Title: Blue Monday
Author: Nicci French
ISBN: 9780670023363
Pages: 336
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Frieda Klein is a consultant psychoanalyst living in London.  By day, she works with patients and by night, she roams the city, a loner at heart.  When one of Frieda's patients begins to discuss dreams about having a red-haired son, Frieda feels like he is just trying to work through his issues.  But when she discovers that a five year old, red-haired boy named Matthew Farraday has been kidnapped, a child who looks remarkably similar to the boy described in her patient’s dreams, Frieda feels that she has no choice but to involve the police.

Review:

Blue Monday is a novel that takes its time to really get going.  That’s not to say it’s slow or boring, but that French (the pseudonym for the writing team of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French) is careful to construct their setting and build up their main character prior to really delving into their story.  This means that the novel seems to wander for the first quarter or so, and readers may wonder where the authors are taking them.

Frieda is an appealing main character.  Capable and very smart, she exudes professionalism and confidence to those around her.  Inwardly, though, she isn’t quite so put together as she appears.  It’s clear Frieda is damaged in her own unique way, but she never dwells on this.  Instead, she focuses on her patients, trying to help them control what is in their heads because they have so little control over the world around them.  She’s definitely good at her job, and takes her patients seriously, even if she thinks they are creating their own issues.

As mentioned above, the mystery in Blue Monday takes some time to get going, but it evolves in a very organic way.  Frieda doesn’t stumble upon a dead body, or anything so obvious.  Instead, French litters clues throughout the first part of the novel, building the overall plot subtly and surely.  It’s very well done, and makes for an intriguing story.  The mystery is engaging and takes the reader on twists and turns.  Admittedly, some are difficult to believe and others are easy to predict, but overall, if you can immerse yourself in this novel, you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised by the ingenuity of the authors.

Blue Monday is also well-written.  French’s writing is atmospheric and their descriptions are absolutely wonderful.  Overall, this is an enjoyable, quick read that really draws you into the story.  I enjoyed getting to know Freida, and the novel was one I wanted to consume in one sitting because it was gripping and easy to read.  I definitely recommend it to mystery fans, and it might also make a nice change for your next book club pick.

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Tree in Albert Park, Auckland, NZ

Title: The Bell Jar
Author: Sylvia Plath
ISBN: 9780061849909
Pages: 336
Release Date: November 3, 2009
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Genre: Classics
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Esther Greenwood is working in New York City at a magazine internship.  She tries to fit in with her fellow interns, and only moderately succeeds.  The stress of trying to connect with people she has nothing in common with, compounded with a professional setback after her internship ends, sets Esther on a downward spiral of depression from which there is seemingly no escape.

Review:

The Bell Jar is the story of Esther Greenwood’s descent into a horrible, life-consuming depression from which it seems as though there is no relief.  At the beginning of the novel, Esther is seemingly normal.  But it quickly becomes clear that Esther is unhappy with her life.  She sees everything through a bell jar, through glasses which make everything around her look as negative as possible.  It’s a frighteningly simple setback that tips the scales and leaves Esther in the full throes of depression.

Plath presents a hauntingly real portrayal of depression in The Bell Jar for good reason: the novel is based on her own experiences.  As a result, Plath gets deep into Esther’s mind, into her emotions. While it’s disturbing, Plath doesn’t go for cheap shock value, as is too often the case in books dealing with mental illness.  Esther’s emotions and feelings seem real; they have depth, and readers won’t help but be able to sympathize with Esther. It makes for a heavy read, though it’s never difficult - Plath’s steady prose ensures that the reader is never too bogged down to appreciate what is happening. 

It’s easy to see why The Bell Jar has become such a modern classic.  It’s reminiscent of Catcher in the Rye, except it has a much more compelling story and sympathetic main character in Esther.  If you’ve been depressed before, the novel will speak to you in a real and disturbing way.  You will likely see yourself mirrored in Esther and wonder how Plath, a woman writing over fifty years ago, could write your emotions in such a pitch-perfect manner.  It’s haunting and incredibly done.

If you haven’t been depressed, The Bell Jar will still make an intriguing read.  When Plath was writing, depression wasn’t as easily accepted as a mental issue as it is now.  It’s interesting to consider the time period, and how things have changed, but also how so much has stayed exactly the same.  Additionally, the deep, hard look into Esther’s mind will be both disturbing and fascinating, as you try to come to terms with this impressive novel.

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Title: No Mark Upon Her
Author: Deborah Crombie
ISBN: 9780061990618
Pages: 384
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Crime Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

When Rebecca Meredith goes missing after taking a boat out on the Thames, people are worried.  After all, she was an accomplished rower, used to taking care of herself, but she was also a high-ranking Met detective.  When her body is found, Scotland Yard Inspector Duncan Kincaid finds himself assigned to the case, one which is fraught with political tensions.  As Kincaid digs into Rebecca’s past, he finds some troubling information that he knows will anger his superiors.  Determined to bring Rebecca justice, Kincaid pushes on with the full knowledge that he could be ending his career.

Review:

No Mark Upon Her is the fourteenth novel in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, though I wasn’t aware of that when I picked up the book.  Though I picked up a faint hint that I had missed some past character development toward the beginning of the book, I never felt lost.  This is a testament to Crombie’s writing skills - she catches the reader up on enough backstory to where they know exactly what they need to for the purposes of this book while never dragging the narrative down with backstory.  Fourteen books is a lot, and I was surprised at how well this book worked as a standalone.

The mystery in No Mark Upon Her is atmospheric and well-written.  The Thames River provides a perfectly moody backdrop for Rebecca’s tragic murder.  The case seems contained to the upscale rowing societies that are everywhere in British society, but it quickly becomes clear that Rebecca’s death isn’t quite as neat as all that.  In fact, it’s a complicated, tangled mess with far-reaching implications.  Crombie tied together these narrative threads very well, and it made for a gripping story.

It takes a talented policeman to navigate the treacherous waters of Rebecca’s murder investigation, and Duncan Kincaid does that incredibly well.  I loved how passionate he was on Rebecca’s behalf, as well as how he refused to follow the easy path if his gut led him down a more difficult one.  His home life with Gemma provided some depth and balance to his character.  Crombie did an admirable job developing an already finely honed character for a brand new audience; I can’t say enough great things about her writing skills.

Though I appreciated No Mark Upon Her as a standalone novel, I’m now eager to go back and read this series from the beginning.  It seems as though Crombie took care not to introduce too many spoilers into the narrative, and her characters and story were so well done, I can’t help but want more.  I’m sure her backlist will keep me sated until the next Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, in which I hope to visit more of Gemma’s character.

