Book Review- Sherry Stanfa-Stanley's Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truths and Dares

Thank you to She Writes Press for providing me with an advance copy of Sherry Stanfa-Stanley's Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truths and Dares, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- When Sherry Stanfa-Stanley turned fifty-two, she decided to challenge herself by facing fifty-two activities that would take her outside of her comfort zone. Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truth and Dares documents Stanfa-Stanley's quest to seek adventure and push her boundaries. 

LIKE- Stanfa-Stanley is funny and relatable. It's easy to root for her as she overcomes personal obstacles, like conquering her fear of heights by going zip lining and riding in a hot air balloon. I think it helps that Stanfa-Stanley is a rather normal person chasing her dreams. She's middle-aged and not in peak shape, yet she attempts adventures. She doesn't have a large budget for her ideas and no one is financially backing her, another element that will make readers feel empowered: If Stanfa-Stanley can achieve her goals, so can you. Get off that couch!

My favorite challenge was when Stanfa-Stanley threw a party for strangers. She asked her friends to invite someone that they knew, but someone that she had not previously met to a party that Stanfa-Stanley was hosting. The friends were not invited, only the strangers. This meant that Stanfa-Stanley was hosting a party and didn't know who was going to knock at her door and none of the other people, knew each other. It was a grand experiment that was a huge success. I absolutely love the idea of a strangers party, especially how it lent itself to diversity in the participants. Although it happened that only women showed up ( men were invited), the women were different ages and from a variety of backgrounds. I think this is a marvelous idea for expanding your social circle. It was heart warming to learn that many of the women stayed in touch,

DISLIKE- Previous to Finding My Badass Self, I had not heard of Stanfa-Stanley. I now know that she has a blog in which readers can follow her adventures. Finding My Badass Self reads like a compilation of blog entries, which I think it might have been. I question the necessity of turning the blog entries into a book. If I was following her blog, it would be delightful to read a few entries at a time and catch up with her life, but as a book, it was tedious. I think a fix would have been to change the format and provide more introspection before moving to the next challenge. There needed to be a bridge between the entries. Not all of the challenges were equally interesting or inspiring, which also contributed to the uneven pacing.

RECOMMEND- Maybe. I'd definitely recommend checking out Stanfa-Stanley's blog. She's humorous and you might find the inspiration to chase one of your own dreams. I'm just not sure that Finding My Badass Self is a better recommendation than just checking out her blog. 

Book Review- Wendy Walker's Emma in the Night

Thank You to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance copy of Wendy Walker's new novel, Emma in the Night, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Cass Tanner has returned to her mother's home after mysteriously disappearing three years earlier. Her sister, Emma, is still missing and Cass tells a story of a couple that are keeping Emma and Emma's toddler, captive on a remote island. Abby Winter, the forensic psychologist  has long suspected the girl's narcissistic mother is involved, but she doesn't have proof. The more Abby hears Cass' story, the closer she gets to finding out the truth.

LIKE- I have not read Wendy Walker's previous novel, but based on the buzz and the description of Emma in the Night, I had high expectations. 

I liked the contrast in settings. Cass and Emma come from a privileged background, spending summers in Europe and weekends at the country club. This juxtaposes with their captivity in the remote house on the island, where although they had their needs met (including ice cream and rented movies), they were still being kept captive. Emma in the Night features a variety of characters from different backgrounds, including a gruff fisherman from Alaska. I like how the worlds in the story collide, with a message of never to trust what is on the surface.

The suspense and mystery plot is solid. I did not anticipate the ending, although Walker perfectly sets it up. 

DISLIKE- Unfortunately, much of the story fell flat. I finished Emma in the Night yesterday and I've spent the last day trying to pinpoint the disconnect. I think it has to do with the characters. I didn't connect with any of them. The story bounces between Cass and Abby. The Cass chapters are told in first person and the Abby chapters are told in close-third. I'm not sure why this choice was made. Walker provides background information for Abby, making it clear why this case is personal for her and I wish that she had written the character in a way that made Abby personal to the reader. I think writing both characters in first person would have helped this issue.

Although the plot is solid, there is a lot of telling, rather than showing the events leading up to solving this cold-case. Much of the story is told through interviews with Cass and this device grew tedious. I think my main disconnect, wasn't the story itself, but the way in which it was told. I wish we had been allowed a more personal look at the characters and that as a reader, I could come to my own conclusions, rather than having everything spelled out for me. 

RECOMMEND- No. I truly didn't enjoy Emma in the Night. However, I saw enough potential in Walker's storytelling and I've heard fabulous things about her debut novel, All is Not Forgotten, that I plan on buying it. Walker warrants a second chance.

Book Review- Jenny Zhang's Sour Heart: Stories

Thank You to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an advance copy of Jenny Zhang's Sour Heart: Stories, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - Jenny Zhang's Sour Heart: Stories is a collection of connected stories following Chinese immigrants living in New York. There is a heavy emphasis on young, female characters, who are trying to understand both their new country and their parents, who lived through China's cultural revolution.

LIKE- I grew up in a middle-class, culturally diverse neighborhood and many of my close friends are Chinese. Despite experiencing diversity in my life, I've realized that my reading selections are not as diverse as they could and should be. I'm grateful that Zhang's Sour Heart: Stories found its way to my TBR Pile. 

I was most interested in the parts that focused on the family relationships, specifically the differences between growing up during the Cultural Revolution and this new generation, that is growing up in America. There is a huge challenge with regard to communication between the generations. The challenge isn't limited to the generations, it also comes with the different perspectives of the immigrants. Although they all arrive in America with little in way of possessions or money and they meet as strangers sharing a cramped apartment, each family does come from a different background and brings their unique perspective. Zhang's stories are filled with a huge variety of character experiences.

My favorite story was the last chapter, one dealing with the title character who has been nicknamed Sour Heart for her love of sour foods. In the last story, she is an adult examining the relationship she has with her relatives, both her parents and relatives in China. It's complicated and includes so many layers. How do you bond with blood when you live so far away and have had such differences in your life? 

DISLIKE- As much as I admire Zhang's storytelling, I have to admit that I felt a disconnect. I found the sections of the girls trying to fit in to their American schools, to be less engaging. Some of their behavior and frank sex talk didn't ring true to my childhood experience and it was hard to connect. 

RECOMMEND- Yes. Sour Heart: Stories was uneven for me, but I'd still recommend it. I've not been exposed to many other fictional stories on this subject and for diversity reasons, Sour Heart: Stories is a worthy read. When I was engaged in Zhang's writing, she absolutely shined and I felt moved by her characters and prose. I look forward to discovering more of her writing.