As We Are Now; May Sarton

TITLE: As We Are Now

AUTHOR:  May Sarton

PUBLISHER:  WW Norton

PUB. YEAR: 1973

SETTING: New England
FORMAT:  - print/library (133 pp)

RATING - 5/5

I recently read about this book from JoAnn@ Lakeside Musing and, I'm so happy I decided to read it.

It's not that often that I've read a book written from the perspective of a senior citizen, especially one in failing health.  Such is the case of Caroline (Caro) Spencer.

Caro is 76 years old, a quiet, intelligent and sensitive woman. She never married and spent 40 years as a teacher.  When she suffers a heart attack, she's no longer able to navigate the stairs in her home and briefly moves in with her older brother John, 80, and his much younger wife, Ginny.  Soon after this brief stay, her brother drops her off at Twin Elms, a rural nursing home over 100 miles from where she once lived. He's not sure what to say so he remains quiet and quickly leaves.

She tries to make the best of her situation. Caro is happy to have her own room with a nice view, as well as some music and poetry. She begins journaling as a way to preserve her failing memory. Some days she begins to doubt those memories. She calls her journal, "The Book of the Dead", as when someone discovers it, she knows that she will be dead. 

On the days she sits outside, she pretends to be on vacation enjoying the scenery. She enjoys the times the resident cat, sneaks into her room for a visit.  She wonders where her brother John has been, he hadn't visited since he dropped her off. When he does eventually show up (4 weeks after he left her there) he only stays for fifteen minutes and once again remains quiet.

What is not so pleasant about life at Twin Elms are the mother and daughter team that runs the home: Harriet and Rose. They seem to find a way to show their disapproval of things the residents do by withholding privileges or occasional niceties. Like in childhood, she's sent to bed without supper because of a tantrum. Deep down she is bitter and angry.

So if this sounds like a downer of a story, it is, but, it is also seemed so honest and so beautiful. It's only 133 pages, and I loved it so much. It was written more like a journal with the first person narrative.  Highly recommended.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Searching for Sylvie Lee; Jean Kwok

On Tuesdays, Vicki, ( I’d Rather Be At The Beach)  hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where  readers post the opening paragraph (or 2 ) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read. (Today's pick is a new release by an author I've enjoyed in the past)

 Searching for Sylvie Lee; Jean Kwok

William Morrow - 2019

Part 1

Chapter 1

Amy - Monday May 2

"I'm standing by the window of our small apartment in Queens, watching Ma and Pa leave for their jobs.  Half hidden by the worn curtains Ma sewed herself, I see them walk side by side to the subway station down the street.  At the entrance, they pause and look at each other for a moment. Here, I always hold my breath, waiting for Pa to touch Ma's cheek, or for Ma to burst into tears, or for either of them to give some small sign of the truth of their relationship.  Instead, Ma raises her hand in an awkward wave, the drape of her black shawl exposing her slender forearm, and Pa shuffles into the open mouth of the station as the morning traffic roars down our busy street.  Then Ma ducks her head and continues her walk to the local dry cleaners where she works."

What do you think? Pass or read more?  

What Alice Forgot; Liane Moriarty

TITLE: What Alice Forgot

AUTHOR:  Liane Moriarty

PUBLISHER:  Berkley

PUB. YEAR: 2009

SETTING: Australia
FORMAT:  - print/my shelves (459 pp)

RATING - 4/5

What Alice Forgot was our book group read for June. Almost everyone, including me, thought it was a nice summer read.

When Alice Love falls off an exercise bike at the gym, she hits her head and ends up with a serious concussion. She wakes up to find that she has lost 10 years of her memory. She thinks that she's 29 and expecting her first child, when in fact, she's 39, in the process of a divorce from Nick and has 3 children: Madison, Tom and Olivia.

Bit by bit the pieces of what happened in Alice's life between 1998 and 2008 are revealed. The story setup was quite clever. I liked that the author kept you wondering what happened in those 10 years and then slowly gave Alice recall or allowed other characters like her sister, Elizabeth to fill in the holes in various ways.  Alice's reactions to hearing about what happened in her past seemed realistic and were often laugh out loud funny, while other parts were quite serious.

Most of us felt the story was unnecessarily long at (459 pp) and that certain story lines were not needed. Overall, I liked this one and plan to try another by this author soon, perhaps: Big Little Lies.

3 cute kids books for summer - Candlewick Press

The Pawed Piper; Michelle Robinson (Illust: Chinlun Lee
Candlewick Press 2019

This is a delightful tale about a little girl who desperately wants a cat of her own, just like Hector, her granny's cat.

She comes up with an idea to attract cats and it works. Sixty-seven cats have made their way to the young girl's house. She never anticipated this would happen, what will she do?  Of course, everything works out well in the end including one happy little girl with a cat of her own.

Regardless if you are a little (or big) cat lover, you are going to adore this gem - utterly delightful and such sweet illustrations as well.

RECOMMENDED

Sea Glass Summer

Michelle Houts (Illust: Bagram Ibatoulline)
Candlewick Press

When Thomas visits his grandmother's sea side cottage she gives him a magnifying glass that had once belonged to his grandfather.  As Thomas begins to explore the beach, he finds unique pieces of sea glass and other treasures. His imagination has him dreaming of shipyards, the christening of ships and other imaginings about the past as well.   Fast forward and years later Thomas is a grandfather himself, he gets to see his own granddaughter Annie, explore the magic of the sea as well.

