What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarity

I thoroughly enjoyed What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarity. It is an extremely well written novel about getting second chances and a fresh perspective. The novel flowed easily, even with three different stories being told. The focus was on Alice but I was just as moved by Alice’s sister, Elisabeth, and her story.

The story is fairly simple. Alice hits her head during a spin class and when she comes to, she can’t remember the last ten years of her life. She believes she is pregnant with her first child while in fact she is a mother of three and is in the process of a messy divorce. The Alice who wakes up is very different from the Alice who went to the spin class that morning. She doesn’t remember her children and doesn’t know why she and her husband are separated.

What the author does so well, is make us, the readers, care for the “new” version of Alice. She’s naive and sweet. She is encouraging and not bitter. The “old” version was frazzled and angry. While she may have had her reasons, I couldn’t help but hope that she would never get her memory back. I’ll remember this story for many years and have already passed the book along to another friend. I’m sure she’ll love it too.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither, by Lauren DeStefano, is one of those books that caught me from the start.  The concept alone was very interesting.  I seem to be attracted to books that disgust me with the general idea and then intrigue me the rest of the way through. 

The novel focuses on Rhine.  She's a teenager living in a futuristic America where an overload of genetic testing has caused the downfall of society.  In this future, men don't live beyond the age of twenty-five and women die at age twenty.  The desire to continue the population leads to kidnapping and polygamy.  Rhine is sixteen years old when she is kidnapped and taken to a grand mansion in Florida.  While she bonds with her sister wives and a servant named Gabriel, she longs for escape and finding her brother.

One of the things that really struck me about the book is that Lindon, the young groom, is as much a victim as the girls in many ways.  His first wife has died and he's controlled by his father.   While I like the blooming relationship between Rhine and Gabriel, I think that Rhine actually has an affection for her husband, even if it isn't love.

I really enjoyed the story and although it didn't end - a pet peeve of mine - it's the first in a planned trilogy so hopefully I'll find out what happened!  The characters were well formed and the setting was described in such a way that I can completely see the mansion in my head.  There are plenty of dystopian novels out there right now and this is a good one.  Enjoy it!

A Whole Bunch of Reviews!!!

I am behind in my reviews which is fairly typical for this time of year.  I looked at the past history and August is when the downward spiral begins.  In order to at least say something about each of the books I’ve read this year, I thought I’d do a quick post which includes short and simple reviews of a few books.  

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

This is a very sweet little story about a young girl, Zoe, with a desire to play the piano.  Not only does she want to play the piano, she wants to be a maestro!  So her dad buys her an organ.  She embraces her new instrument with as much enthusiasm as she can as she and her teacher prepare for her to perform in a competition.  The story is about how a family that doesn’t quite fit the ideal, is actually pretty perfect in their own way.  It’s very good and I highly recommend it.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Found is the first book in a series by Ms. Haddix and I was a bit disappointed that more of the story wasn’t resolved before the book ended.  I haven’t read the second book yet and I feel as if I still haven’t finished the book.  The story revolves around two friends who discover that they were both adopted and there is a big mystery surrounding where they came from.  I didn’t love the book and really can’t recommend it unless you plan to read the series.  

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

This is the third book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  It’s a nice addition to the series and moves quickly.  Bill is missing and Sookie enlists the help of a werewolf, Alcide, to help her find him.  I love Alcide.  Honestly, I can’t remember all of the details but I remember the end and that Sookie stood up for herself.  Good for her. 

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

Well, I read it.  All of it.  That’s about all I can say about this book.  At least it was a very fast read.  The book was silly, the characters were a bit manic, and the plot had holes.  I didn’t like it at all and don’t plan to continue the series unless the book falls in my lap and I have nothing better to do.

Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich

Metro Girl is a fun, quick read that I really did enjoy.   Metro Girl introduces us to Alex “Barney” Barnaby, the daughter of a mechanic who knows her way around an engine.  She heads to Miami when her brother disappears and she’s determined to find him.  During her search, she meets Sam Hooker, a NASCAR driver who sets his sights on Alex.  The two get mixed up with interesting characters and head off into dangerous situations on their search.  If you are familiar with Janet Evanovich’s writing, you’ll recognize the formula in the Metro Girl books, but they are fun and worth a read if you are looking for something quick and entertaining.

The Grand Finale by Janet Evanovich

The Grand Finale is a quirky, fun little piece of fluff.  Berry owns a pizza shop and hired three homeless ladies as delivery people.  The only problem is that they weren’t really cut out for deliveries, meaning Berry had to do it herself.  While out on a delivery, she climbs a tree to help a cat and of course falls out of the tree after getting a good look at a half naked man.  The man she was supposed to be delivering pizza for.  Jake falls hard for Berry and her trio of old ladies.   They form an odd little family with a very sweet happy ever after.  This is definitely a light read and there isn’t a whole lot of substance but sometimes it’s nice to not think so much. 

