Valentine’s Day: Books with Love Hop

It’s here…Valentine’s Day and what better gift to give or get than a book for all those lit lovers of us out there? Welcome to the Valentine’s Day “Books with Love Hop” hosted by Good Choice Reading. We have some fantastic blogs signed up to participate and some really great prizes to win for the book lover at heart. Here at Stiletto Storytime I am extremely excited to be able to offer up two copies of one of my recent reads The Transformation of Things by Jillian Cantor.

What if the reality you thought you knew was nothing but a fantasy?

Jennifer Levenworth has a great, big, pounding headache. It could be because her husband, a judge, is indicted on bribery charges, leaving her unsure about everything in her marriage. Or it could be caused by the media, who are relentlessly covering the story. Or because the friends Jennifer thought she knew and trusted have turned their backs on her in her greatest hour of need. And then the dreams begin…

And while Jennifer sleeps, she swears she can see—and hear — her friends’ and family’s most private moments. Soon Jennifer realizes she is actually learning the truth about their lives, leading her to also question everything she thought she knew about herself. But when the dreams start to reveal a startling reality, can Jennifer find the strength to ultimately transform her life?

The Transformation of Things by Jillian Cantor was a true surprise for me. It was a book that I may have let languish awhile on the shelf and may have even picked up randomly. The cover is really beautiful and striking but for some reason I didn’t dive in immediately. However once I began…I read straight through into the night and immediately planned to go about reading all of Jillian’s young adult novels as well. Nothing better than finding a new author you like and enjoying the discovery of all their works like literary presents you somehow magically have yet to open. Well…the only thing better is finding out that author is also a really nice individual and wonderful to work with which Jillian truly is.

While the novel is very contemporary and definitely modern day fiction there is an other-wordly quality to the book that really hooks the reader (or this reader at least). Our main character Jennifer is a woman in a situation that is completely plausible and then suddenly she begins to do things almost magical. This ability changes the book into something so much more than what it begins as. It’s a unique pairing that I really found intriguing. The themes in the book really stuck with me during my reading and afterwards. The idea of how moments in our life change everything in the blink of an eye. How a person’s reality is not always what it may seem. How we may never really know another person’s mind unless we somehow can “step into their shoes” like Jennifer does. The bringing together of all the character viewpoints through Jennifer really brought home the idea that you never truly know what another person is experiencing or going through…even perhaps those individuals closest to you. The Transformation of Things made me think and that is one of my favorite after-effects from a book and it doesn’t happen all that often. There is a rather big shift towards the end of the book that I cannot reveal. I know a lot of readers have said they were disappointed in the “twist” towards the end of the book. However while I felt it was unexpected and perhaps not necessary, the novel still did it for me. The writing, the wording, the interwoven ideas…it kept my attention long after the last page and I would recommend others give it a try.

As an extra treat to entice you…I will leave you with my favorite quote from the novel that really stuck with me:

“I came to a realization that if a moment could change your life, then another one could change it back, just as quickly, just as irreversibly.”

So does it sound good to you? If so…you’re in luck because Stiletto Storytime will be giving away  two SIGNED copies from the talented and generous Jillian Cantor herself. Just leave a comment below with your e-mail address and tell us what book you absolutely LOVE and why. I am always on the hunt for new books that others have enjoyed. This giveaway will be for US and Canada addresses only please. The Valentine’s Day:Books With Love Hop runs February 14th-16th 2011. Winners will be chosen by random number generator and notified by e-mail. Make sure to also check out all the other fantastic blogs participating in the hop! Good Luck & Happy Valentine’s Day from Stiletto Storytime!