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"Page Turners" of the Month Reviewed by Book Clubs
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Author: Chris Whitaker Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for other people. She is the fierce protector of her five-year-old brother, Robin, and the parent to her mother, Star, a single mom incapable of taking care of herself, let alone her two kids. Walk has never left the coastal California town where he and Star grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the old wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. And he's in overdrive protecting Duchess and her brother. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released. And Duchess and Walk must face the trouble that comes with his return. We Begin at the End is an extraordinary novel about two kinds of families—the ones we are born into and the ones we create. Book Ends Book Club just read this book. Discussion focused not only on the story in the book but on our personal lives and how tragedies/trials when we are young mark us for life. Submitted by Debby Peck |
Author: Isabelle Allende Readers may be familiar with Isabelle Allende, a prolific Chilean-American author, who wrote the House of Spirits (and many other novels). The authoress was 80 years old when she penned The Wind Knows My Name. The book is a tale of two child immigrants--- a boy who escapes Nazi occupied Vienna in 1938, a girl who escapes military gangs in El Salvador in 2019 and the people that help them along the way. Allende's narrative commingles past and present, and follows their migrations to the United States as their paths begin to cross. The novel’s premise is touching and ambitious. It traces how violence, migration and intolerance affect children across two periods of history that readers may view as disparate. The story also provoked insightful discussion: sometimes the smallest act of kindness can change the direction of a life; “ordinary” people can make a difference; the extreme actions that a parent takes to protect their child; and “strangers” can be your family. The novel provided an easy platform for lively discussion: about the author and her background, the writing itself, the story, its themes and some of the real life organizations upon which fictional organizations and characters were based. The book invited rich, thoughtful discussion and thought. Reviewed by Fiction Addiction Book Club Gretchen Bender |
Author: Clare Leslie Hall Broken Country is a powerful, emotional story set in rural England during the late 1960s. Beth was seventeen when she first met Gabriel. Over that heady, intense summer, he made her think and feel and see differently. She thought it was the start of her great love story. When Gabriel left to become the person his mother expected him to be, she was broken. It was Frank who picked up the pieces and together they built a home very different from the one she’d imagined with Gabriel. Watching her husband and son, she remembered feeling so sure that, after everything, this was the life she was supposed to be leading. But when Gabriel comes back, all Beth’s certainty about who she is and what she wants crumbles. Even after ten years, their connection is instant. She knows it’s wrong and she knows people could get hurt. But how can she resist a second chance at first love? Everyone in the village said nothing good would come of Gabriel’s return. And as Beth looks at the man she loves on trial for murder, she can’t help thinking they were right. A love story with the pulse of a thriller, a heart-pounding novel of impossible choices and devastating consequences. Recommended by Rose Smilgys |
Author: Patrick Ryan In the jubilant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, shares a single, life-altering moment with Margaret Salt, a woman determined to outrun her past. Cal is married to Becky, whose spiritual gifts help the living speak to the dead, while Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving at sea, believed to be safe—until a telegram suggests otherwise. Recommended by Karen Baker |
Author: Thomas Schlesser Thomas Schlesser is an Art Historian and he has written an international best seller - Mona’s Eyes. This is actually two-books/stories in one. The first being the story of a little girl who experiences an episode of blindness and faces the possibility of eventual permanent blindness. The second is a fascinating history and analysis of some of the most interesting artists and their work over the past six hundred years. While the doctors can find no explanation for Mona’s brief episode of blindness, they agree that the threat of permanent vision loss cannot be ruled out. The girl’s grandfather, Henry, may not be able to stop his granddaughter from losing her sight, but his hope is to build a mental “reservoir” to fill the encroaching darkness with beauty/art. Every Wednesday for a year, the pair abscond together and visit a single masterpiece in one of Paris’s renowned museums. During these visits Mona silently reviews the art pieces, following which she explains what she sees and feels. Her grandfather then provides the history, philosophy, and affection associated with each piece. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona learns how each artist’s work shaped the world around them. In turn, the young girl’s world is changed forever by the power of their art. Under the kind and careful tutelage of her grandfather, Mona learns the true meaning of generosity, melancholy, love, loss, and revolution. Our Book Ends club read this book for our February meeting. Our February meeting was held at the Phoenix Art Museum where a docent allowed us, (like Mona), to examine and review various masterpieces. Submitted by Debby Peck |
Author: Kristin Harmel Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance. |
Author: Allen Levi Questions linger about Theo, a pleasant but mysterious stranger, after his arrival in the southern city of Golden. Who is he and why is he here? He arrives early one spring by chance, or is it? His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.
