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.

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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.

 

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

I just couldn't get in to Rebecca Serle's The Dinner List, so I was a bit skeptical when I heard about her new book In Five Years. The premise, however, was intriguing enough to pique my interest. Dannie is a super Type-A corporate lawyer with a very firm five year plan: get a job at her dream firm in New York City, marry her boyfriend, buy the perfect apartment. Just as everything looks as if it is going according to plan, Dannie has a vision, a premonition of her life five years in the future and it doesn't look at all like what she expected. Thrown off by what she knows wasn't a dream, she has a hard time committing to her future and then hopes to find a way to make it not come true at all. Dannie's best friend Bella is her pure opposite- carefree and full of spontaneity. They are there for one another through everything.

I loved this book so much that I read most of it in a single afternoon. I will warn you it is a bit of a tear jerker, but if you've been here for a while you know that is a fairly low bar for me. I'm a giant crybaby. This is exactly my favorite kind of love story. I really want to tell you more, but I don't want to ruin it. Read it yourself and I think you'll understand. I hope you love it, too.

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

What I've Heard- Every Note Played

I'll tell you what I heard- I heard sobbing and sniffling and ridiculous crying! Every Note Played by Lisa Genova is a wonderful book and the audio version is every bit as wonderful. Narrated by both a female and male actor, each taking the parts of Karina and Richard, the listener is drawn even more into their story and the terrible effect ALS has on a patient and his caregiver. I knew this book would make me cry so I was careful to only listen in the privacy of my own home- perfect for housework. I cried so hard at some places,but it didn't even matter how crazy I looked and sounded. I highly recommend this book, but beware about where you read or listen to it.

What I Heard- A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman wasn't love at first sight for me, but with every page that I read back in January I loved it more. This week I listened to the audiobook knowing how much I was going to love it and I was not disappointed. Ove is such a grumpy old fart, and yet we can't help but love him. I am sure if anyone caught sight of me with my earbuds in listening to this wonderful book they likely thought I was completely crazy- I was, in turns, laughing hysterically and sobbing out right, and sometimes both at once. This audio is fabulous and if you haven't read or listened to the book yet, it is time.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

A couple of years ago I happened upon the film version of Still Alice by Lisa Genova. At the time I didn't know it was based on a book, but the movie looked pretty good and I was trapped on a very long trans-Pacific flight so I gave it a go. It was so good, but an airplane full of people was not the best place to watch such a sad movie when you're a weeper like I am. When I found a copy of the book, I quickly added it to my rather tall stack of books-I'm-going-to-read-really-soon-but-not-yet. It sat in that pile until I finally dug it out from the bottom a few days ago.

Alice is a fifty-year-old professor of psychology at Harvard University, a wife, and the mother of three grown children. She is at what should be the peak of her career, but when she starts finding herself confused, disoriented, and losing her train of thought she fears something must be wrong. Assuming it to be a normal part of aging and menopause, Alice seeks out the doctor she's seen for years. When the diagnosis comes back as early-onset Alzheimer's disease, Alice is devastated. This seems like an impossibility at her age, but she learns that "ten percent of people with Alzheimer's have this early-onset form and are under the age of sixty-five." Even harder to accept is that this form of the disease is genetic and each of her children has a "fifty percent chance of inheriting this mutation, which has a one hundred percent chance of causing the disease."

Genova is herself a neuroscientist with a Ph.D. from Harvard and she spent a lot of time researching Alzheimer's and dementia so while this is a work of fiction, it is a truthful one. I learned so much I didn't know and couldn't help but think of how I would react in a similar situation. There are heartbreaking moments in this book ranging from the first time she finds herself disoriented a few blocks from home and unable to get there to the time she gets lost in her own home and cannot find the bathroom in time. There are also moments of love and tenderness from Alice's family and collogues that are the cause of their own tears.

Even though I went through a fair number of tissues, I really enjoyed this book. It was one I couldn't stop reading, even when the clock kept screaming at me that it was past my bedtime. 

