After the End by Clare Mackintosh

Parenting can sometimes mean having to make impossible decisions. That is the position in which Pip and Max find themselves in Clare Mackintosh's After the End. Nearly three-year-old Dylan has a brain tumor and the treatment has been awful. When they finally reach a point that a tough decision must be made about the future, Pip and Max can't agree on the right course to take. How can you make a decision without knowing the absolute outcome? We look down the two paths before us, but we can't see far enough. In Mackintosh's book, we get that chance. In alternating chapters, we follow along with the two opposing options and see what would happen. It is heartrending and painful. Who was right? Who was wrong? Or is there a right or wrong answer either way?

The division of the storyline is a tricky thing to pull off, but Mackintosh does it wonderfully. The characters develop differently on the two different paths and I think that is important since all the decisions we make in life change us bit by bit. Max and Pip are wonderful parents who want the best for their son, but they have different views of what that is. I can't imagine having to make their decision and how much worse it would be to feel alone in that without your spouse for support. There are so many wonderful lines that I wish I could share with you, but the spoilers would not be worth it. I'm afraid you'll just have to take my word for it and read it for yourself. This book made me think a lot about how I would respond in a similar situation, but I think in the end you will never really know unless you're actually there and I truly pray I will never have find out for sure.

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

In Glendy Vanderah's Where the Forest Meets the Stars, Jo is a grad student studying birds in the woods of Illinois. All alone in a cabin for the summer, she spends her days searching for nests and tracking the development of eggs and baby birds. She is up before the dawn and out until after dark trudging through the forest, returning to the cabin dirty and exhausted only to eat and finally sleep. One night she is surprised by a little girl who shows up barefoot by her campfire. The little girl has quite the sci-fi story for where she came from and Jo isn't buying it, but whenever she tries to call the authorities to report the found child, she runs off into the woods again. The girl claims her name is Ursa and that she is from a planet in another galaxy. Together, the two meet Gabe, a neighbor who sells eggs on the side of the road, cares for his elderly mother, and runs his small family farm, but is reluctant to visit the grocery store or anywhere else with many people. The three of them form an unlikely bond, but there are still too many questions for it to last.

This book had a great concept: a little girl from the stars falls to Earth to seek the help of a couple of humans. I liked the first quarter of the book, the middle 50% was frustrating to me and a little weak, but the last quarter kept me up far past my bedtime turning the pages. I couldn't stop reading until I had the answers. This book wasn't at all what I was expecting and perhaps that colors the way I feel about it in the end, but I was sadly a little disappointed. 

*This Advanced Reader Copy was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for and honest review.*

What I've Heard- The Silent Patient

After reading The Silent Patient  a year ago, I knew I would want to revisit the story and see how all those twists and turns happened. Listening to the audiobook was a great way to do that! Narrated by two voices, Jack Hawkins as Theo and Louise Brealey as Alicia, the listener is kept captive by the back and forth of the perspectives. The voicing of Alicia was so familiar that it was driving me a little crazy. I knew it was a voice I had heard on another audiobook. I knew it was the voice of someone a little unstable, but who was it? It was really bugging me so I search through Audible and discovered Brealey also narrated The Girl on the Train. You would think the familiar sensation would have jogged my memory as I had something so similar listening to that audiobook as well- Brealey is the actress who plays Molly Hooper on Sherlock. She has such a great voice for audiobooks and hopefully I will remember the next time I come across it and not drive myself mad again. 

This was a wonderful audiobook. It would be exactly the perfect thing for a road trip where you want to stay entertained, but not too relaxed. This storyline is fast and exciting and will keep your attention through the long hours on the highway. You may even find yourself reluctant to stop just to find out what will happen next. I listened to it while working around the house and painting a guest room and it kept me plenty distracted from the chores. I didn't mind the time spent because I was so engrossed in the story.

The Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg

The Confession Club is the third in Elizabeth Berg's wonderful Mason, Missouri series. After falling in love with The Story of Arthur Truluv and Night of Miracles I was happy to continue along with the residents of this sweet small town. In this book, we meet a group of women who have turned a supper club into something much more revealing- a Confession Club. It's a little like book club, but without the books and with a lot more truth-telling. All those deep dark secrets that have haunted us for years, well, maybe it would feel better if we just let them out? The group of women, ranging in age from mid-thirties to late-seventies, invite Iris and Maddie to join them. Iris has met, and fallen for, someone quite unexpected and Maddie isn't sure what direction her relationship will be taking, but they both find comfort in the talking and the confessing.

