WHAT WOULD ROB DO? by Rob Sachs

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WHAT WOULD ROB DO?
Author: Rob Sachs
Source: FSB Media
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley; Original edition (April 26, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0470457732
  • ISBN-13: 978-0470457733
SYNOPSIS:
What do you do if you get a bad haircut? Do you have trouble remembering people’s names? What happens if you clog the toilet at a friend’s house? NPR’s Rob Sachs has given prudent and entertaining advice for dealing with all sorts of everyday challenges in his successful What Would Rob Do? podcast series, consulting with experts ranging from Fabio to Erik Estrada on dozens of daily dilemmas and common conundrums. Now he brings a wealth of this advice together in a single survival guide to fixing some of life’s most vexing minor mishaps and speed bumps.
  • Entertaining yet practical advice on what to do in tricky life situations
  • Includes tips from interviews Sachs has conducted with celebrity experts
  • Written by Rob Sachs, who has been a producer, reporter, and director for NPR shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Day to Day. Sachs also has a successful NPR podcast series
What Would Rob Do? tackles the full spectrum of life’s absurdities and shows how to turn them into an opportunity for adventure, fun, and best of all, laughter.
MY THOUGHTS:
Sometimes you just need a good laugh when reading.  I love books based on real life humor! Who hasn’t ever spilled something on shirt, in the wrong spot and at the wrong time? Who hasn’t stuffed up a toilet either at home or at a friends? Come on, you know you have! The author did a wonderful job of discussing these predicaments that can arise. Some of the responses are not really helpful, but I think that is the whole point. Some of the best chapters were on getting Dog Poop stuck in your shoe and dealing with flatulence!  I laughed several times with this book.  A great read to get a good laugh and unwind from other serious reading. A great laugh out loud book!
MY RATING:



Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

ALBATROSS by Josie Bloss

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ALBATROSS
Author: Josie Bloss
Source: Flux Books
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Flux; 1 edition (February 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0738714763
  • ISBN-13: 978-0738714769

SYNOPSIS:

He was music, everything else was noise.

Everyone at Tess’s new school warns her that Micah is bad news-a heartbreaker. And a girl named Daisy is acting like she owns him. Still, Tess can’t ignore her attraction to this brooding, brilliant, friendless emo guy who can turn on the charm-or heart-shredding scorn-at a moment’s notice. Starting over in a new town after her parents’ split isn’t easy for Tess, and Micah feels like her first real connection. But then their bond suddenly feels like shackles.

Caught in an obsessive triangle of jealousy and codependence, can Tess learn to break away and find herself again?

MY THOUGHTS:

How do I write this review? I have so many emotions going through me after finishing this book that I don’t even know where to start.

First of all, lets start with Micah. What an ass. Sorry for the language, but it is the only word to describe this guy.  He is controlling, moody and a jerk.  He thinks it is okay to play on the emotions of girls to make himself feel better.  I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to beat the crap out of this boy if he were real! Then when you get further into the book, and come to the biting scene, you just want to scream and pull your hair out!

That brings me to Tess. How can she put up with the crap she gets from Micah?  I understand she just moved to the town, she had a horrible father–who I might add is just like Micah in ways–but that is no reason to want to fall into a relationship that is so emotionally damaging that you aren’t yourself anymore.

The best part of this book is the friends that Tess have and Toby.  They try to tell her and to help her get out of the situation, but Tess doesn’t want to listen.  I love the ending.  It is just what Tess needed.

This book is about emotional abuse, some physical abuse and overcoming the low self esteem and codependency that can happen in these types of relationships.  A great book for a young adult to read and recognize the signs of these types of relationships before it is too late.  A great read for adults as well that will open your eyes at teenage emotional abuse.  I just wish we could have dug deeper into why Tess fell for Micah in the first place.  It was rushed and didn’t flow right at first.  Once you start reading it though, it gets better and sucks you in.

MY RATING:


Very Good! I would recommend this book!

MY SO-CALLED AFTERLIFE by Tamsyn Murray

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MY SO-CALLED AFTERLIFE
Source: Author Submission
PURCHASE HERE
  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Piccadilly Press Ltd (February 26, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1848120575
  • ISBN-13: 978-1848120570
SYNOPSIS:

Lucy Shaw is a ghost with problems. First, she’s stuck haunting the men’s toilets on Carnaby Street, not the best place to spend eternity. Second, no-one can see or hear her. And third, the man who killed her last New Year’s Eve is still on the loose. Is it any wonder her mood is blacker than a tramp’s fingernails? 