Every Note Played by Lisa Genova

I finished this book a couple of days ago, but I needed a little time before I could write about it. Every Note Played is a novel written by Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice. In this newest book, Genova explores what it is really like living with, and dying from, ALS. Richard is a world-renowned concert pianist who has spent literally most of his 45 years at the piano, practicing in excess of ten hours a day and devoting his life to his music to the detriment of his family. Divorced from his wife Karina and estranged from his only daughter, Richard lives alone in a fancy Boston apartment when he isn't on tour playing the most prestigious concert halls in the world. As weakness begins to develop in his right hand, he desperately tries to deny anything is wrong until the music begins to suffer. His ALS is a devastating and relentless blow to all that he holds dear. When the course of the disease leaves him with no choice but to turn to his ex-wife, he must come to grips with who he was, who he now is, and what he will become before ultimately succumbing to his illness.

This book was fantastic and fascinating and frightening all at once. I was heartbroken reading the indignity and anguish that Richard endured as well as that of Karina and their daughter Grace. Passages like this one made me weep for him:

  

He'll never play the piano again. This is the loss he's imagined in microscopic detail from the first hints of this disease, the one that guts him through his center and keeps him from sleeping and makes him want to swallow a bottle of pills and end his life now. Because without the piano, how can he live?

And this one:

...he plays a single note, D, with his pinkie. He holds the key and the foot pedal down, listening to the singular sound, bold and three-dimensional at first, then drifting, dispersing, fragile, decaying. He inhales. He listens. The note is gone.

Every note played is a life and a death.

As I read this book, I carefully marked the names of the musical pieces mentioned by both Richard and Karina and then searched for each of them on YouTube. I cannot recommend enough that you do the same. It will give you a whole new appreciation for the talent that Richard possesses and then excruciatingly loses. 

Lest you think Genova is just sitting in her office making up all these stories, let me assure you she is quite qualified. She earned a degree in biopsychology from Bates College where she was the valedictorian and then went on to earn her doctorate in neuroscience from Harvard University. Genova interviewed many patients with ALS as well as their caregivers. She communicates their loss, their pain, and their fear. She also shares their bravery and courage and love. Reading the acknowledgements section of this book should not be skipped, no matter how tear-filled and snot-covered you might be at the end.

After Still Alice released, Genova gave a TED Talk about how to possibly prevent Alzheimer's disease. I think you will find it both interesting for the content and also for the opportunity to hear the author of this wonderful book speak.

Still Alice is still sitting in the pile on my bedside table, but it will quickly be making its way to the top. I can't wait to read more Lisa Genova.

What I've Seen- Wonder

This weekend, the family and I went to see Wonder. This is a book I read four years ago and loved.

I had this to say about it:

"When I say that that books like this one have the power to change the world it is because of the opportunity the reader has to gain so much in the way of compassion and empathy.  The value of reading is in learning to see the world through someone else's eyes and that can easily be done here.  August's voice is clearly that of a ten-year-old boy.  Any young reader can feel what he feels and any older reader can remember that age and also knows that sometimes we all feel like a ten-year-old."

I loved this book for the potential it has to cause a shift in the way people think, they way they behave. And I loved the way this book showed that just because people are mean is no excuse to not be kind. I've read, over the years since I was first introduced to this book, where people take great offense at this book. They claim that it turns a boy into a freak show, something to be stared at and then to walk away and be grateful we aren't in his shoes. When I first learned about this point of view, it made me uncomfortable. Was that what I was doing?

No, I decided. No, I wasn't.

What I find admirable about Auggie isn't that he looks different from everyone else and still perseveres. Certainly he is brave, but what I find most commendable is his ability to maintain his kindness and forgiveness in the face of the unkindness of others. This is a lesson we can all learn. And what I love about this book is the opportunity for people to see that their words and actions have meaning, that they make an impact on the people around them, whether for good or ill.

Very rarely does a film adaptation leave me with no complaints. This movie accomplishes what all readers hope for their favorite books. It brings the beauty of the written word to life without losing the beloved spirit of the story. This movie is well worth your time and will not disappoint. Fair warning: Bring tissues.

  

What I've Seen- A Monster Calls

Four years ago I read A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. If you've read that review you will know how deeply this book touched me. When I saw that a film version would be released I was thrilled. When I saw the trailer for the first time while seeing another movie, I had early tears in my eyes. When it lasted only a couple of weeks in the theater, which I sadly missed, I was frustrated. Hadn't people read this book? Didn't they know how wonderful it was and that the movie was bound to be as well??

