Review: Forks, Knives, and Spoons
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!
There are three types of guys: forks, knives, and spoons.
Women’s fiction sometimes gets a bad rap. Chick lit is often used in a derogatory way; the books we aren’t supposed to like. I don’t agree with the negative stereotypes associated with it, and if you ever meet me in person I’ll give you my whole diatribe about it. There are poorly-written pieces of literary fiction and great chick lit books. I will read it all! As much as I enjoy a well-placed women’s fiction novel, I hadn’t read one in awhile. Then Leah DeCesare’s Forks, Knives, and Spoons
Amy York is starting her freshman year at Syracuse University in 1988. Her father, concerned about the potential college boys that will cross her path, sends her off with a lecture about how to categorize guys: forks, knives, and spoons. In addition to a degree and career, he wants Amy to find her perfect steak knife. Amy and her roommate Veronica navigate the next four years and beyond together, meeting all categories of boys and men, and finding themselves in the process. Woven into the story are all manner of 80s and 90s references, which, while blatant, are fun.
As many people have said, this book is a total nostalgia fest, and it was a lot of fun to re-visit college (in a different decade), but not why I loved Forks, Knives, and Spoons. The initial utensil labeling system (or UCS in the book-Utensil Classification System) is a little silly, but DeCesare uses it as a jumping off point for the rest of the book. It is referenced throughout, but the relationships between Amy and Veronica and the girls and their boyfriends are the main event. There is some mild-mannered romance, of course, but the female relationships are just as important to the story. That being said, I did find myself, surprisingly, drawn into the college romances and drama, as well as the friendships, as if they were my own, and once I got into it I couldn’t put the book down.
If you enjoy reading women’s fiction or watching romantic comedies like Love Actually and When Harry Met Sally, I really think you’ll love Forks, Knives, and Spoons
Review: Remember Me Like This
The past was a bridge that looked solid and sturdy, but once you were on it, you saw that it extended only far enough to strand you, to suspend you between loss and longing with nowhere to go at all.
I’m a huge fan of southern literature, but I have to be honest. I haven’t read as many Texan authors as I probably should have. You know, being from Texas and all. But if you’re only going to choose one Texan author to read, it needs to be Bret Anthony Johnston. Remember Me Like This
Four years ago, Justin Campbell disappeared from his small town of Southport, Texas, near Corpus Christi. No one knows what happened, but his family (mom, dad, brother, and grandpa) haven’t quite given up hope. One afternoon, the impossible miracle everyone had been hoping for happens: someone spots Justin, calls the police, and he is finally returned home. But what happens after an abducted child is found? Can his family ever really go back to normal? How can they all, including Justin, find their new places in life and in their family? As they struggle to re-build, the Texas heat weighing on them, the Campbell family must keep their bonds strong before everything falls apart.
What an amazing story. This is no clichéd “ripped from the headlines” kidnapping horror story. Remember Me Like This focuses on the family dynamic, and how it changes, in the absence and then return of a beloved son. The plot is interesting and engaging, and the characters are so fully-developed you’ll feel like you’re a watching a movie within the words. The city of Corpus Christi also takes on a life of its own, and should be considered a character as well.
This is truly a beautifully-written book, and a story that will leave you thinking about it for days after. Johnston is first and foremost a storyteller, and that is more than clear in this achievement of a novel. You will absolutely not regret reading this story, and adding it to the collection of favorites on your bookshelves.
EXTRA!
While this book does involve the kidnapping of a child, that aspect is never explored in detail. We know he was kidnapped, and we can guess as to what happened, but those details are left out. This is not a gruesome story-it focuses on what happens AFTER a terrible event, and how one family tries to pick up the pieces.
[Top]
How to Fit Reading In During the School Year!
