and Tipper’s faithful guardian, Beccaroon (who’s a five-foot tall parrot), as they set forth on this journey.

Since I have never read any of Ms. Paul’s "DragonKeeper Chronicles", a lot of the terms used in this story were new to me. Luckily, there was a handy glossary at the back of the book that I kept referring to for help. And I also want to make note that there were some inconsistencies with the map and the story itself - so I was a little lost at times as to where exactly the characters were in the story when compared to the map, but other than that, I can definitely see the appeal this story would have on children and adults alike. The story has an undeniable Christian message, but it is subtle enough for a non-believer to also enjoy the book.

The characters were quirky, funny and quite endearing and Ms. Paul’s writing builds a world that you can definitely envision. I recommend this for young and older readers alike, or anyone who enjoys science fiction, good writing and magical characters.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. See Nick’s ex-girlfriend just walked into the club where Nick’s band is playing... with a new guy. So Nick thinks that if the girl sitting next to him at the bar (Norah) will just act like his girlfriend for a couple of minutes - he’ll be able to avoid that whole "I can’t live without you" scene with the ex. Nick was definitely not expecting Norah’s reaction to his question, since she grabs him and plants a big, juicy wet one on him. That one kiss is the beginning of their adventure that takes place throughout one crazy night in the Manhattan underground punk scene... a car that won’t start, writing a song while sitting on the curb, bar hopping, chasing Where’s Fluffy?, a jacket once owned by Salvatore, and eventually two kids who just wanna be themselves and be liked for who they are.

I know nothing about punk music, only a tad about Manhattan (since I’ve only been there once), yet I still managed to fall in love with this book. The writing is phenomenal - especially the dialogue - clever and witty, yet still touchingly real. It was funny and had depth and heart. You really felt for these two people and felt like you could know them in real life. Their mutual love for music is really explained and you feel it through the writing. The story is told in the first person switching back and forth each chapter between Nick and Norah's point of view. I found myself relating more to Nick than to Norah, he was more reserved and maybe even a little naive. Norah I found I couldn't really relate to so much, but she was still a very funny and likeable character.

I actually read this book before I saw the movie. If you’ve seen the movie and haven’t read the book because of this, you should definitely read the book. They are two different entities with some similarities. They are both good in their own way so this is one I’ll have to say: "Don’t judge a book by its movie."

All in all, I love the idea of this book. It is entertaining, funny and heartwarming. I can definitely see myself reading this over and over - and enjoying it the same, or more, every time.

Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha

Mother of the Believers is the story of Aisha bint Abi Bakr - the youngest and most beloved wife of the Prophet Muhammed. When the story commences Aisha is in her deathbed and is recounting this epic tale to her nephew. As Aisha reflects on her life we learn of her cursed birth, her marriage to Muhammed at the age of nine, his other wives and their feuding harem, as well as his death and how she eventually grows to become a teacher, political leader and warrior. Set in seventh century Arabia this story takes you on a journey through hot deserts, epic battles and the understanding of what becoming a believer entailed.

Mr. Pasha's story is purely fictional, but it is one of those stories that you can’t help but devour in big, heaping gulps. I was a little hesitant to read it at first (a- it's 560 pages long) and (b- it's not a topic I would normally read about), but I was drawn in from the start and read the whole thing in just a couple of sittings. Mr. Pasha has a vivid and fluid style of writing that I really enjoyed and his imagery lights up the pages of his book. This was my first exposure to the Muslim culture/religion and I found it to be a very enlightening experience.

This is a beautiful tale - one that I highly recommend to believers and non-believers alike.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

This story follows the lives of three women, set in three time frames (early 1900's, 1975 and 2005) but all linked together through a garden, on an estate in Cornwall. The story mostly revolves around Nell and the mystery of who she is, where she came from and how/why she ended up where she did. Nell was abound on a ship from England to Australia. She was found stranded on an Australian dock at the age of four. At that time, she was taken in by Hugh (who oversaw the dock) and was given a family and a home. On Nell’s 21st birthday, her father told her the truth of how she came to be a part of his family - a truth that changed the rest of her life.

