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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

    April 26, 2023
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    I recently read Geraldine Brooks most current book Horse and enjoyed it. I decided to try her first novel Year of Wonders and I am so glad I did. I actually enjoyed it even more than Horse, and I’m not sure why it did not receive more praise. Here is my book review Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks.

    Loosely based on Eyram Derbyshire, a real village that had to quarantine itself during the black plague. Brooks creates a fictional village in 1666. When an infected bolt of fabric makes its way to the isolated village from London, the protagonist Anna’s life will change forever.

    Brooks tells a beautiful but sad tale of loss, fear, love and superstition. Anna will find herself thrust into a caretaker and healer, while much of the village dies, mourns the dead, and reverts to long-held superstitions and witchcraft to try to ward off the plague.

    As the year of quarantine wanes and death visits every door, Anna, the local priest and his wife, will work themselves nearly to death trying to care for both the physical and spiritual bodies of the village folk.

    Brooks writes with a profound emotional voice, with great detail, sharing the journey of this period of history through the thoughtful heroine Anna will become. The ending was, for me, unexpected but fulfilling. I loved this character Anna, her strength and perspective on life. Thank you for reading my book review Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

    *****Five stars for Year of Wonders

    See last week’s book review Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

    April 19, 2023
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    This book was a national best seller before it even was available. So I was excited to read it. But I came away underwhelmed. I still recommend it, it was very good. But it wasn’t the spectacular read I was expecting from all the hype. Napolitano is the author of the highly acclaimed Dear Edward. This is her next novel. Despite some misgivings I enjoyed it nonetheless. Here is my book review Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.

    Fissures in the Family

    Sisters. Sisters who are so closely bound together nothing could possible tear them apart…and yet…

    William – a lonely childhood ignored by his parents, basketball is the one thing that kept William sane…an yet

    When the eldest sister Julia meets William in college, she sets her sights on a future with him…manipulating him to be what she wants him to be. Meanwhile Julia’s three sisters are forging ahead with their own lives, finding out who they are individually without being under the constant watch and demands of eldest Julia.

    But when Charlie, the sisters father dies unexpectedly, the family ties begin to unravel even as Julia continues to try to control all aspects of her life, William’s life and the lives of her sisters. When mother Rose sells the family home and moves to Florida leaving the sister behind Julia continues to believe she can hold the shattered family together.

    But William is reaching his breaking point…after decades of neglect from his own parents, a hidden tragedy never spoke of and a career ending knee injury. William will walk away from the only family he has ever know.

    Regret

    This family is fractured…broken…and Julia will make a selfish and unexpected decision.

    Napolitano explores the issues of mental illness, gender identity, unmarried mothers and more than anything family ties in Hello Beautiful. The story is a long saga of selfish choices, and a sad narrative on pressure to be someone we can not be. How will love and loss reunite this broken world? Who will regret all they have done and everyone they have hurt? Find out in Hello Beautiful.

    Thank you for reading my book review Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.

    Read last week’s Book Review The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

    What I’m reading today – The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

    April 12, 2023
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    I was a tiny bit hesitant to read this book. Because I LOVED Reid’s book Daisy Jones and the Six but wasn’t so impressed with her last book Malibu Rising. But so many people were loving on her new book so I decided to tackle it. And I am really glad I did. Here is my book review The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

    Evelyn Hugo, former Hollywood starlet turned recluse, has agreed to an interview. Vivant Magazine is the lucky publlication that will feature the first interview Hugo has done in years. But Evelyn Hugo, as always, has strings attached. She will only be interviewed by an unknown writer named Monique Grant. It’s Monique or nobody. But why?

    Monique spends weeks with Evelyn in Evelyn’s swanky apartment hearing Evelyn’s truth about her relentless pursuit of stardom, her loves and losses, scandals and triumphs. But as the long interview begins to wind down, Monique realizes that her own sorrowful past is connected to Evelyn in a way she could never have imagined. Will the truth set them both free? Evelyn from her burdens and Monique from her sorrow?

    Reid pulls this story together in a tidy package and I enjoyed this read way more than I thought I would. Daisy Jones is still my fav, but Evelyn Hugo gives her a run for her money. Of course she does…that is just the kind of women she is. Thank you for reading my book review The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

    *****Five stars for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

    Read last week’s book review The Whale Bone Theatre by Joanna Quinn.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach

    October 19, 2022
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    Sad but also enlightening Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance is dramatic narrative of one girls life following the sudden death of her older sister. Here is my book review Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach.

    It’s a parents nightmare, to lose a child. But it’s also a nightmare for a sibling. This is a story told in a unique voice, about the coping mechanisms, the grief, the guilt, and the hope of the people who loved Kathy.

