Small Blessings

by Martha Woodroof  

Synopsis:

From debut novelist Martha Woodroof comes an inspiring tale of a small-town college professor, a remarkable new woman at the bookshop, and the ten-year old son he never knew he had. 

 Tom Putnam has resigned himself to a quiet and half-fulfilled life. An English professor in a sleepy college town, he spends his days browsing the Shakespeare shelves at the campus bookstore, managing the oddball faculty in his department and caring, alongside his formidable mother-in-law, for his wife Marjory, a fragile shut-in with unrelenting neuroses, a condition exacerbated by her discovery of Tom’s brief and misguided affair with a visiting poetess a decade earlier.

Then, one evening at the bookstore, Tom and Marjory meet Rose Callahan, the shop's charming new hire, and Marjory invites Rose to their home for dinner, out of the blue, her first social interaction since her breakdown. Tom wonders if it’s a sign that change is on the horizon, a feeling confirmed upon his return home, where he opens a letter from his former paramour, informing him he'd fathered a son who is heading Tom's way on a train.  His mind races at the possibility of having a family after so many years of loneliness. And it becomes clear change is coming whether Tom’s ready or not.

A heartwarming story with a charmingly imperfect cast of characters to cheer for, Small Blessings's wonderfully optimistic heart that reminds us that sometimes, when it feels like life has veered irrevocably off track, the track shifts in ways we never can have imagined.

My Review:

This is such a sweet and delightful story to read. Tom Putnam is a college professor who has been married to Marjory for 20 years. Marjory, has a great number of mental issues which make her very odd and prone to acting out strangely in front of other people. Tom has been caring for Marjory throughout their entire empty and lonely marriage as he feels it is his lot in life to do so. He is not content but feels he is responsible for making sure his wife is safe and cared for. Living with Tom and Marjory is Agnes, Marjory's mother. She is a tough-as-nails character who is well aware of her daughter's many issues and feels somewhat guilty but unable to help her. She is convinced that Marjory is a tragedy in progress with a bleak future to offer Tom. She likes Tom. She thinks Tom has put up with a lot to be loyal to her daughter. Tom really likes Agnes because truly she is the only other sensible adult he can relate to in his world. Then, there is Russell, he is the friend that you have to know to love. He is self-absorbed and arrogant. But, as Tom is accustomed to, he is a loyal friend to Russell regardless of any and all of his obnoxious behavior. Rose Callahan comes to town to be the new social events coordinator at the university bookstore. She brightens everyone's days and breathes fresh air into the stodgy world of academia. She's not particularly beautiful but her warmth and her loveable spirit resonates with everyone she meets, including Marjory, Tom, Russell, Agnes and even Henry. Henry is a surprise visitor sent to Tom soon after Marjory's death resulting from a car accident. Suicide or accident? We'll never know.  However, it turns out that Henry is carrying a $500K in his backpack and a birth certificate that legally binds Tom Putnam as his father.  All of these characters undergo a re-birth of sorts after Marjory's death. The events that follow become the small blessings each of the characters have failed to focus on in the time before Marjory dies.  These small blessings are the ones that save each one of these characters from a life of unhappiness, a life of fear, a life where one has to age and doesn't want to do it alone, a life of alcoholism and finally an innocent life potentially doomed by the unfortunate mistakes a mentally-ill, drug addicted young mother has chosen for herself.

The story is heartwarming and is even very funny in some sections. To me, this was a very rewarding and happy read - specially at the end. It made me reflect on the importance of kindness, understanding, patience and love. Also, one important theme in the book is that loving a child whether he/she is biologically or legally your child or not is all that makes a parent a parent. No matter how a child comes into your life, once you assume the role of parent the biology no longer matters.

Hidden 

by Catherine McKenzie

Synopsis:

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son as well as contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members, and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother, who was her ex-boyfriend. Tish volunteers to attend the funeral on her company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life.


Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

My Review:

Another good Catherine McKenzie book. In this book you have three main characters: Jeff, Claire and Tish. Jeff and Claire are married. They have a very happy marriage and all seems right in their relationship. However, Jeff meets Tish at a work function. She shares his love of golf and is someone Jeff can't seem to stop thinking about. Jeff works in Accounting and Tish in HR. This means that whenever Jeff has to address any personnel issues he has to consult Tish - and he does regularly. They find that they connect in ways that make their chance meetings at work events precarious. Jeff is killed one day as he chooses to walk home from work and is struck by a car. When he dies, Tish and Claire (500 miles apart) are both devastated. Claire loses her husband and the father of her son, Seth. Tish, loses a secret relationship that makes her happy. But, the question to be answered in this book is whether infidelity is exclusive to a physical relationship or is an emotional attachment and involvement just as much an infidelity?

The book reads from the perspective of each of these three characters. Jeff's accounts are from the past when he met Claire, when he met Tish, and other relevant events as they lead to his death.

This book was a fantastic read. I liked all three characters. I found myself not really judging them because I knew each of the characters motivations, feelings and thoughts about what each was doing. However, had I heard this as a story of someone I knew or knew of, I think I would have a tendency to be judgmental. I guess it goes to show that we judge because we assume intent to be negative. Or, simply because it is more fun to be judgmental and assume we would take the higher ground in such a situation. This book will definitely make you think about what you would do if you were any of these characters. Another hit for Catherine McKenzie and I can't wait to read more. 

