Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I couldn't resist starting this trilogy. If someone tells me it's similar to the Hunger Games trilogy, I have to read it! Shatter Me is a dystopian story about a 17-year old girl named Juliette. She has been living in deplorable conditions in a prison cell, being fed minimal food, with limited opportunities for personal hygiene. She was imprisoned because of something she did (which we don't initially know.) What we do know is that her touch will kill. If she touches anyone, or anyone touches her - bare skin to bare skin - they will most likely die. Even before being imprisoned, she lived a life of isolation. Her own parents didn't love her. She was considered a diseased freak.

One day she gets a cellmate. His name is Adam Kent and she recognizes him from her elementary school days. He treats her poorly, but she helps him anyway by showing him the ropes of prison life that she had to learn the hard way. Shortly after Adam's arrival, however, she is released into the hands of Warner, the young leader of the "new world". She soon finds out that Adam was sent in to test her. Adam is a soldier for Warner. Warner doesn't see Juliette as a freak. He sees her as power. He sees her as a weapon he can use against his enemies (the rebels). Juliette is not on board with this new arrangement, and fights against Warner's wishes, until she discovers that Adam will be severely punished (beaten) if she doesn't conform. Juliette does not want to harm anyone ever, not even the people who abuse her. She is frightened of her ability to kill.

She figures out that Adam does indeed remember her from their early school days. He volunteered to go into her prison cell. He has a different motive than Warner does for Juliette however. We also find out that Adam is immune from Juliette's special powers, which is helpful of course! Then all hell breaks loose! Everyone (Warner, Adam, the rebels) wants Juliette. Things gets dicey when Adam & Juliette escape from Warner's compound. Juliette has no idea what's really "outside" in the rest of the world. If I had already been in possession of the second book of this trilogy, I would have started it immediately. Unfortunately, I don't. It's a quick read and definitely intriguing. I do love dystopian novels!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Women by Kristin Hannah

I am a huge Kristin Hannah fan. I have read most of what she has written, including before she ventured into writing historical fiction. I have only rated one of her novels 4 stars instead of 5 stars, and I know that rating was not a popular opinion! Ha! I just didn't like how whiny the main character was. Anyway, I digress. I really loved this book. This was definitely a 5 star read for me! It was painful to read at times, but honest. My father served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. He didn't see combat (fortunately). I was too young to know what was going on in our country at that time, but I have always felt awful for the returning veterans. Many of them didn't even have the choice to go to war! So why were they treated so terribly when they returned to the US? After WWI and WWII it was considered honorable to fight for one's freedom from tyranny. That's what they thought they were doing. It's not their fault that we were losing the war and that the US continued to send young men (and women!) to their deaths even after the tide had turned and the US realized it was a fruitless battle. It's deplorable and makes me heartsick. What I didn't know is that the women serving in this war were not considered "veterans". They also saw the horrors of war.

The story portrayed Frankie's despair very effectively. First, being treated like a second-class citizen by her father (as many - most? - females were back then, including in my own military family); being betrayed by the man she loved; being told that "women" were not in Vietnam over and over again; being told that she was not considered a Vietnam vet after serving two terms; not being able to get help from the VA Hospital; becoming a victim to addiction because of the lack of knowledge about the mental & emotional damage done to active duty soldiers -  and surgery nurses in the field! (PTSD); being exposed to Agent Orange continually, which caused women to miscarry.

The entire book I was praying for a happy ending for Frankie. I wanted her to be acknowledged by her father. I wanted her to feel loved. I wanted her to become stronger because of her traumatic experiences instead of succumb to them. She had two amazing best friends (Barb & Ethel) that supported her, fortunately. I'm not sure where she would have ended up if it wasn't for them. She also ended up having incredible, loving support from a man she couldn't quite marry. He was really awesome. The ending was what I hoped for. Thank goodness.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

I have not read The Hate U Give by this author, but I heard it's really good. After reading Concrete Rose, I would guess that I would like it as well. This seems to be a honest and authentic representation of what it's like for young black men living in poverty. Maverick, whose name means "independent thinker" is a 17 year old living with his mother. He is in High School, selling drugs on the streets to get by. His father is in prison (40 to life) for storing cocaine at their home. His dad is known as Big Don, a former gang leader for the King Lords. For Maverick's protection, Maverick is encouraged to join the King Lords. Since he is the son of Big Don, that provides some automatic protection as well. The rival gang is the Garden Disciples.

Maverick has a great support system, which is definitely what he needs. His mother believes that he is not selling drugs, although at the time he was dealing in the "light" drugs, like marijuana. She works two jobs to support them and works really hard at keeping him on the straight and narrow. His cousin, Dre (for Andre) is trying to keep him safe despite being part of a gang. Dre has a positive influence on Mav since Mav sees him committed to his fiancé and little girl, Andreanna. Dre spends more time with his family than participating in gang life. Mav also has a girlfriend, Lisa, who is going places. Her family has money and she is an excellent student attending a private Catholic school. (Obviously they are not fans of Maverick!) Maverick's mother, cousin and girlfriend are the people in his life that tell him he can be whatever he wants to be and that he doesn't have to live the life his father did.

But life always gets in the way. Maverick finds out he is the father of his best friend's (King) ex-girlfriend's baby. They had a one night stand, so to speak, after Lisa temporarily broke up with Mav. The mother of this baby (three months old when Mav finds out) pretty much drops the boy off at Mav's house and leaves him for Mav and his mother to deal with. Maverick stops dealing the marijuana and gets a part-time job at the local grocers. Life is hard. Maverick doesn't make enough money to support his son. He is tired from the baby not sleeping. He is sleeping in school, so failing school. Then things get worse. Much worse! Maverick feels like he is drowning and that his options are limited. His support system falters and he has some important decisions to make.

I loved this book. I thought Maverick was an awesome kid just trying to do the right thing and support his family. He was dealt a tough hand to start with (thanks to his father) and made some really stupid decisions on his own. He never backed down though.

Wendy's Rating: *****

A Very Private School by Charles Spencer

Ultimately, this is a book about childhood trauma. Charles Spencer, whose mother left home for another man, was sent to an exclusive boarding school called Maidwell Hall when he was eight years old. This was a standard thing for the British wealthy to do at the time (and to some extent still today I would guess.) No one could imagine not doing what their peers were doing - and what their brothers, fathers, grandfathers did before them. The British are certainly known for their "stiff upper lip" but it's truly a tragedy that this generation (and those before) sent their very young children off to be raised by a headmaster and teachers in a "sterile" dorm-style environment. Children need a nurturing environment where they feel safe and secure. They were sent to boarding schools so they could learn to be men who were leaders. Of course this meant they learned that to show emotion was a sign of weakness; that physical abuse made them tougher; that sexual abuse was a form of education; that those in charge have all the power. 

It's amazing that more children didn't report the physical and sexual abuse to their parents. Charles, who interviewed many men who attended Maidwell the same years he had and before, discovered that even though some of the boys reported the abuse, the headmaster Porch used humor to redirect parents to another way of thinking about it. He had a way with words, twisting the truth into a message that the parents wanted to believe. Meanwhile he was a sadistic man who found numerous reasons to "punish" the boys - mostly this involved hitting their bottoms (some times bare bottoms) with his hand (including fondling) or an instrument causing significant pain. Boys went home with blood in the underpants - and yet their mothers didn't question this???? Some of these men still have the physical scars today. All of them carry emotional scars.

Charles spent five years (aged 8-13) at Maidwell. This experience has affected his entire life and impacted his relationships negatively. He finally sought therapy and this brought him back to his trauma experience at Maidwell, which seemed to be the origin of his relationship issues. No one is immune from childhood abuse, no matter how much money they have. Obviously we know that Charles' sister, Princess Diana, had her own issues. Hopefully the British Elite are doing things a different way now.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss

I really loved the premise of this story. Ellie & Drake, engaged and planning their upcoming wedding (mostly Drake), they come across an old theater late one night when out on a walk. They enter the theater and buy tickets. The tickets were given to them in a pack of 10 for 10 different visits. That first night they discover the uniqueness of this theater since it shows them their own memories from their childhood. If they come back every Saturday night at midnight, they will be able to enter the theater to see more of their memories - up to nine more visits. Initially, Drake really wants nothing to do with it. Ellie, who had something tragic happen to her in her past that she can't really remember, wants to find out what happened.

As Ellie and Drake continue to go to the theater on Saturdays at midnight, significant events from their lives are unveiled. There are some Saturdays that they skip (because it's too hard, for one or both of them.) They each realize that they don't know as much about each other as they thought. They are both keeping secrets - or at least not sharing important facts about their lives. Ellie never dealt with her tragic event and has a trauma history she can't seem to work through. Well, she never really tried, honestly. She had a lot of one night stands, leaving quickly in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. This is difficult for Drake to watch. Meanwhile, Drake had a long-term committed relationship with a woman (Melinda) that he wanted to marry. In fact, he had actually proposed to her. Drake never shared this with Ellie and Ellie becomes obsessed with Melinda and her prior relationship with Drake.

