Measure of a Man

Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier

This book is subtitled a spiritual autobiography. I suppose that Mr. Poitier means spiritual in the sense of an idea like nature since he can't claim to believe in God unless he is 'up against a wall'.

Sidney was born to Evelyn and Reggie Poitier on Cat Island in the Bahamas. He spent his first ten years on that island. He had interesting stories during this time of his life, like the time he nearly drown in a canal. He seemed to come from a good family. I liked learning about his parents.
When he was ten they moved to Nassau. This is were his life became a little more of the world where before he had lived mostly outside of the world. He went to about two years of school where he learned enough reading to get by. He also made friends. This is where he begins to learn that his skin has a color and that color makes a big difference in the way he lives and in the way people see him.
Later he moves to Miami which he doesn't really like. He finally ditches Miami and takes a bus as far away as he can get, which happens to be New York City. He struggles here. Takes odd jobs, washes dishes. He tries out for a theater group and doesn't make it. He tries again later and does. He marries young and has children. He opens his own rib joint and barely makes it by.
He finally makes it into theater and then movies. He doesn't give great particulars, he just seems to know the right people and make the right moves. He makes movies during the 50's and 60's.......a time of great turmoil for the nation with Vietnam and race movements.
The factual parts of this book are interesting. I wish he would have stuck to that......but this was more theoretical/emotional/Sidney's personal view kind of memoir. Those are the parts I didn't like. He seemed to ramble and sometimes I had to speed read. He swore a lot. Some of it was warranted but a lot he just wanted to sound masculine and tough and it made him sound foul and unimaginative.
Rating 2 I loved the history and the facts. I would have loved to hear more about his life as a black man crossing many of the race lines as an esteemed actor. The parts where he just rambled about his life theories and views I could do without. There was a story in there somewhere but I think it was probably only 50 pages long.
Rating R F bomb many times. I would say only the language lead me to this rating though, otherwise clean.

The Preacher's Daughter

The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis

I picked this book up after a good tongue lashing for enjoying Twilight. This was recommended as a cleaner read. Truth be told..........it was, but I didn't like it as much so it doesn't really matter.

This takes place in Paradise Pennsylvania in an Amish community. I really like reading about the Amish or Plain. I like the sense of community I get.
Annie is at the end of her oat sowing time and will soon have to make the decision to join the church or leave the Plain life. The one thing stopping her from joining the church, which her father is a preacher in, is her love of art. She is a budding artist and doing quite well, having just won an art contest. Sadly she must hide her love for art from her family and community. It is disgraceful for her to do something so prideful when she should be more humble.
Annie has already given up her beau Rudy because she was unable to commit to the Plain way of life.
Louisa is Annie's pen pal. They have written to each other since Annie was eleven. Louisa comes from a rich family in Colorado. They are pressing her to marry a lawyer that will fit their idea of the ritzy way of life. Tired of the material life, Louisa calls off the wedding and flees Denver to stay with Annie.
Annie's long time friend Esther is married with three children and one more on the way. Her husband Zeke is a mean control freak. I suspect he beats her. Esther runs into a Mennonite family. (This family is related to Annie but they are not Amish. Annie helps clean their house and in turn they have an art studio for her in their attic.) Esther finds she likes their belief in Jesus and becomes saved. Zeke finds out and gets her in to trouble with the Amish elders. She is banned from sleeping in the same bed with Zeke. She runs away and stays with the Mennonite family just as she goes into labor and delivers her last child.
Ben is a 'fancy' person.......not of the Amish or Mennonite faith. He sees Annie and is taken with her.
Long ago when Annie was younger, a small child disappeared from the Amish community. The Amish do not like outsiders in their lives, so the kidnapping was never reported to the police. Recently Annie's father Jesse uncovered what he thinks were the child's bones in a nearby field.

Honestly the only parts of this that really drew me in were Ben and the thought that Annie could leave her community for love and still be able to pain, and the abuse of Esther. At first I wanted to bash Esther myself because I thought she was going to submit to Zeke's abuse and let her children get hurt. Luckily she didn't or I wouldn't even be able to say this book was worth reading. Also I liked their manner of speech and the sprinkling of German and Old Dutch. The characters were okay I didn't really fall in love with them. I will probably read the next book in the series to find out what happens between Ben and Annie, Annie and the church, and if Lou will go back to her old life.
Rating 3
Rating G

The Writing on the Wall Hearts of the Children Series Vol. 1

The Writing on the Wall Hearts of the Children Series Vol. 1 by Dean Hughes

This is the follow up series to Children of the Promise....which I have not read. This book stood on its own. I didn't feel like I had to be familiar with the previous series.

