BookHungry May Selection: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

It's that time again.  Time when five twitter buds come together to read and review a book chosen by the circle.  This month we read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Description from Amazon:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? 

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Sounds intriguing?  Right?  Yes, it does.  But in theory while this book made me think, I can't say I liked it.  Was the writing done well?  Yes.  Were the characters developed?  Yes.  So it may be a little difficult for me to adequately explain why I didn't love this story.

Oh, who am I kidding.  No it won't.

The first part of the book carry's us through the story of Amy and Nick.  How they meet and end up moving from New York City to a little town in Missouri.  In Nick's passages we are with him in the present.  In Amy's, we follow her through diary entries.  

I didn't like Nick.  I wanted to like Nick.  What I did like was the reference to The Sure Thing.   I could write paragraphs telling you about that.  Unfortunately, we're not here to discuss one of John Cusack's best flicks (in this humble girl's opinion).  No, we're here to talk about my feelings toward Gone Girl.  Can I just say in reference to The Sure Thing there is a scene where John Cusack's character is explaining why Nick is a really good name for a guy.
 

"Yeah, Nick. Nick’s a real name. Nick’s your buddy. Nick’s the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car, Nick!"

I think this sums of the main character in this book absolute.  Or at least the kind of guy Nick wants to be.  He is very aware of how he appears and works hard to portray certain feelings and emotions, or at least the ones he thinks people want to see.

Contrived and sneaky.

Speaking of feelings.  I had plenty reading this and they varied in intensity.  Times I sympathized with Nick.  Times I felt his pain, real or imagined.  But then we learn what that burner phone he carries is really for and just like that (snap) I was over Nick.  

In the beginning I felt for Amy too.  Sympathy for her life and how she was raised.  The one thing Gillian Flynn did brilliantly was send my loyalties careening back and forth between the two characters. 

For a time.  

Then we hit part two and while the book moved much faster for me here, this is where it also went off the rails.  I felt my dislike bloom and grow for these two needy crackpots.  And crackpots they were.  Both of them.

This is a "thriller" so I don't want to give anything away.  The story was well written, but at the end I just didn't have any emotional investment in either Nick or Amy.  And don't even get me started on the ending.  The last sentence rings true for these two, but I would have preferred something more in keeping with the story.  

Don't take my word for it.  Read it.   Come back and tell me what you think.  Because this story will make you think.  And think and think.  Even now, a week later, I'm still cringing and a little repulsed and extremely glad these two are fictional or at least I hope they are.  

To be fair, I think it takes a talented writer to create characters that you don't or can't like and write a story that is cringe worthy while still leaving you on the edge of your seat.  Don't worry, if you don't want to read it, I heard they're making a movie out of it.

Have you read it?  What did you think?  Tell me.

Hangin' with the BH Crew

So.  Last night we had our very first Google Hangout for our BookHungry club.

Yeah, we had a few technical difficulties we need to work through.  

But it was fun.  

I got to see the ladies I have been tweeting, blogging and talking to for the last three years.  And that was delightful.  Well except when Karla got to big for her britches, which should be hard for her to do since she has now officially lost over 110 pounds.  She lost a whole person.  Maybe a somewhat slight anorexic person, but still.

We got to commiserate with Patty about dieting.  Which we both hate.  And we were all reassured just seeing Abby after the events at the Boston Marathon.  We have been worried.

I think the best part was we got to welcome a new BookHungry Member.  It's been us four for so long that it was nice making a new friend.  

Of course I think Blake got the quick version on how we critique our books.  Thumbs up or thumbs down we all just get together for the chit chat.  And really, isn't that the whole point to girlfriends?

Come back on Thursday and you can read my review for this months selection.

BookHungry's March Selection...Learning to Swim

This month's bookhungry selection came to us from Karla Nellenbach.

Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry.

Amazon's Blurb:

“If I’d blinked, I would have missed it. But I didn’t, and I saw something fall from the rear deck of the opposite ferry: a small, wide-eyed human face, in one tiny frozen moment, as it plummeted toward the water.”

