Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I was not excited about reading this book.  The book flap did not excite me.  But my book club friend said it was really good, so I dove in.

The Book Flap Writer should be fired.  (And I should be hired. HA.)

What I thought from a review was going to be a politically charged story about cross racial adoption was actually a story of the complicated definition of motherhood.  And teenage rebellion.  And the secrets from your past that can break you.

There is a LOT going on in this book.  A mixed race teenage couple.  A single mom who won't name her daughter's father, especially to her daughter.  A Stepford Mom who always plays by the rules, much to the disgust of her youngest child.  Two teenage girls who are jealous of each others' lives, and each other's Mothers. A boy named Moody caught in the middle.  And a childless woman who would do anything for a baby.  The issues of teenage sex, abortion, adoption, friendships, first love, surrogates, and whether or not to stick your nose in (or your neck out) are all intermixed.  Whew, I'm exhausted.

The author does a fine job of melding all of this together seamlessly.  Her writing flows, even when she is skipping ahead to give the reader a clue as to the future path of a particular character or relationship.  I liked that.  The ending left me hanging and a bit heartbroken, but with a thread of hope.  And the title is both literal and figurative.  A really good read.

Matchup edited by Lee Child

Short stories are not usually my thing.  I like to get deep into a novel and wallow there for a while.

However, one must be open to new experiences, right?

I had a great time with this book and surprised even myself.  I was intrigued by the premise - matching up (see what I did there??) one male and one female "thriller" writer to create a story that includes the author's famous characters working together.  Now, my favorite Diana Gabaldon is not what is commonly referred to as a thriller writer, but her writing certainly can be thrilling!   Especially when she is writing with Steve Berry and his Cotton Malone manages to meet Jamie.  (And you know if Jamie Fraser is involved, this reader is on it.)  It was nice to be reaquainted with Harper Connelly, Jack Reacher and Bennie Rosato and introduced to Bravo Shaw, John Corey and Ali Reynolds.  The match of Jack Reacher and Temperance Brennan was literary gold, and the rapport between Lisa Scottoline's Bennie Rosato and Nelson DeMille's John Corey left me wanting more.  There was even a vampire story co-written by Anne Rice's son Christopher, and the vampire was not even his character!!!  (Nice nod to his mom in the story too!)  Clever winks at the super-fan or observant reader from each of these authors made this a really fun read.  I think the funniest pairing has to be Val McDermid and Peter James and their story Footloose - they obviously had fun with the foot puns.

Each story is introduced by editor Lee Child and explains how the pairing of authors was made and how they worked together.  Fascinating.  This is the second anthology produced by the International Thriller Writers (Faceoff was the first and matched all male authors) that paired two writers for each story; they have also published other short story anthologies whose proceeds support the ITW.  I love that this time they matched  male to female authors.  Maybe next time they will do all female!  I'm IN!!!!!!!


Authors:
Sandra Brown and CJ Box
Val McDermid and Peter James
Kathy Reichs and Lee Child
Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry
Gayle Linds and David Morrell
Karin Slaughter and Michale Koryta
Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross
Lisa Jackson and John Sandford
Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice
Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille
J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan

 Great read!  The story of two sisters, one family and one -or maybe two - decisions that changed them all.  Told in alternating time lines, we learn of the youth and later lives of two Irish girls transported to Boston in the late fifties, one quiet but bossy older sister there to meet her pledged husband, who she doesn't love, and the other a flighty teenager who loves lipstick and dances and all things American.  The paths of their lives are not at all what they imagined when they arrived in America, but may well be exactly where they are meant to be.  The estrangement that comes as a result of one decision is heartbreaking, and the forced reunion is appropriately awkward and bittersweet.  The tragedy that results from the second decision is a bit more subtle but even more devastating in its result.  I love how the title here really does describe the book (you'll get it eventually!!).  I felt the ending was a bit abrupt, but the story is beautifully done and the relationships are real.  Sisters, siblings, mothers and favorite sons, mothers and daughters - this is a story of relationships, secrets and belonging.  I was not a fan of The Engagements by this author, but after this one (thank you for the encouragement Sally!) I will forever give authors a second chance!!!!!

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

I had a hard time with this one!!  Not your typical historical fiction, even though the bookseller told me it was the best HF novel to come out all year.

This is well written, split between two time frames, and yes, historical fiction grounded in truth.  There really was a Tennessee Children's Home Society and there really was a Ms. Georgia Tann.  What she did to families in the decades she ran that "home", and how those children were treated, is a blight in American history for sure.

Here, Wingate brings to life one fictional family destroyed by the deception of Tann.  When mother Queenie is taken to the hospital during a life threatening delivery of twins, she and her husband leave their other five children on their river boat and tell them to stay together.  Hours later, representatives from the children's home show up and take the kids - planning to "auction" them off, and appreciative of their blond curls - they will bring in higher bids.

I found this a difficult read.  I was terrified of child abuse, which I just cannot read about.  It was heartbreaking, even in the anticipation of whether or not it would happen.  These kids are beaten, harshly treated, and starved before being sold off to the highest bidder.  Most of the parents are conned into signing adoption papers and they have no idea they've just signed away their parental rights.  It happened, and it made me sick.  But for the main characters, there is a happy ending, rest assured.  It is just not the ending that their beginning foretold.

The alternating chapters set in the current day helped alleviate my stress though. The story of Avery Stafford, federal prosecutor and daughter of a Senator with an eye for his seat when he retires, is a good one.  She stumbles on some half information which leads her on a secret search to learn the truth about her grandmother's life.  And it totally changes her own.  Nature or nurture??  That is the question.

IF you liked Orphan Train, this book is in the same vein, so the story itself is truly fascinating.  That this sort of thing went on unchecked is unthinkable these days.  But it did, and it changed the course of history for many a child and many a family.  Records were destroyed and names were changed so that even when records were reopened decades later it was near impossible to trace lost loved ones.  Some remain a mystery here; some are solved.  Just like real life.  Wingate ends it well, with a few things left to wonder about.  Again, a tough read, but certainly well done.

And for once, I LOVED the cover.  Very appropriate for the story.

The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis

News flash - this might be my new favorite book of the year.

