We Are the Brennans

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange   Galley - 271 pages due to be published 8/2021

Summary from Goodreads: When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it's not easy. She deserted them all—and her high school sweetheart—five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.

Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family's pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to upend all their secrets—secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes—and ultimately find a way forward, together

And here's what I thought: This is a smoothly paced family drama with multiple viewpoints. The characters are all realistic, so it's very easy to get drawn into this story. Sunday is the one daughter in a family of sons and she's always been the strong one, taking care of their mother and father and making sure everyone was okay. However, when we meet her, it's clear that she's not okay -- and in fact, she has left the family completely. But a bad accident brings her home to recover  . . . and pick up the pieces of the life she left behind. One of those broken pieces is her relationship with Kale, who is close friends with her brothers. At the same time Sunday is trying to make a go of things again with her family, some of her brothers are struggling with some pretty serious problems, including some very heavy debt and opening a family business. And . . . is their father hiding some dark secrets from his past in Ireland?

Overall, the theme is that the bonds of family, even including those who aren't blood relatives, can be tested, but in a family like this, are strong enough to resist the toughest situations.

This is a good book is you like family drama stories, especially about close-knit families.

 

The Family Upstairs

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell   340 pages

When Libby Jones turns 25, she receives a letter that she has been waiting for her entire life: the letter that gives her the identity of her birth parents. And, as it turns out, she is also the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion in London. Everything in Libby's life is about to change . . . but she has no idea just what's around the corner.  Because 25 years ago, the police were called to this house with a report of a baby crying and when they went in, they discovered a baby --- and several dead adults.  Where were the four other children who lived in that house?

Now, everything (and everyone) seems to be coming together now that Libby has inherited the house. However, are the people who say they can help her really out to hurt her? And just what happened in that sinister house?

This tautly written psychological thriller keeps you on edge and guessing, with a cast of characters who have more than one layer to them. The story goes back and forth in different perspectives of characters, and also back in forth in time, which gives the story a layered effect, as well. And the effect of unwrapping a particularly nasty box of family secrets.  Interesting premise, and I liked it up to the end.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal 353 pages

"Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.

With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz." Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late.

Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up--will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family?" Summary courtesy of Goodreads

I really liked this book. I enjoyed that the pacing was even and that the characters were realistic and felt like you could know them in real life. The characters are flawed, and I found the one sister to be pretty unlikeable (which made her realistic), and I enjoyed that there were factual details about beer and beer-making woven into the story. I also liked that the story was about women who were very involved in beer-making, especially since throughout history, you don't read about many women in brewing (although today, quite a few women are involved in this industry and craft).  

Animal Dreams

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver    342 pages

Codi Noline has returned home to Grace, Arizona to a job she's not she she wants and to confront a father who she isn't close to, but is worried about. Staying with her best friend, Codi meets Loyd Peregrina (well, she meets him again --- they dated a few times in high school) and comes face to face with her own past. Grappling with her past, her growing relationship with Loyd, and the battle to save Grace from an impending environmental catastrophe, Codi has plenty to deal with. Usually, she'd rely on her sister, Hallie, to get her through the tough times. However, Hallie has gone to Nicaragua, braving dangerous conditions to help farmers. Doing her best to stay, all Codi wants to do is run away.

I read this book about once every year, just to revisit it. I like the characters and their development, and how Kingsolver tells the story with some flashbacks, so you get an enhanced perspective on the story. I also enjoy how thoughtful the story is. Codi is struggling to reconcile her own past, now that she's in the town she grew up in, so there's conflict there. At the same time, there are the very realistic dangers of the environmental disaster that Grace is trying to avoid, as well as the danger that Codi's sister faces in Nicaragua. Loyd isn't here to save Codi but instead, makes her reconsider some of her past and how she sees her future. Each time I read this book it's a combination of revisiting somewhere familiar and also discovering things I hadn't noticed or remembered previously.

