The Memory Keeper's Daughter

By: Kim Edwards

Just a small warning: this novel will tear your heart to pieces from beginning to end.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter is about the affects a 25-year secret has on a family. A man, David Henry, also a doctor, delivers his wife's twins during the middle of a snowstorm. When he recognizes right off the bat that his daughter has Down's syndrome, he commands his nurse to take the baby to a special institution. When his wife Norah wakes after giving birth, he panics and tells her their daughter has died. The nurse, however, can't bring herself to put the baby in the institution, and instead she moves away and raises the baby as her own.

From the very first page to the very last, I almost felt ashamed to smile. There is hardly a happy moment in the book...however, the novel sucked me in and I kept wanting to know what would happen next, how much worse can things possibly get for these characters?

Although the novel is emotionally draining, the story comes together really well. It's actually easy to relate to the characters because--for once--everything in their lives is not peachy keen. They experience heartache, regret, sorrow, loss. They all have plans for themselves and for most of them, things don't work out quite as they had anticipated. And most of all, the story focuses on what a "little white lie" can do to someone, how it can completely change the entire path of life.

Angels & Demons

By: Dan Brown

I'll be completely honest. When I read the synopsis on the back of this novel, I almost put the book down and didn't read it. A story about historic Roman art, futuristic scientific discoveries, and the Illuminati is not my type of book.

But now, several hundred pages later, I'm laughing at myself over that. Not only did I love Angels & Demons, I might even call it one of my favorite novels.

I know nothing about the Illuminati; very little about Catholicism; close to nothing about historic art; and pretty much nada when it comes to physics and chemistry. While reading this novel, I learned quite a bit about a lot of things with which I was unfamiliar, and at the same time I watched a complicated and intense story about murder and faith unfold.

I haven't read The Da Vinci Code yet. I know Dan Brown uses historic paintings and artifacts to create an entirely fictional yet intriguing and convincing story. Angels & Demons works the same way; Dan Brown obviously possesses insane amounts of knowledge about European history--especially when it comes to art--and he creates a story so convincing I almost felt the need to look up some information on the internet to make sure it wasn't true. A-mazing.

This is definitely a book I'll have to read again in the future sometime...yes, it was really that good. And I have to say, it would make a great movie. Maybe Dan Brown should look into becoming a screenwriter.

Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations

By: Jeffrey Brown

Hands down, most genius book I've ever read. It's a short book comprised of mostly comic-style cartoons about a kitty named Misty. They're not actual comics, however; there is usually no dialogue and Misty the cat is often the sole character in the "scenes." The book conveys everything weird that a typical housecat does, including:

-Cat attacking a pen while it is being used to write something.
-Cat running around the house with a crooked tail and an arched back while making a "mrooorwrwr!" noise.
-Cat asking to go outside, only to immediately turn around and ask to come back in.
-Cat sleeping for a long period of time, waking up and speed-cleaning itself in one spot on its body, and falling asleep again instantly.

Anyway, it's hilarious...that is, if you've ever lived with a cat. Every single cartoon I read made me keel over with laughter.

I've finally got it...

After posting three different blogs and deleting every last one of them because I decided they were too boring, I finally figured out what I'm doing here. I love love love critiquing things and if I actually have to go into journalism for a little while after I graduate, I want to do reviews. So why not start here? Woo!