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Frozen River

    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

    April 23, 2025
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    I loved this book. Listened to it on Audible while we were traveling in Australia. It was well written and well narrated. Though a work of fiction, Lawhon has well researched the story of real life 18th century midwife Martha Ballard and woven a remarkable tale of mystery, family, love and perseverance. Here is my book review The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

    Maine

    For most of us I think Martha Ballard contribution to midwifery has lived under the radar. Lawhon brings this amazing women to life in The Frozen Women. We are introduced to Martha in winter 1789. It’s a hard scrabble life for Maine’s residents during the long, cold winters. The frozen Kennebec that runs through the village of Hallowell Maine will be the center of this story.

    Healer

    Martha Ballard is a healer, midwife, and pursuer of justice. Over her decades of service she has become something of a legend in our village, called open for births, deaths, and tragedies of all kinds. On a cold winter night she is summoned when a man is found dead and frozen in the river. This death is on the heals of a recent brutal rape, allegedly by two of the towns most wealthy and important men. Now one of those men is dead.

    Female

    Martha is, of course, female. And the local male doctor believes he is more skilled at both determining the cause of death and saving mothers in childbirth. Martha’s talents and practices are questioned at every turn, by men of wealth and power including the powerful local judge.

    Martha is undeterred, despite the worry her husband has for her safety. She pursues justice for the woman who was raped and safe health care for all the women of the village. All while dealing with her own family members and their various own pregnancies and medical needs. She is nothing but astonishing in her commitment to others during a time when women are expected to stay quiet and submissive.

    Diary

    In her real life Martha kept a daily diary of all the goings on in the village, every birth she attended. Every ailment and death as well as much of the activities and gossip of Hallowell. This diary becomes both a tool for writing about Martha centuries later, and a key piece of evidence against the corrupt judge.

    Book Review The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

    I loved this book, and I am sure I would have loved it just as much reading it as I did listening to it. It has a compelling story line, excellent character development, beautiful descriptive narrative and a fabulous female protagonist. Martha Ballard is an unsung hero worth knowing more about.

    Thank you for reading my book review The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Be sure to see last week’s book review Saving Ellen by Maura Casey.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Eighth Annual Reading Round Up 2025

    Year In Review

    July 30, 2025
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    As you likely know if you have been following all these years, I track my reading year from July to July – why not be different from everyone else who tracks January to January?. Nothing fancy, just keep a little tally in my notebook of all the books I read. This year I read 85 books, (eight more than last year) and today I will share with you some of my favorites for the Eighth Annual Reading Round Up 2025.

    Over the past year I have written 53 book reviews, pulling into reviews my favorites of the 85 books. Most of my reading is done on my Kindle while traveling, a few hardback and paperback and a few more on Audible. I like Audible for car trips, a great way to be entertained on the road.

    So as in the past several years, I’m sharing my most favorites from July ’24 to July ’25. I have a top ten list, and ten honorable mentions too. Some outstanding novels, biographies, historical non-fiction, as well as Booker finalists. Other than the number one slot, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, the books are in no particular order. So here we go, my Eighth Annual Reading Round Up 2025;

    My Top Ten

    THE FROZEN RIVER by Ariel Lawhon

    My Favorite Book of the Year. I listened to it on Audible while we were traveling in Australia. It was well written and well narrated. Though a work of fiction, Lawhon has well researched the story of real life 18th century midwife Martha Ballard and woven a remarkable tale of mystery, family, love and perseverance. Set in a cold frozen Maine in 1789.

    And in no particular order nine more…

    MARTYR by Kaveh Akbar

    There are thousands of really good writers. And then there are the masters. Akbar’s first novel, Martyr is a mastering of the art of language. Cyrus Shams, an Iranian young man, moved to America as a child with his father. He has struggled through his life with the tragic knowledge that his mother died on commercial plane, shot down by Americans over the Persian Gulf. An incredible story unfolds.

    THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY by Elif Shafak

    Ancient and modern this book felt like reading a fairy tale. I was enraptured from the beginning – the beginning where we meet a tiny raindrop and follow the rivers in the sky through generations.

    THE LIFE IMPOSSIBLE by Matt Haig

    Grace Winters leads a self-proclaimed boring life in England as a 72-year-old retired teacher and widow. That is until she receives an email from a former student. Grace’s response to her student Maurice will be the entire novel – in all it’s beautifully written language, incredibly developed characters, fantastical magic and mystery…and a tropical paradise too.

    THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL by Robert Dugoni

    What a great feel good novel.  This is a story of being different.  Being bullied because of it. And finding a way through it all to succeed and be happy. Dugoni has two books in my top ten list this year, see below. You must read his work.

    BOY WITH WINGS by Mark Mustian

    This is a story about an unlikely hero. Just a boy. A boy born with an abnormality to a single mother in the south in the early part of the 20th century. When anyone who was not white or “normal” was dehumanized, hunted, condemned and chastized. Johnny Cruel lives this life. Mustian has two books on my top ten list this year (see below).

