Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan
Gallery Books: 5/23/17
eBook review copy; 320 pages
ISBN-13:
9781501142932
Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan is a romance in a science
fiction setting. I accepted a review copy based on the description, but I
was bitterly disappointed. This is, above all else, a romance, not
science fiction. The universe is unrealistic and the sci-fi elements are
laughable. I powered through to the end hoping it would get better, but
my opinion of the book just kept plummeting with every chapter. This
reads like a YA novel.
The description: "Trapped in the vast void of space, Carys and Max have only ninety
minutes of oxygen left to live. None of this was supposed to happen.
After a freak accident, Carys and Max are left adrift in space with
nothing to hold onto but each other. As they fall, they can’t help but
look back at the world they left behind. A world whose rules they
couldn’t submit to, a place where they never really belonged; a home
they’re determined to get back to because they’ve come too far to lose
each other now. While their air ticks dangerously low, one is offered
the chance of salvation - but who will take it?"
Carys and Max are both annoying characters that I could neither relate
to nor muster any sympathy for them. Perhaps if the world building was
better I could have overlooked my annoyance, but the world building was
worse than the actual "star-crossed lovers." For future reference,
please, if you are going to write science fiction... if you are going to
set your novel in space... if you are going to have an asteroid field
circling the Earth, (if... I could go on) please do research. And don't
even get me started on the societal rules that are not logically
explained. The poor world-building was not just found in the science
fiction bits in space.
Now, if you enjoy romance novels, something I avoid, perhaps this novel
will be just fine for you because you can ignore all the parts that I
intensely disliked.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Gallery Books.
Wicked Wonders by Ellen Klages
Tachyon: 5/9/17
eBook review copy; 240 pages
ISBN-13:
9781616962616
Wicked Wonders by Ellen Klages is a very highly recommended
collection of fourteen short stories. I enjoyed almost all of the
stories in this collection immensely, with just a couple I was slightly
less enthusiastic about. Those are pretty impressive odds. The stories consist of a mix of science fiction, fantasy, humor, coming-of-age, magic, and real life. All the stories except for one, Woodsmoke, have been previously published.
Contents:
Introduction by Karen Joy Fowler: "There is something powerfully strange
and strangely powerful, but it is
off to the side or coming up behind you. You’ll sense it in the small,
particular details at which Ellen excels..." "The only thing you can
depend on is magic. However sober and quotidian the world, Ellen always
brings the magic."
The Education of a Witch: Young Lizzy loves Maleficent the witch from Sleeping Beauty while dealing with changes in her life.
Amicae Aeternum: Before she and her parents board
The Goddard, a generation ship, Corrine Garcia-Kelly is saying good-bye to everything she will miss on Earth.
Mrs. Zeno’s Paradox: Annabel meets Midge for a treat, which they split, repeatedly.
Singing on a Star: Becka has her first sleep over at her friend
Jamie's house where a song opens an elevator to a different world where
she meets a man named Hollis.
Hey, Presto!: Polly is working with her father, the magician Vardo!, for the summer.
Echoes of Aurora: Jo Norwood returns to her hometown to settle her father's estate after being gone 35 years and meets Aurora.
Friday Night at St. Cecilia’s: Rachel Sweeney was supposed to be
playing backgammon with her friend Addie, but instead gets caught up in
the grip of a fairy queen and is trapped inside several board games.
Caligo Lane: Located in San Francisco, Caligo Lane might be an illusion. Difficult to reach, or find again, it is here that Franny, a cartographer,
lives and combines mapmaking and origami.
Goodnight Moons: Zoe is part of the first team of six astronauts
to go to Mars. She discovers she is pregnant after they have already
started their voyage.
Gone to the Library: Izzy, an eight year-old girl who loves math, meets her neighbor, Bibber, who needs her help.
Household Management: We get a glimpse into the life of Sherlock Holmes landlady.
Sponda the Suet Girl and the Secret of the French Pearl:
A thief buys a map that he believes will lead him to a wizard who owns a pearl of great value.
Woodsmoke: "Every childhood summer is special. School is out and
freedom beckons. Then comes a magic summer.... For Patricia Ann Maas
that summer was 1963..." Patty spends her fifth summer at camp Wokanda,
where she can be herself and is known by the nickname Peete.
The Scary Ham: A true story. Klages father was given a full-sized
ham which he hung in his basement for twenty years, in the room with
the litter box. This story and pictures can be found on the Tor website.
http://www.tor.com/2014/05/22/the-scary-ham/
Afterword: Why I Write Short Fiction
10 Facts About Ellen Klages
Story Notes About the Author
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Tachyon.
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
HarperCollins: 5/23/17
eBook review copy; 304 pages
ISBN-13:
9780062473356
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton is a highly recommended historical adventure novel.
Let me preface this review with a few comments. As most people know
Crichton passed away in 2008 and the books published since then have
been from manuscripts found by his wife Sherry. Dragon Teeth is
an early manuscript; purportedly research on it began in 1974. Longtime
fans of Crichton's work will recognize in the style a resemblance to
several of his earlier novels. That fact doesn't diminish this novel,
but Dragon Teeth is neither a Jurassic Park story nor a prequel. What
it does do is affirm that Crichton's fascination with dinosaurs,
fossils, and paleontology began long before the Jurassic Park novels
were written.
