2019 Reading Challenge Reviews - Books 34 & 35
For continuing readers, thank you! This next bit will be a little background for new readers. If you want to skip down to the book reviews, I won't take offense.
New readers, welcome! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy Sorority Blogger! This year, I decided to take the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge, which gives you prompts of different types of books to read throughout the year. It's been broadening my reading horizons, and I think that's an awesome thing. For more information, check out my Overview post or visit the Pop Sugar website.
Now for the book reviews:
I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads. I was torn between 4 and 4.5 stars for this, but since there's no half stars, Goodreads made my decision for me.
The prompt I chose for both this and book 35 was "Two books that share the same title."
Allison, a mom of 3, jumps at the idea of moving her whole family from TX to NYC when her husband gets a promotion. Convinced they're all going to love it in NYC, they move their family of 5 into a small (to them) 3 bedroom apartment in the city. At first, Allison is the one struggling to adjust: trying to get all 3 kids settled into new schools, trying to find a teaching job that is a good fit for her, trying to learn to live in a big city in general. Then, on the one day she decides to drive to pick her son up from school instead of walk, a small car accident changes her life and puts her in touch with singer Carter Reid. Now she finds herself getting involved with helping Carter change his image and succeed at his latest project, and it changes her in ways she didn't expect.
I loved all of the characters in this book, and how they grew throughout the story. I loved the touches on how overwhelming living in the city could be (and moving somewhere new in general).
I thought the plot made the book a fun, lighthearted summer read. While there was some drama, it never got too intense in my opinion.
It's a perfect book for people that love "Chick Lit", and want a easy, quick, cute read.
Book 35: Limelight by Melody Carlson
I gave this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads.
The prompt I chose for both this and book 34 was "Two books that share the same title."
This book follows Claudette, a former Hollywood actress and great beauty, in her later years. She believes that age is destroying her, and her accountant is bankrupting her. Now that the property she owned with her late husband has been sold off to pay back taxes, she has to move back to her family home, and be near her sister that she hasn't spoken to in years. Slowly, as she settles into her new life she moves from the depression she was in at the start of the book to building back up relationships and discovering if she can still grow and change as a person despite her age.
When I first started reading this book, I was convinced I was going to hate Claudette and, in turn, not like the book. However, as the story progressed and Claudette began to see things in a different way, I found myself laughing a bit at/with her, and growing to like her as a character.
I haven't read many books where the main character is frankly, closer to my grandmother's age than my own, and it was kind of a breath of fresh air. It brought up a lot of thoughts about my grandma for me (although she is not much like Claudette at all from what I've seen in my lifetime at least). It also brings a new perspective to the idea of "Can you teach an old dog new tricks?"
Overall, I thought it was a cute book, but it did at times touch on some intense/dark topics particularly as Claudette digs up the skeletons in the closet.
This is the second book that I read this year, that I felt a little blind sided by some details and plot points. The first was partially my fault, but this one didn't really have any kind of trigger warning in any of the descriptions I saw. I understand that it's a little bit tricky to warn people of twists and turns that could blind side them without spoiling books, but I will keep this book's example in mind when recommending it.
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