Review: The Fever by Megan Abbott

Synopsis

The Fever by Megan Abbott is about a school-wide epidemic, the heart-breaking intricacies of teenage girl’s lives, and the balancing act of trust and risk, otherwise known as parenthood. Written from the viewpoints of Deenie, a sixteen-year-old girl, her brother, Eli, the hockey-stick wielding high school hunk, and their father, a charming high school divorcee, the novel bounces between the perceived and the assumed. It is at once a crime novel as well as a mystery thriller, with equal parts suspense and literary verve, as well as the psychological profiling of the most fascinating minds of all: the teenage girl’s psyche.  

Review

Abbott is a literary genius when it comes to the minds of teenage girls. I first realized this after reading Dare Me, and it’s come full force, now, with The Fever. She captures the terrible (and terrifying) longings of the youthful female voice, the complexities of high school, that are jolting and mysterious and eerily profound, and manages to get inside our own heads, despite gender or age. She also splits up the narrative, which gives greater accessibility to the book. Deenie, our “main” narrator, is a high school student, plagued with the usual high school problems, (except, in Abbott’s hands, they are made gorgeous and lyrical and all-encompassing). She also has a posse of friends: the newfound beauty, Lise, the enigmatic and “damaged” Gabby, and the witchy Skye. Then, there’s Eli, a quiet and surprisingly thoughtful, sexually promiscuous boy who relies on his good looks to score any girl in school. And finally, Tom, the nice-guy dad with a smile nicknamed “the crock”, is both a subtle flirt, as well as a teacher at his kids’ school. His relationship with his children, and his own vulnerability and uncertainty about parenthood, are written in insightful prose. 

Throughout the novel, Abbott maintains a solid grasp on the suspense, and even though it isn’t instantly gratified, the reader is never left feeling cheated, or in any way abused by it. We want suspense, and we are given it, but it is a steady process that sees the reader through until the very end. It’s also an interesting read in regards to school politics, and how officials would indeed handle such a crisis. Though at its core a thriller, the thrills seem real; they aren’t cheap shots, but levelheaded and accurate. However, due to Abbott’s affinity for gorgeous language, the tale has a surreal, horror-flick feel to it just the same, enmeshed in a high school’s shadowy walls. 

Abbott knows how to tell one hell of a story. 

Reviewed by MB Sellers

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Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: 6/17/2014
Pages: 320

Review: Suspicion by Joseph Finder

Book Summary

When single father Danny Goodman suddenly finds himself unable to afford the private school his teenage daughter adores, he has no one to turn to for financial support.

In what seems like a stroke of brilliant luck, Danny meets Thomas Galvin, the father of his daughter’s new best friend, who also happens to be one of the wealthiest men in Boston. Galvin is aware of Danny’s situation and out of the blue offers a $50,000 loan to help Danny cover his daughter’s tuition. Uncomfortable but desperate, Danny takes the money, promising to pay Galvin back.

What transpires is something Danny never imagined. The moment the money is wired into his account, the DEA comes knocking on his door. Danny’s impossible choice: an indictment for accepting drug money that he can’t afford to fight in court, or an unthinkably treacherous undercover assignment helping the government get close to his new family friend.

As Danny begins to lie to everyone in his life, including those he loves most in the world, he must decide once and for all who the real enemy is or risk losing everything—and everyone—that matters to him.

Review

If you are hungry for a good suspense thriller, than I encourage you to dive right into Joe Finder’s Suspicion. Quite the page turner from open to close, you will find yourself completely absorbed into this book anticipating every move with numb fingers trying to turn the pages faster. Fulfilling every part of your appetite, it gives you everything you crave in a great suspense: a great plot, consistent action/drama that has you hanging on to their every move and that umf that glues you to your chair because you just have to finish. 

So, let’s dive into this book. If you have children, I’m sure you have found yourself at one time asking yourself – What length would I go for them? Well, Danny Goodman, learned the answer to that question. After losing his wife, he is maintaining the best he can for his daughter but find it very challenging trying to survive being a writer. Wanting the best he can for his daughter, she is enrolled in a school that is way beyond his means. Finding himself behind in payments, he becomes desperate not knowing what to do because he has no other means of financial support.

Call it chance, more like a miracle combined with a curse, while meeting with the school to figure out a way to get support, he learns that an expensive trip was paid for her daughter by the father of one of her friends.  After learning about his situation, he decides to offer Danny a lifeline but at what cost will that be? What lies behind that offer sends all of their worlds upside down into a book that has you wandering what will happen next.

