ARC review: Island Girls by Nancy Thayer

 

Many thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine books for the advance reader's copy of this novel!

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

Charming ladies’ man Rory Randall dies with one last trick up his sleeve: His will includes a calculating clause mandating a summer-long reunion for his daughters, all from different marriages—that is, if they hope to inherit his posh Nantucket house. Relations among the three sisters are sour thanks to long-festering jealousies, resentments, and misunderstandings. Arden, a successful television host in Boston, hasn’t been back to the island since her teenage years, when accusations of serious misbehavior led to her banishment. College professor Meg hopes to use her summer to finish a literary biography and avoid an amorous colleague. And secretive Jenny, an IT specialist, faces troubling questions about her identity while longing for her sisters’ acceptance.

To their surprise, the three young women find their newfound sisterhood easier to trust than the men who show up to complicate their lives. And if that weren’t problematic enough, their mothers descend on the island. When yet another visitor drops by the house with shocking news, the past comes screaming back with a vengeance. Having all the women from his life under his seaside roof—and overseeing the subsequent drama of that perfect storm—Rory Randall might just be enjoying a hearty laugh from above.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

You may have noticed a change in my summer reading habits. I think the Iowa heat drains me of a bit of my brainpower and I find myself craving books within the category that I like to call 'Brain Candy'- i.e. no deep thought necessary, just a delightful sugary romp within. Nancy Thayer is pretty amazing at brain candy.

This novel has what every Thayer novel has: Nantucket beaches, female relationships, charming  men and sex. Hello, summer in a book! I loved the developing relationships between the sisters, even if it was predictable and unrealistic at times. The slow pace and descriptions of living in Nantucket gave me a distinctly summer vacation feel. Very enjoyable.

Worth staying up all night to read?

This would be the perfect book to stash in your beach bag and read in the sun.

Rating: 3 stars

 

When it Happens to You by Molly Ringwald

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren't facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.

Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life—revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

Well, knock me over with a feather. Molly Ringwald can actually write.

 

I had no intention to read this collection of short stories, but fate had another idea. When I was browsing through audiobook selections on Overdrive that were immediately available, this was pretty much the only title that I had not read. I was in the middle of a paperwork nightmare at work and desperately needed an immediate download to distract me from my nurse's hell. This was it.

 

Molly Ringwald narrates the audiobook version and her familiar voice was calming and perfect for the short stories. I have not read many short story collections in which the stories are all inter-related. I think this collection actually gives you a better picture of the characters and the story than a traditional novel format would have. I really enjoyed the all of the characters and felt that they were well-developed. I was worried that, being a celebrity and all, the author would be out of touch with "regular" people. That assumption seems to be misguided, as the everyday drudgery of motherhood and all its trappings seem to be well understood by Ms. Ringwald.

 

Yet another great summer read!

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Yes. However, that's the beauty of short stories- you don't feel as though you have to read the entire book in one sitting.

 

Rating: 4 stars

ARC review: Always Watching by Chevy Stevens

Note: I gratefully received a copy of this novel from Net Galley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

 Synopsis(via Goodreads):


She helps people put their demons to rest.

But she has a few of her own…

In the lockdown ward of a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Nadine Lavoie is in her element. She has the tools to help people, and she has the desire—healing broken families is what she lives for. But Nadine doesn’t want to look too closely at her own past because there are whole chunks of her life that are black holes. It takes all her willpower to tamp down her recurrent claustrophobia, and her daughter, Lisa, is a runaway who has been on the streets for seven years.

When a distraught woman, Heather Simeon, is brought into the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit after a suicide attempt, Nadine gently coaxes her story out of her—and learns of some troubling parallels with her own life. Digging deeper, Nadine is forced to confront her traumatic childhood, and the damage that began when she and her brother were brought by their mother to a remote commune on Vancouver Island. What happened to Nadine? Why was their family destroyed? And why does the name Aaron Quinn, the group’s leader, bring complex feelings of terror to Nadine even today?

And then, the unthinkable happens, and Nadine realizes that danger is closer to home than she ever imagined. She has no choice but to face what terrifies her the most…and fight back.

