About the Book: A novel of psychological suspense in which a private adoption’s dark consequences play out years later, at an elite prep school in the Berkshires.

My Review: That has to be the shortest synopsis I’ve ever found for a book, but it’s pretty accurate. This book has a huge cast of characters and they are all quite different from one another. We are treated to male and female, adult and teenager point of views throughout the book. While the adoption is where we begin, the book is about so much more.

I had a hard time putting this book down as the inner worlds of each character were revealed. I sympathized greatly with some, and rather hated others. Pornography and the role of sexuality in people’s lives plays a significant role in this book. The spiraling effects of each individual decision was fascinating to me and the truth that our decisions impact the people we love was really driven home for me.

There’s also an exploration of the role of feminism in today’s world. The character of the artist Claire represented this greatly, and there were so many little nuggets of wisdom tucked within the pages. I was struck by this particular passage as two of the characters discuss feminism. One has just said that everything is open to interpretation depending on your own life experiences. Claire responds:

Maybe, but then everyone’s justified in their thinking and there’s not right and wrong. Laws become arbitrary decisions. That doesn’t work either. Then you have teams. You’re either on one team or another, right or left, Red Sox or Yankees–even the judges on the Supreme Court. It becomes more about the teams and players than the issues.

I thought that was so true. But this quote perfectly sums up this book for me:

It’s been my experience, Mrs. Golding, that teenagers seem to yearn for the truth in the same way that adults yearn to ignore it….If nothing else, it’s always liberating.

If you’re looking for a book with strong character development that’s also a bit of a thriller than I recommend this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it and as I wished I had someone to discuss it with when I was finished, I think it would make a great book club selection!

Somebody Else’s Daughter is published by Viking Adult a division of Penguin. You can find a Q&A with the author and reading group guide here.

Please note that there is a lot of frank sexual talk in this book as well as some explicit language.

About the Book: Sometimes you have to leave your life to find yourself again…

A lonely corporate wife who runs away from home. An elderly woman facing a devastating loss. A top executive adrift in the world after he’s fired. Set on beautiful Pawleys Island, South Carolina, here is a novel about second chances occurring at the most inopportune times in life. In three parallel journeys Joanna, Paul and Grace walk away from lives they thought they wanted, only to rediscover a part of themselves they’d all but forgotten.

My Review: I generally love novels about self discovery and I really enjoyed The Richest Season. It was at times heart wrenching, frustrating, and hopeful. The pages slipped quickly through my fingers as I eagerly turned each page to discover what each character was going to do next. It is in many ways a quiet book, one to curl up with and enjoy. The characters feel very real and at times make surprising and disappointing choices. But they are each on a journey to uncovering their hearts and selves.

The dynamics of the relationships are also very interesting and at times unexpected. I loved reading about Joanna and Grace’s evolving friendship and the healing that they eventually brought each other. It was simple and direct, yet touchingly portrayed. I enjoyed learning to like Paul throughout the course of the book, just as Paul also learned to like his true self. There were a few stories I wouldn’t have minded receiving more background or development in, but they weren’t the focus of the book, so it wasn’t entirely necessary.

If you are looking for quick and enjoyable read then I recommend The Richest Season.
You can visit Maryann McFadden’s website. You can also read a sample chapter there.

The Richest Season was published by Hyperion in June of 2008.

About the Book: As a child in 1920s West Texas, Annarose sees life and intelligence in everything, but after she is exiled to Los Angeles at 13, she loses her connection to spirit, and finds herself searching for what she has lost through intellectual pursuits.

As she matures, her philosophical studies and supportive friendship with a gifted musician lead to an awakening and she travels to Mexico to become a writer. Her relationships with Artist Frida Kahlo and Crisanto, the man who becomes her lover, connect her to the beautiful, wild, free, and happy. She embraces all that they and their country represent and thus begins her transformation to writer-but before her transformation is complete, Annarose must return to the life she left as a child.

