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.

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!

I just finished reading this last book in the Sisters of Holmes County trilogy. It was great! What is it about you ask? Well here is what Amazon.com says:

Lose yourself in Holmes County, where romance, suspense, mystery, and faith-filled Amish ways rule the day! Martha Hostettler is concerned about the continuous attacks being made on her Amish family. With a definite motive and a myriad of methods, Luke Friesen looks like the culprit. Determined to clear his name, Martha decides to play detective. What will the search for truth cost her?

My opinion: This was a good series. It kept me with it throughout all three books. I loved the mystery and relational elements. This family is not from Pennsylvania, but from Ohio. So we get a tiny bit of a different feel. These books are a fast read - I read this one in a couple of days after and before work. I think Brunstetter has a different take on the Amish than Beverly Lewis. Where Lewis makes the Amish seem strict and legalistic in their Christianity, Brunstetter shows her characters more faithful. Therefore I enjoy both authors - it possibly gives a fuller picture of what the Amish life is like. This book deals with depression, forgiveness and the “English” and Amish working and living together as family.

If you are interested in reading about different lifestyles and are fascinated by the Amish, this is a good book for you! I recommend it.

From the back of the book: After years of running, Hannah Schwartz has finally built a life for herself–far from the insecure husband who bullied and abused her. Far from the close-knit Amish community who raised her, then shunned her. Still haunted by nightmare memories of her parents’ murder and the guilty secret that made her anathema–a true outcast–from her friends and family.

Only love can bring her home again. Love for a child she had feared was lost forever. And love for the peaceful people who shaped her life. But can love heal old wounds . . . or keep the community safe from a deadly danger?

My Review: I LOVED this book. I was in a rotten mood this weekend and felt I needed a good escape and I definitely found it within the pages of this book. I have been reading ALL the Amish books because I find the Amish lifestyle fascinating. This book brings things up a step. The book shows the Amish as real people and highlights their values of family, faith and honest hard work. All of the elements I love about fiction are included in this book - suspense, love, Christian worldview, murder mystery, and believeable characters.

I have read most of Colleen Coble’s books and love all of them. She usually includes a great dog and this book is no exception, so dog lovers will not be disappointed! Her books keep getting better and better. This is definitely my favorite so far! I couldn’t put this book down and read it in a day and a half. I highly recommend “Anathema.”

Anathema was published by Thomas Nelson and is available now.

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.

Carly Lorraine Sinclair grows up in the home of her fiercely strong mother, Leigh. Naturally timid, Carly finds that constantly trying to please Leigh by hiding her own fears only increases her insecurities. In a bold attempt to face them head-on, she joins the Army. Through the military Carly confronts her self-doubt, realizing when sent to Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Storm that facing fears is crucial to survival. After she is wounded, she returns to Ivy Manor and the nursing care of three generations of women who have faced their own warspersonal or otherwise. Carly must determine whether she can cope with her new physical needs and find peace . . . and finally, love.

My comments: The fourth book in the Women of Ivy Manor, “Carly,” differs from the other three in that this book only explores one year in Carly’s life. This is more of a contemporary book. What is interesting is that Leigh, Carly’s mother, reminds me exactly of Bette, Leigh’s mother in the book “Leigh.” It seems they forget what they went through themselves. Carly finds nothing but opposition from her mother when she wants to forego college and join the military. Thankfully, the other women of Ivy Manor support and understand her decisions. Carly has quite a difficult year in the military, however - lifechanging to say the least. She is able to face her fears and conquer them to a great extent. She comes through well, although she faces adversity and loss. This is the most overt Christian book in the series, and possibly my favorite. I hated to see this series come to and end, but look forward to beginning Lyn’s newest series, Blessed Assurance.

Carly was published by FaithWords and released April 2006.

The third in a tale of four generations of women set against the sprawling tapestry of the 20th century from award-winning author Lyn Cote. Linda Leigh Sinclair is born in the aftermath of WW II. Lovingly raised at Ivy Manor with everything she could possibly need, she is still discontent and finds herself gravitating toward the fringe elements of society. At 17, the modern civil rights movement comes crashing into Leighs life. Choosing a journalists life over her parents wishes, she immerses herself in the rights movement and anti-war protests over Vietnam. She is caught up in the winds of change, falls in love with a young radical, and is devastated when he leaves her. Shes made some bad choicesand shes pregnant. Leigh must learn to juggle single motherhood with workand more importantly, learn that with Gods help she can finally grow into the strong and mature woman she is capable of being.

My comments: I loved this book because it was just before and part of MY history. Leigh faced some real tragedies and didn’t always make the best choices. In many ways I feel like she was ahead of her time in some of her tastes. She had an interesting group of friends and most of the time she made good choices, but made one very wrong choice which had life-long consequences. Her mother, Bette, came across as cold and intolerant, but thankfully she had other women of Ivy Manor to support her during her rough periods. Again, this book is a winner and I recommend it!

Courtesy of the publisher, we have a copy of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson to give away!

Here’s how to enter!

1) Agree to participate in the Group Discussion if you win the third week of June and leave a comment. (one entry)

2) Blog about the Group Discussion and invite your readers to join in with a link back to this giveaway! (two entries)

By the way, I’m reading it now and it’s unputdownable. Thanks everyone! I’ll leave this open for a week.