Jen's Book Review: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lilly Ponder by Rebecca Wells

 

In the small Louisiana town of La Luna, Calla Lily Ponder lives a unique life. Her mother, whom she calls M'Dear, believes in the Moon Lady and tells Calla to always look to her for guidance, comfort, and protection. M'Dear runs the Crowning Glory salon on their front porch during the day, and in the evening M'Dear and Calla's father run a dance studio. M'Dear teaches Calla about the art of styling hair, which involves not only fixing hair but also healing through the hands. Calla quickly learns this is her calling. Her childhood takes a dramatic turn when her beloved M'Dear develops breast cancer. Calla finds comfort in her first love Tuck, the grandson of a neighbor. When he leaves for college, Calla never hears from him again. Left brokenhearted, she decides to move to New Orleans to attend the L'Academie de Beaute de Crescent where she fulfills her destiny of styling and healing. Calla finds love again, but after more heartbreak, she moves back to La Luna to carry out her dream of reopening M'Dear's salon. When Tuck's grandfather dies, Tuck comes back to La Luna for the first time since he left for college, and Calla must face her past and make decisions for the future.

Rebecca Wells is the author of the brilliant Ya Ya series. I was so excited when I happened upon this book at the library. It is unrelated to that series but just as stinking good. If there is a theme for this book, it is forgiveness and second chances. Several times Calla experiences heartbreak and must forgive, whether it is related to a friendship or a significant other. I think anyone can relate to that subject.

I love the southern setting of Wells' books with the descriptions of the weather, the food, and the landscape. It made me want to pack up and head to south Louisiana. Don't be surprised if while reading this book you have the urge to make gumbo or crawfish etouffe! Along with the setting and scenery, Wells does an excellent job of developing her characters. M'Dear has a contagious eccentricity. Calla is so likable that you just want her to be your best friend. Her good friend Sukey is crazy, carefree, and reckless. Tuck will make you think back to your first love and give you that warm fuzzy feeling.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. 

Jen's Book Review: Under the Dome by Stephen King

A transparent dome suddenly descends on the small Maine town of Chester's Mill. Several accidents occur before residents figure out what has happened. People cannot get in or out of the dome, and, therefore, must survive on their own. This leads to extreme power trips of local officials only interested in themselves and not the livelihood of the town's residents, namely town Selectman and used car salesman Jim Rennie ("Big Jim"). Big Jim takes it upon himself to become the leader, creating his own police force, enforcing his own rules, and invoking violence, leading to an extremist government. Within just a few days he dupes the majority of the residents into being his followers and seems to have the entire town on his side, but there is a group of residents who can't be fooled and know they must turn the town against Big Jim before it's too late. Will they be able to save the town and will they be able to find the cause of this dome that has alienated them from the rest of the United States?

I'll start off by admitting that I'm not a huge Stephen King fan. The only other book of his that I have read was Hearts in Atlantis, and I'm really not sure why I decided to read it. It wasn't his typical terror novel, and I believe I actually enjoyed it. They made it into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins, which I've never seen. The reason I don't like Stephen King books is because they are terrifying (I don't do terrifying), they can be pretty gross, etc. This book was not terrifying, but it was definitely gross and gory and way too detailed at points, notably the first several hundred pages. I didn't really enjoy it until maybe the last 400 pages. It's definitely a fictional book with some sci-fi in the mix, which I also don't enjoy. I had the same issue with Greg Isle's The Footprints of God and several Dean Koontz books. If you get too sci-fi and unrealistic, I can't stand it.

My husband bought me this book for my birthday, thinking that it looked interesting. I was reluctant to read it because it was just under 1,100 pages. Gigantic! I don't have any reading time at home, so I just read before work, during my lunch break, and any other major downtime at work. I was actually surprised that it only took me about 2 weeks to read. Also, just as intimidating was the cast of characters, which King lists in the first few pages. I was a little discouraged but ended up not having an issue with the numerous characters. King did a very good job of rounding out each and making them their own person.

While I didn't like the unrealistic and sci-fi parts, I did like the scarily realistic ideas on which King wrote his book. He initially started on the idea of Under the Dome in the mid 70s, but he felt like it just wasn't the right time to release this book. The current era of near extremism allows for the book to work now. The dome is a metaphor for the way America has sealed itself off from the rest of the world in most recent past administrations and what some believe is that continued path under the current administration. Isolationism is a scary thing, and King definitely plays that up.