Haunting and evocative, this sweeping literary fiction will stay with readers long after the last page.

My Review: I was interested in reading this book because I knew little about this time period in Texas and California, let alone Mexico. I grew up in the mid-west but currently live in Southern California and have greater interest in that sort of history now. So I found that part of this book to be very interesting as well as the racism and struggles the Mexican immigrants faced. Additionally, the true to life character of Frida, which you may know from the Selma Heyack film, plays a role in this book. Strangely enough, having seen that film enabled me to have some prior context in my brain to imagine that part of this story.

The prose is very pretty in this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also enjoyed Annarose’s journey, as she grew. I think I could identify with some of her feelings at various stages in her life as she sought to come to terms with her own identity. The characters are all very vivid and well drawn.My favorite part was when Annarose was in Mexico and this seems to be the central most important part of the book as well. This is a novel about finding oneself or finding wholeness and is also labeled as new age fiction. I do think that while I may not agree completely with the author’s philosophy, there is much inspiration to be found in this book.
You can learn more about Candis C. Coffee at her website. You can also check Mariposa out on Amazon.

About the Book: Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. He longs for a family to call his own and is terrified of the day he will be sent alone into the world.

But then a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother, and his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand and his parents persuades the monks at the orphanage to release the boy and to give Ren some hope. But is Benjamin really who he says he is? Journeying through a New England of whaling towns and meadowed farmlands, Ren is introduced to a vibrant world of hardscrabble adventure filled with outrageous scam artists, grave robbers, and petty thieves. If he stays, Ren becomes one of them. If he goes, he’s lost once again. As Ren begins to find clues to his hidden parentage he comes to suspect that Benjamin not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well.

My Review:This book is really different from anything I’ve read lately, and I absolutely loved it! It’s a really fun book with vivid characters, imaginative descriptions, and spot on perfect pacing.

I have to admit that the idea of resurrection men wasn’t totally new to me, having just read Tess Gerritsen’s The Bone Garden last year. (and that’s a GREAT book, too). This book, however, takes a different look at it. I’ve read some reviews that say the characters are like Dickens characters, and I can kind of see that…I also kept thinking of Pinnochio!

That’s not to say the book is at all juvenile, the world in this story is brought quickly to life, I came to care about Ren and the people who enriched his life very quickly, and the adventures and experiences he has in the company of Benjamin Nab are masterfully spun like a grand tale. This is the sort of book you pick and don’t want to put down until you’ve turned the last page. Highly recommended.

I received this book as part of Book Browse’s First Impressions program. It will release in stores at the end of August and is published by The Dial Press an imprint of Random House.
I enjoyed the book so much that I went looking for more information! Hannah Tinti has a great website with some questions and answers and a chance to read the first chapter. I hope you’ll check them out!

Book Description
The Church Split Has Not Extinguished Their Love, But the Demands of One Man Still Stand in Their Way….

Caleb Yoder’s father has forbidden him to court Nellie Mae Fisher, but words alone cannot stop Caleb’s devotion. Yet if he continues to pursue Nellie, he risks losing everything. Nellie, too, is torn. She longs to marry her Old Order beau but cannot ignore the gentle pull she feels toward the faith of her New Order family. Can she and her beloved satisfy the expectations of the People while remaining true to their hearts?

My Comments: I loved this book!  Beverly Lewis does such a great job helping you understand the life of the Amish.  This series takes it a step further and tells about a group of Amish who discover a real relationship with Jesus and what happens within their community as a result.  This group reads and studies the Bible.  The reaction each group has to the other is fascinating - reminding me of legalistic Christians and those who are more grace-driven.  It speaks of change and growth as well as salvation.  Of course the love story is between two people - one of whom will stay with the “old way,” and the other whose family has become involved with the “new way.”  Even though I thought this book moved slowly at the beginning - I had a hard time putting it down once I got “hooked.”  This is the second book of a series.  The first book, “The Parting,”  more clearly introduces the main characters and some of the drama which is ongoing in the stories.  I have already preordered the third book, “The Longing” due to come out the first part of October.  If you love reading and learning about different types of people and lifestyles - this is a good series of books for you!