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Happy Sunday, everyone!  This week has been very hectic, so I’m hoping to relax today.  Unfortunately, I know I have to work at least a little bit, so that definitely puts a damper on things.  I did have one very bright spot this week - I got to meet Sarah McCoy, author of The Baker’s Daughter, at my local indie, One More Page Books!  We had dinner (along with her lovely mother and Jenn of Jenn’s Bookshelves) before the event, and it was great to finally meet her after chatting with her on Twitter after all this time.

Believe it or not, I only read two books this week, and one was an audiobook that I’ve been working on for months!  I was working pretty much non-stop this week after taking off Monday to travel (ahh, the life of a freelancer - no paid vacation!), so that didn’t leave much reading time.  I hope things will be better next week, but I’ll admit I’m starting to wonder how much longer I can keep up my daily posting schedule.  I have a very healthy buffer of posts, so I’m fine for now, but that’s something I’m starting to think about more and more.  Perhaps not posting on Fridays or Saturdays? It’s something I have to consider, especially if my schedule doesn’t allow more time for reading.

This week, I posted a picture of Mitre Peak from New Zealand; last week, it was Lake Tekapo.  For the SheKnows Book Lounge, for Must-Reads, I chose The Rebel Wife by Taylor Polites, Affairs of Steak by Julie Hyzy, and The Woman Who Heard Color by Kelly Jones.  I chose A Good American by Alex George as the Red Hot Book of the Week.  I also introduced my new column, Adventures in E-Reading, in which I pick some e-books I think are worth the download.

Reviews posted this week:

Title: The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America
Author: Hannah Nordhaus
ISBN: 9780061873256
Pages: 288
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Genre: Non-Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

John Miller is a beekeeper for hire, moving his bees around the country to pollinate America’s farms.  But being a beekeeper in modern day American isn’t easy; John must struggle on a daily basis to keep his hardworking bees going.  From disease to pesticides, bees are astonishingly fragile and must face innumerable hardships in order to keep going.

Review:

In The Beekeeper’s Lament, Hannah Nordhaus presents the plight of today’s beekeepers through the charming and likeable John Miller.  Nordhaus picked an excellent person through which to tell her story; he gives the story a personal face.  Without him, it would be hard to relate to what Nordhaus has to say and to understand how it affects real people.  With him, this book becomes a glimpse into a completely foreign profession that faces increasing challenges as the years progress.

Nordhaus makes it clear that, without beekeepers and their bees, the agricultural industry in this country (and around the world) would come to a standstill.  Yet bees are increasingly dying off in droves, and it’s becoming harder to make a living as a beekeeper.  Nordhaus presents the plight of these men and women, without whom we wouldn’t have produce in our grocery stores every day, incredibly well.  Beekeeping is a passion; it has to be, with all the difficulties that plague today’s professional beekeepers.

But The Beekeeper’s Lament isn’t just about the people who own the hives; it’s about the bees themselves, amazingly industrious and resilient workers.  Nordhaus chronicles problem after problem that these little critters face, and as the reader progresses, they come to appreciate bees more and more.  It’s amazing that they haven’t been pushed into extinction, with all they have had to face.  Just as the beekeepers work incredibly hard for their bees, the bees pay that back in kind.

Even if you know nothing about bees, The Beekeeper’s Lament is a fascinating story.  Hannah Nordhaus is a talented author, and she does an incredible job balancing the many different aspects of this novel - John Miller’s story, those of the beekeepers, the history of bees, and the threats these creatures must face.  Her prose is engaging and easy to read.  Despite the fact that this is a quick read, it’s jam-packed with information and will engross the reader from beginning to end.  If you’re looking for your next non-fiction read, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

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Title: Murder Takes the Cake
Author: Gayle Trent
ISBN: 9781451600018
Pages: 288
Release Date: March 29, 2011
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

When Daphne Martin delivers a cake to the home of town gossip Yodel Watson, she expects the cranky old bat to, once again, tell her that it’s not good enough.  The last thing she thinks she’ll find is Yodel dead on the floor.  Daphne tries to be sympathetic, but Yodel wasn’t liked around town, and since discovering the body, Daphne’s fledgling cake business has lost a few customers.  But when Daphne gets ahold of Yodel’s diary, in which she wrote about everyone in town, Daphne learns some troubling things about her own family and realizes how many people had a motive to murder Yodel.

Review:

Murder Takes the Cake is a fun cozy mystery with an appealing main character.  Daphne Martin is determined to start over in her hometown after a divorce.  She decides to pursue her passion, making and decorating cakes, and turns it into a business.  The cake descriptions in this novel are delectable; Trent really draws the reader in with the amazing cakes that Daphne bakes.  It’s a nice treat for the foodies among cozy mystery lovers.

Though this is a light, easy cozy mystery, it has a bit more depth and substance than most books in this genre.  Daphne had a very bad breakup with her ex (he tried to kill her), and she hasn’t forgiven her mother for her refusal to acknowledge the gravity of Daphne’s situation.  It makes for a very complicated mother-daughter relationship, made moreso by what Daphne discovers about her family in Hazel’s diary.  I appreciated that the main character had a personal stake in the story, as it gave the novel an added layer.

The mystery in Murder Takes the Cake is solid; though readers may have a suspicion about the culprit, the ending is still surprising and overall it makes for a fun read.  A word of warning to readers, though: if you aren’t a fan of cake or baking descriptions in your reads, this book may be too much.  Daphne gets very involved in her baking, and while it’s a real treat for those who enjoy living vicariously through their novels, others may become impatient.  As a whole, this was an enjoyable, breezy cozy mystery, and I look forward to the next book in the series.

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Title: Fever
Author: Lauren DeStefano
ISBN: 9781442409071
Pages: 352
Release Date: February 21, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Teen/YA, Dystopian
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for the first book in The Chemical Garden trilogy, Wither.

Summary:

After the events of Wither, Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from Vaughn and are making their way up to New York City.  But when they end up captured by a mysterious woman who calls herself Madame, Rhine is baffled as to how they can get away.  When Rhine discovers that Madame actually runs a whorehouse and is planning on profiting heavily off Rhine, she knows they must do everything they can to escape as soon as possible.

