The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

I did it again.  Left my Chromebook on my desk at school on charge.  Oops.

This is the first of 2 reviews I'll do today as time allows (I did not read a book Saturday as it was my belated birthday/early Valentine's Day dinner and Six the Musical).

My son has taken to skiing in the Berkshires, at Catamount and Mohawk.  This came across my suggestions on Amazon.  I know SkyNet has become self-aware, but kinda creepy.

I'm glad I purchased it though!

Maya is living in Boston, but she grew up in the Berkshires.  Just before leaving for college, her best friend Aubrey dropped dead in front of Maya and the young man they were recently quarreling over, Frank.  Frank is a librarian and says he's returned to the area to care for his ailing father after living on the West Coast.

Years later, Maya sees a viral video called "girl drops dead", in which a young woman dies suddenly in a diner.  Across from her in the booth is Frank.  Maya is sure Frank killed the young woman, same as he did Aubrey.  However, no one believes Maya now, just as no one believed her then.  

I don't want to spoil too much, but this is a definite thriller that keeps you guessing.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

 

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

Book 17 of Book a Day January.

Agatha Christie was a famous English murder-mystery author.  She was born upper middle class and was required to follow the customs of such in the 1910s-20s.  In 1926, her marriage broke down, with her husband having an affair with a long time friend, and Christie disappeared for 11 days.  Upon her return, she claimed amnesia.

It has long been speculated she faked her own disappearance in order to drum up literary fame and sympathy as the scorned wife.  

This is a fictionalized account of Christie's disappearance, following that theory.

I have to be honest, I had no idea about Christie's disappearance.  My Grandma Fran was a huge fan and had all of her novels and plays.  I read quite a few in late elementary school and middle school when I'd spend afternoons and the summer there with her and my Nana.

Definitely held my interest!  I could see our Criminal Justice cohort using this one!

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

All the Best Liars by Amelia Kahaney

This book was requested by a student.  I put it on our Amazon Wish List, and a generous donor sent it our way.  After it was returned, I decided to check it out.

Similar to the works of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson, this is a YA murder mystery.  I liked it until the very end!

Brie, Rain, and Sydney are best friends from a poor community in California.  Brie's father invests in a car dealership and suddenly she finds her and her widower father are rich.  They move to wealthy Palm Springs.  Brie's personality turns nasty.  She's a bully and a narcissist.  Then Rain's mother, a casino minimum wage employee, wins the second prize in the lottery.  Rain and her mother move to the rich-person side of town as well.  But Rain doesn't change.  Instead she defends the students Brie bullies.  Rain is a solid C student, but Brie and Sydney are in AP courses together.  Brie's daddy's money will mean she'll go to a top college, while Syd will likely work and go to community college part time. 

The girls find themselves together at a party one night.  There are drugs and alcohol a plenty.  They fight, publicly. 

Brie's home catches fire, and she dies in bed.  Rain goes on the run.  And Sydney is left facing the police.

I don't want to spoil too much, as this is a whodunit.  I was very surprised when the truth is revealed.  But as I turned that last page, I went, "wait, where's the rest?".  Because things are NOT wrapped up.  Guessing we're looking for a sequel...?

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

This is the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for February, chosen by Ms. Corrado (Mrs. Paredes' secretary). 

Diana has her whole life planned out. She's an art seller via Sotheby's in NYC and in a long-term relationship with a resident soon to be surgeon at a major hospital.  Currently 29, she wants to be engaged at 30 and knows he's hiding a ring in his sock drawer, kids by 35.  They plan to travel, starting with a two-week trip to the Galapagos Islands in March 2020.  She expects he'll propose on the beach.  

It's March of 2020.  We all know what happens in March of 2020. 

Finn, Diane's soon to be fiance, tells her to go on the trip.  There's no point in them losing all that money.  Maybe she'll be safer there.  After all, Covid is supposed to die out after two weeks of shut down, right?  

