Book Review: Not My Daughter

As I'm thinking about this, I don't remember how I discovered this book. I'm thinking that I read about it in a magazine, but who knows. My brain is absolutely not what it used to be. I have read things by Barbara Delinsky before and although she isn't one of my favorite authors, she writes good fiction that I enjoy. This book intrigued me right from the get-go and I couldn't put it down. 

Kristin Hannah, author of Firefly Lane (which I'll be reviewing soon!) writes a compelling and informative summary on Amazon:

In this compelling, ripped-from-the-headline offering from bestselling author Barbara Delinsky, three high school seniors make a pregnancy pact. Heightening the stakes, these aren’t just any seniors--these are three popular, college-bound girls from good families. Set in an insular, tightly knit community in Maine, Not My Daughter explores the consequences of pact behavior on a small town, as well as the strain placed on mothers and daughters who find themselves in unfamiliar terrain. One of the pregnant teens is the daughter of the high school principal--a former teen mother herself--and the local school board is quick to assign blame. When the national media gets wind of the story, the principal’s job is put in jeopardy, as is her standing in the community. Not My Daughter is a timely exploration of teen motherhood and the hard choices that sometimes have to be made in life. Barbara Delinsky, long known as one of the premier authors of women's fiction, once again reveals the hidden strengths of ordinary women when faced with extraordinary adversity.

Oh my word, this book was great. It jumped right into the plot, which is a quality that I love in a book. There weren't a lot of fluffy details and the story just flowed well. As the summary says, the mother of one of the pregnant girls is the principal of the high school in the small town. She meets with much scrutiny and adversity over how she could let this happen when in reality, she has a wonderful relationship with her daughter who willingly chooses to become pregnant. Her job and friendships are put on the line.

Since I'm a teacher, I found the scenes with the school board and parents of students to be extremely interesting as well as frustrating. I felt passionately for Susan (the principal) and could identify with how cruel (and wonderful) parents can be to the educators of their children for no good reason. Despite having a solid and healthy relationship with her daughter, people still blame her for something that they are afraid could easily infiltrate their "perfect" lives. It was an interesting commentary on unnecessary blame and fear and how easily they can tear people, even a community, apart. 

I give this book eight out of ten stars. It is great beach reading and a quick read at that. I would recommend this to a friend or a book club. I think the conversations that would stem from this book is worth the read alone. I'll definitely look forward to Delinsky's next book with anticipation. 

Book Review: Nanny Returns

I loved The Nanny Diaries. It is definitely one of my favorite books of all time. The story was intriguing and heart warming and made you want to punch Mrs. X all at the same time. You couldn't help but fall in love with Grayer and want to go find a child to love that was just like him. I thought the movie was alright, but I'm not a huge Scarlett Johansson fan. I didn't picture Nanny looking like her, but whatever. 

 

I was thrilled when I heard that the sequel, Nanny Returns (by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus), was ready for pickup at the library. The summary from Amazon made me excited to read it:

Nan revisits 721 Park, home of the moneyed but morally bankrupt Xs, and the boy she guiltily left behind in their inept care in this smart and sassy sequel to The Nanny Diaries. And though Nan has grown up a bit, married Harvard Hottie Ryan and traveled the world, the plight of the rich and stupid continues, as does Nan's new crusade to save former charge Grayer and his younger brother Stilton, renovate a crumbling East Harlem mansion and stick it out at a soulless Manhattan private school. Outcomes are deeply uncertain, though Nan is nothing if not a natural-born cheerleader: I know what I'm worth. Because I care for these kids, I do, right down to my toes, she says of her young charges in and out of school. There's still one fear, however—whether she'll ever be able to make the leap from nanny to mommy. McLaughlin and Kraus leave no dry eyes as they once again wield a razor-sharp wit that cuts down the most uppity mortals even as it lifts up their vulnerable children. You could safely bet your first born that this'll be another smash hit.

I have to be honest. The first half of the book was really, really hard for me to get through. There was a lot of extraneous detail that I didn't enjoy and I had to make myself pick up the book several times with the hopes of getting through it. That was really disappointing, considering the fact that I loved the first book so much and could hardly put it down. 

However, as soon as we left for vacation, I promised myself that I would finish the book and I surely did. It really picked up halfway through and I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I don't know if it's hard for me to read during the school year because I can't stop thinking of everything I have to do, because as soon as we were "away from it all", I had no problem finishing. 

