The Story of You

by Julie Myerson

My Book Review Rating: 6 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

This book begins with snow, the story of you.

It is a freezing room in a student house, a sagging mattress on the floor, and two people, one nineteen, the other twenty, kissing passionately, all night.

It is to this scene that, twenty years later, Rosy, the narrator of Julie Myerson’s astonishing novel, returns obsessively. She has just lost a child in a terrible, careless accident, and Tom, her partner, has taken her to Paris to forget about things, to start again. It has snowed in the night and, waking at dawn, Rosy decides to go for a walk. At the hotel desk there’s a note for her: ‘I’m waiting for you X.’ And he is, sitting in the corner of a cafe as she enters almost at random. They talk. He touches her. She turns away and when she looks again he is gone.

Was he there? Had she dreamed him? And why, when he e-mails her out of the blue two days later, does he write as though they haven’t met for twenty years?

Why did you decide to read this book?

I mooched this book a couple of years ago, and if I’m honest I can’t remember if it was because I read a review of it, or because someone wanted to swap and this was the only book on their list that looked interesting. Anyway, as I’ve never read a novel by Julie Myerson before I added this to my list for the New Authors 2010 challenge.

What did you like about this book?

Oh my goodness, I don’t even know where to start to answer that question! Myerson’s prose is almost poetic, and I found myself entranced from the very first paragraph. The story is beautifully written as Myerson weaves together memories of an encounter many years ago with the story of today.

Rosy, the central character and the voice of the novel is battling to keep her family life on track following the tragic death of her youngest daughter. When her husband takes her away to Paris she takes a walk in the snow at the crack of dawn and meets a man who was once the boy she spent the night with more than twenty years ago on that memorable night that continues to haunt her.

When she returns home she strikes up an email conversation with the man, who behaves as though they haven’t seen each other for twenty years.

Myerson weaves the past and the present together in such a way that the true account of her daughter’s tragic death isn’t made clear until more than half way through the novel. The relationship she has with Tom, her almost-husband, is a stark contrast to the affair she strikes up with “you”, the man who understands her in a way no one else ever has, and whose name the reader never learns.

I couldn’t put this book down as I wanted to know more about the events of the past, and whether Rosy’s lover really existed; I wondered whether he was real, a figment of her imagination, a ghost or even an hallucination.

The Story of You took my breath away, made my heart ache and made me think about the preciousness of love, relationships and the simple gestures and understandings that draw people together.

It’s been almost three days since I finished reading the book and I still find myself thinking about it, which is why I’ve decided to award The Story of You by Julie Myerson the elusive 6 star rating!

Share a quote from the book

“It begins with snow, the story of you. I’ve tried so many other beginnings. I’ve had it begin with heat, with light, in another country – wilder, dirtier, poorer – in another bed, not this one. But each time I come zooming back to that house in the most run-down part of the city and that freezing black night when we kissed for so many hours, you and me – a ferocious kind of kissing that took us both by surprise, coming as it did out of nowhere and going on until the sky grew pale and we both slept.”

About the Author

Julie Myerson was born in Nottingham in 1960. She read English at Bristol University and in addition to writing both fiction and non-fiction books, she is also known for having written a long-running column in The Guardian entitled “Living with Teenagers” based on her own family experiences.

Her fifth novel, Something Might Happen (2003) explored the devastating effect of a brutal murder on the inhabitants of a small seaside town in Suffolk and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Her most recent book, The Lost Child (2009) is the story of her son’s battle with a drug addiction; it was the centre of a media controversy as Myerson was accused of betraying her son for her own ambition.

Bibliography

• Sleepwalking Picador, 1994
• The Touch Picador, 1996
• Me and the Fat Man Fourth Estate, 1998
• Laura Blundy Fourth Estate, 2000
• Something Might Happen Cape, 2003
• Home: The Story of Everyone Who Ever Lived in our House Flamingo, 2004
• Not a Games Person Yellow Jersey, 2005
• The Story of You Cape, 2006
• Out of Breath Cape, 2008
• The Lost Child Bloomsbury, 2009

Click here to find out more about Julie Myerson

Buy The Story of You by Julie Myerson from Amazon

Related articles by Zemanta

• Julie Myerson takes inspiration from her family life again (telegraph.co.uk)
• Maggie O’Farrell, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Julie Myerson on working around parenthood (guardian.co.uk)

The Story of You by Julie Myerson is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

Related reviews:

1. The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain
2. Golden Rainbows by Christine Brannen Reilly

The Long Way Home

by Andrew Klavan

My Book Review Rating: 4 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

Charlie West went to bed one night an ordinary high school student. He woke up a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn’t know whose side he’s one or who he can trust. With his pursuers closing in on every side, Charlie makes his way back to his hometown to find some answers. There, holed up in an abandoned mansion, he’s joined by his friends in a desperate attempt to discover the truth about a murder he can’t remember-and the love he can never forget.