The book opens in 1961.......and as the title describes, I think this is a warning of things to come in the next books and American/World history.

The book follows the Thomas cousins; Gene the good-looking, school president, lots of dates but some depth kind of boy, Kathy the p.c. democrat in a largely republican family, Diane the pretty girl that only wants to be cute and grow up to have a 'nice' life, and Hans trapped in West Germany just as they are walled in.......struggling with a bleak life and questions about faith.

Gene wants to live up to his dad Alex. Alex served a mission in Germany where he met his wife Anna. He went back as a soldier and was in the thick of the fighting. He came home and served in the church and becomes a Congressman. Gene becomes class president then graduates and enrolls in the U were he joins a fraternity. He dates Marsha. She many times seems antagonistic towards Gene and thinks he lacks depth.........until he leaves on a mission. Gene serves in East Germany. He finds that he struggles with his faith and the bleakness of non-believers in his area.

Kathy may be young but she reads a great deal and is up on her current events. She wonders why her family, church and community don't CARE the way she does. We spend time with Kathy as she sees the vast churning of emotion and violence surrounding the racial movement in the 60's. Through Kathy the subject of priesthood for blacks, voting rights and other pivotal issues arise. Kathy travels to Mississippi one summer to show she wants to help bring about change.......not just sit at home and support it. Eventually she is bludgeoned by the white police and thrown in jail when she tries to stop the beating of a young black man. She also runs away from home and joins a freedom march. Kathy feels the desperation of the nation as President Kennedy is assassinated and human rights and Vietnam hang in the balance.

Diane is sweet and beautiful. She struggles as what brings her happiness.......dating, clothes, family life and church, clashes somewhat with her mother's values. Diane's mom Bobbi teaches at Weber State and is busy with her job and obtaining her doctorate.........just as she becomes pregnant with their last child Ricky. Diane ends up taking care of a lot of things at home. She also dates Scott, a nonmember. He begins showing interest in Diane's religion. He takes missionary discussions but always puts off baptism. Diane hears rumors of Scott's other life when he isn't hanging out with her.......drinking, gambling and other girls. Scott also becomes physically aggressive with Diane. She decides after some hard thought and a heart to heart with Bobbi, that she will break up with Scott.

Hans is not part of the Thomas family. He is a cousin to Gene. Gene's mother Anna and Hans' father Peter are brother and sister. Hans and his family become trapped in east Germany. Hans becomes angry that his father would never try to get them out before it became too late. Hans tries to escape with one of his friends. They nearly drown and sneak back home. The government still finds out and Hans knows he will pay for the rest of his life. His father is even demoted in his job for Hans' attempted escape. Peter thinks they should remain in West Germany to help build up the church. Life is bleak with little to eat, an oppressive government and lacking living accommodations. At one point Peter decides to try to get his whole family out of Germany but they are snitched on and end up returning home........although the government doesn't find out who they are..........a sign from God Peter determines. Hans is kicked out of school and given manual labor because of his first attempt at leaving the country. He starts to doubt his faith because he doesn't think a just God would want his family to live this way. He finally is admitted back into school where he becomes the top of his class but denounces his religion, breaking his families' heart. As time goes on his little sister Inga is teased for being LDS and refusing to sing part of the Internationale, which denounces a Savior. Hans sees her suffering. He loves her. He agrees to sit through Peter giving Inga a blessing. Peter then asks Hans if he can give him one also. Not wanting to cause more friction in the family, Hans agrees. He is touched by they Spirit. He decides to return to church and investigate his feelings further.

I loved the historical aspect of this book. I can see what a vicious struggle must have taken place back in the 60's to get our nation to this day. To me it seems so unbelievable that in history that current, people thought the things they thought. Okay, not unbelievable, I just don't want to believe it. This book made me question what I would have done if faced with those challenges.

Rating 4 I truly enjoyed the book, characters and historical view but I didn't fall madly in love with anyone in the book. Maybe in later volumes.

Rating G The characters certainly speak in 'Leave it to Beaver' terms.

Saints

Saints by Orson Scott Card

Caution..........this book is FICTION!! It won't seem like it, but it is.

I'm nearly certain this could be Card's ticket to Hell. Yet I loved it.......so maybe I'll be on the train next to him. Do you feel like this is turning into the unofficial Card blog? I do..........