As the Saturday nights progress and Drake and Ellie are forced to acknowledge their pasts, they also try to figure out their future together. They find out a lot about themselves along the way. Ellie blames herself for something that was out of her control. Drake discovers that he is repeating his past actions with Melinda in present day with Ellie. This, of course, is extremely upsetting to Ellie. She doesn't want to be a "second Melinda" and she questions whether it's Melinda that Drake really wants to be with. It doesn't help that Melinda still sees Drake's mother socially.

I think it would be really hard to watch your past actions on the big screen with your future spouse! It takes a maturity that many people wouldn't have to work through all the discoveries and move beyond them. This book definitely underscores the importance of working through hard things in your life so that it doesn't impact the rest of your life negatively. Very interesting book!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar by Katie Yee

Fortunately, this was a short book. This was one of those books that I was fine when I was reading it, but I had to force myself to pick it back up. It was well-written, but it just wasn't my cup of tea, so to speak. There were certainly a lot of insightful comments and observations, and some things I could relate to, but it simply didn't hold my interest for a sustained period of time.

A Chinese woman marries an American and they have two children, Noah & Lila. The narrator (we don't know her name) goes out to dinner one night with her husband, Sam, and he unexpectantly announces to her that he is having an affair with a woman named Maggie and he wants a divorce. Being a product of her Chinese environment, she doesn't show any emotion at the restaurant (doesn't want to cause a scene) or in Sam's presence at all. She is deeply affected by this information however. Shortly after learning about her husband's affair, she finds out she has breast cancer. Her best friend, Darlene, suggests that she name the lump (cancer) in her breast. She names it "Maggie".

There are some funny comments in the book. You can tell that the author is intelligent. The story just didn't hold my interest. My favorite character was Darlene, simply because she was a tried and true friend of the narrator. She was the "rock", the foundation for the narrator to start building a new life upon. I didn't connect to any of the characters though, which made it difficult to finish reading. The narrator doesn't even share her breast cancer diagnosis with her husband, which is understandable on one level, but since she was the primary caregiver of their two young children after he left her, I thought it was a weird decision. Anyway, I finished the book because I wanted to give it a fair chance. But again, it wasn't for me.

Wendy's Rating: ***

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

This was Stacy Willingham's debut novel and I actually liked it better than the novel I just read by her (Forget Me Not). The protagonist is Chloe Davis, a psychologist with a significant trauma history herself. When she was 12 years old, her father admitted to killing six teenage girls (aged 15) in their small town. Chloe and her brother, Cooper, who is 15, are pretty much left to fend for themselves since their mother never recovers from the charges against her husband and his confession. She tried to commit suicide but is saved before she actually died. She lives in a nursing home with no ability to speak, however. Not much of a life. 

A Flicker in the Dark takes place 20 years after her father goes to prison. Chloe has never spoken to her father in prison. In fact, the 20th anniversary of this horrific event is approaching. A journalist keeps contacting Chloe and asking if she will talk about the impact her father's actions. Chloe doesn't want to talk to him initially, but eventually does and they start working together after two teenagers (aged 15) are taken and murdered exactly like the teens from 20 years previously. Chloe & Aaron believe it's a "copy cat" at work, especially since Chloe knew the two teens killed and one was discovered behind her own office building.

Chloe keeps a drawer full of medications in her office (prescribed by herself to her fiancé, Daniel, who doesn't even know about the pills.) She keeps them "just in case" she can't handle her life at any given time. Daniel is super supportive and kind, but Chloe's brother, Cooper, doesn't like (or trust) Daniel at all. Daniel and Chloe got involved with each other quickly and were engaged within one year of them meeting (accidently). Their wedding is fast approaching.

Daniel is on the road a lot, but he lives with Chloe in her house when he is home. Daniel is no stranger to tragedy himself, since his own sister was abducted when she was a young girl and he left home as soon as he was old enough. He doesn't talk about his parents to Chloe.

With Chloe's mental health deteriorating with the new murders, she doesn't know what's going on (and neither do we!) She, very unexpectedly, is thrown together with the father of one of the girls that her father murdered. Ironically, he comes over (called by Daniel) to install a security system in her house. From that point on, this book is a wild ride! I really enjoyed the twists and turns, and even though I suspected who might be behind it all, the story was definitely intriguing. I really liked it.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

This is the 7th installment of the Cormoran Strike series. I savored every minute of it! I absolutely love this series and if I ever rated books 6 stars, this would be a candidate. JK Rowling is one of my favorite authors of all time. Her novels are so well-thought out, organized and intelligent. Her writing style sucks you in from page one. The development of Cormoran & Robin's relationship - both professionally and personally - is also an important aspect of this series.

In this book, they are hired by a man, Sir Colin Edensor, who wants to get his son, Will, out of a religious cult called the Universal Humanitarian Church (UHC). The UHC's main base is at Chapman Farm in Norfolk. It's decided that Robin will go undercover and infiltrate the church so that she can talk to Will. This takes some planning - and money. The UHC invite people in to the church who are wealthy and open to focused humanitarian goals. Meaning, they have to shut out the materialistic world, including their families. Robin borrows clothes from Strike's wealthy sister, Prudence to "look the part". They make a plan for communication because she's not allowed to bring anything with her except for three pairs of underwear. No electronics, no pens or paper. They are provided with clothing. Strike and his team investigate the Chapman Farm property very thoroughly to find a blind spot in their cameras posted on the property. They place a fake rock in the blind spot so that Robin and Strike can pass messages back and forth to each other every Thursday night. The emergency plan is that if there is no message from Robin on Friday, they will wait and check the rock on Saturday and one more time on Sunday. If Robin can't get to the rock by Sunday, Strike will enter Chapman Farm to "rescue" her. At the time, I think they really thought he could do this!

Robin spends four weeks undercover on Chapman Farm and it's intense. This book really delves into how individuals can be absolutely brainwashed into thinking a certain way. They are nearly starved, work constantly, forced to worship certain prophets, listen to lectures for hours. It was a grueling environment which involved sexual relations on demand, punishments that caused pain, injuries, suffering and humiliation, and sometimes death. The mental abuse was even worse than the physical abuse. Very powerful example of how difficult it is for people to leave a cult. Robin certainly had her challenges and I wasn't exactly sure how she would get out. Her escape was daring and brave.

Robin's month with the UHC was only part of the story. Once she is out, she is accused of child abuse (sexual) by the UHC. Both Robin and Comoran have things written about them online that are not flattering, to say the least. Robin is dating Ryan Murphy, the police officer, but Ryan is starting to get leery of Robin's relationship with Strike. Everyone does eventually, right? Comoran makes a terrible choice by sleeping with a woman who is the lover of a important man, so that blows up in his face. Then there is Charlotte, who continues to try to insert herself into Strike's life. She ends up doing something so shocking it really took me off guard. While all of this is going on, Robin & Strike are trying to track down former members of the UHC so they can get the proof they need to take the entire organization down. They have people following them; witnesses (former UHC members who got out) being murdered or committing suicide; an employee that Strike discovers is a plant by another detective agency; and finally their feelings for each other that neither one can actually admit to. This is an action-packed story at 960 pages and I hated when it ended. I loved the ending though! :)

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Overlook by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #13. This almost felt like a Bosch "novella". Even with an extra chapter added at some point, the book was only 262 pages long, which is not typical for Michael Connelly. Harry has changed jobs again. Now he is part of the Homicide Special Squad and his supervisor is Larry Gandle. If a murder happens that potentially has connections to politics, celebrity or the media, the case is usually handed to Homicide Special. Harry also has a new partner, Ignacio Ferras. "Iggy" is young and isn't exactly thrilled with the way that Harry does things. Iggy would actually like to keep his job! Go figure.

This case involves the execution of a doctor (Stanley Kent) and radioactive material that puts humans at risk of death if they are exposed to it. Since it's a matter of national security, the FBI are also involved. This brings Harry back in Rachel's environment. Despite this "perk", Harry never works well with the FBI. He wants to focus on catching the murderer (and hides a key witness from the FBI, which obviously doesn't sit well with them), and the FBI is focused on recovering the radioactive material. Both are admirable goals. Harry just doesn't trust the FBI and he hates being shut out of his own case. So he acts accordingly, and predictably - for him.

