Book Review: "Go Luck Yourself" by Sara Raasch

Sara Raasch’s Royals and Romance series is incredibly creative, full of humor, emotion, and some steamy steam. I really enjoyed The Nightmare Before Kissmas and I loved her newest book, Go Luck Yourself, which was released just in time for St. Patrick’s Day!

Kris’ family is in charge of Christmas, and his brother Coal has taken over as Santa. When Kris discovers that someone has been siphoning off Christmas’ joy, since he is the “spare prince,” he agrees to investigate the theft of joy. Since he found a shamrock, he’s headed to the kingdom of St. Patrick’s Day.

Kris is thrown when he discovers that the crown prince of the holiday, Lochlann, is the hot guy who drove him crazy at college. Lochlann isn’t happy that Kris has shown up in his family’s kingdom, even though Kris has been trying to help rescue Lochlann's reputation with the holiday press.

The more times they are thrown together, the more complicated Kris realizes that Loch’s situation is. And at the same time, Kris sees in Loch a kindred spirit—a creative soul unsure of what he wants, who doesn’t believe he’s entitled to his own happiness.

The theft of joy is also far more complicated than Kris suspected. Is Loch responsible? Is Kris’ growing attraction to Loch blinding him? The truth has the potential to hurt both of them, but can it also free them?

I love Raasch’s storytelling and the amazing universe she has created. This book is so much more than a simple romance, as both of its main characters really have to deal with some tough emotional baggage. But the banter and the supporting characters make this even more special.

Book Review: "In the Weeds" by B.K. Borison

In the Weeds is a terrific, steamy, small-town romance with a fantastic supporting cast!

Lovelight Farms was an absolute joy of a find last year, and I’ve been meaning to get to this second book in the series for months! I was so excited to take a trip back to the small town of Inglewild.

Beckett can’t get Evie out of his mind. It was just a one-night stand (well, two nights), but there was something different about her and the way she made him feel. The last thing he expected, though, is for her to show up at Lovelight Farms.

He had no idea that Evie, from that bar in Maine, is actually Evelyn St. James, world-famous social media influencer. And she’s at the farm as part of a social media contest. But no sooner does she appear than she leaves again.

The thing is, while Evie appreciates the renown she has achieved, she seems to have lost her passion for her job, lost the happiness and her sense of purpose. To recapture it, she goes back to the last place she truly felt peace: Lovelight Farms. (Do you think that has anything to do with a sexy, brooding farmer?)

“It’s okay if it takes you some time to find it again. And it’s okay if you find it just to lose a bit of it here and there. That’s the beauty of it, yeah? It comes and goes. Not every day is a happy one and it shouldn’t be. It’s in the trying, I think.”

I loved this book so much. Beckett is definitely a new book boyfriend, but boy, do I love the people of Inglewild!!

Book Review: "Love, Life, and Lucille: Lessons Learned from a Centenarian" by Judy Gaman

Love, Life, and Lucille is a heartwarming story of an extraordinary friendship that feels like a hug in book form.

We never know when our life is going to change. For Judy Gaman, one of those times was when she met Lucille. Judy was looking to talk with centenarians for a book she was writing about aging gracefully, and while she worried what to expect from a 100-year-old woman, Lucille blew every expectation out of the water.

That meeting sparked an incredible relationship. Buoyed by Lucille’s infectious spirit, her unflagging energy, and an enormous capacity for love, the two would at least see each other every Friday, where they would share a love of food at some of Texas’ most notable restaurants, a love of family and faith, and mutual stories of overcoming adversity and heartache.

But while you would think that Lucille would benefit from the attention being paid her by a woman in her 40s, Judy benefited equally, if not more. Lucille held her up in moments of professional and personal vulnerability, sharing advice, humor, and most importantly, love.

For nearly four years, the two had an immense adventure together, taking them from wig shopping and television interviews to Texas Rangers’ stadium. Reading about this friendship was so inspiring, and definitely made me think about how we connect with others in our lives, the things we should say and don’t.