For One More Day

For One More Day by Mitch Albom                  Audiobook:  3hours, 36 mins.         Paperback Book:  208 pages                                   

A nicely told tale that just might bring a few tears, especially to those of us reading or listening to it who’s mother has passed away.    Well told tale in that Twilight Zone tradition that takes you out of reality as we know it and delivers you to another place however briefly that you wish you could make last.   Not in the creepy Pet Sematery by Stephen King kind of way ala the Monkey’s Paw version of someone returning from the dead but in a virtual reality sort of way, dreamlike and surreal yet solid and comforting.    The story is short but no less sincere in its delivery.    A man at the end of his rope finds his dead mother’s returned and for all his screw-ups she surrounds him with love and non-judgmental understanding.   She becomes the ear to hear the sorrow in his soul and the shoulder he could always cry on from birth to manhood when things got beyond him.    Her sweet spirit is calm and soothing reminding him doing the right thing is never the wrong thing regardless the consequences.   Yet, he can’t stop telling her, “You know you’re dead, right?”   That awful ugly bit of truth that keeps nagging and won’t allow him to just bask in the moment and hug her and hold her with all his might.   She tells him he has always taken things far too seriously.   Is he high strung or did his mother know how much he needed her and visited him to give him back one more day – the day he lost with her the day she died and he wasn’t there.     I wish it had been a longer story going into more detail but in retrospect, it was just enough.    I would recommend this story especially to those who grieve for their lost parents but I think everyone could be moved by this grown manchild allowed to spend one more day with the person who loved him best and who he too, loved best.    It is a hand up when you are down and a lovely story.

 - Shirley J.

Women's Work A Reckoning With Home and Help

Women's Work: A Reckoning With Home and Help by Megan Stack   336 pages

"When Megan Stack left her prestigious job as a foreign correspondent to have a baby and work from her home in Beijing writing a book, she quickly realized that childcare and housework would consume the time she needed to write. This dilemma was resolved in the manner of many upper class families and large corporations: she availed herself of cheap Chinese labor. The housekeeper Stack hired was a migrant from the countryside, a mother who had left her daughter in a precarious situation to earn desperately needed cash in the capital. As Stack's family grew, a series of Chinese and Indian women cooked, cleaned and babysat in her home and she grew increasingly aware of the brutal realities of their lives: domestic abuse, alcoholism, unplanned pregnancies, medical and family crises. Hiring poor women had given Stack the ability to work while raising her children--but what ethical compromise had she made?
Determined to confront the truth, Stack traveled to her employees' homes, met their parents and children, and turned a journalistic eye on the tradeoffs they'd been forced to make as working mothers seeking upward mobility--and on the cost to the children who were left behind."   Summary courtesy of Goodreads

I found this book interesting, but ultimately annoying. While I understand the point Stack is making with this book, I sometimes questioned her choices and motives.  She makes the decision to have her baby in China, but then she writes about how dangerous it is there for children and how polluted so many things are.  She struggles to eat organic, etc for the baby --- but of course, this isn't easy.  She makes the choice to hire someone to help her with the housework, which turns into housework and childcare, but she still doesn't seem to be able to find time for herself to write.  So, there is resentment.  And yes, as expected, resentment towards her husband who doesn't know what she does all day and who should be doing more to help out at home.

When she and her husband move to India while she's pregnant with their second child, she makes the decision that they must hire more than one person to help with their households because it's very important to her to write her book. Her husband's salary gives them the ability to do this and at first, she's conflicted and then just takes it in stride.  However, the women she hires have issues of their own, which makes Stack have resentment towards them. Then she questions herself . . . and then, she is "determined to confront the truth" and learn more about these women who have worked in her home.  I was wondering why she didn't seem to make much effort to know much about them when they worked in her home --- for example, she never ventured to where they lived in their servants quarters.  

