The Shack

I remember the first time I saw this book on the book shelf in the local Chapters book store. If you have read my earlier reviews, you'll know by now that I do judge a book by it's cover. I know this may mean I miss out on some great books, but when you are standing in the middle of an enormous book store, looking for your next read, judging a book by its cover definitly makes it easier to narrow down your choices. Anyway, I saw this book and was instantly gripped by its cover. Then I read the back of the book and I was even more intrigued but I already had so many books at home sitting on my shelf (about 25) that I had not yet read and thought it would be silly to purchase another book. Weeks went by and anytime I went into Chapters or the local mall I'd see this book being show cased as a best seller, or a staff-pick. Each and every time I walked by this book I'd say "soon enough I will read that book". Then finally when I couldn't hold off any longer I bought this book and paid a reasonable $15.

The Shack is a story about a family, mainly a Father and his three children. They go camping at Wallowa Lake just before the end of the summer, and while Mack is saving one of his children from drowing, his youngest daughter (6 year old Missy) is left alone at the campsite admist the chaos and is snatched by the "Little Ladykiller". The story follows Mack's quest in finding the truth about what happened to his daughter, finding his daughters killer, being able to finally let go, and repairing his long lost relationship with God, or the Holy Trinity as they are presented in this novel. Although I do not believe in any religion, and do not believe in the concept of religion, this novel is amazing, eye opening and introduces God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in a way that I have never heard of before. I think that is what I liked most about this book - the way the Holy Trinity was portrayed. It wasn't a traditional and conventional portrayal, but instead God took on the form of a Jamaican woman and a cook who Mack called Papa, Jesus was a carpenter and the Holy Spirit was an Asian woman named Sarayu who was a gardener. Mack visits the shack where the Little Ladykiller had brought and murdered his daughter Missy and upon being grief stricken as he leaves the shack, a miracle happens that allows Mack to spend several days in the presence of the Holy Trinity which will change his life forever.

This story was another tear filled read, but entirely worth it as it moves you more than you'd ever think it would and Mack learns that it is okay to let go, that the death of his daughter was not his or Papa's fault and that Missy is now safe and happy and gets to be in the world that Mack briefly experiences during his stay with the Holy Trinity.

Happy reading,
Ash Bee.

Shutter Island

Let me introduce you to Shutter Island - home of Ashecliffe hospital/prision/treatment center for the criminally insane. I read this novel, after I had watched the movie and although I still thoroughly enjoyed it I would recommend reading the novel before watching the movie, or at least leaving several months inbetween the two. The novel follows US Marshal Edward 'Teddy' Daniels as he and his partner Chuck Aule go to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of one of Ashecliffe's patients, Rachel Solando. Teddy spends several days on the island and as you get deeper into the novel the weirder and creepier Shutter Island becomes. Things aren't adding up and Teddy realizes that he is never alone on the island - he is always being followed or watched. I don't want to say TOO much as this novel has alot of twists and turns and the ending will blow your mind. The story primarily focuses on Teddy and his life, his work at Ashecliffe and mental illness. The story is thrilling and confusing, and sad when you learn of Teddy's wife Dolores. This book is an easy read and is only $10 and I would highly recommend it!

I would also just like to add that the prices I mention in my reviews are Canadian dollars, and I am basing the price off of the price printed on the cover. I would recommend however that you look in second hand stores for these books as often times you will get them for less than half price. If you do as much reading as I do it can and does become very pricey!

Happy reading,
Ash Bee.

A Million Little Pieces

Well what can I say? This book is simply amazing, but before I review it and give you my opinions on it, I wish to address the controversy over this book that you may or may not have heard about. It has been said that although this book is classified as a 'memoir' it is in fact not entirely true and that major parts of the story have been made up by Frey himself; Whether or not the story is true, fake, or semi-fictional, the story holds a strong message that cannot be changed, or diminished by the genre of the novel. Regardless of that big question mark you may have at the end of the novel wondering if all this really did happen, this novel is worth the read.

The story focuses on the 23 year old James Frey (also the author of A Million Little Pieces) and his drug and alcohol addiction. It mainly covers the six weeks that Frey spends at a treatment center but also goes back in time and covers some of Frey's past. The book is a little slower paced than others, and there is a lot of inaction but it sure does get your heart racing once you begin to read and learn about the characters. Your will to find out what happens to them carries you through the book, but please don't have high hopes for the characters as I did, because you will be greatly disappointed. This book does not have a happy ending, although Frey does stay sober, but be ready with a box of tissues to wipe away those tears that I guarantee you will have on at least one occasion during your read of A Million Little Pieces.

My favourite characters include James, Lilly, Leonard, Miles and Lincoln and each impact the story line a great deal. This book is about love. Love in all it's forms, and the importance of holding onto love when you find it and never letting go. It is about addiction and the brutal, horrific and shocking truth of what a life of addiction entails. It is about friendship and the strength it gives you when you are at your lowest, and when you are at your highest. It is about family, and how family sticks together through thick and thin and how there is no clear cut definition of family. And lastly, it is about holding on. When times are rough, when you are down, when you have reached rock bottom and then dug down another 50 feet, just hold on and you'll pull through (Leonard, A Million Little Pieces).