When she sees what looks like a child tumbling from a ferry into frigid Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. When she gets the child to shore she discovers that his name is Paul, he speaks only French—and no one seems to be looking for him.
  
Her determination to protect Paul pulls Troy from her quiet life in a small Adirondack town into an unfamiliar world of wealth and privilege in Canada and then in Vermont. Her attachment to him—and the danger she faces when she tries to unravel the mystery of his abandonment—force her to evaluate everything she thought true about herself. 

I don't even know where to start on this review.  I guess the beginning is the best place. 

"If I'd blinked, I would have missed it."

It caught me from the very first line.  Sometimes you read a book and you know exactly what it is that keeps you coming back.  That was not the case for me with this story. 

Troy sees a child plunge into the icy waters of Lake Champlain and without second thought jumps into the water in order to save him.  From here, Sara Henry takes us on a journey with Troy to find the boys family and to figure out what happened and why.  Since I don't want to give up any spoilers I will just say this.  What you think will happen doesn't and what you hope will happen won't.

The bad guy in this story wasn't a total surprise to me, I knew it had to have some crazy twist to it, and I was happy with the outcome when it came to said "bad guy".  To be honest, I would have been happier if the kidnapper had suffered more for a couple of reasons and if you read the story you'll be able to figure it out.  

Normally reviews come pretty easy to me.  In this instance that doesn't seem to be the case.  And I am pretty sure it's because the parts that were so interesting I can't really discuss without giving anything away.  It's a good read and great way to while away a pleasant afternoon. 

Sliver of Hope...Come See

 
As you guys know, I dabble in the writing.  But I have friends who are way more dedicated to the craft and therefore have had some awesome successes.  Case in point, my friend Karla.  Yes that's her right there.  --->

She is about to debut her second novel Sliver of Hope.  

And because I am one of the most important people in her universe, I was told I had to post it on my blog.  Not just that, I had to do it up big and throw her a party.  Seriously.  She said that.

So here goes. 

Sound the trumpets, throw the confetti and pop the champagne corks.  

Are you ready?  Ta Da..The cover reveal for her next book Sliver of Hope.

Isn't it gorgeous?  Even if you don't think so just nod or you won't get any champagne.  We take this shit seriously.

Now, about the book...

My twin sister was the only person in the world I thought I’d known inside and out. Apparently, I was wrong.

Twin sisters share a unique bond, one that can't be broken by miles, time, or even death.  Hannah and Hope Morton are no exception. When Hope takes her own life, Hannah loses a sister and a best friend, a catastrophe she isn't sure she'll survive herself. 

With her family in ruins, Hannah is slowly disappearing, drowning in a sea of misery.  Even her wild, energetic best friend can't pull her out of her grief.  Desperate to help Hannah, her brother comes home from college, bringing his best friend Julian along, the first boy to break Hannah’s heart.  None of their efforts are enough to pull Hannah off her self destructive path, though.  Julian is the only one who can get through to her, working his way into her frozen soul with cocky remarks and genuine love that warms her from the inside out.

As Hannah works to find answers, she continues to uncover new secrets and people that reveal a side of Hope she never shared with her twin. Alone now, Hannah must make a decision of her own: move on and start a new life with the people she has left, or let the weight of her grief drag her down with her sister.

As for the blurb on Karla; here it is...

(This should be prefaced by the fact that I wanted to write my own blurb on said friend.  But I was threatened with death strongly discouraged from it.  Something about keeping it professional.  I only snorted twice when I heard that.)

 

Karla J. Nellenbach divides her time between day jobbing, writing, and indulging in her Winchester obsession.  The rest of her day is spent playing butler to a cranky old man masquerading as a house cat and two rambunctious puppies that closely resemble small horses. 

Born and raised in the wilds of Michigan, she knows two immutable facts: (1) it is entirely possible to live in a thumb, and (2) you definitely can go home again…you just might not survive the winter.  Having resided in the sun scape of Florida for the last decade, she’s still on a quest to see a real live alligator outside of the “petting” zoo.

Karla is currently at work on her next novel.

Personally I can't wait for this book to come out since I haven't  cried myself dry since her last novel and a good soaking is due.  After all it is spring.