Title: State of Wonder
Author: Ann Patchett
ISBN: 9780062049803
Pages: 368
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Publisher: Harper
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Marina Singh is a researcher for a pharmaceutical company and is content with, if not fulfilled by, her life.  Her world is thrown into upheaval, though, when her colleague and friend, Anders Eckman, is killed in the Amazon jungle.  Anders had gone after Dr. Annick Swenson, a scientist researching a miracle drug but who has completely stopped communicating with the parent company funding her research.  Now, at the behest of Anders’ widow, Marina must go deep into the Amazon jungle to learn the truth behind Anders’ death.

Review:

State of Wonder is a gorgeously written and contemplative novel about overcoming self-doubt in order to find your place in the world.  Marina Singh is crippled by a lack of professional self-esteem.  When she was a medical school resident, she made a mistake that shattered her confidence in herself as a doctor.  Since then, she has pursued research, shunning patient work in favor of the impersonal work of pharmaceuticals.  But when Marina is asked to confront Dr. Swenson, it brings all those doubts and fears back - after all, Annick was the attending physician on duty when Marina made her mistake.

Marina’s internal struggle is just one of the battles to be fought over the course of State of Wonder.  Marina must fight against the side effects of Lariam, an anti-malarial medication that gives her nightmares and hallucinations.  Dr. Swenson fights for her right to do her research without hindrance, while Marina must fight to make Dr. Swenson understand that there must be accountability.  The entire research team must fight against the dangers of the Amazon jungle.  Battle is a constant theme in this novel; each character must fight against the others, and sometimes the world around them, for what they think is right.

Patchett’s writing is gorgeous and atmospheric in State of Wonder.  She does an incredible job portraying the closeness of the Amazon jungle, ensuring that her readers can feel the humidity on their skin, can hear the buzzing of the insects, can sense the danger the jungle presents.  Her writing is thoughtful and makes this novel flow easily.

State of Wonder is not a novel to pick up if you’re looking for a quick, action-packed read.  In fact, if this were any other writer, the plot might be considered a bit thin. However, Patchett fills the book with her glorious writing, ethical issues, and character exploration, and the result is a beautiful, wild, and utterly devastating novel on the nature of science and humanity.  If you’re looking for a gorgeously written novel that will really make you think, this is definitely a novel to seek out.

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Title: Forged: Writing in the Name of God - Why The Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
Author: Bart D. Ehrman
ISBN: 9780062012616
Pages: 320
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: HarperOne
Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Audio
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Bart D. Ehrman tackles the controversial issue of the authorship of the Bible and discusses the prevalence of forgery in the early Christian church. 

Review:

Though I am not a Christian, I went to Catholic school from elementary through high school, so I have a secular fascination with the Catholic Church.  I also am really interested in Bart D. Ehrman.  A former born-again Christian who attended Moody Bible Institute, he became disillusioned with his newfound faith when he saw the discrepancies within the Bible.  Since then, he has become one of the leading biblical scholars in the country and has written multiple books on the subject.  While I’ve only read one, Misquoting Jesus, I think they all sound fascinating, and thus was eager to pick up Forged.

Ehrman tackles the difficult question of forgery in the ancient world with grace.  He demonstrates that forgery was not accepted in the ancient world, though some scholars claim otherwise.  He repeatedly makes the point that various ancient figures, including Galen of Pergamon, found forgeries unacceptable.  He then discusses the tactics of forgers, the tools they used in order to make their forged documents more believable.  Whether you are interested in the Bible or not, this section of the book is fascinating for anyone interested in historical documents.

The narrative then turns to the most interesting part of the book for me, tackling the forgeries within the Bible.  While I knew many of the books of the Bible (including the four gospels) were not written by their attributed authors, I was shocked at how much of the Bible could be considered a forgery.  Ehrman provides compelling evidence for his claims, and also provides context for these forgeries.  The glimpse provided into the politics of the early church was simply fascinating.  Those fighting for the direction of the early Christian church used forgeries to underline their messages.

I listened to Forged on audio, and it is narrated by Walter Dixon and runs almost 10 hours.  Dixon is a capable, confident narrator, and keeps the narrative from becoming dry with his tone.  This was a great choice for audio, as I think it may have dragged a bit in print.

While I found Forged to be an incredibly interesting read, it is, of course, not for everyone.  If you find just this review offensive to your religious beliefs, of course I do not recommend the book.  But if you are looking to broaden your worldview and understand more about one of the most important books in the history of the world, I highly recommend Forged.

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Title: Coming Up for Air
Author: Patti Callahan Henry
ISBN: 9780312610395
Pages: 272
Release Date: August 16, 2011 
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publicist
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Ellie Calvin has always lived in her mother’s shadow, so when her mother dies, Ellie is unsure of what to do.  Seeing her ex-boyfriend, Hutch, at her mother’s funeral opens up repressed emotions, especially since Ellie’s marriage to her husband, Rusty, hasn’t been the happiest.  Desperate for some peace, Ellie flees to her best friend’s summer home in Alabama, where Ellie’s mother spent her summers as a teenager.  There, Ellie learns new things about her mother, revelations that had been hidden from her, and she begins to wonder how well she knew the woman who was her mother.

Review:

Patti Callahan Henry’s novel Coming Up for Air is a delicious Southern read, one full of old family secrets and lost loves.  From the very first page, readers will want a glass of iced sweet tea and a comfortable rocking chair or hammock in order to devour this lovely novel.  It is full of those ambiguous details that make Southern novels so appealing and is the perfect read for a breezy summer afternoon.

Just because it’s entertaining does not mean Coming Up for Air is fluff, though.  Ellie has some serious personal issues to grapple with when the novel begins.  From the beginning, it is very clear that she is unhappy in her marriage.  Rusty isn’t abusive, but he is incredibly manipulative.  Every time he appeared on the page, Rusty inevitably made me angry, and all his apologies and niceties were completely hollow.  Henry has created a complex antagonist in Rusty; he isn’t the one-dimensional evil villain of many books, but instead is a layered (and incredibly frustrating) person.

Once Ellie leaves for Alabama, everything changes.  Besides the occasional phone call, she is shut off from her life at home.  While she could sit down and focus on her own situation, she chooses to busy herself trying to find out more about her mother’s past. It’s only through this search, and understanding why her mother was so difficult at times, that Ellie really receives the clarity she needs in her own life.  I really loved this aspect of the novel, the mystery behind Ellie’s mother, and the way Henry incorporated the civil rights struggle into her book.

Coming Up for Air is a fun but pensive novel that would be perfect for book clubs.  Readers will sympathize Ellie’s intense personal emotions as her life is thrown into shambles while also wanting to discuss her decisions and take a close look at her marriage.  It’s a lovely, warm Southern novel that will keep readers interested from beginning to end.

