Tell Me No Secrets by Joy Fielding

When reading the back jacket of the novel, I knew that this mystery novel was right for me. While I have not read mystery novels in awhile, I do find them enjoyable because I find that some of them can be very suspenseful and thought provoking. Having a inexplicable disappearance and a possible killer are two aspects of the novel that led me to believe that this novel was a mystery worth reading. And, sure enough, I was satisfied in the end with how the book turned out.

Jess Kostner is a district attorney who has dealt with many tribulations in both her personal and work life. First, she had dealt with a divorce from her husband, Don, and then the disappearance of her mom. Every day at work, Jess "always checked the obituaries....she wasn't sure when she'd started making the obituaries part of her regular morning routine, and she wasn't sure why. It was an unusual habit for someone barely thirty years old....was she searching for her mother, as her ex-husband had once suggested? Or was it her own name she somehow expected to see?" Thus, the reader gathers the impression that the disappearance of her mother has left Jess to a certain extent very emotionally distraught, which may be the cause of her constant obsession with death. Her search to find more information about her mother's disappearance has left Jess worrying about her own future. Throughout the novel, Jess is very weary of a man named Rick Ferguson, who is being persecuted for rape. He is accused of attacking a women named Connie DeVuono, but the evidence of the attack is insufficient. Convinced that Rick is going to kill her, Connie becomes very terrified of testifying in court. However, one day Jess describes her ex husband, who she constantly has an on off relationship with, how she "saw a white car waiting outside her apartment." Thus, could Jess' life be at stake? Was Rick responsible for her mother's disappearance? What ever happened to Connie DeVuono, the women he supposedly raped? All these questions and more are described in detail that will leave you at the edge of your seat....

Fieldings' writing style is one that I find very appropriator for writing mysteries. She writes with such detail and insight that the reader feels as if this event is taking place in present day. It is interesting how Fielding used the technique of third person to tell the story. In this novel, I think that the story being told in a third person narrative is the best because it allows for the reader to not become overly attached to the main characters, but at the same time still get enough insight on the character. Fieldings' word choice is also something that I find shows her strength as a mystery writer because she is able to describe events using words that make the reader alert of a suspenseful and climatic moment in the text. While some readers may argue that they would rather have climatic moments done in a spontaneous method, I feel that explicitly alerting the reader of a climatic moment demonstrates a strength as a writer because it shows that Fielding is able to switch from the emotional and personal side of Jess to the one that is in a desperate situation. This constant shift of varying emotions allows for the reader to hold interest in the novel and to enjoy the reading process.

Overall, I felt that the pacing of the novel fit the requirement of a mystery novel. While some moments you want to be fast paced and rushed, I find that with a mystery there are certain elements of the plot that a writer might want to emphasize in order for the reader to pick up on foreshadowing techniques. Thus, I find that the pacing was not overly fast, but it was not slow where moments were supposed to pick up in intensity. Thus, if you are a reader that enjoys a shift in pace, this book may be for you.

I would also recommend this book to readers who enjoy plot oriented books over character description and for those who enjoy an incredible thriller. Be prepared--this book will leave you with a true out of your seat experience.

God Said Yes by Heather Hornback-Bland and Ninie Hammon

Before reading this novel, I knew that this would be a book that I would definitely be able to connect to. As soon as I received this book as part of my Easter gift, I was very eager to begin reading it because I am always interested in literature or news reports that deal with medical issues, mainly because I know many people in my lives that are affected by numerous health complications in my family. Once I began reading, I knew right away that this novel lived up to the expectations that I was looking for. Hornback-Bland's method of retelling the events of her unfortunate accident allow for any reader to easily feel empathetic and connect to the emotions that she is portraying.

At the age of four, Heather was in a horrific car accident. Her life after this was changed forever, due to the fact that many of her internal organs were destroyed in the accident. Throughout the rest of her life, Heather constantly had to undergo numerous amount of surgeries. By 2007, she had over 180 operations. Throughout the novel, the reader can sense that the spirits of Heather always remain optimistic throughout the entire process of her recovery. Her sense of optimism was shown when she describes how her mother told her to deal with her situation: "The old phrase, as worn as a tattered house show, was comforting somehow just because it was familiar, because it had defined my response to reality every day that I could remember: 'Just suck it up and go on.' ...."Self pity simply was not an option. Mom never once allowed me to throw a poor-Heather party." Thus, the reader automatically grabs a sense that Heather does not allow her numerous operations to define the type of person she is. Readers who also tend to get emotional with Heather's accounts of the mistreatment of her condition, especially evident in the beginning of the novel when the police officer gave her a traffic ticket for pulling over on the side of the road to throw up. Thus, it proves that while Heather does not want sympathy for her condition, she does yearn for an understanding of her circumstances and the issues in which she has to deal with. Heather's journey of recovery may be seen as an inspirational story not only for people who deal with chronic illnesses, but also for own daughter Mackenzie, who deals with epilepsy and severe allergies to everyday substances. Thus, this story of her mother's struggle may allow for Mackenzie to not feel alone and feel that she is the only 'hospital kid', as Heather describes. Heather's maintenance of humor and upbeat personality shows that not only medicine can cure a person, but sometimes a positive attitude can go a long way.

