Kali and the Rat Snake by Zai Whitaker and Srividya Natarajan

Kali and the Rat Snake written by Zai Whitaker and illustrated by Srividya Natarajan was one of the hardcover picture books Serena gave The Girl for Christmas.  It came in a package of multicultural books, and The Girl and I have enjoyed reading books that take place in other countries and teach us a little bit about other cultures.

In Kali and the Rat Snake, we had a chance to visit a village in India.  The main character, Kali, is proud that he belongs to the Irula tribe and that his father is one of the most famous snake catchers in his village.  However, Kali feels like the other children in his class look down on him because he is an Irula and because of his father's profession.  He trudges to school every day, not wanting to go to school, where he has no friends.  He doesn't want to stand out, but it is hard to hide that he's a good student.  The ways of his tribe make him different than the other students; for instance, he brings fried termites as a snack -- his favorite -- but he sits away from the other children for fear they will make fun of him.  But when an unexpected visitor enters the classroom and wreaks havoc, Kali is not afraid to take action, and the results change his life.

Kali and the Rat Snake teaches children about acceptance, how they should embrace who they are and be willing to reach out to people different from themselves.  Differences can make children feel uncomfortable, but if they are not afraid or arrogant, they can open themselves up to new experiences and find that despite these differences, everyone is really the same.  Everyone longs for acceptance and desires friendship.

In addition to the beautiful lesson and the glimpse of a culture foreign to us, we enjoyed Kali and the Rat Snake for the illustrations.  They are bright and vivid, and they really help to put you in the scene.  My daughter was able to easily read the story by herself, but we read aloud together, alternating pages.  The story captured our interest from the first page, and even though she was able to guess what would happen after reading only a few pages, we thought it was a great story and would recommend it to other young readers and their parents.


Here's what The Girl (age 9) had to say:

This book is about a kid named Kali who has no friends.  His dad catches snakes.  He hates school so he walks there slowly.  I liked this book because it shows what other people's schools look like.  All the children learned to be friends and don't make fun of other people.  Other people should read this book.

Disclosure:  We received Kali and the Rat Snake as a gift.


and

And the winners are...

The winners of Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell, courtesy of Sourcebooks, are:

windycindy

etirv

Congratulations and happy reading!  I've passed your addresses on to the publisher, and you should receive your copies soon.

Katie & Kimble: A Ghost Story by Linda Thieman

Katie & Kimble:  A Ghost Story is the first in a series of chapter books for young readers by Linda Thieman.  Readers are introduced to 9-year-old Katie Russell on moving day.  As Katie and her family settle in their new home, they discover they are not alone.  Also living in the Russell's home is the ghost of a 10-year-old girl, Kimble.  She's excited about Katie's family moving in because she wants a friend her own age.  She leaves Katie gifts, like a hair bow, that sow the seeds of friendship.  Katie realizes that something odd is going on, and she begins to investigate.  She isn't afraid when she sees Kimble, and the two immediately become close friends who discover the importance of helping out friends in times of need.

Katie & Kimble:  A Ghost Story is a cute story for young readers, teaching them the value of friendship and a loving family and showing them that they don't need to be afraid of things that can't be explained -- in this case, ghosts.  It's geared toward the 7-10 age group, and I think it's a great book to reinforce reading skills for kids who are having trouble or are just starting to read on their own.  My daughter is 9, and while she liked the story itself, she felt the really short sentences made the story drag.  She's already reading 100+ page chapter books on her own, but while the writing style was a bit young for her, I'm not sure about other kids her age.

I like how Thieman describes Katie & Kimble:  A Ghost Story as "a non-fear-based story of healing."  When my daughter heard it was a ghost story, she was hoping to be scared.  I explained to her that the point was NOT to scare kids and that some kids are not as interested in creepy, scary stories.  I think these children would especially enjoy Katie & Kimble.

The only real downside to the book is the illustrations.  There wasn't anything wrong with the illustrations themselves, but I wished they would have all pertained to the story.  It's hard to explain, but I'll try.  In one scene, Katie's family is camping out in the living room for the night, as they'd just moved in.  But instead of including a picture of a family camped out on the floor, there's a picture of a sleeping bag.  Just a sleeping bag.  There's another page where the only picture is of a glass holding a cold drink, and there's only a couple of paragraphs in which Katie and her dad are talking over drinks.  And the pictures look more like clip art than illustrations normally seen in children's books.