Hello From the Gillespies

by Monica McInerney 

Synopsis:

For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when a bump on the head leaves Angela with temporary amnesia, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways....

My Review:

What a wonderful book. What is in the water in Australia that it produces such great writers? Such brilliant story lines that are about real people with real lives who make good and bad decisions, who have insecurities and whose lives are not perfect. The Gillespies are a family who immigrated from Ireland to Australia some generations back. They settled land in Australia where they have a sheep station which has been run by the Gillespie family for several generations now. Nick, however, has not fared well with his turn at running the station and has come into hard times. He has gotten rid of the once 10,000 sheep that grazed the land and is $1 million in debt. He becomes distant and depressed. He feels he has failed his entire family and its heritage. His proudest moment has been marrying Angela when he was 22. She was a tourist from London, England whom he meets at a bar in Sydney. They fall in love immediately and he moves her to Australia's Outback where they will run the family Sheep station. They have a set of twin girls (Victoria and Genevieve), one more daughter (Lindy) and a surprise in their 40s. A son named Iggy. Every year, Angela writes an a letter to all of her friends all over the world to tell of her adventures in Australia - "Hello from the Gillespies..." The recipient list has grown over the years as she has had many guests stay at the Station to experience life in the Outback. Little does Angela realize that no one reads her letters as they find them boring and cliched. This year, however, things are just not the same. Nick has been distant and she doesn't know why, the twins (who are now 33 years old) are leading lives that are far from conventional. Lindy is an insecure mess who moves back home. And, Iggy (who is 10 years old) is an odd kid who still talks to an imaginary friend. Angela realizes that she is unhappy. She daydreams about an imaginary life with William, the boyfriend she left behind when Nick swept her off her feet some 30+ years before. She imagines her life with him and their imaginary daughter, Lexi, as the ideal life she could have had. When she sits to write down her letter, she decides to let all of her feelings and fears and wishes out and drafts an email that she intends to later delete. Things happen, there is a moment of confusion and chaos and without knowing what is in the email, Nick fires the email out to over 200 recipients thinking he is doing Angela a favor. The email is not sugar-coated with pleasantries but rather scathing and honest about every single member of Angela's immediate family... This is where the book gets amazing. What happens next!

I can't recommend this book enough. It is such an enjoyable ride. It is a lengthy read but never boring. Much like Liane Moriarty does with Big Little Lies, Monica McInerney injects a great deal of humor to bring to light some rather poignant issues that everyone can relate to. I did not want this story to end, but since it had to, at least I am pleased that the ending was so gratifying.

Arranged

by Catherine McKenzie

Synopsis:

Anne Blythe has a great life: a good job, good friends, and a potential book deal for her first novel. When it comes to finding someone to share it with, however, she just can't seem to get it right.

After yet another relationship ends, Anne comes across a business card for what she thinks is a dating service, and she pockets it just in case. When her best friend, Sarah, announces she's engaged, Anne can't help feeling envious. On an impulse, she decides to give the service a try because maybe she could use a little assistance in finding the right man. But Anne soon discovers the company isn't a dating service; it's an exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriage service. She initially rejects the idea, but the more she thinks about it -- and the company's success rate -- the more it appeals to her. After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world, so why wouldn't it work for her?

A few months later, Anne is traveling to a Mexican resort, where in one short weekend she will meet and marry Jack. And against all odds, it seems to be working out -- until Anne learns that Jack, and the company that arranged their marriage, are not what they seem at all.

My Review:

Are you a cynic when it comes to love and the ideal mate? Or, are you a romantic who believes in serendipity? Regardless, this is a book both your cynical and romantic sides will enjoy thoroughly.  

What if you were ready to get married but hadn't found the right person to marry, only all the wrong people? For Anne, she is always with all of the wrong men for her. She decides to contact an agency that promises to find her a perfect match. She toys with the idea of pursuing the $10000 investment of an arranged marriage and then decides to make it into somewhat of a project for her to disprove that matching up (arranging) couples for marriage according to a formula just doesn't work. She doesn't tell anyone and agrees to meet and marry her match. That part of the book is so much fun. They are in Cancun getting to know each other in an ideal setting and they are actually hitting it off. But it's just never that simple... The end is great!! 

Leaving Time

by Jodi Picoult

Synopsis: 

For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.

Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest. The first is Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons—only to later doubt her gifts. The second is Virgil Stanhope, a jaded private detective who originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.

As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish.

My Review:

This book was AMAZING!!! Emotionally packed yet it was the last line of the book that brought me to tears. Love is such a strong emotion and how intensifies at the death of someone you love even more so. The things you wish you would have said and done and the things you wish you could tell that person long after they are gone. All very real emotions that Jodi Picoult nails with the story of Jenna, Alice, Thomas, Gideon, Grace, Nevvie, Virgil and Serenity. 

Alice is a researcher of elephant behavior. Her research, however, is unorthodox as it focuses on cognitive behaviors that are scientifically are difficult if at all possible to quantify. She is fascinated by the mother/baby relationship in herds as well as elephant's behaviors as related to memory, grieving, love, and motherhood. The story of Alice parallels her own research and Jenna's desire to solve the mystery of her missing mother and the incidents that resulted in a death at the elephant sanctuary where they all live in Boone, NH. 