This was such a wonderful, poignant book, and we are so lucky that Judy was willing to share her memories of such an amazing woman. It honestly reminded me of some lyrics from the song "No Time At All," from the musical Pippin:

Here is a secret I never have told
Maybe you'll understand why
I believe if I refuse to grow old
I can stay young 'til I die

I was fortunate to be part of the blog tour for this book. Kate Rock Book Tours and Judy Gaman provided me a complimentary (and signed!) copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

May we all find a Lucille in our lives, and be for them what Judy was for her.

Book Review: "The Switch" by Beth O'Leary

Could The Switch feel any more like a giant hug?

Leena is falling apart. It’s been happening for a while, ever since her sister died, although she’s been able to press on. But when she blows a big presentation at work, her boss forces her to take a two-month sabbatical.

Her grandmother Eileen is trying to move on after her unfaithful husband left her, but dating at 79 isn’t easy, especially in her tiny Yorkshire village of Hamleigh-in-Harksdale. (She knows all of the men and the pickings are pretty slim.) But she has her friends and her town projects to keep busy.

When Leena comes to visit and they talk about their various issues, she poses a great idea: the two should swap lives for two months. Eileen can move into Leena’s London flat and try her hand at online dating, while Leena can take on Eileen’s projects and decompress. And Eileen hopes that Leena can mend her relationship with her mother, which has been quite strained since her sister died.

Of course, nothing is as easy as it seems to be, and while Eileen finds freedom and opportunity in London, Leena struggles with finding her way, and realizes what she assumed was her grandmother’s simple, small-town life is anything but. And both make some interesting discoveries where matters of the heart are concerned.

This is an adorable, warm, moving book that utterly charmed me from start to finish. I loved Beth O’Leary’s first book, The Flatshare, and this book put the same smile on my face that that one did.

Can you see how the story will unfold? Sure. Does it matter? I don’t think so, not with these memorable characters and the terrific setting. It made me feel all warm inside!!

Book Review: "My Kind of People" by Lisa Duffy

What makes a family? What sacrifices should you have to make to have one?

Leo’s life is turned upside down when his best friends Brian and Ann die and name him the guardian of their 10-year-old daughter, Sky. He temporarily moves back to his childhood hometown on Ichabod Island, just off the coast of Massachusetts. His new responsibilities threaten his job and his marriage to Xavier, who doesn’t want to have kids and wants to continue living in NYC.

"How do you build a new life? Leo wonders. How do you fill shoes so goddamn big?"

From the outside looking in, Brian and Ann seemed to have the perfect marriage. But were secrets taking their toll?

When Agnes, the island’s resident busybody, invites Sky’s maternal grandmother, whom she has never really known, to stay on the island, it causes a great deal of friction among longtime friends and neighbors, not to mention Leo and Xavier. What are her intentions toward Sky? And what does Sky want?

My Kind of People studies relationships of all kinds: romantic, marital, parental, friendships, and those which fall somewhere between the two. How do we protect someone else from getting hurt while keeping our own guard up at the same time?

Lisa Duffy has a magnificent way of immersing you in her books. Only a few pages in and you feel like you’ve known these characters forever. Despite the tensions, the island itself seemed so welcoming.

This story took a little longer to click with me than Duffy’s other books. There’s a lot of angry people in this book, and it wasn’t fun to process all of that early on. But Duffy’s storytelling is so beautiful that I started caring about the characters and what happened to them. One storyline was a little more melodramatic than it needed to be, but it still worked within the confines of the plot.

Duffy is definitely an auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait until her next book! You really should read her books if you haven't already. This is Home is my favorite.

Book Review: "More Than Words" by Jill Santopolo

What happens when you start to discover the person you most admired, the truths you most believed in, aren’t what you thought? In Jill Santopolo's More Than Words that question is examined in great detail.