This whole series is sweet and cute and comforting. Had a bad day? This is just the right book for you. Need something to distract you from the real world? This'll do the job happily. In the mood for something challenging and thought-provoking? Well, maybe not this, but it will be here as the perfect respite after that more challenging read. I personally love having something light and soft to read after something dark and scary and this is perfect for that very thing.

*This Advanced Reader Copy was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for and honest review.*

Twenty- One Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

Twenty-One Truths About Love is the third Matthew Dicks novel I have read, the first two being Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (which I absolutely loved!) and The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs (which was good, but not as good). This one was written in a most unexpected format- it was all lists. The main character Daniel struggles with anxiety and depression and on the advice of his therapist he writes lists. These lists range from texts from his wife to possible good locations for a robbery. I thought it would be difficult to get in to a book written solely in list form, but it actually worked. The way Daniel writes his lists allow in a lot more narrative than I expected.

Daniel is struggling with his life decisions and lists are helping him, but maybe not enough. Here's my own list about Daniel:

1. Daniel loves his wife.

2. Daniel is insecure about living in the shadow of his wife's late husband.

3. Daniel's book shop may fail right any day now.

4. Daniel is getting desperate and is likely to make some bad decisions.

5. Daniel needs to get his crap together.

6. Daniel is a little whiney and annoying.

7. Daniel's lists start to get a little annoying, too.

Kudos to Matthew Dicks for this creative idea and for pressing through when he was told it would never work. It does work, though not completely successfully. I feel like as the reader I was in Daniel's head a little too much and he wasn't particularly likable as a character. He does grow and get better as the story progresses, but most of that is saved for the very end which leaves a lot of book to finally get to that point. This is a very quick read and would be perfect for a time when you want to be able to pick up and put down your reading material. It is easy to come back to it later.


*This Advanced Reader Copy was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for and honest review.*

What I've Heard- Night of Miracles

The sequel to The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg is Night of Miracles and I was very happy to listen to the audio version last week. I enjoyed reading the book and I was preparing to read the next in the series so the audio was the perfect refresher. Read by the author, Berg's story about Lucille Howard's new life as a baking instructor also introduces us to a few new characters in the small town of Mason. These are wonderful people in just the right kind of small town. I highly recommend these for anyone who needs a touch of sweetness and magic in their lives. And really, who doesn't?

Also, I really hope Berg decides to release a book of Lucille's recipes- they still have my mouth watering!

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Recently I was listening to NPR (I'm a giant public radio nerd) and the show Here and Now was doing a series about spirituality. The episode I heard was about Secular Spirituality and how books of all kinds can influence us to do good in the world. The guest, William Schwalbe, recommends several books that he thinks are perfect for this. One of them was The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery which I had never read but knew I should. I've seen it listed on so many must-read lists and lists of favorite books. The Little Prince lives on an asteroid, but travels the universe when he can. During one trip to Earth, he meets our narrator, a downed pilot who is stranded in a desert. The Prince tells the pilot about all the places he has visited and what he has learned.

This is a very short children's book, though some argue it isn't really written for children but for children in adult bodies. Maybe the Prince would say I have too much adult in me, but I just didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped I would. Maybe I shouldn't have put off reading it for so long.

"IT is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling

Middle school is never easy and starting a new one is really hard, but imagine doing it with no arms. In Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling, Aven is thirteen and has lived her whole life without arm. It's always been a challenge, but never one to which she couldn't rise. She has amazing parents and great friends who accept her for who she is. When she has to move across the country and start over with new friends is when she starts to struggle. Little by little Aven makes herself at home and finds a few like-minded friends who struggle with their own difficulties.

A sweet book in the vein of Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Aven shows us how hard life can be, but how accepting others and our own selves for who we are can make all the difference. This isn't a sunshine-and-rainbows, ignore-all-reality kind of book, but it does teach and inspire with humor. Readers will be exposed to a few different disabilities that they might see out in the world and will come to understand more about them and how to respond with empathy. And couldn't we all use a little more of that in the world?