What She Left Behind

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman 368 pages

 

For fans of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.”

 

After reading “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.” I knew I wanted to read all of Wiseman’s novels. This was the first one of the five that preceded Lost Girls. It also centers upon do mental illness and insane asylums.

 

There are two points so view that tell the story. First is Clara Cartwright’s story from the late 1920s through the early 1930s. The other, Isabelle (Izzy) Stone’s story, is from the mid-to-late 1990s.

 

Clara is caught between two men. First, the man, James, her parents (Henry and Ruth) have chosen for her, and whom she finds dull and distasteful. They insist that she marry him, not for love, but because he is mind-boggling wealthy. The second man is an Italian immigrant with whom Clara falls madly in love, and he with her. When she becomes pregnant with Bruno’s baby, she completely rejects James, but her father sends her to a nervous asylum for girls. After the Crash, and Henry and Ruth lose everything, Clara is admitted to a public asylum that is as bad, if not worse, than the private institution.

 

Image what the living conditions were like in an overcrowded, short-staffed institution. Wiseman’s descriptions were enough to make me gag beside Clara.

 

Fast-forward to the 1990s. Izzy Stone is sent to foster care after her mother brutally murders her father with no apparent motive. Her foster parents work for a local museum and have been assigned to catalog the items that had been left behind in the now-shuttered asylum.

 

Izzy is fascinated by the things they find, but what really intrigues her is a stack of unopened letters and a journal. These items send her on a quest to determine her mother’s act of violence.

 

To me, this novel is almost as wonderful as “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.” Comparing the two novels, “What She Left Behind” seems a little predictable. But given that “What She Left Behind,” is only Wiseman’s second novel, I will overlook that part. There were parts that me cringe, and parts where I was cheering on both young women.

 

Therefore, “What She Left Behind,” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Moon Over High Street

The Moon Over High Street by Natalie Babbitt 148 pages

Please don’t hate me when I tell you I have never read “Tuck Everlasting.” When it was originally published in 1975, I was already a grown woman and never felt the need to read it.

I’m not sure how I wound up with a copy of Babbitt’s “The Moon Over the High Street.” This short novel is aimed at what I call middle-schoolers, grades 4-9. Its themes of family, friendship, rich versus poor and the working class still resonate with readers all these years later.

Twelve-year-old Joe Casimir has only known his grandmother as his family. His parents died in an accident when he was a baby, and the only other family is a cousin of Gran’s, Aunt Myra.

When Gran breaks her hip, she sends Joe to live with Aunt Myra in Midville, across the state. I didn’t envy his long bus trip. Anyone who has taken a long bus trip knows how awful it can be. Midville is a tiny town with clearly delineated lines of where its citizens reside based on class. Class is an important theme in this story.

Joe meets and becomes friends with the girl, Beatrice Sope, who lives across the street. Through Beatrice, Joe meets the town’s millionaire, Mr. Boulderwall. Boulderwall takes a shine to Joe and offers to adopt him. He wants Joe to be his protégé. Joe is forced to decide whether to live a life of wealth and abandon Gran and Aunt Myra or stay with his family and chase his dreams.

There aren’t a lot of characters in this book, but the supporting characters provide Joe with the skills necessary to make this crucial decision.

I thought the book was a quick read with surprising depth. However, it does tend to meander a bit. That’s why “The Moon Over High Street” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Women

The Women by T. C. Boyle, 451 pages

The narrator to this book is a fictional Japanese man who is written as one of Frank Lloyd Wright's apprentices. I think Boyle chose him as a narrator because he could provide an 'inside' perspective but also provide some objectivity. The book is about three of Wright's mistresses. Two of them later became wives. Some of the what Wright did would still be considered scandalous today but to truly understand you have to consider the mores of the time.

It starts with the story of Frank and the last woman and goes backwards. Once I came to the end I saw why Boyle started with the last woman and went backwards. The events at the end are mentioned earlier but it doesn't prevent them from being a fitting climax to the novel.

