Chick Lit

I have to admit, I chose to read this book based on the title alone! I liked the title and I loved the book. Classic chick-lit. The main character of the book is the LBD (Little Black Dress) of the season. The dress that every woman, no matter her age or size, wants! The dress affects the lives of not only the nine women, but a few men too! If you are looking for an easy read, this book is for you! It made me laugh and smile. A fun read! I can't wait for Jane L. Rosen's next book.

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore is not a new book (2008), and I found it quite by accident. It was one of those books whose title intrigued me and front cover graphic caught my eye. It looked like a Fannie Flagg book, so it had to be good, right? I was not disappointed.

This is the coming of age story following Catherine Grace Cline, born and raised in a small, rural town in Georgia in the early 1970’s. A spunky kid with a great sense of humor, Catherine Grace spends her Saturdays at the local Dairy Queen, contemplating ways to escape her small-town and move to Atlanta to reinvent herself. When she is old enough, has graduated high school, and with the help of a close buddy, she finally leaves family, friends, and her boyfriend behind and does make it to the big city. She’s in her element now. However, before things really take off in the city, and much to her dismay, she must soon return to the old homestead when tragedy strikes the family. Once back and over time, Catherine Grace comes to realize maybe her small town life is not so bad after all.

Characters in the book bring out the best and worst in Catherine Grace and are vital to the story. They offer words of Southern wisdom to this dreamer and help her through the good times and bad. These characters include a younger sister (Martha Ann), her Baptist preacher father, a once-close friend of her mother’s (Gloria), and her boyfriend (Hank).

If you’re looking for an action-packed, fast moving story, this is not the book for you. Like its Southern setting, this is a story that must be soaked up with leisure while lying on the lawn being warmed by the late afternoon sun with a glass of wine in hand. Enjoy!

In the last book of The Selection series, Eadlyn must choose between the last six boys, better known as the Elite. Her relationships become even more complicated than she could have realized. The combination of her mixed feelings about the Selection, her worry over her sick mother, and running a country are too much to handle at some points. Discover new secrets and even more news from the Selection world in the last book, The Crown.

I am personally, a huge fan of the Selection series. I had already pre-ordered this book and got it the day it came out. I have to say, I was disappointed by the small size of the book. It was just over 250 pages, the font was huge, and it was double-spaced. There wasn't much of a story. I feel that Cass rushed the story, and she was just trying to get it done.

As well as the little content, the relationships just seemed forced in this book. Keeping it nameless, one of her suitors and her exchange declarations of love to each other, after just barely having their first kiss. I personally loved the combination of the two characters, but the relationship felt rushed. Cass could've given them much more justice than she did.

What I did love, however, was the character development of Eadlyn through the book. In The Heir, I thought Eadlyn was terrible. She was snotty, rude, and not a relatable character. In this book, she was much kinder, and I appreciated her more as a person. You could see her opinions and beliefs being influenced by the big hearted boys who surrounded her.

The book, for the most part, was predictable. I had it figured out who she was going to pick since the last book. Other than the main plot, the book managed to surprised me. Cass always has something hidden up her sleeve, and this book had all of her secrets spilling out.

Overall, I'm a huge fan of the series, but this book would defiantly not rank high on my favorites.

Reviewer Grade: 9

Going into this book I had no idea what it was about, but it was a very pleasant surprise! This book is a utopian novel with a little bit of a romantic twist. I absolutely loved how differently the US was depicted in this book. This book wasn't very predictable at all either! The plot was about a girl who was put in a competition to become queen of her country. It was practically The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. I personally thought this was one of the best books targeted towards teen girls, that I have read all year. If you enjoyed Divergent, The Hunger Games, or The Giver this is another book for you!

Reviewer Grade: 9

Me Before You is a tragically beautiful story about life and peoples will to live in it. After you read this it is impossible to look at life the same as you did before.

Louisa Clark has just lost her job of six years and is desperate to find a new one. She is even desperate enough to work for the Traynor's, a wealthy family whose son, Will, was paralyzed in an motorbike accident two years in advance. She is hired as Will's caretaker, but soon learns that caring for him is easier said then done. Despite his efforts to make her quit, and their constant bickering, she soon grows to like him as they grow closer as companions. When she overhears an argument between his sister and mother, her job, and life, will never be the same.

Seldom books have the power to make me cry, but this book left me bawling (I suggest you stock up on chocolates and tissues in advance). The further you read into the book the more you understand Will's
requests. It leaves you with a different outlook on life, and on love. Moyes does a wonderful job on never letting us really know what to expect. Even though parts of the storyline were slow, and some characters hard to relate to, the books dynamic and plot made up for it.

This book first caught my eye when I saw the new trailer for the movie adaption. The trailer looked so interesting I had to put the book on hold immediately. I am glad I picked up this book, and am looking forward to the movie coming out in June. I highly suggest it for anyone looking for a quick read.

Reviewer Grade: 9

I didn't like any of the characters in the beginning and almost put the book down and walked away. I am so glad I didn't! I ended up truly enjoying this book and the way the history of Jack and Kitty was revealed kind of slowly so you understood WHY they were the way they were. And it had a great ending!

This is a cute story about a girl in her Senior Year of High School discovering the ups and downs of love. The beginning of the book isn't written as well as the middle of the book, and the ending is very cliche. But it was a pretty good read, likeable characters, and I would recommend it to any High Schooler looking for a fun read.

The thing about teen books, especially 'chick-lit' style books, is they all seem to run together. As I was reading this book, I realized that somewhere in my hazy pre-baby past, I'd already read this book. I could just barely remember it. It was like having deja vu while reading. But still it was good, even for the second time around.

This was the blandest book I've read in awhile. The characters and situations were so similar and uninteresting that they were basically interchangeable. By the end of the book I couldn't have told you which character did what. Nothing of interest happened in the entire book. The writing was good enough, but man, boring!

This was a good book. It was unapologetically not great literature, just a fun, better than average example of chick lit. I enjoyed it. There. I admit it. I enjoy chick lit.