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Hello everyone! This week has been eventful to say the least.  Earlier this week, we had what has been dubbed “Quakepocalypse 2011” - an earthquake in Washington, DC!  That was unexpected to say the last.  I was in my condo, working at my home office at the time, and I’ll admit when I felt those first rumblings, I immediately thought the Pentagon (which is across the street) had been attacked.  After a few seconds, though, I realized what was happening and went and stood in a doorway until everything had passed.  I also posted a couple of pictures of some of the devastation (ha!) in my office/book room from the quake.

Then, just when we were recovered from the quake (emotionally - there wasn’t much physical damage, thankfully, but I know it brought 9/11 to mind for a lot of people), news of hurricane Irene started coming through.  My sister, who lives in New York, actually fled the city because of power outage concerns and came down to stay for the weekend.  Luckily, neither DC nor New York were hit badly, though we are definitely thinking of those in North Carolina who were.

I had a much better reading week this week than I have had lately, which was nice.  The book that I read that really stands out to me is Dominance by Will Lavender - I can honestly say it is one of the most gripping and interesting books I’ve read in recent memory.  I’m currently almost finished with The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi-Adler Olsen, and it’s very good (but twisted) and deserves the hype around it.

Today, I’m planning on enjoying my day with my sister (she’ll likely leave tomorrow).  I’m looking forward to the next week and Labor Day weekend, as we have some plans, but I think I’ll have a lot of time to read and catch up on blogging, which I’m very excited about.  I hope everyone else is having a great Sunday!

Title: Quarantine: Stories
Author: Rahul Mehta
ISBN: 9780062020451
Pages: 224
Release Date: May 31, 2011
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Genre: Literary Fiction, Multicultural Fiction, Short Stories
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:

In these nine stories, Rahul Mehta presents the issue of homosexuality in Indian-American males and their struggles to be accepted by their families and culture. 

Review:

Though I don’t usually read short stories, Rahul Mehta’s collection Quarantine had me very intrigued.  Homosexuality is a difficult issue among Indians, as it is in many other traditional cultural communities.  I was eager to see what Mehta had to say about homosexuality, as well as his musings on Indian culture and traditions.

Mehta’s writing is absolutely breathtaking in Quarantine.  His prose is gorgeous and so achingly emotional.  With just a few words, he conveys so much beauty, grace, and wonder.  Even the more difficult parts of the stories are executed with amazing empathy.  His writing is so nuanced; I can’t praise it highly enough.

There are overarching themes that run through Mehta’s stories.  The most common is, of course, that of homosexuality - Indian-American men who have to grapple with a country’s laws (homosexuality is illegal in India) and a culture’s prejudices in order to be who they truly are.  These struggles are similar to those that other gay men and women have had to endure, though this collection does focus on the Indian experience, albeit mostly about the children of immigrants to the United States.

However, there are other important themes that run through these stories, universal truths that can speak to any reader.  There is the indignity of aging, of the loneliness that comes with not having a place to really feel welcome.  There is also the difficulty of the generation born in the United States being unable to relate to their grandparents because of the barriers of language and culture.  Though all the protagonists of the stories are Indian, the plots of each don’t necessarily involve their culture or nationality.  Sometimes it is just a fact of the story, and moves on from there.

The book is named after the first story in the collection, Quarantine, and this story completely blew me away.  In less than twenty pages, Mehta manages to tackle so many issues that concern Indians specifically, while also being widely applicable.  The unnamed main character goes home for a visit with his boyfriend, Jeremy, but isn’t allowed to tell his paternal grandfather (who has lived with his parents for years) that Jeremy is anything more than a friend.  The grandfather, Bapuji, is unyielding and difficult, blaming all his troubles on his daughter-in-law, who genuinely tries to follow his wishes.  This harsh treatment over the years has understandably created resentment within the main character’s mother.  At the same time, though, as much as the reader wants to hate Bapuji, they can’t, and this is where the beauty of Mehta’s writing really comes into play.  Bapuji is just a lonely old man who is far away from his home and wants to feel like he belongs somewhere.  This dynamic is so sad, yet so completely real.  I was shocked by how truly I felt for each of these characters, especially considering Mehta didn’t have the broad playing field of a novel to develop these characters and their story.

The story “Citizen” brought tears to my eyes as an elderly Indian woman named Ranjan applies for American citizenship at the behest of her children and focuses on her citizenship interview and exam.  My own grandmother went through this process a few years ago, so I couldn’t help but replace the woman in the story with my grandmother’s image.  It really got into Ranjan’s head and put her fears and thoughts out on the page for the reader to see, and was just a beautifully executed story.

Mehta’s ability to convey so much emotion and compassion with just a few words left me speechless.  I couldn’t believe how nuanced each of these stories were, nor how absolutely complete they seemed, even though they were just a short few pages each.  I look forward to the day that Rahul Mehta writes a novel - with his writing abilities, he is definitely an author to watch.

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Note: Since posting this review, a commenter has informed me that homosexuality has not been illegal in India since 2009.  I apologize for the error!

Title: Ink Exchange
Author: Melissa Marr
ISBN: 9780061214707
Pages: 352
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Teen/YA
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Ever since her mother left, Leslie’s life has been in shambles.  Her father drinks (though he manages to get to work during the day) and her brother has turned to drugs and brings his unsavory friends around the house.  Meanwhile, in the faery world, while relations between the Summer and Winter Courts have become peaceful, that leaves the Dark Court, which feeds off violence and destruction, starving.  When Leslie is unwittingly drawn into a power struggle between the courts, the cost is higher than she could have ever imagined.

Review:

In this sequel to Wicked Lovely, the world is the same, but the reader has a new character to focus on: Aislinn’s close friend, Leslie.  Leslie is incredibly damaged when the novel begins.  She has a lot of trouble in her home, with her absent mother, alcoholic father, and brother who is willing to use her to score drugs, and has no place of safety to retreat to.  Leslie doesn’t want to trust her friends with how bad things have become because she is ashamed of what her life is now.  Instead, she becomes obsessed with the idea of getting a tattoo, of marking her skin to claim it as her own.  I thought Leslie was a well-written character, believably broken, yet with veins of strength underneath.  She is also sympathetic, giving the benefit of the doubt to those around her, and is more understanding than I’d be in the situation she finds herself in.

One major theme running through the novel is Leslie’s ignorance of the faery world, and this brought some frustration.  She makes decisions the reader knows are bad because she doesn’t have complete information.  Then, once she is drawn into the Dark Court, Aislinn refuses to discuss the faery world with Leslie in order to protect her, but it only makes things worse.  I became increasingly frustrated with everyone as they refused to tell Leslie what she needed to know, especially because the consequences were serious and affected her much more than anyone else.

