Bloggy Love...

Thanks to Julie over at Book Hooked, she gave me this sweet award! I love your blog too darling!

I am passing this on to Musings of Amber Murphy, She Wears a Red Sox Cap and Heir to Blair! Smooches!

Don't forget to vote on our April Reading Selection..

Five Little Bunnies Hopping on a Hill

I read this to my class last week because it seemed like a good welcome to spring book. My kids were not impressed. It's written in the style of 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed. So, when a line like, "4 little bunnies digging up holes in the hill, one found a mole... mama called the doctor and the doctor said, no more bunnies digging on the hill.." that is roughly what it said. My kids were like uhhh why did the mom call the doctor?? What happened??

Yeah, it didn't make sense. I can't do little kid books where they don't make sense. Isn't happening. My kids kept questioning the book and I questioned why I picked it up to read before I had read it myself.

This would be a book you could skip. Or just read it to kids who won't ask questions. ;) Age range would probably work best 2-4.

What kids book could do you do without?

Happy Birthday toooooooooo me!!!!!!

Hello lovelies! I am off on my way to Nashville to enjoy a MUCH needed fun vacation with some friends and the husband. I have a few posts planned for next week, I may have something to say from TN... but probably not. ;)

Oh and don't forget to vote for April's Group Read... I will have it run thru next Thursday.. I should be back in town late Thursday night / early Friday to announce it.. or you can just look at the poll ha..

Yesterday, my kids threw me a surprise party, complete with a present from the class and a cake from a parent! I was so surprised and it was awesome. ;) I also had parent / teacher conferences ALLLLLLLL day. I wore a skirt for the conferences and they asked me if I was going to a fancy dress party. Hahha.. I may never wear skirts. ;P So, Thursday was an exhausting night of packing / ironing / de-smelling because who was going to wash the clothes? Ha. Not me.

I did get a fabulous new camera from my hubby for my birthday so I will be sure to take lots of pictures. It should be a great road trip!

5 questions

1. When is your birthday and how old will you be on your next birthday? - I am 26 today!!! (eek)

2. What was your most fun birthday? - I've had a lot of great birthdays.. Disney World when I was 16 or any of my bday's in my 20's have been a blast! Probably because I make a huge deal about them ha.

3. What was your most fun spring break? - I've had some pretty great spring breaks as well. Disney World, Gulf Shores, Clearwater, Ft. Myers Beach, Toronto, Scottsdale, Nashville... and once again I will be heading there this week! I think the top ones would be Disney World, Ft. Myers and Nashville..

4. Does anyone else hate the Big East as much as I do? SERIOUSLY. Why did I give them ANY wins. Next year, you get no love Big East.

5. Who do you want to win the NCAA tourney? - I WANT MSU or OSU to win. Or you know West Va. so I can do well in my brackets. ;)

Have a great week! Be back for real next Friday!

Wedding Wednesday - Picture taking...

So, that lovely time between ceremony and reception when all you want to do is have a drink and perhaps some food with your friends.. totally doesn't end up relaxing in the least. We were jam packed with pictures, missed out on hors 'doeuvre and didn't get a drink. Sad face. Oh and I hate all of my wedding photos. That minor detail. Whoops. Anyway, we had some pictures taken before the ceremony, but it seemed like we took a bunch afterwards too. The lighting/photos do not do the background justice.. Pretty disappointing.

My advice to everyone is honestly, care about your photos and photographer. I did not and we went with cheap and someone we knew. I really wish I would have. If you don't splurge on anything, SPLURGE ON PICTURES. THEY LAST FOREVER. AND BAD PICTURES DO EXIST. / end of public service rant.. you will thank me. (oh and even after i filled out a ridiculous form of what photos and who i wanted in them to be taken.. there is not a single family photo with my brother in it .. )

now some pictures that I can stand..

giving the tude..

aww.. ;)

wedding party...

parents...

hubby and his gram..

Taking a break next week when I am on vacation... look for more Wedding Wednesday in April! If you have a wedding story you would want to share on the blog contact me at pinkflipflops44 at gmail dot com!

