The Survivor's Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson

I cannot tell you how many times I have picked up A Survivor's Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson and not read it. It has been sitting on my Kindle just waiting for me to get to it, but it never sounded like what I wanted to read at the time. I was so wrong! Why did I waste so much time without these characters in my life?

Nina Popkin has just buried her much-beloved adoptive mother and is trying to get over the recent dissolution of her six month marriage when she feels an undeniable urge to find her birth mother. When she discovers she has a sister, she is anxious to build the bonds of sorority. Unfortunately, her sister Lindy doesn't feel the same. Nina is also at the beginning of a new relationship with an older man who has two children of his own. There is so much family, and not enough family all at once and Nina is doing her best to survive it all.

The premise sounded good, but it just wasn't at the top of the list. When I finally just decided to dive in, I was rewarded with a wry humor that is deserving of Olympic gold. Nina's character is hilarious! This book produced actual out-loud laughter, even in public. Nina is trying so hard to get through some of the most difficult situations in life all at once and she faces it with humor and sarcasm. A girl after my own heart. 

And yet it wasn't all belly laughs- there are heartbreaking moments, too. We learn how Nina came to be adopted, how her birth mother could give her up and why, and we learn what it has been like for Nina and Lindy to know all their lives that they were adopted. We also get to know the teenage children of Nina's new boyfriend. They are right in the midst of their own coming of age battle and are having varying degrees of success. This book is about family- the ones we're born into and the ones we make. Or, as Nina's mother would say:

You have to choose happiness. Happiness is a matter of making up your mind.

The Price of Time by Tim Tigner

This book was not at all what I expected it to be, but it was so, so good! A group of scientists have made the ultimate discovery, but sharing it with the world would mean utter destruction, their own and that of the world as a whole. When keeping this secret leads to extreme measures, the group finds itself in the crosshairs of Zachary Chase, a former CIA agent searching for his missing college roommate. When Chase stumbles upon a young woman in need of saving, his investment in solving the mystery multiplies.

There is science fiction, adventure, espionage, plenty of intrigue, and even a little romance. This was a swift read full of excitement pushing the reader to keep turning the pages. The group of scientists all kind of ran together in the beginning, but it wasn't long before they were more distinct and easier to follow. This was a book club book and we had lots to talk about- the chief opinion being that it was a lot of fun to read. I highly recommend this book for when you need something a little more exciting and adventurous.

Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky

What is the worst thing you can imagine doing? What is the nightmare that has worried every mother since the beginning of time? That is just the nightmare Mackenzie Cooper has been living for the last five years. Now living under the name Maggie in a new town, she is doing her best to move on even if that means becoming an entirely new person. However, when her past shows up on her front door step, there is no escaping it. Maggie's friend is in trouble and Maggie has the power to help her, but it means revealing herself to all her new friends.

I really liked this book! Maggie has been through something awful and it has left her utterly alone. Somehow, rather than curling into herself and withering away, she has found the strength to start over and I find that inspiring. I enjoyed reading about how she finds a new career she loves and good friends, though they may not know everything about her. My only complaint is that the ending seemed rushed, as if the author just needed to wrap it all up before her deadline. This was a book club pick that everyone liked and it lead to plenty of good discussion.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

I hate to give up on a book, especially one with a good premise, by I just couldn't get into The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle. Sabrina shows up to her birthday dinner to discover everyone from a list she made in college of the five people living or dead with whom she would like to have dinner. Some are living, some are dead. Some are family, some are not. It should have been interesting and I gave it a full 30% on my Kindle, but I just couldn't make it any further. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Even if you don't realize it, you've probably read something by Shirley Jackson. The Lottery is one of those short stories many of us read in high school or college that left an indelible print on our psyche. "Winning the lottery is a good thing! Ooooh…... wait!!"

If you remember that, you won't be surprised by all the raving reviews of Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. It is called a masterpiece, creepy, haunting, and it goes on and on. This story begins with Mary Katherine Blackwood walking through her town, doing the shopping, and wanting to be back at home as quickly as possible. The people of the town hate her and her family and we slowly find out why. We meet Mary Katherine's sister Constance, her cat Jonas, and her Uncle Julian. They all live in a big house outside of town where something sinister happened one evening six years earlier.

I had such hopes for this book and by looking at the reviews you would think it would be amazing. Perhaps my expectations were raised too much. Maybe I missed something important. It could be this just isn't my genre, but whatever the cause I just really didn't like this book. It took me days to get into it- every time I picked it up I would start to get sleepy. Then once I forced myself through the first half, the second went much quicker, mostly because I was determined to get to the part everyone said was so amazing. I kept expecting a massive twist, a huge reveal that would shake me to my core. Sadly, it never came. I got to the last page and was very disappointed. It was okay; it just didn't deliver on the promised excitement.

Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

I have enjoyed Scott Westerfeld's books since I first read Uglies about eight years ago. I love the imagination behind a world that might exist after we have made a mess of this one- Rusties, Specials, Extras. And what happens after that world? Surly it continues to evolve, which leads us to Impostors. This book takes place about fifteen years after the end of the Uglies series and centers on two sisters, Rafi and Frey who are twins. Rafi is the heir to her ruthless father's throne. Frey's existence has been kept a secret from her birth, raised for the sole purpose of being Rafi's body double. Any public outing or possible dangerous situation, Frey pretends to be Rafi. When an important alliance must be made and Frey is sent to stand in for Rafi as a hostage. It is then that Frey questions her ability to pull off posing as her sister long term and when the negotiations break down, it is Frey who is in danger.

This book was cute, it kept my attention, and it moved quickly. It is the first in a new series, the second installment of which will be released this month. I have my name on the waiting list and I have hopes it will be good. This book felt like it could have been a stand-alone novel, but then the ending left room for more. It was good, but I can't say I loved it. Westerfeld has a good track record so I will keep reading. Even if it isn't great, it's always good and always worth my time.

It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke

This month's book club selection was It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke. It is the story of Violet, a young woman in love in 1948. Life, as it usually does, twists and turns taking violet to unexpected places and people. We watch as she loses one love, finds and loses another, and learns how to live her life for herself. This is also the story of Ronni, the young nurse who cares for Violet in her old age. Violet becomes the mother Ronni wishes she'd had as a young child. When Violet passes away, she leaves Ronni the hefty task of writing her life story, finally revealing decades of secrets.

I enjoyed how this book alternated between the past, Violet in the late 1940s to the early 1960s, and Ronni in the present. I enjoyed the slow reveal of all the details of Violet's complex lifetime wrapped up in this sweet old lady Ronni meets and comes to love. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the writing. The premise of this book is that Ronni has to write a book with no writing experience whatsoever. This is Duke's third book, but the writing still felt like a debut, self-published novel. There was no depth, no texture. I know I was supposed to really love Ronni, but I just never felt like I connected with her. There were interesting surprises, but some of them felt forced and not organic to the characters, as if they were there just for the sake of a twist. This book has great reviews on GoodReads, but I was kind of disappointed.