Title: The Dead Path
Author: Stephen M. Irwin
ISBN: 9780385533430
Pages: 384
Release Date: October 5, 2010
Publisher: Doubleday
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

After his wife’s death, Nicholas Close returns home to Brisbane, Australia, where his mother still lives.  He’s haunted by his wife’s death, but also haunted by other - real - ghosts as well.  Nicholas somehow has the second sight, the ability to see people’s dying moments over and over again.  When he arrives home, he receives news that a small child has died in the woods by his mother’s house, the same place his childhood friend Tristram was murdered years ago.  Intrigued and horrified by this coincidence, Nicholas begins to dig into the mystery behind the woods, and why children are dying within it.

Review:

I’ve always wondered what the difference between horror and mystery was.  Horror novels usually contain some sort of mystery element, but they inspire horror.  But murder mysteries and gruesome descriptions are pretty horrific, but they don’t necessarily make a horror novel.  I consulted Jenn of Jenn’s Bookshelves, whose favorite genre is horror, and she told me I’d know it when I saw it.  And she was right - I knew that The Dead Path was a horror novel almost right away, and it made me wonder why I haven’t picked up more of this genre.

Nicholas was a wonderful main character who was grappling with some difficult things at the beginning of the book.  He loses himself in his investigation of the child murders so he could stop thinking about his wife’s death.  I loved how intent he was on finding the truth, as well as how matter of fact he was about seeing dead people.  The investigation was very interesting, and I loved the pacing; Irwin maintained a great balance between the uncovering of information and the creepy elements within the novel.

There is a supernatural element to The Dead Path, and it’s incredibly well done.  This book is chilling - the imagery and descriptions are incredibly vivid.  The more Nicholas tries to make sense of what is going on around him, the more he realizes that this supernatural force is coming after him, is bent on his destruction.  There is a sense of danger surrounding everything in this book; no one is safe from the evil that emanates from the woods.  It is deliciously creepy and wonderfully atmospheric.

If you hate anything scary at all, then I’d steer clear of this book.  But if you enjoy deliciously creepy gothic mysteries, those that are shrouded in clouds and cliffs and Victorian mansions, then I’d give this book a chance.  It’s in a different vein, yet it had that same atmosphere that I absolutely love in gothic reads.  I’ll be on the lookout for more horror novels, and I also hope that Irwin releases another book soon.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent racing through this one.

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Title: Secrets of Paris
Author: Luanne Rice
ISBN: 9780553587838
Pages: 337
Release Date: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Bantam
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:

Lydie McBride is completely numb after tragic events struck her family.  Unbeknownst to Lydie and her mother, Lydie’s father was having an affair. No one knew what was going through his mind, what drove him to kill the woman he loved and then turn the gun on himself, but it’s left Lydie bereft.  Now, months later, she moves to Paris with her husband Michael for his job, but really they are trying to save their marriage. The question is, is there anything left to save?

Review:

I’m a fan of Luanne Rice, so when I heard an older novel of hers was being rereleased in trade paperback, I was very curious.  I eagerly picked up Secrets of Paris and let myself be swept into the story. 

Lydie is an interesting, if frustrating, character.  She is barely awake at the beginning of the book, moving through life as if asleep.  Her marriage is basically a sham because she doesn’t share any of herself with her husband anymore.  The reader will want to reach through the pages and shake her awake, show her what she’s missing because she can’t see it for herself. Though Lydie dreads moving to Paris, it’s actually the best thing that could happen to her because she begins to find herself again through the friendships she makes.

Indeed, the friendships are really the highlight of Secrets of Paris.  Lydie meets a fellow American, Patrice, and her Filipino maid, Kelly, and it’s the drive to help Kelly that really brings Lydie out of her funk. Kelly is smart and savvy, and Lydie and Patrice both know she could do so much more than be a maid. Lydie becomes determined to help Kelly emigrate to the United States.

Secrets of Paris isn’t perfect; there are unexplored plot threads and choppy plot lines, and the Michael-Lydie storyline is predictable. But if you’re in the mood for something light and easy, and want to get lost in an amazing city like Paris, Secrets of Paris is a fun choice.

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Title: Quick-Fix Southern: Homemade Hospitality in 30 Minutes or Less
Author: Rebecca Lang
ISBN: 9781449401108
Pages: 192
Release Date: March 8, 2011
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Genre: Cookbook
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review:

Quick-Fix Southern is a cookbook by Rebecca Lang, a contributing editor to Southern Living magazine, focusing on making a Southern meal in 30 minutes or less. While I love Southern food, I feel like it often takes a long time to prepare so I don’t make it often. Therefore I was really curious about this book.

The book is divided into multiple sections, starting out with the basics of Southern quick cooking, then moving onto the over 100 recipes included in the book.  Lang gives the reader plenty of different types of recipes: breakfast (including some requisite grits recipes), drinks (of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties), picnics, busy weeknight dinners, casseroles, and more.  The sheer variety of recipes is really pleasing, as even the pickiest of eaters will find something to like.

The cookbook is paperback, with soft pages that are easy to flip through. It doesn’t have the glossy pages with pictures I love. There aren’t pictures to accompany every recipe, and the ones it does have are sepia-toned black and white. However, it fits with the overall simplicity of the cookbook.

I made a Shrimp and Grits bake, which is one of our favorite dishes. I have made countless varieties of this meal, trying out every new recipe I see, and I’m pleased to say that Lang’s was one of our favorites.  It was easy and the ingredients were simple, yet it had a few surprising twists that really made it appealing.  Specifically, the addition of cream cheese into the the cheese grits really made for a unique taste. It provided a tartness and tang to offset the richness of the other types of cheese in the dish while making the grits creamy and luxurious.

I’m looking forward to trying many other dishes in Quick-Fix Southern. Roasted Tomatoes and Parmesan Grits, Shrimp and Roasted Red Pepper Quesadillas, Skirt Steak with Vidalia Onion Chimichurri - I can tell I’ll be using this cookbook a lot in the near future!

