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Showing posts with label Mother/Son Relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mother/Son Relationships. Show all posts
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Simple, But Intriguing Premise Leads to Compelling, Poignant Novel
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
With less than two weeks left of probation after writing a bad check at the grocery store, freedom is in sight for 25-year-old Bernadette "Bird" Connolly. If she can keep her nose clean for thirteen more days, she'll finally be able to move on. She can't wait to leave her mother's house and make an independent life for herself and her 4-year-old son, Angus. Everything will be better in just thirteen short days.
In the meantime, Bird is shocked to learn that James Rittenhouse, an old co-worker of hers, is on the run from the police. According to the news, he beat up a man in a bar, then escaped a police vehicle while being taken to the station. Armed with a gun stolen from one of the officers, James is considered very dangerous. The James Bird once knew could never have done such a thing. In fact, he once did her a big favor, one for which she is still in his debt. Her heart breaks a little for him, but there's nothing she can do to help the fugitive.
Then, Bird makes a shocking discovery—James is hiding in the abandoned choir loft of the church Bird's mother attends. Wounded and in pain, he begs Bird to help him. Aiding James puts her impending freedom at great risk, but she can't walk away while he bleeds out in the church. Can she? She can't turn him in, not after what he did for her. But what does she really owe him? What should she do? With the clock ticking for both Bird and James, Bird must make an impossible choice ...
The premise of The Odds of You and Me by Cecilia Galante is what drew me to this book. It asks such a simple, but intriguing question, one which pricks the reader's conscience by asking, "What would you do?" I don't know that I would have made the decision Bird does in the book, but her actions sure make for a compelling novel. Bird is a sympathetic heroine, one who's easy to empathize with and root for. She's flawed, but she's also compassionate, brave, and devoted to her son. I definitely wanted a happy ending for her. Did I get it? I won't spoil anything for you. I can say, though, that I enjoyed this novel. Even though the story didn't close in quite the way I wanted it to, the tale still felt satisfying overall.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language, violence, sexual content, and depictions of illegal drug use
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Warm and Sweet, Bookshop Rom-Com Makes for Fun Reading
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Just when it seems nothing else can go wrong for Zoe O'Connell—a single mom struggling to keep up with her expensive, stressful life in London—something does. A "reappraisal" on her crummy flat is the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. Knowing she'll get no help from her absent mum nor her charming, but always penniless ex, Zoe's at her wit's end. She wants something better for her non-verbal 4-year-old, Hari, but how can she improve their situation when she has no money, no support system, and no hope that things will ever get better?
Enter Surinder, Hari's aunt. A friend of Nina Redmond (heroine of The Bookshop on the Corner), who's looking for help with her bookmobile business, Surinder sets Zoe up with two jobs in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands. Zoe will help Nina out while also working as a nanny at the local "big house." Desperate, Zoe has little choice but to accept. Soon, she's doing her best to keep her three rowdy charges in line, help their father engage with his children, and keep a pregnant Nina from overworking herself. Hari seems content in Kirrinfief, so Zoe's determined to make it work despite all the challenges she's facing. Can she make a home for herself and her son out of a backward Scottish village? When push comes to shove, will she stay or go?
Jenny Colgan is a new find for me. I read The Bookshop on the Corner in 2017 and loved it, so I was eager to pick up its companion novel, The Bookshop on the Shore. While the latter is not a sequel per se, it does feature the same town as well as some of the same characters from the former. I loved dropping in on these old friends and being introduced to new ones. Like its predecessor, The Bookshop on the Shore is warm, sweet, and funny. I adored everything about it, from the setting to the writing to the characters, both new and familiar. As much as I enjoyed The Bookshop on the Corner, I liked this one even better as it has more depth to it. Colgan writes such fun books. I definitely plan to keep exploring her backlist while eagerly awaiting her newest offerings.
(Readalikes: The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a half dozen or so F-bombs, plus milder expletives) and innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of The Bookshop on the Corner with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Evocative Mystery/Thriller Keeps Me Riveted to the Page
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Colleen Mitchell knows she needs to let her 20-year-old son live his own life, but she can't help but question Paul's sudden decision to drop out of college and waltz off to the middle of nowhere to work on an oil rig. Now, her worst fears have been realized. She hasn't heard from Paul in over a month. Not even a one-word text. Maybe she's overreacting—probably she is—but something feels off. No longer able to stand the anxiety of not knowing what's happened to Paul, she flies to rural North Dakota to find her son. What she discovers is that she's right. Her son is missing from the "man camp" where he and the other workers live. No one knows where he's gone. Or so they say.