Nina Gregory is the third-generation of the famed Gregory family, owners of two of New York City’s most celebrated hotels. Her father—and her mother, when she was alive—were treated like royalty in the city, and Nina has been raised in that life, to know she’ll take over the company someday. She was always expected to behave the proper way, as if the spotlight was always on her.

Someday may be coming sooner than later, as her father's cancer has returned. She’s worshipped him all her life, and lived her entire life the way he has wanted her to. She's studied what he wanted her to, dressed the way he thinks she should, even dated (or not dated) the men he deemed appropriate. Now she’s in love with her childhood best friend, Tim, whom her father loves as if he was his own son, and whose family is closely intertwined with theirs and the hotels.

But why is it that Nina seems to feel more excitement for her current job as a political speechwriter? And why does any attention from the mayoral candidate for whom she works send her heart racing when she simply feels safe with Tim?

When her father dies, it feels as her world has been torn out from under her, so it makes sense she should lean on Tim and be with him, just as her father always wanted. And she loves Tim, so it makes sense, right?

But as she finds out things in her father’s life and business weren’t what she believed, it leads her to question everything, especially the person she’s become and the love she deserves. She's no longer interested in automatically doing everything she's always done, and that threatens some in her life, especially Tim.

Jill Santopolo sure knows how to tug at the heartstrings, much as she did in her last book, The Light We Lost. This is a well-written book with some serious steam, and it’s pretty compelling. It’s also poignant and emotional and a little predictable, too. Definitely had me hooked though!!

Book Review: "Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances" by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Let It Snow is a trio of somewhat-interconnected short stories about the highs and lows of love against the backdrop of a massive snowstorm.

In Maureen Johnson’s "The Jubilee Express," a girl’s holiday plans are derailed again and again. First, her parents are thrown in jail unexpectedly, then her train to Florida gets stuck in the copious snow, and she escapes the chaos of the train by heading to a Waffle House for refuge, where she meets a young man with his own troubles. But as if all Jubilee experienced wasn't enough, she must deal with the apparent disinterest of her seemingly perfect boyfriend, which she doesn't quite understand. It makes for quite a holiday!

John Green’s "A Cheertastic Christmas," told with Green’s trademark these-characters-are-more-erudite-than-me style, follows a group of friends trying to get to a Waffle House in the midst of the storm because of the unexpected appearance of a troop of cheerleaders seeking escape from their train. (This appeals to two of the three friends.) However, their mission to make it to the Waffle House before other invited males is foiled by the elements, their rivals, and the changing dynamics in their group of three.

In "The Patron Saint of Pigs," Lauren Myracle tells the story of Addie, a girl despondent about the end of her relationship (her fault). But the thing is, Addie could use a serious lesson in putting the needs of others first. It takes a strange customer and a teacup pig to help her find her way.

I don’t tend to read a ton of holiday books but this book (and these authors) really tempted me. Johnson’s story is the most straightforward and is therefore my favorite. Green’s is truly madcap and funny, and I really do love the way he writes even if his characters are funnier than nearly every adult I know, but there is only so much zaniness I can take in a story. It's literally a caper.

Myracle’s story had too many disparate parts that didn’t quite come together for me, and I felt as if everyone was trying too hard. It was an interesting concept but at one point there were so many characters in the story that I was quite confused.

Let It Snow was a very quick, fun read and it definitely put me in the spirit of the holidays, even if I’m hoping the "wintry mix" forecast for early next week here passes us by. They've also adapted the book into a Netflix movie which premieres November 8.

Book Review: "You Me Everything" by Catherine Isaac

What is it about books with pronouns in the title?

Me Before You, Everything I Never Told You, The Geography of You and Me, and now, Catherine Isaac's You Me Everything, all turned me into an emotional wreck when I was reading them. (I know there are countless other books which fit this bill, but these come to mind first.)

"Everyone's future is uncertain. Most of us don't think about the fact that we could be run over by a bus tomorrow. We plod through life, taking everything for granted."

