What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan

Another book-loving Mom from the schoolyard loaned me this one and it was a great, fun summer read! Thanks, Tracy!

Rachel Jenner takes her 8-year old son for a walk in the woods, like she does most Sunday afternoons. She sends Ben on ahead to run to the tire swing, but when she gets to the swing, Ben isn't there. She calls and searches but there is no trace of him. Others join in the search, with no success. Ben is gone. The police are called and the worst time of Rachel's life has begun.

As the search begins for Ben, everyone is called into question. Can anyone be trusted?

As the story unfolds, we get to know more about the different characters, as we hear the story from the perspectives of Rachel, the detective in charge of Ben's case, and also from transcripts of his sessions with a therapist to help him deal with the trauma of the case. The story is filled with twists and turns and is a fun page-turner.

If you are looking for a fun summer read, you'll enjoy this. It is fast-paced and exciting and a fun read.

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan

Not surprisingly, I follow a lot of "bookish" sites on Facebook. A few months ago one of them was promoting this book, saying it was for people who liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I absolutely loved both of those books, so I figured this would be a book I would want to read. It certainly was.

WWII continues to be a popular setting for novels, and I've noticed a new trend within that WWII trend. This is the second book I've read in the last few months about the strength and resilience of the women left behind while the men had all gone off to war. In a time when women were often still thought to be weaker, and less than their husbands, these women showed what they were made of, and kept things running at home.

Set in Chilbury, England in the spring and summer of 1940, it is an epistolary novel, told from the letters and journals of several ladies (and occasionally a man) from the town. The women are told that with the men gone, their choir will need to be disbanded. However, they want to continue singing so they form a ladies-only choir under the leadership of Prim, a woman fairly new to the town. We read the perspectives of women with sons at the front, young ladies with dreams of love, and a midwife forced into a morally challenging situation. They are amazing women who don't always know their inner strength, but as they face each challenging situation, they rise to to occasion and find what they need to carry on.

Through it all, they gain strength from each other and from singing together in a choir. As they join together in that way, they learn to rely on each other in ways they wouldn't have considered in peace time. The choir brings them together and gives meaning to their lives in a time when that meaning was hard to find.

It's a lovely book. There are sad times, there are frustrating times, there are heartbreaking times. But the women of Chilbury face them all together. It is a great summer read, I highly recommend it.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

Sometimes you finish a book and you have to shake your head and think to yourself, "What on earth just happened???" This is one such book.

In the beginning it seems like a simple story about a couple heading out on a road trip for the narrator to meet her boyfriend's parents. They are still fairly new in the relationship and she isn't sure if she wants to continue on or break up. Maybe meeting his parents isn't the best idea. Plus, she's been getting these bizarre phone calls that are starting to scare her. She doesn't know if she should tell her boyfriend, or the police and the calls are becoming more frequent.

Then it starts getting strange. Strange. Super, super strange. I can't say a lot more without spoiling it, but the last quarter of the book takes you on a lot of twists and turns.

I read most of the book in one day, so it is a quick read. I've read a lot of other reviews where people said they finished it and then went back to the beginning and read it again to try to make sense of it all. It is a suspenseful, fun read and your mind will be reeling when you are done. If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, then give this a quick read. It certainly won't be for everyone, but I think you'll have some fun with it. Then talk to me about it, so I can figure things out!

The Prison Book Club by Ann Walmsley

I wish I liked this book more than I did. The concept is amazing, but I found the writing style to be a bit too dry, and pretty much just a prime example of why I have traditionally avoided non-fiction books.

This was our book club selection for our June meeting and it is the only time I can remember when no one in the group had finished the book. Shocking!

Ann Walmsley tells the story of how she joined her friend, Carol Finlay, who held book club meetings in the Collins Bay Prison near Kingston, Ontario. Having personally been the victim of a violent mugging while living in London, England, Ann found it difficult to walk into the prison and get to know the inmates on a personal level. However, she faced her fears and her life changed a result.

The men they encountered in the prison were intelligent, insightful and loved reading. They loved discussing the books given to them each month and looked forward to their meetings as more than just a way to escape prison life for a short time. Some of the men even began a book club at their new minimum security prison when they were reassigned there.

Ann encouraged the men to journal their thoughts about the books they were reading which often turned up even more insightful thoughts which hadn't been discussed in their meetings. They read a great variety of books, and my "To Be Read" list grew as I worked my way through this book.

So, all in all, the concept was exciting and interesting. However, the writing style was incredibly dry and it became too much of an account of what happened, instead of a compelling look inside the book clubs.

If you are interested in reading more about the book clubs meeting in prisons, by all means, pick it up. You will enjoy it, it just won't be the most exciting book you've ever read. You can also check out the website for Book Clubs for Inmates.

Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner

I'm back in the thriller/suspense genre with this recommendation from another Mom at Wesley's school (Thanks Tracy, if you're reading this, I'm looking forward to the others too).