Marr also does an excellent job with her secondary characters in Ink Exchange.  While characters previously fleshed out in Wicked Lovely do make an appearance, she also crafts entirely new characters for this book.  She also heightens the complexity of the faery world with the Dark Court and the different fae it contains.  Specifically, the tattoo artist Rabbit and family were excellent additions to the novel, and I hope we see them again in future books.

I enjoyed Ink Exchange, and was happy to see that a thorough knowledge of Wicked Lovely wasn’t required to enjoy the book; after all, it’s been quite some time since I read it.  I found the details about tattoos interesting and I love the world that Melissa Marr has created.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

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Title: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimee Carter
ISBN: 9780373210268
Pages: 304
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Genre: Teen/YA, Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:

Eighteen year old Kate Winters has brought her mother home to Eden, Michigan to die in peace.  Kate doesn’t know what she is going to do without her mother, so she tries to focus on the gift of each day rather than what will happen next.  She also is trying to fit in at the local high school.  When one of the girls at the school plays a prank on Kate, it ends up having surprising consequences, leading Kate to the mysterious Eden Manor.  As she is forced to make a difficult choice, she sees Greek mythology coming to life around her.

Review:

The Goddess Test is a difficult book to review, simply because it’s hard to discuss it without spoiling the storyline.  A lot of the enjoyment of reading it derives from the twists and turns at the beginning.  Once the entire story is set up and the main storyline takes over, it’s almost a different book.  Getting to that central plot takes time, and it’s an enjoyable process to watch it unfold.

Kate is a lovely main character, and her love for her mother is very inspiring.  She will do anything for just one more hour, one more minute, one more second with her mom, and it’s a beautiful thing to behold.  When I saw how much she loved her mother, I knew all I needed to know about her.  She’s fiercely loyal and driven, and will fight for those she loves.  She’s also trustworthy and dependable - I really enjoyed getting to know her.

Once the main storyline of the book takes over, however, I didn’t love where it took me.  I kept finding myself asking, “Why?”  There were too many questions and too little explanation.  I was surprised that Kate was so willing to deal with people who neglected to explain anything to her.  Kate is forced to make decisions with little to no explanation as to what the consequences will be.  Additionally, it seems as though she is deceived at every turn, and the explanations given are completely unsatisfying.  I had trouble buying the premise of the book simply because the details were so sketchy and so many of my questions went unanswered.

The Goddess Test had a lot of potential, especially with the incorporation of Greek mythology, but I didn’t love how it turned out.  That being said, I am willing to put aside my uncertainty and read the sequel once it is released.  This book had a lot of promise, and I hope that will shine through in the next book, especially because I really did like Kate a lot.  If you’re a fan of the occasional YA novel for some lighter reading, I’d recommend this one, otherwise I’d choose another book.

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Title: Vanished
Author: Sheela Chari
ISBN: 9781423131632
Pages: 336
Release Date: July 26, 2011
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Genre: Mystery, Multicultural Fiction, Teen/YA
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Eleven year old Neela loves playing the veena, an Indian musical instrument, though she has a lot of trouble playing in front of people.  She is convinced that the veena her grandmother recently sent her from India has helped her with her stage fright and has actually made her a better player.  But when her veena goes missing, Neela must delve into the history of veenas and make unlikely allies in order to find her beloved veena.

Review:

Vanished is a novel aimed at middle grade readers with many relevant themes running through its center.  Neela is caught between two cultures.  Her parents are Indian, but she has been raised in America.  She understands her parents’ desires for her, but she also has ambitions of her own.  Neela struggles to reconcile the two, to find a way to be herself while also satisfying her parents. When the veena goes missing, Neela feels that she can’t trust her parents with the secrets she uncovers, and though her choice to remain quiet can be frustrating, it’s understandable.

Neela also is passionate about her veena and is determined to discover what has happened to it.  Though her parents offer to buy her a new veena, Neela is determined to find the thief of her veena and get the instrument back.  Along the way, Neela discovers interesting tidbits about the history of her veena, which is a wonderful opportunity for readers to learn something about this popular Indian instrument.  The search for Neela’s veena mirrors the cultural conflict within Neela, and it’s great to see her embrace both sides of her heritage.

The mystery in Vanished is satisfying.  As an adult reader, it was unrealistic at times, but I was able to let go of those doubts and just enjoy the story.  Chari did a wonderful job keeping readers guessing while not making the plot overly complicated.  This was a sweet, enjoyable, and completely surprising novel, and I highly recommend it to middle grade readers.  However, adult readers will also enjoy this novel, especially if you are looking for a quick and easy read that incorporates cultural differences and an engaging mystery.

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Title: Things We Didn’t Say
Author: Kristina Riggle
ISBN: 9780062003041
Pages: 352
Release Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Casey can’t handle being a part of the Turner family anymore.  She has tried as hard as she can to fit in, and she does love Michael, but she is tired of letting him and his kids walk all over her.  Michael’s unstable ex-wife, Mallory, only makes things more complicated, as she hates the fact that Michael has found someone new.  But when Dylan, Casey’s stepson, goes missing, it brings this dysfunctional family into close quarters and old hurts and resentments emerge as they try to find Dylan.

Review:

I’m a big fan of Kristina Riggle’s previous novels (Real Life and Liars and The Life You’ve Imagined), so I was eager to pick up her latest book Things We Didn’t Say.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well that title sums up the book’s contents - it’s all about what happens when you hold things in, when you keep secrets, when you don’t trust those around you.

The novel is told through different points of view, and through this structure, the reader really gets a sense of each of these characters.  Though in some books this technique can turn out to be a jumbled mess, Riggle does an exceptional job differentiating each of the people in her novel.  Through the varied narration, the reader also really comes to embrace each of these characters and see all of their flaws.  Even a character as awful and manipulative as Mallory seems tragic rather than evil once the reader gets inside her head.  The character development in Things We Didn’t Say is accomplished very effectively.

The main character and primary narrator of the novel is Casey, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t have issues with her.  I was continually frustrated at how much of a doormat she was, how she never stood up for herself.  But then, I also wanted to yell at Michael for how much he let Mallory control him.  It’s a mark of well written characters that they provoked an emotional response from me, but I had trouble with this book because, though I felt sorry for Casey, I didn’t really like her, nor did I like any of the other characters in this book.

Things We Didn’t Say is a thought provoking novel, and also a great look at a post-divorce blended family.  The emotion is authentic, as are the characters and their motivations.  This was a quick read and would be a great book club pick, as readers will likely have strong reactions to the characters which they will want to discuss.

