Wednesday Sisters - Meg Waite Clayton

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 288

Challenges: Pub Challenge

Synopsis (from BN.com)
Friendship, loyalty, and love lie at the heart of Meg Waite Clayton’s beautifully written, poignant, and sweeping novel of five women who, over the course of four decades, come to redefine what it means to be family.

For thirty-five years, Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally have met every Wednesday at the park near their homes in Palo Alto, California. Defined when they first meet by what their husbands do, the young homemakers and mothers are far removed from the Summer of Love that has enveloped most of the Bay Area in 1967. These “Wednesday Sisters” seem to have little in common: Frankie is a timid transplant from Chicago, brutally blunt Linda is a remarkable athlete, Kath is a Kentucky debutante, quiet Ally has a secret, and quirky, ultra-intelligent Brett wears little white gloves with her miniskirts. But they are bonded by a shared love of both literature–Fitzgerald, Eliot, Austen, du Maurier, Plath, and Dickens–and the Miss America Pageant, which they watch together every year.

As the years roll on and their children grow, the quintet forms a writers circle to express their hopes and dreams through poems, stories, and, eventually, books. Along the way, they experience history in the making: Vietnam, the race for the moon, and a women’s movement that challenges everything they have ever thought about themselves, while at the same time supporting one another through changes in their personal lives brought on by infidelity, longing, illness, failure, and success.

Humorous and moving, The Wednesday Sisters is a literary feast for book lovers that earns a place among those popular works that honor the joyful,mysterious, unbreakable bonds between friends.

Review

I thought this was pretty good. It was a good discussion book for our reading group and was a fast read.

Capital Holiday - Janet Dailey

Rating: 3.5 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 352

Challenges: None

Synopsis (from BN.com)
"All I Want for Christmas..."
Life in the White House means never having a moment to yourself. As the President's daughter and official hostess, Jocelyn Wakefield longs to escape the media circus that surrounds her every move for just one day. Impossible? Not with a wig, some very different clothes, a secret tunnel, and a grandmother with a butler, both of whom are willing accomplices...

But being anonymous in Washington, D.C. at Christmas time may turn out to be an impossible dream after all when she collides with political columnist Grady Tucker—a man who could publish her exploits in papers nationwide. But Jocelyn is about to discover that Grady is more than just a journalist looking for a story—and that the magic of love can never be disguised...

Review

This was a fun, easy read for the holiday season. It is engaging and kept me interested.

Life's A Beach - Claire Cook

Rating: 3

Pages:

Challenges: None

Synopsis (from bn.com)

When Must Love Dogs was published, the Chicago Tribune called it "pitch-perfect" and the Washington Post declared, "Readers will hope that Claire Cook will be telling breezy summer stories from the South Shore of Massachusetts for seasons to come." Luckily for her legions of fans, Cook returns with another sparkling romantic comedy that's reminiscent of Must Love Dogs in all the right ways, but very much its own animal—about a relationship-challenged single woman, her quirky-to-put-it-mildly extended family, and the summer the shark movie came to town.

Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who's single at forty-one and living back home in the family FROG (Finished Room Over Garage). She's hoping for a more fulfilling life as a sea glass artist, but instead is babysitting her sister's kids and sharing overnights with Noah, her sexy artist boyfriend with commitment issues and a dog Ginger's cat isn't too crazy about. Geri, her BlackBerry-obsessed sister, is also nearly over the deep end about her pending fiftieth birthday (and might just drag Ginger with her). Toss in a dumpster-picking father, a Kama Sutra T-shirt-wearing mother, a movie crew come to town with a very cute gaffer, an on-again-off-again glassblower boyfriend, plus a couple of Red Hat Realtors, and hilarity ensues. The perfect summer read, Life's a Beach is a warm, witty, and wise look at what it takes to move forward at any stage in life.

Review

I thought this book was ok. I am not sure I would recommend it. I haven't read Must Love Dogs but liked the movie better than this book.

Comfort and Joy - Kristin Hannah

Rating: 3

Pages: 272

Challenges: None

Synopsis (from BN.com)

Joy Candellaro used to love Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she finds herself at loose ends. Recently divorced and estranged from her sister, she can't summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the rural Northwest.

Yet Joy's best-laid plans go terribly awry. The plane crashes deep in the darkness of a forest. Miraculously, Joy walks away from the wreckage as the plane explodes, obliterating all evidence of its passengers. Amid the towering trees, Joy makes a bold and desperate decision to leave her ordinary life behind and embark on an adventure . . . just for the holidays.

Daniel O'Shea has returned to the small town of Rain Valley, following the death of his ex-wife. Now he is a single father facing his son's first Christmas without a mother. Six-year-old Bobby isn't making it easy - the boy has closed himself off from the world, surrounding himself with imaginary friends.