This is the 7th in a series of books about a married pair of criminal profilers (Quincy and Rainie), but this is the only one I have read and I don't feel like I was missing anything at all. It can definitely stand alone.

Telly Ray and Sharlah Nash were born into a difficult home. Their parents were addicts, their father was abusive and their mother wasn't strong enough to stop him. Telly takes good care of Sharlah until the night he sees his father attack their mother with a knife. Then, Telly loses control and attacks his parents with a baseball bat, killing them both (this happens in the first chapter, it's not a spoiler!). Following this, the children are separated in foster care and each live very difficult lives trying to overcome the trauma of that night. Telly moves from home to home while Sharlah is in the process of being adopted by Quincy and Rainie, the criminal profilers.

Fast foward 9 years when a violent gunman is on the loose in their small Oregon town. Telly's current foster parents are dead, along with two victims in a nearby gas station. Telly is seen shooting out the camera of the gas station security cameras and is on the run. Quincy and Rainie have to begin searching for their daughter's long lost brother, while trying to keep her safe at the same time. But is the case as cut and dried as it seems?

What follows is an exciting mystery with lots of twists and turns. There are lots of great characters who work together to solve the mystery. Flashbacks are given to help tell the backstory and the past and present are really well woven together.

I've never read anything by this author before but I definitely would again. This would be a great summer read, take it along with you on your vacation!

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

Judy Blume is still writing books! I had no idea until this was announced as my book club selection for March/April. She is now 79 years old and seemingly still going strong. This book is geared to adults, unlike the titles we all read as kids (Superfudge, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and so on). I really had no idea what to expect of a Judy Blume book geared to adults, so I was eager to give it a try.

This is the story of the people living in Elizabeth, New Jersey (Blume's hometown) in the winter of 1951-1952. Based on real events, it tells the story of how the town reacted when three planes crashed in their small town over the course of 58 days. Between the questions of why this kept happening, the loss of friends and family, and the fear of when it was going to happen again, the people of the town didn't know how to respond to these tragedies.

While all this is going on Miri Ammerman, Natalie Osner, Mason McKittrick and their friends are just trying to be teenagers living their lives. They fall in and out of love, struggle with eating disorders, and struggle with their parents. Rumours abound, no answers are coming and the residents of Elizabeth struggle to find their normal routines amid the heartbreak and fear surrounding them.

It seems impossible that three planes would crash in the same area in such a short time span, but it did happen. All three crashes were near schools, which made school children at the time question whether there was some sort of conspiracy at work. However, it just seems like three horrible separate tragedies that happened in a short time frame.

The story is told in alternating voices, lots of them, which can make it hard to follow. In the print copy (I read it digitally) there is a list of characters at the beginning which could really help to keep the numerous characters straight. The characters, for the most part, are quite likeable and you can easily identify with them. They face difficult situations and see how that can draw people together, or pull them apart.

It's probably a book I wouldn't have read if it hadn't been chosen by my book club, but I'm glad I read it. Several members of our group couldn't get into it and didn't finish it, so I'd like to know if anyone else read it too and how you felt about it.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

I like books about journeys. I'm not sure exactly why, but when someone sets out on some sort of personal journey, I'm in. I also like quirky books that feature unique characters. So books like The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, and Around the World in 80 Days are some of my favourites. In my experience, a good book about a personal journey usually features some amazing characters. Lillian Boxfish is one such character.

Rob recently discovered this book at Indigo and thought it would be right up my alley. Once again, he was right.

85-year old Lillian Boxfish (but she'll tell you she's only 84) is preparing to ring out 1984 and ring in 1985, she will be doing this, as she usually does, alone. Her plan is to leave her apartment in the Murray Hill district of New York City and walk to her traditional New Year's Eve restaurant, then return home and be in bed long before the ball drops in Times Square. However, she eats a few too many Oreos before heading out and when she arrives at the restaurant she just isn't hungry. So she leaves and keeps on walking. Her destination often changes throughout the night, but the walking remains.

Along the way she encounters many interesting situations and characters. And as she walks she remembers her life to this point, the successes, the failures, and the secrets. We learn that she was at one time the highest paid woman in advertising in the world, working for her beloved W.H. Macy's. She was a woman way ahead of her time, living alone in New York City, fighting to receive the same pay as men doing the same job, and asserting her independence when all the other women around her seemed to want nothing more than to find a husband.

New York City is in her blood and she knows and loves it well. As she walks the streets on this New Year's Eve, you see the city through her eyes, and meet many of its great people.

It is not a book of high excitement, but it is a great story, with great characters. To say it moves a little slowly is an understatement, but I like that kind of a story once in a while. The whole book takes place over the course of one night, with flashbacks from her earlier life mixed in to bring depth to the story.

I found it interesting to read that Lillian Boxfish was loosely based on Margaret Fishback, who was the highest-paid female advertising copywriter in the world in the 1930's. Many liberties are taken with Margaret's story, but some of the facts remain.

This was a big hit for me, and if you like character-driven stories then you'll probably like it too. If you like a lot of action and a quick moving story then this probably isn't the book for you.