Book Review | MILLER'S VALLEY by Anna Quindlen

April 5, 2016
Random House

A novel about family and the secrets that we keep—a young woman learning to love and leave home and realizing that, maybe, she never quite left.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Still Life with Bread Crumbs and Rise and Shine. ~Goodreads

I truly enjoyed reading this book. It’s like having a long walk with a friend, wherein the conversation drifts to things we rarely talk about. Everything was intimate, vivid, and rarely touching trivialities. There were happy moments, sad moments, and quiet moments that signify comprehension and unspoken agreement.

Mary Margaret Miller (Mimi) grew up in a farm located smack-center of a drowning valley. She is the only daughter of a tinkerer and a nurse, a family shared with two older brothers and an agoraphobic aunt. The story follows her (and her family’s) struggles through the meager farming life, while eminent flooding threatens the whole valley. Their family and the whole valley itself share a compelling story that perhaps anyone can relate to.

My name was Mimi Miller. I lived in Miller’s Valley. Everyone I knew lived in Miller’s Valley. I wasn’t ignorant; I knew there was a world outside. I just had a hard time imagining it.

MILLER’S VALLEY is a great demonstration of Anna Quindlen’s insightful gift in writing true-to-life stories. The details resemble a fully scrutinized canvas of an ordinary life that is fully lived with its joys, sufferings, and regrets. This book is not a product of mere imagination, but of excellent discernment.

Pre-order your copies now, through Penguin Random House.

Book details:

Title:  Miller’s Valley

Author:  Anna Quindlen

Publication:  April 5, 2016; Random House

Genre:  Fiction, Coming-of-Age

Rating:  ★★★★★

*Thank you Random House and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for this unbiased review.

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TFG BINGO

The Oracle is at it again! Our Reading Challenge for 2016 at the book club is called TFG Bingo. Each one of us chose a number (1-75), and each number represents a card. No two cards are alike, I presume. Now, the card is very tricky. Instead of numbers, each box could represent a book genre, topic, setting, or a certain book list found in Goodreads.

Here’s my card:

As you can see, I’ve already marked the set I wanted to pursue. I am posting this here so that I can keep track of the challenges I’ve set upon myself. Each mark will be replaced by a book title if I finish a challenge, so I think I’ll add this to my sidebar for easy access.

There is no strict rule on when each challenge should be accomplished, except that we finish it within the calendar year. But I guess I should add for myself, on this challenge, any Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) does not apply. That would be like hitting two birds with one stone, and it wouldn’t be an honest challenge at all.

TFG had been doing these challenges for years now. It’s not only fun, but a good way to further stretch our reading horizon or step out from our comfort zones. I’m glad that a good number of members still enlist themselves. And, I highly appreciate the people who take time to conceptualize and initiate these challenges (Yay!).

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Book Review | THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE by Heidi Heilig

February 16th, 2016 by Greenwillow Books

March 3rd, 2016 by Hot Key Books

It was the kind of August day that hinted at monsoons, and the year was 1774, though not for very much longer.

Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveler. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just too distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question...

Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever. ~Goodreads

Heidi Heilig penned a very impressive debut. Creating a seamless timeline for time-traveling is not easy, but she effortlessly did it. Heilig introduced a new sense of time-traveling that details every curve and rocks of a shoreline, possible only through a meticulously-inked map. The authenticity of the settings is vivid and concrete, both the scenery and culture.

The incredible premise is made stable by the steady building plot. It’s easy to follow and very convincing. Replete of poetic prose with the addition of the characters’ easy jibe and wit, the narration is simply enjoyable.

I love this diversity of characters, their individual distinction is engaging.  They are fleshed out enough to retain a certain amount of mystery. Perhaps, it’s Heilig’s unspoken promise for the coming sequel. Their relationships are very intriguing as well, especially, Nix and Slate’s stained father-daughter partnership, which is exceedingly fascinating since there is also an unquestionable amount of respect moving around their ship. And although there is also romance on the plot, I really like how Heilig downplayed it to give more focus on the adventure and the gathering details.

THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE is a product of both hard research and great imagination. You can’t go wrong with that! Pre-order your copies now.

Book details:
Title:  The Girl from Everywhere
Series:  The Girl from Everywhere #1
Author:  Heidi Heilig
Publication:  February 16th, 2016 by Greenwillow Books
                         March 3rd, 2016 by Hot Key Books
Genre:  YA, Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

*Thanks to Hot Key Books and Netgalley for the digital galley in exchange for this unbiased review.

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Book Review | BAD LUCK by Pseudonymous Bosch

February 9, 2016
Little, Brown Books

Reader, beware! This is a BAD book. A VERY BAD book that will bring you nothing but BAD LUCK. Luckily no one would want to read it as it is extremely BORING and contains NO ADVENTURE whatsoever. No magic. No betrayal. And NO DRAGONS. No flying dragons. No fire-breathing dragons. No dragon hunters. ABSOLUTELY NO DRAGONS. The only reason anyone would DARE read this book is if they are VERY BAD and never do what they’re told. And you always do what you’re told. Don’t you? -Goodreads

Another summer at Earth Ranch, meanwhile Clay is still struggling to understand what he is doing there when he has no magic to pride himself on. But then, things got thicker at Price Island when a cruise ship dropped anchor just right across Mount Forge. A crew of men claims to be searching for a boy who fell off the ship. Or are they, really?

This is the second book in the Bad series. I have not had the pleasure of reading the first book, but I had a marvelous time reading the Secret series almost two years ago. So when I spied this on NetGalley, I needed to grab it at once. Besides, the plot is very easy to follow and the constant need to know what’s next is pounding.  The author’s usual digressions, footnotes, and constant shift from third-person to 1^st-person narrative made this even more fun and easy access to any middle-grade (or adult).