I waited and waited for my chance to see this movie and it finally came this past weekend. My family had not read the book and I wouldn't give them any hints about the plot. Starring Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver, and the voice of Liam Neeson as the voice of the monster, this film was beautifully made. I have no idea why it didn't receive more attention. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 88% Fresh and the reviews were good. I suppose sometimes good movies just fall through the cracks.

And it was a good movie. Lewis MacDougall was fantastic as Conor. The watercolor animation bits during the monster's stories was beautiful. And, yes, I cried. I cried so much. I am admittedly a cry baby, but I feel no shame in that. My family all enjoyed the movie and thought it was sad, but I'm the only weeper in the house. If you haven't read this book, today is the day. If you have, it is time to find a copy of this DVD. You won't be disappointed.

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

I have had The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin on my bedside table for months. I picked it up at a library book sale, knowing that a film adaptation was due for release this fall. I was anxious to read it before the movie came out and I've made it by a few weeks. The Mountain Between Us features Ben, an orthopedic surgeon and trauma doctor, and Ashley, a journalist heading to her wedding. Stranded in the Salt Lake City airport due to a winter storm, the two strangers team up with a private pilot to try to get ahead of the storm and get to their homes on the east coast. When the plane goes down at 11,000 feet elevation and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of miles from any sign of civilization, Ben and Ashley have to try to make it out alive against impossible odds.

This book took me no time at all to read. I was hooked from the beginning and the last third was too exciting to put down. The middle bit dragged just a little, but I was motivated to get to the end. Sometimes when I'm reading a book, I feel like the survival of the characters depends on my continued reading. Crazy, I know, but if I don't keep reading I'm convinced they will all die!

Was this book perfect? No. The characters conveniently were pretty well set up for survival of such an incident: Ben is an Eagle Scout who loves hiking, and is also a doctor; Ashley is an athlete and in good physical condition. I was reminded a bit of Nicholas Sparks; some of it was a bit sappy, but sometimes that's just what I want to read. It's not the kind of thing I want to read every day, but today I really liked it. Without sharing any spoilers, I will say that I used a fair number of tissues, but then we've already established that I am a great big crybaby.

Based on what I've seen from the movie trailer, I expect a lot of changes from the book. I really like Kate Winslet and Idris Elba and I'm hoping I'll be able to let go of my expectations from what I've read. We all know that the movie is rarely as good as (and almost never better than) the book, so I will try to separate the reading experience from the movie watching.

This was an exciting, interesting read. I'm fascinated by survival stories, probably because I know my own survival would be highly unlikely. Some of it was sad for me, but some of it was really funny, too. I hope you'll read this and I'd love to hear what you think.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Oh, my. I've had When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi for some time now, but I was waiting to be in just the right mood to read it. Paul Kalanithi is a neurosurgery resident just at the edge of finishing his training when he discovers that he has lung cancer and that the cancer has already spread. In this book, Paul describes the ways in which cancer changes his life. This autobiography takes the reader back to Paul's childhood and along the path that led him to medicine. Initially, Paul was drawn to literature. He has a B.A and M.A in English Literature from Stanford. Then, as he became interested in medicine, he also earned a B.A in Human Biology from Stanford. He then earned an M.Phil in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from the University of Cambridge after which he attended medical school at Yale. After returning to Stanford for his residency, he was involved in several award-winning research projects while also completing rigorous training in neuroscience and neurosurgery. Paul had an incredible career ahead of him and had plans to share his extensive knowledge through teaching. Through it all, this was Paul's purpose:

I was driven less by achievement than by trying to understand, in earnest:
What makes human life meaningful?

I was fascinated with the descriptions of Paul's work as a physician. I find medicine very intriguing and the descriptions of his day-to-day work were so interesting to me. Harder to read, however, were his struggles transitioning from doctor to patient. After his diagnosis, Paul was forced to take some time away from work.

...without that duty to care for the ill pushing me forward, I became an invalid.

After two months [of physical therapy], I could sit for thirty minutes without tiring. I could start having dinner with friends again.

