Book Review: "Wild Reckless" by Ginger Scott

"More than any book I've written, this one demanded of me. I didn't get to tell it what to do, the characters grabbed me and made me tell their stories." ~Ginger Scott~

This book demanded to be READ. Oh God. I was in tears during the Prologue! Honestly, there's so much to say about Wild Reckless, I have no idea where to even start. But I guess I will start with this: when you get to the end of this review, you're going to read that I gave this book FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS and that you should just go get it and start reading it. It's simply a book that no one should miss. It would be a CRIME to NOT read it.

Kensington (Kensi) Worth is accustomed to her posh high school in Chicago, she's a fiercely talented piano prodigy destined to study at any of the finest music universities in the world and, she hates the idea of having to leave her school and move to a small town in the middle of nowhere for her senior year.

Owen Harper is Kensi's badass next door neighbor. His destiny appears to have been decided for him when he was just a boy. Owen lives on the dark side and he has absolutely no problem letting anyone see it. Except, are Owen's wild and reckless "bad boy" ways for real? Asking the question would make one presume the answer is "no." Don't presume anything.

In no time at all, Owen's badass attitude and nastiness hits Kensi right where it hurts the most. It's downright devastating. Once Kensi catches her breath from that heart-stopping blow, she realizes that she's never taken shit from anyone before and starts to call Owen out. Then the good in Owen begins to show. Day by day by day. 

Kensi and Owen are addictive. These two took me through a range of emotions I've never experienced by reading ONE book. I cried, I was horrified at times, terrified, sometimes I was pissed and I laughed too. I don't like ferris wheels because of I'm afraid of heights but this whole book sent me sky high. I don't like rollercoasters either having been on at least one and this book rollercoastered me all over the place. I couldn't stop reading but I had to stop and catch my own breath with this one.

When Ginger Scott said that these characters grabbed her, I believe her 1000%. These two wild and reckless but extremely mature young adults grabbed me. By the heart and the guts. If you aren't rooting for these two by the end of Chapter One, you might be doing it wrong. This is the one ride you get on and when the ride ends, you just keep going back for more.

I've had the pleasure of reading and reviewing ALL of Ginger Scott's novels and I have to admit that this one quickly became my favorite one. Ms. Scott always tackles real issues and writes real characters and here she handles every single one of these issues with total grace. She makes sure both of these characters keep their dignity through some massively difficult situations. That's simply not a skill that every author has. Ms. Scott has it in spades.

Go to the link of your choice below and order the book NOW. It drops as of Tuesday, March 17th. You want start reading this as soon as possible. It's five stars out of five (see my star ratings below). There are many things that come along where one thinks to themselves, "gotta have it, can't live without it." This book is definitely one of those things. After reading Ms. Scott's first book, Waiting On The Sidelines, I said, "if she writes it, I'll read it." And although I'm ready for the next book that I know is coming soon, this one will stay with me for a long, long time and I will be re-reading it again and again in the future.

This book was provided by the author and Wordsmith Publicity for an honest review.

Star Scale:


5 Stars: Excellent! Skip all of the other reviews. Run and buy this one. Right NOW!

4 Stars: Very Good! Read a few more reviews just to see that I'm right. Then run and buy it.


3 Stars: Good! If you waited to get it on sale or was able to get it through your local library, you won't exactly die without it.


2 Stars: Fair. Read more reviews. Maybe I missed something that most others did not. If there are more good reviews than bad, give it a go.


1 Star: Poor. Don't bother. It's simply not worth your time.

Order Links:

Amazon

iBooks

Barnes and Noble

About The Author:

Ginger Scott is a writer and journalist from Peoria, Arizona. She is the author of six young and new adult romances, with her seventh title, Wild Reckless, set to release in on March 17, 2015.

