The Debt of Tamar - Nicole Dweck

PLOT

In 2002, thirty-two-year-old Selim Osman, the last descendant of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, flees Istanbul for New York. In a twist of fate he meets Hannah, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and an artist striving to understand a father she barely knows. Unaware the connection they share goes back centuries, the two feel an immediate pull to one another. But as their story intertwines with that of their ancestors, the heroic but ultimately tragic decision that bound two families centuries ago ripples into the future, threatening to tear Hannah and Selim apart.

From a 16th-century harem to a seaside village in the Holy Land, from Nazi-occupied Paris to modern-day Manhattan, Nicole Dweck's The Debt of Tamar weaves a spellbinding tapestry of love, history, and fate that will enchant readers from the very first page.

THOUGHTS

I'm a huge fan of Historical Fiction, mix that in with intertwining fates, a mysterious family heirloom and I'm in awe. You always wonder if your ancestors choices and lives still somehow have an impact on you and if your life will still impact your own lineage hundreds of years from now. Our stories sometimes become lost within history, so why is it hard for us to believe that maybe our great-great-great grandmother choosing one man over another has no effect on our life. 

It's an amazing idea and Nicole Dweck has executed it beautifully in her debut novel The Debt of Tamar. There were some characters I couldn't agree with. How easily their bad decisions effected their descendants. But I guess there wouldn't be much of a story if we always made the best decisions. 

The writing was impeccable, Dweck changed stories and times so flawlessly I barely noticed. You felt yourself transcend through time and into the next story so easily that for a moment you forget about the previous character.  I hope I don't sound too dorky when I say that, but IT'S TRUE! I enjoyed every page of this beautiful book. 

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR NICOLE DWECK

BUY THE BOOK AMAZON /  BARNES & NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

Photography

Witch Child - Celia Rees

PLOT

Enter the world of young Mary Newbury, a world where simply being different can cost a person her life. Hidden until now in the pages of her diary, Mary's startling story begins in 1659, the year her beloved grandmother is hanged in the public square as a witch. Mary narrowly escapes a similar fate, only to face intolerance and new danger among the Puritans in the New World. How long can she hide her true identity? Will she ever find a place where her healing powers will not be feared? 

THOUGHTS

I am all about magical realism. Some people find it far fetch, cheesy, predictable but I don't. I guess a small part of me wishes magic could exist in our world. Which is ridiculous for me to think since I'm not a religious person, so I guess wishing for magical realism feels like I'm being a hypocrite. I don't know, maybe I am maybe I'm not. Either way it gives me hope.

A high school teacher actually gave me this copy (I have since gifted it to a young family member) and I loved it. It is in a way a Young Adult type of genre since the Main Character is in her teens but keep in mind so was I. I could relate to someone her age then. 

Mary was a very quiet character, her movements and thoughts were always precise and mysterious. I could have chalked it up to having to do with her trying to be conspicuous (for her survival), but no. I think it was just a part of her personality. The ending drove me crazy until I found out there was a second installment. I remember for an hour after finishing I kept thinking "That can't be the ending! That is not how it was supposed to end! I'm going to write a very mad letter to the author demanding for a version with a rewritten ending!" 
When I got to school the next day to give my teacher a piece of my mind she promptly handed me the second book and said I could keep them. I was over the moon. Haha!

The Historical Fiction was my favorite part. Even as a teenager I had an appreciation for reading about the past. I always admired authors who took their time researching everything so that their novels were as accurate as possible. From a settlers village to the woods where the natives lived. Celia Rees will make you believe in magic in 1659 and have you wondering if maybe a girl like Mary Newbury could really have existed. 

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR CELIA REES
BUY THE BOOK AMAZON / BARNES&NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

Eleanor And Park - Rainbow Rowell

PLOT

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.
Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

THOUGHTS

This is my little sisters copy. She's not much of a reader, but this book had her in a blubbering ugly crying mess. I had already read every Rainbow Rowell book but for some reason I put this one off. I'm not sure if it's because it may be her best seller or that I'm not a YA person. There's nothing wrong with YA! So please don't be offended if you do enjoy it. I just relate better to characters who are 24 and up. 

Alas I watched my sister ugly cry and profess her love for a book (she hasn't read any other book since) and I was intrigued.

I enjoyed it. It was very different from every other YA I had tried. There were complexities to both main characters that weren't far fetch. This story could easily be a reality for someone out there. Which breaks my heart because Eleanor's life was a hard life. She and her siblings deserved a lot better. So it was hard not to judge her mom. Park was all kinds of adorable. My sister fell head over heels for him. Before reading it I promised her that Park was all hers haha! 

The plot explored a lot of the Main characters family dynamics. From living as a product of an interracial couple to dealing with an abusive step-parent. I felt those details were very much an important part to the characters relationship and the plot build up. They weren't just background noise you usually experience with a novel.

Rainbow Rowell did it again. Making us all fall in love with her humor, her characters, her story telling, and HER. 

