38. Book Review: If I Stay (2014)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Synopsis

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family. 

 Review

I saw the preview for this movie and knew right away I wanted to read the book first - not sure yet if I'll catch the movie.  And it didn't disappoint.  This was a great young adult quick read.  I was surprised by how fast I flew through this book and I can definitely see my daughter enjoying this book one day.  I wouldn't say this book was ultra "deep" but it did offer a thoughtful point of view on death.   If you are looking for a quick vacation read or fall weekend read - this is the book for you!

Other books you may like…

The Fever: A Novel 

The Fault in Our Stars

37. Book Review: The Fortune Hunter (2014)

The Fortune Hunter: A Novel by Daisy Goodwin

Synopsis

Empress Elizabeth of Austria, known as Sisi, is the Princess Diana of nineteenth-century Europe. Famously beautiful, as captured in a portrait with diamond stars in her hair, she is unfulfilled in her marriage to the older Emperor Franz Joseph. Sisi has spent years evading the stifling formality of royal life on her private train or yacht or, whenever she can, on the back of a horse. 

 Captain Bay Middleton is dashing, young, and the finest horseman in England. He is also impoverished, with no hope of buying the horse needed to win the Grand National—until he meets Charlotte Baird. A clever, plainspoken heiress whose money gives her a choice among suitors, Charlotte falls in love with Bay, the first man to really notice her, for his vulnerability as well as his glamour. When Sisi joins the legendary hunt organized by Earl Spencer in England, Bay is asked to guide her on the treacherous course. Their shared passion for riding leads to an infatuation that jeopardizes the growing bond between Bay and Charlotte, and threatens all of their futures.

Review

I absolutely adored this book.  It solidified and reminded me of my love for historical fiction and was quite a delight to read after having read some books I haven't cared for much.  The story line moved at a steady pace with absolutely lovable characters and rich imagery. I almost felt like I was watching this in movie form rather than reading it, the author brilliantly painted her landscape.  I highly recommend this book if you too are a historical fiction lover.

Other books you may like…

The American Heiress: A Novel

The House at Tyneford: A Novel

36. Book Review: Lucky Us (2014)

Lucky Us: A Novel by Amy Bloom

Synopsis

“My father’s wife died. My mother said we should drive down to his place and see what might be in it for us.” 

 So begins this remarkable novel by Amy Bloom, whose critically acclaimed Away was called “a literary triumph” (The New York Times). Lucky Us is a brilliantly written, deeply moving, fantastically funny novel of love, heartbreak, and luck. 

 Disappointed by their families, Iris, the hopeful star and Eva the sidekick, journey through 1940s America in search of fame and fortune. Iris’s ambitions take the pair across the America of Reinvention in a stolen station wagon, from small-town Ohio to an unexpected and sensuous Hollywood, and to the jazz clubs and golden mansions of Long Island. 

 With their friends in high and low places, Iris and Eva stumble and shine though a landscape of big dreams, scandals, betrayals, and war. Filled with gorgeous writing, memorable characters, and surprising events, Lucky Us is a thrilling and resonant novel about success and failure, good luck and bad, the creation of a family, and the pleasures and inevitable perils of family life, conventional and otherwise. From Brooklyn’s beauty parlors to London’s West End, a group of unforgettable people love, lie, cheat and survive in this story of our fragile, absurd, heroic species.

Review

If the book was anything like the synopsis this would have been a fabulous book.  The characters were hardly developed, the storyline was often too quick and random and the book left me wanting for more in many ways. This was our recent book club selection.  I chose it after hearing the author on NPR and having my interest piqued, but the book fell short in so many ways that I can't really give it a good review.  

Other books you may like…

Rules of Civility: A Novel

A Hundred Summers

35. Book Review: Big Little Lies (2014)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Synopsis

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal.  A murder… a tragic accident… or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what? 

 Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads: Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?). Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay. New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all. 

 Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

Review

This is a classic Liane Moriarty book… and while I loved her two other books (The Husband's Secret & What Alice Forgot) this one fell a little flat for me.  I will say her writing and story style is awesome, I love the mysterious element she adds to her genre - which I would call "smart chick-lit".  I have been in a reading funk lately and that could be why I didn't absolutely love this book.  Mostly I did not really relate to the parents at all. I went into the book hoping that I would since I have children in elementary school as well, and I know how some moms can be chatty/catty.  Mostly the characters seemed full of self loathing and uninspired - or maybe I just took it too seriously when it should have been a "for fun" read.  I would say visit Liane Moriarty's other books first and then try this one. She really is a fantastic storyteller. 

Other books you may like…

The Husband's Secret

A Hundred Summers

34. Book Review: The Steady Running of the Hour (2014)

The Steady Running of the Hour: A Novel

Synopsis 

A QUEST NOVEL and a historical tour de force, The Steady Running of the Hour unravels a tale of passion, legacy, and courage reaching across the twentieth century. 

 In 1924, the English mountaineer Ashley Walsingham dies attempting to summit Mount Everest, leaving his fortune to his former lover, Imogen Soames-Andersson—whom he has not seen in seven years. Ashley’s solicitors search in vain for Imogen, but the estate remains unclaimed. 

 Nearly eighty years later, new information leads the same law firm to Tristan Campbell, a young American who could be the estate’s rightful heir. If Tristan can prove he is Imogen’s descendant, the inheritance will be his. But with only weeks before Ashley’s trust expires, Tristan must hurry to find the evidence he needs. 

 From London archives to Somme battlefields to the Eastfjords of Iceland, Tristan races to piece together the story behind the unclaimed riches: a reckless love affair pursued only days before Ashley’s deployment to the Western Front; a desperate trench battle fought by soldiers whose hope is survival rather than victory; an expedition to the uncharted heights of the world’s tallest mountain. Following a trail of evidence that stretches to the far edge of Europe, Tristan becomes consumed by Ashley and Imogen’s story. But as he draws close to the truth, Tristan realizes he may be seeking something more than an unclaimed fortune.

Review

I absolutely loved this book from the get-go and about half way through I couldn't put the book down at all - I even stayed up until 2am reading one night. I can't remember the last time I did that.  The two stories lines make for a definite page turner and my curiosity about the mystery that the story presents is irresistible.  I would have loved a little more involved ending… the book ended so abruptly!  But regardless this is a gorgeous book and one I won't soon forget.

Other books you may like…

The Signature of All Things: A Novel

Flight Behavior: A Novel

Any book by Kate Morton who is a genius with double story lines like this book!

33. Book Review: California (2014)

California: A Novel by Edan Lepucki

Synopsis

The world Cal and Frida have always known is gone, and they've left the crumbling city of Los Angeles far behind them. They now live in a shack in the wilderness, working side-by-side to make their days tolerable in the face of hardship and isolation. Mourning a past they can't reclaim, they seek solace in each other. But the tentative existence they've built for themselves is thrown into doubt when Frida finds out she's pregnant. 

 Terrified of the unknown and unsure of their ability to raise a child alone, Cal and Frida set out for the nearest settlement, a guarded and paranoid community with dark secrets. These people can offer them security, but Cal and Frida soon realize this community poses dangers of its own. In this unfamiliar world, where everything and everyone can be perceived as a threat, the couple must quickly decide whom to trust. 

 A gripping and provocative debut novel by a stunning new talent, California imagines a frighteningly realistic near future, in which clashes between mankind's dark nature and deep-seated resilience force us to question how far we will go to protect the ones we love.

Review

I love a good dystopian novel now and then. And while some of the reviews of this book weren't stellar, I actually really liked this book.  With dystopian literature you have to suspend disbelief and be ready for a few holes in the story.  We never really learn how the world of Cal and Frida get to the point where it's at or how the US essentially crumbles as the book references and the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger (sequel maybe?).  However, in between those two facts lie a riveting page turner that I found absolutely fascinating.  I love when a story fully transports me to another world and this book definitely did that.  If you need an end of the summer beach read or vacation read - I recommend this one.

