Detective Nikki Heat has a high profile murder to solve: that of a real estate tycoon who was pushed to his death from his 6th floor apartment. It would be a lot easier if she didn't have Jameson Rook, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, riding along and not only trying to play detective but also distracting her with his charms or a record breaking heat wave in the city. As they follow a twisted trail of clues, suspects, related crimes, and death, Nikki and Rook uncover the secrets of a wealthy man going broke and their own attraction.
Impression: Despite the problems with the writing itself (and there were some), I enjoyed Heat Wave, but I suspect that had a lot to do with the TV series from which it came, Castle. The book itself is written in a tone very similar to the show, and the characters are undisguised copies of the characters from the show. Anyone who watches the show will see Beckett in Nikki (which makes sense since Heat Wave is supposed to be Castle's new novel based on Beckett) and Castle in Rook. It's these characters, following the formula that has worked so well for the series, and the plot itself that make the novel work. There's some nice twists and turns in the mystery, and I have to admit I missed half the mark on the who dunnit. The writer did a very good job of taking the obvious and obscuring it, so the ending works, but you don't necessarily see it coming.
My one complaint is the quality of the writing itself, which seemed sloppy to me. While, thankfully, there didn't seem to be much in the way of editing or technical errors (which can drop me out of a story because I am a very visual reader), there were places where it seemed the writing was padded with extra words just to give the book a higher word count. While it isn't a long book, the writing itself needed some cleaning up.
However, I would still recommend this book to adult readers (there is a sex scene that makes it inappropriate for younger readers) who are looking for something fun to read—and I rarely recommend books where the writing is an issue, so for me that means it was well done. It's all fluff, but sometimes you just need a little light, humorous reading that doesn't require a lot of thought or analyses. This is definitely one of those books. And fans of Castle will definitely enjoy Heat Wave. It will be interesting to see if they give the ghost writer of this work more Castle books to write.
The story of Hikaru Azuma and his family continues in the fourth installment of the With The Light: Raising An Autistic Child manga series. As Hikaru enters the later elementary school years, his family begins looking for more ways to increase his independence and to help him get ready to become a working adult. Initially the family's difficulties are compounded by Masato's transfer to a dead end job in a hard to reach location. However, the family perseveres and Masato is eventually transferred back because of some ideas that stem from their search into options for Hikaru's future.
Impression: I enjoyed this new volume in Hikaru's journey, partly because we're at the stage in my house where we need to start looking into my son's future and he is expressing a desire to go to work. But the volume also gave the reader a wider look into the lives of Hikaru's friends, and while not all the revelations were pleasant, it was nice to see beyond the family and into other character's lives. There was also some setting up for what I expect to be issues in future volumes: Hikaru's current teacher is getting ready to retire and it will be interesting to see if she retires first or Hikaru moves to a new school first. Either will provide challenges for the family, but having the teacher retire first and then Hikaru being promoted will, if Hikaru is typical, be more challenging as autistic children have difficulty with changes and this would be two changes practically one on top of the other. In general, this book is a bit of a lull for Hikaru as the greater stress is on his family and friends. And this too is a part of the autism puzzle.
I still highly recommend the series to anyone curious about autism and its affect on families. Readers just need to keep in mind the cultural differences. With the Light is based in Japan, and much of what is done there is either not done here or done differently, and many of the difficulties the book shows being experienced by families with autistic children in Japan are not experienced here. But with those things in mind, the series is an excellent window into the lives of families dealing with autism.
Sachiko, Masato, and Hikaru have come a long way since Hikaru was diagnosed with autism. Sachiko has found the support she needs and managed to place Hikaru in an understanding school with an autism classroom. There are still bumps along the way--people who do not understand what autism is and want to blame the parents for how Hikaru behaves, but they are generally in a very good place. He's in a classroom with an excellent teacher and a supportive principle, and even Masato is dealing with Hikaru's particular behaviors better. He has reduced his expectations for his job and become more supportive of his wife and son.