The published notes that this "is a stunning memoir of four women and an electrifying meditation on the evasions of marriage, motherhood, feminism, and privilege."  I wouldn't say it was stunning, although it's certainly a meditation on marriage, motherhood and privilege.  I kept reading because I was curious, albeit annoyed some of the time, but by the end, I realized that this just wasn't the book for me.  I was more curious about the women who worked for Stack, but seeing them through her journalistic eye, I felt that they were still unknown.

The mother-in-law

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth    340 pages

Lucy tried to get close to her mother-in-law, working on building a friendly relationship and hoping they could form a bond. However, Diana has always kept Lucy at arms-length. In fact, Diana's not super-close with her son and daughter, either.
Now, Diana's been found dead, leaving a suicide note in a drawer. However, the autopsy reveals that it appears Diana was suffocated. And everyone in the family appears to have something to hide . . .

I enjoyed this book and how the author would give different viewpoints and also move backwards in time and then go to the present. Even though Lucy is our main character, you also get Diana's viewpoint, so you have insight into their relationship from both sides.  I also appreciated that while I suspected multiple people of foul play, I couldn't predict the ending until I was almost on top of it. The characters are written realistically and the pace of the story is steady, so I found it easy to sit down and just wind my way through the book.  Not as darkly suspenseful as some stories, but there's definitely a dark thread running through the story --- you just have to figure out who it's connected to.

The Trophy Child

The Trophy Child by Paula Daly 343 pages 

Karen Bloom is proud to call herself a tiger mother. To her, tough discipline if the true art of parenting and a child's achievement leads to ultimate happiness. She expects her daughter, Bronte, to perform at 200% and holds her husband, son and step-daughter to the same standard (although the three of them never measure up).  However, in her unending quest for excellence, some cracks are starting to show in the veneer of a seemingly flawless family.

When Bronte disappears, Karen puts the blame solely on her stepdaughter, Verity. However, for all of Verity's flaws, she would never harm Bronte. Noel, Karen's husband, takes Verity's side, although he finds it hard to stand up to his wife. Instead, he finds comfort in alcohol and other women.  So who is to blame? 

It's hard to write much about this book without revealing spoilers. Suffice to say, it's a tale of ambition, coldly calculated manipulation, power struggles, and the illusions of perfection.  I continue to find Paula Daly an author I enjoy, and this book was no exception. There are compelling characters, including a Detective Constable who has appeared as an investigator her other books, and while Daly maintains a tensely paced and plotted book, there's always some bit of sly humor that I really love.  

A nearly normal family

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson,  Rachel Willson-Broyles  390 pages  I read a galley - book is due to be published in June, 2019 (not on order yet for SLPL)

How well do you know your child? If you suspected they were capable of murder, how far would you go to protect them? Could you ever forgive yourself?

19 year-old Stella is accused of murdering a man almost 15 years old her senior. An ordinary teen from a solid, upstanding family, it seems incomprehensible that she could have committed this crime. However, even as her parents defend her, there is doubt in their minds. How did Stella even know this man? And is she capable of murder? Told from three different viewpoints, this book takes you through the story from the perspectives of Stella's parents and Stella, herself. It's clear that Stella may not be forthcoming about what happened, and also clear that her parents may be willing to cross dangerous lines to protect her.

This story isn't just about solving a did-she-or-didn't-she mystery, but grapples with family dynamics and explores just how far a parent will go to protect their child, even as they doubt them. For Stella's father, a pastor, there is also the exploration of questioning one's own faith, which gives an added layer to this story. The tautly written story, told in an unusual three-part perspective, does something which I found especially intriguing: it reveals things about the characters and how they relate to each other, while at the same time only giving glimpses of what the truth about the murder is. It makes this story intensely suspenseful in multiple ways, which made for a fascinating read.

This is a good choice for readers who enjoy being kept on the edge of their seat with suspense, and who like books by Megan Abbott and Tana French.

