Goldengrove

by Francine Prose

I'd allowed myself to drift into that hushed and watery border zone...

Is an example of the word pictures created by Francine Prose. This is a story of sadness and loss, grief and discovery. A story told in the voice of Nico, the sister left behind.

Nico's family struggles to survive the death of a beloved child. A whimsical, talented and loving girl just beginning to become a woman. The angst and the fear that it could have been prevented if only something were different, or someone had done or not done this or that.

To be honest, this is a story that has been told before, but rarely in such a compelling and beguiling way. I read Goldengrove in one sitting. I had to know how it ended for Nico. It is her story.

Beside A burning Sea

We will know that great lives have been lived and that our memories will forever bind us together.

So ends Beside a Burning Sea.

The writer is an excellent storyteller. I must admit that once I had this book in my hands, I was not expecting much. Between the choosing and the reality The description had lost its draw. I decided to carry on and have a look, and stepped into a story well worth reading.

Within a very few pages I realized that I already cared about the characters. Isabelle and Annie are sisters. Nurses serving on the hospital ship Benevolence, during WWII. They cared for Americans and Japanese alike. In fact it was a Japanese man who was in their care when the torpedo struck.

Atrocities have always been part of war. In this case a Japanese plane purposely torpedoed this hospital ship.
Within seconds water came to the waists of the sisters. That they could only try to save themselves was immediately clear to the Japanese patient, Akira.It was then that he became the caretaker and helped the sisters to leave the quickly sinking ship.

The Captain, husband to Isabelle, also managed to survive. He was on deck when the attack occurred and found himself in the water. He and only a few others survived, and all found themselves swimming for a nearby island.

This group of people bonded and found a way to survive. The story takes place over a remarkable eighteen days. Days when life, death, and love would make an everlasting impression on the small group of survivors.
This is a story that will draw you in and characters who will sty with you for a long time.

Do not hesitate to take this one on. It is beautifully written, with a sensitivity that will have you searching for more books by this author.

The Music Teacher

By Barbara Hall

This is a book that is rather hard for me to define. It is, most of all, a book about a woman that never really knew who she was. Even by age forty, Pearl was unable to define herself with any confidence. It seemed to me that she was moving purposelessly through life, waiting for someone else to tell her what her life's purpose was to be. This was perhaps due to the fact that she was allowed to drift through her childhood without the anchor of love and security that she craved.

An intuitive and empathetic woman, she taught music in a small music store. The other characters were mostly other musicians who put in some time working behind the counter of this small independent music shop. They were an idiosyncratic crew, brilliant like so many artists, and flawed like all people everywhere. Rather than developing any close friendships, they seemed to be at odds with each other, for the most part.

Pearl's interaction with the children that she taught was an important aspect of this novel . She came closest to feeling as if she could define herself when she was teaching. Without a doubt she was a caring teacher at times. Other times found her as much at odds with her students as she was with her colleagues.

The characters are compelling and rich. For this reason, it is well worth reading. The story itself is well told and a bonus.

American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics

by Roland Merullo

Jesus Christ for President of the United States. I expected this book to be entertaining, somewhat amusing, maybe Pratchett like. I was right. I was also wrong. This was a fascinating political satire that challenges our political system, the media and indeed our very culture.

It does this in a way that is certainly entertaining. At times it is amusing. But essentially, it is so much more. This book forces us to look more deeply into our beliefs, and the way we live and behave. It forces the reader to see that there are options and that perhaps more than options, possibilities.

What would the country be like if we chose kindness over cruelty. Generosity over greed. Truth over lies.
Compelling stuff. It had the effect of making me more dissatisfied than ever with the status quo. I miss more than ever, something that we never really had.

Read this book. It doesn't preach to you. It is a quick read, it won't strain your brain, it will make you smile. It is certainly an easy read. But when you close the cover after you have read the last word. You will feel better about yourself. You will know just a little bit more about love.

The Necklace

by Cheryl Jarvis

This is not a literary work of art. It is a work of art all the same. Thirteen women whose lives were changed because of what began as a simple leap of faith and what might seem to be a frivolity.

Each woman has a chapter that describes who she was, and who she has become due to her commitment to be more. A commitment that began with the necklace and moved forward because of a strength it ingited within them. An unspoken agreement that came as part a parcel of the investment in a piece of fine jewelry.

As I read through each chapter I was filled more and more with admiration and hope born of this sisterhood. I felt my own part in it simply as a woman who has reached maturity and a certain contentment and wisdom . These women took what they had of that, shared it, and then they soared.

The women who owned Jewelia became more than friends, They became a force. A force for rising above, and for doing good. A force for taking small positive steps and making a big difference. This is a book that women of all ages need to read, share and read again.