All in all, I'd give it five out of ten stars. It definitely didn't live up to Diaries, but really, how could it? I understand that, due to the way Diaries finished, it was a perfect setup for a sequel, but the many years that came between the two books (in the books-- 12 or so years) made the connection seem forced and unrealistic. Am I bummed that I took time to read it? Absolutely not. I think it's worth a read if you've read Diaries which I highly recommend. This may not have been McLaughlin and Kraus' best work, but I'm glad that I read it and was able to form my own opinion.

Have any of you read Nanny Returns? I'd be so interested to hear your thoughts!

Stay tuned for tomorrow; I'm going to review another book that I just finished that I absolutely loved.

Book Review: The Things That Keep Us Here

It's no secret that I'm a huge reader. I adore the library and bookstores. My idea of a great day is laying out in the sun with a glass of sweet tea and a good book. The long drives to Michigan don't bother me all that much because when Ty is driving (and listening to sports), I can get into my book.

However, I have a problem with reading many books at once. This can sometimes be an issue because I tend to not finish books in their entirety. I read most of the book, but then I find another book and start it. Before I know it, I have to return the half read book to the library so as not to incur any large fines. I'm sure Ty is laughing as he reads this because I am known for my large library fines. Not good.

I'm embarrassed to tell you that this is the first book that I've actually finished in 2010. I'm cringing a little bit as I write this because I have some grand book plans for this year. I think I need to stop being hard on myself, though, because my time is so limited during the week and on the weekends, it's very important that I catch up on my TV shows. Please note the sarcasm.

This weekend, I picked up this book at the library on a whim. It was on the return cart and the book jacket sounded intriguing.

The summary from the book jacket is as follows...

How far would you go to protect your family?

Ann Brooks never thought she’d have to answer that question. Then she found her limits tested by a crisis no one could prevent. Now, as her neighborhood descends into panic, she must make tough choices to protect everyone she loves from a threat she cannot even see. In this chillingly urgent novel, Carla Buckley confronts us with the terrifying decisions we are forced to make when ordinary life changes overnight.

A year ago, Ann and Peter Brooks were just another unhappily married couple trying–and failing–to keep their relationship together while they raised two young daughters. Now the world around them is about to be shaken as Peter, a university researcher, comes to a startling realization: A virulent pandemic has made the terrible leap across the ocean to America’s heartland.

And it is killing fifty out of every hundred people it touches.

As their town goes into lockdown, Peter is forced to return home–with his beautiful graduate assistant. But the Brookses’ safe suburban world is no longer the refuge it once was. Food grows scarce, and neighbor turns against neighbor in grocery stores and at gas pumps. And then a winter storm strikes, and the community is left huddling in the dark.
Trapped inside the house she once called home, Ann Brooks must make life-or-death decisions in an environment where opening a door to a neighbor could threaten all the things she holds dear.

I enjoyed this book. It sucked me in right from the beginning and it was a quick read. I finished it in the 4 1/2 hour drive back from Detroit to Cincinnati this weekend. It explores the interesting concept of what we would do if a true pandemic swept our world by storm. It had me truly freaked out at some points, thinking, "I'd better get back on my couponing and stock piling because if this happens to us, we're in TROUBLE!" It gets you thinking about just what you might have to do in order to survive if something like avian flu gripped our nation.

Was it the best book I've ever read? No, but I really would recommend it. It's a bit of a thriller, if you will. Keep in mind that my idea of thriller is nothing more intense than this novel which is about a pandemic. I get scared easily. :) It is pretty interesting to think about what your reaction might be if this became a reality and how you'd begin to interact with others in fear of getting this flu. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending; it felt a little forced and unsettled to me. That's always a bit of a disappointment, but overall, I enjoyed the story.

I give it a six out of ten. This is Carla Buckley's first book and I think she did a great job. She is a talented and engaging writer. I will definitely pick up her next book when it is published. It's worth your while if you want a quick and easy read that is entertaining and a bit thought provoking.

What have you read lately?

These boots are made for walking...

Well, people, I knew the day would come. The day where I had no clue what to do and only knew to do one thing: turn to you. This is a very urgent matter and I would appreciate your full and undivided attention while you ponder my dilemma.

Spring is drawing near to Cincinnati. Oh, how I love the spring. There is nothing like the feeling when it starts to warm up outside. Spring is a perfect time for warmer clothes and darling rain boots. Back during Christmas time, I blogged about my need desire for Hunter Wellies. You can imagine my joy when on Christmas morning, I opened up the pair that I wanted. Thank you, Mom and Dad. You blessed me more than I can say simply through one pair of boots. However, I had overestimated my size and needed smaller boots. I quickly got online to place the exchange order (Zappos has a great policy and even better customer service). I was quite disheartened to see that they didn't have my size available. I put my name on the waiting list for these boots in my size (and in this color) and have been waiting... and waiting... and waiting... and waiting.