Overall, Katie & Kimble:  A Ghost Story is an endearing story of two friends, both normal little girls, but one happens to be a ghost.  I'd recommend the book for the younger end of the recommended 7-10 age group.

Here's what The Girl (age 9) had to say:

Katie & Kimble was a good story. I think this is a good book for kids a little younger than me.  The story was a little slow and there were too many short sentences, but I thought it was a good story about love and friends.  I like scarier ghost stories, but Katie & Kimble is good for kids who don't want to be scared.

Check out the Katie & Kimble Blog to read other reviews from kids and check out activities related to the book.

Disclosure:  We received a free copy of Katie & Kimble:  A Ghost Story from the author for review purposes.


and

Mailbox Monday -- September 28 (or, Let's Pretend It's Monday)

I had one heck of an exhausting weekend, between helping The Girl with her science fair proposal and attending two book festivals (more on those later).  I missed my Sunday nap (boo-hoo), and yesterday was a stressful day at work that left me with a splitting headache by the time I got home.  I'm feeling much better today, thank goodness, but I was absent from the blogosphere for a few days and I'm really behind.

Today, I'm going to pretend it's Monday and post my mailbox.

Only one book this week:

The Company by K.J. Parker, which I received from Hachette.

From the back cover:

Hoping for a better life, five war veterans colonize an abandoned island.  They take with them everything they could possibly need -- food, clothes, tools, weapons, even wives.

The colonists feel sure that their friendship will keep them together.  But an unanticipated discovery shatters their dream and replaces it with a very different one.  Only then do they begin to realize that they've brought with them rather more than they bargained for.


One of them, it seems, has been hiding a terrible secret.  And when the truth begins to emerge, it soon becomes clear that the war is far from over.

I can't wait to read this one!

Thanks to Marcia from The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday.  You can click the link to see what other bookworms received over the last week.

What books have you welcomed into your home recently?

Interview with Penelope Holt, author of The Apple

Yesterday, I reviewed The Apple by Penelope Holt (click the link to read it if you haven't already), which addresses the Herman Rosenblat Holocaust hoax.

I also set up an interview with Penelope Holt, and I was surprised and delighted that she answered my questions so quickly!  It has been a pleasure corresponding with her via e-mail.  I applaud her for tackling a subject that's not easy, and as I said in my review, I think she did a good job in taking a more balanced approach to the story.

My interview with Penelope is on my Examiner page.  Click here to read it.

The Apple by Penelope J. Holt

Oprah called Herman Rosenblat's Holocaust story the "Greatest love story ever told."  I remember reading about Herman and Roma Rosenblat on CNN.  I read that Herman was in a concentration camp during World War II, and while imprisoned, he met a young girl outside the fence who would throw apples to him.  These apples helped him survive.  Later, after the war and his immigration to the U.S., Herman went on a blind date and learned that Roma was the young woman with the apples.  They later married.  What a wonderful, heart-warming story, I thought...except it wasn't true.  Well, Herman's story of surviving the Holocaust was true, but the story of the girl with the apple was not.

Penelope Holt's new book, The Apple:  Based on the Herman Rosenblat Holocaust Love Story, is an attempt to tell Herman's story, from the beginning of WWII to the lie about the apple and the publisher canceling his memoir as a result.  The chapters alternate between Herman's Holocaust story and the present, in which he deals with the fallout of the hoax.

Herman was 10 years old when Germany invaded Poland, and his family was forced to live in the Wolborz ghetto.  Herman had to deal with a lot at such a young age; his father succumbed to typhus while in the ghetto, his mother was sent to a concentration camp, and he and his three brothers moved from the Piotrkow ghetto to the Buchenwald, Schlieben, and Theresienstadt concentration camps.  The Nazis forced him to perform back-breaking labor, and the scene in which he was forced to clean excrement from the "death train" turned my stomach.  I was broken-hearted when I read about his separation from his mother.  He was sorted into a group of men, workers who would not be shipped off to die, but not knowing what was happening, Herman ran toward his mother to stay with her.  To ensure Herman wouldn't share her fate, she told him that she didn't love him and didn't want him near her.  Can you imagine having to tell your child that and that it would be the last thing you ever said to him?  It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it again. After Herman's lie about the apple was revealed, he received a lot of hate mail and even people close to him were angry and disappointed.  In Holt's version, Herman claims he wanted the story to be true, that he wanted to provide some hope and give his story some meaning.  But in the author's note, Holt says no one agrees about why Herman embellished his story.

