The Age of Shiva

by Manil Suri

5 stars

A lovely (and sad) novel told from the point of view of a mother telling her son her story, their story. Bold and honest, I found myself shocked when I got to the end and realized the author was a male. The voice of Meera is so clearly female; it's amazing how intimately the author grasped motherhood and the mind and body of a woman.

I Hate Other People's Kids

by Adrianne Frost

3 stars

As Parker was pulling me down a non-fiction aisle at the library, I furtively spun my head in all directions looking at titles as quickly as I could and this is one of those funny titles that caught my eye. I took a second to grab it before I was tugged in another direction. I didn't know what exactly to expect when I opened it up as it advertised it as "a complete handbook for navigating a world filled with tiny terrors," but it was mostly just a humorous outlook on kids in public (think Samantha Jones from Sex and the City) . Being a new parent myself, I found myself mentally defending the actions of the children and their parents at times in this book, but when I realized the whole thing was just a joke, I laughed out loud quite a few times. A quick fun read, but nothing I'd say you'd have to read before you kick the bucket.