Better late than never right? Finally getting around to sharing last month's books. It was just a so so reading month for me. No total losers, but no big sinners either, and in general a little bit of a disapoinment just because I had really high expectations for a few of these.
Mad Mabel - Sally Hepworth - fiction - five stars - Elsie is a grumpy old lady who lives a relatively solitary life until a nosy, persistent little girl moves in next door. When the little girl notices that one of their neighbors hasn't brought in the mail in days, she convinces Elsie to go over to investigate. Elsie finds the neighbor dead, the police are called. While this should be an open and shut case, turns out that Elsie has a past and things start to get complicated. The book shifts between the past and present as we learn about Elsie's past, and how things connect to the present. There were a couple of twists that I did not expect. There were also some storylines that I wasn't crazy about, but overall it was a really good book that kept my interest.
Life: A Love Story- Elizabeth Berg - fiction - four stars - I probably had expectations that were a little too high for this book as I am a huge Arthur Truluv fan and have loved those books. This was a solid book, but didn't quite hit that high expectation. Florence Green is dying, and is planning to leave her home to Ruthie, a girl who grew up in the neighborhood who became like a daughter to her. She is writing a letter to Ruthie telling her about all of the special things in her home, the stories about them which are stories of her life. She is also trying to encourage Ruthie not to give up on her marriage as she tells her about the flaws in her own marriage. Florence also spends some of her last days making friends with and helping friends and neighbors. I thought that some of the anecdotes about the things in her home dragged a bit in places, but overall a really sweet story.
Boat Baby: A Memoir - Vicky Nguyen - memoir - four stars - Nguyen is an NBC news anchor/correspondent. This book tells the story of her family's flight from Vietnam, settling in the US, and her career journey. This is a really interesting life story, but the weird thing to me was that the writing seemed so plain and basic. I felt like some chapters sounded like a high school writing project. I really feel like it was a lot of facts and not a lot of emotion or character. It really felt like there was something lacking here.
Ape Escape (FunJungle #10) - Stuart Gibbs - juvenile detective - four stars - In this FunJungle book, Teddy and his parents head to Rwanda for the memorial service of an old friend. It turns out the old friend isn't actually dead, he is in hiding trying to catch poachers. When the poachers snatch a baby gorilla, Teddy and his parents and friend spring into action. Meanwhile, back in Texas, Summer has a case of her own. These are always fun to read.
The Last Woman of Warsaw - Judy Batalion - historical fiction - three stars - Fanny Zelshinsky, is the daughter of a well-to-do Jewish family in Warsaw. While engaged to be married, what she really wants to do is pursue a degree and career in photography. Her life becomes intertwined with that of Zosia, a Zionist from the country who has come to Warsaw to make a name for herself in the movement and hopefully secure a ticket to Israel. The book is an imagined riff on the life of the author's grandmother, but it just did not hang together particularly well for me. I wasn't crazy about the whole storyline about the wedding and Fanny's mother, some of the other pieces seemed too unlikely. Average.
Once and Again - Rebecca Serle - fiction - three stars - I've really enjoyed Serle's earlier books, but the last one (One Italian Summer) and this one were just so so for me. In part, I feel like this plot has been overdone. Lauren comes from a family of women who get one take back in life. They can redo once instance, which colors their life forever Lauren's mom saved her father's life many years ago, and now watches him like a hawk to make sure he stays safe. Lauren is spending the summer with her parents at their place while she and her husband sublet their place. They are trying to save money while her husband is working in NY for a few months. This amid some tension over fertility treatments. Meanwhile, her high school boyfriend is also in town staying with his mother who is dying of cancer. In general, There was one big twist in the book that I definitely did not anticipate, which I thought was quite good, but I had a hard time with Lauren and her choices. Just so so.
The Traitors Circle - Jonathan Freedland - non-fiction - three stars - The story of a group of well-to-do Germans, some titled, who worked to undermine Hitler during WWII. The group was infiltrated during the war, many were sent do prison/concentration camps, others were executed. It's an interesting story, but was kind of a plodding read. Just OK.
Since it was just a so so month, I'm not going to pick best and worst. Hoping that I have some books in my pile now that are five stars. What have you guys been reading?
