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With their daddy recently deceased, it's Tess and Birdie against the world.  Or, at least against their mother.  Beautiful, bitter Louise has never quite understood her daughters, whom the neighbors have labeled the "Finley ghouls."  If she gets wind of Birdie's newest quirk—believing her father is not dead at all, just living it up in Boca Raton—Louise is sure to lock her younger, slower daughter up in the insane asylum for good.  Which is why Tess has to convince Birdie of the truth.  Their lighthearted, jokester of a dad is dead.  No one knows that better than Tess; after all, she's the one who killed him.  

Filled with grief and fear, young Tess must use all her (considerable) pluck and grit to save her aggravating, but beloved little sister.  She believes she's on her own until help comes along in the most unlikely of forms ...

With her warm prose and spunky characters, Lesley Kagen has quickly written her way into my heart.  I've loved all of the books I've read by her.  So, really, it's no surprise that I adored The Undertaking of Tess as well.  Although it's just a novella, the story overflows with bright, vivid life.  Tess is my favorite kind of child narrator—not only is she funny, brave, and loyal (at least to her sister), but she is authentically so.  Seen through her innocent eyes, her story rings ever more true, ever more heart-wrenching, ever more hopeful.

I missed the Finley sisters the minute I finished this novella.  Thankfully, Kagen continues their story in her new novel, The Resurrection of Tess Blessing.  I seriously can't wait to see what happens to Tess next!

(Readalikes:  The Resurrection of Tess Blessing as well as Whistling in the Dark and Good Graces, all by Lesley Kagen)

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Living and working in a mining town comes with a certain amount of risk.  Everyone knows what could happen, but no one ever expects it to really happen.  Until it does.  In Swandyke, Colorado, a small town near Tenmile Ridge, the inevitable occurs on an otherwise ordinary Spring day in 1920.  Just as the schoolchildren are heading home for the day, a split of snow cracks off the mountain, creating an avalanche with the deadly, unstoppable force of a speeding train.  Hurtling toward the children at the base of the mountain, the heavy snow threatens to bury them all.   

As the tragedy unfolds, residents of Swandyke look on in horror.  Those with children—including two sisters who haven't spoken to each other in decades; a murderer hiding from the law; a prostitute with a hidden identity; a Civil War veteran; and the superintendent's wife, who guards her own secrets—gather to worry, hope and pray.  While each waits to learn the fate of their little ones, their fears, prejudices, and secret longings swim to the surface.  With so many lives hanging in the balance, can the people of Swandyke put aside their many differences and come together as a community?  Or will the avalanche be their ultimate undoing?

Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas is a sad, but hopeful tale about an ordinary town on an average day and how one cruel twist of fate affects everyone who lives there.  It's a vivid, moving story about redemption, forgiveness, and the quiet strength we often never know we possess.  While it's a bit depressing, I also found this novel to be both compelling and touching.  A very satisfying read altogether.  

(Readalikes:  Um, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

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You've heard the old adage:  A good man is hard to find.  That may be true, but as David S. Baxter—a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' First Quorum of the Seventy—argues, they are absolutely essential for the future of families, governments, and societies.  As a man who grew up without the loving guidance of a father, Baxter knows firsthand why such influences are so important.

Few would disagree that the world needs more good men.  The real question is, how does one become such?  In What Good Men Do, Baxter examines the lives of several everyday men, unsung heroes who showed courage, compassion, and determination even in the most trying of circumstances.  By looking at the traits which defined their characters, Baxter creates a list of values all men (and women) can aspire to acquire.  These include: taking risks, helping the needy, leading one's family with patience and love, standing up for what is right, etc.  This leads Baxter to the most renowned example of a good man—the Savior, Jesus Christ.  Insists Baxter, studying His life, His teachings and His atonement shows us how to live as did the greatest man who ever walked this Earth. 

Although Baxter aims his remarks specifically at men of the LDS faith, his message really is for everyone.  It's nothing you haven't heard before, but it still provides some great food for thought.  If every man (and woman) strove to live up to the ideals Baxter discusses in his book, the world would be a much brighter place indeed.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

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If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for one brief, vague reference to rape

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of What Good Men Do from the generous folks at Cedar Fort.  Thank you!

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With a thriving medical practice, a handsome husband, and an old farmhouse she's slowly turning into the perfect family home, Daphne Mitchell has it all.  Just about.  At 37, she knows she's running out of time to convince Owen to try for the baby she's always desired.  She can't understand his hesitation—he'd be a wonderful father.  The pediatric oncologist spends his every waking hour caring for children, for heaven's sake!  He says someday they'll have their own; Daphne can't—won't—wait that long. 

Then, Owen drops the bomb that shatters all Daphne's careful illusions:  He's met someone else.  A beautiful, poised, younger someone else.  Shocked and heartbroken, Daphne tries to cope.  When a tragic accident adds insult to injury, she must decide what is most important: pursuing the "perfect" life she's always dreamed of, or salvaging what she can out of the one she's already living.

As you have probably gathered, Save Me by Kristyn Kusek Lewis (available December 30, 2014) is about a woman trying to come to terms with the fact that her husband cheated on her.  And ... that's pretty much all it's about.  While I sympathized with Daphne, especially at the beginning of the novel, my patience with her and her plight wore out fast.  Her fickle indecision drove me crazy, as did her immaturity.  Her decisions didn't always make sense to me, which made the ending of her story unsatisfying for me.  Although well-written, in the end, Save Me just didn't do it for me.  I wanted a fuller, more complex story; a cast of characters with more depth, less selfishness; and an ending that felt more optimistic than depressing.  Oh well.

(Readalikes:  Hm, nothing is coming to mind.)

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