Mom on the Make

Finding fun amidst the chaos of Motherhood

“When you Reach Me”, by Rebecca Stead

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when you reach meBroadway, my 11 year old daughter, finished this book last weekend.  She came bounding down the stairs proclaiming “this was the best book she has ever read.”  She continued to proclaim this for the next few days.

We checked this out on Friday evening and she finished it by the next morning.

She simply could not put it down.

It really was wonderful to hear her gushing about the story.

I sat down with Broadway today for an interview about the best book she has ever read.

As you will see, she does not go into great detail about the story as she did not want to give anything away.  She was very mysterious about this one, which makes me want to read it even more.  🙂

Here you go…..

Q. Describe this book in a few sentences

A.This is VERY well detailed, entertaining, and amusing.  The book is about a girl who lived in New York City and is getting these strange letters from this person she doesn’t know.  So, she tries thinking about who this person is that she doesn’t know.  She tries to solve the mystery and in the meantime, meets two new best friends.

I could read this book over and over and over and over and over AND over!!  I loved it soooooo much!!  I wish Rebecca Stead would write a sequel to this so I could continue reading!!  This is one of my  favorite books I have ever read!!  Everyone would love it!!

Q. Describe the main character

A.  The main character in the book is Miranda.  Miranda is in sixth grade, her mother is dating a man named Richard (aka Mr. Perfect) and her mom is practicing for a game show.  Miranda lives in New York and has two best friends, Annemarie and Colin.  Secretly, she has a crush on Colin.  Miranda is a great character in the book.

Q.  What is your most favorite scene in the book?

A.  I loved every single scene in the book.  It was just so wonderful.

Q.  What was the worst scene in the book?

A.  Truthfully, there was not a single scene that was bad.  I only have good things to say about this wonderful book!!

Q. Would you recommend this book to your friends?

A. Definitely!!  This is just so amazing I’m just speechless!!  I mean really, this book is just outstanding!!!!

I think she liked the book.  This is on my list to read very soon.

Thank you Broadway for sharing your thoughts on this special book.

“An Offer You Can’t Refuse”, by Jill Mansell

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an offer you cant refuse, by jill mansellJust finished my first Jill Mansell book, An Offer you can’t Refuse, and LOVED it.

I think I have found a new author to add to my favorite’s list in the Chick Lit genre.

This story is about Lola, a 17 year old, who is offered 10K from her boyfriend’s icy Mother to break up with her son, Dougie.  Lola is crazy about Dougie as is Dougie about Lola.

A very strong reason emerges for Lola to accept this money in order to take care of an unexpected emergency.  The heartbreak involved with breaking up with Dougie is severe, but she pushes through.

Fast forward ten years later when Lola and Dougie meet again in a very unusual circumstance.

The book’s focus is on the broken hearts of Lola and Dougie and trying to understand what happened 10 years ago.  You understand the confusion and hurt the two of them must work through and really grow to like each character separately as individuals.

Of course, since you like both characters, you naturally want the two to reconcile and get back together.  So, I found myself rooting for them as a couple throughout the book.

I really loved the secondary characters in this book as well including Sally, Dougie’s brother, Gabe, Lola’s neighbor, and Blythe, Lola’s Mother.  Stories about these characters are well developed and engaging as well.

I was gripped throughout the book , and just love Mansell’s writing style.

Although there are a few very welcome predictable parts, there are plenty of zingers throughout this story, which make it a pageturner.

You simply will not be able to put this book down until you find out what happens to Lola and Dougie.

With all of the twists and turns to this story, the likable characters, and the comical tone throughout, this really is a very enjoyable read.

Can’t wait to read another one from Mansell.

Kid Lit Blog Hop #6

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I am so pleased to be hosting Kid Lit Blog Hop #6 this week.  This is a hop I thoroughly enjoy visiting twice each month.  The joy of reading is something we try to instill in our kids’ lives each and every day.  Writing reviews about kid lit helps others find amazing stories to read with their kids.  My daughters also love writing reviews, so this has become a family activity and we all relish it!

Here’s the info for this week’s hop……..hope to see you linked up!

Welcome to the 6th Kid Lit Blog Hop. These Hops take place on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Thank you so much to everyone who has linked into the Hop previously and welcome to those of you visiting us for the first time! Every week we’ve been seeing a mix of new and familiar faces. So join in, link up, and hop around to make some new friends.

The Holiday season is coming up fast and it is a busy, busy, busy time of year for all of us; therefore, we will only be having ONE Hop this month. You’ll see us back at it on the SECOND Wednesday of January – that’s the 9th! For just the month of January, the Hops will take place on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month.