Dragon Teeth is set in 1876. At this time there was war
in the west between Native American tribes and the US, a gold rush in
the Black Hills of South Dakota, and legends of the Wild West were
alive. It was also the time of the "Bone Wars," a nickname given to the
bitter rivalry between paleontologists Othniel Charles Marsh and Edwin
Drinker Cope. The narrative follows William Johnson, an entitled Yale
student who made a bet with a rival that he would go west to dig for
dinosaur bones. He learns photography so he has a skill that enables him
to join Marsh's expedition. Marsh, however is a paranoid man and ends
up abandoning Johnson in Cheyenne,
Wyoming. At that point Johnson joins Cope's group, who are heading west
to the Montana badlands to dig for fossils. They make an incredible
find, but unforeseen circumstances separate the exhibition members,
resulting in getting half of the bones back east to become solely
Johnson's dangerous quest.
William Johnson is a fictitious character, but the novel is populated
with many other recognizable historical figures, places, and events. Dragon Teeth is
a western more than anything else, but it demonstrates the research
Crichton undertook for his novels. This is a nice combination of
historical fact and fiction that showcases Crichton's ability to take
facts, science, and history and mold it into an entertaining story.
While Dragon Teeth doesn't have the high level of
exceptionally-fast-paced-heart-stopping action that is displayed in many
of his books, this is still a very entertaining story that will hold
your attention from beginning to end. I do wonder, however, if it was
set aside and not published earlier because Crichton wasn't satisfied
with it. It is not as good as many of his novels. But, setting
that aside, fans will be pleased with it and easily place Dragon Teeth in
context as an early example of his body of work. As a long-time fan, I
love Crichton's books, but... a gentle suggestion to his estate: I think
it might be time to close the vault on things he wrote but didn't
publish.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
Nuclear Family: A Tragicomic Novel in Letters
by Susanna Fogel
Henry Holt & Company: 7/18/17
advanced reading copy; 212 pages
ISBN-13:
9781250165237
Nuclear Family: A Tragicomic Novel in Letters by Susanna Fogel
is a very highly recommended, hilarious, wonderfully quirky, entertaining debut novel. I loved and adored it!
This epistolary novel is a collection of letters/emails written to
Julie by her dysfunctional, fractured Jewish family, as well as a few
surprising sources that don't normally write letters. We never actually
hear directly from Julie, but we meet her through what her family has
written to her. The letters begin when Julie is a teen and end when she
is in her mid-thirties and publishing a book about her family. Most
letters are from her younger sister, Jane, and her mother, but her
father, grandmother, uncle, and other family members also write.
The letters all have a title/heading. Here are some examples: "Your
Sister, Who has Questions about Your Uncle Ken's Lifestyle, Has a Great
Idea for His Birthday Gift"; "Your Grandma Rose Is Still Not Feeling
This E-mail Thing"; "Your Stepmother Has Some Theories about Why You're
Still Single"; "Your Dad, Who Asked Your Last Boyfriend If He Watches
Porn, Is Wondering Why He Hasn't Met Your New Guy"; "Your Mother's
Goddaughter, Who Crashed with You for Many Days, Is Sorry She Didn't
Have Any Time to Hang Out"; "Your Dad, Who Lacks Boundaries, Wants to
Talk about Your Body"; "Your Dad's Six-Year-Old Son from His Second
Marriage Discusses His Superior Childhood"; "Your Mom has Some New
Judgements She'd Like to Share"; "Your Mom is having Some Issues with
Regularity"; "Your Sister, Who has Two Exes in Jail, Agrees That You
Gotta Do You."
I loved every minute spent reading Nuclear Family! It is clever
and humorous, from the titles to the letters themselves, and I laughed
aloud through the whole novel. The titles preceding the letters can be
just as comical as the letters themselves. The letter writers are
clearly clueless as to what their letters are actually conveying and
often over-sharing. Each family member has their own voice when writing,
for example Jane writes her letters in text-speak, which adds a clever
layer to the mix. You'll be surprised at how much of a story these
letters tell about Julie's life - enough that you might want to look
back at your own correspondence to see what stories are hidden there.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Henry Holt & Company via Library Thing
What She Saw by Gerard Stembridge
HarperCollins: 5/23/17
eBook review copy; 320 pages
ISBN-13:
9780062568984
What She Saw by Gerard Stembridge is a so-so novel that follows a woman through 24 hours in Paris.
Lana Gibson has decided to travel to Paris to see the Edward Hopper
retrospective. She stays at the expensive Hotel Le Chevalier located on
the Right Bank and assures her unknowing husband after-the-fact that she
will be fine and take her meds to control her manic phases. She does
see the Hopper exhibition, but she also becomes increasingly obsessed
with seeing who is using the private elevator to the exclusive penthouse
suite on the top floor. As happenstance and curiosity collide, she
actually gets on the elevator when the door is open and is whisked to
the top floor. When the door opens she sees quickly observes that an
orgy is taking place, but she also witnesses a young woman trying to
escape from a naked older man. She quickly snaps a few pictures with her
cell phone before the elevator doors close again.
