What I've Heard- Conviction

I really enjoyed reading Conviction by Denise Mina and honestly, the audio version was even better! This book is all about a woman who loves listening to true crime podcasts and then gets pulled into her own crime mystery. Listening to the characters makes it seem like listening to that podcast. This was a good one.

 

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

When I was in high school, one of the few classics I enjoyed reading was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins is a Jane Eyre retelling featuring Jane, a dog walker in an affluent neighborhood in Alabama who is trying to escape an ugly past, and Eddie, a wealthy presumed widower whom she meets while working. Eddie's wife has been missing for months after a boating accident and he takes quite an interest in young Jane. He could be her ticket to a better life, one she's always wanted, but they both have a lot of secrets to overcome.

I really liked this as a classic reimagined. While I knew the plot of the original, I never knew if Hawkins would stay true to it or if she would decide that 175 years of perspective might have changed how we see some of the characters. Social climbing may not have been the original Jane's goal, but this Jane wants to improve her station in life. The mystery of who Eddie's wife was and what happened to her kept me turning the pages late into the night. This was a fun thriller. Add it to your winter reading list!

 

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

Whoa, Nelly! I don't think I was ready for the whirlwind that was Upgrade by Blake Crouch. This technothriller follows Logan, an investigator with the government agency tasked with enforcing the new laws against genetic research. When he becomes the victim of a genome hack, he has to fight against his friends and his family to find a way to stop this from happening to anyone else. He is smarter and stronger and faster than ever before, but would this be the answer to humanity's problems, or will it usher in the end of the world. And how many will die if it all goes wrong?

This fast-moving thriller was exciting and kept me up well past bedtime. It got a little technical at times, but the research that went into writing it must have been massive. The science is fascinating, but the real enjoyment for me came from the philosophical questions raised. If we can, should we? What would make the world better? And what is an acceptable loss to save the human species?

The end of Homo sapiens lies just over the horizon. We can see it in a thousand metrics. Which means we have a chance. But only if we collectively decide to act. If nothing changes, we will die off for the stupidest reason imaginable- because we refused, for so many childish reasons, to do the obvious things that would save us.

Science fiction set in the near future is my favorite. The reader can see the world they know, but also begin to imagine what could be. We know what our problems are now and to see them solved is exciting, even if it isn't quite real. Yet. There are other quotes I'd love to share with you, but I'd hate to spoil such an entertaining read for you. I can't wait to read more Blake Crouch.

 

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

I was really feeling in the mood for something fun and light. Katherine Center is always a good author for that and her latest, The Bodyguard, fits the bill perfectly. Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent, a bodyguard. She looks like she couldn't harm a fly, but as she says, her job is to make sure she stops a threat before it ever comes to physical fighting. And yet, she can still toss a fully grown man to the ground before he can blink. She's just had the worst few weeks of her life: her mother has died, her boyfriend has broken up with her, and her best friend is on the other side of the world. The worst part of it is that she can't distract herself the way she normally does- work. Happy to call herself a workaholic, Hannah feels fulfilled by her job. When her boss finally gives her another assignment, it isn't what she's expecting. She has to pretend to be the girlfriend of a gorgeous movie star. He doesn't want his family to know that he needs protection. But how good are their respective acting skills?

This book was super cute. It was sweet and romantic while not being saccharine. I really liked it, and I can't wait to listen to the audio version. Add this one to your list. It will definitely make you smile.

End of the World House by Adrienne Celt

The world is not doing well in End of the World House by Adrienne Celt. War is rampant, the climate has had enough of humanity, and the economy is devastated. And yet, life continues mostly as normal. People go to work, they hang out in bars, and they argue with their roommates over whose turn it is to take out the trash. The biggest concern in Bertie's life is that her best friend Kate is moving to another city. As one last hurrah and, Bertie hopes, for a chance to change Kate's mind, they fly to Paris. Travel is a luxury, but now that the ceasefire is in place, it may be their last chance before the world ends. One very strange day in the Louvre, and it all changes. Somehow the day keeps repeating itself, but it takes Bertie a while to figure that out.

This book was... interesting. It was confusing and when I thought I had it figured out, it completely flipped on me. A bit existential, a bit of a mindf... well, you know what I mean. Maybe the world doesn't ever actually end. Maybe we don't ever die. Maybe where we are right now isn't where we actually are right now. Maybe this book made me a little dizzy, but I kind of liked it. The choices we make are the foundations of who we are. If we make different decisions, maybe we turn out to be different people.