Review:

Fever is the follow-up to the hit dystopian novel Wither, though it doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the first novel. Once again, Rhine is an appealing character.  Her yearning for home is understandable, and it’s not hard to sympathize with her.  However, the other characters in the book are sadly flat.  Gabriel receives no further character development in this novel, and actually comes across as a secondary character rather than Rhine’s love interest.  It’s Rhine that must carry the story on her own, as the plot isn’t what readers might hope it would be, and she only somewhat succeeds.

The plot of Fever meanders slowly, without much real forward driving force.  Rhine and Gabriel seem to wander aimlessly, becoming caught in one difficult situation after another, while not really going anywhere.  Rather than being an exciting read, the book has little fits of action here and there.  While it’s not a slow read, not much happens overall.  There is no real exploration of Rhine’s world, and no addition to the world building that occurred in Wither.

The novel takes a turn for the last quarter of the book, and it seemed quite random.  It adds some depth to the novel as a whole, though, so it wasn’t an unwelcome transition.  DeStefano sets the stage for an interesting conclusion to the trilogy, so while I was disappointed in this book, it won’t stop me from reading the final installment.  If you haven’t picked up this series yet, I’d wait until the last book is released; this may be a more enjoyable bridge novel when you have the next book waiting to be read.

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Title: What Happened to Hannah
Author: Mary Kay McComas
ISBN: 9780062084781
Pages:  352
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Hannah Benson ran away from an abusive home as a teenager, and she has never looked back.  That is, until she receives a phone call years later from her former high school boyfriend, Grady Steadman.  Grady informs her that Hannah’s mother and sister, Ruth, have both died, leaving Ruth’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Anna, alone.  Hannah reluctantly returns to her hometown in order to meet Anna, the niece she never knew she had, and face her demons, once and for all.

Review:

What Happened to Hannah is the story of an abused girl coming home to confront the ghosts of her past.  The thing that makes it difficult for Hannah is that it’s not by choice.  She thinks she has closure, that she has put her troubled childhood behind her, but from the first page, it’s clear that isn’t the case.  Returning home rips open wounds, but Hannah barely has time to process these hurts because she must focus on her niece.  Hannah has a new center of her world, and for once, it isn’t her own pain.

The story of What Happened to Hannah is an emotional one.  Hannah badly needs healing, but she also needs to help Anna through this difficult time.  Anna is a great teenager, what any guardian might hope for when meeting their fifteen-year-old niece for the first time.  She’s well-adjusted, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have fears of her own.  Why didn’t Hannah ever bother to visit her?  What happens now, if Hannah doesn’t want her?

The novel moves at a steady pace, through the difficult terrain of the past and the wide-open future.  McComas’ prose is clear and makes the novel flow quickly and smoothly.  Readers will adore Hannah, as damaged as she is; it’s clear what her “big secret” is from the beginning, but it seems as though that was intentional on the author’s part.  This isn’t a mystery novel, which might keep the reader guessing, but a book about a woman overcoming her past.

There are many novels out there about women with abusive childhoods, and What Happened to Hannah is definitely one of the better ones.  It’s emotional without being manipulative, and it’s very honest.  The characters are wonderfully drawn and realistically flawed.  If you’re looking for an action-packed psychological thriller or a gripping mystery, this is not it.  But if you’re looking for a character-driven women’s fiction novel with heart, especially for your book club, What Happened to Hannah is a great pick.

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Title: A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
Author: Joshilyn Jackson
ISBN: 9780446582353
Pages: 336
Release Date: January 25, 2012
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating:4.5  out of 5

Summary:

Big, Liza, and Mosey are three strong-willed women living under the same roof.  Big had Liza when she was just fifteen, and Liza, in turn, had Mosey at the same age.  On the cusp of Mosey’s fifteenth birthday, Big worries that Mosey might make the same mistakes that her mother and grandmother made. But when Liza has a stroke, all of Mosey’s and Big’s energy go to caring for her.  When Big decides to put in a swimming pool to help Liza’s therapy, the digging uncovers the skeleton of an infant.  Big knows that the baby has something to do with Liza, but she wonders if that skeleton was Liza’s baby, then who exactly is Mosey and where did she come from?

Review:

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is told from three different viewpoints: Big’s, Liza’s, and Mosey’s.  Big is concerned with keeping the truth from Mosey so that she doesn’t have to ask the painful questions of who her family is. She is a real Southern matriarch, hell bent on protecting her family at any and all costs.  Jackson did an amazing job with Big, ensuring that her big heart will envelop the reader.  She is fierce, yet so tender and loving, and it’s clear she has given up a lot in order to care for her daughter and granddaughter.  Readers will instantly fall in love with Big.

Even though Liza is crippled physically by her stroke, her mental faculties are as sharp as ever.  She tries as best she can to tell her story, despite her physical limitations, though her unreliable narration presents a tantalizing puzzle.  The reader really gets to see Liza’s determination.  She has a fire that no one can suppress, and while she doesn’t always behave like a proper woman should, she is very easy to love and sympathize with.

Mosey is perhaps the most complicated of the three in A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, but if anything, that makes her even more endearing.  Despite Big’s efforts to protect her from the knowledge that she may not be Liza’s daughter, she figures it out for herself.  What ensues is a hilarious, yet desperate search for her true origins with the help of Mosey’s best friend.  Jackson writes her conflicted emotions amazingly well; Mosey doesn’t know where she belongs, and that uncertainty damages her.

The center of A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty is these three wonderfully written characters; though the plot is engaging and keeps the reader hooked on the narrative, it’s a character-driven story.  It’s these women that will make you want to read late into the night, to ensure that, in the end, all is well.  Jackson writes the Southern atmosphere amazingly well, and readers will want to kick back with a glass of sweet tea and devour this book in one frantic sitting.

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Mitre Peak, Milford Sound, New Zealand

Title: The Hypnotist
Author: Lars Kepler
ISBN: 9780374173951
Pages: 512
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Genre: Crime Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:

Detective Inspector Joona Linna is called to investigate three grisly murders, and the violence he sees shocks him.  But somehow, there is a survivor - a young boy who saw his family killed before his eyes.  The boy is weak and near death, but Joona must know what he saw.  He calls in Dr. Erik Maria Bark, a hypnotist, and asks him to hypnotize the boy. Though Dr. Bark made a promise ten years ago to never use hypnotism again after tragic consequences, he relents for these extraordinary circumstances. But what Erik can’t know is that breaking his promise will have unimaginable consequences for himself and his family.

