Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Jane Doiron

I guess the fact that I've posted all of three times in October versus roughly fourteen (which is still not great, BTW) in September qualifies me as a busy mom. So this was definitely the book for me to road test. Click the link in the title above to go to the book webpage. This review is part of a book tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours. I received an ARC for this review.

TBH, I most likely would've purchased one of these from a bricks and mortar bookstore. I try very hard to be organized, and one of the keys is good tools to help you become and remain organized. This book is one of those tools. Funny observation- the dessert section is pretty early on in this book. To my way of thinking placing it there matches up pretty closely with how my days go sometimes- I just want to start with dessert and skip the main course entirely. IIRC Garfield agrees with me!

On a slightly more serious note, I appreciated the tips pages in the very front of the book the most. They helped keep me on track and out of the woods several times. The recipes themselves are as advertised: quick, familiar, and easy. Even your fussiest appetite will find something to love in here. Most of all the recipes use mainly pantry staples, which means no buying an unfamiliar ingredient that will then sit on your shelves unused. Which is always a plus nowadays with the economy being what it is.

Around my house the earliest bus pick up is 6:15 am. Obviously that means sleeping in until 5:45, racing through a shower and running out the door at 6:10. If I'm lucky this child remembers to grab the premade lunch & a quick yogurt or piece of fruit for breakfast. I tried some of Ms. Doiron's breakfast recipes, some of which can be 'bus stop friendly' or carpool friendly or what have you. Now, I tried them over the weekends, so we've yet to try and incorporate them into the am frenzy, but we're going to give it a try.

Another child despises standard breakfast fare and is known to eat hot chili or tuna salad in the morning before school. Make Ahead Meals came to the rescue for this child too, because the recipes I tried hold up quite well for reheating any leftovers the next morning. If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, that is. I don't always have those. The hubby is on a supervised diet, which the side dish and soup sections accommodated with only a few changes here and there.

Overall, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms was a success for our house. The recipes are teen friendly (both to cook and to eat), fussy-eater friendly and sure to save your bacon in an emergency. Plan out a week's menu using this book, go to the grocery store and try it out. Ms. Doiron's book is a winner in the daily struggle to feed the kids and maintain some sanity.




Cover image found on Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours

Four Wives; Wendy Walker

Ms. Walker is a new to me author published by St. Martin's Griffin. Full disclosure: I received this title as an ARC from Phenix Publicity for the purpose of this review. This title sparked much conversation between the Hubby and myself, with different reactions from both of us. It would be a fabulous title for a book discussion group.

This is a story of four women who start off the story playing in the shallow end of life's pool and end up in the deep end. How they went from shallow to deep and how they rescued themselves (most of them anyway) and each other. Superficially Four Wives is centralized around planning a charity fundraiser. However, IMO Four Wives is actually a character study of these women, their marriages & the superficiality that infects them all to one degree or another.

There is Janie the Barbie wife, who has all of the fabulous and perfect Barbie accoutrements (house, kids, car, trainer, servants, plastic surgery, husband), except maybe she doesn't love her husband anymore and sex with him is icky now. Ooops. Then there's Marie, a Harvard trained lawyer who gave up an exciting & thriving career in New York City to live the suburban lifestyle she was supposed to want. Poor Marie didn't realize just how much suburban living would suck the vitality out of her. Love is the doctor's wife, but she's too stressed, too anxious, too guilt ridden to truly enjoy her children, her husband or the storybook life she's created. But what is she hiding? Last is Gayle, the old line New York family member, wealthy in her own right. She's everyone's guiding light. Gayle is way too much of a control freak, way too reserved to throw her social weight and influence around too much. So- what is Gayle keeping at bay with all of those pills she takes?

These women, these characters, provoked very strong reactions. The conversations between Hubby and I were animated and thought provoking. Ms. Walker paints true to life people and places them in a complex social and moral situation and then stirs the pot, leaving the reader to eagerly devour the pages wondering just how will everything fall into place at the end. The dynamic of one woman who makes a moral judgement that may have serious repercussions throughout her life is placed alongside another woman who is so self absorbed that she doesn't consider anything other than what she wants and how to get it. Alternatively there are women who play out life scripts written for them when they were children. Which ones of these ladies will triumph?

One quote stood out for me at the end, a quote that I think is representative of the novel as a whole. In my book it's on page 353:

"She had done a lot of thinking about the state of affairs between men and women and the attempts they made to share one life, one home. Was there ever really harmony without one person's submission?"