This book wasn't what I was expecting, but I still liked it. You should give it a try and see how it makes you feel. It could be very intriguing. 

 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Mika is a young woman who never stays in one place for long. If she moves every six months or so, never making any permanent connections, then no one will ever discover her secret. The only rule she breaks is in making internet videos where she pretends to be what she really is- a witch. No one would ever believe it is real magic, but then someone sees through the facade. This leads her to break more rules, sharing her secret with a ragtag, makeshift family who is trying to raise three young witches of their own.

I thought this book was a sweet read for the spooky season. I've always loved books about witches, and this one was cute. More family drama/ found family than magic spells, I think this one could be enjoyed by most. There are definite feminist views expressed, which I really like, and it kept the romance aspect of the story from pushing it too far into saccharine territory. If you're looking for a cozy read for Halloween, this one is pretty good.

 

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Early this morning I finished reading Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. I watched the Netflix movie shortly after it came out and I liked it, but I have to admit I had forgotten most of the plot. Last week I stumbled across this slim paperback version at my local library sale and I was intrigued. I brought it home with me and immediately started reading. 

Augustine is a world-renowned scientist at the end of his days studying the stars from a research facility near the north pole. When a mysterious world-ending event forces the evacuation of the post, he chooses to stay. He has no family to go back to and he would rather spend what time he has left gazing through the massive telescope at the universe. When he discovers a small child has been left behind in the emergency departure, he must force himself to keep living a little longer and set up some way for her to survive.

Sully is an astronaut halfway through a two-year expedition to Jupiter when mission control suddenly goes silent. She and the rest of the six-person crew have no idea what has happened and must wait until they are back in Earth's orbit to make a plan for their future. There is no way to know what has become of the families they've left behind or if there is any way for them to return to terra firma.

I loved this book. It is beautifully written and filled with so much emotion in so few pages. It is a quiet kind of book with plenty of internal examination by the characters, and yet it is far from slow. I was struck repeatedly by how a book like this should be a bit boring with all the reflection on memories and lives now passed, but Brooks-Dalton crafted it in such a way that I couldn't put it down. When I finally closed the back cover, all I could say to myself was, "Damn. That was a good book." Over and over again, I said it. It probably seems silly, but I actually cried because it was so good, not because of what the characters faced or their outcomes, but just because it was so good.

I love this book. I wish there were more of it. I wish I knew more at the end, but I also respect the way the author chose to tell the story. It was magnificent.

 

A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps

As we were approaching Spooky Season, I thought A Beginner's Guide to Murder by Rosalind Stopps could be a fun way to get into the spirit. Three elderly women are having coffee in a shop when a teenage girl comes running in and begging for help. In that moment they are transformed from lonely old ladies to heroines in the making. Set in southeast London, Meg, Daphne, and Grace must find a way to save Nina from a terrible fate and stop a very bad man.

Told from each of their four perspectives, we get to know these women and the tragedies that have affected their lives. I liked the main characters, but some of the secondary characters were frustrating. It is assumed that old ladies won't know anything about murder, but the bumbling about seemed excessive. Stopps did a good job keeping the tension ramping up, but then the resolution was too quick and without much of a satisfying ending, almost as if she had run out of pages. A good ending could have made all the difference with this book, but as it stands I have to say it was only okay.

 

Taste by Stanley Tucci

I like to listen to audiobooks while I ride my bicycle. Usually, I listen to books I've already read so that I don't miss anything in the plot if I get distracted. One of the exceptions that I make is memoirs. It is usually easier to keep up with the story being told and my favorite way to experience a memoir is through the voice of the person. My latest listen is Taste by Stanley Tucci. I have long enjoyed the parts he's played in movies, but now that I've listened to his book, I absolutely adore him!

Tucci tells about growing up in New York state with Italian parents and grandparents who loved food more than life itself. He shares family recipes and draws the listener into the family kitchen so that they feel like they are really there at the table. In one scene, he describes trying to leave his grandparents' house after a visit and the argument that ensued when his grandmother was trying to get his mother to take a large bag of food with her. I would try to describe it to you here, but that would only ruin the joy of you hearing Tucci telling the story himself.

He also talks about his first wife, who died from cancer, and his current wife with whom he lives in London. He talks about his acting career a little, his famous friends a bit, and even shares his own fight with cancer. Every story he tells drips with love, and also butter. He says only the nicest things and always in a way that you can tell he truly means it. I cannot recommend this book enough. Please add it to your list, and if possible, choose the audio version.