The Fire: A Novel.

by Katherine Neville

A sequel to the novel The Eight, The fire continues a saga involving a treasure of immeasurable worth.
A treasure that was handed down through the centuries. One that was protected at all cost.

I read The Eight only a week or two ago. I felt that it was a good story that was somewhat buried under far too many plot twists, details and historical figures. This was not a problem in the sequel.

This book not only allows us to catch up with the characters we had become involved with whole reading the Eight, but introduced more characters to the Game of protecting the treasure. Cat Velis has a daughter now, a young lady who is as spirited as her mother had once been, A daughter born to play the game.

We also find new and equally compelling characters whose family legacies were entwined with The Game. I found some of the methods of communication puzzling, and I do not use that word lightly. Both books were full of obscure references and many puzzles that only the author and presumably chess masters would be able to decipher. Often, I felt, to a point where they became distracting, and sometimes annoying. Nothing was ever clear cut or honest within these families. Nothing was ever as it seemed. Again, I felt it was just a little much. I do not know how any family could survive so much deceit, much less thrive within those constraining boundaries. Where even a childhood friend was not as what they seemed to be.

Having said all of that. The basic story was an interesting one. At first I thought that this book would be same story different characters, and that proved to not be so. There were original twists and turns here.

To me, one of the hallmarks of an excellent read is the question. Would you recommend this book.
For The Fire, as well as The Eight, I would have to say no. Even though my bookoholic friends are enthusiastic about many different genres.. I honestly cannot think of one who would be interested in devoting the hours that it takes to read these books. Despite the fact that it is, as I said, a good story, it required far to much time for too little payoff.

First Daughter

By Eric Van Lusbader

As one president is about to leave office and inauguration day looms for the next man to take that office, the country is in turmoil. In a novel apparently meant to use the events following 9/11 and the inept leadership in place at that time in history, terrorism is of course, a theme.

The story is fraught with allusions to terrorism and the lame duck president seems to see a terrorist behind every bush. When reality proves that they are not there, his insistence simply trumps reality. Thus we are taken on a merry chase for terrorists, real and imagined. What is real is that the daughter of the president elect has been kidnapped. Whether or not she survives is made very clear in the first pages of this book. The rest is the convoluted tale of this kidnapping and its results.

The thread, no, rather the wide ribbon of religion that runs throughout this story often strikes a discordant not, cropping up in conversations and situations where rather than enhancing, it distracts. This was a promising story that for me failed to thrill but some mystery did indeed remain. Although the reader may believe that the ending would lead us in a certain direction, instead it was a good solid surprising end. Sadly, I found the finish to be the best of the book.

Passage

by Connie Willis

This is a gripping story. The characters are realistic and compelling. Willis manages to tell this story about NDE research, that has you longing for an answer, yet nearly consumed with compassion for her characters.

Joanne is working on researches NDEs from a scientific and psychological point of view. She is hampered by the intrusion of an author who is more interested in selling books and saying what he thinks people want to hear than in producing an honest report of what happens during these near death experiences. He leads patients on and implants ideas, thus contaminating the information Joanne is trying to garner.

The arrival on the scene of yet another NDE reasearcher would seem improbable in a single hospital setting, yet somehow Dr Wrights appearance is blended carefully enough into the storyline that it makes perfect sense. He is researching near death experiences from a physical cause point of view. Joanna teams up with Dr Wright and things start happening pretty cquickly.

Wright and Joanna carefully compile a lot of information that seems to be going nowhere. Their team of volunteers begins to fall apart. Even though they are working with the same information, it looks like they are both being led in different directions.

This is an edge of the seat read for anyone who likes Willis, or is interested in NDE's. The ending is just that. I was completely unable to guess where it would all lead until the last page ended. And still, She leaves it to you to draw your own conclusions . I heartily recommend this book!

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.

The Resilient Child: Seven Essential Lessons for Your Child's Happiness and Success

by George S. Everly

The most important and compelling information this book provides, is what it calls the seven essential lessons that every person should learn. The lessons, which are each presented as a chapter in the book are:

1) The Value of Friends, Mentors, and the Support of Others
2) The Three Most Difficult Decisions
3) Teach Your Children to Take Responsibility for Their Actions
4) Making the Most Important Investment of a Lifetime: Invest in Your Health
5) Learn the Power of Optimism
6) The Importance of Faith
7) Follow a Moral Compass and Cultivate Integrity

In order to write this review, I was going to choose the one which I thought to be the most important. I found that I was unable to choose.

In a simple, clear and concise manner, this book explains to parents who feel that they are floundering without a manual to raise this little person, that very guide. In a non-judgmental way it suggests how to implement these lessons and make them a part of life.

This is going to be on my list of favorite things to give new parents. I will be sure to tell them that these are the instructions that should have been included at birth