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR RAINBOW ROWELL

BUY THE BOOK AMAZON / BARNES&NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

Book Photography

I'm trying to stick to a specific theme with my INSTAGRAM account. Which can be tough since sometimes I take some pretty great photos that don't go with my theme.
So Hey! Just because I can't put them on INSTAGRAM doesn't mean I can't put them on the Blog right!?! (Wink, Wink)

Introducing My Instagram Page

I'll admit I had a lot of issues starting out my Instagram Page. You wouldn't believe how many photos I have posted and deleted in the hour or day that I post it. I could never find the rhythm or theme that felt just right for me.
I even changed my blog and social media accounts name a total of four times.
1. ReadandMore
2. Bookwormparent
3. Topofthebookshelf
4. Sleeplessreads
Hey! Fourth times a charm. Right??
Here are some of my favorites that I deemed good enough to bypass the "Delete" button.

Dumplin - Julie Murphy

PLOT

Self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all. With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

THOUGHTS

When my mother had seen this book on my shelf, her first reaction was to inform me I "couldn't relate to a big girl" since I never had an issue with weight. I found that ridiculous, when I knew having purchased it, the book would be about so much more than the issue of "weight". 
Dumplin may have a "self proclaimed fat girl" as the lead character, but the story ventures past that and into every insecurity women of all ages feel. We are all insecure about one thing or another, and we are constantly looking for that one magic potion that will make us instant beauties. I don't know about you guys but I'll have those moments when I feel like the most beautiful woman in the world and in the next moment feel insecure and grotesque. I loved Willow for having the same thoughts. One day she will be happy and comfortable in her own skin and the next feel like she could look a lot better. It's not easy to have confidence twenty-four seven. 

With the media telling us what we should look like can be grating to our self-esteem. It's time to remember what matters most is our relationships, our choices, and who we are as women. And if you forget, that's okay. Willowdean will remind you. 
Willowdean reminded me a lot of my younger sister. Curvy, sarcastic, confidant, has a bit of an attitude. (haha!) The entire plot started out on the idea of the pageant and I assumed that would be the main focus when instead the main focus was being who you were meant to be and not letting your insecurities keep you from experiencing life the way you want. 
Eat what you want, say what you want (as long as your'e not hurting anyone with your words), do what you want, and be who you want to be.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a craving for some Dumplings and eggrolls. (wink) 

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR JULIE MURPHY

BUY THE BOOK AMAZON / BARNES&NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

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Peony in Love - Lisa See

PLOT

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own. 

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion. So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.  

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.

THOUGHTS

Warning! Whenever you find yourself about to pick up a Lisa See novel (and you will) I recommend taking some time to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for the heartache she will put you through. (And even then it will not be enough to keep you from crying.)
I don't know, maybe you are able to keep your emotions in check a lot better than I can, but if your'e like me than Peony in Love will have you in tears all the way through to the very last page. 

Lisa See is most knowen for her ability to write about the struggles and heartache of women. (Especially Chinese women.) Peony in Love is no different in that aspect, yet what makes it different is the window Lisa See gives us into the afterworld of the Chinese Culture. How our choices and thoughts stay with us even in death. My heart ached for Peony. I wanted nothing for her but peace. With her choices effecting those she loved, she had a lot of growing up to do. 
It was beautiful to read about a young woman who loved and felt so strongly, who was intelligent in spite of the time she lived in (men frowned on women being in the academic world so it was nice to see Peony challenge that), and how she could also make deep impacting mistakes like the rest of us.  

The beauty that is Lisa See's writing will transport you into the soul of a young Chinese woman, the struggles of heart ache, and the perils of the afterworld. 

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR LISA SEE

BUY THE BOOK AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE / BOOK DEPOSITORY

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

PLOT

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. 

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... 

And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

THOUGHTS

Rainbow Rowell is a goddess among crossover writers. With Young Adult and Fiction books under her sleeve, she has reached peak perfection. The first thing you will notice with Rowell's writing is the characters. The plot is important yes, but her characters are the stars in her writing. 

With Cath, you are given a character who is both introverted and socially anxious. With many tragedies and hardships in her life. It was understandable for her to reseed into a small world of her own. Her need to stay in that world however, made it harder for her to get a grip on reality and in there lies the beauty of Rainbow Rowell. 

This is supposed to be a Young Adult novel! Yet there are so much meaning into her stories and complexity to her characters. You instantly fall in love with anything Rainbow Rowell. Each thought, each emotion she gives to her characters brings them to life in all their glory and imperfections. 

With Fangirl there are no shortages of laughs, swooning, and tears. You will easily find a fondness for Cath, a crush on Levi, a friend in Reagan, and a sister in Wren. 

HAIL OUR QUEEN RAINBOW ROWELL!

FOLLOW THE AUTHOR RAINBOW ROWELL
BUY THE BOOK AMAZON / BARNES & NOBLE/ BOOK DEPOSITORY