About the Book: On the night their mother drowns trying to ride out a storm in a sailboat, sisters Marnie and Diana Maitland discover there is more than one kind of death. There is the death of innocence, of love, and of hope. Each sister harbors a secret about what really happened that night—secrets that will erode their lives as they grow into adulthood.

After ten years of silence between the sisters, Marnie is called back to the South Carolina Lowcountry by Diana’s ex-husband, Quinn. His son has returned from a sailing trip with his emotionally unstable mother, and he is deeply disturbed and refusing to speak. In order to help the traumatized boy, Marnie must reopen old wounds and bring the darkest memories of their past to the surface. While resisting her growing attraction to Quinn, she must also confront Diana, before they all go under…

My Review: I was sold on this book the moment I saw the beautiful cover. Is that not a gorgeous cover?!? It took no time at all once I opened the book to become engrossed in the story.

The story is told through four different points of views. There’s a big secret that’s being kept by some which is a mystery to others, and it seems all their relationships and lives sort of revolve around this one event. It was easy for me to feel the pain of the different characters and it was impossible for me not to empathize with each one. Except for Quinn, who got on my nerves a little bit.

The description in this book is fantastic, the South Carolina Lowcountry really came to life for me. Additionally, I felt the loss Marnie and Diana were dealing with and appreciated the struggle Diana lived with in balancing her illness and her artistic passion. I found this part to be so authentic and one of the most interesting aspects of her character.

Even if you can guess some of the secrets before Marnie, this book is worth reading for the journey of the characters and the beautiful prose. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, cried a little, and generally got irritated when I was interrupted while reading it. Recommended!

The Memory of Water was released March 2008 by New American Library.

You can visit Karen at her website. (Where I was excited to learn she has another book coming out in November!)

You can buy the book at Amazon.

About the Book:
An enthralling portrait of one family in the aftermath of a daughter’s disappearance

“It was the summer of her Chevette, of J.P. and letting her hair grow.” It was also the summer when, without warning, popular high school student Kim Larsen disappeared from her small Midwestern town. Her loving parents, her introverted sister, her friends and boyfriend, must now do everything they can to find her. As desperate search parties give way to pleading television appearances, and private investigations yield to personal revelations, we see one town’s intimate struggle to maintain hope, and finally, to live with the unknown.

My Review: I’ve read mixed reactions to this book, but personally, I loved it! I got swept up immediately into the story and really felt that I was feeling some of what these characters were feeling as they processed and dealt with the disappearance of their teenage daughter/sister/friend.

There was nothing perfect about their family. In fact, the family seemed ordinary by all accounts and surprisingly uninvolved with each other’s lives, prior to Kim disappearing. Her disappearance came as a shock to them, and they each worked to process it in their own way. We see life through their eyes as they work through the minutiae of everyday life in the aftermath of losing Kim. He masterfully captured those tiny feelings wrong or right that I think someone might deal with in this situation. I feel that O’Nan developed his theme of the unpredictable, uncontrollable, and cruel nature of life well. I even cried a little bit at the end of the book, as I too felt some of the resolution they did.

I loved his prose as well. I found it rich and effortless. The only little minor problem I had was that POV would shift at times within a chapter. That bugs me a little, but it didn’t really distract too much from the story, and once it shifted it usually stayed within the new character. It’s interesting that one of the main criticisms I’ve read is that the characters weren’t developed enough, but I thought the characterization was really rich. I had a hard time getting into another book after finishing this great one!

Unfortunately, Songs for the Missing isn’t due out in stores until November. I received it as part of Barnes and Noble’s First Look book club. So if it interests you, you might want to add it your Amazon wishlist!

Songs for the Missing will be available from the Viking Adult Division of Penguin in November 2008.

