Review: The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt

The Chapel Wars
By: Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
ASIN: B00JEWY49S

Review:

One doesn't typically associate tradition and permanence with Las Vegas. But just off the famous strip renowned for neon lights, gambling, and Elvis impersonators, Holly found a haven of just that in her grandfather's long-running wedding chapel. The Rose of Sharon chapel proudly eschewed the kitsch that fueled Vegas's 24/7, year-round wedding industry, determined to focus on what matters most when it comes to weddings -- the age-old tradition of joining two lives in marriage and the joy of playing a part in a couple's real-life (and hopefully lasting) romance. The chapel becomes an even more critical anchor in her life with her parents' divorce -- a split with no apparent reason, but one that shakes Holly's faith in truths she always thought she knew. When the unthinkable happens and her grandfather dies, everyone -- Holly most of all -- is shocked to discover that he left the family business in the hands of his teenage granddaughter -- a business, barring a near-miraculous infusion of cash, on the verge of bankruptcy. With her grandfather's bequest comes an unexpected request -- Holly must deliver a letter to Dax, the grandson of her grandfather's arch-nemesis and primary competitor, the owner of the wedding chapel next door, Cupid's Dream.

Cupid's Dream represents everything Holly's beloved chapel has long stood against -- the cheap, commercialization of marriage and Vegas's reputation for tackiness. But Dax is a surprise. The Alabama-transplant is everything his grandfather isn't, has a smile that steals her breath, and a loyalty to his family's chapel that only Holly can begin to understand. But if Holly was going to save the chapel for her grandfather, her family, and herself, she couldn't possibly lose her heart to one of the enemy. In the Chapel Wars her would-be Romeo proves surprisingly persistent, and as Holly really, truly, opens herself to the possibility of love, she discovers the only thing more dangerous than losing her heart to the boy next door is the realization that the future she thought she's always wanted may be the last thing she really needs.

After falling in love with Lindsey Leavitt's breezy love letter to vintage aficionados, Going Vintage, last summer, her newest was high on my list of summer must-reads. While "old-fashioned charm" is perhaps the last phrase one would readily associate with the gambling mecca that is Las Vegas, Leavitt spins a sparkling love letter to the strip and what matters most with all of the warmth and winning flair that characterized its predecessor. But more than a love story set against the memory of the Vegas of Sinatra and the Rat Pack, The Chapel Wars is an unexpected treatise on grief and the lessons that can be gleaned from life's most painful and challenging chapters -- loss and (unsought) change.

While at first glance Holly finds it impossible to believe that she could have anything in common with Dax, both are scarred by losses and struggling to find their way in a world whose very foundation has crumbled beneath their feet. Dax is still reeling from the accident that robbed him of both his father and his chance to play college baseball. He blames himself for the tragedy, at his lowest drinking his pain into oblivion. The death of Holly's grandfather and the pressure of his bequest bring the divorce of her parents into sharp relief, a loss of normalcy that she doesn't understand and fears accepting. For if she loses the chapel and her parents remain split, what glue would be left to hold her fractured family together? Loss is often a trigger for sould-searching, and when the rock upon which one's identity rests is shaken, it forces an individual to question not only who they are, but who they want to be. And within the pages of The Chapel Wars, Leavitt explores how both Holly and Dax do just that individually and collectively with compassion and a dash of humor.

Leavitt's characterizations and relationships -- familial, friendship, and romantic -- shine here. Holly, Dax, and the friends and family members within their orbit, the relationships fostered and challenged, are a study in finding beauty in the ashes of life's most painful, messed up moments. In life and in fiction, especially when the former leaves one reeling, it is human nature, I think, to look for resolution for neatly-wrapped fictional endings that satisfy the emotional and intellectual need for closure. But what Leavitt reminds us with Holly's story is of the beauty in the brokenness, the questions, and the journey itself. As Holly comes to realize, "We're all messed up...life is just about finding the right people to be messed up with" -- or, perhaps to put it even more simply, to remember to treasure the gift of grace.

The Chapel Wars contain everything I've quickly come to love about Leavitt's writing -- warmth, humor, and a sweetly-told, swoon-worthy romance. But she surprised me in the best possible way with Holly and Dax's story, for this is a breezy summer read with depth and heart, and exploration of grief and loss, and a celebration of the oft-times poignant, bittersweet nature of new beginnings. This story is an absolute GEM, and I cannot wait to see where Leavitt takes readers next!

About the book:

Seventeen-year-old Holly wants to remember her Grandpa forever, but she’d rather forget what he left her in his will: his wedding chapel on the Las Vegas strip. Whatever happened to gold watches, savings bonds, or some normal inheritance?