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Title: The Book of Tomorrow
Author: Cecelia Ahern
ISBN: 9780061706301
Pages: 320
Release Date: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Mystery
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:

After her father’s suicide, sixteen-year-old Tamara and her mother can no longer live the luxurious lifestyle they were accustomed to.  After all the reason Tamara’s father killed himself was because of his massive debts.  As a result, Tamara and her mother go to the countryside to live with Tamara’s uncle Arthur and his wife Rosaleen.  It seems like it should be a simple existence, but between the appearance of a mysterious diary and the fact that Rosaleen clearly has secrets that she doesn’t want Tamara to know, it’s clear that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Review:

The Book of Tomorrow is a interesting book that is hard to define.  The mystery contained within is written in the vein of a gothic mystery, but the protagonist's age and personality make it seem more like a young adult novel.  Whatever it may be, it’s an entertaining book that will keep readers interested from beginning to end.

Tamara was an interesting main character, though she never really fully endeared herself to me.  She was a typical teenager, often thinking of herself before those around her, yet at the same time, she had a lot of responsibility thrust on her shoulders.  She was concerned for her mother, as she had completely shut down, and didn’t know who she could turn to for help.  Additionally, Tamara has no idea whether Rosaleen’s overprotectiveness is just normal concern and inexperience with teenagers, or if there is something more behind her constant questions about Tamara and refusal to answer anything about herself.

At the same time, though, I found Tamara to be a bit of a brat.  Yes, her circumstances were difficult, but I felt like she behaved like a snotty child sometimes.  Yelling in someone’s ear as loud as you can, just for the attention?  Tamara pulled stunts like this all the time, and it really turned me off.  It made it more difficult to sympathize with her when the difficult things started rolling in.  To be fair, she is honest about the fact that she can be very difficult and is mean on purpose, but that didn’t excuse her behavior for me.

However, I really enjoyed the mystery in The Book of Tomorrow.  It was well thought out, and I loved the gothic atmosphere of the abandoned castle and the house full of secrets.  Even when I didn’t like Tamara, the mystery definitely kept the book moving forward for me.  The addition of the diary just made the book fun. 

The Book of Tomorrow definitely isn’t a deep read, but it’s fun and worthwhile if you are looking for something easy.  It’s a great book to curl up with on an afternoon and to read in one or two quick sittings.  I didn’t love Tamara, but I did enjoy the overall mystery and hope that Ahern chooses to write more books in this vein in the future.

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Title: Secrets She Left Behind
Author: Diane Chamberlain
ISBN: 9780778326151
Pages: 480
Release Date: May 26, 2009
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:

Maggie Lockwood is being released from prison after serving a year-long sentence for setting fire to a church.  Keith Weston was one of the people injured in the fire, and along with his mother Mary, he dreads the thought of Maggie coming home.  But when Mary disappears, Keith is alternately angry with the Lockwoods and devastated by the fact that he seems to be alone, even though the Lockwoods are the closest thing he has to family.

Review:

While I’ve heard great things about Diane Chamberlain, it’s only in the last few months I’ve been reading her books.  Books such as The Lies We Told and The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes have really intrigued me, so I was eager to pick up Secrets She Left Behind. 

I really wish I had known that Secrets She Left Behind was a sequel before I read it.  Apparently the first part of the story is told in the book Before the Storm.  Had I known this, I definitely would have read these books in order.  I really felt like I was missing something for a lot of the book and didn’t really connect with the characters, which wouldn’t have been an issue if I had read Before the Storm first.  Additionally, I felt like the book was a little too soap opera-ish, something I don’t think I would have felt if I was more invested in the characters.

That being said, Secrets She Left Behind did keep me interested from beginning to end.  I was curious to see how everything would turn out, and whether Keith would finally find some peace with the Lockwoods.  However, I don’t really have any desire to go back and read Before the Storm because it seems like everything that happens in the book is covered in this one.  I still really like Diane Chamberlain and am excited about her books, but this one just didn’t work for me as a standalone.

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Title: Don’t Breathe a Word
Author: Jennifer McMahon
ISBN: 9780061689376
Pages: 464
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Phoebe has been dating Sam for a long time, and while they are happy, she knows there are some places in him she will likely never touch.  Sam’s sister Lisa disappeared when she was twelve years old, and even now, Sam refuses to talk about what happened.  But when Phoebe receives a mysterious phone call that tells her where a book is hidden, one that they had assumed disappeared with Lisa, a chain of events begins to unfold that has Sam and Phoebe questioning what they really believe.

Review:

Jennifer McMahon is one of those authors who is amazing at building suspense and writing incredibly creepy novels, and happily, Don’t Breathe a Word is no exception.  From the beginning it is clear that there is more going on under the surface than meets the eye.  When Lisa was twelve, she disappeared in order to become the Queen of the Fairies, mate to Teilo, the king.  Though everyone outwardly agrees that this is ridiculous and there are no such things as fairies, privately, it’s clear that no one is sure what to think.

Phoebe is an endearing character from the beginning of the novel.  It’s clear that her mother’s suicide has left her lost.  The mysterious nature of Phoebe’s mother’s death makes Phoebe more willing to believe in what is going on around her; she can’t discount the idea that Teilo may actually exist.  The more warped events around her become, the more scared Phoebe feels, and the more apprehensive the reader gets.  Because Phoebe is an outsider in Lisa’s disappearance, her feelings often mirror that of the reader.

McMahon takes the reader on twists and turns before finally presenting the shocking conclusion.  This is a gripping book, though I admit the modern-day mind bending captivated me much more than the flashbacks to the weeks before Lisa disappeared.  Don’t Breathe a Word is a fascinating novel, and though it could be difficult to follow at times, I highly recommend it for those in the mood for a creepy, twisty read.  You won’t be disappointed.

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Title: Midnight Riot
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
ISBN: 9780345524256
Pages: 320
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Publisher: Del Rey
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Peter Grant is a Constable in the London police department, but he doesn’t have much of a future there.  Though he dreams of making detective, the powers that be are trying to ban him to the back rooms, pushing papers for the rest of his days.  But on Peter’s last case, he is faced with a puzzling murder, and interviews an eyewitness that no one else can see - a ghost.  When Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale realizes that Peter has supernatural abilities, he takes Peter under his wing to teach him about magic.

Review:

Urban fantasy is a genre that has been on my mind as of late, so when I first read about Midnight Riot, I was intrigued.  I was eager to start this new urban fantasy series, and once I began, I was hooked from the first few pages.

Peter Grant is an appealing main character.  The reader can understand his frustration; from the beginning, it’s easy to tell that he is being overlooked and his peers underestimate his abilities.  When he meets Nightingale, things finally start falling into place for him.  Grant is smart and curious, and he puts things together well in his head.  While I’d love some more character development for him in future books, Grant was off to a great start in Midnight Riot.