Bette is the second book in the Women of Ivy Manor series by Lyn Cote.  Bette is Chloe’s (from the first book) daughter.  The time setting for this book is centered around World War II.  At a time when women are not accepted in certain “roles,” Bette becomes a spy for the U.S. government, suffers through a disastrous marriage, and gives birth to another little “woman of Ivy Manor.”  Even though Bette faces a troubled marriage, she has an interesting romance in her life - a man worth waiting for.

 This book is quite interesting and kept me engaged throughout.  I love the history in these books.  At times, I felt like I wish I could talk some sense into the main character - ever feel that way?  Her secret life during World War II was fascinating and even though she was very good at it, it took her way out of her comfort level.  You can easily relate to the women in these books.  I admire the women’s strength of character to do the right thing even though they face difficult circumstances.  I say go girl power!  I’m off to read Book 3 - “Leigh.”

I had to take a break from historical fiction - I like it, but that’s all I read for a while. Now I’m back into it, but it’s kind of different. I found these four books titled “The Women Of Ivy Manor,” and I love them! They are set in more recent history - the 1900s through present day. I will share reflections on each as I read them beginning with the first book, “Chloe.”

Chloe was born into a wealthy family in 1900. She did not, however, have a happy childhood. Her mother was very unhappy and selfish and her father just used Chloe for his own political gain. Chloe just happened to be extremely beautiful (of course) and smart. She had everything she needed from her parents except love. In spite of all of that, Chloe is a very sweet, caring young woman. The historical setting of this book is the roaring twenties and World War I and their effects on this family. The story ends during the Depression. Chloe has both tragedy and happiness in her life. She really tries to leave her family, but yet she can’t completely leave her roots (Ivy Manor and all it means). Her best friend is a Black girl, Minnie - the daughter of household help. The book explores the treatment of African Americans during this time frame in history as well as Chloe and Minnie leave home and travel to New York City and become fashion models (unheard of for an African American at that time).

I really enjoyed this book - it was hard to put down. I went immediately to the computer and ordered the other three books in the series, and I can’t wait to read them. If you like history, romance, and learning about how people overcome adversity, you will like this book. It is a Christian book, but not overtly so. It is from the Christian world view in that words of hymns are mentioned and it is clean - no language or graphic sex, and the characters go to church.

This past weekend I went away with my husband for a four day trip. It was the first time in three years that I had travelled without kids. Can you guess what I was looking forward to? Oh, yeah. Bringing a book to read on the plane!!!! And it wouldn’t be Dr. Seuss (although he is great) or Frog and Toad are Friends or Bear Snores On. This time it would be something for me. Imagine my great distress when I realized I had NOTHING new to read! And it is not easy for me to find something new. I’m in Costa Rica where there are no public libraries, I’ve read all of my friend’s books, and I have a limited budget. Well, I thought to myself, maybe I can find something at the airport. We arrive at the airport and I check out the bestsellers. Yup, twelve dollars a book. Guess I’ll have to content myself to reading the safety manual and browsing through the latest Sky Mall catalog (which, by the way has some pretty awesome stuff, but still - how often can you read it?). So I had nothing to read on the way there. On the way back, I discovered something wonderful at one of the little airport shops - 1/2 priced used books! I was so excited. I ended up choosing this Carol Higgins Clark book and read practically the entire thing on the way back. It was a fun read. Nothing serious. Funny villians, charming investigators. It is set in Ireland, so as I’m reading I’m imagining all the beautiful scenery. I don’t think I’ve read a Carol Higgins Clark novel before except maybe one or two that she wrote with her mother. This is one of her Regan Reilly mysteries, but Regan isn’t even in it all that much (though she does have a crucial role to play). But you have to excuse her; she is on her honeymoon after all! Some of the scenes are a bit contrived and none of the characters are all that complex. It is a light and easy read - perfect, really, for airplane reading or waiting room reading or that type of thing. It involves a rumor of ghosts, jewel thieves, and bad dental work. If you want to see how that all fits together, check it out!