All I can say is wow. Four Wives is wonderful: thought provoking, conversation stirring, exciting. My hubby has borrowed it and plans to read it. If he wants to write a review I will post it and link the two reviews. Ms. Walker has another book out titled Social Lives which comes out September 1st. Run out and buy or borrow Four Wives, you won't be sorry.

Twenties Girl; Sophie Kinsella

Twenties Girl is my very first Sophie Kinsella book. I know, I know I must be the very last woman on earth who hasn't read the Shopaholic series. I've been living under a rock reading other stuff, I guess. I will be up front and say I received an ARC from Random House for the purpose of this review. Link to Ms. Kinsella's site in the title above. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have picked this up on my own- and I would've missed a fabulous, funny book.

Twenties Girl is the story of two young women, Lara and Sadie, who have opposite temperments using their individual strengths and weaknesses to help the other cope with and transcend the vagaries of life. That sounds very serious, but truly Ms. Kinsella has a deft touch for comic yet true to life situations that would curl your hair if it was you, but are somehow hilarious when it happens to someone else. In a way I think this is also Lara's coming of age tale. By helping Sadie Lara must let go of preconceived notions and castles in the air and learn to be assertive and cope with life as it is, not life as she wishes it would be. For Sadie's part, well- she needs to learn to put others' needs ahead of her own, to be more forgiving.

Lara Lington is a mid twenties age Londoner who gave up her job to open an executive search firm with her 'best friend' Natalie. Lara's problems result from impulsivity and a pronounced tendency to be chameleon-like in the face of even the barest criticism. Sadie is Lara's long ignored elderly aunt. Rather, Sadie's ghost is haunting Lara. In her own mind, at her death Sadie is twenty three. At the height of her beauty and happiness, feeling as though she's at the top of the world. Except she's actually one hundred five. And very dead. Sadie wants Lara to find her favorite necklace and she threatens to haunt Lara until and unless she finds the necklace and returns it to Sadie.

Lara and Sadie are hilarious and heartbreaking. I found Sadie the more compelling character despite the book's primary focus on Lara's arc. Sadie manages to prod, drag and hound Lara into clarity of purpose and determination via Sadie's compelling need for a missing art deco dragonfly necklace. Throw in a smarmy coffee chain magnate uncle and his family, parents who know something's wrong but who won't corner Lara into honesty and the reader has a mixture of plot and character that are sure to keep you laughing as you devour the story.

Laughter's a formidable weapon in Ms. Kinsella's arsenal as she leads readers into a superficially shallow, fun storyline that has at it heart, a compelling narrative about family, love, and self respect. Full of fun anecdotes about life in the roaring twenties I loved reading about, Twenties Girl makes for a laugh out loud, "oh no she didn't" kind of read sure to make you smile.

P.S. The funeral at the end was a unique and touching tribute to Sadie! Just the right send off, I think.




Image found on Random House Library.

The Book of Unholy Mischief; Elle Newmark

All I can say is yummy. From beginning to end: yummy. Elle Newmark's newest book is an historical thriller wrapped in a delicious disguise as a tour of a 15th century Venetian kitchen. I was invited to review this novel by Pump Up Your Book Promotion and received a (signed!!yay!!) review copy. The image here is of the audiobook, but the cover is the same. Via Simon & Schuster. I spent most of this book hungry. I warned you. lol :) If you are a fan of Ariana Franklin's work, this is definitely one to try.

The plot is deceptively simple: the Doge's chef rescues a near starving street urchin named Luciano & makes him the chef's apprentice. Luciano, along with most of Venice, becomes obsessed with a fabled book that is rumored to have recipes not only for making gold, but for immortality itself. And wealthy Venetians want it. The apprenticeship is a huge opportunity for an uneducated bastard who'd been on the streets of Venice since he was five. Hints are placed carefully so that soon you realize there is significantly more happening to this story than you thought there would be. Venice herself, that grand lady, as well as the food, the cuisine, and most especially her politics are all characters who play a part.

Adjective upon adjective wells up in my mind when thinking about The Book of Unholy Mischief. Lush, sensual and decadent are only three of them. Feast for the senses, 'purple prose' for epicures, to use a romance cliche in the best sense of the phrase. The relationships are complicated by lust, greed, curiosity, furtiveness, revenge and the need for secrecy. Knowledge is power. Venetians, running a shipping empire, know this more than others. For some the quest drives them ever higher, ever onward. But who will pay the price?

