Book Review: "From the Corner of the Oval" by Beck Dorey-Stein

Beck Dorey-Stein was a twenty-something former teacher unsure of not only what she wanted to do with her future, but whether she'd even be able to find a job to sustain her until she figured out her life. Living in Washington, DC to be closer to her boyfriend, she cobbles together a number of part-time jobs to make ends meet, but she's envious of those who know what they want.

When she answers a Craigslist posting for a job, she figures it won't amount to anything. She's more than shocked to find out that this isn't a random clerical job—it's a position as a stenographer in the Obama White House. Stenographers don't take dictation anymore—instead, they're in the background of every speech, every presentation the president makes, no matter where in the world he is, microphone in hand, recording his words and transcribing them for history and/or public release.

From the Corner of the Oval follows Beck as she learns the ropes of her job and White House protocol, builds friendships with her colleagues in different positions throughout the administration, and begins to travel the country—and the world—viewing current events and the president's reactions to them at close range. She gets to have opportunities she never would have thought of, such as traveling on Air Force One and running on a treadmill next to the president.

"We're always just a few ticks, clicks, updates, and pings away from personal and collective disaster, but right now we're not our titles but our own selves—people with backgrounds and futures and exes and half-dead pets and crazy parents and broken hearts and broken hearts and big dreams; people who are listening to the president as he tells a funny story from two countries back, twelve hours ago, depending on which time zone you're counting in. We're so different, but we're swimming in this same punch-drunk delirium, and we have one major thing in common: We've found ourselves, shockingly, amazingly, how-the-fuck-did-this-happen crazily, flying halfway around the world on Air Force One. We are lucky. We are so goddamn lucky."

The constant demands of her job take their toll on her relationship with her boyfriend, who after volunteering with Obama's re-election campaign in 2012, becomes more desperate to recapture that enthusiasm and magic. Their on-again, off-again, often-long-distance relationship leaves her vulnerable to the advances of another senior staffer, someone far from appropriate relationship material, yet someone Beck finds unable to resist, no matter how many times she winds up hurt.

As the Obama presidency moves closer to its conclusion, Beck becomes ever more enamored with her job and the president, and more confused about what her next step should be. This book so accurately captures the enthusiasm so many felt around the Obama administration, his family, and his reactions to the events which unfolded—tragedies like Sandy Hook and the Boston Marathon bombing, and his historic trips to Cuba and Vietnam. At times I felt sad reading the book because of the immense juxtaposition between his administration and the one currently in the White House.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Dorey-Stein is so engaging, and she drew me right in as she began recounting her experiences. Her story was told almost in an "aw, shucks" manner, as if she couldn't believe her good fortune in getting to be witness to history and be in such close proximity to this president. Her description of the despair many of her colleagues felt when Hillary Clinton lost the election stung, because I remember feeling similarly, although for different reasons.

I don't read a lot of memoirs, but this was so appealing, so enjoyable, and such a quick read. All of the people with whom Dorey-Stein shared her writing throughout her tenure in the White House weren't lying—she really can write, and we are lucky she shared her seemingly unbelievable journey with us.

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

Book Review: "Legendary" by Stephanie Garber

Legendary, the second book in Stephanie Garber's Caraval series, takes you on a kaleidoscopic ride full of dazzling imagery, incredible magic, and so many twists and turns, you wonder what will come with each subsequent page. It's a little dizzying, a little mesmerizing, and immensely memorable.

Before I get fully into the review, I must say that all I kept thinking about when reading this book was:

"Legend truly did deserve the name he'd given himself. Tella wondered if Legend's games ever ended, or if his world was an endless maze of fantasy and reality that left those caught inside it forever suspended somewhere between the two."

Caraval is a magical performance which usually occurs once a year. It is a grand spectacle, where no one is sure what is real and what is merely part of the game, and yet lives are forever changed by what happens within it. Everything that happens in Caraval is orchestrated by the world-renowned Caraval Master, known only as Legend. No one knows Legend's true identity—in each game he is portrayed by someone else, taking on another form. But few have more power.

