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| Name : | Liz P. |
My Reviews
I won ten copies of this book for my book club and I was pleasantly surprised when all in our group enjoyed the book. It is a story of love, forgiveness and hope. It had some thought provoking moments and enabled a lively discussion. The way the chapters were titled added to the overall effect of the story.
A very dark and disturbing story of a young girl that survives a horrific accident. My bookclub did not enjoy this book at all.
The first 200 pages were completely boring and unbelievable. The story does pick up midway, but jumps back and forth in time which I do not like. Cassie is a twenty something and just lost her beloved grandmother. She leaves her life in NYC to go to the small Ohio town where she has inherited a falling down mansion. While there she is contacted by someone to inform her she has just inherited a large sum of money from a movie star. But first she must prove she is related to him. Thus her quest begins in finding out about her grandmothers past.
The Waverly family has always been a bit different. Claire makes things happen with the foods she cooks with ingredients from her garden. Evanelle has uncontrollable urges to give things to people. Sydney isn't sure what her gift is and she is trying to avoid it.
This is a lovely, different type of story that my bookclub is reading for the month of April.
Auggie is a fifth grader entering a mainstream school for the first time after being homeschooled all of his life. He was born with a terrible facial deformity, has had numerous surgeries but is normal in every other way. Each segment of the book is told by a different character, giving their perspective on Auggie's
situation. As you can imagine there are many trials and tribulations that he must face. The theme of the book is kindness and how we must be kinder than necessary.
While I loved this book i feel it really is a young adult story and would not make a good bookclub choice.
Ove is 59 years old and a bit of a grouch. Most people avoid him, which is fine by him. He has an agenda ( I won't say what it is) but he keeps getting interrupted. This story is beautifully written. It will make you laugh, cry and best of think about what is really important in life.
Elsa is seven years old with no friends except for an excentric Grandmother. Granny is teaching Elsa it is okay to be different through fairy tales she makes up. When Granny dies, Elsa must deliver letters to the other quirky residents in her building. In doing so she really learns that being different is okay.
This book will make you laugh and cry and think.
Four people, two of them are lifelong friends, are changed by a tragic accident. Marriages and trusts are broken and forgiveness does not seem to be an answer.
The story is told by the four main characters with a back story that is told in reverse chronological order. I felt the accident was not important, the choices the couples made would have been done so with out it, no matter what. My bookclub will discuss this this week.
My bookclub mostly liked this story about two couples who are drawing apart because of an accident. While the writing was not great we did have a very good discussion about the characters.
In this book, Candice Bergen discusses, way to much, about what she has and her successes. There is no flow to the book at all. It jumps around all over the place.
Finn and Violet are star crossed lovers who finally connect. Then Finn does the unthinkable. It is a story of lies, secrets and deceit and a mother's love.
The first half of the book does not flow evenly because it jumps back and forth through the years, but midway it comes together and makes it a story worth reading.
Sharla Cody is only five when her mother leaves her with Addy Shadd, an elderly neighbor. Addy is not sure she is up to the task of raising a child at this stage of her life, but as they bond, neither can imagine life without the other. Addy has had a difficult life and now that she is nearing the end of it, she worries who will care for Sharla when she is gone.
This is a beautifully written.
Rebecca Winter was once a famous and wealthy photographer. Now in her 60's she has leased out her NYC apartment and moved to a cabin in the middle of nowhere where she meets Jim Bates, 40's, a roofer. Rebecca is embarking on a new chapter in her life and a journey of self discovery begins.
This book has a very slow start, but definitely picks up midway.
As a thirty something Mr. Vance is writing his memoir based on his life as a hillbilly. While he is to be commended that he was able to join the Marines, go to college,graduate from Harvard Law and marry a wonderful woman, I don't feel this book tells us anything we don't already know and for which we have no solutions. The problems he describes are not limited to hillibillies, but any group that is in the same socio economic situation.
The story begins with Frankie as a child living on her family's apple orchard which she loves very much. As she grows older she becomes aware of the difference in family dynamics. Who will stay on the farm, who will leave and what will happen when and if the next generation takes over.
Russ is 32 years old and believes his life is perfect, job, wife, house and adoring child. All of that suddenly changes and he must reevaluate his life and make many changes. He must realize what is truly important.
Coralie is living a life in a museum in Brooklyn during the early 1900's. She was born with webbed fingers. Her father runs the Museum with oddities, both alive and preserved. Eddie is a Russian immigrant who has run away from his community. He achieves a certain amount of fame as a photographer. When their paths cross both of them realize they are destined to be together.
The first half of this book is written as two separate stories, Coralie's and Eddie's it is not until well past the halfway mark their tales converge and the book becomes quite interesting. The second half was well worth the read.
Jubilee Jenkins is born with a rare allergy making her allergic to human touch. At age 18 she becomes a recluse for nine years then is forced to go out into the world & get a job. She meets Eric, who has his own problems and they fall in love. I enjoyed this book until I got to the ending.
Two fifteen year old boys, one from a privileged white family, the other a black Somolian refugee become unlikely friends when the refugee is given a scholarship to a prestigious school in Bristol, England. One night the boys sneak out of the house with dire consequences. Inspector Clemo is the one who has to sort everything out as to what really happened that fateful night.
The is a great psychological thriller thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.
Rachel is seven years old and living in Hawaii, when it is discovered that she has contracted leprosy. She is taken away from her family and must live on Moloka'i in the leper colony. The story begins in the late eighteen hundreds and follows Rachel until adulthood.
It is beautifully written as well as heartbreaking at times.
Donald Wolfe has it all, a bright future as a lawyer, a fabulous apartment, a beautiful and pregnant wife. The marriage suddenly begins to fail. Donald believes he must make a drastic decision, one that will forever change not only his life, but that of his daughter as well.
Trevor is fourteen and his parents are facing a divorce. He and his father travel to Washington state at the request of his quirky Aubt Serena, to try and get grandpa Samuel to sign a power of attorney so The can sell the family mansion and the forest around it. However Ben, the ghost has other ideas.
After spending fifteen years working in Africa, Frankie Rowley comes home to a small town in New England. As soon as she arrives, someone begins setting fires to the homes of the summer people. She begins an affair with the editor of the local newspaper.
After trudging through this story, I feel there are too many questions left unanswered. This is definitely not this author's best work.
Winter Street Inn is owned by Kevin &a his second wife Mitzi. Up until this year the Inn has been a huge success. As Christmas approaches everything and everyone seems to be falling apart. The Quinn family gives the word dysfunctional a whole new meaning. The story has it all, love triangles, unplanned Pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, you name it and it is here. It is a quick book to read, perfect for bookclubs this time of year.
I won this copy in a Goodreads giveaway. I don't usually enjoy short stories, but Jojo Moyes has hit a home run with this book. It contains one novella and several short stories.
The novella is about a woman who is planing a weekend getaway with her boyfriend. She gets stood up. She decides to stay in Paris. Much happens to her during this weekend and she discovers her real self.
The rest of the stories are equally as good.
This is the second book in this series as told by Christian. No surprises here. It was exactly what you would expect.