I found it hard to believe that this is Lewis' first book.  His command of the English language is like nothing I have seen since Pat Conroy -I had to carry around a dictionary for Conroy and I wanted to carry around a dictionary with Lewis' book too. That is a good thing to my mind.  Lewis' writing style is very descriptive without overdoing it - sometimes impossible especially for a southern writer!  He is concise, yet quietly paints the reader a picture not only what the eye can see, but of what the heart can feel.

The story is about family, about a father and son who live parallel lives, always in dread.  Wait, that sounds depressing!  But this story, while a tiny bit dark or even gothic in places, was not depressing for me.  It was fascinating.  Henry grows up in a small remote NC town where his father is a brilliant lawyer but spends most of his time locked away trying to write his Great American Novel.  Henry is a great big brother to his sister Threnody, and reads to her every night.    The book goes back in time to describe how Henry's parents met, and takes Henry on through his life in college and beyond, and his relationship with the girl called Story, who of course has a story of her own.  Henry's father's disappearance when Henry is 15 is a turning point for Henry, as it should be, but becomes a much greater plot point when we finally learn what really happened to his father.  Henry's reluctance to return home, for years at the time, became a troubled spot for me as a reader - it seemed out of character but I think was necessary for Henry's state of mind.  And the second half of the book, focusing on Story, seemed almost another book in itself - the second or third chapter if you will in Henry's life.  The mystery of her family almost overshadows Henry's past!

My favorite lines:  "It took them less than a day to move in and the rest of their lives to leave."

"We left her there, where her magnificent heart diminished."

My favorite new words:  fuliginous...deliquesce....cataleptic....malefic....illimitable....erubescent....

(At one point, a character mentions the undulant lake - then makes fun of his own use of the word!  I loved it!  Wink!!)

If you enjoy beautiful writing, an engrossing story of family, loss, secrets, abandonment, growth, forgiveness and love, this is the book for you.  I can't wait to read Lewis' other books.  I am sure there will be many.  I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Lewis at our book club meeting last month, and I assure you he is a fantastic story teller, with a wicked and quick sense of humor that you don't see much of in this novel, so I hope he lets that spark shine through in another book.  He had us all in stitches as he discussed the book, the publishing process, and the many many many many edits he had to go through.  (The only one they missed was when Beth Ann said "you guys."  Hello, she is from Mississippi, y'all!!!!)  We thoroughly enjoyed the evening with him and look forward to having him come again with his second book, which is currently rattling around in his head.  Whoo hoo!

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

WOW.  Loved it!!!!!  And, another book off my Summer Reading list.  (It is technically still summer, just saying.)

I listened to this one on Audible on the great advice of my friend Sarah M.  I usually prefer the page, but boy was she ever right that this is one to listen to and absorb auditorily.  Mainly because Trevor Noah himself tells his own story.  Spectacular.

Born in South Africa during Apartheid, Trevor was literally proof of a crime - his mother is Black, his father is white.  Mixing among races was illegal then.  And in a nation obsessed with labels and place, Trevor himself was confusing - he was light skinned, raised Black, multi-lingual, and considered special by some because of his skin.  And considered dangerous by others for that same skin.

Trevor's stories of his childhood are hilarious, laugh out loud funny, and horrifying at the same time.  He got in all sorts of trouble as a kid.  He was always running - from his strict but loving Mom, from the police,  from his scary step-father, from the gang down the street.  Told with an abundance of humility and truth and pluck and wry humor, this is a story everyone should hear.  He had me laughing out loud with the story of the Turd and the Demon. Then I was horrified by the stories of abuse at the hand of his stepfather, with no protection from the police (oh, that's a woman for you!!!).  Then I was stopped in my tracks by several statements:
 "Soweta's story is the story of driveways.  Hope."  Many of the poorest people still built driveways, because the ultimate success was having a car - so they built driveways just in case.  Rarely did these driveways ever hold a vehicle.  And:  "Language, more than color, defines who you are to other people."

 BAM.  In the South, we call that "who's your daddy?"  If you sound like me, you must BE like me.
 If I can define you by what language you speak, even more than what you look like, if I can feel more comfortable with you because I can literally understand what you are saying, then you must be ok.
 His knowledge of several dialects and languages saved Trevor on more than one occasion, because people are so eager to label each other based on either skin or language (appearances!!!).  Brilliantly written and even more brilliantly told with different accents and languages peppered throughout, Trevor explains his South Africa as he saw it.  Many insights into race from all sides, into the definition of belonging, and the hard truth of tough love, this is a fascinating and tremendous book.  I highly recommend it!!!!! An amazing story, of an amazing man and his even more amazing Mother.  Because she is the reason he is who he is today.

Well done, Trevor.  You DID break the cycle.  See, your Mom was right.  Again.  ;-)

Today will be Different by Maria Semple

Meh.

This was a very quick and light read.  Some humor and a frenetic pace that is somewhat jarringly interrupted, and often, by flashbacks.  The story is one day in the life of Eleanor Flood:  wife, mother, illustrator, quoter of poems, sister.  In that order.

Or is it in that order at all?

Eleanor pledges to be her better self today - play with her kid, pay attention to her husband, and maybe even finish her book which is a tiny bit late.  But as with all well laid plans, Life happens and it all goes to hell.  Her husband is obviously hiding something, her son sees more than she thinks he does, her editor keeps calling, her poetry instructor is disappointed in her, and her sister....well, that is a whole other kettle of fish that permeates every other thing in her life.  Except her son who has no idea he even has an aunt.

I really liked Where'd You Go Bernadette.  It was hilarious and poignant and mysterious.  I guess I expected more out of this one - you do get a bit of insight into how your life can spiral spectacularly despite the best intentions.  So that made me feel better, haha.  But the disjointed format and even the main character herself were annoying.  I never really sympathized with Eleanor except during the passages about her sister.  She pretty much spends her life being blindsided by things she could have seen coming if she had paid attention.  (Especially that steel pole - metaphor much?) Maybe that is the point.  We should all pay more true attention to those around us and not worry about what are really the small things but seem like the entire world when you are too close to them.  Today will be different - I will pay attention. Right?  Wait, what?  Squirrel!!!!!!!!