Donatella (Tella) Dragna is a feisty, almost-fearless young woman who found herself swept up in the madness of Caraval when her older sister Scarlett escaped the island on which their father was holding them both prisoner. After rescuing Scarlett from an uncertain fate and saving her from an arranged marriage sure to ruin her, the sisters made it through Caraval, and now have their lives ahead of them, finally free of their father's control. But why aren't they happy?

Tella, it seems, is determined to uncover the truth behind a painful family secret. To do so, she has made a bargain with a mysterious and dangerous criminal, who has promised to give Tella what she so desperately longs for. But of course, there is a price: this person wants to know Legend's true identity, so he can use it for nefarious purposes. There really is no perfect solution for Tella, but getting what she wants means more than almost anything, so she agrees to his bargain.

Tella must immerse herself in a special round of Caraval, where the stakes are higher than ever before. Along the way, she will tempt fate—and her own mortality; encounter a dangerous heir to the throne whose power is very real; and she'll question the intentions of everyone she comes into contact with—including her own sister. She'll also be challenged by her own heart, which she never believed would lead her to love, and even if it is, she's not sure that the person at the end of the path is worth the risks and sacrifices she must take. All the while, Tella isn't sure what is real and what is merely part of the game.

"She liked the thrill that came with taking risks. She loved the feeling of doing something bold enough to make her future hold its breath while she closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation that she'd made a choice with the power to alter the course of her life. It was the closest she ever came to holding real power."

This is a fascinating series of books, and Legendary is a worthy sequel to Garber's first book, Caraval (see my review). The world she has created is fascinating, dazzling, a combination of fantasy and magic that paints pictures in your mind which are utterly glorious. I would love to see these books as movies, just to see how a filmmaker could capture this tantalizing universe.

When you're reading a book where the main character isn't sure what is real and what is artifice, things tend to get a little confusing from time to time. I had to re-read some paragraphs here and there to make sure I understood what I read. And there are a lot of different storylines and legends being unwoven in this book, so at times my attention wandered a bit until the story focused back on Tella's efforts to win Caraval. When the book hits its groove, you just want to devour it and experience it all at once.

I feel like I've been saying this a lot in my reviews recently, but this is definitely not a book for everyone. If this interests you, I'd recommend starting with Caraval first so you can truly appreciate the magic Garber creates here. This reminded me a little bit of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, so if you loved that book, definitely give this series a try. I definitely hope Garber takes us back to Caraval once more!!

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

Book Review: "The Sky is Everywhere" by Jandy Nelson

Jandy Nelson doesn't just write books—she creates dazzlingly beautiful, poetic masterpieces of words and images, which leave you breathless and shaken to your core, your mind spinning. Her second book, I'll Give You the Sun (see my review), still holds a place in my heart and my brain almost four years after I read it, and it made my list of the best books I read in 2014.

I've always wanted to read her debut novel, The Sky is Everywhere, but I've held back, because it made me happier knowing there was still one of her books I had yet to read. But after being a bit of an emotional wreck after seeing Love, Simon this past weekend (what an amazing movie), I thought why not just plumb my emotional depths? Once again, this book had me crying, exclaiming aloud at some of her words, and seriously wanting to applaud when I was done. (And I thought her second book was a tiny bit better than this one!)

"I wonder why bereaved people even bother with mourning clothes when grief itself provides such an unmistakable wardrobe."

Lennon—Lennie for short—is consumed with crushing grief after the death of her older sister, Bailey. Bailey, an aspiring actress, was larger than life, dramatic, a force of nature drawing everyone into the centrifugal force of her being. Lennie, more cerebral, a musician, was more than happy to play second fiddle to her sister, who has been her protector since their mother left them with their grandmother when they were little.

"He was telling us that Thoroughbred racing horses have these companion ponies that always stay by their sides, and I remember thinking, That's me. I'm a companion pony, and companion ponies don't solo. They don't play first chair or audition for All-State or compete nationally or seriously consider a certain performing arts conservatory in New York City...they just don't."

