Author Archives: opesopinions

We’ll Always Have Summer ( summer #3 )

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We’ll Always Have Summer ( summer #3 ) by Jenny Han
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 291
Format: Book
Goodreads:  It’s been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college– only, their relationship hasn’t exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It’s time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

Ope’s Opinion:  This book had a lot of unexpected twists and turns.  It really kept my attention throughout the whole book.  I enjoyed seeing the characters become adults and take responsibility for their actions.  Thanks for another great read Jenny Han.


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

PD Fundraiser

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Parkinson’s Disease Fundraiser
One More Page book store in Arlington, VA held a fundraiser for Parkinson’s Disease.  A portion of the sales went to Team Cul de Sac, which is a part of the  Michael J. Fox Foundation.  I was honored to be there and have some of the cartoonist sign the book.  This was very near to my heart.  Less then a year ago we lost my mother to PD. It was a long, slow process for her.  She was an avid reader and passed that love along to me and my siblings.  So having a book as a fundraiser was appropriate  for us to buy.  Now when there is a chance to support the PD community, it draws me in.  
Goodreads: Artists from around the world are passionate about Richard Thompson’s work. His cartoon, Cul de Sac, has been endorsed by Calvin and Hobbescreator Bill Watterson–high praise indeed. In 2009, Thompson announced his diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson’s. The Team Cul de Sacbook serves as a showcase of original artwork donated to benefit Team Fox, the fundraising arm of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, founded in 2000 to help speed the development of better treatments for Parkinson’s patients and, ultimately, cure the disease.


Ope’s Opinion:  This is an awesome book with a lot of heart put into it.

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

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Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pages: 400
Format: ARC

Goodreads:  It’s June 15th, the night of Nantucket High School graduation. Four juniors are driving home from a party when something goes horribly wrong and there is a crash. The driver of the car, Penny Alistair, is killed, and her twin brother, Hobby Alistair, is left in a coma. Penny’s boyfriend, Jake Randolph, and Penny’s friend Demeter Castle are unhurt–but suffer tremendous emotional damage. Jake and his family move to the other side of the globe–to the west coast of Australia–in order to escape the horrors of the accident. Demeter falls prey to alcohol abuse and other self-destructive behaviors that nearly lead to her destroying her own life. 

SUMMERLAND delves into the circumstances surrounding this accident, the roots of which lie deep in the past, with the first interactions between these four friends and their parents. It’s a novel about how tragedy affects individuals, families, and the island community as a whole, and how healing can happen, in even the most devastating circumstances.



Ope’s Opinion:  I waited in line at BEA for this book.  It was so worth the wait.  This is another wonderful Elin Hilderbrand book!  She is an awesome writer.  This book builds slowly and you fall in love with the characters.  It is a “you can’t put it down” book.   Hearing the events from different voices made me understand an individuals reaction to what was going on around them.  It gave me some back ground for that person, which explained their perspective.  I will read more of Elin. 

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



                   


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.


 












It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer #2)

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It’s Not Summer Without You (Summer #2)  By Jenny Han


Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 288
Format: book


Goodreads:  Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started–at Cousins Beach.




Ope’s Opinions:  It has been enjoyable to watch the characters grow up and develop.  Dealing with adult issues from a young persons perspective added more interest to the story.  I read through this book really fast because I knew the characters.  Jenny Han knows how to write the emotion so that you really feel it.  I am looking forward to the third and last book of the series.  Keep writing Jenny!




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

How I Became "Ope".

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We decided I would be “Oma” when our first grandchild was born, but she had other ideas!

My granddaughter and I were playing with a Fisher.Price plastic egg that opened and closed.  She kept bringing it to me and I said “Open”.  She would say “Ope” and I would say “Yes, bring it to me”. 
After that, she thought I was Ope.  She is now almost 3 years old and I am her Ope!

My name is such a precious gift from her, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  So when I decided to blog, it was just natural to be Ope and add my opinions!



This is the granddaughter and the egg that started me being an Ope!

My BEA Experience

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My daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings helped to get our trip to BEA together this year.  It was an amazing trip that inspired me start blogging.

Monday:   We took the train to NYC.  It was a relaxing, enjoyable trip.  After checking into the hotel we headed over to the Javitis Center.  The Bloggers conference had a session called Demystifying the Relationship between Bloggers and Publishers.  It was very informative and encouraging.  That evening we were fortunate to be invited to a HarperCollins event.  We met some amazing people.

Tuesday:  We got up early to get into line to see all the authors and publishers we had on our lists.  Kristin and I did the divide and conquer game plan.  She picked up a few books for me and I picked up a few books for her.  It was so great to meet authors of the books I been reading.  Waiting in lines gave us the opportunity to meet other bloggers and hear their perspective.  That night we had some awesome New York pizza.  We went to Strand book store ( like we needed to buy books! ).  It was an awesome experience to be in that book store.  We just had to have a bag and I bought a book!










Wednesday:  We went to the Random House Breakfast.  So much fun!  I met and had my picture taken with Nate Berkus ( you’ll see more of this in a later
 blog ).  We were able to talk to publishers and a few authors.  I would love to do this again!  We headed to the Javitis Center.