Holt took a chance with The Apple, and her efforts to shed some light on the issue have generated much controversy, from Holocaust deniers to people who believe the hoax casts a shadow on legitimate survivor stories.  I think the book really shines in its telling of Herman's survival of the camps -- the horror, the pain, the awful reality of the Holocaust come through.  I don't think we should allow the lie of the apple to lessen the importance of his story.  As for my thoughts on the story of the apple...well, this is where my assessment of the book becomes complicated.

Rosenblat was wrong to lie, but it's not my place nor anyone else's to judge him.  Personally, I believe he should have told the truth from the start, and he could have reached a lot of people with a story of hope, courage, and survival had he marketed his book as a novel based on a true story.  However, if Rosenblat so much wanted the story of the apple to be true that it became true in his mind, maybe it was a coping mechanism.  He'd seen so many horrors in his life that he needed something positive to help him deal with his past.  It's easy to point fingers and call him a liar, but no one truly knows the psychological scars he carries with him.  It's easy for me to read books about the Holocaust and agree it was horrendous and terrible, but I never had to live through it.  Rosenblat did.  There's nothing that can be said or done to take away the disappointment and the sadness caused by the lie, but we can acknowledge it and move on.

The Apple was an interesting book.  I never was bored while reading it, though I was touched more by the story of Herman during the war than by the chapters dealing with the aftermath of the apple.  However, I wonder why Holt decided to tell Herman's story as a novel instead of a biography and why certain parts (not sure which ones) are fictionalized.  **Holt e-mailed to clarify that though the advance readers copy I received stated that it was a novel, The Apple went to press as creative nonfiction.  The plan was to write a novel, but it was relabeled since it did not deviate much from Herman's authentic Holocaust story.**  I think it is important to note that Holt does not portray Rosenblat as a saint or someone who should be pitied.  I think it was her intent to show the horrors the Nazis inflicted upon the Jews and how it might affect -- but not justify -- someone's actions down the road.  It's about balancing the lie itself and the reasons why it was told in the first place.

For more information about the book, visit TheAppleNovel.com.

The Apple was book 22 for me for the WWII reading challenge at War Through the Generations.

**I recently posted on War Through the Generations about a giveaway of The Apple, and the post generated much discussion from people (none of whom are participants in the WWII reading challenge) opposed to the book and Rosenblat himself.  There was a lot of name calling and derogatory statements, and we were forced to delete offensive comments and eventually close the comments altogether.  I hope that doesn't happen here.  I don't expect everyone to agree, and negative comments are expected in situations such as this.  However, I hope we can have a respectful discussion of the book.  Consider yourself warned that any derogatory or offensive comments will be deleted as soon as I notice them.**

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of The Apple from York House Press for review purposes.

Night of Flames by Douglas W. Jacobson

The name fell like a sword slicing through her soul. Anna whimpered and slumped in her chair -- then lost control.

She jumped to her feet, and the metal chair clattered to the floor. She ripped the folder out of the stunned officer's hand and swatted him in the face with it. "You g*****n sick bastard," Anna screamed. "Go to hell! Go to hell and be damned!" She flung the folder across the room and sank to her knees sobbing.

Hauptsturmfuhrer Koenig stared at her for a minute, not saying a word. Then he picked up the folder, retrieved his hat and gloves and left the room. (from Night of Flames, page 253)

Night of Flames is a novel set primarily in Poland and Belgium that spans much of World War II. It opens in Warsaw in 1939 at the start of the war, with Anna Kopernik waking up to German bombs. Douglas W. Jacobson begins the story in the midst of the action and never lets up. From the very beginning, Anna is fighting for her life. After her father, a college professor, is taken to a death camp, she fears his ties to a budding resistance group make her a prime target of the Gestapo and SS, so she attempts to make her way out of Poland with her close friend, Irene, and her young son, Justyn, both of whom are Jewish.