Why did you decide to read this book?

I was sent an Advanced Reading Copy of this book by the publisher.

What did you like about this book?

Even though The long Way Home is the second in the Homelanders series I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. It’s a great Young Adult thriller that I really didn’t want to put down until I found out what happened to Charlie.

Published by Thomas Nelson this book has a Christian theme and it is Charlie’s faith that gets him through the trouble he faces when he becomes involved with an anti-American underground group of terrorists.

The Long Way Home is fast-paced with some thought provoking themes included and I’m sure this book would be enjoyed by teenagers looking for an adrenaline-pumping adventure!

Share a quote from the book

“I dried myself off with a couple of paper towels. I looked at myself in the mirror. The guy looking back at me was six feet tall. Thin but with broad shoulders, good muscles, still in good shape. I had a lean, kind of solemn face with a mop of brown hair flopping over the forehead. brown eyes- serious eyes- probably too serious for a guy who was only eighteen – but honest and straightforward. At least, I always thought they were…”

About the Author

Andrew Klavan has been nominated for the Mystery Writer of America’s Edgar award five times and won twice. He is the author of several bestselling novels turned movies, including Don’t Say A Word, True Crime, and Empire of Lies.

He is currently writing a series of thrillers for young adults called The Homelanders. The first two novels in the series are The Last Thing I Remember and The Long Way Home. The third book: The Truth to Remember is scheduled for publication in November 2010.

Click here to find out more about Andrew Klavan

Buy The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan from Amazon

The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

Related reviews:

1. Pieces of Someday by Jan Vallone
2. Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord

The Auschwitz Violin

by Maria Angels Anglada

My Book Review Rating: 5 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

In the winter of 1991 a musician is captivated by a marvelously pitched violin, when he asks how she obtained it the woman reveals the remarkable story behind it’s origin…

The violin is the creation of a luthier named Daniel who was imprisoned at Auschwitz. The luthier and his violin are the subject of a cruel wager that could be the difference between life and death.

Why did you decide to read this book?

I was offered an Advanced Reading Copy of this book and was intrigued by the synopsis.

It should be noted that The Auschwitz Violin is due for UK release in November 2010. If you are in the United States then you will find the book listed as The Violin of Auschwitz which is scheduled for release in August 2010.

What did you like about this book?

I don’t think that The Auschwitz Violin is the kind of book that you say you “like”. The main part of the story takes place during the Holocaust and like many other books set in this time it is an insight into the harrowing experiences of the people held captive at Auschwitz.

The insights provided by Anglada are heartbreaking yet compelling and she tells a story of people who live in the face of adversity. At a time when life was so precious and perilous prisoners continued to put their own lives at stake for the safety of others, and formed bonds that remained unbreakable.

The Auschwitz Violin is beautifully written and emotionally powerful. It stands alongside Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas as a book that should be read to remind us of the horrors of the past so that such a tragedy never happens again.

Share a quote from the book

“The horror of the account wormed its way through Daniel, like a snake rising from the mud. Fortunately I’m sitting down, he thought. It can’t be true! Could they actually be doing something so horrible? While he had been repairing the crack in the violin and clamping together the beautiful graining, Daniel thought as he covered his mouth to keep from vomiting, the monsters had been plunging prisoners into freezing cold water.”

About the Author

Maria Àngels Anglada (Vic 1930 – Figueres 1999) is one of the most important figures of the Catalan 20th century. Her first publication was a book of poetry, Díptic (1972), but her success as an author was established in 1978 when she was awarded the Josep Pla prize for her first novel Les Closes.

She subsequently became one the most prestigious and widely-read of all Catalan authors with works such as: No em dic Laura (1981), L’agent del Rei (1991) and El violí d’Auschwitz (1994), which has sold 100.000 copies to date.

