Just a tad too much exaggerated hysteria

Forgotten Burial: A Restless Spirit's Plea for Justice by Jodi Foster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a tough review to write, which is why I waited until a few days passed.

Jodi Foster undoubtedly had a horrible childhood with an unstable mother. This had an impact on her all of her life. Still, she had beautiful children and managed to live an interesting life in spite of her past and the haunting that occurred through her adult life, mainly the haunting of a murder victim who wants her to help her killers come to justice.

I had one problem with this story. Foster is continually collapsing, sobbing, crying, fainting, falling to her knees and otherwise becoming emotionally incapacitated throughout the story. I understand that she had a terrible childhood and was further traumatized by the haunting, but I kept thinking, what about the toddler who doesn't understand why mommy is collapsing and crying all the time. I choose to believe that Foster may have exaggerated her hysterical behavior. Still, all the collapsing and crying was a distraction and, more than once, I considering giving up on this book. Perhaps some careful editing was in order here.


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Enchanting historical tale with a minor present day story

The Beautiful American by Marilyn Holdsworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book would be more about a present time person with some diary sprinkled into the story. This book was just the opposite. A story set in the present time was minimal - maybe just 5% of the overall story, while the historical story was the dominant storyline.

Abby Long goes to an auction an sees an antique desk that she falls in love with. She bids a bit high, but wins the auction. She meets Nathan Edwards as she is leaving the auction. They strike up a relationship that blossoms into something more, but before we are treated to a story about Abby and Nathan, they find an ancient diary wedged in a hidden drawer.

From that point forward the entire work is taken over by the story of Jasmine, a slave girl taken in by the Monroe family and treated as a family member. At first the story felt a bit like an intrusion, but then the more I read it, the more interested I became. The only negative is that when the present day story comes back at the end, it feels like an intrusion.

The historical portion of the story, the majority of the book, was detailed and brought brilliantly to life. The present day story could have been left out entirely without losing anything.



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Two gripping, heartbreaking tales

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante

The story of a doctor suffering from Alzheimers told from her point of view. This book was completely heartbreaking.








Long Drive Home: A Novel by Will Allison

Heartbreaking

Go see my reviews on this blog's reading and reviewing page. You can also view them on my Amazon Reviewer page, provided that the site is accepting reviews.

Self doubt and agony

Okay, so I promised myself that I wouldn't allow myself to feel down about my rejections. Unfortunately, after updating my list of submissions to agents to include big fat NOs on the queries that I haven't received a response on for months, where I must assume rejection, my rejection rate has increased all the way up to an earth-shattering 18. Clearly, my query letter wasn't good enough to generate any interest. And, yes, after reading Noah Lukeman's How to Write a Great Query Letter on my nook, I see some glaring issues with my query letter. Time for a rewrite.

Post for school gives food for thought...

Have you ever considered an ebook reader? I love books and always have. I never thought I would consider an ebook reader because I'm old-fashioned and love the feel of a book in my hands. But writing a blog post for class, made me reconsider my stance. You can read the post here