Book Review: Point of Retreat (Slammed, #2) by Colleen Hoover

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.34
Genre: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary

Goodreads Summary:
Hardships and heartache brought them together… now it will tear them apart.

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.’

My Rating: 4.0

Another book to get your blood pumping by Miss Colleen Hoover.

I loved this book, just like I love them all. This wasn't my all time favorite but it was still really good. I love Layken & Will and I'm glad this story was about them and we didn't switch characters. I absolutely LOVED the new character, 11 year old Kirsten who was wise beyond her years.

**SPOILER**

This book scared me there for a second and I was really nervous that Hoover was going to break my heart. Luckily it all ended with a happily ever after so I am a happy camper. 
Slam poetry isn't my favorite kind of poetry but I love how the characters consistently use it to express their deepest feelings. I wish I was that brave!

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Book Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.34
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, War

Goodreads Summary:
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

My Rating: 4.0

This book really surprised me. I wasn't expecting such heavy subject matter. Pieces of history that don't get focused on at all. Tragedy and misery just outside the hands of Hitler, long forgotten lessons in history that don't get the light they deserve.

I enjoyed this book because I felt like there were good, solid lessons intertwined with honest hardships but threaded through with strands of love. Terrible conditions that people our age can't even fathom. In reading this work of fiction, with made up characters and themes of love, I learned a lot and gained opinions I wouldn't have had before. I liked the characters a lot and their will to live was outstanding. The sacrifices they made for each other, loved ones or not, were quite commendable. Even the bald man finally came around and made sure the sick children were taken care of first when a doctor finally arrived.

There were highs and lows, really low, but through it all love shined through the misery. Compassion overcame weaknesses. The epilogue was PERFECT. I loved it.

I usually don't read the extra bits at the end of a book but I'm so glad I read the interview with the author. It explained so much about the story and about what was true and what was made up. The author did a LOT of research to create this book and the stories come from family legend. I really appreciated this novel and will recommend it to certain readers.

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Book Review: Legend (Legend, #1) by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.19
Genre: Sci Fi, Dystopia, Young Adult

Goodreads Summary:
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

My Rating: 3.9

I really struggled with this rating!

Legend was not what I expected at all but it was good! It had all the necessary elements of a good dystopian romance novel. I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't like about it...

I felt like everything happened so fast and we were barely given time to be curious about something before we could make out the answer (way before the characters did). The first half was a bit slow but I liked the idea of it.

My favorite part was the way it was written in both perspectives... Being able to see the story from both sides while still missing one side is interesting. I did like the characters and I like the idea of the Rupublic who handles adversity with torture and violence.

I'll put the next one on my "to be read next month" list.

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Book Review: Legacy Code (Legacy Code, #1) by Autumn Kalquist

Legacy Code by Autumn Kalquist
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.50
Genre: Sci Fi, Young Adult, Dystopia

Goodreads Summary:
Space is a brutal home.

Three hundred years ago, the Earth died, and the last humans fled. Beaten. Broken in more ways than one. Their descendants carry the Legacy Code—mangled genes that force them to abort half their unborn children.

When Era and Dritan Corinth get placements on the safest ship in the fleet and win a chance to have a child, they feel lucky. Until the day Era's supposed to find out if her baby has the Defect, and the ship suffers a hull breach.

An investigation uncovers new threats. Dangerous secrets. Lies. Treason.

Era begins to question everything she’s been taught about the fleet, their search for a new Earth, and the Defect. But the answers she seeks were never meant to be found...

Legacy Code is a suspenseful, dark post-apocalyptic read that has earned five star reviews from fans of books like Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising, and has been compared favorably to Wool, 1984, and the new Battlestar Galactica

My Rating: 3.5

Era Corinth gets the short end of the stick in more than one instance but she refuses to let it get her down. This book was a quick read set in a futuristic, dystopian like space shuttle. The characters are solid and though they didn't have much time to develop, I can see how they could in future books in this series.

The ending was really abrupt and unexpected, I guess you could call it a cliff hanger, but I didn't feel fully satisfied. I read the last line and then turned the page expecting another chapter.

I'm impressed that the author also made (wrote/produced/sang) a song that is in this book. One of the characters writes the song and plays it for Era and we really have that song! It's great!

***SPOILER***

I'm interested in finding out if Dritan is really dead and if Era has the baby or even survives the airlock so I'm on bored for the next book!

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The In Vitro Journey: The Plan, Part I

Originally, when I created this blog, my intention was to showcase some sneak peaks into our daily life and follow us on a journey we have been building up to for quite some time. It has turned out to be very little of that and more of a place for me to sort out all my book reviews & obsessions. If you're one of the people who tuned in to follow our little love story, I apologize for falling off track. I promise when there is more exciting info to share, I will do so in as much detail as possible.

We have been doing well over the past few weeks at opening the lines of communication regarding our upcoming procedures. We have began taking small steps towards healthier lives including more fruits and veggies, less fast food, more cardio, water, and vitamins. I am down 18 pounds in two months and the target BMI is in close sight.  