It turns out that the older man is Jean-Luc Fournier, an important
French politician. Lana is already on the radar of his security detail,
who have noticed her interest in the private elevator. Now she is on the run from the security men and needs to figure out what
exactly is going on and who she can trust before her time runs out. The
narrative follows Lana's perspective and that of a chauffeur for
Fournier, Ferdinand (Ferdie). Ferdie has his own stakes in the outcome.
I really wanted to like her simply due to her desire to travel to see
the Hopper retrospective, but Lana is a hard character to relate to or
find any empathy for. She is also not a very well-developed character.
Mainly you learn she doesn't seem to really even like her husband, she's
on meds (apparently for bipolar disorder), and she's
way-too-weirdly-curious about the penthouse elevator door. This makes it
a challenge to feel invested in what happens to her, especially when
she's repeatedly and consistently making some rather stupid actions and
decisions.
The writing is good, but the 24 hour format seemed to just drag out the
action and didn't work for me. Those who love novels set in Paris and
Francophiles will likely appreciate the setting. I had a difficult time
immersing myself in this novel, probably due to my increasing annoyance
with Lana.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
Sister Sister by Sue Fortin
HarperCollins: 5/23/17
eBook review copy; 384 pages
paperback ISBN-13:
9780008238070
Sister Sister by Sue Fortin is a recommended psychological thriller.
Currently Clare, a solicitor, and her husband, Luke, a painter, and
their two daughters are
living with her mother, an arrangement that has worked out well for all
of them. Twenty years ago Clare's father took her little sister, Alice,
on a trip to the USA and never returned. Her mother has been pining away
for her missing daughter ever since, even buying and putting aside
presents for her yearly. Over the years they have hired investigators to
look for Alice, but nothing turned up. Then when a letter from Alice
suddenly appears, everyone is elated that there will be a reunion with
the missing daughter/sister. What seems like a wonderful heartwarming
visit soon turns into tension-filled days as Clare's suspicions about
Alice's behavior begin to rise.
Sister Sister is certainly technically well-written and the story
will keep your interest. You will want to continue to read the story to
see what happens to the characters. It is a good choice for a vacation
read or an airplane book. It will hold your interest but you won't cry
if you misplace it. Many readers are going to be thinking that they
have heard very similar
stories before and this one is equally predictable. There is nothing
truly shocking that happens in it nor are the twists really surprising.
You will likely have already predicted what is going to happen long
before any of the characters, besides Clare, have a clue.
Although I read it to the end and basically enjoyed it, Sister Sister is not without its problems - beyond the predictability.
Clare starts out as an intriguing character but quickly becomes a bit
bumbling and insipid. She is supposedly an intelligent woman who is a
lawyer. She should be able to logically collect evidence and present a
well-supported case. Instead she becomes a bit of a shirking violet,
afraid of hurt feelings. It is also illogical that no one else in the
family is suspicious of anything and that they turn on Clare so quickly
and easily. Her mother should have had suspicions too. Even if you want
to believe, that doesn't mean you don't use your head. Luke is an idiot
who should have been supporting his wife. Clare, though, mainly acts
out, whines, and throws out suspicions without presenting evidence. Even
a simple, "Alice did this, then this, then this. Why is that
acceptable?" And, come on Clare: use that cell phone, take pictures,
gather evidence and supporting proof.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
Simon & Schuster: 4/11/17
eBook review copy; 352 pages
ISBN-13:
9781501107993
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda is a very highly
recommended page-turner and I relished every one of those pages in this
complex tale of suspense.
Leah Stevens was a journalist in Boston, but needed to resign from her
job due to a story she wrote. Now she needs to find something new to do -
in a hurry. By coincidence she runs into a roommate she had years ago
during a time in her life when she also needed help in a hurry. Emmy was
there eight years ago when they first met and helped Leah out before
Emmy went overseas with the Peace Corp. It is a shocking surprise for
Leah to run into Emmy now. The two immediately bond and take up where
they left off. They decide to move together to a small town in Western
Pennsylvania on a whim. Leah can get a position teaching at the high
school and Emmy can find a job doing something.
Then a woman who closely resembles Leah is found seriously injured and
Emmy has gone missing. Leah works with the police to try and help them
while at the same time she tries to get them to look into the
whereabouts of her missing friend. As both investigations continue it
becomes increasingly clear that Leah really never knew Emmy well at all
and the police are beginning to look at her as a suspect. Leah realizes
that she needs to use her journalistic skills to uncover the truth about
what happened and who Emmy really is.
Leah is a well-developed character and I began to like her more and more
as the novel progressed and doubts began to develop. She becomes more
spunky and begins to show more and more of her intelligence and
intuition as she begins her own investigation while the police are more
focused on investigating her.
The revelation of new information is wonderfully timed. It begs the
question: How well do you really know other people? As Leah is
desperately trying to find out what happened to her friend, you will
begin to wonder if Emmy is even real and doubts about Leah's sanity will
creep in. You only know Emmy through Leah, and Leah doesn't even reveal
everything about her own life right away. The plot of The Perfect Stranger
moves along at a gallop and never lets up. I enjoyed the fast-paced
ride and twisty plot immensely. The writing is pitch-perfect in the
suspenseful narrative.