This story, whether true or false, real or fake will break your heart and give you strength. It empowers you. It makes you realize what really matters in life, and it gives you great compassion, sympathy and empathy for those who deal with a life of addiction. I would recommend this book to everyone, and although it is a little pricey in comparison to the other books I have reviewed ($21) it is definitely worth the extra money.

Happy reading,
Ash Bee.

For One More Day

“You can’t lose your mother, Charlie.”

I struggled to pick which book to write my first Honeycomb review. In the past few months I’ve flipped madly through the pages of books varying so differently in context, character and plot. Picking one book from the handful of new stories I have fallen in love with was no easy task. I had spent a week rereading the final candidates when I came across Mitch Albom’s novel, for one more day. I had forgotten all about this book and I knew the second I saw the cover that it would be my first review.

From the very first page of For One More Day I was enthralled with the life story of Charlie “Chick” Bennito. Until the day his father left, Chicks childhood was just like any other kid on the block. Divorce in those days was taboo, and so Chicks mother Posey became a single mother who had to struggle to raise her two children. Her beauty and divorce status isolated their family from the friends they used to have. Chick threw himself into the only thing that connected him to his father, Baseball. He played through college and had a small stint in the major’s before a minor injury took him off the plate, and he was never able to catch his streak as a pro again. Chicks drinking and money problems caused his family to fall apart. His wife walked away from their marriage, and his daughter denied their affiliation completely. It was a mix of depression, alcoholism and realization of his broken relationships that pushes Charlie over the edge. Packing nothing but alcohol and a gun, Charlie leaves to visit his childhood home one last time. Suicide becomes his only saviour.

You could say that for one more day is a ghost story of sorts, although it feels nothing but real when you read about Posey (who had been dead in the ground for eight years) showing up to spend one last day with her son. Although the story is centered on Chick Bennito, his mother Posey’s presence makes her stand out as a secondary main character. Acting like a Jiminy Cricket to her son, Posey brings Chick around to other souls to show them comfort in their last living minutes. Throughout their last day together Posey reflects on her life and reveals secrets and sorrows to Chick about why his father really left, and what sacrifices she made to ensure her children were happy. As the day progresses, Charlie grows to understand why he is the person he is, and how to become the person that he wants to be. Clinging between life and death, Charlie has to pick whither he wants to end his life, or begin a new chapter in the life he’s been dealt.

Posey Bennito is my undoubtedly my favourite character in this book. I love her not only because her humour reminds me of my own mother, but also because her strength and sacrifice as a woman and a mother are reflected by women everywhere in society as we speak. She sheds light on what it means to be a wife, to be unappreciated, and to still love those who hurt her the most with every cell in her body.

I would recommend any of Mitch Albom’s books as all of his literature is easy to read and is full of natural, real emotion. For One More Day is a wonderful novel that reminds us to appreciate and love our mothers the way they do for us.

Buzz Buzz
Kelsey

The Lovely Bones

I just finished reading The Lovely Bones today. Wow. I'm surprised I even have anything to say about this book because it has truly left me speechless. It is a moving story about loss, hope, love and the innate human need to survive. It is a story that takes a hold of your heart, and remains there long after you've read the last line and closed the cover.

Something I noticed about the characters of The Lovely Bones was the extreme interconnectedness of them. Each character seemed to be intertwined closely with that of another, yet entirely separate and individual simultaneously. I often mistook Lindsey and Samuel for Susie and Ray and I'd have to back track a little to realize exactly who I was reading about. In any other story this would probably have somewhat irritated me, but in Sebold's The Lovely Bones, it simply adds to the over all intellect of the novel. It makes it what it is, and reflects the characters as being an interwoven mesh of humanity and the relationships shared between them.

There are two specific parts to this story, that I will never forget. The first being when Susie is reunited with her dog Holiday in her Heaven. I'm not entirely sure why but this part made me tear up. The novel focuses alot on Suzie's family and how they are coping with their loss of their daughter/sister/friend but Suzie has lost everyone, so for her to be reunited with her beloved dog, who recognized her instantly when he entered Heaven, just brought tears to my eyes. The second part that I will never forget is when Susie falls from Heaven into Ruth's body to be reunited with her love, Ray Singh:

""Susie," he said, "you know I'm not like that."
My heart seized up. "What did you say?" I asked.
I focused my eyes on his through the white translucent liner Hal kept for a curtain - he was a dark shape with a hundred small pinpoints of light surrounding him.
"I said I'm not that kind."
"You called me Susie."
There was silence, and then a moment later he drew back the curtain, being careful to look only at my face. "Susie?"
"Join me," I said, my eyes welling up. "Please, join me." (The Lovely Bones,347-8).