But Hikaru is growing and some of his behaviors are changing. He's starting to wander more and be harder to keep track of, which gets him, and his parents, into trouble with neighbors and local businesses. And when Hikaru's teacher marries a fellow teacher at the same school and gets transferred to another school, and the principle dies of a heart attack, new problems begin. The new teacher doesn't understand her special needs children--a position she took because she thought it would be easy. And the new principle is more concerned with appearances with his bosses than with the needs of the children or the concerns of the parents. Sachiko and Masato find themselves struggling once again to make sure their son's needs are met.
Impression: As with Vol 1, I'm quite impressed with With the Light. I'm particularly in touch with that feeling of needing support and struggling to find it. I think my only problem with it is how frequently Hikaru gets away from his mother--I think most parents of disabled children who "get away" frequently tend to be more aware of where their child is and more watchful than Sachiko was made out to be. But even that does not reduce the enjoyment or informative nature of the story. The plight of parents with autistic children is still very clearly portrayed. As in the previous volume, there are cultural differences that are both interesting and sad since they show how the experience of parents of autistic children is so much harder in Japan. Overall, though, it's a wonderful book that I highly recommend. I am anxious for volume 3, which comes out in September.
Masato and Sachiko Azuma welcome their newborn son with joy. Born "with the morning light", they name him Hikaru, which is Japanese for "To be bright". But almost from the beginning, Sachiko notices that something isn’t quite right with her son. He doesn’t like to be held, he appears not to hear, and has other behaviors that disrupt their home in ways they did not expect with a newborn. Worse, nothing Sachiko does seems to help reduce the problems. Masato starts working more and becomes less involved, blaming her when he can't sleep. Her mother-in-law blames her for the problems Hikaru appears to be having because "children grow up as they are raised". Even her friends in her mother's group don't understand the difficulties and begin to withdraw from her.
Alone, blaming herself, Sachiko is surprised to learn that her son may have a disorder known as autism. She's never heard of it and it seems so farfetched that at first she refuses to believe the possibility. But, as Hikaru's problems and developmental delays become more and more apparent and separate her more from others, including her own husband, she realizes that she needs to look into the diagnoses both for her own sake and her son's.
Impression: Vol. 1 of With the Light chronicles Sachiko's and Hikaru's journey through the maze that makes up the diagnoses, treatment, and living with someone with autism from birth through Hikaru's early elementary years. Because it's a manga, much of how it covers the disability is simplistic, but it still manages to do an excellent job of educating the reader on what autism is and how it affects everyone involved with someone who is autistic. As the mother of an autistic boy myself, I was able to relate to the feelings of doubt, the isolation, and the joys that coping with the disability can bring.
The only warning I have about the book is that it is clearly from a Japanese perspective and the culture surrounding disabilities is very different. For example, most, if not all, schools in the U.S. have classrooms for disabled students, so a mother of an autistic child does not generally have to go out of her district just to find one. There may not be a guarantee the class is the best for her child, but there will be a class to place him or her in. Services can be hard to find, but they are not nearly non-existent, and, generally speaking, special ed teachers in the U.S. are required to have special ed training at the college level.
Beyond that, With the Light is a heartwarming story that clearly explains what autism is and how it affects everyone involved. You can't help but feel for Sachiko as she struggles to make those around her understand that she's not a bad mother, but that her child has a specific disability that affects his behavior. At this stage, the journey is often frustrating as she tries to reach out to people who can help and tries to find ways to reach her son behind the autism wall. The art is generally very beautiful, and the writing easy to follow even for first time manga readers. And the volume includes a couple of personal essays from those who are grappling with the autism puzzle.
My youngest daughter even read it and came away with a new understanding of what her brother needs. I highly recommend With the Light.