I really enjoyed uncovering the twisty-layers of this swift-paced, agile
novel of psychological suspense. It was a pleasure to read.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
You Were Here by Gian Sardar
Penguin Publishing Group: 5/16/17
eBook review copy; 384 pages
ISBN-13:
9780399575006
You Were Here by Gian Sardar
is a recommended atmospheric debut novel of suspense that follows two storylines in two time periods.
Abby Walter's is currently living in LA with her commitment-phobic
boyfriend Robert. She hasn't returned home to Makade, the small
Minnesota town she grew up in, for fourteen years. She had horrible
recurring nightmares about being buried alive, among other things, and
the nightmares stopped after she left. Now she has decided to visit her
hometown for the upcoming high school reunion, but especially to
research her family's past because the name Claire Ballantine has
surfaced in her dreams. She thinks looking into the past may end her
nightmares, which have returned with the news of the reunion. Abby's
high school crush, Aidan Mackenzie, has also returned to Makade after
working on the police force in St. Paul. He's a detective on the
trail of a violent serial rapist.
The story set in 1948 focuses on a love triangle, or, really, an affair
between a dashing, handsome older man and a younger woman who wants to
escape her small town existence. Small town Eva is a young woman in love
with William Ballantine, a privileged wealthy man who is married to
Claire. William and Eva conduct their affair in Rochester. She takes the
bus from her small town and meets him at a house he owns there. The two
are in love or obsessed with each other, but William doesn't want to
hurt Claire.
The slow moving duel plot eventually connects the two timelines, showing
how the decisions made and secrets held in the past have consequences
that can influence or affect the future. The secrets actually aren't all
that shocking once you get to them because they are easily deduced much earlier in the novel.
The novel is beautifully written, almost poetic at times. The quality of the writing helps You Were Here
rise above the numerous plot elements that are less-than-perfect. This
isn't really a romance novel, more of an exploration of dark secrets.
The romantic connection between Abby and Aidan seemed forced to me and
served no real purpose in the plot. The affair between Eva and William
has been seen many times before - an older successful man starts an
affair with an attractive, desperate-to-escape younger woman.
The characters, for the most part, are well-developed, even if they are
also at times a bit too melodramatic. It seems that most of the women in
this novel are holding tightly to the role of victim and looking for a
man to save them, which became annoying. Abby was the most developed of
the characters, while Eva was perhaps the most sympathetic.
To be honest, I had a difficult time finishing this novel and flirted
with stopping just before the half-way point. It just didn't seem worth
my time. In the end I had to give credit to Sardar for pulling it all
together and for the quality of the writing, which is what kept me
reading and resulted in my recommendation. But, for followers of my
reviews, there were no real surprises in the plot for me, as it all has
been done before in one way or another, and the big, shocking twists
were all very predictable. Other reviews seem to be more glowing, so it
could be I am just the odd miss for the title. Literary fiction readers
will appreciate the writing.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of the Penguin Publishing Group.
The Inkblots by Damion Searls
Crown/Archetype: 2/21/17
uncorrected proof: 405 pages
ISBN-13:
9780804136549
The Inkblots: Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing by
Damion Searls is a very highly recommended fascinating examination of
the short life of Rorschach and the phenomenal spread and influence of
the iconic test he developed. The first part of The Inkblots is an account of Rorschach's life, while the second is the history of the Rorschach Test and psychological evaluation.
In 1917 Rorschach was working at an asylum in Switzerland when he
developed his inkblot test. Rorschach, the son of an artist, had
artistic talent himself which aided him in carefully designing all of
the final ten inkblots. His goal was to find a tool to use what we see
and how we describe it as a way to find insight into the human mind.
"Rorschach had
come to believe that who we are is less a matter of what we say, as
Freud thought, than what we see." The shapes he developed are
bilaterally symmetrical. The shapes suggest both movement and form. This
is a test where the psychological insight it reveals is based on the
interpretation of what you see as it strives to measure
imagination and personality. It is not a test with correct or
incorrect answers. Today the ten shapes can readily be seen with a
simple online search.
Rorschach tragically died in 1922 at age 37, but his test took on a life
of its own, spreading across the world and especially took hold in
America. It was used as a means of psychological evaluation in a wide
variety of different situations. In the second half of the book Searls
covers the history of psychology and the problems and changes associated
with scoring the test. It also entered the realm of popular culture and
at one time inkblots imitating the test could even be found in
advertising.
I especially enjoyed this biography/history of psychology and thought
the writing was exceptional. It is easy to understand while providing
the background information and details you need to follow the
information presented. It is well-researched, thoughtful, and
intriguing. While I was totally engrossed in the whole book, the first
part detailing Rorschach's life was especially detailed and interesting.
Searls biographical account covers Rorschach's early life and his
progressive beliefs as he grew up. Rorschach is presented as a very
likeable man. Searls found a vast amount of material on Rorschach from a
biographer who died before he wrote his book. Once we reach the second
part of the book, which focuses on the spread of the test, the feuds,
controversy, and revisions begin.