Good light read for the beach - although I bet book clubs would get a good kick out of talking about this day in Eleanor's life and how she got to where she is - and especially what she will do next.  The ending leaves a few things unanswered, but alas, such is life.  Good luck with that!

Mischling by Affinity Konar

I had sworn off any more WWII books.

They are depressing!  They are full of death!!!  Yes, I love history but UGH!

And yet.....

This one fascinated me.  It is not about the war, although the story is very much because of the war.  Do not be scared off by the subject matter that you read on the flap.  This is a gorgeously written story of the bond between sisters, how the mind and heart work together to create hope from nothing, how the worst evil can actually be perpetrated by an unwilling source that can become your savior if you can survive.  This book was amazing.

Pearl and Stasha are twins at Auschwitz.  Yes, they are two of Mengele's twins.  They experience horrific physical "experiments" and psychological tests that alter their personalities and futures.  The author does not dwell on details, however; you understand most of what happens to the girls but not in excruciating detail or in any detail at all sometimes.  That is not the focus here.  The focus is on their relationship, the aftermath, how they survive, what happens when they are separated and Stasha fears Pearl is dead?  What happened to all the other twins?  And what will happen to them and to Mengele when liberation finally comes?  Two doctors appear to be more upset at what they do than they can let on, and two boys become lifelines for each of the girls on their separate but forever connected paths.

I could not put it down.  Mostly told in alternating perspectives between Stasha and Pearl, you begin to see their different strengths, and how they handle things so differently but towards a similar goal - being together forever, no matter what.  Absolutely beautiful.  Horrific subject matter, turned into a deep, searing, easy to read fulfilling novel.  Wow.

Playing with Matches by Carolyn Wall

Playing with Matches is a great example of good Southern Literature.  Not great southern literature, but very good.  Wall gets the voice of growing up poor, different, and feeling abandoned in rural Mississippi.  There is a lot of symbolism here, but it does take a while for the title to catch up to the story.  I really enjoyed the first half of the book describing Clea's childhood; the second part of the book when she is grown and facing her demons by coming back home in a time of great need is a bit confusing at first, but well worth the effort. Clea is born of a single, loose woman who promptly turns her baby over to her neighbor, Jerusha, a stern black woman who disapproves of Clea's mom but raises this white baby all the same.  Clea's family becomes blended with Jerusha's sister, Miss Sookie and Sookie's daughter Bitsy, and of course kind "Uncle" Cunny and her best friend, Claudie from down the road.  Yet she still yearns for her mother's acknowledgement. Some things from her unusual childhood and the issues with her mother are never really resolved, but that's life, isn't it??  The characters here are fully fleshed and so real I think I might have met some of them, y'all!  There are several subplots here, and the best one concerns crazy, cursing (as in I curse you!) Miz Millicent and how her backstory suddenly comes out and makes such sense to Clea.  Written in sometimes a dreamlike state, this novel is reminiscent of Wiley Cash and is a great addition to a shelf of southern stories.   Thank you to my friend Karen T for lending me this book; I shall indeed pass it on!!!

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

Hilarious!!!!

Give this one a whirl, even if you don't think reading about a "show" family is for you.  The Amazing Telemachus Family were known for their mind reading and telekinesis, until while on live TV they were made out to be frauds - or are they??  Mom definitely has special talents; not sure about Dad and the kids though.  What I really loved about this book was the dialogue.  I have said before that I think dialogue is the hardest thing to get right. But Gregory has it down pat.  It was seamless, real, and full of expression.  You could really hear each character's cadence and voice.  It was fabulously done and made me laugh out loud several times!

Patriarch Teddy is a charmer and holds a deep family secret; his wife Maureen has a job no one knows about and which haunts her family decades later; daughter Irene has one son and can tell when someone is lying; Frankie is still working on his powers but has managed to get himself into debt to the wrong people; Brother Buddy sees the future but refuses to talk; and Matty, Irene's son, is wondering if the family legend has any merit at all when the unthinkable happens to him - proof.  When government agents come sniffing around, along with the man who supposedly debunked the family decades ago, things get crazy.  Well, more crazy than usual since Buddy is building weird things around the house, including a hole in the back yard; Frankie is trying to break into a safe - with his mind; Irene is learning about on-line dating which blocks her ability to detect lies, which is actually a relief to have a "normal" relationship, until he wants to meet face to face; and Matty is 14. Enough said.

A delightful fun read about family and priorities and learning to love yourself - and doing the right thing.  Matty comes out as the most central character here, but Teddy is the anchor to them all.  A great addition to my summer reads!!  Thanks for the recommendation Sally!!!  ;-)

Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance

V.I.R.

Very Important Read.


JD Vance might be surprised that he is "old enough" to write a memoir, but anyone who reads his story will be nothing but grateful that he did.


I love that he starts out by saying he did nothing extraordinary in his life.  He went to college, got married, succeeded in business.  But what he states in his prologue and then explains throughout his book is that while he has achieved something that seems ordinary for most Americans, having achieved it considering his childhood experience and family history is indeed extraordinary in that hardly anyone from his hillbilly town in Appalachia ever considered college even possible.   I mean, his Mamaw almost killed a man when she was 12.  She got married as a teenager and his mom is a drug addict.  And that is just the beginning of his family and cultural history.  JD's story is made extraordinary because he was one of a very few that became ordinary - because he came from pretty much nothing. Well, nothing but the fierce determination of his Mamaw and his sister and one very inspiring teacher.

This book is "about a culture that increasingly encourages social decay instead of counteracting it." There are drug addicts, child abusers, lazy workers and welfare moms here, but "there are no villains in this story."  JD loves these people and does not place blame - really not anywhere.  He is simply telling his truth as he lived it.  And THAT is what makes this an important read.

This book is NOT political.  It does NOT serve as the conservative response to Small Great Things or explain why Trump got elected.  Go elsewhere if that is your ulterior motive here.  JD does tell us how a traditionally Democratic culture finally switched to a more Republican based belief system, simply because the programs put in place by the Democrats ended up making situations worse for the people they were trying to help - at least in his experience.

So many quotes I want to share from this book...like "kids (in my youth) don't expect much of themselves because the people around them don't do very much."  And, "poor people don't wear pajamas," (so why do rich people keep donating them? they are an "unnecessary elite indulgence.").

