Novels Now

303 pages

Laura Miller

The Magician’s Book is about the author’s experiences with The Chronicles of Narnia. First, as a young student who is offered a copy by her teacher, then as a teenager when she re-reads them and discovers the “hidden” messages that are in the story, and lastly, later on as an adult.
The first time she read these books she was captivated by the story and fell in love with them. When she re-read them as a teenager she felt betrayed by the messages it contained. When she read them again as an adult she finds that she truly does love the story though she doesn’t care for some of the other messages that are present.

I found this book to be very accessible and I enjoyed the author’s writing style. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with all of her conclusions but that was not entirely unexpected. I did enjoy seeing Narnia from a different perspective. I have only read the first two books of The Chronicles of Narnia and only as an adult so I didn’t necessarily have the innocent wonder that a child would have. I am also not a skeptic but a believer. These are two probable reasons why my perceptions are different.
Still, I would recommend this thoughtful book to anyone interested in pondering Narnia.(3/5)

Loucinda McGary

319 pages

Donovan O’Shea has lived in America since he was seventeen years old. It seems that whenever he gets near the fens(which, from my reading, I gather is a marshy-type area) his gift of “the sight” is triggered. Donovan is afraid of his gift and tries to stay as far from the fens as possible. When his father Dermot has a stroke, however, he must head back to Ireland to help his sister make decisions and take care of Dermot’s interests.

Rylie Powell has grown up in America with her mother and a man that she has always known was not her biological father. When her mother dies, Rylie’s stepfather gives her a share of the insurance money and as much information as he has to help her find her father. A private investigator tells her that her father is Dermot O’Shea.

Rylie and Donovan’s paths intersect in County Armagh, Ireland in  a maze of mystery, attraction, and family secrets.

When I first read about The Wild Sight,  I was interested in reading it because of the paranormal aspect of Donovan’s gift. I was a bit hesitant because of the romance and forbidden love aspect because I am not into the more graphic love scenes. They do exist but I didn’t find there to be an overabundance of them(meaning that I didn’t have to skip huge chunks of the book) and the rest of the story was well-worth reading. The paranormal was different than some of the others I have read and the mystery was not easily solvable. All in all it was was engaging and a fun diversion from reality for me.

I would recommend this to any fan of romance/forbidden love-type stories as well as readers who enjoy a paranormal element and solving mysteries. (3/5)

David Baldacci
329 pages

As Divine Justice begins we find Oliver Stone planning a covert getaway after assassinating two high-ranking government officials. While he is in the process of making his escape he encounters Danny Riker. Because of Danny, Oliver ends up altering his plans and finds himself in the middle of Divine, Virginia where suspicious things are happening.

I enjoy military-type suspense occasionally if the language isn’t too foul and there isn’t too much gore. I was very pleased with this book in that regard. I wasn’t sure what to expect since this is my first Baldacci novel but I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Oliver Stone and the rest of the Camel Club. Since this is the fourth novel in the series there is a lot of back story that I am missing. I don’t feel that the missing information ruined anything for me since enough information was given to keep up with the current storyline but I want to know more about the characters because I liked them. I plan on reading more by David Baldacci. (4/5)

Pam Jenoff
360 pages

Earlier this fall, I read The Kommandant’s Girl, which is the story of Emma Bau, a young newlywed who belongs to the Polish resistance during World War II. The Diplomat’s Wife is a companion book that is told from the perspective of Marta Nedermann who is friend and fellow resistance member to Emma. As The Kommandant’s Girl ends we believe that Marta is dead. She is not, however, and The Diplomat’s Wife is the story of the direction of Marta’s life at the end of the war and beyond.

I found The Diplomat’s Wife to be every bit as engaging as The Kommandant’s Girl.  I was drawn to these books because of their World War II setting but this book takes place mainly after World War II during the turbulent rise of Communism in Eastern Europe. Initially, I was disappointed about this but in the end, it really didn’t lessen my enjoyment at all.