Meanwhile, Jan Kopernik, Anna's husband, is serving as an officer in the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade. He sees his fair share of battles as the Germans invade and occupy Poland, and he narrowly escapes death on several occasions. Eventually, he makes his way to Britain and goes on several undercover missions to Poland and Belgium and forges ties with the resistance. Neither Jan nor Anna know where the other is, and as the war creeps on, they have no idea whether the other is even alive.

Night of Flames is a well-written, well-researched novel, and Jacobson's passion for the subject matter shines through. The plot is very detailed, with chapters shifting from Anna's experiences as a civilian dabbling in resistance work to Jan's experiences as a military officer and undercover agent. Jacobson also focuses on several members of the Belgian resistance and their attempts to derail the German war effort.

Jacobson doesn't delve deep into the characters, and readers don't get to fully know Anna or Jan, but it's important to note that the characters are never seen outside the context of war. Still, I grew attached to the characters, mainly their passion and their selflessness. I'm partial to strong female characters, so naturally, I liked Anna. It takes a one feisty lady to scream at and smack a creepy SS officer!

In many parts, particularly the resistance missions, Night of Flames reminded me of one of my favorite television shows, Hogan's Heroes (well, minus the POWs, anyway), but of course, it went deeper to show the stresses and weariness of war. Jacobson does a great job showing how ordinary people can become heroes in times of distress, and without going into graphic detail, he shows just how horrific war can be for both soldiers and civilians. Night of Flames ranks among the best World War II novels I've read thus far, and I had to slow myself down to savor the story and make it last. I highly recommend this book, and I think even readers who are not WWII history buffs can appreciate it as a story of courage, survival, and enduring love.

******

Night of Flames is the 21st book I've read for the WWII reading challenge at War Through the Generations. (I can't help myself...there are too many good books in this genre!)

Douglas W. Jacobson visited War Through the Generations in January to discuss the Comet Line, a real-life resistance organization that transported Allied soldiers out of Belgium. In Night of Flames, Anna goes on missions for the Comet Line. Click on these links to read Jacobson's essay: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Night of Flames from McBooks Press for review purposes.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

...A series of pictures emerges one by one. An upturned face, the light glancing off his fat baby cheeks, two teeth visible above a glistening pink lip. A wet, naked toddler caught up in a football hold, your son fresh from the bath and giggling. A fragile face, surrounded by the fake fur of his snowsuit hood, standing next to a melting snow fort. Your love for your son feels unbearable. And then you know why these innocent images have come to you at this moment, for innocence is what is lost now. Now that you have gotten the phone call. (from Testimony, page 15)

Anita Shreve is my favorite author (along with Amy Tan), and I've read all of her novels, aside from her latest, A Change in Altitude, which I will be reading very soon. Testimony ranks among the most intense of her books, focusing on a sex tape featuring 4 students at Vermont's Avery Academy and its far-reaching impact. Shreve opens the novel with the shocking discovery of the tape, and while the graphic sexual descriptions involving a 14-year-old girl might be too much for sensitive readers to handle, Shreve goes all out in showing the seriousness of the incident and its power to shatter lives.

Testimony is told from multiple viewpoints, and Shreve did a great job juggling the many characters. Avery's headmaster, several parents, and the students involved each are given a unique voice. Their stories move between the past and the present (which is a couple of years after the incident), detailing relationships and connections between the characters. They run the gamut of emotions -- shock, pain, sadness, loneliness, anger, guilt, even hope. Shreve shows how one event can devastate an entire community and alter lives forever. She successfully covers all sides of the story, delving deep, and while it was easy to keep track of each character, I didn't feel close to any of them. I was angry with them, and I felt sorry for them at various points within the story, but they didn't come as alive to me as the characters in Shreve's other novels.

As a mother, it was hard for me to read Testimony. How well do we really know our children? That's a scary thing to consider as my daughter inches closer to her teen years. This novel makes me want to lock her up and keep her to myself forever.

Testimony wasn't my favorite Shreve novel. (My favorites are Resistance and Sea Glass, both of which made me cry.) Although it didn't have the surprise ending I've come to expect from Shreve and the characters didn't grab me, it is a well-written, intense novel that is definitely worth checking out.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Testimony from Hachette for review purposes.

BBAW Giveaway Winners!!