This insomniac's opinion:

I adored the Chevy Stevens' novel Still Missing so I was thrilled to receive a copy of this ARC(advanced reader's copy). In typical Stevens' style, this novel was heavy on the suspense and twists. I voraciously devoured the first half of the novel and couldn't wait to unravel the mystery.

Unfortunately, the second half of the novel was a bit slow-going for me. The ending was unfortunate. It was like a blow 'em up action movie where they take it so far that it no longer resembles reality in any way.

Criticisms aside, though- this was a great summer read! I really enjoyed it and it did not take long to finish.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes. There is a certain scene(ahem, buried alive, ahem) that may give you nightmares, though!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Mermaids by Patty Dann

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

So begins this extraordinary first novel about one wild year in the life of fourteen-year-old Charlotte Flax, when she and her sister Kate move with Mrs. Flax into a sleepy 1960's Massachusetts town. Mrs. Flax is a woman who wears polka-dot dresses and serves hors d'oeuvres for dinner every night, and Kate is a child who basically wants to be a fish.

And then there's Charlotte, who in Patty Dann's hands, is transformed into a young woman of infinite whim and variety. Charlotte's main ambition in life is to become a saint, preferably martyred, though she's Jewish. She's smitten with the shy young caretaker at the convent at the top of the hill. Dann has created a young girl who accepts the unkindness of the mad universe in which she's whirling and takes it on with a savage glee.

This insomniac's opinion:

I realize that my reading of this novel is somewhat backwards. Mermaids, the movie made from this novel, is one of my favorite movies. I love the quirky wonderfulness of Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci as the sisters coming of age in a time that quirkiness wasn't appreciated. So, I was watching the movie a few weeks ago and I noticed the mention that it was based off of a novel. What???? How did I miss this? I immediately got on Half.com and scored an original 1986 hard-cover for pennies. Score!

Just wait, it gets better. You know how you can tell if a book has never been read by the way the pages lay? I could immediately tell that no one had ever flipped a page of this novel. It was a virgin book, my friends! I realize that not everyone would be excited by this, but I most certainly was. I immediately set about taking the book's virginity.

I really enjoyed this short novel. Charlotte is delightfully quirky and the author does a wonderful job of capturing that awful teenage insecurity that overcomes most of us at that age. I do regret not getting to read this novel before seeing the movie because the faces of the actors immediately became the faces of these characters as I began to read. You just can't knock the strong personalities of Cher, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci out of your mind once they have taken the roles and made them their own. I read this novel in one sitting and was absolutely delighted by it.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Definitely worth reading and no need to stay up all night- I finished it in a couple of hours!

Rating: 4 stars

The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

When Alice Ozma was in 4th grade, she and her father decided to see if he could read aloud to her for 100 consecutive nights. On the hundreth night, they shared pancakes to celebrate, but it soon became evident that neither wanted to let go of their storytelling ritual. So they decided to continue what they called "The Streak." Alice's father read aloud to her every night without fail until the day she left for college.

Alice approaches her book as a series of vignettes about her relationship with her father and the life lessons learned from the books he read to her.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

*contented sigh*

 

Oh, how I adored this book. As a raging bibliophile, I delight in finding others that share my passion for books. This book is the most delightful read about a father(a school librarian with an extraordinary and quirky love for reading out loud) and his daughter, Alice and their "streak". The streak began as a pact to read for 100 nights that stretched into a streak that went on for years.

This book was beautiful in so many ways. The relationship between Alice and her father, their shared love of books and the impact that their reading had on others around them. If you are a fellow bibliophile, this is a must read!

I feel that I must mention another book in this review as it is another must read for fellow bibliophiles. If you have not read The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe, you must add it to your TBR stack immediately! More details here.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes! Then pass it on, my bookish buddies!

Rating:

5 stars. Big ole' stars bright enough to read by.



Reservation Road by John Burnham Schwartz

Summary(via Goodreads):

A tragic accident sets in motion a cycle of violence and retribution in John Burnham Schwartz's riveting novel Reservation Road. Two haunted men and their families are engulfed by the emotions surrounding an unexpected and horrendous death. Ethan, a respected professor of literature at a small New England college, is wracked by an obsession with revenge that threatens to tear his family apart. Dwight, a man at once fleeing his crime and hoping to get caught, wrestles with overwhelming guilt and his sense of obligation to his son. As these two men's lives unravel, Reservation Road moves to its startling conclusion. This is an astonishing tale of love and loss, rage and redemption, that is as suspenseful as it is emotionally compelling.