Nothing short of entertaining, this book is a brilliant mix of wit, magic, thrill, and adventure. I do suggest you grab a copy when it comes out on February 9, 2016.

Book detail:

Title:   Bad Luck

Series:   The Bad Books #2

Author:   Pseudonymous Bosch

Publication:  February 9, 2016; 
                        Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Middle-Grade Fiction

Rating:  ★★★★★


*Thanks to Little, Brown Books and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

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Wednesday Spotlight | DEBT by Rachel Dunning

About the Book:

The Debt Collector

I pay my debts, and I expect others to.

I was raised in the slums of London, I knew nothing of privilege. My father was murdered when I was seventeen. Morty figured my father's passing meant I would automatically take on dad's debts. I refused.

And I paid for that refusal.

So did my sister.

So now I fight. All I know how to do is fight. The best cash is in the states, so that's where I am now. A big fish called Vito came along offering me a "favor" when I arrived.

Another debt.

I paid for that one too.

I knew Kyla Hensley would be trouble when I met her. But I wanted her. I could see through the falsehood of her wannabe-slutty clothes and her sexy legs. So I chased her.

Besides, trouble is my middle name.

Kyla Hensley

I was brought up in privilege, but I lacked everything else. My father is a business tycoon who buys and sells and doesn't care who gets rolled over in the process.

I never knew my mother, and all I have of her is a photo with a note scrawled on the back in French saying "I'm sorry." The only Female Figure I had growing up is my dad's wife who is a bleach blond with seven boob jobs. We never bonded.

I drink. I party. I meet guys.

But I wasn't always like that.

I've had a string of lovers in the last few years, the worst and most recent of which was Vince Somerset. My best friend Vera was dating a guy called Rory Cansoom who is the opposite of Vince in so many ways, and yet so the same.

She and I hit the road for the summer, getting away from the two college psychos and just trying to have some fun.

But there's a funny thing about trouble, the more you run from it, the more it finds you.

Which is when I met the Debt Collector.

It was only supposed to be sex. He made that clear. I made that clear.

That's all it was supposed to be.

I never expected to fall in love. I never expected to fall so deeply, madly, uncomfortably in love with a man who is wrong, so wrong for me.

And yet...so unbelievably right.

Content Warning

Not intended for readers under the age of seventeen.

Get your copies of Debt from Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

About the Author:

Rachel Dunning hit the scene in August 2013 and is the author of the highly praised Naive Mistakes Series, Truthful Lies Trilogy, Johnny Series and the paranormal romance series, Mind Games.

A prolific writer, she sticks to stories where Alpha Males aren’t pricks and where women have guts.

She’s lived on two different continents, speaks three different languages, and met the love of her life on the internet. In other words, romance is in her blood.

*Contents sent author for this blog's publication. This is a free ad.

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I Am Three and Have Plenty of Excuses

I did not forget that The Page Walker turned three this month. I intentionally did not rush off to write a post, because I’ve been thinking of the changes I need to make and how best to do them.

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What's Next For This Bookish Person

What does a bookish person want for the New Year? Now that is really difficult to articulate since a bookish person like me would tell you that I want to read all of those books on my TBR pile and review them all as soon as I am done. It’s more like a fantabulous wish, really. Most of us bookish people live in fiction if you know what I mean.

Taking a good look at 2015 will probably make a good sense of what I do want for 2016, then. Goodreads made a beautiful illustration of each member’s Year 2015 in Books, and here is mine (click on the photo below).

 Last July 2015, I posted the best books I’ve read for the first half of the year. And to that I am adding these beauties:

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – This will always be beautiful, maybe, no matter how many times I reread it. I will always love Atticus, I guess.
• The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence – I’m so enamored with the kind of friendship Alex showed here. It is a story not easily forgotten.
• Slade House by David Mitchell – This one is short but an unrelenting thrill. Just brilliant!
• Night Study by Maria V. Snyder – I am ridiculously biased toward this series. I love every detail, every character, and the development of the story. It just keeps getting better every time. Release date on January 26, 2016.
• The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick – Arthur Pepper is one hell of a guy to root for. He is curiously charming –all heart and nothing less. He’s coming out this May 2016.

For special mentions:

• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Family Life by Akhil Sharma

The Goodreads’ illustration and this list will tell you that I almost read anything, although I still prefer seeking the books I want to read for authentic enjoyment. So, what does this bookish person want for the New Year? I want satisfying reads. It doesn’t necessarily have to make me happy. It may leave me in a pile of tears and snot, for all I care, as long as I’m fully satisfied. Satisfied in that sense where I am able to hold on to something substantial and not easily forgotten.

On that note, I may have to forego my yearly challenge. I’ll read how many books I can read. Sure, 75 was a good number. I was not really pressured, or anything, to reach that number. But having an actual number out there seems restricting as it is. So, no more numbers.

I’d like to add more buddy-reading this year. Last year limited me to Perdido Street Station and When We Were Orphans; and that’s so sad. I miss the ‘Wenches of TFG’ very very much!

The TFG Dare To Read Challenge could have been better. Yeah, sure, I’ve accomplished them, but I’m hoping that this year’s challenges will be better.

I may also have to make some changes on the book requests. I’ll make a separate post for that one, including my plans for this blog.

For now, I’m happy to be up and about and blogging once again. Thank you for staying with The Page Walker all through 2015, and hope that you keep on visiting. 

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