Before reading this I was only aware of Frank Lloyd Wright as an architect. I didn't know about the mistresses, some significant events in his life or him as a person. It seems that he wasn't good about paying his bills on time. Overall, I would rate this book somewhere between good and very good.

Woman of the Pharisees

The Woman of the Pharisees by Francois Mauriac, translated by Gerard Hopkins, 241 pages

Brigitte Pian is a wicked stepmother.  She is all the more wicked because she is so widely admired for her goodness, a goodness which she pursues tirelessly.  Yet it is goodness sought not for its own sake but a cramped, loveless drive for perfection rooted in the desire to dominate and control.  Thus, in the end, all of her good deeds turn to ashes.

The story practically writes itself: the religious hypocrite is, after all, a common trope in Western culture, and one that is ideally suited to the ideological demands of modernity.  Thankfully Mauriac is too good a writer for cliche.  Brigitte does not sin through the open embrace of evil but through a perversion of the good.  Were it otherwise, she would not be so pitiable, nor her example so salutary.

The Mistletoe Promise

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans     273 pages

From Goodreads:

Elise Dutton dreads the arrival of another holiday season. Three years earlier, her husband cheated on her with her best friend, resulting in a bitter divorce that left her alone, broken, and distrustful.

Then, one November day, a stranger approaches Elise in the mall food court. Though she recognizes the man from her building, Elise has never formally met him. Tired of spending the holidays alone, the man offers her a proposition. For the next eight weeks—until the evening of December 24—he suggests that they pretend to be a couple. He draws up a contract with four rules:

1. No deep, probing personal questions
2. No drama
3. No telling anyone the truth about the relationship 
4. The contract is void on Christmas Day

The lonely Elise surprises herself by agreeing to the idea. As the charade progresses, the safety of her fake relationship begins to mend her badly broken heart. But just as she begins to find joy again, her long-held secret threatens to unravel the emerging relationship. But she might not be the only one with secrets.

Review:

This is such a cozy book, even though it contains some darker elements. The love story is sweet and romantic and it's a great read in the Christmas season.

And the Trees Crept In

And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich     341 pages

When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt’s home, it’s immediately clear that the manor is cursed. The endless creaking of the house at night and the eerie stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too—questions that Silla can’t ignore: Why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer? Who is the beautiful boy who’s appeared from the woods? And who is the tall man with no eyes who Nori plays with in the basement at night… a man no one else can see?

I only finished this book because a) I was reading it for a book club and b) I just wanted to know, ultimately, what the author was planning for the "big reveal" to see if it was worth it. It wasn't, for me. Were the characters interesting? No, utterly infuriating because none of them made any sense in their decisions or what they were doing. Was the story compelling? Yes but then it got boring and quickly devolved into what people think of when they think "this is what a CRAZY person sounds like!" Was the writing good? See the point about the story. I just don't think it paid to finish. It wasn't a cop-out necessarily, I just didn't care for it - and really the end-end is infuriating, too.

Hurricane Child

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callendar     256 pages

"Twelve-year-old Caroline is a Hurricane Child, born on Water Island during a storm. Coming into this world during a hurricane is unlucky, and Caroline has had her share of bad luck already. She's hated by everyone in her small school, she can see things that no one else can see, and -- worst of all -- her mother left home one day and never came back. With no friends and days filled with heartache, Caroline is determined to find her mother. When a new student, Kalinda, arrives, Caroline's luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, seems to see the things Caroline sees, too. Joined by their common gift, Kalinda agrees to help Caroline look for her mother, starting with a mysterious lady dressed in black. Soon, they discover the healing power of a close friendship between girls."

This book was not for me. Not only were the main characters unlikable, but the themes in this story seemed much too heavy to be geared toward young readers (now, I know, depending on where children grow up and what their sexual orientation is, or what their home life is like, this story isn't any worse than what they've experienced, but the way this story is written doesn't seem like it would bring a reader in, especially a young reader. The writing style, to me, doesn't seem as if it were written for the age the main character is, but this is my opinion). I will just say that I don't know what kind of reader I would ever be able to recommend this book to, because the story is challenging, the narrative is a bit all over the place, and there is not much of a plot.