But overall, this is the true story of what is still happening in back woods America.  Yes, you could probably change the race here and it still be a true story, because it does become a story of opportunity and support.  If not for Mamaw, where would JD and his sister be?  If they had married their next door neighbors and never gotten out of Kentucky, they would be stagnant like most of their neighbors.  JD notes that now he looks back and sees that "every single person in my family who has built a successful home married someone from outside our little culture," thereby breaking that cycle. Interesting too is the comment JD makes about meeting and getting to know his future wife's family - he was amazed at the lack of drama in her family!

But what about the people who cannot break out of their cycle?  What about the people who are so dirt poor they cannot leave their dilapidated houses to move to Ohio like JD's grandparents did?  Why was JD able to "get out" and get educated but his Mother never seemed to be able to crawl out of her addictions to drugs, men, and bad news?  (Very interesting that JD never names his mother and is almost detached when he writes of her.  We do not know what her end story is - proving again that no matter what happens or how badly they treat us, these people are fiercely loyal - he is still protecting a woman who abandoned him again and again and once even tried to kill him, because she is family.)  And what will it take for this cycle to change?  Government programs?  Nope, that didn't help JD.  It has to come from within.  He was mostly raised by his hillbilly grandparents.  They stepped up, maybe because their failure with his mother or their inability at the time to steer her right made them determined that JD would not follow that path.  Papaw helped him with his multiplication tables - it wasn't JD's fault he had never been taught them, but thank goodness someone helped him.  Other kids didn't have a Papaw or anyone else who would help them. Mamaw didn't let him get away with anything - her love for him was as fierce as her language (mercy!!).  Most of the kids he grew up with, and even JD himself, are constantly in fight or flight mode - the chemistry in their brains is changed by the constant emotional and sometimes physical stress they endure which is of course different from a child who is secure, safe, and fed.

My point and I think JD's point is this:  HELP MUST COME FROM WITHIN.  From within you, from within your community, from within your family.  The hillbilly people JD knows have no positive role models, they don't see other families building up that college resume or paying for after school sports and getting academic awards (JD admits he learned early on that good grades were for sissies and girls, not for tough boys!  What kind of incentive is that??), they just see teenage pregnancy and menial jobs where it doesn't really matter if you show up because you know you are gonna get fired eventually anyway.  They give up before they try because they don't have goals to strive for.  It is not in their culture.  What exactly are they trying for??  Kids are not exposed to things from "the real world;" JD wasn't stupid, he was just uninformed.  Again, the whole argument of "the uneven geographic distribution of opportunity" comes into play for poor white people in the South, in Appalachia, in the Rust Belt of Ohio - and yes, a similar argument of lack of opportunity is being raised for the lower income African American community as well.  It matters for both of these communities.

JD Vance has written a deep, thought provoking story which happens to be true.  It will open your eyes to the fact that is not just a white story, or a black story, or an immigrant story.  It is an American story that all of us need to stop and pay attention to, and do something about.  Be a role model; connect with a different community than your own; teach or read to kids that have no one to read to them; give jobs not pajamas!   JD says there is no government that can fix these problems for the hillbillies.  It has to start at home. But are the hillbillies tough enough to do what needs to be done to raise up other kids and find opportunities for them like Mamaw did for JD?  Because it comes from within, the winning.

The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz

The Silent Corner (Jane Hawk, #1) 
by Dean Koontz 

Aug 16, 2017 

it was amazing

First of all, shame on me for not realizing this was the start of a series.

Secondly, hooray, this is a series!!!!!!!!!

Now, I love me some Dean Koontz. This novel/series is a bit a departure for him - my favorite of his novels are the ones steeped in the paranormal. Here Koontz leans more towards science fiction, conspiracy, mystery and a bit of loyalty both to country and family. But, it works - mainly because of Jane.

A strong female lead in this type of novel is rare, so I thoroughly enjoyed this story with a main character that was brave and smart and alone and a GIRL. The story was confusing at first, just as Jane was confused by the sudden (I mean, like, in the middle of dinner) suicide of her loving and happy and stable husband. You share her fear, her tilted world, and her determination to find the truth. So Jane, who happens to be FBI, goes underground. She knows something is fishy here, but keeps hitting roadblocks. Spy novels of old, take note - the new future is here, but you can still go off the grid if you know what you are doing.

(And I loved the explanation for the title of the novel.  Well done.  It bothers me a bit when a title really has no meaning for the story.  But I digress.)

Stay with it  - the confusion starts to clear about half way through (yes, I guessed it but that was ok) and the action picks up tremendously. Jane gets some answers, but I did mention that this is a series, right? So more to come....I can hardly wait!

The Fix by David Baldacci

The Fix (Amos Decker #3) 
by David Baldacci

Aug 16, 2017 

really liked it

So often a series begins to wane after the first few books - formulaic, familiar and finite (I am all about alliteration...see what I did there????). But after not really expecting much from this third Amos Decker installment, I was pleasantly surprised!

I LOVED Memory Man (book one). I also enjoyed The Last Mile (book two). So I was thrilled to hear another Amos Decker book was coming out. I really enjoy this character and his "flaws."

The story this time is a bit convoluted, so get ready. Lots of threads in the mystery of why a man shoots a woman in broad daylight and then kills himself when there is no connection to be found between the two people (some reviewers say too many threads). Secrets, espionage, the Hoover building and an imminent threat to the USofA? Decker is on the case with Jamison in tow as usual, but we get a bit more of the human side of Decker in this book I think. Less emphasis on his exacting memory and more on the personal relationships (although he still dashes out of a room with no warning which I think is hilarious, I hope that never changes!!). One arc includes a terminally ill boy and Decker really shows some heart with this kid, very refreshing. Super small hint about the possibility that Decker's memory might fade into normalcy.....hmmmm. And a cameo from Melvin Mars too! Oh! And a reference to To Kill a Mockingbird - loved it!!!

A fun series, I hope it continues but would like to see more of the memory man back if there is a book four, which I am sure there will be!

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit

Anna and the Swallow Man
by Gavriel Savit



I just didn't get it.

Beautiful writing, yes.  Plot?  Not really.  Historical times? Definitely.  Parable?  I can only hope.

