Julie's Review: A New Neighbor

Author: Leah Stewart
Series: None
Publication Date: July 7, 2015
Publisher: Touchstone Books
Pages: 304
Obtained: published
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Intriguing look at the secrets we keep and who we tell our secrets to
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Summary: In the tradition of Zoe Heller’s What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal, The New Neighbor is a darkly sophisticated novel about an old woman’s curiosity turned into a dangerous obsession as she becomes involved in her new neighbor’s complicated and cloaked life. Ninety-year-old Margaret Riley is content hiding from the world. Stoic and independent, she rarely leaves the Tennessee mountaintop where she lives, finding comfort in the mystery novels that keep her company, that is, until she spots a woman who’s moved into the long-empty house across the pond. Jennifer Young is also looking to hide. On the run from her old life, she and her four-year-old son Milo have moved to a quiet town where no one from her past can find her. In Jennifer, Margaret sees both a potential companion in her loneliness and a mystery to be solved. But Jennifer refuses to talk about herself, her son, his missing father, or her past. Frustrated, Margaret crosses more and more boundaries in pursuit of the truth, threatening to unravel the new life Jennifer has so painstakingly created—and reveal some secrets of her own. ~amazon.com  

Review: The New Neighbor is a riveting novel that will have you turning the pages to find out what it is that Jennifer and Margaret did because you know they both did something. Margaret is a 90 year old woman who lives by herself in a small mountain town. When a younger woman moves into the house across the pond, Margaret finds her curiosity peaked.

Jennifer is escaping her past. We don't know what she's escaping but we know it's something that she desperately wants to move away from. In order to support herself and her young son, Milo she puts up fliers to get work as a massage therapist. This is how her and Margaret get acquainted. What Jennifer can't possibly know is that this business relationship will change her quiet existence. 

Margaret is an interesting person. She's very callous and yet she wants to be liked. She also has a secret she wants to unburden but refuses to acknowledge this fact. Instead she enlists Jennifer to record her personal history. This is also her way of trying to get Jennifer to open up about her past. The thing is that Jennifer has built a pretty big wall and she's not too quick to fall for Margaret tricks.

Neither of these women is particularly likable but that didn't stop me from wanting to know what happens to their stories. Ms. Stewart does a great job of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs along the way with both of their stories. I really liked how the story was told from both Margaret's and Jennifer's POVs. I don't think you would get a full picture if only one of them were telling their side of the story. I also liked how she included another point of view at the very end that adds another dimension to the storyline.

If you are looking for a great summer mystery, then look no further than The New Neighbor , it will hold your attention no matter where you are reading it.



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Brittney's Review: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Author: Chris Bohjalian
Series: None
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition
Pages: 288
Obtained: Purchased
Genre:Literature-Coming of Age
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Heartbreaking, raw – a must read.
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Summary:
Emily Shepard is on the run; the nuclear plant where her father worked has suffered a cataclysmic meltdown, and all fingers point to him. Now, orphaned, homeless, and certain that she’s a pariah, Emily’s taken to hiding out on the frigid streets of Burlington, Vermont, creating a new identity inspired by her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson.

Then she meets Cameron. Nine years old and with a string of foster families behind him, he sparks something in Emily, and she protects him with a fierceness she didn’t know she possessed. But when an emergency threatens the fledgling home she’s created, Emily realizes that she can’t hide forever. – amazon.com

Review:

I have a soft spot for books that get me emotionally wrapped up into a character. Such was the case for Emily Shepard, our main protagonist.

Chris writes a no holds barred look into the life of a not-your-average teen who lives through the unthinkable, and just when you think things couldn't get worse, Emily endurs even more. It's rare to see a level of writing that is so factual when portraying a teen, which is probably why I find the YA genre difficult to read. Not the case here: Chris delivers writing that is beautiful, raw and realistic. This is far from a YA read and in the end, is a beautiful coming of age story.

This book is a stark reminder that we never know the battle someone else is fighting until we've walked a mile in their shoes.

I snagged Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands from the new trade paperback releases shelf at the airport about a week ago, and only later realized that Julie had reviewed the hardcover edition. I echo her sentiments in that this would make a fantastic book club read. It'll provide some difficult questions for the group to debate, as so much controversy and pain surrounds Emily's life.


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Jenn's Review: Mr. Kiss and Tell

Author: Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
Series: Veronica Mars #2
Publication Date: January 20, 2015
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 336
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Crime, Mystery
Rating: 4.0
Bottom Line: A must for Veronica Mars fans!
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Blurb:  The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

Review:  I adore Veronica Mars from the series right through to the fan funded movie.  There is just something about that snarky girl that I can never get enough of...  so it was an obvious choice to pick up the novels to continue where the movie left off. While I enjoyed the first book, The Thousand Dollar Man, it was a lot like reading a script in that we seemed to get only the surface details.  Mr. Kiss and Tell was more fleshed out and far more satisfying in the story telling department.

