Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Drift: Stories by Victoria Patterson

First line: I met Annette when Jim hired us to work at Shark Island.

Initial thoughts: Lately I’ve been craving more short stories. Not just any short stories, either, but well-written ones that evoke raw emotions. And when I read the overview of Drift, and its reviews, it sounded like a winner. Plus, I really like the cover—the use of color and angle is spectacular.

Book description:

Deceptively powerful and refreshingly frank, Victoria Patterson’s stories–like those of ZZ Packer, Julie Orringer, and Nell Fruedenberger–plumb the depths of female friendship and what it means to be an outsider. Through the lives of waiters and waitresses, divorced and single parents, and alienated teens, Drift offers a rare and rewarding look inside the real life in Newport Beach, a community that isn’t always as glamorous as we imagine.

Book Details: 240 pages; Mariner Books; Pub. June 25, 2009

I’m about halfway through Dear Zoe by Philip Beard. It’s been on my TBR pile for a few years, ever since I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

Yes, there’s a connection between the two. It’s the blurb on the front cover which prompted me to pick up the title in the first place:

“Like The Lovely Bones, it is a piercing look at how a family recovers from a devastating loss. Everything about this moving, powerful debut rings true.” –Booklist

There was something haunting about The Lovely Bones. It was a powerful and gripping book, and one I’ve not been able to read twice. Each time I see the cover, I get a chill and a memory of what’s within its covers drifts through me and I have to put it back down.

Like The Lovely Bones, Dear Zoe is an emotionally gripping book. It’s told as a series of letters to Zoe written by Tess, Zoe’s older half-sister. Through these letters we can see how Tess is dealing with the loss of Zoe, along with how her shattered family (mother, step father, and other half-sister) are dealing as well.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve shed more than a few tears as I read a few striking passages. For instance:

Even though it’s been almost a year, sometimes I still miss you so much it feels like someone is pushing their finger into the base of my throat and I cry like it just happened yesterday. But now when I cry like that it kind of feels like it cleans me out, and each time it happens it feels like I’m going to have a little longer until it happens again and usually I do. It’s not that I’m missing you less. It’s more like I’m finding a place to keep you.

Anyone who’s experienced loss on a profound level can certainly relate to the emotions painted on these pages.

Unlike The Lovely Bones, however, Dear Zoe doesn’t seem too disturbing. Without giving out any spoilers for TLB, there was an aspect to that novel that just made me want to vomit as it unfolded. I don’t get that same feeling with Dear Zoe, though there is a twist to the day Zoe died and it’s a day that is certain to incite or touch a nerve with many people. Up to this point, the day has been downplayed, which I believe works well for the story; it doesn’t gouge at any old wounds.

I should be finished within the next couple of days so I’ll be able to give the book a proper review.

First, thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for a chance to win Serena Robar’s upcoming YA title, Giving Up the V.

I combed through each of the comments, tallied them up and, with the help of random.org, selected a winner:

Congratulations dsmitty1012

An email has been sent out, but if I don’t hear back within 48 hours, I’ll select another entrant.

Now, if you didn’t win this time around, please don’t fret. I’m planning to hold a number of giveaways in the future (infinitely-wise higher power willing).

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

Not too long ago, I received an email pointing me in the direction of this book called Wait Until Twilight. The email mentioned that there would be an excerpt on the website.

Well, after reading the brief excerpt, I’m waiting…patiently (or not so).

What I need to do, needs to be done before it gets too dark . . .

Sixteen-year-old Samuel confronts his own inner monster when he discovers a set of deformed triplets whose mother believes they were immaculately conceived. Soon, the babies have taken hold of his waking and sleeping thoughts, and, unable to escape them, he decides to save them, but their shut-in mother and violent older brother want nothing to do with him.

Samuel must fight the trouble within him and the trouble he sees around him to determine who he will become in a year that forces him to grow from motherless boy to self-defined man. Set in a small Georgia town, this psychologically complex story of survival and self determination explores the dark, often contradictory worlds of young contemporary life, laying bare the ugly truths and secrets that haunt all of us.

I mean deformed triplets whose mother believes they were immaculately conceived? Does it get more interesting than that?

Wait Until Twilight sounds like it’s going to be a chilling (and twisted) ride and I’m curious to see what unfolds.

You can read an excerpt online: Wait Until Twilight Excerpt [PDF] or it can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Just some of the links I’ve found while wandering the internets…

Dork Diaries giveaway. You know I had to enter after watching the super cool book trailer. And you all know this is coming from someone who doesn’t care much for book trailers (at least, not the trailers gone wrong).

The Host giveaway. The Host by Stephenie Meyer is being released in paperback and to mark the occasion, a number of blogs are participating in The Host Tour. So, if you don’t already have a copy, but would like one, now’s a prime opportunity.

Book blog search engine, powered by Google and maintained by Fyrefly. I had no idea there was a dedicated book blog search engine out there, but then again, I’d never been looking. I stumbled across this while reading another blog and I’m glad for it.

Sookie Stackhouse reading challenge. In case you needed yet another challenge , or just need another challenge, then now’s your chance to get all caught up on Charlaine Harris’s novels.

Now, if you don’t already have the Sookie Stackhouse series, then you have a chance to get the first seven books in Mel’s HUGE Sookie Stackhouse giveaway.

The Hunger Games giveaway. In case you’ve been stalked by this book like I have been (it seems, everywhere I turn, the book is beckoning me to read it), here’s an opportunity to win it.