Well, it’s the start of another school year, and with that comes homework, sports, extracurricular clubs, early bedtimes (some nights), and tired kids and parents. It can be difficult to fit in all of the fun, leisurely activities we usually do during the summer. We are definitely having a hard time letting go of playing outside until dark, then coming in and reading way past all of our bedtimes. But reading is so important to my kids and me that we have a few ways we like to make sure we fit reading in during the school year.
How do you make sure to read to or with your kids during the school year? How do they get in alone reading time? Let me know in the comments!
Schedule It!
This seems obvious, but sometimes even I forget to leave enough time in the day for reading. If reading before bed is part of your routine, just make sure you leave enough time in the daily schedule for it. Sometimes that means moving dinner and playing outside up 30 minutes. (And sometimes the kids just need to play outside and skip reading for a night. That’s ok too!!) Even if it’s just ten minutes per kid, we make an effort to leave a little reading time each night.
During Dinner
I know a lot of people will disagree on this one, but sometimes I allow reading during dinner. If the kids have to eat at a different time from my husband and me (like the nights they have soccer practice and they need to eat early), oftentimes I’ll read to them while they eat. I actually really enjoy it, and it’s a nice way to have some calm reading time in between activities. My older son read at the table during lunch quite a bit during the summer, and I generally don’t like that at dinner, but if he’s really into a book . . . haven’t we all been there?
My kids will also sometimes read to themselves at breakfast. None of us are particularly thrilled to be up super early, and aren’t always great conversationalists before 7AM, so this is a good way to ease into the day and get some reading in. (And if everyone is cranky, it curbs any arguments that might pop up!)
In the Car
We almost always have an audiobook playing in the car, and we listen on the way to school (We’re listening to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets again right now.) and on the way home, on the way to sports, or while we run errands. If we’ve had a late night and weren’t able to read, they like knowing that they’ll at least get to listen to a story on the way to school in the morning.
Spare Time at School
This is one I didn’t think of until my kids insisted on taking books in their already heavy backpacks last year. Turns out, they do have a little time to read to themselves at school! (Schoolwork seems to be more difficult and given in greater quantities than when I was in elementary school, so I really didn’t know if they would be able to read anything other than school-assigned books.) The kids aren’t allowed to talk much in the hallway in the morning, so they can read while they wait to be let into their classrooms. They are also allowed to read in class if they finish their assigned work early, and sometimes during snack time. If it’s a particularly good book, my kids will also read on the bus ride home. So as long as their backpacks aren’t full to bursting, send along a (paperback) book to school! They’ll probably be able to get in a chapter or two.
For Yourself
The school year can be a difficult time to fit reading in for adults as well! Days are busy, afternoons and evenings are often packed with after-school activities, and by the time the sun goes down I’m often too tired to read more than a few pages before I zonk out. (Because I can’t go to sleep without reading at least a few pages of something.) If you plan ahead a little bit (basically, bring a book with you everywhere you go), it’s possible to fit in a good chunk of reading during those busy days. I’m always listening to an audiobook or podcast when I drive without my kids. The pickup line at school is a great place to fit in a little reading, as is during sports practices. (We all enjoy watching our kids play sports, but I think it’s ok to take some of that practice time to read!) And sometimes my boys just want to read to themselves at night, or to each other, and I try to take that opportunity to read my own book at the same time. We’re all getting in reading time and spending some nice quiet time together at the end of the day.
The school year is busy, but if you make reading a priority, there are lots of pockets of time to get it done!
Tell me some of your tricks to getting in more reading time during the school year!
[Top]Review: We Are All Shipwrecks
We Are All Shipwrecks: A Memoir
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with a digital galley of this book – all opinions are my own.
I realized that all day I had actually just been lonely. It wasn’t, I realized, that I wanted to get away from people; I just wanted to get away from these people, because as much as I loved them, I didn’t belong to them anymore.