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaways for Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

The winners of the signed copies of 10 Days: Anne Frank and Michelle Obama: An American Story by David Colbert are:

tea
Colleen
windycindy

The winners of the 5 signed copies of Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg for participants of the WWII reading challenge at War Through the Generations are:

Cheryl
Sandy
Nise'
Matt
Kathy

Congratulations and happy reading!

Mailbox Monday -- September 21

Just a few books were added to my shelves...er, floor... this week. I'm being extremely picky about review copies, but they seem to make their way to me anyway.

Here's what I received in the mail last week:

Selfless by David Michael Slater (from Absey & Co.)

The Return by Victoria Hislop (from HarperCollins for an upcoming TLC Book Tour)

Where the River Ends by Charles Martin (from Read it Forward)

The Angelic Way: Angels Through the Ages and Their Meaning for Us by Rami Shapiro (unrequested from Meryl Zegarek Public Relations)

I also snagged a free copy of Other Women's Children by Perri Klass at the train station. I think it's cool that people leave their books behind to be adopted.

Thanks to Marcia from The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday. (Click the link to see what other participants received.)

What books did you welcome into your home recently?

Interview with Susan Higginbotham, author of Hugh and Bess

Susan Higginbotham was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions I had about her latest novel, Hugh and Bess, what she likes to do in her spare time, what she's writing now, and what books are her favorites.

This interview is posted on my Examiner page, if you are interested.

And if you haven't already, check out my review of Hugh and Bess here.

BBAW: Thoughts on My Blog

Today's BBAW meme asks us to briefly discuss what we like best about our blogs and what we'd like to accomplish in the next year.

Hmm...I'm happy with the fact that I've been reviewing all the books I read, and I like how I keep track of my review links in the sidebar.

Over the next year, I wouldn't mind checking out custom-templates and cleaning up my sidebar. I'd like to have more knitting content to post, and I'd be happy to have The Girl get more involved if she's interested. I really don't know what else I'd change or do differently; I'm content with things the way they are. I don't want to stress about it too much because blogging is supposed to be fun, right?

I can't believe BBAW is coming to a close. It feels like the week just flew by! It's been a blast, and I look forward to catching up on everyone's posts next week.

BBAW Giveaway Reminder!

Don't forget about my BBAW giveaways!

Ending tonight (9/18):

Serena and I are offering a copy of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation Speaks at War Through the Generations. This giveaway is open internationally, and you don't have to be a participant of the War Through the Generations challenge to be entered!

Ending Sunday (9/20):

I'm offering signed copies of David Colbert books (10 Days: Anne Frank and Michelle Obama: An American Story). Three winners will get a copy of each book. This giveaway is open internationally. Enter here.

For participants of the WWII reading challenge who've officially completed the challenge by reading 5 books: There are 5 copies of Annie's Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg up for grabs at War Through the Generations. Steve has offered to meet me and Serena after the Baltimore Book Festival on 9/27 to sign the books for the winners. Isn't he great? This giveaway is open internationally.

For NEW participants of the WWII reading challenge: There's still time to join us, and you can count any related book you've read since the start of the year toward the challenge. There are 3 copies of Libby Cone's War on the Margins available at You've Gotta Read This...all you gotta do is post the books you've already read and the books you plan to read on your blog, sign up on War Through the Generations to participate in the challenge, and comment on Sandy's post. This giveaway is open internationally.

BBAW: Where Did I Find That Book?

I know I'm late with this meme (and I still have the one from today to write!), but things have been crazy. Last night, I was feeling burned out, so I banished myself from the computer. Then, this morning my husband calls me while I'm on the train to tell me The Girl is sick (stomach bug or something). So I did a day's worth of work in a little over three hours, took an early train home so hubby could get to work, did more work from home, and now I'm trying to pound out these posts so I can cuddle with The Girl on the couch. She's really needy when she's sick, but that's okay. I'm her mom, and I like to be needed. I just feel bad that I'm really behind in reading everyone's BBAW posts, but I'll get to them. (Don't be surprised if you see comments from me days after the end of BBAW. Sorry!)

Anyway...on to the meme. I subscribe to more than 400 blogs, and all except for a handful are book blogs, so I'm always seeing reviews of great-sounding books. I must admit, though, I'm horrible at remembering where I first saw a book, and if I was more organized, I'd probably write things like that down.

But there are a few books I've read this year, thought were great, and managed to remember the bloggers who recommended them:

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, which I saw on Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books

T4 by Ann Clare LeZotte, which I saw on Maw Books Blog

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I saw on Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?

