Big Little Lies- Book Review

About the Book:

Title: Big Little Lies

Author Liane Moriarty

Publisher:  G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Length: 460 pages

Plot: Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate; she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

Favorite Quote-“All conflict can be traced back to someone’s feelings getting hurt, don’t you think?”

The book is based in Australia, having the preschool as the common link. The book at the beginning clearly states that somebody was murdered at a school Trivia night. The book is presented from three women’s point of view, Madeline, Celeste & Jane. Each of them have a very peculiar character, vastly different from each other and they still manage to bind themselves in a common bond. I love the way each character comes across strongly. My favorite character is Madelline, and this book proves that wealth is not of importance when you have a warm loving family who stands by you in the time of need. It is well narrated, the mystery holds up until the end.  What appealed to me is not the mystery but the style of writing. It’s quite like catching up with your gang of girls to have a quick chat, discuss your life, your troubles, your insecurties, gossiping about every thing that happened.

Each chapter at the end has statements of various parents present at the party. The confessions show how shallow and self involved people can be. There is a lot of school politics, ditching, bitching, etc, etc that makes the book vivacious & dynamic. This is my first Liane Moriarty book and I am sure that this is not going to be the last one! 😉

Rating- 3.5/5

 

 

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes (Rose Gardner Mystery #1)- Book Review

About the Book:

Title: Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes (Rose Gardner Mystery #1)

Author: Denise Grover Swank

Publisher:  Bramagioia Enterprises

Length: 374 pages

Plot: For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn’t enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.

Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen– do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty secrets of his own.

Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.

Favourite Quote: “Trust was a tricky thing. Usually the person asking for the trust had to prove they were worthy to receive it.

Rose Gardener, a pretty, naïve, twenty four year old girl, has barely experienced few things in her life, all thanks to her Momma dearest who is a strict Catholic Church follower. What makes Rose stand out are her meaningless visions about people, until one day when she sees and vision about herself dying on her couch. Nothing remains the same after that day. She makes a list of twenty eight and a half wishes which she wants to accomplish before she dies. In the next few days she experiences the most amount of life that she has experienced in the last twenty four years. She meets Joe, a cute guy next door, a little complicated to understand, but he has his reasons. If I say more, I will be spoiling the mystery for you.

The story is quite fascinating and will leave the readers for wanting more. This is the first book in the Rose Gardener series and I am quite intrude to read the consecutive books.

Rating- 2.5/ 5

 

Happy Diwali!!!

 

Hey Guys, wish you all a very happy and a prosperous Diwali! Diwali is the festival of lights and joy. For most people, this time of the year is like a mini vacation which we celebrate with our family. Here are some highlights of my Diwali! I wuld love to know how was your Diwali!

Tales from the Yoga Studio- Book Review

About the Book:

Title: Tales from the Yoga Studio

Author: Rain Mitchell

Publisher:  Plume Books

Length: 279 pages

Plot: The yoga studio is where daily cares are set aside, mats are unfurled, and physical exertion leads to well-being, renewal, and friendship. An aggressively expanding chain of Los Angeles yoga “experience centers,” has Lee and her extraordinary teaching abilities in its sights. They woo her with a lucrative contract, a trademarked name for her classes, and a place for her handsome musician husband. But accepting the contract means abandoning the students at the homey studio Lee runs in L.A.’s Silver Lake district- and leaving behind four women whose friendships are suddenly more important to her than retirement benefits and a salary increase.

Tales from the Yoga Studio is an insider’s look at the current obsession with yoga, told with enough humor, wit, and warmth to charm and delight readers, whether or not they’ve ever done a Downward Dog.

Favourite Quote: “Inhale through your nose into whatever traces of tension you’re still holding on to, and sigh it all through your mouth. Let it go.”

The novel revolves around Edendale, a yoga studio owned by the couple, Lee & Alan. Lee is blessed with a special trait of seeing through people’s troubles and putting them at ease through yoga. Little does anyone know that Lee’s life is turmoil in itself. The other lead characters are Katherine who is the masseuse at Edendale and also, Lee’s best friend; Stephinie the screenwriter with a few hits in the past, struggling to get over her ex husband; Garciale the backup dance with a leg injury who is auditioning for the greatest opportunity of her life. These women, who are bound by a common string of yoga, form a great bond and help each other out in crisis.

Lee is my favourite character, with all the brightness she brings into people’s life even though her life is a mess. The story starts of very well but towards the end I feel the author could do a little more justice to each character. Never the less it was quite a delightful read, especially for a person like me who is an aspiring yogi. It is a light read; you will feel empathy for most of the characters.

Rating- 2.5/5

We Were Liars- Book Review

About the Book:

Title: We Were Liars

Author: E. Lockhart

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Length: 242

Plot: A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

Favourite Quote: “The universe is seeming really huge right now. I need something to hold on to.”

The book revolves around the heritage Sinclair family. Every year, the Sinclairs spend their summer on a private island, where the grandparents have built four houses for themselves and their three daughters, plus a smaller building for their cooks and cleaners. This family is so rich, privileged and white, perfect to the eye of an outsider but when you take a closer look, this family has issues more than a normal family.

The story is narrated through the eyes of Cadence, the eldest granddaughter of the family. Cady’s been suffering from excruciating migraines. Her memory of the last summer she spent at the Sinclair ancestral home, two years ago, is fragmented. Most of the parts of the story are based on the summer vacations that the family spends together on their private island. Cadence and her cousins Mirren, Johnny & Gat (who is a cousin of Johnny and Cady’s love interest) are a group of four people who are popularly known as the “Liars”. They have been spending their summers together on the private island since they were kids. They don’t keep in touch apart from the summer vacation, and that’s what makes their bond so special.

In my opinion the characters are not very well rounded. I personally didn’t connect with any of the characters. But the summer vacation based plot reminded me of summer holidays with my cousins. The suspense of the book is quite expected and predictable. Towards the end I had to make efforts to finish the book. All in all, the book is a onetime read.

Rating- 2/5