My only complaint would be that I found the romance between Paul and Marta a bit predictable. However, I enjoyed it nonetheless. (4.5/5)

221 pages

A couple of years ago(before I had a blog) I read Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. While I learned a lot from that book and I enjoyed Ehrenreich’s sense of humor quite a bit, I was left feeling sad and a little irritated at the premise that the American Dream is dead.

Apparently, I am not the only one who felt this way because Scratch Beginnings is in Adam Shepard’s own words:

Socioeconomically speaking, my story is a rebuttal to Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch, the books that speak to the death of the American Dream. With investigative projects of her own, Ehrenreich attempted to establish that working stiffs are doomed to live in the same disgraceful conditions forever. I resent that theory, and my story is a search to evaluate if hard work and discipline provide any payoff whatsoever or if they are, as Eherenreich suggests, futile pursuits.

- Scratch Beginnings pg XV, Introduction

Adam Shepard’s story begins after he has graduated college. He is frustrated by what he sees around him: lack of initiative, whining, entitlement mentality, and reminiscing about the “good ole days”. So he decides to do a test. Armed with only $25, an 8?X10? tarp, an empty gym bag and the clothes he is wearing he travels to a random city(name drawn from a hat) by train. He is not allowed to use his college education or personal contacts to advance himself in any way and he a goal for himself. Within a year, he must move from homelessness into a productive member of society as defined by: having an operable vehicle, a furnished apartment, $2500 in cash and be in a position to continue improving his position either by going to college or starting his own business.

There are a lot of things to be learned both from Ehrenreich’s book and Scratch Beginnings. For someone like me who grew up in a stable, suburban home, both Nickel and Dimed and The Invisible Poor by David K. Shipler can go a long way toward educating us about the difficulties that are out there. The playing field is definitely not level: that is to say that not everyone starts out with the same advantages. But Scratch Beginnings reminds us that no matter where you start out, there comes a time when you must accept responsibility for your own life. As stated by Leo, one of the guys that Adam meets during his 70 day stay in the homeless shelter:

Some of the people in the lower class start out behind. We all have the same freedoms, true, but those of us born into poverty don’t necessarily have the guidance.

But I’ll tell you this. There comes a time for everybody that it’s time to grow up. I mean, look at me. I came from a broken home. Mama’s got six kids. No daddy. Maybe the lights will turn on today; maybe not. Eatin’ mayonnaise and pickle sandwiches. I started out less fortunate than most people, and I lived my life accordingly. Streets, drugs, violence…all that. But then I turned twenty and realized that it was time to shape up or dead just like everybody else I knew.

- Scratch Beginnings, pgs 102-103

I highly recommend reading Nickel and Dimed and The Invisible Poor to compliment this book. They offer more information on the adversities but they are less hopeful.

For that reason, I loved Scratch Beginnings. I think it presents a balanced perspective between understanding the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves and the adversities that must be overcome, understanding personal responsibility and holding out hope that hard work and perseverance are not vain pursuits. (5/5)

422 pages

There is a reason that Michael Connelly has become one of my favorite authors after having only read three of his novels. He writes fast-paced crime novels that draw you in and hold your attention all the way through.

In The Brass Verdict, Micky Haller is thrust back into law practice literally overnight after his recovery from being shot, becoming addicted to pain-killers and going through rehab. It seems a colleague named Jerry Vincent has been murdered and he has named Micky as the attorney who will take over in the event that Jerry is unable to carry on.

Micky inherits thirty-one cases, one which is very high-profile and involves a Hollywood producer and the murder of his wife and her lover. It is this case that consumes his attention and sets the pace for the The Brass Verdict.

This was my first Connelly novel that included Harry Bosch. Previously I have read The Poet and Blood Work. I do recognize the character of Jack McEvoy, a reporter from The Poet as he makes an appearance in The Brass Verdict.