Lillian is 85 years old and it is New Year's Eve 1984. As a young woman she moved from Washington D.C. to NYC and was able to secure a job writing advertisements for R.H. Macy, eventually becoming the highest paid woman advertising copywriter in the country. She was also an accomplished poet having had several books published. On this night she decides to take around Manhattan.
The story is told in alternating chapters the present and the past. My bookclub will discuss it this month and I look forward to having a great deal to talk about.
In the year 1939 Georgia Tann is the director of a Memphis based adoption organization that kidnapped and sold children from poor families to the rich and famous. There were politicians involved who kept what they knew to themselves. Children were abused and mistreated horribly until they were placed with wealthy families where their lives did change for the better, but this left the biological parents in turmoil never knowing what happened to their children, having been told some died at birth or informed in order to get care for the children they needed to sign over temporary custody, which was a lie. They were signing over parental rights.
While this is a book of fiction, it is based on true events. One cannot truly understand the horrors these children suffered.
In Australia there are three women, mothers, all with very different lives. The story is about lies that are told and secrets that are kept so the people around them will think they are "normal". It's also about cruelty and bullying for adults as well as children.
It is wonderfully written and gives you plenty to think about.
Lo has been a travel writer for several years for a magazine. When her boss goes on maternity leave she is given the opportunity to take a week long cruise on a new, small ship, very high end. While in her cabin she hears something or someone being thrown overboard. When she reports it, no one takes her seriously because there is no one missing. She meets one obstacle after another in her attempt to prove something is amiss.
The book starts off a bit slow, but picks up about midway through.
Theresa is high Society in New York during the 1920's. She has a philandering husband and a bachelor brother. She falls in love with a much younger man who wants to marry her, but divorce is not an option. When her brother decides to marry, Theresa has Octavian, her lover, check out the background of Miss Sophie Fortescue. What he finds would have been better for all if it had not been discovered.
Lucy's daughter found a manuscript written by her mother when she was cleaning out her mother's belongings and it became this book. It chronicles her life from beginning up until she marries Gary Morton. I found it to be very interesting and nicely written. Lucy had a very varied and successful career.
I chose this book for my bookclub because of the good reviews.
Nora Hamilton thinks she has the perfect life until her husband, a police officer kills himself. As she investigates, to find out why he did this, she uncovers the many secrets of her small town.
I found this to be a confusing story with two many character.
Brooke Trappenell is a single mom and lawyer trying to establish her own practice. She is summoned by an elderly eccentric woman to a small island. While working for Josephine, she uncovers a decades old murder, lies and many secrets.
This is a quick, easy and entertaining read, but I would not recommend it to my book club.
A debut novel that keeps you guessing till the end. The flashbacks are done nicely so that you don't mind them.
Ted and Lily have been together since Lily was a pup. Lily has shown Ted how to live and love. She also has shown him that life does go on after a great loss.
Christopher Knight, at the age of twenty decides to give up everything and live as a hermit in the Maine woods. Surprisingly he survives for twenty seven years. In all that time he has only spoken one word, has never been sick and survived by his wits and stealing only what he needed from the cabins that surrounded his camp.
I expected this book to have more information about these famous Roosevelt cousins. The first half of the book was mostly about politics. The story did pick up midway and began to delve more into their personal lives.
Logan is only nine years old, but has seen a side of his father that no one, let alone a child should ever have to see. Because of events in his short life, Logan has become mute, which enrages his father even more. One evening when the abuse that his father inflicts becomes unbearable, Logan runs. He doesn't realize, the truck he is hiding in is a moving truck going to another state. He is able to survive on his own for several days and begins to think his life is finally getting better, when his father finds him.
This is a story of finding love and living with hope in your heart.
It is beautifully written and though the subject matter is hard it is a well told story.
I received my copy from bookreporter.com. This is an honest review and the first book I have read by this author.
When Paul Davis sees a colleague driving erratically, he follows him thinking he made need help. What he discovers will alter the course of his life. Paul's wife, Charlotte, is unaphappy in their marriage and devises a plan to end the marriage without going through a messy divorce.
This book will keep you guessing till the very end with many twists and turns.
Alicia is found in her kitchen along with her husband's body and a gun. He has been shot five times in the face. Alicia never speaks another word to anyone, even during her trial. She is placed in an institution where psychotherapist, Theo Faber, has become obsessed with finding out not only why she killed her husband, but why she will not speak about what happened that fateful night.
This is a well written thriller which will keep you guessing until the end.
Elise and Nicholas do not know each other, but both are dreading the upcoming holiday season. He see her everyday eating lunch alone in the food court. He introduces himself and proposes they sign a contract in which for the next eight weeks they will pretend, with no strings attached or intimacy, that there are a couple. She agrees and the invevitable happens, but they both harbor secrets that could destroy their relationship.
Wolf has had a difficult life and has decided on his eighteenth birthday to end his life. He is an experienced hiker and heads for the Mountain. While there he comes across three women who have become lost and beg him to help them find their way back. What ensues is a series of mishaps leaving them stranded for several days with no food or water and they must rely solely on each other for survival.
Jessica joins a morality study given by a Doctor in order to earn some extra money. It seems very easy at first, but as she gets deeper into the study, she realizes she doesn't know who to believe, The Doctor, the doctor's husband or even herself.
Maurice's wife has passed away and he cannot get over the loss. His only son and his family live on another continent. At 84 years old he had decided to end his life. This is a wonderful book told in chapters about a person who has been an important part of his life.
This is the story of two girls growing up together on a failing sugar plantation in Brazil. One is the daughter of the owner, the other the orphan of an unwed mother. The story follows their lives from childhood to old age and is wonderfully written.
Addie Baum is 85 years old and telling her life's story to her granddaughter Ava for a school project. The way the story is written the characters really come to life and you can picture where they are at that moment. It is wonderful to see the changes, and how she handles them from 1915 - 1985.
Tara Westover did not attend school until she was 17 years old. She was self taught and managed to get into Brigham Young University as well as Cambridge and Harvard. I do not understand how, when so many members of their church and community knew of this family, why no one notified the authorities that there was a family will several children not seeing a doctor or attending school. Even though she has some small jobs to go along with her scholarships, how did she afford to travel to the Mid East, Paris and back and forth to Idaho.
Joe Talbert is interviewing Carl Iverson for a college course. Carl is a decorated Vietnam Veteran who is dying of cancer. He is also a convicted rapist and murderer. Carl insists he was wrongly convicted and Joe along with his next door neighbor Lila and some help from his autistic brother begin to unravel the truth about Carl Iverson.
Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli are rivals in the couture word of fashion in Paris before the war. Not only are their styles different, but their politics as well. Lily, a young widow travels to France to visit her brother and through his girlfriend becomes involved in both women's lives.
The descriptions of Paris and the clothes are done very well, but the story itself just drags on a bit too much.
Doss grew up poor in Georgia. Abigail Grace was raised in a privileged life, the daughter of a powerful southern Senator. When a chance meeting happens they both realize they are soul mates, much to the displeasure of the Senator. Ten years into the marriage Abbie devolps a very aggressive for of cancer. Treatment will not help her. Her dying wish is to complete ten things, one of which is to canoe down a river. Along the journey they encounter many obstacles.
While this story was entertaining I found it moved a bit slow. The writing, while good failed to bring tears to my eyes.
