Clever Girl, by Tessa Hadley

Stella grows up in post-WWII England.  She lives through the tumult of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  Along the way she falls in love a few times, makes friends, becomes a mother, works a variety of jobs, and pursues her education.

I have to say I found this book terribly boring.  It started off strong, when Stella was a child being raised by a single mother.  The anecdotal stories from her youth were engaging, and in their own ways, beautiful.  All of this changes when Stella's mother remarries, and Stella develops into a bit of a brat.  She begins acting out and rebelling, and ends up, quite predictably, in trouble.

The rest of the book is so unremarkable.  It simple outlines the remainder of Stella's life, all the poor decisions she makes, the few redeeming choices she has, and basically a summary of an dull, ordinary life.  I found myself wholly unable to care about Stella as a character.  She seemed flat and undeveloped from a literary character standpoint.  The plot was also very plain, and nothing about it grabbed my attention in the least.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

The Deepest Secret, by Carla Buckley

Eve's son Tyler has a deadly condition.  Any contact with sunlight could literally kill Tyler.  As a result, Eve's family has learned to survive in a somewhat locked down existence.  Air tight and light tight rooms, Tyler only leaving the house at night.  But the strain has gotten worse as Tyler has gotten older.  Now his sister is acting out, his dad works out of town, and Eve has just about reached her limit.  When a tragedy occurs, the very existence of this family's situation is held in delicate balance.

This book?  Explosive.  This is not just your run of the mill thriller.  I mean, sure, there is the typical aspects of a thriller, with a crime being committed and consequently covered up.  But the aspect of Tyler's rare medical condition literally casts shade over the entire story.  And as we all know, everything looks spookier in the shadows.  

I thought the character development was superb in this story.  Eve and Tyler have a very complex relationship, one that totally dominates the family situation.  Eve really tugs on your heartstrings, you see the desperation in her, the extreme love she feels for her son.  And Tyler is absolutely smothered, between his condition and her love.  

I particularly like the aspect of the book that details Tyler's nighttime treks around the community.  In the dark, Tyler sees that everyone has secrets, and he alone is privy to them.  It makes the book so much more interesting, knowing that there are layers upon layers of mystery.  It made this one of the most intriguing thrillers I have read in years.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

The Fixer, by T. E. Woods

Lydia is a successful psychologist. She begins treating a mysterious new client, a woman named Savannah. Savannah is a tough nut to crack, playing by her own rules and making enigmatic statements about people in her life getting hurt. Savannah has put up walls of steel to protect herself, and Lydia wonders if she will be able to break through them enough to do any good for her client. It becomes apparent that Savannah feels responsible for some recent murders, so Lydia joins forces with the detectives to learn the truth, when nothing is as it seems.

I thought this was a pretty fantastic novel. I like a good crime thriller, particularly one that keeps me guessing, as this one did. I really enjoyed the development of the characters Lydia and Savannah. I did not anticipate the direction the book was going to take, in regards to their characters. I liked that the focus of the book was on strong women taking control, even if their methods were highly illegal.

The writing was sharp, and kept me glued to the pages. I thought the plot was solid, and the ending was a real shocker. The story took just the right amount of twists and turns to keep me guessing, without seeming confusing. The only thing I thought lacked a slight bit of credibility was the detective allowing Lydia to get so involved in the case without him questioning it more from the beginning. But, readers are willing to suspend disbelief when the story is good enough, and in this case, it certainly was good enough.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

The Isolation Door, by Anish Majumdar

Neil has grown up with the chaos of a schizophrenic mother.  His father becomes her primary caretaker, but to some degree he is in denial of the severity of his wife's condition.  Neil longs to break free of this chaos, and start his own life.  He sees education and an acting career as his escape.  As he begins to develop his own life, a life full of friendships and love, he realizes that all life is chaotic, and everyone has their own issues.

