Away by Amy Bloom

Characters. For me, interesting characters can make a book, and in this one, they do. Lillian travels from Russia to New York City, to Seattle, to Alaska. And along the way, she encounters intriguing people. I loved how the narrator would tell the reader what happened to each character after Lillian moved on. Often in a book, we meet characters but don't know what happened to them. Here, the author gives us the rest of the story. The book is sometimes difficult to read - maybe it's the wording - but overall, I really enjoyed it. - June

Tillie's Winter Books

Resurrection by Tucker Malarcky. I listened to this on tape, and I thought it was terrific. I assume it would be a good read too. BT also listened to it on tape and it saved her life on her travels with her mother.

Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. June didn't care for this, but I liked it. Pretty fluff reading.

Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber. Implausible ending but a great story. Highly recoommend.

Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. Jumps around but I still really liked it. This was also a book I listened to on tape.

Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. Takes place in two different centuries. Very good.

The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen. Just OK. Kind of weird.

Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman. A character study of people in a small North Dakota town. Easy read. Enjoyable.

-Tillie