The mix between police procedural and urban fantasy works very well in Midnight Riot.  Aaronovitch really excels in both genres, such that the puzzle behind the murders is just as interesting as the revelations about the magic behind the world we live in.  The book does drag a little towards the middle, but generally speaking, Aaronovitch managed to keep my interest while delivering an entertaining story, full of colorful characters.  Indeed, it is really the varied characters that keep the reader engaged in the novel, as they are very creative.

Midnight Riot was an interesting first book in this series, and I really enjoyed the time I spent with it.  Whether you’re an urban fantasy fan or someone looking for an introduction to the genre, I definitely recommend you consider picking up this book.  I’ll be seeking out the second book in the series, Moon Over Soho, as it’s already been released in the US.

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Airstream van holding the STS-134 astronauts on their way to the launch pad (with the VAB - Vehicle Assembly Building) in the background

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Title: Between Here and Forever
Author: Elizabeth Scott
ISBN: 9781416994848
Pages: 256
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Teen/YA
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Abby has always lived in the shadow of her older sister, Tess.  Tess is beautiful, charismatic, and every boy in town is in love with her.  Abby has accepted that no one will ever notice her, that is, until Tess’s accident.  Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby is desperate for her to wake up.  She doesn’t know how to live in a world without Tess in it, and hatches a plan to wake Tess up with a gorgeous boy she meets at the hospital, Eli.

Review:

Elizabeth Scott is an engaging and dynamic writer.  Though she writes books that are classified as YA, they have universal truths and are accessible to teenagers and adults alike.  I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read by her (reviews of Love You Hate You Miss You, Living Dead Girl, and The Unwritten Rule), so when I heard she had a new book coming out, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up.

Abby was an absolutely heartbreaking character that appealed to me from the very first page.  She truly believes that she is nothing and that Tess is everything.  She can’t see anything good about herself because her self-worth is wrapped up in other people.  Boys love Tess, not Abby, therefore Abby isn’t worth loving.  It’s a problem that many teenage girls suffer from, and Elizabeth Scott writes it incredibly well.  As Abby begins to realize that Tess wasn’t perfect and had her own issues, she comes into her own.  It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

Tess’s problems take center stage towards the end of the novel, and I really appreciated how Scott played everything out.  Though I guessed the big twists before they actually presented themselves, I thought they were handled beautifully.  I don’t want to give any significant plot points away, so I won’t say anything else, just that I loved how Scott wrote both Abby and Tess.

Between Here and Forever is a beautifully written and powerful novel.  Abby is an appealing main character; though her self-doubt can sometimes be frustrating, it is pitch perfect for a teenager and readers will really root for her to work through her issues.  I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to see what Scott does next.

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Shelving Books: Swapna’s Picks is a series profiling books that have been released in the past two weeks, posting every other Monday.  These are books that I am excited about, but will not get the opportunity to review for a few months.

South Asian Fiction to Look Forward To

Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 17, 2011) is a novel about the transformation of modern India, seen through the eyes of one woman, Anjali Bose. Anjali is a woman growing up in India, caught between her parents’ traditions and the new world out there.  I find the juxtaposition of traditional and modern values in India completely fascinating, so I’m really hoping I can get to this book soon.

Missed it in Hardcover? Try it in Paperback!

Though I follow release schedules of many publishing houses pretty closely, it seems that it’s impossible to keep up with with every book that comes out.  That’s why I was so thrilled to receive a review copy of Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls by Stephen G. Bloom (St. Martin’s Griffin, May 10, 2011) for its paperback release.  This non-fiction discusses the history of pearls and their trade and it sounds completely fascinating.

Insightful Women’s Fiction

I love women’s fiction that makes me realize something about myself, and it sounds like The Ninth Wife by Amy Stolls (Harper Paperbacks, May 10, 2011) is another great novel for that.  When thirty-five year old Bess discovers the man she has fallen in love with and wants to marry has been married eight previous times, she is in disbelief. She decides to make a cross country trip to meet these ex-wives; I think it will be a great novel and love and happiness.

Adult Dystopian? Whaaa??

Dystopian novels seem to be firmly rooted in Teen/YA these days, but there’s an intriguing new adult novel in this beloved genre.  America Pacifica by Anna North (Reagan Arthur Books, May 18, 2011) is about an eighteen year old girl named Darcy who lives on an island after an ice age has destroyed most of the North American continent. When Darcy’s mother goes missing, she goes on a quest to find her and uncovers some surprising secrets along the way.

First in a Series - Grab It Before There’s Another One!

These Dark Things by Jan Weiss (Soho Crime, May 10, 2011) is a novel that introduces Captain Natalia Monte of the Carabinieri and is set in Naples, Italy.  Most of you know I’m a sucker for a good mystery and a series, but an Italian setting on top of that? I am very eager to read this book.

Title: The Other Family
Author: Joanna Trollope
ISBN: 9781439129838
Pages: 336
Release Date: April 13, 2010
Publisher: Touchstone
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

After Richie, her partner of 23 years, dies, Chrissie is bereft and doesn’t know what to do.  How will she go on?  How will their three daughters cope?  But as Chrissie is asking the normal questions of grief, she realizes that things are much more complicated than they first appeared.  Chrissie and Richie were never officially married, and Richie never divorced his first wife.  What’s more, he chose to remember his first wife and son in his will.  As both of Richie’s families try to come to terms with his death, they find anger, frustration, and acceptance as they deal with one another.

Review:

I’ve never read anything by Joanna Trollope, but I’ve been wanting to for some time.  The Other Family seemed like a good place to start.  Its complex characters and unique plot made it a very interesting read.

There were a lot of main characters in The Other Family.  Of course there’s Richie, who dies at the very beginning of the novel.  Then there’s Chrissie, his not-quite-widow, and their three daughters, the youngest of which is Amy.  On the other side, there’s the family Richie left behind, Margaret and their son, Scott.  Trollope did an excellent job giving each of their characters their own distinct personalities.  Chrissie’s two elder daughters are a bit on the surface - the reader never really gets to know them well.  But Amy is probably the most appealing character of the book.  She shows balance to her mother’s hysterics, and tries to do the right thing, even when she knows it will upset those around her.

