Review: Immortal Bird by Doron Weber

Genre: Memoir

Format: Review Copy

Source: Publisher (Simon and Schuster)

Purchase: Indie Bound

I don't even know where to start in reviewing this. Will anything I write truly convey the power of this story? Could my opinion matter so much that it would trickle out into every corner of the blogosphere and convince every reader to read this book?

No. And I sure as hell hope so.

When "reviewing" any memoir, I become my inner youngest child. I look at it as a story that needs to be told and I listen with wide open ears.

I perch closer to the edge of my seat, enraptured.

I don't judge. I don't critique.

I just listen.

Some people's stories piss me off.

Some make me incredibly happy.

Some make me insanely mad.

Above it all, I learn.

Goodreads description:

A stirring, gorgeously written memoir of a father's struggle to protect his son - a model student and gifted actor - from a rare heart condition that threatens his life.

Damon Weber is a brilliant kid - a skilled actor and a natural leader at school. Born with a congenital heart defect that required surgery when he was a baby, Damon’s spirit and independence have always been a source of pride to his parents, who vigilantly look for any signs of danger.

Unbowed by frequent medical checkups, Damon proves to be a talent on stage, appears in David Milch's HBO series Deadwood, and maintains an active social life, whenever he has the energy. But running through Damon's coming-of-age in the shadow of affliction is another story: Doron's relentless search for answers about his son’s condition in a race against time.

Immortal Bird is a searing account of a father's struggle to save his remarkable son: a moving story of a young boy's passion for life, a family's love, the perils of modern medicine, and the redemptive power of art in the face of the unthinkable.

At the "heart" of Doron Weber's story is well, a real heart; his sons (Damon). A heart that, unfortunately, did not beat long enough.

Immortal Bird tells us not only the very bumpy medical journey that Damon went through with his heart condition but it also tells us of the incredibly strong love and bond between father and son. Doron's voice throughout is one of supreme advocacy and utterly powerful love and admiration for his first born son.

As a mother of a young boy who has a heart defect, my eyes had a gloss to them the entire time I read this. They finally burst towards the end of Damon's story.

What amazed me was not only Doron's love for his son but his admirable tenacity in finding the medical answer to his son's health questions. No stone was left unturned. No article unread. No opinion left unsolicited. Doron's connections in the world of science and health allowed him to beat down doors that may not be open to many of us and demand the best care for Damon.

On top of it all, Doron also strived incredibly hard to give Damon a normal active life. Through it all, they hardly stopped taking trips, going to the theater, out to dinner, visiting relatives, hanging out with friends, camping, etc. With the amount of ups and downs they had through Damon's life, the family along with mother, Shealagh and younger siblings, Miranda and Sam, they plugged on in their active lives.

I was so touched and honored to read about this family. That's what it boils down to for me. What an amazing father for sharing his family's story with us. There was so much emotion throughout that I can not imagine the amount of bravery Mr. Weber had to face to chronicle it all again. What an amazing young man Damon was as well. With every step of the way, his spirit and drive and smarts and humor and compassion came through. I am happy that his life and journey can be shared so eloquently and powerful as it was in Immortal Bird.

Review: Recommend

I can not stress enough how much I highly recommend this book. There is so much here that I think all parents should read. Not only the powerful bond between a father and son but also the reality of the medical community and the flaws that can surface.

As parents we are the voice of our children and we never stop fighting for the rights, safety, happiness and health of the ones we love.

Doron Weber did it all for his son and I am honored to have been able to read his journey.

Author Info:

Doron Weber

Damon Weber

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Review: Catch Me by Lisa Gardner

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Format: Review Copy

Source: Publisher (Dutton)

Purchase: Indie Bound

Dear Lisa Gardner,

Never stop writing.

Sincerely,

Red Headed Book Child

Folks, I'm going to put it bluntly-Lisa Gardner rocks my mystery/thriller loving socks. As a bookseller of many years, she has been an author that has sold like hot cakes and I, smile and nod, but never picked one up. Then last year rolls around and my very own mystery challenge kicked me into high gear and I read Live to Tell. That was considered book 4 in her Detective D.D Warren series and Catch Me, is considered book 6.

I could not put Live to Tell down. I was hooked! So I did a little begging and maybe a little pleading to get my hands on Catch Me and poof! it arrived at my door step. Hot sauce!

For those of you new to Lisa Gardner, here's the low down on this series.

Alone, Hide, The Neighbor, Live to Tell, Love you More and Catch Me

D.D Warren is a tough Boston detective and damn good at her job. Up until this book, she has led a pretty solitary life with very little baggage. Now, however, she is in a relationship and new mom to baby Jack. She is finding it a bit difficult to live and breathe her job, as she once did, when all she can see is the 5:00 quitting-home to baby Jack-time.

Unfortunately crime does not stop for this new mom.

