EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU (DECEMBER 2014)

Of all my vacation reads, this has been my favorite. I can't stop thinking about it. A debut novel by Cambridge author, Celeste Ng, EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU is powerful and piercingly on target. For all of us who are drawn to books about dysfunctional families this is the pinnacle!  Bring on the maladjusted, the wounded, and the flawed..it's all here depicted in gorgeous, poignant prose.

The summary below says it all....

Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . .

So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother’s bright blue eyes and her father’s jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue—in Marilyn’s case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James’s case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party.

When Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost. Lydia’s older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it’s the youngest of the family—Hannah—who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened.

A profoundly moving story of family, history, and the meaning of home, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, exploring the divisions between cultures and the rifts within a family, and uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

(Amazon Review and Best Book of 2014)

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UNDER A PALM TREE (December 2014)

Yes, I am on vacation...I've been gone three days (two days of rain...) and just finished EUPHORIA BY LILY KING, a novel loosely based on an episode in the life of Margaret Mead. I thought I would hate this book...who wants to read about tribes in New Guinea? To my surprise, I did!

It's a meticulously researched homage to the anthropologist blended into a steamy and intelligent story. A love triangle...compelling, sensuous and beautifully written. Everything from competing egos and desires, violence, and tragedy are combined making EUPHORIA an expertly crafted satisfying drama....and what a drama!! In my opinion this is a must read....

To order immediatly, click on the Amazon Search Box in the Sidebar....

TELL ME IT'S NOT TRUE! (DECEMBER 2014)

Everyone knows about GOODREADS. Just to refresh some memories, it's the largest network of readers and book recommendations online...or anywhere!  Every year members select the best books in twenty categories ranging from fiction, nonfiction, history, to the unique...like best Goodreads author debut.

This year the best book in fiction selected by Goodreads readers is Landline by Rainbow Rowell. The novel follows a TV writer in a crumbling marriage who discovers a way to talk to her husband in the past...on a phone.

I am reading Landline and all I can say is...Were the  Goodreads voters all drunk??? With all the wonderful fiction out this year...this is what they picked?!!?  I'm so disillusioned, disappointed and disgruntled!  I hope you read it so we can all suffer together...

Here's more info...

WINNER 46,154 votes

LANDLINE by RAINBOW ROWELL (Goodreads Author)

Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble 

for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, 

deeply —

 But that almost seems beside the point now.

Maybe that was always beside the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for 

Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go.....

and it all goes downhill....

No surprise.....

Disclaimer: 

I'm probably in the minority..Obviously many liked this book...but it's 

my not so humble opinion and I'm standing by it! 

HOLIDAY BOOK ALERT! (December 2014)

I'm looking forward to Anita Diamant's new book, THE BOSTON GIRL. It's an historical novel told in the first person by an 85 year old woman in response to a question from her granddaughter. Although best known for THE RED TENT, Diamant is the author of both fiction and nonfiction. THE BOSTON GIRL will be released December 9th and is already the recipient of excellent reviews.

THE BOSTON GIRL by Anita Diamant

The author of the bestseller The Red Tent gives readers a first-person tour of the early 20th century through the eyes of Addie Baum, the feisty, determined, thoroughly appealing narrator of Diamant's latest novel. Born in 1900 to Jewish immigrant parents who don't understand her intellectual curiosity or her rebellious ways, Addie forges her own path to become a "real American." Addie's vibrant voice makes history come alive in this inspirational story of a young woman who thinks big and makes her dreams come true. (Bookreporter.com) To order now, click on the Amazon Search Box in the sidebar.