Ever since he showed up late for the birth of their son, smelling of booze and with lipstick on his collar, Jess knew Adam wasn't for her. She should have listened to him when he told her he wasn't ready to be a father, but he had told her he loved her, so she thought that would triumph over everything. But it didn't, and she was fine letting him go, even though the burden of being a single mother wasn't the easiest."

Adam has tried to be a good father to William, but it's never seemed to be his number one priority. And again, that hasn't really upset Jess too much—she, along with her parents, have raised a handsome, well-adjusted boy. But now that William is 10, she's realized that he needs to get to know his father better. Bowing to pressure from her mother, Jess and William are heading to the French countryside to spend the summer with Adam at the hotel he operates in a restored castle.

It doesn't take long for William to become utterly enamored with his father. Adam enjoys having William there with him, but he's still not ready to give up the rest of his life for his son. He has a new, beautiful, younger girlfriend, and he doesn't quite understand that when you make a promise to a 10-year-old, he expects you to keep it—you can't just reschedule in order to spend time with your girlfriend.

Even though Jess still bears some old hurts from her relationship with Adam, she is bound and determined for him and William to grow closer, but she isn't willing to tell anyone why this is so important to her. Jess has a fear she has been hiding from nearly everyone, and she can't tell the truth, for fear she might lose everyone she loves. And as her feelings for Adam grow more jumbled the more time they spend together, she knows she has to keep him at long distance, for everyone's sake.

"When life is tough, as it will be for all of us, you have a duty to yourself. To live without regrets."

You Me Everything is one of those poignant, heartwarming tearjerkers that might not break new ground, but it's tremendously compelling. I read 90 percent of the book yesterday in just a few hours, and woke up early this morning so I could finish. Even though the plot is familiar, I found all of the characters really engaging, so I was very invested in seeing their stories through.

Isaac makes her American debut with this book, and her storytelling is tremendously assured. She does a great job with imagery—you can almost picture the French countryside where the book takes place and experience the adventures that Jess, Adam, and William go on. I was hooked from start to finish.

You won't want this one to end. This will be one of those books you need to grab quickly for the beach, the plane, the hammock, or wherever you want to devour it.

Book Review: "Who is Rich?" by Matthew Klam

If people were happy with their lives, if they weren't having to deal with crises of conscience, relationships, and faith, what would that mean for the state of fiction? Much in the way that evil characters are more fun to read (and write) about, unhappy characters definitely provide a richer mine from which to build a novel.

Rich Fischer, the protagonist of Matthew Klam's Who is Rich?, is definitely unhappy. At one point he was a cartoonist of some renown, but he now works as an illustrator at a magazine which covers politics and culture.

"Illustration is to cartooning as prison sodomy is to pansexual orgy. Not the same thing at all."

The only thing really left from those better days is that every summer he travels to New England to teach a four-day cartooning workshop at a week-long arts conference. It's not the most fulfilling opportunity, but it does get him away from his family and from the constant problems weighing on his mind and his psyche.

"I wasn't a teacher. I didn't belong here. I'd ditched my family and driven nine hours up the East Coast in Friday summer highway traffic so I could show off in front of strangers, most of whom had no talent, some of whom weren't even nice, while I got paid almost nothing."

Rich and his wife Robin are unhappily married and on the verge of utterly resenting each other full time. Their two young children have their own dysfunctions, and how the couple chooses to handle (and/or ignore) these issues adds more strain to their exasperating relationship. Money is always tight, their sex life is almost non-existent, and both are often bitter, about their relationship and their lives.

"Was it a good life? Was I more joyful, sensitive, and compassionate in my deeply entangled commitment to them? Was there anything better than seeing the world through the eyes of my nutty kids? Was my obligation to Robin the most sincere form of love?...Was this as close to love as I was ever going to get? The closer I got, the more I wanted to destroy the things I loved. Something rose up in me, threatening me. I had to deflect it somehow."

