Author Archives: opesopinions

The Chaperone

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The Chaperone

Author: Laura Moriarty
Publisher: Riverhead
Pages: 371
Genre: historical fiction
Source: My daughter ( Kritters Ramblings )
Goodreads:    “USA Today”‘s #1 Hot Fiction Pick for the summer, “The Chaperone “is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both. Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever. For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive. Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s, ’30s, and beyond–from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers, and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women–Laura Moriarty’s “The “”Chaperone” illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them.

Ope’s Opinion:  I am not usually a fan of historical books, but this one is really good!  My daughter of Kritters Ramblings said, ” No Mom, you have to read this one.”.   So I went into to it a little skeptical.  From the beginning I enjoyed it and the further I got in the more I wanted to read.  My daughter and I were getting ready to go to New York City for BEA when I started this book.  It was interesting to hear about the city back in the 20’s.  Some times in the book, I wasn’t even aware of the time setting because I was so involved in the relationships of the characters.  Even if you do not usually read historical novels, you should read this one.

Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

Have mother, will travel

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Have mother, will travel

Author: Claire and Mia Fontaine
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Pages: 320
Genre: travel / memoir
Source: my daughter gave it to me
Goodreads:      Their bestselling memoir, “Come Back,” moved and inspired readers with the story of Mia Fontaine’s harrowing drug addiction and her mother, Claire’s, desperate and ultimately successful attempts to save her. Now it’s a decade later and Claire and Mia each face a defining moment in her life, and a mother-daughter relationship that has frayed around the edges. At fifty-one, Claire’s shed her identity as Mia’s savior but realizes that, oops, she forgot to plan for life after motherhood; Mia, twenty-five and eager to step outside her role as recovery’s poster child, finds adult life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Determined to transform themselves and their relationship once again, the pair sets off on a five-month around-the-world adventure.


What awaits them is an extraordinary, often hilarious journey through twenty cities and twelve countries–one that includes mishaps, mayhem, and unexpected joys, from a passport-eating elephant to a calamitous camel ride around the Pyramids–and finally making peace with their tumultuous past in the lavender fields of France, where they live for the last four months of the trip. Seeing how self-possessed and community-minded twentysomethings are in other countries broadens Mia’s perspective, helping her grow, and grow up. Claire uses the trip to examine her broken relationship with her own mother, a Holocaust survivor, and to create a vision for her second act. Watching her mom assess half a century of life, Mia comes to know her as Claire has always known Mia–as all mothers know their daughters–better than anyone else, and often better than themselves.

Wiser for what they’ve learned from women in other cultures, and from each other, they return with a deepened sense of who they are and where they want to go–and with each embracing the mature friendship they’ve discovered and the profound love they share.

Alternating between Claire and Mia’s compelling and distinct voices, “Have Mother, Will Travel” is a testament to the power and beauty of the mother-daughter relationship, one that illuminates possibilities for our own lives.


Ope’s Opinion:  My daughter,  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and I decided to  “travel” through this book together.  It is always fun to discuss books with her, but this one was especially interesting.  It was fun to share our perspectives of each other, with each other.   It seemed so appropriate to post this book on Kristin’s birthday!  


 I really enjoyed the mother and daughter relationship.  Some of the history was not interesting to me, but I am not much of a history person.  Watching the mother and daughter react to each other and circumstances was enlightening.   The surprise for me was how often I related to the daughters perspective.  


The mother ( Claire ) spoke of her  mothers influence.  It touched me when Claire  spoke of slowing down her steps to spend time with her mother.  My mother passed away this past year.  She had parkinsons.  So we had to slow down our steps and our speech to spend time with my mom.  It brought back many memories for me.  It also made me hope my girls will slow down with me, as I slow down.

Rating: Three and a half Chairs –  I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.  And the half chair is some of their friends will like it!    