Middlesex - Book One

I will be dead honest. This has been super hard to get into. Not only have I been super busy with life and work, the book hasn't drawn me in. Sure, when I am reading I am all into it, but then I get sleepy and have to go to bed. So, not sure if I am going to finish this by the end of the month. How is it going for everyone else so far?

Book One

We are introduced Cal and the Stephanides family. I find the history of the family story quite interesting. What I find hard is the "fluff" or the extra stuff some of us agreed we don't like last week. ;)

Cal's grandma, Desdemona, and grandpa, Lefty, are revealed to be brother and sister. We learn of the Turks invading and them leaving behind their homeland to escape to America. In their travels, they meet a nice doctor, who helps Lefty when he is in need. He is Armenian and has a paper keeping his family save because of services he gave to the Turk leader. However, the soldiers who 'visit' is family are illiterate and they kill his entire family. Lefty pretends they are French to get them safe passage to Athens and to a new life. Desdemona uses a different name, and Lefty and her "meet" and marry on the ship to America.

I am pretty grossed out about the brother/sister relationship. Like ew. Anyone else having that problem?

How far along in the book are you?

April Book Club suggestions...

I am doing this early because I am going out of town next week and want to put the poll up before I leave. (Don't worry I have a Middlesex post coming up later this week!)

So, what book would you like to read together next month?

I don't know about you, but I need something light!

Here is a link for April themes if you are so inclined to check it out!

I will post the poll Thursday, March 25th or early Friday, March 26th (my 26th birthday eeeek!).

In attempts to forget about my brackets..

Here is an award to brighten your Monday, and to help you forget about your blown brackets!

Thanks to Stacy from Stacy's Books for giving me this award because of my love of Spartan and Buckeye sports. ;)

This award is to honor certain bloggers that are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn't for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendship through the blog world.

I am passing this along to Kelly @ She Wears a Red Sox Cap , Amber @ musings of amber murphy , Lisa @ Lisa's Yarns , Becky @ Love Everyday Life and Amber @ Girl With The Red Hair ..

Thanks ladies for always commenting! It's nice to know people actually read my drivel!

Anyone's brackets NOT jacked?

Booking Through Thursday - Plain or Pretty?

Which do you prefer? Lurid, fruity prose, awash in imagery and sensuous textures and colors? Or straight-forward, clean, simple prose?

Straight-forward and simple for sure. I seriously skip most descriptive paragraphs in all books I read. In my head I read, blah blah blah. I'm terrible I know.

I hate descriptions. True story.

What about you?

Wedding Wednesday - The Ceremony

The day of the ceremony I woke up and it was 39 degrees outside. It was August 18th. WTF? But do not be alarmed by 4pm when I waltzed down the aisle it was a sweaty late afternoon with a hint of rain in the future. My wedding day was beautiful.

I woke up on the couch of my best-friends house early and the hair work began immediately. She did my hair, my moms and some other girls and another friend came and did a few other girls hair. The only people not with us were my future sis-in-laws. It was a great morning of laughs, food, drink and girlie time.

Wedding Day regret number 1 began with having someone else do my makeup and hating the way it looked later in photos.

Oh and did I mention I swell BADLY in summer? Yeah, I was an effing whale bride. Yay me. I gained a CRAP ton of weight the summer of my wedding.. Hello stress eating. Why can't I be of the not eating because of stress variety?

Anyway.... we arrived at the wedding/reception site LATE of course.. Whoops.. After telling the boys an hour earlier time that they all showed up on time for .. whoops.. We got ready in a hurry and that just meant the boys were done early and had more time to sit around and drink.. ha.

Our wedding started promptly at 4 and I walked down to my uncle singing "She" by Elvis Costello. It was beautiful. The ceremony was what I wanted. Full of laughs, friends and love. Short and sweet. (Did I mention the outrageous comment my uncle made out exotic shaving during our ceremony? Yeah.. that may be why my family was mortified I was having him marry us.. ohh the drama) It was made longer only by my attempts to fit people into it that meant a lot to me/us. My uncle sang a song that he had performed at my parents wedding and my friend sang a song cuz she is AMAZING. All too quickly the ceremony was over and it was off to picture time.. blech

We did not have any bible readings at our ceremony mainly because we have seen Wedding Crashers one too many times and laugh out loud at weddings when we can guess the readings they will have. What is ONE thing you always roll your eyes about at wedding ceremonies?

