I liked the realness of this novel. From the subject matter, to the honesty of the characters, to the characters themselves, I could see this novel being played out right before in my eyes as I read it.

Violet’s father has had an affair and moves out, leaving his two daughters and his wife behind. Suddenly, Violent and her sister Rosie have another family in California as their father has remarried and has moved on with his life. With a new wife and twin daughters, the girls travel from Canada to California to be with their father but its twelve- year old Violet who is furious at her father for his affair. Life at home without their father is not the same and Violet takes out her anger while in California visiting her father, their trip is shortened.

The feelings and thoughts are sincere and valid as Violet tries to handle the adjustments to her new life. Everything she feels and thinks, she has a right to own them. I really enjoyed Violets relationship with her sister and her girlfriend, they each meant something special to her and they showed us a part of Violet that was important to the novel. I thought the reference to the Magic Eight Ball that the author included in the novel, was fun. I feel that this novel is a great novel for children and one that many children could relate to. It might even be used to open up some meaningful conversations dealing with the issues that the author addressed inside.

4.5 stars  IWILLMARRYGEORGECLOONEY  @TracyBBloom  @LAWsomeTweets
This book has got some of the cheesiest moments I have ever read in a book and I LOVED it!!! However, the majority of it was pretty realistic. There were a couple of times when the story went back in time and I was like "Huh?". But I'm not sure it that's due my old age or maybe a couple of the brain cells I might have killed in the '70 or '80's. I figured it out, just took me a few minutes. I will tell you that my jaw definitely dropped when I found out who Josie's dad was, that was one huge shocker!!

I think the author did an awesome job with this. The road trip to deliver Chaz was just about the right length. Any longer and I think she definitely would have lost the reader. I know throughout most of the book, I was speeding through the pages to see if she really did get to meet George Clooney. I knew there was no way she would marry him, but just the thrill of meeting him would have been enough for me. And no, I'm not going to tell you whether she does or not. What fun would that be for a reader? And, the final scene, her last day at work, okay the VERY cheesiest and most romantic and while I didn't sob, I did well up a tear or two.

While there was a lot of talk about sex, the author didn't feel as though she needed to spell it out for us, so there were no pages that I had to skip, so that part was good (for me).

While I guess you would call this a romance, it was much more than that. It was about friendship, family, community, charity, growing up, responsibilities and dreams. It was a very entertaining book which I highly recommend!

Thanks Lawsome Books and Net Galley for providing me with this free e-galley in exchange for an honest review. I truly enjoyed this book and think it would be good for YA, (older ones as there is some language) adults and Green Bay Cheeseheads. HA!!!

I decided to write a comparative review right after I had finished reading the book, but then I saw the film and promptly lost the will to live. Hollywood did something right thirty years ago and then it ruined it. The book, however, kept me up reading late into the night.

Apart from the feel and look of the seventies—aided heavily by the contemporary news photography—and a handful of throwaway lines, the film had nothing of the story I loved in the book. And that’s a feat when Mendez has been telling this true story since 1997.

The Iranian hostage crisis started in 1979 and lasted the memorable 444 days. Dozens were held captive and tortured, but six escaped. Bringing those six house guests home was a hoax on several levels.

The book is written from Mendez’s point of view and it details the numbing steps of actual intelligence work as well as interpersonal histories of the people involved. There’s something far more touching in the matter-of-factness the house guests’, diplomats’, and others’ simple observations than there ever could be in the forced plot twists of a Hollywood action flick.

I understand that the agonising wait at the airport doesn’t translate well from a book onto the silver screen, but there had to be better options. They cut away more than enough meat from the story to make room for it.

The question remains, what the hell did Ben Affleck and George Clooney do right six or eight years ago to win an Oscar now?

The film: Skip it. The celebrations might be fun to watch but the Academy knows nothing.

The book: Read it. Read it now.