It was so hard for me to put this book down but I paced myself to really absorb all aspects of the story and the development of the plot. Each character is so unique and so important to the outcome of the story and Jodi Picoult beautifully brings everyone to such an unexpected but appropriate ending. 

I can't recommend this one enough. You will not be disappointed.

The Banks of Certain Rivers

by Jon Harrison

Synopsis:

In the lakeside resort town of Port Manitou, Michigan, dedicated teacher and running coach Neil Kazenzakis shoulders responsibilities that would break a lesser man: a tragic accident has left his wife seriously debilitated, he cares for his mother-in-law who suffers from dementia, and he’s raising his teenage son, Chris, on his own. On top of all that, he’s also secretly been seeing Lauren, his mother-in-law’s caregiver.

When Neil breaks up a fight one day after school, he doesn’t give the altercation much thought. He’s got bigger issues on his mind, like the fact that Lauren is ready for a commitment and he has to figure out a way to tell Chris that he’s in a serious relationship with someone other than the boy’s mother. But when an anonymous person uploads a video of the fight to YouTube, the stunning footage suggests Neil assaulted a student. With his job, his family, and his reputation suddenly in jeopardy, Neil must prove his innocence and win back the trust of the entire community—including his son’s.

Jon Harrison’s The Banks of Certain Rivers is a powerful tale of family, loss, and the meaning of love.

My Review:

This is the story of a seemingly perfect union, high-school sweethearts - Wendy and Neil - destined to be together and live happily ever after until an unfortunate accident causes such severe brain damage that Wendy ends up in a vegetative state from which she will never recover. This happens when their son is just a little kid. We fast-forward to current day. Chris - their son - is now a senior in high school. Neil, is a teacher and track coach at the same high school. Wendy is in an extended care facility which his insurance covers. He is balancing fatherhood with caring for the family land left to Wendy and caring for Wendy's mother - a woman who is advanced in age and diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's.  His plate is full and he is otherwise content in spite of all the terrible misfortune his family has suffered through. He is caught in a scuffle in the parking lot of the school where he believes he has broken up a fight between students when he is knocked down by one of the punches.  Neil moves on thinking that he broke up the fight, to find out that one of the students has accused him of assault and has waged an all-out war to have him fired. To add insult to injury, there is a video of what appears to be Neil actually hitting the student, yet he doesn't remember it happening exactly like that.  The video is uploaded to the Internet and goes viral making his case harder to prove. As he is dealing with losing his job, his credibility and his security of keeping Wendy at the extended care facility he is also dealing with moving on with his life as a result of 2 year love affair with Lauren - the nurse hired to care for his mother-in-law.  It is not simply an affair as he is genuinely in love and Lauren is genuinely in love with him. However, he is unable to disclose his relationship in fear of what it will do to his son Chris. 


All of these elements combine to make for an excellent read that from page one is hard to put down.  The characters are well-crafted and the storyline is not predictable nor unrealistic. This story made me think of how resilient people can truly be in the face of tragedy. When faced with situations that you think could end up breaking you, it is the relationships and support of the people that truly love you that pull you together and give you strength.  

Great story, great book, great author. I will definitely be reading more future works by Jon Harrison.

Everything I Never Told You

by Celeste Ng

 

Synopsis:

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . . So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother’s bright blue eyes and her father’s jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue—in Marilyn’s case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James’s case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party.

When Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost. Lydia’s older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it’s the youngest of the family—Hannah—who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened.

A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, exploring the divisions between cultures and the rifts within a family, and uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

My Review:

I absolutely loved this book. It reminded me of the complex issues of "what if" and "belonging, fitting in" tackled in two movies I saw in the 1990s - Sliding Doors and The Virgin Suicides. This is the story of the Lee family. Marilyn Lee is the beautiful all-American girl who falls in love with Henry Lee, a Chinese immigrant who has struggled his entire life with identity issues and fitting in. Henry has grown up in the U.S. but is raised by his Chinese parents and awkward about both his Chinese heritage and his having to blend in to a very discriminatory and intolerant America of the 1950s. He doesn't know how to blend in but he is smart and determined, so he goes to the best school and graduates top of his class in college. His dream to teach at Harvard (the ultimate American assimilation) remains only a dream as a better "suited" (white) candidate is chosen over him. However, he is content to teach American History at a college where he meets Marilyn. Marilyn is fascinated by his differences and how although he is not like the others he is still brave enough to stand up in front of a class that clears once they see he is Chinese. Marilyn has always been smart and wants to be more than the hopes and dreams of her mother - the Betty Crocker wannabe who teaches home economics at her high school. She hates the notion that just because she is a woman, she should not aspire to pursue science and math fields like physics or medicine. She takes Lee's class as an elective but ends up dropping the class so that she can date Henry. They marry much to the dismay of her mother and so the story begins.

Marilyn and Henry give up a lot of their dreams and settle on being together. Marilyn gets pregnant and Lee is refused for the teaching position at Harvard. Marilyn drops out of college to be a mother. They have two kids - Nath and Lydia. As Nath and Lydia start getting older, Marilyn feels she is not living the life she had wanted and runs away leaving her family behind to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. After 8 weeks she starts missing her family and then finds that she is pregnant with her third child - Hannah - and decides to once again, give up her dreams and go back home.