This book was a nice trip into the past. It's a book that will appeal to anyone who has sweet memories of summers spent at the beach. The book has lovely illustrations which includes a very elderly looking grandmother, but it also is a book which encourages conversations, exploration and imagination.

RECOMMENDED

Bear's Book
 Claire Freedman (Illust: Allison Friend)

Templar / Candlewick Press

Bear loves to read but his very favorite book is so worn out that one day when it's windy, the pages blow away.  Instead of being saddened by what has happened, he has an idea - maybe he can write his own storybook. If he can't do it alone, then maybe his friends, mouse, rabbit and owl will help him. Of course, the friends accomplish their goal by working together and they are already planning another book. Great whimsical illustrations and BONUS: a copy of their new book -  "Bear's Story" is inserted within the main book.

A cute story about working together to get things done.

RECOMMENDED

All 3 books seem perfect for pre-school to grade 1 perhaps.

Sunset Beach; Mary Kay Andrews

TITLE: Sunset Beach

AUTHOR:  Mary Kay Andrews

PUBLISHER:  Macmillan Audio

PUB. YEAR: 2019

SETTING: NC
FORMAT:  - audio/library

RATING - 4/5

I love having at least a few good beach reads every summer and this one fits the bill.

Drue Campbell is a young woman trying to find her place in the world.  Her parents were divorced when she was young and she hadn't seen her father, Brice, a personal injury attorney, in about 20 years. Now her mother has just died and it's at the funeral where father and daughter reconnect. It's awkward to say the least. To make matters worst, her father has remarried and his new wife, Wendy is someone Drue went to school with - the two never liked one another.

Drue has just learned that she has inherited her grandmother's run-down beach cottage on Sunset Beach (prime location), she's back in the area where her father and his new wife live and work.  When her father offers her a job at the law firm, she's hesitant, but needs the money.  It isn't easy having to report to Wendy but she tries to make the best of it it. 

 It's here on the job that Drue learns about an old buried case. An older black woman's daughter was murdered while working at a beach front hotel.  Now the woman is responsible for raising her granddaughter.  She has been screwed with the settlement and her father's firm had the case. Drue is determined to find out how this happened and, she hopes to make things right for this woman and her young granddaughter, even if it means exposing the ugly truth

This was such a pleasant surprise; the audio was very good as well; it's read by Kathleen McInerney.  It's got the beach setting, a good mystery, sympathetic characters, some humor and more.  There were also a few good sub plots built into the story as well. Try it if you are looking for a nice summer read.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - Ask Again, Yes; Mary Beth Keane

On Tuesday, Vicki, ( I’d Rather Be At The Beach)  hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where  readers post the opening paragraph (or 2 ) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read. 

Ask Again, Yes; Mary Beth Keane

Scribner - 2019

Prologue

July 1973

"FRANCIS GLEASON, TALL AND thin in his powder blue policeman's uniform, stepped out of the sun and into the shadow of the stocky stone building that the station house of the Forty-First Precinct. A pair of pantyhose had been hung to dry on a fourth floor fire escape near 167th, and while he waited for another rookie, a cop named Stanhope. Francis noted the perfect stillness of those gossamer legs, the delicate curve where the heel was meant to be Another building had burned the night before and Francis figured it was now like so many others in the Four-One; nothing left but a hallowed-out shell and a blackened staircase within.  The neighborhood kids had all watched it burn from the roofs and fire escapes where they dragged their mattresses on that first truly hot day in June. Now, from a block away, Francis could hear them begging the firemen to leave just one hydrant open.  He could imagine them hopping back and forth as the pavement grew hot again under their feet."

I'm on chapter 9 and so far I must say it's wonderful. It's supposed to be one of the hottest books this summer. Would you read more or pass?

The Better Sister; Alafair Burke

TITLE: The Better Sister

AUTHOR:  Alafair Burke

PUBLISHER:  Harper Audio

PUB. YEAR: 2019

SETTING: NY
FORMAT:  - audio/library

RATING - 3.5/5

When (2) sisters marry the same man and that man ends up murdered, do the police need to add to the list of suspects? 

Nicky is the first sister to marry Adam Macintosh, a man with a promising career. The two have a son, Ethan, but Nicky is a bit irresponsible and the couple eventually divorce and Adan seeks custody of their son. In the present Ethan is now16.

When Adam moves to New York City, younger sister, Chloe, a successful professional at a leading women's magazine, helps her ex-brother-in-law find a job as a US prosecutor.  Chloe is stranged from her sister but was always a friend to Adam. The two eventually marry and, once again, Chloe helps Adam find even a better job. This time the job ends up being one that Adam hates and their relationships gets rocky from that point on.  When Chloe is up for a big award and celebration at her company, Adam skips the affair, it's that very night that he ends up dead. But, just who killed Adam?  It seems that more than a few may have wanted him dead?

This was a pretty good story but not perfect.  I liked how the relationship between the sisters was well-explored. I actually ended up liking Nicky,  the first wife more even though she had many issues she was dealing with.  One of the detectives (Guidry) got on my nerves a bit but, the then author then did a good job slowly revealing secrets the suspects had been hiding.  There were some surprise twists that I hadn't anticipated. Not perfect but and enjoyable enough audio book production.