In the wake of Bailey's sudden death, Lennie is emotionally adrift, and amazingly, the only anchor she can find is Toby, Bailey's boyfriend, of whom Lennie was always a little bit jealous. Suddenly their relationship is overcome by intense longing and passion, something that Lennie has never felt before, yet she isn't sure whether she actually wants Toby, or if being with him is a way of preserving her sister. And when a breathtakingly handsome new boy, an immensely talented musician, comes to school, Lennie finds herself falling for him with an intensity she never knew possible, yet it is an intensity complicated by her feelings for Toby.

"I kiss him. I mean really kiss him, like I've wanted to do since that very first day in band. No sweet soft peck about it. With the same lips that just kissed someone else, I kiss away his question, his suspicion, and after a while, I kiss away the someone else too, the something else that almost just happened, until it is only the two of us, Joe and me, in the room, in the world, in my crazy swelling heart. Holy horses."

The Sky is Everywhere is a book about how we attempt to cope with crushing loss, and how we are often blind to how those we love are dealing with the same grief. It's a book about how love consumes us, bewitches us, makes us believe we are the only ones who have ever felt this way, and that it's okay to act impetuously, foolishly, carelessly with others' feelings.

At the same time, this is also a book about finally finding yourself after willingly standing in shadow for so long, about coming into your own and finding the courage to act, and about understanding how your past shapes your future. Nelson's storytelling fills you with emotion, makes you root for her characters, and just leaves you gasping with amazement at times because of her word choices and the feelings Lennie is experiencing. You want to hug her and protect her, yet you want to shake her, too, because of her single-mindedness as she ignores her family members and friends.

I hope Nelson has another book in store for us soon. Not everyone enjoys YA books as much as I do, but Nelson's books are so beautifully written, so intensely felt, that you're missing out. She is a talent that deserves to be experienced, and her stories deserve to be read.

Book Review: "The Italian Party" by Christina Lynch

On its surface, Christina Lynch's The Italian Party is like a fancy dessert—it's lovely to look at, but you aren't sure if there will be any substance beneath the decorative frills. But when you dig in, you realize there's more to it than meets the eye.

Newlyweds Scottie and Michael leave America to move to Siena, Italy, where Michael will be selling Ford tractors to Italian farmers, to get them to start absorbing American culture. It's the 1950s, not long after World War II, and there are signs that Italy is ripe for the influence of Communism, something that America fears.

Scottie and Michael don't really know each other that well—they married fairly quickly, and each made assumptions about the other. Scottie left her studies at Vassar (she wasn't much of a student anyway, and feels good about getting her "MRS." degree), and doesn't want Michael to know that before marrying him she was mostly interested in celebrity gossip, fashion, and horses. Meanwhile, Michael is all too happy to flee his parents' unhappy marriage and the memories of an older brother who died in the war, a brother who wasn't very nice to him anyway.

Neither is really sure how to make a marriage work, and both have major secrets they're hiding from the other. Michael is ostensibly "working" in Rome quite a bit, or he's at his office trying to sell tractors to reluctant Italians, which leaves her home alone, without much knowledge of Italian or anyone to talk with. It leaves her vulnerable to the attentions of other men, so in an effort to help her cope, Michael encourages a teenage boy from the community, Robertino, to teach her Italian.

When Robertino disappears, Scottie is determined to find out what happened to him, and she becomes a thorn in the side of those supposedly investigating his case. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers—about her husband, his job, their marriage, and their purpose for being in Italy. While these secrets throw her completely off-guard and make her wonder what she should do, they also ignite a passion within her, a passion to make things right in a city she has come to love.

"Italy was not carefree and sexy like they made it seem in Roman Holiday. It was dense and mysterious and dangerous and confusing."

Novels taking place in Italy, like Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins or Delia Ephron's Siracusa, tend to charm me, because their setting often seems so magical and glamorous. That charm worked for me with The Italian Party as well. I thought Lynch did a good job juxtaposing the frivolous and serious, interjecting elements of history with the story of a relationship built on secrets and lies.