The book begins when Lydia is 16 years old and has gone missing - to be found dead at the bottom of the nearby lake. How this comes to happen is the result of dreams not fulfilled and living vicariously through one's children. It is also the result of a family so different by the definition of the times that their fitting-in and assimilating to life as they know it is just uncomfortable and unnatural. There is a great emphasis on the notion that it is important to be liked and accepted regardless of your own love and acceptance of yourself. There is shame and dishonor in being different. So, the story takes us through the evolution of the Lee family and their struggles to become the all-American family in a world that touts "melting-pot" when truly it is a very segregated and intolerant world.

This was such an excellent book. I related to some of the feelings and issues discussed in the book as I too came to the U.S. at an early age (9) and had to assimilate and blend in as an outsider. I did not speak the language and I wasn't blonde and fair skinned. However, my experience was nothing like that of the Lee children as my experience was for the most part positive but I could definitely relate to some of the sentiments.

I would highly recommend this book. Celeste Ng is a brilliant writer and I look forward to reading more of her work.

We'll Always Have Paris: A Mother/Daughter Memoir

by Jennifer Coburn  

Synopsis:

How her daughter and her passport taught Jennifer Coburn to forget about dying and truly live. Jennifer Coburn has always been terrified of dying young. It's the reason she drops everything during the summers on a quest to travel through Europe with her daughter, Katie, before it's too late. Even though her husband can't join them, even though she's nervous about the journey, and even though she's perfectly healthy, she spends three to four weeks per trip jamming Katie's mental photo album with memories. In this heartwarming generational love story, Jennifer reveals how their adventures helped relinquish her fear of dying...for the sake of living.

My Review:

 
I really enjoyed this book. Much more than I even expected. I was lucky enough to win an Audible copy. I was so excited and knew I would listen to it with my 17-year old daughter with whom I recently took a trip to Europe. This book was so much more than a telling of Jennifer Coburn and her daughter's (Katie) adventure throughout Europe over several trips. She often related emotions to memories of late father Sheldon (Shelly) Coburn - a musician whose life was cut short when Jennifer was only 18 years old from lung cancer. It was so moving to listen to the recording of Jennifer Coburn herself reading her book. There were sections when she is telling about her father that you can hear genuine emotion in her voice. 

The book is funny, sweet, educational but above all very real. It's just 2 people - a mom and daughter - sharing some very special moments that just happen to take place during their several trips to Europe. They visit such amazing places France, Spain, the Netherlands. This would be a great read for anyone who enjoys and loves travel but as I mentioned before, it is about J. Coburn's relationship with her dad, with her daughter and even with her husband William.

Fantastic book. I took my time listening to this one because I didn't want it to end.

Still Life with Bread Crumbs

by Anna Quindlen

 

Synopsis:

 
Still Life with Bread Crumbs begins with an imagined gunshot and ends with a new tin roof. Between the two is a wry and knowing portrait of Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose work made her an unlikely heroine for many women. Her career is now descendent, her bank balance shaky, and she has fled the city for the middle of nowhere. There she discovers, in a tree stand with a roofer named Jim Bates, that what she sees through a camera lens is not all there is to life. 

Brilliantly written, powerfully observed, Still Life with Bread Crumbs is a deeply moving and often very funny story of unexpected love, and a stunningly crafted journey into the life of a woman, her heart, her mind, her days, as she discovers that life is a story with many levels, a story that is longer and more exciting than she ever imagined.

My Review:

This book and the story was very personal for me. It touched a nerve for me that made me both sad and happy, but primarily happy. We are always growing whether you are 2, 22 or 82. And I don't mean the obvious. There is no finish line to becoming the person you think you are or should be. There is only the end and even you reach the end you just want to make sure that above all you were true to yourself and not necessarily to everyone around you. Rebecca realizes that sometimes what appears to be a misfortune is nothing more than a next chapter to the ongoing book of your life. Sometimes you have to move away, very far away from what you think you are to find out more about who you are and what you are capable of. Wonderful book. Relatable and endearing in many ways. 

A Man Called Ove

by Fredrik Backman

Synopsis:

 
A quirky debut novel from Sweden about a grumpy yet loveable man who finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon — the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?


Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.


A feel-good story in the spirit of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Fredrik Backman’s novel about the angry old man next door is a thoughtful and charming exploration of the profound impact one life has on countless others.

My Review:

This story of a man called Ove is so beautiful and heartwarming. He is a 59 year old man whom we meet 6 months after the death of his wife - Sonya. He is grumpy and difficult but truly has the biggest, most honest heart. He lives his life by a single code - a man is defined by the things he does and not the things he says. Oh, and the car they drive is the true measure of their good sense. And, of course, there is only one car which meets the highest levels of honor - a Swedish-made Saab (Volvo being the only other car to come close). All he wants to do is take his life so that he can be together with Sonya. But, the world is not ready for him to go. I don't want to give away more of the story as it truly is a beautiful and enjoyable one to read. This book made me smile.