I may come back to this after my soon to be Godson-In-Law reads it and explains it to me.  (He's a doctoral candidate in Literature.)  But my girlfriend and I read this simultaneously at the beach and we both gasped at the same page, then threw the book across the room at the same page, then were absolutely stunned at the end - and not in a good way.

My main question - WHAT WAS THE POINT????  Young Polish orphan girl leaves her village to follow a strange man in the midst of WWII; they walk in circles for years, avoiding the troops; pick up another strange man along the way, forming a stranger still family unit of sorts; they see horrors and winter in the woods and have no direction; then it ends.  What the what??

And other reviewers are saying this is young adult or juvenile fiction?  Nope.

Wasted day of reading.  On to better stories.  Sorry, bookseller who told me this was the best historical fiction book in his store.  Definitely not a literal take on the times - I think it was more fantasy/allegory - and even then maybe I just wasn't in the mood.....bring on David Baldacci....ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin

Wow.  What a BEAUTIFUL story.

I really enjoyed this book.  A bit dreamlike, and a definite parable, but just a lovely message.  A rebellious teenager with a mega talent for songwriting and guitar playing and singing runs away from his preacher father to build his own destiny, only to find destiny can be a cruel master.  A romantic love story is woven through, but it is the Father Son relationship that is the focus here.  There are not many books of this positive nature on the market these days.  This was a refreshing change from the norm.  A great if unbelievable ending, but that's what miracles are - unbelievable.  Except, you believe it when it happens to you.

I suggest reading this book if for nothing else than the writing.  Martin is a master of the English language and that is part of what makes this read so beautiful.  If I ever wanted to be a writer, THIS is how I would wish to write.  Excellent stuff.

Another bonus is the detail he goes into about guitars and the music industry and how music really does affect you - in the moment, as you sing, as you listen - immersively so.  Such descriptions!!!  Like a John Constable landscape - full of depth, color, realism - you feel like you are right there in the story.  You do have to have an open mind to the parable part of this, and realize this is fiction, entertainment, and there is a moral to the story.  An uplifting moral.  Let me know what you think!!

PS - did you notice the guitar on the cover??  wink!

Camino Island by John Grisham

Other

Now THIS is some serious storytelling.

Maybe it is because I just met John Grisham at Sally's store, where he made small talk about my name and signed my copy of the book and then later recorded a podcast conversation with John Hart about writing styles and their next books, etc., that I witnessed.  I was still on cloud 9 from that experience when I read this book.  So I really heard Grisham's voice in this book since I was thinking of the writer as I read what he wrote.  Make sense??

The cool thing in this story is there is no mystery.  You know from the start who stole what and who got caught.  What you don't know is who else may or may not become involved.  So there is a lot of backstory and narration here, which I really enjoyed.  You can argue that at least two characters are the "main" character - it is shared I think.  And I do love a book about a book seller/writer/fellow reader.  Grisham throws in a lot of insider information about the world of books (and one hilarious comment about lawyers!!!).  He even shares his own voice with MC1 (Main Character 1) Bookseller Bruce when he reveals the rules of writing - these are actually Grisham's own rules and habits in writing his own books (tune in to Grisham's podcast series to find out how Hart writes HIS books - they are polar opposites but apparently good friends!!).

A really good, fun and easy read - a bit of intrigue as MC2 Mercer tries with varying degrees of success to spy on MC1 Bruce (she's a writer not a spy), and some great small town politics and dinner parties on Florida's Camino Island where Mercer grew up and Bruce settled down.  Throw in some priceless stolen F Scott Fitzgerald original manuscripts, one desperate insurance company,  several writers with writer's block but strong opinions, a successful local bookstore, two desperate thieves and a whole lot of money, and  you've got yourself one helluva mess.  This is not a typical Grisham novel, nary a courtroom in site, and I liked it that way.  Encore Mr. Grisham!!!!!

And thank you for signing my book!

The Awkward Age by Francesca Segal

I am so mad at this author.

It has taken me a week and another book between to come back to this review.  The Awkward Age was not at all what I expected.  I expected humor (British humor!!), family dysfunction, a light read.

Not.

This is a story of a middle aged couple who fall in love and decide to move in together, in London, while their daughter and son respectively are still teenagers and living at home.  At first, the kids hate each other.  And then....not so much.  And then.....well, they are teenagers.

I am all for love in middle age, and the feelings widowed Julia and divorced James have for one another are precious indeed.  And kudos to this author for really digging deep into honest feelings and letting us see inside the minds of each of our four main characters - the good, the bad, and the ugly thoughts they have about one another.  Their parenting styles are very different and when the kids reveal that they like each other, the parents begin projecting on their own lover's child. Brutal, but we all have been there in some form.

Here is what angered me - there is a scene between Julia and her daughter Gwen (who she has raised as a single parent for the last five or so years after the devastating illness and death of her first husband) which I just could not believe.  Julia has up until this point spoiled her daughter rotten, but also given her daughter a very firm safety net and exclusive, close relationship.  In this scene, Julia says some utterly unforgivable and uncharacteristic things to her daughter that NO mother, no decent mother, would EVER say to her child.  Ever.  No matter how angry or hurt.  And especially not Julia, who couldn't even say No to her daughter.  It was devastating and ripped my heart to read.  I wondered how Gwen would ever speak to her mother again, much less function.  Cue the therapy.

The story continues, the conflict explodes and then wanes and then, and then - Epilogue. Does the conflict rip the family apart?  Does love overcome all?  And if you had to choose, which love comes first - parental or romantic???   I wasn't very satisfied with the ending, it was too little too late really although it could have been worse, but mainly it was because these characters should never have let it go this far (BE THE PARENT!!) and it just seemed so set up and unrealistic. Yes, ok, I know it is fiction, but I believed Harry Potter more than I believed the way these characters acted toward the middle and end.

The teenage angst here is represented well I think though, so focus on that.  The difference in how the teenage girl reads a situation and the college boy's response to the same conversation is pretty typical I think.  And the grandparents in the book are probably my favorites - wait til you see how Philip Alden ends up!!  HAHA!  I loved that Julia was still close to her in-laws after their shared loss.
And the book is well written, I just had a hard time getting over that scene.