One of my favorite things about the book blogging community is that it feels like a bunch of friends insisting that I read a certain book or cautioning me not to waste my time. And that's why I read a mix of blogs, with some delving into the book's structure and other elements and others just stating whether or not it was a good read. Thank you fellow book bloggers for all that you do to enable my addiction to books!

Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

In real life, most marriages don't come undone with one big explosion. Unlike in the movies, most wives don't stumble upon lipstick on a collar or discover a hotel receipt in a blazer pocket. Most wives don't uncover hidden gambling problems or latent addictions or experience out-of-nowhere abuse that pops up one day and destroys everything. Some do, but most, no, not most. Most marriages unravel slowly, slipping drop by drop, like water ebbing through a curled palm, until one day, you look down and notice that it, your hand, is entirely empty. That's how most marriages dissolve and run dry. And it retrospect, it's how mine came undone exactly. (from Time of My Life, page 166)

Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch seems like it's going to be a light read, but it really gets you thinking about the choices you make over the course of your life. Jillian Westfield has a seemingly perfect life. She has a husband who makes good money, a beautiful baby, a home that looks like something you'd see in a magazine, and the patience to cook gourmet meals and keep up with the housekeeping. But her relationship with Henry is stale, and when she learns that her ex-live-in-boyfriend Jackson is getting married, she wonders what would have happened had their relationship lasted. One minute Jillian is getting a deep massage and pondering the what-ifs, and the next minute she wakes up and realizes she's traveled seven years into the past. She's back in her job as an advertising director, her best friend who died in a car accident is still alive, and she's living with Jackson in their apartment.

Once she realizes that she's been given a second chance, she slips into her old life easily. She finds that she doesn't miss Henry at all, but she misses her daughter something fierce. As in the past, Jillian must deal with Jackson's overbearing mother and his attachment to her, his lack of ambition when it comes to his writing, and the mother who abandoned her as a child trying to re-enter her life. And she keeps running into Henry everywhere. Jillian thinks she knows how some things will play out, but knowing what the future holds causes her to make different decisions that change everything.

Time of My Life grabbed me from the first page. While I didn't completely identify with Jillian, I could understand how tired she was as a new mother and how tiring it can be when you try to make everything perfect. The story is told in the first person, so you know her every thought as she relives her life and you see her evolve as the months pass. The time travel aspect of the story was especially interesting because I'm sure we all at some point wish we could have a do-over, though maybe not the extent that Jillian wanted one. What I liked best about Jillian was her honesty. She was honest to herself about her loneliness, her doubts about her marriage, motherhood, and her relationship with her own mother, and she was quick to point out her own flaws and mistakes.

I thought the story was well paced and beautifully written, with characters that were well developed, real, and likeable despite their flaws. I liked that I never had the story completely figured out, and Scotch had me guessing until the end. I highly recommend Time of My Life if you've ever asked "What if?" or simply enjoy books that take a light-hearted approach to complicated issues.

******

I had the pleasure of interviewing Allison Winn Scotch, and I'd like to thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions.

What was your inspiration for Time of My Life?

Well, I'd been contemplating doing a time-travel story, but I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. I mentioned it to my agent, and I think she was deeply perplexed by both the idea and me! But I didn't know how to sort it out in my mind. But then one afternoon while the idea was brewing, my best friend called while she was on vacation where her ex-boyfriend lived, and she said, "I'm so weirded out...I can't stop thinking about what my life might have been like."

Then we had one of those intimate life conversations that you can only have with your closest friends, about her what-ifs and my what-ifs, and I assured her that this was all very normal, even though people didn't really talk about how much they wonder about what could have been. We hung up, and I headed out for a run, and BAM...the idea, characters and plotlines just presented themselves very clearly. I came home, wrote what are now the first 14 pages, and sent them off to my agent, who flipped for them. I think, as so many of us get older and look back on our younger years with nostalgia, it's very easy to consider what the other possibilities could have been -- and I wanted to explore that.

How long did it take you to write the book, and did you encounter any major challenges on the path to publication?

I actually wrote it pretty quickly, in just about two months. Looking back, that seems insane! Especially because the novel I just finished writing took a lot longer -- about 9-10 months. But it was just one of those ideas that spread like wildfire in me, and once I had it, I lived and breathed it until it was all purged on the paper.