Aren't they sweet? I just love them so much. But people, spring is coming and it's not going to wait for my boots. I have a very difficult decision to make. After talking to the wonderful people at Zappos.com today, I have discovered that there won't be another shipment of these until JUNE. Newsflash, spring is over in June! They advised me to call Nordstrom and see if they could place a special order. Update: I did and they can't. BOO.

Upon heading over to the Nordstrom website, I discovered something delightful-- they have two colors that I've never even seen! I happen to love those two colors AND they have them in my size! Give Him a handclap of praise! But, I have to wonder-- do I like them more than my beloved Violet boots above? I just don't know. That is where you come in.

Option A:

  

The Violet Wellies. I won't be able to get these until June at the earliest. These were my first choice. Hello, lovelies. (If you know anywhere that I can get these in a size 8, I will reward you in cold hard cash.)

Option B:

Um, CUTE. I really like these. Mary and I were conversating about my boot problem and I shared that I have a lot of turquoise jewelry that would be a nice accent. She thinks that these would be more practical than the next choice.

Option C:

Fuchsia! Or as us commoners like to say, pink! I really think these are sweet but am wondering-- too much pink? I tend to always lean towards things that are pink. My fear is this: I have a lot of pink shirts and pinks are hard to match. Plus, I wouldn't wear the pink boots with a pink shirt-- I'd wind up looking like a big bottle of Pepto Bismol. Gross. I've written pink so many times in this paragraph that it's starting to sound funny. Pink, pink, pink.

So... what do you think I should do? I truly would love your thoughts on the color I should pick. I am shamelessly begging you to leave me your thoughts in the comments or send me a Tweet (@rnoelhaney). Clearly I can't be left to make decisions on my own or I'll simply fall apart. So help... please? I'd be eternally grateful.

Educating Myself

Lately, I feel like America has really latched onto the discussion of food. I believe it to be a very timely discussion since it is my opinion that much of our preventable illnesses in America can be helped with a better diet. Now, please don't think that if you're sick that I believe it's because of your diet. I know far better than that. I was a very sick little girl and still continue to have health problems to this day that I know have nothing to do with what I eat. However, I think there are some things that can be prevented if we eat correctly.

Two of my favorite bloggers who actually happen to be two of my lovely in-real-life friends have been tackling this issue in recent weeks. Lindsey and Hayley both have been talking about the different ways that they are looking at and considering this American "food crisis", if you will. I just love these two and I'm so looking forward to the day when we can all go for lunch and just talk. Maybe next time you're in Indy, Hayley! I'm so willing to make the drive so we can all meet up! :)

I absolutely loved Food, Inc. and I have these books on hold at the library so that I can continue my food education. If you've read any of them (or have read any that apply and that I don't have on here), I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

       

  

Michael Pollan was a large part of Food, Inc. I am really looking forward to hearing his written perspective.

My sweet friend Libby got this for me for my birthday last year. I am really looking forward to diving into it as soon as my work load slows down a bit. Hayley and my aunt also recommended it, so I know it's got to be good. I also think that the book cover is very eye catching. If I remember correctly, it's about eating food that is grown locally. I am so looking forward to visiting some local farmer's markets this summer and finding one that I really love! I think I have quite a few friends in the area that I could convince to come along with me on this search.

Another recommendation from Lindsey. I have to admit though, every time I look at the cover I think of Cher from Clueless. Ha!

I am planning on starting a vegetable garden as well as doing some landscaping around the house this spring. I think this will help in our vegetable rich diet-- both in price and quality! I definitely feel like a dummy when it comes to this since I have never done any sort of gardening. Again, if you are a gardener and have any good suggestions for books or resources, I'd be most grateful!

Well, there you have it. Just some of my thoughts and some books that I plan to read on the topic. I am finding that I enjoy being educated about something before I really jump into it wholeheartedly. Ha, who would have thought?

The Fashion Police: Rachel Edition

Even though I really enjoy going to movies, I don't watch the award shows for anything but the fashion. Case in point, right after Monique won last night (my top pick-- she did a PHENOMENAL job in Precious!), I conked out. Obviously I wasn't too concerned about staying awake to watch the rest of the Oscars. These were my top picks for best dressed.               