The case was one of Veronica's heavier ones but Rob Thomas has never shied away from tough topics.  Neptune is full of familiar characters and it's not surprising that this case centers around someone we've met before.  It's one of the many things I love about this franchise.  The characters go on existing in Rob Thomas's world and every  once and a while we get a glimpse of them.  Although sometimes, this time, it can be a little heartbreaking.

Logan and Veronica fans said there wasn't enough Logan last novel.  While this is remedied in Mr. Kiss and Tell, Rob Thomas can't seem to stop poking at their relationship.  It's like he keeps throwing cherry bombs at it hoping to trigger a bigger explosion.  Now it is Logan who is stable and Veronica who is floundering.  I LoVe Logan and Veronica together but I'm not sure that Rob Thomas knows how to write them happy.

This is a series I can't stay away from ...and if this is the only way to get my Veronica Mars fix from now on, besides re-watching the DVDs, I'm okay with that.  Would you like this if you aren't a VM fan?  Yes.  I don't think the first book worked outside the VM realm, but the second one is solidly written.  You will miss all the references though and if you aren't a Veronica Mars fan, why the heck not?!?

 

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Julie's Review: Under the Same Blue Sky

Author: Pamela Shoenewaldt
Series: None
Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 352
Obtained: Caitlin Hamilton Publicity & Marketing
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A wonderful novel about finding out where you belong
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: 1914. In the coal-dusted shadows of Pittsburgh's steel mills, shopkeeper's daughter Hazel Renner dreams of adventure under blue skies and escape from her German-American parents' ambitions for a respectable career. But war in Europe shatters her plans and community, pitting neighbors and friends against each other and shaking free a family secret. Seeking peace in the countryside, Hazel is visited by a mysterious healing power—a gift that swiftly leads to tragedy. Resolved to discover who she is and where she belongs, Hazel follows her past to an exiled German baron fighting private demons in an American castle. There she meets Tom, a gardener who shares the freedom of flight, but their powerful bonds will be tested by the chaos and voids of war. Betrayed by her healing powers, struggling to protect those close to her while keeping her own heart safe, Hazel must reconcile youthful dreams with the devastating realities around her. She discovers that escape is closer than we think, and true healing can take unimaginable forms in a world after war. ~amazon.com

Review: Under the Same Blue Sky is a beautiful, quite story about finding where you belong when you life gets turned upside down. It's about finding some calm when the world is crazy. Hazel is a dutiful daughter of German immigrants who have made their American home in Pittsburgh. She loves her parents but dreams of being an artist. Her mother wants her to do something that will make a difference like being a teacher or a doctor. When war breaks out in Europe, Hazel puts her dreams on hold to become a teacher. She ends up getting a teaching post Galway, PA and works to win over the farming community. She befriends the "crazy" guy and unfortunately this has disastrous outcomes for both of them. It is here that Hazel discovers her healing powers and while she thinks she's helping people, it eventually becomes the thing that makes her leave Galway.

Hazel really comes into her own when she leaves Pittsburgh for the 2nd time to the castle where her mother worked. It is here where she finds her place. She works for the Baron in his art dealing business and makes herself at home in Dogwood. Hazel's life isn't ideal though. She slowly watches the war in Europe consume her father and take his soul. She is torn between two worlds: the America she loves and her parents homeland of Germany. She watches as the war makes the immigrants of Germany the enemy.

 Ms. Schoenewaldt does an excellent job of setting the stage for what is going to come in the novel. The tension is easy to feel through the plot and the characters. It is their experiences that you feel as a reader and it's what connects you to them. 

The story moves methodically but it is never slow or plodding. The pace of the book takes you back to a time where things didn't move so fast and news wasn't instantaneous. Where you had to wait weeks, months or perhaps years to find out what happened to family/friends during the war. I really enjoyed following Hazel on her journey. She's a lovely young woman who is seeking to breakaway from her parents dreams for her to create her own. She does this while also respecting their wishes and being a dutiful daughter. She never doubts herself or strays from her beliefs. She does come into her own at the end of the novel.

I will definitely be checking out her previous novels and keeping an eye out for her future books. For those that enjoy a story that reveals itself slowly and that enjoy coming of age stories, you won't want to miss Under the Same Blue Sky. 




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Julie's Review: Summer Secrets

Author: Jane Green
Series: None
Publication Date: June 23, 2015
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 320
Obtained: Amazon Vine
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.75/5.0
Bottom Line: Perfect vacation/pool/beach book
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Library

Summary: When a shocking family secret is revealed, twenty-something journalist Cat Coombs finds herself falling into a dark spiral. Wild, glamorous nights out in London and raging hangovers the next day become her norm, leading to a terrible mistake one night while visiting family in America, on the island of Nantucket. It's a mistake for which she can't forgive herself. When she returns home, she confronts the unavoidable reality of her life and knows it's time to grow up. But she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to earn the forgiveness of the people she hurt. As the years pass, Cat grows into her forties, a struggling single mother, coping with a new-found sobriety and determined to finally make amends. Traveling back to her past, to the family she left behind on Nantucket all those years ago, she may be able to earn their forgiveness, but in doing so she may risk losing the very people she loves the most. Told with Jane Green's keen eye for detailing the emotional landscape of the heart, Summer Secrets is at once a compelling drama and a beautifully rendered portrait of relationships, betrayals, and forgiveness; about accepting the things we cannot change, finding the courage to change the things we can, and being strong enough to weather the storms. ~amazon.com  

Review: Summer Secrets is the story of starts, stops and re-starts. It is the story of a woman trying to learn to forgive herself while seeking the forgiveness of others. Cat is a woman who has been an alcoholic most of her adult life and is trying to stay sober for the last 18 months. She's lost her daughter and husband because of her drinking plus the relationship with other family members.

