Wednesday, April 6, 2016

What I Read Wednesday

As Close to Us as Breathing: A Novel
This book circles around the loss of Davy, with his sister Molly narrating the story. The reader knows that something happens to Davy at the family's beach house, but it's not immediately apparent what happened. In the midst of this, we are given the backstory between Davy's mother, Ada, and her two sisters, Vivie and Bec, and how their lives and loves and losses have intertwined and continued to intertwine as time moves forward. There were times when I struggled to follow along with the many different stories, but overall, I enjoyed this book and the way the story circled around Davy but was also about so much more.

Lost & Found: A Novel
Millie's mom abandons her in a department store, following the loss of Millie's dad. For awhile, Millie hides out beneath the clothes rack, then stays after the lights go out. Through a series of events, Millie ends up beneath the wings of two 80 year olds who set out to reunite Millie with her mom. Along the way, the two create quite an adventure for Millie. I loved this book. It made me smile and it made me cry. It was an unlikely story but still very enjoyable.

The Nest
The Plumb family is beyond dysfunctional. Melody, Beatrice, and Jack are faced with the loss of their trust fund, following their brother Leo's drunken accident in which he severely injures a 19 year old waitress. Melody has been living beyond her means for awhile, counting on the trust fund (the nest) to send her twin daughters to college. Jack is struggling financially, but doesn't want to let his husband know. Beatrice is a writer who just can't seem to finish her overdue novel. The perspective switches between family members as the story progresses. I loved this one. I definitely did not want to cut short my time with the Plumb family.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
This is a book that if I were in the intended age level, I really would have enjoyed it. As someone older than the intended age level, I still really liked the story, but I struggled to imagine leaving my child to finish out senior year of high school alone after losing her father in a tragic accident--an accident for which she blames herself. Regardless, this is the plot line, so following it, Amy's mom asks her to drive her car from California to Connecticutt, where Amy's mom now lives. However, Amy won't drive, so Amy's mom arranges for Roger--son of a former friend of the family--to drive back across the country with Amy. The two decide to, as the title suggests, take a detour along the way. I did enjoy this book for the story itself, and I can definitely see teen girls loving it.

What are you reading?

7 comments:

Unknown said...

The Nest is definitely on my list! Right now I'm reading All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. Really enjoying it, it's different and hard to explain. But I'm glued.

Barb Ruess said...

Just reading your review of Lost & Found makes me smile fondly. I LOVED that book! Thanks for a few new additions to my reading list.

Last week I read Bats of the Republic (an illuminated novel). That part in parens is important because this is by far the most interestingly put-together book I've ever had my hands on. It has hand drawn maps, pages written by hand, a story within a story (where the pages literally look as if another book was laid on top of the pages), a letter you have to discover and read in a mobius strip fashion for the ending... And I could keep going. It reads a little like historical fiction but there's also some science fiction going on and the parallel story lines are interesting too. It's mainly an epistolary novel I suppose but it's got more going on than just letters. One of those books that when I finished it, I sat back and had to think for a few minutes about exactly how that all came together.

Barb Ruess said...

a postscript: :) I realize that I can't do the Bats of the Republic justice but this Washington Post article does: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/bats-of-the-republic-review-two-intertwined-and-echoing-stories/2015/10/06/d0e45c8a-6c65-11e5-9bfe-e59f5e244f92_story.html

Lyndsay W said...

Oh boy - a bunch more to add to my list of requests (currently 120th for The Nest - yeesh!)

I'm reading Last Bus to Wisdom. I'm enjoying it. I just wish I was finding more time to sit and read (blah blah, same old story).

Barb Ruess said...

Last Bus to Wisdom :) That book made me smile! I like books that make me smile.

InTheFastLane said...

Read that creepy one that we already discussed :). Read a couple books I didn't really care for, including Luckiest Girl Alive (apparently all the new books I am waiting for are coming out in June?). This book I am currently ready is keepin my attention. But the Jury is still out on Deliver Her.

Theresa Mahoney said...

After Calendar Girl kept popping up on my Facebook, I borrowed the books from my library. I just started book one, and so far, it sucks. I need to learn that what the masses usually love, I hate lol.