The Night Before the Tooth Fairy

The Night Before the Tooth Fairy, cracks me up with its very first lines..

'Twas the night before the Tooth Fairy

would come take my tooth,

I'd been so excited

ever since it got looth.

Okay, so maybe I just find little kid talk adorable?

This starts out telling the story of a little boy with a loose tooth and the various strategies his parents suggest to get it out. It eventually pops out and he plops it under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy. This is when the story picks up into the same writing style as Twas the Night Before Christmas. It's cute, the pictures are adorable and both little boys and little girls LOVE the Tooth Fairy!

I really like the pictures in the book and I always make sure to check them out since I know that is what my students are checking out. Some weird things I noticed, are the DISTURBING pictures on the wall of the boys room. He definitely likes making pictures of monsters!

I would say that this would be best for ages 4-7!

Sexaholics - Pynk

Ow ow... This book is not for the faint of heart or for the underage crowd. Sexaholics is an Erotic fiction about 4 women who are addicted to sex.

Miki has multiple men she has 'relations' with (Trying to keep the blog review PG-13ish here.. ha) and doesn't have a problem with juggling her boyfriend, her sugar daddy, a fellow Sexaholic Anonymous addict, her ex-boyfriend and HER BEST-Friend Valencia. Oh and did I mention she had sex with her pregnant sister's husband? Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

Valencia has a fiance, Greg who she has been together with since college who used to get freaky with her. Now that he wants to settle down and get married he wants to be DONE with the freaky. But on his terms only. It's okay for him to sit at his computer all night looking at certain sites and taking care of business and MAYBE okay for Val to hook up with a female now and the, but another male? No....

Teela has an addiction to watching people. Her man with other women, other strangers, anyone.

Brandi is a school teacher who is also an alcoholic and gets caught doing THE WORST THING EVER. She actually was a character I could NOT relate to and wanted to throttle and hurt. Ugh.

So this is my first EVER Erotica and it was definitely NOT tame at all. There were tons of sex scenes, basically every page. Lots of detail and lots of people having relations with lots of other people. It is not a book for a lot of people. But I would say that it definitely was written to be enjoyed and some of the analogies had me laughing hysterically and telling my husband about them.

I also would say, that I probably would never have bought this book for myself, and I did receive it for free through a goodreads.com giveaway. I liked it more than the smutty romance novels my grandma tried to get me to read all the time. This was more real, more believable and the writing was good. But, it is Erotica.

Have you ever read Erotica before? Want to but are too embarrassed to admit it? Too embarrassed to look for it at the store? Buy it online!! ;)

Two Favorite St. Patty's Day Books For Kids

Who is as excited as me for St. Paddy's Day??? I LOOOOOOVE ST. Patrick's Day. Shamrock Shakes may have something to do with it. I also love reading. And of COURSE I have some St. Patrick's Day books I enjoy.

Jamie O' Rourke and Pooka by Tomie dePaola

Description: When Jamie O'Rourke's wife leaves him alone for a week, it's up to Jamie to do the housework. But Jamie isn't just the laziest man in Ireland, he's also the messiest! When a magical pooka arrives unexpectedly and starts to do the dishes and sweep the house, Jamie thinks that maybe he's the luckiest man in Ireland as well. But will Jamie's good fortune-and his pooka's housekeeping-last? Young readers will be giggling through Tomie dePaola's delightfully funny sequel to Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.

This is a funny story, because Jamie's house gets TRASHED and he is super lazy. The illustrations aren't the "typical" children's book illustrations so that intrigues kids. Also, the story with the pooka is funny for kids, because in the end Jamie ends up with a MESSY house and an angry wife. It brings up good conversation and it's something new and different for kids. The only negatives for school reading, would be the mention of cider which is meant to be alcohol but kids shouldn't know that and they aren't drunk, so I find it suitable. Also, the pooka is kind of scary looking. Probably best for ages 5-up.

