Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

What makes a book "chick lit"? Is it the feminine looking cover? The fact that there is always a beautiful female protagonist who ends up with a handsome man? Is it "fluffy" in style and substance? For me, I find that books are chick lit when they are all of these things plus the story is often predictable and the author repeats information as if I won't get it the first time I read it. Generally, as soon as I see that I've got my hands on a chick lit kind of book, I put it down. I think somewhere within this blog I've already confessed to being a book snob.

That being said, Pretending to Dance is part a chick lit, part young adult, and part coming-of-age book. It has some of the predictability that I hate, where it is obvious what is going to happen but for some reason the protagonist hasn't caught on yet. And yes, the author said much of the same thing over and over until I started skimming certain parts. But this book does have interesting characters and they develop throughout the book. And the plot is interesting. I wanted to know how it all came to be in the end.

Molly is a 14-year-old girl who has the worst summer of her life. She has a father who is disabled due to MS, and she is struggling with her newly discovered interest in boys. She lives in a family compound with aunts, uncles, and cousins. I won't give any more away about what happens to her. There are also chapters where Molly is an adult and we see her in the process of adopting a baby. In order for her to move forward with her life, she eventually realizes she has to face some of the things that happened during that fateful summer.

This is a quick read that is worthwhile if you are wanting something light and easy. -June

Sacred Hearts: A Novel by Sarah Dunant

I seem to be reading less and less and binging on Netflix more and more. This novel took me weeks to get through, but I am glad I did. Sacred Hearts is set in a convent in Ferrara, Italy, in the 1500's. Frankly, as the reader, I felt almost like I was locked in the convent with the nuns. The entire book takes place within the walls of Santa Caterina, and as much as I liked some of the characters, there is almost a claustrophobic feeling about the novel.

The main character is Zuana who works in the dispensary and is knowledgeable about herbs and ointments. She's in charge of helping the other sisters who become ill or are ailing. When a new novice arrives, she is assigned to help Zuana. The novice, Isabetta, does not wish to be in the convent, and was sent there by her family because she wanted to marry a man they didn't like. The story line follows Isabetta's struggles and how Zuana deals with her.

The novel is well written and although perhaps a bit too long, I do recommend it. -June