One Day by David Nicholls

I really liked this book! Em and Dexter meet on the last day of college, spending a day together and forming a relationship. Each chapter of the book provides a glimpse at where they are - together or apart - on the same day each year. Although that sounds like a chick flick love story, the book has much more depth and deals with some tough topics. The narrative structure is unique and I liked how the author developed the characters and wove their story together. Definitely read this book - but hurry because they are making it into a movie with Anne Hathaway that comes out later this month!

Read: October(ish) 2010 (I'm a little behind on my reviews)

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I really enjoyed this book! I heard from a friend that this was the next Hunger Games series, and I completely agree. I read this book on the flight back from Israel and was entralled. Couldn't stop reading to take the nap that I needed! This will be a trilogy, but the next book is not out yet. Here is the summary from Amazon:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Read: July 2011

Next Up: Northanger Abbey (How's that for a change?)

The Hunger Games series (Suzanne Collins)

OMG. Please read these books now. Move them to the top of your list. Please. Trust me. I should have listened to my friends who read them last year. My sister-in-law let me borrow her set and once I picked them up I could not stop. I just had to know what was happening to Katniss Everdeen. I would even go so far as to put this series on the same playing field as Harry Potter and that is saying a lot!

I don't want to give anything away so I won't try to summarize. Plus trying to explain the plot just makes the books sound weird. They are set in a futuristic world where the Capital City controls/opresses twelve Districts. In order to remind the Districts of their control, the Capital requires each District to send two children to an arena every year to fight to the death. Katniss, a young girl, takes her sister's place in the arena and unintentionally sets a revolution in motion. Sounds bizarre (and it is) but it is just so good!

Read: March/April 2011

Bonus: They are making the books into movies!

Guernesy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I love, love, loved this book! I read it on our trip to Spain in a matter of three or four days. The novel is comprised of a series of letters that reveal the story of Juliet, an author who visits the island of Guernsey after WWII and becomes enamored with the island's residents. During the war, they island was occupied by the Germans. The captive residents formed a book club and banded together, protecting each other and bravely finding ways to keep their humor and humanity. Such a touching story. Please read it.

Read: March 2010

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)

I. Loved. This. Book. It was so good! I listened to it on CD from the library, which really helped bring the characters to life. Either way, this is a must read. The story is told through the perspective of three women in Mississippi in the 1960s - two black maids and one young white woman. They weave together stories of what its like to be a maid in a white household in the Sixties. The characters really grip you. I didn't want it to end! Sometimes I would sit in the parking garage for an extra few minutes because I couldn't turn it off. I highly recommend.

Water for Elephants

This book really surprised me. In January, I was getting a pedicure and the woman next to me was reading it. We had a little discussion about books (I was reading Twilight at the time and so we talked about it). Anyway, she had about 10 pages left of this book when her pedicure was done, and I said she should just stay and finish the book (because we all know how hard it is to stop reading with only 10 pages to go!). So she finished the book and left. But less than a minute later, she walked back into the shop, handed the book to me, and said to enjoy. Total stranger just gave me her book. It caught me off guard and was a gesture I won't forget anytime soon! So I finally got around to reading it!

Water for Elephants is about Jacob, a young guy in the 1930s who hops on a circus train, ends up becoming the show's vet and falling in love, with a girl and Rosie the elephant. The story is punctuated with scenes from Jacob's life as an elderly man, looking back on his crazy days in the circus. The story reels you in quickly and is really hard to put down! I learned a lot about the early circus days and what life must have been like. I had no idea what to expect from this book and ended up loving it. I highly recommend!

Read: April 21 - May 3
Length: 330 pages
Next Up: The Other Queen (Philippa Gregory's newest book). I am also on a little Jane Austen kick so I'm re-reading P&P. Then I really want to read her other novels! Has anyone read any Austen besides P&P? Which one should I start with?