Do you have a special or favorite place to write?

I write in my home office in NYC, which I'm very fortunate to have, given the space constraints in this city! I generally write in the mornings, once I've dropped my son off at school and surfed all my necessary pop culture sites. :) I have three nice windows that give me a lot of light, but relative peace and quiet to collect and compose my thoughts.

What are some things you enjoy doing when you're not writing?

Well, I have two kids and a dog, so I'd say that a lot of my time revolves around them! Whether or not "walking the dog," counts as something I technically enjoy is sort of beside the point. :) No, but in all seriousness, I just enjoy hanging out with my family or when I do have some spare moments, I go running, listen to music (I'm a bit of a music junkie), reading, traveling, and anything pop-culture related. Even though I'm a writer, I cop to loving TV and movies. In fact, I also write celebrity profiles, and it's always such a blast to interview actors whose work I love. It's work that doesn't feel like work at all.

What are your 5 most favorite books and why?

Oh gosh, such an impossible question given that so many dear friends are writers, but I'll name a few that have really affected me in the past few years. Fair deal?

Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris -- this was just a book that never in my wildest dreams I could have written. So impressed and amazed by what he did.

Good Grief by Lolly Winston -- this book inspired me to write my debut novel, The Department of Lost and Found. I read it and really understood for the first time, I think, how to put together a well-paced, moving novel.

The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer -- just unputdown-able for me. She took a tough sell with her protagonist and made me not only empathize with her but side with her as well.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand -- There was nothing I didn't love about this book. She made me a lifetime buyer.

How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper -- Oh man, I read this book in about 24 hours. Took it to the dog run, read it over lunch, just couldn't get enough. It was that perfect blend of funny, moving and absorbing. As a too-busy mom, I really look for books that suck me in enough to distract me from EVERYTHING else. That's really why I read, and if a book isn't compelling enough for me to want to neglect something (hee), I often set it aside and forget about it. This book was impossible to set aside.

Thanks, Allison! I wish you much success, and I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.

******

If you're interested in checking out the other tour stops, click here.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Time of My Life from Three Rivers Press for review purposes.

To Jerry on Our 9th Anniversary

Hi honey! I know you know what today is, though you looked a bit confused when I said "Happy anniversary" this morning. I'll forgive you since it was 4:30 in the morning. I know you haven't forgotten because you asked me yesterday what I wanted to do this weekend to celebrate.

Remember this picture? 9 years later, it's pretty much the same. We're exhausted much of the time and cranky sometimes. But at least we're still happy and in love. Oh, The Girl is a lot older and finding new ways to cause us grief, but I still haven't found any gray hairs, so that's good.

I just want you to know that the last 9 years have been great. We've had our ups and downs, our struggles, our arguments, but I don't regret anything. Sure, there are days I wish I'd married a millionaire, but I don't hold that against you. LOL Seriously, you're a wonderful husband and father. You take an interest in my hobbies (I still can't believe you joined the book club, but I'm thrilled!) and you listen to me blab (on and on and on) about books and blogging. I think you tune me out sometimes, but that's okay because I should have learned over the last 9 years not to talk when the Red Sox or Patriots are on. (Sorry!) Most of the time, you pause the television to hear what I have to say, and you support my book obsession by handing me cash and sending me off to the library sales. (Or is that just your way of getting us out of the house so you can play video games?)

Most importantly, you put family first. And you notice when I'm not myself and try to cheer me up. And because of all these wonderful things about you, I've almost forgotten the time you bought me rice cakes (blech!) for a snack when you ate the Snickers bar. Or the time you whined about waiting on me when I had the stomach flu, and then you caught it and expected me to wait on you. I'll pretend those things never happened if you pretend I never nag...and you put your dirty socks in the hamper.

You thought it was funny when my dad said he'd give you a sympathy card on our wedding day. After 9 years, I'm sure you know what my dad was talking about. But unless you plan on sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life, you'll keep your thoughts on that to yourself. :)

I still think we're perfect for each other. Happy anniversary!

Love,

BBAW: Reading Meme

Is anyone else finding it hard to keep up with all the BBAW posts? I'm having a blast finding new blogs to read and subscribing to them, but I just can't keep up. I don't want to feel overwhelmed since the point of BBAW is to have fun, so I'm just going to go with the flow.

