Pages of Penrose Review: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

This suspenseful story from Gillian Flynn will keep her fans guessing...forever.

The Grownup fits the bill for a short ghost story, leaving the reader with questions throughout the twists and turns, and that unsettling feeling that lingers after the story is done.

Just like one would expect from Flynn, the lead role is a young woman with a troubled, questionable life yet she fascinates us with her obvious intellect and quick-thinking.  The story surrounds her choice of jobs, and one particular client visit that ends up leading to a bigger ordeal.  The story is just over 60 pages and while it builds steadily in the beginning, the middle of the book becomes a rapid page-turner where the reader is questioning just which twists to believe.  Is it supernatural? Who is lying? What happens next?....and that final question will stick with us always as the ending of this story leaves all questions unanswered.

I do not read many short stories so it may be more of my predisposition to wish for a more developed ending, however I felt being a thriller it was fitting to leave the reader speculating with so many options for the direction the conclusion could have taken.

Purchase your own copy here.


 *I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. All opinions are my own.



Have you read The Grownup? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!


Read more about my book reviews here, and friend me on Goodreads to see what's next!

Pages of Penrose: Exciting update!

Last week I updated you on my renewed love of reading and this week I have some exciting news!


I stumbled across the opportunity to start doing online Book Reviews, and my first book is currently on the way to me now!  I'm being sent a copy of Gillian Flynn's new story, The Grownup and sometime in the next month you will get to hear what I think of it!  This isn't a full novel, it's a 64 page story that is being published as a stand-alone.  I loved Gone Girl and I'm already excited about her newest story just from the synopsis and cover art...

I know they say 'Never judge a book by its cover' but I'm totally a sucker for some good cover art.

From Random House:

ABOUT THE GROWNUP

Gillian Flynn’s Edgar Award-winning homage to the classic ghost story, published for the first time as a standalone

A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the “psychic” visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan’s terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan’s teenage stepson, doesn’t help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it. 

The Grownup is currently available for Pre-Order and goes on sale to the public TOMORROW!

Parenting Penrose: Halloween

My little Minnie Mouse had the best time trick-or-treating with her friends! We had a bunch of friends and family over to take the kids around our part of the neighborhood and then have dinner, snack, and watch games for the night.  We had some great conversation and laughs! 

She loved carrying her "punkin basset" around full of candy and glow sticks.  She would walk/run up to the houses and say "treat treat"....I guess the girl knew what she wanted!  She was so polite and would say "thank you bye bye" to every house, haha!  She also learned how to grab 5-10 pieces of candy from a bowl with just one of her itty bitty hands in a giant grab. She got one little taste of chocolate and we created a monster!  She takes after her Momma with that sweet tooth I suppose.

I mean, all the heart eyes.....We got her dressed and then took her into her bathroom to see herself in the big mirror...she thought it was hilarious! I put on her hairpiece (just alligator clipped on top) and she started cracking up at herself and thought she was the coolest thing.  I loved seeing her enjoy the holiday and somewhat understand what was going on. 

Her hair clip was the only thing that we needed to buy for this little outfit! The leggings and black long-sleeved shirt are just Garanimals that we already had, moccs were an online deal I bought months ago and she's finally growing into them, and the romper we found on Amazon a while back.  It's sized for next summer so it was perfect to go over another layer.




In other exciting news, I pre-ordered this.  Can't wait for the 20th to get here!

Pages of Penrose: Reading

Maybe it's the creative spirit in me, but I can get so immersed in a good book or a good song.  I've always been that way, even as a kid. I remember in middle and high school, getting a new cd and listening to my favorite song over and over, not because I liked the song or wanted to sing it, but because it was so emotionally gripping that it felt like therapy to hear it.  It's the same way with reading. If I'm reading a really good book, towards the end I always have this bittersweet anxiety because I want to know what happens but at the same time I'm already dreading parting with the characters.

I love, love, love to read but especially over the past few years it was one of those things that I could never seem to fit into a day.  As a tired new mom, was I really going to spare precious moments of sleep to stay up later and read a book? When could I find time to do that when I was already up late pumping, washing bottles, and packing meals for the next day?  Although with a child things are still ever-changing, this toddler stage we are now in has made it a lot easier than the infant stage to find some spare moments for me in a day.

Back at the beginning of the year, I decided that I was going to read more.  I started putting a book in my Medela tote bag to read during my 30 minute pumping sessions and it was so much more fulfilling than "window shopping" on the internet every day.  That sort of kick-started my want to read more, and I decided that instead of listening to the radio on the way to and from work [I have about a 35-45 minute commute each way] I was going to give audiobooks a try.  I was hesitant at first because I remember my dad reading books on tape when I was a little kid because he had over an hour commute each way out into Amish country in Pennsylvania, and thinking it was soooo boring.  Monotoned, robotic voices were my impression of audiobooks.  But, I scoured Amazon and bought my first one, Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. I figured I couldn't go wrong with a good Sophie Kinsella book.  I loved it and when I finished that book I immediately wanted to start another one. However, buying all of these audiobooks is not cheap. With a little research, I found out that our local library actually has a really large selection, especially between all of their branches. Free to get a library card, free to listen to audiobooks :)

So that's what I've been doing, and I have read 17 books so far this year, a couple on my Kindle but most audiobooks.  It makes me feel very accomplished and also is pretty exciting when I test out a new author and find a love of their books.  Technically I guess you could say that I'm listening to books instead of reading them, but I think the intention is still there and it certainly activates the mind and imagination more than terrible radio with commercials and ads every five seconds.