As all parties follow their individual investigations, based on knowledge they each have - and knowledge they don't have but are seeking because it's being kept from them - they each reach their own conclusions about the events that happened and why. Harry actually gets to the truth first (big surprise, ha!) It's an ending that I didn't suspect. And Harry manages to convince Rachel to ride along with him as he connects the final pieces of the puzzle, which is an accomplishment in and of itself! I do like Rachel better than his past loves, so I wouldn't be opposed to her returning to his life. ;)

Wendy's Rating: ****

Echo Park by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #12. Harry & Kiz Rider are still partners in the Open-Unsolved Unit. They have been working cold cases while Harry continues to pull his own cold case files from time to time to see if he can solve one of his own unsolved cases. He does this in his "down time". One of the cases that has always bothered him was the disappearance of a 22 year old woman, Marie Gesto, whose car was found in an unused garage of an apartment building 13 years previously. Presumed dead, her body was never found and neither was the killer. Now, a man who was pulled over by the police due to a license plate error (the license plate number was entered incorrectly, so the police officer thought it was a stolen car) had two large garbage bags on the floor in front of the passenger seat. Inside the garbage bags were two women cut up into pieces. This man's name is Raynard Waits. He is charged with the murder of these two women, but said that he killed Marie Gesto too and that he could lead them to her body if they took the death penalty off the table. He said he could lead them to another male victim's body as well and tell them about six more murder victims.

Harry doesn't want to make a deal with him initially, but eventually realizes that it's important to find these missing people so that their families finally know what happened to their loved ones. Raynard says he needs to lead Harry & Co to Marie's body since they wouldn't be able to find it on their own. They agree to this plan, but Raynard will be in chains and heavily guarded. Raynard does lead them to Marie's body, but on the way back to the vehicles, things goes awry. Two police officers are killed, Kiz in seriously injured, and Raynard escapes.

These books always have twists and turns in the story that you know will be coming, but you don't know when or in what direction they will lead the story next. That's what I love about them. Things are never what they seem to be. Even Harry has a hard time figuring out how Raynard's escape actually happened, what happened with Kiz (who was standing near Raynard when he grabbed an officer's gun and killed him and his partner), and if someone on the police department was involved in this escape.

One thing that is really consistent with Harry, is that he always manages to trash his relationships with women he genuinely cares about. In this book, he reconnects with Rachel Walling from the FBI. Things are going really well with them, until they aren't. Typical Harry.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt

This story has two narrators: Gretchen and Phoenix. They are both young adults (19 and 20 by the end of the book.) They are both trauma survivors from different cultures who happen to connect. Gretchen was brutally assaulted one night by a young latino man. She was scarred by this attack and it derailed her life, despite the support of two very loving parents. Phoenix was living with two women in America, having escaped gang life in El Salvador. He escaped with his younger brother, Ari. It took them four months to get through Mexico and eventually to the US where Phoenix was sent to a detention center and Ari was sent to live in a place for minor chidren in Texas. Ari (short for Arizona) stopped speaking once he arrived in Texas, presumeably from the horrors he experienced trying to get from El Salvador to the US riding on top of trains, working in the drug fields, witnessing death of those who didn't make it. Phoenix's hosts in America were Sally and Amanda. They took him in and gave him a home. Phoenix had to wear an ankle bracelet for tracking purposes and he could not ever step outside the 20 mile radius from their home. He was waiting for his court date to see if he could stay in America or would be deported back to El Salvador.

I have read another book, a biography, of a young man who rode the trains to reach America. In both books, their mothers left them in the care of their grandmothers to travel to America (illegally) to earn a wage to send back to their children. The other story was much more powerful in what it was exposing when it talks about the separation of families and the dangers of these kids trying to reach America. Phoenix's mother came back to El Salvador once, when he was around 7 years old, got pregnant with Ari, and then left again for America when Ari was still an infant. She sent money until Ari was about 3 years old and then they never heard from her again. Once their grandmother died, Phoenix was branded by a gang, and Ari was targeted for induction into a gang, Phoenix knew he had to save Ari from his own experience. Phoenix was forced to participate in a gruesome death of a rival gang member when he was only 13 years old.

Gretchen had a boyfriend who she had been dating for 2 1/2 years. He was a year older than her and in his freshman year of college. Even though he was very supportive and seemed to love her, Gretchen's traumatic assault changed their relationship and they drifted apart. Gretchen couldn't seem to work through her trauma, despite supportive parents, a therapist and an incredible best friend. She broke up with her boyfriend and promptly pursued a relationship with Phoenix. Definitely two troubled souls finding each other.

I read a lot of youth fiction and non-fiction. I've been trying to determine why I didn't love this book. The messages were important, but I think the writing style wasn't for me. Trauma is such a complex issue - and certainly gang life is a tragedy in and of itself. Then there is the painful truths of poverty and loss. This book addresses all of this, but not with a depth that I would have expected. I didn't feel authenticity in the voices.

Wendy's Rating: ***1/2

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

I enjoyed this book, even though the beginning was a tad slow for me. There were certainly some surprises along the way, however. At times I was suspicious of various characters - and some I had a right to be as evidenced by the ending - but I still enjoyed how the story unfolded.

The protagonist is Claire Campbell, a journalist whose older sister, Natalie, disappeared 22 years previously at the age of 18. Claire is estranged from her parents, especially her mother, and keeps herself closed off from her friends. She doesn't get the promotion she was expecting, so she quits her job. Then, her dad calls her and asks her to go visit her mother, who fell and was injured. She hasn't been home since she left after high school. Claire is not in a good place, to put it simply.

Since she is unemployed, she decides to go home. Her arrival to her mother's home (her childhood home) doesn't inspire any warm & fuzzy feelings. She overhears her mother complaining to her father about Claire's visit. Her parents have been divorced since Natalie's disappearance, but her dad still keeps tabs on her mother. (Still loves her, actually.) Claire decides to leave after one night. She ends up getting a seasonal job at a vineyard called Galloway Farms, which is a place that Natalie had briefly worked the summer she disappeared. It's hard labor, but the job provides a place to live, food, and a wage. Claire figures it will buy her some time before she crawls back to her former employer and asks for her job back.

Claire finds a journal hidden in her cabin almost immediately. It's the diary written by Marcia Galloway, the wife of the man (Mitchell) that owns Galloway Farms. She starts to read it and the knowledge she gains about her employers leads her down a dangerous path. She becomes suspicious of Mitchell Galloway, especially after she starts connecting the dots between him, his wife Marcia, who was reported missing when she was a teenager, other missing girls, and her sister Natalie. Claire's journalistic nature kicks into high gear, which puts her life in danger. Things do get a bit tense at this point. I read the last 75 pages at a fast pace!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart

Another important story about the horror of the Holocaust. This one focuses on the babies who were born at Auschwitz between 1943-1945 with the assistance of a Polish, Christian midwife by the name of Stanislawa Leszczynska. Since this is not her biography, the author represented her in the book using the name of Ana Kaminski. Stanislawa/Ana was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau for supporting the resistance, of which her three sons and eventually her husband were a part of. At Auschwitz, she is known to have assisted in over 3,000 births. Unfortunately, most of those babies did not survive after birth. The Jewish babies were put to death almost immediately. Some babies were eventually part of the Lebensborn Program. This program took blond haired babies and children away from their mothers and sent them to German homes to be raised. Ana and her assistant, Ester Abrams, who was Jewish but trained to be a nurse, decided to secretly tattoo the armpits of newborns to be taken by the Lebensborn Program with their mother's number so that they could potentially be reunited after the war. As much as I have read about Auschwitz, this is something that I didn't know about. The bravery and survival of these women and others is simply astounding. It's incredible how much the human body can endure if the will to survive is strong.

This story starts in 1939 in Lodz, Poland. The horror for these people begins when the Jewish people were informed that they needed to move their families to a specific part of the city that was set up as a "Jewish Ghetto". In order to establish this ghetto, Polish Christians were forced to move out of the area as well. The Jewish people were crammed into homes, with different families living together. The Christians forced to move were told to find a different home, mostly the homes that the Jews were forced to leave. Initially, these people were told they could voluntarily move to a "camp" instead of staying in the Lodz ghetto. This was before people realized the Nazis' intent was to use these camps as death camps for the Jewish people and others with non-Aryan traits. Ana & Ester's story starts here and follows them to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they stay until January 27, 1945, their day of liberation.

The horrors of Auschwitz are well-known by now, but there are so many levels and aspects to this horror that I learn something new with every book I read about World War II. My heart breaks more with every story. As painful as the details are, the spirit, bravery, and perserverance for life of all those that suffered and/or survived keeps me reading.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild

This book had a surprising twist at the beginning of the story! Reading the jacket cover synopsis does not prepare you for the actual storyline. I actually re-read the synopsis to see if I had misinterpreted what the story was about. Nope. It's just cleverly written to not give anything away. I will try not to give too much away in my review either, but you probably shouldn't read this if you haven't read the book yet.

The narrator is Honor. Her father, deceased, was English and her mother is French, so she is bilingual. Honor, her husband Tom, and their daughter, Chloe, spend every Christmas in France, but they live in England. Honor is not close to her mother, who lives in France, and rarely sees her. Honor & Tom have some super close friends at home, Lauren (divorced) and Annie & Oliver, who are more like their family. The story starts at Christmas in France. Honor & Tom are struggling a bit in their marriage because Honor is obssessed with having a second child after suffering 5 miscarriages. Tom appears to be "over it". And even if he isn't permanently over it, he truely wants to spend Christmas with their daughter NOT talking about it. Honor can just not let it go. They had finally decided to use a surrogate, as well as an egg donor. The implantation had already occurred but they didn't know if it was successful yet. Honor wants to contact the surrogate (Jess) to see if she would take an early pregnancy test (7 days earlier than recommended), but Tom really puts his foot down.