The year is 1952. The story takes place in Elizabeth, NJ. During a short period of time there are three plane crashes of flights leaving Newark Airport, leaving death and devastation. Two of the crashes actually did occur. The story follows the main character, Miri Ammerman, who has witnessed the crashes, as she grows and tries to come to terms with the disaster and how it has affected those around her.
This was another good book by this author, however I don't feel book clubs would enjoy it.
Cute vignettes about everyday life. A quick and easy read.
I won this book from Goodreads.
I found this book long and tiring. The sentences were way to long and at times the characters very confusing. I do not enjoy a book that jumps back and forth in time.
I chose this book for my book club and was very sorry I did. I expected more about the lives of the actors and the filming of the movie. This book seemed to deal with history behind the story and many parts were repetitive.
Annie Clements is a young bride living in Michigan in the early 1900’s. Her husband works in the largest copper mine in the world. Conditions in the mine are poor at best and the living conditions for the miners is even worse. Annie decides to stand up for the miners and tries to get them unionized. She faces insurmountable odds with obstacles every step of the way.
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway and would have given it TEN stars if possible.
Sylvie Lee was sent by her parents to be raised in Holland with relatives. She return home after several years. When her grandmother in Holland is near death, she returns one last time, by this time Sylvie is a married woman. While in Holland many secrets are revealed and she discovers her life is not what it seems. When she disappears, her younger sister Amy goes abroad to try and find her.
The first half of this book was very slow moving, the middle started to get interesting ,but it was very easy to figure out the plot.
Yejide and Akin have been in love since college. They marry and hope to start a family. Their culture believes in polygamy, but they do not. After four years of marriage, Yejide is still not pregnant and his family brings in a second wife. Both she and Akin go to great lengths to have a child. Finally it happens, but with dire consequences.
Mia’s father is a judge, her mother and sister are self absorbed. While in a bar one night she is stood up, again, by her boyfriend and leaves with a guy she just met, it turns out he has been hired to kidnapp her, but when the time comes to turn her over he can’t bring himself to do it. They flee, spending many months in the woods in a cabin while the hunt for Mia goes on.
While the story line was interesting enough and the ending good, the writing style left a lot to be desired. Not only did the time frame jump back and forth but the characters did also. It was a bit tedious.
Alice is sent by her boss, a publisher, to oversea a new book being written be a reclusive author, Mimi, who wrote one great novel many years ago. Mimi has lost all of her money by unscrupulous investors. Unbeknownst to Alice, instead of helping with the move, she is put in charge of Frank, Mimi’s nine year old son. Not only is he precocious, he is highly intelligent, addicted to old movies and dresses like he lives in the 1930’s. Needless to say he does not get along well with the other kids in school.
This is a beautifully written novel that will, at times, break your heart, but also make you smile and laugh out loud.
Mary Pickford and Frances Marion became fast friends when they were both just starting out in Hollywood. Mary as a silent screen star and Frances as a screenwriter. The novel travel from the early nineteen hundreds to the late 1960’s following the careers and turmoils of these two ladies.
This is a very well written and informative look and the early years in Hollywood.
Nora and Theresa are young adults leaving their farm in Ireland to come to America in the late 1950’s.Nora is the solid, serious sister and Nora wants to experience everything life has to offer. When Theresa becomes pregnant out of wedlock they devise a plan to save face. It is now fifty years later and a tragedy has happened which the sisters must face and come to terms with that which has happened over the last five decades.
It was a very good story, however, I wish today’s author’s would tell a story from start to finish without jumping back and forth in time. This causes the story to loose some of its feel.
Celestial and Roy are a young, black, newlywed couple, who, while visiting his parents in a small Louisiana town have their live thrown into turmoil when Roy is accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He is sentenced to twelve years in prison, but released acquitted after 5. Celestial tried to be a faithful wife, but she turned to her childhood friend Andre for comfort.
I found this to be a bit slow moving. The story just follows the paths that the main characters take.
Christina spends her entire life on the family family in coastal Maine. She was born with a physical ailment that the doctors cannot diagnose, she is the only daughter in the family and later as her parents become infirm she must take over the running of the household. An unlikely friendship ensues when Andrew Wyeth appear at the farm one summer requesting that he be able to paint there. This arrangement last a number of years and Christina becomes the subject of his most famous painting, Christina’s World.
This is a beautifully written book combining fact with fiction, my only criticism is that I wish the book was told as a continuous story instead of jumping back and forth in time.
Lucy is in the hospital with complications from an appendectomy. One day she wakes up to find her mother, who she has been estranged from for many years, sitting at the foot of her bed. This begins a journey for the two of them going over their past.
I felt the book jumped around way to much and it just didn’t hold my interest.
Tru Walls is a bush guide in Africa, estranged from his wealthy family. Hope Anderson is a nurse, dating the same orthopedic surgeon for the last six years, with no marriage plans on the horizon. Tru is summoned to North Carolina by his birth father, who he has never met. Hope goes to the family home in North Carolina to start going through things to prepare for the sale of the house. They meet. They fall in love. Hope makes a difficult decision. Can love withstand years apart?
Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis are together again trying to find the killer of a woman who would have been 100 years old in just three weeks. Their investigation takes them back in time to gun molls, murders and all that goes with it,
For me, this book just had way too many characters to keep track of that took away from the story.
Clare is the new priest in Miller’s Kill, NY. She’s an ex-Army helicopter pilot and a very tough lady. When a baby is left on the church’s doorstep on a freezing night, she can’t help but be drawn into the mystery of how and why is was left there. What she discovers is a trail of secrets, nursery and an attraction to the married police chief.
Ellis Reed is a struggling newspaper reporter, when in 1931, he takes a picture of two children with a sign on the porch that says 2 children for sale. He does not intend to publish this picture, it is for his own collection, but when it does get published, things spiral out of control.
The book starts out slowly, but picks up midway. It is a story of a mother’s love and the power of doing the right things in the face of adversity.
Vanessa and Richard have a fairy tale marriage, until it all goes wrong. They are now divorced and Richard is about to marry a younger, prettier woman. Vanessa begins to stalk her replacement. Is she just a jealous ex-wife or is there more going on.
This is a very readable story, although at times a bit confusing. Loved the twists and turns.
Mariah Reddick is a former slave who has become a midwife in Franklin, Tennessee to both the white and black women. She herself has one son, Theopolis, who is politically active and is tragically murdered at a rally. Mariah has made it her quest to find out who and why this happened.
The second half of this book flowed much better than the first and there was quite a bit of repetition in the story, but, overall it was a good read
Linc is her parents natural daughter, Holly was adopted from Ghana. The girls are only four months apart in age, but couldn’t be more different. Holly is bright, beautiful and athletic while Linc is more artistic. The story takes place, in verse, during the girls sophomore year of high school. One of the girls is clearly the favorite daughter, the other is trying to prove herself and find her way in the world,
I did not anticipate enjoying this book at all, however you are sucked right into Linc’s world and cannot help but feel empathy for her.
Elena Richardson has lived all of her life in Shaker Heights, a progressive suburb of Cleveland. She rents an apartment to Mia Warren an artist and her daughter. The families become involved with each other’s lives with disastrous results.
Riley Wolfe is a master thief. His next big job is to steal the Crown Jewels of Iran from a museum in the United States. There is a detective who has been on his tale for many years.