The Inkblots has all the special elements I love to see in
nonfiction. The book includes many photos. There is an appendix focusing
on his wife, Olga, and an excerpt of a tribute to her husband she wrote
years later. There is a note by Searls in his acknowledgements
explaining how he found original source material. Finally, there are
extensive source notes for each chapter, which is always appreciated.
IF you are anything like me, you will want to see the original ten inkblots. They are easily found online (Wikipedia) and there is even an online inkblot test (which I didn't take therefore can't vouch for its validity.)
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Crown/Archetype via Library Thing.
The Hanging Tree by Rodney Hobson
Endeavour Press: 4/10/17
eBook review copy: 168 pages
ASIN: B06Y5VXVH9
D.I. Paul Amos series # 5
The Hanging Tree by Rodney Hobson is a highly recommended fast-paced police procedural set in the 1990's.
Detective Inspector Paul Amos and Detective Sergeant Juliet Swift are
on the case of a middle aged man found hanging from a tree in his back
yard. The two older women living next door heard noise in the night and
saw a naked man walking through the backyard so the police were on the
scene rather quickly and have a few clues to follow. The murdered man
was Duncan Watson. He was apparently the leader of a group of protestors
in the sixties who participated in a siege of historic Wykeham Hall in
an attempt to save it. Their efforts resulted in failure, but the group
is having a 30th reunion this weekend. Amos and Swift rely on interviews
while following the various clues that lead to a conclusion.
This is most decidedly an old-fashioned police procedural that follows
the clues in the case without the help of current technology or advanced
forensics. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as you follow the
deductions the detectives make through their interviews and
investigations. It is also a simple, short, fast-paced novel. There
isn't a lot of time for character development or more than one line of
investigation. The Hanging Tree is definitely a novel to read
simply for relaxation. It is a good story that reaches its conclusion
quickly. And let's be honest, sometimes this is a nice change of pace,
especially if you have had a hectic week.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Endeavour Press.
Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor
HarperCollins: 5/9/17
eBook review copy; 336 pages
ISBN-13:
9780062661098
Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor is a very highly recommended debut
literary mystery that explores a gamut of emotions. This is compelling
reading.
In 1991 Seventeen year old Jess Winters has just moved to Sycamore, AZ,
with her mother, Maud. Jess's father has left them for his new young
wife and new baby daughter. We know that Jess disappears in December of
1991 and no one knows what happened to her. Her disappearance has
haunted the town. Her mother Maud has never given up hope that she would
find an answer to what happened someday. In 2009 a woman out walking
finds bones that may be those of Jess.
Sycamore flips back and forth in time, as well as the voices of
different characters, between 1991 and 2009. The story of what happened
to Jess back in 1991 slowly emerges, as does the current information
about the other citizens of Sycamore, the former friends,
classmates, neighbors, and teachers who knew Jess, then and now. The
multiple points of view enrich the story and give an added emotional
depth to the answers that are forthcoming as the novel progresses.
This spellbinding novel covers a multitude of emotions and subjects. It
is a coming-of-age story with all the teenage angst that this suggests.
It is an exploration of friendship and loneliness. It covers a variety
of betrayals and faithlessness. It delves into love, grief, secrets,
passions, rumors, disillusion, unfaithfulness, and hope. The novel
begins quietly, but gradually becomes increasingly tense and
complicated. These are broken people depicted on the pages of Sycamore, but even broken people search for happiness and a way to belong.
This novel is a well-written gem. The writing is marvelous. I was
totally engrossed in both narratives, 1991 and 2009. If you enjoy
literary fiction, as I do, you are going to see several corresponding
themes running through the novel, connecting past and present. If you
want to sit back and enjoy a well-written mystery, Sycamore will
also fit that description. This is a novel that should be savored. And
keep your eyes on Chancellor for more novels in the future.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
The Dinner Party by Joshua Ferris
Little, Brown and Company: 5/2/17
eBook review copy; 256 pages
ISBN-13:
9780316465953
The Dinner Party by Joshua Ferris is a highly recommended collection of eleven previously published short stories. The stories in The Dinner Party, six of which were first published in The New Yorker,
are about "the modern tribulations of
marriage, ambition, and the fear of missing out..." The lives here are
all changed in some way and at times the stories read like dark
comedies. The writing is wonderful and there are several stories with
surprising twists at the end. This is an admirable collection with only
one story that I didn't enjoy as much as the others.
Contents:
The Dinner Party: A man loathes having to sit through another dinner
party with his wife's friend and her husband. "He also wanted his wife
and her friend to drift apart so that he never
had to sit through another dinner party with the friend and her
husband."
The Valetudinarian: It's Arty Groys birthday. The
Florida retiree is at loose ends until he receives an unexpected gift
"If I had known about any of this forty years ago, I wouldn’t be so
gloomy today, but no one gives you a manual."
The Pilot: Leonard, who is writing a pilot for a TV show is invited to a
party by Kate Lotvelt, a very successful writer, and he is unsure if
she intended to invite him. "He and Kate, they weren’t…were they
friends? Well, yeah, they were friends. They were acquaintances. They’d
met twice, once at the producer Sydney Gleekman’s yearly blowout, and
then, a few months later, at the actor’s dinner party."
