The Stolen Child: A Novel
by Ann Hood
A Beach Read (4/18/2024)
I was disappointed in this book. I felt it was formulaic. Jenny breaks away from her family to find herself. She then has casual sex while drunk and thinks she is in love with two men. She deals with Nick (an old curmudgeon) who grudgingly learns to like her. Something sad has to happen and does. I never felt I was given enough information to solve the riddle of who is the baby. The author did tie it up nicely at the end although the premise that Nick spent his whole life haunted by his actions as a young soldier was a little far fetched.
I appreciate being given the book to review but felt it was lacking a romantic flow and think it could have been better written.
Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung
A Communist Takeover (11/13/2023)
This book starts in 1948 as the Communists fight the Nationalists in China. The description of the brutality is amazing. The suffering of the Chinese landowners and their families is described in detail. Also amazing is the way the Chinese feel about girls and women as being worthless even as they are the vessels that carry and take care of the sons that they worship. The saving grace is the vision of the next generation of women who use their strength, brains and common sense to realize their way of life needs to change. By educating themselves they can change the lifestyle of their daughters and their daughters to make the world a better place. The mother-in-laws power and evilness in the family is unbelievable. I found this book to be very difficult to read and felt very angry but hopeful at the end.
Delicate Condition
by Danielle Valentine
Unbelievable (7/2/2023)
I had a very difficult time rating this book. The author does a very good job of creating suspense. I raced through this book, but was it because I wanted to know the ending OR because I couldn't stand the book and wanted to be done with it? It was both reasons.
Her biased slant overwhelms the narrative. Doctors don't listen to or believe their pregnant patients. The ending is very unsatisfying. The book appears to be a diatribe. Her bizarre symptoms negate her narrative of not believing. A normal person, much less a Doctor would never believe what she is saying.
I would suggest this only be read by those who are past having anymore pregnancies.
The Lost English Girl
by Julia Kelly
Very enjoyable read! (2/5/2023)
A beautifully written book. This is the story of the English children who were sent to the countryside during WWII to protect them from the bombing of London and other major cities. This was a unique way to keep them safe, but the consequences will never be fully known. The younger the child the more traumatized they could have been. All of them could not have been expected to understand why their parents were giving them to another couple. This is a page turner as you read and hope everything turns out happy in the end.
In the Time of Our History
by Susanne Pari
People are the same everywhere (9/5/2022)
This book is well written and is in story form which educates as well as entertains. The author uses a different culture to show how people are so similar even coming from another part of the world. There is still a mixture of kind and cruel people as well as conservatives and liberals. There are those who are open to change and those who want everything to remain the same. The interaction of family dynamics is the same everywhere. This is a very good book for discussions and I recommend it to book clubs.
The Poet's House
by Jean Thompson
Something different (6/12/2022)
I enjoyed this book. Jean is a good storyteller and it was funny and warmhearted. I was pleased that some of the writers were so kind and accepting, especially Viridian who was willing to open the world of poetry to other people. I felt Carla's insecurities were believable and I was glad she kept trying things in spite of them. Jean writes with a sensitivity and good insights. I would have liked more poems. I also would suggest not using the book, "Less" as similar because my book club of 70 year olds really disliked it and I almost didn't read this book because of that comparison. This book was much better and I plan to try another of her books as she has 8 other novels.
Dirt Creek: A Novel
by Hayley Scrivenor
Dirt Creek (3/6/2022)
This is a very good, well-paced crime novel. When a young girl goes missing, many questions are raised. The toughest issue for the detective is deciding who is telling the truth and who is not. The townspeople have connections with each other and their own little secrets which become obstacles in solving the case. The author, Hayley, creates many pathways and possibilities that are followed to unravel what really happened. I was disappointed in the ending, but I have to admit it was unique and will give the author credit for creating an unusual conclusion.
Two Storm Wood: A Novel
by Philip Gray
Historical Fiction Thriller (12/11/2021)
This is an amazing story and this author has written other thrillers that I plan to read. This gives a very good description of the WW1 battlefield and what soldiers had to do to survive. Even though the chapters were time dated I did have some trouble jumping from locations. When I finished the book I wanted to start over knowing what I now knew. I would have preferred knowing a little more about Edward's condition at the end of the book. This is a page turner but it takes a lot of concentration to unravel the story.
Honor
by Thrity Umrigar
Honor (9/12/2021)
Honor is an excellent book which did not surprise me as Thrity Umrigar is an excellent author. From the title "Honor" I knew it would be about an honor killing.
The book gave a good description of the difference between the city and villages. I was surprised at how much authority and power the tribal chief had in his village .I plan to research how a chief is chosen (heredity or votes). When Smita tells about her childhood and why she went to America, it explains her love/hate relationship with India. The violence is tempered by the love stories of both Meena and Smita which keeps the book from being too depressing.
Parents, the world over, all want a better life for their children and are willing to sacrifice themselves to obtain it. This is a good book for a Book Club, and I will also tell all my friends to read it.
Palace of the Drowned
by Christine Mangan
How hard it is when you aren't "normal" (3/18/2021)
I have often wondered what exactly an "unreliable narrator" was; and I have avoided books using this method because I didn't think I would like them. I discovered I don't like unreliable narrators. I will say there is suspense as you wonder if the protagonist is going mad.
I chose this book because I have been to Venice in November and loved it. The author's descriptions were "spot on". I also chose it because I enjoy literary thrillers; but this did not qualify as a thriller. I almost quit reading it half way through because it was so slow. The pace did pick up and now I want some friends to read it so we can discuss it. The author did manage to create a very unique narrative. After reading comments about her first book, I would like to read that one now.