I feel like I am missing part of the story on Harry and Micky from previous books but since this was a review copy sent to me by Miriam from Hachette Books, I didn’t want to take time to catch up on Harry’s history. I look forward to reading the Bosch books at some point.

This was a twisty and entertaining criminal case story. I enjoyed it and recommend it to mystery lovers and Connelly fans alike. (4/5)

It’s the last summer before college for 18 year-old Kim Larsen. She and her friends spend their time at the lake and working at their various summer jobs. Being from a small town in Ohio makes them all ready to get on with the big adventure into adulthood but at the same time they are whiling away the last bits of the summer with the freedom of teens.

Everything changes when Kim disappears on her way to work one day and Songs for the Missing is a chronicle of the thoughts and emotions of those who know and love her.

I didn’t have any trouble getting hooked during the first part of this book. I enjoyed learning about Kim, her friends and family and her town quite a bit. Somewhere in the middle though, the story lagged for me and I had to convince myself to pick it up again. I think this is due, in part, to some outside influences in my life and also because this is not a cheerful story. One thing I am sure of is that it had nothing to do with the author’s writing.  The author did a fine job of making the reader experience pain of the characters from their differing perspectives. Though the subject was a sad one and I struggled to get back to this book, I ended up liking it quite a bit. I’m glad I stuck it out to the end. (3.5/5)

Anita Shreve
305 pages

ARC from Hachette Book Group

Several students at a private boarding school have participated in illicit sexual activity. Worse than that, they were foolish enough to tape it. When the tape makes it’s way into the hands of the headmaster, that’s just the beginning of a cascade of events that will leave many lives changed forever.

This was my first book by Anita Shreve and I didn’t really know what to expect. However, I found this to be a nice easy read and one that I didn’t want to put down. I did spend a good portion of the book thinking that I was reading about the sex scandal, only to be brought up short once I understood the true focus of the story. This had both a positive and negative impact on me. I enjoyed the fact that the true story was not what it seemed but once I began to catch on, things got a teeny bit predictable. Despite that, I really enjoyed reading Testimony and I definitely look forward to reading more by Anita Shreve. (3.5/5)

558 Pages

Michael Grant

Sam Temple is sort of reserved but he is cool in a crisis. Two years ago, when his school bus driver had a heart attack, Sam’s quick thinking and a quiet calm helped him to save everyone on the bus. Ever since then, other kids have looked up to him.
While sitting in history class one day, Sam’s teacher and everyone else over the age of fourteen *poofs* out of existence. What follows next is a study in how different people react in times of trouble. For some it brings out the best in them…for some the worst.
Gone is a sort of the best of both worlds kind of story. On one hand, you have every kid’s dream. Running things with no adults to spoil the fun. On the other hand, you have horror and facing your nightmares in the real world.
Gone is fast-paced with new plot revelations coming along plenty fast enough to keep you interested and a writing style that is easy to follow.

My son read this book in about a day and a half. He couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t as bowled over as he was but I thought it was a fun read. There were a lot of things left open for a sequel, which I would be happy to read when it comes out.(3.5/5)

321 pages

Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Dead and the Gone is the companion book to Life As We Knew It which I read earlier this year.

The disaster in this book is the same as in Life As We Knew It. An asteroid has hit the moon and knocked it closer to earth which affects the tides, volcanoes, rainfall and various other things. The neat thing about these two books is that while Life tells the perspective from a female protagonist situated in a more rural area, The Dead and the Gone tells the story from the perspective of a male protagonist in New York City. At first, I was skeptical that the two experiences could be different enough for the characters that a second story to be interesting. Happily, I was wrong.

When the story begins Alex is working in a pizza parlor, thinking about school rivalries and getting into Georgetown. During the course of the story he is forced to step in and take care of his sisters and discover how life can change in an instant, how the unlikeliest people can become our allies in times of need and ultimately the things in life that are truly important.

