June 2011A Right Brain Wannabe: June 2011

Jun 13, 2011

Blog Tour: Book Review - Little Miss Teacher by Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar


Little Miss Teacher by Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar:
Told through the eyes of Candace Turner, a high school English teacher straight out of college, Little Miss Teacher details one woman’s struggles through the important initial stages of her career and her life as a grown-up. While teaching her students about writing and literature, Candace learns her own lessons about life. As she worries about fitting in with the faculty and conquering piles of essays to grade, Candace also pursues an old crush only to have her heart broken. Through her endless attempts to succeed in both her job and life, she has many adventures within and outside of her classroom walls. Ultimately, Candace hopes to finish the school year with a feeling of triumph at having touched the lives of her students… and having survived.

In the vein of both Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus’s The Nanny Diaries and Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada, Little Miss Teacher is a story about a young woman dealing with the ups and downs of work and life. In experiences that are sometimes amusing and sometimes sad, Candace endures everything from chaperoning the prom to helping a friend deal with a problem. In her earnest, self-conscious, conversational manner, Candace gives a voice and an all-access pass to the often embarrassing life of a young educator.
 

Candace is your typical "fresh out of college, new to the career world" type of character. Having only been out of college for 5 years myself, and my sister being a teacher and only out of college for 2 years, I felt that I would be able to relate to the character easily.  From a character stand point I felt like I was able to relate with some of the new experiences she was facing and the insecurities about where you fit in as a newly "grown up person". I am also a recruiter for my job, and I deal with these same insecurities and questions on a daily basis when I am recruiting new college graduates.

As for the story itself, I felt like I was always hoping and waiting for an intense climax in the book. There were two times in the book where it was getting good and I felt like I didn't want to put it down, but within one page it was done. The situation was over and we were moving on. I really had hoped for a little more substance when it came to the plot and the characters. I felt like I was just looking in on a typical young person's life, which I live on a daily basis, so having just a little bit more to grasp on to would have been nice.

Over all, the book was an easy read. I have definitely recommended it to several people. Thank you to the author for letting me participate in the blog tour, and I am looking forward to her next book!





Jun 7, 2011

Blog Tour: Book Review - Family Pieces by Misa Rush


Family Pieces by Misa Rush
What do you do when your once charmed life falls to pieces? Karsen Woods' life seems charmed from her hunkalicious boyfriend to her picture-perfect midwestern roots. Away at college, even the necklace she wears serves as a constant connection home - a family tradition created when her grandfather handmade each immediate relative an interlinking charm. Each piece crafted in the shape of a puzzle piece, each one interlinking perfectly together. But when the unexpected death of her mother turns her world upside down, she discovers there is a missing piece of her treasured family tradition and her life as she once knew it may never be the same. Addison Reynolds resides in her posh Manhattan condominium and wraps her personal identity around running Urbane, the magazine empire built by her father. In a moment of haste, Addison divulges her deepest secret to her closest friend Emily - a secret she never intended to disclose. Could one choice, one secret, bond two unlikely women forever?

Karsen Woods is your typical college student with her class schedule, her workouts and her boyfriend.  She has nothing but great places to go in the world.  When her world is rocked by a phone call from her father, it seems this poor girl could not get a break.  I really enjoyed the book when it came to the characters and how Misa was able to really make each one their own.  The only thing that seemed to bother me a little about this book was HOW MUCH was going on at once.  I almost felt like some of the story's were never finished, and were put in there only to fill space.  At about 2/3 the way through the book I really felt like the story lines got better and I was able to really get involved in the book and the characters.  Over all I think it was a great book and definitely an easy read.  I would recommend this to someone to add to their summer reading list.  I will be looking for more from Misa Rush in the future.  Thank you to the everyone who gave me the chance to review this book.

Jun 3, 2011

Summer Reading List

I was sent this blog post by a friend yesterday, he said hit reader suggested it to him, but he thought I would enjoy it more.

How to Create an Awesome Summer Reading List

I must say...he knows me well!!

I am really excited to check out all of the social book sites.  I am, well was very addicted but have slacked lately, to Goodreads.  I love how you can join groups with common book interests and get real reviews rather just depending on the sites that actually sell the books. I never know if those are true, or just a way for the site to get you to buy the book.  I have also found a group on Goodreads that swaps ebooks and that is an awesome way to save a little money and still get to use my Nook for reading.

BUT, the one thing that I am MOST excited about is the book recommendation thing!! I didn't even know it existed! I am always stressed about what I should read next because there are SO MANY that I want to read!! I am definitely going to be checking this site out ASAP!

Do you have any sites you use for reading suggestions?  You have anything about this article that excites?