Author: Jodi Picoult
Summary: As Picture Perfect begins, it is daybreak in downtown L.A. A woman suffering from amnesia is taken in by an officer new to the L.A. police force, after he finds her wandering aimlessly near a graveyard. Days later, when her husband comes to claim her at the police station, no one is more stunned than Cassie Barrett to learn that not only is she a renowned anthropologist, but she is married to Hollywood's leading man, Alex Rivers.
Comments: I really enjoyed this book. It was a little different from her other books. Yet, it kept you wondering how it was going to end. She always forces you to think about hard life choices. This book gives you a little perspective on how women in Cassie's shoes feel. I pray that if it ever came to that I'd have the strength she does.
Book: Everything I Never Told You
Author: Celeste Ng
Summary: Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . . So begins the story of this exquisite debut novel, about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother’s bright blue eyes and her father’s jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue—in Marilyn’s case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James’s case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party.
When Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart. James, consumed by guilt, sets out on a reckless path that may destroy his marriage. Marilyn, devastated and vengeful, is determined to find a responsible party, no matter what the cost. Lydia’s older brother, Nathan, is certain that the neighborhood bad boy Jack is somehow involved. But it’s the youngest of the family—Hannah—who observes far more than anyone realizes and who may be the only one who knows the truth about what happened
Comments: This is a great book! It keeps you engaged to the end. It also really makes you think about how well you know your children and your family. There are so many unsaid but assumed details in this book. I really learned a lot about society in the 1970's in regards to racial mixed marriages. I was adopted from Korea as a baby. It was interesting to read about about how other Asians felt at that time in America. I never experienced the loneliness expressed in this book but it made me thankful for living at a more accepting time.
Book:When She Woke
Author:Hillary Jordan
Summary:When She Woke, tells the story of a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed—their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crimes—and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.
In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.
Comments:This book has a lot of parallels to The Scarlet Letter. It is very intriguing through to the end. I found it particularly interesting to see what a world where church and state are mixed. Obviously this is just a fictional picture of what could happen but it definitely paints a bleak outcome. I did not particularly love how it ended but it really was an intriguing book!
Book: Still Alice
Author: Lisa Genova
Summary: Alice is an accomplished professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease learns that her worth is comprised of more than her ability to remember. Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life—and her relationship with her family and the world—forever.
Comments: This is an extraordinary book. It is well written and draws you right into Alice's life. So many of us know someone who has had or has this disease or suffer memory loss. I love how the book is written from the perspective of someone with Alzheimer's. It really helps you understand the disease a little better and what it feels like for those people who suffer from it. I didn't realize it had been made into movie. I guess I'll have to see it and see how close it is to the book!
Book:When She Woke
Author:Hillary Jordan
Summary:When She Woke, tells the story of a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed—their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crimes—and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.
In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.
Comments:This book has a lot of parallels to The Scarlet Letter. It is very intriguing through to the end. I found it particularly interesting to see what a world where church and state are mixed. Obviously this is just a fictional picture of what could happen but it definitely paints a bleak outcome. I did not particularly love how it ended but it really was an intriguing book!
Book: Still Alice
Author: Lisa Genova
Summary: Alice is an accomplished professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease learns that her worth is comprised of more than her ability to remember. Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life—and her relationship with her family and the world—forever.
Comments: This is an extraordinary book. It is well written and draws you right into Alice's life. So many of us know someone who has had or has this disease or suffer memory loss. I love how the book is written from the perspective of someone with Alzheimer's. It really helps you understand the disease a little better and what it feels like for those people who suffer from it. I didn't realize it had been made into movie. I guess I'll have to see it and see how close it is to the book!
Great reviews! I've got some titles to add to my library list!
ReplyDeleteHope you like them! I always like book suggestions to find good books!
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