Five Feet Apart

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott     288 pages

"Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?"

This was such a beautiful love story, told from the perspective of two teenagers with Cystic Fibrosis. Will and Stella couldn't be more different in their outlook on life, him wanting to stop treatment and life life to the fullest while he still can, she trying to hold everything together to get better so she won't hurt the people she loves. But when they meet, slowly they change each other for the better and they find love where they didn't expect it.

I found both Stella and Will to be well rounded characters and I liked them both. They both seemed believable and earnest in their feelings and the why of their feelings was explained well. I also felt that the relationships with side characters was strong, mostly between Stella and Poe. There was a feeling of real time spent together, their routines and inside jokes helped show just how much the knew and loved each other. Not much time was spent with other friend characters, like Stella's school friends or Will's friends, but the story was not long, so there wasn't much time to include these.

I think the parents were believable as well, though I do think it was a bit too good to be true for Stella's parents to <spoiler> have gotten back together so easily and quickly after Stella's long transplant</spoiler>. I do like that the parents were there and involved, rather than just being props to make the story move along.

I kept wondering how the story would end, since the prospect of CF being terminal suggests that one or both characters could die at any time. I am glad that the author didn't create a magical/unbelievable recovery for Will or made it so that both characters actually could be together in the way they wanted, as this would have taken away from the reality that this book is trying to convey. The ending is bittersweet, but also ambiguous in a hopeful way. Stella's and Will's stories are not quite over and you, the reader, are left to imagine what you think might happen to them.

Lastly, I very much enjoyed the author's decision to provide a very real portrayal of the lives of people with CF. I think many stories don't handle illnesses well, or attempt to use illness as a quirk to create a compelling or unique romance and end up using the illness as a tool or don't present it in an accurate way, thus showing that the inclusion of illness in the story is just to make it novel or provide a tragic reason that the two leads cant be together - I’m looking at you, Everything, Everything! From the way this book was written, really lovingly, I could tell that the author wanted to provide a positive story for those who have CF, that accurately represented their lives, and that would make them seen by the rest of the world. At no point in the book did I feel like CF was just a story tool or was used to add heightened drama. It was very real, eye opening, and moving.

I would highly recommend this story and I am very glad I read it. Anyone who loves teen romance stories or who want to read a book with compelling, well written characters should read this book.

Winter's Tale

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, 673 pages

Winter's Tale is a strange story strangely told.  In a New York that never was, surrounded by a hurricane-like cloud wall that partially insulates it from the outside world, there lives a white horse able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.  After the horse rescues a thief named Peter Lake from the vengeful gang leader Pearly Soames, the two form an instant bond.  To finance his escape from the city, Lake attempts to burgle the mansion of a wealthy newspaper publisher, only to unexpectedly encounter the publisher's lovely, dying daughter Beverly.  The two fall instantly, deliriously, magically in love, a love which transcends death and reaches beyond the stars.

The narrative is broken into pieces by numerous flashbacks, subplots, digressions, and mysteries.  Some of these pieces fit together better than others.  Oddly, the novel Winter's Tale most resembles may be Gravity's Rainbow, only where Pynchon's work is suffused with paranoid pessimism, Helprin's sparkles with enchanted delight.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?

Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control. 

What can I say about this book other than that it is disappointing because it wasn’t even close to what I was expecting? If you look at the cover, if you read the book description, all signs point to YA Romance. But that’s where it gets you: there is no romance.

Some might protest: “Oh no, there’s the romance between Lara Jean and Peter!” or “Lara Jean and Josh!” But I say, “NO.” This is not romance. For one thing, a fake relationship does not translate to romance. Even when Lara Jean and Peter <spoiler>admit that they like each other</spoiler> that does not really equal romance. And nothing comes of it anyway. For another, you can’t even count Josh – he’s a periphery and nothing happens <spoiler>and don’t even count the fact that he surprise kisses Lara Jean and she sort-of kisses him back before breaking it off.</spoiler>. NOT ROMANCE.