A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted novel about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another. Recommended by Robin Stuck |
Author: Michael Connelly Following his “resurrection walk” and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Recommended by Jill Hieb |
Author: Fredrik Backman The author Fredrik Backman, age 44, is a Swedish author, blogger, and columnist. He wrote A Man Called Ove, Things My Son Needs to Know about the World, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, Anxious People, The Winners and My Friends. Some have described the author and his writing as “quirky.” The novel, My Friends, is a story about the troubled young lives of an artist and the artists’ close childhood friends. Among other things, the plot covered the creation and travels of a well-known painting. The book explored the idea of friendship, by tracing lifelong friendships and by including different types of friendships, such as different aspects of parent-child, mentor-mentee and multi-generational relationships. The nature of art was also a major theme throughout the novel. This book generated a range of different reader reactions. Some readers “loved it.” “One of the best books I’ve ever read.” Some thought it was boring in parts. Others strongly disliked the story, and felt it was “too dark.” Likewise, online reviews revealed “love/hate” reactions to the novel. Despite the different perspectives, we agreed that the translation was excellent. We also agreed that the author injected humor into difficult situations. Most readers agreed that the book was thought-provoking. “A good read even if you didn’t like it.” From a Book Club perspective, the characters and plot were sufficiently rich and multi-dimensional so there was a lot of room for thoughtful discussion. Reviewed by Fiction Addiction Book Club |
Author: Frieda McFadden An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist. “Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own. Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am. They don’t know what I’m capable of… An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist. Recommended by Robin Stuck & her book club |
Author: JoJo Moyes We All Live Here follows a divorced mother, her daughters and her stepfather (and others) who all lived together in one house which was continuously under repair. The novel provoked much discussion about the various characters and the story itself. Many scenes were vivid and funny. Characters came to life and some so-called minor characters were quite interesting. Many nuggets of wisdom and thoughtful reflections were scattered throughout the book. We liked how different relationships often changed our views of characters. We all enjoyed the writing. On the other hand, we found the plot elements relatively predictable. We did not really enjoy the main character. As one reader put it, “she was not my favorite.” At times, the protagonist had some endearing qualities, but she also had really dumb and cringeworthy moments. Arguably, she remained a “hot mess” at the end of the book. We questioned whether the character had sufficient sense of self-awareness. Did she change or grow by the end of the book? We hoped so, but we weren’t entirely sure. Many of us had enjoyed other books by this author, such as Giver of Stars and Someone Else’s Shoes. Both of which we highly recommend. Despite the book’s shortcomings, our readers all agreed that the book was a fun, enjoyable, light read. A great vacation, beach or plane read. It could be a fun movie. Reviewed by Fiction Addiction Book Club
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Author: Claire Keegan It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. While Keegan dedicates Small Things Like These to "the women and children who suffered time in Ireland's Magdalen laundries", horrific asylums run by Roman Catholic institutions for most of the 20th century, ostensibly to reform "fallen young women", her compact, crystallized narrative does not train its gaze on these victims or the nuns who imprisoned them within high walls "topped with broken glass," but instead on Bill Furlong and his harrowing quest for meaning. Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy. Recommended by Rose Smilgys |
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