I enjoyed The Dead and the Gone every bit as much as Life As We Knew It and I recommend it if you enjoy disaster or dystopian stories. (4/5)

Jill A. Davis

246 pages

Back of the Book:

“Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. When her mother dramatically announces, “They’ve found a lump,” Emily gladly leaves behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she’s doing with her life to be by her mother’s side. But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn’t run fast or far enough—especially when she opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face”

My thoughts:

This was a fun, lighter read. Emily is in therapy and is trying to deal with the fact that she runs every time she faces the tough questions but honestly, she doesn’t seem crazy to me. I think her witty inner dialogue keeps her from going over the edge with her dramatic mother (who is hilarious too), her father who is too laid back and her sister who just goes shopping rather than dealing with life. I didn’t think that this book was too heavy, though it does deal with some tougher issues such as death, marriage, children, cancer and family relationships. I’d recommend it to anyone in the mood for a chuckle. (3.5/5)

Matt Rogers

218 pages

Zondervan Publishers

From the Publisher:

On April 16, 2007, the campus of Virginia Tech experienced a collective nightmare when thirty-three students were killed in the worst massacre in modern U.S. history. Following that horrendous event, VA Tech campus pastor Matt Rogers found himself asking and being asked, Where is God in all of this?The cliché-ridden, pat answers rang hollow. In this beautifully written reflection, Rogers illumines the path for experiencing God as truly good when life isn’t.

My thoughts:

This is beautifully written book that ponders the question that most of us have asked at some point in our life. How can God be good and loving when bad things like the events at Virginia Tech happen?

We go through the year after the tragedy with Matt Rogers.

In the first section of the book, which is titled A Heavy, Sinking, Sadness: Embracing The World That Is , the author recounts the shock, horror and then the tremendous pain and grief of the people connected with Virginia Tech. This section brings sharply into focus the fact that life is finite. A person can literally be here one moment and gone the next. This is a very heavy section but then tragedy and grief are very heavy subjects.

The next section is called Echoes of Eden: Embracing the World that Was. In this section we walk with Matt as he embraces the gifts all around him. The gift of creation, the kindness of people. He travels to Colorado and Japan in an effort to distance himself from the tragedy. Both trips are through the kindness of people. His experience with nature is healing and draws him to God. His conclusion is that:

Nature reminds us of the world that was, but that’s just it: that world is no more. Even the leftovers are infected. It is not enough to embrace the world that is, nor to remember that which was. My need, the great need of us all, is to know that there is a better world to come. -When Answers Aren’t Enough- page 146

This leads us into the final section of the book entitled Breathless Expectation: Imagining the World that Will Be where the author discusses Heaven and the fact that we are caught between two worlds. We live here and now and we suffer. But, as Christians, we wait in joyful hope for the restoration of all things and the return of Christ.

I found this book honest and at times, heart-wrenching. But in the end, it is also eminently hopeful. It didn’t offer up canned responses, it did exactly as I hoped it would. It pointed to the Creator. I would highly recommend this book to anyone grieving.(5/5)

James Keeper is comfortable with his life. He works in a salvage yard with his childhood friend, he just bought a house with his girlfriend, and things are going well. He has a little regret over his ex-wife but, for the most part, he has moved on. At least he thought he had until he gets a phone call from his former mother-in-law that his ex-wife, Cynthia is in the hospital. Keeper ends up finding out about a son he never knew he had and eventually his son Leo ends up coming to live with him. What follows is a very funny, sometimes touching story of what happens to Keeper’s life when Leo overtakes it.

This was a quick read and I related to it on a lot of levels. Parenthood really does knock the stuffing out of you at times. Especially when you are first starting out. But it is also filled with laughter and blessings.