What this book is really is just a hint, a tease, to get you to read the next book. The beginning says: buckle up, the characters are circling each other in a “will they/won’t they”! The middle says: nothing remotely romantic is happening, only wistful day-dreaming about romantic things. The end says: PSYCH! No romance, just a could-have-been and now it’s over, but IS IT???!!!

Now I have to read the next book to see where that takes me – and to figure out why in bloody heck there’s a THIRD book. Why is this love story a series? I couldn’t figure it out before I read this book and now I know why. Because, most likely, the romance won’t happen till somewhere by the end of the second book, but probably not until the third book. Is it worth the struggle? I’ll say yes, because this book is a light, easy read.

Proceed with caution if I haven’t warned you off yet: Lara Jean is not the greatest head to be inside. As if her name weren’t cutesy enough, Lara Jean is such a “baby girl” that she reads more like a 13 year old. This is perpetuated by her continuous use of the titles, “Mommy,” and “Daddy,” for her parents. I’ve never met anyone above the age of 10 who calls their parents mommy and daddy. It was really freaking weird and I could not get over it. Lara Jean also has no life – she hangs out with her sister(s) and her dad and she goes to school. The only other person she sees more is Josh (because he freaking lives next door!). She has a sort-of girl friend, Chris, but that doesn’t really count because a) they don’t hang out at school and b) Chris only pops up every once in a while or calls Lara Jean. They don’t frequently see each other enough to call them best-friends.

And then, of course, there’s Peter. The “love interest.” I say it in quotes because <spoiler>their relationship is based on a contract</spoiler> but also because there is absolutely no chemistry between Lara Jean and Peter. In fact, Peter is very much still hung up over his ex-girlfriend throughout the book. Even when he says he likes Lara Jean, I sort of don’t believe him because I just don’t see any proof of that in the text and that’s either the author’s fault or Peter is just a really terrible person. But I think, it’s actually kind of both.

I’m going to go on a side-tangent here (feel free to skip to the bottom for my final say on this book): Neither Peter, nor Josh, are good romantic choices for Lara Jean.

I’ll start with Josh because the reason is really short: he’s her sister’s ex-girlfriend. Even if the author might in future write a scene where Margot says, “Lara Jean, I really am completely over Josh and I don’t even care that you and he are in a relationship, in fact, go you! I’m your biggest fan and supporter,” I would not be down with this relationship. For one, <spoiler>Margot breaks up with Josh and clearly still has feelings for him. And he for her. I don’t really buy the whole, “Lara Jean why didn’t you say something before because actually I love youuuu,” thing. In fact, it makes Josh an even bigger creep because he seems to be in love with Margot and Lara Jean interchangeably. If I were Lara Jean (or even Margot, to be honest) I’d be constantly worried about who Josh is thinking of when he kisses me/does anything romantic with me</spoiler>. Secondly, Josh and Margot <spoiler>had sex</spoiler>. If I knew that about my sister and the guy I have a crush on, I think any feelings would immediately be doused. Just no.

Now, Peter. First of all, Peter is still into his ex, a girl he’s on/off dated for all of high school and some of middle. If that doesn’t spell trouble, I don’t know what does. Secondly, Peter continually treats Lara Jean badly. He continually makes fun of her, picks fights with her, and has very little to say positively about her. He’s also extremely vain/selfish, a fact which Lara Jean CONTINUALLY brings up. If she can see it, I don’t know why Peter becomes attractive to her because that seems a bit problematic, especially given her romantic notions. After a certain point in the book, Lara Jean starts saying, “He’s really not like that,” or “He’s actually a nice guy,” or something to that effect. What I want to know is, how has she come to this conclusion? Even though a good percentage of the book is her and Peter hanging out, I don’t really see him change at all from her initial perception of him: he’s a bro, he’s vain, etc. Either Han is just not good at showing character development or she wrote Lara Jean to be just like all the other girls Lara Jean complains about when in connection to Peter: Peter’s a charmer and he makes every woman fall in love with him. Which means that no, he’s not actually nicer than people thought, not as self-involved as everyone thought, he’s just really good at conning people. I’m leaning towards this one a little bit because Lara Jean often says things like, “If Peter asks, I’ll probably do it,” as in, Peter can convince her to do things she normally wouldn’t do. If that’s how it is, then no – Peter is a terrible choice for a boyfriend.