This book begins in Manchester England in the 1820's. Dinah is a ten year old girl. The books opens with her father John abandoning her family. Tough, tough times follow during the industrial revolution in England. Anna her mother must find work as a servant just as she loses her last baby. Robert, the oldest brother is sent to work in a factory. Dinah soon follows Robert into the factory to earn what she can to help the family. Seven year old Charlie is sold away as a chimney sweep.
The book follows the family as the children grow.........Robert owns his own factory, Dinah is forced into marriage with Matt (Robert's friend), and Charlie runs away from the sweep that owns him and tutored by his mother's employer, then given a job. Soon the Heber Kimball enters the picture as a missionary for the LDS church. Charlie, Anna and Dinah are converted. Dinah's husband is furious. Just as their lives are changing John comes back. Anna takes him in and he is also converted. As the new Saints are leaving the country to travel to Zion........Matt and Robert try to thwart their attempts by having Dinah declared insane. When that doesn't work they take the children.........Valiant and Honor, and Dinah goes to America without them......never to see them again. This is just the tip of the iceberg in their sacrifice.
Dinah meets Joseph Smith as he is wrestling (not the stick kind either) some unsavory men at the rivers edge. Joseph went looking for a fight and got one. He wins the fight but Dinah is let down, thinking that she would meet God, but seeing a man, a man she desires......instead.
Eventually Dinah is taken as a plural wife of Joseph.
Charlie marries Sally. Within a year their baby dies and Charlie is asked to live the Principle also. He marries Harriet, Sally's sister.
This book paints a picture of its historical characters (Joseph, Emma, Heber, Vilate, Brigham.....) vastly different from anything else I have ever read........even actual history. I'm sure Card took liberties.........but I liked them. It did not make me change my mind about what I already thought of these people.
The beginning of the book takes up about 200 pages before we even hear about the missionaries. Like I always say.....it takes Card time to lay out the story but it is usually worth it.
The whole polygamy deal left me feeling mentally torched. This is something many LDS people have probably pondered on from time to time. I know this book has been offensive to many but I enjoyed seeing the more human aspect of the characters and the Principle. It made me question what I would actually give up. I came to the conclusion that I hope to God I never have to find out.
Rating 5 Don't read this book if you don't have a strong testimony, it's a heartbreaker.
Rating PG 13...........Card is always forthcoming about sex...........within marriage of course, and not just in plural marriage. Also, despite this being about LDS history, there is swearing. Attempted rape, child abuse, sexual abuse.

Homebody

Homebody by Orson Scott Card

Don Lark is about to sink all the money he has into the grand Bellamy mansion. He plans to renovate the place while living there for a year, then sell and make some money. Don has had some hard past years with a divorce and then the death of his baby girl at the hand of his drug induced ex.
He meets realtor Cindy when he checks out the dying mansion. They begin a passionate couple of days.........of kissing until Don realizes that Cindy is not the girl for him, after she reveals a past shame. He also realizes that he might be able to date again despite the fact that Cindy has her own problems that he can't fix.
Don meets the Weird Sisters, his ancient next door neighbors. They try to tell him to knock the house down and hint at some kind of evil lying in wait next door.
As Don brushes off the warnings and begins the renovation, he finds Sylvie, a squatter, living in his new purchase. Sylvie bugs Don but he feels the need to take care of her. He lets her remain in the mansion as he starts the demolition. Weird little things begin happening that Don attributes to Sylvie. He is also blackmailed by a lawyer and the former homeowner with the help of a nosey realtor. In order to protect Cindy and himself........although nothing happened between then, Don pays $20,000 to get the lawyer off his back.
During renovations Don gets closer to Sylvie and begins to care for her. She too has a secret to tell Don. She thinks that she accidentally murdered her roommate in the tunnel leading from the basement to the gully in back. Sylvie and Don go into the tunnel and find the body..........turns out *SPOILER* the body is Sylvie. The roommate murdered her and the person Don is falling in love with is a ghost, trapped in the house by her shame, guilt and sadness.
Don goes next door to get more information about the house from the elderly neighbors. He finds them fading away. As he fixes the house, it gets stronger....as was Sylvie. Extraordinarily Don finds that the old women escaped from the house years ago when they were whores and the house was a bordello........it still has a hold on them and as the house grows stronger, they are weakening.
Don decides to find Sylvie's killer and make her face Sylvie. Now that Sylvie knows she didn't cause harm to her former roommate.........Lissy she is fading from this life and Don is desperate to save the only woman he has loved in years. Lissy meanwhile has been leading the life she took from Sylvie..........including using her identity.
Lissy comes looking for Don once he makes a connection with her. She needs to cover up her past transgression........killing Sylvie, by killing Don, the only person that knows what really happened. Lissy comes to the house and is met by the fading ghost of Sylvie instead of Don. In some magical way Lissy's body has taken on the name of Sylvie because that is what it has been called for ten years. It wants to be reunited with the spirit that goes with the name. As Sylvie and Lissy fight their last battle, the body and spirit touch and the spirits of the women trade places. Sylvie now has a body! Lissy is sucked into the need of the house. For Don to save Sylvie and help her keep her body from the disembodied Lissy, he must break down the load bearing wall of the house (it's spine) to weaken and kill the house. Once that is done, Don and Sylvie (with a new body) escape next door. They find the old women regaining strength. The old Bellamy mansion is finally destroyed and flattened. Don and Sylvie plan on getting married and the old women leave their house to the new couple. Now that the Weird Sisters are free from the pull of the ancient house they want to get away.
Card takes his time getting to the point, but he entertains enough that you don't mind too much! I was right at the point where Sylvie finds out the dead body in the tunnel is hers and I was challenged to a game of air hockey by my 18 month old. It killed me to have to square off with the baby instead of find out what happened..........but duty called. I was fully entertained by this book. Probably not the best Card book but a good enough read.
Rating 3.5 The story doesn't get super hot until at least half way through.
Rating PG 13 language and some heavy making out.