Review:

The Hypnotist is a crime fiction novel set in Tumba, Sweden, and it has all the twists and turns readers have come to expect from Scandinavian mystery novels.  There are actually two main storylines running parallel in this novel.  The first is Detective Inspector Joona Linna’s case and the investigation into the gruesome slaying of three members of a family.  The sheer violence against them is bad enough, but what Erik uncovers during the hypnotism is even worse.  It’s chilling and unpleasant, but Kepler wrote it incredibly well.

The second storyline in The Hypnotist has to do with Erik and his history with hypnotism.  From the beginning, it’s clear that Erik had some sort of bad experience with it, but it’s only towards the middle of the novel that Kepler takes the reader back to see what it was.  It’s clear that experience damaged Erik personally and professionally; he’s not entirely stable, and relies an inordinate amount on medication.  Unfortunately, these storylines aren’t always balanced well.  Rather than jumping back and forth, keeping the reader interested in both, Kepler focuses heavily on one, than the other, such that the movement is a bit jarring, especially if the reader prefers one plotline over the other.

Erik is also a difficult character to like.  He just isn’t a pleasant person; he is cruel to his wife, and is very self-involved.  While the overall storyline of the book was gripping, his story with hypnotism wasn’t as engaging.  Perhaps it was because the character was distasteful, and therefore it was difficult to care about the root of his damaged psyche, but he just was not an appealing person.

That being said, The Hypnotist kept me hooked.  Even during the slower parts involving Erik’s past, I still kept turning the pages, desperate to know how everything turned out.  The blood is a little extreme in this novel, so if you’re faint of heart, I’d stay away.  It’s not the best example of Scandinavian crime fiction, but if you enjoy the genre as much as I do, you may want to seek this novel out.

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Title: Pure
Author: Julianna Baggott
ISBN: 9781455503063
Pages: 448
Release Date: February 8, 2012
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Pressia Belze lives in a haunted, cloudy world.  She doesn’t remember much before the nuclear detonations; after all, she was just a young girl when they occurred.  Now, she lives with her grandfather, deformed like everyone else who survived the nuclear holocaust.  With Pressia’s sixteenth birthday approaching, she knows she will become a target, and that she must leave soon.  She dreams of the Dome, a beacon of hope and resentment, where the Pures, unaffected by the horrors of the nuclear fallout, live.  But when a Pure named Partridge escapes the Dome, everything changes.  Pressia and Partridge must work together to uncover the secrets of their world before it’s too late.

Review:

Pure is a grim depiction of life after a nuclear holocaust.  There are survivors, yes, but they are deformed and twisted.  Pressia is lucky - her deformity is limited to a scar on her face and a doll’s head in place of her hand, but others must deal with being bonded to living animals or even mothers to their own children.  It’s sickening to read and serves to underscore the dark nature of this world that Pressia lives in.  Baggott builds her world expertly, making sure the reader understands that there is no no hope here, only despair.  Her descriptions are amazingly detailed, and the reader can picture this twisted place in all its grisly detail.

Baggott’s characters are equally well written.  Pressia is a teenager, yes, but there is nothing about her that is young and innocent.  She’s seen too much of the world, too much hurt and despair, for her to be such a tender age.  At the same time, though, she takes pleasure in such small things: her grandfather’s company, a pair of sturdy boots.  It makes the reader ache for her, that she has been denied so much and lives in such a places of horrors.  Pressia is strong, yet vulnerable, and she only becomes more appealing as the novel progresses.

World building is a huge part of Pure; readers must understand the dark nature of the post-apocalyptic world in order to understand the resentment much of the population feels towards Pures and the Dome.  Baggott does an excellent job with this, but because it’s so detailed and the reader must get a sense of Pressia’s daily life, the novel is long.  I hesitate to say it’s overly long because this exposition and description is wonderful for really understanding the book (and likely the trilogy) overall, but Pure definitely meanders.  For much of the novel, it’s difficult to say where it’s going, or if it’s going anywhere at all.  It moves slowly, at its own pace, though it never lost my interest.

Pure is a worthy addition to the vast (and ever-growing) collection of post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels.  Though the main character is just sixteen, this is not a young adult novel.  The themes, the emotions, the descriptions are very adult, and older readers will appreciate the lack of any sort of teenage angst.  This is a dark novel that can be difficult to read because of the disturbing descriptions, yet it is definitely worth your time.  Baggott is building towards something amazing, and I look forward to seeing what she does with the next book in this trilogy.

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Title: Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys
Author: Michael Collins
ISBN: 9780374531942
Pages: 512
Release Date: June 23, 2009
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Space/NASA
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Michael Collins is the oft-forgotten third member of the crew of Apollo 11, the man who orbited the moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on it.  In his memoir, he discusses his early years and the road he took to becoming an astronaut.  He details his personal triumphs and setbacks, and tries to give the reader a sense of the sheer wonder of seeing the earth from the moon.

Review:

Carrying the Fire is widely regarded as the astronaut memoir.  The one that tugs at your emotions, that really gives you a sense of what it’s like to travel in space.  It’s generally considered to be the best of the many offerings out there, so I went in with high expectations.  After all, I’ve read and enjoyed many of these astronaut memoirs (Riding Rockets by Mike Mullane, The Last Man on the Moon by Gene Cernan, and Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell, just to name a few), so I was curious to see what made Collins’ memoir one of the greatest.

Part of what makes Carrying the Fire so appealing is the personal nature of it.  Collins pours out his thoughts, hopes, and fears onto each page; there is no sugarcoating.  He gives an honest opinion of his fellow astronauts, which is very insightful.  He isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind, which is refreshing; too often in these books, the authors are hesitant to be critical of any part of the space program.  But it’s with these criticisms, especially from those who know best, that NASA can grow and change, avoiding past mistakes.

One thing Collins does exceptionally well in Carrying the Fire is make the reader feel like they are in the narrative.  Readers will easily be able to close their eyes and picture exactly what Collins is doing.  His language is so descriptive, and he is just such a talented writer.  Additionally, his sense of humor permeates the entire memoir and makes it very entertaining.  Though this is a long book, his wit makes the pages pass by quickly.

Carrying the Fire was written shortly after Collins retired from the astronaut program and moved onto the director position at the National Air and Space Museum.  While his observations and reflections are definitely still relevant, parts of the memoir feel a bit dated - his thoughts on the barely-planned shuttle program, or the far-away idea of a space station, for example.  While the 40th anniversary edition does have a new forward from Collins, I’d love to see a few more chapters on his thoughts on where the space program is now.  That being said, he’s written more books, and it’s completely possible those musings are in one of his other works. 

