Girls in White Dresses

Like I said before, I find a lot of good book suggestions on Pinterest, which is where I found Jennifer Close's Girls in White Dresses. Like The Awakening, this was another book that was listed in a blog of books every girl should read in her 20s. I was definitely looking forward to reading it, and let me tell you, it was phenomenal. 

I knew after the first two chapters that I had found a new book to add to my list of favorites. I couldn't put it down, and yet I tried to stall because I didn't want to finish it. I don't know the last book that I loved this much. 

It's about a group of girls who move to New York fresh out of college, and follows them through the next 10 years of their lives. They have their bad relationships, crappy jobs, embarrassing parents, and annoying friends, and I don't know that I have ever read a book that was so relatable. Jennifer Close does a fantastic job bringing the girls to life and I found myself believing that they were real people, and if they were we would definitely be friends. 

The way that the girls banter and the situations they get in are funny in a really normal way. Over and over again I would tell my friend stories out of the book, and we would laugh like we knew them and say,"That's totally us". I am not embarrassed to say that I laughed out loud like a creep on more than one occasion. 

I am not exaggerating when I say that I will recommend this to everyone that I know. At one time or another, we have all been with a guy and not known where we stood. We have all had that friend that goes back to the same pompous a-hole over and over again, and we have all had nights of drinking too much wine with the girls and mornings we thought we were dying. Girls in White Dresses puts all of those experience into words. 

It was fantastic, and I was sad when I finished it. This truly, and easily, became one of my favorite books, and it is definitely one that I will read over again. 

A Heart Divided

When I walk in to a bookstore, it's all over. A bookstore is like a black hole for me, and there's no telling when or if I will ever come back out. The bigger the store (and the bigger the bargains), the bigger the chances that I am never coming back. So, in order to be responsible and avoid spending all the money I haven't made yet on books that I will never have time to read, I have gotten in the habit of trying to create a list before I go shopping. This usually consists of browsing Pinterest for good book suggestions, which is where I found A Heart Divided.

I was immediately interested in this book because it's a Hatfield and McCoy type love story. I don't know if anyone else watched The History Channel's Hatfields and McCoy's miniseries last summer, but I thought that it was fantastic. So when I saw this book, it definitely got my attention. 

Like the Hatfields and McCoys, A Heart Divided is based on the lifelong feud of two families, the Caldwells and the Wainwrights. Set in the Rocky Mountains in 1878, it is the story of how the Caldwells daughter and the Wainwright heir fall in love. 

I thought that the book was good. I think that it was a very simple and sweet story, and it made for an easy read. I liked it. I didn't love it. And I can't quiet put my finger on why that is. 

I think that it was somewhat predictable and a little too mushy, lovey, "destined-to-be-together" for my taste. I also kept waiting for that one part of the story that was going to shock me, or grab at my heart and make me cry, and it never came. 

If you are looking for a light, summer read, this is the perfect book. It was definitely a nice story, and I did like it. I guess I was just hoping for more. 

6 Books That Are Better Than The Movie

All books are better than their movie counterpart. I'll say it again. ALL books are better than the movie. But for the sake of this post, I'll narrow it down to 6 movies that have been released in the past 10 years.
Again, in no particular order:

1. My Sister's Keeper
I was genuinely so disappointed in the screen version of this, because the book was so stinkin' good. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you know how heartbreaking it is, but I'm here to tell you that the book is even more so. What was most disappointing about the movie is that they changed the ENTIRE ending. Which boggles my mind, because the original ending was so moving and so powerful. I cried like a baby. Like, literally cried so much I had to stop reading to blow my nose. The book was that good.

2. The Time Traveler's Wife
I know I already mentioned this as one of my top favorite books, but it fits both lists. The movie was great. I love love love Rachel McAdams, and I think that they did a fantastic job in converting the book  to film. But, as I've said before and will say a hundred times more, the book is always better.

3. Shutter Island
I love scary movies. But we all know how hard it is to find a genuinely SCARY scary movie. This was not one of them. I mean, sure there were scary parts (like the creepy old lady in the yard), but it just wasn't as SCARY as I had expected it to be. The book, on the other hand, was fantastic. As always, it went into so much more detail and the storyline had so much more depth. It was thrilling and suspenseful, and definitely worth the read.

4. P.S. I  Love You
If you're a girl, you've probably seen this movie. And you also probably drooled over Gerard Butler and cried your eyes out over and over again. I loved this movie. It was sad, but often funny at the same time (thanks mostly to Lisa Kudrow and Harry Connick Jr.). I think we all related to the girls getting stuck in the boat on the lake, and have probably all gone a little Miss Haversham a time or two. And God, that scene! "I know what it is, not to feel like you're in the room until he looks at you or touches your hand, or even makes a joke at your expense, just to let everyone know... you're with him. You're his". Break my heart. Obviously, I love this movie. But the book is always better.

5. The Lovely Bones
I don't know what there really is to say about this one, because the movie was not good. It was far too trippy for my liking. And the killer getting struck and killed by an ICICLE? My friends and I replayed that part over and over and couldn't stop laughing. The movie was NOT GOOD. The book was great. The story was easier to follow, and the details were all there. And if you like this book, I also suggest reading Alice Sebold's other book, Lucky. It's her memoir of being brutally assaulted and raped as a college student. Neither are light, happy reads, but both are heart wrenching stories.

6. The Help
I read The Help the summer the movie came out, and I loved it. I saw previews for the movie and decided to break pattern and read the book first, and I'm actually glad that I did. I was pleasantly surprised by the way the book was converted to film, and I think that it is an awesome and important story. It was sad, often funny, and fictionally cast some light on a non-fictional time. It is worth the read, and the watch.