Are you hearing REM?  Because I’m totally hearing REM right now.

**clears throat**

Ahem, yea back to task at hand.  And what is that task you ask?  To get my challenge post up for the It’s the End of the World II Challenge.

So what you may not know about me is I love a good disaster/apocolypse story.  I think I’ve seen I Am Legend over 50 times (what it’s on cable and I can’t resist it when it’s on) oh so yea, end of the world stuff I kinda like it.  That is why this challenge appeals to me.

So here are the deets:

Becky from Becky’s Book Reviews runs this awesome challenge, spanning March 10, 2009 – October 9, 2009, in which participants are asked to read four books where the primary theme is the end of the world. The rules are more completely outlined in her challenge post (linked above) so head over to check it out if interested.  The four books I’ve chosen to read for the challenge are:

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins [complete]
Life as We Knew It – Susan Beth Pfeffer
Uglies – Scott Westerfeld
Wastelands (Stories of the Apocolypse) – John Joseph Adams

So pack up your canned goods, gas up your generator, and get ready for the apocolypse because just like Michael Stipe says, it’s the end of the world as we know it.

Title: The Truth Lies In The Dark
Author: Kristin Callender
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Bluewater Press

Summary:
Mandy Martineau is plagued with nightmares. Not just any nightmares, though, she’s terrorized in the night by the distinct feeling of déjà vu as she lives through the scariest imaginable situations.  Desperate to determine just what is real and what is truly part of her dreams Mandy sets out to discover exactly where she fits in.

Loved deeply by her husband Nick and her recently deceased grandfather Mandy can’t help but feel like they are part of whatever conspiracy she’s trying to dig herself out from under.  She knows they are keeping something from her when she comes upon them in whispered conversation.  Her suspicions are further affirmed when she’s presented with written documentation outlining that at the very least her grandfather knew of some sort of life altering secret.

It is then that as she travels with her husband from their home to points West then back again Mandy researches bits and pieces of a life lead before she could remember.  A life she’s unsure belongs to her.

Opinion:
Not wanting to ruin the suspenseful and mysterious aspects of the story makes this a difficult review to construct.

A profound element that does not betray the story is the deeply woven romance within the larger mystery.  It is clear that Nick will do anything to protect his wife and that brings with it serious ramifications.  Mandy too deeply loves Nick as evidenced by her dependence on him.  What is interesting is that even though they work (sometimes together and sometimes at odds) to bring her investigation to a successful completion what defines that success is completely different for each.

The mystery of this story, while written well, fell a bit short.  At times I felt the foreshadowing made the next steps in the story too clear.  Often times I felt like Callender was laying everything out on a map and leading us through the maze as compared to allowing the reader the freedom to explore and investigate with Mandy and Nick on their own.

Where Callender makes up for that is in her prose.  She provides the reader with just enough detail to set the physical and emotional scene without bogging us down with too much information.  We see and feel all that Mandy and Nick experience right along with them.

Additionally, with the inclusion of the love story she provides the reader with two characters worthy of investment.  We wanted Mandy to find out what was going on and we wanted she and Nick to struggle through that adversity to their happily ever after in the end.

If you are a fan of suspenseful writing and good character development I would recommend that you pick up this novel.  You won’t be disappointed.

The Everything Austen Challenge is anything but busy nothings to be sure.  This mixed media challenge hosted by Stephanie of Stephanie’s Written Word is one made of a whole lot of perfect somethings.

So perfect in fact that between July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2010 participants will be filling their eyes and ears with all things Jane Austen.  We’ll get to watch adaptations via movies and mini-series, listen to her works in audio books, and of course read novels in original form.  What’s more the challenge includes works that simply reference Austen or have an Austen theme so if you’re new to Jane and want to get a small taste with a new perspective on her works go for one of the sequels or spin-offs.  How is that for exciting and all inclusive?

Like many I enjoy all things Austen, from Clueless to Masterpiece Theatre to the original classics, so this challenge is picture perfect for me.  I’m going to try and mix it up as best I can with the following six (subject to change if other good things come out in the next six months):

1.    Pride, Prejudice and Zombies by Sean Grahame-Smith
2.    Sense & Sensibility in Audiobook
3.    Northanger Abbey – PBS miniseries
4.    The Darcys and the Bingleys by Marsha Altman
5.    Emma by Jane Austen
6.    Mansfield Park – PBS miniseries [completed]

Wanna know what’s even better about this challenge?  There is going to be loads of discussion on Twitter!  Stephanie has created a hashtag for it so we can all follow along.  So be sure to save a search for #everythingausten and check out what people are talking about.

Title: Girls In Trucks
Author: Katie Crouch
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Back Bay Books

Summary:
The heat of the South is no match for the Camellias, Charleston’s most elite debutante society.  In it girls are groomed to be perfectly mannered socialites from the youngest age.  Sarah Walters is one such girl navigating between her mother’s will for her to follow in her footsteps and her own desire to avoid society such as this at all costs.

Of course, as Sarah ages we see how even though the expectations of her are clear she is unable to navigate them in the way a good Camellia would.  She keeps the tenants of behavior in mind as she weaves through varying situations yet she never quite follows through by living up to the very high standards of propriety.