After Anna

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline            Audio Book: 10 hours, 51 minutes     Paperback Book  416 pages               

Another winner by Lisa Scottline.    This is the first title I have read by Lisa Scottoline of her murder mysteries and it was just as good as her other writings.   I am such a fan of her work.   I know now that if Lisa Scottoline wrote it I will like it.    In this story,  Maggie Ippolitti goes through post partum psychosis after giving birth to her daughter.   Her husband at the time was wrapped up in his career and more seldom spending much time at home, never helping Maggie with the baby nor taking her pleas for help seriously.    Finally one day, Maggie calls a neighbor to come and get the baby without really going into why.    Maggie knew something was wrong but she couldn’t seem to make it right.    She told the neighbor when she arrived to please take the baby that there was something wrong with her and she needed medical attention.   What was actually going on was Maggie was hearing voices telling her to drop the baby on the ground and Maggie didn’t want to obey the voices.   She admitted herself to psychiatric care and was diagnosed with post partum psychosis and began treatment for it.    While she was institutionalized her husband got custody of their daughter and eventually divorced Maggie, had her proven an unfit mother and legally gained full custody of their daughter.   He moved out of the country with their daughter, Anna and swore Maggie would never see her again.    Maggie finally was released but believing she still might be a threat to her daughter decided not to try to see her again as she feared the voices might come back and she loved her daughter and didn’t want to take the chance on hurting her believing it would be better to be broken hearted than to take a chance on harming her beloved child.  Her ex-husband remarries and remains in France sending Anna to boarding school.    Maggie felt Anna was being slighted by her father but did not raise a fuss about it hoping in spite of their rocky beginning that she and Anna might somehow meet again one day.   In the meantime Maggie meets Dr. Noah Alderman, a Pediatric Allergist and widower with a young son.   They fall in love and marry, and are living a happy life together.   Boom, Boom, Boom – Maggie’s ex and family suffer a fatal car accident in France.   Anna was spared because she was away at boarding school but her father, step-mother and two siblings are killed in the wreck.   Now after all these years Maggie may get the daughter back she lost so many years ago but now at 17 years of age, while a reuniting may be imminent how will Anna feel about that?   How will Maggie’s new family feel?    Can there be a happily ever after?   Maggie worries about her mental illness recurring.   Is she truly cured?   Could Anna be a trigger?    Her husband’s son, Caleb, and Maggie got along, but, Caleb had never called her mother but only by her name, “Maggie.”   Will the kids get along?    Her new husband, Noah, is a great guy, but, he didn’t sign on for this.   Will he be o.k. with bringing her daughter into their family.   She told him about Anna, but, this will change their family dynamic but hopefully for the better.     I will let you find the answers and so much more good storyline and it soars from that point to the end.   Unexpected twists and turns and so many things going on.    Dealing with grief, angst, feelings of losing control, betrayal, and when the big stuff starts happening it is like a dam bursting!   GOOD BOOK!  I highly recommend this book to everyone.   

- Shirley J.

The Rain Watcher

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay    240 pages

Most readers will recognize de Rosnay as the author behind “Sarah’s Key,” which ranks right up with “Rebecca” as haunting stories that stick with readers for years after they were first read. The four novels that came after “Sarah’s Key,” never afforded de Rosany the same success. Now  four years after her last novel, that bestselling success is so close, yet so far away.

Set in contemporary times, “The Rain Watcher” takes place in Paris. The Malegarde family has come together to celebrate parents’ Lauren and Paul’s fortieth wedding anniversary as well as Paul’s seventieth birthday.  Lauren is an American by birth, Paul is French, They have two children, Tilia who is caught up in an unhappy marriage and resides in France. Linden is an internationally known photographer and calls San Francisco home.

It’s been raining in Paris for weeks and the Seine is rapidly rising. The waters are expected to rising well above the historic flooding of 1910. As the Seine rises, so does the tension. Each of the four characters has secrets they are hiding. The family, already partially estranged, is at a breaking point. When illnesses strike, the family must learn to let go. It’s a hard lesson for those involved.