Anyway, here are my answers to the reading meme making the rounds today. Visit the Book Blogger Appreciation Week site to see what other bloggers had to say. I'll be real honest -- I couldn't answer the questions in five words or less. I'm in a chatty mood.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Not really because most of my reading is done on the train. I can't stand sitting next to someone who's crunching the entire ride, so I can't bring myself to do it. My butt has been telling me for a long time to quit snacking, and I'm listening for the most part, but when I need something to munch on I love potato chips. The kettle cooked kind. The crispier the better. This is why my house is chip-free.

Do you tend to mark your books as your read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I used to highlight and jot notes in the margin when I was in college, but only when it was necessary. I used to write my name in all of my books, (maybe because I liked to see my signature in a book?) but I don't do that any more.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Laying the book flat open?

I used to have major book OCD, but lately I've been dog-earing (gasp!) when I find a passage that grabs me and I might want to quote it in my review. Other than that, I use bookmarks. My favorites are a foam cross bookmark The Girl made me in kindergarten and a plastic bookmark with a romantic poem that my hubby gave me about 9 years ago. The tassel is long gone, and it actually cracked in half, but I taped it back together and still use it. My hubby rolls his eyes at me and says he could buy me a new one, but I refuse to let him. I have lots of other bookmarks that I use, too, of course.

I still have OCD when it comes to covers. I hate creases, and broken spines make me cringe.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?

Fiction is my first love. I like non-fiction, but I'm really picky. Mostly history books about WWII or Vietnam. Big shocker, I know.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

There's something about the feel of a book in my hands. I love the smell of the pages. Well, most of the time. But audiobooks make long trips go by fast, so I can't exclude them.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

When you read on the train, you can't always finish a chapter. Believe me, I'm speaking from experience when I say if you're not paying attention, you'll miss your stop. I've heard the train operator say my stop is next, convince myself I can finish a page, and then look up in horror as the doors close before I can get off. Not a good thing when you have a bus or another train to catch.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Honestly, I'm too lazy to look up words. I would have to be really, really curious about a particular word for me to reach for the dictionary. Is that bad?

What are you currently reading?

Night of Flames by Douglas W. Jacobson is my commuter read of the moment.

What is the last book you bought?

I can't recall at the moment. Whatever I bought at the last library sale.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I used to read only one book at a time, but I've had a short attention span in recent weeks. I have about 5 books on my nightstand, and I'll choose one before I go to bed and read a few pages. But these books don't come with me on the train. I usually take one book on the train that is the main book I'm reading, with the next book I want to read riding along in my bag for when I finish.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

I like reading on the train because it makes the long commute fly by. I enjoy reading on the morning commute because I'm more awake. In the afternoon, I tend to doze a bit, but I still get a good amount of reading done. At home, I like to read on the couch or in bed, but I tend to fall asleep when I read in bed.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

I prefer stand alone books, but I will read a series if it's good. My problem is that I'll read book one in a series and not keep track of the subsequent installments. Or I'll read the latest part, and they'll be a cliffhanger ending that makes it hard to wait for the next book to be released.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

I love Amy Tan and Anita Shreve. I'll read anything they write. As for newer authors, I highly recommend Michelle Moran.

How do you organize your books?

I don't. I still haven't replaced the bookcase that collapsed several months ago, so books are all over my bedroom. They're neatly stacked, though, and I've separated the review copies and the other books I haven't read from the ones that I have. So I guess there's some organization, but not much.

So there you have it. If you're still reading after all that, bless you. I tend to ramble.

Off to see what the rest of you bookworms had to say...

BBAW Giveaway: 10 Days: Anne Frank and Michelle Obama: An American Story by David Colbert

Here's my big Book Blogger Appreciation Week giveaway!

David Colbert, having seen The Girl's and my review of his book, 10 Days: Anne Frank, is offering some of his books to my readers.

Here's what's up for grabs:

10 Days: Anne Frank by David Colbert

Michelle Obama: An American Story by David Colbert

Both books are intended for the 9-12 group, but I think adults could enjoy and learn from them, too.

3 lucky winners will receive signed copies of both books! All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address.

This giveaway is open internationally and will end Sunday, Sept. 20 at 11:59 EST.