There's only one person in bleak little Lawton willing to believe that anything shady is going on and that's because her son is missing, too. Shay Capparelli is Colleen's opposite—she's penniless but scrappy and tenacious, willing to do whatever it takes to find her own son, who's also nowhere to be found. Just like Colleen, Shay knows there's something more to the story behind their sons' disappearances. She's convinced the oil company is hiding something.
The two women become unlikely allies in their plight to locate the boys they love. As they dig deeper and deeper into the oil company's practices, Lawton's ugly underbelly and the secrets their sons kept under wraps, the duo uncovers some unsavory truths. What really happened to Paul and Taylor? Can their mothers solve the mystery before it's too late?
The Missing Place by Sophie Littlefield is an evocative, compelling read that I could not put down. With an atmospheric setting, well-drawn characters, and a twisty mystery, it kept my attention riveted to the page. I know some reviewers felt misled by some of the story's plot turns. Not me. The set up kept me guessing, which is what I dig in a psychological mystery/thriller. Despite the book's grimness, I ended up enjoying this one quite a lot. I'll definitely be picking up more books from this intriguing author.
(Readalikes: Hm, nothing is coming to mind. You?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language, violence, depictions of illegal drug use, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Taut Crime Thriller a Pulse-Pounding Page-Turner
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for The Suspect, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Kate Waters books. Even though this installment is labeled a standalone, I still recommend reading books in a series in order.
As a journalist who's used to covering hard news, Kate Waters is an expert at maintaining objectivity. She observes what's happening, cajoles victims into telling her their stories, writes up her pieces, and sends them across the wires. She's not a cold-hearted monster; she's just doing her job.
When Kate hears the news that two 18-year-old British girls have disappeared while on a backpacking trip in Thailand, she's immediately on alert. It's not only because it's been a slow news week, but also because her own son—24-year-old Jake—has been in the Asian country for the past two years, almost incommunicado with his worried parents. If she's sent on location for the newspaper, she can help find the missing girls and check on Jake at the same time.
Kate is shocked to discover that something very sinister has gone down in Thailand. And that Jake may be tangled up in it. Frantic with worry, Kate flies to Thailand determined to find not two missing young adults, but three ...
While there's nothing super unique or original about The Suspect, a taut thriller by Fiona Barton, the novel is still a pulse-pounding page-turner. I read it fast and furious, anxious to know what would happen next. I guessed most of the twists, but still, the story's compelling enough that I kept reading. Way later than I should have, as a matter of fact. In addition to a fast-paced plot, the novel features sympathetic characters (the adult protagonists anyway—the kids are selfish, shallow brats) and capable prose. Like I said, there's nothing shout-it-from-the-rooftops amazing here, but I'm definitely up for reading more from Barton. If you like British crime thrillers, give this newcomer a try.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of books by Tana French, Sharon Bolton, Jane Casey, Paula Hawkins, Ruth Ware, etc.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language, violence, mild sexual content, depictions of illegal drug use and underage drinking, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Suspect from the generous folks at Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Little Big Love: I Laughed, I Cried, I Loved It
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Juliet Hutchinson may be tired, overweight, and perennially bankrupt, but she's making it. Barely. She lives in a dingy council flat, subsists on cheap convenience food, and can't always be home at night due to her dead-end job. Still, Juliet pours what little energy she has into the care of her 10-year-old son, Zac. It's not a glamorous life, but at least Zac knows that he's loved, that his mom would do anything for him. What he doesn't realize is that she's been lying to him his whole life. She's done it to protect his fragile ego—and her own. After all, it's easier on Juliet's non-existent self-esteem to forget that Liam Jones—Zac's father and the only man she's ever loved—walked out on them when Zac was only two weeks old.
Even though Zac has a doting grandpa who does "dad" things with him, the boy can't help but wonder about the father he's never known. His mum and her parents insist Liam is a waste of space and they're better off without him. But if Zac's dad is such a loser, why did his mother love him so much? And, if Zac has half Liam's DNA, does that mean Zac will grow up to be a bad person, too? The only way to get answers is to find Liam. If his father's not a bad person, maybe Zac can even get his parents back together so his mum can be happy again.
With Zac's Find Dad mission, he unwittingly opens a can of worms that will crack open the secrets, pains, and hard truths that have defined his family's lives for the past decade. As each of them is forced to face the things they've done, the lies they've told, and the assumptions they've made, they may finally be able to find healing, forgiveness, and peace.
Little Big Love by Katy Regan is a sweet, but heart-wrenching novel about a vulnerable boy and his search for answers. It tells a warm, hopeful story, one that is, nonetheless, realistic and peopled with complex, flawed human beings. Both engaging and engrossing, Little Big Love is an enjoyable read about redemption, forgiveness, and the kind of truths that set men (even little big ones) free. I laughed, I cried, I loved it.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for strong language and some violence
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Little Big Love from the generous folks at Penguin Random House. Thank you!