This insomniac's opinion:

This novel was unique in that it told the story from the viewpoints of both the victim's family and the perpetrator. It was engrossing and moving. The grief felt by both parties was so real that it was nearly palpable. I sometimes find that male authors tend to gloss over emotions,even in the toughest of circumstances. That was not the case for this novel- John Burnham Schwartz very effectively makes the reader ache to reach into the novel and comfort the deeply grieving characters. My only complaint is that the novel seemed to stretch on for too long and the ending did not seem to fit the tone of the rest of the novel.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Ann Fowler

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the “ungettable” Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn’t wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to Scribner’s, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and take the rest as it comes.

What comes, here at the dawn of the Jazz Age, is unimagined attention and success and celebrity that will make Scott and Zelda legends in their own time. Everyone wants to meet the dashing young author of the scandalous novel—and his witty, perhaps even more scandalous wife. Zelda bobs her hair, adopts daring new fashions, and revels in this wild new world. Each place they go becomes a playground: New York City, Long Island, Hollywood, Paris, and the French Riviera—where they join the endless party of the glamorous, sometimes doomed Lost Generation that includes Ernest Hemingway, Sara and Gerald Murphy, and Gertrude Stein.

Everything seems new and possible. Troubles, at first, seem to fade like morning mist. But not even Jay Gatsby’s parties go on forever. Who is Zelda, other than the wife of a famous—sometimes infamous—husband? How can she forge her own identity while fighting her demons and Scott’s, too? With brilliant insight and imagination, Therese Anne Fowler brings us Zelda’s irresistible story as she herself might have told it.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

I am smack-dab in the middle of an obsession with the Roaring 20's. I think re-reading The Great Gatsby and going to see the movie has awakened some kind of fascination with that time period(and the famous people that lived through it). This book delivered solidly on that front.

 

Other than the major details, I doubt that this novel is very accurate as to Zelda Fitzgerald's life. It is simply impossible to know what is inside someone's mind and marriage. However, if it is taken as it- a fiction novel- it is absolutely fascinating. I learned a lot of things about Zelda(that she was a published writer and was committed to a mental institution, among other things) and had an enormous amount of compassion for her character. It was a delightful romp through another time period and the enormously entertaining(and sometimes tragic) lives of fascinating individuals.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Yes!

 

Rating:

 

4 stars

 

My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

In this stunning first novel, Mary Sutter is a brilliant, head­strong midwife from Albany, New York, who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Determined to overcome the prejudices against women in medicine-and eager to run away from her recent heartbreak- Mary leaves home and travels to Washington, D.C. to help tend the legions of Civil War wounded. Under the guidance of William Stipp and James Blevens-two surgeons who fall unwittingly in love with Mary's courage, will, and stubbornness in the face of suffering-and resisting her mother's pleas to return home to help with the birth of her twin sister's baby, Mary pursues her medical career in the desperately overwhelmed hospitals of the capital.

Like Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain and Robert Hicks's The Widow of the South, My Name Is Mary Sutter powerfully evokes the atmosphere of the period. Rich with historical detail (including marvelous depictions of Lincoln, Dorothea Dix, General McClellan, and John Hay among others), and full of the tragedies and challenges of wartime, My Name Is Mary Sutter is an exceptional novel. And in Mary herself, Robin Oliveira has created a truly unforgettable heroine whose unwavering determination and vulnerability will resonate with readers everywhere.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

My friend Jenni(better known as founder of the infamous P- Posse) recommended this novel to me and her recommendation was spot on!

 

One of my many fascinations(anyone out there keeping a list??? How many unusual fascinations must I have so far?) is midwifery, especially in the time when midwives delivered most, if not all, babies. This novel's protagonist, Mary Sutter- a midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon,  is quite possibly the strongest willed female character of any recent novel that I have read. Her strength, intelligence and persistence was inspiring at every turn.

 

As a nurse, I loved that the author wrote of famous nurses from this time period, such as Dorthea Dix and Clara Barton. I think that, often, the sacrifices of our brave nurses at war time is overlooked. This novel showed the true bravery of these women. I also enjoyed the brief passages that included President Lincoln(whomever out there has started the list of my freakish fascinations, kindly add Mr. Lincoln to that list!).