On a personal level, I was able to connect with this book in several ways. Due to the fact that I live with chronic illnesses, I was able to relate some of the frustration Heather and her family experienced. Additionally, I was also able to relate to Heather's perspective on the desire to be normal. "The older I got, the more I longed to be 'regular'-normal, just like all the other kids. I wanted that more than anything else in the world. And if you wanted to be regular, you had to act regular. So I figured out fast how to fall, how to cover my urostomy with my arms like a football player holding a ball as he runs down the field." At this moment, I can relate to the process of trying to lead a normal life when dealing with constant medical issues. While my illnesses were not caused by a car accident, I am able to relate to the struggle Heather had with trying to lead a normal life while at the same time keeping up with medical conditions. Other readers who may deal with medical conditions may also feel that Heather does an impeccable job at taking you through her own account of her journey to dealing with ramifications of an accident, allowing readers to gain the courage and strength to deal with chronic illnesses on a daily basis.

I feel that the pacing of the novel was good. The story seemed to move at a fast pace and I found that the plot engaged me throughout the duration of the book. While it may have taken me awhile to finish it, I found that every time I picked the book up I enjoyed the portion of the book that I read. Readers may also find that Heather adds a lot of her own personal thoughts to the events told in the story, allowing the reading process to go faster because it makes the story more personable and enjoyable to read.

I would recommend this book to readers who are interested in memoirs and who enjoy a story that is heart warming and very unique, and really goes into the development of the main character through the technique of narration. Readers who also deal with chronic illnesses and want a story to show them they are not alone should also read Heather's journey. However, if you are a reader that tends to become emotional when reading, you may want to be warned that this book contains many emotional moments. Overall, this book was one of the most powerful books I have read and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn what it is like to experience hardship, and what it is like to overcome it and develop strength to succeed.

Genre Plans, Experiences And My Top Pick Book For Quarter Three

For the fourth quarter, my genre goal is to read a mystery novel. So far, I have experienced historical fiction and memoir. Overall, my experience with trying new genres has proven to be positive for my growth as a reader. I found that by broadening the variety of books I read, I was able to find independent reading a positive experience. One book that I particularly liked was Beautiful Boy by David Sheff, which I read during the first quarter. I found that this book was well written, and that David Sheff did a wonderful job at weaving in factual information with his own personal struggles that he faced with his son's addiction. Overall, I found that this book really conveyed just how much addiction affects your life and the ramifications that come with the family's responsibility to help the son recover from his addiction. When reading my historical fiction novel, however, I found that my experience was not as enjoyable as reading the memoir. The historical fiction novel I read for the second quarter was The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee. While the story was interesting, I found that the overall plot of the novel did not grasp my attention as much as I would have liked. Overall though, I still found that the novel was well written.

This quarter, the best book I read would have to be Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin. What surprised my about this novel was how well I enjoyed it, despite the fact that it was a classic. At first, I was a little hesitant to try it because I thought that it may not hold my interest, but as I began the novel I realized that the plot of the novel was engaging and was easily something that I was able to enjoy. This book stood out from some of the other novels I read because I liked how Jane Austin described her characters and how the personalities of Elinor, Marianne and Margaret were portrayed in the novel. It was interesting to see though that Marianne and Margaret were very much alike, yet Elinor seemed to be more of the mature one of the bunch. Jane Austin simply just made all of her characters seem so different from one another that the reading experience was more enjoyable because it made it more interesting to see characters with different personalities react with one another.

Overall, this quarter has been very successful with reading and I find that though there is always still more room for improvement.....next quarter, I am hoping to read more books!!