Scott has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scott is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

"The Truth About Alice" (Psst…She's the School Slut)

THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE is absolutely friggin' CRAZY. CRAZY GOOD! I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley for an honest review but I really want to buy everybody I know a copy of this book. It should be required reading in every high school across America and the world.

Alice Franklin is the school slut. She was a popular girl at one time and now? Well now she's the school slut. Alice slept with two guys. Brandon Fitzsimmons, THE most popular boy at Healy High and the school's star quarterback. She also slept with Tommy Cray. Tommy Cray graduated from Healy and was now a college freshman home for the summer.

And Alice Franklin slept with both of them at Elaine O'Dea's party. Elaine is the most popular girl in high school and she's still holding a grudge because Alice made out with Brandon Fitzsimmons all the way back in eighth grade.

A short time after that party, Alice sexted Brandon Fitzsimmons and he died in a car crash. His best friend Josh, who was in the car, lived. Josh feels exceptionally guilty because he's still alive.

Kelsie is….was Alice Franklin's best friend. But since Alice lied to Kelsie a gazillion years ago because Kelsie was a virgin at the time, she believes being around Alice will trash her popularity. When Kelsie lived in Flint, Michigan, she wasn't popular at all. Moving to small-town Healy, Texas gave Kelsie a "do over." So she became friends with the popular Alice Franklin and climbed the social ladder.

And there's Kurt Morelli. He's the school nerd. A total loner. Not popular. A geek.

Jennifer Mathieu has created a brilliant piece of art. It belongs on the shelves of every school library everywhere. She has mastered how to tell a story from FOUR different points of view. It's easy to write such a story and confuse the hell out of everybody. It's masterful to write such a story and make four points of view work.

This book not only reveals how Alice Franklin became the school slut with no friends but it also reveals each person's knowledge about what really happened. How these characters are so shallow, they know they're shallow, and they justify it to themselves. All too easily.

I was sucked into this book from page one. I know a book is going to be THAT good when it gets me on page one. And then I only put it down once because I had to sleep at some point. One could make an argument that Jennifer Mathieu didn't really end it "right." I think she ended it how it was supposed to end: realistically. And I think you get to write your own "what happens next" when you get to the end. It's not a cliffhanger and it's not unresolved. You'll have to see for yourself.

You will see yourself or perhaps your younger self in one, some or all of these characters. I saw just a little bit of Kelsie in my younger self and a lot of Kurt minus the loner, unpopular part in myself as a whole. Do we ever hear from Alice? Does she ever weigh in on all of this? Yes. And Jennifer Mathieu knows EXACTLY where to bring her voice into the story.

If EVERY kid entering high school would read this book and do the exact opposite of what these kids did, high school would be a much better experience for so many.

I give it five stars because this book just knocked me out! I just plain old loved it.

Coming Soon! "And You, And You, And You…..You Never Loved Me"

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A CRAZY BITCH!

Minimize how I feel?  That ends now! I asked you nicely to never contact me again and your choice was to tell me I was just going to get over it. I just needed to "chew on that a while."

"I 'Blah Blah Blah' you because that is exactly what B*** A** did to me when I explained my absense was because I was embarrassed about my mental illness.  She was like "Whatever C******...that is stupid.....you see Theresa that what real friends do..... I laugh about it now.  Chew on that a while and I will talk to you soon.  It just boundries not a loss girl...…"

DID YOU SUCK MY ENERGY OUT OF ME TO THE POINT I HAD TO DUMP YOUR ASS?

"...they are very kind and generous. they just want to see me happy, get my own life, etc…it was hardest for me just to come to terms with myself by giving up my career."


Then why did you think it was YOU? And why did you get your daughter to email me about it instead of just asking me yourself? It wasn't about YOU. It's not always about YOU! Good-bye, you are DISMISSED!

WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU WERE GOING TO SLIDE RIGHT BY, TELL ME NOT TO "TAKE IS PERSONALLY," AND JUST WALK AWAY CLEAN?