Find my Goodreads page through my Pages of Penrose tab and friend me so that we can follow along with each other!

Our First Night on Penrose

We moved in this weekend [for the most part...] and spent our first night in the new house last night! It is so exciting to see everything coming together, and filling with furniture.  We still have a bunch of kitchen items and artwork to bring over from the apartment, but we are slowly getting there...

The first night went pretty well.  Ryleigh was loving the house and her new room all the way up until it was time for bed.  Then she had a 10 minute freak-out that completely shattered my heart to a million pieces because she was clutching onto me so tight, crying and saying "I sawwy mommy, I sawwy" because she was scared and I guess felt like we were leaving her or punishing her. I wanted to curl into a ball and die. But, with the comfort of her 13 4 blankies and every stuffed Bubble Guppy that we own, she calmed down after some rocking chair cuddles and went right to peaceful sleep.



And this is an exciting week! For several reasons...

1. Internet, phone, and cable were hooked up this morning! Yay for all of our DVR shows transferring because we are about 3 weeks behind on every single show...

2. Tomorrow is my birthday!!

3.  Wednesday we get our new living room sofa, loveseat, and entertainment center :)

4.  Our HOA approved our fence, so hopefully that is installed soon so that we don't have to bundle up at 6am to walk the dogs around the cul-de-sac!  Also, so that they can RUN. They have been so cooped up the last few months and I hate that for them. They will probably run circles for an entire day around the new yard once the fence goes in.




Also, some fun new randoms...

I am totally obsessed with Joss & Main.  I scooped these little trickets up, each for less than $8, and I had free shipping because after you make a purchase, you get free shipping for 30 days!  I have been buying several things on there lately so I've been running with free shipping for the past 2 months....... #sorrynotsorry

They have some of the CUTEST Christmas decor items right now. I got this cute little sign, which will find it's way either onto our mantle or somewhere in the kitchen.   The Bunny ring holder is for my kitchen.  I always take off my ring to cook and do the dishes, which is all the time with a little one.  I always sit my ring on the counter, but stumbled across this and thought it was too good of a deal to pass up, and so unique!   I also just bought this to go with our new duvet cover.

 


 

Projects of Penrose | Paint, Flooring & Organization

We are getting so close to move-in!!  We are hoping for this weekend if all goes according to plan.

We went to the house all day on Sunday and I painted two accent walls, one in our bedroom and one in Ryleigh's.  My handy Daddy also helped with hanging some lights and ceiling fans.  I was preoccupied so I didn't get any pictures yet, but those will be coming soon enough!

Our flooring downstairs is going to be installed on Thursday and should hopefully only take one day!!



Here is an update on some purchases and room Decor.....


Mudroom

Family Organization Center 

 This fun display will be in our mudroom across from our cubbie bench area.  I can already picture lots of beautiful pictures of our friends and family on the corkboard to celebrate their life events :) The calendar and whiteboard (aka-where we can make a grocery list) will help to keep Jake and I on the same page with our busy day-to-day.   I really love this unit with the white frame, especially since it will be across from our white cubbies, but white is backordered until February.  So, espresso it is! Luckily we are espresso people so it will match everything else and especially the kitchen which is the next room over.



Ryleigh's Room

Artwork // Be Wild and Free  |  Paint // Sherwin Williams for Lowe's

Still searching for a good vinyl decal for her name on the wall via etsy.  I think I'm leaning towards this one or this one.



Master Bedroom

Loving this new color scheme and how the patterns play off each other.






 

Finally Ours! Now if we could just move in....

Yay! We finally closed on our house and we are so excited! It doesn't quite feel real yet, because re-doing the flooring downstairs is like this ominous cloud hanging over my head of a project that must be done before we move in.  However, today was a fantastic day and I feel like we got a lot accomplished!

I spoke to the flooring contractor and got some great information and advice, and per his suggestion we purchased bamboo hardwoods.  The durability is key for us, and nowadays they offer so many great colors that do not actually look like the typical stranding of bamboo.  I'm also excited that it is working out for the flooring company who worked for our builder to be the same company installing our floors.  They were so wonderful every time we visited during building and we totally feel comfortable having them in our home to install these floors.

 

Originally we were planning to go with a solid oak hardwood, but Rafael really suggested bamboo instead because it is going to be just as durable, if not more durable, and since we are on a slab bamboo will perform better.  One of the benefits to a solid hardwood is being able to sand and re-stain, but since we are on a slab if we tried to sand solid hardwoods Rafael said it can ruin the floor.  Also, we saved 50 cents per square foot by switching to bamboo, so that was a $600 win! 

 

PS--Lumber Liquidators is now in Rock Hill! Who knew?! I never drive down Cherry Road anymore, but Jake informed me that they are now where Blockbuster used to be.  Yay for free shipping to store for pick up :)  Hopefully in a few weeks this will be done and behind us, and the house will really be looking like home!