 

Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein

I was feeling the need for something light and fun to read and the synopsis for Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein sounded about right. This is the story of Edie, a twenty-something living in New York who runs her own fashion business, has her own apartment, and loves her life. She has been waiting for the day at the beginning of the novel since she was sixteen years old. It is the day that her fabulous grandmother, Gloria, has predicted she will meet the love of her life. Gloria has never made a bad love prediction and so Edie's eyes are peeled in the airport and on the flight to see her twin sister get engaged to her own match. When a handsome sits down next to her on the plane, Edie can't help but wonder if this is it.

This book was pretty cute. I'm not a huge romance fan, but this one was smart and featured strong female characters who, while happy with the men they find, are also more than capable of having amazing lives without them. Edie's sister has postponed her engagement until after she's finished all her training as a doctor so that nothing gets in the way; Edie's mother chooses an unexpected path to get what she wants from her life without a man; Edie's grandmother rejected all of the conventions of the time as a young woman to seek out the fun that society thought inappropriate for her.

This was light and fluffy reading, and I'm all for that when you need it. The characters were people with whom I'd like to be friends and Gloria is a role model for us all. Add this book to your list.

 

Corinne by "Rebecca Morrow"

Corinne by Rebecca Morrow is about a young woman who is cast out of her fundamentalist religion and shunned by her entire family. When she is finally able to begin mending fences nearly fifteen years later, she is pulled right back into the thing that got her into trouble in the first place.

I heard about Corinne while watching a video speculating that it was actually written by Stephenie Meyer. If you look at the back flap of the book cover, a space usually reserved for the "about the author" blurb, it simply says this:

Rebecca Morrow is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author.

That's it. That's all the publisher will cop to, but speculation abounds. What was actually said about the possible author of this book in the video I saw was that it could be Stephenie Meyer, but that the prose was just too good. She couldn't have improved enough to have written this so it was probably someone else.

Folks, I could not disagree more. This ABSOLUTELY could have been written by the author of Twilight. And the prose was NOT too good. In fact, I thought it was pretty awful. I'm sorry. I know that's not very nice, but please allow me to give an example. First of all, remember how annoyed everyone was that Bella in Twilight was constantly described as being clumsy and awkward? The same thing happens with Corinne except that the descriptor of choice is "fat". Perhaps the author meant to imbue this book with body positivity and prove that chubby girls deserve love, too, but it just comes off as pandering, insulting, and lazy.

Corinne still looked exactly how she'd looked in high school-- like a fat girl with a mildly unpleasant disposition.

This is repeated many times throughout the novel.

Also included with the terrible prose is the excessive use of the parenthetical. Far too frequently, the author adds in several asides in the middle of a paragraph that I found unnecessary. Perhaps she was hoping to give the reader insight into the mind of the character, but it was heavy-handed. Take this paragraph for example:

And once, they'd laid out Monopoly, Parcheesi, and Clue, and played them all at once. (When it was your turn you'd roll the dice, then decide which piece you wanted to move, on any board.) (It was fun. They should play that again.) (They called it Monocheesue).

My third complaint is the numerous sex scenes that to me seemed excessive and excessively awkward. Perhaps this is why Meyer, if that's the actual author, chose to write under a pen name. She received a lot of criticism from a large portion of her readership that there was too much "fade to black" when there should have been more spice. Frankly, I prefer the fade because most authors make such a bumbling mess of love scenes, but that isn't the only reason I didn't like those scenes in this book. Let me share a couple of lines with you:

He opened his mouth to catch hers. Corinne licked his fat tongue, his gappy teeth. 

Gross, right? And how about this one:

He rubbed his big hand against the pad of her pubic bone. ("Pubic bone"; English was a failure.) Corinne hadn't shaved or done anything weird to get ready -- she'd be damned if she resorted to pubic grooming, even for the love of her life. Enoch was growling into her mouth. He didn't care. Or notice. Corinne tried not to imagine Shannon Frank's no doubt impeccable vagina.

Ewww... and just one more, I promise:

Enoch kissed her. He kissed her with his jaw thrust forward, looking down at her from the very bottom of his eyes. It made her heart drop into her vaginal canal. Like a key dropping into a lock.

What. The. Heck. And someone was saying the prose was too good to be SM? No. No, no, no.

And then there's this line that seems to clinch it for me:

But Enoch had always been different. Maybe she'd imprinted on him -- no really, she thought that she probably had.