Summer Secrets is told in flashbacks and then the present. While I found that this works for most novels, it left me somewhat confused in the beginning. Not only do we get Cat's flashback to her summer in Nantucket but then we get her mom's flashback to even a further time back to when she met Cat's father. I think that's what I found confusing was that her mom's story didn't add to the flow of the book.

 While I liked Cat I wouldn't say that I could relate to her. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I felt badly for what she had been through and I wanted her to get better, live her life and enjoy her daughter. I wanted her to be able to make amends to those that she has wronged in her past so that she could move on.

I loved how Ms. Green described Nantucket. She almost makes me want to go there if nothing else just for watching the rich and famous. I loved Cat's best friend, Sam. He was a breath of fresh air in otherwise a pretty heavy subject matter.

I wouldn't say this was my favorite Jane Green novel but as always I'm happy to have read it. It really is a great summer book for the beach, pool or car ride.



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Julie's Review: The Status of All Things

Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Series: None
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Pages: 304
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism
Rating: 4.25/5
Bottom Line: Are we as happy as we post on Facebook? Probably not.
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Summary: What would you do if you could literally rewrite your fate—on Facebook? This heartwarming and hilarious new novel from the authors of Your Perfect Life follows a woman who discovers she can change her life through online status updates. Kate is a thirty-five-year-old woman who is obsessed with social media. So when her fiancé, Max, breaks things off at their rehearsal dinner—to be with Kate’s close friend and coworker, no less—she goes straight to Facebook to share it with the world. But something’s changed. Suddenly, Kate’s real life starts to mirror whatever she writes in her Facebook status. With all the power at her fingertips, and heartbroken and confused over why Max left her, Kate goes back in time to rewrite their history. Kate's two best friends, Jules and Liam, are the only ones who know the truth. In order to convince them she’s really time traveled, Kate offers to use her Facebook status to help improve their lives. But her attempts to help them don’t go exactly as planned, and every effort to get Max back seems to only backfire, causing Kate to wonder if it’s really possible to change her fate. In The Status of All Things, Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke combine the humor and heart of Sarah Pekkanen and Jennifer Weiner while exploring the pitfalls of posting your entire life on the Internet. They raise the questions: What if you could create your picture-perfect life? Would you be happy? Would you still be you? For anyone who’s ever attempted—or failed—to be their perfect self online, this is a story of wisdom and wit that will leave you with new appreciation for the true status of your life. ~amazon.com  

Review: The Status of All Things is something that many of us can relate to in some way. You might not be solely focused on making sure that selfie you just took is perfect enough to post to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc but we do make our lives all shiny on social media. If we don't, we always mask in in cryptic messages. What if we were all honest? What would it look like then? Would you lose friends? Probably. This is the quandary for Kate who just got dumped by her fiance at their rehearsal dinner. What do you think her first question or thought should be? Probably, why right? Nope for Kate it's how am I going to update my status. It literally comes out of her mouth to her now ex-fiance, Max.

This gives us a glimmer into Kate and what she's focused on. What Kate gets is the ability to re-write her statuses for the last 30 days before the rehearsal dinner dump by Max. As we all know if you change one thing about the past, it sets into motion changes that you can't even think of, with consequences. Where Kate things she's going to save her relationship with Max and is so focused on that, she doesn't for one second think that maybe they aren't supposed to be together. Kate is a bit self-centered and going back 30 days shows her that maybe things aren't so perfect in Jules' marriage and maybe Liam being in a relationship isn't good for their friendship.

As Kate starts to realize that things aren't always great when you go back to fix them, she figures out that maybe the place she needs to be is right where she was in the beginning. It's a long road for Kate and her friends but I do think that she learned something from her journey. Sometimes what we need most is staring us right in the face and learning to let go is the hardest thing we need to do. Liz and Lisa have a great social commentary on the use of social media and what it does to our relationships, our egos and our self-worth.

We all have that one friend or maybe friends whose lives look so perfect but are they really or are they self-editing? No one's life is perfect, we all have our own struggles and I think this book is a reflection of that. There are very humorous moments and very poignant ones. You identify with Kate and want to shake her sometimes with in sentences of the novel. She's got a great heart but she's slightly misguided.

If you ever find yourself getting caught up in the perfect lives of your friends on Facebook, et. all, then I highly recommend The Status of All Things . Even if you aren't caught up in social media, you will still take something away from this novel.



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