I am coming back in 2012 with a vengeance. I had a lot of real-world issues to deal with, but I feel more confident than ever that I will be able to keep up with my reading, and be able to balance that with a new baby (yes, I am expecting a little Addict in late December 2011 or early January 2012).

I am more than ready to take on new challenges, so be on the look-out for those. I’m pretty sure I’m overloading myself with these book challenges, but I have a lot of downtime right now. Hopefully, that stays the same.

Anyway, I look forward to re-starting this blog after such a long hiatus.

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe – a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs. (goodreads.com)

My Thoughts

I cheered. A new series by Mr. Riordan. I loved the first book in the Percy Jackson series, and I was excited to read about a new mythology.

Egyptian mythology is so much different from Greek mythology, and it was a nice change of pace, especially since I read them back-to-back.

The journey the children go on is quite a wild one. It was really fascinating to watch Carter and Sadie become close, since they’ve been separated for so long and are such different people. Carter is the knowledgeable one, in terms of mythology, since he’s spent so much time traveling with his father. Sadie, on the other hand, is a bit of a smart-aleck, and a bit cynical to boot.

In time, they come to learn the truth about their mother’s death, which is something that has plagued them for a long time.

I look forward to reading the next installment of the series, if only to see what happens to the Kane siblings next.

Meet Julia, a wildly successful television producer who appears to have the picture-perfect life. But beneath the surface, things are not as perfect as they seem. Stuck in a loveless relationship with her boyfriend, Mark, Julia thinks a baby is the answer . . . but she may want a baby more than she wants her boyfriend. Will a trip to New York City with a jet-setting friend—and all the glittering energy and eligible men the city brings—help her discover what she really needs?
Maeve, on the other hand, is allergic to commitment. A feisty, red-haired, high-power career girl, she cherishes her ability to do just as she pleases and breaks out in a rash every time she passes a stroller. But when her no-strings-attached nightlife leads to an unexpected pregnancy, her reaction may be just as unexpected.And then there’s Samantha—happily married and eager to be the perfect June Cleaveresque mother. But baby George brings only exhaustion, extra pounds, and marital strife to her once tidy life. Is having an affair with a friend’s incredibly sexy husband the answer? (goodreads.com)

My Thoughts

The book is broken into three parts: Julia’s story, Maeve’s story, and Sam’s story.

I’ll admit that I got a little frustrated with Julia, whose only focus is having a baby in order to save her relationship. I kept wishing that she would just take a step back and realize that a baby would have probably caused more problems between herself and Mark, but instead she just becomes more and more obsessed until her friend suggests she go to New York for vacation. I was so glad that she went to New York, if only because it was a little rough reading about how jealous Julia was getting when she happened to run into someone at a coffee shop or on the street that had a baby when she couldn’t have one. It was such a relief to see her having fun and not thinking about having a baby.

Maeve’s story overlaps with Julia’s, because when Julia leaves her company to go on an extended vacation in New York, Maeve takes Julia’s place at the company. The summary is a little harsh towards Maeve, who is not necessarily so drastically opposed to having a baby but is just not interested. She is career-driven and a refreshing change from Julia’s baby-obsessed ramblings.

Of course, Maeve doesn’t just take Julia’s place at the office, but seemingly in her old house (in which it is repeatedly said that Julia was not comfortable in such a large house and much preferred a tiny flat) with her old boyfriend. Oh, Maeve. Maeve’s section ends with her in labor, and then it switches.

Sam is the classic over-stressed, bored, stay-at-home mom who wants to go back to work but at the same time doesn’t want to leave her little one with anyone else. She is bored with play dates with other moms with children the same age as little George, and she is frustrated because her husband doesn’t seem to want to help her with their son.

Sam sees an opening when she and her husband agree to have dinner with his co-worker and her husband. He flirts openly with her, and Sam finds herself attracted. I wondered sometimes if it was simply her attraction to the attention, and less to the man himself, that had her worked up into a tizzy. It’s a little heartbreaking to see Sam realize that he is just leading her on, but I was also glad to see that she returns her sights to her husband when she realizes that a fling isn’t what she needs after all.

I sometimes enjoyed the book, and sometimes I didn’t. Maeve’s section is the only one written in first person, and it went by really quickly. I got bogged down in both Julia’s and Sam’s sections, but Sam’s was at least a little more interesting because she learns that she can have a job and be a stay-at-home mom all at once, and she has the extra dilemma of being one of Julia’s best friends and befriending Maeve, whom she initially sees as the enemy but is later glad to have as a friend.

Overall, I’m a little torn about it, but it’s a fun read none-the-less.

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.

Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

My Thoughts

Oh, I think I made a mistake reading this book before finishing the Percy Jackson series.