Trollope does a remarkable job portraying grief through Chrissie.  It’s understandable why Chrissie is shattered when Richie dies, and why she begins to doubt their love when she realizes he never forgot her first family.  Chrissie descends into a place of selfishness and despair, which makes her a bit difficult to like.  She lashes out at her daughters, reminding them about how difficult things are for her, and to stop only thinking about themselves.  But, the reader must ask themselves, what is Chrissie doing?  Is she really thinking about what’s best for her family?  At the same time, though, Chrissie’s actions are understandable (if frustrating) when viewed through the prism of grief; she’s just trying to cope with Richie’s death, and doing so in the best way she knows how.

The plot of The Other Family is interesting, if a little bit dull.  The theme of the entire book is waking up and taking charge, rather than sleepwalking through life.  In order to get that theme across, though, Trollope is required to let these characters sleepwalk for a good long bit in order to shake them awake.  As a result, the book doesn’t move quite as quickly as it could.

I enjoyed The Other Family and will definitely be going back to read more of Trollope’s works.  I appreciated the message of her book and her character development was impressive, at least with Chrissie, Amy, Margaret, Scott.  I’ll be looking forward to seeing what she does next.

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Title: Bossypants
Author: Tina Fey
ISBN: 9780316056861
Pages: 288
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books (Print) / Hachette Audio (Audio)
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Essays
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

In this series of essays, comedian, writer, and actress Tina Fey reflects on her career, motherhood, and being a woman in the man's world of comedy.

Review:

I wanted to read Bossypants the second I heard about it - not because I'm a huge Tina Fey fan, but because her quirky sense of humor is appealing and she seems so smart. (Not that I'm not a fan of hers - I just haven't followed her career closely and don't regularly watch her show, 30 Rock.). And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir - Tina Fey is witty, engaging, and very open and honest with her readers.

The main thing I heard about this book before I started it was that it was laugh-out-loud, stomach-clutching funny. Therefore, upon starting it, I was surprised I wasn't cracking up every minute or two. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority with this opinion, but this book wasn't absolutely hilarious. It was definitely funny and thoroughly entertaining, and I enjoyed every second I spent with it, but I wasn't busting my gut while reading.

So, if it wasn't as funny as I expected, why did I enjoy it so much? It's simple - it's a very intelligent book. There are definitely some pieces in it meant purely for entertainment (the so-crappy-you-have-to-laugh honeymoon story comes to mind), but mainly, Tina Fey uses the book to discuss the role of women in the male-dominated comedy scene. She talks about prejudice she encountered and how she dealt with frustration when the men around her underestimated her because of her sex. She also expounds on how, during her tenure at Saturday Night Live, a group of unbelievably talented and funny women took over the show. Tina Fey's admiration for the women she's worked with leaps off the page; the reader can really tell how highly she thought of her fellow women on the show.

Fey also presents an amusing and extremely insightful look inside a cover shoot for a magazine. I loved how frankly she discussed airbrushing and Photoshop. If I had a teenage daughter, I'd want her to sit down and read this essay.

I listened to Bossypants on audio, and it was a great decision. Tina Fey does the narration, and of course, she does an excellent job. The CDs also come with a PDF which allows you to look at the pictures included in the book, which is important, as Tina refers to them regularly over the course of the audio. The production runs 5 and a half hours and is unabridged.

I can't say enough great things about this book - it is entertaining, warm, honest, and very witty. Tina Fey is an excellent writer and she has some great messages in Bossypants. Here's hoping that she hasn't run out of material and will release another set of essays soon.

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Title: Affinity
Author: Sarah Waters
ISBN: 9781573228732
Pages: 368
Release Date: January 8, 2002
Publisher: Riverhead
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Margaret Prior is a women destined to become a spinster living in the late 1800s in London.  She has experienced loss recently, and as a way to cope, she decides to do charity work at Millbank Prison, a jail (or gaol) for women.  Margaret connects with one of the prisoners, a spiritualist and medium for the dead named Selina Dawes.

Review:

I’ve slowly been working my way through Sarah Waters’ backlist after being blown away by The Little Stranger and Fingersmith, so I was excited to pick up Affinity.  I was looking forward to the historical gothic novel I’ve come to know and love from Sarah Waters.

I’m going to preface my review by saying that it irks me when Sarah Waters’ books are referred to as “lesbian novels.”  Yes, there is usually some element of lesbian love in Sarah Waters’ books, whether overt or implied (I’m assuming here - I haven’t read all of her books yet).  But saying they are lesbian books trivializes them.  They’re usually about lonely women looking for some sort of connection in their miserable lives and they happen to find it with another woman.  It doesn’t mean that women who aren’t lesbians can’t identify with the characters or stories, nor does it mean there will be graphic lesbian scenes in the books.  End rant.

Margaret is a sad main character, forsaken by her former lover and utterly lonely.  At first, the reader cheers when they see that she is connecting with Selina, that she may once again find some happiness, even if the object of Margaret’s affection is in prison.  But as the novel unfolds and the reader begins to learn more about Selina, things become uncertain.  The reader isn’t sure of whom to trust, even if Margaret places her faith in Selina completely.

This is a novel of deceptions, of sleights of hand, of quiet whispers and Sarah Waters writes it incredibly well.  The whole book has a haunting, gothic quality that fans of the genre will adore.  Her writing is lyrical and beautiful, yet very powerful.  It’s a moody, contemplative novel that will hook readers from beginning to end.

Affinity was an intriguing read and I really enjoyed it.  Though I must admit that The Little Stranger is still my first love when it comes to Sarah Waters, Affinity was incredibly written and beautiful, and I can’t wait to read more of Waters’ work.

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Title: Cleaning Nabokov’s House
Author: Leslie Daniels
ISBN: 9781439195024
Pages: 336
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: Touchstone
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Summary:

Barb Barrett is numb with the pain and shock of divorce.  She gave up everything - her bright New York City career, her friends, her life - in order to move upstate with her husband and have his children.  What’s worse, because she doesn’t have a job or a regular income, Barb has lost custody of her children.  On an impulse, Barb puts a down payment on a house that used to be the residence of author Vladimir Nabokov.  When she finds a manuscript in the house that could be Nabokov’s, everything begins to change.

Review:

If I had to pick one word to describe Cleaning Nabokov’s House, it would be “absurd” - but I mean that in the best of ways.  Barb Barrett is a lost, frustrated woman when the story begins.  Losing her children has left her completely bereft, and she doesn’t know how to handle it.  She has a low sense of self-worth and doesn’t even know how to begin to get her kids back, so she doesn’t even try.  The Nabokov manuscript is crucial to Barb’s healing; it makes her put herself out there and gives her faith in something again.

