Honor
by Thrity Umrigar
Great book (10/4/2021)
I really enjoyed this book while it saddened me at the same time. An American Indian journalist reluctantly returns to the country she and her family fled when she was a young teenager to cover a story of another young woman who is being persecuted because of who she fell in love with and married. The book is very well written and engaging. The two main themes of the book are women's rights and persecution because of religious differences. The author alternates between the viewpoint of Meena and Smita giving you insight into how both women have suffered and still suffer because of the rules and laws that still dictate the lives of women in this country (and many others) unfairly today.
Palace of the Drowned
by Christine Mangan
Well written and enjoyable (3/28/2021)
A slightly unstable author retreats to Venice following a very public scene in London. From there, the sinking city around her, the appearance of a supposed friend, the nonappearance of her actual friend who has chosen being with her husband over her, the mysterious, ghost-like neighbor and even a visit to the opera all foreshadow the inevitable ending. I enjoyed the connections to what was happening around Frankie to what was happening to Frankie. I thought the book was well written and enjoyable and recommend it.
With or Without You: A Novel
by Caroline Leavitt
Absolutely loved this book (5/25/2020)
I loved this book so much I spent the entire day reading until I finished it. The story was so compelling. I think anyone who has experienced being in a relationship where one or both people change for whatever reason would be able to relate to this book. The same holds true for anyone with complicated relationships with their parents. I really loved that it wasn't some kind of morality story, but rather the author treated the characters as real people with all their flaws and without judgement. I also liked how each character came to a new understanding of their parents during the story. I can't wait to go read something else Caroline Leavitt has written!
He Started It
by Samantha Downing
Started out great (3/9/2020)
I really thought I was going to love this book. It started out really well and the story was intriguing. I liked how it flipped back and forth between the present day road trip and the road trip that happened when they were children. However, I felt disappointed when the story made a sharp right turn and pretty much all of the characters became unlikeable and not even the slightest sympathetic. After the long, meandering trip, the ending seemed short, abrupt and wholly dissatisfying.
The Mountains Sing
by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Timely in light of current events (1/5/2020)
I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did. It focuses on one extended family in Vietnam, alternating back and forth in time between the Land Reform in the 1940s and the Vietnam War and its aftermath in the 1970s. The themes revolve around war, fear and hatred, and family, love, mercy and forgiveness, and finally, survival. I learned much more about Vietnam history than I knew before, but more importantly, as a Westerner and an American, it shows a point of view from a different side. In the end, we are essentially all the same and we sometimes we react badly with hate and fear, and sometimes heroically, with love and forgiveness when our lives and way of living are threatened. I think this book highlights how alike people are regardless of which side of a war or government you fall. Perhaps if we could learn and remember that, maybe we would avoid the horrors of war more often.
The Sun Down Motel
by Simone St. James
Couldn't put it down!! (12/4/2019)
I really enjoyed this book. It was a good mystery that flipped back and forth between the present and the past with a few supernatural characters thrown in. I'm not a huge supernatural fan, but in this case, I felt that it really added a thriller element to the story that worked very well.
The Big Finish
by Brooke Fossey
Enjoyable read (11/5/2019)
I really liked this book. It grabbed my attention from the first page and by a couple pages in, I knew it was going to be enjoyable to read. The story is from the point of view of an elderly man in an assisted living home which I found to be a refreshing and original idea. His roommate's granddaughter shows up, throwing his routine off, but adding 'spice" and more importantly, purpose to his days. I thought the author did a good job of interweaving the lesson of trying to live your best life into the story without coming across as lecturing her audience. All in all, I thought the story was entertaining and held my interest--a good first novel.
Never Have I Ever
by Joshilyn Jackson
Fun read (4/15/2019)
I really enjoyed this book on several levels. I thought the story was enjoyable, keeping me interested throughout and wanting to find out what would happen next. There were also several themes in the story including acceptance of self and self-forgiveness, that made me think about how failure to achieve these can make one unhappy enough to be self-destructive or unable to live life to the fullest. The story really was about self-preservation though from beginning to end, and the lengths the main character would go in order to protect not just her life and those she loved, but her way of life. All in all, I thought this book was very engaging and I really enjoyed reading it.
The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin
Good read (1/7/2019)
I enjoyed this novel. I liked how the author explored how a two year break in just about any responsible parenting, known as "the Pause", affected each sibling differently and also affected their relationships with each other over the course of their lives. The story of the siblings is being told by the youngest, Fiona, late in her life, to an audience, while some kind of environmental crisis is occurring outside the auditorium. Thus was the only thing that I found a bit out of place. The interjection of climate change into the story--both through Fiona's job and the setting for the story-telling seemed somewhat random. Overall though, I found it to be interesting and worth the read.
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls
by Anissa Gray
Good writing, but... (10/31/2018)
I really was excited about reading this book. The title alone is very intriguing and the topic (family dynamics) is something that interests me. However, I struggled to finish this one--so much so, I almost decided not to review it. I had trouble connecting with and caring about the characters. I didn't feel as though they were developed enough. What motivated Althea to swindle the charities, why did Lillian have an affair, Viola left Eva because...?? I think it would have helped to have a little more insight making it easier to relate or be empathetic to their situations. I really only felt empathy for Kim and Baby V., mainly because they are children and still powerless regarding their situation, unlike the sisters. I also think the narrative was just a bit too disjointed which may have contributed to my difficulty in relating to the characters. I actually had to flip to the front of the chapters occasionally to make sure I remembered correctly which sister's viewpoint I was reading.
I think this book has a ton of potential. The topics covered are very interesting and the writer is obviously talented. The characters and story just needed to be more engaging for me to be more invested in the outcomes.
Our House
by Louise Candlish
Great ending (6/26/2018)
Our House is written as a story from the point of view of two different characters, one through a podcast and the other as a suicide note. That grabs your attention at the outset. I thought details such as including comments on the podcast were very creative. My attention wavered a bit in the middle of the story--I became a bit ambivalent about the plight of the characters. However, the story picks up again and the ending was unexpected and clever. It was much more satisfying than where I thought the author was headed and in keeping with the one character's propensity to create a mess out of everything he did.
A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
Really struck a chord (3/21/2018)
I really loved this book. It was very different from what I was expecting. Instead of focusing on differences, it really focuses on how families, no matter where you are from, go through similar things. At the same time, it did give insight to the special circumstances that an American Muslim family faces--especially one trying to maintain their heritage and religious beliefs. I was initially afraid that it was going to be very depressing and focus on the hatred that unfortunately and unfairly exists in American society for Muslims, and while it touches on that, it does not consume the book. Rather, it really made me think about my own familial relationships, both with my parents and my children. I highly recommend this book--it is incredibly well-written and very insightful.
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