Final thoughts:

So, ultimately, this book is a giant tease – it hints at romance, doesn’t deliver, and then expects you to read the next book to find out. Also, both love interests are terrible and Lara Jean is so babyish it’s hard to imagine anything romantic happening with her in a way that wouldn’t be creepy because she seems like a 13 year old. It’s a fast read – mostly because I kept trying to get to the good part, but it never happened. Will I read the next one? Probably, because it’ll probably be just as quick. I know I might be setting myself up for more disappointment, but at least it will be over quickly. I don’t know who I’d recommend this to.

Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery

Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan         Audio Book: 11 hours     Hardback Book:  416 pages                    

I do love Jenny Colgan’s writing.    She is in the same category as Sophie Kinsella to me, great writer, excellent characters, fun stories.    Man!  She made me so mad at main character, Polly Waterford in this one.   I was furious with her.    Don’t want to give too much of the story away, but, lots of laugh out loud dialogue happens all the way up to when someone very close to Tarney moves in to town.    I can’t tell you who cause it will blow some of the story, but, the story has a huge turn regarding Neil because of Polly’s not asking permission to allow him to enter a location where Polly has just had a conversation about a potential danger at this location (that would not be good for Neil).   Polly lets Neil in to the location without letting the person who lives there know and she has just had a conversation about the circumstances that could be dangerous and without so much as a care for the person at the location Polly lets Neil in KNOWING FULL WELL the scoop there – action occurs in the blink of an eye which this DITZ and I am controlling my language here which makes me sad because I really liked Polly and still do but I am so seeing red furious at her for this intentional act on her part that puts Neil in peril and it is POLLY’s FAULT and she blames the other person for it and never accepts the responsibility of her own actions in bringing about what transpires.   NEVER does she accept it is her fault.   NEVER does she admit to anyone what she did to cause the reaction.    AND SHE TELLS EVERYONE in town that it was the other two’s fault when it was CLEARLY HER OWN ACT that caused the problem.   I take issue with someone not owning their own mistakes.    Accepting that one’s self is to blame for something is not easy.    It is not what anyone wants to do but it is the RIGHT thing to do to own up to our own flaws and not only is Polly not woman enough to accept what she has done HERSELF she turns everyone against an innocent person and her companion who are innocent and only reacting normally – Polly never does admit she is the wrong person in the mix which makes me dislike her so much for that.   And I really am angry for what she did.    But then for her to blame someone else who had no idea what was going on because Polly’s sadity self took it upon herself to just do a thing in someone else’s home without even giving them the courtesy of asking if it was o.k. with them to do this thing that causes a chaotic reaction from another unknowing source who also lived in the home – for her to do that and then to go further and blame those who live there for what happens and then for Polly to go around disparaging them with libelous comments all over town and turn others all against this person who did nothing to warrant such behavior -  that part of the story just turned me totally off of Polly for most of the rest of the book.   I only felt a little sorry for her when she reaped some bad juju in the what goes around comes around fashion.   I did feel sorry for her because down deep I do so like Polly but I was just outdone for her to do this despicable thing then poison an innocent person’s reputation.   GRRRRRRR!   It was wrong and it was unfair and I hate that kind of behavior even in fictional characters.    Polly you were WRONG and need to own up to it and square things on those other folks behalf with the town.     And then after what Polly has done by proxy to Neil she heartlessly kicks him to the curb.    ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!     So much happens in this story.     I will try to stifle my urge to choke a fictional character and as in the story of “Annie”  trust that the sun will come out tomorrow.    It does folks.     GOOD STORY as always Jenny Colgan.     Polly, I will have to wait and see with you, sister.   I’m still not over what you did.    Way to grab those emotions, Jenny Colgan.    Wooo!   Your writing is so real.