The Nabokov manuscript is an amusing plot device, and it’s handled in the best of ways.  This isn’t one of those books where someone finds a dusty old manuscript in a locked chest and is off on some sort of literary mystery.  It doesn’t really matter whether the manuscript was written by Nabokov or not - all that matters is that Barb believes it is. 

Once Barb receives that jolt of self-esteem, she embarks on a quest to get her children back, and this is where the book really takes a strange turn.  While I’m not going to discuss the plot specifics because of spoilers, I will admit I still don’t know what to think about the avenue the book heads down.  While it is very funny, it’s also completely random and was a big departure from the rest of the book.  While clever, I’m not sure how well it worked for me.

Despite my qualms with the book, Cleaning Nabokov’s House is an amusing novel with a very sympathetic main character.  Though at times, it can be frustrating because Barb doesn’t seem to want to help herself, her paralyzed state is understandable because she is so devastated.  I appreciated the humor and warmth the book contained, and while the storyline takes questionable turns, if you can just go with it, you’ll really enjoy this book.  I look forward to seeing what Daniels does next.

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Title: Amaryllis in Blueberry
Author: Christina Meldrum
ISBN: 9781439156896
Pages: 384
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Publisher: Gallery
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:

Jack Slepy is unable to control his wife or his four daughters, and he is frustrated with his life. In an effort to atone for his sins, he decides that he needs a change of scenery.  He decides to move his wife and four children to West Africa, where he can spread his Christian beliefs, as well as put his medical degree to good use helping the indigenous people.  But he and his wife Christina are so wrapped up in their problems, they don’t see how their children are unraveling around them.

Review:

Amaryllis in Blueberry has been compared to Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, but since I haven’t read that novel, I went into this book without any real expectations. The story is told from multiple perspectives - each of the four daughters, the parents, and a woman back home named Clara.  As a result, while the reader does have the opportunity to see the story from multiple points of view and understand the motives of almost all the major characters in the book, it can be very confusing.  Some of the characters aren’t as well developed, and as a result their voices aren’t distinctive. Readers may not be able to tell who is narrating the story from voice alone.

Meldrum is a very talented author and her writing style is breathtaking.  I was able to read this book in one sitting, simply because of the grace of Meldrum’s writing style.  I was blown away by her prose, and I can’t say enough great things about it.  I would be willing to read her next book based on her writing talent alone.

The most interesting character in Amaryllis in Blueberry was Mary Catherine, an anorexic, self-mutilating girl who is extremely devout in her faith.  While I didn’t necessarily like her, I thought her storyline was fascinating, especially the crises of faith she experienced over the course of the book.  I was also in shock that her parents were so wrapped up in their own lives that they didn’t notice she was on death’s door because she was so thin. 

Amaryllis in Blueberry is an ambitious novel, and it’s difficult to say how well it succeeds. On one hand, it’s a book that kept my attention and kept me reading.  But when I was finished, I felt uneasy.  The picture of the book in my head was very vague and I felt as though there were some dropped plotlines and the story wasn’t as fleshed out as it could have been.  That being said, it kept me reading from beginning to end and went very quickly, as I was swept up in the story.  Though I have mixed feelings about the book, I’m definitely interested in seeing what Meldrum does next, as her talent at writing gorgeous prose really has me intrigued.

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Title: Karma
Author: Cathy Ostlere
ISBN: 9781595143389
Pages: 528
Release Date: March 31, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Genre: Multicultural Fiction, Poetry, Teen/YA
Source: Library
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Maya is just 15 years old when her Hindu mother dies, and she travels with her Sikh father from Canada to India with her ashes. When they arrive, they find the country in turmoil: the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, has just been assassinated by her Sikh guards.  Hindus and Sikhs are rioting and killing each other, and no one is safe.  When Maya and her father are separated, she finds herself alone in a foreign and frightening country, unsure of where she can turn for help.

Review:

The first thing I discovered about Karma by Cathy Ostlere (besides the fact that it was about India, which is why I wanted to read it in the first place) was that it was written in verse.  And I will admit that little tidbit almost made me skip over the book; after all, I figured a novel in verse would be difficult to read, and that I wouldn’t connect with the main character at all.  But because the book sounded so interesting, I decided to persevere, and I am incredibly glad I did; not only was this book fascinating, but all my preconceived notions were in error.

Karma is lyrical and deft, beautiful yet very easy to read.  Despite the length, the novel flowed very smoothly and it was quick.  I had no trouble understanding what was happening, nor did I have any difficulty connecting with Maya.  In fact, she was the highlight of the novel for me. 

Maya is half-Sikh and half-Hindu, and as a result, the conflict that is raging all around her between the two religious groups is mirroring what is happening within her.  She doesn’t know where her loyalties lie or whom she can trust.  Even her name, the very clue to her identity, is uncertain - is she Jiya, the “official” name that her father pressed upon her, or Maya, the name her mother wanted to give her that she identifies with?  It’s so eye opening to see what Maya feels inside reflected all around her with horrible violence.

The time period is tragic yet important in India’s history, and it’s fascinating to see it through the eyes of a fifteen year old.  While that kind of violence would be horrific at any age, to see it so young really changes Maya.  She falls mute, unable to speak because she is so racked with guilt over what she’s seen.  She thinks she no longer deserves to speak - she is already carrying guilt over her mother’s death, after all.  Ostlere does an incredible job making the reader feel like they are part of the narrative, immersed in this place of horrifying violence.  The reader only wants Maya to return home, to find a place of safety, yet it’s unclear where that could be because she seems to be pushed against her will wherever she turns.

Karma was a fascinating, eye-opening coming-of-age novel, and I am so glad I gave it a chance.  I realize novels in verse don’t exactly excite most people, but I urge you to try this book.  You may not connect with it, but it’s possible you might, and you’ll be rewarded with an absolutely incredible story and a heartbreakingly real main character.  This was really an amazing book and I can’t wait to see what Cathy Ostlere does next.

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The awesomely massive VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) by night

For more Wordless Wednesdays, click here

In an effort to separate my blogging life from my personal life (incredibly sad, but necessary for privacy reasons), I’ve created a Facebook page for S. Krishna’s Books!  This has been in the making for a very long time, so I’m really excited that I finally sat down and got it done.  There is an automatic feed that will post everything from S. Krishna’s Books on the Facebook page, and of course, I’ll respond to questions and comments on the page, just like I do on the website.