Starting in the 1950’s Truman Capote became the toast of NY high Society. He quickly becomes great friends with Babe Paley, the icon of NY society, they for m a friendship like no other. With the wildly successful printing of In Cold Blood, Truman’s life begin to spiral out of control. He has been asked to write an article for a magazine and he chooses to write about all the scandalous secrets his “Swans” have been confideding in him for years. The results are disastrous.
The book itself was very informative, but at time a bit drawn out, but overal I did enjoy it.
Letty has been a mother for fifteen years, but her mother had taken over the job of raising her children, now however she must do it herself and she has no idea how. This is a fabulous story of love, hope and the hard choices we are sometimes forced to make.
If you are part of a book club this would be a wonderful choice.
Regret, a young Korean woman, leaves her home to come to Hawai’i as a picture bride in the hope of having a better life for herself. When she arrives all is very different. Over the course of the next five decades we relive her very harsh life until she finally becomes the woman she always hoped she would be.
Lady Elspeth Douglas goes to France in 1914 to visit a friend. She fall for Alain, the brother, and they commit to marry. War breaks out and Elspeth decides to become a nurse, enter Captain Peter Gilchrist. They fall in love. Both men are injured in the war. Elspeth must choose, keeping her promise to one man or true love. But - then comes a twist.
This is a story of a mixed Chinese family in which the favored daughter dies at the very beginning of the book. The story then travels back and forth revealing the dynamics of all the family members culminating in the “why” and “how” this tragic event happened.
Ernt Albright is a veteran who was a POW during the Viet Nam war. The man who came home from the war is very different from the man he once was. He has dark and violent moment. His wife and daughter live in fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. Whine a former veteran dies and leaves him his cabin in the Alaskan wilderness the all believe this will be a fresh start for them and the end of Ernts nightmares. They are not prepared for the long, dark and brutal winter and what they will have to do to survive.
Once again this is a fabulous story which is extremely well written. The author makes you feel as if you are right there with her.
Kate’s husband passed away a year ago and she is having trouble moving on, in spite of the fact that her young daughter, Devin, desperately needs her. Day by day Kate goes through the motions of living allowing her mother-in-law, Cricket, take over her and Devin’s life. That is until Cricket sells Kate’s house and plans on having them all live together.
Kate finally arouses from her grief and decides she and Devin will have an adventure going to Lost Lake, which is owned by her great Aunt Eby, and whom she has been estranged from for many years. Kate was last there when she was twelve and it was the best summer of her life.
What Kate doesn’t realize is that this adventure will change the course of her life forever.
In a small Mississippi women’s reproductive health clinic
a gunman enters and begins shooting. There are deaths, wounded and hostages, one of whom is the fifteen year old daughter of the police negotiator. The story is told in reverse, starting at the end of the day and reading forward to the beginning. A lot of issues are brought to light with differing opinions.
At times it was a bit difficult to follow the story because of the way it was written and the fact there were so many different characters.
In the summer of 1932 In Minnesota, four young children are forced to leave the Lincoln Indian Training School and try to make a new life for themselves. Oldie is 12 and along with his older brother Albert, a mute Indian boy, Mose and sweet little Emmy, these four vagabonds embark on an adventure that will test their strength, love and hope not only for each other but of all things around them. They learn not all things are as they seem. We should all open ourselves to new possibilities and the wonderous things around us.
Nettie and her best friend Win, are 16 years old during the summer of 1969. Win’s grandmother is a Monacan Indian with special powers, some are centered around her dream catcher. Nibi, tells the girls they must make their own dream catcher exactly as she says and by a certain time. As the girls complete this task they are faced with many obstacles, which they must overcome.
The folklore was very interesting to read about, but I found the girls lives to be a bit contrived.
After losing her child in a terrible accident, Maya opens an adoption agency called The Red Thread. The Chinese believe the red thread connects a child to its mother. The story goes back and forth between the six couples in the United States wanting to adopt Chinese girls and six mothers in China who must give up their daughters.
It is a beautifully written and moving story of love, hope and despair.
Captain Jeffrey Kidd travels around Texas in the latter part of the 1800 reading newspaper articles to the townspeople who are willing to pay ten cents for this. At one of his stops he is approached and is offered a $50 gold piece to get a ten year old girl, who was kidnapped four years earlier by the Kiowa Indians, back to her relatives. He accepts and their journey begins and lasts for several weeks. They meet danger along the way. When they arrive at their destination, Capt. Kidd realizes that the family is only agreeing to take in the child because they need someone to help with the chores.
This is a very good story and well written.
This is the sequel to Me Before You. After Will’s death Lou is struggling to move on with her life. She has a nowhere job and went left her enough money to get an apartment on her own. She just can’t seem move on. She joins a support group of quirky characters who do help her. In walks Lily p, Will’s daughter that he never knew existed. Lily is going through some tough some tough times herself. Together they find a way to heal and move on with life.
Amy Whey has a secret that she has kept to herself since she was a teenager. Amy is living a very nice life in the burbs with her family. One night at bookclub a new neighbor joins them and seems to take over, getting them to play a game. The women start drinking and secrets are revealed, Roux, the new neighbor has an ugly motive for wanting to know their secrets. People will go very far for what they want and what they want kept hidden.
Georgia grew up on a vineyard in Sonoma County. As an adult she moved away, became a lawyer and got engaged to a handsome and successful man. She the finds out he has kept an explosive secret from her. She runs home only to find her brothers are feuding, her parent are separating and selling the vineyard.
Through several trials and tribulations, everything works out as you would expect.
Nice story, quick read.
Ten years ago, while on a hiking trip Melanie and Olivia, sisters, receive news that their parents have been killed in a car accident. The driver of the other car was a longtime friend of the sisters. They handle the tragedy in different ways and have no contact with each other for ten years. Melanie now feels the need to reconnect and try to start anew. To reach this end, she reaches out to Olivia and convinces her to go on a wilderness hike. Olivia reluctantly agrees. What ensues is a journey of love, faith and forgiveness.
Overall the story was very good, however I felt at times it was a bit confusing.
Pheby is 16 years old and a slave, her mother is a slave and her father the master of the plantation where they live. She has been promised her freedom when she turns 18. Pheby’s mistress, Delphina, is very jealous of the way her husband favors Pheby. The mistress is using the slave, Essex Henry, that Pheby loves for her own pleasure and when she becomes pregnant and delivers a black child, Pheby convinces Essex to run away. While her husband is away Delphina accuses Pheby of helping Essex to escape and sends her to the most brutal prison in the south.
There Pheby becomes the Yellow Wife of the Jailer and she does everything and anything she must in order to just survive.
This is an epic and horrifying story of slavery. The author writes beautifully so that you actually feel you are there. I feel this is a must read book for everyone and a fantastic choice for a bookclub.
Bone Boatwright is a twelve year old illegitimate girl living in South Carolina. Some might consider her poor white trash. She dreams of escaping to a better life one day, but those dreams are shattered when her mother marries Daddy Glen. He is verbally and physically abusive. As things escalate Bone’s mother must choose between her husband or her child.
A man has not seen his son in many years. The man is dying of cancer and writes a story to his son. The story chronicles the man’s life, hope, dreams and failures. At the end the man has a difficult choice to make.