She is also the author of essay collections and several volumes of poetry. She won the Octavi Pellissa prize for her book of short stories Nit de 1911 (published by Empúries, 1999).
Source: Pontas

Buy The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada from Amazon

The Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

Related reviews:

1. Book Review | Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane

The Baker Street Phantom

by Fabrice Bourland

My Book Review Rating: 5 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

It’s the spring of 1932 and Londoners are being terrorised by a series of brutal murders in the English Capital just as the private detective agency of Messrs. Singleton and Trelawney opens its doors in Bloomsbury.

There first client is an extremely worried Lady Arthur Conan Doyle who tells them of mysterious goings on at 221 Baker Street and warns them that mankind is in terrible danger.

The ensuing investigation takes the unlikely heroes into a world of seances and spirits where they are forced to rethink the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The question is of course, can they solve these bloody crimes…?

Why did you decide to read this book?

I was offered an Advanced Reading Copy of this book and as I’ve never read a Crime Fantasy novel before I decided to give it a go

What did you like about this book?

I always say that I like books that take me away from reality, and this one certainly fit the bill. I was captivated from the very first page and soon found myself in the world of spirits and seances, guided by none other than the ghost of Sherlock Holmes himself!

Considering that this book has been translated from French into English I couldn’t fault the translation and I felt like I was reading a classic novel that had been written in that era.

London of the 1930s, with it’s spooky goings on felt like a mysterious and dangerous place, and I was caught up in the tale, with all its twists and turns right until the very last page.

It really is a wonderful book!

I think that this may be the first in a ‘Singleton and Trelawney’ detective series and I will certainly be looking out for any future novels.

Share a quote from the book

“The vague outline of a third shape could be seen in the photograph, between James and me. Despite the precision it soon acquired, it remained vaporous and slightly translucent. It was definitely a man, tall and slender with a pointed, slightly aquiline nose, not bald but with a receding hairline. He was standing upright, behind us, slightly turned to one side, arms crossed, in indoor attire, possibly a dressing gown, and was watching the lens out of the corner of his eye, a pipe hanging from his lips.

‘Good heavens!’ cried James. ‘It’s…’

‘It’s… Sherlock Holmes!’ I muttered.”

About the Author

Fabrice Bourland has worked extensively in the magazine and publishing world and is a great admirer of Edgar Allan Poe. The Baker Street Phantom is his first fantasy crime novel.

“My writing is a combination of detective and fantasy fiction. Having said that, I am merely reviving a subgenre of crime fiction that was very popular in the past, that of detectives of “the strange” or “the occult” if you like, of which William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood or Seabury Quinn were the most celebrated exponents. The subgenre is connected to the origins of detective fiction. We mustn’t forget that the latter genre was created in the 1840s by a certain … Edgar Allan Poe, unquestionably the master of fantasy writing too.

When writing The Baker Street Phantom I used Victorian maps of London which I pinned up all around my desk. From the moment I woke up in the morning I immersed myself in Whitechapel, Limehouse or Marylebone. I didn’t want to go on a recce to London. Modern London is of little interest to me. What I wanted to know about was the London of the imagination, etched indelibly on the collective unconscious of readers, the London of the 1880′s of Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Mr Hyde and others …”

Extract from an interview published by fantasienet.com

Buy The Baker Street Phantom by Fabrice Bourland from Amazon

The Baker Street Phantom by Fabrice Bourland is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

This page was found by other readers when searching for

• baker st phantom review (2)
• links of london (1)
• The Baker Street Phantom (1)

No related posts.

Sunday Salon: When they turn a great book into a movie…

It’s been awhile since I participated in the Sunday Salon but it’s one of the items I’ve added to my goals list for the second half of 2010 because it’s a pastime I used to really enjoy.

This week I finally got around to watching the movie My Sister’s Keeper and it seemed like the perfect topic for TSS this week.

If you haven’t read the book or watched the movie then be careful reading this post as it may contain spoilers…

I can’t quite remember but I think My Sister’s Keeper was the very first Jodi Picoult book I ever read, and I do remember being captivated by the story from start to finish. As with all of Jodi’s novels MSK is a moral dilemma. When Kate develops a rare form of leukaemia her parents have a “designer baby” to give Kate a chance at life. Anna is that baby, and from birth she helps her sister by donating umbilical cord blood and bone marrow. Over the years Anna has several operations and hospital stays as the family try to save Kate.