Most of the writing was beautiful. De Rosany did a wonderful job in describing the flood waters and the rain. Every time they were mentioned, virtually on every page, a new image seemed to present itself.  Kudos for that.

On the down side, de Rosnay provides readers with an agonizing detail of the Paris streets and androissments. It would have help had there been a map on the inside front and back covers. I felt lost when she began naming streets and neighborhoods that I had no concept of location. I don’t believe that de Rosnay writing for an international audience…or at least am American one. The overload of French words also got in the way.

Still the beauty of the writing, sans the above problems, help me give “The Rain Watcher” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I wanted so bad for this to be a novel that would capture my soul the way “Sarah’s Key” did, but---heavy sigh---it just didn’t happen.

Unsheltered

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver   464 pages

This story alternates between two time periods and two main characters. The thing that connects them is that they are living in the same dilapidated house (just in two different time periods).  In our present time, Willa Knox is feeling frustrated. Maybe bump that up to feeling panicky. The magazine where she worked has folded, the college where her husband (finally) had tenure has closed, her ill father-in-law is living with them, along with their strong-willed daughter, Tig.  Add to that her son, Zeke, who has arrived with his unplanned baby.  And did I mention the dilapidated house that is literally falling down around them?  Willa is desperate to keep the roof over their heads and hopes the local historical preservation society can give her some assistance.  Through her research into her community and its creation as a Utopian community, she discovers a kindred spirit from the 1880s, Thatcher Greenwood.

Thatcher is a science teacher who finds himself under siege in his community for wanting to tell the truth: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting new theories published by Charles Darwin. Adding to Thatcher's list of frustrations are his new wife, new mother-in-law and sister-in-law who live with him, and their dilapidated house. Thatcher's friendship with a brilliant female scientist is important to him, but also draws him into serious conflict with the town's most powerful men.  And did I mention his house is falling down around he and his family?

Kingsolver gives us two families, in two different centuries, who live at the same neighborhood corner and who are navigating survival in the face of multiple challenges. The characters are all very realistic and I found myself settling in and turning the pages, eager to see what would happen to these people. At times, it's a bit of a stressful read, especially when Willa is trying to figure out how to pay her family's bills while at the same time taking care of her son's baby and her ill father-in-law.  Kingsolver doesn't give the impression that it's all going to be happy endings for everyone, but I liked that. It made me feel more connection to the characters and the story.  I haven't loved all of Kingsolver's books, but this one is a keeper!

In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye by Jesse Blackadder   I read a galley - book is due to be published 3/19/2019   370 pages

When a family experiences deep trauma, is there any coming back to redemption and forgiveness? That's the question that the author explores in this story about the Brennans, a family who have made a change to living in a town in New South Wales. They're still adjusting to work, school and life in their new house when tragedy strikes. Afterwards, there are so many questions. Who was to blame for what happened? Why didn't someone be more careful? And what happens now? If the family fractures, will there be any way for them to remain together?

This is one of those stories where the summary has to be deliberately vague because otherwise, you can totally give away what happens. Suffice to say, there is a mother, a father, and two sons. Each handles the tragedy in their own way, and because of that, the family unit starts to unravel.Told from the viewpoints of the different characters, you get insight into what happened through each of them, as well as how they are handling the aftermath. It's not clear if they will all come through this intact --- and no, I'm not going to reveal anything.

I found this book to be thoughtfully written and at times, although a bit predictable, I found the characters to be compelling. The author does a great job of writing in a way that immerses you in the story, so you feel you're in the setting, right there with the characters. It's a very realistic story, which means there are parts that are heartbreaking (and also heartwarming).

The Betrayals

The Betrayals by Fiona Neill     390 pages

Told through the perspectives of four members of the same family, this story explores the aftermath of an affair.  When Rosie's best friend has an affair with her husband, the consequences impact both families, even years afterwards.  Rosie's daughter Daisy, always fragile, has moved on with her life until a letter arrives (addressed to Rosie but opened by Daisy first) that opens up all of the old wounds of the affair. The question is: what actually happened that summer between Rosie's husband and her best friend?