THE TIME HAS COME! YOUR ASSES ARE ON MY CHOPPING BLOCK!  I WILL REVEAL ALL I DID FOR YOU, EVERYTHING YOU NEVER DID FOR ME, AND EVERYTHING YOU TOOK FROM ME.

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ME….." DON'T KNOW?  WELL, YOU'RE GONNA LEARN!

**********

And now a sneak peak of "And You, And You, And You…..You Never Loved Me"

     At least once a week, I have a night at home by myself while my husband goes off to play poker with his buddies.  And every week on that night while he's gone, I have a nose draining cry fest and then go to bed before he even gets home so he has no idea that I've cried for three or four hours straight.  The reason for such waterworks, one might think, would be due to being in pain and crying is a good release for that pain.  However, it is extremely rare that those hours are actually used to relieve stress from pain on my body.

     No, the reason I cry for three to four hours on those poker nights is because of general sadness and malaise over complete and total failure to be able keep people from leaving me.  Granted, in the last 6 to 9 months, I have deliberately ended two friendships both over 20 years old. But that has actually lifted a burden OFF of me in the months after doing so.  However, the overall experience for the grand majority of my lifetime has been that people leave me. They just up and go.  Now I've had a birth mother abandon me and an adoptive mother abandon me. That right there would give anyone a complex of some sort.

     But me?  I can do everything right, be perfectly kind, and try to be the best friend that a friend could ever try to be and people just leave. High and dry. No warning, no particular reason.  Now I know that people come in and out of our lives for a reason, a season, or for a lifetime.  But me?  I'm a weird, off-brand sort of repellent.

     Just recently, I posted on Facebook. I basically said that I should probably do some friend cleaning since I have so many on my friends list and so few seem to interact with things that I post.  When I see my friends post a basic opinion, or photo, or article and those friends seem to ALWAYS get 30 to 50 people commenting (a lot of times more than that), and I get nothing, I must conclude that no one is interested in me anymore.  I can't say for sure that it's the stupid Facebook algorithm keeping friends from seeing it in their News Feeds because I'm highly participatory with all of those friends.  It's the only logical conclusion left.

     In less than the last year, I've said "good-bye" to two best friend relationships. One was a 20-year friendship and the other was a friendship that went back as far as high school, nearly 30 years.  Well, why would I do that? Because one went through a mental health crisis, put me through a massive amount of pain, and when she left the psychiatric facility, didn't contact me.  When contact was finally made indirectly, that friend would not hear of me telling her about any of the things she did during her psychotic break.  Things like:

• Calling my husband and leaving him a message that I was a lesbian who had been chasing her for years.
• Calling and screaming into the phone to stay away from her and her child.
• Sending me texts not to contact her because I was not the agent of the FBI and that she was the Mayor of Philadelphia's agent.

     The list goes on.  And then she told me I would "get over it."  She basically attempted to blame me for it all.  I finally had to tell her "never contact me ever again" and "I'm done with you."  So not only did I have to grieve for my loss while she was sick, I grieved the loss of my friendship.  When it finally came down to thinking it all through, I knew this could never be mended if she would never take responsibility for at least the irresponsibility of going off of her medications.  People DO still grieve even when they are the dumper.

     As for the other friend, she basically turned out to be just like the aforementioned friend. After taking stock of the 20-year friendship, what it all came down to was that she only ever called, talked or spent time with me when she needed something from me.  She never asked for money so that was never an issue.  In fact, she refused to ever accept help when I offered it to her.  But when she needed an ear to burn for 4 to 8 hours or needed advice about family matters and so on, I was the one she called.  Did I expect her to reciprocate?  Of course, if she was able to do so.  But if I went to her with anything from the simple to the dire, she was never there for me. She was unavailable or didn't call back. In the earlier days, she wouldn't come over or wasn't there for me to go to her. In the later days, she never visited me once. I always went to her. And the list goes on…it's way too long to even hit the surface of that here.