When Anna turns 11 Kate needs a kidney transplant and Anna must serve the purpose she was born for and donate her kidney.

At this point Anna hires herself a lawyer and sues her parents for medical emancipation for the chance to make decisions about her own body.

I won’t tell you what happens next in case you haven’t read the novel but I thought the film stayed pretty true to the book. Jodi writes most of her novels from the viewpoint of the various different characters and I thought this worked really well in the book with each character doing the voice overs for their chapters. To be honest I thought that they would change that bit, so it surprises me that having mastered the “tricky” part of the book to movie exercise they then couldn’t handle ending the story as it was written.

Now I knew that the end of the movie had been changed because I heard Jodi speak at an event a couple of months back. Someone asked her how she felt about it and she said that is the most popular question she is asked these days. She compared handing a book over to a movie producer as giving a baby up for adoption. She said once you have signed the papers you are no longer allowed to be involved and you just have to hope that they raise your baby right. She went on to say that many years later, when you hear about your child there are two things that could happen. Firstly you find out that they are happy and successful in life and were raised by a kind and loving family. Alternatively you discover that your child was raised by a crack whore… and that’s how she feels about the movie’s ending!

Of course my memory is not great and when I was watching the film I couldn’t really remember what happened in the book so I took it on it’s own merits and thought the movie was really good. As I said the character voices were delivered really well and the acting was brilliant and of course I cried buckets towards the end. If I’d never read the book I would not have been disappointed by the film.

But I had read the book, and I wanted to know what “really happened” so the next day I dug out the book and flicked through to the end. And then I remembered what Jodi had penned for the ending. And I realised that the change the movie producers had made had completely changed the point of the story! I have no idea what made them switch out the ending but it just makes no sense when you know how it should end. The moral dilemma that Jodi was examining loses it’s edge somehow.

I do now feel a compelling wish to re-read the book just to see what else they fiddled with. But the whole experience has made me wonder why movie big wigs even bother paying for the rights to bestselling books if they can’t then recreate the message of the story as it was intended.

What do you think? Have you ever looked forward to seeing one of your favourite novels brought to life on the big screen only to wish that you’d stuck to the original? If you scroll down the page a little way you can let me know your thoughts in the comments box.

My Sister’s Keeper Movie Trailer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiOWevDj1mw

Sunday Salon: When they turn a great book into a movie… is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

This page was found by other readers when searching for

• change a book into a movie (1)

Related reviews:

1. Sunday Salon | The 342,745 Ways to Herd Cats Challenge
2. Sunday Salon | Books into movies

Golden Rainbows

by Christine Brannen Reilly

My Book Review Rating: 6 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

Golden Rainbows is the story of Mikey Reilly’s amazing life, his brave battle against cancer and the story of his family’s fight for survival after his death.

By putting her memories down on paper Christine hopes to help other people find strength and peace after losing someone special.

Why did you decide to read this book?

Christine contacted me and asked if I would review Golden Rainbows for her. Since starting Blue Archipelago Reviews I have been privileged to read some beautiful memoirs and I was only too happy to oblige and add this one to the list.

What did you like about this book?

When you’re caught up in the trials and tribulations of every day life where everything seems like a constant battle it takes someone like Mikey Reilly to make you realise that life is something you should be thankful for.

Diagnosed with cancer at just eight months old Mikey became a constant visitor to the Children’s Hospital where over the years doctors and nurses battled against the disease.

But during that time he never complained about the hand that life had dealt him, instead he was a beautiful, courageous and outgoing little boy who stole the hearts of everyone he ever met.

Through the stories that Christine has so gracefully shared with the world I felt like I came to know Mikey and loved reading about his Valentine’s Day “date” with one of the support team, and his beautiful friendship with Summer Sanders. As a fellow lover of Disney World the recollection of him dancing with the princesses in the parade will stay with me and I’ll think of Mikey next time I’m standing on Main Street USA.

While I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to watch your child battling against this ingracious disease I am thankful to Christine for sharing her stories, the highs and the lows, the good times and the bad. I am sure that reading this book will be a comfort for those of us who have lost a loved one, as well as a key to understanding what our loved ones are going through when faced with a heart-wrenching loss.