Fin M'Coul: the giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie dePaola

Fin M'Coul is THE only giant in Ireland that has not been beat up by the bully of a giant CuCullen. The story highlights the day Fin M'Coul and his savy wife trick and out smart CuCullen. Fin dresses up as a baby giant and his wife bakes pans in loaves of bread to trick CuCullen. The bully giant loses teeth and together Finn and Oonagh fool the giant into thinking Finn is tougher than he and manage to rid CuCullen of all of his teeth.

This one is a tad violent, but with enough commentary and talking about what you SHOULD do, it makes for a good read. The illustrations are amazing.

Does anyone else have a favorite St. Patrick's Day book for children? What about some good adult books set in Ireland? Or, who is your favorite Irish author?

I will be enjoying some green beverages this weekend in celebration!

Spooky Little Girl Blog Tour - Stop #1

If you haven't been following along, I recieved a copy of Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro from a goodreads.com giveaway. After finishing it, I began passing it along to other bloggers on a blog tour of sorts. Stop #1 took the book to Minnesota to Lisa of Lisa's Yarns.

Here is what Lisa had to say about Spooky Little Girl...

I was long overdue for a light read - and Spooky Little Girl hit the spot. It was just what I needed. Do you ever feel pressured to read serious, high-brow literature? I do, but I put this pressure on myself. While I enjoy the challenges of reading a heavy novel, it's nice to switch things up and read something that is light.

Spooky Little Girl definitely made me think. This is a morbid line of thought, but the people in my life are all disjointed. There really isn't anything (like a husband) to tie all the pockets of people together. If something happened to me, would all of my friends find out? Granted, we live in the age of Facebook so I think news would spread. But what about my bloggity blog friends? If I stopped blogging, they wouldn't really know what happened to me. And maybe they wouldn't care. But I would want to know if one of my blog friends passed away!

I hope to read more ARCs in the future - it was so fun and so exciting and sort of exotic to read a book that wasn't available to the general public. That's right - I just used the word exotic when discussing reading!

Lisa's cozy reading chair, where she read most
of Spooky Little Girl

Thanks Lisa! I also found it pretty exciting to be reading a book that wasn't out yet. Like, yeah I'm cool. ;) I have made lots of friends via the internet and always wondered, how would they know if I died? What if they died? Internet friending is wierd as in, we may know way more about a person than their family or real-life friends, but those people don't know about us.

Spooky Little Girl is now traveling to Kentucky to be read by another lucky reader. Stay tuned to hear what they have to say about this ARC, which is due to come out April 13th!


Do you ever wonder what people would think if you suddenly stopped blogging? Is your life disjointed like Lisa's?

Wordless Wednesday..

Check back next week for another installment of Wedding Wednesday....

Thirteen Reasons Why

Description: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Wow. I read this book in one sitting, mainly because it was so suspenseful that I couldn't put it down without wondering what happened next. I really have to say that I think it is a book that EVERY teenager needs to read before high school. Suicide is such a taboo topic and Asher brings it front and center.

Everyone likes to say they didn't see the signs, but there are always signs.

What I really could relate to in this book is the bad things that would happen to Hannah. They are things that EVERY teenager deals with at some point in their high school career. Yet, some people react differently. The book really pushes the point of, every action has a reaction. Hannah didn't kill herself because of one person 'being mean to her.' Hannah killed herself because EVERY safe place she had slowly was lost to her that began as ONE stupid rumor. The snowball effect that she keeps referring to throughout the novel.

The entire book, consists of Clay walking around town listening to the tapes that Hannah left. Following her path, remembering, commenting on the things that happened and listening to her give the 13 reasons why she killed herself. It really makes you sick and want to throttle the people at her high school.

While, Hannah killing herself was her choice, and one she admits, all of the people mentioned that received her tapes also had a role in Hannah losing herself and control. It is SO heartbreaking, especially for me to think on past high school experiences of people treating others the way her classmates treated her and wondering how they felt. Towards the end of the book, Hannah really loses her sanity, and that is where I started to want to shake her and let her see how much she WAS cared for, but she had hit the point of no return and really was looking for any reason to do it. And plus, when someone is THAT anguished there does reach a point when there is no turning back in there thinking, and that is when people need to be noticing these changes.

I really don't want to say anything more about the plot. But I recommend this book TO EVERYONE. Please read it. Please pass it on. Don't let any other person hurting, end their life needlessly.