The Love Dare

The Love Dare by Stephen Kendrick, 235 pages

“Unconditional love is eagerly promised at weddings, but rarely practiced in real life. As a result, romantic hopes are often replaced with disappointment in the home. But it doesn't have to stay that way. The Love Dare , the New York Times No. 1 best seller that has sold five million copies and was major plot device in the popular movie Fireproof , is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, The Love Dare is a journey you need to take. It's time to learn the keys to finding true intimacy and developing a dynamic marriage. This second edition also features a special link to a free online marriage evaluation, a new preface by Stephen and Alex Kendrick, minor text updates, and select testimonials from The Love Dare readers. Take the dare!” This book is definitely not for anyone who isn’t Christian, however, this has a lot of good advice for anyone who is having any problems in their relationship.  It gives specific tasks, so anyone who isn’t sure what to do to fix the problems has very specific things to focus on. 

It Only Happens in the Movies

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne     416 pages

Audrey is over romance. Since her parents' relationship imploded her mother's been catatonic, so she takes a cinema job to get out of the house. But there she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. Nobody expects Audrey and Harry to fall in love as hard and fast as they do. But that doesn't mean things are easy. Because real love isn't like the movies...

The greatest love story ever told doesn't feature kissing in the snow or racing to airports. It features pain and confusion and hope and wonder and a ban on cheesy clichés. Oh, and zombies... 

A part of me wishes that this book ended differently, but a different part of me knew it could only end the way it did and I'm glad Bourne chose to end it that way. The story is a beautiful monument to what is wrong with stereotype romance films and how, on the whole, these stereotypes warp society's way of experiencing love, expecting certain things, giving up others, letting things happen because love is the end goal.

Is love a choice or a feeling? When this question gets put to Audrey, she feels one way, but by the end, she recognizes that it isn't what she initially thought. Her character development is so strong in this book - I absolutely loved reading her. She begins the novel with a torn up heart - suffering from a teen, school romance gone sour - and on top of that, her own parents' bitter divorce has gotten much worse because her childhood home is being forcibly sold by her father to pay for his new family's lifestyle. Swearing off love, Audrey doesn't expect to fall into another relationship again, especially when it appears to come from the most stereotypical of sources. Harry's character is everything you'd expect out of a teen romance movie. Bourne did an excellent job, though, of building him into something that you could see Audrey accepting, the kind of guy who, despite being warned off by many, she falls for. Thus the romance ensues.

But Audrey's cinema class offers her an opportunity to explore what is wrong with Hollywood romances and to look at her own relationships with a critical eye. The book is full of amazing, stereotype-smashing scenes that really just make me love Audrey more. And the cast of characters is great, bringing the humor, the love, and the support that Audrey needs. This book wasn't what I expected it to be and so I understood why (view spoiler).

So yeah, a very well written book - despite my being unsatisfied with the end (it's not warranted, but as a rational human being I can accept it. I just like my romances to be...different). I would definitely put this in an anti-valentine display - Audrey's cinema project alone is a great example of anti-valentines protest. But I'd also recommend it just so people can read a genuinely well written female character. Audrey is flawed, but she is also strong, capable, and feeling. She makes mistakes but she also owns up to them and she does her best to be better. She tries. And I love her for it.