Book Review of "My Memories Dance" by D.M. Hulme

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE EBOOK OR PAPERBACK !!!!!

“My Memories Dance” is the debut novel of D.M. Hulme and she hit it out of the park at her first step up to the plate! In the interest of full-disclosure, I was asked to read an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of the book, which is a work of Creative Non-Fiction, and I was asked to give an honest review of it. About halfway through the book, I purchased it outright because I knew that I would want to read it again. Also in the interest of full disclosure, the author is also the mother of one of my BFF’s. My fellow NetGalley readers and reviewers think I’m “NUTS!” and “INSANE!” for agreeing to read and review anything written by a friend, a family member, the family of a friend, etc. but if there were any BFF I was going to say “yes” to when asked, this BFF is one I couldn’t say “no” to.

My first point of order is to say “Congratulations!” to D.M. Hulme on her debut book. I’ve written plenty of blogs about myself over the years but could I write a book about myself using the honesty I encountered in “My Memories Dance?” I don’t know if I could. I also have HOARDS of respect for anyone who successfully writes and publishes a book. SO, let’s get to it…..

“My Memories Dance” is about Sarah Walker. Sarah is a young woman who was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, from this point on “Northeast Philly” or just “Philly.” Sarah’s journey through over four decades will take you through the highs and the lows of her life but in addition to her story, you get to read it through the eyes of a Philly girl who loved to go to the dances, loved watching American Bandstand, spent summers “down the shore,” and so much more. As a South Philly “girl” myself, the references to Jerry “The Geater With The Heater” Blavat (who wrote the foreword for this book), Wildwood, Woolworth’s, “The El,” and, so much more brought back memories of my own upbringing in Philly. It’s quite the wild ride down memory lane for Sarah and myself.

You will meet Tom MacPherson, the man who eventually becomes Sarah’s husband. You will HATE Tom. And you will NEED to hate Tom. Because you will feel so much conflict about the decisions, and the mistakes Sarah makes over and over again in regard to Tom. I think your first question will be “why the HELL did she ever marry him?” It was certainly mine and I don’t have any doubt that it will be yours. You will find that Sarah does have her reasons. One of the reasons being the actual decade in which they marry and how things were back then. Sarah writes:

"Tom and I would fight a lot. The fights were mostly about his drinking, the staying out all night,    about money and about his parents."

The other reasons I can’t tell you because, well…..spoilers, that’s why!

Alex Bentley. You will LOVE Alex. It won’t be hard. Alex is dreamy. I can tell you that you will know what Alex looks like from his description in the book and he’s definitely DREAMY. Alex’s appearances in the book seem to make him a minor character of sorts. However, Alex is a MAJOR character for the entire book for a myriad of reasons. He’s in Sarah’s mind and heart from the day she meets him until the end of the book. So even when Sarah isn’t interacting directly with Alex, Alex is still present to Sarah.

Sarah’s journey isn’t easy. Sure, life isn’t easy but I have to admire Sarah for her strength, her determination and her perseverance. There isn’t a day in Sarah’s adult life when she isn’t working a job. There is one short time where Sarah doesn’t work but there is a reason for it. Sorry, that’s a spoiler. There isn’t a day where she doesn’t have to take care of a member of her family. Not one. Sarah simply never stops working. And it’s not the work-a-holic type of working, it’s not “career woman” working. When Sarah takes on one of two or three different jobs to make ends meet, she goes to clean house for some women in the neighborhood and Sarah writes:

"These ladies treated me like I was their daughter. They loved me, and all I did for them. It was very rewarding."

This is SURVIVAL working regardless if it’s her job or taking care of a family member or being there for one of her friends.

You will briefly meet Sarah’s daughter Kim as well. Kim? Well, she’s the reason I read the book. Because she asked me to read it. Sarah has this to say after a terribly unpleasant event occurs:

"Kim and I would talk everyday on the phone. I would vent my problems, and she would always talk me down from the ledge."

