The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman → Start Date: July 24th, 2015

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Jacquelyn, Vicki and I!
feel free to join us!

[Vicki]

Woo hoo! Thanks!! :)

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

does this date work okay? Yay!

[Vicki]

Yes! :)

[Jacquelyn, thebrunettebooknerd]

Woo!!

[Vicki]

I might have gotten this book too early from the library because I already have it. LOL

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

should we reschedule this one?

Vicki, do you still have it? should we start asap?

[Vicki]

I have it but it's due back 8/3, so as long as we (I) can finish Monday night on 8/3 I'm good with whenever.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

I think I could start tonight
I'm trying to start/complete around 4 per day! LOL

Dying to catch up!

Do you want to try to start tonight?

[Vicki]

Sure. Why not? But there's no way I can read 4 in one day. Lol

[Vicki]

Finished Ch. 5

I think the book is interesting so far, but I'm not sure how much I like it. LOL But it does have the potential for me to love it. I love books that make you think about life, and I think this book will do that.

The different POV's intrigue me, too.

Ari (view spoiler)[should have allowed herself to feel the pain of her boyfriend's death. I think the worst thing of all is to feel nothing. And memories are precious! Painful at times, yes, but so precious. It appears that she gave up too much (her dance perhaps) in order to not feel her emotions regarding Win's death. (hide spoiler)]

Win (view spoiler)[seemed to be a really good guy. I like that Ari's looks or how others saw her didn't matter to him. He loved her for her. (hide spoiler)]

Markos (view spoiler)[might have caused Win's death because of the spell the hekamist's daughter did for him. I know he didn't want that to happen, but that's the sense I got. (hide spoiler)]

Kay (view spoiler)[is probably my least favorite character as of now because I dislike that she had a spell to make her friends stay close to her. That is way too controlling. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Yikes, sorry
starting today!! :)

[Vicki]

No worries! I am ALWAYS playing catch up with YOU! LOL

Finished Ch. 16

As the plot thickens (view spoiler)[we see more and more how the hekamist's spells really do mess with their lives. Diana and Ari might "stay with Kay" but at what cost? Poor Diana fell and got all bruised up, but Kay didn't really seem to care. I don't think I like her. (hide spoiler)]

I was surprised that (view spoiler)[even Win went to a hekamist and that he was depressed. So I haven't read it yet, but I'm assuming that possibly he went to get the courage to kill himself OR that he could die naturally via an accident. Or possibly he was trying for happiness but it cost him his life. (hide spoiler)]

About the (view spoiler)[$5000, now that I think about it maybe he didn't actually get back to the heckamist because Ari found $5000. (hide spoiler)]

One thing I like about this book is that it is different! And I also like the different POV's.

Oh, Markos (view spoiler)[is not a good guy in my books. He didn't seem to really care as much as I had thought. He said he was the "fakest faker." I am guessing maybe he had a spell too, or he's just not to nice of a guy. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

10 chapters
darn it, lol i can't click your spoilers yet.
I'll read more soon :)

[Vicki]

I'm sorry. I have finished somewhere around 37 chapters but I couldn't post.

What do you think so far?

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

it's so interesting!
The cost of things! The hekemist (right word?) when I first started, I had to check a few places to make sure I didn't have a version with typos! LOL! But I love that there's a cost to getting your" "wish". Good lesson that not all we wish for is better than now.....

I really like it, although I'm curious to see how many POV we get! quite a few so far!

[Vicki]

If I remember correctly all we have are 4. Other characters are introduced but I don't think there are more POV's.

I'm glad you like it!

[Vicki]

I am so sorry for not posting more frequently! Normally I like to post every 5 or 10 chapters, but being out and about and reading here and there I just got farther than I realized. In other words, I got HOOKED (pun intended! LOL)

Finished Ch. 41

One thing I really love about this books is, as you said, there IS a cost to getting our wish...life isn't always greener on the other side.

I'm really glad that (view spoiler)[they are all at least acknowledging that the hekamists' spells might not be the right way to go! I think now even Kay realizes it a lot more. Diana and Ari and Cal all have a right to be mad! I'm glad they finally know, but the end of the chapter (41) it appears that Kay is going to allow them to maybe get hurt if they do leave her...but they can't so I think she's choosing for that to be OK. I hope not. (hide spoiler)]

Win was really (view spoiler)[sick! I'm not sure I understand where his depression came from, but if it's clinical depression, I don't think that comes from anywhere in particular. It just is...like a mental illness, right? But he seemed to have been so genuine and really wanted to be all right without any spells. I was almost shocked that he and Echo kind of had something almost going! (hide spoiler)]

Markos (view spoiler)[must feel terrible not being a part of his brothers/family. I understand that "feeling left out" or "not being a part of it" because that's happened to all of us at some time, I would think. It does make you feel like an outsider, so I understand now why he was SO upset with Ari. She was his only REAL connection/family. (hide spoiler)]

I really like the different POV's and they are easy to follow.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

aww, no worries. update when you can!