The book mostly revolves around Nell’s mystery although it’s told through several points of view spanning a little over a century - Cassandra (Nell’s granddaughter - 2005); Nell (1975); and Eliza (early 1900's). At first it was a bit disconcerting all the jumping around from character to character, but I quickly got over that and I absolutely loved it.

The writing was splendid, I loved Ms. Morton’s descriptions of London and Cornwall at the turn of the century. Her characters were likeable and well-developed. With an interesting story and plot that had enough twists and revelations to keep the pages turning. The fairytales scattered throughout the story were my favorite part - I kept looking forward to each one. The book itself is a thing of beauty - with it’s illustrations of frolicking fairies on the inner flap of the covers.

This was just a joy to read!! and I recommend it to anyone that loves a good mystery with a beautiful historical backdrop.

Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

Time of My Life was a bit reminiscent of Family Man, but I loved it anyway. This book is based on the question "What If?" I became totally engrossed with Jillian's story from the first page. When Jillian goes to her masseuse and has her chi unblocked, some very unexpected things happen. For one, she wakes up seven years earlier in bed, in her old apartment, and still in a relationship with her ex-boyfriend - no more husband, nor toddler, nor house in the suburbs. The best thing of it all, she remains with all the knowledge from her real life in the future... thus being able to avoid old arguments, get work done more efficiently and without the stress, be prepared for important life altering moments, etc. It was fun to see how every action had a reaction, thus changing her present and, of course, her future. More importantly though, it raised some very good points - like being true to yourself and not changing who you are or what you believe in for your partner, instead to compromise. As well as how important communication is in relationships. I was curious to see how things would turn out the second time around and will say that I had a tough time trying not to cheat and just look at the last couple of pages to see how it would end. All in all, this was very funny, thought-provoking and a joy to read. I highly recommend it.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

This was such a fun and witty novel. In short, Jane Austen meets Quantum Leap. Courtney Stone (hip, modern, LA girl) wakes up as Miss Jane Mansfield in Regency England -in none other than Jane Austen’s time! It’s funny because I myself have wondered a time or two (or three) what it would be like to live in one of my favorite novels. Well, I’m sure there is nothing fun about the lack of plumbing, or body odor!, or anesthesia?!? for that matter. Yes, when you look at it that way, I am sure there is nothing romantic about living in another era. But nonetheless, Courtney makes the best of it, making friends, finding a love interest in Mr. Edgeworth and eventually coming to terms with "if you’re given lemons, make lemonade." =)

This was a nice, easy read. There are plenty of references to Pride and Prejudice along with several similar circumstances that you can also associate with Austen’s novels. I loved that Jane Austen herself had a cameo appearance (which was hilarious)! Lots of fun for fans of Austen's literary brilliance and a clear tribute.

Once again, I would like to send a shout-out to Jennifer at bookclubgirl and Laurie Viera Rigler for hosting the giveaway that allowed me to win this autographed copy. Thanks so much ladies - it was a pleasure to read.

9 for 09 Challenge

RULES
- Open to anyone, whether you have a blog or not!
- No need to register or to announce what you are going to read.
- Start in any category that you wish.
- 3 books from this reading challenge can be used in other reading challenges.
- Just post in the comment section.
- The genre of the books can be ANYTHING (fiction or non-fiction), but it must be decent(because you have to write reviews about the books).
- Other reading materials (graphic novels, poetry, museum catalogs, art books, zines etc.) are OK.
- The book must already be in your bookcase or storage area.
- The Challenge starts 12/27/08 to 12/27/09. (I hate to begin anything on January 1st).
- You can post starting on 12/27/08.
- Format of work can be paper, audio, or electronic

These are the NINE categories to celebrate 2009! See the above tabs for details.

1 Long
2 Free
4 Used
5 Letter
6 Strange
7 Distance
8 Alive or Not
9 Cover

I couldn't help myself. This challenge has such great categories that it was something I just HAD to do!