Lone Wolf (Jodi Picoult)

Every year, at around this time, Jodi Picoult’s fans anxiously await her new novel. Most of the time, Picoult’s novels are “ripped from the headlines”. In the past, she’s taken on everything from gay rights to a school massacre to religious freedom. In Lone Wolf, she asks the questions none of us ever really are fully prepared to answer if it would happen to someone in our family. Presented with a traumatic brain injury, when does life stop? Does life on a ventilator, with a slim-to-none chance of regaining consciousness, constitute a life worth continuing?

Since the beginning, Picoult has not strayed from her style…various narrators, all involved in the story, typed in different fonts, with different opinions. Because of this, Jodi’s books are usually extremely well-rounded, with all sides of an issue presented. However, in this case, the fact that the “main character”, if you will, is in a comatose state, prevents him from narrating what is happening in the present. Luke is involved in a car crash with his daughter, Cara, who is also majorly injured. Cara decided to live with Luke after he divorced her mom, Georgie. As much as Georgie tried living with someone like Luke, she found it impossible. You see, Luke was fascinated with wolves, even going so far as to disappear from his family for awhile to infiltrate their packs. Luke and Georgie’s son, Edward, escaped to Thailand after a fight with Luke. When he gets the call that his dad was in a car accident, he rushes home to try to do things “right” by his dad and Cara.

Unfortunately, Edward and Cara have differing opinions about what they should do about Luke’s care. Of course, this being a Picoult novel, it goes to trial and there is an emotional ending. When I said before that Luke is not involved in the narration in present day, that doesn’t mean he does not narrate at all. Because of this narration, the reader is hardpressed not to come to the conclusion of what Luke would want his kids to do.

Almost 20 books later, Picoult is still the master of making the reader think. It’s almost impossible to come away from one of her books not having learned something about yourself. While not my favorite Picoult, Lone Wolf is still tremendously worthwhile to read.

MY RATING – 4

This review can also be found on www.bookloons.com.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends (Rob Lowe)

If there was one book that I was truly skeptical to read, it would be Stories I Only Tell My Friends. I don’t think any person in America would consider the person who starred in St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me to be some literary genius. Well, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Herman Melville Lowe is not. However, you do get the surprise read of 2011…a very well-written, wildly entertaining, and completely honest assessment of his life thus far.

Lowe is honest but never hurtful and gossipy. He name drops like crazy, from John F. Kennedy, Jr. to Demi Moore to the father/sons trio of Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen, and Emilio Estevez. How cool must it have been to go to school with those brothers and Sean Penn? The auditioning for and making of the classic The Outsiders is, by far, the highlight of the book. Lowe provides incredibly surprising details, especially regarding the finished film. My heart ached to read about the late Patrick Swayze, also in The Outsiders, as I had just read Lisa Niemi Swayze’s memoir. This film started the careers of Lowe, Estevez, Swayze, The Karate Kid himself Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, and someone else you may have heard of by the name of Tom Cruise.

You get the sense that Lowe is much, much more than what he has been portrayed in the media. Yes, he is a “pretty boy”, but he also is a sensitive and intelligent soul. We are very lucky that he considers us “friends” to tell these stories to, and lucky for us, he is a darn good writer!

MY RATING - 4

I don't know why I've been so gung ho for memoirs and biographies lately, but there's no end in sight. Coming soon: books about the Obamas and Queen Elizabeth!

Worth Fighting For (Lisa Niemi Swayze)

Patrick Swayze. For my generation, he was Johnny Castle who was angry that Baby was in the corner. He was the oldest brother in The Outsiders, which started the career of so many actors of our time. He competed with Chris Farley in the Chippendale dance off on Saturday Night Live. He was larger than life, a darn good actor, and from what we could see, an all-around great guy.

Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze were married for thirty-four years. This was a lifetime considering that nowadays more than 50% of marriages end in divorce. 34 years in Hollywood? Practically unheard of. But this unlikely pairing of two dancers, one painfully shy and one a cocky hunk, made it...through good times and bad, through sickness and health. Patrick's life, as we all know, was cut far too short from pancreatic cancer. Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss, and Moving Forward, by Lisa Niemi Swayze, is their story of this journey through the unknown.

There is a blurb on the cover from Barbara Walters. It reads, "You will be the better for reading this book." There is something about Ms. Swayze's writing that reads so utterly honest. At times, she is laugh-out-loud funny and at other times she is heartbreakingly raw. At no time does she mince words. You will marvel at their strength, admire their courage, and revel in their love story.

MY RATING - 5

Bossypants (Tina Fey)

I am ridiculously stringent on how I read a book. For example, I must read the inside of the book jacket, the back of the jacket, and the introduction...in that order!! Sometimes I even read the acknowledgments, having no clue who the people are! I'm so glad I followed my routine for this book, however, because the blurbs on the back let you know exactly what you're getting into. There are no blurbs of praise from Picoult, Grisham, or Patterson in Bossypants. Instead, Don Fey, father of TF, writes "I hope that's not the cover. That's really going to hurt sales." Tina Fey...she of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock fame...has written one of the most hilarious books I've read in a heck of a long time.