Oh, I can't imagine how difficult that must have been. Terminal illness takes so much away from the patient. After much difficulty, Paul and his wife Lucy decide to have a child. This was not an easy decision. Paul didn't want to burden his wife, nor did he want to miss the experience of being a parent.

Lucy:"Don't you think saying goodbye to your child will make your death more painful"
Paul:"Wouldn't it be great if it did?"
Lucy and I both felt that life wasn't about avoiding suffering.

Of course having a child would add one more person to whom he would have to say goodbye, but it would be one more person to love until that day arrived. He displayed so much strength of character, so much integrity of heart:

...knowing that even if I'm dying, until I actually die, I am still living.

Can we all claim to have such perspective? Paul maintained his sense of humor. At the end of his fifteenth medical school class reunion, he had this experience:

...when old friends called out parting promises-- "We'll see you at the twenty-fifth!" -- it seemed rude to respond with "Probably not!"

In the epilogue, Paul's wife Lucy shares Paul's final days and her experience with his death. It is a touching account of love and loss. She says:

Paul confronted death-- examined it, wrestled with it, accepted it-- as a physician and a patient. He wanted to help people understand death and face their mortality.

Finally, one last quote that is sure to pull at the reader's heart:

At home in bed a few weeks before he died, I asked him, "Can you breathe okay with my head on your chest like this?" His answer was "It's the only way I know how to breathe."

Oh, this book fascinated me and eviscerated me. No one can know the good that Paul might have been able to do as a physician if he had lived a long, healthy life, but the good I expect he has done with this book is immeasurable. He has left a legacy for his daughter and a guide to anyone experiencing a terminal illness as well as family members and friends of those patients. This book is beautiful and heart-rending. Please read it.

Nest by Esther Ehrlich

Oh, this book. Nest by Esther Ehrlich follows Naomi, better known as Chirp, as she attempts to navigate what is likely to be the most difficult year of her young life. At only eleven-years-old, Chirp must face the devastating illness of her beloved mother. Chirp's mother, Hannah is a talented dancer, but when her leg begins to drag everyone knows something serious is wrong. It is the 1970s and much isn't known about Multiple Sclerosis which is the diagnosis that Hannah finally receives. She is heartbroken and falls into a deep depression. Chirp does her best to cope with the changes in her home and spends her days bird watching at the pond near her home on Cape Cod. Chirp knows just about everything about the birds that visit her area, but her favorite is the elusive Red-Throated Loon.

This book covers topics that some might think are too difficult or painful for a middle grade reader, but that is what I think is important about it. So often we minimize what our children understand about the world around us. We protect them as best we can, as is right, but they see. They know. And so we must help them understand. When Chirp talks about her mother's depression, she is explaining it to the reader as well as to herself:

...her depression is chronic, which means it will never completely go away.

Chirp is afraid, but she is reluctant to say anything that might make her mother feel worse and so she keeps quiet.

I fill up the room with my haaaa so there's no room for anything else.

When things get even harder for Chirp, she retreats to her room and the only safe feeling she can imagine. She builds herself a nest from all her bedding and clothes, just like the birds she loves do.

A nest should be well constructed. It should keep you warm even when there are strong gusts or a downpour. It can't just fall apart. It should be as safe as possible from predators.

Isn't this what we all want from our home- a safe, warm nest? 

The prose in this novel is beautifully written. Right away in chapter one we get this lovely description:

The air's already thick and warm, even though the sun's still just a spritz of light in the pitch pines and scrub oaks.

And that wonderful writing continues through the entire novel. I really enjoyed this book. I think the subject matter is very important. It is touching and heartrending and beautiful.

*I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

I have been wanting to read Me Before You by Jojo Moyes for a very long time.  I was thrilled when it was the monthly pick for a new online book club I have joined.  It features Louisa (Lou) Clark, a young woman living in a small suburb of London who has just lost her job.  She makes her way to the local employment office and the options are not great.  She does a short stint in the poultry factory but finds she doesn't have the stomach for it.  After turning down several other suggestions, she finally agrees to interview for a caregiver position.  The job requirements are rather simple- she is meant as a companion for a man who is a quadriplegic.  This man, Will, was previously a highly successful businessman who enjoyed travel and living his life exactly as he chose until an accident left him totally dependent on the people around him and without the desire to go on living.  Lou's job and then her purpose is to help him find a reason.