The name of the egg donor is Grace. She requested that her name be forever confidential. It was considered a "closed" donation. Honor chose her specifically for Grace's profile and they referred to their egg donor as "Dunkirk". They knew she lived in Italy and what she looked like, but that's about it. One day a letter arrives, addressed to Tom. He opens it, but realizes it was sent to him by mistake. It was supposed to be sent to Grace, their egg donor. So now he knows the name of their egg donor who wanted to not ever be known. Now the moral dilema of the book. Should Grace be informed that her confidential identity has been revealed?

This sets up the rest of the book as a wild ride for sure! At one point (maybe two) I had to put the book down briefly to "re-group" because the consequences of Tom's actions were difficult to stomach. One thing leads to another, etc. I definitely enjoyed the book, but sometimes it was like watching a train wreck!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

It took me some time to get into this book. I guess I didn't find it "wickedly funny" or "hilarious" like so many other people have. But, the longer I read, the more value I found in it. On the surface, Lila drove me crazy. She was so spoiled and entitled. Spending a million dollars on her wedding? What a waste! And I couldn't figure out why the beautiful, privileged, self-involved young woman would spend her time in a stranger's (Phoebe's) suite instead of celebrating her wedding week with her friends and family. Although she was so self-absorbed, she didn't even seem to like her friends and family. Meanwhile, Phoebe is trying to follow through with a plan to kill herself because she felt her life was at a dead end.

Once I got past all of that, I started seeing each character for the multi-layered people that they were - and I could actually identify with some of the decisions they were making. Phoebe's husband cheated on her with her best friend; she was in a dead end job - at the same school that her husband, Matt, and her friend, Mia taught at too; she was infertile; she was depressed; her beloved cat died. So, she booked a room at an extravagant hotel (where she had wanted to vacation with her husband but he planned a different, ordinary trip for them) so that she could end her life. The first thing I loved about Phoebe was her deciding to spend the last day of her life being brutally honest about everything. It's so hard to tell the truth. She boldly tells Lila that she came to the hotel to end her life. Lila gets upset because she doesn't want Phoebe's death to ruin her wedding.

Phoebe and Lila strike up an unlikely friendship, but once the reader gets to know Lila better, it's more understandable. Lila is also very unhappy in her life, despite "having it all." Her finance, Gary is also not really himself. He is chasing happiness while being very sad (still) about the death of his first wife. Then there is Jim, Gary's best man and the brother of his dead wife, Wendy. All four of these people are struggling and they have spent too many years living their lives being pushed into a direction that isn't right for them, simply because they don't know how to get out of the choices they have made. And it's too hard to tell people the truth of how they are feeling.

I absolutely loved the last 100 pages of the book. Phoebe explains to the bride and bridesmaids what Cubism is. There is a painting of Lila's naked mother painted in the Cubism style that was gifted to Gary after he visited the gallery that Lila worked at. She thought he loved it and understood art. He didn't realize it was Lila's mother. Anyway, Phoebe explains that, "...it was an artistic and intellectual movement in the early twentieth century. They believed if you aren't seeing something from all sides, you aren't seeing it fully." This, of course, is the theme of the book. Then, Marla (Gary's sister who had an affair), told Phoebe that "[t]he affair is the easy way out - the fantasy of believing someone else can give you what you don't know how to give yourself." Another quote from the end of the book explains the same sentiment in a different way. Phoebe contemplates that "[i]t is so much easier to sit in things and wait for something to save us. Phoebe sat in the bad things the way she used to sit in the snow as a child."

I loved the people these characters decided to be by the end of the book. Lots of honesty (finally) and lots of growth. 

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Closers by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #11. Harry is finally back in the LAPD after a three year retirement. Yay! He is partnered up again with Kiz Rider and they have been assigned to a new branch of the Robbery-Homicide Division called the Open-Unsolved Unit. Basically, they will be looking at cold cases. Abel Pratt is the officer in charge of the unit and he seems to like and respect Harry. Double yay! This gives Harry a fighting chance. Ha! Harry & Kiz' first case comes from a "cold hit", meaning that there is a DNA match on a 17 year old case of a murdered 16 year old girl taken from her home one night and found murdered near her home days later. The killer was never caught; a motive never discovered. Now they have a DNA match on the gun that was used in the murder, but the gun is missing from the evidence room.

Harry and Kiz start by reviewing the murder book and interviewing the applicable people attached to the original investigation. One of the original detectives committed suicide a few years after the murder, but the second detective had been promoted a few times and was a Commander now in the LAPD. With Harry's luck, it doesn't take long for him to suspect a cover-up by none other than Deputy Chief Irvin Irving, his nemesis. He also suspects a racial motive to the murder since the victim, Rebecca, was bi-racial and it was 1988 in Los Angeles, CA. There was no mention of a racial motive in the murder book, but the DNA match ties the gun to Roland Mackey, a member of the white supremist group called the Chatsworth Eights.

What I love about Harry is how persistent he is. He is a man of action. He comes up with a plan to "trap" Roland Mackey so they can figure out who he gave the gun to, which ended up being the murder weapon. He doesn't necessarily think that Roland killed Rebecca, but he believes that Roland knows - or helped - the person that did. Unfortunately, Harry's plan goes awry. The unexpected happens and it's not good. With Harry's new job on the line, he goes home and independently starts over again with the murder book. Back to the drawing board. All I will say is "a picture is worth a thousand words". Harry figures out what's been bothering him about the crime scene photos from 1988. Not only does Harry find the murderer, but there is more good news at the end of this book. There is your incentive to read it! :)

Wendy's Rating: ****

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

I loved, loved, loved this book. It is so well written. The writing is intelligent, thought-provoking, insightful, painful, heart wrenching, sad, and ultimately hopeful. It's almost 600 pages long, but I didn't want to put it down. These characters touched my soul. There were also twists and turns that I absolutely didn't see coming.

The main characters are Patch and Saint. They are young teens when the novel begins. Patch only has one eye, so he wears a patch over his missing eye. Therefore his name. He is also referred to as the Pirate, which he is fine with. Pirates are his passion and he knows a lot about them. He and his mother are dirt poor, and his mother spends her days & nights drinking. His uniqueness keeps potential friends away, with the exception of Saint. (On a side note, I happened to rewatch the movie Forrest Gump while reading this book and Patch & Saint's relationship reminded me a lot of Forrest & Jenny's!) Anyway, Saint befriends him, accepting his uniqueness and less desirable activities (ie stealing). She accepts him for who he is. 

One day, Patch witnesses the potential abduction of a female classmate and he intervenes. The girl, Misty, is saved, but Patch disappears. No one knows what happened to him because Misty ran away when Patch told her to run. So there were no witnesses. Everyone searches for Patch, but he is not found and eventually the whole town thinks he is dead except for Saint. She continues to persistently search for Patch, knowing that he is alive. She has the support of the police chief, Chief Nix, who looks out after her on a personal level. Saint's mother is dead and her grandmother is raising her. Chief Nix doesn't exactly believe that Patch is still alive, but he believes in Saint.

Saint eventually (after several months) finds Patch alive, although he is traumatized. Patch insists that he was taken care of by a girl named Grace all the months he was missing. He was kept in a dark place. No light at all. He never saw the girl, but she told him stories and fed him antibiotics when he was ill, and held him. She would leave at times when summoned by the man that took him. Patch's fear was that one day she wouldn't return. When Patch is rescued, there is no sign of Grace. Patch is consumed by her, however, and this changes the trajectory of his life again: looking for Grace. No one knows if Grace actually existed, or if Patch's traumatized brain imagined her.

Meanwhile, Misty, the wealthy and beautiful classmate that he saved from abduction, is eternally grateful for Patch saving her life. She wants to be near him. So does Saint. Patch wants to find Grace. The focal point in the lives of these three people stems from Patch's abduction. It changes the rest of their lives. The rest of the book (which is incredibly written) is Misty loving Patch; Saint loving Patch - and believing in him, which is most important; Patch searching for Grace.

I can count on one hand how many books I have wanted to start over after finishing it. This is one of them.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand

I don't typically read a lot of "beach reads", but when I do, I usually like them. I found myself rolling my eyes, sighing heavily and putting the book down with this one. It just seemed so superficial. You have a group of wealthy, entitled people living on Nantucket worried about what they are wearing and who gets accepted in the privileged club of the hour. I guess I like my books with a little more "meat" to them. I did not care about these people. I could not relate to these people. Their problems were clearly and abundantly "First World". Upper class First World.

The new couple in town, Bull & Leslee, drove me crazy. These are not people I would want to spend my time with! Leslee fawning over every young attractive man who enters her presence. Bull casually overlooking how foolish Leslee makes him look. Leslee treating Coco like a servant, always at her beck and call. The whole thing was ridiculous. People just throwing their money around.

