Tuesday, November 28, 2017

The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons

The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons

I was looking for something lighter to read and found this on the shelf of the library.  I haven't read anything by Anne Rivers Siddons in quite some time, not since one that contained a litter of Boykin Spaniels within its storyline.  My beloved Ginger was a Boykin Spaniel and Miss Siddons captured their personalities perfectly.  I can't remember the title but I'll never forget those precious dogs.

But I digress. The Girls of August gathered for a week at the beach every summer for fifteen years until tragedy struck taking one of the members away.  No husbands are allowed at this annual event, wives only. When a new, cute and much younger wife replaces Melinda who was killed in a car accident, Baby, struggles to fit in. Yes, that is the new wife's name, Baby. The original members of the group, Maddy, Rachel and Barbara, resent Baby right off the bat and make little effort to welcome her into the fold.

As a reader can expect, all of these women will experience some kind of epiphany during their time at the beach. And they want to dislike Baby and even though Baby acts like a baby, in the end they can't help but reinvent the girls of August. In typical Siddons fashion, her characters are distinct and rich but their actions and anchors are predictable. If you are looking for a story that's light and easy, where you don't have to think too much, The Girls of August will fill the void.  

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Before We were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Before We Were Yours is a compelling story told through the eyes of present day, Avery Stafford, and also from the perspective of Rill, a child in the 1930's.  Rill and her siblings were the victims of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society who stole children from poor families and sold them for profit.

When modern Avery comes home to help her ailing father keep his political career afloat, she discovers that her grandmother is keeping a secret.  Grandma Judy is now dealing with dementia so uncovering the demons she's been hiding all her life is not going to be easy.  Avery's well to do and well connected family has no interest in bearing their souls to the rest of the world therefore are no help to Avery's search.

This story is one of those pieces of history that we find utterly disgusting in every way.  The author didn't sugar coat any of the situations Rill found herself in. The child abuse and even murder of helpless children made me angry.  Rill fought to keep her family together until she couldn't fight any more.  And that made me sad.  I always love books that evoke multiple kinds of emotions.

The thing that I didn't enjoy was how the story was told from Avery's viewpoint. That she deciphered a typewriter ribbon which led her to the Tennessee Children's Home Society seemed out of place.  I grew up using a typewriter and I doubt reading the ribbon would be that easy.  I tend to tune out when  things I don't find plausible are part of the story.  I thoroughly enjoyed the historical part of this book but I didn't need the present day sleuth, Avery, to make the story complete.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Jack and Mabel felt unwelcome back east in Pennsylvania.  Childless, they didn't fit in so they headed to Alaska to homestead and start a new life.  The cold and unforgiving territory tested everything they knew and handed then far more than they ever expected.

What they never lost however, was their love for each other.  One night as they frolicked in the snow, building a snow child, complete with a scarf and mittens, they laughed and kissed and forgot their worries in that moment.  And that is when the girl appeared.

At first Jack and Mabel thought she was an illusion, popping up for a minute or only an instant, out of the corner of an eye.  Little by little she shared meals at their table, stole a quick hug or brought an animal pelt.  But when the snow disappeared so did Faina, only to return again in winter after the first snow.

I loved this magical, mystical story.  Jack and Mabel were such kind and lovable characters.  Esther and George were loud, and messy, the opposite of Jack and Mabel, who became the dearest of friends.  The Snow Child paints a wonderful picture of how hard life was in the 1920's for the inhabitants of Alaska along the Wolverine River.  Their life was simple, filled with hard work just to survive the long, dark winter, but it was also a place of love, where neighbors helped neighbors no matter what they needed.

The Snow Child will leave you guessing and wondering. And it will leave your heart filled with the warmth of loving what you can't always hold in your hand.


Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong

Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong First off I have to say I happened on this book by chance.  My sister's name is Susan Leigh Furl...