When Joy and Bobby meet, they form an instant bond. Thrown together by fate, these wounded souls will be touched by the true spirit of Christmas and remember what it means to be a family.Then a dramatic turn of events shows Joy the price of starting over. On a magical Christmas Eve she will come face-to-face with a startling truth. Now she must decide: In a time of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, can she find the faith to reach for the love she has found . . . and the new life only she believes in?

Review

I thought this book was ok, but I struggled with some of the decisions that Joy made. Why she made them, etc.

Wildflowers - Robert Noonan

Rating: 3

Pages: 227

Challenges: 1st in a Series

Synopsis (from BN.com)

From 1854 to 1929, more than 200,000 homeless children left New York City on orphan trains to find new lives across the country. Some found loving homes; others experienced physical and mental abuse. Bridie's Daughter brings that world to life in this second novel in Robert Noonan's Orphan Train Trilogy.
Bridie's Daughter is an eye-opening tale that follows four teen-aged children who are filled with hope, concern and uncertainty, as they ride the rails to an unknown future. Once the train stops, however, it's a roll of the dice where they'll each end up.
Bridie McDonald, a wealthy spinster, finds in Catherine the daughter she has always wanted. Catherine learns to love Bridie and her new elegant home, but is concerned about Bridie's relationship with Jack, her mentally challenged handyman.
Though most of the citizens of Newberry, Illinois, befriend these children, some are not so welcoming, believing all the orphans from New York City are bastards and should be treated as such.

Review

I really liked this story, but I wished it went into more detail. It was fast moving and a lot happened, but the author didn't explore in depth reasoning of decisions. So if you want a good story and a quick read but aren't expecting a lot of in depth knowledge of the why people are making decisions.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming - Joshilyn Jackson

Rating: 3 Will make a good movie (···)

Pages: 320

Challenges: Pub Challenge, Summer Thing

Synopsis (from BN.com)
Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the literal family skeleton stays in the closet or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neatly on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 13-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne. The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable--an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco. Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.

Review

I really liked the characters in the book and the funny happenings with Laurel's back woods relatives. I also liked the relationship with her and her sister and I thought that the mysteries developed well!

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 299

Challenge: 1st in a Series

Synopsis (from BN.com)
The action follows 11-year-old protagonist Lyra Belacqua, accompanied by her daemon, from her home at Oxford University to the frozen wastes of the North, on a quest to save kidnapped children from the evil 'Gobblers,' who are using them as part of a sinister experiment. Lyra also must rescue her father from the Panserbjorne, a race of talking, armored, mercenary polar bears holding him captive. Joining Lyra are a vagabond troop of gyptians (gypsies), witches, an outcast bear, and a Texan in a hot air balloon.

Review

I thought this book was ok. I went in with some preconceived notions that I don't think helped the book and was really expecting it to be better. I thought it was too violent for the age range. I think it will be interesting to see the movie, but I don't think I will be reading any of the other books in the series. Amazing I figured I would have to read all the books of all the series!

The Opposite of Love - Julie Buxbaum

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 306

Challenge: Pub Challenge

Synopsis (from BN.com)
With perfect pitch for the humor and heartbreak of everyday life, Julie Buxbaum has fashioned a heroine who will be instantly recognizable to anyone who has loved and lost and loved again.When successful twenty-nine-year-old Manhattan attorney Emily Haxby ends her happy relationship just as her boyfriend is on the verge of proposing, she can’t explain to even her closest friends why she did it. Somewhere beneath her sense of fun, her bravado, and her independent exterior, Emily knows that her breakup with Andrew has less to do with him and more to do with...her. “You’re your own worst enemy,” her best friend Jess tells her. “It’s like you get pleasure out of breaking your own heart.”As the holiday season looms and Emily contemplates whether she made a huge mistake, the rest of her world begins to unravel: she is assigned to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit where she must defend the very values she detests by a boss who can’t keep his hands to himself; her Grandpa Jack, a charming, feisty octogenarian and the person she cares most about in the world, is losing it, while her emotionally distant father has left her to cope with this alone; and underneath it all, fading memories of her deceased mother continue to remind her that love doesn’t last forever.How this brave, original young heroine finally decides to take control of her life and face the fears that have long haunted her is the great achievement of Julie Buxbaum’s marvelous first novel. Written with the authority, grace, and wisdom of an author far beyond her years, The Opposite of Love heralds the debut of a remarkable talent incontemporary fiction.