Rules

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Catherine is a 12 year old girl with an eight year old autistic brother named David. Catherine has lots of rules for David to follow.............always knock, no toys in the fish tank, you can hug mom but not the guy at the video store, chew with your mouth closed, sometimes people laugh when they like you but sometimes they laugh to hurt you.
Catherine is struggling with wanting to protect and teach David and wanting David to be normal. Her parents' time revolves solely around David and his needs. Catherine is feeling left out and misunderstood.
As Catherine is in the waiting room of David's OT, she meets Jason. Jason is in a wheelchair and unable to speak. He uses word cards to have a conversation. Jason and Catherine become friends as she makes new word cards that are more applicable and useful to a teenage boy. Catherine loves art and hopes to become a breath taking artist one day. Her art and compassion help bridge the gap between Jason and the rest of the world.
By the end Jason is crushing on Catherine and she shows her human and immature side when she worries what others will think of her for being friends with him outside of the the OT waiting room.
I totally loved this quick read. By the end I was desperate for a sequel so I could find out more about Jason and David as they grew up. I like Catherine and felt like she was appropriate for her age.........although I wish she were a little older for the dancing/dating parts.
Rating 4.5
Rating G

Austenland

Austenland by Shannon Hale

In an ode to the deliciously romantic Jane Austen, Hale writes Austenland. Jane is a 32 year old single girl. None of her 13 boyfriends can seem to match up to Mr. Darcy (Fitzwilliam Darcy for you Darcy lovers) of Austen's lovely imagination or the Mr. Darcy of the legendary BBC epic played by Colin Firth. (Good movie.) Jane's aunt sees her woeful niece unable to have real relationships because of her obsession. In her will, she leaves Jane a holiday to Austenland. Jane will travel to England and become immersed in the life and times of the Austen era.
Jane decides to go and give in to her fantasy one last time before she gives it all up and becomes a spinster. She and other guests are able to live in a lovely historical home in a beautiful park where they dress in empire waists and speak Austenese. Actors portray the courting gentlemen and the home owners. Things begin to change for Jane when she can't tell if the actors are acting or real. She realizes that she may be able to give up on Mr. Darcy but not ever having a man in her life again is another story.
Jane falls for the Gardener and has some tasty make out sessions in his gardener quarters. When things get too serious for him.......Jane goes back to full time Austenland and the irritating Mr. Nobley. Mr. Nobley and Jane do not mesh well but he seems like her most likely suitor since the other men have paired off with the other guests.
I totally enjoyed this book. It is a far cry from the other Hale books I have read (Enna Burning, Goose Girl and Princess Academy) It is full of humor and wit. I don't think you really have to enjoy the real Jane Austen that much to enjoy this book.
Rating 4
Rating G