What My Best Friend Did by Lucy Dawson

What My Best Friend Did, by Lucy Dawson, is a story of a young woman dealing with a friend who is suffering from a mental illness.  It's fairly depressing as a whole and I had a hard time relating to it.  That's probably a good thing.

Alice is a young woman, living with her longtime boyfriend when she meets Gretchen.  She and Gretchen become fast friends and Alice finds herself pulling away from Tom, her boyfriend.  When she begins a flirtation with Bailey, Gretchen's brother, things start to fall apart.

Alice soon learns that Gretchen is suffering from bi-polar disorder and is not always rational, especially when off her medication.  Alice feels guilty and responsible for helping to care for Gretchen even though she is dealing with her own problems.

I didn't really care for any of the characters in this story, except for Tom.  Alice was whiny, Gretchen was manic, and Bailey was selfish.  Tom was the only one who seemed to be relate-able.  Maybe it's because I have not had personal experience with mental illness, but I found the story to be boring and annoying.  I wish I enjoyed it more.  The big reveal at the end was even a let down.  This is one of those books that I will forget quickly.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

I bought Wings after hearing good things about it.  Sad to say that I was disappointed.  It sold itself as a story about a fairy and I suppose it was, but it wasn't anything like I expected.  It isn't a bad book, it's just not a great book.  I wanted it to be a great book.  It took me a long time to read because I couldn't get into it.

Laurel and her family move to a new town and she starts school for the first time.  She's been home-schooled her entire life and is forced to go to a public high school for her sophomore year.  She quickly meets David who becomes her best friend.  When odd things start happening to Laurel, she discovers who she truly is and meets Tamani, a fairy.  Tamani, David and Laurel must work together to save the fairies' land.

Pretty simple story but it didn't have an end.  It seems to be a trend with young adult books.  They don't really end or come to a conclusion.  I know the point is to get the reader to read the next book in the series, but in this case, I don't know that I will bother.  I'm not that interested. 

The book is perfect for teens but I don't think adults will get much out of it.

The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer

The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer took me by complete surprise. I anticipated a story about a proper young woman, working her way through life as a wet nurse. Well, that was her occupation but proper - maybe not. When I read novels based in Victorian England, I expect certain things. I expect characters with high morals, great expectations, and a fair bit of romance. I don't know why I expect that but I do.

The main character, and narrator, of The Wet Nurse's Tale is Susan Rose. She is hard working, chunky, and opinionated. You can hear her voice while reading and her character comes alive. She's quite the character. When her ordinary life takes a turn, the reader can see the determination in her spirit. She's a mother who would do whatever it takes to protect her child.

I wasn't sure what to think at the beginning of the book. I was a little worried that the book was going to be a bit too focused on breasts - as they were necessary for her occupation. I was distracted by short essays between chapters as I wasn't sure who or what the narrator was talking about at the beginning. There wasn't a great deal of story the first one hundred pages or so, more set up than anything. Once the main plot begins, it's a quick ride to the conclusion and it's a good ride. The novel is well written and the character will not leave me for a long while.

I recommend this book to those who like historical fiction and women's fiction. It is an adult book and due to language and mature subjects, it's not appropriate for young teens.

Whisper to the Blood by Dana Stabenow

Whisper to the Blood, by Dana Stabenow, is set to be released on February 17th. Thanks to Library Thing, I managed to score an early reviewer copy. I did have to put my other books aside to get this read but I'm glad I did. It was a very interesting book.

Dana Stabenow was unfamiliar to me. She is evidently a prolific Alaskan writer but as I don't usually read mystery or crime novels, her books never popped up on my radar. The main character of the book is Kate Shugak. Kate is an Aleut woman living in a national park in Alaska. She lives with her wonderful dog Mutt and her foster son, Johnny. Jim, the park's police force also lives with Kate unofficially.

The story is about the people of the small town and their battles with each other and a huge gold mining company that is planning to start a mine in a portion of the park. Kate deals with murder, theft, and being a parent.

I enjoyed the book once the story really started picking up but I have to say that for me it was a slow start. I think part of the problem is that this book is 16th in a series and I jumped in blindly. I felt that there was a huge amount of back story that I was missing. I'm sure it's a fine balance for a writer in this situation. Do you create a book that reviews all the finer points, thus boring your faithful reader or do you create a book that fills in gaps now and then while advancing the storyline? She went for option two which was probably a good thing.

Next time I feel the need to buy a book (it comes along every so often) I'm going to look and see what else of hers I can find. I'm sure that followers of the series, will enjoy this new installment and if you are new to Dana Stabenow's writing, give it a shot. There is a bit of humor among the serious subject matter. I laughed out loud in a few places. That's always a good thing!