book review

52 Reads | Matched by Ally Condie

February 18, 2012 By Kayla Aimee

Matched
by Ally Condie

After all of the heavy reading over the past few weeks, I picked up some more YA dystopian fiction. You’re welcome. This one has the typical love triangle angst but the situational elements to it make it interesting rather than annoying.

Here is an excerpt from the book description

For Cassia, nothing is left to chance–not what she will eat, the job she will have, or the man she will marry. In Matched, the Society Officials have determined optimal outcomes for all aspects of daily life, thereby removing the “burden” of choice. When Cassia’s best friend is identified as her ideal marriage Match it confirms her belief that Society knows best, until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes on the screen. This improbable mistake sets Cassia on a dangerous path to the unthinkable–rebelling against the predetermined life Society has in store for her.

I found this book to be a bit reminiscent of The Giver with it’s emphasis on the Society keeping the past from the collective knowledge of its citizens. I thought it was almost just as a good as Divergent, but the pacing was much slower. The story itself was well written, although the love interests didn’t appeal to me quite as much as the exploration of other relationships between the characters. I liked a lot of the smaller themes woven into the book and the way they played out across it and the sequel.

Oh right, this is part of a trilogy by the way. Overall I thought it was a good, quick, easy read. It was pretty intriguing, not completely predictable and I liked it enough that I’ll definitely read all three books. Actually I’ve already read the second, I just don’t want to spoil this one so I’m holding that review for a bit. Matched is a #1 New York Times Best Seller and deservedly so as Ally Condie is a much, much better writer than that other really famous YA novelist from Utah My GoodReads Rating? Four out of five stars.

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** I’m reading 52 books in 52 weeks. Want to see all the books I’ve reviewed so far? Click here.

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52 Reads | Kisses From Katie

January 28, 2012 By Kayla Aimee

Kisses From Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption – by Katie J. Davis.
Here’s a warning: this book will mess you up. Seriously. I mean, I’ve been reading Katie’s blog for years so I went into the book thinking I knew what to expect. I was familiar with her ministry, her writing style, her ability to make me see beyond myself. I truly only bought the book because purchasing it was another way to support her ministry. I thought it would just be an extension of what I’ve read on her blog. But it was so much more.

I think of all the people who I admire that I’ve never met, Katie tops the list. A homecoming queen from an affluent town in Tennessee, she left home at eighteen not to attend college but to move to Uganda and teach kindergarten. By herself. And then after that? She decided to stay there. And adopt fourteen orphan girls. What? Yes, like really, legally adopt them. Forever. Which meant giving up her life of comfort here in the States. And the man she loved. And, well, a LOT of things.

And then she went and started a ministry. She feeds over 1200 children every day. But it isn’t what she’s accomplished that impresses me, although it’s an impressive list. It’s what she’s taught me. It’s how she lives out a life of service and grace. It’s how she genuinely loves her neighbor as herself, or maybe more. It’s how she gives. Her life is hard but amazing. Her story is beautiful but messy.

It’s beautiful because it’s right. It’s right for us to reach out our hands and serve. It’s messy because here is this 21 year old girl feeding 1200 starving children each week and what am I doing? It’s messy because it isn’t a story you can read and move on from. It’s beautiful because it isn’t a story you can read and move on from.

And aside from all that? Katie is a compelling writer and the glimpse into her life and the stories she has to tell are fascinating. It’s completely worth a read. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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REVIEW: Money Saving Mom’s Budget

January 12, 2012 By Kayla Aimee

I know that I’ve talked frequently here about my love of moneysavingmom.com. Transitioning to staying at home with Scarlette to care for her medical needs meant we were going to be pretty tight. When I first found Crystal’s website, I sat for hours reading up on all her budgeting advice. Her story is incredibly inspirational and she has so many fantastic tips and tricks for stretching a dollar. Hers is one of the first sites I check every day and the knowledge I’ve taken from it has been invaluable for me.

So when I found out she was releasing a book, I put it on my list for 52 Reads. And then when was asked if I wanted to preview her new book and host a giveaway, I was like YES PLEASE. And then they told me they were going to give away five copies and I was like “And YOU get a book and YOU get a book and YOU get a book!”

Before I get into my review, I want to tell you that this book is a life changer in more ways than one. Crystal is donating all of the proceeds of her book to Compassion International. What that means is that the proceeds of the book are funding a Child Survival Program that “offers life-saving health and medical care for over 80 at-risk expectant moms and young moms and over 80 at-risk babies and young children in the Dominican Republic.” I am so inspired by her willingness to pour hours of work into a book that is sure to be a best seller just to turn all of the profit over to such a wonderful cause.

The book is called The Money Saving Mom’s Budget and is fairly similar in principle to the website, with a few ideas overlapping. Crystal breaks down budgeting into a simplistic, step by step format. She also shares a lot of easy, tangible ideas for cutting your spending and sourcing good deals. There are tips and tricks for everything from managing your time efficiently to saving on splurge items to throwing a great garage sale. If saving money/living debt free is your New Year’s Resolution, this is the book I’d recommend.

The book is available online and in bookstores and Crystal is giving away five (FIVE!) copies to my readers! I’m hosting this giveaway with rafflecopter so to enter you can just leave a comment or use the twitter/like features. Be sure to click I DID THIS after your entry so that rafflecopter counts it! giveaway is now closed, thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*disclaimer: I was given a pre-release copy of the book in exchange for doing the giveaways but I wasn’t otherwise compensated for this post. I also wasn’t asked to review the book, I just like to do that

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52 Reads | The Hunger Games Trilogy

December 4, 2011 By Kayla Aimee

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I was hesitant about this one because it didn’t really fit into the genre of books I typically read for pleasure. You know, like Amish literature. I tend to stay away from anything remotely science fiction. I’ve read exactly one Harry Potter book. Don’t hate me. But so many of you recommended The Hunger Games to me that I thought it had to be decent. So I downloaded it on my kindle. And then? I read the entire trilogy in less than twenty four hours..

It is that good. Also, I am a speed reader but that is neither here nor there. What matters is, oh my gosh this is a good book.

This book is the best in the series. Isn’t that always the way? Nothing ever beats the first book. I am not sure how to review it without spoiling it. I added the movie trailer below because it’s a good synopsis without any spoilers.

Technically this is a YA novel and if you have teenagers or pre-teens, stick a copy in their stocking. It is such a good story. I honestly can’t believe I liked it so much. I love the different twists in the games, the relationships between Katniss and well, everyone else. I really enjoy her as a character. It wouldn’t be a YA novel without a little romance drama but even that is told well, playing an integral part of the story without dominating it. This is nothing like Twilight.

I’m not going to fully review the two other books in the trilogy because I don’t want to spoil them. Catching Fire is book #2 and I thought it was very good. Mockingjay is book #3 and it was decent. I tend to dislike when authors overuse descriptive language. You know, like “Floating. Darkness. I move towards the black cloud like a vapor. Mist. No one can touch me here, free, dark.” I just made that up but you know what I mean. I don’t need pages of that to understand how the character is feeling, I want to see more movement than that. I know why the author did it but my distaste for it made that book my least favorite.

The movie comes out in March and I think the trailer looks fantastic. What do you think? I pictured Peeta being bigger but Katniss seems perfect. If you haven’t read the book yet, you should definitely read it before then.