Masha is running a high end, expensive wellness spa. She is about to embark on a new program for her guests. Nine stranger show up and the start of the week is not what they expected, but they all manage to cope. Toward the end of the week, the “treatments” get a bit out of hand and the guests are not sure it was a wise idea to come to Tranquillum House.
There were too many characters to keep track of and I had to look up which characters the author was talking about in the last chapter (and apparently I was not the only one)!
A would be bank robber tries to hold up a cash less bank. The thief escapes into an apartment that is having an open house for perspective buyers. Over the next several hours the thief and eight hostages are forced to face the truths about themselves, find humor in the situation, and learn forgiveness.
What a wonderfully different story. You will be hooked in the first two pages. There is laughter, sorrow And compassion.
What if you had a glimpse into the future? Dannie has a plan, she lives by the numbers and she is right in track. She interviews for her dream job, gets engaged to the man of her dreams all on the same day, but when she returns home she falls asleep for an hour and wakes up in a different apartment, with a different man and a different ring on her finger and it is five years in the future. She tells no one. Then she wakes up again and is back in the present.Life goes on as planned until her best friend develops cancer and Dannie’s whole world starts reeling out of control. Was what happened a premonition or something else.
There are many emotions in this wonderful story. By the end you will know the true meaning of love and friendship.
In the late 1880’s Sara Smythe is working in a hotel in London. After saving the life of a child of one of the guests, she is offered the opportunity to come to America and work in the soon to be opened Dakota Hotel. She accepts. One hundred years later Bailey Camden, fresh out of rehab, is trying to re-establish herself as an interior designer by accepting a job renovating her cousins apartment, also in the Dakota.
The novel goes back and forth between both time periods and we see how the two women are connected, not only by working in the hotel, but also by blood.
I did not read the first two book in this series nor did I see the Netflix show.
Joe, the main character in this story, apparently is a serial killer in NY. After selling his son to his lover for 4million dollars, he moves to the other side of the cou try looking for true love.
The story seems pointless to me and Joe cannot seem to have a thought or hold a conversation without using the “F” word. The book would have been a lot shorter of this had been left out.
Ada and Matilda are very different young girls living in the Trace. Ada, has run away from home vowing never to return. Matilda, the daughter of a sharecropper has dreams of leaving the swamp for a better life up North.
Terrible circumstances bring these girls together and they must depend on each other for their survival.
You will cheer for each and every one of their achievements, no matter how small and your heart will break for them at times.
Eve, Justin, Susie and Ed, now in their thirties, have been friends since they were teenagers. When an unexpected tragedy hits, Eve begins to wonder if she ever really knew this group.
This story starts off very slow, picks up about one third of the way in and finally has a great ending.
Ellie Mack is fifteen years old and goes missing on her way to the library. Ten years later, Laurel her mother, meets a charming man who has a nine year old daughter who bear a slight resemblance to Ellie. As their relationship blossoms, Laurel has many questions and begins to doubt who her new boyfriend really is.
The is a very suspenseful and well written story. Even though you can figure out the twists and turns early on, you are compelled to continue reading to find out just how things were done.
Beartown is a small blue collar town, close knit and firmly attached to its hockey team. Hed is the town next to them and rivals in everything, not just hockey. The Beartown Hockey team is about to be disbanded and some of the players defect to the Hed team which causes much bitterness. When Beartown gets a chance at a comeback bonds are broken and events turn to violence. Through it all by the end of the story, both of the towns will learn about forgiveness, acceptance, loyalty and friendship.
This book had a bit of a slow start, but quickly became engrossing about 1/3 of the way through.
Everyone that enters Kya life ends up leaving her. At a very young age her mother abandoned her, leaving her with a drunk and abusive father. Eventually the father leaves too, leaving Kya to fend for herself in the ramshackle house she calls home. She raises herself in the marshland and becomes known to the locals as The Marsh Girl. She falls in love and he leaves her. Later there is another young man, Chase, who lives in town, shows an interest in her. Once again she falls in love only to read in the papers that he has become engaged to another. Shortly after his marriage, there is a fatal accident and Kya is charged with murdering Chase.
A trial ensues.
I don’t want to use any spoilers. So you will just have to read the book for yourself!
Clara Brodeur is the daughter of photographer, Ruth Dunne. Ruth became famous with the nude photos she took of Clara from the ages of 3 - 14. They have been on display in galleries and museums. Clara had a difficult childhood once the pictures became famous. All of her life she tried to hide the fact that she was the one in the photos. When she turned 18 she left home to try and start a new life, ending up in Maine, getting married and having a child of her own. Now Ruth is dying and Clara has been asked to come home. She has not seen or spoken to Ruth in 14 years.
This is a gripping and complex story, that is well written.
Julia Power is a nurse in Ireland during the influenza epidemic. The hospital where she works is overcrowded and she is working with maternity patients who also have the flu. Her life intercepts with Birdie Sweeney, a young, poor destitution girl and a female doctor, Dr. Lynn who is considered to be a political rebel.
The books is very well told and very graphic when it comes to describing what the women must go through, it is heartbreaking, but definitely well written.
Caddie has been hiding a secret for decades then one night she receives a call from her childhood friend in need of help. Caddie rushes back to the hometown she swore she would never return to. She must decide whether or not to reveal those secrets in order to protect the people she once cared very deeply about.
Parts of this story were very well written, but others very confusing at times with a bit to much technical information about the beetles destroying the forest, also that part was repetitive.
Lakshmi is 15 years old, living in India, when she is forced into an arranged marriage to a man who becomes very abusive. After a few years she manages to escape causing disgrace on her family. She learns the art of Henna a becomes a very sought after artist the the wealthy women of her town, she has also learned much about herbs and medicinal qualities from her former mother-in-law and she uses this knowledge on her “ladies”. When her 13 year old sister shows up at her doorstep ( she wasn’t even aware she has a sister) the very successful life she has built for herself starts to unravel. She must now make some very difficult choices to insure a life for her and her sister.
Edward is just twelve years old when his parents and fifteen year old brother get on a flight from NYC to LA. They are moving across the country because his mother is starting a new job. The unthinkable happens. There are 191 people aboard the flight when it crashes, about half way to LA. Everyone perishes except for Edward. Edwards moves to NJ where his aunt and uncle will care for him. He befriends the girl next door, Shay. With her help, as well as his therapist and family he learns to accept what has happened.
This is a moving story and well written. Pay attention to the dates at the start of each chapter.
Three young children are alone with no family. The orphans are placed on a train in New York bound for Montana. They hope to be adopted along the way. Unfortunately for the children there is only one stop left before they will be returned to an orphanage in NY. Rather than face this the older of three, Charles, talks Patrick and Opal into jumping off the train and running away. So begins their new life in the West.
They find their way to a ranch where the family there has troubles of their own. They are allowed to stay at the Stewart ranch, but must work hard. It’s not easy for them or the Stewarts’ adjust to each other. There are many trials and tribulations, but will love and compassion be enough to keep the, together?
This is a hard to put down book. A story about a very disturbing time in our country’s history. It is told beautifully.
