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AW Book Review: The Art of Forgetting by Camille Noe Pagan

Posted By Danielle on June 11th, 2011

Marissa Rogers never wanted to be an alpha; beta suited her just fine. Taking charge without taking credit had always paid off: vaulting her to senior editor at a glossy magazine; keeping the peace with her critical, weight-obsessed mother; and enjoying the benefits of being best friends with gorgeous, charismatic, absolutely alpha Julia Ferrar.

And then Julia gets hit by a cab. She survives with minor obvious injuries, but brain damage steals her memory and alters her personality, possibly forever. Suddenly, Marissa is thrown into the role of alpha friend. As Julia struggles to regain her memory- dredging up issues Marissa would rather forget, including the fact that Julia asked her to abandon the love of her life ten years ago- Marissa’s own equilibrium is shaken.

With the help of a dozen girls, she reluctantly agrees to coach in an after-school running program. There, Marissa uncovers her inner confidence and finds the courage to reexamine her past and take control of her future.

The Art of Forgetting is a story about the power of friendship, the memories and myths that hold us back, and the delicate balance between forgiving and forgetting.

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AW Book Review: The Summer We Came To Life by Deborah Cloyed

Posted By Leah on June 10th, 2011

Every summer, Samantha Wheland joins her childhood friends—Isabel, Kendra and Mina—on a vacation, somewhere exotic and fabulous. Together with their mixed bag of parents, they’ve created a lifetime of memories. This year it’s a beach house in Honduras. But for the first time, their clan is not complete. Mina lost her battle against cancer six months ago, and the friends she left behind are still struggling to find their way forward without her. For Samantha, the vacation just feels wrong without Mina. Despite being surrounded by her friends—the closest thing she has to family—Mina’s death has left Sam a little lost. Unsure what direction her life should take. Fearful that whatever decision she makes about her wealthy French boyfriend’s surprise proposal, it’ll be the wrong one. The answers aren’t in the journal Mina gave Sam before she died. Or in the messages Sam believes Mina is sending as guideposts. Before the trip ends, the bonds of friendship with her living friends, the older generation’s stories of love and loss, and Sam’s glimpse into a world far removed from the one in which she belongs will convince her to trust her heart. And follow it.

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AW Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Posted By Leah on May 27th, 2011

Enter a vanished and unjust world: Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Where black maids raise white children, but aren’t trusted not to steal the silver… There’s Aibileen, raising her seventeenth white child and nursing the hurt caused by her own son’s tragic death; Minny, whose cooking is nearly as sassy as her tongue; and white Miss Skeeter, home from College, who wants to know why her beloved maid has disappeared. Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. No one would believe they’d be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they come to depend and rely upon one another. Each is in a search of a truth. And together they have an extraordinary story to tell...

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Book Review: Something From Tiffany’s by Melissa Hill

Posted By Chloe on May 25th, 2011

One Christmas Eve in New York City, 2 men are buying their lucky women a very special gift… something from Tiffany’s, 5th Avenue! Gary is buying his girlfriend Rachel a silver charm bracelet. He doesn’t want to spend too much and think it’ll make a lovely last-minute gift for her, despite the fact she paid for the entire trip over to New York City. Ethan on the other hand is splashing quite a lot of cash on a very special ring for his girlfriend Vanessa, the lady who has made him happy again after the loss of his wife a few years ago. However, when a freak accident occurs, the men end up with each other’s bags and Rachel ends up with Ethan’s ring, and a very shocked Gary doesn’t understand what is going on. Ethan desperately tries to track down his engagement ring and sort out the problem once and for all, but does the ring have a mind of its own about who it should end up with? Maybe it’s just the Tiffany’s magic…

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Book Review: Fame by Tilly Bagshawe

Posted By Leah on May 23rd, 2011

The raw, sexual beauty of Sabrina Leon demands the attention of all who come into contact with her. Plucked from obscurity at the age of seventeen she’s the new darling of the film scene, bagging lead roles in the hottest blockbusters. But Sabrina Leon has a problem. There’s a youtube sensation on the web that’s set to destroy everything she’s fought for… Hotshot movie producer Dorian Razmirez has struggles of his own. A bitter feud with rival producer and playboy, Harry Greene, has resulted in the plug being pulled on every project he goes near. Casting the disgraced Hollywood diva Sabrina Leon in Wuthering Heights is a risk that might cost him what remains of his career. Viorel Hudson, with his jet-black hair, high, slanting cheekbones and smooth, coffee coloured skin, was always destined for great things. Now he’s scored a role that every A-lister in Hollywood auditioned for – Heathcliff in Dorian Razmirez’s Wuthering Heights. He may be at the height of his career, but is he ready for his latest role? For a five million pound pay cheque, it’s a risk he’s willing to take. Set against a backdrop of a sumptuous crumbling English country house, the film-set of Wuthering Heights is going to be as salacious as the setting is beautiful.

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Book Review: It Happened One Summer by Polly Williams

Posted By Chloe on May 19th, 2011

Nell Stockdale is enjoying her life at last - she’s got a good relationship with a young man, is loving her job in London as a journalist and her daughter Cass seems happy and settled at home too. However, when her mother Valerie becomes very sick, Nell is nominated by her sister and brother to move her life down to Cornwall to look after Valerie. Things aren’t as simple as they seem however. Nell will find it harder to avoid her sister Heather who is now marrying Nell’s ex boyfriend Jeremy, her brother Ethan has his young twin sons to look after as well as worrying about his mother, and Nell suddenly finds herself out of a job as well. Will she be able to adjust to life in Cornwall, which is very different to her hustle and bustle-y life in London, and will Valerie be able to get better now daughter Nell is around to look after her?

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Book Review: The Importance of Being A Bachelor by Mike Gayle

Posted By Leah on May 16th, 2011

Despite the example of their own parents’ enduring marriage, the three Bachelor brothers show no signs of settling down. Adam has a string of glamorous girlfriends, but they aren’t suitable wife material. Luke has just proposed to Cassie but his refusal to consider having children looks like an insurmountable barrier. And baby of the family Russell is in love with the one woman he can’t have. Then their father announces he has been thrown out of the family home and this proves a dramatic catalyst for lots of soul-searching. Are all three Bachelor brothers totally hopeless cases or just late starters?

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AW Book Review: The Art of Forgetting by Camille Noe Pagan

Posted By Leah on May 13th, 2011

Marissa Rogers never wanted to be an alpha; beta suited her just fine. Taking charge without taking credit had always paid off: vaulting her to senior editor at a glossy magazine; keeping the peace with her critical, weight-obsessed mother; and enjoying the benefits of being best friends with gorgeous, charismatic, absolutely alpha Julia Ferrar. And then Julia gets hit by a cab. She survives with minor obvious injuries, but brain damage steals her memory and alters her personality, possibly forever. Suddenly, Marissa is thrown into the role of alpha friend. As Julia struggles to regain her memory- dredging up issues Marissa would rather forget, including the fact that Julia asked her to abandon the love of her life ten years ago- Marissa’s own equilibrium is shaken. With the help of a dozen girls, she reluctantly agrees to coach in an after-school running program. There, Marissa uncovers her inner confidence and finds the courage to reexamine her past and take control of her future.

(more…)