Mission Flats by William Landay

Carla ordered this book moments after finishing Defending Jacob because she loved the author's writing and wanted more.  I agree - Defending Jacob is a great book.  Mission Flats was Landay's first novel, and although I liked it and recommend it, I also found it to be a bit too long and confusing.  Seems as if there were so many characters (police officers, lawyers, bad guys) that I felt I needed to take notes.  And because there were so many characters involved, I never felt like I got to know any of them that well.  However, the plot is interesting and I liked the way the book started off with some seemingly unconnected events that proved to be very important in the novel.  And I really liked the main character and wondered if eventually he would resurface in another book.  -June

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

I was glad that I had no idea what this book was about before I started reading it (actually listening to it).  I probably wouldn't have chosen it if I'd known, so for that reason, I won't mention here what it's about.  But let's just say that it's a story about a young woman who was raised in a family that was..... hmmmmm..... unusual.  The story is told from the point of view of the woman and is extremely conversational.  She writes as if she is speaking directly to you with comments like "I'll tell you more about that later" or "I'll start in the middle of the story".  She tells us right away that she didn't see her brother and her sister for years, but she takes her time in explaining why this is so.  Very interesting and entertaining.  Recommend it.  -June

Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline

This year, I've read two books that have described the orphan trains that moved children from orphanages in New York to families in the Midwest in the early 1900's.  (The other book was The Chaperone) OK, I may suck at history because I had never heard of this until I read these two books.  I've heard since reading this book that there is a series of children's books that describe these trains and the children who were on them, but it's not something I've seen or heard about.  And I think it is such an interesting topic. 

In Orphan Train, we meet an elderly woman who tells her story to a teenage girl who just happens to be an orphan living in a foster home.  Their stories have similarities; however, the elderly woman's life is the one that grabbed me.  Not all the children on the trains were welcomed into loving families.  Many were made to work long hours or were abused.  We learn how Vivian (also known by several other names) experienced great hardship before finally finding a real home with responsible adults.

This is a quick read, and one that I enjoyed while learning about a bit of history.  Highly recommend.  -June

We are Water by Wally Lamb

I kept looking at reviews by the professionals until I found one with which I agreed.  It's in the Chicago Tribune and is by far more negative than I would report, but she does catch the essence of my "disappointment" - for lack of a better word.  I have loved everything Wally Lamb has written/published and don't think I am a hypercritical reader.  But, to my way of thinking/reading, he tries to do too much, tackle too many issues in a single novel and, as a result, doesn't do anything as well as he has in past works.  Still, my romance with him remains strong and I will read his next book but, perhaps, with lower expectations and, therefore, enjoy the possibility/probability of being delighted (again)! So, I recommend this book because, even when Wally Lamb is mediocre, he's much better than most! - BT

One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

I don't know why I chose to read this book.  I think I read a review where the reviewer raved about it so I downloaded it from the library not really realizing what it was about.  Just thinking about the subject matter puts knots in my stomach: a man with a gun in an elementary school in Iowa.  But I was looking for a quick read between one book and another, and so I started it to see what it was like.  And I was hooked.  Although the subject is too difficult to imagine, the author does a beautiful job of describing specific individuals who are in some way related to this horrific event.  The story is told from the point of view of a policewoman, a teacher, a young female student, and a grandfather who is outside the school awaiting news.  We learn the back story of each of these characters and how their lives come together on this day.  The mystery of the story is who is the man, and it is slowly revealed as the plot moves on.  I have to admit that despite the topic, I highly recommend it.  -June

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

A group of teenagers meet at a summer camp and form a bond. The three boys and three girls call themselves The Interestings.  The book follows them from the time they meet at camp until they are in their 50's, and is generally told from the point of view of Jules, one of the girls.  Along the way, they obtain jobs; some are successful and some are not.  They marry and have children.  But throughout the changes in their lives, their friendship wavers at times but remains solid.  I thought this was a great book and loved seeing how the relationships changed over the years. The author has a magical way of revealing her characters so that you feel they are real - her sense of humor and detail makes it fun too. I listened to it rather than reading it, and the reader did a marvelous job of making slight changes to her voice for the different characters.  - June

The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein

Harry Bernstein was born around the turn of the century in England.  His street was divided with the Jews on one side and Christians on the other.  This book was written by Harry when he was in his 90's and is his story of his childhood growing up with an invisible wall on his street that separated the two groups.  While the cover promises and "love story" - and the book has a few - it mostly is a story about family, poverty, war, and the struggles the Bernstein family endured.  It's also about the love of a mother and how she will do everything possible to protect and nurture her children.  I thought this was a great book, and I loved the simply, conversational writing.  Just one thing I noticed that I'm sure no one else ever would ..... The book ends with a street party that temporarily unites the groups.  I couldn't help but see this as a musical with the cast gathering at the end for the grand finale.  Perhaps Harry had a play in mind when he wrote it.  - June

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

One of my favorite movies is Sliding Doors with Gweneth Paltrow.  In the movie, she's a young woman coming home unexpectedly in the middle of a work day.  In the first scenario, she misses her train, but in the second, she just jumps on the train in time.  From there, the story breaks into two entirely different plots - one that follows her life after she misses the train but eventually gets home, and the second one in which she makes the train.  What I love about it is it shows how a seemingly insignificant event can make a life altering change.