Review

I thought this book was ok. I thought it started a little slow and I was a little disappointed because I thought the prologue gave too much away and I knew how the book would end. I think I would have liked this more with more suspense. I wouldn't have read the prologue first if I knew it was going to give so much away.

The Awakening - Kate Chopin

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 190

Challenges: A-Z Challenge: C Author; Novella

Annotation (BN.Com)

An American classic of sexual expression that paved the way for the modern novel, The Awakening is both a remarkable novel in its own right and a startling reminder of how far women in this century have come. The story of a married woman who pursues love outside a stuffy, middle-class marriage, the novel portrays the mind of a woman seeking fulfillment of her essential nature.

Review

This is not a book that I would normally read, but my husband is taking a Lit class, so I thought it would be fun to read a book together! He isn't a big reader so this was a special treat.

This book is about Edna Pontellier a married woman who has an affair with an unmarried man - Robert. She falls in love with Robert in a time where women having affairs was not acceptable behavior. Once she is awakened to what life can be she is no longer satisfied with her life. She then makes some drastic and unconventional decisions and changes in her life.

I thought that this book was entertaining and interesting. Some of the criticism of this book during the time it was published is that it is sexually provocative, which in 2008 is interesting since it only alluded to the fact that Edna had sex. I had to re-read the chapter a second time to see if I understood! It was interesting to have to imply a lot of what happened versus knowing exactly what happened and it challenge my comprehension. I thought it was a good read and I am happy to say that I have read at least one classic this year!

Can you imagine the critics of the Awakening reading some books today! Whew! That would be something.

The Touch - Colleen McCullough

Rating 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)
Pages: 624
Challenges: 2008 TBR, Chunkster, A-Z Challenge: M Author

Synopsis (from B&N.com)
Not since The Thorn Birds has Colleen McCullough written a novel of such broad appeal about a family and the Australian experience as The Touch.
At its center is Alexander Kinross, remembered as a young man in his native Scotland only as a shiftless boilermaker's apprentice and a godless rebel. But when, years later, he writes from Australia to summon his bride, his Scottish relatives quickly realize that he has made a fortune in the gold fields and is now a man to be reckoned with.

Arriving in Sydney after a difficult voyage, the sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Drummond meets her husband-to-be and discovers to her dismay that he frightens and repels her. Offered no choice, she marries him and is whisked at once across a wild, uninhabited countryside to Alexander's own town, named Kinross after himself. In the crags above it lies the world's richest gold mine.
Isolated in Alexander's great house, with no company save Chinese servants, Elizabeth finds that the intimacies of marriage do not prompt her husband to enlighten her about his past life -- or even his present one. She has no idea that he still has a mistress, the sensual, tough, outspoken Ruby Costevan, whom Alexander has established in his town, nor that he has also made Ruby a partner in his company, rapidly expanding its interests far beyond gold. Ruby has a son, Lee, whose father is the head of the beleaguered Chinese community; the boy becomes dear to Alexander, who fosters his education as a gentleman.

Captured by the very different natures of Elizabeth and Ruby, Alexander resolves to have both of them. Why should he not? He has the fabled "Midas Touch" -- a combination of curiosity, boldness and intelligence that he applies to every situation, and which fails him only when it comes to these two women.

Although Ruby loves Alexander desperately, Elizabeth does not. Elizabeth bears him two daughters: the brilliant Nell, so much like her father; and the beautiful, haunting Anna, who is to present her father with a torment out of which for once he cannot buy his way. Thwarted in his desire for a son, Alexander turns to Ruby's boy as a possible heir to his empire, unaware that by keeping Lee with him, he is courting disaster.

The stories of the lives of Alexander, Elizabeth and Ruby are intermingled with those of a rich cast of characters, and, after many twists and turns, come to a stunning and shocking climax. Like The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCullough's new novel is at once a love story and a family saga, replete with tragedy, pathos, history and passion. As few other novelists can, she conveys a sense of place: the desperate need of her characters, men and women, rootless in a strange land, to create new beginnings.

Review
This book was broken into 3 sections. I really enjoyed the first section and would have rated it a 4, but the book took a nose dive from there. I thought section 2 was a 2 and section 3 was a 3...for an average rating of 3. I thought that there was too much information about the details of mining and the story slowed down considerably. I did like the characters and thought they were all believable. Though I was disappointed in Elizabeth who couldn't seem to overcome her preconceived notions of her husband even if he didn't respond well in the beginning of their marriage.

This is my first Colleen McCullough book I would be interested to hear from you if you have read her books and have liked them! I am not sure I will read more of her books or not.