Elisa saw a co-worker killed by a disgruntled employee. She is having trouble dealing with that trauma. She adores her brother-in-law, Josh, especially since he is soon to be married to her best friend, Abby. Then Abby disappears and no one seems to think anything is wrong, Josh claims she left him. Elisa decides to investigate on her own. She finds not one, but two ex-wives, who have died, by accident. Now she is being gaslighted by someone and everyone around her is convinced she is becoming unhinged.
There are a lot of twists and turns, but you are able to figure out the person that is behind the gaslighting. There is a bit of a twist to the ending. All in all a good thriller read.
Most of us know, at least vaguely, about the Dust Bowl. Kristin Hannah’s description puts you right into the thick of it. This is a heartbreaking story of love, trust and survival. Mostly is is the story of a mother’s love, and what she will do, for her children.
Rachel was forced to give up her newborn daughter, Ruth, because she has leprosy. Ruth is eventually adopted by a loving Japanese family and all is going well, until the family moves to California and the war breaks out and they are placed in a relocation camp. Many years after Rachel and Ruth are reunited because Rachel has been cured of leprosy.
The book had a wonderful start and finish, but the middle dragged somewhat with many descriptions of the camps and what happened there.
The story is told in two time periods. 1875 where Hannie begins a quest to find lost family members and 1987 in which Benny, a teacher in Louisiana finds The Book of Lost Friends.
This story had so much potential and I had great hopes for it after reading and loving Before We Were Yours, by the same author. However I found myself making excuses not to continue reading this, although I did finish it.
The story centers around two very different families., one a poor family in India, the other a well-to-do family in the United States, and the daughter that binds them together. Kavita gives birth to a girl and in order to save her life she places her in an orphanage. Somer, a doctor, finds out she cannot have children. She and her husband, Kris, who is from India, decide to adopt a child from an orphanage in India. Usha, later named Asha is that child.
Beautifully written and a wonderful story.
This story is well written. However the ending left a lot to be desired. We are never really told what happened to one of the characters and when the culprit is revealed it is a bit disturbing. Up until the end I wanted to keep reading to see “who done it”.but was not happy with the outcome,
A mega yacht carrying the rich and famous suddenly blows up. Several passengers end up together in a lifeboat. They save another man in the water. When they are able to get him into the life raft they say “thank the Lord” he replies “I am the Lord”
This is a brilliant novel that will hopefully bring you closer to believing in the Lord.
A good beach read. Mostly predictable with a few twists and turns.
Eleanor is thirty years old and socially awkward. She lives a very mundane life with no friends. Until one day Raymond, the IT guy where she works slowly becomes her friend. Even though she is reluctant to open herself up to a friend she slowly sees it’s not so bad after all to have someone care for you.
Appalachia in 1970, the story centers around a few people living in a small community. Each chapter is told by a different person, but it all blends in effortlessly. The characters come to life and the prose is excellent.
Vera is a detective. While driving home from work in a blizzard one night she comes across an abandoned car with a baby inside. She gets lost in the storm and ends up at Brockburn, the grand house that her father grew up in. There is a party going on and at the time no one realizes there is a dead body outside. Once the body is discovered Vera heads up the investigation as to what really happened.
If you enjoy the PBS series, Vera, you will not be disappointed in this book.
The Oppenheimer triplets we’re born during the early days of IVF. The story is being told by Phoebe, the last egg that had been frozen and implanted about 17 years later. The book does not get interesting until approximately page 290. The story of their lives picks up at the point, but it slows down again till very close to the ending.
This could have been a great book, if the author was more concise in the telling. I also felt as if she was talking “down” to the reader in some parts. I felt the story just rambles on, especially in the telling of Harrison’s story.
The two previous reviewers have clearly stated what this book is about,
The story follows four generations of women starting with the Holocaust and ending in present times. At times it was a bit confusing with the jumping back and forth of characters t was a heartbreaking story, but I felt the ending fell a bit flat.
Mina is a flight attendant on the first non stop flight from London to Sydney. Terrorists are on board. The plane is hijacked, the demands not met, people are killed and Mina must land the plane. There are some twists and turns in this book, but at times it is confusing. I needed to go back and re read several sections.
This story is set during WWII centering on the Duke and Duchess of Windsor while they resided in Nassau. The book jumps back and forth in time between characters. Between the war, the characters and the time frame it was terribly hard to keep track. In my opinion this was not one of this author’s better books.
The timeline goes back and forth between the 1950’s, when the Barbizon Hotel was a Women’s only hotel, and 2016 when Rose, a tenant and writer, decides to write an article about the hotel’s past as well as some of the residents who still reside there.
It is an interesting story, with several twists and turns and an ending I didn’t expect.
#SuchAPrettyGirl
Fiona is the mother who wants to be a star. Ryan, her daughter is the child that becomes famous. Mothers and daughters have a very complicated relationship. Each has their own version of the past. Ryan is an adult when she sees a news item from her past and she is now forced to face, and come to terms with, her childhood.
Nora Beady is an orphan, having been raised by the eccentric Dr. Horace Croft. Under his tutelage she has become adept as his surgical assistant in his private clinic. This was unheard of and not allowed in the late 1800’s. When Dr Daniel Gibson, a surgical resident is invited to join Dr. Croft’s practice she is forced to become a “proper” lady. This doesn’t last long, since Nora has made a remarkable discovery. She must now decide whether to let the men take credit for her work or risk everything and tell the world what she is really capable of.
Evelyn Hugo is a Hollywood icon from the 1950’s - 2017. She has hired an unknown writer Monique Gran, to write her authorized autobiography to be published after her death. Monique has no idea why she was chosen but accept this opportunity. The interviews take only a few weeks and Evelyn states that not only will all of Monique’s questions be answered, but by the end Monique will come to hate Evelyn.
The author brings to life the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood in a riveting story.
Sylvie Pelletier tells the fictional story of her family leaving their home in Vermont to meet up with her father who is working in a marble mine in Colorado during the early 1900’s. Arriving in Moonstone, life is full of hardships, not what they expected at all. Low pay, little food and deplorable living conditions. When then organizers come in trying to get the workers to unionize more trouble breaks out.
This epic novel tells of one women’s quest to make a better life for all.
This is the note that Hannah receives from her husband of one year just as he disappears. The note refers to his 16 year old daughter, Bailey, who really does not like or trust Hannah. Together the two embark on a journey to find out what happened to Owen and why he disappeared. More secrets than either of them could have ever imagined come to the surface. Is it possible to ever really know someone?
This was an interesting story and a quick read. My bookclub will be reading it in February.
In 1976, in a small southern town, a white, childless widow hires a homeless black man to mow her lawn and do odd jobs. When he is around, the mothers in the neighborhood make their children come inside. A murder occurs and an innocent man is sent to prison for the rest of his life. Twenty five years later the widow, Ora Lee Beckworth and her maid, Blanche, are ready to tell the truth about what really happened on the fateful night.
A.J. Fikry is a young widower, slowly on his way to becoming a drunk, and he owns a failing bookstore. He owns a rare collection of poems that he hopes one day he will be able to sell to finance his retirement. He life changes when one day a surprise is left in his bookstore.
This story is one of the best books I have read. It is funny, thought provoking and moving. Not to be missed.