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be thrust into it overnight with no preparation, yet this story manages to remain light and humorous while the protagonist deals with some pretty serious issues. My one issue with this book is that the language is a bit strong for me at times. However, I would definitely love to read more by Edward Hardy. (4/5)

Andrew Davidson

465 page

While driving in his car after binging on cocaine and bourbon, the narrator of The Gargoyle sees a vision of flaming arrows and swerving to avoid them, gets into a horrific car crash that results in him being severely burned. This would be a terrible fate for any person but the narrator had formerly made his living as a p-rn star and later a producer. Now, life as he knew it is over.

While laying in the hospital and contemplating how he will end his life, he is visited by a strange woman named Marianne Engel. She tells him mysterious stories about their intertwined lives and they begin to build a relationship. But as he begins to learn more about Marianne and her life as sculptress finds that he has more questions than answers. He does, however, learn lessons about himself:

I was born with all the advantages that a monster never had, and I chose to disregard them all. Now my armor had melted away and been replaced with a raw wound. The line of beauty that I had used to separate myself from people was gone, replaced by a new barrier - ugliness - that kept people away from me, whether I liked it or not. One might expect the result to be the same, but that was not entirely true. While I was now surrounded by far fewer people than before, they were far better people. -The Gargoyle pg 370

This was honestly one of those books that I went back and forth on the entire time I was reading it. At one point, I really liked it a lot and at another point, I didn’t care for it all.

On the one hand, I really didn’t care for the more graphic aspects of the narrator’s career choice but on the other hand, I can see how it was relevant to the storyline of redemption.

On the one hand, I loved the stories that Marianne told that took place all over the world but on the other hand, I found the spirituality in the story convoluted and the romance between Marianne and the narrator bizarre.

In the end, I guess I wound up in the middle. I don’t consider it a waste of time but it won’t be making my list of favorites for the year. (3/5)

I had a couple of other books lined up to read before Belong to Me. However, when I allowed myself the pleasure of reading the first chapter of this book, I was immediately sucked in and I couldn’t put it down.

The characters in this story are so real and uncontrived that I found myself wishing I lived in their neighborhood.

I had no idea when I received the ARC of this book that this was a second in a series. The author does a wonderful job of filling the reader in on any previous history and this book worked well by itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed Marisa de los Santos writing style. She paints beautiful pictures and her characters are masterfully written. She also has us exactly where she wants us with her characterizations. I loved Cornelia with her spunky and real personality and I even ended up liking Piper Truitt. Piper’s character especially had me thinking about putting myself in another person’s shoes. I will be on the lookout for more books by Marisa de los Santos because I loved this one. (5/5)

There is lace in every living thing: the bare branches of winter, the patterns of clouds, the surface of water as it ripples in the breeze…Even a wild dog’s matted fur shows a lacy pattern if you look at it closely. - The Lace Reader- pg 101

Sophya “Towner” Whitney grew up around Salem, Massachusetts. She comes from an influential family with a long history there. She and all of the women in her family read lace and can see the future.

When she was 17, her sister died and Towner had to get away from Salem so she fled to California. She hasn’t been back since. However, a call from home saying that her beloved Aunt Eva is missing brings Towner back and she must confront all that she thought she had left behind.

This book is part historical fiction and part cozy mystery(as defined here)with a little psychological and supernatural mystery thrown in for good measure. It delves quite a bit into the past of Salem, Ma. which, as most people know, is the place where the witch trials took place in the 1600s. The mystery part comes when Eva Whitney mysteriously disappears and is eventually found dead and we follow the switchback trail of mystery to the surprising conclusion

I actually passed through Salem very briefly about 4 or 5 years ago and had talked with my husband about visiting again at some point. Now, it’s something I would like to do more than ever.

For me, this book was not a heart-pounding thriller. I felt that the author gave out the details of the story at a leisurely pace. This was fine with me because I absolutely loved the way that she described the thoughts and feelings of the characters as well as her vivid descriptions of the landscape. As an extra benefit, the mystery was excellent as well.

