Books Read in September and October

Two months worth of reading instead of one because I cannot seem to get my act together monthly for a post!!

Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan- this was a hard book to read at time as it deals with the subject of parental neglect and abuse. It is narrated by a 13 year old boy and his seven year old sister. The children’s father is in the process of leaving the children’s mother. The boy disappears after a series of neglectful/ harmful actions of the mother. Really difficult to read at times but it does end well so there is that. So far it is my least favorite NL book.

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins- set in a beautiful mountains of North Carolina, the book tells the tale of an adopted boy grown man who has eschewed his family’s money and is living a quiet live in Colorado. He gets summoned to the family estate in North Carolina and at the bequest of his wife- but with plenty of misgivings- travels back to North Carolina. Mysteries abound in the family's acquisition of vast sums of money, disappearing children and the issue of how precisely one wealthy woman accumulated four husbands (not at the same time) who all died under mysterious circumstances. The mysteries kept my interest and I thought the writing was overall good!

Sandwich by Catherine Newman- I didn’t like this book at all. A family that vacations together every summer in a quirky rental in a New England beach town seems like they have it all. Until you realize that murder (or not) of their young is just another mundane decision that the female members of the household make. Icky.

All the Little Things by Sarah Lawton- this was a pretty gripping thriller. A mother and her teenage daughter move from London to a small village under mysterious circumstances. A young man, Alex, befriends (or more!) both of them. The book tensely builds up to figuring what happened in London to prompt the move... and to figure out the disappearance of a school friend of the daughter. I read this in about two settings- it was hard to put down! I enjoyed it!

We are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas- this family saga spans from the early 1900’s until fairly recent (I think!). I often really like saga family type books but this was too long and too tedious to enjoy. The family was dysfunctional yet they loved each other. The end. There, I cut out about four hundred pages for you!

A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano- This book is based loosely on the writer Flannery O’ Connor. It takes place in a small town in Georgia in the 1960’s. After becoming a fairly famous writer, Flannery O’ Connor had to move back home with her mom due to a disease that O’Connor had (in real life). The book takes a complete turn to the fiction as a tragedy occurs pertaining to some peacocks that O’Connor owned. I thought it was all right but definitely not my favorite of the author’s.

Monsters: A Fan’s by Claire Dederer- this non-fiction book posits the question of disliking strongly the character of a genius artist (a monster, if you will) a la Roman Polinski and reconciling the artist with loving the art that the monster produced. The highlights several "monsters" who produced masterpieces- Michael Jackson, Picasso, Poliniski and others are discussed. The book is part memoir in that Dederer discusses her reaction to the art... and the artists. I thought the book was all right. I guess I don’t struggle with the issue that much? I like Dederer’s writing even though she and I have completely different world views/ values. 

Ten Words to Live By by Jen Wilkin- this non fiction book by the Christian author presents the reader with the task of reading the Ten Commandments as they bear on our lives today. She goes through each commandment and offers insight into how obeying them looks like today (as opposed to when Moses delivered them to Isrealites many years ago). I thought the book was good but honestly forgot it all. I mean, much of what is presented is not exactly new- perhaps that is why this particular book was forgettable to me. 

The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis- this was a quick, good read! A wealthy, older woman invites her granddaughter and her granddaughter’s three good friends from college to come and stay with her in her family´s beautiful chateau in France. She has something important to tell her granddaughter but is killed before she does so. Whodunit becomes the questions as each woman (besides, seemingly, the granddaughter) have motive. Oh, and the friends are hiding secrets from each other (aren’t they always in these kinds of books??). I enjoyed this one!

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen- This is about a woman her young adult daughter who live together. The mom is a waitress and the daughter is studying to become a nurse. The daughter notices that it seems her mom has dementia. Then the daughter perceives that her mom may be faking it. Buy why? Could it have anything to do with the fact the daughter knows absolutely nothing about her dad? The daughter is convinced her mom is keeping secrets from her. I thought the book was ok. Kind of suspenseful but mostly just OK.

The White Rose by Jean Hanff Korelitz- JHK is one of my favorite living authors. I have read five (I think... ) of hers and enjoyed them all. My library didn’t have this one of hers so I bought it. Oh no! I didn’t like this book at all. It was very soap opera-ish concerning a love affair between a 28 year old man and a forty eight year old woman. Apparently it’s based after a fable? I can’t think of which one and don’t care to look into it. Very disappointing!

A Jury of Her Peers by Jean Hanff Korelitz- This is one for which I was able to get a library hard copy (99% of the library books that I check out are online for my Kindle; this book was only available via hard copy). This was pretty good! It is one of the author’s first books written and it was published in 1996. It’s a legal thriller in the same vein as a David Baldacci or Scott Turrow book- sort of! Somewhat cliche- the daughter of a powerful, conservative judge, the heroine follows her father’s footsteps into law school but... wait for it... she eschews the money and prestige of going to work for a large firm and instead goes to work for...you will never guess, ok- Legal Aid. Our heroine fights valiantly for the poor and criminal in NYC. The book takes on an almost sci-fi element which was unexpected yet worked, when the heroine discovers a very bizarre conspiracy/ activity. This book reminded me of why I like the author so much (after a disappointing earlier book of hers!)- she can write a good tale! Was also interesting to read a book in the time period just before smart phones and the technology that has changed the practice of law since then. Just sort of an anthropological/ societal interesting epoch to read about since we are not too far past that time period. 

Linking up with Joanne, Marilyn, Jennifer and Tanya for Share Your Shelf!