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Title: How to Eat a Small Country: A Family’s Pursuit of Happiness, One Meal at a Time
Author: Amy Finley
ISBN: 9780307591388
Pages: 288
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Travel
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Amy Finley, a housewife living with her husband and two children, sent an audition tape to the television show The Next Food Network Star on a whim.  No one was more shocked than she when she was selected.  And when she won, no one predicted that she would do just six episodes of her show before walking away from The Food Network.  In her memoir, Amy tells the inside story - how her husband was less than pleased with her new celebrity career, and how she left the show and took a trip to France with her family in a last-ditch effort to save her marriage.

Review:

I watched exactly one season of the show The Next Food Network Star, and that happened to be the season that featured Amy Finley as the winner.  However, I was confused when, over the course of the next year, I only saw a few episodes of her show.  I figured it was some sort of ratings issue and her show had been pulled until I heard about the release of this memoir, and the fact that Amy actually walked away from The Food Network.

Over the course of this memoir, Amy and her husband, Greg, spend their time eating and drinking their way around France over the course of a few months.  The descriptions of the food are exquisite, and she treats the reader to histories and anecdotes about the dishes she eats.  Amy isn’t afraid to try new things, many of which would delight foodies but turn the stomach of the average American eater.  I absolutely loved this part of the memoir; from the amazing food descriptions to the traveling around rural France, it was a real delight to read.

The difficulty of the book for me was with the relationship between Greg and Amy.  It’s always hard in memoirs because the reader doesn’t have a comprehensive understanding of both sides of an issue, and often we are too quick to pass judgment.  But in this case, I couldn’t help but severely dislike Greg.  He seemed controlling and provincial, expecting Amy to stay at home with the kids and not have any sort of fulfillment of her own in terms of a career.  When she tried to pursue her dream, he threatened to leave her.  In the memoir, Amy tries to portray it as Greg helping her to realize that a show on the Food Network wasn’t her dream, but it seemed to me as though she gave up an amazing opportunity for a bad relationship.

Still, despite my issues with Greg and his seemingly controlling nature, I enjoyed this book.  Who wouldn’t love to eat their way around a country as gastronomically cultured as France?  If you’re a fan of travel or foodie memoirs (or like me, both!), then this is a great choice.  Amy’s honesty and candidness with her reader, coupled with the great descriptions and details about her trip, make for a pleasurable read.

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Title: Eyes Wide Open
Author: Andrew Gross
ISBN: 9780061655968
Pages: 352
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

When Dr. Jay Erlich receives news from his brother Charlie that his nephew, Evan, has committed suicide, he is in shock.  Though Evan inherited Jay’s brother’s bipolar disorder, he thought that Evan was getting help for his illness.  When Jay travels out to California and starts digging into Evan’s suicide, he finds more and more questions, and the trail leads to a 1970’s cult, which whom Charlie may have been involved.

Review:

Eyes Wide Open is a thrilling ride that begins with the questions behind Evan’s suicide.  When it became clear that Evan might harm himself or someone else, his parents did the responsible thing and had him committed.  However, he was released just days after the incident.  Gross gives the reader a brief but eye opening look at the shameful resources that the mentally ill have in our society.  It is a difficult thing to involuntarily commit your own child, but Charlie and his wife did the right thing, ensuring that Evan could not harm himself or anyone else.  The fact that the hospitals and doctors failed him is difficult to swallow.

But as Jay tries to find out why the hospital released his nephew so quickly after his suicide threat, he uncovers disturbing evidence that makes it seem like Evan may not have killed himself.  Jay finds himself more and more involved in the case, and though he makes missteps along the way, he is determined to uncover the truth behind his nephew’s death, no matter the cost.

Andrew Gross is a master at ratcheting up suspense.  He takes the reader on chilling twists and turns, and it’s difficult to predict where the story will end up.  I loved his incorporation of cults into this novel, as it gave the reader the opportunity to delve into that disturbing culture.  He is a talented writer and does a wonderful job exploring the different themes he presents in his work, while also maintaining his suspenseful tone.

I enjoyed Eyes Wide Open and hope that the revelation at the end of the book means that Gross will be writing a sequel.  In the meantime, I’m eager to go explore Gross’ previous works, as he is a talented auteur of mysteries.

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I haven’t been checking in with my Sunday Salon posts as diligently as I used to, and there are a few reasons for that.  First, things have been pretty hectic - traveling, guests, and a lot of work - so all I’ve really had time for is keeping up with reviews.  Second, my husband and I have started going hiking on Sunday mornings, which is great, but it’s not exactly my usual lazy Sunday spent on the couch, catching up on blogging.  I’m going to make it a point to be better about doing my Salon posts, though, because I do enjoy writing them!

Sadly, I didn’t get much reading finished at all last week - it may have been my worst reading week since I started blogging.  But happily, I purchased a Kobo Touch ereader, and I am really loving it.  I wrote a comprehensive review of it, in case you are considering purchasing one!

I’m hoping to have a better reading week next week! I’m currently reading a few books, but one that stands out is State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, and while it is slow, I am really enjoying it.  It’s definitely a book to savor.

Reviews posted this week:

Title: The Pillars of the Earth
Author: Ken Follett
ISBN: 9780451225245
Pages: 973
Release Date: November 14, 2007
Publisher: NAL Trade
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

It’s the 12th century in England, and Tom Builder is desperately looking for work.  His dream has always been to build a cathedral, but no one seems to be hiring for even the most basic of building projects, and he doesn’t know how he will feed his family.

Meanwhile, Prior Philip, a monk, is finding himself swept up in England’s politics as he fights for the decaying Kingsbridge priory.  He wants to build a cathedral at Kingsbridge, but the political situation, coupled with scheming lords and bishops, threatens to stand in his way to stop both he and Tom from achieving their dreams.

Review:

The Pillars of the Earth is a modern classic, so people were surprised when I admitted that I hadn’t yet read it.  There were multiple reasons - too high expectations, the length - but with the new miniseries and the fact that I have been much more eager to read long books as of late, I decided to pick it up.  I was at once impressed by the historical details and intricacy of the plot as I slowly fell in love with the characters over the course of the book.

One of the main strengths of The Pillars of the Earth is its characters.  Though they can be sorted very roughly into the categories “characters you root for” and “characters you want to stab”, these are three dimensional and realistic people that come alive on every page.  The characters you love have flaws that are difficult to overcome, such as Tom’s blindness about his son, Alfred.  Likewise, the most despicable characters still have the occasional redeeming qualities; Follett does not stoop to caricatures in his novel.

Follett isn’t afraid to write strong, capable women, despite the limitations of the time period.  Aliena, Ellen, and Regan are all smart and shrewd, and they control the novel’s plot in many ways.  Aliena was probably my favorite character of the entire book - I loved how she cared for her brother, though he didn’t necessarily deserve it, and how she continually saved herself and those around her from poverty and starvation.  She also refused to let herself become a victim, regardless of circumstances.