Us yesterday before our 3 mile walk along the boardwalk @ sunset

(Our favorite old person past time, next to watching 

Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy 5 nights a week)

We seem to have a more concrete plan and time frame now as far as our plans to begin our IVF Journey goes. We will be moving in May and have a vacation planned in June, both of which will be a bit costly and not an ideal time for hormone shots and resting/preparing the body for pregnancy. We plan to meet with our doctor in mid to late June to schedule out our treatments and procedures and begin moving forward in July.

It's crazy how often I get asked by parents, "do you have any children?". When I respond with "no, not yet" the response is ALWAYS "lucky you! Wait as long as you can" and "kids change everything."

Going through all of this, I don't even know how to respond to that. Of course the standard thing to do is just laugh and say something like, "Oh, I bet!" But inside I'm thinking, "there's nothing lucky about my answer to that question" and  "yes, I realize kids change everything, that's what I'm going for here!"

If nothing else this is a lesson for me to not judge a book by it's cover. You really never know the details of someones life until you sit down with them and really get to the nitty gritty. Maybe statements like "consider yourself lucky" shouldn't be a blanket thrown over everyone in child bearing years without a child. Maybe assumptions shouldn't be made that because you don't have children it must mean you don't want them or aren't ready for them. Or, maybe, possibly, I'm just over thinking it because it's something that hits close to home. Either way, I'll take the "advise" in stride and continue on this journey until we have our missing puzzle piece and can start putting together our own family puzzle.

It's late and the mister is already dead asleep. Time for me to join him.

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Book Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.07
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Goodreads Summary:
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable. 

My Rating: 4.5

That book was such a roller coaster!

It was emotional from the very beginning with Lenny's sister having JUST died recently. There was so much centered around Bailey it was like we were watching her life be unwound through the loved ones she left behind. This book really makes you think about death and about missing someone so bad that you can't even decipher right from wrong. Learning how to live your every day life without this person who used to be a big part of your life.

***SPOILERS***

The love triangle aspect was surprisingly really interesting. The whole Lenny & Toby thing was so complex that you really wouldn't understand it if you were an outsider. It was wrong on so many levels and BOTH parties knew that. They were using a coping mechanism that I'm sure a lot of people have used before when grieving, only to find out that it is NOT the answer[ Lenny & Toby thing was so complex that you really wouldn't understand it if you were an outsider. It was wrong on so many levels and BOTH parties knew that. They were using a coping mechanism that I'm sure a lot of people have used before when grieving, only to find out that it is NOT the answer. (hide spoiler)]

It was really great to watch Lenny fall in love for the first time.. At such a low point in her life it is exactly what she needed. There was a lot of ups and downs to get to the place where she was in the end but it changed her and forced her to move on from the death of her sister.

Really, really good. Glad to have read it.

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Book Review: Raising My Rainbow by Lori Duran

Raising My Rainbow: Adventures in Raising a Fabulous, Gender Creative Son by Lori Duron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.06
Genre: Non-fiction, Autobiography, Parenting, LGBT

Goodreads Summary:
Raising My Rainbow is Lori Duron’s frank, heartfelt, and brutally funny account of her and her family's adventures of distress and happiness raising a gender-creative son. Whereas her older son, Chase, is a Lego-loving, sports-playing boy's boy, her younger son, C.J., would much rather twirl around in a pink sparkly tutu, with a Disney Princess in each hand while singing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi."

C.J. is gender variant or gender nonconforming, whichever you prefer. Whatever the term, Lori has a boy who likes girl stuff—really likes girl stuff. He floats on the gender-variation spectrum from super-macho-masculine on the left all the way to super-girly-feminine on the right. He's not all pink and not all blue. He's a muddled mess or a rainbow creation. Lori and her family choose to see the rainbow.

Written in Lori's uniquely witty and warm voice and launched by her incredibly popular blog of the same name, Raising My Rainbow is the unforgettable story of her wonderful family as they navigate the often challenging but never dull privilege of raising a slightly effeminate, possibly gay, totally fabulous son.

My Rating: 4.5

I am so SO glad this book exists. I want to tell everyone I know about it, even people who don't read.

I have absolutely nothing against the LGBT community and I am so thankful this woman decided to open up about a topic that isn't addressed as much as it is probably experienced. I love how real, raw and honest the stories were in this book. It felt so real and relatable. My heart broke for all the people in this book (dare I call them characters) at one point or another. But at the same time, my heart, mind and soul soared for them in their times of happiness and love. 

It is only recently that I'm realizing how much gender stereotyping goes on in todays society and that it starts at birth. It is quite disturbing that pink and barbies are constantly forced on girls and blue and trucks/cars are pushed on boys. I LOVE that this mother was able to take societies opinions out of it and do what is best for her child. The things the "haters" were saying to her really upset me. People are so close minded and have no right to judge a 3 year old boy that likes barbie dolls and especially not the parents that are doing everything they can to raise and support their child.

I think that Lori did a REALLY good job of describing all sides of the spectrum. She didn't CHOOSE this, she didn't ask for this. But it's what she was handed and she fought her own selfish feelings and opinions to be who her child needed her to be. I can only hope that if I and my partner are ever put in a situation as serious as this one that we excel like Lori & Matt have done and be the best parent we can be regardless of what society thinks of us. There is always so much more to someones story then you would ever guess just by looking at them. I am so thankful that Lori had the "balls" to share her life with us. I will definitely be keeping up with RaisingMyRainbow's blog.

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