Noni Soni: Former Best Friend

Nina Soni: Former Best Friend (Book 1 in a series) by Kashmira Sheth; illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky 148 pages

Meet Nina: a slightly forgetful nine-year-old girl who has hit a rough patch. She has a school writing assignment due on Monday, and she has no idea what to write about. She’s just destroyed, accidentally, her best friend’s project, and now he seems to hate her. Her father works in another state and is only home on the weekends; she misses him a lot. Her younger sister has decided that she doesn’t want a birthday party and de-invites the guests. Life is hectic!

Nina problem-solves all that is going wrong, she learns some valuable lessons about friendship and responsibility. Given that these books are STEAM, she even learns about scientist Andrew Fleming, the doctor and bacteriologist who won a Nobel Prize in 1945. She even conducts an experiment with peanut butter that works perfectly!

What I like about Nina is that she makes lists. She wants to stay on top of things. The illustrator Kocmiersky does a good job in capturing those lists. I think organization is a good thing to learn at an early age. I sure wish I had.

Two more things that I thought stood out is, first, are the word pronunciation pull-out boxes. What may be new words to the young reader are pulled out, shown phonetically and with a short definition. And second, teaching young readers about the Indian culture. I even leaned some things!

This is a quick and easy read for adults, and I think the age group this story is aimed at (7-10 years old) will also enjoy it. Therefore, “Nina Soni: Former Best Friend” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Imperfect Women

Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall   334 pages   I read a galley - due out June 2020

How can I resist a story that begins with a quote from Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood? Considering I've read that book 10+ times, I figured that was a good sign for this book.

Even close friends have secrets. That's what Eleanor and Mary are learning since the death of their best friend, Nancy. From the outside, Nancy's life looked like it was prefect. However, the investigation into her death is revealing some dark secrets and it's clear now that maybe Mary and Eleanor didn't know Nancy as well as they thought. And maybe they don't know each other, or themselves, very well either.

This is an immersive, gripping psychological suspense story but it's also an exploration into friendship, guilt, and the decisions that friends can make that alter their relationships forever. At the heart of the story, of course, is the mystery of who killed Nancy. With alternating viewpoints, the author uses sharp insights (and sometimes, biting humor) to explore the complex friendship between these three women. The steady pace, combined with interesting (and not always likeable, but compelling) characters, makes for a fantastic read.

For LibraryReads: Even close friends have secrets. That's what Eleanor and Mary are learning since the death of their best friend, Nancy. From the outside, Nancy's life looked like it was prefect. However, the investigation into her death is revealing some dark secrets and it's clear now that maybe Mary and Eleanor didn't know Nancy as well as they thought. And maybe they don't know each other, or themselves, very well either.

Good for readers who like Liane Moriarty and Fiona Barton. Also for readers who enjoy The Robber Bride and/or Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood.

The Story of Arthur Truluv

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg    270 pages

This is perhaps one of the sweetest stories I’ve read in a long time, and one of Berg’s best.

Eighty-two-year-old Arthur Moses lost his wife, his everything, six months ago. To combat his loneliness, he takes the bus to the cemetery to have lunch with her. Every day. Regardless of the weather.

Lucille, Arthur’s next-door neighbor, is dealing with her own loneliness. A spinster and retired teacher, Lucille has little to keep herself occupied, other than pay attention to what’s going on in the neighborhood. She is also an avid baker, always with a sweet treat for Arthur.

Maddy Harris is an eighteen-year-old girl who is depressed and hangs out in the cemetery. Her classmates bully her; her father is still absorbed in his grief over Maddy’s mom, who died two weeks after she was born. The cemetery is the only place she feels comfortable. She has dreams of becoming a photographer, but doesn’t see how it would be feasible.

Arthur and Maddy strike up a rather unusual friendship. Maddy nicknames him Arthur Truluv because of his devotion to his late wife, the love of his life, Nola. Arthur and Nola never had kids, and before he realizes, Arthur begins to feel parently toward the lonely young woman. One rainy afternoon, Arthur invites Maddy over to his home. That could either be creepy or sweet, depending on the writer. If this story was penned by say, Stephen King, then YIKES! But as it is penned by a bestselling author who is known for her sweet, intimate stories, this story is sure to touch the hearts of every reader who opens its covers.