Book Review For Change of Heart

After reading Janet Maslin's review on Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, I find that her views on the book were ones that I had not thought of while reading the book. For example, Janet Maslin writes "at this late stage in her story Ms. Picoult has her own chance for redemption. Had “Change of Heart” culminated in revelations that were truly plausible or unexpected, its vapidity might have been transcended. But there is no substance to the story’s last surprises." Maslin mentioning that there was no substance added to the ending is something I don't really agree with. However, I can see the point she is trying to make though because the ending did seem predictable, yet I still found that there was meaning behind. I guess it was one of those endings to novels where it is left up to interpretation of the reader in order to see if the ending has a purpose or not. Maslin also mentioned that “Change of Heart is narrated by several characters, each with a different way of elbowing the reader’s ribs." I agree with Maslin's statement because I do feel that Jodi Picoult's way of trying to have different narrators for every chapter really does insight the reader to view different prespectives of the characters. I think that the blending of the different character traits that Picoult added to her novel demonstrates how well many people will be able to enjoy the book. In this review, Janet also mentioned how Claire's mother, June, was a very bland character that basically can be described an angry and depressed person. I agree with Maslin on this interpretation. However when she mentions that June is "lacking any distinguishing characteristics," this is where my opinion of June differs because I think that while June lacks any other characteristics besides being upset and angry, I feel that there is a reason why Picoult wanted June to be this type of character. June being this lifeless personality brings the message to the reader how agonizing this decision of taking Shane's heart is, and how empty and alone she feels, since she now has noone to turn to for answers.

Overall, I feel that Janet Maslin provided an accuarate snyopsis and analyis of this novel. While some of our opinions differ, I find that overall I agree with the preception of the novel that Maslin provided.

The Ending Of Middlesex

As I continued to read this novel, I begin to notice that the relationship between Desdemonia and her brother is closer then most brother sister relationships are. A possible explanation for this might be that Desdemonia and her brother, Lefty, both grew up most of their lives together alone due to the fact that thier parents died when they were young children. Even though I may not be able to grasp the reality of losing parents at an early age, I can sense that the close relationship that both of them share is something that both Desdemonia and her brother need in order to cope with the loss. Then, Calliope begins to tell her story about how her family ended up coming to America on a ship from Greece. As Calliope tells the story of her grandparents, I find that it is hard to really get into the minds of the characters because it is always in a third person sense which makes it feel very impersonal. However, the actual story that Calliope tells is remarkable....

Desdemonia and Lefty made the decision to come to America after riots and terror began occurring in their town. The reason alot of these attacks are occuring is because this is taking place during the time when the Turks were killing the Armenians. However, many of the Greeks were leaving because the Turks were coming to invade. As Desdemonia and Lefty were out on sea, their relationship began to change into one that is romantic. I am unsure if at this time, this was a common practice to marry a close family member, but evidently this is what happens. Desdemonia ends up in Detriot, where the Stephanides family lines begins. Here, it is where the reader will finally be able to understand Calliope's story....

While Calliope's story is one that is unqiue and rare, I find that there are elements to her story that the reader might be able to relate to. The concept of her being different from others and having to accept it is one theme that many teenagers are able to connect with. Jefferey Euglenides adds alot more emotion and detail into the story of Calliope, which allows for the reader to better connect and understand Callie's point of view. While I thought that Callie's story was well written, I was a little disappointed overall how the rest of the story was written because I found that it was a little confusing to follow and that it did not really hold my interest. The historical explanation of her family moving to Detroit was very descriptive. In my opinion, I think that the historical portion of the novel should have been kept to a minimum so that the reader could learn more about the main character.

Overall, I would say that my reading experience with Middlesex was okay. I did enjoy Euglenides concept and idea of having Calliope be the narrator for the novel, but, I think that this only caused the reader to have a disconnection with the characters in the book. I also found that this novel did contain some older English words, which made the meaning of sentences confusing at parts. However, eventually I was able to understand what was happening.

I would definitely recommend this book to reader who do not mind reading a novel that contains a lot of historical background and does not mind waiting until the middle of the book to finally understand the main character's story. I would also say that the readers of the book should be mature so that they would be able to understand the ramifications and problems that occur with Callie's condition.

Middlesex Entry Two

Eugenides writing style is very detailed and descriptive. I like how he really begins the story with Calliope not even born yet. However, Calliope is telling the story of what life was like before she was born. I find it interesting how throughout the novel, Calliope does not really mention anything about herself. She always goes into vivid description about her grandmother's life and how she feels. I wonder how Calliope developed such insight into her grandmother's life, but I imagine that Eugenides wanted Calliope to narrate the book and give information about each member of her family in detail.