So when a lighting engineer called Jeremy walks into the toilet and asks her what she’s doing there she’s not exactly Miss Congeniality. But given that he’s the only person who can see her, she decides to overlook the fact that he’s drippier than a toddler’s nose and accepts his offer of help. Before she knows it, she’s out of the toilet and meeting other ghosts, including the emotionally unstable Hep and the lip-smackingly gorgeous Ryan.
Together, they track down Lucy’s killer, encountering meerkats, exorcists, and the world’s stroppiest tattoo artist along the way. Will their efforts to catch Lucy’s murderer succeed? What happens if they do? And just how do you go about snogging the boy of your dreams when you don’t actually have lips anymore?
MY THOUGHTS:

A refreshing read featuring ghosts! Just what I needed.  After all the paranormal suspense I have been reading, I wanted a good lighthearted read with the paranormal included in it.  Ever wonder if a ghost can fall in love? Yep. Ever wonder if they watch you? Yep. Ever want to meet one? Yep!! Well, in this book, we get to meet Lucy who was murdered in a men’s restroom. EWW. Well, that is her thoughts too! She spends her time counting the tiles in the bathroom and wishing someone would see her.  Finally, Jeremy comes in and they are both surprised to find out he can see her!  

This book was cute and funny and the author made it fun for a young adult read for all ages to enjoy.  I loved the witty dialogue and I loved the characters that were part of the plot.  It flowed nicely and at the right pace. Who new ghosts could be so much fun instead of being spooky?

MY RATING:


Very Good! I would recommend this book!

NANCY’S THEORY OF STYLE by Grace Coopersmith

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NANCY’S THEORY OF STYLE
Author: Grace Coopersmith
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Gallery; Original edition (May 18, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416598863
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416598862
SYNOPSIS:
Lively young socialite Nancy Carrington-Chambers has always believed an excellent sense of style and strict attention to detail are what it takes to succeed, but her own husband Todd is showing symptoms of incurable tackiness, so Nancy flees their McMansion for her posh San Francisco apartment. She knows her event planning company, Froth, is a real winner, but she must prove herself by reinventing the turgid Barbary Coast Historical Museum fundraiser. Luckily, Nancy now has the perfect assistant. Derek Cathcart is British, impeccably dressed, gorgeous, and clearly gay—so why does Nancy find him so attractive?

Before Nancy can unravel her feelings, her irresponsible cousin Birdie abandons her little daughter with Nancy and takes off. Nancy, Derek, and Eugenia make an unlikely “family,” but strangely it seems incredibly right. Now Nancy’s parents are pressuring her to return to Todd, and she still has to pull off a spectacular party. For someone who’s always known exactly where she’s going, Nancy is in dangerously uncharted waters.

MY THOUGHTS:
After realizing that her marriage to Todd was a mistake, Nancy flee’s her married life to start a new one.  She decides to head to San Francisco to open up her new event planning business named Froth.  She ends up hiring Derek, a handsome, yet gay British man as her new assistant.  Nancy at first seemed a little shallow and full of herself.  Throughout the book, you learn why she acts the way she does and you start to rethink what you first thought of her. She ends up babysitting for a cousin, only the cousin Birdie never returns.  She finds herself stuck with a child named Eugenia and is in over her head. With Derek’s help, Nancy finds that taking care of Eugenia isn’t as bad as she imagined.  They end up making a cute, if not different pretend family. 
If you are looking for your next beach read, or just looking for a fun and laugh out loud book to pass your time, then I highly recommend picking up this book! It was cute and quirky, with the right amount of down to earth plot that made it fun yet real.

MY RATING:



Very Good! I would recommend this book!

KISS IT by Erin Downing (Blog Tour)

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KISS IT
Author: Erin Downing
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (June 15, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416997008
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416997009
SYNOPSIS:
Chastity Bryan has never been shy about going after what she wants. And when sexy, mysterious, so-not-from-this-town Sebastian walks into Chaz’s life, she knows in an instant that what she wants next is him. Chaz has no intention of playing for keeps—but she most definitely has intentions. Who needs true love when you’ve got true lust? 
Sebastian has no idea what he’s in for—but maybe neither does Chaz… 
MY THOUGHTS:
I am going to start off by saying that even though this is a young adult book, if you don’t like your teen to read about sex, then don’t even think about picking this book up. 
Yeah, the cover comes off cute and girly, but inside the book the author covers a lot of deep and emotional things that teenagers are exposed to in real life.  The main character, Chaz, is strong willed and very horny! She is a senior in high school and on Christmas break.  She thinks about sex all the time and can’t wait to have some.  She doesn’t want a lasting relationship, just a quickie.  That all changes when she meets Sebastian.  Sebastian has secrets of his own that will keep you reading to find out what.  When you do find out what his deep, dark secret is, you might be scratching your head like I was.  For some reason the admission didn’t seem real.  
I liked the book, and I liked the plot, but the characters to me were shallow at times.  They at times acted younger than the age they were suppose to be portraying.  The author touches on casual sex, teen pregnancy, cancer, some racy language, drinking and abortion.  Though that seems like a lot to put in a small book focused for teens, it did have an impact.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the book even though I had problems with some of the characters in the book.  I would pass on letting the younger teens read this, but would be a great read for older teens.
MY RATING:



Very Good! I would recommend this book!