The narrative is nonlinear and Ms. Newmark leads the reader along by the stomach, which is entirely pleasant, I assure you. There are a few words and phrases in Italian (also French and Spanish) which are translated at the author's website, here. I realize this review is short, but in my defense I have to say I honestly found very little to critique in The Book of Unholy Mischief, indeed very little to quibble over. For me this is a book to savor much like a ripe peach- sweet, intense, full of delicious juices and you're sorry when it's done. Like homegrown tomatoes, Ms. Newmark's book is the best of the bunch. Is that enough food metaphors for you? This is a book I would have purchased on my own- run out and buy one yourself. It's worth it's weight in ripe peaches! Or homegrown tomatoes. lol :)

PS~ Ms. Newmark has a blog where she discusses book signing in Venice and her age as well as a video walking tour. Click here.

Certain Jeopardy; Struecker & Gansky

Certain Jeopardy is a military thriller written by Cpt. Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky and will be published by B & H Publishing this month. I received an ARC of this book for the purposes of this review & where cited, the page numbers refer to the ARC I was given. There are some spoilers at the end this review, and I apologize ahead of time for that. I had serious issues with certain sections of the book. In order to address my concerns I decided that revealing some of the plot points was necessary. I want to say upfront that despite my concerns and issues with some of the plot problems I very much enjoyed this book. It's absolutely an edge of your seat, stay up late & finish no matter how early you have to get up.

Military thriller is a genre I don't read very much, although I often enjoy them when I do read them- particularly when they are well done. I will say up front that my personal history colors my views about this genre: my husband served in the combat arms branch of the US military back in the days before cell phones & internet service, never mind satellite cell & internet. I have found it impossible to read military thrillers or military romances without my "real world" experiences coloring my impressions. Certain Jeopardy can be divided into two POVs: the homefront and theater actions. The wives and the guys, if you will.

A small squad of Army special forces enlisted soldiers gets tasked to deploy on a mission to Venezuela for some intelligence gathering. As is typical for these things, there is no prior warning & the soldiers are not allowed to tell their families any basic information any family (military or civilian) might like to have: what, where, when, how long, etc. After the squad arrives and sets up, the situation rapidly becomes more dangerous for a variety of reasons. As I have no direct combat experience, I can't vouch for how realistic these sections might be. Having spent quite a significant amount of time with combat soldiers, IMO the rhythm and tone of their interactions is familiar.

It was nice to read an action thriller that's set amid current political issues in a pair of countries I've not seen used as a backdrop for covert military action in a book. The premise is well thought out: the US squad arrives in Venezuela to do their surveillance and the Venezuelans, coincidentally, have 'hotted' things up a bit by kidnapping a nuclear scientist and holding his family hostage. It was fun, I enjoyed this part.

The authors were careful to show just how hard it is for the service member and the spouse left behind to cope with everyday events. Regardless of which spouse is staying home, it's always hard to shoulder both roles when a spouse is deployed. Doubly so when the service member is totally out of contact. Life goes on in all of its messy, overscheduled, drama laden ways no matter how tired or stressed the partner is. I appreciated that about this novel- the life of a spouse left behind is not a bed of roses. Then again- when your service member is literally out of touch? Whining, berating the spouse for the career s/he chose, complaining about anything the service member can't help you with right then? Pointless & stressful for the soldier who is deployed far far away & can't do a damn thing to actually help you. Do both of you a favor & call someone else & bitch.

The conflict between what a soldier may be called to do & what he may believe is morally right is also well done. One of the squad members struggles with what needs to be done in terms of getting the task accomplished successfully & the fact that he's no longer as sure as he once was that the ends justify the means. Too, the depiction of faith as the bulwark that sustains and eases the day to day crises and problems of the spouses and families left behind during all too frequent deployments was wonderful. In my personal experience faith was critical in sustaining families during deployments.

It's two of the wives' parts I have issues with. Specifically with the storyline of the pregnant wife. Every combat unit we were with, the squad and platoon leaders wives understood that they were to contact the top of the phone tree if there were any problems. Anything. Anytime. Problem number one: the squad leader's wife, Stacy, has no idea why this other woman is calling her since they don't actually know each other. Hello?? You're the squad leader's wife. It's part of the territory. Poor Lucy called the top of the phone tree for help- just as she was supposed to. Doesn't matter if Stacy knows her or not. Stacy should have known that once the men deployed she would be the point of contact for the squad wives. Problem two: once the seriousness of the problem with Lucy was known, the squad leader's wife would have contacted the chain of command for help, as well as the American Red Cross. This never happens. She contacts the chaplain- which is fine as far as it goes. But that's not all that would have happened. Neither of these are minor things for me. These are important flaws in the wives' part of the story. The wives' story, the home front story should get as much accuracy as the action sections.

