An Anonymous Girl By Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

After a lukewarm reaction to the first collaboration of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, I was hesitant to pick up the invitation extended to me by St Martin's Press for their Sophomore release, An Anonymous Girl. I must say that I enjoyed this novel more than I did "The Wife Between Us".  The structure of this narrative lent itself much better to the team approach to writing since there were very different voices between the two main characters that came through very well. 

The psychology behind the premise is compelling but if you are looking for something that will keep you on your toes with twists and turns, this one is fairly straightforward as far as the plot is concerned. 

Definitely pick it up for a light and fun read.

Lies by T.M. Logan

I had a hard time getting into this book even with the good reviews from some of my friends who were also reading this on behalf of St Martins Press and I can't quite put my finger on why.  The plot was well thought out and just twisted enough to keep things interesting.   I did like the way that Logan threaded a technology aspect to the building of evidence against poor Joe through the story.  Especially as his nemesis built his business around software development.

My main issue, I think, is the police overlooking MAJOR plot holes and their incompetence was more laughable than frustrating.  For example (without spoilers) part of the evidence they were using said that both phones were using the same cell tower - which makes absolute sense since the characters were both supposed to be in the same place but yet it was presented as damning to Joe's story.  

The ending....I didn't see all of it coming but I did narrow it down to a small band of people who could be responsible and it turned out to be a mix of them.  

Overall, if you are looking for something that would fit in with a trip or a relaxing weekend, I would recommend giving, Lies a try.

 

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

I was thrilled to receive a copy of "A Spark of Light" By Jodi Picoult from Net Galley and Ballentine Books Publishing in return for an honest review.  I have been hit or miss with Jodi Picoult for years.  When she is good she is great (see: The Storyteller, Small Great Things) when she is off she is really off (see: Tenth Circle, Lone Wolf).  This novel set right in the middle with me.

Trigger warning before you pick this up.  This book dives VERY deeply into the subject of abortion.  All sides of abortion, pro-life - pro-choice - providers, protestors, medical abortions, surgical abortions, fathers, mothers the whole gamut.  Picoult does a wonderful job of balancing the polarizing sides of this issue, the good the bad and the ugly of why and how abortion is and will remain a hot button in this country.

I gave the book a three-star rating even though I wanted so badly to rate hit higher because I feel like this is a very important story to tell and Jodi Picoult is a perfect voice to tell it.  But the rating stands for two main reasons:

1. The format.  The chronology of events goes backward starting with the consequences of what happens to these characters and working its way back hour by hour until the very beginning.  (There is an epilogue to tie up some loose ends but...it still felt unsatisfying).  I understand why she did it as there is a twist or two in the late chapters that are facilitated by the flashback style of storytelling but I'm fairly certain those reveals could have come into the plotline in a different way.

2. Character count.  There was a LOT going on - many different characters to keep track of within each hour block of time and, if you aren't reading this book in a few sittings, it can get confusing to keep track of which backstory belongs to which character.  Again, I know why the author did it this way and I'm glad that each of the characters existed in this novel because they all had an important to story to tell but, especially with the timeline in reverse and the fact that there was nothing but an extra line break to indicate the jump to a different character, it became pretty disorienting pretty fast.

I'm half tempted to go back and read this book in chronological order and see if it helps.  Maybe one of you can do it and get back to me on how the experience of this story differs between mine and yours.

2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge

With two months to go, I met my goal for the 6th year running.  Re-discovering my love for reading over the past decade has been one of the best things that I have done for myself.  See my list of reading material and ratings by following the add to GoodReads link below!  Happy Reading Readers!

Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart

OK before I get into the book review - How freaking fun is this video?  #booktube

As for the book.  I am a sucker for stories that involve a physical journey that accompanies an emotional one.  Barry Cohen takes such a trip on a Greyhound bus in a desperate attempt to escape his many many problems ranging from his autistic son to the failure of his hedge fund and is just certain that the answer lies in a good old-fashioned return to his roots via a road trip across America with no Black Amex or cell phone to buffer his experience.

The journey was hilarious as Barry's myopic view of the world from a position of extreme wealth

gets shattered over and over again yet he remains undeterred.  I mean, who wouldn't want an inner city charity teaching kids about the value of collecting watches as an investment. Right?  I kept waiting for Barry to have the 'aha' moment that the audience experienced when they figure out what Barry's problem really is - but the frustration of him continually glossing over it actually propelled the book forward

Meanwhile back at home, his wife, Seema and autistic son, Shiva are on a parallel journey which the author mirrors in a poignant way to show the differences between the way that both characters perceive their lives and their paths.

If you have read my reviews in the past, you know that endings are usually my sticking point, but, in this case, I liked the ending because the characters were still very much themselves at the end but they were comfortable with being who they were and there is so much beauty in that kind of conclusion.

Special thanks to Gary Shteyngart, Random House Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for this review.  It was an enjoyable ride.

Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper

I was delighted to have been invited to read this book as an advance reader copy after thoroughly enjoying and reviewing Emma Hooper's first novel, Emma and Otto and Russel and James.  I wish that I loved this novel as strongly as I love E.O.R.J. but something in this one fell a bit flat for me.

The good: Ms. Hooper still does a fantastic job of creating a world in which you can place yourself with the characters.  You could visualize the cold and bleak area, the dying fishing town, and the eccentric characters fit well within that framework.  Those characters too were vivid and refreshing.  The relationship between Aiden and Martha was so realistic and showed how relationships grow and can be picked apart and put back together again in a naturally unnatural way.  The pluck and vigor of Finn was so much fun.

The problem:  The whole thing didn't really hold together for me.  I feel there were MAJOR things that were glossed over surrounding the actions of the children.  I understand that the parents were wrapped up in their own stuff but Cora's storyline especially struck me as especially egregious. (I SO want to give stuff away here but will refrain).

I wanted to love this but I just couldn't though I am grateful to the publisher, author and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

This is a book about a small town hockey team but please don't let that stop you from reading it.  I have stopped and read aloud poignant lines from this novel so many times that my husband keeps asking me if I'm sure that it's a book about hockey.  But it is.  But it also isn't.

My soul ached for every character in this novel.  If you happen to pick this book up before you read Beartown, fear not because Fredrik goes even more in-depth into these flawed members of a town with only one thing in common.  Hockey.  But its just a game - it doesn't mean anything.  I didn't know that Beartown needed a sequel until a publishing agent reached out to me to offer an advanced copy and now I can't imagine the whole story without this postscript

Just a few of the quotes littering my Kindle:
"What does it take to be a good parent? Not much. Just Everything.  Absolutely everything."
"The best friends of our childhoods are the loves of our lives, and they break our hearts in worse ways."
"It's impossible to measure love, but that doesn't stop us coming up with new ways to try."
"Everyone wants to get paid the only difference between us is the preferred currency."
"Cynicism is simply a chemical reaction to too much disappointment."

Fredrik Backman's other novels (A Man Called Ove, Britt-Marie was Here and the heart-wrenching And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer) among them are some of my favorite all-time reads.  Now I am happily counting Us Against You in that list.