So, now for what I liked about the book. I liked the budding relationship between Sharon and Romeo, until she derailed it by thinking she should give her loser, cheating husband a second chance. Seriously, what was that about? Romeo was my favorite character in the book. He seemed to be the only person who was loyal, honest, and living his life with the best of intentions. I pretty much guessed how the Richardson's house burnt down, but I really didn't know what happened to Coco. I was interested in finding out what happened to her. I wasn't sure what to think of her relationship with Lamont. For a long time I thought Lamont was simply a womanizer, so I wasn't sure he was a good fit for Coco. I was happy to find out he was a good guy who actually loved Coco. Finally, the end of the book threw me for a loop. I wasn't expecting it, so that was a surprise for sure.

I can honestly say this was my least favorite Elin Hilderbrand book, and I've read a few.

Wendy's Rating: ***

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

I never know how much I'm going to like "much-hyped" books, but I really did love this one. It's my first book by this author. The story is set in 1789 Maine. The main character is Martha Ballard, a midwife. Martha is married to a wonderful man, Ephraim, and they are happily married. This is always a refreshing change! They love each other, respect each other, support each other and trust each other. They had nine children, six still living. (Three children died from illness when they were young.) Their oldest son, Cyrus, is mute. This seems to be a result of the illness that killed his siblings. Unfortunately this fact hinders his chances at finding a wife and having the children he would love to have. Back in the 1700s, many people were illiterate. So even though Cyrus could write his thoughts (thanks to Martha), most people couldn't actually read them!

One night at a "Frolic", which is like a town dance, a man (recently accused of rape) tries repeatedly to get one of Martha's daughters (Hannah) to dance with him. Hannah does not want to and Cyrus steps in and this interference ends up in a fist fight between the two men. Later that night (after midnight) this same man is found dead in the river. Cyrus is accused of murdering him (eventually). The complication is that Martha sees the dead man first and declares it a murder by hanging, but the new Harvard-educated medical doctor in town insists that it's an accidental drowning. A third party eventually agrees with Martha, but then Cyrus is accused of the murder.

The wealthy Judge North, who runs the town, was also accused of raping the same woman as the man who was murdered. He exerts his power continuously to shape the narrative. Martha's goal is to expose him for the man he is. Martha also wants to defend the honor of the woman who was raped, Rebecca Foster, who happens to be the wife of the minister. He was out of town when it happened. Rebecca finds herself pregnant as a result of the brutal rape. Ultimately, North wants to beat the rape charge and take over the majority of the town's property, including the homestead, mill, and acreage of the Ballards. They have lived there for 12 years. Martha & Ephraim have their work cut out for them as they try to stop this evil man they have actually known since they were young teenagers.

Great storytelling! Lots of different things happening between the births, rapes, court cases, children finding their "mates" for life, and of course the frozen river, which is a central piece of the landscape.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

This was not my favorite book by Kate Quinn, but I did like it for what it is. I guess I'm used to her writing about a specific time in history that includes historical people. This story takes place in the 1950s during McCarthyism, McCarthy's pursuit of communists living in America. The Red Scare. The main characters are women living in a boardinghouse (Briarwood House) in Washington DC and their various male friends. We are introduced to each of them, peripherally, at the beginning. Then each woman narrates a chapter and we really get to know them. I really liked this method of developing each character. People are often different than their persona. Digging deeper in each life gives the reader a new perspective on them as people, and we gain knowledge about their histories: why they act the way they do; what inner turmoil they might have experienced, or are currently experiencing; why they make the choices that they do. Briarwood House is also the narrator for some chapters. I guess you could consider it yet another perspective, but I kind of thought it was weird. It didn't add anything for me.

Grace March is the woman who brings everyone else in the house together. She is the personification of her name. She treats each person with grace, dignity and respect and she marches forward with all of her many plans. Great name for her! Grace has good insight into other people and always seems to know when someone needs help, support, or simply to talk. Nora falls in love with a gangster (who calls himself a "businessman", which she doesn't buy into). Nora is a strong woman and breaks off the relationship with Xavier even though she loves him because his actions go against her beliefs/morals. She comes from a family of crooked cops and has separated herself from them as well. Fliss is a young, beautiful woman married to a military man who is a doctor, who is in high demand during the Korean War. She is left to raise their young daughter alone, waiting for him to return from the war. This is why she is living in the boardinghouse. Reka is an older Jewish woman who escaped the Nazis during World War II. She was an artist whose prized possessions were stolen from her once she arrived in America. Bea was a professional baseball player in the All-American Girls League, but her career ended due to an injury. Claire is gay and in love with a woman. She had to try to keep this a secret of course since gay people were persecuted in America along with the suspected communists in the 1950s. (And long after of course.) And then there is Arlene, who I really couldn't stand. She was the type of woman who would report anything and everything if it allowed her to advance her career.

Anyway, each of these woman were silently suffering alone, until Grace March moved in. She changed all of their lives for the better. We don't get the scoop on Grace until the end of the book. One insight into Grace comes near the beginning, however. She is talking to Nora about Xavier and his profession and she says, "Violent men who are also smart and strong are not completely lost causes. They can learn different ways, if they choose. It's the weak ones who cause the most damage. Nothing wreaks havoc like a weak man - because they never learn, so they just go blithely on, leaving pain and wreckage behind them."

The historical part of this fiction comes from the characters being blends of real people in history.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is a 5-star read, but it's my least favorite of the trilogy. It's really hard for me to read about Peeta trying to kill Katniss due to President Snow hijacking his brain. Also, I really hate that one of my very favorite characters dies. One thing I have really noticed in my re-read of this series is that there are a lot more injuries in the books than in the movies. Most of the main characters suffer significant injuries in the books that lays them up for awhile. I guess including the injuries in the movie would have slowed down the action a bit though. Even in the books they rarely mention Peeta's prosthetic leg.

There were certainly things that I had forgotten in this book, just like the other books. First of all, District 13 had been the center of the Capitol's nuclear weapons development program. I don't remember them talking about this in the movies. Also, Katniss wonders why Haymitch doesn't have any family or people he cares about. She finds out from Haymitch himself that two weeks after the end of his hunger games, his mother, brother and girlfriend were all dead. We know now (after reading Sunrise on the Reaping) that Haymitch was punished for his acts of rebellion in the second Quarter Quell games. He was held as the example to future victors about what could happen if they caused any problems in the games. Thirdly, they didn't send Primrose to talk to Peeta after he is "rescued" from the Capitol. They sent Delly Cartwright in to talk to him. Delly was a childhood friend of Peeta and a classmate of Katniss. The result of her visit was the same however. He warned her about Katniss, calling her a "stinking mutt".

One thing I loved about the book is when Haymitch put Katniss in her place regarding how she was treating Peeta. He tells Katniss that she is "punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control." He asks her if their positions were reversed, would Peeta treat her the way she was treating him. She acknowledges to herself that, "He would be trying to get me back at any cost. Not shutting me out, abandoning me, greeting me with hostility at every turn." Gotta love Haymitch! One thing I was disappointed in was the lack of Effie's presence in this book. She was more of a main character in the movie. One other odd change. At the end of the movie, Katniss is holding a baby and watching Peeta play with their young, blond, curly-haired son. In the book, Katniss remembers, "It took five, ten, fifteen years for me to agree. But Peeta wanted them so badly." They actually have a daughter first, with dark hair and blue eyes. Their second child is a son with blond curls and gray eyes. Why the change??

Love, love, love this series!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Wow! I should have re-read this book a long time ago. There is so much more information and so many more relationships in the book than they put in the movie. There is also lots of "foreshadowing" about what we learn in the two prequel books. I guess this is why I always like books better than the movies - unless enough time has passed between reading the book & watching the movie. Catching Fire is actually my favorite of the four movies. That will continue to be the case, but I had forgotten a lot of the details that are presented in the first half of this book. Once we get to the Third Quarter Quell games, the movie follows the book really closely.

Some of the significant pieces of information I got out of reading this book nearly a decade after reading it the first time are as follows.

1) Katniss & Peeta watch the tape of the second Quarter Quell, which is the year that Haymitch won. They see President Snow drawing an envelope out of a container and announcing how the games will be different. In Haymitch's games it was drawing twice as many names from each district to compete in the games.

2) They see Maysilee Donner's name drawn, who Katniss now knows was her mother's friend. Since Maysilee was a twin, we find out that Madge's mother (the Mayor's wife) was the twin sister. This explains why Madge is so friendly with Katniss. Since the movie doesn't include Madge at all, we miss all of this information.

3) We get a glimpse of young Haymitch and his approach to the games. He was "Snarky. Arrogant. Indifferent." Of course we see this in Sunrise on the Reaping.

4) Peeta is actually the tribute who paints the depiction of Rue lying on the ground surrounded by the flowers that Katniss had placed there after her death. The Gamemakers cleaned it all up before Katniss even entered the room to show off her "talent", so she doesn't even see it. She does indeed hang up a dummy and write "Seneca Crane" on the front though.