There really is no rhyme and reason to this book. Each chapter features Fey's thoughts and harps on some aspect of her life...growing up, her family, marriage, motherhood, and her TV jobs. I love how she includes photos of herself from awkward phases of her life (come on...we all have pictures with bowl cuts and '80s bangs). Some chapters are quite long, and one is three sentences. It really doesn't matter. Fey is laugh-out-loud funny in all of them.

I realized that what I like best about Tina Fey is the fact that she doesn't take herself too seriously. She clearly admits to many faults, such as her fear of confrontation (of which I totally relate as I cannot even watch Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity when people yell at each other). I found her hilarious as Palin and was thrilled to find out in Bossypants that she wrote my all-time favorite SNL commercial ("Mom" jeans)! This is a great read to take some stress out of your life (believe me...Fey has enough stress for everyone) and just laugh. Because in the end, what's life without laughter?

MY RATING - 4

It's Hard Not to Hate You (Valerie Frankel)

Valerie Frankel writes what we are all thinking but don't usually have the guts to do anything about. Which is...What the &@*% are some people thinking? From parents who are "besties" with their children, to business contacts who seem to fall off the face of the earth, to semiconscious religious bias, Frankel discuss it all. It's Hard Not to Hate You is Frankel delving into the question so many of us want to know...Where did common courtesy go?

The premise is simple. Frankel was told by her doctor that she needed to reduce stress. She very soon realized that much of her stress is due to bottling up her emotions into her "easygoing" style. After dealing with rude person after rude person, she finally decides she has had enough. She begins to handle things in a way that is not rude herself, but that shows the other person that she means business. For example, have you ever been at the gym and a person uses the treadmill next to her as a "coat and towel rack"? Well, Frankel has. Rather than seethe silently as she would have done in the past, she offers to move her stuff for her.

Frankel also takes great aim at so-called "helicopter parents". This popularity parenting style is illustrated in the story of the English teacher who busted a child for plagiarism. The child's mother accused the teacher of having a vendetta against her son. I have seen this helicopter parenting in action, and it is not pretty. Children grow up knowing that there will never be consequences, and if there are, mommy or daddy will get them out of it.

This memoir is not just about laughs, as Frankel has faced death in her family. The ease with which she mixes the two makes for a nice read. You will find herself smiling in a "knowing way" but then ask yourself, "Wait a minute. Do I do any of this?"

MY RATING - 4

The Leftovers (Tom Perrotta)

Tom Perrotta is the king of novels about suburbia. He is probably best known for Election, on which the movie starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon was based. In The Leftovers, Perrotta brings us yet another experience in suburbia, this time of the biblical variety.

People are going about their business on an ordinary day. Suddenly, many people just disappear in what most believe was the Rapture. However, the people who were "chosen" are not the people you would think. The Leftovers is the story of the people who stayed behind. Nora went into the kitchen during dinner and came back to find her entire family had gone. Kevin, Laurie, Jill, and Tom survived with their family intact but completely ruptured. Laurie goes with her friend, who lost her daughter, to join a cult. Tom begins to follow a brainwasher. Kevin and Jill just try to live their day-to-day lives together knowing that they are irreparably changed.

While I was writing this, I know that the premise sounds very hokey. In lesser hands, I would be scared to read a novel like this. However, Perrotta has proven time and time again that he is the master of small-town life. He places a super-human event like the Rapture into suburban life and makes his characters meticulously pick up the pieces.

MY RATING - 4

Comfort Food Fix (Ellie Krieger)

I am an Ellie Krieger fanatic, so reviewing this book is really a no-brainer for me. Ellie is the star of the Food Network's Healthy Appetite. On a TV network where you have the likes of Paula Deen and Guy Fieri, finding recipes for healthy, delicious food can be hard to come by. Ellie is a welcome respite in the land of supersizing fries for 39 cents and eating meatballs the size of your head. She has a knack for putting together simple everyday ingredients you can find at any grocery store to make something delicious.

Ellie's third cookbook, which should be another bestseller, is Comfort Food Fix: Feel-Good Favorites Made Healthy. In it, she takes Grandma's dishes and other foods that normally have a very high caloric count, and makes them healthier. From breakfast to dessert, and everything in between, Ellie's 150 recipes will have you salivating. I have already made the Lemon-Dill Pita Chips for a snack, the Quick Marinara Sauce (If you are still buying Ragu, you don't know what you are missing.), and the French Bread Pizza. Tomorrow, we are having the Garlic Breadsticks with spaghetti. How does Double Chocolate Bread Pudding sound? Ever think Chicken Parmesan could be healthy for you? It can! And it can be crispy too!

If you are thinking that you could not make the above without some sort of "disgusting" health-food ingredient, you are incorrect. The only think you need to do to make Double Chocolate Bread Pudding healthier is use half whole eggs and half egg whites, use dark chocolate, and use whole-grain bread. There is no tofu in sight.

I do realize that color cookbooks are expensive to make, but I would have preferred to see a photo of all completed recipes. You do not get a picture with every one. Those you do get are beautiful. However, even without a picture, if you follow the recipe to a "T", I guarantee that you will come out with something absolutely delicious. Thank you again, Ellie!

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on www.bookloons.com.