I was reminded of this movie as I read Life After Life.  Ursula is born in 1911 in England.  She dies but then begins her life again.  And again.  And again.  Each time, she has a sense that there is danger so she makes a change that will keep her alive.  For example, one death occurs when their maid comes home from London with influenza and gives it to Ursula.  So in several lives after that, she does what she has to do to keep the maid from going... sometimes just a small thing but it will change their lives.

As Ursula becomes an adult, the story gets a little confusing and I admit I often had to look back to see what year she's in as I was reading.  But the stories are fascinating, and she has a wide variety of lives (marrying an abusive man, marrying a Nazi, remaining single and working during the London Blitz). 

As I think more about it, I believe that Ursula was not the only character who was reliving his/her life.  There were some clues that made me believe that they changed as Ursula's life changed, and this would only be the case if they were altering their lives too.  Just a thought I've been mulling over.

This is a book that has stayed with me for a while.  And I think that I'd like to re-read it someday - which I almost never do.  Highly recommend.  -June

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

Normally when I finish a book, I'm anxious to blog about it.  I either love it and can't wait to proclaim my love or I don't care for the book and want you to know why.  But I was all over the place on this one.  At times I was enthralled and other times very impatient for it to move along.  The setting and the characters are incredibly defined.  You really do know Talmadge, the kind gentle lonely man who owns an orchard in Washington State.  When two young pregnant girls arrive on his property, they become part of his life.  While the book is well written, it is sometimes hard to follow.  There isn't much dialogue, and what there is, isn't punctuated.  No quotation marks.  So I often wondered if the character actually said the words or just thought about saying them.  And I never felt I knew the motivation behind some of the things the characters did - especially Talmadge.  Did he try to save Della because his sister ran away when they were children?  Really?  Or was there another reason I missed?  And the other women in his life.... And so the question...... would I recommend it?  With reservations.  And yet why can't I stop thinking about it. - June

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

While I'm not usually drawn to historical fiction, this one sounded (and was!) very interesting.  It takes place in the early 1900's, and it's the story of Cora, a woman from Kansas, who is a chaperone to a 16-year-old girl as she travels to New York City during one summer.  The girl is the future film star, Louise Brooks, whose name sounded somewhat familiar to me, and after Googling her, I can see that the book really does follow her life.  But the book isn't just about Louise.  It's mostly about Cora and how, as a woman in that era, her feelings about a woman's place, sexuality, social behavior, and morality changed as a result of that summer in New York.  Her background is fascinating, but I won't ruin it for you by telling it all.  I think it's a very interesting read and it does portray a time of change - and thank God we did change.  -June

P.S.  I listened to the audiobook version, and Elizabeth McGovern was the narrator.  While I love her in Downton Abbey, I confess I didn't care for the way she read it.  She tried to use various accents (Midwest, German) and none rang true.  Plus her "normal" voice as the narrator was kind of stuffy English like it is on Downton.  So I'd recommend the paper version over the audio one.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

I'm sure I'm the only reviewer who will compare this book to Olive Kitteridge.  And maybe I'm crazy to do so.  But this wonderful book has the same format as Olive.  Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character, and yet they are all loosely connected.  And like Olive, there is one character, Pari, who is either central to the story in the chapter or at least there is a reference to her.

OK, enough of the comparison.  This is the latest book from the author of The Kite Runner.  Like his previous books, he gets gold stars for his writing.  It's fabulous.  The book jumps to different decades and to different characters, so there were times when I felt the need to almost draw out a timeline as to what happened and when it happened.  It can be confusing.  But I really loved the character development and found the book fascinating.  The basic story is about how Pari is sold to a childless, wealthy couple in Kabul in the 1950's.  Her uncle, Nabi, works for the family so we learn his story, Pari's brother's story, and several more.  There were some characters who needed more attention and I wanted to know what happened to them, but overall I highly recommend this one. - June

Hikikomori and the Rental Sister: A Novel by Jeff Backhaus

A friend sent this to me via the Kindle share program, and after looking at the name, I just wasn't sure about reading it.  I had no idea what Hikikomori was and assumed it was someone's name.  Come to find out Hikikomori is a Japanese term for someone who withdraws from the world.  Evidently there are many  young Japanese men who live in their rooms and refuse to come out.  This story, however, is about an American living in New York City.  Thomas and his wife, Silke, have lost their young son, and as the story begins, he has spent the last three years in his bedroom.  He only leaves at night to buy frozen food that he prepares in a microwave in his room.  His wife seeks the help of a young Japanese woman named Megumi who had a brother who lived in his bedroom.  So the book is about the relationship between Thomas and Silke, and Thomas and Megumi.  It's very well written, and I did enjoy reading it - although there were several times I considered scanning it rather than really reading it because the prose became a bit over the top.  And the writing style was unusual.  Every other chapter was written by Tom in the first person, and every other was written in the third person.  But it worked, and overall I enjoyed it.  -June