Taking place over many decades the story follows the lives of the haenyeo, the female divers of Jeju. Here the women are in charge and the men take care of the children. There is much turmoil, Japanese Colonialism, WW11 and the Korean War. Young-sook and Mi-ja are best friends, until something out of their control happens and the women have no contact with each other for many years.
While I found the story riveting and educational, there were some parts, which I have found out to be true, that were just a bit too graphic for me. I do not think this would be a good fit for my bookclub of senior ladies.
Harper and Tabitha are identical twins but could have more different personalities. Despite this they are inseparable growing up. All of that changes when they parents divorce and they are forced to chose which girl will live with which parent. That is the start of their estrangement. About a decade later, the girls are forced to face each other once again and face family secrets, lies and gossip.
In Texas everything is big, including egos. One patriarch has an ambition of being a “Titan”of cattle ranching. His daughter is a paleontologist who discovers dinosaur bones on the ranch. When an expert is called in he knows the bones re real, but he also discover there is oil in the dino field, which will make everyone involved incredibly wealthy.
The book follows the lives of the families involved. There is love, deceit, hatred and of course many secrets.
I have loved all of this authors books and this one did not disappoint.
A young man is released early from a work camp where he was sent after accidentally killing another youth. His father has died and the farm he was raised on was foreclosed. His mother is long gone. All that is left is hos eight year old brother. They decide to head to California, leaving Nebraska, in order to start a new life. Things get sidetracked when two other men from the work camp turn up at his door. So begins a story of errors made and the consequences that follow.
This story is well written and hard to put down. I have enjoyed the other novels by this author and this did not disappoint.
Martha Teichner is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning. She has a pet Bull Terrier named Minnie. She has had other BT’s in the past. When one of Martha’s BT passes on, not only is she saddens, but Minnie is too. A chance encounter puts her in touch with Carol, who is dying, and is worried what will happen to Harry, her Bull Terrier once she is gone. A friendship builds between the two women as the dogs get to know one another. Carol passes and Harry goes to live with Martha and Minnie. The story chronicles the trials and errors of joint the two dogs and well as coming to grips with the friendship that has developed between the two women. It is a heartfelt, sad, funny and uplifting story.
This is a multi generational novel starting in 1924 in Pennsylvania. It is about first love and the sacrifices people make for family. Beautifully written a very moving story.
Growing up in Northern New Jersey, Palisades Amusement Park was the place everyone wanted to visit during the summer. With its rides, saltwater pool, concessions, games and the midway there was always a great time to be had. Alan Brennert does a wonderful job describing the workings of the park as well as the people who made it all come together. Not only is it a story if the park, but there is history through the story.
A young father, Tom Kennedy, decides to move and make a new life for himself and young son, Jake after the sudden death of his wife. They move to the town of Featherbank where twenty years ago a serial killer was preying on young boys. Jakes is hearing voices and once again boys are going missing, Jake is taken and Tom must uncover what is going on before it is too late.
Overall this is a good thriller, but in parts a bit confusing, especially concerning his wife’s life when she was a child and his relati9nship with his father (who has a different last name).
Alice Wright is living a stifling life in England. Along comes Bennett Van Cleve. In the hopes of having a better life she marries Bennett and moves to a small town in Kentucky, where, to her dismay, her life if no better, in fact it may even be worse. Until she hears about The Packhorse Library, a program started by Eleanor Roosevelt. Joining this group of women is the best thing that happens to her and changes her life forever.
Fans of Jojo Moyes will not be disappointed in this story.
Molly is a maid working in a very upscale hotel. She is very efficient and good at what she does. She also has issues when relating to everyday people and things. Molly gets caught up in some very illegal things when she discovers the body of a wealthy guest in his bed. She must find a way to clear her name before it is too late.
This story is reminiscent of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Is a quick moving and interesting story.
Beartown is a hockey town. Everyone lives and breaths ice hockey. When the unthinkable happens between a teen boy and girl, the town goes on a downward spiral.
I usually live Fredrik Backman’s books, however this one took me till page 130 to find it interesting. There was way too much detail about ice hockey. Once past that, the story became riveting.
This is an Irish Catholic family saga. It is about secrets and misunderstandings. I found this to be very slow u til page 130 when it got a bit better. The ending was no surprise.
Cassandra Bowden is a flight attendant as well as a binge drinker with numerous blackouts. When she meets a business man in a flight to Dubai and goes back to hotel, her life spirals out of control.
I usually like this authors books, but this was a disappointment to me, at times repetitive and confusing. The ending not believable.
Rebecca Martin has an apartment to rent. Michael Christopher has just left the monastery where he was a monk for the past twenty years. With no money or job prospects, Rebecca decides to rent the apartment to him. What starts off as an unlikely friendship turns into something entirely different.
Great character development as well as a very good story line.
This is a multi generational story of three woman starting with th eldest who was brought up in Viet Nam during the 1960’s. It is heartbreaking, as well as beautiful. Each chapter is told by one of the women and secrets are revealed and old loves and hurts are revisited. It is also about forgiveness.
I normally do not care for books with these types of chapters, but Thao Thai does writes these flawlessly. I would love to see a movie made.
The Pack Horse Library was formed in the 1930’s to bring reading material to the backwoods people. The story takes place in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and follows the life, over a few years of Cussy Mary Carter, one of the librarians and also one of the last Blue People.
This is a very informative story and nicely written.
Vivian Howe is a bestselling author, who while jogging, is killed by a hit and run driver. She is taken Beyond and assigned Martha, her intermediary while she transitions to the other side. While there she is able to look down upon her family and friends and is allowed three “nudges” to help them.
This is not my usual type of story, but it is written so well that I could not put it down!
In the mid nineteen hundreds, Mirielle is living a wonderful life. Married to a movie star, living in a gorgeous house with two beautiful daughters. Until on a visit to a doctor he discovers a spot on her hand which turns out to be leprosy. Mirielle is whisked off to Carrville in Louisiana to a leper colony. She thinks she will only be there for a few weeks but it doesn’t work out that way.
This is a well written historical novel about a dreadful disease and how people coped with it.
Jo Kuan is a lady’s maid for a wealthy, spoiled and cruel young woman. Jo is looked down upon because she is Chinese. The story follows Jo’s life as she tries to unravel who she is and who her parents were. There are many stop gaps along the way.
While I enjoyed the story I found it to be a bit confusing at times and there were a few loose ends that I would have like to seen tied up.
Anna had hopes of a career as a dancer, but an injury stopped that. Matthew, her husband is offered a job in the United States. They move there from Paris. Anna is lonely working as a cashier in a supermarket.and has self esteem issues. She wants to lose a few pounds, but that turns into anorexia. In order to save herself and her marriage she enters a treatment facility, but it is much harder than she ever expected.
The novel is well written and thought provoking.
Louisa is now living in NYC. She has a job with a very wealthy family as the wife’s personal assistant. They become friends, but over time something happens and Louisa is unjustly fired from her job. She is now homeless as well as jobless. She befriends an elderly woman who takes Louisa in and teaches her the true meaning of love and forgiveness.
This is the third book in the Me Before You series and if you enjoyed those you will not be disappointed.
