The Lace Reader

by Brunonia Barry

Beginning this story is like leaning back into a soft feather bed on a winters night. I am breathless with anticipation as each page ends and I turn to the next. I want more, and I want it now. But also, I dread coming to the end.

I feel the breeze blowing my hair back from my face, and smell that northern sea. There is nothing like it. I watch the bricks of Salem passing under my feet. I am there.

Towner is the main character. Her story is no less compelling or real than those of the others in the book. Eva, May, even Ann one of the more renowned witches in town all have their own equally strong personalities and stories. Mostly, it is about the Whitney family, life in a small town, and the injuries we all suffer as we make our way through life. It is the story of life through the eyes of Sophya, who takes the the name Towner in a desperate attempt to distance herself from things she cannot bear to remember.

May lives on Yellow Dog Island, and her home is a sanctuary for abused women. Emma, her half sister lives there as well. They work the land for food, and they make lace. The Whitney family woman all read lace. It is a family gift, or curse depending on how each woman sees the lace.

Towner is living in California until a call from her brother draws her to her home in Salem. A home only minutes away by boat from Yellow Dog Island. Once she is again face to face with where she spent her childhood, she has to deal with family mysteries both current and in the past. Facing these mysteries, learning to accept the abilities she had to read people, and to see them after they have passed on is a fascinating and intriguing read. No less intriguing is the story of Towner's healing.

Like the most beautiful examples of lace itself, this story is woven, interwoven and no thread is left hanging free. It pulls them all together to create a work of art to be cherished. A piece to look at again and again merely because it exists.

Tomato Girl

By Jayne Pupek

I found this to be a well written story with characters who are both compelling and interesting. It takes place in simpler times, but was there ever such a thing? Ellie Sanders has had to grow up too fast. She lives in a world with a mother whose madness makes it impossible for her to care for Ellie as she should. Her father does the best he can, but it is not enough. Particularly when the tomato girl comes into his life and Ellie's.

Ellie takes care of herself. She sees things through a child's eyes, but with a vision distorted by fear and pain. Those eyes have seen more than any young girls eyes should see. Birth, death , betrayal , abandonment and murder are not small things, Yet Ellie sees or endures the knowledge of them all.

There are "angels" in Ellie's life, as in each of ours. Will they be in time to save her? Is there hope for Ellie in the end?

Playing With the Grown-ups: A Novel

By Sophie Dahl

This was really an interesting read. The children, Sam, Violet and Kitty are innocent and filled with joy during the days they live in Hay with Bestmama and Bestpapa, their grandparents. The household also includes two aunts, a nanny, and their mother, Marina.

Sadly their innocence comes to a sad and abrupt end When their mother makes some poor choices. It is clear from the beginning that Marina is not blessed with an iota of common sense, and her love for her children seems more an act than a fact. It is Nora, the nanny who provides them with stability and nurturing.

After becoming involved with a cult, Marina chooses to live her life according to Swami-ji, and to do exactly as he says is right for herself and her daughters. This begins with uprooting them from the loving family and haven like home they have always known and taking them far away.

This is really Kitty's story, but of course a child's story is always built on the family she is born to. We see Kitty going from innocent child, to harsh and confused adolescent, and finally to an adult, living her own life.

The story is good, enchanting and funny in places. Sad and dark in places, as well. It seemed to be a bit disjointed. There was a lack of flow between the chapters showing the past and those showing the present. And to me, its the ending that tells the tale. A good story, which this is, deserves a good ending.
I feel this was not the case here, that the ending was rather abrupt and did not live up to the rest of the story.

I would certainly recommend this to others, but as a good book, not an excellent one.

The Double Bind: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian

The Double Bind: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian

Bohjalian never disappoints. This is a story of a young woman Laurel Estabrook, who is a social worker in a homeless shelter She has a bond to the broken spirits who end up in her care, because she is a broken spirit herself. She endured an horrific attack one day while still a college student. No one really knows just how broken her spirit is, not even Laurel herself. At least, not until it is brought home to her while doing some research.

A sweet and charming mentally ill man who passed through the shelter and was successfully homed and monitored by Laural and her co-workers passes away. He leaves behind a box of photographs. While browsing through these pictures, Laurel finds clues to her own past, and she becomes consumed with the need to learn more.

Thus begins her journey, a journey that will draw you in, bring you to tears, and come finally to a stunning ending.