If you use Facebook and are so inclined, please “Like” S. Krishna’s Books on Facebook!

Title: The White Devil
Author: Justin Evans
ISBN: 9780061728273
Pages: 384
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

When American student Andrew Taylor arrives at Harrow School in England, he knows it’s his last chance.  He won’t be able to get into college if he doesn’t make something of himself during the year he’s at Harrow.  But as soon as he arrives, he is overwhelmed by something he can’t see, a creepy feeling that sends chills down his spine.  When a fellow student dies, and Andrew sees the murderer - an otherworldly figure that can only be described as a ghost - he realizes he is in over his head and must reach out to those around him for help.

Review:

The White Devil is an incredibly creepy novel that successfully straddles that thin line between mystery and horror.  From the beginning, Andrew is a fish out of water.  Overwhelmed by the knowledge that, if he messes up in the least, his parents will be finished with him, all he wants to do is keep a low profile for his year at Harrow.  It doesn’t help that he catches the eye of the one girl at the all-boys’ school, one with a reputation. The boys around Andrew are really merciless, and the reader really sympathizes with Andrew as he desperately tries, and fails, to stay under the radar.

The novel centers around the historical figure of Lord Byron.  Andrew is cast as Byron in a play being directed by Andrew’s housemaster, Fawkes, as Byron was an alumnus of Harrow.  This literary basis for the novel elevates it from a basic ghost story and makes it appeal to the thinking mind rather than the gut instinct of fear.  As Byron becomes an increasingly important player in the central storyline, readers will appreciate being able to learn something, while also being simultaneously entertained and spooked.

Evans deals with teen bullying very deftly in The White Devil.  He provides a commentary on the incredibly important issue without preaching about it to the reader. It can be graphic at times, but it has an important place in the story, and I think Evans handled it well.

I don’t want to say any more about The White Devil for fear of giving away too much about the plot.  It’s one of those novels that readers will get lost in, and knowing too much about what is going to happen will likely take away some of that magic.  I really enjoyed the shivers this book sent down my spine, and I can’t wait to see what Evans does next.

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Title: The Sweetness of Tears
Author: Nafisa Haji
ISBN: 9780061780103
Pages: 400
Release Date: May 17, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Multicultural Fiction, Literary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:

Jo March was raised an evangelical Christian by her loving parents and has never questioned her place in their world.  But after taking a high school biology course, Jo realizes something shocking: her eyes, and those of her twin brother, are brown, yet both her parents’ eyes are blue.  According to Mendel and genetics, two blue-eyed parents cannot produce offspring with brown eyes.  Before she leaves for college, Jo works up the nerve to ask her mother about her parentage, and her mother confesses that her biological father was a Pakistani man named Sadiq.  Jo begins to delve into her past, first by trying to find Sadiq, but her search for identity gets swept away in the tragic events of 9/11.

Review:

Nafisa Haji approaches 9/11 and the Pakistani and Muslim identity from a very unique perspective in The Sweetness of Tears: that of an evangelical Christian family.  While Jo isn’t a fundamentalist about her faith, she does ascribe to what her parents have taught her.  As a result, it’s a world-shaking shock when she discovers that the man she has called her father all her life isn’t biologically related to her.  At the same time, though, it makes her curious about her Pakistani heritage and desirous of exploring it further. 

Jo is a bright, capable young woman who appeals to the reader from the very beginning of the story.  Her confusion, and subsequent determination, is both understanding and inspiring.  Because she is the first (and arguably primary) narrator in the novel, she has the reader’s sympathy from beginning to end.

The overall message of The Sweetness of Tears is one of peace and compassion.  Haji takes all these people, from so many different backgrounds, and brings them together in a beautiful way.  Though there are so many ways for the characters in this book to be divided, to turn against one another, they choose to celebrate the things that make them similar, that make them family.  It’s a heartwarming theme that readers will appreciate, especially in these divisive times.

At the same time, Haji highlights difficult cultural, social, and political issues within her book.  The treatment of prisoners by the United States during the War on Terror is a central topic of the book, as are women’s rights in the Muslim world.  Haji deftly turns portions of this novel into a social commentary without becoming overly preachy, and as a result, it’s a wonderful chance to learn and broaden your horizons.

Haji accomplishes this by telling the story from multiple points of view, and here she isn’t quite as successful as the reader would hope. The stories become jumbled and muddled, and it’s easy to forget who the narrator is.  The characters don’t have distinctive enough voices to be able to tell them apart just by tone or dialogue, and as a result, it can be frustrating at times. Additionally, the reader doesn’t have a real emotional connection to the characters, so the story can feel contrived, especially towards the end when everything is tied up in one neat little package.

Despite my issues with The Sweetness of Tears, Nafisa Haji is an author I’m going to keep my eye on.  She’s a talented author and has a lot to say about political, social, and cultural Pakistani-American relations. This book definitely had some rough spots, but I’m confident that Haji will smooth them out in future novels, as she is a talented writer.

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Good morning everyone! This Sunday finds me in go-mode for BEA! I have a lot of work and prep to do before I leave in one week, so I’m frantically trying to get everything finished before then. We’ll see if I actually accomplish everything I need to - part of me suspects that I may be working on the train on the way up, and maybe for awhile after I arrive in NYC at the hotel.  But one can hope!

I’m very excited about the event. While I won’t be blogging while I’m there, I’ll probably be posting to my Tumblr occasionally. I do have reviews pre-scheduled for the entire duration of the event, so it won’t even seem like I’m gone!  Once I return, I’ll do a post or two, but I probably won’t do a day-by-day recap. I’ll definitely do a special edition of Shelving Books featuring BEA books!

I was having a bit of a slow reading week this week, but luckily I had some time to read yesterday, so it became a normal reading week! Most of the books I finished were good, though Bossypants by Tina Fey sticks out in my mind, though not for the reason you probably think. While I found the book amusing, it wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny for me like it was for most other people. Instead, I found it smart, and her social commentary on the perception of women in comedy was outstanding.  I really enjoyed it for that reason.

This week, I finally posted my monthly review for April and also posted Shelving Books: Swapna’s Picks (4/27/2011 - 5/7/2011).

