When my book club was choosing books for the next couple months in the winter, someone threw out Honolulu as an idea for January. Then we all said while the book sounded good, we’d be too jealous of the sunny weather & beaches to read it while it was cold here. That was a good call.

I’ve never been to Hawaii. I know little about Hawaii’s history beyond the basics. I loved that Alan Brennert’s Honolulu spread some light on Hawaii’s history while telling the story of a girl turned woman named Regret.

There were parts that broke your heart. Parts when you were almost cheering out loud for the main character. Parts where I wanted to be right with them {like Sundays on the beach with surfer friends}.

I enjoyed the story of her life, her family, how she made the best of situations, & the female friendship relationships. How her experience sewing with her mother, something she enjoyed while being stuck in the inner rooms of her family home, turned into so much more & brought opportunities into her life she couldn’t have even dreamed of while growing up in Korea. My book club & I also loved the idea of Korea clothes being one sized ~ you just loosen or tighten them as you get fat/skinny!

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The author did a good job weaving in actual historical happens with the main character’s life. Sometimes this seemed random & there was major foreshadowing but that didn’t bother me. If you enjoy Hawaii or Korean literature, or are looking to read a story that combines both, definitely pick up Honolulu {it had a short waiting list at my library~yay}.

You Have No Idea is the new memoir by Vanessa Williams, her mother Helen Williams & with Irene Zutell. While I knew who Vanessa Williams was & basic information on her past, I didn’t know much beyond what you probably know: how she was Miss America but lost the title due to a photo scandal, that she’d had some singing hits back in the day & that more recently she’d played characters on Ugly Betty & Desperate Housewives. I don’t watch either of those shows though, so I didn’t even know the details of the characters she played.

So when BlogHer Book Club, mentioned they were reviewing her new book, I jumped on it. I thought it’d be fun {pre}summer reading & knew her story would at least be pretty interesting how she’d managed to jump around the entertainment business & rise above the scandal that started her career. And interesting, her story definitely was.

At first I thought the way You Have No Idea was set up was kinda weird; almost random. You learn snippets, then later there’s probably a chapter devoted to that particular topic. And the chapters often flip back between being written by Vanessa & then Helen’s points of view. But once I got used it, I really liked that aspect. It was like you might get a preview of something & then you were looking forward to reading more {or at least that’s how it felt to me}.  I also really enjoyed the dual points of view. Hearing Helen’s take on the men in Vanessa’s life cracked me up. They’re thoughts of the death of Vanessa’s father were so sad.

I think if you enjoy memoirs in general, especially ones on celebrities, you’d definitely like reading You Have No Idea. If your interested in more info & others thoughts on the book, jump on over to BlogHer’s Now Reading: You Have No Idea to join the discussion.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.