A Night Out: A man is unable to hide his cheating from his wife. "She
didn’t know how she knew. She just knew. Tom wanted not to have seen
her, then he shifted with a smile and a loud, “Clara!” Clara was
surprised to see him, or acted so. Tom introduced his wife. Clara
complimented Sophie’s handbag."
The Breeze: A woman is out on the balcony, catching a pleasant spring
breeze, which sets into motion endless possibilities for her but
complacency from her husband. " 'In the brig!' Sarah called out and,
with her wineglass at a tilt,
peeked down again on the neighborhood. They called their six feet of
concrete balcony overlooking the street the brig.
Ghost Town Choir: A fatherless boy watches his mother chase off another
boyfriend. " 'Mom, why are you mad at Lawton?' She opened the window
above the sink,
and all her figurines fell into the water. 'Because I got an expiration
date on my stupidity!'"
More Abandon, or What Ever Happened to Joe Pope?: A man stays in his
office building long after closing. "But there is work to do, work to
do, and that, he tells himself, is why
he stays. It is nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow, but he is
incapable of breaking free."
Fragments: A man listens to the fragments of conversations he hears
while out walking, thinking about his life. "That night, Katy came home
later than usual. He was up but feigned
sleep. With the lights off, she tiptoed into the bedroom, making no
effort to wake him. He wanted her to. He wanted her to say something,
anything..."
The Stepchild: An actor's wife has left him and he's in despair.
"...passersby might have thought him utterly seduced - until he turned
and
they glimpsed that he was crying. Then they knew they were in one of
those city moments, a public audience to a stranger’s despair."
Life in the Heart of the Dead: A middle aged man spends an afternoon on a guided tour of Prague.
"'It’s Prague Castle,' she said. 'And by the way,' she added, just when
the whole table, and really the whole restaurant, seemed to go
completely silent. 'For some reason, you keep calling it Czechoslovakia.
You understand, I hope, that it isn’t Czechoslovakia anymore. It hasn’t
been Czechoslovakia for twenty years. It’s the Czech Republic now.'"
A Fair Price: A man hires an older man to help him move his stuff but he
becomes increasingly belligerent as the day progresses. "Nothing sucked
more than moving your stuff out of storage. Luckily Jack
had a hand. Guy he’d never met before named Mike. Ryan, his yard guy,
had hooked them up. Mike worked for Ryan or knew Ryan somehow. Jack
didn’t ask. He was just glad to have the help."
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.
Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: 4/4/17
eBook review copy; 416 pages
Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic is a so-so overwritten novel focusing on obsession, stalking, and social media.
Alice Hare, 23, travels from England to NYC to stay with her ill
grandmother. Even before she met her, Alice is obsessed with Mizuko
Himura, a Japanese writer living in NYC who teaches
creative writing at Columbia. Alice's fantasies and thoughts are fueled
by her desire to meet and establish the relationship she knows she is
supposed to have with Mizuko. Alice stalkes her and manages to meet her
in person via a social media clue mentioning a coffee shop, and proceeds
to tests boundaries with her relationship with Mizuko.
I could go on with the description, but honestly, I don't like the novel
enough to spend more time on this. The narrative jumps around in time,
without building a sense of continuity or some identifying theme that
allows the readers knowledge to grow with each chapter. The novel is
over-long and slow paced, but still feels so disjointed that it wasn't a
pleasure as much as it was a chore to keep reading. Additionally I
didn't care for any of the characters. If you are going to throw a long,
muddled, over-written plot at me with all sorts of obsessive
narcissistic social media obsessed characters, at least give me one
person to care about. By the end of this novel I was just celebrating
the fact that it was over. It is given the so-so rating simply for the
final third of the novel.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
.
It Started with Goodbye by Christina June
Blink: 5/9/17
eBook review copy; 272 pages
ISBN-13:
9780310758662
It Started with Goodbye by Christina June is a recommended YA retake on the story of Cinderella.
Tatum Elsea (TLC) is sixteen and about to experience a horrible summer.
After Tatum unwittingly acted as a getaway driver for her best friend
Ashlyn and Ashlyn's boyfriend, she's been charged with a misdemeanor.
She has to pay a $500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.
To make things worse, her strict and intolerant stepmom along with her
perfect stepsister are the ones in charge of her "house arrest" as her
father is going to be away on business. When her stepgrandmother/fairy
godmother arrives, it is a blessing. Tatum is secretly starting a
graphic design business, TLC Design during this summer of reflection and
growth.
This is a feel good story where the characters make dramatic changes
rather quickly and the plot is very predictable. but it is all for the
happy ending that you know will be coming because it is a Cinderella
story. It is also quite decidedly a young adult novel. As an adult
reader there were parts that made little to no sense and annoyed the
heck out of me, but I am definitely not the target audience here. I
would take this down to a younger teen audience (grade 8 for sure) as
older teens or adults who like YA fiction are likely going to also have a
few issues with the novel.
The writing is fine and there is some progression with the plot. Suspend
disbelief for a few parts and just go with the flow to appreciate this
light, fun novel for younger YA readers.