I didn’t realize, going into this book, that this is a sequel, of sorts, to the Percy series. It blends the Gods and Goddesses of Roman and Greek mythology, showing both their sides, and now we have, essentially, two Camp Half-bloods.

I found myself a little bit at a loss when events from the initial series was discussed, but most of it is mentioned in passing and wasn’t essential to the plot, so I was able to move past it and continue on without much difficulty.

The blending of Roman and Greek mythology was interesting, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I look forward to meeting a more grown-up Percy Jackson, but hopefully I’ll have finished his series before the next book comes out.

Author: The Hippie with Anger Issues

Reviewed for:  Pump Up Your Book Tour

This review will be a little different, because the book itself is a little different.

Snowflake Obsidian is the Memoir of a Cutter. But it doesn’t really focus on the cutting. Instead, it focuses on relationships, including the author’s relationship with herself. It’s about losing friends, gaining friends, and all the life that happens in the mean time.

For a while I was torn about this book. It took a long time for me to read it, even though it’s only 250 pages. It’s hard to read the thoughts of someone who’s depressed, because mostly my reaction is “Oh, get over it already,” even though I know it’s not that easy.

I enjoyed so much reading about the journey the author went through. It’s not easy, learning to not hate yourself, and it’s just so interesting reading about the different therapies (like Willow’s visits to Millie). She even, to an extent, uses art. It was interesting, watching her learn to laugh again, to not feel hollow.

I don’t want to say too much about the contents of the book, because it’s all inter-connected and characters that you think will disappear for the rest of the book either turn up or are mentioned, but I will say that I loved the part about hiding the remote. I giggled a lot.

Also, I learned that Snowflake Obsidian is actually a stone.

Aren't they pretty?

This book was reviewed as part of the Pump Up Your Book tour. I would like to extend my thanks to the author for providing a copy of the book.

Brooklyn: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.
Paris: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fatal encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want–and couldn’t escape.
Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages–until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

My Thoughts

It took me almost a week to get through this book. Not because it’s a particularly difficult read in terms of language, but because I was just not interested. It took almost half the book before I was interested, and by that point I was ready to put it down and put a DNF (did not finish) on the rating.
Andi comes across as a self-centered, rich, spoiled brat, and that’s mostly because she is. She speaks to her headmistress at her private school however she pleases, and in Andi’s case, she’s rather rude. She back-talks her father. She smokes pot, because she’s bored and it’s the “thing” to do.
It wasn’t until Andi comes across Alexandrine’s diary that I began to get interested, and I was more interested in Alex’s story than I was Andi’s. I just couldn’t bring myself to care about Andi’s self-pity party, but Alex’s story about the king and queen of France, and the Dauphin, was a lot more interesting and I found myself looking forward to the diary entries.
Overall, I thought the book was okay. It was an interesting read, but I found it hard to identify with the main character.

There are some good qualities that autistic individuals have, they are many times very artistic and intelligent and many have a knack of mathematics. Being diagnosed with Autism for many parents may seem like a God send, it means that there is finally a name for what’s been going on with their child or children. I myself work with Autistic children on a daily basis in my office in New York City, and I know from experience that individuals with autism can be a tremendous people. Don’t get me wrong, autism can manifest itself in many ways, and although I have a fairly positive outlook not everyone feels the same way that I do. Ultimately, we should understand that autism can be treated, but not cured. Some popular forms of treatment are ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis), Floortime and Verbal Therapy. Many of these therapies are geared towards helping develop social and emotional skills for these children and can be tremendously helpful. One thing I want to stress as heavily as possible is that autism treatment and diagnosis will change the lives of everyone in the family. In order to see real improvement you should not limit that child’s/person therapies to only the therapists office, you should implement the therapies and suggestions given by the therapist to the best of your abilities in the home so that they aren’t forgotten. The goal is to turn the therapy(ies) into routine activities.

One website that I personally is the www.autismspeaks.org website. They have tons of information about different therapies, autism insurance acceptance and more. Autism Speaks stands alone in terms of online resources, but when looking for an offline resource like a therapist, or advocate to work with you to help your child receive the services he/she needs, you should consider several thinks like how much you like the person, their credentials and licensing and how helpful you feel they would be to your family. If you are considering working with your child yourself, you may want to look into becoming certified or licensed in one of the therapies that are geared towards assisting autistic children (some of the therapies allow parents to become licensed or certified). Other resources that you may find helpful are books. When I wrote my book “Is My Kid Stupid? Avoiding an Educational Disaster”, I was sure to list many tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your child’s education including free resources, information for free private school tuition paid for by the state and information of how to advocate for your child. Many other authors and practitioners will offer up advice and explain what autism is and give their own theories on what causes autism (I say theories because no one really knows for sure). Nevertheless, you should arm yourself with as much information as possible, and seek the assistance of a qualified professional if you are unsure about something. Happy National Autism Month!