I really loved this book.  I loved the way Lou's character developed and I loved watching the way she and Will interacted.  I learned a lot about how it must feel to be a person of limited ability, especially while in public.  Of course, I have it labeled as a Tear Jerker for a reason, but you really shouldn't let that dissuade you if those aren't your kind of books.  This was a super fast read, though I really wouldn't recommend it as a vacation or beach read unless you don't mind blubbering in front of strangers.  I really hope you will give this one a try.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Oh, dear.  It's not as though I wasn't expecting a book about teenagers with cancer to make me cry.  Come on, we all know I'm a huge cry baby, and I don't hide from that.  And yet, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green wiped me out last night.  I climbed in bed early about halfway through the book expecting to read a little, but as I literally read it and wept, I couldn't put it down.  I stayed up much too late to finish, but it was totally worth it.  A re-read will most certainly be in my future.

Hazel is a sixteen-year-old girl with a terminal form of lung cancer.  Her parents are worried that she doesn't have enough friends and so they force her to attend a support group with other teenage cancer patients.  She would much rather stay home, hang out with her parents and watch endless episodes of America's Next Top Model, but her parents want more for her.  At one meeting, Hazel is introduced to Augustus who is a cancer survivor.  He survived and his odds of recurrence are very low, but he did lose one of his legs to the disease.  And since this is a Young Adult novel, the two begin a relationship.  But don't forget, it's a book about teenagers with cancer.  Teenagers.  With cancer.  Of course, I'm not going to spoil it for you, but I do want you to remember the premise of the book before you get too invested.  Not that you shouldn't read it, you should just be sure you have stocked up on the tissues.  And Gatorade- it's a good idea to hydrate.

I loved this book.  I loved the characters.  One of my big complaints about a lot of YA fiction is that it is so superficial, so light with so little meat.  This was not like that.  These teenagers are smart and aware of the world and their place in it.  And perhaps that is part of the fiction, but I'll take it because I far prefer it to some of the characters I've read it other books.  There are so many quotes I would love to share with you, but as my Kindle informs me I have thirty-four highlights, I won't.  It would be too much and I wouldn't want to ruin the book for you.  There are so many things that I can't wait to discuss with someone who has read this.  So, Smart Girl, hurry up and read it so we can talk about it!

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I always cringe when I hear a parent say to his or her child, "There are no such thing as monsters."  I cringe because as adults in truth we know that there are monsters in the world.  They may not be hiding under our beds or in our closets, but there are monsters out there just the same.

In A Monster Calls  by Patrick Ness, Conor who is thirteen-years-old is being visited by a monster.  His monster is the yew tree behind his house come to life.  He is sure he must be dreaming when the monster calls his name, when it smashes a hole in the side of his house, when it tells him stories he doesn't understand.  He must be dreaming because monsters aren't real, right?

Conor's mother is sick.  She doesn't have a cold or a sore throat, she is the kind of sick that steals away her strength, her energy, and her hair.  Conor wants her to get better and he believes she will, but he is haunted by a nightmare that the author won't share with his readers until the very end.  His nightmare is where the real monster lives and Conor couldn't be more afraid.

It has been well established here that I am a crier, however today I am in real danger of dehydration. We know that a parent's illness is hard on a child, but this book explores what that must feel like to the child.  Children become afraid and telling them to be brave in a situation that even the adults don't have enough courage to face is unfair.  Children become angry and they should be allowed to express it.  Children feel isolated when the adults become too wrapped up in their own grief to help that child navigate so difficult a road.  Acting as if everything will be okay, as if there is nothing wrong is not helpful in the least.  In the end, it is the truth that helps Conor face his monster.