5) Plutarch Heavensbee shows Katniss his watch when he asks her to dance at the Capitol when they are doing their Victory Tour. There is a picture of a mockingjay that lights up and he states, "It starts at midnight." Of course once Katniss is in the games and they figure out the arena is set up like a clock, she remembers him telling her this. This is obviously a huge clue that Plutarch is part of the rebellion.

6) Toward the end of the games, District 3 keeps sending the allies (Katniss & co) bread. Each delivery of bread (the number of rolls) represented the day and time the allies were supposed to break out of the arena.

These are just a few things I noted. It was incredibly interesting to re-read this book!

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I first read this book 9 or 10 years ago. Or should I say I "devoured" it. I immediately read Catching Fire and Mockingjay to finish out the trilogy. I absolutely loved it. I consider it my favorite trilogy of all time. When the movies came out, I loved them just as much. Absolutely the best casting decisions were made for all characters. I have seen the movies many, many, many times. This summer I decided I should go back to the original source, but I was nervous about it too, because I didn't want the books to be different than I remembered. Typically, books are much better than the movies made to represent them, but I love the movies so much. This post will be more about the things I forgot because it didn't make it in to the movie - and my different perceptions of the characters.

The one thing I have always remembered is that Primrose did not give Katniss the mockingjay pin. The Mayor's daughter, Madge, gave her the pin. Madge and Katniss were friends in the books, which they definitely cut out of the movies. This is an interesting choice since the mockingjay represents a time when the Capitol tried to control the districts and it backfired on them. So the Mayor's daughter giving this to Katniss to wear in the games relays a significant meaning. The character of Katniss in the book is more friendly and more vulnerable. There are times that she is unsure of what to do. She smiles more readily. That vulnerability doesn't come across in the movie. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen is tough. I had a hard time with this character difference since I adore Jennifer as Katniss!

In the movie, we all know that Peeta genuinely loves Katniss and has since they were young children. But Katniss doesn't necessarily know the depth of his feelings. In the book, she does have a better sense of that. She also kisses him much more freely and more often in the book, during and after the games. But she also struggles with her feelings for Gale. I remember when I first read this trilogy I actually didn't know who she was going to choose in the end. (I was just praying that it was Peeta!) Some of the movie scenes were taken almost verbatim from the book, which I loved. In the book, Gale tells Katniss that he loves her and she stumbles around responding the same way she did in the movie.

I know certain things are cut out of a movie due to time constraints, but one thing I had completely forgotten was how the end of the games played out with Cato. In the book, Cato is being chased by the mutts and runs to the cornucopia to try to escape them. Katniss and Peeta follow him, but Peeta gets severely injured by a mutt who attacks his leg. The mutts are designed to look like/represent the fallen tributes - same eyes/eye color, hair color, size. When Katniss frees Peeta from Cato's grip by shooting Cato with an arrow, Cato does fall to be eaten alive by the mutts, but he suffers for hours and hours! In the book, Cato is wearing a sort of "suit of armor" which protects his body. This makes it more difficult for him to be killed by the mutts. (Ironic, right?) Katniss and Peeta listen to him suffer all night long before they decide that Katniss should relieve him from his misery. Truly gruesome and I absolutely see why they did not put this in the movie. Good decision. It was awful to even read. Peeta ends up with a prosthetic leg! I had completely forgotten that!

There is lot of foreshadowing, which obviously I missed when reading the first time. Katniss' father was musical - and so is she. She stopped singing after her father's death, but now we know from the prequels that her dad was connected to the Covey, the nomadic group that adopted Lucy Gray Baird, Coriolanus Snow's first love. Suzanne Collins must have an amazing story board to keep writing books so different in time and connecting all the pieces. Very impressive. One last thing I loved is Haymitch referring to Katniss as "sweetheart" like he does in the movies. Every single time he called her that in the book, I got a smile on my face because it sounds just like Woody Harrelson as Haymitch in the movie. Great, great casting!

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

After I finished this book, I had to go back and re-read the last 25 pages to make sure I understand what really happened! There are three different narrators and they don't necessarily know what the others have experienced. It all starts 50 years previously when a brother and sister (Danny & Poppy) are found murdered in their home. The main suspect is their brother (Vincent), although he and his mother have an alibi that was confirmed by a school teacher, Mr. Stewart. No arrests were made. Now in present day, Vincent is a highly successful author, but living alone. Lydia, his wife, left him and their daughter many years ago. When their daughter Olivia was 14 years old, Vincent sent her to boarding school since he traveled so much promoting his books. Vincent also developed a serious drinking problem, so he was far from a good dad anyway. Olivia was pretty much abandoned by Vincent at that point, so she was not a part of his life. Then she gets a call from his publisher. Vincent wants her to be the ghostwriter for his next book. Olivia was a highly successful ghostwriter until she publicly called out a fellow writer. He ended up suing her for defamation and winning his case against her. So, she owes him $500,000 and her lawyer $200,000 (?). A lot of money, regardless, which she certainly doesn't have. She doesn't want to have anything to do with her father, but desperate times....

Olivia goes to the house that Vincent still lives in (the one she left at 14). She finds out that he is seriously ill and can no longer write or read. She doesn't know whether he killed his siblings or not, but he wants her to ghostwrite his final book, a memoir. He said he finally wants to share the truth. He pretty much sends Olivia on a scavenger hunt for clues, just like he did when she was a young child. Olivia doesn't realize that right away. All she knows is that she doesn't trust him. The book reveals snippets of information from Olivia's, Vincent's and Poppy's experiences and this information is interwoven to tell the tale. We don't get Danny's perspective or personal experiences and it becomes apparent that he kept secrets from his family. Olivia works very hard to untangle the truth from the misinformation and lies. She does ultimately figure out what really happened that night - and who killed Poppy and Danny - but some of this truth will go to the grave instead of making an appearance in Vincent's well-received memoir that get's published around the time of his death, with the acknowledgement that Olivia was his ghostwriter. It's a good read!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

I thought about this book for days after I finished reading it. I sincerely wish it didn't end the way it did, but I did like the book a lot. I love books where you see growth in all the main characters. This story is about a family (Dominic and his three children, Raff, Fen, and Orly) who live on a very small island near Antarctica called Shearwater. They were living on the island with a research team and the world's largest seed bank. The seeds stored on Shearwater were from every species of plant worldwide. Some were simply unique and exotic; others were seeds for growing food. The food seeds could save humanity if most of the population was wiped out.

One night a woman is washed up onto their beach with the seals. She is barely alive, but Fen discovers her and gets help. They manage to save her life and give her a home to heal. The woman's name is Rowan and she came from a boat (piloted by one man) that didn't survive the arrival to Shearwater. Dominic doesn't understand why she was coming to the island (she isn't exactly forthcoming with any answers) and he is suspicious of her. Meanwhile, Rowan doesn't trust Dominic because she was expecting to see the research team (including her husband!) when she arrived on the island and no one is on the island except the Salts (Dominic & kids). They tell Rowan that the research team had already left the island (since the severe weather and significant storms were sinking the island itself so it was no longer safe to be there.) Rowan doesn't believe this necessarily because she knows her husband, as the team leader, would never leave the seed bank.

As the reader, you know that everyone is keeping secrets, but you don't know what they are each hiding. Come to find out, they are each and every one hiding something important that impacts the events that occur. Very good storytelling. I really liked each of the characters, and yet I wondered about each of them. Can they really be trusted? As the story unfolds, understanding happens and the characters, who are each "broken", start healing. I very much enjoyed their journey to healing. As the island falls farther into the sea, and the storms grow fiercer, threatening all of their lives, the ship finally arrives to rescue them and what seeds they can save (a small pittance compared to how many were stored there.) I truly wanted a happy ending. I didn't get it, but it's a remarkable read.

Wendy's Rating: ****1/2

The Narrows by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #10; the sequel to The Poet. Michael Connelly delivers, as usual. He brings together Harry Bosch and Rachel Walling (disgraced FBI agent from The Poet.) Harry is a PI with none of the authority of the police department or the FBI. Rachel was sent to North Dakota, and then South Dakota, after the Backus debacle in The Poet. These are not desirable posts for a FBI agent! Harry and Rachel don't exactly trust each other, but they need each other to figure out how to finally take down Backus permanently. Backus has continued to murder people - both within the US and outside. Backus keeps bringing Rachel into it, although the FBI would like to keep her at a distance. Harry is brought in by Graciela, Terry McCaleb's wife, after Terry is found dead on his boat. She wants Harry to investigate Terry's death. Harry has to rely on Buddy, Terry's partner, for assistance, but he certainly doesn't trust him.

Connelly is excellent at weaving stories together. You never really know when events and people are going to start intersecting. These characters are all very intelligent and they don't always share what they know and/or think with each other because each of them have their own agenda. It makes for interesting reading. The one comment I'm going to make about this book though is that Connelly writes to an intelligent reader, but there were three to four times in this book that he "spelled out" something quite obvious that I didn't think needed to be. Maybe if I hadn't just read The Poet it wouldn't have been so obvious. So, there's that.