Many thanks to Ms. West for providing a little bit of insight into autism and its treatments. To find out more about Nzingha West and her book, Is My Kid Stupid? Avoiding an Educational Disaster, please visit www.ismykidstupid.com.

The blurb from the back:

Is My Kid Stupid reveals the unmitigated truth about special education, and parental involvement. Is My Kid Stupid is a must read for any parent, or friend of a parent, or relative of a parent. Is My Kid Stupid teaches parents how to:

• Choose the best practitioner for their child
• Approach the school when you want something done
• Receive a free private school education for your child courtesy of the state
• Choose extracurricular activities for your child
• Choose an advocate for your child, or be your own child’s advocate
• Choose the therapies that will benefit your child the most

My Thoughts

Okay, so I have to open this with a couple of facts:

FACT: My boyfriend has dyslexia.

FACT: We do not say the word “stupid” in our house, because he was called “stupid” so often growing up.

That said, I was incredibly grateful to read something that not only says these children with learning disorders aren’t stupid, and that they may need a little more help than other children in learning. I was also glad to see that Ms. West differentiated between being lazy and having an actual disorder. I was also really glad that she mentions that it is important to have your child early if you are concerned about a learning disorder. The longer you wait, the harder it is for a child to catch up to his or her peers.

The book is filled with little tidbits on how to make sure your child is receiving the best possible education he or she can have. Not only in grade school, but also in college, should your child choose to go to college. It’s filled with little scenarios, and each chapter ends with a short Q&A session, along with blank areas for your answers, as well as a page or so for you to write any notes that you may want later.

I think this is a book that all parents of special needs kids should read. It offers a lot of insight into the educational system in general, as well as what to do if the school system isn’t working well for your child. There are even some tips that I didn’t know about (particularly about testing out of courses in college). Wish I had known that 7 years ago!

A copy of this book was received from the author as part of the Pump Up Your Book tour. For more information or to participate in a tour, go to Pump Up Your Book.

Jessie over at The Elliott Review
sent me an ARC of Friendship Bread
by Darien Gee

Kristen from Bookworming in the 21st Century
sent me an ARC of Between Shades of Gray
by Ruta Sepetys

Thanks ever so much for your gifts!

Want to join the R.A.K.? Check out the button on the right side of my page.

Lately I’ve been utilizing the library catalog online, and requesting my books from there (unless the catalog specifically says my local branch has a book on its shelves, in which case I will go hunt it down). It makes my life a little simpler when I have multitudes of books sitting on my shelves. It also gives me a break, because some books have over a hundred holds on them, so that gives me time to read what’s on my shelves now.

But here’s my issue with this idea: I end up holding for a book for nearly six months, and I still haven’t gotten close to the bottom of the list.

Why?

Because people don’t return books on time.

I can’t tell you how much this irritates me. I go through so much trouble to make sure my books are brought back on time, especially if there’s holds on them. I have a white board dedicated to my library books and when they’re due back, as well as a section for me to write which books I’ve read and need to be returned.

Returning a book isn’t that hard, but when you have a book, and it’s due in March, and it’s already the end of April?

Your library card should be revoked permanently. That’s a clear sign you’re never going to return the book, and it’s essentially theft and thanks for wasting my time.

As of this writing, I’m holding for six books. One of them I’ve been holding on for almost 8 months, and I’m still number 31 out of 38. Still. This book, Halo by Alexandra Adornetto, initially had six copies in circulation when I first requested it. Now they have somewhere around 15, and the line isn’t moving any faster because people are keeping this book well past its due date.

J.R. Ward’s Dark Lover I’ve had in my possession before, but I was unable to finish it before it was due. Since there were other holds on it, I couldn’t renew it, so I requested it again. This is another of those novels that takes forever to make its rounds, mostly because people wait the full three weeks before they have to return them.

But let me talk about Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King. I’ve been dying to read this series for months, and logically I want to start at the beginning. There’s a total of one copy in circulation in my library district (that’s right–we have over 20 libraries in our district, and only one copy of this book), and of course, whoever had it most recently has not returned it, and it’s late.

I’m very quickly losing patience with my library system. It seems that those of us who have an excellent record with library books (I’ve never had a fine, ever, not even a nickel) have to put up with the irresponsible ilk over and over, with no reward system.

I still think people who are past due over a month should have their card revoked. Who’s to say they won’t pay their fine and then do the same thing with another book? It sounds like a great way to add to the library–if you were a dishonest person, that is.

If you’re reading this, I doubt that you’re one of those dishonest folk. But if you happen to have overdue library books on your shelves, please return them so others can enjoy them.