Gee, I know NOTHING about what this is like at all. LOL!

"She's a wonderful kid, and I would ask myself, how did I get so lucky to have a kid like her!"

And how did I get so lucky to have a friend like her? And I know she’s absolutely going to hate the fact that I included this line in my review. She’s humble that way. At one point, I sent Kim a brief message about the part of the book where her birth occurs. Her reply was, “SPOILER- I'm really not in it that much.” Oh but she is. Because embedded in Sarah’s mind throughout the book after Kim is born, she’s doing everything for her child. She never has to come out and say it; you will simply just know this to be a fact.

Sarah’s life will make you laugh and it will make you cry. D.M. Hulme is exactly the second author of my 45-year-old life to actually make me cry tears while reading a book. I do recommend having some tissue available. If you’re sitting on the beach, get the Jackie O sunglasses out for this one. You will shed tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

I don’t know how much “creative” is embedded in this “Creative Non-Fiction” book so I have to accept it all as real as it is presented. If that’s the case then I can promise that you will ROOT for Sarah like I did. You will HATE Tom like I did. You will LOVE Alex as I did. And you will hear the songs that are the soundtrack of Sarah’s life in your head as you travel on her journey with her through every single page.

Finally, I enjoyed the choice and direction that D.M. Hulme decided to go with the ending of her first book. I think you’ll find that this definitely is one of the “creative” parts of “Creative Non-Fiction.” It’s kind of a surprise ending of a different sort. You’re gonna love what she does with it. I didn’t see it coming but, as I realized what she was doing with the ending, I thought it was soooo perfect.

I’m rating this the same way I’d rate a NetGalley or Goodreads by using the five star system and I’m giving it FIVE STARS. Most debut books don’t get 5 stars from me. But when an author can evoke the emotional responses that I had while reading, whether tears of sorrow, tears of joy, or laughing out loud not caring who hears it, you get 5 stars! It’s really that simple.

Before or after you read the book, visit the website, http://www.mymemoriesdance.com. You’ll find some lovely information there about the book as well as some great links.  Once you've perused the website, watch the fabulous VIDEO as well.



So, while I recommend this book for anyone who likes to read, I call on Philly chicks, those born in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s, those of you who are the children of those born in these decades, and those of you who know what it means to go “down the shore,” to grab this one right NOW. You will NOT be able to put it down.

READ ABOUT "MY MEMORIES DANCE" IN ROWHOME MAGAZINE!!!!!

THIS JUST IN !!!!!

READ ABOUT "MY MEMORIES DANCE IN NORTHEAST TIMES!!!!!

CLICK HERE!

Book Review of "The Break-Up Artist" by Philip Siegel

Becca Williamson watched her sister get ditched at the altar. Becca also sees the couples at her school needlessly cast out the single girls to the point where they're treated like pariahs until they couple up. Even her best friend, Val will do or say anything to snag a boyfriend.

As a result, for just $100 via PayPal, Becca aka "The Break-Up Artist," will break up any couple. With a few creative tricks, Becca can shred a couple's relationship to pieces.

One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. If Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.

By far, one of the best young adult contemporary romance books I've read to date. What struck me right from the get go was the author is a MAN. I would never expect such a wildly good understanding of teenage females from a male author. For that, I give stars, stars, more stars, and kudos to Phillip Siegel!

One of the things I like about any book I read is when I can't put it down and I really want to take off from work to just finish it. This was definitely one of those books. This is also my first ARC via NetGalley that was approved from Harlequin so I was excited for the opportunity to read a Harlequin TEEN book. I was not disappointed.

Mr. Siegel does an amazing job in creating Becca's character. She's as complicated as any teenage girl would be. There were times I had to remind myself that Becca was indeed a teenager in high school. The author also did a great job in reminding the reader of that fact as well. The struggles Becca has to go through to be Becca and The Break-Up Artist in secret are so good, I wondered if the author actually met someone who did this for real. I'm sure they exist out there in real life.