 Unexpectedly, I was able to meet one of my favorite authors, Karen Kingsbury.  She writes contemporary Christian Fiction.  She signed an ARC ( Advanced Reading Copy ) of The Bridge.  I will review this book.

Although the line was long, waiting for Elin Hilderbrand  to sign Summerland was worth it.  
          

That evening we went to a party for Laura Moriarty’s new book The Chaperone.  This is an awesome book.   From there we went to the Bird Bash.  They threw an awesome party.  I met a blogger and a publisher I hope to see again.

Thursday:  We packed up all our belongings and books.  We headed back over to the Javitis Center for our last day.   Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian were my first stop.   They gave out key chains with a bottle of sun lotion attached.  The bottle said Burn for Burn!  They were fun to talk to.  Then we headed to Penn Station to catch the train home, but first we had to have one more piece of New York pizza.   The ride home was quiet.   We were tired.  When we did talk, we talked about me starting this blog and wanting to come back next year to do it all again.

What an amazing, wonderful trip!

The Summer I Turned Pretty ( Summer, #1 ) by Jenny Han

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The  Summer I  Turned  Pretty ( Summer #1 ) By Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 276
Format: book 

Goodreads:  Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer–they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Ope’s Opinion:  It was great to get to know all the characters, especially knowing I was going to be able to follow them through three books.  This book had realistic adults as well as the youth.  Jenny Han took us back into their past, so we could understand their reactions.  Once in  a while it took me a few minutes to realize we had jumped from past to present or the other way around.  I am looking forward to reading It’s Not Summer Without You ( Summer #2 ).  


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
















Ope’s Rating System

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Each adirondack chair represents a potential reader I would recommend for the book I am reading and reviewing.
One Chair: It is likely I will  be the only one reading this book.

Two Chairs: I may have one friend who might like this book.
Three Chairs: I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.
Four Chairs: I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.
Five Chairs:  This book is so good it will  be passed on and on and on…..

In My Mailbox BEA 2012

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I made a  video blog with my daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings.   She took me to BEA and we were able to collect a pile of books to share with each other! Now I want to share those books with all of you book lovers. I love to read picture books to my granddaughter, YA, Christian Fiction and more. 


Margie at Ope’s Opinions Picks:

Kristin at Kritters Ramblings Picks:



A portion of the books that came home with us, some were gifted to friends and family.  I still can’t believe what we were able to bring home.  Sorry no pictures to share.

A Fatal Debt by John Gapper
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Kiss and Make Up by Katie D. Anderson
If You Have To Cry Go Outside by Kelly Cutrone
Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington
Porch Lights by Dorthea Benton Frank
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes
The Innocents by Francesca Segal

Tiger in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann
Please Forgive Me by Anne Bird Joseph Beatty
Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti
Paris in Love by Eloisa James – Random
The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane
Dare Me by Megan Abbott
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Home by Morning by Alexis Harrington
Skinny by Donna Cooner
After Hello by Lisa Mangum

Everyone She Loved by Sheila Curran
One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf
Courting Justice by Brenda Jackson
Private Arrangements by Brenda Jackson
Better Than Chocolate by Sheila Roberts
34 Pieces of You by Carmen Rodrigues
A Novel Panorama City by Antoine Wilson
Monster Hunter by Larry Correia
The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman

White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby
The Lost Prince by Seldon Edwards
Heading Out to Wonderland by Robert Goolrick
Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub
Before Versailles by Karleen Koen
The Absolutist by John Boyne
Rues of Civility by Amor Towles
BEA Buzz Books 
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Viking
The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
A Million Heavens by John Brandon
Matched by Ally Condie
A Deeper Darkness by J.T. Ellison 
Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
And She Was by Alison Gaylin
Vanishing Girls by Katia Lief

The Cupcake Diaries by Katherine Kallinis and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne
Hotels, Hospitals and Jails by Anthony Swofford
The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper
The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels
Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon
A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell – Harper
Legend by Marie Lu
Love Slave by Jennifer Spiel

Welcome to Ope’s World

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Hello!  Ope is here.  So About ME!



This blog all started with my two daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and Jennifer of Underestimatedmom.  They have both encouraged me for some time to blog about the books I read and the other events in my life.  


Going to BEA with Kristin gave me the excitement and encouragement to start this.

I have been reading all my life, thanks to the encouragement of my mother.  Now, I am going to share my opinions in hopes of encouraging others to find their genre and read away.



I have been reviewing on Goodreads for almost a year and have enjoyed posting reviews and reading other peoples reviews.

I am a mother of two grown daughters.   Living near both of them has been such a gift.  I am retired from working in the school system.  My husband is an awesome supportive guy.  He travels often and I am fortunate to tag along on selected trips.  Another part of my life is shared with a grand dog and a granddaughter.  Both keep me moving.

Contact me (opesopinions@gmail.com) –  want to recommend (or send) books my way, or if you just want to chat about books and bookie things!