Book of the Week: One Day

I had never heard about this book, or how its being turned into a movie with Anne Hathaway, until I happened upon it in the store. The cover and description appealed to me so I got it, and I'm really glad I did.

Emma and Dexter are at university together and while she has always had a crush on him, he's never really noticed her. University Emma is bookish and caustic and idealistic. Dexter is your typical irresistible bad boy. Until the night of their graduation in 1988 when things--sort of--change.

After that night the book tells us the story of Em and Dex through the next twenty years, but only by showing us the events of one day (July 15) every year. Sometimes Dex and Em are together, sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're happy and sometimes they're struggling. You know, I guess...life.

While you're never really sure if these two are going to end up together after all, and if they do whether it will feel satisfying, the book really isn't about that. It's about a love and friendship that somehow endures for twenty years even when its not always being properly tended and watered. A real connection between two people who may be total opposites, who may not fit, but have somehow found one another and have--in many ways--grown up together.

Anyway, I don't want to give too much away. I'll just say this book made me laugh (out loud) and cry (M, used to this kind of stuff, just shook his head and patted my leg as I sniffled through the hard parts). And now I'm really interested to see what they'll do with the movie. Have you read this book? What did you think?

Book of the Week: Spoiled

I had heard awhile back that The Fug Girls were coming out with a book and then promptly forgot all about it (that's happening to me a lot lately - ha). Then I was in Wal-Mart and was attracted to the cover of the book Spoiled. As soon as I realized it was the YA novel by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan I was sold. Things have been busy so I haven't had a chance to post about reading it yet, but if you like the Fug Girls' snappy humor and acerbic wit on their site then there's a good chance you'll like Spoiled too.

The premise of the novel is one we've seen before: anonymous small town girl finds out that her biological parent is a Hollywood superstar. The superstar's existing progeny gets jealous and sets out to make said small town girl's Tinseltown life a living hell. This is basically how things start out for Molly Dix when, after her mother's death, she finds out her father is Hollywood heavyweight Brick Berlin. Brick is well meaning, but often distracted and absent, leaving Molly to fend for and deal with her new sister Brooke all by herself.

For me what set this story apart from others like it is the writing style and the humor. Plus both Molly and Brooke are rather interesting characters and I'm looking forward to the continuation of their saga. Have you read Spoiled?