My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson

What would you do for the friend who broke your heart?

The short description of My Best Friend's Girl makes it pretty clear that reader will shed some tears. A woman discover's her ex best-friend to be dying, leaving behind a young daughter. That in itself is a heavy load to handle. Don't forget though, the little girl is also the child of her ex-fiancé. What was surprising in this story was the resilience of both Kamryn and Teagan, our main characters. Kamryn is easy to relate with. Her worries and her guilt make her so human, it's as if she's jumping out of the book.

Dorothy Koomson dives right into the thick of story line from page one. The reader doesn't have to sift through a lot of backstory to get to the root of the issue. As the story progresses and we get familiar with the characters, their thoughts and actions show us their struggles of the past and how it is affecting their futures. Again, their actions and reactions feel very authentic. Having lost someone close to me, I found the character's issues with grief to be honest. Their thoughts weren't always proper, their actions were sometimes selfish. That is real life. Nothing was sugar coated for a pleasing story.

I can't give this book enough praise!

I found this book from my local book club and I am so grateful for that. Dorothy Koomson has a writing style I love. There's just the right amount of dialogue. As a reader you can easily insert yourself into the story. Before I was halfway through  My Best Friend's Girl I ordered three of her other books from thriftbooks.com (<--- 15% coupon).

Check out the next three on my to-read list. All of the covers look so light and carefree, and yet the content seems to be very sinister. I love it.

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

My first Jodi Picoult book did not disappoint!

Hello there, my name is Kristin, and I'm probably the last person on earth to learn that Jodi Picoult is a great author. I've heard about all of her books but hadn't gotten around to them. That said, A Spark of Light was the perfect first read from Picoult. Surrounding the mighty controversial topic of all time, abortion.

A Spark of Light is the telling of many different facets of abortion.

Following the discovery of his seventeen year old daughter's abortion, a father seeks retribution by gunning down the lone abortion clinic in Mississippi. We begin inside the hostage situation at the clinic. People have been hurt, SWAT wants to head inside and take over, and the hostage negotiator is holding them back. Thus, Jodi Picoult has started us at the end, and with each following chapter takes us to the beginning.

Each chapter is the previous hour from the chapter we've read. In each chapter we go deeper into the thoughts and memories of every complex character. A pregnant nurse, a freshman girl seeking birth control, a "pro-lifer" undercover, a woman who just had an abortion and the doctor who performed it, and several more. Everyone had a secret or some kind of obstacle in their life which wouldn't be fair for anyone to endure. Even the gunman has a backstory that makes you want to sympathize, if for only a moment.

This side, or that side ...

As Picoult mentions in this book (in much better words) the stakes are too high for this issue to truly end. There will always be the pro-life and pro-choice camps. I didn't feel that A Spark of Light was pushing too hard to persuade the reader in either direction. The book presents several viewpoints of abortion. Each woman who sought an abortion in this book had such different socioeconomic backgrounds. The doctor is a man of color who sees personally how race plays into the issue of abortion. In each of these narratives, I found myself surprised and considered these different ideas in comparison to my own.

When "every life matters" means protecting the rights of embryos, who is protecting the rights of women?

A Spark of Light was a very powerful book full of ideas that are so relevant and applicable to real life. The stories of these women are much like those of women we know. The women that we are. The story truly digs deeper into the depth of humanity. All of us are flawed human beings just trying to do better each day.

Jodi Picoult has taken a brave and bold step as an author.

I suppose it's possible that Picoult has written other controversial books; however, anytime a public figure breaches such a controversial topic they stand to lose some fans. Picoult is very clear in cataloging how she researched for this book. I applaud her for sharing science based information. I thank her for taking what must have been a lot of time interviewing people on both sides of abortion. Hopefully all of her fans appreciate her effort to open our eyes to the varying lives affected by one deeply personal topic. Even if A Spark of Light doesn't move the reader to a different stance on abortion, the content is moving enough to help the reader feel a little more empathy for their opposite.

Frost Blood by Elly Blake

The cover of Frost Blood by Elly Blake is both soft and beautiful while implying danger and violence.

In Frost Blood, Ruby is a Fire Blood who lives in hiding among regular villagers in the mountains. She and her mother are far from the viscous Frost King and his mission of hunting down the last of the Fire Blood people. Their efforts to keep Ruby hidden were not enough. The King's regime finds Ruby during a raid of her small village. In this terrifying night, Ruby still cannot gain enough control of her fire gift to properly defend herself. Because of hiding, she never fully learned to harness her gift, and yet the Frost King would have her punished.

Ruby is the best chance at overthrowing the evil King's reign, but her fear of her own unchecked power holds her back. She makes unlikely friends who try to help her harness her power. Despite their differences of fire and ice, her ice gifted friends do manage to help her trust herself more and more with time. While on this journey, Ruby develops a love interest. While it is an ancient believe that ice and fire cannot be together, it doesn't quell the intense feelings they develop.

Once again, opposites attract.

I enjoyed the conflict and timeline of Ruby and Arcus developing their feelings for each other. Their gifts were literal opposites to each other and caused each other physical discomfort to which they had to acclimate. Elly Blake didn't rush their love and it's greatly appreciated. Too often in the young adult genre the characters are in love within almost a single chapter. Actual love isn't so easily built and Ruby and Arcus depict that very well.



