Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg. 4*

Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg. 4*

I loved The Story of Arthur Truluv, because it was hopeful and positive on the issues of aging, dying and loneliness. It was a simple and sweet book that made me love the characters enough to be thrilled to see a sequel. Night of Miracles picks up where Arthur left off with Lucille, the lovely neighbor who cooked, though never married and moved in with Arthur and his pregnant teen age “adopted” daughter Maddy to mother them both.

Now Maddy has grown up and her young daughter Nola have moved away and Maddy is engaged. Louise is giving her cooking classes but feeling her age every day. The book follows the story of what happens to Louise and Maddy, including a delightful haunting! While it is also hopeful and gives closure to the issues left open with Arthur everything is tied up almost too neatly.

That doesn’t take away from the feel-good easiness of this book, which was a joy with so much happening in the world and literature that fills our days. You may well cry with this book, but it won’t be from frustration or hopelessness.

I received this book from NetGalley.

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult 5*

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult 5*

 

We are used to novels by Jodi Picoult pulling their subject matter from headline news and making the issues of her characters pull us in with empathy and a need to understand. In A Spark of Light, she grabs hold of the issues of abortion, right to life, the rights of different parties to a birth and the rights of parents, grandparents, community members and even health professionals when the only health center that provides abortions in the State of Louisiana is attacked not only by right to life protestors, but a gunman who enters and opens fire. 

By using different characters, each with different and compelling purposes, Ms. Picoult is able to open up the issue so that no matter what your position going in, you will consider other sides.  Her skillful writing and wonderful characters will keep the pages turning until all you want is for everyone to be okay.  If you are looking for a book club selection that will raise tempers and emotions to the very highest, this one should be your selection. 

Be warned, though. The situations are intense and may trigger women who’ve been on any side of this debate, as well as health care professionals.  Be gentle with yourself when you read it.

The Girls of 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib

The Girls of 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib

5 stars

Anna is a dancer, married to Matthias, and together they are young and in love and happy.  Until the pressure of dance, injury and the ever-constant focus on thin ness, a loss of her position in a Parisian Ballet company, and a job offer for Matthias takes them from their home in Paris to St Louis, Missouri.  Her life dwindles without dance, and with Matthias working long hours.  Her eating dwindles too, until she is so sick she goes to 17 Swann Street, a rehabilitation house for eating disorders.  Told in first person narrative, with intermittent reposts from the recovery team, The Girls of 17 Swann Street is a heartbreaking, yet hopeful book. The girls who live in the house care for Anna, and cheer her on, even if they can’t do it for themselves.

The novel is so well written, the reader will cringe with each bite that Anna must take of the foods she’s eliminated one by one. The calorie goals seem huge, but Anna gains slowly. We learn of the terrifying effects self-starvation has on the body and the very human psychology that deludes those with eating disorders. 

Yet ultimately, this is a love story.  Of Anna and Matthias, of the girls for one another, but ultimately, one woman’s desire to reclaim life.  A compelling read.

I received this book from Net Galley with no strings, but I wanted to review it.

My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd. 5*

My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd.

A beautiful book about children forced to grow up faster than they should, with character beyond what most adults portray.  Venus, the title character, is a straight A student, the kind everyone wants their kids to be friends with.  That is until she is sent to Juvie when she is 16, for murder.  It is a heartbreaking and tragic commentary on the way the law treats girls and kids.  Venus serves her time, but when she gets out, everything has changed.  Shortly after her incarceration, her beloved brother who exhibits the characteristics of autism, is kidnapped. When she is finally free to look for him, Venus does everything she can to restore some sense of her family.

Along the way, we meet more characters to love. Leo, the brother, Tessa, the sweet girl who befriends him, and many more.  Heather Lloyd writes exquisitely. I appreciate that she tied up the loose ends for her readers, especially the mysterious conviction. I’ll leave that for your discovery.

This book would be great for book clubs as it has many touchy areas for discussion.  It is also great for anyone who doesn’t mind shedding a few tears along the way of a great novel. 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley with no strings attached. Publication date was February 27, 2018.

The School for Psychics by K.C. Archer 4*

The School for Psychics by K.C. Archer

 

Teddy is a young woman adrift.  She has some unique abilities, but she tends to use them only for personal gain, and it doesn’t take long for that to backfire.  She’s run out of options when she meets Clint Corbett and he not only gets her out of her terrifying situation, he invites her to apply to a top-secret government program called “The School for Psychics.”

As Teddy learns about the school, along with classmates with their own gifts, she also learns more about who…and what…she is.  To say it confuses her is an understatement.  Old wounds are re-opened, and her innate lack of trust emerges to cause her even more trouble, and to save her from some.

Part Avengers, part Harry Potter, Part Allegiance, this governmental – or spy, who knows? -- conspiracy sets itself apart in a few ways.  First, the characters are all college age or more…some are returning to school after years in jobs where they never quite fit. Everyone must be invited. They are twenty something plus, there is a blend of private school rules added to a young adult need for fun… including parties, substances and sex.  This is not a book for kids.

There are a lot of characters to get to know, but by the end of the book we feel bonded with them.  Something is going on at Whitfield College.  These psychics may figure it out.

I confess that I didn’t notice the “Book One” connotation at the beginning of this novel, which explains why I kept hoping for resolution of all the open questions. I didn’t get them in Book One.  For sure I will be reading future releases.  I can’t leave these young people alone! It was an easy fun read…and I’m hoping the series doesn’t go on too long.

I was invited to read this book by the publisher, Simon and Shuster, Inc. with no strings attached.

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Book Review: How to Walk Away, Katherine Center. 5*

How to Walk Away. Katherine Center

I'm very far behind on my book reviews.  My only excuse is my incessant need to keep reading, so stopping to review feels like a speed bump!  But I've read some great books lately, some of which are not yet released, so I'll try to catch up today.  It's easier to review books I love, so I'll start there.

One of my favorite authors of contemporary women's fiction is Katherine Center. She has a new book hitting the shelves on May 15, perfect to indulge in on those lengthening spring nights. 

On the day that should have been one of her happiest, Margaret’s worst fears are realized.  This book is about a brilliant young woman with her future laid out like stair steps to the stars and then literally crashes. It illustrates resilience in its most powerful form. As Margaret’s sister tells her at the beginning of the book, “Dying is easy, it’s the not dying that’s hard.”

I loved the resilience.  Ever hopeful, Margaret, her family, even her medical professionals, face and overcome challenges that ordinary people would find difficult or impossible.  Katherine Center’s wry and funny characters may whine a bit, but in a way where the reader knows they will just “do it” …whatever the “it” may be.  And the characters don’t just deal with obstacles, they overcome adversity in unique and personal ways that resists foregone conclusions of a happily ever after format.  Satisfaction with outcomes will be there, but her characters may not get everything they want, or think they want.

This book benefits from extensive and interesting research on flight, spinal injuries and rehabilitative therapy. The characters teach the reader; there are no sidebar lectures on what needs to happen. We understand what we should expect and what is possible. These are people we care about, with some appropriate exception for the characters you will come to love to hate.   Even the main character’s mother has her moments.

Katherine Center’s books don’t shy away from controversial subject matter. How to Walk Away is filled with difficult topics but is a pleasure to read. Any group that is ready for a heroine they can cheer for, without reservation, will love it.

I got this pre-release copy from Net Galley with no strings attached.  How to Walk Away will be released by St. Martin’s Press on May 15, 2018.