Finding Audrey - Sophie Kinsella

Finding Audrey

Sophie Kinsella

2015

I didn't know this book was happening. How I didn't know one of my favourite authors was releasing a book is something I can't figure out, but I was at the store the other day, saw the book, and immediately bought it without reading the synopsis or anything. I mean, I texted my mom all excitedly and then snapchatted some people who I thought might be as excited as me, and then bought the book. I quickly realized this is a young adult book, which made it a little different from her other books, but a good kind of different.

Finding Audrey is about a girl with Social Anxiety Disorder. She hints about what has happened to her, but never flat out states it. She hasn't really left her house in months except to go to therapy. Until she meets Linus. And things start to change for the better. I'd give more of a synopsis, but I don't want to give anything away! 

I really liked this book! It was a good combination of happy and sad, but in all the right places. Parts of the book are downright hilarious. Everything felt resolved, which is a good way to end a book (unlike Shopaholic to the Stars...but I'll get to that another time). I liked all the characters (which is unusual for me) and every character had something to add, and nobody felt like they were just put in there. The mother was probably one of my favourite characters. She means so well, but her execution is a little questionable at some points. She is always trying to do what she believes is best for her and for her family, but her source of information could use some work. There was one part of the book that I didn't totally agree with, but it was just a small part, and didn't have too much of an impact on the overall story.

Sophie Kinsella's books are always incredibly well written, and have incredible re-read potential. This book will probably sit on my shelf for a little while until one day when I just want a quick read where I know nothing bad happens. 

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars! 

Have you read this book? Do you have a favourite Sophie Kinsella novel? Mine is probably Can You Keep A Secret? or The Undomestic Goddess. And of course, the Shopaholic series.

Does having the mother as a favourite character officially make me old?

All The Right Stuff - Walter Dean Meyers

All The Right Stuff

Walter Dean Meyers

2012

I really liked this book's cover. I downloaded it for my ereader from my library's website solely because I liked the orange and the blue in the cover. I should have probably read a little bit about it first, but I was just looking for some books to read on my vacation. I read this book in about two days, and it was an alright book, just not what I'm used to.

All The Right Stuff is about Paul DuPree who lives in Harlem and is working at a soup kitchen four days a week and tutoring a girl one day a week during the summer. Elijah, the old man who owns the soup kitchen, teaches Paul how to make soup, but more importantly, he won't shut up about something called the 'social contract'. That's the basis of this novel. A lot of other things happen (he befriends Keisha, the girl he is tutoring in basketball, he meets up with a very well known drug dealer/big shot named Sly, etc). 

The book is all about deep thinking and Elijah asks Paul a lot of questions about the social contract. If that was a concept I was interested in, I might have enjoyed the book more. Or maybe if I wasn't looking for something fun to read while I was on holidays.

The novel was well written, and you can see a change in the character of Paul from the beginning of the book to the end, especially in how he talks to people such as Keisha or Sly. There was very little plot though. The majority of the book was spent discussing the social contract and a lot of the book was  told in conversations between Elijah and Paul, or just Paul thinking. While some things did happen and I wanted to know how they were resolved, I didn't feel like there was a lot of action. 

I give this book 2.5 out of 5 stars. Had I been in the mood for a more philosophical novel I may have enjoyed this more. More plot would have been nice.

You can buy this book from Amazon here: All The Right Stuff

Have you read this book? Have you read anything else by Walter Dean Meyers? If you have, which book would you recommend?
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Latkes and Applesauce - Fran Manushkin

Latkes and Applesauce

Fran Manushkin, Illustrated by Robin Spowart

1993

With Hanukkah coming up, I thought I'd share one of my favourite childhood books about the holiday. I've had this book forever, and it is probably one of my favourite holiday stories.

Latkes and Applesauce is a story about Hanukkah. A nasty blizzard comes and leaves a family without potatoes for latkes or apples for applesauce at Hanukkah. The potatoes are buried outside, and there are no apples due to a poor harvest. Nonetheless, the family takes in a stray cat and a stray dog. They don't name the animals, because a name "must fit like a glove." On the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, the storm clears. The family goes outside and, through the magic of a Hanukkah miracle, the dog digs up the potatoes and the cat climbs up an apple tree where there are no apples. The family then makes themselves a little feast out of what they found, and the animals getting their fitting names.

The book also has a latke recipe in the back, as well as instructions on how to play the dreidel. There is also a brief retelling of the story of Hanukkah.

Latkes and Applesauce is one of my favourite holiday books. It's a very cute story and the illustrations are beautiful.

If you're looking for a cute little story about Hanukkah, this might be the book for you! I know there's lots more stories out there (especially nowadays), but you can't go wrong with Latkes and Applesauce. 

This book is available for purchase from Amazon here: Latkes and Applesauce

Have you ever read Latkes and Applesauce? Or any other good Hanukkah books? Let me know in the comments!