Pieces by Maria Kostaki

Pieces
by Maria Kostaki

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Twitter @mariakostaki

Just released: May 5, 2015
Publisher: She Writes Press
Genre: Women's Fiction
Paperback: 209 pages
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
Dad, a year after your funeral I left New York and moved back home to Greece. Mom and Alexi flew off to Brazil a month earlier. Alexi went to indulge in some prime South American code and shoot a documentary about voodoo rituals in the tribes of the Amazon. Mom went for a major facelift.

When her mother, Anna, abandons her to move abroad with her new husband, Sasha is passed around her three grandparents in Cold War-era Moscow, attending first grade with a Lenin star pinned to her breast. Five years later, Anna and her husband reappear and whisk Sasha off to a “better life” in Athens, Greece. But they are not the gallant rescuers they first appear to be, and Sasha soon finds herself caught between a violent stepfather and a psychologically abusive mother. In her struggle to survive in her new world, Sasha turns to a world of invisible friends—even as she continues to long for something real. At turns haunting and uplifting, Pieces is the story of one girl’s survival and self-discovery—and her continual search for love in a world where she has been given none.

My two-bits:

Although this story finds the protagonist traveling back and forth from New York to Greece, the focus is more on the protagonist's inner turmoil rather than the places.

This story gets into the restlessness, grieving and searching mindset of the main character. As she comes to terms with her past relationships with family members and friends, she finally finds her way towards a semblance of happiness.

Although the process of self discovery kind of stories could get tedious, this gave just enough to keep me interested to the end.

About the author:

Freelance writer and copywriter based in Athens, Greece.

Treasured subjects will always be art, design, photography, architecture, literature.

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* added this to my Books On The Nightstand Bingo challenge (details) - square: Set in another country

* part of my Armchair Summer Travel (details) - check it out to enter Armchair Summer Travel Book Box Giveaway

* review copy courtesy of Summer Reading Challenge 2015. It's not too late! You can join the challenge here. @booksparks #SRC2015
Destination: Island hop to Athens, Greece

A Boy Like Me by Jennie Wood

A Boy Like Me
by Jennie Wood

Find out more about this book and author:
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Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Twitter @JennieWoodNDid

Published: 2014
Publisher: 215 Ink
Genre: LGBTQ, YA
Paperback: 270 pages
Rating: 4.5

First sentence(s):
"Katherine, would you like to go next?" But Mrs. Blunt wasn't really asking.

Born a girl, Peyton Honeycutt meets Tara Parks in the eighth grade bathroom shortly after he gets his first period. It is the best and worst day of his life. Determined to impress Tara, Peyton sets out to win her love by mastering the drums and basketball. He takes on Tara's small-minded mother, the bully at school, and the prejudices within his conservative hometown. In the end, Peyton must accept and stand up for who he is or lose the woman he loves.

My two-bits:

This is a good introduction to the transgender world which is a topic in the forefront these days since Bruce Jenner's reveal.

The story covers the span from the main character's middle grade to just right after high school years which felt like slow pacing but more realistic for a coming out moment.

Sadly, the inevitable negative aspects of what a transgender individual would encounter are touched upon. But, they do not overpower the main points of this story of self realization, growth and love.

Music plays a little part in the storyline with some behind the scenes of working at a music store and in a private recording studio.

End pages include resources for more information on transgender and LGBTQ.

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* review copy courtesy of publisher

* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: We Need Diverse Books

Paperweight by Meg Haston

Paperweight
by Meg Haston

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads -signup to win this, expires Jun 15
Facebook
Twitter @meghaston

Release date: July 2, 2015
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Genre: Illness - Eating Disorder, YA
Paperback: 304 pages
Rating: 4

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Struggling to deal with her brother's death and a past she refuses to confront, Stevie knows she has problems. But she's still furious about the fact that she's been packed off to a health clinic, in the middle of nowhere, where mobile phones are banned and communication with the outside world is strictly by permission only. The regimented and obtrusive nature of the clinic and its staff is torture to the deeply private, obstinate Stevie - and don't even get her started on the other 'inmates'.

All she wants is to be left alone...But as Stevie is about to find out, life is full of surprises. And she will prove herself stronger than she knows - even when her past finally catches her up in the most shocking and brutal way possible.

My two-bits:

A serious read indeed.