 

There were a few parts of this novel that were slow moving, but overall this was a wonderful read!

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Yes! Prepare to be inspired by the women who came before us.

 

Rating: 4 stars

The Diviners by Libba Bray

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

 

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

 

This insomniac's opinion:

 

What a romp! This YA novel takes the wildness of the roaring twenties and adds in a creepy, occult mystery. It was truly an enjoyable read!

 

Be warned if you do not like scary books- it is quite a feat to be able to give the reader shivers and this book delivered shivers by the truck-load! There is a character in this novel, Naughty John, who literally gave me nightmares after reading this novel.

 

I adored the roaring twenties verbiage and fashion in this novel. The protagonist, Evie, is delightfully witty and takes in the spoils of New York City in such a way that the reader gets to feel as though she is along for the ride.

 

Worth staying up all night to read?

 

Yes, but you may want to sleep with the light on afterwards...

 

Rating: 4 stars

An Education by Lynn Barber

 

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

 

When Lynn Barber was sixteen, a stranger in a maroon sports car pulled up beside her as she was on her way home from school and offered her a ride. It was the beginning of a long journey from innocence to precocious experience—an affair with an older man that would change her life. Barber’s seducer left her with a taste for luxury hotels and posh restaurants and trips abroad, expensive habits that she managed to support in later life as a successful London journalist whose barbed interviews at once terrorized and fascinated her smart-set subjects.

A poignant, shockingly candid account of the stages in a literary life—from promiscuity at Oxford to a stint at Penthouse to a complex marriage that endured—An Education is a classic of English memoir. 

This insomniac's opinion:

I "read" this book via audio book. I find that non-fiction, memoirs particularly, lend themselves to this format as it feels as though the author is personally speaking with you and telling you his/her story. I became immediately sucked into to Mrs. Barber's life story and finished this audio book in just a few days. All of her life is truly fascinating, but the section titled 'An Education'(it is this section only that the movie is based on) was by far the most fascination. Now that I've finished this book, I can't wait to see the movie!

I have to say that I adore Lynn Barber's spunk and feel that she has had a lot of fun, a lot of life in her years. It was very inspiring. She writes with energy and unique turns of phrase that makes reading this book truly fun.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Definitely worth reading, but some parts of the book have a bit of a slow pace not really suited for night reading.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Obituary Writer by Ann Hood

Synopsis(via Goodreads):

On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, a young wife and mother obsessed with the glamour of Jackie, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless but secure marriage or to follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between these two women will change Claire s life in unexpected and extraordinary ways. Part literary mystery and part love story, The Obituary Writer examines expectations of marriage and love, the roles of wives and mothers, and the emotions of grief, regret, and hope.

This insomniac's opinion:

I've been anxious to read this novel for some time. I found the subject and the cover to be fascinating! I placed myself on two simultaneous wait lists for this novel: on Overdrive for the audio book version and with my local library for the print version. Imagine my surprise when both versions became available on the same day! I decided I would try a hybrid approach-read when I could, and supplement my reading with the audio book while driving, etc.

This was my first attempt at an audio book that was a fiction novel. I began listening to the audio book while driving between patient visits and found myself very much disliking the manner in which the woman reading the book was doing so. She used voices for the characters, including a squeaky little voice for the young girl in the story and a her attempt at a gruff, manly voice for all male characters. I was so intensely disliking the experience that I wasn't sure that I wanted to continue the book in any manner. However, I chose to return the audio book version and continue with the print version. I am so very  glad that I did.

Ann Hood is a master at writing women characters, especially women in mourning. I recently learned that Ms. Hood lost a young child to sudden illness, and it makes me terribly sad to conclude that any mother who had lost a child would indeed be very intimate with mourning and loss.

This novel had dual narrators, Claire and Vivien. I was equally enthralled by both character, but found myself wondering throughout the novel how the two women, generations apart, were connected. The author does a wonderful job of connecting the two narrators at the end of the novel and allowing everything to come full circle. Truly a beautiful novel.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes! However, avoid the audio book version unless you enjoy childish voices and sound effects.

Rating:

 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads