Books Blog : fiction, families

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:49:00 GMT

Sarah Addison Allen has charmed me with every one of her novels and her most recent, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, is no exception. I loved every minute with Emily, Julia, Vance, Stella, Sawyer and Win. I want to eat cake made by Julia, see the wallpaper change in Emily's bedroom and just experience the little bit of magic all of these people have in their lives.

Teenager Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina to live with her grandfather, Vance Shelby, also known as the Giant of Mullaby because he's "tall enough to see into tomorrow"-- over eight feet tall. Emily has never met her grandfather or visited Mullaby, where her recently deceased mother grew up. She doesn't know what to expect and there are a number of surprises awaiting her, some of them upsetting, some of them comforting.

Meanwhile, Julia Winterson wants nothing more than to leave Mullaby and move back to Maryland. Julia may have grown up in this small town, but now she is a temporary, maybe not so welcome fixture, or so she thinks. Julia inherited her father's BBQ restaurant in Mullaby. While she leaves most of the running of the restaurant to her staff, she bakes fabulous cakes and pastries fresh each morning as town is waking up. When the mortgage on the restaurant is paid off, she plans to sell it and open her own bakery in Baltimore. Emily is a great character, but Julia is my favorite.

Sarah Addison Allen's two previous novels are Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. I think of the three, The Girl Who Chased the Moon is probably my least favorite, but don't let that put you off. I still loved it and recommend it very much; I just like the other two a little better. I don't want to go into detail about why I like this one just a little less, for fear of giving away a big part of the story.

One difference between The Girl Who Chased the Moon and its predecessors that I found kind of nice is that there isn't a really bad guy involved in the story. Gardens Spells had David and The Sugar Queen had Julian; both were truly evil men; there's no other way for me to describe them. While that very real evil was absent from The Girl Who Chased the Moon, other touches of other-worldly, positive magic were present. As an example, the wallpaper in Emily's bedroom changes depending on her mood.

With all three novels, I've really become attached to the characters. Both main characters and supporting characters are always a treat. It's always possible to imagine her characters going on with their lives beyond the end of the book. The stories are about the past and present, but the endings are about the future and leave me feeling hopeful. Her style is becoming familiar to me and I like that because it makes the books comforting. I do hope, however, that her stories continue to remain fresh; that familiar style doesn't become same old, same old.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:04:00 GMT

When I went home a little while back, I saw a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in my little sister's room. Feeling a bit nostalgic, I went home and started reading the battered copy on my bookshelf. I don't know how many times I have read this book (almost as many as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird), but I always come away feeling like I have just read it for the first time.

Betty Smith published A Tree Grows in Brooklyn in 1943 and it was an immediate success. The story focuses around Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in the early twentieth century with a fun-loving, but alcoholic father, realistic mother, and younger brother. Struggling against poverty and isolation from her peers, Francie finds solace in the library where she plans to read every book in the collection. The story continues over the next five years of Francie's life. Her struggle to gain her mother's love, her desire to better her own life, and finding love are all issues that Francie encounters growing up in Brooklyn.

I don't want to give away too much of the story for those of you that haven't read it because A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a book that I believe everyone should read at least once. Francie and her family have struggles that many people can relate to, and you can't help but wish to be the friend Francie so desperately needed. If you are wandering around the library one day searching for something to read, remember to grab a copy of this book.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Guatemama@evpl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:21:00 GMT

It's every parent's worst nightmare.... you wake up early one morning to find that the child that you tucked into bed the night before is gone -- not playing in another room or downstairs watching TV, but truly, hopelessly, nowhere to be found. Missing! The terror, the panic, the overwhelming emotions of just such a scene plays out in two very different homes just a few yards from each other in the book, The Weight of Silence.

Both seven years old, Calli and Petra are best friends. Calli does not speak. She is selectively mute after witnessing a traumatic event with her mother at the hands of her alcoholic father. Petra is the adored only child of loving parents who "knows" what her best friend is thinking and, therefore, often becomes her voice. Then in the pre-dawn hours of that fateful day, both little girls disappear.

Calli's parents, Antonia and Griff; Petra's parents, Martin and Fielda; Calli's big brother, Ben; deputy sheriff Louis, and the girls themselves all have a voice in this compelling narration. As the story unfolds each of their experiences and perspectives are told through alternating chapters of the book. In the eyes of the law and of each other, everyone is a suspect, and yet, there are no definitive clues. Did the girls wander off to play in the woods of their own free will? Were they snatched away by some horrible serial killer? Was it the dad? Or was it the big brother? Will there be answers or will they find them too late?

It is not often that I am able, or so inclined, to finish a book in one sitting, but this is a book that I just could not put down. I could feel the panic and desperation of these families as they searched for their little girls and like them I had to know what happened... good or bad. And even days after finishing the book, the story still haunts me and will likely remain in my memory for some time to come.

I Heart The Spellmans!

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:17:00 GMT

Back in January, I wrote a little bit about Lisa Lutz's Spellman series. Last night I finished the third installment, Revenge of the Spellmans. It is EXCELLENT! This has become my new favorite series, since I've begun to grow tired of Janet Evanovich's Plum series. Private investigator Izzy Spellman might come from a fantastically dysfunctional family of fantastic private investigators, but the Spellmans love one another... for the most part... and they make endearing characters. This time 31-year-old Izzy is in court ordered therapy, living in a secret location and trying to solve a case that looks simple on the surface but only gets more complicated as she digs deeper. David revamps his life and Rae tries out new deviations. Henry Stone loses his patience with more than one Spellman. This third book introduces two new characters that I think might appear again-- Connor, an Irish bartender with a very thick accent and Maggie, a defense attorney who's almost as quirky as the Spellmans themselves. As usual, there are investigations of family members, investigations of friends of family members, a few arrests for spice and a dash of blackmail too. I couldn't possibly tell you all of the goings-on and I wouldn't want too; read it for yourself!

Lisa Lutz's website

Animal Dreams -- Books for Lunch at Red Bank Branch

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:58:00 GMT

On Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at noon we will be discussing Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver at Red Bank Branch Library. I could hardly put Animal Dreams down while I was reading it and I hope you'll enjoy it too. Codi, her father and the other characters are wonderful and the small town of Grace, Arizona captivated my imagination. Barbara Kingsolver is my mother's favorite author and she's been recommending her books to me for years. I'm so glad I've finally taken her advice! Please come and join us for the discussion; the more the merrier!

click here to visit author Barbara Kingsolver's website

Lisa Lutz's Izzy Spellman Novels

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:41:00 GMT

I read The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz during our 2008 summer reading program, how about you? It was good enough, I read Curse of the Spellmans right afterwards. What a quirky family! The books focus on a wild private investigator named Izzy Spellman, but her whole family (mother, father, older brother & youner sister) of private investigators and a few special friends complete the character cast. Part mystery, part family drama and part "What did I do last night?", these funny books are a treat. Now a third installment, Revenge of the Spellmans, is set to be released in March!