Sure, this could have been written by someone else, but I can't help but think this is either SM or someone who read her books so many times that they imprinted on the author's own style. 

Lastly, and then I'll stop tearing this book to shreds, the story is flat. It is missing any type of arc at all. This is supposedly written by a NY Times bestselling author so perhaps the editors were afraid of offending her by telling her it was not good, but they have done neither her nor the readers any favors. 

I will say that it was a fast read. The chapters are short and the pace is quick. I kept reading because I kept hoping that beautiful prose was just over the next hill, but alas it was not. The cover of the book has a blurb written by Jodi Picoult that says "It's a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, and you'll whip through pages to hope for the impossible." This was not R & J. This was a story about two people who weren't supposed to be together, but that is far from all that is needed for an R & J story. The mystery and the hype are all that will sell this book. The words on the page do it no good.

Again, I'm sorry. This seems like a mean review, and I hate to be mean, but it's just that bad.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I absolutely adore The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin and I was super excited about her newest release, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Set at the dawn of the video game age, Sam and Sadie have been friends since childhood when they, as seniors at separate elite universities, decide to try making their own game. Teaming up with Sam's roommate as producer, the three of them become famous in the world of gaming. There are successes and failures, loves and losses, and heartbreak both temporary and permanent. These characters are brilliant and brilliantly written. They are flawed and perfect in the most wonderful way. 

The push and pull of friendship and the various kinds of love in this novel give it so much heart. The prose is beautiful. Zevin forces the reader to see her characters and so is drawn into their adventure and plight. I truly enjoyed this book. It was a fast read that kept me up too late at night. I hope you'll read and enjoy it, too.

 

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

There are very few authors about whom I can say that I've read all of their books, but Sarah Addison Allen is one of them. I love her sweet tales of magic in real life and Other Birds does not disappoint. First, we meet Zoey, freshly graduated from high school, she is spending the summer before college hoping to learn more about her mother who died when Zoey was a child. She has moved into her mother's condo on Mallow Island off the coast of South Carolina, more than a thousand miles away from where she was raised in Oklahoma. The small condo community is populated with a strange cast of characters that include a hermit, an award-winning chef, a henna artist, and a mean old busy body who gets angry when people make any noise at all. Zoey is determined to get to know her new neighbors, but when one of them suddenly passes away, it changes the entire dynamic of the group.

Also part of this tiny little community is a reclusive author no one has seen for years, tiny birds named Dellawisps that rule the roost, an invisible pigeon, and several ghosts. The magic isn't as prominent in this book as it has been in some of Allen's other novels, but it was still a fun element that gives the reader a little break from the real world. I am a big fan of this author, and I will always auto-preorder anything she releases. I hope she continues to write for many years to come.

 

The Maid by Nita Prose

In The Maid by Nita Prose, we meet Molly- sweet, innocent, unusual Molly. A young maid at the fancy Regency Grand Hotel, Molly doesn't understand a lot about the world. She frequently misses social cues the rest of us take for granted and she is obsessive about rules, etiquette, and cleanliness. She enjoys her job and works hard to return every space to "a state of perfection." When she discovers a guest dead in his bed, she faints right where she stands. She faints again when she is charged with the guest's murder. What follows is a quirky who-done-it that is absolutely adorable.

Molly is different, but that doesn't stop the reader from connecting with her. Each of the other characters in the book are wonderfully drawn as well. Molly's recently deceased Gran is exactly the grandmother we'd all love to have; Molly's work nemesis is fun to hate; and the hotel doorman and dishwasher are both so sweet. This was a very quick read and a fun mystery with no gore or anything else that I sometimes find difficult to read. Add this little gem to your list.

 

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

In Sarah Gailey's The Echo Wife, Evelyn is an extremely successful and lauded geneticist whose marriage has just fallen apart. She tries not to care- she has so many more important things to do- but the woman for whom her husband has left her is... her. Well, not her but a clone of her. He stole her research and her supplies and built his own custom-made wife. If he'd left Evelyn for anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but this is her research, and she is responsible for anything that happens with it. And something so big has happened. When he turns up dead, Evelyn and the new wife have to work together to keep all the secrets from getting out.

This book was fun! There are social dynamics and conversations on the value of women. What does it mean for the woman to be the more successful partner in a marriage and how will that affect the relationship? Is motherhood the occupation that should take precedence once it is on the table and what if that is never the goal? Also, how many bodies can one backyard hold?