    GO AS A RIVER by Shelley Read

    This is a beautiful coming of age story set in the high mountains of Colorado post WWII. Love grows in many ways; between people, for the land, for family, for nature, for a way of life. At the heart of this story is love.

    GENDARME by Mark Mustian

    Incredible. I am an avid historical fiction reader, particularly when the plot is based on real events and people. Having recently been to and fallen in love with Armenia and the surrounding Caucasus countries, I devoured this story. Mustian makes my top ten list twice – see above Boy with Wings.

    HOLD STRONG by Robert Dugoni

    Hold Strong is a story of true events that occurred during war time, this story is WWII. Despite the fact there are literally hundreds of novels and non-fiction books about WWII – I was unaware of the horrific “hell ships” of the Japanese military. A truly remarkable book, and the second of Dugoni’s work to make my top ten this year. See Boy with Wings above.

    VICIOUS by V.E. Schwab

    The underlying theme of this mind-bending book is ambition and the evil it begets. The book bounces back and forth over a decade time frame with two brilliant college roommates, Eli & Victor, creating a chaotic and dangerous game for their Senior Thesis. When things go terribly wrong, people start to die. I am a huge fan of V.E. Schwab and this book was excellent.

    Ten More You Should Read

    THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW by Adrienne Young in a word Secrets

    THE HORSE by Willy Vlautin in a word Redemption

    THE GLASSMAKER by Tracy Chevalier in a word Women

    TANGLES by Kay Smith-Blum in a word Radioactive

    SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE by Claire Keegan in a word Conscience

    THE SAFEKEEP by Yael van den Wouden – in a word Unexpected

    THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN by Marjan Kamali – in a word Friendship

    THE MEASURE by Nikki Erlick – in a word Value

    MY FRIENDS by Hisham Matar – in a word Profound

    THE GOD OF THE WOODS by Liz Moore – in a word Mystery

    Eighth Annual Reading Round Up 2025

    Thanks for reading my Eighth Annual Reading Round Up 2025 and for reading all my book reviews this past year. Every Wednesday I post a new review…I hope you will continue to enjoy, share and comment as we read together.

    See last week’s book review The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife here. See you again next week for more Reading Wednesday!

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

    April 30, 2025
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    Part history lesson, part love story and part mystery, Next Year in Havana will keep you engaged. I learned some great history in this story, that will help me ironically when I visit Havana next year. Here is my book review Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton.

    Revolution

    Cleeton herself is a descendant of those who fled Cuba during the revolution, much like her characters in Next Year in Havana. She writes with great insight how difficult the decision was for families who fled Castro’s Cuba in the early 1960’s.

    The story is told in alternating timelines. 1958 Cuba we meet Cuban heiress Elisa Perez. Born to wealth and power she is young and naive about politics and revolution. Until Elisa meets and falls in love with a revolutionary. Their love affair will change the projection of Elisa’s life.

    Miami 2017, we meet Marisol Ferrera. Following her beloved grandmother’s death, Marisol is challenged by her grandmother posthumously, to bring her remains to Cuba to be scattered. No one in Marisol’s family has returned to Cuba since they fled. How can Marisol manage this final request of her beloved grandmother Elisa.

    Sixty Years

    Despite Fidel’s recent death, Marisol arrives in Havana to find a vastly different Cuba than the one her grandmother left sixty years before. She is welcomed by her grandmother’s childhood friend who gives her a box of memories and letters Elisa had left behind. Marisol will begin a dangerous scavenger hunt after reading the letters, to learn answers to secrets of Elisa’s life she took to the grave.

    Book Review Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

    Though somewhat predictable in the story line and plot, I enjoyed reading this novel. This is one of many books with similar themes by Cleeton. I was intrigued by the family saga and both present and past examples of life as a Cuban woman. I can’t wait for my visit to Cuba next year and I hope to read more about it in the months ahead.

    ****Four stars for Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

    Thank you for reading my book review Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. See last week’s book review The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Horse by Willy Vlautin

    December 4, 2024
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    This is a story of redemption about a washed up country musician, addiction, loneliness and a horse. This i s my book review The Horse by Willy Vlautin.

    The Horse

    Don’t confuse this book with Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Although that was an excellent book The Horse by Willy Vlautin is very different.

    Music and Misfortunes

    Sixty year old Al lives on a remote mining claim, barely surviving on canned soup and whiskey. He is in a deep depression with memories of his childhood, his ex-wife and his time touring as a country musician. Vlautin takes us through all the stages and misfortunes and mistakes of Al’s life with a series of flashbacks. Vlautin writes with compassion and empathy bringing his story full up to present day – the day the horse arrives.

    Horse

    One frosty frozen morning Al looks out the window of his shabby cabin to see a horse. Is he imagining it? Al realizes the horse is real, blind and nearly frozen. As Al considers, for days, what to do about the horse he is reminded of a loveless life of tragedy, addiction and the small time country music life.

    A beautiful book about humans surviving tough times, about tenderness, loneliness and grace, and of course how animals can sometimes save us from the darkest times.

    *****Five stars for The Horse by Willy Vlautin. Thanks for reading my book review The Horse by Willy Vlautin. See last week’s book review There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak.

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