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
Missing Boy Shatters Illusions of Perfect 1950s Suburbia in Moving Is This Tomorrow
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When Ava Lark's husband abandons her and their young son, she has no choice but to move on. Waltham, a working-class Boston suburb, seems like a soft place to land while she licks her wounds. It's the kind of neighborhood where doors are never locked and kids roam freely between neighbors' houses. It's seems like the perfect place to raise 7-year-old Lewis. And it probably would be if his mother wasn't an unapologetic divorceé and a Jew to boot. While Ava's shunned by the other moms, Lewis finds acceptance with the only other fatherless kids on the block—Jimmy and Rose Rearson. The three misfits become close pals, so close that when 12-year-old Jimmy vanishes in 1956, it rocks his two best friends to the core. The entire neighborhood is shocked by the boy's disappearance, especially as the weeks drag on with no clue as to his whereabouts. Suspicion naturally falls on Ava, on whom Jimmy had an obsessive schoolboy crush. Ava's shocked to find herself being treated as a suspect—she felt sorry for her son's lonely best friend and is as anxious as everyone else to have him home, safe and sound.
Jimmy's disappearance continues to haunt both Ava and Lewis. In 1963, the latter is still trying to find his way in life. At 18, Lewis works as a nurse's assistant in Madison, Wisconsin. It's satisfying work, but he still feels lonely and adrift. When he receives a disturbing update about Jimmy's disappearance, he's thrown back to his turbulent childhood in Waltham. Reuniting with Rose, Lewis sets out to find out some truths about the past. The answers are almost more than he can bear. Now, he has to decide whether to seek justice for his missing friend or let old secrets lie.
Although Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt isn't exactly a light, summer read, it is a compelling one. With a cast of realistically flawed (although not overly likable) characters, a vivid historical setting and a probing mystery, it's got the makings of a fine suspense novel. Unfortunately, sloppy copy editing as well as some sagging in the middle of the story distract from an otherwise well-written tale. Is This Tomorrow needs some tightening, true, but, in the end, I enjoyed this moving novel about friendship, family and the power of forgiveness.
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language (a handful of F-bombs, plus milder invectives), references to illegal drug use and sexual content
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Is This Tomorrow from the generous folks at Algonquin Books via those at BookSparks PR. Thank you!
Monday, April 01, 2013
The Guilty One A Decent Mystery That Kept Me Guessing To the End
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When London solicitor Daniel Hunter meets his newest client, he doesn't see a murderer—he sees himself. If it hadn't been for the kindly foster mother who took him in as a boy, it could have been Daniel sitting in a jail cell, accused of committing a violent crime. For this reason, Daniel finds himself drawn to young Sebastian Croll, even though he knows better than to get too attached to a client. But, the 11-year-old just looks so small, so helpless. Seb's a strange kid, that's all too apparent, but did he really pick up a brick and use it to bash in a playmate's head? Daniel believes Seb when he insists he's innocent.
As Daniel works with Seb's family, it becomes clear that something's very wrong in the Croll household. The situation reminds Daniel so much of his childhood that he's swept into painful memories of his own troubled past. And of Minnie—the woman who saved and destroyed him at the same time.
While evidence against Seb piles up all around him, Daniel must decide how best to defend the child many believe to be a murderer. Daniel just wants the truth: What really happened between the two young boys? How did one end up dead? Is it possible that Seb really did kill his 8-year-old neighbor? Does Daniel believe him only because of Seb's similarities to himself? And will it really matter in the long run, when it's up to a jury—not Sebastian's defense team—to decide between guilt and innocence?
The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne tells a chilling story about troubled children, the abuse they suffer, and that which they sometimes inflict on others. It's a heartbreaking novel that stresses how badly children need loving, attentive parents as well as professional help for disturbing behavior patterns. Plotwise, the novel moves along at a steady enough pace, giving readers a very full picture of Daniel's character. The courtroom part of the story does get predictable; still, The Guilty One is a decent mystery that kept me guessing until the very end.
(Readalikes: Reminded me a lot of Defending Jacob by William Landay and a bit of House Rules by Jodi Picoult)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language, violence and mild sexual innuendo/content
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Guilty One from the generous folks at Harper Collins via those at TLC Book Tours. Thank you!
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Small As An Elephant Another Poignant Portrait of Parental Mental Illness
(Image from Barnes & Noble)Of all the crazy ideas his mother's had during her "spinning" times, 11-year-old Jack Martel likes this one best of all. Not only does he get to spend the last weekend before school starts camping in Acadia National Park with his mom, but he also gets to take an elephant ride at the famous York's Wild Kingdom on the way home to Boston. For a pachiderm-lover like Jack, it sounds like the perfect vacation. And it is. Until the second day, when Jack crawls out of his tent to find his mother gone, along with the small tent she was sleeping in and the rental car they drove to Maine. Any other kid would freak. Not Jack. He's not like other kids. And his mom? She's definitely not like other moms.