Harry is managing to co-parent Maddie with Eleanor Wish, although they don't really get along that well. Eleanor continues to play poker as her profession, which she does late at night. Maddie is left home with the nanny. Harry is allowed to visit at any time, and usually chooses after Eleanor has gone to work. Good choice. I continue to not be a fan of Eleanor, and now Harry is tied to her forever. Oh well. Eleanor refuses to move to LA and Harry refuses to move to Las Vegas, so that's part of the conflict.

This story is definitely a battle of wits. Who can outsmart the other kind of thing. Backus has been killing for so long - and has led people around for so long (8 years and counting) - that he is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Thank goodness Harry steps in to help out the FBI!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Poet by Michael Connelly

This book is the prequel to Harry Bosch #10. We are introduced to Jack McEvoy, a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. His specialty is reporting on the more sensationalized deaths (ie serial killers). He doesn't have the same deadlines as the regular reporters because his stories are more in depth. Jack has a twin brother, Sean, who is a homicide detective. One day his brother is found dead by apparent suicide. Sean had been investigating the brutal murder of a young boy and he kept hitting dead ends. Sean is found dead in his car by (presumably) a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His car is parked at the lake where their sister had drowned years earlier. Jack has a really difficult time accepting that Sean would have killed himself. He asks for permission to write a story about cop suicide, which his editor gives his okay to.

It doesn't take long for Jack to decide that Sean was actually murdered. He asks to fly to Chicago to look into another homicide detective suicide that appears similar to his brother's. This other detective also (supposedly) killed himself after he was having a difficult time solving a brutal murder. Soon Jack is working hard (with assistance from the FBI) to find other cases that may be similar in nature, leading to the possibility of a serial killer.

The agents from the FBI include Rachel Walling (of Harry Bosch's world), her boss Bob Backus, and her ex-husband, Gordon Thorson (who is a complete jerk). Jack falls for Rachel (and they start sleeping together), detests Thorson (who seems to be sabotaging Jack's story) and respects Backus (who keeps sending Rachel away and forcing Jack to work with Thorson, who he doesn't trust). The FBI agents alternate between legitimately working with Jack - and shutting him out of the process. Jack continues to persevere regardless.

The last 100 pages of the book is a wild ride! It's very well plotted. I certainly didn't know who to trust. Very well written. I am eager to start the sequel (The Narrows) with Harry Bosch!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

I have never thought of myself as a "Fantasy Reader", but I am changing my opinion, especially if there is a dystopian element (which I love). This is the first book (of a presumed trilogy?) about Wren Darlington. Wren lives in a divided world. Those who are Modified (like Wren) have psychic abilities, some of them quite powerful. The Command, who controls the Continent, is led by General Redden. The Command is run like the military and their enemies are the Mods. The Command personnel can kill a Mod on sight. So, the Mods keep their status secret - to the best of their ability. This can be tricky because when they communicate internally with each other, the veins in their arms pop up in a silverish color. If they are not wearing a long-sleeve shirt, this can mean death.

Wren's parent's died when she was five years old and she was taken away by Jim - who promised her parents he would protect her. She calls him Uncle Jim, although they are not related. He takes her to live in the Blacklands for the first three years. This a dark and dangerous place to live, but it gives him a chance to work with Wren as she begins to understand her abilities. Wren's parents were killed because they were a part of the Uprising to overthrow the Command. (Originally, it was the Modified that were in control of the Continent, but the Modified were overthrown by the Command a long time previously.) Wren doesn't remember her real name and she really doesn't remember her parents. When Jim & Wren leave the Blacklands, Jim asks for a home & land in a farming Ward.

Wren has two "best friends". One is Tana, who lives in her Ward. The other is Wolf, who she has befriended internally. She has never met Wolf, but they communicate in their heads and they have been since she was a young child. Wren's life turns upside down when she saves a young boy's life (using one of her abilities) and Jim is executed for being a part of the Uprising because the Command figures out who is really is (his real name). Wren pleads ignorance, saying she had no idea that Jim was a Mod. She is sent to the Command as a new recruit. Her superior is one of General Redden's sons, Cross Redden. Since she is now amongst the enemy, she downplays her skills because she has to hide her Modified status. Cross happened to see her save the young boy's life however, so he knows she is really talented at shooting, etc. He waits her out.

Wren is a very powerful Modified, with at least five abilities - one of which takes away a person's "free will". Living with the enemy, working for the rebellion, losing friends, being betrayed - this is all in a day for Wren. Some of the things that happen are predictable, but so be it. It still really enjoyed this new world! I am just sad that I have to wait a couple of years (so they say) to read the next installment.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Last Town by Blake Crouch

Book #3 in the Wayward Pines Trilogy. I got a lot of my questions from the first two books answered in this one, thankfully!  Before the answers, however, we get to read about many, many gruesome deaths at the hands (actually claws and fangs) of the abbies. They are monsters in the truest form of the word. They have taken over the town of Wayward Pines, thanks to David Pilcher. He watches the death and destruction of his beloved town on the security cameras from the safety of his (fortress) home. Pilcher sees himself as God. He is the creator of this town and these people; the savior of humankind. But as he loses control of the town after Ethan announces the truth to the townspeople, he is also its destroyer. Pilcher, as "God", sees Wayward Pines as his Garden of Eden. "Adam & Eve" were Ethan and the townspeople. Pilcher believes, "[t]hey had brought this reckoning to bear. They had demanded full knowledge, knowledge they were ill-equipped to stomach. And when faced with the truth from Ethan Burke, they had revolted against their creator."

This book also answers my questions about the relationships between Kate & Ethan; Ethan & Theresa; Kate & Harold; Theresa & Adam. I had questions about which of these relationships were most authentic - and how they could each genuinely love two people. My questions were definitely answered in a satisfactory way.  Some of the deaths were devastating though. So many good people died.

In order to beat the abbies - at least within Wayward Pines, Ethan had to convince Pilcher's people (who were ignorant as to what had happened when Pilcher turned off the electric fence and opened the gate to the town) that Pilcher was evil; that he had lost his sanity. Ethan shows Pilcher's key people a video of Pilcher brutally murdering his own daughter as his proof. They join forces - and use Pilcher's weapons - to kills all the abbies in town. They are able to turn the electric fence back on and shut the gate.

Ethan finds out that life in Wayward Pines is not sustainable long-term however. Pilcher knew this as well, but refused to acknowledge this truth. Their options are limited - and risky and dangerous. Ethan gathers all the survivors and tells them the truth and the options. I was surprised by the option they chose! These three books were incredibly engaging. They were difficult to put down. As in most dystopian novels, the truth sets them free - but it is not a happy tale. I really loved it though!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Wayward by Blake Crouch

Book #2 in the Wayward Pines Trilogy. Now Ethan is the Sheriff of Wayward Pines. He is walking a fine line between David Pilcher and his own belief that the townspeople should know the truth about where they are, how they got there, and what's beyond the electric fence. The one key thing I can't quite understand in this book is why Pilcher would trust Ethan. A fete was called to murder Ethan, but since he escaped, Pilcher makes him the Sheriff and kills one of his own key people that was there at the inception of  Wayward Pines? To me that doesn't make sense. Why would Pilcher ever trust Ethan? I suppose it could be about "keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer" kind of thing, but it doesn't seem like that.

We find out that Pilcher's daughter, Alyssa, is also in Wayward Pines. She was put on a mission to infiltrate a resistance group. She is found brutally murdered one night by Ethan. Pilcher asks Ethan to find out who murdered her. He blames the resistance group, mainly Kate, Ethan's former Secret Services partner/lover. Ethan sets out to find the truth. He seems to be playing both sides of the fence. He doesn't believe that Kate would murder anyone, but he seeks her out and convinces her to "let him in". Her condition is that he needs to cut out the microchip in his leg so that he can't be tracked. Pilcher agrees to this idea, but for only one day. Again, pretty risky for Pilcher to allow this!

We are also introduced to Tobias. Tobias was one of the people who left Wayward Pines in search of other human survivors. He's been gone for 3 1/2 years and he is believed to be dead, just like all the others who left on this same mission. He is actually making his way back to Wayward Pines, however. He is coming back with "news", but we don't find out what it is in this book.

Ethan and Theresa begin to develop a husband/wife relationship again - and he decides to tell her the truth about their lives. She is devastated by the truth. Ethan decides that the townspeople should also know the truth. This revelation results in utter destruction. Pilcher leans into his deepening madness and unleashes the abbies.

The writing is incredibly fast-paced and gripping. It's like watching a thriller movie. You want to watch, but you are holding your breath. So many people die, you really don't know who will survive. The abbies are not the only monsters in this story.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Pines by Blake Crouch

This was definitely an interesting (and quick) read. As a huge fan of the X-Files and dystopian novels, this was right up my alley! This was the ultimate page-turner because I truly couldn't read it fast enough trying to figure out what was going to happen next. In fact, sometimes my eyes raced ahead and then I forced myself to stop and go back to reading the current section.

