Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Title: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Author: Beth Hoffman
ISBN: 978-0670021390
Publisher: Viking-Penguin/2010
Pages: 320 pages

In the midst of all the difficult reads, I found Saving CeeCee Honeycutt very refreshing.

CeeCee has a mother, who lives in her own world, and a father, who has no time for either of them. Instead of her mother looking after her, it is CeeCee who is taking care of her. Then one day, her mother is hit by a car and is dead. CeeCee is 12 years old and nowhere to go. Tootie Caldwell, an unknown great-aunt turns up, to take her away, her father is only too eager to let her go.

When both arrive in Savannah, CeeCee finds herself in the midst of love from so many women that she is kind of overwhelmed by it. Slowly she emerges from her haze of sadness and takes in all the love and affection and returning it in great measure.

The novel does start with CeeCee's trobled life. We feel for her and wish the best for her. Our wish comes true in the form of Tootie, who genuinely wants the best for the girl. Even in the sad moments, the novel is not depressing. It tackles the issues with wit, sometimes hilariously and the affection of large-hearted women. WE do get to see a few eccentric characters but these only enhance the novel.

Weekly Geeks: Answers for Author Picture Quiz

Here are the correct answers, going clockwise:

Charlotte Bronte
Rabindranath Tagore
Marcus Zusak
Gerald Durell
Enid Blyton
Cormac McCarthy
and Agatha Christie

How many of those you got right?

Friday Book Blogger Hop

Every Friday, join the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jennifer (Crazy-For-Books), and hop to some new blogs.

Jennifer asks this week: “Who is your favorite new-to-you author so far this year?”

I read a lot of new-to-me authors this year. A few of those are Stieg Larsson, Rob Kitchin, Adam Ross, and Tom Robb Smith. This list is in no way exhaustive.

Friday Find: Last Last Chance by Fiona Maazel

Title: Last Last Chance
Author: Fiona Maazel
ISBN: 9780312428310
Publisher: Picador USA/2009
Pages: 368

Lucy Clark has to much in her hands after her father commits suicide. He had been accused of having a hand in the disappearance of a lethal strain of virus, resulting in Superplague. To make matters worse, she too like her mother is addicted to drugs. Hannah, her younger half sister, is always speaking out about diseases. Lucy wants to set right everything but doesn't really know how to do it. Her older lover, Stanley, does not help. He is on the lookout for someone who will carry a child from his dead wife's frozen eggs. Lucy dwells in the misery and seems to love being miserable.

"It's like you are more attached to being miserable than you are to being with me," a lover tells her as he walks out.

With such massive problems, Lucy tries to do the best she can. In the face of gravest of despair, Lucy has the ability to laugh at herself, her ways, the world. Initially it appears, she can't cope. But she does. Her relationship with her half-sister is beautifully depicted. With wit, and self-deriosion, Lucy does rise to the occasion rather very well and learns to survive. The novel speaks of the present times and future. It also speaks of lethargy, personal demons. The writing is surreal, nothing seems straight but makes sense. It is a book which makes the reader think.

Top Ten Picks: Favorite Books Of All Time

Favorite Books Of All Time

This is not easy. I have too many favourite books and picking only ten is difficult.

1) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Can any forget the interaction between Jane and Mr. Rochester? Also the fact that, despite the times, Jane was fiercely independent.

2) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I can never get out the character of Atticus Finch from my mind

3) Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Need I say more about it?

4) A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Dickens is a master story teller and this novel is one of his best. Certain scenes in the book are unforgettable.

5) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

It expresses her philosophy, objectivism, to the hilt.

6) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Either you love it or hate it! I love it.

7) A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

Speaks of three cultural differences between Hinduism, Islam and Christianity in the times of British rule in India. A must read for those who wish to explore the diaspora that is India

8) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

A dystopian novel, which is very scary to even contemplate

9) Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

A misadventure of sorts, told hilariously

10) The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Very symbolic. I couldn't get out the image of the main character changed into a vermin overnight!

What are yours?

Booking through Beach Buddies

Which fictional character (or group of characters) would you like to spend a day at the beach with? Why would he/she/they make good beach buddies?

I am not really a beach kind of person, although I love the ocean. It is mainly due to the fact that I live far away from the sea. I also get sun-burnt rather easily. Hence spending a day in the beach for a whole day is not very appealing to me.

Talking of fictional characters, I can't think of anyone who can make me spend the whole day on the beach. Or maybe a Merman, if he exists!

What do YOU think?

The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley/Wondrous Words Wednesday

Title: The Tricking of Freya
Author: Christina Sunley
ISBN: 9780312378776
Publisher: St. Martin Press/2009
Pages: 352

Told in the voice of Freya, we take a journey from Gimli, a village in Canada, to Iceland. She is writing all her thoughts, her experiences for her unknown cousin. She doesn't even know if her cousin is a male or a female. But she knows she has to write it all down for that person, whom intends to find out in her lifetime.

She and her mother have always lived in Connecticut. She speaks about her mother, Anna and her aunt Birdie, her grandmother, Sigga and various other relatives, Icelandic as well as Canadian. After Birdie dies on her 14th birthday and also when her mother dies, a few years later, she is not keen to visit Gimli again. But she does go back for her very old grandmother, who wants to preserve the family history.

Again we see Freya travelling from Gimli to Iceland to learn more about her cousin. And finally when she does learn the untold secrets, she can't believe how much injustice was done to herself, her volatile aunt and her gentle mother.

It starts with Freya being seven years old and takes us through more that two decades. We too are affected when we learn the enormity of Freya being tricked. With beautiful scenics and interesting characters, the reader is moved beyond words.

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Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Kathy of BermudaOnion

I take the following words from the above reviewed book:

1) Kenning (page 3): Word-Meadow is a Kenning for tongue, "she explains. "And I suppose now you will want to know what a kenning is."

A kenning is a much-compressed form of metaphor, originally used in Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry. In a kenning, an object is described in a two-word phrase, such as 'whale-road' for 'sea'. Some kennings can be more obscure than others, and then grow close to being a riddle.

2) Elskan (Page 6): "Come here, elskan, and kiss your rotten aunt."

Elskan is an icelandic word meaning, honey, sweetheart or darling