(I really love the cover more than the book.)
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Blink.
Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee by Wayne Flynt
HarperCollins: 5/2/17
eBook review copy; 240 pages
ISBN-13:
9780062660084
Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee by Wayne Flynt
is recommended for the future historical significance of his
correspondence with the notoriously private Nelle Harper Lee.
This is a collection of letters Lee and Flynt sent to each other over
the years, from 1992 to Lee's death in 2016. The letters show a side of
Lee that few seldom saw and could be a valuable resource for future
biographers.
Flynt opens up the organized sections of letters with comments about the
letters that follow. There is a variety of subjects discussed and as
you are reading them you can see the friendship between the two growing
and maturing. The letters begin more formal and eventually become
personal and intimate. There are a few feisty observations and comments
from Lee that will be appreciated, along with her sense of humor and
phrasing as the letter begin to exhibit more of her personality. It
should be noted that Lee's attorney approved the publication of the
letters.
The value of this collection is the insight it provides into Lee's life
during her correspondence with Flynt. It does beg the question, though,
how she would have felt about the publication of their personal
correspondence. She was a very private person. One rarely writes to
friends and expects that exchange to be published in the future. However
there is a long history of letters of famous people being collected and
published.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline
St. Martin's Press: 4/11/17
eBook review copy; 368 pages
ISBN-13:
9781250099563
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline is a highly recommended thriller.
When Chris Brennan moves to Central
Valley, a small town in Pennsylvania, he lets us know right from the
start that he's not who he says he is. His name is not really "Chris
Brennan." His impressive credentials as he applies to teach at the high
school are fake. He's an assistant coach in baseball, although he's
never coached before, so he can find the perfect teenage boy. Chris has
some kind of secret plan that involves a making a bomb with ammonium
chloride fertilizer and it looks like he wants to find a teenage boy to
help him pull his plans together. He's only planning to be in Central
Valley for a week and he is looking at a boy from the baseball team to
assist him.
There are three boys Chris is looking at, and Scottoline follows the
point of view of the mothers of these boys and Chris in their
alternating narratives.
Susan Sematov's son, Raz, is a member of the team. Her whole family is
suffering because their father died a few months ago. Is Raz vulnerable
enough to be the one Chris is looking for?
Heather Larkin is a single mother raising her only son Jordan, who is a
rookie on the team. Jordan is reserved, but growing up without a father
might make him susceptible for Chris's plan.
Mindy Kostis's son Evan is the star catcher of the team. They are a
wealthy family. Her husband is a surgeon, Mindy leads the baseball
boosters. Evan has grown up without need, was recently given a new BMW,
and has a sense of entitlement. Could boredom lead him to look for
something more dangerous?
The opening chapters of One Perfect Lie are pretty grim and there
is an ominous, dire feeling as you read them wondering what are Chris's
real plans and what boy is he going to pick to use to accomplish what
must be some nefarious activity. Meeting the mothers of the boys adds to
the tension and the backstory of the boys and their home life. Just
before the half way point of the novel, the narrative does a huge double
flip twist that will shock and surprise you. After the twist, things
take off at a break-neck pace to the exciting conclusion.
The characters are all well-developed and finely drawn with a depth of
emotion and reality that is nice to see in a thriller. We know Chris's
inner thoughts and those of the three mothers. The family life of the
boys is explored and depicted in a realistic manner. Scottoline captures
the difficulties of raising teenagers today and the realistic struggles
many families go through.
The writing is excellent. Scottoline will really throw readers for a
loop in this one, especially with one of the
twists. Some of the others were easier to predict. This is a thoroughly
enjoyable thriller and is a perfect stuck-overnight-at -the-airport book
which will keep you entertained for hours.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press.
The Ridge by John Rector
Thomas & Mercer: 4/25/17
eBook review copy; 284 pages
ISBN-13:
9781503943933
The Ridge by John Rector is a recommended sort of sci fi, sort of domestic thriller, with a wee-little zombie undertone.
Megan and Tyler
Stokes have moved from Chicago to Willow Ridge. Willow Ridge is
middle-class employee housing for the Institute, a research center where
Tyler now works, and is hundreds of miles from civilization. It's a
planned community with four allowed house colors, open manicured lawns,
and a Stepford-like vibe in the air. What Megan is really angry about is
the neighbor across the street, Rachel Addison. Rachel has been
flirting with Tyler, propositioning him, and Megan is not about to let
that infraction stand. When she goes across the street to confront
Rachel, Megan ends up throwing a tantrum and Rachel ends up dead - but
maybe not. When Megan tells Tyler about the accident, he goes over to
investigate and Rachel is there, answering the door.
Is Megan losing her mind? It seems like she must be because now she's
noticing off behavior in others and it looks like Rachel might be
entering the territory of the walking dead - that is until the clean-up
crew comes late one night. It seems that neighbor David Mercer might
have more information that he's kept hidden, but he is reluctant to
openly talk about anything because he knows they are all being watched.
What is really going on in Willow Ridge and at the Institute?
