Anna McPartlin-Pack Up the Moon

Since I'm currently in the middle of a book, I figured I'd write about other books that I've read recently.

Pack Up the Moon is a book that I found online while browsing at Borders.com. The first time I picked it up, during camp this summer, I kind of read a few pages and then set it down. Around Thanksgiving time, I picked it up again and was immediately drawn into Emma's world.

The book is written from Emma's point of view and starts with her taking a pregnancy test. She is very hesitant about taking this test-even though she's been with her boyfriend, John, for several years and they are living together. To her relief, the test is negative. She doesn't tell John about this test and off they go to a party for friends of theirs who have just received an inheritance and are having an "I am now rich" party.

Tragedy strikes at the beginning of the book when John is hit by a car and killed. Emma feels immense guilt about the accident and immediately closes herself off from her circle of friends and family. Other important characters in the book are Emma's best friend, Clodagh, a friend who is always dating different guys; Anne and Richard-the I am now rich couple who are struggling with their own marital difficulties; Sean, John's best friend who has turned to alcohol for relief from his grief; and finally Noel, Emma's older brother, a Catholic priest, who has not only lost his friend but is in the midst of his own struggle for identity within and without the church.

At times, this book sort of reminded me of P.S. I love You, by another Irish author, Celia Aherns. While there were some similarities, what them both being set in Ireland and dealing with the death of a partner, these are two very different books and show two very different ways of handling grief.

While Holly, in P.S. I Love You, had time to prepare for her husbad's death and received messages from him after his death, Emma was not as lucky. John's death was sudden and heart-wrenching and the only messages she receives from John come in the form of her own dreams.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is a romantic at heart and anyone who still believes in love surviving death while still believing in a second chance at love.

The First One

I have always loved reading and words in general. I was raised in a house where I always saw my parents reading and there were always ample books for me to read. Therefore, I would do my best to read as many of them as I could, even reading books that were way beyond my years from a very young age. For this, I thank my parents for not censoring what I read-even when I went on a quite extended Holocaust/death kick-sorry mom!

Several years ago, my father made a comment to me along the lines of, "Wow, Rachel, if we'd kept track of all the books you've read in your lifetime, there would probably be thousands of them!" I recently relayed this story to my dad and he had no recollection of it. Well, I did and over the years have tried to start keeping track of all that I've read. So far, no really success!

This is where this blog comes into play. I am hoping, now that I am finished with school and working a "regular" job, I will be able to take more time to read and more time to reflect on what I've read. I truly believe that literature can serve many purposes. One of these purposes is to give you a temporary escape from reality-whether it's going to Hogwarts Castle (Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowlings) or experiencing what life was like in the times of Rashi (Rashi's Daughters by Maggie Anton). Literature also provides a road map for life. This road map can do one of two things, it can guide you on what you should do and how you should do it OR it will provide examples of what NOT to do and how to avoid these.

Anyway, I hope this Blog will be as enjoyable to those who read it as I hope it will be for me writing it.