All in all, Carrying the Fire is a memoir worth reading. If you’re only going to read one Apollo-era astronaut memoir, this should be it.  Though Collins’ career in the space program wasn’t the most dramatic (I think that award goes to astronauts like Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and John Young), this memoir is pitch-perfect and beautiful.

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Title: The Calling of the Grave
Author: Simon Beckett
ISBN: 9780553825596
Pages: 464
Release Date: November 24, 2011
Publisher: Random House UK
Genre: Crime Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Eight years ago, before the death of his wife and daughter, Dr. David Hunter was called to consult on the discovery of a body.  The police believed that this was one of the murders committed by a serial killer named Monk, a fact that the man himself (who is in prison) confirms.  Monk offers to show the police the location of the other bodies, but the search fails.  Now, one of Hunter’s fellow consultants on the project, Sophie Keller, has contacted David and asked to see him, and he can’t help but feel this has to do with the Monk investigation from all those years ago. 

Review:

I discovered the Dr. David Hunter novels a couple of years ago, and absolutely fell in love with them. The Chemistry of Death, Written in Bone, and Whispers of the Dead are amazing reads.  When the fourth novel, The Calling of the Grave, was released in the UK, I awaited its release anxiously in the United States.  But months passed, and I heard no word.  Finally, I decided to just order an import edition, as I was eager to read about Dr. David Hunter’s new adventures.

The Calling of the Grave is a bit quieter than Beckett’s previous novels.  Because the identity of the murderer is already known when they discover the body, there isn’t that normal urgency to discover the culprit.  Instead, there is a different kind of pressure, to find the bodies and give the families of the murder victims some kind of closure.  It’s not any less gripping, but it certainly gives the novel a different flavor. 

As with any David Hunter novel, the story is fast-paced and keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end.  The book had some predictable spots, and while mildly frustrating, they didn’t take away too much from the novel as a whole.  The setting of Dartmoor is atmospheric and bleak; it adds a certain color to the novel, making it seem as though the location had its own agenda.  It’s enough to give the reader chills as they are racing to discover the truth behind what is happening around Dr. Hunter.

While The Calling of the Grave did have its weak spots, it was still an enjoyable entry into the David Hunter series.  It’s a shame that this book wasn’t brought to the United States, as it doesn’t bode well for future installments in the series.  Wherever they happen to be published, though, I will seek out these books.  Beckett is an excellent writer and he’s written an appealing character with a fascinating profession (forensic archaeology).  If you haven’t picked up this series yet and are a fan of crime fiction, I highly recommend these novels.

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Title: The Inheritance
Author: Simon Tolkien
ISBN: 9780312539078
Pages: 336
Release Date: April 13, 2010
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Crime Fiction
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

When Stephen Cade is arrested for the murder of his father in 1959, everyone is sure he committed the crime.  After all, he and his father were estranged, and he was found in the room with his father’s corpse.  Even worse, his fingerprints were on the murder weapon.  But Detective Inspector William Trave, the policeman in charge of the case, isn’t so sure about Stephen’s guilt.  He becomes determined to find the real murderer, exposing the secrets and lies in the Cade household in the process.

Review:

The Inheritance is a mix of a courtroom drama and a crime fiction novel, set during 1959.  From the beginning, things don’t look good for Stephen.  Though the reader immediately knows he’s innocent, it’s difficult to explain away the many pieces of evidence that led to his arrest.  Tolkien writes the courtroom scenes with finesse; readers are hanging onto every word of the witnesses, hoping to find some reprieve for Stephen.  It’s easy to become emotionally involved in this story, especially when the life of an innocent man is at stake,

The cast of characters in The Inheritance is large, but Tolkien does an excellent job differentiating them.  They each have their own personalities, their own secrets, and they leap off the page.  It gives the reader many different choices in terms of who the murderer might be.  Tolkien’s writing is descriptive and evokes vivid pictures in the reader’s mind.  The plot takes its twists and turns, and though the reader can guess the identity of the murderer by the time it’s revealed, it’s not something that’s easy to predict early in the novel.

There is a secondary storyline in The Inheritance of atrocities committed in the French countryside during World War II.  Though these crimes were later blamed on the Nazis, it’s clear from the beginning that General Cade was behind them.  The question is, do these actions have any bearing on his murder?  Tolkien weaves these horrific events into the narrative well.

In the end, The Inheritance is a gripping crime fiction novel that is engaging and well-written.  The characters are intriguing, and the storyline will keep the reader hooked from beginning to end.  This is a promising start to a new series featuring Detective Inspector William Trave, and I look forward to seeing where his work takes him next.

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Title: All the Flowers in Shanghai
Author: Duncan Jepson
ISBN: 9780062081605
Pages: 320
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Fiction, Cultural Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:

Feng is a carefree child, living in Shanghai in the 1930s.  Because she is the younger daughter, she is expected to remain unmarried and take care of her parents, while her older sister will have a glamorous marriage.  But when Feng’s sister dies unexpectedly, she is pushed into her sister’s place as the bride of a businessman.  Resentful and bitter of the sacrifices she has been forced to make to please others, Feng plots her revenge against those around her.

Review:

All the Flowers in Shanghai brings into sharp relief how badly women were treated in China in the early 1900s.  Having a daughter was of little value; sons were greatly preferred in this culture.  Feng is treated as property, expected to give up all of her hopes and dreams to fulfill her parents’ wishes.  Once she is married, she is merely a vessel to deliver sons for her husband’s family.  The only person who listens to Feng, who takes her wishes into account, is her maid.  It’s no wonder she turns into a bitter person who finds no happiness or fulfillment in life.

However, this constant resentment Feng feels towards everything and everyone is also what makes All the Flowers in Shanghai an almost painful read.  It is completely understandable why Feng has so much hate in her, but it makes her a difficult character to like.  Readers will pity her, but they will find it hard to sympathize with her as her bitterness takes over completely and she becomes cruel and vindictive.  She just isn’t likeable, which makes the novel as a whole an arduous read.

The novel takes place at a very interesting time in Chinese history, but little of that makes it into the book.  It’s a very insular novel, about Feng and her personal issues, rather than about the world around her.  While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, the outside world all of a sudden becomes very important towards the end of the novel, and it is jarring.  Jepson assumes the reader has some familiarity with China during this period; if you don’t, you may be a bit lost while reading.

While All the Flowers in Shanghai was an interesting novel, it didn’t quite work.  Feng was a bit too difficult, and the secondary characters were flat.  The history is fascinating, but given much more thorough treatment by novels such as Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy by Lisa See.  If you’re fascinated by the historical treatment of women by other cultures, you should consider this book, but otherwise, it was too hard of a read.