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel

I almost didn't write a review for this because all Steel books are semi the same. But then I figured I have to have some way to tell them apart.
Yes I do read D.S. Mostly because my mom likes them.........so I read them after her and we can chit chat about them.
I honestly find Steel using the SAME words every time. I am certain within a small percentile near 100 that I could pick out her writing without knowing the author. She uses the same descriptors all of the time. Good for her I guess........I mean you don't see me writing a best seller.
This book is about a group of characters that come together after an earthquake in San Fransisco. Maggie the cute red headed nun, Everette the recovering alcoholic photographer, Sarah the stay at home rich mom with the financial sleaze for a husband........she puts on benefits, and Melanie the teen pop star.
I mostly liked theses characters. Many times I don't like D.S. characters because they are all the same liberal, self centered cuties between different book covers.
Maggie has a great heart and is committed to her vocation. She works in the field hospital after the earthquake. She and Everette fall in love. She leaves her vocation at the end of the book. Honestly.........I'm glad about that. She was doing great acts of service but I wanted her to have personal connections too.
Everette is about two years sober. He is turning his life around and seems like a genuine guy. I liked hearing about his AA experience and making amends. He reunites with his son Chad whom he hasn't seen in 27 years. Maggie helps encourage this.
Sarah has an awesome life at the beginning.......that's how you know things are going to fall apart quickly in a D.S. novel. She finds out moments after the earthquake that her husband Seth has ruined them financially and will be investigated by the FBI and eventually sent to prison. She must learn to forgive him in order to get on with her life. They mention amazing grace a lot when talking about her situation. I suspect that D.S. doesn't understand grace very well.
Melanie is a teen Grammy winner with an overbearing mother. She is preforming at Sarah's benefit when the earthquake happens. Melanie is a smart, gorgeous teen with a heart. She volunteers at the field hospital with Maggie. She learns that she wants to be able to give more of herself and break away from her mom a little. She meets Tom. He just graduated and is an engineer. They fall in love.
Rating 3 Not too bad D.S.
Rating R My biggest complaint.........the F word. Seriously I know people use it, but you don't HAVE to. There are about a billion other words to use, especially if you are a writer. Other wise the goings on are pretty clean.

Sarah

Sarah by Orson Scott Card

Although I am sure there was much poetic license taken, this is the story of Sarah, wife of the great prophet Abraham. The story begins with Sarai (Sarah's first given name before it was changed by God) as a ten year old girl. She lives with her father, a king without a country. Abram (Abraham) comes to secure a bride price for Sarai's sister Qira, for his brother Lot. Abram and Sarai meet. He tells her he will return in less than ten years to marry her. She sees that he is a truthful man that worships the one true God and that the priesthood of that God is his birthright.
Abram does return. He marries Sarai and takes her off to the desert where he has many herds. There is a severe drought and they move from well to well in order to care for their herds. In the mean time Sarai becomes a great woman in a great house hold. Abram studies the stars, copies the scriptures and writes his own writings. Sarai remains barren throughout their first years of marriage despite God's promise to Abram that he will be the father of a great nation.
The drought drives Abram and Sarai into Egypt. Abram is met by the men of Pharaoh. Abram is told by God not to divulge that Sarai is his wife. He instead introduces her as his sister Milcah. They are taken to different places in Egypt and are kept separate for a year. Pharaoh wants to marry Milcah so his children will have the blood of the priesthood. If he knew she was Sarai and the wife of Abram he will kill Abram and marry Sarai because he is a princess of Ur. Sarai is given Hagar as her handmaid, a gift from Pharaoh to lessen the blow of being held hostage. Abram teaches Pharaoh of God and Sarai warns Pharaoh of an uprising by his highest advisor. Abram and Sarai are allowed to leave Egypt. They finally tell Pharaoh Sarai's true identity after he makes promises in front of his men that Abram and his household will come to no harm. They return to the desert.
Lot and Qira are living in Sodom. The city life is not for Lot but Qira loves it. Sodom and its surrounding cities are wicked. Abram gives Lot some of his herds so that he can move out to the desert. Qira comes very begrudgingly. She makes the camp of Abram miserable. Lot decides to split his herds from Abram and spend some time back in the city to make Qira happy.
There is war in Sodom and her sister cities. Abram takes some of his men to take back the prisoners of war, Lot included. Abram and his men triumph. The prisoners are set free. Sarai goes to Abram. She learns from God that she is to give Hagar to Abram that he may have a son. She can do this because she owns Hagar and so Hagar will stand in for Sarai's body.
Hagar becomes pregnant. It is miserable for Sarai but she handles it like a queen. Hagar shows her true colors and becomes a pain in the rear. Ishmael is born of Hagar. Abram loves him.
Years later Abram and Sarai are aging. Abram prophesies the destruction of Sodom and surrounding areas by meteorites. He also prophesies that Sarai will bear him a son that will build up a great nation. God changes the name of Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah.
Sodom is destroyed just as Lot escapes. Qira turns back to get her jewels and gowns and is turned into a pillar of salt..........or basically zapped by the fire from Heaven.
Sarah becomes pregnant at an advanced age. Isaac is born. Ishmael and Hagar mistreat him. Ishmael is given his herds and they are turned out of Abraham's camp in order to preserve the life of Isaac. Isaac grows into a young man and he and Abraham go out to visit wells and check herds. Abraham seems distraught.......the book ends before we find out why?????
Obviously Card and we can only know so much about Abraham and Sarah. The rest he has studied a great deal to assume. I do not take this book as truth only speculation therefore I am not bothered by anything in the book. I enjoyed it immensely. I liked getting to know Sarah as a person and how she may have felt and reacted to the situations we learn about in some vagueness from The Bible.
Rating 4 This is my second reading so I should probably give it a higher score. Tiny but necessary bits were a little dry........the political and land issues. Still worth the read.
Rating G

