Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty


I loved this book and found it so true to my current life and lifestyle. The story centers around a group of disparate women united by the fact that their children are in the same kindergarten class. The book starts after something criminal has occurred at the big school fundraiser and apparently someone is dead. The author then starts at the beginning and we see how the women met, the small cruelties they inflict on each other and the kids and the personal problems they have at home. It is very approachable writing wih humor and heart and I loved loved it!


Burial Rites by Hannah Kent


Wow was this fascinating. This is book about the last person to be executed in Iceland. Based on years of research and incorporating text from historical documents, the author tells a story that is heartbreaking and mesmerizing.  A young woman who is utterly alone in the world has be condemned to death for the murder of her employer. While
Awaiting her death by beheading, she is sent to be housed as a servant and prisoner in the house of a farming family. 
I found this book terribly moving and it really begs the question as to why some people just seem to get a really rough set of circumstances and others do not. It's as if there are two worlds that do touch but most are not free to roam back and forth. An educational and heart-breaking story. 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Imagine if you could tell everything about a person by tasting food they had prepared. Now imagine you are 8 and everything you eat screams of the deep sadness felt by your seemingly upbeat cheerful mother. This book is really good, quirky and thought provoking. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the idea of lemon cake with chocolate icing. 

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick


This book by the author of the Silver Linings Playbook was very good. It tells the story of a young man whose life centers around his girlfriend and basketball which is their ticket out of the dead-end, crime-ridden town in which they live. Their lives have been made a bit easier due to the fact that his girlfriend is related to an Irish gangster which offers them a layer of protection as some of the only white kids and a predominately black high school. Looking forward to his senior year as a starter on his team, the man character is asked by his coach for a favor. It seems that a young man is moving to the school after having survived the murder of his parents. He is just coming out of a mental facility and still believes that he is an alien awaiting rescue from his parents who are not dead but merely in space. He also happens to be one of the best basketball players in the country and plays the same position as the main charecter. 
It's a really beautiful story with a couple of twists and I highly recommend it.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett (un corrected proof)

I really enjoyed this book. It's a mixture of the fantasy and cop thriller genres. The main character is dispatched to a distant continent to investigate the death of a friend of hers who has been murdered. The character development is really well done. The author leaves plenty of room for this to become a series of books. It reminded me a bit of The Sparrow by Maria Russell Doria. I would definitely recommend this book.