I'm not sure I can tell you who should read this book.  It is written for children, but I suppose as a parent I prefer to keep my children from knowing about the real monsters in the world, at least as long as I can.  Adults will benefit from the reading, if for nothing other than the reminder that children have feelings as complex as any adult.  A Monster Calls  is beautifully written and the illustrations are dark and a little scary, just as they should be.  Grief and loss are complicated topics and they are handled very well here.  I would love to hear if you read this one.  I would love to hear how it touches you.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Oh, my.  This book.  To call The Art of Racing in the Rain  by Garth Stein a dog book would be a colossal mistake.  While the book is narrated by and told from the point of view of Enzo, a dog, this is not a book about a dog.  This is a book about a family of which Enzo is an important member.   Enzo's owner is Denny, an aspiring race car driver.  Denny and Enzo love to watch racing videos together and much of what Enzo knows about life he has learned through racing.  Enzo also watches other television and as his philosophies develop, he shares them.  For instance, his opinion on evolution: "So what if man's body evolved from the monkeys?  Whether he came from monkeys or fish is unimportant.  The important idea is that when the body became 'human' enough, the first human soul slipped into it."

Enzo believes that his soul is as near to human as possible.  After watching a documentary about reincarnation, he feels certain that his next life will be in the body of a man and he is ready.  The book begins at the end.  Enzo is very old and struggling to keep up.  It is clear he has very little time left in this world.  (For this reason, I did not give this book to a friend of mine that I know loves dogs as her lab is now 14 years old.)  Enzo then proceeds to tell us what his life has been like from the beginning, how he came to live with Denny and what it was like for him when Denny married and had a daughter. 

Enzo is a kind soul.  He is wise.  He is unselfish.  He stands by as a witness as Denny's life falls apart and at times Enzo even helps direct Denny's path, keeping him from danger and regret.  I admit that I am not much of a dog person, though we have had a dog for the last three years.  He is sweet, but I am not as attached to him as my children and husband are.  And yet I would be the last person to say that our dog doesn't have a soul and his own personality.

Oh, if only we could hear his thoughts.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Summer reading has begun!  I love summer reading with my kids and they love to hear me read to them.  Of course I only pick books that I am also interested in reading, some I've previewed and some are new to all three of us.  The first book this summer was The One and Only Ivan  by Katherine Applegate.  I saw this book reviewed in several places and the reviews were all very positive. 

The One and Only Ivan is a fictional story based on real life events.  Ivan is a real gorilla who was captured as an infant in the Congo.  He lived for nearly thirty years in a circus themed shopping mall in Washington state.  After public outcry brought attention to the far less than ideal living conditions of the animals, Ivan was moved to a real zoo, Zoo Atlanta, where he lived with others of his kind to the ripe old age of 50.  He died just last August 20th.   

The fictional story is told from Ivan's point of view.  Ivan describes the mall, it's visitors, and his friends, both human and animal.  These friends include a small dog who claims to be a homeless wanderer, an elderly female elephant and, new to the mall, a baby female elephant.  As for Ivan's experience with humans, there is Mack, the mall owner, George, the mall janitor, and Julia, George's daughter.  Ivan tells the story of his long journey from Africa, the family he lost there, and how he came to live in the mall. 

One of the things I loved about this book is that Ivan can perfectly understand the humans.  He is disappointed that he cannot make them understand him.  When I was in elementary school, our class went on a field trip to the zoo.  They have since remodeled into a beautiful primate exhibit.  The day of our field trip, however, we were walking through the interior of the exhibit where we could see into the gorillas' inside habitats.  One gorilla was sitting with his back to the glass, ignoring the visitors.  My mother looked at him and said, "Wow.  He looks like he could break right through that glass if he wanted to."  Immediately after she said this, the large gorilla turned toward the glass and gave it a very loud hit.  We all jumped a good two feet in the air.  It's a funny story now, but it does make one wonder if that gorilla had understood her and was just confirming that yes, he could break through if he wanted.

As we have well established here, I am a crier.  This book more than accommodated me in that respect.  Reading aloud to my children, I occasionally had to stop for a tissue or three.  Neither my 6-year-old nor my 9-year-old joined me in my tears, but they both agreed that the situations were sad.  I think this is a wonderful book for teaching children compassion.  It also gives children a view of the outside world they may not have previously experienced.  I had to explain poaching and the grotesque market for the animal's body parts.  They were astonished that someone would want a gorilla hand in their home as a decoration or an ashtray.  I share in that bewilderment.  I also explained to them that even in our own country, animals are not always treated humanely.  I was able to ask them questions such as, "If you were an animal do you think you would like living in a cage?"  "Do you think that animals should be cared for and allowed to live in the most comfortable conditions possible?"  I also explained the difference in a Good Zoo and a Bad Domain (as does Ivan in the book).  This was the perfect book to begin our Summer Reading and I would absolutely recommend you add it to your list. 

