The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

This was my book club's selection for March and even though I couldn't make the meeting I still finished the book (although I finished it a few hours after the meeting was held). I'm glad I did.

This is the story of Belle and Lavinia, a woman and a girl both in slavery on the same Virginia plantation in the late 1700's. Belle is the illegitimate daughter of the plantation owner and Lavinia is a white child who was purchased after her parents died on one of the ships owned by the plantation owner. He kept the girl in payment for her passage from Ireland. She is given to Belle who runs the kitchen house on the plantation and she is raised as Belle's daughter.

Both characters find themselves in between the other slaves and the members of the family. Belle sometimes gets special treatment as the owner's daughter and is anticipating getting her emancipation papers from her father. She is forbidden to marry one of the slaves, who she loves, as her father is trying to find a more "suitable" marriage for her. Lavinia, because she is white is given opportunities the other slaves aren't given.

This was an awful time in history and it can make for difficult reading at times. People are bought and sold and treated like animals. They are put in positions no one should have to face. But through it all you see the strength of many of the characters. Rape, domestic violence, alcohol and drug addiction, incest and child molestation all factor into the story. There is a lot of suffering and death.

While not always an easy read, I still found the story really compelling and couldn't put it down. I worked through this one pretty quickly. The subject matter makes it hard to say I "enjoyed" the book, but I found it to be well-written and a good read. I loved the characters (well the ones I was supposed to love and I hated the ones I was supposed to hate). I do want to say there's not a lot here to set this apart from other books set in this time period, but it is still a good read.

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wesley read this book last fall and has been encouraging me to read it ever since. I started it one day on my lunch break and then a student borrowed it later that afternoon so I never got around to finishing it. He has now ended up with two copies so I have borrowed one and finally got to it. I am so glad I did.

Wonder is the story of August (Auggie) Pullman, a young boy who was born with severe facial deformities. Even after several surgeries his eyes sit too low on his face, his lips are scarred from a cleft palate repair, his ears are misshapen and his his skin looks as if he has been burned. As a result, Auggie has been homeschooled until the fourth grade. But by the time he is ready for fifth grade, his parents decide it is time for him to go to "real school".

Auggie then heads to Beecher Prep, a private school in the heart of New York City. Being the new student is hard, being the new student with Auggie's face is incredibly difficult. He is nervous as he tries to make new friends and deal with the stares and taunts of the other students. What he doesn't know about at first is that the other students are afraid to touch him for fear of catching "the plague". A few students befriend him, but others are cruel and the transition to school is very hard. Auggie wants to quit, but is convinced to continue on.

What will Auggie learn about himself as he goes to school each day, and what will his classmates learn about themselves. At the beginning of the school year they are challenged with the words of Dr. Wayne Dyer, "When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind." Great advice for all of us, but how often do we make that choice?

While this is a book aimed at kids aged 10-12, I'd highly recommend it to anyone. It is a great lesson in looking beyond appearances to see the wonder that lies within each of us. Wes and I are going to check out the movie tomorrow morning and I can hardly wait. I hear they've done a wonderful job of bringing Auggie's story to the big screen and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

The Names of Dead Girls by Eric Rickstad

There are all kinds of books in the world and all kinds of readers. You win some, you lose some and for me this one was a loss. It has a 3.89/5 rating on Goodreads, so there are clearly people who have liked the book, but I am not one of those people.

This book picked up where The Silent Girls left off. The first book ended with a cliffhanger and I was curious to see what happened so I decided to read the second book. But I felt this one to be too dark for me, teen girls were murdered and as the mother of a teen girl I found that unsettling.

When the first book ends you know that the killer Frank Rath has been seeking is now targeting Frank's daughter, Rachel. Frank rejoins the police force to give him greater access to the killer and better methods of keeping Rachel safe. A former victim of the killer goes missing, another local girl is killed and Frank is contacted by a Canadian detective who is investigating the deaths of 3 girls just outside of Montreal. How does it all fit together?

I found the story dark and disturbing. Many of the grammatical issues that bothered me in the first book had been corrected in the second book, but a few remained. But aside from being disturbing, I just didn't find the story compelling. It was hard for me to be inspired to pick it up to keep reading. But I eventually worked my way to the end. It did not end with a cliffhanger but there are some questions that weren't answered. I guess that leaves room for a third book, but if it comes, I won't be reading it.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I am actually a bit ahead of the game and have completed our book club's selection for February a little early. I have had my eye on this one for a while and Rob bought it for me just before Christmas so I wanted to get started on it as soon as I could.

Wow. This book grabbed me right from the start and I read it fairly quickly, even though I've been pretty busy lately. I had to put a stop to things last night at midnight with only 30 pages left to go and was able to finish it this morning.

Eleanor Oliphant is a fascinating character, I haven't met anyone like her in real life or fiction in a long, long time. It is very clear from the beginning of the book that Eleanor has been the victim of some serious abuse and trauma at the hands of her mother, but it takes until the final pages of the book to really figure out what that means and what she has endured. She has physical and emotional scars that affect her every day. There was one twist at the end that actually made me gasp out loud! That has only ever happened two other times (in Gone With the Wind and I Know This Much is True for those keeping track).

As a result of this trauma, Eleanor's life has been very lonely. She was in and out of foster homes through her teen years and then lived on her own from the age of 17 on. She goes to work, she goes home, her routine is very established. She eats the same things, enjoys a drink and a program on the radio and goes to bed. She doesn't need anyone else, and no one has ever needed her.