I really enjoyed the tension and resolution of this book. Add it to your list and keep your eyes on the science news- this could be real someday!

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

In Bonnie Garmus' Lessons in Chemistry, we meet Elizabeth Zott, a budding chemist in early 1960s California. Struggling to be taken seriously in an exclusively male lab, she meets Calvin Evans who is on track to win a Nobel Prize. They are the perfect couple until something goes terribly wrong and Elizabeth is left jobless and alone with a child to raise. Since no actual lab will take her on, she agrees to host what will become the most successful cooking show of its time. As she lifts up her viewers, mostly housewives, she wants more for herself as well.

I absolutely adored this book! Elizabeth is a fantastic character brimming with grit and wit. And Garmus' excellent writing doesn't stop at her main character- each supporting cast member brings something special to the story, not least of whom is Elizabeth's dog, Six-Thirty. While I was frequently furious about the treatment Elizabeth receives from the other scientists she encounters, I loved the way she handles herself. This book is inspiring as well as entertaining and I hope you'll add it to your list.

 

The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman

Catherine Steadman's The Disappearing Act features Mia, a British actress on the verge of her big break who has traveled to Los Angeles to find the role of a lifetime. While waiting for an audition, she meets a woman named Emily who asks a small favor of her. When Emily doesn't show up for their agreed meeting time, Mia starts to worry something bad may have happened to her. Mia should be focused on making her career dreams come true, but she can't get Emily out of her head.

Steadman is also the author of Something in the Water, which I thought was a fantastic thriller. This newest book of Steadman's didn't quite meet it, but it was very close. There were times I felt like the writing took a little too long to get where we were going, as if she was trying a little too hard to build tension, but I really enjoyed reading it. The ending was especially satisfying. When I started this book, I was in dire need of a distraction from real life and a missing person mystery set in LA was perfect. This would make a fun addition to your summer reading list.

 

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

In The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin we meet the most wonderful cast of characters. Lenni is a seventeen-year-old terminal patient who has been in the hospital for a very long time. When she meets eighty-three-year-old Margot under mischievous circumstances, they become fast friends and vow to tell, and paint, the stories of their combined one hundred years. 

This book is sweet and comforting and lovely and heartbreaking. Lenni has far too few stories, but she makes the most of the days she has, forming friendships and getting right to the point of things. Margot's stories are full love and loss and she becomes the surrogate mother Lenni, and maybe also the reader, needs.

I adored this book. Add it to your list today.  

 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson features the story of a family grieving the loss of their mother, Eleanor. The family has been fractured for years and part of Eleanor's will includes a voice recording of her sharing her life story with her children, Benny and Byron. The story takes them back to the Caribbean island on which Elanore was born, to London where she went for her education, and finally to California where she raised her family. The number of surprises revealed rock Benny and Byron's foundations and lead them to question all they ever thought they knew about their mother and about their own lives. The only thing they have left of her is a single black cake in the freezer, a family tradition about which they are finally going to learn.

The number of storylines Wilkerson introduces could have been dizzying, but she expertly weaves them into a beautiful tapestry of family history, tragedy, love, and secrecy. I adored this book! I was so heartbroken by the loss and the forfeited opportunities. The writing was absolutely beautiful. I was thrilled with the way all the little ribbons of stories braided together and nothing was left dangling at the end. This was Wilkerson's debut novel, but I can't wait to read more of her work.  

 

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

Do you know what's amusing about people who try to ban books? They have no idea that they are just adding to the TBR lists of thousands, possibly millions, of readers in the world. I had heard of Maus by Art Spiegelman, but I hadn't read it until Tennessee decided it shouldn't be allowed in their schools. It is a graphic novel about the holocaust featuring anthropomorphized mice and cats as the Jews and Nazis, but the Tennessee lawmakers were concerned that there were illustrations of naked mice. I still can't stop shaking my head.

I read the "complete" edition which contains both volume one and volume two of the heartbreaking story of the author's father's experiences in 1940's Poland and Germany. The first volume is officially titled A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History and the second is titled A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began. These stories are so difficult to read, but so necessary. If we don't acknowledge how horrible things like this have happened in the past, how can we hope to prevent them in the future? I highly recommend these books and I see absolutely no grounds for their banned status.

READ BANNED BOOKS!

 

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

I am going to admit right at the beginning of this review that I have historically not been a fan of Jodi Picoult. I read a couple of her books years ago and didn't enjoy them and so swore off anything by her in the future. It is the reason I was so reluctant to read this book, The Storyteller, for so long. I saw all the good reviews from friends and finally decided to give it a try.