Other books you may like…

Never Let Me Go
The Age of Miracles: A Novel

32. Book Review: The Shadow of the Wind (2014)

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Synopsis

Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

Review

Let's start with the bad and get to the good about this book… this book took me forever to read and as a "quick reader" it caught me off guard a bit. The first half of the book was slow moving and with a lot of names and characters to keep straight (a character chart would have been very helpful!).  But that is the only bad about this book.  The mystery was well played out and parts of it were fun to guess. The writing is absolutely stunning, creating gorgeous dialogue and inner dialogue with the characters and a rich setting in which the mystery took place.  I would recommend this book, but with the caveat that the beginning is slow so you have to be able to stick to it.  

I love books about books… so in that regard this story did not let me down.  Mysterious libraries, old abandoned mansions, love letters, plenty of twists and turns and unrequited love make for a great read.  This would be a great winter or fall read… curl up on a cold and cloudy day and become absorbed into Daniel's world.

Other books you may like…

The Book Thief  

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel

31. Book Review: The Fever (2014)

The Fever: A Novel by Megan Abbott

Synopsis

The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community. 

 The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. 

Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community. As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town's fragile idea of security.

Review

I had heard this book reviewed in a few places with glowing reviews.  I will say the story line was interesting - girls dropping of weird symptoms left and right is quite the page turner - but I found the character development a little lacking and the whole book a little ho-hum.  This is just my very small opinion of it, but I found the high school setting and characters a little contrived. For a book that should have been a fun and quick read, it seemed long and a little laborious at times.

That being said this book is characterized as a "dark" novel or a "noir" novel and that genre isn't one I usually gravitate towards.  So it could be that the genre of the book was a wrong fit for me.  I'm glad I read it though. It's interesting as a parent to see into the lives of high school students or even think what I would do in the circumstances of the book. This would be a great book to discuss in a book club as well.

You may also like…

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls (review here)
Gone Girl: A Novel

30. Book Review: The Dinner (2014)

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Synopsis

An internationally bestselling phenomenon: the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families struggling to make the hardest decision of their lives—all over the course of one meal. 

 It's a summer's evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened. 

 Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love. 

 Skewering everything from parenting values to pretentious menus to political convictions, this novel reveals the dark side of genteel society and asks what each of us would do in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

Review

Oh, how to review a book like this? I kind of knew I wasn't going to like it when the description said "dark" but I also wanted to take a risk and maybe surprise myself and like it.  But I didn't really like it.  It was a little too dark for me and "dark" novels aren't really a genre I get excited about.  So I took a risk and while I didn't absolutely abhor this book, I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend.  It's just not my style.  That being said it was a thought provoking read and a well constructed story that left you guessing until the end. If you like a little "dark" in your novel you will probably enjoy this book - it hasn't gained in popularity for no reason.  There are definitely those that like this type of book.  I'm just not so much one of them. As an aside, for some reason reminded me of the "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" series - not sure why.  Maybe European writers or their translated books gift off that certain aura.

Other books you may like…
Gone Girl: A Novel
The Husband's Secret (my review here)
Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel

29. Book Review: Maine (2014)

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

Synopsis

For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano. As three generations of women arrive at the family's beach house, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago. 

 Review

This was a true summer beach read in all senses of the word.  I mean, just look at the cover, right? While I will say that I enjoyed this book I won't say that I absolutely loved it.  Although I really do find myself thinking about the characters even days after I have finished it.  And with such a cliff hanger of an ending I almost feel like a sequel could work for this book.  I loved the complicated family dynamics and how the author portrayed the story as a whole from the individual characters points of view - even though at times it was a little confusing reading about the events twice.  Each character was so brilliantly written that I found I quickly related to and understood each character - which I think can be difficult for an author to do.  My verdict: definitely pack it in your beach bag this summer.

Other books you may like…

A Hundred Summers

Summer Rental