There is definitely sex in this book, but not graphically described.  There are also difficult references to the responsibility that comes with the decision to or not to have sex that are pretty deep and could be disturbing.  No rape, but this is a deep subject.  Proceed with caution.  There could be triggers here.

*Summer 2017 Book One Done!!!

The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis

Fabulous classic Patterson, I couldn't put it down. Full of twists and turns and misdirections, this story will keep you guessing, assuming, and doubting yourself about what is what and who is who. I had it figured out, then changed my mind, then changed my mind back, then switched again, then thought -OH!!! Got it. And was right, but still, the process was super fun.

Jenna Murphy is a red headed (ie hot tempered) young NY city cop who gets in trouble in Manhattan and moves to her Police Chief Uncle's small town in the Hamptons in order to stay in the force. Back in her hometown for the first time since her childhood and the deaths of her immediate family, she begins to have nightmares and panic attacks and also stirs things up tremendously in the small town police force there. In her first sensational case, her intuitive detective skills tell her that Noah Walker, arrested for a double murder discovered at 7 Ocean Drive (not the first dead bodies found in the "Murder House" over the years), just doesn't tick the boxes for a murderer.

They also tell her things aren't what they seem in this idyllic community when her investigations bring up past events - was Noah also responsible for the BB gun shootings at the elementary school years ago? Who is protecting whom? And why does her ex partner now seem to have it out for her? Jenna goes through a harrowing and traumatic time, knowing her life is now on the line, but determined that justice will prevail no matter the cost; she will not give up until she knows the truth - the whole truth. Can she handle it?? Who should she trust?

Switching in time to a slow build of gruesome murders and told in varying perspectives - Jenna's in first person, and several other suspects, including Noah's, from third - this is not your average murder mystery. If you pay attention, you'll catch the great red herring about 2/3 of the way through. But, a great beach read, might be a bit long to read in a day but then again, you never know what can happen with Patterson at the pen....

Summer 2017 Reading List, or My Summer is BOOKED.

Hooray for Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just know I am going to have hours and hours to sit in my sunroom and at Patti and Teri's respective pools and read read read!!

(Yeah, between camp carpool and VBS dropoff and "Mom can you take me to the mall???"  Ugh.)

Yet, I am basically a hopeful person.  I might be reading in the parking lot of the mall waiting on my teenager but by golly I'll be reading!!!

So here is my list of what I am excited about this summer.  I admit I am not as excited with this list as I was with last year's list (oh, maybe I will post that here too!).  And it is long,but just think of it as one book per week.  That is doable during summer....right??



1 - Camino Island, John Grisham - So excited to be going to meet Grisham next week at my local bookstore!!!  He rarely if ever does tours, so this is quite the coup (yea Sally!).  Not a bad way to spend the first week of summer - all afternoon in my LBS (Local Book Store) getting a new book signed by a famous author.  I have no idea what the book is about, but Grisham does not usually disappoint.  Plus, I am going with some book club mates so we will enjoy it no matter what!

2 - The Fix, David Baldacci - Ok, I am very excited about this one actually.  This is the third book in the excellent Amos Decker series (Memory Man, The Last Mile).   Please go read the first two first.  Amos is a character like no other - grumpy, abrasive, sometimes downright mean - but you'll love him.  He has an excellent memory for detail due to a brain injury on the football field years ago which stole his pro football career from him.  Now he uses his new (and improved?) brain to solve mysteries.  His injury also prevents him from feeling emotion, so there's that to contend with, sometimes with a giggle.  But his cohorts are super loyal, and his ability to see what others don't during an investigation is becoming legendary.  This will be a page turner!!!

3 - The Silent Corner, Dean Koontz - This might surprise those of you new to my book reviews, but I adore Dean Koontz.  He is one of my top 5 authors.  I once thought it would be fun to try to read all of his books - and then I saw the list.  The man writes more than James Patterson.  Sheesh.  This is the start of a new series starring a formidable but regular woman: Jane Hawk.  When her husband suddenly commits suicide, she goes on a hunt for the truth of his life and his death and subsequently gets involved in other "mysterious" suicides and becomes a target herself.  It helps that she is an FBI agent.  The classic "she stumbled on a dangerous truth" premise gets a twist with the addition of the issue of suicide as a cover. Most of Koontz's books have a supernatural bent which I love (hello Odd Thomas, From the Corner of His Eye, and 47 others or so), but doesn't look like this one is going there.  Stay tuned...

4 - Born a Crime, Trevor Noah - Another surprise on my list - an autobiography!  Born in South Africa to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, Noah was evidence of the crime of mixed fraternization during Apartheid.  His rise to fame as the now anchor of The Daily Show apparently makes for an educational and comic read.

5 - The Girls, Emma Cline - This is a book from last year that I just never got around to.  Sort of a cult brainwashes teenage girls story,   But a book of choices and a cautionary tale.  I am prepared to be scared (did I mention I have TWO teenage daughters???).

6 - Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance - I am late to the game on this one too but after loving Small Great Things back in January, this seems a good counter.  My book club is reading it, so I know I will get it done!

7 - Seven Stones to Stand or Fall, Diana Gabaldon - Had to do it.  An Anthology of a few "short" stories I have read before and two new ones, Gabaldon fills a few gaps in the Outlander universe about Roger's parents, Jamie's youth, and of course, "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies."  Insert smiley face here.

8- The Awkward Age, Francesca Segal - A Sally Book (meaning, my local bookseller, who I obviously worship, suggested it).  A British family, a divorce, a new marriage, and two teenage step-siblings.  Let the fun begin - complete with British humor which even my British husband might enjoy.  If I don't understand something, I'll just ask him.  (BTW, going to get a "ruby" does NOT entail going to the jewelry store.....)

9 - Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan - A sweeping family saga that starts with two Irish sisters coming to NY and ends with a huge family and one big secret that could make or break them.  Sounds like a beach read for me!!!!  Another Sally Book, I was skeptical because I did not really like The Engagements, but I trust Sally.  And she says you shouldn't dismiss one "sibling" of a book just because you didn't like the other one.  Hmmm.  Ironic much??

10 - I let You Go, Clare Mackintosh - Sally Book #3.  I don't usually go for a book where a child dies...but in this one the child is not the focus.  The focus is on the mother's life afterwards (and maybe prior??), how she flees to a small village on the Welsh coast - but from what is she actually fleeing??  Called a British procedural with a great twist at the end, this one intrigued me.

