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2023 Bookish Books Reading Challenge

My Progress:


30 / 30 books. 100% done!

20 Books of Summer 2023

My Progress:


17 / 20 books. 85% done!

2023 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (16)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)

International:

- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (8)
- Chile (1)
- England (25)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
-Vietnam (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 books. 100% done!

2023 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


50 / 50 books. 100% done!

Booklist Queen's 2023 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2023 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


40 / 40 books. 100% done!

2023 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


29 / 40 books. 73% done!

2023 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


16 / 25 books. 64% done!

2023 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

Book Bingo Reading Challenge


20 / 25 books. 80% done!

2023 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


109 / 109 books. 100% done!

Children's Book Reading Challenge...For Adults!

Thursday, January 15, 2015

What Is Found, What Is Lost: Good Bones, Clumsy Construction

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When her husband dies after a battle with cancer, 62-year-old Fredrika "Freddie" Chase isn't sure where to turn for solace.  Her mother, a fanatic whose devotion to God has always eclipsed her attention to her daughters, has put Freddie off religion, probably for good.  She's already feeling at odds with the world when her combative daughter—an exotic dancer in Vegas—decides to move back home.  With Beth and her 5-year-old son in residence, Freddie's house feels less empty, but more fraught with tension.  Especially when men start showing up to see Beth.

While trying to mend her broken relationship with Beth, Freddie examines the tumultuous one she had with her own mother.  Exploring the life of her maternal grandmother lends some understanding.  Also more questions.  

When a crisis brings Freddie to her sister's door, it's a chance for the two of them to make peace with their shared past.  As they try to wrestle some sense out of the actions of the women in their maternal line, they seek answers that will help them all move on.  Finally.

The plot of What Is Found, What Is Lost, a debut novel by Anne Leigh Parrish, is impossible to describe.  Why?  Because it really doesn't have one.  Told in the voices of four generations of women, the story's a family saga.  However, it's more like back story than actual story.  While the characters were both empathetic and interesting, I found the lot of them sad and depressing.  Without a central plotline to tie all of their stories together, the novel just felt clumsy.  It has good bones, that's for sure, but the execution left a lot to be desired.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Nothing really comes to mind.)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for language (a handful of F-bombs, plus milder invectives), sexual content, and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of What Is Found, What Is Lost from the generous folks at BookSparks PR.  Thank you!
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Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.



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