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Title: On Borrowed Time
Author: David Rosenfelt
ISBN: 9781250002174
Pages: 352
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Richard Kilmer is thrilled with his life.  He enjoys his job as a journalist and is head-over-heels in love with his girlfriend, Jennifer Ryan.  He is excited to travel to her hometown in upstate New York to meet her parents, as he is planning on proposing to her while they are there.  But when they have a car accident and Jen disappears from the scene, Richard is bewildered.  However, it gets worse - no one can remember Jen except Richard.  Frantic, he tries to figure out what happened to his beloved girlfriend and questions whether he is losing his mind.

Review:

On Borrowed Time is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep readers hooked from beginning to end.  Rosenfelt does an admirable job with the plot; it moves very quickly, zipping from one point to another.  As a result, the reader never has a chance to fully adjust to what is happening to Richard; Rosenfelt keeps the reader on their toes as they try to guess what really is going on.

From the beginning the reader is aware that there is more happening than meets the eye.  Though Richard wonders if he is losing his sanity, the reader knows that isn’t the case.  This took away from the novel’s suspense; it would have been better had the reader been in the dark about Richard’s mental state, at least for the beginning of the novel.  Instead, the reader knows that something else is going on, and as a result, never wonders about the reliability of the narrator.

Rosenfelt takes some leaps with the plot, and though some of them are difficult to believe, he never veers so far as to lose the reader.  He knows exactly what risks he can take while still maintaining some credibility, however thin, and accomplishes them marvelously.  As a result, this novel is completely unpredictable and an amazing amount of fun to read.  One aspect of the novel that was very unique and doesn’t happen often in thrillers was Richard’s refusal to stay silent.  As a journalist, he knew how to exploit his talents to bring attention to his story, and he wasn’t afraid to do so.  It put a completely different spin on this novel, making it refreshing.

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, On Borrowed Time is a must-read.  It moves quickly, never giving the reader time to catch their breath.  While there are some plot holes, the sheer fun of the story makes them inconsequential.  This is a book I enjoyed cover to cover, and I look forward to seeing what Rosenfelt does next.

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Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Title: The House at Sea’s End
Author: Elly Griffiths
ISBN: 9780547506142
Pages: 384
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Crime Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Summary:

Ruth is back at work after her maternity leave, and she’s finding it difficult to balance the demands of being a mother and working at a job she adores.  When she is called to investigate sets of human bones found hidden on a beach in Norfolk, Ruth is intrigued.  The bones turn out to date from World War II, which brings up the question of war crimes.  Who were these people, and why were they murdered?

Review:

The House at Sea’s End is a nice mix between mystery, history, and personal struggles.  Ruth absolutely adores her new daughter, but she feels guilty for finding relief when she gets away to work.  Does that make her a bad mother?  She feels people’s eyes on her, judging her for being a single mom, for not being good enough of a mother.  She puts herself under a lot of pressure, which makes for interesting character development as the novel progresses.

The mystery in The House at Sea’s End is simply fascinating.  As Ruth and DCI Nelson dig into the case, they find some intriguing history behind it.  From the beginning, it’s clear that someone hoped these bodies would never be found.  The only reason they were uncovered was because of an unprecedented rate of coastal erosion.  Who was behind these grisly murders?  Griffiths writes a gripping mystery and adds in Ruth’s forensic archaeology expertise, making this a very interesting read.

There is a secondary storyline in The House at Sea’s End about Ruth’s work in Bosnia identifying bodies in mass graves.  Her friend from the time, Tatjana, has come to visit, bringing back these painful memories that Ruth would prefer not to revisit.  While this storyline isn’t fully developed, it’s certainly fascinating.  Griffiths does her best to show the reader the horrors of war and the way it can change a person completely.  It would have been great had this storyline been more fleshed out, especially considering its relevance to identifying the bodies on the beach, but it’s still fascinating.

With the third Ruth Galloway mystery, Elly Griffiths has really cemented herself as an amazing crime fiction writer.  These novels are intriguing, with bits of history and wonderful character development sprinkled in for good measure.  I’d recommend reading them in order, as they build on one another for character development.  This is a series that fans of crime fiction should definitely be reading.

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Title: One Was a Soldier
Author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
ISBN: 9780312334895
Pages: 336
Release Date: April 12, 2011
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for the previous book in the series, I Shall Not Want.

Summary:

Clare Fergusson has returned from Iraq to the town of Miller’s Kill, and is finding it difficult to readjust to her old life.  She loves being around Russ Van Alstyne, the Chief of Police, but she is having trouble just getting through each day without the help of alcohol.  She decides to attend a veteran’s group and bonds with the other Miller’s Kill residents that have returned from a war zone.  But when one of their group dies, and Chief Van Alstyne rules it a suicide, Clare must fight for the friend she knew and conduct her own investigation.

Review:

One Was a Soldier isn’t really a mystery, like the other Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne novels.  Sure, it has a mystery buried within it, but it doesn’t come to light until at least halfway through the novel.  Instead, this book is exactly what its title says it is - it’s about Clare being a soldier.  Now that she has returned, she feels completely alone.  Russ helps with that, somewhat, but she doesn’t know how to function in society anymore.  Her nightmares prevent her from sleeping, and she’s barely getting by, but on the surface, she appears to be fine.

The only people who can sympathize with Clare are those who have experienced the exact same thing - the veterans she finds in her support group.  It’s almost physically painful to read about how traumatized Clare is.  By this point in the series, readers know Clare in and out.  They know her hopes and dreams, and also her fears.  To see her this damaged seems just as difficult as experiencing it with a close friend or a loved one.  It’s a testament to how realistic Spencer-Fleming’s characters are, that she provokes such an emotional response from readers.

Once the mystery develops in One Was a Soldier, it is certainly engaging, but it’s not the real focus of the story.  It’s secondary.  I loved the focus on Clare and trying to get into the mindset of a soldier, as well as the exploration of the aftereffects of war and lack of services for vets.  However, one thing I love about Spencer-Fleming’s novels is the meaty mystery portion, and it was a bit lacking in this One Was a Soldier.  That’s not to say it wasn’t interesting, just that it wasn’t what I expected.

I appreciated the risk that Spencer-Fleming took with One Was a Soldier, and I think it paid off.  Clare has changed quite a bit from the beginning of the series, and I also appreciate that Russ and Clare have developed their relationship as well.  Spencer-Fleming isn’t afraid to shake up her premise, and it makes for a great reading experience.  I can’t wait to see where she takes these characters next.