We love Ivan.

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore

I love it when a book grabs me as a reader and won't let go.  This month's book club selection did just that.  The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat  by Edward Kelsey Moore follows Odette, Barbara Jean and Clarice over four decades of friendship.  They weather all their storms together- cheating husbands, the loss of a child, cancer and crazy fake fortune tellers.  These are friends every woman wishes to have.  "We overlooked each other's flaws and treated each other well, even when we didn't deserve it."

I laughed my way through this book and as usual, I cried a little, too.  This was a very quick read, it took me only four evenings to finish.  I wish I could tell you more, but I'm afraid if I were to start, I wouldn't be able to stop myself!  I can't recommend this book enough.  I will be shocked it we aren't hearing very soon about a film version in production.  It is really wonderful.

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani

The book club selection for December/January is The Shoemaker's Wife  by Adriana Trigiani.  Once again, from the very first sentence, I knew I was going to love the writing in this book.  "The scalloped hem of Caterina Lazzari's blue velvet coat grazed the fresh-fallen snow, leaving a pale pink path on the bricks as she walked across the empty piazza."  How beautiful is that imagery?!

Beginning in 1904 in Northern Italy, The Shoemaker's Wife  follows the life of Ciro Lazzari from the time he is ten years old.  His father has recently died and his mother can no longer care for him and his brother and so the boys are left in the care of the nuns at a convent in the Italian Alps.  Time passes and the boys grow into young men.  The brothers embark on separate paths, Ciro's leading him to America, his brother Eduardo's to the priesthood.  The story also follows Enza, a young girl that Ciro meets while still living in the convent.  Enza is the oldest of six children and feels a great responsibility to help care for her family.  A seamstress, Enza also immigrates to America with her father where Enza and Ciro weave in and out of each other's lives.

This is a beautifully written book that explores the difficult realities of the life of an immigrant in the early 20th century.  I was fascinated with the descriptions of struggle and the different classes within the immigrant community.  "We all come here thinking that we'll go home.  And then, this becomes home."  There is so much love within these pages:  A boy's love for his mother, a young man's love for his brother, a girl's love and sacrifice for her family, a father's love for his daughter, the love of good friends helping one another through life and the enduring love of a husband and wife.  "If you truly love someone, when he is cut, you bleed."  I loved this book.  I recommend it.  I will gift it.  I hope you'll read it and then let me know what you thought.  Oh, and may I recommend a box of tissues?

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is this month's official book club selection.  And just how did I react when I found out this was what our host wanted to read?  Was I excited?  Interested?  Gracious?  No, of course not.  I flopped on the couch and begged, "Please.  Please!  Please don't make us read this!"  Yes, I'm a big girl.  She just looked at me like I had had a breakdown of some sort.

Before I knew anything about this book, I had heard how wonderful it is.  It kept coming up on my radar, so I added it to my 'To Read' list.  And then I found out it was about 9/11 and it was quickly removed from said list.  You see, when it comes to September 11th, 2001, I am completely nonsensical.  When I see images of that day, I actually cover my eyes and duck my head as if not seeing it will make it un-happen.  When I watch old episodes of Friends and they show the old New York skyline, I whimper and clutch my heart.  Out loud I do this.  I know, I'm a moron, but I just can't help it. 

After our host-to-be finished looking at me like I was crazy, she continued what she was saying, that we should all go see the movie after we read the book.  Well, that is where I draw the line because I just can't do that, but I was willing to read the book.  And what did I think?

I LOVED IT!

Was it hard for me to read?  Absolutely, but it was worth it. 

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is the story of a Oskar, 9-year-old boy who loses his father in the 9/11 attacks.  Oskar's father used to send Oskar on adventures, giving him clues and things to find.  After his father's death, Oskar discovers a key and is desperate to find out what it unlocks.  He thinks this is another of his father's treasure hunts.  This search takes Oskar on an adventure that also allows him to begin to heal.  But this book wasn't just about Oskar.  It was about a whole cast of characters surrounding him:  Oskar's mother who is also grieving; Oskar's grandmother who lost her son that day, but has also lost a husband, a sister, her entire family; Oskar's grandfather who lost himself; and many of the people he encounters during his search and what each of them have lost. 