This book isn’t morose or self-pitying, it’s enlightening and uplifting. It made me smile and it brought tears to my eyes. I hope that Golden Rainbows is snapped up by a publishing house soon so that it is available to the wider world, but for now you can buy your copy from LuLu.

“Families can be more understanding than we sometimes give them credit for. Spend less time on incidental trivial issues and spend that time walking the beach and holding hands with someone you love. It really is okay to hug your dad, and it is always a good time to call your mom. Tell your friend how much their friendship means to you. The most important of all, do not measure life by how many breaths you take. You have to measure your life by the moments that have taken your breath away. Sometimes, I still catch my breath when Mikey’s name is mentioned.”

You can find out more about Golden Rainbows and Mikey Reilly here

Golden Rainbows by Christine Brannen Reilly is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

This page was found by other readers when searching for

• golden rainbows (3)
• golden rainbows christine brannen reilly (1)

Related reviews:

1. Pieces of Someday by Jan Vallone
2. Swallow by Tonya Plank

A Hemorrhaging of Souls

by Nicola Furlong

My Book Review Rating: 5 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

When a series of unexplained deaths shatters the serenity of a Vancouver Island Girl’s School Patrick Painter the local constable and Tempest Ivory the child psychologist race to solve the mystery before any more young lives are claimed.

This is a story of skeletons in closets and betrayal, with so many twists and turns you’d be forgiven for getting dizzy!

Why did you decide to read this book?

Nicola dropped me a line asking if I’d be interested in reviewing her book and I jumped at the chance to have something to read on my Sony ebook Reader!

What did you like about this book?

I was drawn into this book from the very first page, and Nicola does a wonderful job of weaving a tale with so many twists and turns, that I didn’t know whodunnit until the last page. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what happened in this book as it is so wonderfully complex, yet simple to follow along as you read it.

The characters are quirky and believable, and it’s always good to throw in a little romantic tension in a “will they won’t they” fashion!

If you have a few hours to spare and you want to escape from the world then download this book to your Kindle and get reading

Share a quote from the book

“The child was not schooled in the hangman’s knot. It certainly wasn’t the sort of instruction covered in Sister Benedict’s grade five class. The Sisters taught their fifty-six charges to live in peace with God and offered what Mother Superior called a diamond education: reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.
More’s the pity, for it took her a long time to die. Gasping, kicking and scratching the smooth leather belt that, in the end, was just tight enough.”

About the Author

Nicola Furlong enjoys playing hockey, gardening and eating chocolate fudge. Epubbing with Nicola Furlong is the diary of her ongoing exploits to survive as a fiction writer and to flourish in print and online and the portal to her podcast, The Novel Experience®, which is dedicated to learning the craft and art of writing through interviews with authors, editors, agents, publishers and booksellers.

You can find out more about Nicola Furlong here

Buy A Hemorrhaging of Souls by Nicola Furlong from Amazon

A Hemorrhaging of Souls by Nicola Furlong is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

Related reviews:

1. Too Close to Home: A Thriller by Linwood Barclay
2. The Army of the Republic by Stuart Cohen
3. Book Review | Murder on the Down Low by Pamela Samuels Young

Swallow

by Tonya Plank

My Book Review Rating: 5 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

Swallow is the story of a woman named Sophie Hegal, a shy New York lawyer from small-town Florence, Arizona. One evening during a romantic dinner with her fiance Sophie feels a fist-like ball at the base of her throat that renders her unable to swallow.
This fist-like ball, affectionally known as FB wreaks havoc on her life as has difficulty eating, speaking and even breathing!
Swallow is a wonderfully dark comedy about this young woman’s struggle to survive in a world of pedigreed professionals.

Why did you decide to read this book?

Because it meets the requirements of the New Author challenge that I signed up for

What did you like about this book?

Swallow is unlike any novel I’ve ever read before, and I loved it from the first sentence to the last. The characters are wonderfully diverse and larger than life. From Sophie herself to her pornographer father, her gay friend who paints male nudes and her fashion maven friend and confidant oh and her banged-up clients that Sophie tries so hard to prove innocent.

Tonk combines laugh out loud humour with more serious issues of family connections, psychological conditions, and the fight to survive in the Big Wide World.

It’s a great summer read without the chick lit cutesiness!