I don't want to give anything away, since the main character is trying to figure what is going on for most of the book. But, the premise is that Ethan Burke, an agent for the Secret Service, wakes up with significant injuries after being involved in a car accident that happened when he and his partner were arriving in the small town of Wayward Pines. He initially doesn't remember who he is, where he is, or what happened. His memory starts to return, but this doesn't clear up the confusion in his head. He knows that he came to town with another agent to see what happened to two other agents that disappeared in this same town over 10 days previously. The agent he arrived with was killed in the car accident. Ethan doesn't know where his wallet, phone, or ID is and no one seems to know where his things are. He can't get a hold of his wife or his boss.

So, Ethan is injured, tired, hungry and without any resources. Most people don't want to take him at his word that he will pay for food and a hotel room the next day, but he does manage to finagle a hotel room for one night and a meal. Ethan knows that something is wrong with this weird little town and the always "happy" residents. Then he finds one of the agents he was sent to find brutally murdered in an abandoned house (that he was directed to by a mysterious person, whom no one seems to know after the fact). Soon after that, he sees the other agent (who he had had an affair with that nearly destroyed his marriage), but she is substantially older. He pursues her, and she acknowledges who she is, but tells him she just needs to keep living her new life.

I was fascinated by this storyline and all the twists and turns as Ethan tries to figure out who he can trust and how to escape this town. I'm also impressed by Ethan's ability to keep going despite his injuries, which he continues to receive for various reasons! I knew it was a trilogy when I started this book, but at one point I had to stop and make sure Ethan was even in the second book! What a survivalist! I enjoyed this "ride" very much!

Wendy's Rating: ****

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

This is the second book in the Empyrean series. Cadet Violet Sorrengail is now in her second year at the Basgiath War College. I have to admit that the first couple hundred pages were super frustrating to me! Violet is constantly angry at Xaden because of the secrets he keeps - and yet she keeps secrets too. She goes on and on about it. She shuts him out of her life. She refuses to tell him that she loves him because he won't tell her his deep, darkest secrets. Honestly, it was too much and I definitely was going to rate this book 4 stars and not 5 stars like Fourth Wing because I was so annoyed. Meanwhile, Dain steals her memories by touching her and reports them to his father. This event results in Violet and Xaden being sent to their deaths - or at least that's what the intent was. Violet continues to be angry at Xaden though for not being honest with her. Seriously?? If someone can easily steal her memories, then SHE should understand that having more knowledge could potentially kill them all. Super frustrating.

Violet gets taken and tortured for days by Major Varrish, under the pretense that it's another "War Game". They are supposed to practice not giving up information to the enemy. In Violet's case, it's true torture. She's been cut off from communicating with her dragon, Tairn, and Xaden. No one can get to her and she believes that she will die. She is beaten and broken and she still refuses to give Varrish the information he requires. Oddly enough, it's Dain to the rescue (finally!)

After this experience, Violet's way of thinking eventually starts to mature. She still acts like a brat at times, but she also starts acknowledging that some information is simply too dangerous to share. When Violet and Xaden are sent to their presumed deaths, she realizes that the "stories" her dad read to her were actually true. He was trying to warn her. Venin (dark wielders) and their wyvern are real threats, not simply fairy tales. The only thing keeping them out of Navarre are the wards. The wards prevent venin from using their powers. Violet's mother, the General, has covered up this information - and allowed venin to kill innocent citizens who live outside the protection of the wards for years. Once Violet finds this out, she joins the "rebellion" with Xaden and her brother, Brennan. Violet & Xaden go to Basgiath to announce the truth of what's happening and ask people to join them and leave Basgiath. The people that are loyal to Violet, leave with them. They settle in at Xaden's homestead, Aretia.

Then the real fun begins! Violet is subjected to Xaden's former "betrothed", Cat, who despises her. The cadets are forced to start working with the gryphons, who were believed to be the enemy until Violet realizes that it's all part of her mother's lies. (Xaden's father was executed for helping the gryphons fight the venin by smuggling out weapons for the gryphons to use against the venin.) Violet tries to figure out, by interpreting a journal, how to raise a ward to protect Aretia. The venin prepare to attack and a variety of people have to join forces to try to save as much of Naverre and it's citizens as possible.

My summary is a very basic description of what happens in this book. This story is very complex with lots of layers, details, complicated relationships and emotions. It is very well written. I thought it was a trilogy when I started the series, but now I know there is a fourth book planned. So I might wait awhile to read Book 3. I don't want to wait two years for the ending of this story, so I will drag out my experience in this fascinating world.

Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

This is a true story about a teenager, Enrique, who leaves his home in Honduras to find his mother in the United States. His mother had left him and his older sister when they were 5 and 7 years old respectively. He was left with his biological father & grandmother; his sister, Belky, was left with her aunt. His mother left because they were all starving. She saved up money to pay a smuggler to get her to the US illegally. She was abandoned by the smuggler as soon as she arrived in the US however, so her life was not an easy one. She left Honduras so that she could find a job to send money back home so that her children would have more than she did. She kept telling Enrique that they would be together again "soon", but she never returns to Honduras. So, by the time he was 16 years old, he had spent years feeling abandoned by his mother. His dad didn't really care for him, so he bounced around, spending most of his childhood with his grandmother. He got involved with drugs, alcohol and sniffing glue. He had a girlfriend, Maria Isabel, who was pregnant when Enrique decided to follow his mother to the US.

This book was extremely informative. I had no idea that so many parents, mostly mothers, left their families to find employment in the US so they could send money back home. Often times it was the grandmothers that raised these children. They also survived on the money sent home from their daughters. Enrique attempted to reach the US 8 different times - only being successful the 8th time. It was super dangerous because leaving Honduras meant they had to travel all the way through Mexico, just to get to the Rio Grande. Then they had to find a way to cross the Rio Grande without being caught. These kids were beaten, raped, robbed, killed. They traveled by hopping on trains and riding on the top of them. They had nothing and had to find food along the way. Once they are caught, they are deported back to Honduras. Enrique was caught and deported 7 times - and just kept trying. Enrique believed that finding his mother would solve all his problems.

As educational as this book was for me (the author did years of research, including first hand experience) while writing this book, I found myself getting really frustrated at the level of hypocrisy shown by Enrique! I just couldn't seem to work through it, even though I know he was emotionally damaged by his mother leaving him. When he finally reaches his mother in the US, he treats her horribly after their "honeymoon period" of being together again is over. He goes back to alcohol and drugs. AND not only does he leave his pregnant girlfriend back in Honduras, he tries to convince her to leave their baby daughter in Honduras with her mother so that she can come to him in the US. WHAT??

This is not a heartwarming story. It's a story of perseverance. It's a story of hardship. It's a story of endurance. It's a story of resilience. I am impressed that the author spent the time and effort to literally retrace Enrique's journey from Honduras to the United States. Very, very brave.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi

I enjoyed this read. I ordered it for my Book of the Month, not having heard of it before, or the author. The underlying messages would be: "People are not always what they seem" and "You don't know anyone as well as you think you do." Sona is 23 years old, unmarried, and a nurse at a hospital in Bombay. She is half Indian and half British in the 1930's when India is seeking their independence from Britain. She is a half-caste and referred to as a Chee-Chee or a Blackie-White, which are derogatory labels. A famous and talented artist, Mira Novak, arrives at the hospital as a result of a miscarriage. She is in a lot of pain, which is treated with morphine. Sona connects with her instantly. She loves how friendly and full of life she is. Mira tells Sona about her life and the people who are important to her. The one person she doesn't talk a lot about is her husband, Filip, who is rarely at the hospital and when he is, seems very distant.

As Sona is drawn into Mira's life, in six short days, she is suddenly given a huge responsibility to deliver paintings to the people Mira has said she values the most. She has designated a painting to be delivered to Petra Hitzig in Prague, a fellow painter who was mentored by Mira; a painting to Josephine Benoit in Paris, who used to represent Mira (sell her paintings); and a third painting to Paolo Puccini in Florence, another painter that Mira loved. Sona lived with her mother and has led a sheltered life, protected by her mother. Sona's father left them when Sona was three years old to go back to his family in Britain, which Sona's mother didn't know about! It's a traumatic event that stays with Sona into adulthood. So Sona is ill-equipped to take this journey on her own. Fortunately, she had developed a relationship (paternal in nature) with an older gentleman, a retired doctor, who she was talking care of at the hospital. He stepped in to support her in her journey, with his presence, financial assistance and moral support.

Sona learns a lot in her travels. The first important lesson was that she couldn't necessarily trust strangers that she meets. She also discovered that the relationships that Mira shared with her were not as they were presented to her. Thirdly, she learned that people make mistakes; they hurt each other; and they lack courage when asking for forgiveness from the injured parties. She also fell in love. It was like a coming of age story for someone finally growing up in her 20s.

Wendy's Rating: ****