I am so glad I did.

Sage is a baker who keeps mostly to herself while still overwhelmed with grief after the death of her mother three years previous. When she unexpectedly becomes friends with a nonagenarian named Josef in her grief counseling group, she begins to open up a little more to the world. When he confesses the most heinous secret possible, she has to decide if she should tell or grant him the unusual favor he asks of her. How many years must pass before we are no longer the person who committed a crime? Can the good we do ever outweigh the bad? These are the questions Sage has to answer.

As hard as I try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, it is simply not possible today so please read on at your own risk.

=======================================================

This book is told in three parts. The first and last sections are Sage's story and her dilemma, but the middle part focuses on the harrowing experiences of Sage's grandmother, Minka, during the holocaust. As heartbreaking and difficult as Minka's story is to read, it is beautifully and compellingly written. I couldn't stop reading; I couldn't look away. There were, however, several moments when I had to put the book in my lap and sob. Picoult doesn't shy away from describing the horrors experienced in the concentration camps. She delivers the blows with merciless precision, as well she should. When atrocities such as these are part of reality, it is our responsibility to genuinely and honestly look at how they happened so as to watch for risks of repeat in the future.

Minka's story was my favorite part of this book, but the sections told from Sage's point of view aren't as enjoyable. I didn't care for her character very much. I also didn't really care for the ending. It left so much to be desired. Unfortunately, these sections force me to drop rating from five to four stars, which I think is still pretty good considering. This book was wonderful. I'm so glad I read it.

 

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

I really enjoyed Laurie Frankel's This Is How It Always Is and her latest novel One Two Three was just as wonderful. Mab, Monday, and Mirabel are triplets born in a time of hardship for their small town, Bourne. A chemical plant has poisoned the water and the repercussions are immense. Now sixteen and doing their best to survive high school and a dying town, they are determined to make things better. Included with the sisters is a whole cast of remarkable characters: Nora, their mother, who has been fighting to bring a lawsuit against the chemical company their whole lives; Omar, the mayor, who some hold at least partially responsible for what happened; Pooh, the old blind woman who isn't blind that Mab reads to once a week; and River, the son and grandson of the owners of the chemical plant whose family has moved back to town to try to reopen the plant.

I loved this book. I love that Frankel opens it with the caveat that this is a work of fiction but also that it is based on real things that have happened in real towns and that continue to happen today. A quote from the book:

If the water were contaminating wealthy Bostonians, that would be unacceptable and addressed.

But Bourne? Bourne is completely disposable.

This is an environmental story and one about people with different physical abilities and disabilities. This is a story about suffering, but also overcoming; about fighting for what is right even if it isn't necessarily in the way some people would say is the right way. Frankel writes fantastic characters and with so much heart. I have read some really good books this year and this one is right near the top. 

 

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

Who read Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan and didn't love it? No one that I know. Applegate is fantastic at getting into the hearts of her readers. Her most recent release, Willodeen, is a fantasy novel that follows a young girl named Willodeen whose life has been devastated by a fire. Taken in by a couple of lovely old women, she is nursed back to health and loved just as she is, quirks and all. Rounding out their odd family is an injured hummingbear, a sweet little creature covered in light fur, but whose wings no longer fly. Willodeen is obsessed with learning about the beast everyone in town hates, the screechers. When the fragile ecosystem supporting the town begins to fail, it is Willodeen and her new friend Connor who uncover the cause.

This book was cute and a short read, but I didn't connect with it the same way I did with Ivan. There is a clear message about preserving the environment and how our actions affect the world around us. I think that is really good for children to learn in a way that isn't too harsh. There is plenty of charm within these pages.

 

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

In Fiona Davis's The Lions of Fifth Avenue, we meet Laura, a wife and mother in 1913 whose family is living in the recently opened New York Public Library. We also meet her granddaughter, Sadie, eighty years later who is a curator at the same library. The two never met but Sadie is intrigued with her grandmother's reputation as a famous feminist essayist. When books begin going missing in Sadie's timeline, she is surprised to find that there were also book thefts at the time her grandmother and mother lived in the library. She dives headfirst into the mystery with the hope of rescuing some of the world's most important pieces of literature.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and I was very curious where the mystery would lead us. Davis did an excellent job balancing the two different timelines and points of view and each chapter ending had me wanting to keep the pages turning. I loved reading about turn-of-the-century feminism and the challenges that women of the time faced in their desires to pursue their own passions. I also enjoyed hearing about the NY Public Library and now it is on my list of places to visit. This was my first Fiona Davis novel, but I can't wait to read more!