This novel feels so melancholy to me, and in a way, there is a beauty to that.  I felt like the story must have been somewhat autobiographical; there was just too much sadness and heartfelt emotion in it to simply be fiction.  I think that feeling leaps from the page.  Similarly, I feel like the characters, particularly of Neil and his parents, are so realistic, they must be based in truth.

Mental illness is just now starting to be less of a taboo topic.  We are hearing more and more prominent people talk about various mental health issues.  What we still do not hear much of are the voices of the family members.  Often, loved ones can become as much a casualty to one's mental health issues as the sufferer him or herself.  So, regardless of whether this is pure fiction or based in the author's own experiences, I am glad to see a book accurately portraying life as an adult child of a schizophrenic parent.  Honest, realistic books like this will help to continue to reduce the taboo of frank mental health discussions.  

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

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The Pact, by Mitchell S. Karnes

Paul is a boy in middle school who constantly gets picked on my his classmates.  When a new boy named Scott comes to the school, he begins to stick up for Paul.  The boys learn that they have a common interest in a role playing game, so Paul introduces Scott to some other boys who play.  Scott is trying to adjust to a new school, as well as coping with the loss of his father, and his decision to take a stand against the school bullies makes it difficult for him to simply blend in.

Bullying is such an important topic.  We see countless people speaking out on the need to change bullying culture; we hear of the horrible impact of bullying behavior; we see more and more schools adopting a zero tolerance policy on bullying.  So it makes sense that we address it in the books our kids are reading as well.  This book is aimed at middle grades readers, and it does a good job of showing what it is like to be involved in a bullying situation, whether you are the bully, the bullied, or a spectator.

I really like that this book painted a pretty accurate picture of what kids in the middle grades age group can possibly deal with.  The book was able to stay appropriate for the intended age group, while avoiding too much sugar coating of the issue.  I think the format of this book could be used to help kids in this age range deal with other issues as well.  I am interested to see where the author goes from here, but based on this book alone I think he had written something that the kids will really relate to.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here. 

My Mother's Funeral, by Adriana Paramo

After spending her childhood and young adulthood living in Colombia with her mother and siblings, Adriana moved to the United States.  While she may have been thousands of miles away from her mother, she still kept her close to her heart; when her mother died, it was a devastating blow.  Adriana recounts snippets of her life with her mother, and the experience of dealing with her loss.

If I had to choose just one word to describe this memoir, I would say it is pristine.  The language and storytelling is wholly unspoiled, like a fine crystal goblet.  Clear, sparkling, beautiful, but if submitted to pressure it will smash and cut you to your core.  The writing in the book is so lyrical and beautiful, I felt it to my very depths.  

I loved the innocence in the author's voice; there is absolutely no guile to her writing.  She recounts stories from her youth that, if told by someone else would scream of naivety, but from her simply convey purity.  There is so much strength in this story, such feeling.  I challenge you to read it without being touched.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.

 

The Supreme Macaroni Company, by Adriana Trigiani

Valentine is determined to have everything she wants from life.  A member of a strong Italian American family, she is highly involved in the family shoemaking business; she is also engaged to an Italian man.  The couple must learn to juggle family with career, and make compromises.  Valentine also has to adjust to her husband's first family, and fact that each has a history that the other does not share.

If ever there were the perfect book to start off a new year, this is it.  I completely adored this book.  Trigiani's writing is a sensory delight; she spends a lot of time discussing smells, tastes, sights, sounds, and feelings to the extent that you, as a reader, feel as if you are part of the story.  In fact, I took a nap after reading the scene revolving around the family's Christmas dinner, and I dreamed about cannoli.  

I really fell in love with Valentine as a character.  She was a strong woman, but she was also flawed.  I found myself really relating to her.  Apparently, this book is the end of a trilogy, yet despite the fact that I never read the two previous books, I found myself completely absorbed in the story, and did not feel like I had missed anything.

I loved the strong emphasis on family in this book.  It made me wish I was from a big Italian family myself.  All in all, I thought this was a solid story, and it made me want to read more of Trigiani's writing.

I received a review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  See the rest of the tour here.