Reviews posted this week:

Title: Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India
Author: Miranda Kennedy
ISBN: 9781400067862
Pages: 352
Release Date: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Travel
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Journalist Miranda Kennedy leaves her job in New York City and travels to India in search of something she is missing in her everyday life.  She settles in Delhi, but is unable to (and doesn’t want to) afford a flat in the posh area that Westerners live, and instead settles in an area for locals.  Kennedy comments on the dichotomy of the large city, the traditional values that clash with the increasing modernization of India.

Review:

Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India is a memoir about the state of women in India.  Though India is a country that is modernizing rapidly, with an emerging educated and wealthy middle class, it is still grappling with problems when it comes to social issues.  Specifically, while India is trying to be like any other Western country on the outside, it still has a traditional culture and values, which makes it difficult for women to enjoy the advantages of the country’s modernization.

Though Sideways on a Scooter is a memoir, the most interesting aspect of Kennedy’s memoir is when she discusses the people she’s met.  From Geeta, a modern young woman who lives away from her parents (though with an elderly family friend) to Radha, the proud Brahmin women whom Miranda employs as a house cleaner, Kennedy is interested in women of all ages, backgrounds, and stations in life.  She makes it a point to get to know the people around her, to see the real India underneath the façade that Westerners see when they visit.

Kennedy also tackles the difficult issue of caste in modern day India.  Though the caste system has officially been abolished, it permeates every day life for those in India.  From choosing your servants to deciding whom to marry, it is ingrained and embedded in Indian culture.  One of Kennedy’s friend throws all tradition to the wind and allows her Dalit (more commonly known as “Untouchable”) maid to also cook for her, which is not allowed per the caste system.  On the other hand, Miranda found that her maid Radha wouldn’t clean the bathrooms because it was below her status as a Brahmin.  It was so interesting that the caste system holds so many people back, yet they still ascribe to it.  In Radha’s case, being a Brahmin was one of her few sources of pride, and she clung to it as desperately as she could.

The subject of marriage is an ever-present one over the course of Sideways on a Scooter.  From her arrival India, the subject is on Miranda’s mind - after all, she isn’t able to rent an apartment in Delhi until she lies to the landlord, saying her boyfriend in New York City is really her husband, and that he’ll be joining her soon.  Women have no real independence in modern-day India.  Often, they move straight from their parents’ homes to that of their husband, and often his family.  While the notion of dowry seems completely foreign, Radha had to struggle with it when she was trying to marry off her daughter.  Because she was poor, she had little to offer any prospective bridegroom’s family, and as a result, had to resign herself to a less-than-ideal situation.  Though more modern, wealthy families are now turning their back on the concept of dowry, it’s still an important facet of marriage in India.

There are so many tidbits and interesting stories contained in Sideways on a Scooter, it’s difficult to review it coherently.  Kennedy does an excellent job juxtaposing the plight of the poor against the luxuries of being rich - but also the difficulties that come with both stations.  It’s a completely fascinating and absorbing book, and though it can be difficult to read and completely maddening at times, it’s an insightful look into the status of women in “modern” India.

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My apologies that this post is so late, but better late than never I suppose!

Number of book reviews posted:  30
Number of books read: 34
Number of pages read: 12,674

5 Star Reviews

Posts, Features & Random Musings

• Moonlighting for Murder
• NASATweetup - Day 1 Recap
• NASATweetup and a Space-Filled Week
• Shelving Books: Swapna’s Picks (3/27/2011 - 4/9/2011)
• Shelving Books: Swapna’s Picks (4/10/2011 - 4/23/2011)
• Thoughts on NASATweetup

• The School of Night - Louis Bayard
• Drinking Closer to Home - Jessica Anya Blau
• Mothers and Other Liars - Amy Bourret
• The Lost Gate - Orson Scott Card
• The Midwife’s Confession - Diane Chamberlain
• The Immortals - Amit Chaudhuri
• Double Black - Wendy Clinch
• Devil’s Trill - Gerald Elias
• Artifacts - Mary Anna Evans
• Now You See Her - Joy Fielding
• Elizabeth I - Margaret George
• Little Princes - Conor Grennan
• The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship - Lisa Verge Higgins
• The Dressmaker of Khair Khana - Gayle Lemmon
• Life Sentences - Laura Lippman
• The Kitchen Daughter - Jael McHenry
• The Sandalwood Tree - Elle Newmark
• The Tiger’s Wife - Tea Obreht
• The 4 Percent Universe - Richard Panek
• The Scent of Rain and Lightning - Nancy Pickard
• 666 Park Avenue - Gabriella Pierce
• The Mistress of Nothing - Kate Pullinger
• The Bird Sisters - Rebecca Rasmussen
• The Silver Boat - Luanne Rice
• The Dog Park Club - Cynthia Robinson
• An Atlas of Impossible Longing - Anuradha Roy
• The Dark and Hollow Places - Carrie Ryan
• Rescue - Anita Shreve
• Reading Lips: A Memoir of Kisses - Claudia Sternbach
• Maisie Dobbs - Jacqueline Winspear

• The Long Quiche Goodbye - Avery Aames
• The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted - Bridget Asher
• The School of Night - Louis Bayard
• Swept Off Her Feet - Hester Browne
• Guilt By Association - Marcia Clark
• Cleaning Nabokov’s House - Leslie Daniels
• The Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
• Come and Find Me - Hallie Ephron
• Where She Went - Gayle Forman
• Alexander the Great - Philip Freeman
• Elizabeth I - Margaret George
• The Dead Path - Stephen M. Irwin
• Sideways on a Scooter - Miranda Kennedy
• Sky Walking - Tom Jones
• The Taker - Alma Katsu
• Such a Pretty Face - Cathy Lamb
• Graveminder - Melissa Marr
• The Kitchen Daughter - Jael McHenry
• The Sandalwood Tree - Elle Newmark
• The Tiger’s Wife - Tea Obreht
• Finding Everett Ruess - David Roberts
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone - J.K. Rowling [re-read]
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling [re-read]
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling [re-read]
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling [re-read]
• An Atlas of Impossible Longing - Anuradha Roy
• Between Here and Forever - Elizabeth Scott
• Dead of Wynter - Spencer Seidel
• Ghost, Interrupted - Sonia Singh
• To Darkness and to Death - Julia Spencer-Fleming
• All Mortal Flesh - Julia Spencer-Fleming
• The Athena Project - Brad Thor
• Unfamiliar Fishes - Sarah Vowell
• Affinity - Sarah Waters

Title: Up from the Blue
Author: Susan Henderson
ISBN: 9780061984037
Pages: 336
Release Date: September 21, 2010
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:

When Tillie goes into premature labor in a brand new city, the only person she can turn to for help is her estranged father.  Seeing him brings back painful memories; when Tillie was young, her mother was depressed, and her controlling father didn’t help matters any.  After the family moved, Tillie’s mother disappeared, and Tillie was given little explanation for her absence.