This passage made me cry. And cry alot is what I did. I am not too sure why this had such an effect on me, although I do have a few possibilities in mind. Ray recognized Susie straight away, despite being in Ruth's body and despite the many years that had passed since Suzie's death, they both held a deep and intense love for one another. Beautiful. Simply, wonderfully, sadly beautiful. I wanted to scoop them up, both Ray and Susie, and put them in a bubble. A big safe bubble where they could float away together from the horrific memories that surrounded them, and where they could remain as light as air as they lived and revelled in their love for one another.

As for the other characters, I felt deep sympathy for both Buckley and Jack. My heart went out to them and I wanted to be able to hug them and tell them everything would be okay, just as Susie had wanted to. I wanted to say 'ROCK ON' to both Lindsey and Grandma for being the rocks or anchors of both the story and the family. They were like the glue that holds the shattered glass of a beautiful vase together. And I despise Abigale. I despised her right until the very end of the novel. I understand she may have had her reasons to have ran away but I despised her for it. I despised Mr. Harvey up until the last quarter of the novel where I began to feel numb toward him. Like Susie and her family, I realized that other things were more important than Mr. Harvey and were more deserving of my attention.

This book really took hold of me and I almost felt as if I were witnessing and experiencing all the events and emotions that the characters were experiencing. I felt like I knew the Salmon's or that I was one of them. I have to remind myself that this novel is a work of fiction yet no matter how many times I tell myself, a little voice whispers in my ear 'It is real. It is all real.' ...I think it is Susie.

Happy reading,
Ash Bee.

The Green Mile by Stephen King

I finished reading this book about a week or so ago now. I was very skeptical when my boyfriend had suggested I read it with him - I had always come to the conclusion that Stephen King was just not my type of author. I was more of a Nicholas Sparks kinda girl but I am always open to new literature so I figured why not? I am also very judgmental of books. You know the whole "don't judge a book by it's cover" thing? Well I do. I judge and then I judge some more. The cover doesn't have to be amazing or beautiful but it has to be appealing. I also flick through the pages and look at the font of the text. I don't know why, but certain fonts just irritate me. It isn't a deal breaker don't worry - I won't refuse to read a book based on the fact that it has a bad font but I am more inclined to those books whose font is in 'Times New Roman'. How does this all relate to The Green Mile you ask? Well, the cover for starters is not just appealing, it is also intriguing, and the text is Times New Roman just as I like it. Not to mention this book seems to retain it's 'new book smell' quite well which makes me very happy.

After having read the first chapter which is only 6 pages long, I was already taken. This book literally swept me off my feet and carried me away. You get to meet and become to know the characters of Hal Moores, Paul Edgecomb, Percy Wetmore, Edouard Delacroix, Mr. Jingles, Brain Doland, Melinda Moores, William Wharton aka Billy the Kid, Brutal, Janice Edgecomb, The Chief, and the Dettericks among many others, but my favourite by far is John Coffey - like the drink but spelt differently. John Coffey enters the book in a horrific way but as the story progresses, you learn that John Coffey is in fact a miracle walking on earth. Literally. Not only the story, but the language flows so well within The Green Mile. It is such an easy and intriguing read and by the end of every chapter, or section you are always left wanting more and putting this book down for the night was very difficult indeed.

For me there are many memorable parts to this novel. The most memorable being at John Coffey's execution. They are about to place the black bag over his head to which Coffey replies something along the lines of 'Please don't boss Edgecomb sir, I am afraid of the dark, please don't put me in there'. That is not a direct quote, it is just how I remember it, and let me tell you as I read that line hot tears just came flooding out of my eyes. Another memorable moment for me was when I discovered that it was not in fact John Coffey who had done the horrible things, but instead William Wharton. I discovered this before I had actually read it, and upon confirming my belief I got chills. And last but not least, another memorable moment was when I discovered that Paul Edgecomb had been taking walks down into the woods to feed the now 60-something year old Mr. Jingles. I had always taken a liking to the little circus mouse, and as I read The Green Mile I wished that if I could do anything for the characters, I would take care of Mr. Jingles.

I hope my review has given you enough of a push to go and read the book if you haven't already, and I hope I haven't given too much away. There are still so many secrets within the Green Mile that I have not discussed, waiting for you to discover. I would also like to add that the book is only $9.99 so it is a steal!!!

Happy reading,
Ash Bee.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Honeycomb Readery! We are a society of book lovers wanting to share our thoughts, ideas, praise and dislike of the literature we have stumbled upon. We hope to fill these pages with contributions from our various book loving bees on reviews and discussions, and maybe even some good 'ole fashioned debating. Not all bees agree on good honey, you know! Check back soon for reviews, and recommendations on what books you must just simply get your hands on!
Buzz Buzz
Kelsey Lee

Did you know...
Our name is a play on word from the term:
Camaraderie [ˌkæməˈrɑːdərɪ] (Noun)
"A spirit of familiarity and trust existing between friends"