The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

My Rating: 4.8

Clover has felt a strong connection with the dying - starting with her kindergarten teacher dropping dead in front of the class. She has felt a stronger connection with the dying than the living. Her beloved grandfather, who raised her, drops dead while she is traveling abroad and this prompts her to become a death doula - ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

This was a highly unusual topic and yet the author pulled it off beautifully. I felt that Clover's heart shone through in her life and her work. I loved the unfolding of the story and the ending was perfect.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

 My Rating: 4.7

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken. A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

I really enjoyed this light thriller. I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all and when they revealed it, it took me a minute to piece it together (say WHAT?!). Really enjoyed having to catch up and not having an author treat the reader like they are stupid. Very fun fast paced book. I have read one other book by this author and will continue to read more by her.

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

River Sing Me Home

 My Rating: 4.9

In 1834, England has decreed that slaves will be freed. The Caribbean Islands decide to defy the Emancipation Act of 1834. On a slavery plantation in Barbados when they announce the slaves are 'free' but must work another six years as 'apprentices' before they will be freed, Rachel decides to run.

She decides to search for the five children who survived child birth but were taken from her. This dangerous expedition takes her from Barbados to British Guiana and finally to Trinidad. This is the story of each of her five children but more than anything, it is the quest of Rachel's love to reunite her family and to find life as freedom.

This was equisite - both the writing and the story. The only caveat is that this is written in the Creole. Sometimes the vernacular can be abrasive unless you understand the origins

Dr Mary's Monkey by Edward T Haslam

My Rating: 4.8

The bizarre death of this nationally known cancer researcher sets the stage for this gripping exposé of medical professionals enmeshed in covert government operations. Following a trail of police reports, FBI files, cancer statistics, and medical journals, this revealing book presents a web of secret-keeping which swept doctors into cover-ups of contaminated polio vaccines, cancer outbreaks, the arrival of the AIDS virus, and a deadly biological weapon tested on both monkeys and humans. Add Lee Harvey Oswald to the cast of this secret bio-weapon project, and this dark tale connects Oswald’s summer of secrets to the intrigue surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy.

Wow, just wow. Not only did Haslam give tons of detailed background research to support all of this theories but the things he uncovered. This is not as much about the JFK assassination as it is about Dr Mary Sherman and David Ferrie with their laboratory full of mice and viles of viruses. I have no doubt that the cancer and AIDs origins and so many other things he revealed are real. This was long and at times the detail on the felt tedious. I am glad we listened to it on audio. There was so much information covered. We knew of a lot of the nefarious things our Government does but this revealed a whole new level. At the end of it we were talking about this and still refer to it in so many conversations. 

The Connelly's of County Down by Tracey Lange

 

My Rating: 4.6

When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she knows rebuilding her life at thirty years old won’t be easy. With no money and no prospects, she returns home to live with her siblings, who are both busy with their own problems.

Despite this dealing with some heavy issues, it was actually very light and easy to read. It felt part beach read and part romance...and I loved it! 

Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly

 

Rating: 4.1

In January 1961, as the Cold War escalates, John F. Kennedy struggles to contain the growth of Communism while he learns the hardships, solitude, and temptations of what it means to be president of the United States. In the midst of a 1963 campaign trip to Texas, Kennedy is gunned down by an erratic young drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes the scene, only to be caught and shot dead while in police custody. 

This explores the events leading up to this notorious crime as well as the assassination itself. What it does not explore is many of the other possibilities that are known today about who shot Kennedy and why. Even if O'Reilly didn't want to explore those angles, I felt he could have at least acknowledged that they exist and referred you to other books. That being said, it did a good job of capturing the events leading up to Kennedy's assassination.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

 

Rating: 4.6

Best selling author Athena Liu and her friend June are laughing and enjoying eating pancakes at Athena's apartment when the unthinkable happens. Athena chokes on a pancake and dies. June is appalled but still able to think to steal her unpublished manuscript. This deals with diversity, racism, cultural appropriation, the cut-throat world of publishing and the harshness of social media.

The writing was fabulous! It made me realize the pressure on writer's and the toxicity of social media. I loved how the protagonist was not a nice person and yet I felt sympathy for her. I wasn't thrilled with the ending but, the more I have ruminated on it, the more it felt fitting (and I can't come up with a better ending than Kuang). I will definitely be exploring more by this author. So creative!

My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok

 My Rating: 4.7

1940's/50's Brooklyn and Asher is a Ladover Hasid who keeps kosher, prays three times a day and believes in the Ribbono Shel Olom, the Master of the Universe. He grows up in a cloistered Hasidic community, a world suffused by ritual and revolving around a charismatic Rebbe. He is torn between two identities, the one consecrated to God, the other devoted only to art and his imagination, and in time, his artistic gift threatens to estrange him from that world and the parents he adores. As it follows his struggle, My Name Is Asher Lev becomes a luminous, visionary portrait of the artist, by turns heartbreaking and exultant.