I don’t read a lot of memoirs, but every once in awhile one will grab my attention. Kelly Grey Carlisle’s We Are All Shipwrecks
Carlisle grew up on a boat in the L.A. Harbor with her grandfather and his wife, who made their living from the porn store they ran. She never met her mother, who was strangled when Carlisle was a newborn, or her father, who was in jail at the time. But to singularly define her childhood as eccentric (which it most definitely was) would be a disservice. Perhaps her situation was far from what a lot of people have for childhoods, but she also struggled with many of the things we all do: wanting to please her parents but also wanting to be herself, not fitting in at school, and being embarrassed by her parents. However, the overarching mystery of who killed her mom, and the resulting hardship of being forced to take on too much responsibility at a young age, really drive this memoir, and she delves deep into how that affected her childhood and her future.
At one time or another, we’ve all felt like we don’t belong in our family of origin. It’s just natural, and that is at the heart of this memoir. Not knowing your birth parents, much less how your mother was murdered, would only add to the stress of that, and I could feel how desperately she wanted to learn about them, about her own history. Carlisle wanted to fit into her family more than anything, and it took her many years to realize that instead of forcing herself to fit into a place, she needed to find a place where she fit. She says it beautifully:
“Who you are” also happens after you leave home. You are turning into “who you are” your whole life.
Carlisle drew me into her life, broke my heart, and still managed to leave me with a great feeling of hope for what can be accomplished in a lifetime, against all odds. Happiness and belonging can be found in any life situation, and she is living proof of that. I loved We Are All Shipwrecks
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[Top]YA Review: Girls Made of Snow and Glass
Thank you to Texas Reader Girl for loaning me her Advance Reading Copy of Girls Made of Snow and Glass!
Heartless. But that’s what I am, she thought. That’s what I’ll always be.
Let me start off by saying that I am an unabashed fan of fairy tales. I watched The Little Mermaid so many times as a kid that I wore out the VHS tape (Oh, yes. I had it on VHS. Twice.) and we had to wait until it came out of that precious Disney vault to replace it. I love fluffy fairy tales and the Brothers Grimm. All are fair game, including re-tellings. I really enjoy fantasy fairy tale re-tellings. (Is that a thing? Let’s make it a thing.) Girls Made of Snow and Glass
Mina, whose glass heart has never beat and who is convinced she is unable to love anyone, moves from the southern kingdom to Whitespring Castle in the north with her magician father at the age of sixteen. She hatches a plan to make the king fall in love with and marry her so that she can experience true love for the first time. Lynet, the king’s daughter, is the spitting image of her dead mother, and for good reason: the magician created her out of snow for the king after his wife died. Mina, the only mother Lynet has ever known, has been a strong, loving role model all of Lynet’s life. When the king makes the decision to pass the crown of the southern kingdom to Lynet, instead of to Mina as promised, Mina’s feelings about her step-daughter begin to change, and Lynet must decide what is more important: wearing the crown or keeping her relationship with Mina.
I loved this book! It was an excellent re-telling of Snow White, as well as a good story that was easy and fun to disappear into for awhile. Parts of it were a bit clunky and a little too simply written, but it was the perfect tone for a YA novel. The plot was well-developed, but so were the characters. I kept trying to guess what Mina and Lynet would do next because I felt like I knew them so well. The descriptions of the two kingdoms (Whitespring in the north and the southern kingdom) were beautiful, and I wish I could visit them both. I absolutely loved how Bashardoust took details from the original story (like the magic mirror) and twisted them to create a whole new perspective. The inner struggles of both women were well thought out, and it all leads up to a thrilling ending. If you enjoy fantasy, fairy tales, or stories about female relationships, this is THE book for you!
Girls Made of Snow and Glass
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
EXTRA!
My one caveat is that this book is being marketed as a feminist fairy tale, and I didn’t find the story to be very feminist. The female characters were definitely strong, and represented roles not usually portrayed in fairy tales, including the palace surgeon being a woman. But all of the women were still reliant upon men to be successful. This didn’t alter my enjoyment of the story at all, I’m just not sure it should be marketed as full-on feminist.