The Fault In Our Stars

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Author:  John Green
Publisher:  Dulton Books
Pages:  336               
Genre:  Young Adult
Source:  My daughter
Goodreads:   Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
Ope’s Opinion: This book may be put in the young adult section, but it should be read by everyone.  It is a well written, grab you book.  John Green called into the book store One More Page.  It was so interesting to hear him talk about the characters he brought to life in this book.  In this book, Hazel’s voice was so strong.  It was great to watch her take control and express herself in a forward, but not nasty way.  The characters in this book are realistic, have honest emotions.  They have flaws.  I really did enjoy it.
Rating: Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on…

                     

Finding Emma

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Finding Emma



Author: Steena Holmes
Publisher: Steena Holmes
Pages: 265
Genre: Mystery
Source:  BookSparks
Giveaway below
Goodreads:     Megan sees her daughter Emma everywhere. She’s the little girl standing in the supermarket, the child waiting for the swings at the playground, the girl with ice cream dripping down her face. But it’s never Emma.


Emma’s been missing for two years.

Unable to handle the constant heartache of all the false sightings, Megan’s husband threatens to walk away unless Megan can agree to accept Emma is gone. Megan’s life and marriage is crumbling all around her and she realizes she may have to do the thing she dreads most: move on.

When Megan takes a photo of a little girl with an elderly couple at the town fair, she believes it to be her missing daughter. Unable to let go, she sets in motion a sequence of events that could destroy both families lives.




Ope’s Opinion:  Where do I begin to tell you about this book…  It got to my heart.    Finding Emma is not your typical lost child book.  The different points of view that the story was written from  kept me turning pages and wanting to know more.  Each person in the book had some information, but no one had the whole picture until the end.  I liked that most of the story was told after the child was already gone.  Watching this family attempt to live a normal life just tore at me. 
                                    I am a mother of two girls, I can not imagine the heart ache this family went through.  Because of my perspective, I was most sympathetic to the mother’s character.
                                  At the end, I was thinking I wanted a sequel.  It was so nice to see that Steena Holmes is working on it.
                                This is a must read book!  Well worth your time.




Rating:  Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….










                          




   FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: 

    I received one copy of this book free of charge from Sparks PR Agency. 
        I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book;
                                                                             rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.



Giveaway at Ope’s Opinions

1 copy of Finding Emma
US residents only

TO win: Leave a comment below and an email address, so I can contact you.

Random.org will decide the winner.
Contest ends August 14th at 9am.


Oh, My Birthday!

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My family spoils me!  My husband bought me a swing for my deck,
where I spend most of my time reading and reviewing my books.  Some days it is hard to get me out of my swing!  I take my computer, a good book, my cell phone and a glass of water out to the swing and I enjoy the day!

Jennifer of The Underestimated Mom  knows how much I love the beach, so she bought me two pictures for my birthday.  These pictures make me feel like I am at the beach each day!  She also bought me two book marks: eat.sleep.read.  I know my priorities.  And I judge books by their covers!

 

Kristin of Kritters Ramblings came to spend the day with us.  She remembered that at BEA this year, I had to borrow her wristlet, so she bought me my own.  Now I can use it at her wedding at the end of the month!

This is the business card holder she also bought me for my new blogging
cards!

My husband, my girls and their significant others took me out to dinner at Firebirds.  One of my favorite places to eat!  What a wonderful day to celebrate another year!

What the Nanny Saw

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What the Nanny Saw

Author: Fiona Neill
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 450
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Penguin Books





Goodreads:    It’s the summer of 2008. For the past decade Nick and Bryony Skinner and their four children have ridden high on the economic boom, but their luck is about to run out. Suddenly, the privileged family finds itself at the center of a financial scandal:


Their Central London house is besieged by the press, Nick disappears, and Bryony and the children become virtual prisoners in their own home. And Ali, their trusted nanny, watches it all. As the babysitter, she brings a unique insider-outsider perspective to the family, seeing far more than even the family itself is capable of. But when a reporter with a personal connection to the story comes asking her for the inside scoop, will Ali remain loyal to the family who never saw her as anything other than the help? Or will she tell her side?

Written with Fiona Neill’s delicious humor and addictive style, What the Nanny Saw is a keenly observed, often comical chronicle of the urban wealthy elite, of parents who are often too busy to notice what is going on under their own noses, of children left to their own devices, and of a young nanny thrown into a role she doesn’t know how to play. It is a morality tale of our time, a tale of betrayal, the corrosive influence of too much money, and why good people sometimes do bad things.



Ope’s Opinion:  If you like books written from a British perspective and set in London, you may like this one.  I found it hard to get into in the beginning.  It did improve.  The core story was good.  Most of the characters were likable.   I found the details overwhelming.    I think the whole story could have been written in a lot less pages.  