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Happy Sunday everyone!  This was a very busy, but very productive week for me.  It’s always nice to feel like you’ve accomplished a lot!  Next week will be even busier - I have a friend coming into town towards the end of the week, and then I’m heading out of town for the weekend.  I’ve gone almost a month without traveling, and it has felt really good.  It’s great to just be at home for an extended period of time - I’d forgotten that feeling over the past few months.

I’m pleased to announce that one of my new monthly columns at SheKnows Book Lounge has gone up.  It’s called Fiction vs. Non-Fiction: A Mash-Up, and in it I take popular fiction reads and recommend a non-fiction read to go along with them.  It’s up to you to decide which is better, or even more, to give yourself the opportunity for further reading on a topic you’ve enjoyed.  I’m very excited about it.  I also picked the Red Hot Book of the Week for the SheKnows Book Lounge, The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau, and talked about The Pub Across the Pond by Mary Carter as a Must-Read.

Besides reviews, the blog was mostly quiet this week.  I did post a Wordless Wednesday: New Zealand Edition picture of Mount Cook.

Reviews posted this week:

Title: The Lost Empire of Atlantis: History’s Greatest Mystery Revealed
Author: Gavin Menzies
ISBN: 9780062049483
Pages: 400
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: History, Travel, Non-Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Famed historian Gavin Menzies was on vacation, recovering from the process of writing his last book, when he stumbled upon the subject for his next one. Menzies tackles the Minoan Empire, an ancient culture based on the island of Crete, and argues that it was the downfall of their civilization that inspired the Atlantis legend.

Review:

The Lost Empire of Atlantis is part-history, part-theory, and part-travelogue. In his book, Menzies attempts to reconstruct the Minoan civilization, a culture that is still something of a mystery to us today.  He shows us that they were extremely advanced for their time and postulates that they traveled farther than anyone has ever suspected - from India to North America.  Menzies’ basis for this surprising claim rests more on connections made between sporadic pieces of evidence than on any solid foundation.  His enthusiasm is infectious, and while readers will appreciate his passion for the subject, his logic isn’t entirely convincing.

Still, the theory Menzies puts forward is certainly interesting and will make readers question the history they’ve been taught.  His conjecture that the Atlantean Empire was one and the same as the Minoan Empire is actually very compelling.  It’s not the first - or the last - time this theory has been brought forward, but Menzies examines the evidence in what seems to be a new and intriguing way.  There is no proof here, but it’s much more convincing than his leaps of faith concerning the Minoans’ worldwide travel.

Menzies also injects himself into The Lost Empire of Atlantis by writing it as a sort of travelogue.  As he journeys to all the places he believes the Minoans had a presence, he writes with vivid descriptions.  As a result, this isn’t just a history book; the travel aspects of it make it very engaging and easy to read.  Additionally, through the narration of his travel, Menzies makes it clear that he exhausted all research on the subject, something that is made evident by the amount of detail in the book.

While The Lost Empire of Atlantis isn’t perfect, it certainly is an entertaining read for any history buff.  If you have always been enchanted by the myth of Atlantis, or you are itching for a good travelogue, this is a solid choice.  Perhaps you will be convinced by Menzies’ logic, but even if you aren’t, he puts forward an intriguing theory that is worth further exploration.

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Title: Fragile Eternity
Author: Melissa Marr
ISBN: 9780061214738
Pages: 448
Release Date: March 23, 2010
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Teen, Urban Fantasy
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for the first book in the series, Wicked Lovely.

Summary:

Aislinn has been doing her best to fulfill her new role as the queen of the Summer Court of faeries.  However, she’s had an increasingly difficult time with her king, Keenan.  Though she is eternally bonded to him and knows that her court would be much stronger if she was with him, she is still in love with Seth, her human boyfriend.  But Aislinn must put these romantic concerns aside as tensions among the faerie courts begin to ramp up.  Can Aislinn keep the peace, or will relations degrade into war?

Review:

Fragile Eternity, the third novel in Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series, builds on the premise of the first two, yet forges an entirely new path for itself.  The first novel focused on Aislinn’s rise to Summer Queen and the second (Ink Exchange) on one of Aislinn’s mortal friends who attracted the attention of the Dark Court.  While the third does focus on Aislinn’s preoccupations with her love life (which can be tedious), it also broadens the scope of the books and sets the stage for the last two novels in the series.

From the beginning of the series, tensions among the faerie courts were present.  But in Fragile Eternity, they have come to the forefront.  This political tone of the novel was something completely new and unexpected.  It added an extra dimension to the series as a whole.  The Summer Court doesn’t want war; they are still weak, despite the presence of Aislinn.  It’s fascinating how Marr weaved these threads together in the background in the first two books.  The fact that the overarching story plays a major role in this novel makes it very interesting.

Aislinn herself can be frustrating at times, but readers won’t be able to help but like her.  Her inner battle during Fragile Eternity is also intriguing.  Though she loves Seth, she is actually weakening her court by refusing to be with Keenan.  It’s a fascinating struggle, especially considering war seems to be inevitable.  Where is Aislinn’s first priority, her love life or her court?  It’s difficult because Aislinn seems so human, just a teenage girl at times, yet she is a powerful ruler with huge responsibilities on her shoulders.

Marr ups the ante of the series with Fragile Eternity; it will be interesting to see where she takes the story next.  If you have read the first two books in the series, this novel is a must-read.  If not, Marr catches readers up well enough, but if you really want to understand what is going on, it’s best to read these novels in order.

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Title: Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary
Author: Keshni Kashyap & Mari Araki
ISBN: 9780618945191
Pages: 256
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: Graphic Novel, Teen
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Tina is a high school student at Yarbrough Academy.  For a class assignment, she is keeping an existential diary.  While trying to figure out the truths of her existence, she speaks with Jean-Paul Sartre on a daily basis, crushes on a boy at her high school, and rolls her eyes at her Indian parents.

Review:

Tina’s Mouth is a graphic novel/diary which takes the reader through Tina’s life. Tina is smart and witty, commenting on what is happening around her while she also grappling with changes of her own.  At the beginning of her diary, Tina is completely sure of herself and her place in the world.  She comments on the different groups at her school, her best friend, her siblings, and chooses not to count herself with any of them.  As the book progresses, though, Tina realizes the world is more complicated than she thought, and that people don’t fit into neatly labeled boxes.  It’s an important development, but is handled very subtly in the talented hands of Keshni Kashyap.

