Random House put on an awesome event with Jodi Picoult.
Jodi Picoult talked with Jane from Good Housekeeping.
It was very entertaining and kept the audience laughing.
There were stations – food, chocolate, and wine –
what more could you want – books?? Yes, those too!!
And we had a chance to get our books signed by Jodi Picoult.
Awesome event with my daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings!
Author: Donna Cooner 
Publisher: Point
Genre: Young Adult
Source: BEA
Publication Date: August 26, 2014
Goodreads: Donna Cooner establishes herself as our own Jodi Picoult in this timely tale of sisters, loss, and redemption.
Torrey Grey is famous. At least, on the internet. Thousands of people watch her popular videos on fashion and beauty. But when Torrey’s sister is killed in an accident — maybe because of Torrey and her videos — Torrey’s perfect world implodes.
Now, strangers online are bashing Torrey. And at her new school, she doesn’t know who to trust. Is queen bee Blair only being sweet because of Torrey’s internet infamy? What about Raylene, who is decidedly unpopular, but seems accepts Torrey for who she is? And then there’s Luis, with his brooding dark eyes, whose family runs the local funeral home. Torrey finds herself drawn to Luis, and his fascinating stories about El dio de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
As the Day of the Dead draws near, Torrey will have to really look at her own feelings about death, and life, and everything in between. Can she learn to mourn her sister out of the public eye?
Ope’s Opinion: Grieving is hard enough, then add being a teen, your sister and doing your grieving in public. For Torrey that is what happened. Watching her navigate her way through this tragedy felt realistic. She is a typical teen – she is concerned about what other people think, how she looks and who is watching her.
There were a host of characters, as there usually is any teens life. Those characters were interesting and brought a lot to the story line. There were some unexplored aspects of those characters that would make an interesting companion novel to this one.
It is good to see the progression of her healing. It was a slow process – which felt realistic. I think Torrey is a good example to a young person who may have lost someone close to them.
I think those readers who enjoy blogs and youtube videos would enjoy this read.
Rating: Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
Author: David Hwa 
Publisher: Wellworth LLC
Genre: Fiction
Source: Alyssa Livolsi
Goodreads: We never know how God may lead us. The twists and turns of life often leave us confused and deflated. For 10-year-old Haley, the unexpected loss of her father was such a twist. When all is lost, a little light in the darkness can make all the difference. The world is a big place for a little girl. For that matter, it’s a pretty big place for anyone who has lost their way. Hayley finds her solution in a modern day prince, but she can’t pull off this miracle by herself. Nick, an attorney struggling to save his job, wouldn’t seem to be much help to a little girl trying to create a miracle. But life has a way of bringing us the people we need most, at just the right time. Still, there is so much that could go wrong, especially when her headstrong mother doesn’t fall for the prince. But there’s something Hayley doesn’t see coming, something she can’t see. Something she doesn’t want to see, something that hides in the dark where she can’t go, something unspeakable. Follow Haley’s journey into the light and see how redemption is there for anyone, even the condemned. And see how love can find you-even through the darkness.
Ope’s Opinion: The chapters in this book are really short. That was nice for being able to pick it up and put it down, but it made it hard to get into it. It felt it was a little choppy for me.
The cover and story itself were endearing. It took me a while to get into it because every time I figured out what was going on, we switched chapters and characters. It finished too fast too.
Rating: Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
Happy Birthday Kristin of Kritters Ramblings!!
Your family hopes you have an awesome day!
Author: Lea Michele 
Publisher: Harmony Books
Genre: Non-fiction
Source: My daughter
Kristin of Kritters Ramblings
Goodreads: The star of the hit show Glee shares her experiences and insider tips on beauty, fashion, inner strength, and more in an illustrated book that’s part memoir, part how-to, and part style guide.
Lea Michele is one of the hardest working performers in show business. Whether she’s starring as Rachel Berry on Glee, rocking a glamorous look on the red carpet, recording her solo album, or acting as the spokesperson for L’Oreal, Lea is the ultimate multi-tasker. She knows better than anyone that it is difficult to be your best self and keep things in perspective when your to-do list is overflowing and you are faced with challenges, so she’s developed a foolproof system for remaining healthy and centered. In Brunette Ambition, she reveals the lessons and advice that have worked for her–from beauty and fashion secrets to fitness tips, and career insights. Supplemented with never-before-seen photos and revealing anecdotes, it’s the book Lea wishes she’d had in her teens and early twenties: A practical and inspirational guide to harnessing tenacity and passion and living the fullest life, no matter what obstacles life puts in your way.
Ope’s Opinion: This is a pretty easy, simple review. If you like Lea Michele and/or Glee, you will like this book. It has a lot of pictures of Lea and her family and friends. It lets you in on her childhood, her broadway shows and her Glee family. It also has some advice and recipes. Check it out.
