How I Came To Sparkle Again

I won this book through the fantastic First-Reads program!

While the title may inspire all sorts of [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307515757s/41865.jpg|3212258] related snickering, the book bears little in common with [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1307515757s/41865.jpg|3212258]. It is written by a woman, and it does take place where the weather is cold and the sun somewhat optional... but that's about it. Sparkle is the name of the Colorado town that the protagonist, Jill, finds herself returning to when her marriage goes sour. Thus it begins.

I adored this book, personally, and a lot of that comes from the fact that show more the Montana town I lived in resembled the Colorado town in this book. [b:How I Came to Sparkle Again|13538927|How I Came to Sparkle Again|Kaya McLaren|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1338565701s/13538927.jpg|19101279] is a very good depiction of the small ski resort town philosophy, and how different life can be when lived within the confines of the jagged Rocky Mountains. Uncle Howard is the incarnation of what many longtime Montanans I've known have become, and the Kennel boys... well, I've eaten more than one turkey that was roasted in a garbage can.

[b:How I Came to Sparkle Again|13538927|How I Came to Sparkle Again|Kaya McLaren|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1338565701s/13538927.jpg|19101279] can be seen as a different way to live ones life, and of course, skiing is a reflection of that life. You surrender to the storm, and you survive - you fight it, and you end up hurt. You might end up hurt anyway, but that's just because that's life. Montana and Colorado are both states that tend to subscribe to zen life philosophies...

Well, when the Church of Stuff Happens opens up you'll see me sitting in the pews. show less

I characterized this book as "light" when I first received it, then reconsidered (the themes of death, recovery,longing, etc are pretty strong throughout), and finally think...yes, it is a light read. Not that it is bad at all; it is in fact a very engaging book with characters one cares about and some very funny episodes amongst the tears. It is light because...you just know that everything is going to turn out okay, in the best traditions of light reading. No worries; good will find good, hearts will be healed, beauty will shine through the world. In that way it is a feel good book. But..it's not all fluffy; it is one of those books that engages the heart (and tells the mind to go sit in a corner and behave itself).

Now, I've received show more communications from family members in my life much like those our heroine gets (via email in this book, cause it's modern times now). Mine were letters. Not the same denomination, but the same theme of "oh, we are so sorry you are gonna burn in hell" (or in this case, not be in the same special rank in heaven as the good family members). But I was a little uncomfortable on behalf of anyone who might pick up this book and might belong to the church our heroine's parents are part of. It's not a church I know much about, but my fair-play obsession was going "well, surely not everyone is as bad as that".

Loved Uncle Howard, who talks just like my own philosophic strange partner (and reminded me of Jane Langton's Homer--you know the guy who is obsessed with Thoreau and such? Though Howard is more obsessed with Hesse). Loved the dogs. Loved Cassie, though I'm not sure she is a fully believable 10 year old...but hey, I was having my mind go sit in a corner, so I didn't have to fuss about such things. show less

"How I Came to Sparkle Again" was a Magic Bookcase selection - I have mentioned the Magic Bookcase in other reviews. It is completely owned and curated only by me; but I constantly find books that I swear I've never seen before.

As I was reading it, I kept having delusions of being a movie producer, because if this wouldn't make an adorable, guaranteed hit movie, I don't know what would. If there are any Hollywood people reading this review - you're welcome.

The novel takes place in the ski town of Sparkle, CO. Jill grew up there and has returned to lick her wounds and heal after the double trauma of a miscarriage, and then catching her husband in bed with another woman. Her best friend Lisa still lives in Sparkle, and she welcomes Jill show more with open arms. Lisa lives next store to the Kennel - a collection of trailers inhabited by lovable, womanizing ski bums and their dogs, all of whom are named after types of beer.

The other main characters are Mike, who has recently lost his wife to cancer, and his daughter Cassie. Since Jill needs a job to make ends meet until her divorce comes through, she becomes Cassie's babysitter.

Everyone in Sparkle works and skis and hangs out and has fun and tries to find friendship, sex and love. That's pretty much it. The relationships are foregone conclusions from the first page, there aren't many surprises. It's not a deep story, or especially original, but it was great fun to read, with likable characters, and many moments both funny and heartwarming sprinkled throughout. show less

A friend (AC) sent me this book in a box of books. I didn't read her review of it until I finished it, but I did think this was not a book that's her usual style of reading while I was reading it.

There were a lot of characters and I had trouble keeping them straight (particularly the male characters). Lisa seems to be a good friend to Jill--at least early on in the book. But other than that, I found little about her to admire. And though she does seem to have a bit of a religious awakening that temporarily changes her behavior, she doesn't seem to maintain that once she and Tom hook up.

Though there's no graphic descriptions, extramarital sex seems as common as food throughout the book.

How I came to Sparkle again is a really heartwarming book. Not the typical type of romance book or even contemporary fiction novel either. The characters all feel like real people~ they are funny, goofy, and sometimes sad. The story is more about finding yourself when everything in life has gone wrong.

I'm more of a horror reader myself, and I won this in a Goodreads giveaway, but I am so glad that I did. This is a really good book. It's a sweet novel that warms the heart. I look forward to reading more from Ms. McLaren in the future.

**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review, only an honest one.**

I am so lucky to have won this book on goodreads from firstreads, because it was by far one of the best books I have picked up in years! The story is about a woman named Jill who catches her husband having an affair, and so retreats to her home town called sparkle. When back in her hometown Jill takes up a couple different jobs that snowball her through some pretty emotional events with a girl named Cassie and her father Mike who recently lost Cassie's mother. The story also tells of an old friend Lisa and her own personal relationship issues. Basically this story is one about how fate can bring certain people together at just the right time in their life, helping them all heal in different ways. The writing was awesome and had a very show more smooth flow to it, and there was quite a few chapters that were hilarious, I actually laughed out loud so many times. This book is a must read, however for adults only there were some parts that are only age appropriate for adults. So if you are thinking about reading this and aren't decided, take my advice and read it! I promise you will not regret picking this book up it was a fantastic one. show less

Love the title of the book; it sounds like it should be an inspirational story. I don't know anything about skiing but this was an ok background in spite of my ignorance of the sport. The skiing stuff was kept simple enough for it to make sense to me. Rather a large cast of characters and it was definitely difficult to keep some of them straight. Especially since many of them didn't really add to the story. While I probably wouldn't deliberately seek out this author again, I would consider reading additional books after reading their descriptions.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.