The main storyline of the novel is the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge, and the difficulties that come with it.  From political maneuvering and war to fires and the collapse of buildings, Tom and Philip must face much adversity.  Having two very powerful enemies doesn’t make the situation any easier for them.  The book is filled with the details of building a cathedral, from architecture to quarrying stone, which makes the novel completely fascinating.  If you aren’t a fan of details such as this, the book might seem interminable, but in this case, I absolutely loved it.

I also appreciated how seamlessly Follett wove in the history of the time period into his story.  Philip is required to scheme and plot in order to build his cathedral, and I loved how smart he was in outwitting his opponents.  At the same time, though, he is not always victorious.  I was afraid I’d get tired of the constant twists and turns, overcoming one obstacle just to be faced with another, even more insurmountable, but Follett did an exceptional job keeping the book fresh and interesting.

To sum up, Pillars of the Earth really was an exceptional historical novel.  I was continually impressed by the depth of the characters, and Follett managed to keep me interested for the entire novel, which is really saying something considering the length.  I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel, World Without End, and I’ll be watching the miniseries soon.

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Title: The Peach Keeper
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
ISBN: 9780553807226
Pages: 288
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: Bantam
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Willa Jackson has mixed feelings about the restoration of her family home - which they lost years ago due to financial constraints - by Paxton Osgood, scion of a prominent local family.  On one hand, Willa has tried to move past her family’s scandals and establish her independence.  But on the other, she can’t help but sneak up to the house and witness the transformation occurring before her eyes.  When she unexpectedly meets Colin, Paxton’s brother, up at the site, it sets in motion a chain of events that will reveal the mysteries in Willa’s and Paxton’s pasts.

Review:

The Peach Keeper is a sweet novel about the power of friendship.  Willa is a hard woman in many ways, which is understandable because she has been hurt in her past.  She keeps everyone at arms length; she doesn’t have any real friends, but she’s okay with it.  She doesn’t feel lonely.  But when Colin and Paxton enter Willa’s life, she begins to realize that having people to rely on and confide in isn’t the worst thing.

Paxton, on the other hand, is constantly trying to live up to her mother’s expectations and demands.  She lives in fear of disappointing those around her, so when she and Willa are thrown together, Paxton finds it refreshing to have someone who neither judges her nor expects her to be someone she’s not.  The friendship these two women strikes up mirrors that of their grandmothers, and it’s this bond that helps Paxton and Willa when they begin their search for answers.

All in all, The Peach Keeper is a simple and fun summer read.  The characters are endearing and the story is interesting.  While not completely gripping, it held my attention and I read it in a single sitting.  Sarah Addison Allen’s novels are always reliably fun reads, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

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Title: The Devil Colony
Author: James Rollins
ISBN: 9780061784781
Pages: 496
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Historical Thriller
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

In the mountains of Utah, a strange Native American burial site is discovered.  It’s not like anything anyone has seen before - there are gold tablets in the chamber and the skull of a prehistoric animal coated in gold.  There is more than meets the eye in the chamber, though, and an explosion inside will set off a massive catastrophe on a global scale.  In order to prevent it, Sigma Force must take a trip though American history - from the Lewis & Clark expedition straight to the vaults at Fort Knox.

Review:

I enjoy James Rollins’ Sigma Force novels for pure escapist reading.  They thrill the history lover in me, while also making the happenings of our past relevant in the present day world.  I always manage to learn something from these novels (Rollins is careful to separate fact from fiction, as well as offer suggestions for further reading, at the end of the book) and they never fail to be entertaining.  The Devil Colony is no exception to this rule.

I appreciated Rollins’ ingenuity in The Devil Colony.  He takes such disparate threads of history - the founding of the Mormon religion by Joseph Smith, the Lewis and Clark expedition, myth about the lost thirteenth tribe of Israel, and the cutting edge of computer technology - in order to form a complex and detailed alternate history in this novel.  I loved how he took such different pieces of the past and fit them together to present, while not an entirely believable history, one that was completely entertaining and fun to think about for the purposes of this book.

The Devil Colony also follows the paths of the different characters avid readers of the series have come to know.  While it isn’t really necessary to read the previous books in the series to understand this one - the focus of these books is plot, rather than character development - Rollins doesn’t abandon his characters and leave them static.  Instead, they are continually growing and changing; their priorities shift as their jobs tax them in ways they never thought possible.  I appreciated that Rollins tries to keep his characters fresh and new, rather than leaving them to fend for themselves.

I’m a big fan of Rollins’, and I hope the Sigma Force series continues on into the future.  While the current characters are becoming weary of their action packed lives and the consequences they must face because of them, it would be great to bring some fresh blood into the organization and continue the novels that way.  I absolutely love this mix of history and action, and Rollins’ imagination and creativity is always impressive.

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Title: America Pacifica
Author: Anna North
ISBN: 9780316105125
Pages: 304
Release Date: May 18, 2011
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Genre: Dystopian
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:

Darcy is an eighteen year old living in America Pacifica, all that is left after North America was enveloped by an ice age caused by climate change.  When her mother doesn’t come home one evening, Darcy ventures out to look for her, and in the process uncovers some startling information both about her mother as well as the founding of America Pacifica itself.

Review:

The island society portrayed in America Pacifica is a bleak, unforgiving place.  While the rich enjoy a lifestyle with such luxuries as fresh vegetables and real meat, the poor are forced to consume jellyfish, the only source of food found in abundance in the ocean.  They work difficult, backbreaking jobs - Darcy was forced to drop out of school and work so her mother and she wouldn’t starve.  It’s a miserable, hard life, and Anna North describes it in gritty detail.  The world she has created is unique and full of interesting tidbits.

Darcy can be a very difficult character at times. It’s understandable because she’s led such a rough life, but she’s hard to like.  She is rude and is perfectly willing to let others take the fall for her own actions.  She uses people, but to caveat, she also allows herself to be used when it suits her - it’s a fact of the world she lives in.  Darcy is incredibly resourceful and determined, but she doesn’t always make the smartest decisions.

North’s worldbuilding is both realistic and shocking in America Pacifica.  She does a great job with the initial details, ensuring that the reader understands what life is really like.  However, as the book progresses, loose ends crop up that hampered my enjoyment of the novel.  I would have loved a little more explanation and revelation, as I had many questions, the answers to some of which were unclear at the end of the book.

The premise of America Pacifica is unique, and the mysteries behind both Darcy’s mother’s disappearance as well as the island community kept me hooked from beginning to end.  At times, it was an uncomfortable read, but an honest one.  Though there were aspects of the novel I didn’t love, North stays true to both the theme of the novel, as well as the unique setting she has created.  If you’re a fan of dystopian novels, whether young adult or adult, this is a book that is worth reading.