Diane arrives to find the entire island has closed.  There's no wifi, no post office, no bank, no hotels, no restaurants.  She has no way to contact Finn or her mother in a nursing home.  She's got two weeks in paradise, but now it's total isolation from the rest of the world.  She also doesn't speak Spanish like most of the islanders.  

Thankfully, a grandmother takes her in and allows her to stay in her grandson's old bedroom.  Abeula's grandson Gabriel is a former tour guide; he and his teenage daughter Beatriz both speak fluent English.  Diana, Gabriel, and Beatriz go on local adventures outdoors--hiking, swimming, etc.  Diana sees parts of their home the tourists usually never do, while Abuela takes care of her and shows her the local trade market.  

And that's where I'm going to stop.  There is a major plot twist I did NOT expect and I do not want to ruin it.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Ok, the last of the 4 reviews from this weekend.  Note to self, DON'T LEAVE YOUR CHROMEBOOK AT SCHOOL!

I wanted to like this.  I really, really did.  And I loved the first part.  Second part, I found so depressing.  And the thing is, it honestly reads like two completely separate books, as if two different people wrote them and the publisher thought, well here's two stories about Minneapolis, let's forge them together!

Part 1 is an amusing ghost story.  Tookie, a recently released inmate, works at her local book store.  She was arrested after stealing a dead body for a friend, that was actually hiding drugs.  Said book store is modeled on Erdrich's actual one, with a fictional Louise as the boss.  The store features books by, about, and for Native American Indians.  Flora, a white female ghost, haunts the store.  The writing is sarcastic, witty, and entertaining. It's almost perfect October reading. 

Then part 2 is 2020.  The pandemic and George Floyd/BLM.  The story turns incredibly dark, as would be the case.  The writing style changes too.  Riots and looting occur around the store, as happened in real life.  It's heartbreaking.

And I do not feel they actually go together well.  They absolutely could have been two separate novels, and would have been successful I think.  Or even a series.  But as one continuous novel, it does not work.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.   

My Name is Jason. Mine Too. By Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin

This is an incredibly unique book.  It's a hybrid graphic and in-verse memoir told in both simultaneous and alternating viewpoints of two best friends, both named Jason. 

The first Jason in Reynolds.  We know him as an author and poet.  He is black.

The second Jason is Griffin.  He is an artist.  He is white.  

And they tell their story, from college to poverty as starving artists/authors to success.  It ends with them reflecting on the project, 13 years later.  

It's hard to review this.  I can't explain it.  It is just. so. moving.  There are definite Mrs. W. tear stains!  From the words to the visuals, this is a book you MUST read.

Find this on display in memoir as a "Mrs. W.'s Favorite".

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart

My family does names out of a hat for adults for Christmas.  We each get one person to buy for, and we choose a theme.  We've done flat gifts only, A Blue Christmas, picnic baskets, socks and jammies, hoodies, surprise interest-based, and this year: Want, Need, Wear, Read.  We each had to list 4 items, 1 per category, and the giver chose any combo up to $50.  This was my Read choice from my cousin-in-law Juliet. 

This was recommended to me by Amazon.  I'm guessing since your phone tracks basically everything, and there is a lot of NASCAR between North Carolina and Georgia...

This was a fairly easy read with nothing major happening.  I know that sounds strange.  It was NOT boring, but there was no OMG plot twist.  There were a couple of tough scenes--Black workers face much harsher treatment, women are treated as property, all as one would expect in the early days of the Depression in these locations.   

Rae Lynn is a turpentine farmer in NC, married to a bumbling idiot who falls off a ladder.  She shoots him in the head to end his pain, but doesn't know his friend sees it.  She goes on the run, ending up in Swallow Hill, a labor camp.  Del, a womanizing farmhand, gets caught being naughty with his wife's boss.  After the boss tries to kill him in revenge, he leaves and ends up at Swallow Hill.  Rae, disguised as Ray, and Del work together until Rae's is found out.  The camp owner's wife Nellie falls in love with Rae, and the 3 escape to Del's sister's home.  Del and Rae marry and have children, helping out Del's family and Aunt Nellie.  

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.