This is exemplified most through the series of relationships Sarah wades through as she comes of age; first with a local townie as a teenager then via a series of not so right for her men.  When she moves to the big city and tries to create the life for herself that she always dreamed of she sadly falls short in every way imaginable both personally and professionally.  It isn’t until she finally comes back home to Charleston that she gets the slightest piece of clarity and perhaps her first real taste of what happiness could be found there.

Opinion:
I’ll start my review by stating I didn’t like this book.  Not because it is bad in the grand sense of the word but rather just bad for me.  I wholeheartedly admit that I felt slightly deceived by the synopsis on the back cover.  The way I read it the story was made to sound lighter than it actually was.  In reality the biting-humor advertised fell short on me as I waded through the darker tone and dysfunctional situations.  It was simply not what I was expecting nor would it have been a book I would have chosen to read had the notes on the back portrayed that darker tone a bit more.

Despite the above, Crouch did a great job of developing an extremely complex set of characters.  Most importantly her protagonist Sarah Walters is as multi-layered as it gets as she struggles to find what she considers the perfect life for herself.  It is she that the reader follows from an awkward girl through her coming of age as part of the Cammelias and then into womanhood.  It is this dysfunctional journey that shows how skilled Crouch is as a writer as she portrays Sarah with a sensitivity that makes her rootable.  Often times I found myself hoping things would finally turn around for her and that she would finally work through her myriad of addictions (men, alcohol, etc.) to find peace, solace and ultimately happiness.

If you are looking for a book that delves a bit more into social structures and how they influence our psyche and the way we navigate life I think this book would be a good selection for you.  Further if you are interested in intricate character development you’ll enjoy Girls in Trucks a great deal.

Title: Souvenir
Author: Therese Fowler
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Random House

Summary:
In rural Ocala Florida you’re either a farmer or a horse breeder.  For Carson McKay and Meg Powell theirs would be a marriage of the two.   Best friends since childhood their star-crossed love story takes a dramatic turn when Meg makes a shocking discovery about her life.

Having forsaken her own happiness for the betterment of her family Meg leaves Carson to marry another, wealthier, man.  It is from the point of her final farewell to her one true love on the eve of her wedding that we watch as Meg’s life unfolds into one final tragic culminating event.

You see, leading up to that life-altering event Meg continuously struggles with the decision she made to save her family.  Now a mother, a successful doctor and dutiful wife to her prominent businessman husband she continues to go through the motions of an unfulfilling love life.  In contrast Carson has apparently sought out his dreams and became a world famous music star traveling in much faster circles he’s made an exciting life for himself.

His fame, naturally, thrusts him in her path (albeit virtually) in her path at every turn.

Of course, the pain of her choice is most acutely felt when she learns of Carson’s betrothal to a much younger woman.  Hurt and slightly betrayed Meg feels the brunt of her hypocrisy daily as she treads water with her own husband Brian.  Valiantly attempting to avoid any and all discussion and press alluding to Carson’s impending nuptials she continues with her routine Central Florida life knowing that her one chance at true love is now even more unobtainable.  In this knowledge she allows the floodgates of love and loss to open, wading through the mire as she resigns herself to the domesticated and stereotypical life she leads.

Now one-half of a loveless marriage while Carson moves on to perceived happiness Meg learns of devastating news; news that will alter the lives of everyone around her.  Holding that information close she struggles as her daughter descends into to the typical rebelliousness of her teen-age years, Carson returns home (with bride-to-be in tow) to visit his parents, and she navigates the already choppy waters of being the wife of a prominent local businessman.

Opinion:
Souvenir is wonderfully written and vivid.  The settings are immaculately descriptive and add vibrancy to a subject that is otherwise stark and at times somewhat depressing.  She’s given life to her character’s surroundings in a way that allows the reader to feel as if they are sitting in Carson’s old guesthouse.  I could almost smell the citrus in the air as he and his father navigated through the groves bonding and working the land.

Even more compelling is the strong and compassionate voice Fowler has given to Meg as she endures the realization that she has gotten the most out of her life that she can ever expect.  But then, the author shifts gears so gradually that the reader barely feels Meg’s transition from trapped and passive bystander in life to proactive live each moment like it’s your last woman on a mission.

As part of that shift in focus the portrayal of relationships is another very strong element throughout the entire novel.   The author does well to show the strong contrast between the relationships Meg holds with her parents and siblings, then with her husband and daughter, and then finally with the man she considers her soul mate even though they are no longer together.  What I held most dear is how Fowler used those around her to better develop Meg’s character.  Showing her to be the glue that held everything together.

Not wanting to ruin the ending for the reader I’ll say it was believable and touching.  The characters in the story, having gone full circle, ended up in the places in life that one would imagine events such as these would have led them.

Having already read Fowler’s follow-up Reunion, which I enjoyed as well, I can say unequivocally that I enjoyed this story far more.  It was unpredictably heartfelt and poignant.  Though not a novel of high-spirits and frivolity I would strongly encourage a reader to pick Souvenir up and read it.  It was just that good.