Nineteen Minutes

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult many times takes on current and hot issues. This book was no let down. For starters the book is about bullying at school which lead to a school shooting (which took nineteen minutes, killed ten high schoolers, and injured many more). We learn about the family that the child/shooter (Peter) came from along with the other main characters. The story also involves the judge Alex Cormier and her daughter Josie, one time friend of Peter.
Peter begins life as a sensitive, sweet boy and is quickly preyed upon by the 'popular' kids. He is physically assaulted and mentally tormented from kindergarten to high school.
Josie starts out as Peter's only friend and protector until she makes it into the 'in' crowd and leaves Peter behind.
Alex begins as a public defender and works her way up to judge. She seems to be unable to relate with Josie in anyway besides through the law and talks about justice.
Peter's parents are loving but oblivious and very wrapped up in their own careers. They seem to be of the mind that he should just toughen up and fight back. Peter's father is a university professor that is an expert on happiness (IRONIC!) and is mother is a midwife. He also had an older brother, Joey, the golden child. Joey was just another person Peter could never live up to. Joey is killed by a drunk driver.
In Peter's defense, his lawyer uses PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder and likens it to battered woman syndrome). It is a genius defense.
This book made me question my own parenting style, the parenting of just about everyone I know......and if I ever want my kids to go back to school.
Picoult is one of my favorite authors for the topics she is willing to take on and the twists and turns she takes in order to show the side of the story usually not mentioned by the media.

Rating 4.75 I loved this book. It would be a good book to discuss. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is because I don't know if I could read it again.
Rating R Bullying, violence, sexual conduct, foul language.

Goldengrove

Goldengrove by Francine Prose

What first attracted me to this book was that it was A) on the new release shelf, and B) the cover is beautiful. Yes, I do judge books by their cover.
The book begins with Nico (13 yrs.) and Margaret (17 yrs.) in their boat on the lake just out their door. Nico and Margaret are close. Nico adores Margaret. Everyone adores Margaret. We learn in a short time what everyone adores her for, including her boyfriend Aaron. After Margaret does a great rendition of a song she likes to sing, she dives into the water never to be seen alive again. She died of long QT syndrome (cardiac disorder).
The rest of the book deals with the grief of Nico, her parents and Aaron. Their lives are torn apart. They have serious anger, drug abuse, they try everything they can to get away from their pain. Nico and Aaron begin spending time together. They feel like they can help each other get through the seering pain they feel over Margaret. As it would be with any thirteen year old spending time with a seventeen year old, things eventually get out of control.
There were parts of the book that struck me as very real. The way the family members dealt with their grief seemed very plausable and painful. Nico obsessed about death and health issues. Her father became engrosed in writing a book about the end of the world. Her mother basically blackmailed the pediatrician that didn't diagnose Margaret, for pain killers. And Aaron stopped doing anything that reminded him of Margaret.
The book is being related by Nico. This is were I didn't feel like it was realistic. I had to keep reminding myself that she was only thirteen, not seventeen or older. Even though you find out at the end of the book that she is really telling it from a grown up perspective..........it still didn't fly with me. I thought a more interesting perspective may have been from Aaron's point of view if Prose was going to write with an older frame of mind.

Rating 3.5 Beautiful, painful......timeline sometimes confusing but I will atribute that to grief. If Nico were at least 17 I would probably give this a higher rating.
Rating PG 13 F word a couple of times. Talking about sex, but not descriptive.