Rating:  Two Chairs – I may have one friend who  might like this book.




  

                           FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: 

                      I received one copy of this book free of charge from Penguin Books.

                      I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt

                     of the book; rather the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

                      

                       

Home Rules

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Home Rules

Author:  Nate Berkus
Publisher:  Hyperion
Pages:                 176   
Genre: non-fiction               
                       Source: borrowed from my daughter
Goodreads:  Nate Berkus, a regular contributor on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” contributing editor to “O, The Oprah Magazine, “and nationally renowned decorator, has created a book inspired by his belief that everyone should love the way they live. This step-by-step guide to achieving one’s own beautiful rooms is based on Nate’s signature style and innovative approach to design. 150 color photos.


Ope’s Opinion:  This book was one my daughter Jennifer of The Underestimated Mom found  at the Library sale ( blogged about it on July 9th ) we attended.  It is worth the read.  Nate gives a lot of good ideas that can be done on a budget, in an hour, a day or a weekend.  He takes each room in the house and gives examples that are fun to look at.  I learned a lot.  He asks good questions to make you think about your style, not imposing his style on anyone. I am impressed.




Rating:  Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….
















Keep Holding On

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Keep Holding On


Author: Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 224
Genre: young adult
Source: BEA
Goodreads:    Noelle’s life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn’t know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle’s kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she’s terrified. Surely it’s safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the antagonism of her classmates takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it’s time to stand up for herself–and for the love that keeps her holding on.


Ope’s Opinion:  I received this book at BEA.  I was bullied in high school.  This book took me right back there.  All it takes is one person to let another person know they are included.  It was interesting to see the main character get the strength to stand up for herself when other people let her know she wasn’t alone.  It is so hard to let students know that after high school, another life starts.  One that doesn’t include all those people who may not have treated you the way you should have been.  It is hard to survive until you know yourself well enough to take other peoples opinions as your own.  Thanks for writing this book.  I hope it helps someone feeling alone.

Rating: Three Chairs – I like this book enough to suggest it to a friend or two, who might also share it.


FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: 
 I received one copy of this book free of charge from BEA.  
I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book;
 rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A Fatal Debt

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A Fatal Debt
                          
                            
                                                  Author: John Grapper
                                      Publisher:  Random House
                                                  Pages: 288
                                      Source: BEA  ARC                                 
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                              




Goodreads:      This timely debut thriller by an award-winning Financial Times columnist is a gripping tale of lethal intrigue set in the high-stakes Wall Street world—where wealth and privilege are no match for jealousy and betrayal.
 
Ben Cowper, an attending psychiatrist at the prestigious New York–Episcopal Hospital, is stunned to learn the identity of the emergency patient he’s just been assigned to treat: Harry Shapiro, a Wall Street colossus and one of Episcopal’s most prominent donors. But a high-profile reversal of fortune has left the once powerful investment banker jobless, bitter, and possibly desperate—judging by the handgun his wife finds him clutching. In Ben’s expert opinion, Shapiro is a suicide waiting to happen. But when the headstrong financier balks at an extended stay in the hospital psych ward, Ben reluctantly releases him, bowing to political pressure from Episcopal’s chief administrator, who’s more concerned with the patient’s money than his mind.
 
Days later, the shocking news breaks: There’s been a shooting death in Harry Shapiro’s Hamptons mansion. But even more shocking is the identity of the victim. A tragedy sets in motion an explosive chain of events that turns Ben Cowper’s life upside-down.
 
As hard-nosed cops close in with harder questions, the hospital closes ranks to protect its own interests. But with colleagues freezing Ben out, innocent circumstances conspire to incriminate him. Hounded by a DA who’s out for blood, and haunted by the specter of a shattered career, Ben has no choice: He must delve into the hearts and minds of the people who know Harry best, uncover the secrets they’d rather die—or kill—to keep, and expose the truth behind a web of malice disguised as madness.



Ope’s Opinion:        If you aren’t sure if you want to read this book, do not stop before page 68!  That is the first curve!  
                                            Reading this book is like driving down a country road, there are a lot of twists and turns with great things to look at along the way.  You won’t get bored!  The further I got into the book, the harder it was to put it down ( even for dinner ).
                                          This book will appeal to male or female readers.       
                                           Read this book!



Rating: Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on…..
FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Random House.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.