Tips for Tuesday - Books: Cat's People & All the Stars Align; Movie: Audrey's Children

We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: Cat's People & All Stars Align

Today we recommend Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero. This is a really satisfying novel about a group of strangers who form bonds with one another because of a stray cat. The characters are extremely engaging. They feel so real, and their problems are so relatable. It is heartwarming how they all come together and become like a family.

Even the fact that the cat at the center of the book is given a point of view does not come across as hokey, but just adds to the book's charm. If you are looking for a book that will give you warm, fuzzy feelings, this book is a good choice. 

Just be warned, however, that some parts of the book deal with grief, which may be triggering for some people, although it is handled well. 

Today we are talking about All the Stars Align by Gretchen Schrieber. Everyone in Piper's family falls in love at first sight, and she's afraid it won't happen for her. Then, she meets Forest, but she knows nothing about relationships, so she enlists her friend, Leo, to help her, except that he is in love with her.

While the premise of this book sounds sweet, the reality is somewhat creepy. The way Piper sees Forest and immediately becomes convinced that he is her forever person is more disturbing than romantic. It takes two to fall in love at first sight; otherwise, it's just an unrequited crush, and Forest does not seem particularly interested in Piper when they first meet. If he could hear her thoughts, he probably would have run away screaming, thinking that she was a crazy stalker, and he would have good reason to.

It is hard to care about the character of Forest anyway because he is not very developed. The story concentrates more on the relationship and interactions between Piper and Leo. Forest is more of a plot device to keep Leo and Piper apart; otherwise, there would be no story. As for Leo, his feelings for Piper are sweet, but he handles them quite immaturely, so it's hard to care about him either or feel like he would be better for Piper.  

It is also incomprehensible that Piper, who has lovely, caring parents who encourage her to be herself and choose her own path in life, is more interested in following the expectations of her narrow-minded and controlling aunts. The aunts are actually quite disturbing on a whole other level as they enlist Piper in their scheme to reunite her divorced parents, a scheme which resorts to outrageously extreme methods. These are not the kind of family members she should want to idolize and emulate; these are the kind of family members she should want to run away from and cut out of her life. 

Movie: Audrey's Children

Today, we recommend Audrey's Children, an inspiring true story about Audrey Evans, a pioneering doctor in the treatment of childhood cancers and the co-founder of the original Ronald McDonald House. Although the fast pace at the beginning makes it a little hard to get into and figure out what is going on, once Audrey's character is established, the film moves along at a better pace and becomes easier to follow.

Audrey was quite a remarkable human being. Her care for and devotion to helping her patients, even if it meant she had to be a bit of a maverick sometimes, was very admirable. Thus, the film about her is quite moving, but it can also be heartbreaking sometimes due to its subject matter regarding terminally ill children. It is probably too triggering for those with a relative with a life-threatening illness or a loved one who has died of a terminal illness, particularly a child. Otherwise, it is definitely worth seeing.

And that's our view. Audrey's children is in movie theaters now. 

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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