The overall plot of the book I thought was fantastic. I thought that as a reader, it had just the right pace that evolved layer by layer without giving too much away. Filled with exciting twists and turns, I found myself completely absorbed into the characters and where the story led me. All the elements for what each brought to the story really worked together. I thought it was a constant up climb in the suspense of the book attributing to his ability as a skillful writer to maintain that interest for the reader. There was never a dull moment that I thought diverted the reader. What I loved is that it was not predictable which made the anticipation of the story more inviting. This is definitely one for the suspense lover who really wants a good read this summer. I would add to your reading list.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

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Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Publication date: 5/27/2014
Pages: 400

Review: Magic Unfolds by N.L. Greene

Summary

For the first time in her life, Becky had hopes of fulfilling her own dreams when Blaine Winters inexplicably arrived into her quiet life, teasing her with astounding possibilities she never thought imaginable. Not only did he reveal that magic was indeed real, but he also stirred feelings in her that she had only read about in clichéd romance novels. But just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. Then Becky’s life was turned upside down by a family emergency. With the overwhelming demands of running an elite law firm as well as her ex becoming more of a threat each day, she didn't have time for whimsical thoughts or personal exploration anyway.
Now that Blaine has mysteriously disappeared from her life, she can put her family first and focus on what she needs to do. If only it were that easy. Blaine may be gone and all of Becky’s little girl dreams of a world filled with magic with him, but that doesn't mean all’s forgotten. Nightmares are plaguing her, someone is watching her, and there are powers within her that she can’t seem to control.

Will Becky finally get her chance at magic after all, even if she doesn't want it?

Review

I loved Magic Unfolds. I did not have too high of expectations because the first installment, Illusions Begin left me disappointed and wanting more. While I wanted the first book to be shorter, I craved for Magic Unfolds to be longer, a never ending cycle in the book worm world. 
The relationships that N.L. Greene builds are really what makes the book special. Becky and her relationships are built and destroyed, over and over again, highlighting her personality traits and perseverance. The love interests and friends she makes are so quickly taken away each time, and none of them have come back yet. 

The only part that frustrated me, besides the cliff hanger ending, was the whole Ethan plot. He clearly likes her and she clearly is trying to friend zone him but he does not seem to get it. I wish that it became clear to him in this book because I don’t like the possibility of an unnecessary love triangle building with Becky, Ethan and Blaine. 

Everything else aside, I think Becky is a great role model. She stuck up for herself against a man who was trying to take advantage of her in more than one way. It is a great example and role model for someone reading this book to see because it shows Becky standing up for herself and taking the necessary steps to get Lance out of her life. 

The ending, really, it could be classified as torture. A true cliff hanger that left me not only angry but extremely eager to read the next installment, which better be out soon because I need to know what happens. 

Reviewed by Rachel Keane

Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date: 4/10/2014
Pages: 264

Review: The Art of My Life by Ann Lee Miller

Summary

Cal walked out of jail and into a second chance at winning Aly with his grandma’s beater sailboat and a reclaimed dream of sailing charters. Aly has the business smarts, strings to a startup loan, and heart he never should have broken. He’s got squat. Unless you count enough original art to stock a monster rummage sale and an affection for weed. But he’d only ever loved Aly. That had to count for something. Aly needed a guy who owned yard tools, tires worth rotating, and a voter’s registration card. He’d be that guy or die trying. For anyone who’s ever struggled to measure up. And failed.

Review

I read this book while on a cruise in Cocoa Beach Florida, which I thought was funny because I was only an hour away from New Smyrna Beach where the story takes place.

I find that all of Ann Lee Miller's books are relatable in some way, but personally I loved The Art of My Life the most because it was the most relatable to my personal life. There is just something about Miller's writing that makes me never want the story to end.

The characters are the driving force behind the plot and are extremely real. This was not a story that you could never picture happening, because too many families it is real. Cal has not been dealt the best deck of cards, but he does nothing to turn his life around before he is arrested.
Miller introduces the idea that Cal is never good enough for his mother, which I think may be a common thought in many young adults and teenagers. It is as much a great story for a child to accept their mother, but for a mother to accept their child.

Aly is really the driving force at Cal changing. While he has always had it in the back of his mind he needed to change, what really pushed him over the edge was realizing she was not going to visit him in jail. The feeling of never wanting to miss her again was the motivation Cal needed.
I really loved this book, it was the best in the new Smyrna Beach Series in my opinion. Truly a perfectly written story that captures readers and is real. It is a story that can and does happen to many people, making it reach to a wide audience. It is also the perfect beach read!