The Promise of Stardust 

by Priscille Sibley

Synopsis:

Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, seventeen when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and thirty-three when he convinced her to marry him. Now in their late 30s, the deeply devoted couple has everything-except the baby they've always wanted. When an accident leaves Elle brain dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear the thought of life without her, he knows Elle was afraid of only one thing-a slow death. And so, Matt resolves to take her off life support. But Matt changes his mind when they discover Elle's pregnant. While there are no certainties, the baby might survive if Elle remains on life support. Matt's mother, Linney, disagrees with his decision. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive on machines. Linney is prepared to fight her son in court-armed with Elle's living will.


Divided by the love they share, Matt and Linney will be pitted against each other, fighting for what they believe is right, and what they think Elle would have wanted resulting in a controversial legal battle that will ultimately go beyond one family . . . and one single life.

My Review:

Imagine being faced with the choice of honoring your wife's "Do not resuscitate" request or saving the life of the unborn child she is carrying. After a traumatic brain injury, Elle is left in a vegetative state. Her husband, Matt, who is a neuron-surgeon knows that her expressed request was that she be allowed to die in peace and no resuscitation efforts be made. However, things get complicated as he finds out from the ER physician that she was 8 weeks pregnant and the fetus is alive and well. What would Elle want him to do? 

Matt is torn between what he knows clinically, what he knows about the only person he every truly loved and wife (Elle), and what the law will allow. There are also the opinions and strong feelings of all around Elle - her dad, her brother, her friend, etc. And to complicate matters worse Elle and devout Catholic and the church's stance on terminating a life which incites the court of public opinion that has naturally formed from all of the media coverage of the case. 

This book handles a lot of issues regarding life/death, quality vs. quantity of life, the choice to die with dignity, when is a life considered a life (at conception or after the 8 week time frame the courts deem it a fetus), religious doctrine, etc. However, this author beautifully tells the story without getting on any kind of "soap box". 

Everyone has a good argument in the matter and no one is 100% right. Whether you take a pro-life or pro-choice stance or whether your religious beliefs dictate your opinion, this story is honest and emotive. I could not put this book down. Regardless of my views on any of the topics addressed or my religious beliefs, it was refreshing to see so many perspectives being expressed. It goes to show that some things are not simply black and white. Some decisions (most important ones in my opinion) are shaded in a great deal of gray and the law and religion can only serve as guide.

Someone Else's Love Story

by Joshilyn Jackson 

Synopsis:

At twenty-one, Shandi Pierce is juggling finishing college, raising her delightful three-year-old genius son Natty, and keeping the peace between her eternally warring, long-divorced Catholic mother and Jewish father. She’s got enough complications without getting caught in the middle of a stick-up in a gas station mini-mart and falling in love with a great wall of a man named William Ashe, who willingly steps between the armed robber and her son.

Shandi doesn’t know that her blond god Thor has his own complications. When he looked down the barrel of that gun he believed it was destiny: It’s been one year to the day since a tragic act of physics shattered his universe. But William doesn’t define destiny the way other people do. A brilliant geneticist who believes in science and numbers, destiny to him is about choice.

Now, he and Shandi are about to meet their so-called destinies head on, in a funny, charming, and poignant novel about science and miracles, secrets and truths, faith and forgiveness,; about a virgin birth, a sacrifice, and a resurrection; about falling in love, and learning that things aren’t always what they seem—or what we hope they will be. It’s a novel about discovering what we want and ultimately finding what we need.

My Review:

This is an author that has quickly become one of my favorites. Her writing is so witty, so funny, yet so poignant. She tackles tough issues with a sense of humor without being tacky or offensive to those victimized by the same terrors: abuse, rape, etc. She also provides her readers a glimpse into the life of a highly-functioning autistic man with Asperger's Syndrome.

Great story. Hard to describe without giving too much away but brilliantly written and definitely an entertaining and fulfilling read.

Eleanor and Park

by Rainbow Rowell  

 

Synopsis:

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

My Review:

I feel that I have to preface this review with the fact that I don't read YA Fiction. I just find that I can't relate to it. HOWEVER, this particular story truly resonated with me. I could have been anyone of these wonderful characters as I grew up in this same time in the 80s. Although the intended audience is YA, if you grew up in the 80s, you will definitely relate.

Fantastic coming-of-age story. The story takes place in the 80's at the same time as I would have have been in high school too. I couldn't help but think the whole time I was reading that I could have known Eleanor and Park in my school. They were each present in everyone's high school in the 80s. Just take a look at your yearbook. This is what I loved most about this book. Not only was the relationship between the two so genuine and sweet but the story itself was very real. Two outcasts in a world (high school) that has its rules and social norms unique to those of the outside (the real) world. It's hard to navigate that world no matter when the story takes place. I have 2 high schoolers and although there is a 25 year difference from when I was in high school and now that they are, they can relate to this story just the same.