Teen Suicide

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Are you in crisis? Please call 1-800-273-TALK

Morning Neurosis - Juliette Miranda

"It sucks, because we could have been so great, but I need to keep reminding
myself that this is his stupid decision that I did nothing wrong. he's
looking for something that he will never find, and he certainly isn't ever going
to find another girl like me. Maybe he'll realize that one day, and maybe
he won't but I can't hang onto the hope that he will." - pg. 132

Morning Neurosis is the rawest most real thing I have read in awhile. This biography/autobiography/memoir that is lightly fictionalized honestly sums up the inner workings of most 20-something women at some point in their life. Juliette Miranda’s first book had me nodding and agreeing so much with her thoughts, and we are in no other way alike besides the sharing of our female parts.

The book begins with Miranda having to make the tough decision to give up her LA fantasy life and move back home to Chicago for a paycheck. She has to take a job she despises, but with the economy, she lacks better options.

Miranda has a sea of former musicians for lovers and friends who are always popping back up in her life. The book describes them and she has attributed nicknames to each of them. She is a self-described rock slut and has many tales to back up her claims. The book jumps around a lot and I think that keeps it interesting. Much like this review. Ha ha.

Soon after returning to Chicago, Miranda meets Jon, another musician who really isn’t like the other musicians she tells him because he has a “real job” too. By the end of the book though, I would like to say that I think Jon was just like the other musicians with just as much baggage. Just better packaging skills.

The majority of the book follows the dysfunctional relationship Miranda forges with Jon and the many neuroses that come with being in a relationship and being female. I think women are forever questioning themselves and ever so passive aggressive in new relationships because we don’t want to screw them up and we don’t want to be tooo out there and we don’t want to be shot down. I know, I cannot be the only one to relate to the constant worrying that Miranda describes.

"No girl ever really does what she should, I suspect, we see to many
options for ourselves." .... "This is the problem with remaining in contact with
an exboyfriend: you can never fully decide if you want him back in your life, or
if you really just want to back over him with your car." - pg. 152

She does have a VERY smart friend named Dan who always talks sense and tells her the truth and great advice, even if she doesn’t always listen or follow through. I think we all have a friend like that, even when we hate them for being correct.

I would have to say that I liked this book way more than I ever intended on liking it, because originally I thought I wouldn’t relate and it would just be a quick fun read. Quick it was, but wow, very insightful. Miranda is hilarious, real , and hooks you in. Can’t wait to read what she writes next.




FTC Disclosure: I received this book through a giveaway on goodreads.com

Funny Farm

And no, that isn't in reference to where they should maybe take me after my day yesterday, where I misplaced my keys twice and my flash drive once. Yeah. It was a winner of a day!

However, in honor of Reading Month I am going to post at least one children's book a week with a short review, because I kind of read them EVERY DAY.

We have read Dr. Seuss EVERY day this week and my kids love him just as much as me. But there will be no more Dr. Seuss next week, because quite frankly, a girl can only read nonsense for so long before she needs a good realistic story. Even if it is a children's book.

So, like always, I have digressed... BACK TO THE TOPIC..

Funny Farm by Mark Teague

Edward goes to visit his aunt, uncle and cousin at Hawthorne Farm. The book covers a day of his visit, he gets to milk cows, feed pigs gather eggs, make maple syrup, plow and paint a barn among other activities. The story makes it sound simple, but the pictures tell the real tale of Edwards day. :)

This is a short, beautifully illustrated story that will interest kids around ages 3-5. I won't lie, the illustrations make this book. There is not a lot of words, but the younger ones are more all about the pictures anyway. There is about a sentence per page, but the illustrations will have kids LAUGHING and open up lots of room for parents/adults to ask questions. Why? What? Who? What do you think happens next? Why did he do that? Please make sure, to always TALK about what you read with your child and just read it. (Yes, that was the teacher in me..sorry)

I think this would be a book geared towards boys and animal lovers. I'm sure girls would love it too, but it has a boy main character and I know that makes boys pay more attention.

What is your favorite animal book? Have any good memories of celebrating reading month in school as a child?

Exhausted..