 

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

I have really enjoyed Julie Murphy's books, especially Dumplin', and her latest offering may be my favorite yet. If the Shoe Fits is a Cinderella retelling set in a Bachelor-type matchmaking television show. Cindy has recently graduated from fashion school where her focus was shoe design, but with no job prospects, she moves back home to live with her stepmother, two stepsisters, and triplet half-siblings. When the last-minute opportunity arises to appear on the show, Cindy doesn't let herself consider if her curves will make her a target for trolls. Instead, she focuses on the exposure her designs will receive... and the cash prize at the end. It's a risk, but one she's willing to take.

This was an adorable adventure into a very familiar fairytale. The characters were darling and I really enjoyed the relationships between the women. The real world is a bit chaotic right now and this was a sweet escape into fantasy land. I highly recommend you add it to your list of fun reads.

 

Falling by T.J. Newman

In T.J. Newman's Falling, veteran airline captain Bill Hoffman boards his flight as usual. Nothing seems out of place except that his wife was upset he had picked up the trip when he was supposed to be at his son's baseball game. When he gets a call from her in-flight, the face time image that comes through doesn't make any sense: she is strapped to a suicide vest and she and their children are gagged. A terrorist has taken his family hostage and presented Bill with a choice: his family or the plane full of passengers.

This book was a thriller true to its name. I could NOT put it down. I had so many things to do yesterday, but I was convinced that if I stopped reading the plane would fall right out of the air. Newman is a flight attendant and her experience shows through in the details of this breath-catching adventure. I don't usually love thrillers, but this one really had me. The characters were wonderfully written and impossible not to love. As a reader, I was genuinely concerned for their survival. The whole time I kept thinking if they don't turn this into a movie they are just throwing money away. I was happy to read that the film rights have been awarded to Universal Pictures. I will be anxiously waiting with money in my hand at the box office window.

Read this book, but be sure to fasten your seatbelt first!

 

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

It's February and even here in the Sunny Southwest, it's a bit chilly and gray. What could be better for that than a super fun vacation read?! (Other than an actual vacation, obviously.) This month's book club pick is Emily Henry's People We Meet on Vacation and it was great! Poppy and Alex have been best friends since college, and they've built a tradition of going on summer trips. Some of those trips have been on a shoestring budget and some have been quite luxurious, but they've all been memorable and fun until the last one when something terrible happened and they didn't speak for nearly two years.

Henry makes us wait a really long time before revealing what happened, but the tension is well-woven throughout the story without being over the top. Poppy and Alex are both wonderfully drawn characters, and they are joined by a darling crew of people they meet along the way. Poppy is funny and sarcastic while Alex is tightly controlled but comes loose with Poppy's prodding.

I really liked this book. It was cute. It was fun. It got me through a few dreary winter days dreaming about how it is time to plan a Girls' Trip. This book would be great for reading by the pool or at the beach this summer, but there is really no need to wait. I really think you're going to like it no matter where you read it.

 

Dava Shastri's Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti

Oh, SmartGirls! I have just finished reading the most wonderful book! Dava Shastri's Last Day by Krithana Ramisetti is absolutely fantastic. Dava Shastri is a wealthy philanthropist whose life's purpose has been to make her own name synonymous with giving and making the world a better place. When the time comes for the end of her life, she gathers her family around her and reflects on whether or not she has been successful. Her four children, their spouses, and their children are all together on the family island in the year 2044. There is love, there is disagreement, there is grief.

These are the most wonderfully written characters. They are all beautifully flawed and all trying to live up to the extremely high expectations of Dava, herself included. Told in memories and flashbacks to the early twenty-first century that feel more like current events, the reader is pulled into an easily imaginable world that hasn't quite happened yet. This book is beautiful and thought-provoking, and it had me wondering what my own "going away party" might be like if I were given the opportunity to plan it someday. 

I know we are only midway through February, but this could easily be the best book I read all year. My only regret is that I didn't save this for a book club selection. The discussion among friends would be magnificent.

I love this book and I hope you will, too.

 

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

A friend at work had just finished reading Colleen Hoover's It Ends with Us, and she could not stop raving about how good it was. The Goodreads reviews were also out of this world, so when she brought it to me the day after she finished and said I needed to read it, too, I couldn't say no.