The other problem I have with this aspect of the story is that Lucy is said to be twelve weeks from her due date. (p. 107) A normal pregnancy is forty weeks. This puts Lucy at twenty eight weeks pregnant. No matter what medical problem is happening with the mother or her pregnancy, a twenty eight week gestation- a 28 week baby- has an almost guaranteed survival rate if the child is delivered alive. Mr. Struecker and Mr. Gansky write that Lucy and her baby have such a problem that the physicians want to abort the pregnancy. (p. 171) No physician, no obstetrician, would abort a living child to save the mother in the instance of the medical problem described, at the gestation this character was said to be. Deliver the baby, absolutely. Put the baby in NICU, put the mom in ICU, absolutely. Abort a living child when the pregnancy jeopardizes the mother's life??! Absolutely not. A baby delivered at that gestation is likely to live. Obstetricians would want the best outcome for both the mother and the child- would want both to live. There is nothing implied to be wrong with the baby, so..if there's a NICU, then they could deliver the child & save both of them. Right? No NICU? Then they would have been transported to a facility where there was one. How do I know all this? My loving & devoted ex combat arms soldier husband became an Army OB/GYN nurse.

My only other negative reaction to Certain Jeopardy is the death of the nonbeliever. The only squad member who actively criticizes Christian faith dies. I thought his death was an unnecessary swipe at those readers who might be unchurched. A thinly veiled commentary, if you will. IMO this character's conversion after his experiences would've had much more impact- positive impact at that.

Despite the problems I had with this book I enjoyed it very much. The depiction of home life and theater action was superb. An excellent book, well worth reading, especially if you're interested in a true to life glimpse of what military life is like for the combat branches.

This title is available in paperback from Amazon.com as well as in ebook form for the Kindle.

The Skinny; Rayni Joan

The Skinny, written by Rayni Joan was published by Keyhole Publications in 2008. It is a fictionalized memoir- a new and, dare I say, unique subgenre only recently come into being. Ms. Joan’s book discusses in depth a young woman’s journey into the depth and pain and seeming endless circle of eating disorders facilitated by family dysfunction, inept psychiatric advice and habit. I have read quite a bit in the areas of nutrition, food culture, weight problems and related psychiatric disorders. The entwined working of the human mind and the body fascinate me. So when the email landed in my box talking about Ms. Joan’s book I agreed to review it. Apologies up front for my tardiness in posting this review. I received an ARC for the purposes of this review.

The Skinny details the childhood and early adulthood of one Rowena Wine in the so called golden era after the second world war. The Wine family lives on the brink: financially, emotionally and for Rowena, physically. The Wine household is explosive. From the beginning Rowena’s father singles her out for harsh punishment and presents her with ever changing unattainable goals. Very often Rowena’s days end with spankings or beatings with a belt- or worse. Rowie has only two solaces: her grandparents, who live upstairs, and her ability to compartmentalize the endless warfare and torment that surrounds her.

Her environment is out of control, Rowie, like many people who live in untenable situations, desperately needs to control something. In her ‘tween years Rowie learns that she feels safe and in control if she purges (induces vomiting) after eating meals. Victoria, her little sister, admonishes her & worries about her. Karen, the eldest, tries to show Rowie how to fake asthma attacks and how to appear compliant so Rowie won’t be punished so much. No dice. Rowie doesn’t have that type of survival skill. Once Rowie asks her mother if throwing up is ok and her mother tells her that if it controls Rowie’s weight it’s fine. So begins the awful cycle of never being _______ enough: thin, smart, beautiful, accomplished, etc. etc.

Unfortunately, the very compartmentalization that helps her survive her childhood hinders her ability to flourish as an adult. Rowena has performed a mental trick so that it’s almost as though her mind and her body are separate entities. She treats her body as though it’s a commodity to be traded in place of authentic emotions. Sadly, her several attempts to find help and stop purging aren’t successful. Her problems continue to spiral.

The Skinny is gut wrenching and hard to read. And yet, it’s clear from the start- Rowie’s a survivor, a fighter, a winner. It may take her awhile. The price will be pretty high. She’s determined to win it all her way. I found myself identifying with some of Rowie’s feelings and motivations- I was sad that she treated herself this way or believed this particular thing about herself. I rooted for her all the way, though. No matter what happened I wanted her to win.