The Celebration

The Celebration by Wanda E. Brunstetter                Audio Book: 12 hours, 3 mins      Paperback Book: 320 pages               

I enjoy reading stories about the Amish and Wanda E. Brunstetter never disappoints.   A sweet story about an Amish couple who are fostering two children whose parents were killed in a car wreck and of whom no other living relatives are known.   Interesting concept because I never considered that Amish would ever adopt “English,” children but they do in this book.     Lyle and Heidi Troyer are the Amish couple and as a way of introducing the two foster children to other local children, Heidi decides to teach a cooking class for kids.    It is a fun class but surprising, many parents stay to take the class with their kids instead of just dropping the kids off at the weekly activity.    There are so many side stories with all the families involved and the interactions of the students in the class (think the Breakfast Club for the under 12 set), adventures ensue, friendships and frenemies form, romance blossoms in the adult set, heartbreak, heartmending, prayer, tragedy and joy, kids and animals.    The book will keep you interested all the way to the end and is an enjoyable read.    I found out this is book 3 in the Cooking Class series so I will likely check out the other titles, too, because Brunstetter’s writing is calming and comforting kind of like snuggling up in a patchwork quilt on a rainy day with a mug of hot chocolate.   Very pleasing.    I would recommend Brunstetter’s books to anyone who enjoys reading/learning about the Amish lifestyle,  and anyone who wants an easy enjoyable read when you want something pleasant to fill your thoughts and turn on that projector in your head to carry you away with the story without a lot of heavy fare to contend with.   Good book

Queens of Innis Lear

Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton     575 pages

The erratic decisions of a prophecy-obsessed king have drained Innis Lear of its wild magic, leaving behind a trail of barren crops and despondent subjects. Enemy nations circle the once-bountiful isle, sensing its growing vulnerability, hungry to control the ideal port for all trade routes.

The king's three daughters—battle-hungry Gaela, master manipulator Reagan, and restrained, starblessed Elia—know the realm's only chance of resurrection is to crown a new sovereign, proving a strong hand can resurrect magic and defend itself. But their father will not choose an heir until the longest night of the year, when prophecies align and a poison ritual can be enacted.

Refusing to leave their future in the hands of blind faith, the daughters of Innis Lear prepare for war—but regardless of who wins the crown, the shores of Innis will weep the blood of a house divided.

The book is long, so I'll keep my review brief: Writing: amazing. Story: well constructed, based off of King Lear but retold in a clever way, slow going. Characters: Well rounded, flawed, full of angst (every last one) Overall, I can say I liked the book, but definitely not as much as I was expecting to. It was much too long, or the story took too long to grab hold. Lots of flipping back and forth from past to present and so much narration of people, places, things that it took a long time between moments of action. This book was 50% peoples inner thoughts and monologues, 40% people talking to each other but not doing anything, and 10% things actually happening. It was slow, but well written. Is that enough for me to give it four stars? No. For some, this may be a four star or even five star read. Not for me. I don't regret having read it, but I'd only recommend it to people who like long, methodical world building and character development in their high-fantasy.

Love in the Western World

Love in the Western World by Denis de Rougemont, translated by Montgomery Belgion, 323 pages

In Love and the Western World begins with an analysis of the genre of chivalric romance as typified by the story of Tristan and Isolde.  For de Rougemont, the protagonists are not in love with each other, but are rather in love with Love itself, in such a way that the fulfillment of their desires would be the end of the romance.  Their love, then, is real only insofar as it is frustrated - it is a passionate love, which is to say a suffering love, ultimately consummated only in the final negation of death.  He connects these themes to a stream of mysticism with its sources in the Greek, Celtic, Hindu, and Arab worlds, a stream which in the High Middle Ages fed the pool of Catharism.  In de Rougemont's view, this heretical mysticism, which seeks the total absorption of the individual into the Godhead, has fundamentally perverted the Western view of love, transforming the Christian ideal of a communion of persons into a paradoxically selfish quest for self-destruction.  The former is a humble religion of incarnation, the latter a prideful spirituality of disincarnation.

De Rougemont's historical claims have been strongly criticized, and doubtless the author somewhat exaggerates the influence of the Cathars.  Yet it is part of his argument that Catharism was itself part of a much larger, largely underground heterodox tradition.  Such criticism cannot touch his startling contention that, contrary to the reductive belief that all mysticism has its origins in repressed eroticism, much of our romantic language - and dysfunction - is the product of sublimated mysticism.