Description from Goodreads:

"In four days, someone is going to kill me . . . "

Detective D. D. Warren is hard to surprise. But a lone woman outside D.D.'s latest crime scene shocks her with a remarkable proposition: Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant believes she will be murdered in four days. And she wants Boston's top detective to handle the death investigation.

"It will be up close and personal. No evidence of forced entry, no sign of struggle."
Charlie tells a chilling story: Each year at 8:00 p.m. on January 21st, a woman has died. The victims have been childhood best friends from a small town in New Hampshire; the motive remains unknown. Now only one friend, Charlie, remains to count down her final hours.

But as D.D. quickly learns, Charlie Grant doesn't plan on going down without a fight. By her own admission, the girl can outshoot, outfight, and outrun anyone in Boston. Which begs the question, is Charlie the next victim, or the perfect perpetrator? As D.D. tracks a vigilante gunman who is killing pedophiles in Boston, she must also delve into the murders of Charlie's friends, racing to find answers before the next gruesome January 21 anniversary. Is Charlie truly in danger, or is she hiding a secret that may turn out to be the biggest threat of all?

"In four days, someone is going to kill me. But the son of a bitch has gotta catch me first. "

Oh. My. Goodness.

Right? Are you terrified?

I've read a lot of mysteries in my time and one of the things I seem to consistently enjoy is the element of surprise. I like twists. I don't want to know until the end. I want the ending to smack me in the face. Lisa Gardner's books do just that! Not only that, she has a talent for creating characters that are psychologically messed up but still likable. That's hard to do. There are certainly bad guys and you don't like them but then there are characters like Charlie. She has done bad things but you still root for her because you get it. Gardner has a precise way she builds up a character and generates that empathy in the reader. It's very human. It's very real. You can picture yourself in the moment and feeling the same emotions.

Charlie's character was abused as a child and she is now closed off as an adult. She was another hard as nails woman that Gardner created.

She kicked ass and I'm still rooting for her.

Rating: Recommend

I am definitely going to continue to read Lisa Gardner's books. She is a masterful creator of mysterious puzzles, laying down each piece at the right time and then having it all click together at the end. Impressive. There's a steady beat to her writing within the dialogue between the characters and the bread crumb approach to the back story, little bits here and there. Within the mystery genre, there are so many similar story lines that as a reader, the make or break moment is the writing and how the story is delivered. If the author can create a unique lead character or keep you guessing until the end with well plotted writing, than they stand apart. Lisa Gardner definitely stands apart.

Author Website:

Lisa Gardner

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Guest Review: And So it Goes, Kurt Vonnegut: A Life by Charles J. Shields

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Format: Review Copy

Purchase: Indie Bound

Michelle's Notes:

My husband was kind enough to offer to read and review this one. It sounded interesting to me but honestly I could not see myself reading an entire bio of Kurt V. Not one of my favorite authors. I always like sharing my reading adventures with those that I love and this one suited my guy. Here are his thoughts on this book. Thanks for sharing!

Sean's review:

I remember first finding Kurt Vonnegut in middle school, and being somewhat confused, as he was touted as being a male-centric writer who championed the anti-establishment. After reading his stuff, I never did get the impression that he was some lefty, hippy, feel good guy;in fact, he seemed a tortured soul. His verbose and casual writing style was laced with acerbic wit and often uncomfortable lead characters, leading me to wonder "What kind of guy would write this craziness?" Well, this book sets out to answer that exact question.

I found the research end of it to be thorough, and the author stayed rather impartial; always nice in a memoir. This book laid to rest many of the misconceptions about Kurt, and provided a detailed history behind the man and his family. It puts a frame of reference around his books and even provides perspective into the heavily flawed characters he was so fond of using.

I would recommend this book for anyone curious about Kurt Vonnegut and his past, and how a person can become the unwilling face of a generation. Much like Jack Kerouac with the "Beat generation", Kurt was assimilated into the "Hippy" movement even though neither wanted their respective label. A very good read, if a little dry at parts.

Author Website:

Kurt Vonnegut

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Year of Mysterious Giveaways: February 2012

I am extremely excited to be able to give a copy of this new thriller away to one of you. I had the pleasure of meeting the author last fall at MIBA (Midwest Booksellers Association show). He was one of the authors who came to sign his book. I flapped books while he signed them to get them ready to give away at the event. He was a really nice man, very happy to be there and seemed excited about his newest work. I told him mystery/thrillers was one of my favorite genres and that I looked forward to reading it. I was able to get an extra copy so I can now put it in the hand of a lucky reader!

Check out the description from Goodreads and

be sure to check out his website below as well.

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.

Author Website:

William Landay

Contest Rules:

* Runs from February 3- February 29

* Please leave an email address

* Please reside in the United States

* Please be a follower of my blog

Thank you!

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Year of Mysterious Giveaways: January winner!

Always a few days late, I am....

Thanks to all who entered my January Mysterious Giveaway!

The winner is...