Without giving too much of the plot away, Frost Blood held some similarities to one of my all time favorite movies, Gladiator. Russel Crowe makes a great placeholder for Arcus. ;) Come to think of it, even Joaquin Phoenix makes for a great Frost King, but I digress.

Love, vengeance, violence ... so much to keep you entertained!

Frost Blood by Elly Blake was a five-star read! Now excuse me while I continue with Fire Blood.

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

The cover of Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian is stunning. My 12-year-old has recently become a bookworm so we took a trip to Powell's City of Books. The book store occupies a full city-block and offers more books than you can imagine. Ash Princess has the type of cover art that stands out on a jam packed shelf of books. I grabbed it for her, but I was not prepared for how much I would love the book myself.

Magic, Politics, Love, Friendships, Betrayals...

The life of Theodosia is full of tragedy from the very first page. Following the murder of her mother, she is renamed Thora. She is forced to deny her true identity and live among the people who conquered her home and stole her queendom, the Kalovaxians. Her existence as a pretend Kalovaxian is truly despicable and it leaves the reader questioning how this story could possibly end well for Thora and her enslaved people.

Thora's life among the Kalovaxians is a miserable shadow of existence. She is physically punished everytime there is any resistance or rebellion from the enslaved Astreans. The Kaiser forces her to wear dresses that display her scars for all to see. She is allowed to interact with others, as she is supposed to be a docile Kalovaxian citizen but, they are always watching her. She is never truly alone.

The ashes, they all fall down.

Cresentia is Thora's only friend; however, throughout their interactions it's clear the friendship is both a blessing and a curse. Cresentia was kind to Thora from the first time she was forced to wear a crown made of ashes. At all social functions, Thora is made to wear a crown of ash so that it flakes and falls with her movements. Covering her in ash and mocking her former station as a princess of Astrea.

The Kaiser thinks to break her, and unintentionally sparks the rebellion inside of her.

Thora's identity was always a show. She reminded herself how Thora is expected to act, what she would say, how she should feel. The moment she decides to fight for her county she shifts mentally to Theodosia. Years of abuse keep her insecure and questioning all of her plans. Her fight to redeem herself as Queen Theodosia is made more authentic this way. Readers might prefer her to be a tough and defiant woman instantly, but the truth is that she was tortured from her childhood. Fighting back against any abuser, and in this case a whole country, is not done easily.

Ash Princess provides plenty of surprises to keep the pages turning. Her best friend is an enemy to her country. If she overthrew the Kalovaxians, how could she spare her friend? Theodosia wants to hurt the man who killed her mother; however, he's Cresentia's father. Can she kill the father of her only friend? Throughout Ash Princess, taking back Astrea seems an impossible feat. A vast majority of the Astreans were murdered while the rest are enslaved in the mines. From embers and ashes, Theodosia will rise against them.

My Journey with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder

I knew something was wrong because I couldn’t stand my own kids. The sound of “mom” made me want to crawl out of my skin. The slightest problem from them or between them would send me into a rage and I would scream at them from the top of my lungs. It was horrible. I’m ashamed that it took me so long to notice it happened in a monthly pattern.

This meme is perfect. I’m currently in one of my low depressed moods and of course went to the internet memes to feel better. I’m medicated now which has been a blessing for my function and behavior. Most women can better predict their PMDD onset because of how it is attached to their menstrual cycle. For me, without a regular cycle I sometimes don’t realize what’s wrong with my brain is PMDD because I don’t always get periods (sincere thanks to Mirena).

Some of it can be minor but very annoying. My brain goes out. Much like pregnancy brain, my mind just doesn’t completely function. It’s like a small piece of the train tracks is missing and the train somehow leaves the rails but then hops back on. How did that happen? I don’t know. What did I miss? I don’t know.

I don’t rage at my kids anymore. I’m much mellower in my phases now. I might just let them eat whatever they want, wander to their rooms with iPads, and then participate in mediocre interaction that passes for mothering. Am I proud? Of course not. Do I love them with all my heart? Yes. Would I protect them with my last breath? Absolutely. The mind can just be a dark place which we cannot rationalize. You can’t just decide to be happy. You can’t choose to not be depressed. It doesn’t work that way. I know that I legitimately should be happy at all times, I have a great life. I am happy. I just also deal with bouts of depression.

Of course there is a whole boat load of guilt. Guilt and remorse. I’m sorry daughter. You deserve better. Luckily your brother is too young to notice anything amiss.

One of the hardest parts about any form of depression (in my opinion) is not knowing if you can trust yourself. Is how I feel about myself legitimate feelings, or am I in a dark mood right now? Am I imaging problems that aren’t really there because of my muddled PMDD brain, or do I have problems that need to be addressed? I’ve taken to just sitting things out. Holding back thoughts and conversations. If it lasts over a week then I can share it with someone. I hate to make an issue to just find out two days later my brain overreacted.

I don’t have an eye opening, positive conclusion. I felt compelled to put this all out there in a tiny corner of the internet in case someone else stumbles across it and finds some sort of comfort. I always climb out of my dark hole, only to slowly slide back in, remember I’ll be ok, and climb back out. It’s a cycle that I continue to learn from.