As the three main characters try to make their way in the world, they begin to lean and depend upon each other.  A truly sweet story. “The Story of Arthur Truluv” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Same Beach, Next Year

Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank             Audio Book:  10 hours,  15 mins     Hardback Book:  384 pages              

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.    Great tale of a man withholding important bits of his past when introducing his ex main lover to his wife as just someone he happened across while walking on the beach they have a summer home at.    Oh yeah, Girls, you know it is on once the big reveal comes but there is so much more to this story that you will end up feeling like you have been to Greek Fest before it is all said and done.    Deliciously told in the vein of Shirley Valentine – this is a most excellent story.   I have given you the bare bones of the story but there is so much flesh to attach to those bones and Eliza has the funniest sense of humor and reasons like a lawyer.    Most excellent story.   Treat yourself to this one.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford     320 pages

It’s been eight and four years, respectively, since author Jamie Ford released his first two novels. I must say, that the wait for “Love and Other Consolation Prizes,” has been worth it.

With his “never ending appetite for lost history,” Ford stumbled upon the story of a healthy boy who was raffled off during the Alaskan-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AKY) of 1909. The five-year-old, half-Chines/half white boy was won by the madam of one of Seattle’s most notorious brothels, The Tenderloin.

The novel is Ernest’s story. It is framed with the AKY of 1909 and the Century 21 Exposition of 1962. I love the dualing timelines, and no one does them better than Jamie Ford.

The book follows Ernest from 1902, when his mother sends him to America because they are near death from starvation. The journey by ship is harrowing and frightening, but Ernest makes a few friends in the cargo hold stuffed with other children. He arrives safely in American where he spends a year at the Holy Ward School, paid for by his sponsor. When he asks to attend another school, his sponsor, Mrs. Irvine, takes him to the AYP and donates him to be raffled off.

Ernest is won by Madam Flo and taken to her brothel. There he becomes a houseboy and begins to find the family that he longed for. As fate would have it, Ernest meets up with one of the girls from the ship, but she is so healthy now, he hardly recognizes her. The period details are remarkable, proving that Ford has done is homework.   

Then the story flashes forward fifty years. It’s now 1962. Ernest lives live a flea bag hotel so that he can afford hospital care for his dementia-suffering wife, Gracie. Their daughter, Judy, is a reporter and has stumbled upon what she believes is the biggest story of her career: the little boy raffled away like a set of cheap dishes. When she learns that the boy is her father, she tries her best to convince him to tell his story.

I loved this story, this search for family, love and belonging that Ford does so well.  “Love and Other Consolation Prizes” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Bradstreet Gate

 

Bradstreet Gate by Robin Kirman    320 pages

           Bradstreet is one of the streets that borders the Harvard Campus. Harvard plays a major role in this murder mystery, but it never plays a significant part of the story.

I was eager to read this debut novel as it has received several recommendations, such as TIME Magazine Ultimate Summer Read Pick, Amazon’s Best Book of July (2015), and Barnes & Noble Best Book of July (2015).

The story gets off to a great start: The tenth anniversary of the death of Harvard student Julie Patel is rapidly approaching. A Harvard Crimson reporter is looking into Julie’s death, as it has never been satisfactory solved. Reporter Nat Krauss contacts a student from that time, Georgia Calvin Reese. I’m not sure if Georgia knew Julie, but she sure as heck knew the professor who was hinted as the murderer.

After the prologue, the story goes back ten years. Georgia, Charlie, and Alice are friends. They have one thing in common that ties them to Julie---Professor Rufus Storrow. He is supposed to be one of the most mysterious and charismatic instructors on campus. I never saw it.

Georgia has an affair with him, Alice is envious of Georgia, and Charlie is so in love with Georgia his hair hurts. The rest of the book examines the lives and friendships of the three and how Julie’s death affects them.

Kirman’s novel isn’t typical. It’s not a murder mystery where readers can try to figure out who really did. The murder is merely the catalyst for the friends’ lives spiraling out of control. I like that it wasn’t typical. However, the story doesn’t really have an ending…and maybe that’s the point. When a person is tied to a traumatic event, their lives are forever changed.

I give Bradstreet Gate 4 out of 5 stars.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

City Love

City Love by Susane Colasanti, 325 pages

Three girls who are roommates for the summer before their freshman year of college in New York City all have secrets and are all looking for love.  Sadie is a New York girl, born and bred.  She's still living in the same neighborhood as her parents but was so eager to move out that she didn't even do her laundry before she left.  She has an internship and has met the most amazing man there.  He seems just as into her and she's sure he's her soul mate.  Darcy is a rich California girl who took a year off before starting school.  She's taking classes during the summer to try to make up for some of the previous year.  She was also just dumped by the boy that she was convinced was her soul mate.  Now she's determined to just have fun and not start any serious relationships, until she meets a cute street performer who seems to be perfect for her.  Rosanna is from Chicago.  She's working at a day camp for the summer and wants to become a social worker and change the world, a little at a time.  When she meets a wealthy man at a party for the counselors, she can't believe that he's interested in her or that she's interested in him.  His values are completely different from hers, but she's falling for him anyway.  This book was a completely light, fun story, even with the small, but real, problems presented.  And I loved it, probably way more than I should.