The Treatment

TheTreatment by Suzanne Young, 344 pages

“How do you stop an epidemic? Sloane and James are on the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program. But they're not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each other, The Program isn't ready to let them go. Escaping with a group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who they can trust, and how to take down The Program. But for as far as they've come, there's still a lot Sloane and James can't remember. The key to unlocking their past lies with the Treatment--a pill that can bring back forgotten memories, but at a high cost. And there's only one dose. Ultimately when the stakes are at their highest, can Sloane and James survive the many lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end?” This was a good sequel.  It’s been a while since I read the first book but I remembered enough of the story that I had no issues jumping straight into this book.  This is for teens who like dystopian fiction.

Nemesis

Nemesis by Agatha Christie       213 pages

In utter disbelief, Miss Marple read the letter addressed to her from the recently deceased Mr. Rafiel—an acquaintance she had met briefly on her travels. He had left instructions for her to investigate a crime after his death. The only problem was, he had failed to tell her who was involved or where and when the crime had been committed. It was most intriguing.

Soon she is faced with a new crime—the ultimate crime—murder. It seems someone is adamant that past evils remained buried. . . .
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This was a good finish to the Marple series. I enjoyed the book being almost exclusively from Miss Marple's point of view. They way she views the world is very interesting and reading how she goes about detective work is fascinating. She is so good at reading people and sensing things, like things unsaid or the slightest emotional reactions from people. 

Christie does more developmental character work on Marple in this book than any of her other books. She really delves into Marple's dual nature of both sweet, loving old lady and the avenging angel of justice. No crime is safe from being discovered if Marple is on the case. 

The recurring theme of love was also an interesting point. A character in the book muses, "Love is the most terrifying word," and in many ways, throughout the novel, Marple finds this to be true. Love can bring people to perform unspeakable acts, like murder, or it can be so all-consuming, that people do things they never thought they'd be capable of.

Heart Berries

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot     142 pages

Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder; Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries , a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners; a story of reconciliation with her father--an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist--who was murdered under mysterious circumstances; and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame.

I believe this genre of writing is not my cup of tea. Mailhot's writing style reminded me a lot of Maggie Nelson's book, The Argonauts, where everything is related out of time, in a stream-of-consciousness style, and addressing a specific person ("you") throughout. The book is deeply personal, but at the same time, it is meant to be shared with everyone, her story finally being told on her terms and in the way she believes it should be shared.

I don't like reading books that are sad or depressing - and Mailhot's memoir is both. She jumps from one bleak moment of her life to the next, which in itself does not warrant me rating this book two out of five stars, but only relates to my personal feelings about reading such material. It's not something I enjoyed, I felt a lot of it went beyond my understanding - so much of it was metaphorical that I could find no anchor to ground myself with. Everything was symbolic or told in a poetic style that made it difficult to find the reality of it. I was mostly left shrugging my shoulders and thinking maybe if I read this in a classroom setting and was prompted to discuss it further, then maybe I'd get something more out of it.

I read this as a book club selection, otherwise I'm not sure I ever would have picked it up for myself as a personal interest. I am counting this book as my one-sitting book for Book Riot's Read Harder challenge. I don't know that I'd recommend this book, unless I was sure there'd be an interest in the memoir genre or I knew the person enjoyed reading from diverse authors.

Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli     303 pages

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out--without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he's never met.

Pretty straight-forward love story about a gay high school boy who falls in love with his pen pal who happens to be one of his classmates, he's just not sure which one. It's a story of "coming outs" in many different ways. It's a solid story with good characters and it has a quirkiness that many teen readers will enjoy. Albertalli does a good job of writing a male voice - and a gay one, at that - so she's clearly done her homework. It doesn't shy away from it's purpose, which is to present a romantic comedy featuring a gay main character. It's funny, sweet, and poignant.