And then there's Grandpa's letter. Not only is Holly running the business with her recently divorced parents, but she needs to make some serious money—fast. Grandpa also insists Holly reach out to Dax, the grandson of her family's mortal enemy and owner of the cheesy chapel next door. No matter how cute Dax is, Holly needs to stay focused: on her group of guy friends, her disjointed family, work, school and... Dax. No wait, not Dax.

Holly’s chapel represents everything she’s ever loved in her past. Dax might be everything she could ever love in the future. But as for right now, there's a wedding chapel to save.

Review: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Going Vintage
By: Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
ASIN: B00BHDBM06

Review:

At the outset sixteen-year-old Mallory's junior year promises perfection -- secure in her role as one half of "Jeremy and Mallory," the uncertainty and identity issues that plague the teenage years seem banished from her life. Until one day, during a break in a study session (read: she writes Jeremy's paper, they make out) she discovers an open window on Jeremy's computer -- a window into a life she never dreamed existed. Within the confines of Friendspace and its popular Authentic Life game, Jeremy has created a whole other persona, one she never dreamed existed, where he shares his hopes and dreams and feelings with a virtual wife. Reeling from the very public break-up and subsequent shredding her reputation takes online, Mallory is primed for a radical change. She finds her plan and method in the form of a list from her grandmother's high school days, circa 1962. Become the pep club secretary, find a steady -- life was sweet without the pressures of being connected to technology 24/7.

But unplugging in a world where relationships have become dependent on social networking and internet research is easier said than done, particularly when Jeremy won't let her go and his handsome, hipster eccentric cousin Oliver loves to make her smile. Mallory's radical attempt to live in the 1960s may yield unexpectedly rich dividends, if only she can realize that the more things change, the more they stay the same -- and the love and life and living is a roller-coaster ride to be embraced, no matter the decade.

People, I loved this book so much I read it in a DAY. ONE DAY, people. Where was Lindsey Leavitt when I was in high school? This book! Mallory's love affair with the past could so be MY LIFE. Much like the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris, Going Vintage gently forces those of us who love the past, who might tend to idealize it, to not live in the past -- but rather use the lessons of the same to enrich one's present. It's all about balance, right? Mallory is a delightfully relatable heroine, sure to find a friend with anyone who has ever longed to "unplug" or been burned by society's increasing obsession with social -- and oft-times superficial -- networking. Mallory's hunger for something real, something substantive, flies in the face of everything she's been taught to believe and accept as the norm in a world that praises conformity as a prerequisite for acceptance.

It's so refreshing to read such an honest, generally positive portrait of family life. Mallory's family is far (FAR) from perfect, but Leavitt makes sure that their conflicts and disagreements never overshadow the bottom line -- that they love each other and are committed to making the respective spousal, parent/child, and sibling relationships work. Even the awkward "birds and the bees" talk is given a refreshingly honest, poignant spin, as Mallory discovers and copes with the fallout from giving "pieces" of herself to another. Even physical actions on the more "innocent" end of the spectrum -- kisses and embraces -- are shown to foster an emotional commitment and connection that have consequences when the relationship implodes. And in Mallory's case, the dawning realization that she's given of herself and received nothing in return -- that she has no sense of individuality outside of a relationship -- is the driving impetus for her self-imposed media fast and journey towards self-discovery and emotional wholeness.

Though Mallory wisely determines to know herself before entering into a new relationship, the seeds of the same planted early in her post-Jeremy life are perfectly realized. Oliver is quite possibly one of the best heroes I've read this year -- quirky, funny, and adorably authentic, I loved how he was determined to know the real Mallory, not the online version whose life was defined by quick, bullet-point "updates." Going Vintage is a total charmer, a sweet coming-of-age story that balances its deftly realized exploration of the importance of knowing oneself and finding balance in personal relationships with a healthy dose of warmth and humor. Within the pages of Going Vintage Leavitt delivers the perfect summer read -- fast-paced, light and breezy fun with an unexpectedly poignant, valuable lesson subtly woven throughout Mallory's journey. Very well-done -- Leavitt is an author to watch!

About the book:

When Mallory discovers that her boyfriend, Jeremy, is cheating on her with an online girlfriend, she swears off boys. She also swears off modern technology. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory decides to "go vintage" and return to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn't cheat on you online). She sets out to complete grandma's list: run for pep club secretary, host a dinner party, sew a homecoming dress, find a steady, do something dangerous. But the list is trickier than it looks. And obviously finding a steady is out . . . no matter how good Oliver (Jeremy's cousin) smells. But with the help of her sister, she'll get it done. Somehow. Lindsey Leavitt perfectly pairs heartfelt family moments, laugh-out-loud humor, and a little bit of romance in this delightful contemporary novel.