Review:

Up from the Blue was one of those books I really wanted to like.  In fact, I fully expected to enjoy it, after all the positive reviews I’ve read.  Everyone seemed to love this book, so I was disappointed to find that it didn’t really speak to me.  There are multiple reasons for that, but I do have to say that Susan Henderson did an excellent job writing the voice of young Tillie.  It’s difficult to capture the curious, wondrous, and precocious nature of a child, and still make them believable as a young person, yet Henderson did it very well.

Yet my main problem with Up from the Blue was, in fact, the narrator.  Why?  I don’t generally enjoy books with child narrators.  Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but I tend to shy away from books that are told from a child’s point of view.  When I first picked up Up from the Blue, because of the description on the back of the ARC that focused on a pregnant, adult Tillie, I thought that the child part of the story would be told in a flashback.  However, it’s more as if the adult part of the story is a sporadic flash forward; Tillie the child is the main protagonist of this book.  Had I known that, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to pick up this book.

With that in mind, I was disappointed with how the novel turned out.  I expected the adult portion of the novel to be an exploration of the complicated relationship between Tillie and her father.  It was in some ways, but it was so abbreviated that I was left wanting. 

I do feel bad writing this review, because it seems as though I am the reason I didn’t enjoy this novel.  It is well written and engaging, and if you enjoy child narrators, you’ll likely love this book.  I originally was interested in this book because I thought it was told from the point of view of an adult, and that it would focus on an adult Tillie and her relationship with her father.  In a lot of ways, my own expectations were the problem.  I highly recommend that you read other reviews of this book before making a judgment based on my review, as consensus seems to be it’s an enjoyable and well-written novel, but if you don’t enjoy young narrators like me, you should pass on this book.

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Title: The Bake-Off
Author: Beth Kendrick
ISBN: 9780451233103
Pages: 336
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: NAL Trade
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Linnie and Amy are sisters, but they go together like oil and water. A prodigy from a young age, Linnie always had the attention of the family, leaving Amy alone, clamoring for some sort of recognition. The entire family was shocked when Linnie dropped out of college after just one semester, a burn out at a tender young age. Years later, working as a dealer in a Las Vegas casino, Linnie finds herself in desperate need of money. She turns to her grandmother for help, who enrolls Linnie and Amy in a baking competition in order to try and bring the two estranged sisters together again.

Review:

I’ve enjoyed Beth Kendrick’s previous novels (reviews of Second Time Around, The Pre-Nup, and Nearlyweds), so when I heard she had a new book coming out, I was gleeful.  I was especially excited when I heard the title, The Bake-Off, because I knew that meant it would be filled with mouthwatering descriptions of food.

At its core, The Bake-Off is about sisters, which I really loved.  Amy and Linnie are as different as they can be, yet they have one thing in common: they both want what they didn’t have growing up.  For Amy, it was the recognition that she was smart too, even if she didn’t have the genius-level IQ of her sister.  What made it worse was that Linnie was (and is) drop dead gorgeous, while Amy is just attractive.  Meanwhile, Linnie wanted the normal childhood that Amy had.  She put unhealthy amounts on pressure on herself to succeed because she felt like if she didn’t have her off-the-charts intelligence, she’d no longer have anything.  It was really interesting to see how these two women perceived each other, versus how they saw themselves, and look at the vast space between the two.

It takes a lot for Amy and Linnie to begin to put aside their differences and start working together, but it’s really heartwarming to watch the process.  It helps that some of their opponents are so laughably despicable (though they become more layered as the story progresses) that they are both willing to do anything to beat them, even if it means trusting one another.  The background of the baking competition is a fun, endearing setting for the personal story taking place in front of the reader.

The Bake-Off was a quick, easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end.  I loved the overarching theme of sisters, as well as the crazy antics Amy and Linnie put themselves up to.  It really is a heartwarming story, and I highly recommend it to fans of women’s fiction and stories about sisters - just make sure you have some sort of cake on hand while you’re reading

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Title: The Sweet Relief of Missing Children
Author: Sarah Braunstein
ISBN: 9780778327400
Pages: 363
Release Date: February 28, 2011
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Sarah Braunstein’s debut is about missing children - from Leonora, a twelve-year-old girl who is abducted from New York City, to Judith, who is there physically but missing in spirit when she marries young and loses herself as a consequence.  Paul is a boy on the run from an abusive stepfather, and has trouble finding a place to settle down, somewhere that he can feel safe.  All of these children are missing in their own unique ways.

Review:

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children is a beautifully written meditation on pain and the difficulty of coping with all the complexity and monotony of everyday life.  Each of these characters is vividly written; they each experience their own unique suffering, capturing the reader’s attention and keeping it for the duration of the book.  The characters are drawn so sympathetically and realistically that readers will have to remind themselves that they are simply characters in a novel.  Braunstein paints each of them with such loving care, it’s clear she really felt for Leonora, Paul, and Judith.

Sarah Braunstein’s debut novel is a intricately written novel with lush prose.  Her writing is vivid and really inspires the reader’s imagination.  I was very impressed with her ability to manipulate language and her creativity with words.  She is clearly a talented author with a bright future in front of her.

The stories of the “missing” children are told separately, in an interlocking format, though they do occasionally overlap.  At times, though, this can be frustrating, especially if the reader gravitates towards one of the characters specifically.  Additionally, there are a lot of characters in this book; because each story is fleshed out so fully and thoughtfully, each protagonist has a lot of people they interact with.  As a result, the number of characters in this book can become overwhelming and difficult to keep straight.  The fact that the book jumps points of view and back and forth in time only exacerbates this issue.

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children is an unsettling novel that can be difficult at times.  However, Braunstein’s writing is so lush and her characters so amazingly written that readers who pick up this book will get lost in these meandering stories, hoping to find some semblance of happiness for the characters, once and for all, in its pages.

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