There is one bright light drawing him back to the workshop this year—Amy. Amy is a painting student whom Rich met at last year's workshop, and they shared a flirtation, a little bit more than that, and then spent the winter alternately texting and longing to see each other, and punishing themselves for wanting this. She lives in a wholly different world than Rich—Amy is married to an extremely wealthy, reasonably loathsome Wall Street magnate who is barely home, and rarely pays attention to her and their children when he is. And as much as Amy wants more, wants something different, she isn't sure if she deserves that, and if so, if Rich is that something different.

This is an interesting meditation on monogamy, marriage, children, middle-age, financial success, and whether abandoning your dreams for something more stable makes you a sell-out or a failure. It's also an exploration of what kind of happiness we should expect from life—should you take what you're given or should you hope for more?

Klam is an excellent writer. I read his story collection, Sam the Cat: And Other Stories, about 17 years ago, and he's been one of those writers I've been waiting for years to write another book. This definitely didn't disappoint, although it's a bit more of a downer than I expected. Given the subject matter, it's not too surprising, but I felt the book flowed a lot more slowly because of its morose tone. There are moments of lightheartedness, even humor, but the dilemma that Rich and Amy find themselves in, and Rich's own struggles tend to take more precedence, at least early on.

Who is Rich? definitely made me think, and helped me keep the challenges of my own life in perspective. And isn't that why we read sometimes, to make us feel better about our lives than those the characters are living?

NetGalley and Random House provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "The Invoice" by Jonas Karlsson

How much would you pay for happiness, for special memories, for a reasonably pleasant life? Is a placid existence worth more than a turbulent, more passionate one?

In Jonas Karlsson's new book, The Invoice, the unnamed main character lives a simple life. He's a film buff, working part-time in a video store in Sweden, where he likes to talk to people about movies, although he rarely gets the chance. He has a few friends whom he sees periodically, but since a relationship ended some time ago, he has no one special in his life. Mostly his nights include re-watching his favorite movies, and enjoying pizza and/or ice cream. It's not an exciting life, but even though he doesn't have much money or promising career prospects, he's not unhappy.

One day he receives an invoice from an unknown national company. The invoice is for an amount of money he cannot even fathom, and it doesn't explain why he suddenly owes this money. He soon finds that he's turned a blind eye to something that's happening in Sweden—people are literally being billed for the expense of their lives, differing amounts based on events that have occurred throughout their lives, how happy they have been, etc. But what he cannot understand is how can someone with not much to show for himself owe the largest amount of money in the country?

This is a charming little fable of sorts, which raises some interesting issues about happiness and how people perceive our lives differently than we do. Are happy moments better than those which cause us to feel strong emotions? Should we really be financially responsible for how our lives turn out emotionally?

I thought this was a sweet book, but it never really engendered a great deal of excitement for me. (Which, perhaps in light of this book isn't a bad thing?) I kept expecting something big to happen, and although there were some lovely small moments, it just didn't wow me as much as I thought. But the main character is appealing in a sweet, befuddled way, and I thought parts of the book really were charming. An interesting idea to think about.

NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and Blogging for Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Love Love" by Sung J. Woo

Sometimes you read a book you know very little about, and it utterly surprises you. That was the case with Sung J. Woo's Love Love, a moving, thought-provoking, endearing, and slightly zany novel about two siblings whose lives aren't quite going the way they planned—and every step they take seems to throw them another curve.

Judy Lee is, to put it mildly, unhappy. She hasn't pursued a relationship since her marriage ended, she hasn't forgiven her father for her mother's death, she has no career prospects, and she doesn't know what she's going to do with the rest of her life. And when she meets a new man she might be interested in, he's a little more complicated than most, plus he may or may not have been a member of the Japanese Yakuza gang at some point.

"Everyone else she knew was doing productive things like buying bigger houses, raising smart kids, getting promotions. And here she was, a temp at age thirty-eight, with no husband, no house, no job, nothing. She knew she should be concerned, and to some degree she was, but whenever she fully recognized her utter lack of everything, the sheer emptiness of her life filled her up, leaving no room in her heart to even feel scared."