What the author does with Huxley is pretty amazing and you won't see it coming right away but I think all readers will enjoy it. I loved the choices the author made in ending the book too. As I thought of the possible alternative endings that the author could have chosen, none of them seemed to fit in my mind so kudos for the ending as well.

I didn't exactly understand why Becca and Val were BFF's. Val's character is slightly annoying and I was surprised Becca would have a best friend who is so…..whiny. But, there are people out there who don't understand why I'm BFF's with certain people as well. Val has flaws and she's willing to lie about anything to snag a boyfriend. You will wonder if she falls into "couple zombie" mode if she snags that boyfriend.

Overall, this is a humorous and light-hearted look at one of the real issues teenagers have to deal with in high school. It's definitely realistic and if you like YA books with some "girl power," you'll love this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but it comes out April 29th. So preorder it now so you can start reading it the day it releases. You won't be disappointed!

Book Review of "Lake Thirteen" by Greg Herren

Scotty is a teenager who has just come out to his parents. Prior to going on an annual vacation with two other families that Scotty and his parents do every year, Scotty also comes out to his lifelong friends over email. Scotty is really nervous about how those friends are going to react during this vacation because no one replied to his email. Shortly after arriving, Scotty finds out that his friends still think he's the same Scotty.

Staying at a resort in a small historical town in upstate New York, during the off-season, Scotty and his friends, one of whom is into ghost hunting and the paranormal, decide to wander down to an old nearby cemetery. What they discover is that the town has some dark secrets that have been hidden for almost one hundred years. What seemed like a boring week in the mountains gradually turns into a wild and crazy ghost story.

As this is really the first "paranormal" style novel I've ever read, I have to say that Greg Herren knows his stuff. He's obviously done research about what those who seek to learn about the paranormal do. I liked how Scotty's friends reacted to him. They see him as the same old Scotty who is still their friend so the level of awkwardness is graciously reduced in that area. However, the fact that Scotty is gay is all tied up in this story. As Scotty and his friends reluctantly set out to find out what happened to one of the decedents in the graveyard, weird things begin to happen to Scotty. And then they begin to happen to his friends too. Like getting cold when a ghost is nearby. Scotty's dreams turn out to be clues from the ghosts themselves. It also becomes obvious that one ghost is trying to find final rest and another is trying to keep Scotty and his friends from finding out what really happened.

The story aligns with Scotty's relationship with Marc, his boyfriend back home, and Scotty begins to worry that something is wrong back home and that Marc is in danger.

This book was a page turner. I could not put it down. Greg Herren takes the paranormal and makes it believable. There are weird visions, eerie sounds of a ghost crying out the name of another ghost.

If you like a good mystery and books about the paranormal, you will enjoy this book. I wondered all the way through how this was going to all come together and end up. I was pleased with it overall. What I would have liked to read was Scotty returning home to Marc to see their interaction after everything that happens in this book. Maybe in the form of a Epilogue. But, I don't think it takes away from the book as a whole which is why I kept it at the 5 stars that I gave it when I finished the book.

Definitely a good book for teens and adults alike.

This book was provided by Net Galley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"I Will Heal...Then WE (?) Will Heal" WTF?

I've written different kinds of Notes on Facebook and I've blogged in the past. I've written about turning 40, about life without the ability to have a child and about life growing up with no father because he was murdered. The latter was more reality intertwined with my dreams of what life would have been like if he'd lived.

But now, another pending matter (and there always seems to be SOMETHING) looms.

I've recently hit a strike of another possible abandonment in life. It comes in big ways and smaller ways but this one might actually be the result of ME walking away this time.

First, my birth mother abandoned me and my brother when were about 11 and 10 years old. She was a drunk and a junkie and from all accounts, she still is.