Share a quote from the book

This is the moment that FB raises its ugly head:

“I scooped up as much soupy marshmallow-covered ice cream as would fit onto my oversized spoon and topped it onto a chunk of brownie. Just as the first bite neared the back of my mouth, I peered into Stephen’s eyes. I began to feel a lump form in the base of my throat. The chewed food was so close to my pharynx that my swallowing reflex pushed it on down, where it met the lump and merged into a larger ball. The lump-ball was about the size of a fist: it was like a fist had grabbed the food. I couldn’t move either up or down…
With the food stuck in this fist-ball I began to panic. I tried to calm down, breathe through my nose. But either ball or the panic exacerbated the blockage and I couldn’t get any air through.”

About the Author

Tonya Plank grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended University of Arizona. She moved east for graduate school to Brown University where she studied European Intellectual History. She soon realized academia wasn’t for her, so moved on to Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey. While she was there, Tonya wrote and published several law review articles about gender and the law, law and literature, and international human rights.

Tonya spent most of her legal career as an appellate-level criminal defense attorney for indigents in New York City. While practicing law, she wrote her first novel (Swallow), took up competitive ballroom dancing, and started a dance blog, Swan Lake Samba Girl which won awards from legal websites for the best extracurricular blog by a lawyer!

You can find out more about Tonya Plank here

Buy Swallow by Tonya Plank from Amazon

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tonya Plank: So You Think You Can Dance Week 7: Can it Be, a Week Without Injuries? (huffingtonpost.com)

Swallow by Tonya Plank is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

This page was found by other readers when searching for

• Book swallo (3)
• tonya plank swallow review (2)
• Swallow novel (2)
• ball swallowing girls (1)
• swallow by tonya (1)
• SWALLOW IT GIRL (1)
• swallow reviews (1)
• swallow tonya plank (1)
• the swallow book review (1)
• tonya plank (1)

No related posts.

Pieces of Someday

by Jan Vallone

My Book Review Rating: 4 out of 6 stars

Synopsis

Pieces of Someday is Jan Vallone’s personal story of the battles and experiences she has overcome.

It’s a frank and honest look at her battle with infertility, her fierce love for her children, her battles to be accepted by her father and her struggle to find what is really important in life.

Why did you decide to read this book?

Jan dropped me a line and asked me to review her memoir for me and as it fits perfectly with one of my reading challenges this year I was happy to accept.

Synopsis

This insight into Jan’s life is honest and frank, and I appreciate that. As a wife, mother and lawyer with a beautiful home, from the outside it looks like she has the perfect life. But inside she struggles with frustration and anxiety. Jan invites us into her life to reflect on the challenges that she faced as she fought for the right to feel happy and fulfilled.

I found myself caught up in her stories and by the end felt like I knew her and her family.

There are many themes within the memoir that I could relate to, and it’s always comforting to know that you’re not the only one with struggles in the world!

About the Author

Jan Vallone, the granddaughter of Sicilian immigrants was born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island.

After practicing law for eighteen years Jan decided to become an English teacher at a yeshiva high school where she and her students founded a literary journal.

When Jan is not writing, reading or teaching, she enjoys gardening, Italian language study, traveling and spending time with her husband, children and friends.

You can find out more about Jan Vallone here

Buy Pieces of Someday by Jan Vallone from Amazon

Pieces of Someday by Jan Vallone is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

This page was found by other readers when searching for

• Jan Vallone (1)

Related reviews:

1. Out of the Dark by Linda Caine and Robin Royston
2. If I Am Missing or Dead… by Janine Latus
3. Penguin Luck by Kay Mupetson

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

My Book Review Rating: 5 out of 6 stars

About the author

When Stephenie Meyer woke up in July 2, 2003 she had no idea that her life was about to change forever. This stay at home mom of three boys had a dream that featured such realistic characters that she couldn’t get them out of her head.
Find out more about Stephenie Meyer…

Buy Twilight by Stephenie Meyer from Amazon

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is a post from: Blue Archipelago Reviews

This page was found by other readers when searching for

• stephanie meyer book recomendations (2)
• objective of twilight by stephenie meyer (1)
• the soul stephanie meyer (1)
• twilight by stephanie meyer (1)

Related reviews:

1. New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)
2. Book Review | Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
3. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight Saga)