Ann

Ann said...

Thanks for the giveaway!

summergal05(at)gmail(dot)com

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Review: Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Format: Unabridged Audio

Genre: Fiction

Purchase: Indie Bound

Challenge: 2012 Audio Book Challenge

I won this book some time ago from Jenny at Take me Away. I knew it would be a book I would love, having been a fan of novels about Chinese American culture. My change, however, is that I ended up listening to it on audio instead. This year is proving to me The Year of the Audio for me. I am now on my fifth audio book and am really loving it! I am starting to discover the nuances of audio books; what makes them great and what can make them suck. For me, the big screw up factor is if the narrator stinks or is not believable in some way. I tried listening to The Ice Princess by Camille Lackberg, a swedish mystery and the narrator was awful! First it was a male narrator for a female protagonist (duh) and he talked in a really high squeaky voice during her dialogue parts. ugh.

Anyway, I digress.

Grayce Way, the narrator for Girl in Translation was absolutely amazing. Riveting. Talented. Just plain wow. She had the subtle differences within each character down pat. The story is about a Chinese American family, mostly a mother and daughter. The mother knows very little english and the daughter, having arrived from Hong Kong at the age of 8, learns quickly how to speak English and translate for her mother. The narrator really could portray those differences in language and really gave each character such a unique voice.

The story is about Kimberly Chang, a young girl who moves from Hong Kong with her mother to work in her aunt's clothing factory in Brooklyn. Having accrued quite a bit of debt from the trip over and some medical issues of her mother, Kimberly is indebted to her aunt and forced to work at the factory after school. They live in a cold, dank, run down apartment close to the factory arranged for them by the aunt.

Things are grim but the one thing Kimberly has going for her is her school smarts. Exceptionally brilliant and hard working, she knows the way out for her and her mother, lies in her doing well in school, getting into a great college and having a promising career.

What she struggles with through it all is her language barrier, discrimination that prevents her from being taken seriously, and her secret life of working in the factory and

living in filth.

Kimberly is tough, though, you come to find out. Not just smart but strong inside. She fights the bullies, she finds a friend, she continues to work hard and get good grades. Soon enough, the right people notice and give her the opportunity to go to a good private high school.

The whole experience of listening to this book was wonderful. Kimberly's story goes from her awkward childhood to a more confident adult. You experience her struggles with remaining loyal to her family and to the young man she meets at the factory, Matt while also pursing her dreams and living in a much different, affluent white world.

Rating: Recommend

I highly recommend this. I'm sure I would have enjoyed reading the book as well but listening to it brought so much passion, emotion, and life to it all. I felt for Kimberly the whole time and just wanted her to succeed. She was such a lovely character to follow and listen to.

If you are a fan of Chinese American culture or mother/daughter stories, this is for you. It was simply a joy to listen to and I look forward to another novel by Jean Kwok.

Author Website:

Jean Kwok

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Between Interruptions: 30 Women Tell the truth about Motherhood

Publisher: Key Porter Books

Genre: Memoir/Essays

Format: Review Copy

Purchase: Indie Bound

TLC Book Tours

This book was a no brainer for me to read and review. I'm a mom and am constantly being interrupted with everything I do. Would I have it any other way? No. Would I still like a moment to myself sometimes? You bet. Do I have a few drinks every now and then and vent about the ups and downs of motherhood? Yessiree.

I find it to be also very appropriate that I am now three days late for this blog tour due to a hectic schedule of jobs, family and daycare/school shuffling about. I guess when you are late to reviewing this kind of book, the reader should understand. Right?

I hope so.

Having that said, I really enjoyed this book. The range of stories was really diverse, unlike a lot of other essay collections I've read about motherhood. You go from one extreme hearing about a journalist covering the war in Iraq 3 months after giving birth to an actress who's brilliant birth plan is shattered when he son arrives three months early.

These stories were honest and that is always refreshing. I enjoy seeing the humor in motherhood and the fact that we are not perfect. Thank you to the women in these stories for admitting that and sharing all of the ups, downs, the expectations, the regrets, the joy, the hope, and the love of motherhood.

Thank you to Lisa at TLB Book Tours for asking me to be on this tour.

Once again, sorry I am late!

Rating: Recommend

I think this book is geared towards mothers of all ages. I think if you were not a mother, it would go over your head. You have to live it to relate, in my opinion. If there is a reader considering motherhood, then it would give them a voice from all sides.

Overall, I recommend this collection of essays on motherhood. Raw, honest and sincere, it tells it like it is.

Author Info:

Cori Howard is the founder of The Momoir Project, an online writing centre that offers memoir writing classes, workshops and workbooks. She’s also an award-winning journalist whose work in newspapers, magazines, TV and radio has taken her around the world. Her stories – many about motherhood – have appeared in publications including Reader’s Digest, Elle, The Independent, among many others. She lives in Vancouver, B.C. with her family.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child