At the Edge of the Haight
by Katherine Seligman
How hard it is when you aren't "normal" (10/11/2020)
I thought this was a very interesting way to tell about the homeless crisis. I am glad she told about teens and young adults rather than veterans, alcoholics and extremely mentally ill people. Each group will be very different from the others. I did feel it gave me insight into why they do not take offers of help from a lot of services and opportunities.
For every offer given there is an expectation from the person doing the offering. Sometimes the homeless person is not able to live up to the expectation and other times they don't want to. There is always the underlining fact that they can't be themselves and they will not be loved for themselves. Society wants to put them into a mold of a model citizen.
I believe all of the characters either have a learning disability or a mild form of mental illness. They feel they have failed their parents and or teachers and do not want to set themselves up for another failure. They all want to be loved by their parents; but it is hard for them to realize their parents aren't capable of being a parent or of loving them because the parent has so many problems.
I liked the non-judgemental way the author presented this. It was heartening to see there are some very kind people; such as store owners who allowed them to browse or hang out in front of their businesses.
There are no easy answers and a lot of these young people are not capable of holding a 9 to 5 job or following a rigid curriculum.
Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights
by Dovey Johnson Roundtree , Katie McCabe
This is a must read (9/15/2019)
If you only read one more book about a black woman fighting for equal rights, you have to read this one. Dovey's determination and drive are amazing. Her life shows how a good mentor can propel a person's life; and how important it is to have a loving, nurturing home life. She not only became a lawyer but also a pastor and mentor for others. Mighty Justice is very well written and the explanation regarding "separate but equal" really clarified why there was such a battle over it. I will share this book with my reader friends.
Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant
by Anne Gardiner Perkins
This is a must read (7/6/2019)
This is the story of women fighting for their rights in a male dominated college,e.g. sports, music. There also were no role models, professors, guidance counselors. My daughter and granddaughters need to read this book; some of these issues exist today, pay equity being the most obvious. This book was very well written and I am recommending it to several book groups. I put 50 sticky tags on pages so I can lead the discussion. I was in college just before this time, at a public university, and one of the best parts were all the women I met and spent time with supporting each other. When you read the Epilogue and see what they did with their lives after school, you know how tough and strong they were. They made many women's lives better and easier. Highly recommend this book.
D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
by Sarah Rose
An untold story (3/26/2019)
This book has important information and is well researched. I feel it was a little choppy in jumping to different women; a flow was missing. It needs more detailed escapades to create tension and excitement. It reads more as a thesis than a story. It is important to tell their story; having read Lilac Girls, Atomic Girls, Hidden Figures, etc. I am so glad the women's accomplishments are being recorded so our children and grandchildren will know how brave and involved our ancestors were in these battles and discoveries.
A People's History of Heaven
by Mathangi Subramanian
An enjoyable read (2/12/2019)
This book surprised me. The total lack of sentence structure and correct punctuation was very effective but hard to get used to, and this is the reason I did not give it 5 stars. I have several friends who would stop reading this book because of this feature. I am very glad I continued reading because it kept getting better and I really felt good by the time I reached the end. The family that these girls and their mothers have created is amazing and heartwarming. They are strong, resilient and joyful. They strive for education and finding a good man (sad there are so few) and create a sisterhood to survive the harshness of the reality they live in. The ending gives you hope for their future. This will be a good book club book.
Paris Echo
by Sebastian Faulks
Disappointing (8/15/2018)
I have been to Paris several times and thought I would enjoy this book. I felt it was so disjointed. It hopped all over the place. The women's stories were just snippets of their lives. The chapter titles were worthless; they should have provided a map to make some sense of the streets. I guess I expected more from a seasoned author.The little pops of drugs and sex were gratuitous; the only satisfying part was the end.
Strangers in Budapest
by Jessica Keener
Hungary's history (11/10/2017)
This book gave a very good description of Budapest. I toured there five years ago. The city is beautiful, especially at night from the river. The communist buildings are bleak and the country has a long history of being subjected to other countries domination. The author created an atmosphere of secrecy and foreboding which was well done. I would have preferred that the characters were more likable and that the ending be more creative.
Young Jane Young
by Gabrielle Zevin
Jane Young finds herself (7/10/2017)
This book is light and witty. The characters are very believable. Women will enjoy the relationships and the modern internet usage. I will recommend this book to my friends because it is a quick, funny read, and we need something to read to escape from the depressing daily happenings in the news.
If We Were Villains
by M. L. Rio
Fascinating and Clever (3/21/2017)
I really liked this book. There were just enough characters to keep it interesting, but not too many to get mixed up. The premise of fourth year theatre school students in a midwestern city made for an intriguing setting. The suspense was very cleverly created by giving the reader major bad news of what was going to happen (although not all) and then telling what led up to the event and outcome. I liked having Shakespeare dialogue inserted, very effective. I liked everything about this book and will watch for her next one. The only thing I would change is the cover of the book showing a skull; I think it turns away possible readers, by inferring horror or something too dark to read. Although, maybe that appeals to younger people since they are into dystopia books.
Home Sweet Home
by April Smith
So-So (12/24/2016)
If I had picked up this book on my own, I would have stopped reading it half way through. Since I was reviewing it, I kept reading and was glad I did. I knew a little about McCarthyism but this really showed me how gullible and fearful people were (and still are). It is amazing to me how many people believe what they are told and don't question or assess the information. My book club could not discuss this book; we have strong conservatives and strong liberals. It was not unusual for idealistic young people to join the Communist party at that time. Almost all of them dropped out very quickly. I also think it was a little far fetched to kill the second generation for the "sins" of the first. This book is timely as to the 2016 election. It is sad so many people are motivated by threat of fear instead of common sense.
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