Eleanor is the hero in this story. A girl who is dealing with very tough issues outside of her own control. She has a mother who is not a very good role model to her daughters. She loves her kids but has her priorities somewhat messed up. She is so desperate to please the man in her life that she turns a blind eye to the security her children need. Eleanor finds herself looking over her shoulder at all times for the exploitative, sexually implicit stares and innuendo her step-father hurls her way. But, she is smart and witty and in spite of all of the poor role-models and lack of nurturing in her life, she is a fighter. She is secure in herself and is determined to save herself if no one else will. Park, is also an outcast, but for very different reasons. His difference lies in the fact that his mother is Korean and his father American. Growing up in the rural mid-West makes his ethnicity part of how other kids judge him. Tough, for a kid who is trying to establish his own identity and not be labeled according to his ethnicity alone. Long story short, these two come together and their differences, struggles, insecurities, strengths and weaknesses become the foundation for their heart-warming and fulfilling love story.

Big Little Lies 

by Liane Moriarty 

Synopsis:

 

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . . A murder. . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?  What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.   But who did what?


Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:   Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?). 

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.   New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all. 

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive

 

My Review:

This book was AMAZING. I've always avoided books about domestic violence because they are depressing and make me feel frustrated and helpless. But this book was so funny without downplaying the importance of awareness and impact. It was poignant. The title of the book is so perfect because of the irony. These little lies that people tell to avoid the reality of life. Or, maybe not "avoid" but "deal with". And most of the little lies are everything but little. The lies have a ripple effect that impact everything and everyone around them. Perception being the reason for each and every lie.

The story takes place in a small beachside town of Perriwee in the Perriwee peninsula of Australia. An ideal place for raising a perfect family. The adults all know each other and they are very involved in every aspect of their children's lives. The PTA is a way of life and they are the lifeblood of the school around which the story takes place. On orientation day, there is an incident of bullying and assault on one of the kids Amabella - the daughter of the most obnoxiously self-important parent - Renata. As a result of the incident sides and alligences are made clear. As a result of this grade school incident many "little" lies surface and everyone involved is forced to face the big consequences - a death, serious and on-going incidents of well-hidden domestic violence, bullying, sexual assault, verbal abuse, identity issues, lack of self-respect and absentee parents. The entire book revolves around uncovering these lies, determining whose death results from all of it and who is the guilty murderer.

The author is brilliant making you care about the victims and seeing that sometimes we have to look beyond the seemingly perfect exterior to find the truth people go out of their way to hide. You find yourself reacting kind of indignant and thinking "this would never happen to me" and then you (at least I did) realize that you are not immune. All of us are capable of being the aggressor and/or the victim. It's all about the "little" lies we tell to manipulate perceptions.

This, in my opinion, is a must-read. It will make you re-evaluate your notions about violence and accountability.  

Madame Picasso 

by Anne Girard

Synopsis:

 

When Eva Gouel moves to Paris from the countryside, she is full of ambition and dreams of stardom. Though young and inexperienced, she manages to find work as a costumer at the famous Moulin Rouge, and it is here that she first catches the attention of Pablo Picasso, a rising star in the art world.

A brilliant but eccentric artist, Picasso sets his sights on Eva, and Eva can't help but be drawn into his web. But what starts as a torrid affair soon evolves into what will become the first great love of Picasso's life.

With sparkling insight and passion, Madame Picasso introduces us to a dazzling heroine, taking us from the salon of Gertrude Stein to the glamorous Moulin Rouge and inside the studio and heart of one of the most enigmatic and iconic artists of the twentieth century.

My Review:

Excellent book. Wonderful writing. Beautiful story. Fantastic depiction of a love story that made a man into a legend. Pablo Picasso took many lovers in his life but as I now know, only had one true love - Eva Gouel.  Anne Girard's book Madame Picasso takes us through the 4 year love affair that according to many close to Picasso, changed his life and defined him as a genius amongst his peers and even rivals of the time.

I am very drawn to stories that feature lesser known people in life who have made a significant impact in the life of other, greater known personalities. Many times, we learn that these muses in the lives of such grand eccentrics and brilliant artists are truly the ones with substance and whose lives are most fascinating. Probably the reason why they are so drawn to them. Their lives often end in tragedy and in spite of their impact to the artist their memories become a lesser known sub-plot to the grand life of he/she whom they have inspired.  I think of people like Zelda Sayre and now, Eva Gouel who were so much more than just lovers and spouses and confidants.

I did not know much about Picasso prior to reading this book. I have seen Guernica at the Louvre in more than one occasion and I'm familiar with his cubist works but other than that and the commonly known Spanish, superstitious, hot-head personality he was well-known to being, I feel like this book offered me a perspective about his life and what motivated him and brought him such great fame.  However, this great book is not about Picasso alone, but rather a snippet of time (4 years) of his life that defined his future beyond 1915.

I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Ms. Girard's writing style. How can you lose with so many references to the beautiful streets of Paris and the amazing landmarks - The Moulin Rouge, Montparnasse and Montmatre. As well as the fascinating characters of the time - Gertrude Stein, and Guillaume Apollinaire to name a few. This book was so engrossing and enjoyable. It was evident that she wanted to do the memory of Eva Gouel due justice. 

Five Days Left

by Julie Lawson Timmer

Synopsis:

 
A heart-wrenching debut about two people who must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for love.
 
Mara Nichols, a successful lawyer, and devoted wife and adoptive mother, has recently been diagnosed with a terminal disease. Scott Coffman, a middle school teacher, has been fostering an eight-year-old boy while the boy’s mother serves a jail sentence. Scott and Mara both have five days left until they must say good-bye to the ones they love the most. Through their stories, Julie Lawson Timmer explores the individual limits of human endurance, the power of relationships, and that sometimes loving someone means holding on, and sometimes it means letting go.