 

Kid Lit Blog Hop
<div align="center"><a href="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/category/kid-lit-blog-hops/" title="Kid Lit Blog Hop"><img src="http://motherdaughterbookreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kid-Lit-Blog-Hop-Button-Sep-2012-e1349976901756.jpg" alt="Kid Lit Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Suggestions For How to Participate:

1. Although not mandatory, we ask that you kindly follow your hostesses and co-hostesses. You can follow us any way you choose (Email, GFC, Twitter, Facebook, G+, Pinterest, etc.). If you leave us a comment on our websites, we will be sure to follow you back.

Hostesses:

Renee @ Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Jaymie @ Snacks for Max

Heidi @ Geo Librarian

Sue @ Kid Lit Reviews

Our Co-Hostess for This Week:

Cheryl Carpinello, Author

Melinda @ Mom on the Make

Shaunna @ Mudpies & Melodies

2. Link up any Kid Lit related post. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don’t link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

3. Check out some other books. Don’t be a stranger, go see what books other families are checking out, and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!

4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you’re linking up. If you’d prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!

5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop? Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.

Happy Hopping!

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“Bandit”, By Ellen Miles

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Imagineer really loves stories about dogs.

She found Bandit at her school library a few weeks ago, and absolutely loved this sweet story.

Imagineer found time today out of her busy schedule to meet with me and answer a few questions about the book.

I will be curious how this compares to  A Dog’s Life and Smells Like Dog.  These are two recent books she enjoyed.

I’m guessing they were the impetus for her choosing Bandit, another dog story.  I am definitely sensing a pattern in story lines that she enjoys. 🙂

Q. Describe this book in a few sentences

A. It was happy.  It was nice. It was calm and it was a good book.  It was about a dog named Bandit who finds a home, but he needs heart surgery.  The owners couldn’t pay for it so they gave Bandit to a truck stop place.  These kids adopted him, and they made money through dog walking services for the heart surgery.  One of the kid’s uncles adopted him.  Since he is a trucker, he gets lonely on the road, so Bandit is good company.

Q. Describe the main characters

A.  The main characters are Bandit, a small shitzu, a girl and the girl’s friend.  I forget their names.  They are both really thoughtful and nice.  The girl makes stuff kind of into a competition even when they’re not.

Q.  What is your most favorite scene in the book?

A.  My favorite scene was near the beginning when the woman comes out holding the shitzu and the girls love him and fall for him and become really attached to him in the thirty seconds that they first saw him.

Q.  What was the worst scene in the book?

A. The worst scene was when the note next to Bandit said that he had to have heart surgery and they could not care for him.  The note was from the previous owners.

Q. What did you learn from this book?

A. I learned from this book that if you want something, you can work for it, and then you can get it.

Q. Would you recommend this book to your friends?

A.  Yes, especially the ones that love puppies.

Thank you so much to Imagineer for her review.

As a Mom, I have to say that I love her answer to what she learned from the book.

I love books that promote hard work, teamwork, thoughtfulness, and kindness.

This book sounds very heartwarming and the story earned high praises from Imagineer.

Once she picked this book up, she could not put it down.

“Remember Me?”, by Sophie Kinsella

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remember me, by sophie kinsellaI just finished “Remember Me?”, by Sophie Kinsella this afternoon.  Well, what can I say?  Kinsella does it again.

She creates a likable main character that you cannot help but be endeared to immediately.  You want to root for her as she moves through the many obstacles in her life, and you really do not like it when someone mistreats her.

You are on her side.

Kinsella does this with all of her main characters, which for me, makes her books so darn fun.

Remember Me? is about a 25 year old woman named Lexi Smart.  She is living in London, has a great group of friends, her own flat, an ok job, and a not so ok boyfriend.

One day, Lexi wakes up in a hospital bed.  She has no idea what happened, but learns that she is currently in the year 2007, when she is 100% sure that she is in the year 2004.

She finds out that she was in a car crash and endured a severe blow to her head.  The space in her brain responsible for memory upkeep has gone haywire, and she cannot for the life of her remember anything from  the last three years of her life.

What is very peculiar though, is that she has a Louis Vitton purse, a huge diamond ring, and a business card indicating she is the Director of the company where she used to be at a much lower level.  She also finds out she is married to a multi-millionaire, Eric, and that they live in a penthouse loft in a swanky part of town.

What the heck has happened in her life during these past three years to get her to where she is now?

The process Lexi goes through in piecing back these three years in her memory is the story.  And it is a hilarious one at that.  I was gripped from the beginning, and could not put this one down until I found out how Lexi would rebuild her memory and her life.

I just loved the story.  Its such an interesting premise to think about losing your memory for a certain period of time.  Who do you trust?  Amnesia is a tricky one.  Luckily, Lexi has some good people in her life to pull her through.

I really can’t say anymore.  Read it!  You’ll love it.

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