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Title: Fallen
Author: Karin Slaughter
ISBN: 9780345528209
Pages: 400
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Faith Mitchell is on her way home from some routine State Bureau of Investigation training when she pulls up in front of her house.  Her front door is open and there is a bloody handprint on the door. Desperate to know if her mother and daughter are okay, Faith enters the house against advice.

The aftermath of the situation finds Faith under suspicion from those closest to her.  It’s up to Will Trent, Faith’s partner, to figure out what happened inside the house and clear Faith’s name, even though he suspects Faith’s mother of being involved with those who kidnapped her.

Review:

I am usually adamant about not reading series books in order, so I wasn’t expecting to read Fallen until I’d read the first two books in the Will Trent series.  However, I was eager enough about this book that I ended up abandoning that plan and picking Fallen up with no background in the series.  Happily, I didn’t feel lost at all - I could tell that many of the characters had been introduced and developed in a previous novel, but Slaughter provided me with plenty of information such that I knew the characters and overall story arches.

Will Trent is a really intriguing character.  He was raised by the state, never adopted, so he has a hard edge to his personality because of what he has been through.  His wife is his weak point - while he does not love her, they share so much history that he cannot let go of her because he cares about what happens to her.  What makes things difficult, though, is that she has a destructive personality.  She wants to tear Will down and keep him there, but Will can no longer be that person for her.  I found him completely fascinating and would love to continue getting to know him through previous and future books.

The story of Fallen is a little confusing, but well done.  There may be some details I missed, having started in the middle of a series, but Slaughter does a great job explaining the background and providing information for those new - so much so, in fact, that this book would work as a standalone.  The action starts from the first few pages and doesn’t stop or let up until the last page.  Slaughter takes the reader through the worlds of gangs, drugs, and prison  and keeps us in the dark as to whom we can trust over the course of the book.  The combination makes for a very entertaining read.

Fallen is a thrilling, gripping read, and I can see why so many have said such great things about Karin Slaughter.  She draws you into this novel with appealing characters and a tantalizingly confusing situation, and allows everything to unravel at its own pace.  While this was my first of her novels, it definitely won’t be my last, as I am eager to go back and read the rest of the Will Trent series.

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I’ve been in the market for a new ereader for about six months.  I have a Sony Reader Touch PRS-505, and while I was happy with it for awhile, I’ve become increasingly dissatisfied with it as of late.  I’ve had my eye on the Kobo Touch for some time, and when I heard that they were on sale at closing Borders stores for 30% off of their list price of $129.99, I was even more intrigued.  I took the plunge and purchased a Kobo Touch this weekend, and wrote up my thoughts on the device for those of you considering purchasing one.

Pros

Contrast

One of my main complains about my previous ereader was the poor contrast.  Happily, this isn’t a problem at all with the Kobo Touch!  I was really surprised by how great the contrast on the device is - I could even read in very low light.  The surface is also completely non-reflective, so it is easy to read in direct light or sunlight.

Refresh Rate

Anyone who is familiar with e-ink screens knows about the “flash” that occurs when you turn the page of an ebook.  Kobo has minimized that issue - pages turn cleanly and quickly, and what’s more, you can choose how many pages the Kobo will turn before the screen fully refreshes.

Size & Construction

As you can see in the picture above, the Kobo Touch has a very small profile.  It is slim and light and easily fits in the palm of one hand (and my hand is small!)  I love how portable it is - the picture below is of the Kobo Touch next to a standard trade paperback size book.  As you can see, the Kobo is actually smaller.

The device is well-constructed and doesn’t look cheap.  The material the case is made of is soft to the touch, and the back of the reader has a nice quilted look.  It’s just a small detail, but it’s a nice touch.

File Formats

The Kobo Touch supports many different file formats, which makes it incredibly versatile.  Most of my books are in unprotected and Adobe Digital Editions protected ePub and PDF, and the Kobo is compatible with both of these formats.  The reader also plays nicely with Adobe Digital Editions - I had no problem authorizing the device through the program and was able to immediately transfer library books and NetGalley review copies to the Kobo Touch. 

List of supported formats (from Kobo.com): EPUB, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, and CBR

Charger

The Kobo Touch comes with a cord to hook the device up to your computer, which is fine except for all those times I would rather have a wall charger, especially if I’m traveling without a laptop.  Well, great news: the Kobo Touch is compatible with an USB charger.  Just plug the cord into any USB port, whether on a computer or a wall charger (the iPod/iPad wall chargers come to mind) and you will be able to charge your Kobo.

Font/Style Options

If you are reading an ePub, the Kobo Touch gives you several wonderful options in order to customize the text fully.  I have the choice of seven different fonts and can also manipulate the font size, line spacing, margins, and justification.  I probably will never use all of the options, but I love the fact that so much thought went into the reading experience.

Stats and Social Features

One of the features on the Kobo Touch is “Reading Life” and for those of us obsessed with stats, this is great! I’ve posted a snapshot below of my current stats, just so you can see what it measures.

On the Kobo app for my iPhone and iPad, there are additional social features where I can share my stats with my friends.

Memory

The Kobo Touch has 1 GB of onboard memory - enough for thousands of ebooks.  What’s more, it has a micro-SD card slot, which means if I somehow fill up the internal memory, I can buy a card and start filling that up with books as well!

Wi-Fi

I enjoy being able to access the Kobo Store from any Wi-Fi connection.  It means I’ll never run out of books to read!

Cons

PDF Viewing

Reading PDFs is a big issue for me, and while the experience on the Kobo is better than on many other ereaders, it’s just not good enough.  The Kobo does not support PDF Reflow (which is where the text of your PDF will be reorganized the more you zoom in), and though it’s an imperfect tool at best, it’s something I would have liked to have seen on the Kobo Touch.

While zooming in on PDFs on the Kobo Touch is very good, it’s not practical to read that way.  It requires an inordinate amount of dragging to turn the page and is just very frustrating.  What I would love is if you could set a zoom level for a certain book, and then read it that way, but that option isn’t available right now for this device. As a result, I will continue to read PDFs on my iPad.

Kobo App

While I am thrilled that I have the Kobo app on my phone and iPad, it’s not really much use to me right now.  First, it is not compatible with Adobe Digital Editions (though the actual reader device IS - I don’t want to confuse anyone).  Second, it doesn’t sync the book on my Kobo Touch I’m reading across devices.  Third, it will only scan Facebook, not Twitter, for possible Kobo friends, which is just useless for me.

Physical Buttons

While I do love the touch screen and it is extremely responsive, I would love a “page forward” button in addition to the physical home button. This is a very minor quibble, and I’m sure it will go away once I become more used to the device.