This is a quiet book where Asher and his parents struggle with Asher's gift. Asher is a very quiet boy who seems wise beyond his years. This book explores if it is right to pursue a gift when it leads to blasphemy, This deals with the struggle of the art vs the Jewish world, honoring your father and mother and being true to yourself. Potok's writing is quiet and beautiful. Sometimes so quiet that you might miss some of the beauty in the soft tender pacing. I will definitely be immersing myself again in the remaining works by this gifted author.

Go As A River by Shelley Read

My Rating: 4.7

Set in 1960's Colorado. Victoria Nash is only 17 years old and runs the household on her family’s peach farm in the small ranch town of Iola, Colorado. She is the sole surviving female in a family of troubled men. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past, displaced from his tribal land and determined to live as he chooses. Victoria encounters Wil by chance on a street corner, a meeting that profoundly alters both of their young lives, unknowingly igniting as much passion as danger. When tragedy strikes, Victoria leaves the only life she has ever known. She flees into the surrounding mountains where she struggles to survive in the wilderness with no clear notion of what her future will bring. As the seasons change, she also charts the changes in herself, finding in the beautiful but harsh landscape the meaning and strength to move forward and rebuild all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River threatens to submerge her homeland―its ranches, farms, and the beloved peach orchard that has been in her family for generations.

This is beautifully written and captures a lot of emotion on a wide variety of topics: racism, family strife, and the town of Iola being submerged. This is my first book by this author but it won't be my last.

The Book Spy by Alan Hlad

 

 My Rating: 4.2

1942: With the war’s outcome hanging in the balance, President Roosevelt sends librarians and microfilm specialists to neutral cities throughout Europe. By acquiring and scouring Axis newspapers, books, technical manuals, and periodicals, the librarians can gather information about troop location, weaponry, and military plans.

Maria Alves, a microfilm expert working at the New York Public Library, is dispatched to Lisbon, where she meticulously photographs publications and sends the film to London to be analyzed. Working in tandem with Tiago Soares, a Portuguese bookstore owner on a precarious mission of his own—providing Jewish refugees with forged passports and visas—Maria acquires vital information, including a directory of arms factories in Germany.

I learned a lot about Portugal during the war and the library program was interesting. I do enjoy Hlad's writing but don't feel this was his best book but will definitely continue to read more by him.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

My Rating: 1.0

Nora finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Not only was this depressing but it was boring. I am so disappointed with myself that I continued with this till the end as it was as complete waste of time. With her different lives I at least expected something entertaining but it went from bad to worse. The message of don't live with regrets and that life is worth living and your outlook changes everything...so profound....NOT! Also, to say that clinical depression is a result of someone's life choices is very misinformed. I know I am in the minority with this review but, I felt this was horrible and mundane. My only 'regret' is that I don't get the time wasted on this book back in my life!

Hitler's Last Days by Bill O'Reilly

 My Rating: 4.4

This is an account of the death of one of the most reviled villains of the 20th century—a man whose regime of murder and terror haunts the world even today. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's historical thriller Killing Patton, this book will have young readers—and grown-ups too—hooked on history. This thoroughly-researched and documented book can be worked into multiple aspects of the common core curriculum.

We enjoyed this despite a lot of the material from O'Reilly's book "Killing Patton" being reused. So much was covered including Russia having a free reign in Berlin. A horrific time in history that we all need to remember.

The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon

My Rating: 4.7

Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate New York town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life.

This is told primarily from three different women's perspectives: Rachel, Aidan's daughter Cecilia, and Emily a local woman who has a crush on Aidan. There are very mixed reviews on this one but I liked it (not loved it but a solid like). I thought the author did a fabulous job of pulling off the three different viewpoints but also communicating Aidan - with the different personas that he had around different people in the town as well as with the women. WARNING: abuse, sexual abuse and captivity.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

My Rating: 4.9

England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young alike. The end of days is near, but life always goes on. A young Latin tutor—penniless and bullied by a violent father—falls in love with an extraordinary, eccentric young woman. Agnes is a wild creature who walks her family’s land with a falcon on her glove and is known throughout the countryside for her unusual gifts as a healer, understanding plants and potions better than she does people. Once she settles with her husband on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, she becomes a fiercely protective mother and a steadfast, centrifugal force in the life of her young husband, whose career on the London stage is just taking off when his beloved young son succumbs to sudden fever.

I thought I loved plot driven books but again, O'Farrell is pulling me in with another character driven book that I couldn't put down. The writing was so vivid that I literally had dreams about this book. It pulled me  in and made me want more. The scenes of grief shredded me. The writing was gorgeous and brought the characters, particularly Agnes, to life. It made me feel like I was walking through 1580 England. I loved that they never named Shakespeare but referred to him as Agnes' husband or the children's father. Knowing this piece of Shakespeare's history has me rethinking many of Shakespeare's plays and their inspiration. I loved the Marriage Portrait and I think that O'Farrell hit it out of the park again. I absolutely love her writing style.

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish

My rating: 3.0

Two women separated by centuries. Ester is a scribe for a blind rabbi. Helen is a historian with a love for Jewish history. 

I may be in the minority but I found this long and laborious. It needed a good editor.