This is the first book I have read on my new Kindle, so maybe that is why I felt compelled to mark so many quotes in this book.  Or perhaps it was just so full of wonderful quotes.  Don't worry- I won't burden you with all of them, but I would like to share a few.   Oskar is so young, but he sees things and understands things that perhaps others don't.  At one point early in the novel, he says, "It's not that I believe in things that can't be observed now, because I don't.  It's that I believe that things are extremely complicated."  When things become too much, he says, "I zipped myself all the way into the sleeping bag of myself."  Haven't we all felt like doing that at some point or another? 

Foer's writing is beautifully done.  The way he molds the words into what he wants to say is touching.  "That secret was a hole in the middle of me that every happy thing fell into." 

Later the grandmother says, "I wish I could be a girl again, with the chance to live my life again.  I have suffered so much more than I needed to.  And the joys I have felt have not always been joyous.  I could have lived differently." 

And:  "So many people enter and leave your life!  Hundreds of thousands of people!  You have to keep the door open so they can come in!  But it also means you have to let them go!"

And perhaps my favorite is this.  While Oskar is talking with an older man that he meets during his search, he discovers the man was a war correspondent.  Oskar asks about his last war.  The man tells him that cutting down a tree that he used to build a bed was his last war.  Oskar says, "I asked him who won, which I thought was a nice question because it would let him say that he won, and feel proud.  He said, 'The ax won!  It's always that way!'"  Who wins any war?  No one.  Why is that so difficult for us to understand.  It is only the ax that wins. 

Foer draws the unsettling parallel between 9/11, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and the controversial fire bombing of Dresden, Germany, during WWII.  Of course, 9/11 personally affected Oskar and most of us know what it entailed.  The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima is brought to the story through a tape that Oskar plays for a class presentation.  It is the recorded interview of a woman who survived the bombing, but lost her daughter.  The ugliness she describes is appalling.  About it she says, "That is what death is like.  It doesn't matter what uniforms the soldiers are wearing.  It doesn't matter how good the weapons are.  I thought if everyone could see what I saw, we would never have war anymore."  That is my personal hope as well.  Finally, the fire bombing of Dresden is the grandmother's story.  She and the grandfather were living in Dresden at the time and lost everyone in the bombings and subsequent fires.  I couldn't help but notice that each of these three events involves the terrifying description of death by fire and extreme heat and also the loss of family and loved ones.

Oskar's humor.  Sometimes it is intentional.  He says more than once that he knows if he can make his mother laugh that she still loves him.  Other times, it is Oskar's quirkiness that makes the reader smile.  While there were difficult parts of this book, the storytelling captured my attention enough to distract me, at least at times.  I would recommend this book with gusto.  It is beautifully written and full of bits of wisdom that often surprised me. 

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Did you read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants  series by Ann Brashares?  If you haven't read them, I recommend you add them to your list.  Yes, they are another YA series, but these are fun and light and would make excellent summer reading or they would be a great choice for those of you who have recently finished the Hunger Games series and are needing a lift out of the darkness.  Once you've read the first four, please go out and pick up Sisterhood Everlasting .  This book picks up then years after the end of the Sisterhood series.  All four friends have their own grown up lives, but they aren't all sure what to do with them. 

One friend lives in Rhode Island, one in New York, one in San Francisco and one in Australia.  The distance between them becomes too much and one friend decides it is time for a reunion.  This reunion will change all of their lives and not in any way you might expect.  There are so many wonderful parts of this book that I would really love to share with you, but I am afraid it would really ruin it for you.  I don't like spoilers, though sometimes they are necessary, but with this book I just can't do it.  I really want you to read it and discover the story bit by bit like I did. 

I will leave you with one little nugget that I think is good advice for us all:

"You get older and you learn there is one sentence, just four words long, and if you can say it to yourself it offers more comfort than almost any other.  It goes like this....  Ready?"

"Ready."

"'At least I tried.'"