I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this book but the more I got into it, the more engrossed I became. I liked that there were the four different perspectives because each one had a different take on the affair. Daisy has OCD (not really a spoiler) and so I found her perspective particularly interesting because while I have read about OCD, it's different to read someone's first-hand account of how they view the world. What's also interesting about this story is that it's hard to tell what actually happened between the two adults the one summer (the summer of the affair) because you assume the one character is telling the complete truth . . . until you start to doubt that.  Not a happy story, but an interesting one. 

Girl Unknown

Girl Unknown by Karen Perry.   293 pages

When first-year college student Zoe Barry walks into Professor David Connolly's office, David thinks she's there about an assignment. Instead, she says, "I think you might be my father."  And then everything changes.

David is left reeling, but it's David's wife, Caroline, and his two children whose lives are completely turned upside down. And just who is Zoe? Is she really David's daughter?  She's definitely hiding something, especially since she acts one way with David and completely differently with Caroline, and it seems obvious that she's turning husband and wife against each other. It's also obvious that Zoe is smart and has something in store for David and his family.  As David and Caroline try to learn more about Zoe, welcoming her into their family (like a cuckoo into a nest), Zoe's stories start to ring less and less true. And as Zoe becomes more entangled in the family, it becomes clear that now David's two other children may be in danger.

While I felt I could anticipate some elements of this story, I still found this a compulsive page-turner of a book. Zoe is such a clever, nasty piece of work -- it's so clear that she's up to no good (perhaps she's a kind of sociopath), but you don't know what her true motivations are, and what her end game is. Watching David's relationship with Caroline start to fray and unravel is like watching an accident about to happen; you know what's happening, but you watch anyway (wondering just how bad the end result will be).

This book was a suggestion from a colleague -- and I'm very grateful. This was a good read!!

The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham          Audio Book: 6 hours, 47 minutes       Hardback Book:  272 pages                   

Barrett, a gay man struggling with his emotions over another failed romance sees a vision while walking through Central Park.     He was a non-believer all of his life but the vision he saw made him feel like some God like presemce was letting him know he was not alone, that some supernatural presence was keeping an eye on him.   It changed Barrett’s life, helping him through his heartache.   He was not fearful he was instead assured that there was spiritually more than this existence on earth.  He felt comforted.     Barrett’s older brother, Tyler, is going to marry his girlfriend, Beth, who has terminal cancer.     Tyler is a musician, currently down on his luck, but, he spends most of his time caring for Beth, who is in stage 4 and reeling from her chemo treatments.    Barrett  lives with them, helping to care for Beth.   Beth loves both men and the living arrangement is a content one for all three of them.   Barrett gets to go outside himself by helping to care for Beth, feeling like her other “husband” and helping his brother, Tyler to be able to get away from the constant caregiving in order to get back to his songwriting now and then and getting to do the ocassional gig to bring in some money.   They all 3 ignore the looming death shadow in the apartment and often share laughter to lighten things up.   Liz is Beth’s best friend, an older lady who has a take charge persona and looks after Beth, too.    Much more to the story and there are ties in this modern day version of the Hans Christian Anderson story, “The Snow Queen.”    Having  adjusted to Beth’s illness and making plans for the wedding – things take a weird twist when Beth goes into remission after Barretts’ sighting of the translucent light of God he saw in the park that night in November.     More people are brought into the three’s life bringing joy and more weirdness at times.    Life becomes surreal for all of them as Beth adjusts to remission, Barrett reconciles himself with this God presence in his life and Tyler, who had always enjoyed drugs gets heavier into them to unleash his creativity or is it something more?     An interesting read.    Bittersweet, funny at times, like an ever moving snake burrowing through the snow looking for warmth as the characters journey out on a zigzag bridge.   Families come in all shapes and types.   The dynamic of this three person family is encompassing and illuminating as it shines a bright light like the one Barrett experienced in the park, on what was and is and is to come.

