A new bunch of books to giveaway!
The giveaways for this theme will be about a random series of books related only because they are about things that make me think of summer!
For this theme I have a bunch of summer things in my mind:
1. bugs
2. beach
3. travel
4. storms
5. horse-riding
6. gardening/farms
7. going home to visit my family
8. weddings
9. blue sky
10. dandelions
11. hiking
12. potlucks
13. crazy reality shows
14. books with the word "summer" in them
I had other words, but couldn't think of books to use to relate to them! :)
RULES FOR ENTERING:
a. Post a comment to the blog entries of the books you would like to win AND answer the question that goes with it. There will be one summer word giveaway at a time.
Today's Question: Today's book describes a NYPD officer's life in the days prior to and immediately following 9/11 when the unthinkable happened in NY. It's a day I will always remember. I was pregnant with our 2nd child and helping out in the church nursery during a women's Bible Study when I first heard about it. I went home and watched it all unfold on tv and prayed. Do you remember what you were doing when you first heard the news?
b. Enter on or before the date specified. Today's book winner will be drawn on August 20.
c. Check back for the next summer theme word giveaway!
Today's book is Clear Blue Sky by F.P. Lione. Why is a book about 9/11 in my "Summer" giveaway? Don't read into it too much. I picked it because of the title, because blue sky makes me think of summer. That's the reason.
F. P. Lione
BIO
F. P. Lione is actually two people --- a married couple by the name of Frank and Pam Lione. They are both Italian-American and the offspring of NYPD detectives. Frank is a veteran of the NYPD who survived the World Trade Center rescue efforts. Both Frank and Pam lost friends and colleagues in the terrible destruction of September 11, 2001. The story they tell in CLEAR BLUE SKY rings with the authenticity that only someone who has been there can convey.
Portions of a Review from FaithfulReader.com
Tony is engaged to single mom Michele and looking forward to being a full-time dad to her young son, Stevie. With a wedding in the works, the couple has lots to talk about --- and plenty of tension.
The chief stressor is a bachelor party that Tony’s loud and argumentative Italian family is insisting on. Michele lets Tony know that if the bachelor party goes as planned, she’s calling it quits. Of course, this isn’t the real reason why Tony’s family has mostly turned against him. They don’t care for his hard-won sobriety (his sister Denise calls him “Mr. Twelve Stepper”), and they’re not crazy about the fact that he’s marrying Michele, a single mother. They also don’t like his new-found commitment to faith. It’s not long before the inevitable showdown occurs, and Tony finds that he must choose between his family and his fiancée and her son.
And what a family. Tony’s divorced mom is dating a Harley biker. His father’s trampy second wife is pregnant, which his father seems to find unusually upsetting --- and we discover why, as the novel unfolds. Add a few Mafia relatives, and the sparks (and punches) are sure to fly at any family gathering.
Underneath the tension is Tony’s insecurity about his own worthiness. “The truth is, I felt kind of like a fraud with Michele. Like maybe if she really knew me, she wouldn’t be so quick to marry me…. It was like I kept waiting for the hammer to hit me and things to crash and burn around me like they always did.”
Joe Fiore is Tony’s wise Christian partner, and one of the reasons why Tony has been able to stay sober and deal with his Italian family. He’s also the reason why Tony has found a renewed faith. But Tony has stopped going to church and hasn’t been able to talk to Michele or Joe about why. His conversations with Joe reflect the reality and messiness of church life.
Tony’s life as a cop provides some of the best moments in the book. Speed chase scenes, almost-too-strange-to-be-true incidents (a dog that is electrocuted when it pees on open live wires on a lamp post vandalized by the homeless for their boom boxes), the ins and outs of a grand jury trial, and even a burglary in a geisha house all score high on the “wow, I didn’t know stuff like this went on” scale. Insider lingo also enlivens the text --- one man with a bandaged head injury is said to be wearing a “Bronx party hat.” As in the other Lione books, there are plentiful descriptions of Italian food that will make your mouth water. It’s a wonder Tony doesn’t weigh 300 lbs.
The twin towers on the cover and prologue clue in the reader that CLEAR BLUE SKY’s story will climax in the events of September 11th. In a post 9/11 world, where it seems as if every emotional drop has been wrung out of the fictional and nonfictional publishable possibilities, I was skeptical that anyone could write a moving scene six years after the fact. But the Liones handled the tragedy well enough to give me goosebumps. It’s also a crucial and believable way for them to literally nudge some of their characters into a stronger belief in God.
--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby.
My thoughts:
While I did enjoy this book, it wasn't exactly what I expected. I expected it to be about Sept. 11. So I was surprised to get 3/4 of the way through the book and 9/11 hadn't happened yet. If I hadn't been waiting for that moment to come, I could have enjoyed the book more and stopped just anticipating the coming events. Tony has a crazy family and is doing his best to be a stand up cop and fiance under all the pressure from his family. If you get a chance to read this book, learn from my mistake and be prepared to enjoy the storyline of the life of a NY police officer and his wacky family in the season of their lives prior to 9/11 without just looking ahead to the climax.