While The Ridge is basically well written and has a simple easy
to follow narrative, it does suffer from a lack of real suspense and
tension being created to make Megan's situation seem more dire and
terrifying. You really end up feeling, at first, that she's losing her
mind and the story is going to be her sinking into madness - unless the
zombie-like Rachel was real or if Mercer's hidden information is
legitimate. Megan also seems a little too excitable and eager to
overshare her suspicions with people. Discretion doesn't seem to be a
trait she exhibits. The creepiness factor is occasionally there, though,
which helps some. The ending is interesting.
The Ship by Antonia Honeywell
Orbit: 4/25/17
eBook review copy; 336 pages
ISBN-13:
9780316469852
The Ship by Antonia Honeywell is a recommended YA dystopian coming-of-age novel.
It is the end of civilization. Lalage "Lalla" Paul has grown up in a
future London where one act after another limits the registered citizens
and controls the increasingly limited supplies. Plagues, viruses and
the trashing of the environment have eliminated people and crops
globally. People who aren't registered can be eliminated at any time.
But none of the restrictions and limits seems to affect Lalla's life as
the only child of a wealthy influential father, Michael, and her
intelligent strong mother, Anna. They live in a comfortable flat with
guards protecting them. While her father gathers supplies and worthy
people for "The Ship" her mother tries to educate Lalla on past
civilizations, culture, what the world once was, and compassion for
others.
On Lalla's 16th birthday, the increasing violence swirling around them
has made her father decide it is time for them to leave for The Ship and
put his survival plans into motion. Anna bulks and doesn't want to
leave the land. She feels Lalla needs to learn more, but Lalla says she
wants to go to this mysterious ship. A violent incident sets Michael's
plan into motion.
The ship only has room and supplies for 500 people. British troops and a
mob try to stop them, but they set out for sea. Soon it becomes clear
that Michael wants control and obedience from the people in his utopia.
As he instructs them to leave the past behind and consider him the
"Father" of all the children, his actions take on a religious tone.
Lalla is questioning everything about the endless supplies of food, her
father's plan, and everyone's blind following of it. She wants to know
when they will reach their destination and start a new life.
The Ship starts out strong in the creation of the dying world,
but falls under too many pages and the sheer weight of Lalla's incessant
teenage angst and, frankly, odd rebellious behavior. She's lived a very
sheltered life compared to everyone else, but surely she should have
noticed a bit more about what was happening on land than she apparently
did. And she also should have noticed more about the ship than she did.
Her love interest has as much depth as a cardboard cutout.
It becomes increasingly difficult to tolerate Lalla. As the plot and
pace of the novel slow down, there is no extra character development or
insights to keep your interest high and propel the plot forward. I
couldn't help but think of Waterworld (don't judge) where they
dove down to collect soil to grow things. One of my first thoughts was
why didn't they at least try to get soil and grow things on the ship. It
could be done. A lot of soil is covered up by buildings, etc. dig under
them, get good soil. Or, as other reviewers have pointed out, Lalla
had some more options available in the long term, had she used her
brains. The opening dystopian fall of society is worth an extra star,
but the meat of the book is really so-so.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of Orbit.
Vacation on Location, Midwest by Joey Green
Chicago
Review Press: 5/1/17
eBook review copy; 240 pages
ISBN-13:
9781613737255
Vacation on Location, Midwest: Explore the Sites Where Your Favorite
Movies Were Filmed by Joey Green is the perfect vacation guide
for film buffs. This is the Midwest edition, so one would hope other
regional editions might be forthcoming, but this covers 40 popular films
shot in 11 states. FYI, as you could likely guess, Chicago is a major
location destination. Even if you aren't planning a vacation immediately
to the sites, it is still going to be an interesting guide to where
individual movies scenes were shot.
The organization of the book is a brief introduction and then
consists of numbered scenes in the movie with addresses where it was
filmed and a brief description. The numbers of the scenes are
coordinated to numbered area on a map so you can find the location of
the movie scene you are looking for. If there are scenes that were shot
elsewhere Green makes a note of it in boxed off "Shot Elsewhere"
sections. The notes for each movie are followed by "Other Featured
Attractions" a section that includes places where film sets or props
(especially vehicles) can be seen. Green includes maps, photos and a
bibliography.
Contents
Illinois: The Blues Brothers; The Breakfast Club; The Dark Knight;
Ferris Bueller's Day off; The Fugitive; Groundhog Day; Home Alone; My
Best Friend's Wedding; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Risky Business;
The Untouchables
Indiana: Breaking Away; Hoosiers; A League of Their Own; Rudy
Iowa: The Bridges of Madison County; Children of the Corn; Field of Dreams; The Straight Story
Kansas: In Cold Blood; Paper Moon; Picnic
Michigan: Anatomy of a Murder; 8 Mile
Minnesota: Fargo; Grumpy Old Men; The Mighty Ducks; Purple Rain; A Simple Plan
Missouri: Escape from New York; Gone Girl; Up in the Air
Nebraska: Boys Town; Election; Nebraska
Ohio: The Avengers; A Christmas Story; The Deer Hunter; Rain Man; The Shawshank Redemption
South Dakota: Dances with Wolves; How the West Was Won; North by Northwest
Wisconsin: Back to School
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of the Chicago
Review Press.