How hard can it be

How Hard Can It Be?: A Novel (Kate Reddy #2) by Allison Pearson   352 pages  read a galley - book due out 6/5/18

In this sequel to I Don't Know How She Does It, Pearson brings back Kate Reddy, seven years after that first story and facing her 50th birthday.  Now, re-entering the workforce after a spell on the "mommy track," Kate is balancing work, teenage kids and a marriage that seems to have gone flat.

Like the first book, this story is a social comedy about working motherhood. It's funny at times, but you really get how frustrating things are at times for Kate. Her teenage daughter is a handful and the book actually starts with the daughter accidentally posting a photo of her nude butt on the Internet (I learned this is called a "belfie," or a butt selfie. I had no idea that I've been leading such a sheltered life). The book just ramps up from there. Kate's husband is basically unsupportive, having chosen to forego his previous career to take classes and concentrate on his hobby of bike riding. Kate's able to land a decent job, but she's in an office full of people younger than she is, so she's trying desperately not to reveal her real age. Through it all, though, Kate has a sense of humor about things and a determination to land on her feet. After all, how hard can it be, right?

It's been forever since I read the first book, so I actually didn't remember Kate and her story. However, that wasn't any kind of detriment here, and I enjoyed this book. I did at times, however, thank the stars that I have 1) an attentive, awesome husband and 2) no teenaged children.

Tribes

Tribes by Nina Raine                Audiobook: 1 hour, 32 minutes           Paperback Book:  70 pages                         

A fast-paced story.   Lots of witty repartee between the family members of main character, Billy, who has been deaf since birth but reads lips and communicates with his family in kind as that is how he grew up.   Billy meets a girl named Sylvia, who has hearing but is going deaf.   Sylvia’s parents are deaf and she grew up communicating with American Sign Language and she does not read lips well.   When Billy introduces her to his family, it is over dinner and they pretty much grill her on who she is and her background.   They see her as disagreeable for wanting Billy to learn sign language when they feel he communicates just fine as he is.    However, when Billy is around the deaf community he has met through Sylvia, he doesn’t feel he fits in because he is a beginner at signing and can’t keep up with the conversation with them nor does he know how to take the jabs they remark to one another about him.   Sylvia explains to Billy (and also to his family) that the deaf do not automatically understand the nuances of sarcasm, or irony.   They do not communicate in ways that would convey those ideas.   The deaf communicate in very concise and direct terms which is why the hearing sometimes mistake their shortness or extreme directness as being off-putting kind of in your face.   Sylvia does her best to explain this but while Billy’s mother understands, his father blows it off because he really doesn’t give a rat’s patooty.  (He uses far more expletives in his conversations believe me.)    Billy’s sister is sort of spoiled and self-centered not really noticing what anyone else is going through because her own issues seem far more enormous to her than anyone else’s.    The mother is the fixer making everyone behave and get along.   The Dad is full of himself and says things for their shock value it appears.  Billy’s older brother loves him a lot and has always been very protective over Billy as are both parents.   The Dad says Billy is the only one he truly loves the other two are awful and he wishes they would move out of the house so he could be rid of them.   Of course the unspoken point is he loves them and can verbally joust with them as they do him.   The older brother does tend to take things more to heart than his sister, though.   Sylvia and the family butt heads because they feel she is trying to control Billy turning him into a signer when he is fine as he is.   She sees the family as controlling for not allowing Billy to learn sign language and thinks they also should have learned sign language to communicate with him during his life instead of expecting him to read their lips all the time.   Billy is so good at reading lips however that Sylvia inspires him to get a job as a court lip reader to interpret what is being said on videotape in criminal cases.    Billy stands with Sylvia against his family and moves out of his parents house and in with her.    Billy takes courses and becomes a court interpreter.    Much more transpires there are sub plots of romantic liaisons, betrayals, lies, and the result is shocking.   Good story, amusing but very colorful language and irreverent behavior.     