I hope to fly through this one today and finish it!

[Vicki]

Done and I absolutely loved it! I'm not sure you'll see it the way I did, but loved it.

I was really surprised that (view spoiler)[Echo did what she did. She gave her life for everyone else, so I have to admire her for that. (hide spoiler)]

Cal (view spoiler)[was REALLY sick!! His mother really messed with a lot of lives by giving her son spells, especially without his knowledge. I'm a HUGE believer in consequences, and while I understand a mother's "need" to protect her child, I could never cover up/hide something like that. She ended up really screwing up Cal's life. (hide spoiler)]

I get why Markos's family (view spoiler)[didn't really seem like his family and like he was an outsider, because in many ways he was. Keeping secrets within a family, especially from one person, never works in my opinion. (hide spoiler)]

When they were all in the (view spoiler)[hardware store in the end and Diana was caged, Markos knocked out, on so on, I really was wondering for a minute there if they would all (or some) end up dying. I LOVE that Echo did what she did and that the message was so powerful and strong about change. (hide spoiler)]

Change is inevitable and we will never remain constant in that sense. We will forever have change and that's scary at times, but not bad. We have to be ready for change at any minute because none of us are ever guaranteed our next breath or that our life won't change in the next instant.

I hope you end up at least liking it a lot and it's not a 2 for you. LOL But if it is, that's okay too. I don't want to be like Kay. Ha ha!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

16 chapters and I agree

I don't like Kay

and something is DEFINITELY OFF with ever last person here

They are all fake, all having some hekamist thing done...it's wild! I really like it so far. I agree, it's a really different story than I've read before. I like this twist of "magic" that it gives you your wish but it costs.

[Vicki]

YAY! I'm glad you like it so far. :o)

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

24 chapters

holy moly!! Marko's MOM has a deal with the hekamist too?? JEEZ!!! what could that money be for........

[Vicki]

I can't tell you!!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

yikes..... Through Part II, chapter 30

Holy crap. honestly (view spoiler)[ Markos is losing it. I can't tell if he's being messed with or if he really is the only one in that town that HASN'T been messed with (hide spoiler)]

Kay(view spoiler)[ what an awful, spoiled person. SHE put 3 spells on Ari which is probably partly what's messing her up
and she put an extra spell on Cal - which is ALSO messing him up

I wonder what she just did to Markos (hide spoiler)]

Ari(view spoiler)[ I don't understand why everyone is so mad at her
she had a right to do that. to stay sane. THEY all loved Win. But they weren't loved BY Win, and that's the loss that Ari has to mourn. I don't know why they would be mad that she didn't think she could live with it

if she'd attempted suicide and THEN did the spell, would they all understand then? then why not let her do it BEFORE she attempts to end her life (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Vicki wrote: "I can't tell you!!"

hahahah!! !!!! NO don't! but I'm so glad it finally comes out

I hope EVERYONE's spells are confessed! Yikes!

[Vicki]

I know. I disagree with Ari doing that BUT there's no reason they should all be mad at her; however, I think in a bit you'll at least partially understand why Markos was upset with her.

Yeah, Markos really went through some crap, right?
Kay upset me more than anyone for her lackadaisical attitude! She truly upset me.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Vicki wrote: "I know. I disagree with Ari doing that BUT there's no reason they should all be mad at her; however, I think in a bit you'll at least partially understand why Markos was upset with her.

Yeah, Mark..."

I think Kay's blah attitude was her blowback or consequence for the spells. She wanted everyone around her and yet she was kind of blank about it all - didn't feel the need anymore and yet they had to be there. She's horrid. I'm glad they know now.

[Vicki]

Yeah, I was SO glad when they found out. I just think it's sad that Kay was so insecure that she felt she had to go to those lengths to have a friend stay by her side. And just because someone "leaves you" doesn't mean they don't still love you. Just because Ari might have gone to NY for ballet to fulfill HER dream didn't mean she loved anyone else any less.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

WOW I'm done

I loved it!!!

I agree, I love the message about change

and I agree. I may not love everything my children do, but I will always love them. if they broke the law or hurt others, we'd confess and ask for forgiveness and start working at making it right. accidents do happen.

but Cal...wow. I agree, the whole family was messed up. It was like they always just wanted happy times and Markos was the only one willing to really feel. I'm so glad his mom didn't alter him with a spell

Echo - I'm so amazed at what she did too
but so glad. she was trying to right the wrong.
Win.

this was SO good. I'm so glad we read it!

[Vicki]

YAY!!! I am SO glad you loved it as much as I did!!! Awesome! :o)