Lily is a thirty-year-old woman living in Boston and dreaming of opening her own business when she meets Ryle. Their chance encounter on the rooftop of a building where she does not live eventually leads to an unexpected relationship. This story alternates with Lily reading her own journals from when she was sixteen. We get to see both young Lily and grown Lily. She makes some of the same mistakes; she's learned a lot and become an independent woman. When things in her own relationship begin to mirror some of the dark parts of the home in which she grew up, it is hard for her to accept.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I do want to give a warning that there is a fair amount of physical domestic abuse portrayed in this book. It was hard to read those parts, but they felt very real rather than dramatized for the reader's entertainment. 

Overall, I thought this was a good book. I was worried at the beginning because the writing felt a little superficial. The first half of the book could be categorized as a romance which isn't a genre I usually enjoy. And I know I'm going to catch flack for this, but Ryle... is a stupid name. Why do books like this always have characters will stupid names? I know- I'm no fun, but I stand by this statement. Names aside, the characters were well developed and really likable. I was especially fond of Lily's new best friend Alyssa. This was a very fast read and if you think you can handle reading the scenes with violence, it will be worth your time.

 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

If you enjoyed reading The Martian by Andy Weir, I think you will really like Project Hail Mary. Ryland Grace is all alone in space and he has no idea how he got there, where he's going, or even his own name. Slowly the memories return and he realizes he has a mission vital to the survival of the human race. Alternating between his current situation and the brief clips of memories, we learn all about this project at which the whole Earth has thrown everything they have. Light years from home, and completely on his own, Grace has to solve the possibly unsolvable.

I really enjoyed the adventure in this book. The storyline was great, but I thought some of the science could have been edited down a bit. I'm not suggesting removing it all, but it felt like unnecessary exposition that was left in purely to prove the calculations had been done. I love science and I am fascinated by all the things I don't know, but I will admit to skimming a fair few pages of this book.

I liked the way the story was told with flashbacks to the leadup to outer space. If it had been told linearly, it may have gotten boring, but not so with the alternating timeline. I am reluctant to say more about what I loved in this book for fear of spoilers, so I'll just recommend you read it on your own. Also, I am so excited that a film version is already in the works and starring Ryan Gosling. That is a movie I'll definitely want to see. I really hope they do a good job with it!

 

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

Being brutally honest about oneself is rarely easy, but that is the requirement in The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Monica owns a struggling cafe in London and when she finds a small notebook left behind on one of her tables, she opens it to determine the owner. What she finds is a journal entry outlining the Authenticity Project: write your story, be completely honest, then leave it for the next person. The eclectic group of people who end up adding to the notebook are fantastic. We have an elderly artist, a mommy blogger, a gorgeous traveler, a tired nanny, and a few others thrown in for fun.

Would you do it? Would you write out your truest story of yourself and then pass it on for someone else to read? Some people do it every day on social media. Some people are anonymous about it and others stand smack in the middle of the spotlight and never fear the opinions of others. Then the question is: who reads it? Total strangers who will never know you in real life are very different than the neighbor who lives down the street.

I really liked this book. The characters were flawed, but aren't we all? There was love and kindness and a sense of community I crave, especially in these times of social distance. I know some people struggle with a book with multiple points of view, but I think this one is handled well and the voices are distinct enough that it isn't difficult to keep up with the narrators. I hope you like it!

 

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson was a sweet book to start 2022. It follows June who has worked at the local village library for years. June is a quiet young woman who took over her mother's job at the library and lives in the home her mother left behind when she died. She gave up her dreams of university and a career as a writer when her mother was sick, and she's never gone back. Now, her beloved library is threatened by bureaucracy. The council wants to close the library and sell the building; a mobile library will have to suffice. June is heartbroken, as are her many library patrons who have come to depend on the innumerable services the library provides. Encouraged by these people who have become her makeshift family, June begins to fight for the library's future, but it may cost her job in the process.

This book is darling. June is a sheltered, sad character, and it is sweet to watch her grow. The assorted characters that join with her, and the few that fight on the other side, are fun to read and full of heart. I love how well this book highlights the many functions libraries perform. It's not all about checking out books. There are so many forms of media that people find useful as well as help with government forms, the use of technology, and a sense of community. I love my library and I've missed being able to spend more time in it the last two years. Libraries are a wonderful resource and a gift to our communities that I fully support. I hope you will do the same.