Surface

I’ve noticed that the outer casing of the device shows fingerprints.  Not a big deal, but it will annoy my anal retentive self from time to time.

Kobo Software

The Kobo software seems to be pretty much useless if you aren’t loading books directly from the Kobo Store.  Luckily, I was always planning on using Calibre, an ebook management program that can be used across multiple devices, and it works beautifully with the Kobo Touch.

Conclusions

All in all, I am very happy with my Kobo Touch purchase.  While I wish it handled PDFs better, I do realize that is a fault of the PDF format and not really of the reader.  My other issues with it are extremely minor.  Overall, I think it was a great value and I’m excited to start reading ebooks more regularly again.

If you have any questions about the Kobo Touch, I am happy to answer them.  Please keep in mind that I can’t answer any device specific information (for example, I know a lot of people have questions about Nook ebook compatibility, and since I don’t have a Nook, I can’t help you!), but I’ll answer what I can!

Title: Turn Right at Machu Picchu
Author: Mark Adams
ISBN: 9780525952244
Pages: 352
Release Date: June 30, 2011
Publisher: Dutton
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel, History
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Mark Adams was a travel writer and editor, but he wasn’t the type of person to actually embark on adventure travel.  However, he had always dreamed of hiking the Inca trail, and decides to take the journey of a lifetime.  Camping, hiking, and trekking through the most difficult of terrain, Adams seeks to rediscover Machu Picchu, and understand what Hiram Bingham went through in his quest to “discover” the lost city.

Review:

Turn Right at Machu Picchu is a mix between a travelogue and a history.  There are three separate threads that Adams combines to make up the bulk of the story.  The Incas’ first encounter with Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and the chaos and death that ensued because of it comprises the first story.  After it became clear that Pizarro’s motives weren’t exactly friendly, the Incas retreated to a hidden city in the clouds, one which inspired the imagination of Hiram Bingham III some four hundred years later.  Bingham pored over maps and led three different expeditions into Peru to find the lost city.  He “found” Machu Picchu (though it’s hard to truly say he discovered it, considering there were actually people living there at the time he came upon it) as well as many other important Inca sites.

The third narrative in Turn Right at Machu Picchu is Adams’ own travelogue as he journeys to see Machu Picchu the way Hiram Bingham did.  He connects with Australian guide John Leivers, who really is the stuff of legend.  He is witty, but also wise about the jungle and the current state of ruins in Peru.  He serves as an important source of knowledge over the course of the book.

Through these three different narratives, the reader gets a sense of the overarching history of the Incas’ downfall, and how their culture has shaped the modern Peru that Adams sees.  He talks with locals and tries to understand the modern history of Machu Picchu - the political and geographical issues, as well as what the rise of tourism is doing to the site.  He presents all this information in a fascinating and easily digestible form, and he really manages to give the reader a broad view of the situation.

Adams is a talented writer, and he keeps the reader interested from beginning to end.  Incorporating three different narratives into his overall story means that he can switch time periods as necessary in order to tell the most engaging story possible.  At the same time, though, he is careful not to confuse the reader or frustrate them with too much time jumping.  The historical strands are wrapped into Adams’ modern day journey incredibly well.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu is a fascinating look at Incan history and culture, and the way they intertwine with those of Peru.  This is a must-read for anyone interested in Incan history, armchair travelers, and those passionate about archaeology.

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Title: Darkness, My Old Friend
Author: Lisa Unger
ISBN: 9780307464996
Pages: 368
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Publisher: Crown
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Jones Cooper has retired from the police force (not necessarily by choice) and doesn’t know what to do with his days.  He has been helping out his neighbors free-of-charge, but his wife has been pushing him to find something to occupy his time.  He resents that she is forcing him to see a therapist.  When a psychic comes to Jones’ doorstop, one he worked with while on the police force, he knows that his quiet way of life is about to change.

Review:

Though I’ve tried to summarize Darkness, My Old Friend above, I really only focused on one small storyline of this large and complex book.  There are many different characters and story arches, and the magic of the book is seeing how each of them intertwine and diverge from one another.  Jones seems to be the anchor that binds many of these different plotlines together; though not necessarily the main character, he is at the center of the book, watching things around him slowly devolve.

Darkness, My Old Friend is actually a sequel to Unger’s previous novel, Fragile, though I didn’t realize that until a quarter of the way through the book.  Darkness, My Old Friend functions very well as a standalone; there is no need to read Fragile first.  Unger is careful to hint around the events of the first book when discussing Jones’ past, but never gives away too much.  As a result, readers could pick up these books out of order and still derive enjoyment out of both.

I’ve always maintained that Lisa Unger is a master at crafting mysteries, and every book she writes just confirms that fact.  This is a subtle book of whispers and haunting thoughts; it takes the reader on twists and turns, into unexpected territory.  While it never stretches credulity, it is difficult to predict what will happen.  Unger’s writing style is poetic and achingly beautiful, and does justice to her gripping storylines.  This is a thrilling read that will keep readers hooked from beginning to end.

Lisa Unger is one of those authors whose books I anticipate breathlessly.  Even if I have no idea (or interest in) what she’s writing about, I will always pick up her books just because she is that great of an author.  Unger has created some memorable characters and a vivid setting in The Hollows, and I hope she returns to them in her next book.  I highly recommend Darkness, My Old Friend and all of Unger’s earlier novels to mystery and thriller lovers, as well as anyone who loves a tightly woven and gripping story.

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Title: The Last Werewolf
Author: Glen Duncan
ISBN: 9780307595089
Pages: 304
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:

Jake is a werewolf, but what’s more, he’s the last of his kind.  WOCOP, an organization dedicated to the pursuit of the paranormal, has hunted down all of his remaining brethren.  Jake must deal with the fact that he is alone, all while satisfying his insatiable appetites, and find in himself the will to keep on living.

Review:

The Last Werewolf is a novel that has had a lot of buzz and hype.  I haven’t seen a single negative, or even middling, review for it - everything I have seen has raved about how amazing of a book it was.  That was why I was surprised to find that I didn’t have the same gushing, thrilled feelings about it upon finishing that most others seem to have had.  While I thought it was solid and brought up some interesting points, I didn’t love it.  Was it a case of too-high expectations? Most likely. 

The thing I absolutely loved about The Last Werewolf was Jake’s transformation - the metaphorical, not the literal change into a werewolf.  He starts out the novel completely bereft.  The last of his kind, he contemplates going out with a whimper instead of a bang, allowing WOCOP to find and end him.  But as the novel progresses, Jake turns into a fighter.  He begins to see why his life is worth living, and grasping as hard as he can to keep on going.  I absolutely loved witnessing this character development.  It was accomplished beautifully and was both incredibly moving and very satisfying.