At times my attention wavered a bit, when the characters stopped to lecture each other a bit about history and politics, but for the most part, I really enjoyed this. Lynch definitely kept me guessing—even though many elements seem familiar, the way she put them together made the story compelling. Her characters are flawed yet fascinating, and she did a terrific job with imagery and details. Oh, and if you read this with an empty stomach, man, you'll be hungry!!

I was intrigued by this book when I saw a number of my Goodreads friends reading it, and even though their opinions were mixed, I really wanted to read it. I enjoyed it—it's not perfect, but it's a compelling, well-written read, with lots of twists and turns.

Ciao, bella!!

Book Review: "The Frontman" by Ron Bahar

If John Hughes made a movie about a slightly nerdy, Jewish high school student torn between pleasing his parents and pursuing the career (and the girl) of his dreams, it would be a lot like Ron Bahar's The Frontman. This is a fictionalized account of the author's life in the 1980s, growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Israeli immigrants.

For as long as he can remember, Ron has known his parents have expected him to be a stellar student so he can go to medical school. He's willing to work as hard as he can, and he's actually interested in medicine, so following this path isn't too hard for him. But he has other ambitions, too, and he's getting tired of hiding those from his parents or pretending they don't matter.

Ron loves to sing, and he knows the words to nearly every 80s song there is. He's most comfortable lip syncing or singing karaoke, but every now and again he dreams of the glory that could come from being a band's lead singer. When his friends start to give him the opportunity to sing a song or two during their band's performances, he starts to love the adrenaline rush that performing gives him, not to mention the attention he gets from the girls in the audience!

Everyone tells him how talented he is as a singer, and even someone in the music business tells him he shouldn't let his voice go to waste. But his parents don't like the idea of him using his voice for anything other than religious purposes, so how would they react if he abandoned his (and their) dreams of medical school for a career in music?

And that's not his only dilemma. He has had a crush on Amy Andrews, the daughter of close friends of his parents, for quite some time. Amy is beautiful, smart, friendly, and crazy enough, she likes insecure, geeky Ron as much as he likes her. Wounded by her parents' divorce, Amy wants someone to be true to her and protect her, and she wants to believe Ron is that person. Ron wants to be that person, and more than that, he wants Amy. There's just one problem.

"Even at the tender age of twelve, however, I understood that, to my parents, Amy represented the ultimate forbidden fruit: the non-Jewish girl to the Jewish boy. With regard to my feelings, I knew they knew, they knew I knew they knew."

The more success he has in singing, the more jealous and distant Amy becomes, plus he has to hide how much he's enjoying it from his parents. He doesn't want to disappoint them, but whose dreams should he pursue—his or his parents'? Is there a happy medium? Can he get his parents to accept Amy as the one he loves?

This is a goofy, endearing book, full of 80s references (each chapter is prefaced with a snippet of lyrics from a song that hit the charts in the 80s), and quirky humor. Since Bahar lived this life (or at least a version of it), he obviously has a great deal of affection for his characters, even as they do misguided or inappropriate things. And who hasn't struggled between doing what you want and what your parents want?

The Frontman is a quick, fun read, one that brought back lots of memories.

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

Book Review: "Need to Know" by Karen Cleveland

Wow, this was so good!

If you're looking for a suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing, one that seems tailor-made for the movies, look no further and pick up Karen Cleveland's Need to Know. (In fact, the film rights have already been sold to Universal Pictures for Charlize Theron.)

Vivian Miller has the perfect life—a handsome, supportive husband, a challenging job as a CIA analyst, and four beautiful kids. Sure, with her career moving at breakneck speed she's not at home as often as she'd like, so she's missing key moments in her children's lives, but she's doing important work that impacts the country, as she tries to track down a Russian sleeper cell here in the U.S. It's what she has been working for, and success means a big promotion.

One day, in the midst of some surveillance on the laptop of someone believed to be a handler of Russian spies, she makes a discovery that takes her breath away and turns everything upside down. For someone who has always been so sure of what her next steps are, she suddenly feels completely out of control, and doesn't know where to turn. But the one thing she does know is she must protect her children, her family, and the life she has known—no matter what the cost.