When Belle da Costa Greene is only in her twenties she is given an unbelievable opportunity to become the person librarian to J. P. Morgan. Over the years she become invaluable to him, the toast of NY Society and one of the most powerful people in the art world. However, Belle has a secret, that if it comes out will destroy her reputation and everything she has worked for.
This is historical fiction and most of the book was quite enjoyable, but in some parts it was very slow moving.
When Marisol’s grandmother, the woman who raised her, passes away, she leaves instructions that Marisol is to return her ashes to be scattered in Cuba. While there Marisol learns about her family’s past and many secrets that were kept.
Overall a good story, however I prefer a book that does not go back and forth between characters and there was a bit too much of Cuban history, which left the book a bit dry.
Riley MacPherson has returned to her childhood home after the passing of her father to settle his affairs. While there she discovers things about her past that she never knew existed. The life she knew has been turned upside down and secrets are revealed. Riley must decide whether to delve into the past and unearth secrets that may have dire consequences.
This is a well written story with many twists & turns.
My bookclub chose this as this month’s book to discuss. I’m not sure why. The story seems to center around the making of the movie Gone With the Wind. It follows Julie Crawford when she leaves her hometown in Indiana to “make it big” as a screenwriter in LA. Which does happen in just a few short months. I did not see the connection between her ambition and the making of the movie, except for the fact she falls in love with Andy, who is deeply involved in the movie.
Perhaps because I never saw the movie I could not relate to the story or its characters. Nor have I read the book, Gone With The Wind. The whole story of Stardust, seemed pointless to me.
The Bennetts are driving home when Jason realizes they are being followed. Suddenly the car behind them makes them pull over. Two men get out. It’s not just a carjacking, guns are drawn, shots fired and a teenage girl and the passenger in the other car are shot and killed. The FBI gets involved, witness protection.
There is an awful lot going on in this story, while is was a quick read at times it was inbelievable.
Marcellus is a giant Pacific Octopus that has been rescued from the sea and placed in an aquarium. He has a very short life span. Tova has lost her husband and many years ago lost her only son, she now works as a cleaning lady at the aquarium. Unbelievably she and Marcellus become friends and he ends up showing her how to get over the past, while she gives him the ending he needs.
Nettie and Andy have a history between them that goes back to their childhood. They are now engaged to be married and Andy, a lieutenant in the Army is about to be sent to Viet Nam. Nettie is continuing her nursing studies and decides to volunteer with a group that is trying to get the government to put more effort into finding the MIAâ??s, POWâ??s and KIAâ??s. The story takes place over about a year with each chapter being told alternately between Nettie and Andy.
It is beautiful written, heartbreaking and full of hope. The reader will laugh and cry. I donâ??t usually enjoy a book that is written in this manner, but the author does this flawlessly.
My bookclub is reading this for December and I appreciate the fact the author included questions in the back of the book.
Kitty Karr was born biracial in the Deep South. She is light enough to “pass” as white. Right after she graduates high school her mother sends her to California so she can begin living life as a white person. She becomes a movie star.
The story itself had the potential for being great, however because of the jumping back and forth in time and the too many characters the book looses its flow and becomes difficult to follow.
Charles James came from nothing, with an abusive father. Now as an adult he has fame, wealth, cars and a beautiful woman he loves. Until he doesn’t. The fame and wealth are still there but he has thrown away the love of his wife. The things he thought were important no longer are. Charles was supposed to be on a plane and everyone believes that he was. It crashes killing everyone on board. He is now given a second chance to Chance his life and try to win back the love of his life.
While I loved this book and this author, I don’t feel it is book club material, there isn’t enough material for an in depth discussion, perhaps a different bookclub, but not mine.
Emma and Leo are deeply in love, married with a three year old daughter. He is an obituary writer, she a well known marine biologist. When Emma becomes very ill, Leo copes by writing her obituary. In doing so he discovers a past that she has never revealed to him.
The book starts off a bit slow, but quickly picks up.
Everyone believes Charles James is dead. In this, the second book of the trilogy, Charles is continuing his walk on Route 66 to his ex wife, Monica. Along the way he is robbed of everything he has with him and takes a job with the migrant workers in order to earn some cash. He is shocked to see how they are treated and has an epiphany about his former life, but he needs help to go on, which means he must tell one person that he is still alive.
This is a story about the friendship between two women spanning 20 years. From the War, to the McCarthy Era to 1960’s Broadway. Chelsea Girls was not as riveting as this author’s other books. I found the section on the McCarthy Era to be a bit repetitive.
It was just an okay book to read.
My bookclub is reading this title this month ( not my choice). For me, there were way too many characters, A few with more than one name. I also felt because the story is being told in dual timelines the story did not flow. Overall, the main characters are unbelievable, one the wealthy wife of a man getting ready to run for public office and the other, a naive young woman force to manufacture illegal drugs. Really? Sorry I know I am in the minority of this book.
This charming novella tells the story of an old man’s struggle to hold on to his memories as his mind begins go. The family must find a way to help him while at the same time, let him go. It is a beautifully told tale, one you will remember for a long time, and possibly read again.
Six twentysomethings embark on an adventure to a deserted island for an idyllic vacation. Upon arriving on the island, things start to go horribly wrong. Are the rumors about the Island true or are the visitors making their own trouble,
Good Story would have given it 5 stars except for the fact there is a dual time,one, that makes it confusing at times.
Something is happening to Scott Carey that cannot be explained. According to the scale he is loosing weight at about one pound a day, however, his body shape is not changing and whether or not he is wearing clothes his weight is the same. He is also in a disagreement with his next door neighbors. Scott chooses not to let anyone know what is going on except for his retired Doctor friend and eventually the couple next door.
This was an interesting enough story, not horror, with some thoughtful undertones.
Elizabeth Zott is a gifted chemist. However because of the era she was born into, women chemists are few and far between and she is finding it difficult to be taken seriously until she meets Calvin Evans. Both are brilliant and find it hard to connect to everyday people. They fall madly in love and have a child together. The story follows Elizabeth as she becomes a single mother and must provide for herself and daughter. So begins her TV career.
When Blythe Connor has a baby girl, she is unable to make a motherly connection to her. As the child grows up life becomes increasingly difficult and odd things begin to happen, until the unspeakable happens, but no one will believe Blythe. Her life now spirals out of control, until year later horrors begin again.
When Millie accepts a job working as a housekeeper/nanny for wealthy Nina Winchester, she believes she is going to be able to put her difficult past behind her. Little does she know what really goes on behind closed doors.
This is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in a very long time. The twists at the ending make this a hard to put down book.
Amanda and Clay leave the city for a weeklong vacation with their two teenagers. They have rented a vacation home in the country. All is well until the owners show up stating there has been a major blackout. This is where the story goes downhill.
Avery Mason is leading a double life. She is now an anchor on an investigative TV show and is wildly popular. But she has a hidden past that may become public with the next story she is chasing.
There are many twists to this novel, some you will see coming - but the ending - WOW.
Eve thinks she has the good life. A Handsome husband, both are teachers at the same high school and a beautiful home. When a shocking scandal rocks Yhe school where she teachers she realizes that all is not what it appears. Addie, a student, is at the center of the scandal and Eve suddenly realizes the girl cannot be trusted and she will go to any lengths to keep her secrets.
This is a compulsive read, and the ending will shipock you!
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