I do confess that I liked the ending and that I was pretty teary-eyed during some of the last pages. Somehow I managed to get sucked into the events unfolding near the end. I'm not totally sure if I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you are a Stephen King fan, this one is different from his normal genre.

On a side note, in searching the internet to find the name of the other Stephen King book I had read, I discovered he wrote The Green Mile. How did I not know this? Don't laugh.


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. 

Download Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery for Kindle for FREE.  I love reading about the WWII era, so I'm interested in reading this book!

Wondering what Kindle books you can download for free?  Check out the Top 100 Bestsellers.  The list is shown with the top 100 paid, so you can easily check it for cheap downloads.

Click here to download Kindle to your iPhone, PC, Blackberry, iPad, or Mac.

Free Lunchbag + a Bit of a Moneymaker!

Last week, I picked up an Embark lunch bag at Target for my son to take to art camp.  In the bag was a coupon booklet and a card for a free six-month subscription to Parents magazine.  The awesome part is that you can get a refund if you don't want the free subscription!  The even more awesome part is that the refund is more than the price of the lunch bag!

The smallest lunch bag sells for $3.99, and the refund is for $4.96.  Only one refund per household.  You'll have to send in the included card and your receipt.

In case you wonder, here's a pic of the card you'll send in for the refund:

UPDATE:  Couponing to Disney also posted about this today.  She has a list of the coupons found in the booklet.

Vera Bradley All in One Wristlet -- Select Colors only $16!

Through July 20, you can get the All in One Wristlet in select colors for only $16.   Shipping is $8 or free for over $75.  Hurry before your favorite color sells out! 

Speaking of favorite colors, Cupcakes Pink (pictured above) is my favorite!  The colors just make me happy!  Cupcakes Pink is currently on 25% off, and I am fighting myself not to buy more pieces!

20% off Deluxe Backpacks at L.L. Bean

 L.L.Bean's Deluxe Backpacks (in solids and prints) are currently 20% off, making them $31.96.  The Deluxe Backpacks are made of nylon and are designed for ages 10 and up.  They can be monogrammed for an additional $6.  Shipping for the backpack only is $6.95, but it can be shipped to the store for free.  Earn 2% back by shopping through Ebates.  If you're a new to ebates, you'll get a $5 bonus.

I bought my son a backpack from L.L. Bean two years ago after his backpack for Kindergarten tore up within the first half of the school year.  Even though I knew I could get backpacks cheaply thanks to my shopping "skills", I decided I'd rather spend the money on a quality backpack that would last for years. Research lead me to L.L. Bean's backpacks, and now we are starting the third school year with the same backpack!  That factors out to only $10 each year that he's used it, which is less than what I would have spent since I'd have to replace a cheaper backpack halfway through the year!



Disclosure:  I am sharing this sale and my experience with the product because I thought you'd be interested.  No one asked me or gave anything in return.  Just so you know.... ;-P

This Week's Office Depot Freebies - UPDATE - $10/$10 Coupon Included

Office Depot School Deals:

Expo® Fine Point Dry-Erase Markers (4 pack) - $5.29 - FREE after rebates (limit 1)
Purell® Instant Hand Sanitizer Pump - $4.99 - FREE after rebate (limit 5)
PaperPro® Nano® Mini Stapler - $3.00 - FREE after rebate (limit 3)
Office Depot® Brand Filing/Stacking Crates - $6.00 - FREE after rebate (limit 3)

Purchasing the maximum of all products will cost $57.24, plus tax.  Rebates are given via Visa PrePaid Card.

You can also get 2-pocket portfolios for $0.05 each (limit 5) and notebook filler paper (150 pack) for $0.25 (limit 5).

UPDATE:  Use this coupon to maximize your savings!!

Attention, Teachers!! Awesome Deals at Office Depot!

If you need to buy office and/or school supplies, you must check out the deals at Office Depot!   Using the coupon that I found at Deal Seeking Mom, I am making money while buying school supplies!

I'll update with my transaction later.  I just wanted to post this as soon as possible so my fellow teachers could take advantage of it before everything is gone.  (The markers were already gone at my closest OD!)

Teachers, make sure that you sign up for their Star Teacher Program if you haven't already!