               

   

Queen Latifah looked gorgeous. What a good color and cut for her!

Kristen Stewart, for once you looked classy and appropriate. Even though I don't like you, I love your dress. Well done.

Monique, you absolutely deserved your Oscar. You're a great actress and you looked beautiful. Great color choice!

I'm a big fan of anything with ruffles and I think the color complemented Elizabeth Banks quite well.

Can I look like Demi Moore when I get older? Or maybe now? I think this is stunning.

I feel like Penelope Cruz can do no wrong when it comes to fashion. She looked amazing. This dress just works on her.

My top pick for best dressed of the night?

Helen Mirren. Wow, wow, wow. She looks absolutely incredible. The dress fits her well, I love the color on her and she just looks confident. She is a timeless beauty.

Now, for the misses. And boy, did some women miss big time. Did they not look in the mirror before the show? Seriously. I am an elementary teacher and I could have chosen better.

Mariah Carey, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Did you buy this dress at your local Wet Seal and accessorize it with a brooch from Claire's? I mean, come on. Have a little sense.

Meryl Streep, you are smarter than this. It is 2010 not 1989. You are such a classy woman, too! Lets work on this; I don't think you're a lost cause.

I have two questions for you, Miley Cyrus. One, did you forget to put the top of your dress on, because girlfriend, it looks like you are WEARING YOUR CORSET. Second, why were you even AT the Oscars? Get back to me with the answers at a convenient time for you. Love and kisses.

Zoe Saldana, this is so many shades of wrong (no pun intended) that I can't even touch it with a ten foot pole. No. No. NO.

My pick for worst dressed  overall?

Paula Patton. This made me want to scream, "MY EYES!" while burying my head in the remaining snow in our backyard. She is darling and her baby bump could have been the best accessory, but instead she chooses to shroud herself in an extremely uncomplimentary shade of orange that resembles a Creamsicle at best? Oh, honey. You need some fashion rehab STAT. This is not okay.

Obviously, I am no fashion expert. These are just my thoughts on the matter. I'd love to hear your picks for best and worst dressed! And just to provide my your eyes with a little respite from the orange thing above, here are my two top man candy choices from last night. Deeeeeeelightful.

Zac Efron. No one who reads this blog on a regular basis should be surprised by this one. I received several texts after he walked the red carpet last night. I love people who know me well. :)

Ryan Reynolds-- hello. You are cute. And I am married. And so are you. And... the end.

Ladder 49 Squared

This is been an eventful week to say the least. My word, I feel as if I have aged about 10 years in 7 days and when you're nearly half way to fifty like me, that is just not a good thing. Maybe I should start where it all began... seven days and ten years ago.

Last Monday, I went home and made supper. This is a fairly normal event. Little did I know it was about to get not normal. I made our favorite chili while Ty was at the gym. While the chili was cooking, I began to smell something that reminded me of burning dust. How do I know what burning dust smells like, you ask? Well, I just do. I think if you had smelled this smell, you would have said, "Wow, that really smells like burning dust!" Anyway, I waited until Ty got home and he assured me that yes, something smelled. That made me feel so much better because I am known by my ability to think I am seeing something, smelling something, dying, etc. and all the while, what do you know, I'm not!

After affirming me and my burnt dust smelling nose, we debated over what to do. We ended up deciding to call the fire department dispatcher and ask if they could send someone over to take a look at what might be causing the ever increasing stench. With my own ears, I heard T say, "It's definitely not an emergency. You can just send someone over in a car or whatever." Apparently the dispatcher told him that they couldn't do that. Liability or something stupid like that. At this point, it was about 7:30 and I was growing nervous. However, I wasn't nervous for the reasons you might think, i.e. my house could burn down and I could lose all my earthly possessions. No, I was nervous because at 8:30, we were going to Todd and Caitlin's to watch the season finale of The Bachelor: ON THE WINGS OF LOOOOOOOOOOOVE! We had even strategically planned it so that we would start watching it on their DVR at 8:30 so we could bypass commercials. Caitlin is a Bachelor genius. I had a very specific plan in my head that if the fire department didn't come by eight, we would have to call and see if T & C would come watch it at our house so that I could keep my home safe and enjoy all that Jake had to offer in his last two hours as a bachelor. Little did I know, that would not be necessary.

