The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman

I'm in a rut with historical fiction, I guess. But the subject of this one intrigued me. It takes place in Philadelphia in 1918, the year of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Thousands of people died a gruesome death, and many parents lost children, and many children became orphans. The main character, Pia, a thirteen year old whose family is from Germany, loses her mother and is then responsible for her baby twin brothers. (Her father is fighting in the war.) Summarizing the plot would give it away so I'll just say it has a lot of twists and turns, many of them completely preposterous. 

As I read, I kept switching from "Jeez, this is interesting" to "Are you kidding me???" But it was definitely a book that had to be finished to find out how it all ended for Pia and others. 

The writing is ok but definitely needed more editing. Pia does something she regrets, and in almost every chapter she had to wallow a little more in that regret....over and over. Enough! We got it the first time! I became quite good at skimming these parts. 

It gets great reviews and I do recommend it if the subject is of interest. - June

The Second Life of Mirielle West by Amanda Skenandore

One of the recurring questions we ask in my book club is this: Can you love a book but dislike the main character? I've always maintained that you can, but several members feel it is impossible. For this reason, I'm not sure I'll be recommending this book for my club. Throughout this novel, Mirielle is often a snobby, self-centered little bitch.

The book begins in the 1920's when Mirielle, the wife of a silent movie film star, is diagnosed with Hansen's Disease, AKA Leprosy. She is sent to Carville, a colony in Louisiana, where she is quarantined with other patients. Mirielle is convinced she was misdiagnosed or that she will be released quickly, and she also believes she is just better than every other patient there. Once she settles in, it seems that Mirielle will soften a bit and you might sense a change in her. But then her old snobby self comes roaring back. She spends a lot of time apologizing for her bad behavior.

However, I have to say I enjoyed the book immensely. I can remember as a child hearing about leper colonies, and I always imagined them to be somewhere far away and on some deserted island. I had no idea there were facilities in the states. The author has obviously done her research, and even invites readers to visit Carville which closed in the 50's but is still open for visitors. What I thought was most interesting about the book was reading about the lives of those living in Carville.... how they spent their time and what they did to build a community for themselves. While Mirielle might not be my favorite character, certainly several others in the book were very interesting and likeable. - June

Girl, Forgotten by Karen Slaughter

When I walk and listen to audiobooks, mysteries keep me going. This one was ok for that purpose, but I know that if I had read the book, I would have skipped to the end to find out what happened once I reached the halfway mark. It's about a high school senior in the 80's who gets pregnant and then is murdered. She had attended a party, taken drugs, couldn't remember anything that happened there, and was obviously raped. That is one storyline. 

There's also a current storyline where Andrea, a US Marshall, is trying to solve this 40-year-old murder. There's more to the story, of course, but the mystery is who raped the young girl and who killed her.

Evidently, there is a series of books about Andrea. Not sure I'll rush to read the next one. This one moved way too slow for me. - June

Love & Saffron by Kim Fay

I admit that I make snap decisions as to whether or not to read a book based on the title or the cover.  I shouldn't do this, but if the cover is very feminine and "girly", I assume it's chick lit and I probably am not interested. When I heard the title of this one, it sounded like a romance novel. I pictured the cover with a shirtless hunky man cooking, maybe with nothing on but an apron. Hmmm. Interesting idea, huh?

Anyway, this is not a romance novel. It's a very short but sweet novel written entirely in letters by two women who both share a love of food, adventures, and life. It's the perfect book to read after you've read something heavy and depressing. One of the women lives in the Seattle area and the other in LA, and it takes place in the 60's. There are lots of references to events during that time, so us geezers can relate to them. It's a story of friendship - and did I mention food? You'll be hungry as you read it.

Recommend it. - June

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

This is a novel that will stay with me for a long time. I loved it. It's the story of an Indian-American Muslim family living in California. The mother and father were born in India and moved to the US after they married, and their two daughters and one son were born here. I learned a lot about Muslim traditions and beliefs just by reading this although I confess that some of the rituals were hard to understand. But the core of the book is all about the relationships and conflicts between the members of the family and how their faith and community affect their lives. 

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. The descriptive writing is beautiful, and the characters are so well developed. Layla, the mother, is a fascinating character as we learn about her marriage after only seeing her future husband twice but never speaking with him until after the ceremony. Hadia, the oldest daughter, wants a different life for herself where she follows her faith but is not as restricted by her culture as her parents. And then Amar, the son, who struggles with his faith and the strict rules imposed by his father..... and how he ultimately must make difficult decisions as to how to live his life.

Definitely recommend this one. -June