    Kathy’s sister Sally survives the car accident that takes Kathy’s life. But the reality is it takes Sally’s life too…as the world will never be the same. Espach writes this novel in Sally’s voice, as she talks to her sister beyond the grave about everything and everyone and how Kathy’s death affects each one. Especially what it does to Sally’s parents, and the young man Billy who was driving the car.

    Sometimes funny, a bit quirky in the writing style, but believable and heartfelt. A tragedy that changes a sister, a family and a community forever.

    ****Four stars for Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach. Thank you for reading my book review Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach.

    See last week’s book review Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

    October 12, 2022
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    I loved this book. Super fun, inspirational and engaging. Even though I totally think they blew it on the cover…it looks like a YA novel. Don’t let the cover fool you. It is a wonderful grown up novel. Here is my book review Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

    Elizabeth Zott is an incredible chemist. She is smarter than everyone she works with. She is brilliant and could change the world. Except for the fact it is early 1960’s and she is a woman. Relegated to sexual harassment, stereotyping and zero opportunities. There are so few women in science.

    All the men Elizabeth works with ignore her or abuse her until she meets Calvin…a noble prize nominated, brilliant chemist who falls in love with her for her mind.

    They have a brief and amazing affair, but fate intervenes. Calvin’s sudden death will change the trajectory of Elizabeth’s life in hundreds of ways, most importantly through the birth of a daughter.

    The real story begins here…when Elizabeth finds both friend and foe due to her illegitimate daughter. Her career takes a sharp right hand turn, she becomes a famous TV celebrity and begins to unravel the complicated history of Calvin. And all of this as so many wonderfully developed and flawed characters in this novel come in and out of her life…including one amazing dog named 6:30.

    This was an amusing, entertaining and gratifying read. Easy and enjoyable. A must read. Thank you for reading my book review Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.

    *****Five Stars for Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

    See last week’s book review This is Happiness by Niall Williams

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review This is Happiness by Niall Williams

    October 5, 2022
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    Sweet, heartfelt and identifiable. This is a story about that one great love. This is a story about life. It will make you smile, cry and remember your first love and past regrets. Here is my book review This is Happiness by Niall Williams.

    Electricity is coming in the 1950’s to the small Irish village of Faha…a tiny hamlet where nothing ever changes. But change is in the air; electricity is being brought to the village, the rain has inexplicitly stopped, and a young boy is becoming a man.

    This beautifully written novel is told through the eyes of young Noel Crowe. Noel has been raised by his grandparents after the death of his mother. Noel is no longer a boy, but not quit a man in this funny little town full of interesting characters with a wild array of idiosyncrasies.

    When sixty-something year old Christy arrives to assist with the new electricity coming to the village, Noel’s life will change, and the entire town will change…in a place that has stayed the same for centuries.

    Young Noel and Christy will embark on some adventures, while Christy tries to make amends with the love of his life, who he left at the alter nearly fifty years before. Noel will mitigate this for Christy while also finding his own way through love, regret and religious questioning.

    This beautiful coming of age story will captivate you through the charming writing of Williams and the sentimental, tough and compassionate community of Faha.

    ****Four Stars for This is Happiness by Niall Williams

    Thank you for reading my book review This is Happiness by Niall Williams.

    See last week’s review The Girl With the Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

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    See this week’s top performing book review pin here Remarkably Bright Creatures

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

    August 17, 2022
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    Jennifer Doudna is The Codebreaker. Walter Isaacson is the renowned author who can take her story and put it in lay terms we all can understand. Here is my book review The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson.

    The full title of this book is The Code Breaker Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing and the Future of the Human Race. My friend who is a librarian recommended this book to me. I listened to it on audible on a road trip. Though I might have gotten lost if I had been reading instead of listening to this book, which takes the reader through a fascinating history of gene editing. But I loved it as an audible book. Jennifer Doudna, Nobel Prize winner, along with a wide cast of other characters, are the brilliant and captivating scientists whose work has thrown open the door to gene editing.

    The decades of research and discoveries Doudna and her team, and many more teams around the world have done leading up to the current pandemic, were instrumental in developing tests for Covid. Their work will continue to impact the human race forever.

    Isaacon, whose list of books about intriguing people includes Steve Jobs, Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, da Vinci and others, is a talented and compelling writer. His knack for taking a difficult and deep subject and creating words and voices that are understandable and engrossing for the average person is remarkable. Everyone can learn something from The Code Breaker while realizing the human side of beguiling and competitive scientific developments.

    I learned so much from this book.

    *****Five stars for The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson. I hope you enjoyed my book review The Code Breaker by Walter Issacson.

    Read last week’s book review Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.

    Check out our Reading Year In Review here for 15 of my favorite books of the past year.

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