Calliope has been born, and her parents are relieved that they gave birth to a baby girl instead of another boy. The book goes into detail about how the parents tried so many theories and methods just to have a baby girl, which definitly shows that during this time many women wanted daughters so that they may be able to help around the household. This book takes place in the 1970's, so it may be possible that the whole idea of women being the household leader and men going off to work astigmatism may exist, just not to the extent that it used to. Calliope immediately states as soon as she is born that "I was extracted, spanked, and hosted off, in that order. They wrapped me in a blanket and put me on display among six other infants, four boys, two girls, all of them, unlike me, correctly tagged." Thus, this proves that Eugenides did not want the main concept and idea of the novel to be lost within the shorter and side stories occurring in the novel as well. As soon as Calliope is born, she then informs the reader that she will "rewind the film, so that my pink blanket flies off, my crib scoots across the floor..." Clearly, it seems as if Calliope wants the reader to not find out certain pieces of information in the beginning chapters of her life...could it be because she is constanly describing herself as a hermaphrodite and will not really give the reader any other information on her personality?? Is the author's message that a hermaphroditic disorder, or any other genetic disorder, defines you right away as soon as you are diagnosed with it, but possibly as you continue to live with the disorder you begin to define yourself with other things?? All the concepts explored in this book are so complex and analytical, and it surely will allow the reader to form their own forms of analysis on certain characteristics of the book.

So far, this book has eagerly grabbed my attention but certain attributes to the novel still leave me pondering....what could the significance of having Calliope tell her story even before she is born to then telling the story of her grandmother? I think Euglenides wants the reader to have an in depth look at each of the characters so that when the family learns of the news that Calliope is a hermaphrodite, the reactions that each of the family members will have will go along with the description that Calliope provided.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy novels that have a lot of complex meaning behind the story and one that forces the reader to look at all aspects of the novel in order to discover hidden meanings of the book Euglenides may have left the reader.

Middlesex by Jefferey Eugenides

When I had first read the back of this book, I was unsure if this was the type of book for me. The topics brought up in this novel seemed very mature, and I was hesitant to try it because I thought that the language and style of writing might be written in a similar style, thus causing me to have a difficult time reading the book. However, once I began reading I realized that this really was the book for me. The language in the novel is not difficult and the story is able to hold my interest. Even though I do not know a lot of information on the subject matter explored in this novel, I find that the book makes it easier for you to discover information on the main character's genetic condition that is entirely different from learning the condition in the textbook. The novel actually explores the life of someone with a rare condition, rather then simply stating facts about it. Details and explanations are crucial to engaging a reader into a novel, and this book seems to have it all.....

Calliope Stephanides is not like most girls. "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan in August of 1974." In other words, Calliope was born a hermaphrodite. Calliope introduces herself into the novel by stating this fact first, and clearly the above statement is one that surely impacted her life in many ways which will probably be mentioned later on in the novel. By stating this fact about her first, it thus shows that Calliope is not afraid to mention and discuss with people about who she is. Calliope then narrates the story and takes the reader through the journey through her life. She begins by telling about the memory she rememered hearing about the involved her grandmother three months before Calliope was born. At a typical Sunday dinner, Grandma Desdemona decides to predict the gender of the baby of Calliope's mom. Desdemona had never been wrong about the prediction, and she tells Caliope's mom that she should be expecting a boy. Calliope's mom is upset by that news because she already had a son and desperately wanted a daughter.....could Desdemonda be foreshadowing Calliope being a hermaphrodite already??

Jefferey Eugenides writing style throughout the novel is very descriptive and insightful in describing the characters and I think that having Calliope narrate the story is a good thing because that way we get to see the life of the Stephanides through her eyes and see the stuggle and hardship through her eyes. However, possibly switching narrators in this book mightbe effective for the reader as well because then that way we can see how this predicament with Calliope effects the entire family and how they all are coping with a difficult situation. Hopefully, Calliope may give us insight into the struggle her family faces with this problem as well.....

Hopefully the pacing and amount of time it takes me to finish this book will be a proper length. Often times I find that it takes me a long time to finish a book, and I am hoping that this novel is a quick paced read that will allow me to finish this book in a reasonable amount of time.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who are more mature and are interested in reading a story about a person's struggle with a life changing condition. This book may also be good for a reader who enjoys a story that is filled with a lot of description on the characters and not really a lot of plot action. The reader must also be able to want to read a book that deals with the complicated side of life and one that deals with a life long struggle. If the reader falls into any of these categories, I am certain that this will be a great book for you!