11 - Into the Water, Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train author is back with another novel of how memory affects the story.  Two women end up dead in the local river mere weeks apart; turns out they are not the only ones to lose their lives to the river.  The mystery deepens, memories are untrustworthy, and one teenage girl must learn to carry on with her new life.  Even the reviews are mixed on this one - yes, a different story altogether; yes, the same great writing; yes, it is fast paced...but maybe not for everyone.  I'll let you know!

12 - The Life She Was Given, Ellen Marie Wiseman - Historical fiction, finally!!  Another past meets present, but I am a little nervous about this premise.  In the 1930's, a little girl named Lilly is not allowed to leave her house, but then she is suddenly "sold" to the circus, where she apparently finds strength and a family to love her.  Fast forward 20 years and Julia is a 19 year old who returns to her unhappy childhood home and discovers photos of a young circus girl and goes in search of her story....tragedy and healing, heartbreak and hope all bind together in this one - compares to Water for Elephants said one review!

*13 - For the Baker's Dozen (Reader's Dozen??)  I will give you the rest of my list with brief comments:

Since We Fell - Dennis Lehane: a journalist breaks down on air, becomes a recluse until forced by a conspiracy to rejoin the world.  Psychological Thriller

The Thirst - Jo Nesbo:  #11 Harry Hole, an investigator who in this case hunts a killer who uses Tinder to find his victims.  Timely.

Full Wolf Moon - Lincoln Child (love his Pendergast series with his partner Douglas Preston!): just a tiny bit of The X Files here - Logan investigates strange phenomena, and this time it is a mauled body in the woods.....fifth in the series.

A Game of Ghosts - John Connolly: Deaths and disappearances blamed on ghosts??  What the what?  I'm in.  The FBI dispatches Charlie Parker to find their lead investigator who is working on a case that posits a link of hauntings....

The Identicals - Elin Hilderbrand:  Beach Read.  Twin Sisters, switch houses, chaos ensues.  Fun!

The Little French Bistro - Nina George:  I loved The Little Paris Bookshop, here comes another one!

Not Dead Yet - Phil Collins - my favorite musician's memoir!!

And maybe, just maybe, another run at The Prince of Tides. RIP Pat.

And there you have it!!  I will be back in September to see how well I did.  It is hard to write a description of a book I haven't read yet, so I am interested to see how my approach here compares to the actual experience of reading them.  Comment below if you plan to read any of these as well!!

Happy Reading!!!!

Rawles

Summer 2016 Reading List - reposted

For almost 3 years, I wrote book reviews for a local neighborhood magazine which is now out of print.  Here is the article I wrote last summer, detailing the books I wanted to read.  I read 8 of the 12 (marked with *) and still have one of those I missed in my stack (Before Versailles) and one on my Kindle (Cyberstorm).  Maybe I will get to them this year.......

(previously published)

Happy June!!!  Summertime means more time to relax in my sunroom and read lots of books, right?  So I always have a few that I have saved for this special time of year. Here are the books I am looking forward to reading this year.

*Redemption Road  by John Hart

                One of my favorite “local” authors, Hart lived in Greensboro until recently, and in his previous books he has mentioned Charlotte!  I have read all his books and he never disappoints.  I did not even need to know what this one was about before ordering a signed copy from the bookstore. (Thank you Liz for picking it up for me!)  I can hardly wait, this one might not make it to proper summertime…..

*The Nest  by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

                This was next on my stack until Redemption Road usurped it.  This has been a big buzz book this spring.  This is the story of four siblings who must work out their equal inheritances face a crisis with their older brother, threatening the inheritance that they’ve all planned for and already spent as well as their relationships with each other.

*Queen of the Night  by Alexander Cree

                My big historical fiction pick of the summer, this one is set in 1882 Paris and focuses on an American Opera singer looking for her big mark on opera.  When she is finally offered an original show of her own, the story mirrors her own secret past.  Who knows her secret and who would put her in a show about it?  History and Mystery, yes please.

*Over the Plain Houses  by Julia Franks

                 Set in the North Carolina mountains in the late 30’s, this is the story of a USDA agent, Virginia Furman, who is sent there to help the locals modernize their homes and farms.  There she meets Irenie, wife of a fundamentalist preacher.  Irenie is intrigued by the newcomer and begins to second guess her own life and crumbling marriage.  A tale woven with an older than old belief in black magic and an older way of life, this one comes to a dramatic and violent end as the husband chases his demons amidst the possibilities of the future.  Sounds like a good ole Southern mountain people read!

*The Passenger  by Lisa Lutz

                This is the book that Sally handpicked for me.  I just love that she knows her customers so well (or maybe all that tells me is that I am in my local bookstore too much…..??  Nah!!!).  A modern identity mystery, this is the story of Tanya, who must go on the run after her husband falls down a flight of stairs and dies.  Why does she run?  Well, her name isn’t really Tanya and she just doesn’t want to explain.  This one is supposed to be quite a page turner as “Tanya” goes across the country, changing her identity with each move, trying to stay ahead of anyone who might be chasing her.  Of course, running from your past only lasts so long and in the conclusion she will be forced to face it.  Fast paced and being compared to Gone Girl and Girl on a Train, this one will most likely keep me up at night! (edit - now in paperback!!)

Before Versailles  by Karleen Koen

                This one was published in 2012, and has been on my shelf ever since, so it is time!!  Koen is an excellent historical fiction author and wrote a trilogy that is one of my favorites (Through a Glass Darkly, Now Face to Face, and Dark Angels). Here she tackles Louis XIV, and his life before he became King.  The back of the book says: “Meticulously researched and gorgeously brought to life by New York Times bestselling author Karleen Koen, Before Versailles offers up a sumptuous, authentic exploration of a time that forged a man into a king.”  This will be one to delve into, perfect for that long plane ride this summer!