Then she goes to a concert with a co-worker and discovers the man of her dreams. The singer captivates her and she is convinced they will have a happy life together and tries to prepare herself for that new relationship. At the same time, she and a co-worker help a man on the street who has a medical emergency. Is it possible that someone could need her after all?

All my life, I have been heartbroken by the loneliness of others. I am an extreme extrovert who refuels by spending time with people. The thought of living such a lonely life overwhelms me. I ached with Eleanor and struggled to see her struggle.

At the same time, I loved her personality. She has a great vocabulary, she sees the world in very defined ways and anything outside her expectation is hard for her to process. Her genuine surprise at what most people would consider normal activities was pretty funny at times. Gail Honeyman has created a fantastic character and I absolutely loved reading about her.

Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar

I had heard very little about this book when I started reading it, it is our book club's selection for January. I borrowed it from a friend who said she and the rest of her book club had really enjoyed it, so I was excited to get started.

This is the story of Anton, who as a 9-year old boy is left alone in an apartment by his mother, Juanita, during an incredible heat wave. She leaves to buy drugs and is kept by her dealer for 7 days. Anton is alone the whole time in the sweltering apartment with little to no food. After he breaks a window to get out, he is taken into protective custody and placed in a foster home.

His foster parents have recently lost their own son in a car accident and are thrilled to have Anton in their lives. David, his foster father, is a judge and has connections that can help keep Juanita in prison longer to allow Anton to stay in his home. When the time comes for Juanita to be released, what should happen to Anton? Where does he belong?

As an African American child being raised by white parents, Anton thrives but sometimes feels like he doesn't quite belong. As he heads to university his girlfriend causes him to question who he is and where he belongs. Is he the whitest black man, or the blackest white man? These are words that haunt him into adulthood.

Anton follows in his father's footsteps and ends up in a career in the law. But there is a lot he doesn't know about his past and as he learns more he begins to question who he really is.

This book raises some excellent questions. Which is the better home for the boy? In poverty with his mother who has made bad choices but truly loves him, or in his lavish home with his foster family who can afford to provide what she never could? Who gets to make that decision? What role does race play in it? White privilege, institutional racism and poverty are all themes. I was reminded again of how I can never truly understand what challenges people of other races and cultures face that I will never have to even consider. It is a challenging read in that light, and especially in view of all that is happening in today's world. It is beautifully written and a very compelling story.

Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb

I love this book! I think this was the third time I've read it, and it still makes me laugh out loud.

I mostly love Wally Lamb's writing (just don't get me started on We Are Water). This one, however, is my favourite. It is a light and fun read, one I love reading at Christmas.

This is the story of Felix Funicello (you can also read about him in I'll Take You There) a 10-year old boy growing up in small-town Connecticut whose family has three claims to fame:

• his mother is about to appear on TV nationally on the Pillsbury Bake-Off
• he will be on TV locally on a kids' TV show
• his cousin is the famous Annette Funicello

As if these things weren't exciting enough, his teacher has a breakdown and the substitute teacher has exciting plans for their Catholic School Christmas pageant. 

The characters are hilarious and as the mother of a 10-year old boy, I feel like he nails Felix's voice perfectly. I find Felix's perspective to be hilarious, wanting to be more grown up than he is but not quite understanding all that is going on around him.

You can read this one in a few hours (I know everyone has a few spare hours at this time of year). If you are travelling and need a book to take with you, I highly recommend this one. There are some very funny moments and little lines that just crack me up. I've bought it as a gift for several people and it was enjoyed as my book club selection a few years ago. 

If you like A Christmas Story I think you'll like this book. 

Cometh the Hour and This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy adjusting to my new job and haven't had a lot of time for reading. Over the last couple of months I have been wrapping up the Clifton Chronicles series by Jeffrey Archer. The books were very repetitive, so I decided to combine them into one post.

I've been a Jeffrey Archer fan for over 20 years. When I need a fun, quick page-turner Jeffrey Archer is my go-to guy. So when I heard about the Clifton Chronicles, I couldn't wait to try it. It started out strong but the last few books could probably have been combined into one.

There are seven books in the series but I think the story could have been told just as well in 4.

The series covers the life of Harry Arthur Clifton and his life in Bristol, England. We read about his difficult childhood and his years at school. We are there as he falls in love with Emma Barrington and see the obstacles they face on their path to a life together. The following books follow them through the second world war and life afterwards. Harry becomes a world famous writer while Emma becomes the first woman to chair a public company in the UK.

Emma's brother Giles Barrington is Harry's best friend and a Member of Parliament. All of their lives intertwine over the course of the seven books. Because of their prominence in society, they have some enemies along the way who make things interesting.

The last two books seemed like carbon copies of each other. There were business mergers, elections won and lost, false accusations and family drama. None of it was overly exciting, but as I had invested so much time in the series I wanted to see it through to the end.

I was particularly disappointed how some of the loose threads from the earlier books were tied up in a couple of sentences at the end of book seven. Questions that haven't been answered for decades were barely given a mention. I feel like some of them could have been a bit more dramatic. One character just disappeared for the final third of the final book and didn't really get any closure.

On the whole, it was a fun series to read, but it should have been shorter. If you're a fan of Jeffrey Archer, have a look. I'd love to know what you think.