There Is A Land by Ted Oswald

This is Ted Oswald's second novel about Libete Limye. Libete is now three years older and an outspoken activist at the age of 13. Even though this novel is considered a mystery, like the first book Because We Are, this novel really concentrates on the political upheaval in Haiti. Unless you already know something about the different Haitian presidents and warring factions with their dynamic leaders, it's difficult to keep everyone straight. It's also difficult to categorize people as being "good" and "bad". Like Libete, I never knew who to trust! Libete had a challenging time figuring out who actually supported her and who was trying to kill her. Sometimes the people who initially supported her, turned around and betrayed her; other times she was saved by people who she was taught, through experience, not to trust.

Libete was on the run for most of this book. She took on another name and another identity. Time-wise, the story of why she ran intermingled with the stories of how she ran and where she ended up. It weaves in and out so the reader slowly pieces the whole story together throughout the duration of the novel. Since she is in hiding, she is separated from the people she loves the most. She bonds with other people in her new life, but in the end, two of the people who loved her most, die. I hate that. In Libete's (Sophia's) new life she also runs into trouble. She uncovers the fact that the "University people" who supplied the tools needed to plant and manage a common garden for food in the town she flees to, are actually miners mining for gold.

On top of all that, we find out that Libete is ill with tuberculosis. The author doesn't explain how or when she found out she was ill, or how she received some medication, which she takes until she runs out. I don't even know if Stephanie and/or Jak know that she is ill. We also don't know what happened to Stephanie and Jak. So, lots of unanswered questions at the end of this book!

Too many good people died in this book. Every time Libete starts to feel like she has a "family", people are taken from her. It's very sad. The message of the book is worth fighting for though. Libete represents "Hope". Dimanche and Magdala, and their father before them, believed "the end of hope is the end of us all." They see Libete as Haiti's hope, and they are willing to die for that.

So, anxiously waiting for the next book....

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

I think this book has a very important message. Simply put, don't count your chickens before they hatch. The Plumb "children" spent so much time and energy making poor decisions while waiting for their deceased dad's money to bail them out, that they weren't even enjoying their lives. All four of the adult Plumb children drove me crazy. They were so wrapped up in "the nest" that they didn't see what they had right in front of them: people who loved them; people who wanted to make a life with them aside from "the nest". It was interesting that Melody and Jack's husbands told them not to live their lives waiting for the nest "windfall", because it might never happen.

I guess Bea irritated me the least, so I will start with her. Her whole life revolved around Leo. She couldn't even write about anything unless it was about Leo. I could not figure out why she was so "frozen" in life. I didn't bother me that she walked around in vintage clothes and stayed at an unrewarding job just because.... It's just that she wanted to make writing her career and all she could think to write about was Leo's selfish life. I didn't really know what to make of Paul. He actually wasn't portrayed as something "worthy" of Bea until the end of the novel. I guess it depended on who was talking about him. Nathan respected him, but that was difficult to determine initially. Leo obviously did not. It took Bea a really long time to come around to Paul, but she seemed happy at the end.

Melody was so wrapped up in appearances - and stalking her daughters - that she didn't seem to enjoy life either. Since her father's death, she seemed to be biding her time until she turned 40! Honestly, she could have died by then - and then where would she be! Her life choices were made with "the nest" in her head at all times. That's no life, in my opinion. She had a very patient husband! I loved that she realized (finally!) that there is more to life than a house in the "right" neighborhood and ivy league colleges for her daughters. It's called being happy with what you have and loving the people that love you back.

Jack. I was not a fan of Jack. He had this wonderful man that loved him despite his many faults - that accepted him for who he was. (Walker was my favorite character in the book, actually. I am glad that Walker found happiness with someone else at the end. I hope he got the children he had always wanted too.) Jack was selfish and greedy - and desperate. He didn't deserve Walker. Walker was strong in his commitment to Jack, and strong in his dismissal of Jack. Again, I really liked Walker!

There is nothing that I liked about Leo. In the end though, he is the one that missed out big time. He got his money, but he lost his family; he lost the woman who loved him; he lost the daughter he never knew he had. I guess he got what he deserved, but what a waste. 

While reading this, I didn't quite get why so many people I know loved this book - until the end. I can't say I loved the book, but I did love the ending. I like when I see seriously flawed characters go through some sort of redeeming transformation. Bea, Melody and Jack's lives were better for having lost "the nest". They learned what was important in life and that people should be treasured, not money. I love how they took in Stephanie, since she didn't have any family of her own. I think Stephanie was an excellent replacement in the Plumb family for Leo.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

This is a book that you can read in one sitting - if you have the time, of course. It is definitely fast-paced. The author gives you information along the way, so you are not kept completely in the dark, which is nice. I like how the reader knows what everyone is thinking, including Detective Rasbach, but no one person is able to put it all together. It's like a small group of people assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Each person believes they can contribute a piece of the puzzle (what happened to baby Cora?), but no one can actually "see the picture" until all the pieces come together at the end.

In the beginning I thought that Detective Rasbach was being a bit too tough and suspicious of Marco and Anne, although the reader knows why he is suspicious since the details of the crime scene are explained as they are discovered. I like how we know all the characters that are involved. It's not like some minor or briefly mentioned character is the kidnapper. I thought the story was very well laid out. It kept me guessing to the end.

Honestly, I thought the "the couple next door" would have a bigger part of the story. They came in and out, but they were almost peripheral characters in some regard. Although the book did start with them and end with them, so that's very cyclical. I thought the tidbits of Graham & Cynthia as a couple were odd. We didn't get to know them very well at all, but what we do find out is weird. Did Graham know - or even care - what Cynthia was up to? Was Cynthia planning to leave Graham? Did they even love each other? Using "The Couple Next Door" as the title of the book is a little misleading even, because the whole time you think they must have something to do with Cora's kidnapping. And quite frankly, Graham was only in about two chapters.

I actually liked Marco, despite his poor judgment. I felt sorry for Anne. I kept thinking that her dissociative disorder stemmed from something else from her childhood other than her father dying. I kept thinking that she had been sexually abused as a young child or something. That too was a surprise to me, that everyone seemed to accept that her disorder was due to her father's death and it wasn't explored further. (Not that witnessing your father's death when you are 4 years old - or any age - isn't traumatic!)

So, the ending.... I feared something like that would happen, but had hoped it wouldn't. The author blazed the trail and set the scene, so I guess it was bound to happen. It made me sad though. We finally get all the answers of who did what and why - and then we are left with a number of other questions!

I love a good mystery, especially one that moves along like this one. This is an excellent debut novel for Shari Lapena.

Wendy's Rating: ****