This book was the newest to me of all the books I have read. It’s just Jack and Ma in Room and they take vitamins and water plant and do phys ed. Jack talked like this and the book made it hard to read but good. We don’t know why Jack an Ma are in Room and in the beginning it doesn’t even matter. Slowly we learn of the world as Jack sees it, but being Outside (and grownup) we intepret and understand the things […]
Grief and family and friendship and a ghostly alligator. Also – Cannonball!
Disclaimer! I got a free ARC of this through NetGalley. I have not been promised anything in return for this review, although if people wanted to start bribing me to read their books, that would be ok too. Kate Pheris has been a widow for a year, and has been sleep-walking through her life since her husband Matt died. Now her house has been sold, her and her daughter’s things are all packed and they’re all set to move in with her mother-in-law, who has all […]
Hindsight is bittersweet, but the facts are hard
I rarely read non-fiction and even more rarely read memoirs so I went into this read with few expectations. It was the pick for my book club, so I picked it up dutifully, much like I would tackle required reading in school. I’m hesitant to say I enjoyed this book, because the subject matter was difficult and heart-wrenching, but I am glad that I read it. Alysia Abbott is the daughter of two free spirited parents in the 70s, in a non-traditional configuration. Her parents […]
The review equivalent of a shrug
The Lost Daughter opens with Brooke and Alex as seventeen-year-olds trying to deal with an unwanted pregnancy on their own via a home remedy late-stage abortion. Flashforward fifteen years and Brooke’s husband Sean can’t understand why Brooke doesn’t want to have a second child when they are so happy with their seven-year-old daughter Megan. Meanwhile, Alex comes back into Brooke’s life for the first time since high school, still grieving from his son’s recent death and bringing guilt from his actions fifteen years ago. He’s […]
Von-dairefool
Now this is a bit more like it. My Booker Longlist Forced March continues, but I had high hopes for this book before I picked it up. And they were, for the most part, met and met well. A novel of families who never talk to each other, even though three generations of one family are all squished into one tiny flat in London. Laura was married to Peter until he left her and she was forced to move in with three of his ancient […]
Clans and Cats and Murder, Oh My.
Radical Daffodils Review of Crazy, VA Honestly, I only picked Crazy, VA up because it was free the day I downloaded it. Much to my delight, it turned out to be the perfect weekend read: an enjoyable, engaging murder mystery centered on the relationship between a woman, her cat, and the town called Crazy.