Rating: Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
Author: Megan Shull 
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genre: Middle Grade
Source: BEA
Publication Date: August 26th
Goodreads: “YOU BE ME…AND I’LL BE YOU.”
ELLIE spent the summer before seventh grade getting dropped by her best friend since forever. JACK spent it training in “The Cage” with his tough-as-nails brothers and hard-to-please dad. By the time middle school starts, they’re both ready for a change. And just as Jack’s thinking girls have it so easy, Ellie’s wishing she could be anyone but herself.
Then, BAM! They swap lives—and bodies!
Now Jack’s fending off mean girls at sleepover parties while Ellie’s reigning as the Prince of Thatcher Middle School. As their crazy weekend races on—and their feelings for each other grow—Ellie and Jack begin to realize that maybe the best way to learn how to be yourself is to spend a little time being someone else.
Ope’s Opinion: Ever heard the saying “Walk a mile in my shoes” or ” The grass is greener on the other side of the fence”? Well, this book is a great story of both of these sayings.
Let me tell you, this was about middle grade students, but it was written so well, it felt more like a YA book. It kept my interest the whole time. It was written very mature, but very age appropriate for a middle school student to read it. I am sure they could relate to either the girls or guys point of view.
Jake and Ellie remind me of students in middle school. That is a hard age – it does look like other people have it better – until you live in their life.
I loved how positive Megan Shull wrote the story. You could see how each of their lives were not perfect, but they each saw the best in their own lives by living in the other persons shoes.
This book surprised me in such a great way!
Rating: Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
Author: Cindy Callaghan 
Publisher: Aladdin
Genre: Middle Grade
Source: BookSparks
Goodreads: After breaking a chain letter, can superstitious Megan find a way to turn her luck around?
Meghan McGlinchey is the most superstitious girl in her family ;and probably in the entire state of Delaware. When she receives a chain letter from a stranger in Ireland, Meghan immediately passes it on, taking only a tiny shortcut in the directions.
But after a disastrous day, made complete by losing the election for class president and embarrassing herself in front of the entire school, Meghan realizes that tiny shortcut was a big mistake. Thankfully, her family was already headed to Ireland on spring break, and Meghan makes it her mission to find the original sender and break her extremely unlucky streak.
With the help of an eccentric cast of characters ;and one very cute Irish boy ;can Meghan figure out a way to stop her bad luck? Or is she cursed forever.
Ope’s Opinion: This was a cute, middle grade read. The book read fast. I read Cindy Callaghan’s Lost in London and really liked it. So I had high expectations for Lucky Me. This one did not keep my attention as well as Lost in London. I found I was getting frustrated with all the “bad luck” Meghan was having. After a while it was just too much.
I am going to keep this one for my granddaughter. I hope she will enjoy it when she is old enough to read it.
Rating: Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
Payton Elaine Otey
arrived at 8:04 pm
on 8/04/14
She weighed 7 pounds
1.6 ounces
She is 18.5 inches long
We are proud grandparents celebrating our second granddaughter.
This is Payton’s first day.
Payton sticking her tongue out reminds me of her Papa and Mom.
When they concentrate that is how they look!!
Hard to believe how fast they go home now. This is Payton’s first ride in the car.
Payton at home. Everyone is doing well.
Author: Sandy Hall 
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: BEA
Goodreads: The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.
Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together…
Ope’s Opinion: This cute little book has a cute little story to tell. It tells the story in a very unique way. Gabe and Lea – the two main characters do not tell their own story. It is all told from the perspective of those around them – including the bench and the squirrel. Okay, the bench and squirrel were a little much for me.
Although this was set on a college campus, the characters felt more like high school students. Even the adults don’t really act their appropriate ages.
The story was moved along by all the characters points of view. All the characters could see how Gabe and Lea were suppose to be together, but I struggled to see it through their eyes. I do like that the author took a chance on writing the story this way.
It is a cute, quirky book.
Rating: Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid 
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: BookSparks
Goodreads: From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as “moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching”—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.
When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.
Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?
This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.
Ope’s Opinion: This book starts out with a quick look at where Lauren and Ryan’s marriage is at the moment. Then you go back in time. It is a very cute, traditional courtship. Then the story brings you to the present to see how Lauren and Ryan think they need the time apart from each other.
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing flows and her story is very easy to follow. Each character has different situations going on, but it does not seem overwhelming. Since each one has flaws and difficulties, it is easy to relate to them and root for the best for each one.
There is a lot of marriage advice given in this book. It is interesting to hear all the different characters perspective of marriage, romance and love. It will make you reevaluate what you think is important in your relationship.
I don’t usually quote a part of a book, but this one will stick with me for a long time – when Lauren’s grandmother says, ” Just because you can live without someone doesn’t mean you want to. ”
** Side note – I am not sure why the author felt the need to insert the “f” word into odd places in the book. It did not add any emotion to the book.
Rating: Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….
Ope's Opinions 