American Blonde

"Being there was like stepping back into another time, one of glamour and hard work, of camaraderie and competition, of fame and beauty and heartbreak and…magic" -Jennifer Niven, American Blonde


I faced a couple of dilemmas with this post. Halfway through the book, I forgot it at a friends house and was without it for a few days (which was torture). When I got it back, I read like hell to finish it in time for Wednesday's post and was still unable to finish it until Thursday. I reached the second dilemma when my computer crashed. But 3 days and my moms computer later, I can finally write about Jennifer Niven's American Blonde. 

American Blonde is about Velva Jean Hart, World War II hero and aspiring Nashville star. On the tail of her heroic experience as a war pilot, Velva Jean is offered a contract at MGM, Hollywoods biggest studio. Aiming to capitalize on her war hero fame, she is cast as Betsy Ross in the studio's Revolutionary War saga, Home of the Brave. Leaving behind her country home, Velva Jean travels to California and is welcomed by her friend and fellow pilot, movie star Barbara Fanning. As MGM's biggest female star, Fanning teaches Velva Jean the ins and outs of Hollywood. Amidst gossip, scandals, infidelity, and prescription pills, Velva Jean discovers that everything is not as it appears.

Following the release of Home of the Brave, Velva Jean and her fellow cast mates visit the home of the movies producer and his retired movie star wife for a view days of celebration. The celebrating soon turns to tragedy when Barbara Fanning is found dead. As the studio execs work hard to cover up the murder and frame it as an accident, Velva Jean works to honor her friends memory by uncovering the truth.

I really enjoyed this book. I love old Hollywood as much as I love reading so American Blonde combined my two favorite things. Though fictional, the story is based on real life MGM employees such as Howard Strickling, Eddie Manixx, and Whitey Hendry, who worked hard to cover up things that threatened to destroy the squeaky clean image of their studio and it's stars. With the addition of real photographs and events, such as the Black Dahlia and The Lipstick Murders, Niven brings the story to life.

I also found aspects of the story and the character of Barbara Fanning to be very Marilyn Monroe-esque. For instance, her failed marriages, her unreliable mother, her intense desire to start a family, and her dependence on Benzedrine and Seconal, in addition to the mystery surrounding her death.

American Blonde was unpredictable, dimensional, and often, sexy. It references my favorite stars, like Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, and Gene Kelly, and takes you back to a more glamorous time.


"Louis B. Mayer, and the studio which he ran, belonged to a different era, a different world. A world where men were gentlemen, where women were virtuous, where families were loyal and loving, where pictures hung straighter, grass grew greener, picket fences shone whiter, people danced down streets and sang songs, endings were happy, and everything was sprinkled with magic dust. It was was an idealized America where dreams came true, especially when there were men to protect those dreams and ensure nothing spoiled them"- American Blonde

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

It's official: I am a Junot Diaz fan.

After This is How You Lose Her, I decided it was time to read my original Diaz book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Well more precisely, I tried to read another book but couldn't get out of the Diaz fog long enough to get past the first four pages. THEN I decided to start Oscar Wao, and it did not disappoint.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is, you guessed it, the story of Oscar de Leon: a.k.a Oscar Wilde a.k.a. Oscar Wao. As a kid, Oscar is handsome, charming, and good with the ladies. But when puberty hits, his looks, charm and ladies disappear. Now covered in acne and 200 lbs of fat, Oscar spends his life in his comic books and video games. Desperate to not die a virgin, he remains a hopeless romantic, falling in love with beautiful girl after beautiful girl only to remain unnoticed. Finally, after years of struggling with his weight, his heartaches, and endless bullying, Oscar discovers his true destiny.

I thought that this book was great. In addition to the life of Oscar, we learn the lives and histories of generations of de Leons. They are brilliant stories of strength, bravery, and survival all tied in with Dominican history. There is a wonderful relationship between Oscar and his sister, as well as a complicated one between mother and child. It is a heartbreaking story of bullying and redemption, told with the same vulgar wit of This is How You Lose Her.

The wondrous thing about Oscar Wao is that in spite of the teasing, in spite of the heart break, he is unapologetically himself. In spite of everyone telling him to change, he remains true to who he is, and in my mind that makes him incredibly admirable and brave.

I recommend The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao to anyone that has ever felt that they don't fit in. I recommend it to anyone that has ever been bullied, been a bully, or witnessed bullying. And I recommend it to anyone that has always dreamt of living a life that is worthwhile.

This Is How You Lose Her

A few months ago, I picked up The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. I had gotten it off of a list on Pinterest, but hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. During my most recent trip to the bookstore, I notice another book by Diaz. I was initially drawn by the title and figured if Oscar Wao came so acclaimed, Diaz must be doing something right, so I added This Is How You Lose Her to my basket and finished it in one day.
This is the story of Yunior, a man who looks back on the relationships of his life and faces his mistakes. He tells us of his great loves and his short lived flings, and the ways that he destroyed them. The ways that he took relationships for granted, and fought to get them back.
I absolutely loved this book. It was heartbreakingly real. You relate to these women, and you know men like Yunior, and you feel for them all. It was full of passion and regret, but also humor. It was easy to read, as if you were talking with a friend. It was vulgar, but beautiful, and challenges the way that you live your life and love your loves.
I recommend This Is How You Lose Her to anyone who has ever known love and loss. Diaz lays it out for you in a way that shows you how to overcome your heartbreak and learn from your mistakes.

The Story Sisters

I really loved Alice Hoffman's The Red Garden, so I was very excited to begin another Hoffman novel, The Story Sisters. It is the story of three sisters whose bond is challenged and torn as each faces her own fate.
Elv, Claire, and Meg were once inseparable. When their parents divorce upturns everything in their lives, the sisters lean on each other in their own fantasy world. Created by Elv to escape her own secret horror, the world of Arnelle is a special place in which the sisters are safe and brave.
As the sisters grow, Elv struggles with her past and races recklessly towards a dangerous future. Sensible Meg seeks to separate herself from the make believe world of Arnelle, and Claire is torn between the sisters that she loves. The girls face anger, revenge, and tragedy as they discover themselves and create their lives in the real world.
I enjoyed this book, though not as much as The Red Garden. I found Elv to be extremely ingracious and irritating for early part of the book. However, you also feel for her when you learn the secret burden that she is carrying and the lengths she would go to protect her sisters. It was wonderfully written, and I was brought to tears. You want these girls to remain close so badly, and it is heartbreaking to see their lives change.
I do recommend The Story Sisters. It was dark and bewitching, but at the same time heartfelt and promising. It is a story about pain, and coming-of-age, but above all it is a story of the bond between sisters, daughters, and mothers.