The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Sometimes you just have to give up. When a book starts out with promise, and you keep holding out for things to get better but they don't...... well then it's time to move on to a better things. It's rare that I don't finish a book, but this one just didn't work for me. It was way too predictable and the characters were all stereotypes. You knew that all the country boys from Texas would be racist and would bully the main character, a young man from India studying to be a doctor. And that young Indian woman who had an arranged marriage? It was easy to see where that was going when her new family treated her like a slave. So it's off my Kindle and I'm on to the next book. -June

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

I love Kate Atkinson. One of my very favorite books is Life After Life and I adored God in Ruins. So even though I knew that this book was written early in her career, I was ready for a good read. And it was. The book is very well written and there's something about the way she writes that pulls me into the story and the characters.

The novel starts with three different mysteries: a three-year-old girl disappears while she's sleeping in a tent with her sister; a young woman is stabbed in an office; and a woman kills a man with an ax. Each story is described in detail and each one is left hanging. And then we meet Jackson. He's a detective that is hired to try to figure out these three unrelated mysteries.

While there were some slow parts along the way, and I felt there were too some unnecessary character backgrounds given, I did enjoy this book and certainly found the answers to the mysteries to be satisfying (and all in the last 10 pages of the book)! Recommend.-June

Sweetgirl: A Novel by Travis Mulhauser

In a remote part of northern Michigan, 16-year-old Percy finds a baby girl while she is searching for her missing mother. The story is all about what happens to Percy as she tries to get the baby to a safe place as she hikes through a snowstorm. Along the way, she encounters several drug dealers and a cast of interesting characters. This would probably make a very exciting movie.

Overall, the book held my interest, and I thought it was well written. Liked it but have liked others I've read recently better than this one. - June

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Finally! After reading all these serious (and depressing!) non-fiction books for my book club, we've moved on to something I can really enjoy! Our Souls at Night is a short novel that can be described as "lovely" - a word I rarely use to describe a book but somehow here it applies.

Addie and Louis are both widowed and live in the same small town. They decide to sleep together since they both miss the bedtime conversations, the closeness of another person at night. They develop a beautiful relationship and although the town folk spread gossip about them, they manage to ignore them and enjoy their time together.

I wanted a different ending. That's all I'll say. I also would like a different ending for this author who passed away before this novel was published. Kent Haruf was a wonderful author and he will be missed. This is one you need to read. You can do it in a day. - June