Jack's spent plenty of time fending for himself, but usually he waits out his mother's manic phases in the safety of their Jamaica Plain apartment. This time, he's in a whole different state, miles and miles from home. He knows he should call the police; he also knows what will happen if he does. Despite his mother's ping-ponging moods, Jack doesn't want to be taken away from her. If he doesn't want to end up living with his gradma, Jack has to find his mom before anyone realizes she's abandoned him. No problem - he just has to search the entire state of Maine for a blonde-haired, blue-eyed crazy woman.
As Jack traces the sightseeing route he and his mom planned to take, with only a small, plastic elephant for company, he has to battle loneliness, hunger, thirst and fatigue. Not to mention fear. Surviving on his own is tougher than he ever imagined it could be, especially with the whole state of Maine on the lookout for a missing boy. Determined to complete his quest, Jack keeps moving, all the while asking himself some tough questions: How can his mom say she loves him when she keeps disappearing like this? Does it take more than just love to make a good parent? And what does it mean to be a good son? Should he protect his mother? Or get her the help she needs, even if it means he never gets to live with her again? As he examines his own heart and conscience, Jack will learn some big lessons - about family, about fear and about facing the truth, no matter how heartbreaking.
While not as heavy-hitting as other novels on this subject, Small As An Elephant by Jennifer Richard Jacobson, offers another poignant portrait of what it means to be a child dealing with a parent's mental illness. Although the story definitely deals with an emotional hardship, Jack's physical struggle for survival will make the book especially interesting to younger readers. I didn't find it mind-blowing or anything, but I enjoyed this middle grade novel about a resillient young boy's journey to find his mother and, ultimately, himself.
(Readalikes: Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor; Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams; You Are My Only by Beth Kephart; and A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for intense situations
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Small As An Elephant from the generous folks at Candlewick Press. Thank you!
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Nobodies Album Proves Our Endings Are Never Carved In Stone
(Image from Barnes & Noble)Bestselling author Octavia Frost is a woman acquainted with loneliness. Her occupation has always demanded solitary work, her son's no longer speaking to her, and the rest of her family lives on only in memories. As Octavia's career begins to sour just as surely as her personal life has, she takes on a new project, rewriting the endings of all her popular novels. It's an aim both ambitious and indulgent, one that symbolizes the ardent wish of her life - to change the past. Whether or not the book will sell remains to be seen.
On the day Octavia lands in New York to deliver the manuscript to her editor, she receives shocking news via the news crawl on a large billboard: her rock star son is being accused of murdering his girlfriend. Even though she hasn't spoken to Milo in several years, Octavia makes a beeline for San Francisco. Milo refuses to talk to his mother, but she gets in touch with his closest friends, all of whom seem to know more about her son than she does. When Octavia receives a cryptic message from one of Milo's cohorts warning that someone is lying, she knows she has to make every effort to save her son. She's no Nancy Drew, but surely there's something she can do. Getting through to Milo means facing truths about him that Octavia isn't sure she wants to know. Could he really be as cold-hearted as the media says he is? Is he capable of murdering the woman he says he loved?
As Octavia tries desperately to revise her relationship with Milo, she must come to terms with her son as he is now and the events from both their pasts which changed him from a carefree child into an angry, bitter man. In order to save her son, she must confront her own failings as a mother, defy the mistakes of her past, and support her child, no matter what kind of monster he may have turned into. Rewriting novels turns out to be nothing - nothing - compared to rewriting her own story.
Although The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst starts out slowly, it quickly builds into a compelling family drama and murder mystery. As Octavia pries into the details of her son's superstar lifestyle, shocking secrets emerge, each of which offers a clue to what really happend on the night Milo's girlfriend died. The mystery builds until The Big Reveal makes everything clear, if a bit cliched. The inclusion of Octavia Frost's revised novel endings is a brilliant touch, bringing a much-needed freshness to the whole book. It's to Parkhurst's credit that I wanted to read not only the Octavia/Milo story, but all the books that Octavia Frost has "written."
While the book's a tad depressing, what I really like is its hopeful theme. Parkhurst makes sure we know that while some of the plot details cannot be rewritten, our endings are rarely carved in stone.
(Readalikes: Mmm, not sure on this one. Suggestions?)
Grade: B-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language and depiction of drug/alcohol abuse
To the FTC, with love: I bought The Nobodies Album from Amazon using a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative book blogging career. Ha ha.
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