My Review:

I am in awe of writers who can so eloquently yet simply convey every emotion in one book without focusing and dwelling on one emotion. How many times have I read books that are happy or sad or both but overall are just concentrated on these two emotions. This book by an amazingly talented new writer every emotion is felt by the reader through the experiences the characters go through in 5 days.

Mara is a high-powered lawyer whose life has always been about challenging herself, taking risks and being successful at just about everything she undertakes. She is in control of everything in her life. Until she is handed a death-sentence and is diagnosed with Huntington's Disease. A slow but aggressive neurological disease that causes the body and brain to shut down over time rendering the person incapable of any muscle control until they reach a vegetative state and die. There is no cure. Mara is devastated at the thought of losing any and all control of herself and her life. Not so much for her but for the burden she will be to everyone she loves. So, her only way to take back control of her life, she decides to control her death and not wait until HD determines her premature death for her. We are introduced to Mara 5 days before her 43rd birthday and we are a witness to her emotional resolve: anger, desperation, sadness, love, happiness, frustration, humiliation, self-loathing, injustice, etc.

The secondary story is that of Scott. A thirty-something married man living in Michigan and teaching in the inner city of Detroit. He has agreed to assume guardianship of 7 year old Curtis. His mother is sent to prison on a drug charge and he has no family to care for him. In the year's time Scott grows to love Curtis as his own. Through difficult and challenging times he earns the boy's respect. His wife is now expecting their first child and does not want to permanently assume responsibility for Curtis. When Curtis' mother is released and takes Curtis back Scott is devastated and torn between the right and wrong and his selfish and selfless reasons for not giving Curtis up. Like with Mara, we are introduced to Scott five days before he is to relinquish custody of Curtis to his mother.

What I loved most about this book is that there were no good and/or bad characters just good and bad circumstances that were indifferent to what is fair in the world. However, what I took from their stories is that life does not come in a neatly wrapped package. There is no such thing as happily ever after. There is just a life - here and now. And, fairness neither plays a part nor determines the outcomes. One would think (and I was reluctant to read this book at first because I don't understand suicide) that a book about a person planning their own death would be sad and depressing; but it wasn't. Not at all. Mara's character is brave and selfless and yes of course unfairly cut short but she was real. Reading her letters to Tom and Laks really made me smile and for me took a normally selfish act and turned it into a happy and just ending.

I would love to meet this author in person and tell her just what a beautiful and emotionally charged book this was for me. This why I love reading so much and I can't wait to read more.

The Stories We Tell

by Patti Callahan Henry  

Synopsis:

 
Eve and Cooper Morrison are Savannah’s power couple. They’re on every artistic board and deeply involved in the community. She owns and operates a letterpress studio specializing in the handmade; he runs a digital magazine featuring all things southern gentlemen. The perfect juxtaposition of the old and the new, Eve and Cooper are the beautiful people. The lucky ones. And they have the wealth and name that comes from being part of an old Georgia family. But things may not be as good as they seem. Eve’s sister, Willa, is staying with the family until she gets "back on her feet." Their daughter, Gwen, is all adolescent rebellion. And Cooper thinks Eve works too much. Still, the Morrison marriage is strong. After twenty-one years together, Eve and Cooper know each other. They count on each other. They know what to expect. But when Cooper and Willa are involved in a car accident, the questions surrounding the event bring the family close to breaking point. Sifting between the stories—what Cooper says, what Willa remembers, what the evidence indicates—Eve has to find out what really happened. And what she’s going to do about it.

My Review:

Loved it. The notion that the stories people tell are not always the truth of things. Just because people say things it doesn't will them to be true. Great read with a lot of guessing as to what Eve the protagonist will do in processing the truth about her marriage, her relationships, her life and future.

Dollbaby

by Laura Lane McNeal  

Synopsis:

When Ibby Bell’s father dies unexpectedly in the summer of 1964, her mother unceremoniously deposits Ibby with her eccentric grandmother Fannie and throws in her father’s urn for good measure. Fannie’s New Orleans house is like no place Ibby has ever been—and Fannie, who has a tendency to end up in the local asylum—is like no one she has ever met. Fortunately, Fannie’s black cook, Queenie, and her smart-mouthed daughter, Dollbaby, take it upon themselves to initiate Ibby into the ways of the South, both its grand traditions and its darkest secrets.

For Fannie’s own family history is fraught with tragedy, hidden behind the closed rooms in her ornate Uptown mansion. It will take Ibby’s arrival to begin to unlock the mysteries there. And it will take Queenie and Dollbaby’s hard-won wisdom to show Ibby that family can sometimes be found in the least expected places.
 

My Review:

Probably the best southern historical fiction I have read to date. Every year I read a book that just stands out for its beauty in the storytelling, the writing, the story, the characters and above all the emotion it evokes when I have the pleasure of reading it. This is for me the book for 2014 (so far). The story of Ibby (Liberty Alice Bell) and her life with her grandmother Fanny, her housekeeper Queenie, Queenie's daughter Babydoll and the rest of their unconventional but equally delightful family (Tbone, Birdelia, Crow, Graham, Balfour, and Norwood). 