Just put in a 12 hour day for our Family Reading Night at work. I can't even think straight. I can barely even read other blogs. I am on my way to bed very very soon. But then I felt bad, because I don't think I will be posting again til the weekend or Monday, but like I said, no brain power. Then I went to Lisa's blog and she had a photo meme. How perfect!

1st photo album, 10th photo..

2007 Ohio State vs. Michigan at Ann Arbor. This was a sign at Game Day on the U of M campus. It references the coach at that time (Lloyd Carr) and the rumored / hoped to be new coach Les Miles. And we all know how that turned out.. Oh wait? You aren't a huge fan? Well, let's just say Les Miles didn't leave LSU and may have had a very angry press conference where he denied going there.. and then Michigan got Rodriguez from West Virginia.. Ohio State fans are still thanking you Les!!!

Go Bucks!

Play along .... have a great Friday!

Wedding Wednesday - Rehearsal

Our rehearsal was really laid back. I mean, we weren't getting married in a church and it was outside. Basically, we had one because my uncle (who had been ordained online) had never performed a wedding before and we had to determine where people would stand and check out the sound system. Oh, and we could decorate the room so, we decided a quickie rehearsal and a good dinner was the way to go.

Our photographer came as well, to get a feel for pictures, lighting and what not. Everyone in the wedding party was able to make it and a few aunts and uncles came to help decorate. Yay.

our three adorable ring bearers

my daddy and me...

the gang.. :)

After the rehearsal, we headed to this realllly good Italian place for a rehearsal dinner put on by our parents. We ordered about 5 different kinds of pizza? I am not sure of the number I can't remember, bread sticks, salad and pasta. Everyone ate what as much or as little as they wanted. We may have had dessert, but I don't remember.

eating the yummy food...

with our parents...

After, we were done eating we gave out our gifts to our bridesmaids and groomsmen. I gave my girls, earrings and a necklace to wear in the wedding and Anthony gave his guys a beer mug. Real original, I know. We were going to give our parents a night at a hotel up north but realized they would never get around to using it, so we got them each a half-season of tickets for the local minor league baseball team.

The town we got married in, is known as having the most bars per capita, so after dinner on the famous street we headed down the road and popped into some bars and to the local martini bar and enjoyed some beverages all together.

I think around 12 or 1 we started breaking up, and I headed to my best-friends house with most of the girls and my husband left to go back to our house with his cousin.. and that is how the last day of singledom ended for me.. ;)

Anyone have a wedding tale they would like to share? email me at pinkflipflops 44 at gmail dot com ...

The Worst Case - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Detective Mike Bennett is on the case in Patterson's latest novel featuring the Irish cop. A crazed maniac is kidnapping the children of New York's wealthiest families. Instead of money, the kidnapper is quizzing his prisoners on the price others pay for their life of luxury.

The FBI sends in their best, Emily Parker, single, attractive and smart as whip to team with Bennett. Wonder where this is going???

The killer is leaving his victims with the sign of the cross and mentions Ash Wednesday in his conversations with Bennett, will he and Parker figure out what and who before time runs out?

Okay, so I should have realized if Cross Country hit me the wrong way last month that perhaps another Patterson should been on my radar again. But, I read Step on a Crack, also featuring Bennett and really liked it. I guess, I could just see Bennett as an Irish Alex Cross and it was making me mad because he is so much better than that and had his own thing going on in the other book that I read. I guess, I see why one can pump out so many books so quickly.

A little disappointing, but the intensity was there and I really liked the mystery of the book. A little irritated with Mike in the whole Emily vs. the nanny decision making he was having to make and hope that the door isn't closed on that at least.

Fast and decent read...

What is your favorite mystery / murder / FBI book?

March's Group Read is...

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides...





Back Cover: Middlesex tells the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City, and the race riots of 1967, before they move out to the tree-lined streets of suburban Grosse Pointe, Michigan. To understand why Calliope is not like other girls, she has to uncover a guilty family secret, and the astonishing genetic history that turns Callie into Cal, one of the most audacious and wondrous narrators in contemporary fiction. Lyrical and thrilling, Middlesex is an exhilarating reinvention of the American epic.

I can't wait to read and discuss this one! I got it for Christmas in 2008 and never got around to reading it. I have an never-ending TBR pile.. :)