In her diary, Tina focuses on existentialism.  Tina’s Mouth serves as an excellent introduction to the philosophy for anyone unfamiliar with it.  As Tina goes about her life, she is constantly trying to figure out who she is and wondering about her place in the universe.  It’s a great self-exploration, and if you went through your own existential phase in high school (as I did), you’ll find this book completely entertaining.

Tina also grapples with her Indian-American heritage, though this does not take center stage in the novel.  Instead, it’s about Tina’s growing up.  At the beginning of the book, Tina’s best friend abandons her because she isn’t interested enough in boys, but Tina develops a few crushes over the course of the book.  Much of the book is taken up by simple high school drama, but it’s still entertaining to read.

The art in Tina’s Mouth is done by Mari Araki, and it’s beautifully done.  It really adds to the story.  While this novel does not necessarily contain the grandiose themes of some other, similar works, it’s still a fun read.  Kashyap manages to keep the tone of the novel light from beginning to end, and it’s fun to watch Tina explore herself and the world around her.

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Title: One Moment, One Morning
Author: Sarah Rayner
ISBN: 9781250000194
Pages: 416
Release Date: December 20, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:

Three women are on the train from Brighton to London, enduring their morning commutes.  It’s a day like any other, until a man named Simon collapses on the train and dies.  For Karen, Simon’s widow, the world stopped at that moment.  How will she go on living without her beloved husband?  For Anna, Karen’s best friend, Simon’s death throws into sharp relief the shortcomings in her own relationship with her alcoholic boyfriend, Steve.  And for Lou, a passerby who happens to be sitting in the same car as Simon and Karen, Simon’s death makes her think of all that she has left unfinished, including admitting the truth about her sexuality to her mother.  For these three women, one moment changes everything and helps them each to find a new beginning.

Review:

One Moment, One Morning is a tribute to the power of friendship during the most difficult times.  Karen doesn’t know how to get through each day after Simon’s death, though she must for the sake of their two young children.  She ends up leaning on Anna, who is happy to support her friend in her time of need.  However, Simon’s death is also affecting Anna personally; she can’t help but wonder if it is time for a change in her own life.  She turns to Lou, whom she barely knows, for advice.  As a result, the three of these women come together to support and help one another and demonstrate what a force friendship can be.

Rayner developed her characters very well.  Each of these women is three dimensional and realistic.  I didn’t always love the choices they made, but these decisions were the ones of any real, flawed person.  Rayner brought each of these women to life for me; I became emotionally involved with them and invested in their eventual happiness.  Even the secondary characters are well thought out and engaging.

The plot is definitely predictable, but somehow that didn’t take away from the novel.  It’s about the journey to finding contentment, and Rayner writes that very well.  Each character must make some hard realizations in order to grow and change.  It’s a quiet, character-driven novel; if you’re looking for something packed with action, this is not it.  It’s contemplative and will certainly make you reflect on your own circumstances, but a fast-paced book it is not.

This novel would make a perfect book club pick, as readers will enjoy picking apart the characters and questioning their decisions.  One Moment, One Morning is an enjoyable novel while simultaneously being a portrait of grief.  Rayner manages to keep the book from being too soporific through Anna and Lou, while never taking away from Karen’s distress at her husband’s death.  It’s a delicate balance, and one the author achieves well.  I look forward to seeing what she will do next.

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Title: Outside the Lines
Author: Amy Hatvany
ISBN: 9781451640540
Pages: 384
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Publisher
Rating:4.5  out of 5

Summary:

Eden West is a successful chef at a catering company, yet she finds little fulfillment in her life.  All of her relationships have ended in failure because Eden cannot come to terms with her past.  Her relationship with her father haunts her to this day; she doesn’t know whether he is alive or dead, but she assumes he is living on the streets.  By day she works, and by nights, she visits local shelters, desperately searching for her father, who suffers from some form of bipolar disorder.  When her quest leads her to a shelter run by a man named Jack Baker, Eden realizes there might be room in her life for more than just her search for her father.

Review:

Outside the Lines is a heartwrenching look at dealing with mental illness.  As a child, Eden adores her father.  Even during his darkest times, she stands by him, unable to understand why her mother will not help him.  She truly believes that, through the force of her love for him, she can will him to take his medicine.  Eden thinks that her father’s mental illness is in her control; if she is good enough, if she loves him enough, he will get better.  After all, what father wouldn’t do that for his daughter?

Though Eden has matured into a logical and capable young woman, she still sees her father as her ten-year-old self did.  She hasn’t lost that conviction that if she just loves him enough, it will get better.  That’s part of the reason she is so driven to find her father; if he knows she still loves him and hasn’t rejected him, it will be enough for him to take his medication and live a “normal” life.  As the reader begins to understand what Eden has been through and how traumatic her childhood was, their heart will bleed for her.  All she wants is David to be the father she needs, and they know that, deep down, she will never find that.

One of the main messages of Outside the Lines is about how to love people.  Loving a person does not mean trying to change them into what you believe they should be.  It’s not about forcing your ideas or opinions onto them.  It’s about loving who they are, regardless of their flaws (or perhaps, because of them) and respecting their choices.  Eden must learn this lesson over and over again in Outside the Lines; it’s incredibly bittersweet, but so realistic.

Hatvany wrote her characters very well in Outside the Lines.  Whether a major or minor personage, it’s clear that Hatvany wanted these people to leap off the page at the reader.  As a result, this doesn’t feel like a book; it feels as though you are taking a peek into someone else’s life.  I have no doubt that Eden exists somewhere, in some way.  She’s too realistic to be mere fiction.

While Eden is the primary narrator of the novel, the reader also gets to hear parts of the story from David’s point of view.  While this is eye-opening, it’s also terrifying.  Hatvany gets into the mind of a mentally ill person so well - David’s guilt at not being able to be a dependable father for Eden, his vulnerability to his sickness, his highs and lows.  Without these glimpses, it would be easy to write David off because bipolar disorder is such a difficult thing to really get.  Instead, though, the reader begins to understand David, and even more, to see that there is absolutely nothing Eden can do to help him in the way she wants to.

Outside the Lines is such an incredible read, and there is so much I haven’t covered in this review - Hatvany’s considerate treatment of the homeless, an honest, yet flawed man in Jack, and more.  There are so many aspects to it, and all are incredibly well-written and realistic.  This novel could so easily have been just another cliché, yet it’s honest and true.  Whether for a book club pick or for a lazy afternoon, I can’t recommend this amazing novel highly enough.

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