Tiny Librarian's Wrap-Up

Hooray, another challenge completed! Thanks to Callista for hosting this fun one!

My books were:
1. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham
3. One of those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
4. 21 Proms by various authors
5. Second Chance by Jane Green

Favourite book?
Well, I gave 2 of them 4 stars - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and One Of Those Hideous Books... I'd say my top fave was the Detective Agency because I found it really charming and it brought back my faith in McCall Smith (the last couple of his I'd read hadn't wowed me as much as 44 Scotland Street).

Least favourite book?
I gave the other ones all 3 stars, so none of them were bad books. I'd say it was probably 21 Proms just because I'm not really that big a fan of short stories, but I don't regret reading it.

Second Chance by Jane Green

At last, I'm finished! I managed to still get done in time even though I misread the rules and had to switch 2 books at the last minute.

My review of British chick lit author Jane Green's Second Chance is here.

21 Proms

21 stories about the prom, by some of today's hottest young adult authors. Check out my review here.

One of those hideous books where the mother dies

One of those hideous books where the mother dies by Sonya Sones
4 stars

Reasons for reading: I enjoyed her What My Mother Doesn't Know a few years ago, Numbers Challenge, Triple 8 Challenge

Summary (from Booklist): "After the death of her mother, high-schooler Ruby is sent from Boston to L.A. to live with the father she has never met: "He's such a scumbag / that he divorced my mother / before I was even born." The "scumbag" is Whip Logan, a famous movie actor, but Ruby is too angry to be impressed; at the airport she wonders whether to "ask him for his autograph, / or kick him in the balls." Sones' latest free-verse novel follows Ruby through her first few months in her new home, a mansion where her every desire is granted--except what she longs for most: her best friend, her boyfriend, and of course, her mother."

My thoughts: I'm usually not a verse-novel gal, but Sones is a really good writer. The poems make it really seem like you're right in Ruby's head, feeling such deep grief and anger, and they definitely resonate the way poetry should. But there's humour, as well, such as Airplane Lunch:

They

call

this

chicken?

I liked that Ruby loves to read and that she doesn't want her life to be like one of those hideous books: "I love to read,/ but I can't stand books like that./And I flat out refuse/to have one of those lives/that I wouldn't even want/to read about." I hate those hideous books, too!

This one loses a star only because the truth about Ruby's dad and some of the other events (I won't spoil it) are predictable. But even that doesn't detract much from the greatness of the book, which is a well done cross between a (non-hideous) teen angst book and a fish-out-of-water story.

(Cross-posted on my blog.)

Cocktails for Three

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham
3 stars

Book description: Three women, smart and successful, working in the fast and furious world of magazines, meet for cocktails and gossip once a month. Roxanne: glamorous, self-confident, with a secret lover - and hoping that one day he will leave his wife and marry her. Maggie: capable and high-achieving, until she finds the one thing she can't cope with - motherhood. Candice: honest, decent, or so she believes - until a ghost from her past turns up, and almost ruins her life. A chance encounter in the cocktail bar sets in train an extraordinary set of events which upsets all their lives and almost destroys their friendship.

First line: "Candice Brewin pushed open the heavy glass door of the Manhattan Bar and felt the familiar swell of warmth, noise, light and clatter rush over her."

My thoughts: Madeleine Wickham is better known as Sophie Kinsella. So when I spotted this book while browsing in a used bookstore and noticed the note saying that's who she was, I snapped it up, since I enjoyed the Shopaholic books and especially Can You Keep a Secret?

This one's okay, though I didn't think it had the sparkle of her other work. It's pretty darn predicitable (although the Shopaholic ones are, too, but somehow their charm makes up for most of it) - you know Candice is going to get herself in trouble with the person from her past, it's not hard to guess who Roxanne is having the affair with, and it's obvious that Maggie is in for some post-partum depression.

That seems to be a theme as chick lit writers turn into mommies - the joys but mostly horrors of having a baby. I really felt for Maggie, feeling like she had to do everything perfectly while being so completely exhausted.

The theme of the book is secrets and how we hide them from even our closest friends. I did like the message that it's good to tell people when you need help or are having problems, to avoid everything from stress and to actual crises before they get to be too much to handle.

Overall, it's not a bad piece of Chick lit - I polished it off in about a day while sick in bed.

The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
4 stars

I've been meaning to read this one for some time - despite being disappointed in a few of his books recently, I like Alexander McCall Smith. And it seems as if this series has charmed just about everyone. I haven't heard a bad word spoken against it. And I was quite charmed, too. [Note, I may have a few spoilers here, so don't read on if you plan to read this one. But I have a feeling I'm one of the few people left who hadn't read it!]

I was surprised, though, to find horrific incidents sprinkled throughout what I thought was going to be basically a cozy mystery - Precious' husband is a violent rapist who tries to kill their unborn child, then leaves her. While Smith and Precious both love Botswana, there are still references, mostly subtle, to Africa's problems - AIDS, corrupt police, smuggling, etc.

But Precious definitely lives up to her name - she's very clever, funny and has a heart as big as her "traditional" frame. It was quite interesting and rather funny to see a fat lady be admired, for a change, and I could imagine Precious' large frame sailing through town on her missions. I did wonder, however, how she could remain a private private detective when everyone in the area knew her and she was rather hard to miss.

I also found some funny touches in the names of businesses (include the name of the agency) caused by English not being the native language in Botswana. My favourite was the Go Go Handsome Man's Bar, but I also got a kick out Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors.

I liked that there were smaller, mostly gentler cases mixed in with the larger case of the kidnapped boy. My favourite was the one about the doctor that seemed to be incredibly forgetful but was actually a set of twins. I enjoyed how Precious used her instincts, feminine wiles, and the knowledge she gleaned from both Agatha Christie novels and the PI manual she sends away for. And, of course, I liked that the kidnapped boy was found safe and sound.

An African lady written by a Scottish man seems fairly implausible, but McCall Smith is in fine form. While the sequels aren't right at the top of my TBR list, I have a feeling I'll be visiting the Agency again.

Tiny Little Librarian's Picks

Edited May 24 because I didn't read the rules properly about needing to have two books that aren't part of another challenge!

1. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

2. Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella)

3. 21 Proms edited by David Levithan and Daniel Ehrenhaft

4. Second Chance by Jane Green

5. One of those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones