Henri Skinner is trapped in his body. He is in an induced coma after a near-fatal accident. His 13-year old son Sam, whom he has never met, comes every day without his family's knowledge to try and know the father he never had. Henri's other visitor is Eddie (Edwina) the love of his life as he is the love of her life but neither ever admitted it to each other. This is a touching love story about redemption, sacrifice and never giving up hope. Through the eyes of Sam and Eddie, we get an idea of the real Henri Skinner. Sam is a true delight - his obvious love for a man he doesn't know plus his awkward friendship with a young comatose ballerina and dependence on Eddie to help him understand his father. As we watch Sam and Eddie traverse the strange world of comatose patients, we are left with a sense of unfinished business and desperation of the lives they should have had. Touching characters in true Nina George style caught in a love story they didn't write and a battle they are determined to win.
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Tom is a quiet rancher who finds himself raising another man's son after his wife leaves him again and again. Hannah is a bookshop keeper who has survived the horrors of a concentration camp losing her small son and surviving two husbands to war. She journeys to Australia to forget and start again but all memories come back to the loss of her son. These two broken people will find each other and find a way to trust love again. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, their story will stay with you. This is a slow burn kind of book where the sadness and unfairness stoke the flames and their unfailing love and determination cools the fire.
Their first love at college that was supposed to last forever but didn't. Suddenly they are in the same city after 10 years and run into each other. Do they still care about each other? Can they get past what happened and trust again? The first thought I had after finishing this gem of a book is how strong people can be and also how very fragile. This is not a classic love story in the sense that two people meet, fall in love and everything is great and little birds sing. It is more a contemporary love story that emerges only with infinite patience and understanding which is something we could all use a little bit more of.
Ilya is a high school student from a small Russian town who gets the once in a lifetime opportunity to live with a host family in America for a year. As you can imagine, adjusting to the wealth and abundant choices in the states and his new orderly life with the Masons is difficult enough but Ilya had to leave his home knowing that his older brother whom he idolized, had been arrested for multiple murders. Fleeing a life of violence, drugs and hardship should have been an easy thing for Ilya but he has to prove Vladimir's innocence. It will take a risk and trusting the Mason's oldest daughter Sadie to help him find the truth. A coming of age story under extreme circumstances - the loss of his brother and family counterbalances his good fortune and the opportunity he never would have been given. Tough and heartwarming, this story will stay with you.
Ruth Reichl reminds us how tied our lives are to food and to prove this she is an expert at serving up wonderful anecdotes about her life and food complete with recipes. Even if you can't or won't cook there is a delightful story that you can identify with at every turn. My favorite was how she became mesmerized by an early edition of GOURMET magazine and savored the beautiful illustrations and articles.
I remember as a child doing the same thing as my mom subscribed to the magazine for years and I don't remember her making a single recipe but we would read and stare at the glorious illustrations until the issue became tattered. At the time Ms. Reichl had no idea that someday she would be asked to take over the dying magazine and make it come to life again. It was this very magazine that started her love of good food and led her to a successful career as a food critic and yet most women (and some men) can totally relate to how terrified she was of failure and her lack of confidence at becoming (gasp!) a boss. Thanks to a very supportive family she thrived at her new challenge. If you thought you were in awe of Ruth Reichl food critic and lover of all things edible, wait till you get a load of her as Editor in Chief. A perfect dessert at the end of a great meal - Bon appetite! Can crop circles save a small town from going under? One farmer in Vermont thinks the publicity from a secret crop circle will do just that and he is running out of time. Daniel is running from his past and moving from town to town creating these secret crop circle masterpieces is just what he needs to not have to deal with the real issues. Nessa is running from her own demons and trying to bring together her family before her dad dies. Everything comes full circle when Daniel meets Nessa and gains a cohort in crime. This is a heart-breaking story of forgiveness and family love. It teaches that sometimes we need to let go and sometimes we just need to dig in our heels and hug harder.
This is a delicious book meant to be devoured in one sitting including licking the plate clean and as you sit with your slightly distended belly, rest and relish the memory. A perfect blend of star-struck wonder, literary lust, witty banter and a touch of class only Jackie Kennedy Onassis can provide. Just like that, James the debut author's world was turned on end the day when he discovered that Mrs. Onassis was interested in his book and would become his editor. Part of the sheer joy of this novel is that you can identify so well with all the characters and the parallels between Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Jame's mother. Part of this young author's journey into publishing is that he must come up with the ending and his story is loosely based (he claims) on his own family, mom in particular and she is not happy about the book. James must come to terms with his past, his relationship with his two mom's (one natural and one editorial) and either confront or forgive. The writing is deliberate and calm and the journey is magical. It is a story of mothers and sons, those we truly love and what matters.
In this gritty debut, two brothers are being raised by Slim, an infamous escaped convict with a big heart while the boy's mom and stepdad are busy running a huge heroin operation. Eli is the younger whip-smart brother while August, the older brother, is mute and might be a wee bit psychic in his air written messages. Both brothers must stay one step ahead of some really rough drug lords as they try to save their delightful convict babysitter, mom, and dad as well as each other. The violence of their situation and a constant fight for their lives will leave them tough and a bit battered but this is balanced by the love and gentle teachings of Slim and the obvious love and blind loyalty of the two brothers.
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