My aunt adopted me legally when I was in my 20's. I finally had a real mother. And, I was so happy. I felt liked I belonged to someone...finally.

Then, 7.5 years ago, my aunt-mother stopped talking to me over a rift that I can barely recall the details to. But I do remember that I apologized, answered every question she had truthfully and left the door open to come to me anytime. Eventually, on the advice of a professional, it came time to stop trying and move along with my own life.  I can't make her not angry with me and I can't worry about it anymore because she's angry with me.  She's angry with me because she can't be angry at someone else because it won't affect that person.  So, I'm the target.  Fine, moving on.

Other abandonments have probably come as a result of circumstance. I'm sure I haven't heard from some of my BFF's because they've had babies in their late 30's and I have no children. It's heartbreaking. These were the children who were supposed to have me in their lives and I refuse to impose myself on them. I figure if I'm wanted, they'll tell me.

I suppose there is some overall punishment hanging over me for all time for some reason, maybe a lot of reasons...I just don't know.

But now I have a friend of 20+ years who, after being hospitalized from a psychotic break after discontinuing medication, has decided she needs to heal so WE can heal.  The only problem is: WE are not broken.  At least not in my reality where there isn't a diseased mind.  Her mind, on the other hand, has completely flipped interactions between us in the past in a 180 degree direction.  Basically, she's seeing the exact opposite of what actually took place.  And I cannot even begin to describe the horrific, nightmare experiences my friend put me and her family through before she was finally hospitalized.

So, I'm thinking it might be high time to say goodbye to that friendship.  I've given a lot over the years to those who are the closest to me.  Sometimes giving to the point where I allowed advantage to be taken willingly because I was being helpful.

I'm now at the point where even the smallest courtesy asked for has become suspicious.  I never expect reciprocation when I give to another.  But now the whole "give an inch, take a foot" thing is out of hand.  And I suppose there shouldn't be a "give an inch, take a foot" thing when it comes to those closest to you but eventually, one grows weary.  Eventually, you do start to wonder, not if they'll give back but, if they'll even acknowledge what you gave.

I can accept that relationships have their time. Some are for life, some are for only a little while maybe for some unknown purpose and most fall somewhere in the middle. But maybe it's time I did some "friend cleaning" in other places other than just on Facebook.

Book Review: "Good In Bed" by Jennifer Weiner…..Definitely Much More Than Your Average "Chick Lit"

Second read. Definitely much more to it than your average chick lit.

I'm not exactly Jennifer Weiner or Cannie Shapiro. Combine the two and we have a TON in common. Jennifer is based in Philly and Cannie lives there. I was born and raised there. Jennifer worked for the Centre Daily Times in Central PA. I live in State College, PA and was at Penn state when she began working there. I still live in State College. Jennifer and Cannie are overweight. I stopped giving a crap about it after hitting 40 years old. I'm tall, with a large frame and will never weigh 100 pounds. I'm not exactly carrying a Michelin tire around my waist but I'm no model either. There's a bunch of other stuff too.

It bothers me that some women have reviewed this book and called Cannie's story, "whining." Sounds to me like Cannie is just being Cannie. I don't think she's a perpetual victim, I think she's just trying to figure out years of bad things happening to her. Keep in mind that JW can't take you through every step of Cannie's growth. The book would be way too long. I think the fact that she's left Cannie under the care of a shrink tells you she's not done fixing the way she reacts to bad things that happen to her.

I have to wonder how many readers who wrote that Cannie was a "whiner" are really, really thin and have nooooo problem frolicking down the shore because they can wear some boob stickers and some string and call it a bikini?

Well, truth be told, there are more of us than there are of you. I'm not as big as a 16 but I'll never be an 8. And for the not so thin ones who said the same, do you envy Cannie because she got a lot of good things in one quick swoop? Because again, it's a book. It kinda has to be really kind of fast or you'll get bored.

The book was amazing, plain and simple.