Sidenote: I am not a physician or a psychiatrist or mental health worker of any type. None of these recommendations is intended to replace trained medical or mental health assistance. If you struggle with eating disorders, please consider getting help.

1. Click here for a list of DSM IV diagnosis criteria for eating disorders.

2. This site has quite a bit of information about all types of eating disorders as well as recovery information.

Messiah Interviews; Jerry Pollock

Messiah Interviews written by Jerry J Pollock was published by Shechinah Third Temple this month. I received an ARC of this book for the purposes of this review. I will say upfront I don’t believe I am versed enough in Judaism, Jewish Messianism and Third Temple lore to comment on the religious basis of Mr. Pollock’s beliefs as stated in this book. The back cover states that Messiah Interviews should be shelved in the religion & spirituality reference area, but I had been under the impression this was fiction. Due to my professed ignorance I will direct my thoughts to other aspects of this book.

I believe that Mr. Pollock’s book can be attributed to the maxim “An unexamined life isn’t worth living.” The first section of the book is essentially Mr. Pollack’s autobiography. Mr. Pollock discusses his in detail going through Primal Therapy, a la Arthur Janov. He relates and expounds on the profound damage early traumatic experiences may have on infants and children and how these ripples can be felt many years later as crippling mental illness. I was confused and distanced by Mr. Pollock’s references to himself in the plural even after it became clear via the text that in fact there was no twin, only himself. This was summarily dealt with in a single paragraph in the second section- which I found abrupt. I wanted more of an explanation of what the author’s purpose in creating this “twin” was.

The remainder of the book further expounds on Mr. Pollock being interviewed by various and sundry figures out of the Old Testament. The aim of the questions, both mundane and profound, is to determine Mr. Pollock’s potential in becoming the Messiah of the Third Age. As I stated above, I’ve no deep learning in Judaism, the Third Temple or Old Testament readings regarding the same. It isn’t my place to judge the accuracy or truthfulness of Mr. Pollock’s narrative. Messiah Interviews proved to be informative and interesting reading. I would recommend at least rudimentary familiarity with Judaism, beliefs concerning the Third Temple and Old Testament reading concerning the same. Some familiarity with Primal Therapy might help as well.

Edited, Jan. 31, 2009: To correct spelling of Mr. Pollock's name and offer my apologies for the error. To add image credit to Mobipocket.

Dirt; Mark LaFlamme

Dirt is an apropos political thriller written by Mark LaFlamme. According to the biography on his webpage, Mr. LaFlamme is a crime reporter based in Lewiston Maine. This is his fourth novel, although he has also written short fiction in addition to his regular work. This novel is set in his native region. Being a native of the state next door, it was fun reminiscing about the times I’d been to various locales Mr. LaFlamme mentions. Dirt is part psychological exposition and part political action thriller. Speaking for myself, it sent me in search of the DSM IV to look up necrophilia. The premise of the book is creepy and unsettling and unusual, to say the least. I presume Mr. LaFlamme’s imagination is amply fueled by his day job. Human depravity surely provides much fuel for his novels.

The plot appears to be straightforward, at least initially. Frank Cotton, the governor of Maine, is running for President. His son Calvin, inconveniently enough, has absconded with the body of his recently deceased wife. The governor’s campaign manager, Gary Orp, has hired a discreet reliable man named Thomas Cashman to ‘take care of’ the problem. Find Calvin and the body so it could all be hushed up before the press vultures hear about it and ruin Frank Cotton’s chances to be President. Naturally, it’s also shortly before the New Hampshire primary, so tiny northern New England is absolutely overrun with vultures, er.. reporters. The setting is very well chosen and thought out, providing intensity and a short time frame and internal deadlines integral to the story.

Honestly, I found the premise of this novel extremely gruesome. The imagery of a delusional man running around with a decaying corpse chased by an alcoholic novelist and a hired hitman was almost more than I could take. But Dirt can be read as more of a psychological study of individuals in extremis, a study of the relationships of people in pursuit of political power, as opposed to a simply following a madman and a corpse around New England. As an aside, I appreciated Mr. LaFlamme’s nod to history by using historical New England surnames in this story. Dirt is a compelling page turner of a novel, a study of power, alcoholism, obsession, death, grief and control.

Image found on Mr. LaFlamme's myspace page.

Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this title.