Mrs. March is the proud wife of a best selling author. She is the toast of the town - the Upper East side of Manhattan to be precise and has been known to throw perfect parties, be the perfect wife to George and perfect mother to their son. At least, this is how Mrs. March sees it. This might not be the way she is perceived and after being compared to the ugly prostitute in her husband's new book, Mrs. March is devastated. As her perfect, well constructed life begins to fall apart she starts to lose a firm grip on reality. Did she witness a murder? Did George have something to do with the missing woman? Is Johanna, the main character in George's book really her? This brilliant dark debut is like watching the perfect 50's housewife descend into a "Rear Window" madness. Perceptions are everything to Mrs. March and she will not tolerate anything less than absolute best. 4 stars
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This story speaks to many - it reminds us that there is never a gap too big between age, gender or culture that can't be bridged by an act of kindness and that great books bring us together. THE READING LIST is a love story about libraries and our love affair with books like this one that touch our soul. A found list of recommended classic books helps a widower reconnect with life and sparks a friendship with a teen librarian who is dealing with overwhelming family issues. By reading and discussing these books they find ways to reach out to others and cope with their own joys and sorrows. A heartbreaker and tearjerker that makes you feel uplifted as you are sniffling, this is the book that you will pass onto everyone this summer. I began forming my own list almost immediately and enjoyed the author's list at the end of the book. For fans of ELLIE AND THE HARPMAKER, ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE and THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKERY. 5 stars This review and Lake Travis Community LIbrary was featured in LIbraryReads this month.
A family saga about loggers in California where the only way to make it is to own a piece of the ridge with the old redwoods. For most it is an unattainable dream but Rich has a shot at buying 24-7. His wife Colleen is a midwife who has suffered many miscarriages and is noticing that she is not alone. While logging puts food on the table this story digs deep into the toll it takes on the community and the dangers involved. A beautifully written debut full of parallels between the beauty of the forest and the giant redwoods and their value as timber and the dangers and loss of life from tearing them all down and pollutants. We get into the morality and the politics of logging but more so how it effects the people who make a living from it. The characters feel real - their joys, pain and hardships. The forest gives and takes no matter how hard you work or how good you are. Readers of DEEP RIVER by Karl Marlantes or other books on the logging industry as well as those who enjoy a character driven story of hardship and hard work. 4 1/2 stars
Charlotte McConaghy has a surreal atmospheric writing style that envelops you from the first page. The location is rugged Scotland where Into is reintroducing grey wolves to the area. As you can imagine there is fear and pushback from the community. Inti and her twin sister have dealt with hatred and violence before and are much more at home in the woods with the wild animals than with most humans. Into learns who she can trust in the community and protect her sister as well as the wolf pack. This is a vivid blending of the beauty and violence of wild animals and humans. It is a profound look at family, loyalty and love between wild creatures both human and animal. Fans of her book, MIGRATIONS or stories of people who straddle the wild and the civilized world will devour this. 5 stars
1944 Aki and her family have just left the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar to start over in a cramped apartment in the new Japanese neighborhood at Clark and Division in Chicago. Getting to know the new area, finding work and still not being free weighs down the family but nothing is more devastating than the news that the oldest daughter Rose has killed herself right before their arrival. Aki is grief stricken and doesn't believe that Rose would kill herself so she begins to investigate on her own. The mystery of what happened to Rose takes Aki into some rough parts of town and she shows more raw courage and learns to stand up for what she believes in. This is a little known part of history and the author does a great job of showing us how truly heartbreaking it must have been to lose everything and having to start over in a new city while still being under suspicion. A terrific historical fiction with a criminal mystery back story which will appeal to both types of readers. 4 1/2 stars
An aging American con artist returns to the scene of the crime so to speak when she travels back to a Nazi occupied Paris in 1941. She loves very well tailored men's suits, all the finer things in life and becomes fascinated by a singer at Madame Boulette's named Zoe. Zoe needs to get out from under the thumb of her Nazi captive and needs Clementine to steal a secret recipe book by a famous Parisian perfumer. Clementine sets out on a journey to charm the Nazi who wants the book as well putting herself in great danger. The pace is slow with an undertone of danger and the writing is a feast for the senses. We feel the frigid French winter, taste the food and wine and smell those glorious (and not so glorious) scents used in perfume. Timothy Schaffert captures the mood between the Paris of the present and Clementine's past there and in New York. This is a must read for those lovers of Amor Towles, Ken Follett or subtle stories of WWII Europe. 4 stars
How do you handle an astronaut that defies orders to evacuate the International Space Station and then holds it hostage until the ravaging of the Amazon forest by Brazil is stopped? Walli Beckwith
was an exemplary astronaut until she decides to create an international incident to correct what she feels will be the Earth's demise by throwing a Hail Mary pass. The author is able to show how Walli is a scientist first but is also moved to action because a family member is caught in the middle. She sees the extent of the damage from space and knows she has one chance to stop it. The science is made simple enough to not go over too many heads but the drama and life aboard the space station is interesting enough to satisfy those readers craving a solid space thriller. 4 stars Grace's dream is to attend Juilliard and become a concert pianist as her mom expects. Eliza is her daddy's princess but what she really wants is to write hard core pieces for her dad's newspaper. When the War Department begins a women's group (WAAC) both women sign up thinking it is an escape. As hard as boot camp is for men, these women had to be better than everyone using ill fitting uniforms and equipment. They also had to deal with pushback from men who didn't think they should be there in the first place. It was a challenge for all the women but for the few black women - it was an uphill battle just to stay. Facing all these challenges with the odds against them they became the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion risking their lives in Europe and serving with honor. Solid WWII story from a unique perspective of this brave group of women who overcame incredible odds. 4 stars
Once again we have stories of behind the scenes heroism by women who stepped up to help win WWII and stepped out of line to do what needed to be done. A tennis pro turned spy, an amputee who was one of the most sought after female spies behind enemy lines, resistance fighters and much more.
They did these selfless acts risking their lives and couldn't tell anyone about their role. There was no ticker tape parade when these ladies came home after the war and picked up their lives. The author who has made her career in the armed forces, has an easy going storytelling writing style that pulls you in and you get a sense of how much research went into getting the story right. For any reader that is fascinated by both the female based WWII fictional stories and the real women the stories inspired. Unbelievable what they accomplished with so little training. 4 1/2 inspirational stars An inside look at the uber rich folks of Palm Beach as seen through the eyes of an ex-actor and his freelance journalist wife and their infant son. Leaving New York was easy when Mickey gets a great job offer to be a house manager for a wealthy couple in Florida. At first Rebecca turns up her nose at an attitude and lifestyle she doesn't agree with or understand but soon she too ends up on the Stone's payroll. Life is good on the fringe until a medical emergency forces them to leave the moral high ground and rely on the Stones even more. This is another example of those people who don't understand the wealthy until they end up with money themselves and it is easy to take the higher ground until that money becomes necessary. Like they say- money doesn't make you happy but it does make things easier. 4 stars
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