Against All Odds

Against All Odds by Danielle Steel          Audio Book: 9 hours, 14 minutes     Mass Market Paperback:   448 pages                   

Strangely enough, though, I associate Danielle Steel with Romance writing, this book is more drama about a lot of the screw-ups we can bring into our lives.    The grandmother in this story, is a total globetrotter.   After her husband passed away she decided that she would pick herself up out of the doldrums and do what she had always wanted to do but never was able to – travel.   She gets her best friend to join her and they go from one glorious vacation in a faraway exotic location to another.    As soon as they get home they begin to plan their next big destination even breaking an arm and an ankle do not dissuade them from their journeys.   Her daughter Kate, also a widow, ends up falling for a married French man who says he doesn’t love his wife (how many times have we heard that one, huh, folks?)  and that he and his wife have an arrangement so they each do what they want to while remaining married.   Really?   More to the story I won’t spoil it.    Kate’s kids are a mess.    One son is aloof with the family but goes through women like a whirlwind,  her other son is gay and has been in a monogamous relationship for 6 years and while they choose not to marry, her son has talked his lover into having a baby.   They don’t want to adopt, they want their own baby so the lover is going to donate the sperm and his best female friend he has known since childhood is donating the egg which will be grown outside the womb in a lab then inserted into into a surrogate mother they pay to carry the baby for them.    The family all disagree with this, not because they are gay but because of all the potential problems – what if the surrogate decides she wants to keep the baby,  what if their relationship breaks up,  there is so much more to raising children than the romantic idea of parenting a child, etc.   The story takes many twists and turns here that will keep you wondering what will happen.   Kate’s two daughters are not immune from the screw-up gene, either.   One daughter, who is a successful lawyer ends of falling for a druggie client she has to take on pro bono.    A spoiled 30 something living off bits of a trust fund who won’t work choosing to stay high and using his good looks and charm to get by.  Until the one day he is arrested and charged with possession and intent to sell the narcotics he has on him.   Facing a prison sentence and denied any funds by the trustees due to his constant screw ups, no help from his rich parents who have broken off contact with him because he is always doing some shameful thing or another, he goes for the pro bono legal help he knows is available.   A lot to this part of the story.   More here than the reader will expect.    Last but not least is Kate’s youngest daughter who is dyslexic but seems to find the perfect man to spend her life with.   Things are never as they seem there is always more to the story.    Good read.    I was glad this story had a lot of bite.     Honestly romance is at a minimum throughout, lots of broken people in broken situations.   Well written,  good character development and shinging examples of what we need is often right in front of us.    Well done, once again, Danielle Steel.

Seven Days of Us

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak     358 pages

There's nothing like family at the holidays. Especially if you're forced to spend a week together in a house, under quarantine.

For the first time in years, the entire Birch family will be under one roof, staying at Weyfield Hall, the family's aging country estate. However, it's not under the best circumstances, as daughter Olivia has returned home, because she has to; returning from treating an epidemic abroad, she's been told she must stay in quarantine for a week, along with her family. So, for seven days, the Birches will be together, locked down and forced into each other's personal space. For daughters Emma (newly engaged and excited about wedding planning) and Olivia (home from abroad, working with doctors in an epidemic and seriously missing one of her colleagues), it's awkward and even acrimonious at times. As patriarch Andrew sequesters himself in his study, he comes across an email from a young man claiming that Andrew is his long lost father --- and what better time to drop this news than at the holidays?

This is a good story about the dynamics between family members and how long-held tensions can finally rise from a smolder to a flame when put under duress. However, it's not all awful; with family, there are also alliances and support when you least expect it. While I found some of the storyline to be predictable, as well as some of the characters, I still enjoyed the read. I guess it's the voyeuristic side of myself -- kind of like looking at house windows and seeing people's Christmas trees, this kind of book is like a picture window into a family unlike my own, where I can observe (and yes, sometimes judge) at a safe distance.