As soon as Ty got off the phone with the dispatcher, I asked him when they'd be coming. He told me that they'd said they would send someone right away. This was good and bad, friends. Good and bad. Good because we would be able to watch The Bachelor: ON THE WINGS OF LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! at the afore mentioned time but bad because my bed WAS NOT MADE and it was laundry day so there were PILES ALL OVER MY BEDROOM FLOOR (although they were color coordinated piles). So, I had to make a decision and I had to make it fast. Do I make the bed or throw all of my piles back into the laundry basket? Either way, the fire person coming to the house would think I was a slob! It was like Sophie's Choice, y'all. So, I chose. I had too. I yelled at Tyler while sprinting up the stairs, "WE HAVE TO MAKE THE BED. COME HELP ME MAKE THE BED!" He was extremely baffled by this, but was a good sport and did in fact come up to help me make the bed. I was behaving a bit like Animal from the Muppets while Ty was quite calm. About halfway through our bed making, we heard something in the distance. Yes, you guessed it: SIRENS. Loud ones. We looked at each other and I said to Ty, "Are those for us?" His response of "Oh, yeah" made me feel NOT A WHOLE LOT BETTER. This made me a lot little more frantic and I somewhat remember throwing pillows and tugging sheets and screaming, "HURRY! HURRY! THEY'RE COMING!"

The next thing I know, there are two, COUNT THEM TWO, huge ladder fire trucks pulling up to our house and firemen come pouring forth from both of them. To all my single ladies, I was wishing that you had all been there. You would have had yourself quite a choice with the group of men that came raining down upon our house. It was like my own version of The Bachelor: Ladder 49 but only not since I am happily married. They came in, made themselves at home and affirmed my feeling that the smell was "burning dust and plastic" only I didn't really agree with the plastic part. Who am I to disagree with a fireman, though? The first thing they asked was if I had been cooking anything. I responded with a very intelligent, "Yes, but I've made this chili before and it does not smell like burning dust!" Oh. My. Gosh. Writing that down? Makes me doubt ever opening my mouth again, yes it does.

Long story short (who am I kidding, this is already 3 paragraphs longer than it needed to be), they discovered that the blower motor and some other essential things were broken in our furnace which meant a furnace that needed to be turned off until these things were attended to. The firemen were very nice and assured us that we had done the right thing in contacting them. I was just happy that we got the problem diagnosed and that we were going to make a timely arrival to T & C's to watch Jake make the BIGGEST MISTAKE OF HIS LIFE. If you watched The Bachelor: ON THE WINGS OF LOOOOOOOOOOVE! this season, you know what I'm talking about. I didn't realize that I would have much bigger fish to fry come the next day.

This next part shows my true ignorance about being a homeowner. I truly thought that we would get a dude out the next day from the insurance company to check out the heater, he'd fix it and all would be well. BIG FAT WRONG. The timeline went a little something like this:

Monday-- After watching Jake plummet himself into what can only be described as self inflicted torture (marrying Vienna-- BLEH!), we go home and sleep in a semi-cold house. It is still maintaining much of the heat from the day.

Tuesday-- Claim is filed with the home warranty company. Fellow from the home warranty allowed heating & cooling company comes to check out the furnace. He diagnoses the problem and says that he doesn't have the parts, but when he does, it should be an easy fix. We spend the night at home in an ICE BOX.

Wednesday-- Claim has still not been approved. I am getting a little testy. We decide to spend the night in a hotel, not because we didn't have abundant offers of places to stay, but because I have major issues asking for and accepting help. Are there any women out there who feel me on this one?

Thursday-- I get on the phone and while being firm, yet nice, I inform them that they need to fix our furnace and they need to fix it STAT (I didn't actually use the word stat, but I am now wishing that I had). I get a call back 45 minutes later saying that our claim has been approved that that the heating and cooling man will be out to fix it. I go out for a much needed girl's night with my precious friends. We have dinner downtown and go to a play and afterwards, Ty and I spend the night with different friends since our workplaces are so far apart. I didn't sleep very well without him.

Friday-- FURNACE IS FIXED. GLORY HALLELUJAH. We celebrate by going home, catching up on the very full DVR and falling asleep at 8:30. And by saying that we fell asleep at 8:30, I obviously mean I fell asleep at 8:30.

So, there you have it. My very full and stressful week. Looking back, it's a little bit humorous, but I do have to say that I don't recommend having your furnace go out when it's still in the 30s outside. Not so fun. It did, however, make me a lot more thankful that I have a house and a furnace and really precious friends who offer their homes when ours is too cold. You really learn to love and appreciate your friends as your family when you live far from your actual family. God has blessed us indeed!

Hope you have a great Monday!