Reviewed by Rachel Keane

Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date: 9/25/2012
Pages: 376

Review: Optimal Living 360: Smart Decision Making for a Balanced Life by Sanjay Jain

Book Summary

A program for making the most out of the present and future…

The biggest challenge is figuring out how to make decisions that improve your overall quality of life. In Optimal Living 360, Dr. Sanjay Jain introduces Integrative Decision Making, an approach that focuses on the big picture and teaches you how to make decisions to receive the highest return on investment in life.  

While sharing his life-changing discoveries, Dr. Jain guides you through the process of isolating your core values using his ASPIRES model. He then explains how to integrate those ideals or standards into the decision-making process in aspects of life such as health, money, relationships, leisure, and sex, among others. Each optimal decision you make brings you one step closer to finding balance and taking control.

The easy-to-follow technique will help you make the best of any situation and maximize your return on each aspect of your multidimensional life, even if you’re on a restrained budget or have minimal resources. Optimal Living 360 is refreshingly comprehensive and a revolutionary approach to personal fulfillment.

Review

With so many things going on in our daily lives, the most important commodity that we take for granted is time and how we use it. For so many people who have busy lives, there never seems to be enough of it to make the decisions that seem the most important. We just carry on through, make them as we go but after reading Optimal Living 360, it really puts into perspective every major aspect of life bringing an insight and tools to incorporate and enhance the quality of our lives.

I will admit, in the beginning of the book, I really wasn't sure where this book was going. Once I pushed on, the material in the book covered diverse topics that covered all the major areas of our lives and brought a perspective that encouraged contemplative introspection. 

Drawing from his diverse background academically, personally and professionally, Dr. Sanjay Jain shares with us his ASPIRE model which represents core aspects of our life along with his Integrative Decision Making process to evaluate the priorities in our lives to make more conscientious and informative decisions to achieve what he has coined our “ROI” or return on investment. The information was accessible with tips after each section that were practical and insightful.  I think this would be a good read for all types of backgrounds looking for another way to help enhance the quality of your life. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Publication date: 2/3/2014
Pages: 240

Review: Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

Book Summary

Part detective novel, part psychological thriller, Surfacing is the story of a talented woman artist who goes in search of her missing father on a remote island in northern Quebec. Setting out with her lover and another young couple, she soon finds herself captivated by the isolated setting, where a marriage begins to fall apart, violence and death lurk just below the surface, and sex becomes a catalyst for conflict and dangerous choices. Surfacing is a work permeated with an aura of suspense. complex with layered meanings, and written in brilliant, diamond-sharp prose. Here is a rich mine of ideas from an extraordinary writer about contemporary life and nature, families and marriage, and about women fragmented...and becoming whole. 

Review

As a veteran Margaret Atwood fan, I entered into this novel, one of her earliest writings, with a multitude of extremely high expectations. There must be incredibly well-written portrayals of dysfunctional relationships, both familial and romantic. There must be disturbing and dark elements, fragmented identities, complex female characters, and at least one completely shocking revelation by the last chapter. I expected to close the last page, deeply haunted by some newly acquired knowledge of my own emotional landscape. Four years when I first discovered Atwood through her famous dystopian work, A Handmaid's Tale, her words challenged me and changed me. Every Atwood piece since then has held to the same standards. Surfacing did not disappoint. 

The cover of the novel says it all- the lower half of a woman breaks through the surface of what appears to be a lake, but as you look closer at the bottom, it begins to look like the sky. Atwood confronts the reader with a fragmented protagonist, recognizable and surprising, ostensibly sensible and ultimately surreal.Upon learning of her estranged father's disappearance, she returns to her old home with her new boyfriend and their married friends. Slowly remembering the past and piecing together the present, the narrator weaves a compelling tale of finding and losing identity and of surviving the continual process and performance of living in the world today.

Atwood takes her readers deep into the dark corners of the human psyche, fearlessly exploring and illuminating realities most author shrink from. She effortlessly navigates convoluted commentaries on the modern world, pointing out truths we never knew we already knew. Although penned over four decades ago, Atwood's words still ring clear and true to the world today. The violence smoldering underneath the surface of her isolated Canadian lakes resonate with concrete cities and suburban backyards alike. And perhaps most importantly, it resonates in the subconsciousness of anyone who's ever felt fragmented, scattered or broken and anyone who has ever found a way to heal again.  

Reviewed by Miranda Wojciechowski

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date: 3/28/1998
Pages: 199