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Reading wednesday

    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 The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

    April 5, 2023
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    Quinn brings to life a remarkable cast of characters in her debut novel, destined for every award possible. Here is my book review The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn.

    At the heart of this novel is the meaning of family. What is family? Is it blood or is it love? Joanna Quinn’s The Whalebone Theatre explores all ascpect of family in this unique and irresistable novel.

    What is Family?

    It’s 1928 and Cristable Seagrave is a young and headstrong girl on the barren coast of the English Channel where she lives in her family estate Chilcombe Manor. But most of her family is dead. Her mother died when she was a baby. Grief stricken, her father remarried but died soon after. And then step-mother married Cristable’s uncle and two more children are born. But Cristable is an outsider always, especially in the eye’s of her step-mother who is recklessly spending the family fortune.

    When a whale washes up on the beach 12-year old Cristable claims it as hers…and her life will never be the same. Through determination and creativity Cristable, her siblings Digby and Flossie (who are actually her cousins) and a collection of household staff and local community members create The Whalebone Theatre. Drawing guests from around the region the theater becomes the lifeblood of Cristable and her siblings as World War II rears it’s ugly head.

    WWII

    Cristable and Digby will be thrust into adulthood and become British Spies in the war while Chilcombe crumbles taking the Whalebone Theatre with it. Flossie will become the unsuspecting matriarch of the manor, finding ways to keep it afloat. The war will seem endless as Britian’s occupation creates hardship for everyone. As friends die, faith goes with them, and Cristable will hold out hope only for the safety of Digby and a future back at Chilcombe.

    A very clever take on the hardships of WWII through the eyes of the young and ambitious Cristable and her family. Heartbreaking and hopeful. Family is those you love and Quinn will bring this inventive story around to it’s satisfying conculsion for the reader…you will not want it to end.

    Thanks for reading my book review The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn.

    See last weeks book review Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

    March 29, 2023
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    This book was excruciating to read at times because of the sheer pain of many of its characters. Here is my book review Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

    As a beautiful 17 year old black women, Kiara should be living and loving her life. But circumstances have her nowhere near happiness. Her family life is in shambles with death, prison, drugs and poverty. Kiara has not where to turn – including to her brother who has been her one strength. Brother Marcus has his own demons, and is drifting farther away from Kiara.

    In a desperate decision to try to earn enough money to not be evicted, Kiara turns to the streets. A chance meeting with a local prostitute and an unexpected moment in a bar, will hurl Kiara into the life of a Nightcrawler in Oakland.

    The consequences of her choice will loose her friends but keep the rent paid, until she is caught up into a scandal inside the Oakland Police Department.

    Gut wrenching, horrific and brutal – Nightcrawling is a story of the failure in our society to protect minors, deal with drug abuse and mental illness. It is also the story of powerful abuse and occasional police brutality hidden deep and overlooked by the justice system. Based loosely on a real life event in Oakland years ago, Mottley’s fictional tale will take your breath away even as a story of survival.

    Thank you for reading my book review Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

    Four stars for Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

    Read last week’s book review The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

    March 22, 2023
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    O’Farrell is one of my favorite authors, in fact three of my all-time best are by her; The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Hamnet and the Marriage Portrait. So I was sure I would like this older novel of hers…her very first. Here is my book review The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell.

    O’Farrell is a master at character development. In this novel she creates some interesting characters in two parallel storylines across a fifty year time period. Of course you know these stories will interject at some point, but even when they do you will be taken aback. It is a story of three strong-willed women and their connection.

    The Women

    Lexie – wants so much more than the provincial life laid out for her in the country home of her parents post WWII. She plots her escape thanks to the love of her life Innes. But Innes has his own secrets that will, after his death, haunt Lexie forever.

    Margot – Innes daughter will do anything she can to ruin Lexie’s life. She is Lexie’s nemesis but as the story unfolds we realize that their connection will be greater than either could ever have imagined.

    Elina – present day a new mother struggling with her near death experience giving birth to her son, tries to navigate motherhood, while dealing with her husband Ted’s memory issues. Ted refuses to admit he is ill, and Ted’s parents – especially his mother – is secretive and aloof. What memories is she trying to suppress from Ted?

    The revelations will come to light in a painful way, but Elina will be the hero as she helps her husband grasp his new reality, recover from the shock and repair the fractured family through her never-ending love.

    The Hand That a First Held Mine

    Not her best work but a superb story nonetheless, in true O’Farrell fashion. I enjoyed the plot and the outcome. Thanks for reading my book review The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell.

    ****Four stars for The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell.

    See last week’s book review The Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

    March 8, 2023
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    This story of two friends spans thirty years. Thirty years that will bring Sam and Sadie, two childhood nerds, to wild success. But at what cost to each individually and their lifelong friendship? Here is my book review Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

    Sam and Sadie meet as young children in a hospital of all places. Sam is recovering from a horrific auto accident while Sadie spends hours at the hospital while her sister undergoes chemotherapy. But these two seemingly unlikely friends will find a very common bond in video games. And build a friendship around video games and gamers.

    Six years later Sadie is at MIT and Sam at Harvard. They will reconnect, again over the burgeoning video game design industry and their lives will never be the same. Both brilliant, competitive and driven, they set out to change the “gaming” industry right from their college apartment.

    This coming of age story may be difficult for readers not familiar with “gaming” – the multi-billion dollar industry that took hold of an entire generation. But at the core of this story, which sometimes feels a bit like a YA novel, is friendship. Love. Trust. Respect.

    The book is long (over 400 pages) and it dragged a bit for me. But overall I enjoyed it and learned a lot about the gaming industry too…something I knew little about.

    Reviews range wildly. I’m firmly in the middle. Three stars for Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

    Thank you for reading my book review Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

    See last weeks book review Becoming Duchess Goldblatt.

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    Reading Wednesday

    Book Review Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

    March 1, 2023
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    This book. So much fun, even though the character (author) deals with some dark times. One of my fav books in the last few months. Here is my book review Becoming Duchess Goldblatt.

    I kept seeing this book pop up but I wasn’t really paying attention because I was busy and traveling. I tossed it on my library waitlist assuming it was a novel about a 17th century Duchess. LOL Well you can’t judge a book by it’s cover as they say.

    This book is brilliant. Duchess Goldblatt is an anonymous Twitter character who gained a giant following for her uplifting yet hilarious posts about life’s ups and downs in this social media world.

    The still anonymous author and pseudonym, Duchess (or Your Grace as she prefers to be called) found solace in this fictional character during the most dark time of her real life. A divorce spirals her into depression. She loses friends and family and income. She is trying to hold on for the sake of her child, keep working and provide a suitable home environment. But her dismal existence makes her sad and lonely, and on one particular dark day (her birthday) with nowhere to go, the author creates Duchess.

    Today Duchess Goldblatt has 60K followers including multiple famous authors and musicians including Lyle Lovett who features heavily in the book.

    What a strange situation this author found herself in. Clearly hitting a note that many people out in Twitter land didn’t even know they needed. Her humor and “grace” not only brings light into the lives of her followers, but it lifts her out of her own depression, gives her purpose, and in essence becomes her memoir.

    I bit difficult to explain this one but I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. A great page-turning read.

    *****Five stars for Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

    Thanks for reading my book review Becoming Duchess Goldblatt.

    See last week’s Book Review To Paradise by Hanya Yanaghirarya

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