The story begins at the height of the Civil Rights movement in 1964 when Ibby's father dies suddenly while on a bicycle outing with Ibby around their home in Olympia, WA. Ibby's mother (Vidrene) packs Ibby up and takes her to Graham's mother (Fanny Bell)in their hometown of New Orleans, LA with the intention of going away for a while to find herself. Vidrene has spoken very poorly of Fanny to Ibby so she is apprehensive of meeting her grandmother whom she assumes is old, crazy and eccentric. Ibby immediately comes to find that her grandmother is unconventional but fascinating and nothing like her mother had set her up to be. Her mother never comes back for Ibby and Fanny assumes the role of caring for her granddaughter and teaching her about the ways of the South. We meet the house staff at Fanny's house to include Queenie and her daughter Babydoll who love and respect Fanny not just as their employer but as their own kin. The book goes from 1964 to 1972 as we see Ibby mature into a college student at Tulane University. 

Throughout the story we see the impact of historical events (i.e. Civil Rights movement, the Woolworth sit ins, the Vietnam war, drugs, the Black Panthers,the introduction of James Brown and the Funk music movement, to name a few) as seen through the eyes of these wonderful characters. So many things happen to these characters as would have happened to frame their lives. All of the stories are revealed as any one of the characters reminisces to a time and place prior to that day in telling Ibby about her Grandmother and their family's past. This book is warm and inviting and the storytelling is as Southern in flavor and style as Gone With the Wind. 

I loved reading every page and look forward to hopefully more by Laura Lane McNeal. 

The Orchardist

by Amanda Coplin

 

Synopsis:

 

Set in the untamed American West, a highly original and haunting debut novel about a makeshift family whose dramatic lives are shaped by violence, love, and an indelible connection to the land.

You belong to the earth, and the earth is hard.

At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, a solitary orchardist named Talmadge carefully tends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly half a century. A gentle, solitary man, he finds solace and purpose in the sweetness of the apples, apricots, and plums he grows, and in the quiet, beating heart of the land--the valley of yellow grass bordering a deep canyon that has been his home since he was nine years old. Everything he is and has known is tied to this patch of earth. It is where his widowed mother is buried, taken by illness when he was just thirteen, and where his only companion, his beloved teenaged sister Elsbeth, mysteriously disappeared. It is where the horse wranglers--native men, mostly Nez Perce--pass through each spring with their wild herds, setting up camp in the flowering meadows between the trees.

One day, while in town to sell his fruit at the market, two girls, barefoot and dirty, steal some apples. Later, they appear on his homestead, cautious yet curious about the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, Jane and her sister Della take up on Talmadage's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Yet just as the girls begin to trust him, brutal men with guns arrive in the orchard, and the shattering tragedy that follows sets Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect them, putting himself between the girls and the world, but to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.

Writing with breathtaking precision and empathy, Amanda Coplin has crafted an astonishing debut novel about a man who disrupts the lonely harmony of an ordered life when he opens his heart and lets the world in. Transcribing America as it once was before railways and roads connected its corners, she weaves a tapestry of solitary souls who come together in the wake of unspeakable cruelty and misfortune, bound by their search to discover the place they belong. At once intimate and epic, evocative and atmospheric, filled with haunting characters both vivid and true to life, and told in a distinctive narrative voice, The Orchardist marks the beginning of a stellar literary career.

My Review:

This story takes place in Wenatchee, WA during a time when the Pacific Northwest was just starting to flourish and other than the big cities of Seattle and Spokane, many lived in a very rural setting. It is turn of the century and life is hard for the middle aged Talmage.  He has lived in his little cabin on his apple and apricot orchard since the death of his mother when he was 12 and the mysterious disappearance of his sister when he was 15. He keeps to himself for the most part except for his occasional visits with his life-long friend Caroline Mitty and his mute friend Clee. He is content with his uneventful life until 2 pregnant runaway sisters show up on his farmland and become what he considers to be his new-found responsibility. The two sisters, Jane and Della, are distrustful but desperate to escape a life of physical and mental abuse by what we believe to be their own father. Talmage protects them and even helps to birth one of the girls babies. These young women have decided and made a pact that they would rather die than return to the life that has robbed them of their innocence. Everything is against them - the laws, the land, circumstance. But Talmage is a good, honest person who simply wants them to have a chance at life. The life he feels his sister never got. 

The story takes us through the death of one sister and the survival of the other. Talmage assumes full parental responsibility of Angeline, Jane's surviving child and raises her there on the orchard as best as he can. Angeline however is not made aware of how her life came to be until Talmage has to confront her with the truths about the life of her mother and aunt. Talmage, goes on a personal mission to make things right for the surviving of the two sisters so that Angeline has a connection to family he feels is very important. 

This story is about love, self-discovery, the damage caused by mental and physical abuse, redemption, truth, and family. Although his blood-relatives are not part of that family, Talmage manages to create a family as a result of the ties created by Jane, Della, Caroline, Clee, and Angeline. 

Beautifully written and well-developed story. Although it is heart wrenching at times it does seem to paint a picture of how hard it was to be a woman at the turn of the century and how tough it was to make a life in the desolate Pacific Northwest.