reading: Things to Remember not to Forget

"Have you ever found yourself gulping down the words from a book at an alarming rate because you no longer have any sense of the actual world around you? Have you ever connected with a fictional character in such a way that you think there’s possibly an eerie force at nature that led you to the book in the first place? Have you ever had trouble actually seeing the print on the page because of the massive amount of tears streaming down your face? I can honestly answer yes to all of the above about Katherine Center’s new novel, Everyone Is Beautiful. ...I'm not even sure that I can put my finger firmly on it, but I've read enough novels in my day to know that this one was different. ...The voice of Lanie speaks with such ferocity when she describes the fear that mothers live with about the vulnerability of their children’s lives, or the drudgery that can so easily swallow a marriage when you are surrounded by young children, or the physical imperfections that are an undeniable fact of life. Lanie goes beyond simply being a realistic character – as I turned the last pages, I felt as if I lived this story, instead of just spending the last day consuming it in a few extended sittings." – 5 Minutes 4 Mom