*In a dark, dark wood  by Ruth Ware

                When London based writer Nora gets an email from her estranged college friend, she thinks maybe this is the reconciliation she thought would never come.  She’s been invited to celebrate Clare’s upcoming wedding!  Nora goes to attend Clare’s bachelorette party (or, Hen-do as they call it across the pond), and, well… things go wrong.  Really wrong.  Billed as a dark creepy thriller, but with mixed reviews online, I picked this one up on Sally’s recommendation – plus Reese Witherspoon has picked it up to make a movie so you know you gotta read the book first!  Maybe not as dark as the title suggests, but hopefully worthy enough to keep me interested.  (If you want dark, check out Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates.  You’ll see the end coming, but that was one book that made me nervous reading it!! Or, better yet, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (shudder).)

*Lies and Other Acts of Love  by Kristy Woodson Harvey

                Let’s lighten up the mood now, shall we?  Whew.  Here is your Beach Read of the Summer!!  Billed as a new voice in Southern Fiction, Harvey wowed with her first book Dear Carolina.  Here she tells the story of two women, grandmother Lovey and her granddaughter Annabelle, as they weave their lives through lies big and small.  I am interested to see how the use of “little white lies” can make or break relationships, despite the good intentions that birthed those lies.  This one got excellent reviews on Goodreads (if you are a reader and not on Goodreads, I will come over immediately for an intervention and tutorial), and is a welcome addition to my stack of books.  I don’t read a lot of “chick lit” but I am reminded of Liane Moriarty’s books from the description of this one, and I LOVE her books.  She even has one titled Big Little Lies….I am seeing a theme here!

*A Thousand Acres  by Jane Smiley

                Another one that has been around for a while, this was a gift from my mom who recently met the author, ironically enough, with a group that included my neighbor Mary!  Small world.  This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012 and tells the King Lear-ish story of a farmer who decides to retire and divide his one thousand acre Iowa farm between his three daughters.  Problem is, the youngest daughter balks, the father gets angry, and events spiral from there.  Touted as not only a great character study but also a great study of the American farm life.  “A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity,” states the back of the book.  (Who writes this stuff?  I want that job!!!!)

CyberStorm  by Matthew Mather

                Here is my science fiction add to the summer list.  After my experience with Breakthrough, I am trusting my Discover Sci-Fi emails and have downloaded this title on my Kindle.  I also grabbed it for $0.99, so that was a no-brainer (and also the reason I somehow have 19 titles on my Kindle still to read).  It is currently listed at $4.99.  Here is how Discover Sci-Fi describes it:  “Now in development for film by 20th Century Fox, award-winning CyberStorm depicts, in realistic and terrifying detail, what a full-scale terrorist cyber attack against present-day New York City might look like from the perspective of one family trying to survive it.

“Mike Mitchell, an average New Yorker working to keep his family together, finds himself fighting just to keep them alive when a string of disasters shreds the world around them...the Internet and communication networks go down...a deadly viral epidemic rages across the country...then a monster snowstorm cuts New York off from the world. In the chaos, rumors fly about a foreign attack, but even this becomes unimportant as Mike and his family struggle to survive in the wintry tomb of a doomed New York.”

Now, just a warning here, last time a “foreign attack” was mentioned, they weren’t talking about the Russians, they meant foreign to our planet.  I haven’t read this one yet of course so I am not sure here, just a disclaimer!!!

Chasing the North Star  by Robert Morgan

                Another historical fiction novel recommended by Sally, this book is set in 1850 in South Carolina and tells the story of one man who ran away from slavery and headed north, chasing the titular star.  He is of course followed by those who would capture him, but he is also followed by another desperate soul, Angel, who sees her freedom in his flight.  Author of Gap Creek, Morgan is a well hailed writer and painstakingly meshes historical fact with characterization and gives us a wonderful story of perseverance.

Two if by Sea  by Jacquelyn Mitchard

                I might be the only person on the planet who didn’t like The Light Between Oceans.  Yes, it was beautifully written but my problem was with the story itself.  Who could pretend a baby was their own? That is just too big a secret even on this list of books with lots of secrets.  So when I first heard the premise of this book, I thought, “Oh no, not again, I can’t do it.”

Here’s the story: American ex-pat Frank Mercy (seriously with the foreshadowing??) is a former Police Officer who loses his wife and her family in a tsunami in Brisbane.  During the aftermath, he is volunteering to save others and barely manages to save the life of a little boy, pulling him from a submerged car.  He skips the Red Cross red tape and takes the boy home to his Midwestern farm where his family has raised and trained horses for generations.  Soon, amid coincidences he cannot explain, he begins to believe the little boy has unusual telepathic powers, and that other people may be after him.  Frank and his new girlfriend struggle to hold on to the frightened boy and keep him safe while building their own new relationship, and the story moves from Australia to America to a quiet English village.  This book is getting a lot of buzz.

And there you have it!  Twelve books for the twelve weeks of summer.  Bring on the reading glasses, sandy beaches, back porch swings, or comfy sofas and let’s read!!!

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

I had sworn off WWII books.  For several years now, I have point blank refused to read one.

Then somebody had to go and write about the women.

Plus, a CASTLE!!!!

This is the best "war" book since Those Who Save Us.  But I am not really even sure this is a proper WAR book.  It is about three particular women and what happened to them after said war.  After their husbands are killed trying to kill Hitler in a failed coup.  One, who lives in a castle, fares pretty well and keeps her promise to look after the other wives, if she can find them.  She finds two.  Both are in pretty bad shape and both have children, and they all together form a ragtag, somewhat reluctant, family.

Marianne is queen of the castle and a righteous bitch with a huge heart but a meddling tactic.  Benita, who married Marianne's best childhood friend Constantine "Connie" Fledermann, is a shadow of her former self after her post war experiences but holds it together for her son.  And Ania and her two boys add unlikely skills to their little group once they are found and brought to the castle as well.

The book jumps around a bit and not in any consistent format.  But I admit I was a bit charmed by these women.  Annoyed, yes, but it was more about what they did to survive - each woman had her own original approach to survival and right or wrong or no matter the consequences, each one acted as she saw fit.

They are all German; they are all victims; they all have their strengths and weaknesses.  Their relationships over the years are taut, emotional and necessary.  One big reveal near the end comes on slowly so pay attention.  This book was not so much the story of finding the widows and living after the war (which is what I honestly expected), this book was a bit slow, a bit overwrought maybe, but ultimately beautifully written and a good read.  The ending was pretty perfect, even if their lives, and the lives of those they affected, were not.