The only constant in Judy's life has been her older brother, Kevin. But Kevin has more than enough problems of his own. His career as a professional tennis player never really hit its stride, he's still mourning the end of his marriage, and he's just had one heck of a bombshell—after preparing to donate one of his kidneys to their dying father, he learns he isn't a genetic match. That's right, he's adopted, and he's finding this out for the first time at age 40, and all his father can give him is a nude picture of his birth mother from the 1970s.

Love Love is about trying to cope and move forward when nothing in your life seems to be going right, and when every possibility turns up more chaos than you expected. It's the story of two siblings trying to decide whether to wallow in their misery or take control of their lives when they seem utterly, completely out of control on all fronts. It's also an interesting meditation on how we choose to live our lives, on the difference between selfishness and independence, and how much of a role fate plays in the choices we make.

I found this book utterly endearing and enjoyable. I really liked both Judy and Kevin's characters, and found many of the supporting characters to be so much more fascinating and complex than I imagined. At times things happen as you expect they will, at times Woo really throws some crazy twists into his story, and while it makes the book a little quirkier than I imagined it would be, it also makes it more entertaining. Woo is a terrific storyteller and you can tell that he cares about his characters, which makes you care about them, too.

What a pleasant surprise this was! Nothing like some good family and relationship dysfunction to entertain you.

Book Review: "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara

I'll cut to the chase on this one fairly quickly: Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life is nothing short of an utter masterpiece. This book is one of the most dazzlingly brilliant, emotionally moving books I've ever read, and it will be a long time before I can get these characters and their story out of my head. And truth be told, as painful as this book was in places, I don't know if I want to be rid of these characters anytime soon.

"It is always easier to believe what you already think than to try to change your mind."

A Little Life spans several decades in the lives of four college friends—Willem, who becomes an actor; Malcolm, an architect; JB, an artist; and Jude, who becomes a lawyer. Each has their own emotional triggers and their challenges, both professionally and personally. While the book focuses on each of the four, it is enigmatic, troubled Jude who serves as the book's anchor and its soul.

I went into this book knowing very little about the plot, mainly what I've outlined above, and I honestly am thankful for it. This is such a powerful book, and as issues were confronted, joyous moments celebrated, and troubling moments lamented over and deeply felt, not knowing what to expect made the impact of the story even more resonant for me.

Yanagihara is a writer of exquisite beauty and she has created fascinating characters; none more so than Jude and Willem. Jude is truly unlike any character I think I've ever come across (and I read a ton of books). Never has a character moved me so, upset me so, and made me feel so powerfully. This is a story that finds wonder in the mundane but also dwells on truly troubling issues as well. Obviously, it is a book about the power of friendship and love—platonic, romantic, filial—but it is also a story of the fragility of emotions, the fears we must confront, and the devastating effects a lack of self-worth can have.

This is a difficult and painful book to read in many places, but even as it tore my heart and made me cry (more than a few times), I couldn't get enough of it. It's amazing that a book of 700-plus pages can feel at once both so weighty and so light, but that is a testament to Yanagihara's talent. I find it hard to believe I will find a better book this year, and I think this may very well be among the top three books I've read in the last several years.

I try not to hype books, nor do I try to give into hype. But read this. In the end, this is a book that needs to be read, with characters who need to be experienced and felt. Just wow.

Book Review: "The Illusion of Separateness" by Simon Van Booy

Simon Van Booy's new novel, The Illusion of Separateness, is a beautifully written, poetic book about connections, how we don't realize just how connected we are, but connections between us and others exist without our even knowing it. It's more a collection of interwoven stories than a full-fledged novel in terms of narrative, but the characters are connected in both definitive and fleeting ways.

"We all have different lives...but in the end probably feel the same things, and regret the fear we thought might somehow sustain us."