Autumn Blue - Karen Harter

Rating 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 304

Challenges: Themed Reading, A-Z Challenge (Author H)

Synopsis (from BN.com)
A lyrical, character-driven novel about a single mother who struggles to save her troubled young son and finds help in the most unexpected place.
Sidney Walker should have married her ex-boyfriend Jack when she had the chance, then maybe her teenage son, Tyson, wouldn't be under house arrest for attempted robbery. Her retired neighbor, Bradbury, has stepped in temporarily to watch Tyson while she's at work, but Sidney needs to make a permanent change. She knows what Tyson needs is a father, and though she's attracted to the deputy sheriff involved in his case, Jack wants to get back together and would make a far better parent. As autumn rolls across the landscape, Sidney must decide between doing what's best for her children and following her heart.

Review

I almost gave up on this book at page 50. I didn't because I selected it for the Reading Full Circle Challenge. I wasn't sure what would happen if I lost a connection book, so I stuck with it. Lucky for me it improved, but it was pretty predictable. I loved Millard Bradbury who is a great character...after Tyson started staying with him and he felt he had something to live for. It was nice to see that the two neighbors needed each other and became a family. This book also had a lot of Christian undertones which was nice to see in a non-Christian book. There are so many other great books out there that I wouldn't recommend this one.

The Persian Pickle Club - Sandra Dallas

Rating: 3 Don’t bet on this one…wait for the movie (···)

Pages: 196

Synopsis (from BN.com)
It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there's not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. When a new member of the club stirs up a dark secret, the women must band together to support and protect one another. In her magical, memorable novel, Sandra Dallas explores the ties that unite women through good times and bad.

This is a book I have been reading and putting down for a while. I like it and am glad that I finished it, but its not a book that will be on my highly recommend list. If I couldn't put it down I would recommend it more. This book is about a group of women who quilt. There is also a mystery thrown in when one of the women's husbands shows up buried in a field. The town had thought he had run off. So one of the new members writes a newspaper article and tries to solve the mystery. It's a quick easy read - and short.

I have also read "The Diary of Matte Spenser" and liked it much better, so if you want to read a book by Sandra Dallas I would recommend this one. I also will soon be reading Tall Grass and I have "Alice's Tulips" in my TBR pile, so check back later for other Sandra Dallas reviews.

The Memory Keepers Daughter - Kim Edwards

Rating: 3 Don't Bet On This One - Wait for the Movie(···)

Pages: 432 (listened to it on audio)

Synopsis (From BN.Com)
On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split-second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret.
But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that long-ago winter night.
A brilliantly crafted, stunning debut, The Memory Keeper's Daughter explores the way life takes unexpected turns, and how the mysterious ties that hold a family together help us survive the heartache that occurs when long-buried secrets burst into the open.

I am disappointed that this book has gotten so much hype. Although the story is different an easy to follow with all the different characters I am not sure why it has gotten so much hype. It didn't capture me where I couldn't wait to know what was happening. David Henry is the main character and is likeable, but it is disturbing that he never admitted the truth. I wonder what their lives would all be like if he didn't give away his daughter. He lived with the guilt all of his life and his family paid for his decisions. On the other hand, Caroline seems blessed to have Pheobe. She wouldn't have met the man she eventually married if not for Pheobe. I would have like to see her have more children though. All in all not a book I would put on my recommendation list.

Tulle Little, Tulle Late – Kimberly Llewellyn

Type: Fiction
Rating: ···
352 pgs

Synopsis
It's not bad enough her cousin's stealing her thunder. She's also stealing her dress. Who doesn't love a wedding? Nina Robertson sure doesn't, since the wedding in question is that of her hyper-competitive, catty cousin Celia. And Nina's own engagement hit the brakes (and then went over a cliff) not too long ago. And the bitter icing on the cake? Celia will be wearing Nina's dream dress. Meanwhile, Nina's no-good ex is conducting a shock-and-awe campaign on her social life. And an underhanded co-worker, along with a notoriously difficult movie star, are making her public-relations job a nightmare. Although Nina might not be headed down the aisle, she's definitely headed downhill. (from BN.com)

This is about Nina who’s life is not at all what she was expecting a few months before. She breaks up with her fiancé after he chooses a life style that she didn’t agree with. She has to watch a cousin buy the same wedding dress that Nina wanted and endures her Bridal Shower. This inspires Nina to completely change her life. In this vein she meats a hot guy and has a fling with him and goes for a promotion that puts her catering to a has-been demanding movie star diva. Her ex-fiancé shows up wanting to stay with her for a few weeks and her job starts going sour.

This is an entertaining novel. There were very funny parts and it is realistic to see how Nina gets into some of the situations she is in. I liked that she was strong enough to go to a Gala by herself. I did find parts predictable, which is disappointing.

This is a good beach read! I would read more from this author.