Seeing the story from the point of view of the werewolf, rather than those hunting him, was also very interesting.  I appreciated Jake’s wit and his musings, especially his melancholy about being the last werewolf.  It was great to see him, not as this creature subject only to his own lusts, but as a thinking, feeling, and philosophizing being who reveled in what he was.

However, being in Jake’s head had some drawbacks, mainly that his thoughts often meandered, sometimes to the point of boredom.  A lot of the book takes place in Jake’s head, moving through his thoughts and emotions, and while the conflict between his two souls - human and werewolf - is completely fascinating, there are times when the book itself drags.  The action of the book comes in stages, mainly at the end of the novel, and it seems rushed and crammed into too short a space.  I believe it would have worked better had the action been more spread out amid Jake’s musings.

The Last Werewolf really is a beautifully written book, and I wanted to enjoy it more than I did.  I believe that if my expectations had been tempered, I would have really been able to revel in it.  Still, it’s definitely worth reading, and I recommend it to literary fiction lovers out there, especially those interested in the nature of a person’s soul.

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Title: Ten Beach Road
Author: Wendy Wax
ISBN: 9780425240861
Pages: 432
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Avery, Nicole, and Madeline are three completely different women with one thing in common: they all made the mistake of investing their money with Malcolm Dyer, a financial manager running a Ponzi scheme, and now they have nothing. When these three women are given co-ownership of one of Malcolm’s old houses, they are eager to sell it - until they see its dilapidated state.  Realizing that it will bring in much more money if it’s in good shape, the three women move to Florida not only to fix the house, but their own lives in the process.

Review:

Fixing up a house is always a great premise for a novel, and Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax is no exception.  While the house, Bella Flora, is the centerpiece of the novel, it’s really the women working on it that make up the meat of the book.  Each has areas of their lives they dislike, and losing all their hard earned money has brought that dissatisfaction into sharper focus.

For Nicole, it’s the fact that Malcom Dyer isn’t just another financial manager.  He’s her little brother.  Nicole raised Malcolm and thought she had taught him right from wrong, but the fact that he felt entitled enough to steal his clients’ money and then run instead of facing the consequences leaves her bereft.  For Avery, it’s that she’s been sidelined on her own TV design show, reduced to wearing too-tight shirts and smiling and nodding.  She is an intelligent and resourceful woman with a degree in architecture, though one would never believe that while watching the show.  And for Madeline, it’s the discovery that her husband has been lying to her and has now completely shut down.  What’s more, her adult children are completely irresponsible, and it’s up to her to do everything.

Each of these women is smart, focused, and determined; Wax did a wonderful job writing strong and independent woman.  It’s a shame that the major male role in the book is taken by a man who seems to get a thrill out of condescending to them, especially Avery.  While the situation is explained later in the novel, I never warmed to him and thought he was completely out of line and revolting.

Ten Beach Road is a fun summer read, perfect for the beach or the pool.  While it does bring up interesting issues, it’s mostly just a fun novel that works as a breezy afternoon read.  Wax is a talented author, and I look forward to seeing what she does next.

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Title: The Virgin of Small Plains
Author: Nancy Pickard
ISBN: 9780345470997
Pages: 352
Release Date: April 18, 2006 
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

On one fateful night, the body of a dead girl is found during a blizzard in Small Plains, Kansas. The body is quietly brought to Doc Reynolds’ place, where Abby, the doctor’s daughter, has snuck her boyfriend Mitch into the house. But Mitch sees something that night he can never forget, and by the morning, he has left town. Almost twenty years later, there is another blizzard, one which stirs up old memories. When Mitch comes back to town and Abby begins asking questions about the identity of the dead girl, they set into motion a chain of events which will lead to difficult revelations.

Review:

After reading Nancy Pickard’s wonderful novel The Scent of Rain and Lightning and really enjoying it, multiple people recommended her previous novel, The Virgin of Small Plains, to me. I was excited to pick it up, to delve into another small Kansas town to see what secrets had been hidden away that were about to come to light.

Pickard portrays small town life incredibly well in this novel. From the quirky townspeople to the feeling of living around people you have known your whole life, all of the small town dynamics are on display in The Virgin of Small Plains. And like any small town, Small Plains has its own secrets, and Pickard builds the suspense around them amazingly well. It’s clear from the beginning that Abby isn’t going to like what she finds when she starts digging, but at the same time, the truth has to come to light eventually.

Though I did guess at some of the aspects of the end revelations, I was pleasantly surprised, shocked, and slightly horrified by what I discovered. I was emotionally invested in this book for Abby’s sake, so I felt the same horror that she did when all finally was revealed. Pickard did a wonderful job drawing me into this book and really keeping the reader guessing.

The Virgin of Small Plains was a very entertaining and well-written novel. I certainly hope Pickard chooses to write more books in this vein - the small town secrets set up works very well for her. I hesitate to call it a formula, though, because these two novels really are very different, despite having a similar premise. Whatever it might be, I would love to read more novels in this vein from Nancy Pickard, as she clearly has an exceptional talent at crafting suspenseful and atmospheric mysteries.

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Title: Angelina’s Bachelors: A Novel of Food
Author: Brian O’Reilly
ISBN: 9781451620566
Pages: 384
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Angelina is happy with her life.  Her husband, Frank, is a good man, and though they haven’t yet been able to have children, Angelina still has hope.  But when Frank dies unexpectedly and Angelina loses her job, she has more to cope with than she can handle.  She turns to cooking for solace, and through food, she finds new friends and a new way to live.

Review:

The subtitle of Angelina’s Bachelors really is very accurate - it is a novel of food.  Each page holds mouthwatering descriptions of Angelina’s newest efforts in the kitchen, along with recipes so the reader can cook alongside her.  O’Reilly highlights the healing power of food - how it can bring people together and is good for the soul.  When Angelina has nowhere else to turn, she looks to cooking as a therapy to help her through her grief.  Food helps to fill that hole in her, but also brings other people into Angelina’s life to soothe the hurts that food can’t reach.

Angelina’s an interesting main character.  She seems very real as she works through her anger and frustration at the course her life has taken.  She can be temperamental at times, but that only adds to the sense that she is a real person, rather than a character in a book.  It’s easy to sympathize with Angelina after all the hurts that have taken their toll on her.

I enjoyed the premise of Angelina’s Bachelors, though the story fizzled for me towards the end.  I felt like there were a few too many storylines, and the book got too far away from Angelina and her emotional recovery.  Additionally, I felt that some of the twists and turns towards the end were a little too unrealistic in their optimism, though because I did like Angelina, I welcomed her good fortune. 

If you can enjoy this book for what it is - an emotional journey that is undertaken through the vehicle of food - you will enjoy it.  It’s a quick, light read that will leave you eager to paw through your pantry in order to see what delicious concoctions you can whip up while reading!

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