comeback

This memoir is so different than I expected and is unlike anything I have ever encountered in my own life. I went into reading this thinking it would be a tough story about someone's drug problem and that there is no way I could relate to the writers (mother and daughter together). Wrong. Somehow I ended up having complete, genuine sympathy for both people, being that the daughter had been brought up in a horrible situation with her father and her mother had to make choices no one ever wants to have to make. At the beginning I was determined to blame them both for how the daughter ended up, but soon came to see nothing is as it seems and this could very well happen to anyone dealt a rough hand in life. The way the book is written really gives a valid glance at life for both people going through the same situation with polar opposite views on life and the meaning of it. You can see that the one thing that is constant throughout their lives are the mother's love for her daughter and vice versa. Even if Mia's actions did not always show her gratefulness and love for her mother while acting out, she never stopped caring for or loving her. It is so interesting to me that even intense love can lead a person to drastic, self-mutilating measures to protect the other from harm. I think we all have parts of Mia's personality in different ways that may manifest themselves in a lesser way but are still there nonetheless. I really gained a lot from reading this book but just want to offer a warning that parts are very graphic and shocking but also contribute to a true, raw memoir that could not have been written any other way. No one could read this story without looking internally at the choices we all must make, our reasons behind them, and our relationships with those around us.

deep dish

This is a prime example of one of the chick lit books I love to pick out when I need a break from intense novels. Deep Dish really offers a spattering of southern charm which makes it incredibly easy to relate to for a girl from Georgia. Much of the storyline is set in Atlanta as well as on an island on the Georgia Coast which makes anyone who recognizes those places feel like you hold a piece of the story a little closer. Obviously you wouldn't necessarily read this novel for its literary status but if you love to be able to place yourself in the plot of a book and can appreciate humor as well as a little bit of sensationalism, Deep Dish offers all of the above. I got through it in about 2 days and really got into the love story strewn throughout Gina's Bridget Jones-like awkwardness that is fairly prevalent in my own life, too. For mindless humor and a little bit of cheesy fun, this book has it all.