The tough road to healing in mind, body and spirit are addressed in this story that deals with different kinds of loss for a teen including grief from death, parents divorce and self love.

The process that the main character goes through was handled well in pacing and with relationships formed at the clinic.

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* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Green Cover

* review copy courtesy of Epic Reads

Us by David Nicholls

Us
by David Nicholls

Find out more about this book and author:
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Goodreads
BookExcerpt
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Facebook

Published: 2014
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Hardback: 416 pages
Rating: 4.5

David Nicholls brings the wit and intelligence that graced his enormously popular New York Times bestseller, One Day, to a compellingly human, deftly funny new novel about what holds marriages and families together—and what happens, and what we learn about ourselves, when everything threatens to fall apart.

Douglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that, against all odds, seduces beautiful Connie into a second date . . . and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades after their relationship first blossomed in London, they live more or less happily in the suburbs with their moody seventeen year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce.

The timing couldn’t be worse. Hoping to encourage her son’s artistic interests, Connie has planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world’s greatest works of art as a family, and she can’t bring herself to cancel. And maybe going ahead with the original plan is for the best anyway? Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage, and might even help him to bond with Albie.

Narrated from Douglas’s endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves, and learning how to get closer to a son who’s always felt like a stranger. Us is a moving meditation on the demands of marriage and parenthood, the regrets of abandoning youth for middle age, and the intricate relationship between the heart and the head. And in David Nicholls’s gifted hands, Douglas’s odyssey brings Europe—from the streets of Amsterdam to the famed museums of Paris, from the cafés of Venice to the beaches of Barcelona—to vivid life just as he experiences a powerful awakening of his own. Will this summer be his last as a husband, or the moment when he turns his marriage, and maybe even his whole life, around?

My two-bits:

The painful realities of this family's life with an unlikable narrator made this story uncomfortable and unpleasant to read about. BUT, as the story progressed the growth development of each character (especially the narrator) changed my view.

I also liked how this story intermingles past and present in a summer road trip kind of setting with travels through European countries that include France, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain.

AND, I really enjoyed the descriptions of the places visited with museum art trivia thrown in. More places to add to my travel bucket list!

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* listened to audio version

* part of Man Booker Prize Reading challenge

* added this to my Books On The Nightstand Bingo challenge - square: Red Cover

* part of my Armchair Summer Travel (details) - check it out to enter Armchair Summer Travel Book Box Giveaway

Stacking the Shelves - 6.13.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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For Review:

Vote for Remi
by Leanna Lehman
-YA
courtesy of BookSparks
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Pieces
by Maria Kostaki
-Women's Fiction
courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2015
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Summer Secrets
by Jane Green
-Women's Fiction
courtesy of BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2015
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
Library:

#GIRLBOSS
by Sophia Amoruso
-Business, Memoir
Amazon | Goodreads
The founder of Nasty Gal offers a sassy and irreverent manifesto for ambitious young women

At seventeen, Sophia Amoruso decided to forgo continuing education to pursue a life of hitchhiking, dumpster diving, and petty thievery. Now, at twenty-nine, she is the Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Nasty Gal, a $100+ million e-tailer that draws A-list publicity and rabid fans for its leading-edge fashion and provocative online persona. Her story is extraordinary—and only part of the appeal of #GIRLBOSS.

This aspirational book doesn’t patronize young women the way many business experts do. Amoruso shows readers how to channel their passion and hard work, while keeping their insecurities from getting in the way. She offers straight talk about making your voice heard and doing meaningful work.

She’s proof that you can be a huge success without giving up your spirit of adventure or distinctive style. As she writes, "I have three pieces of advice I want you to remember: Don’t ever grow up. Don’t become a bore. Don’t let The Man get to you. OK? Cool. Then let’s do this.”

=====> listening to audio version and finding her story inspiring

OTHER things bookish-related:

Participating in Out of Time's YOU are Appreciated! - a Blogger/Author Love Project (details here). Why not join in and send some blog loving to fellow book bloggers.

Armchair Summer Traveling
check out my list here
An alternative to those who are not able to travel out-of-country for summer vacationing this year.

AND binge watching:

Inside Amy Schumer
tv series, season two
-comedy
Amazon | imdb
Amy Schumer switches from sketches, doing stand up, to interviewing people on the street and people of interest usually following a certain theme.

=====> She has a kind of sexy humor that teases that touches on some feminist issues.

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* some of these may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers