A little bit of January in February!

So, this is my first official post in my new blog. I'm kind of nervous-but here goes! Even though I didn't get to post one more time in January, I did finish Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler on January 27th. So, what did I think? The author has an interesting way with words, and I’m not totally sold on it. Sometimes I feel like she’s trying too hard, but then there are times when I appreciate that she’s trying to use unique phrases and imagery. What do I mean exactly? Well, here are some examples, tell me what you think…..

"She's her and I'm me and surrounding us is an ocean of mess and misunderstanding, full of pirates and sharks just waiting to see who slips in first."

"The sun is fully up now, bleaching the sky from orangey-pink to a pale, sad white. Corpse white."

"...the same blood flowing through their veins and a thousand pounds of unspoken words between them."

"All around us along the wide, dirt path, white stones stick out from the grass like loose teeth in a bright green mouth, chomping at the earth."

"The weight of my own heavy heart drags me down; I want to carve it out and leave it in the basement in one of the old canning jars..."

You get the idea. Very descriptive, decent imagery, but sometimes it's just too much. Overall though, I would recommend this. It's a light, easy read, but not in a bad way.There is still a lot of content and depth throughout the story, and it's hard not to empathize with the characters. And, it's nice to read about the summer in the middle of all this cold weather and snow!

Kicking off February, I finally read Days of Little Texas by R.A. Nelson. Hm. I did not like this book as much as thought I would. It wasn't bad, just different from what I was expecting. The main character, Ronald Earl aka Little Texas, became an evangelical child preacher and faith healer at the age of 10. He is now sixteen, and starting to question his life as a itinerant preacher, while dealing with a changing body, hormones and doubts about his faith and ability to heal. At one of his services, he heals a young girl in a blue dress named Lucy. Or does he? As he is healing her, he feels a different power than he's ever felt before. After that, he starts seeing the girl everywhere. Is she a ghost? Is it his imagination? Or is Little Texas losing his mind? I don't want to give too much away, but this novel touches on so many different topics, including religion, faith, good and evil, family structure, slavery and ghosts, to name a few. It's a coming of age story, a romance, a ghost story and more all mixed up in one book. This isn't a book for everyone, but it will make you think, and may even make you question what you believe. While it's not necessary to have a religious background, or an understanding of evangelical beliefs, it might help when reading this book. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a multi-faceted novel that gives no easy answers.

I just started Virals by Kathy Reichs. She is the best-selling author of the adult novels featuring Temperance Brennan, and the creator of the Fox TV show, Bones. This is her first Young Adult novel, and the protagonist is Toby Brennan, niece of Temperance. So far it has science, action, animals, and a deadly virus. I'm already hooked!