The Summer I Dared - Barbara Delinsky

Rating: 3 Third Place Win(···)

Pages: 512

Challenges: Chunkster 2008, A-Z Challenge (S Title)

Synopsis (from B&N)

What comes after the moment that forever changes your life?
This question haunts Julia Bechtel, Noah Prine, and Kim Collela, the only survivors of a terrible boating accident that claims the lives of nine other people off the coast of Maine.

Julia, a 40-year-old wife and mother, has always taken the path of least resistance. Feeling strangely connected to Noah, the divorced, brooding lobsterman who helped save her life, Julia begins to explore the unique possibilities offered by the quiet island of Big Sawyer, Maine. Suddenly, things that once seemed critical lose significance, and things that seemed inconsequential take on a whole new importance. With each passing moment, each new discovery, Julia grows more sure that after coming face to face with death, she must have more from life.

The Summer I Dared is a deeply moving story of the risky but rewarding search for self, and the irrepressible ability of the human spirit to rebound from disaster and to make life anew.

Review

I had a hard time determining if this should be rated a 3 or a 4. I was also reading Life As We Knew it and you know when you are reading a really good book it skews what you think of all the others, so my rating might be a little skewed. I like Delinsky's book and will continue reading them. I did enjoy Family Tree more you can see my review here. This is a good relationship book with a litte mystery thrown in. There were points that I wanted to shake Julia because she was letting people treat her so bad.

Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 447

Challenges: Spring Thing Swap, Chunkster, Full Circle Challenge, Pub Challenge

Synopsis

Shay Borne is on death row and wants to give his heart to the girl whose sister and father he is accused of killing, but death by lethal injection does not produce a viable heart. Enter Maggie from the ALCU and Michael a Catholic priest whose decision on Shay's jury for the death penalty led him into the priesthood. Also, odd things are happening in the jail ward where Shay is housed leading people to wonder if he is Jesus or some type of miracle worker.

Review

I struggled a lot with this book. I have read a lot of Picoult’s books and typically enjoy them, but I didn't enjoy this one as much as some of the others. I like that she takes on prevalent issues in society, but I think this book could have taken on the death penalty without injecting all the questions of God. I didn't like some of the misconceptions she portrayed about Christianity and I am not sure that Shay is creditable, which makes me question some of the book in general. Books with narrators with issues make me question if the book is truly in the right perspective. Are things happening as they appear to the "unstable" narrator. Although Shay wasn't the narrator the other characters certainly question his actions. And it leaves the reader questioning also.

I think this would be a really good book club book, because if anyone is like me they will want to discuss this book after reading it! Plus it leaves a lot of questions open for interpretation and questions of myself if I would want Shay to lie to me to appease me or if I would want him to be himself. I think I would want him to be himself.

Here are some quotes I liked from the book:

“But things like jealousy, rage, and infidelity – they don’t
disappear. They lie in wait, like a cobra, to strike you again when you
least expect it.” (361)

“How could I not have known that you see
God every time you look at the face of the person you love.” (384)

Other Picoult books I liked better: My Sister's Keeper, Second Glance, and Vanishing Acts.

BookReporter.com has an interview with Jodi Picoult.

In this interview Picoult said, "Who says that just because you're right, that means someone else has to be wrong? Why do we believe the things that we do --- because they're right, or because it's too scary to admit we don't know the answers?" I think it is an interesting question. Although I have a lot of tolerances with religion I am wondering if I practice this with my husband!

Chunkster Challenge

So Many Books, So Little Time is hosting a Chukster Challenge. Since I already have several books that qualify for Chunksters I thought I would join this. It will help inspire me to read the big books and not blow them off for the quicker reads. Here are the details:

*To qualify the book must be 450 pps regular type OR 750 pps large text.
*You must read FOUR chunksters (one each quarter), you OBVIOUSLY may read more
*The Challenge will run Jan 7th, 2008 - Dec 20th, 2008 (the only chunky thing occupying my mind over Christmas is ME! AND I am using my foresight remembering my inbox on Dec 31st/ Jan 1 of THIS year when all the challenges ended). BUT any chunkster started after Jan 1 qualifies.
*OH THERE WILL BE PRIZES - one a quarter. Prizes to be determined later ( so making the rules on the fly here, peeps). Think small and fun, not big and chunky.
*Sharing reviews mandatory, format still to be determined.
*Join by leaving me a WEE comment. I will work on a list of active participants to be shared here. There is a sign-up deadline of March 1st, so tell your friends and neighbors but only until then.

So what are my books?

1. Voyager – Diana Gabaldon (Also TBR challenge)
2. Drums of Autumn – Diana Gabaldon (Also Themed Reading Challenge)
3. For the Roses - Julie Garwood (Also 1st Series Challenge)
4. Change of Heart – Jodi Picoult (Reading Full Circle Challenge)