Book reviewer in the making!

I love reading books.  I really do.  I don't find the time like I used to though, and if the book does not suck me in right away it will sit on my nightstand unread forever!

Well recently I picked up a copy of The Actor and the Housewife, by Shannon Hale.  I started reading this book and had a strong reaction to it.  The reaction being "YUCK"!  I could not believe that SHANNON HALE, the author of my favorite book, the only author whose autograph I have, the author that writes so many fabulous books, wrote this book!  I was soooo disappointed.

This book basically is about a Mormon Utah housewife that meets her Hollywood on screen crush, and becomes best friends with him.  OK, cute premise, not so cute execution.  I'm gonna be brutally honest with you here, there were points in this book when I was actually embarrassed to me a Mormon!  Do people in Utah really act like that?  Mind you I had only read about 1/4 of the book when I was feeling all these things.

So I took my feelings/concerns/disgusts to book club with me and talked it over with my very Shannon Hale loving friends.  They told me that the whole point of the book was for it to be a fantasy, for none of it to ever happen in real life, and if it did then this is how ridiculous it would be (lactating at a formal dance when your crush/friend professes his love...whatev').  They assured me I should keep reading and I'd be impressed.  So I took their advice and finished the book two nights ago.

WELL...I really liked it!  I know I'm crazy, wishy washy, emotional, crazy!  I laughed, I cried (a lot), it made me mad, and sad, and happy all at the same time, and I figure that any book that can evoke that many emotions out of me deserves a good review.  I didn't really like the ending of the book, it wasn't how I pictured it, but it was how it needed to end.

All in all I'd recommend it if you want a silly, feel good, crazy book to read.

Comments

Normal Mom said…
Good for you! I like the ending because it was NOT the ending I EXPECTED. I sometimes get disappointed when I can predict how things are going to wrap up. I liked that this story did not exactly have the neat little bow around everything.
I'm glad you pushed through. I think it just shows that Shannon Hale has quite a range of stories to tell: fantastic to the ridiculous to poignant. And you do have to love a book that gets people talking!
November 1, 2010 at 4:11 PM
Mary said…
I laughed out loud (not LOL) when I got the Goodreads notification that you now recommended the book -- yea! I am glad that you plowed through and that you liked it in the end (though not the ending necessarily, neither did I). Now we can still be friends - phew!
November 2, 2010 at 3:16 PM
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