I Think I Love You...

well...not YOU, exactly, or not in that way (not that there's anything wrong with that!). More like Allison Pearson's delightful new novel, I Think I Love You, which chronicles the story of thirteen year old Petra's obsession with the ever delicious David Cassidy in 1974. I, too, confess that while I was not 13 in 1974 (more like eleven if you must know), I had a crush on the gorgeousy Mr. Cassidy and was a faithful viewer of The Partridge Family. It was this shared love of all things David that inspired me to read this novel, and a thoroughly enjoyable read it was. So enjoyable, in fact, that I pulled out my Partridge Family's Greatest Hits CD (yes, I have it, and no, I'm not ashamed, damnit!) and put some of my faves on my iPod. And I still know all the words! I may not know where my keys are, but somewhere in my cluttered brain, the lyrics to all those songs live and come spilling forth with the first notes.

Below is my review of I Think I Love You: I must hand it to Ms. Pearson, as she got all the details correct that my eleven year old brain held most dear. Even after I moved on to Dave's younger brother Shaun, I still held a soft spot for those first pangs of idolatry. Apparently Ms. Pearson realizes this as well.
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We first meet Petra Williams in 1974 when she's an awkward thirteen year old trying to fit into her social group, much like any thirteen year old might be today. Though it's set in Wales, it could be anywhere; it's one of those identifiable tales that doesn't take you long to have your heading nodding along with recognition.


Petra's so ordinary it's painful, and she knows it. And even though she feels like an interloper into her group of friends, her common ground comes in the form of idolatry of teen heartthrob David Cassidy. She and her friends read all the mags and hang on every word and song of the idol, and when a concert is announced in London, they scheme for a way to finally meet their guy. Petra's determined to meet David; she enters a contest for that purpose but she doesn't win...or so she thinks until she discovers a letter among her mother's things many years later.

Divided in two parts, we follow Petra and buddy Sharon through their desperation to meet David Cassidy as young teens and then we see them many years later after Petra's mother has passed away and life has handed out its usual assortments of good and evil. While I adored the young Petra (and knew the author got those David facts *perfect*...how on earth did I remember his birthday is April 12? Oh yeah, it's on the cover of the album Up To Date!)I was eager for the story to progress to the point of the concert/contest. But that's only a minor quibble in a story that's fun and a perfect echo of a time I remember fondly. Quite a good deal of fun, actually; it evokes feelings and memories in me that still has me smiling.
~taminator40

The Carrie Diaries

The Carrie Diaries chronicles the senior year of high school of one Carrie Bradshaw (best well known from Bushnell's Sex and the City: the book, tv show, and movies), and her quest to find out who she is and where she's going. This is 1980 something, and Carrie's pretty sure she wants to be a writer, but is very sure she doesn't know precisely how to get there. Along the way, Carrie experiences her best friends and their dramas, a father doing his best to raise his three daughters, and a serious relationship with Sebastian Kydd, hot boy in school. In other words, it's not all that different from what many seniors have always experienced. And that's the beauty of the story and its ultimate kinship with the characters created for television: it's something we can all identify with.

This novel is thoroughly young adult in tone, and as such, works very well. There's nothing in it that's not in any number of popular young adult books today, and it is fairly realistic for the times. Told from Carrie's point of view, we are actively engaged in her life and the lives of her friends; there are definite allusions to the Carrie she will become in just a few short years. My biggest distraction was how the story slid around through the 80s (songs played not from the same year, clothing from different seasons worn side by side) but maybe the author did it purposely so that those of us who were seniors in the 80s would recognize something of ourselves in the details.

No, this is not the Carrie backstory we know from the television series, and as a devotee of said series, that is disappointing. But once you put that aside, you are sure to find a story that flows smoothly and speaks to all of us who experienced the highs and lows of senior year. There's enough of the Carrie we think we own in this tale to satisfy anyone, and it's plain ole good fun in the process. Enjoy!

~taminator40

Another Mother's Life

Another Mother's Life is a book I picked up from the Vine program through Amazon. I'd read Rowan Coleman's earlier novel, The Accidental Mother earlier this year and enjoyed it, so I was eager to get this one to see if it compared favorably. Good news: it's another good one!

Coleman sets us up with two best friends, Alison and Catherine, reuniting after fifteen years. Only of course this isn't just a "glad to see you again" meeting; the last time the women saw each other was when they were seventeen and Alison was running away with Catherine's lover, Marc. Devastated by the loss of both boyfriend and best friend, Catherine tried to move on with her life, eventually marrying musician Jimmy Ashley and having two daughters. But just as her marriage to Jimmy is coming to an end, Alison and Marc (along with their three children) arrive back in the town of Farmington hoping to "start over". Can the women overcome the betrayals of fifteen years ago? Should they? Or should Catherine try to have revenge by sleeping with Marc now?

There are some pretty big cliches in this novel (women friends falling out over a man, infidelity, and confusion about what's best in the long run, coupled with children tragedies), but it's to Coleman's credit that she can make you care for people who really aren't all that loveable when you get down to it. I should've despised Alison, not just for what she did so long ago, but what she continued to do throughout the novel; her blind devotion to her family made her overlook what the real tragedy was. Catherine's wishy-washy personality should've put me over the edge, but again, I liked her. Coleman has a way of getting you to understand the deep-seated insecurities her characters face and make you want to befriend them.

I did a fuller review for Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/review/R35G3S7UYGDEV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm. While this is chick lit, it's pretty good and I can recommend it for the writing and characterization. I'll be looking for Coleman's next novel.

~taminator40

Queen of Babble in the Big City

I like chick lit at times, and Meg Cabot provides some of the best. Queen of Babble in the Big City picks up where the first book left off, with Lizzie and Luke moving to NYC. Luke is studying to be a doctor, while Lizzie is hell-bent on finding work in her chosen field: refurbishing wedding dresses. Things, of course, do not go as planned; Lizzie immediately begins living with Luke in his mother's posh NYC apartment rather than moving in with her BFF, Shari and there's no work to be found in the fashion industry. Somehow, though, our indomitable Lizzie not only finds a job (non-paying) doing what she loves, but she also lands a receptionist job while she dreams of Luke asking her to marry him. But do things go smoothly? Of course not. And I'd not want them to, since that's precisely why I picked this book up in the first place. You can read my more comprehensive review at amazon found at http://www.amazon.com/review/R1JLUBUCUXMDJV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm.

~taminator40

The Accidental Mother Review

I read The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman as a review book for Simon & Schuster. Brit Chick Lit at its best, this is an engaging tale of Sophie Mills, thoroughly satisfied with her life, and the 180 degree turn that's made when she inherits her dead best friend's two young daughters. Sophie agrees to watch the girls until their absentee father can be found, but of course the sailing isn't smooth, and Sophie comes to realize that perhaps her "perfect" life is anything but. While there were moments I was a bit frustrated with Sophie and her choices, I found this book to be light reading at its best. My biggest complaint is that I won't know how things go with Sophie since the book leaves us with a bit of a cliffhanger, IMHO. But overall I can definitely recommend this one as brain candy that is above average. My review can be found at amazon at http://tinyurl.com/2xeteu.

~taminator40