This book was a pleasure to read. The writing is lyrical and the characterization of the Whitney women is ethereal yet it skillfully deals with the issues of grief, abuse and family relationships. I highly recommend reading this one. (4.5/5)

Pete Gall
293 pages

“I wonder what it would be like to wake up and be with other people who are awake–to live with less fear, fewer lies, less compulsive consumption and all the other junk that keeps us anesthetized. I wonder if there are people who actually live that way. Weirdos, I’m sure.” -My Beautiful Idol pg 20

With that, the author leaves a good paying job in advertising and heads off to change the world for God. He ends up working in a rehab program, as a pastor’s assistant in an urban church, at a group home for mentally-disabled men, for a ministry program, and as a plumbing salesman.

His encounters with fellow Christians are at times comical and at other times heart-breaking. The hardest parts are when you recognize yourself in the people he meets and in his struggles and you understand that we often do good things for totally wrong reasons.

I found this book challenging as I followed the author from the brashness of youth and a desire to make a difference to the more mellow faith that is slightly tempered by life experiences. He does an excellent job of illustrating how we each hide behind our “things” and how God is rarely how we expect him to be. However, He is always there. The arguments are not always simple and I’ll admit that there were a couple of times that I had a hard time following. It was worth the effort though. (4/5)

Imagine that you go to bed one night and sleep late the next morning. Your country is embroiled in World War II and the rumors that German troops are drawing near are growing stronger every day.

Imagine that you wake up and your husband and all the other men of the village have disappeared without a word.

Imagine that Germany had successfully occupied England.

Imagine a German patrol shows up in your village and there is no one to protect you.

With World War II more than 5 decades in the past, it is hard to imagine that things could turn out any differently than they did. However, in a short section in the Afterword, author Owen Sheers tells us that for a period of time in 1940, the scenario imagined in the book Resistance was a possibility. For Sarah Lewis and her neighbors, Mary, Menna, and Maggie, it is reality.

Things do not unfold as expected though and the story is not predictable. Nazi officer Albrecht Wolfram is battle weary by the time he and his patrol reach the village in Wales. He has seen and done things that he would rather forget and he is not interested in tyrannizing the women. Instead, he is interested in peaceful coexistence. The question then becomes will outside forces allow this. We don’t get neat and tidy answers and must draw our own conclusions but the story itself is the treasure.

I found this book to be a captivating story and I was constantly caught between wondering which parts were fact and which parts were imagined. Fortunately, the author took the time to let us know at the end of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about WW II. (4/5)

Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson

Advance Reading Copy

372 pages

I had never read anything by Peter Robinson before I snagged this ARC in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. I am pleased to say that I have found another author that I enjoy reading.

The story opens with a quadripalegic woman being murdered near Whitby. A young girl is also murdered in Eastvale. The murders don’t seem to have too much in common at first but as the lead detectives Annie Cabbot and Alan Banks begin investigating, their paths seem to keep crossing and going back to a case they worked together years before and it soon becomes evident that there are ties going back even further, almost twenty years.

This story grabbed my interest at the beginning and it kept it all the way through to the end. Some things that happened were not a surprise to me but I cared enough about the characters that it didn’t matter if I lost the element of surprise a little. I really enjoyed the side stories of what was happening in Annie and Alan’s lives and even though I didn’t know their whole history, I didn’t feel lost. I enjoyed this book a lot and will look for more by this author.(4/5)

Catherine Grace Cline was 6 years old on the hot summer day that her mama went to pick berries, fell into the river, and died. The indelible influence of growing up in a small town without a mother makes Catherine long for the day that she can leave Ringgold, Georgia behind her.

When I received the ARC of this book I thought I was in for a fun, light-hearted read. It was that. It was charming, humorous and fun but it was also touching. The evolution of Catherine’s relationship to her sister, father, Sunday School teacher, and next door neighbor, Gloria Jean made reading the whole book worthwhile. However, I enjoyed getting to know the residents of Ringgold, warts and all, and I enjoyed the way that the author drew the story to a close. (4/5)