It seems like whatever decision Vivian makes is the wrong one, and it plunges her deeper and deeper into a situation with serious ramifications. She knows, however, that she is stronger than everyone thinks she is, and she tries to search for a way to turn her situation around. But whom should she trust? How will she know if believing in someone will be her downfall, and possibly cost her her family, her future?

I'm being somewhat vague because even though you can guess some of what will happen in this book, there still are a lot of twists and turns I didn't see coming. From nearly the very first page, Cleveland revs the engine of this story and doesn't let up until the very last page. Vivian is a pretty tough character, and I could totally see an actress like Charlize Theron playing her.

If you like spy thrillers and espionage, or television shows like The Americans, this book should be right up your alley. I nearly read the entire book in a day, because the pacing and the storytelling were top-notch. Now I can't wait to see what Cleveland does next!!

Book Review: "Digging In" by Loretta Nyhan

My mother, God rest her soul
Couldn't understand why the only man
She had ever loved had been taken
Leaving her to start
With a heart so badly broken
Despite encouragement from me
No words were ever spoken...
—Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Alone Again Naturally"

I loved this! What a great story.

Jesse was a part of Paige's life since eighth grade, and he was her only love. Often it was the two of them against the world, and she always knew she could count on her husband and their marriage. Then one day, an accidental tap of a highway median, and it was all over—he left her alone with their teenage son, Trey.

"Forever. Till death do us part. The thing is, no one tells you what to do when the parting happens. And they forget to explain that when death is sudden, the parting is actually a ragged tear, not a clean separation. It leaves all the ends unfinished, and they just unravel and unravel and..."

That was two years ago, yet she's still drifting through life. The house is in disrepair, the yard is a shambles—much to the chagrin of her uptight neighbor, whose anger seems excessive despite the number of dandelions and other weeds that have popped up. Trey, now a high school senior, is getting increasingly frustrated with his mother's antics, preferring the stability of a friend's house. And even though she used to be able to coast at her advertising job, a new boss has changed the dynamic at work, leaving Paige and her colleagues to compete for their jobs.

"Death was final, but grief wasn't; it was a dirty street fighter who rose again and again even when I thought I had successfully knocked it to the ground. King of the sucker punches."

One night, staring at the condition of her lawn, remembering Jesse's obsession with ensuring it was perfect and reeling from her neighbor's anger at her neglect, she starts to dig. Putting her hands in the dirt feels therapeutic, but she makes a mess. As the hole gets bigger, she decides she's going to turn the entire backyard into a vegetable and herb garden, which again runs her afoul of her neighbor and others in her perfectly ordered and manicured community. Yet for the first time, she doesn't really care.

She's determined to make her garden work, but she's barely holding it together otherwise. Her son is hurting and angry, her boss is disappointed and wondering if he should cut her loose, and her homeowners' association is on her tail, but little by little she realizes she's the only one who can rescue her life. With the help of friends old and new, and the interest of a kind policeman, she starts to take root into her new reality, no matter how difficult it may be.

Even though you've seen this story before, in Loretta Nyhan's hands, it's so engaging, enjoyable, and poignant. Paige is a tremendously sympathetic character, yet she has her flaws, and it's fascinating as she realizes that some of the things that brought her so much comfort throughout her marriage might have left her at a disadvantage now. But as much as she just wants to put her head in the sand and just mourn Jesse forever, she knows she must pull herself and her life together, for her sake as well as her son's.

The way each person deals with grief in this situation is very different, but some of the emotions Paige experiences I've seen in my mother as she has navigated life since my father's death nearly four years ago. Incredibly, Nyhan was in the middle of writing this book when she lost her own husband, which certainly increases the poignancy of this book and Paige's story. There certainly are moments which might bring a tear to your eye, but this isn't a maudlin book in any way—it's warm and immensely readable, and I nearly read the entire book in a day.

Lake Union Publishing made this available through Amazon's First Reads program. Thanks for making this available!