Hannah is a talented young artist who has lost her dearest friend and mentor, her grandmother. In grief and at the insistence of her mother, she sets asides her dreams of being an artist to work in a stable job, but she's miserable. When she catches her boyfriend cheating on her, meets two very sexy men, her job goes belly up, and her best friend goes after her own dreams, Hannah must reevaluate her choices and decide whether or not to take a chance on her dreams and in love.
Impression: I generally do not like romance--there have been a few I've liked, but most have another plot that drives the story and don't let the romance take over. The "romance" books I like are the ones where the romance makes sense rather than ending up the end all be all of the book. The sexual tension comes in at appropriate times rather than being forced into the situation, no matter what that situation is. In my experience, most romance books are not like this. Every now and then, I pick up and try another one (usually by some well recommended author), only to get the same old stuff (and, yes, I do understand that the romantic/sexual element is the main part of the genre; honestly, that's not my beef--it's that the element too often overrides common sense--well, that and the language often used that is really silly when you think about it). I'll keep trying, but I pretty much expect the same old same old.
So it's always a surprise when I run into a romance novel that I enjoy, and I really enjoyed The Still Life of Hannah Morgan. The romance elements do not overwhelm the rest of the story, the main character is someone I could relate to as a reader, and the plot very solid. I literally could not stop reading it. Still Life is funny, romantic, and very real. It's a book that I'm enjoying editing, and a book I would buy if if I found it on the shelves at B&N. And, for someone who doesn't like romance, that's saying something.
Jing-Mei's mother's death opens the door to the past, present, and future for the three remaining women of the Joy Luck Club and their daughters, as well as her own, as they explore the events that made each of them who they are. In the process, they discover a new depth to their mother-daughter relationships, a new understanding of what it means to be Chinese and American and a woman. For Jing-Mei, the journey leads back into China to meet the sisters she never knew she had.
Impression: I enjoyed the movie, but still wasn't quite sure what to expect from the book since movies and books can be so different. In this case, however, the book was as enjoyable as the movie, primarily because they changed very little in the movie. The book is beautifully written. The characters come alive, their various thoughts and experiences are simply but elegantly told. Each has her own voice, clearly heard in each of the interconnected vignettes - there is no mistaking who tells each story. The novel reveals the profound connectedness these women have with each other and with their pasts, but also how they - and we - each have control over who they become despite the it all. Most of all, it shows how the bond of love can transcend misunderstanding. These stories didn't reveal everything about the characters, but they revealed enough to paint each in a colors and emotions that were very different from the others. They revealed what was important. I highly recommend this book and plan to read it again very soon.
Nanny works for the wealthy Mr. & Mr.s X watching their son Grayer while finishing out her Masters degree. Things begin well enough, although Mrs. X has her quirks, but the situation goes further and further south as Mrs. X takes advantage of her employee and pushes the boundaries Nanny has set while imposing more and more outrageous demands of her own, Mr. X's mistress starts to consider Nanny part of the Mr. X package, and Nanny finds herself attached to and concerned for their son in the ensuing confusion.
Impression: I was laughing from the very beginning, but, then, I can kinda relate. I was a live-in nanny for a summer. Granted, the family I worked for wasn't as wacked out as the one in this book, but they had their moments as well. I definitely want a copy of this book for my own - it's something i want to be able to reread again.
I actually received this from a kind fellow bookcrooser and have already shared it with my 14-year-old who read it in a day and thought it was funny. It'll be going on to the 16-year-old, then it will be released into the wild, maybe at oldest's high school. :)
Unless otherwise noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by me.
~*~
I will no longer be linking to Amazon and no longer recommending Amazon as a place to purchase books I review. Amazon has repeatedly used bully tactics to reinforce its policies, even if those tactics cause harm to authors or limit customer choices. Amazon usually apologizes for the events after the fact, but that they continue to use the same methods makes those apologies hollow. I will not purchase from or encourage others to purchase from a business that chooses to take from the pockets of authors (who as a whole earn a lot less than general public realizes) and decide what the public should and should not read.