So says Martin, who in his vignette is an elderly caretaker at an assisted living/nursing home-type facility. And this quote truly embodies the very nature of this book, as Martin's story, which is more than meets the eye, is amazingly (but not unbelievably) connected to those of other characters—a deformed man who was a former German soldier during World War II, a blind museum curator, a lonely British film director, and a pair of newlyweds about to be separated by war.

Van Booy does a a masterful job teasing out the connections and giving depth and complexity to his characters. I honestly could read a book with most of these as the anchor; that's how well their stories were developed in such a short amount of time. And the connections between and among them made me smile, made me wonder, even made me choke up.

I was a huge fan of Van Booy's story collection, Love Begins in Winter, which was one of my favorite books in 2009. (I wasn't as much of a fan of his novel, Everything Beautiful Happens After, although it was well-written.) His use of language and imagery are absolutely beautiful and his storytelling ability is so emotionally evocative. While the plot may not be as cohesive as a traditional novel, it didn't matter to me.

If you're a fan of beautiful writing, read this book. Simon Van Booy's voice is one worth hearing.

Book Review: "The Humanity Project" by Jean Thompson

It takes a skilled author to create flawed characters that interest you and cause you to empathize with them even if you don't necessarily sympathize with them. But in Jean Thompson's new novel, The Humanity Project, a meditation on the flaws that make us human and an examination of whether or not we can redeem ourselves after doing something wrong, she does just that. I don't know that I'd want to spend any appreciable amount of time with any of these characters, but they definitely intrigued me enough to keep reading about them.

Linnea Kooperman survives the trauma of a shooting in her high school, but her guilt about surviving (among other things) leads her into more emotional troubles and unstable behavior than her mother and stepfather can handle, so they send her to California to live with her estranged father, Art, whom she hasn't seen since she was very young. Art has never quite grown up himself, a fact which has hampered him from significant success career-wise or relationship-wise, so he is ill-prepared for the sudden responsibilities of being a full-time parent, especially to a challenging teenager like Linnea. Art's neighbor, Christie, is a nurse constantly searching for her psychic center, when she is challenged by one of her patients, Mrs. Foster, who wants Christie to run The Humanity Project, a nebulous charitable foundation with the somewhat auspicious mission of trying to make humanity better.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Foster's new handyman/houseboy, Conner, has problems of his own. He had to short circuit completing his education and pursuing a future when his father is injured in an accident and becomes addicted to painkillers. Conner finds it difficult having to switch roles and responsibilities with his father, and often wishes he could just go back to a "normal" life—finish high school, go to college, pursue romantic relationships, and have a typical future everyone else seems to. His interactions with Linnea perplex him, frustrate him, and yet give him the opportunity to confide in someone else about some of the burdens he faces.

Each of the characters' lives intersect in many different ways, and Thompson explores the idea of what makes us good or bad, and can people truly be classified as one or the other? It's an interesting concept, and Thompson weaves an interesting story, but it never quite hooked me the way I hoped it would. I kept expecting something significant to happen, to feel as if the story Thompson was telling led me to answers for one of the many questions she explores. It wasn't the characters' flaws that alienated me; it was the fact that the characters never fully opened up until the very end of the story, if at all.

I read Thompson's last book, The Year We Left Home, just about two years ago, and as with that book, nothing earth-shattering happens (much like life for most people), but her writing is still worth reading.

Shouldn't we all strive for this kind of happiness?

I've never been a huge fan of GEICO's advertising—the cavemen still give me nightmares and the gecko is starting to wear on me a bit. Give me Liberty Mutual's great ad about not-so-coordinated athletes, or of course, any of Allstate's Mayhem ads, and I'm happy. (Heck, I even like the State Farm ads. Like a good neighbor...)

However, when I saw this GEICO ad on Facebook recently, it actually cracked me up. Shouldn't we all want to be this happy? (I do know I'd be throwing a temper tantrum if I were behind him in line, but maybe he'd make some crescent rolls afterward...)

Just a random thought for a sleep-deprived Wednesday.