BOOK REVIEW: "The Last Blue Mile"

The Last Blue Mile

By Kim Ponders

Copyright 2007

HarperCollins Publishers

Adult Fiction

2 Bookmarks

I picked up this book because it was about the Air Force Academy, something I'm vaguely familiar with as it is located directly north of my house. I usually really enjoy books that include anything Colorado Springs, for obvious reasons. I was kind of surprised, however, by the topic and tone of this book.

The Last Blue Mile covers a period of time in the "incarceration" of cadet Brook Searcy at the Air Force Academy. The ritual, the hazing, the unpleasant nature of the story, was just a little bit discomforting. Although other scandals that had actually occurred at the Academy are mentioned, the main story begins with a cheating scandal and how the Academy is forced to deal (less-than-fairly) with the female instigator of the cheating, simply because she is female and because the Academy is still recovering from a rape scandal still fresh in everyone's memory. Brook is a bystander to this, but has her own demons that she has to face.

The story also focuses on General John Waller, the Commandant of Cadets at the Academy.....the one who has to put a good face on everything for us out in the "real world". The Commandant is forced to see things at this mostly-male military institution from a female perspective and I, even as a female myself, felt like he was placed in a terrible position between a rock and hard place regarding the decisions he is forced to make.

The story switches back and forth between these two main storylines, with a few others thrown in for good measure. But then something happens to Brook that made me want to stop reading the story entirely. Suddenly it was as if none of the rest of the story mattered except this new "event" that occurs, throwing the reader back to the rape scandal of previous years.

I didn't like the "ick" factor in the book and I didn't like that the book was really about something that I didn't think it would be about. Just discomforting. Probably would not recommend.

BOOK REVIEW: "More Than This"

More Than This

By Margo Candela

Copyright 2008

Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Adult Fiction

3 Bookmarks

Spoiler Alert!

Okay. I just have to say it. I loved reading this book. Well, at least up until the last chapter. More Than This is such a wonderfully indulgent, fairy tale read that I really just didn't want to put it down.

Evelyn and Alex have never met. But they keep "almost" meeting. A glance across a crowded train. Watching each other through the windows of their office buildings conveniently located across the street from each other. Odd circumstances and coincidences that keep them apart when they would be oh so perfect for each other! The story gets deeper and deeper and you just get sucked into this world where they both want what they see but can't seem to ever grab it....even though it's right there in front of them. I really enjoyed reading about these two people who have been disappointed by life, struggling to find meaning and purpose. Hilarious moments, especially for the Evelyn character when she takes on a "temp" job at her friend's company, and an ironic career position for Alex; two mothers with bright expectations for their adult children; and many other highly entertaining plot lines and characters.

But.......I'm just gonna say it. They don't EVER meet! Well, at least not in the book (I sort of imagined how it must have gone when I finished reading, but isn't that the author's job?) Yes, that's right. The author's last prosaic effort is the two characters explaining (in turn) what they felt and did in the moment BEFORE they meet. But, of course, as disappointingly disappointing authors always do.....she leaves the best part OUT OF THE STORY!!!!! I turned the page? Nothing. Nothing! So disappointing.

This book would have garnered at least 4 bookmarks if only the author had given me even ONE page of what it was like for these two perfect-for-each-other characters to get together.

Such an utter disappointment (......still worth the read, unfortunately. It really was a good book, so I can't totally dog it.)

BOOK REVIEW: "My Sister's Keeper"

my sister's keeper

By Jodi Picoult

Published by Washington Square Press

Copyright 2004

Adult Fiction

4 Bookmarks

Okay, so probably everyone already knows what this one is about because you've all seen the previews for the made-for-the-big-screen movie, so I'll keep my summary short. Young parents find out their very young daughter has leukemia. Brother is not a match for a bone marrow transplant, so parents go to a genetic specialist and conceive a "donor" sibling.....a perfect match with the genetic markers required to be a good donor. Flash forward to the young parents, now the parents of three teenagers, including middle child still suffering recurring bouts of leukemia, and youngest daughter who has undergone numerous medical procedures over the years to keep her sister alive.

But now, all of a sudden, young Anna has had enough. She is ready to call it quits. She doesn't want to be a donor anymore.....and hires a lawyer to make sure she doesn't have to.

In case you haven't seen the movie (or haven't read past the first two chapters of the book), I won't be a spoilsport and tell you the rest of the story or how it ends. But here are my thoughts:

This was a scary book to read. As a parent, it is my worst nightmare to be in the situation these poor parents found themselves in. There were many times while reading it that I had to just put it down for awhile because I couldn't stop the tears. However, it was an extremely well-told story and I felt like Picoult did an outstanding job of really digging in to the lose-lose situation that this family found themselves in. I did feel some sense of an "ick" factor in the book, just simply because the topic is so utterly controversial and unsolveable. With this situation, there was really no good outcome possible.

I usually avoid any cancer-themed books and I did know the premise before I started reading it, but I figured if it was good enough to make into a movie, it was probably a pretty dang good book and worth the emotional thrashing! And it was. "My Sister's Keeper" truly was a heart-wrenching story, but I came out of it with hugs for my family and appreciation for what I have.

I don't think I'll see the movie, though. The emotions in the book were raw enough and I wouldn't want to spoil it by having it simplified into a two-hour retelling.