Luncheonette: A Memoir by Steven Sorrentino

The Luncheonette is a great memoir following the life of Steven and his family. Steven an inspiring actor in New York, is forced to move back home and take over his families Luncheonette when his father becomes paralyzed on Christmas Eve. Steven gives us an account on the everyday events in the diner from the quirky customers to the annoying waitress who makes his life a bit more colorful.

Steven is forced to repress his homosexuality in his hometown but an unexpected love interest comes into his life...

This reader was able to predict this "love" story ... Like many other scenes that unfold.

While this story tells us about his family, the diner and his relationships with people in his life it is really about the relationship between a father and son...

Grade: B

Balancing in High Heels by Eileen Rendahl

A must read "Chick lit".

This novel is Marian Keyes meets Meg Cabot. The main character, Alissa gives a whole new meaning to anger managment! A simple one day read, I'm just sorry, I let, it sit on a shelf for so long before picking it up to read. I look foward to reading more books by Eileen Rendahl.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Just the fax, ma'am.

Alissa Lindley didn't mean to take it out on the fax machine. But when your not-yet-ex-husband knocks up his girlfriend and your divorce is going worse than the next World War -- well, something's got to give. Unfortunately, Alissa's employers at the L.A. Public Defender's office take a dim view of the destruction of office equipment. Funny how that anti-workplace violence policy used to seem like a good idea, before she got fired. And the networking thing just isn't happening at her Anger Management class.

He was arrestingly handsome.

San Jose is the place for a fresh start -- it's home, and family and friends are eagerly waiting to welcome her. But her first job as a lawyer there has Alissa walking a high wire of complicated emotions. Her client is from the Butterfly Brigade, a group of justice-seeking (and interestingly tattooed) ladies who right wrongs as they see fit even if that means bending the law. The arresting officer, Detective Rodriguez, is so hot he should be illegal. But can Alissa trust her instincts again when it comes to love? Or will one wrong step send her new life crashing down?

No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Great protagonist, antagonist novel!

The book is more violent than the begging of the movie,Saving Private Ryan. Great read, however the writing style takes a while to get use. It can at times be difficult to follow and you have to reread passages since you can easily get lost in the conversations due to the fact that there are no quotations to mark conversation pieces.

The murderous characters are well developed and frightening. Many intense moments in the book perhaps the most is during a coin toss that can determine your life or violent death. This book is not as good and his novel, The Road, however if you like McCarthy and violence it makes for a very interesting and entertaining read.

Grade: B+

Please Stop Laughing at Me... By Jodee Blanco

Publishers Weekly calls is “courageous and honest”

Jack Canfield, coauthor of Chicken Soup for the soul, says, “Please Stop Laughing at Me… Will do for survivors of school bullying what Dave Pelzer’s book A Child Called “It” did for child abuse.”

Having read Pelzer’s books and having just finished, Blanco’s book, I couldn’t agree more. Blanco’s book is a fast read, I myself finished it within hours. Blanco’s writing gives her readers a one sided view into her life and the torture she endured by her tormentors. Her peers spit, beat, humiliate and taunt her on and off, from grade school until high school graduation. The pain doesn’t end there, those who should protect her often turn a blind eye or add fuel to an already burning fire. A teacher goes so far as to humiliate her in class, causing snickers and more hostility from her peers.

Having been subjected to bulling and having bullied myself, I recommend that every parent and student take the time to read and discuss this book. It may be the very book that can save your child’s life. In a world where school shootings are becoming the “norm” (There were, three last week, alone!), this book may open up the hearts of parents and children giving them compassion in an already hostile world. Blanco’s look, into School Hell, gives people the ability to see the results of bullying and how it affects the human body, mentally, physically and emotionally.

Grade: A -