I picked this book up at the library and checked it out based on the reviews on the back. If authors I like recommend a book, I will usually find it worth reading. The setting is the area of California where I grew up, and that was an additional hook.
The wife and mother is the most interesting character in the book. She begins her adult life according to the conventions of the times, but the responsibilities of children overwhelm her. She is an artist at heart and gradually turns away from her family and retreats into her own world. Her children pay the price, but it is hard to blame the mother who seems to have no other choice.

I enjoyed the "Choose your own adventure" structure of this novel. We all wonder what the consequences would have been if we had made another choice at some point in our lives. Even a seemingly trivial decision can lead to a different life. I very much enjoyed the main character, Hannah, as well as her BFF Gabby, Ethan, and Henry. When I finished the book, I thought about both the overlap and the divergence of the two plots: a different decision will change some things and not others. The only weak spot of the book for me was the last chapter: Jesse's identical speech in both versions was unnecessary and redundant.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I think it would be an excellent book club choice. I recently reread Kline's Orphan Train which also involved a troubled young woman connecting with the past, drawing in the reader in a similar way. It also reminded me of Brockmole's Letters from Skye which also uses war-time letters to tell the story.

I haven't read the author's other books, but since they were reviewed positively I was eager to read this book.

I do not fault the writing quality, but I could not find a character to admire or even care about. Much of the plot was unbelievable, beginning with an attorney leaving herself vulnerable to a restaurant partner's debts. I did find the second half more engaging than the beginning.

Fatherhood, commitment, and family are themes of this funny and poignant story. Professor Jim commits easily and fully; Bookshop Rose has a fear of putting down roots. Little Henry charms everyone. Characters are well-drawn, and descriptions are so visually alive that I can see this as a successful stage play or movie. I loved this book and will recommend it to my book club. Woodroof is spot-on about life in a small college town.

This is a family saga about memories triggered by a pendant Mimi finds in her closet. It starts off light-hearted and humorous; I was expecting a pleasurable read similar to Jeanne Ray's books. Mimi isn't particularly worried about her memory issues which greatly concern her sisters and daughters. Mimi, her surviving sisters, and her daughters are the heart of the story, but five generations come into play, from Mimi's grandmother, Nana, who believed in putting the past behind, to her sister's grandson, whose genealogy project has caused the family to pressure Mimi to reveal family secrets which she has completely repressed. Daughter Siobhan believes in learning about the past in order to understand it, and her reconciliation with her mother comes about as Mimi gradually recovers her memories.
The novel becomes darker and more emotional as the tragedies of the past are revealed. It is no wonder that Mimi can't recall her father's failings and her stepmother's inhumanity.
In contrast are the lies of false memories, which have resulted in friend Duffy's son being incarcerated as a pedaphile, and the false memory of sister Fagan's disappearance which no doubt contributed to Mimi's traumatic memory loss.
The horror of Mimi's recovered memories is balanced by the healing of her relationships with her sisters and daughters as well as her sweet relationship with Duffy.
I loved the chapter titles, all songs by Mimi's favorite, Frank Sinatra.
I temporarily lost the book in a restaurant when I was only halfway through, and I was really upset that I'd have to wait until the book was released to finish it. When the book showed up, I was so relieved. I hadn't realized until then how caught up I was in the story. I can't wait for this author's next book.

I'm not usually a reader of food-related books, but soy sauce intrigued me since we use it frequently when we are in Hawaii. Now I have to look for artisanal varieties! I do love books which focus on the conflicts between Eastern and Western cultures, such as Jhumpa Lahiri's books, and this is clearly one of the themes here. But the issues that Gretchen faces are more universal: family secrets, the pressures inherent in a family business, the hurt of infidelity, the impulse to accept a bad relationship to avoid being alone, the loyalty in women's friendships, a couple growing apart after marrying young. I related to a number of these issues and feel the author handles them in realistic and very readable ways. I plan to pass this book along to my two adult daughters.

I was surprised to read that the author has a daughter like Freya. She describes Anna's and Tobias's behaviors as "outrageous"; I found them to be immature, impulsive, irresponsible. Anna is described as a planner; I would say she's a dreamer. Moving away from her support system with a severely disabled newborn, buying a disaster of a property, hoping to open a restaurant or cooking school, expecting her partner to become what he is not…all examples of her poor judgment. Yes, their world was turned upside down by Freya's birth, but their responses were frustrating to me. I did enjoy the setting of the book, the descriptions of the area, the hostile weather and terrain, and the interesting local characters, but my lack of sympathy for the main characters overrode my enjoyment of the story and the setting. And I kept wanting to know why they didn't get a cat in the first place!

Ignore the cover - this is not a Sophie Kinsella novel. It's an engaging tale of an almost 8,000 mile car rally in 2007 across China, Mongolia, Siberia, and on to Paris. Dina Bennett, the author, couldn't be more different from her older French husband: he's a confident, experienced driver, she's a self-doubting, carsick worrier. How these two manage this adventure makes a great read. Dina's vivid descriptions and self-deprecating humor make her real to the reader; Bernard remains more two-dimensional. The real prize for Dina is not a bronze medal but personal growth and deepening of her marital relationship.

I really loved this book and I didn't want to put it down. I fell in love with the characters who were so well-drawn that I felt I knew them. I laughed and cried and felt such sadness and regret for Isabelle. I can't wait to suggest this book to my book group because there are so many issues in the book to discuss. One can't overlook the strong message from the author that the civil rights struggle is not over.

I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to the rest of the trilogy. I couldn't help but contrast the setting of working class Naples with my own coming of age in the 50s in suburban California; I suspect that these days the images wouldn't be as far apart. Even though I look forward to what comes next in the story, it is the two main characters who interest me the most, and I have so many questions about what lies ahead for Lenu and Lila. Will they continue to grow apart? Will they be disappointed with the choices they have made?
Will they continue to have a strong influence in each others lives?

Kelle Hampton holds nothing back, revealing all her conflicting feelings about her Down Syndrome daughter Nelle's birth. Her support system of 28 "sisters" may seem overwhelming to those of us who handle emotions more privately, but there is no doubt that her story is gripping and true. The photographs are beautiful and speak for themselves of Kelle's love for her daughters. "Bloom" is an excellent read for all mothers and would-be mothers.

Magic usually turns me off, but in this book it is more whimsical than paranormal. Toni's love story line is predictable: Greg seems two-dimensional all along. But the rest of the characters are well-drawn. I liked the structure of Evie's first-person chapters alternating with Toni's third-person ones. This structure can be confusing with lots of characters, but it works well with these two. Accepting the magic of the little black dress requires a leap of faith, but it does remind me that we do have epiphanies or moments of insight about the future at crossroads of our lives.

This book is well-written but uncomfortable to read and relate to. The parent generation - my generation - is weak and self-absorbed, opting out of their responsibilities, leaving the kids to raise themselves in a scary world. I don't doubt the reality of this story, but it comes from an entirely unfamiliar world. Not a book for my book groups, but might be better suited to those how in their 30s or 40s.

I really enjoyed this well-written book. The three siblings have distinct, three-dimensional personalities, flawed yet sympathetic. I felt I came to know the characters well and was invested in their decisions. Plot twists keep it from being predictable. This story would make a great film. I was sorry to come to the end of the book and can't wait for the author's next novel.

This book is entertaining, full of unlikely characters and situations. In spite of the poignant story of Milo, the son, I found much of the book too quirky to draw me in completely. I enjoyed the dose of history, although fact and fiction became so intertwined that I lost track of what was real. It is not the thought-provoking kind of book that my book group seeks, but it is a fun read.

I was drawn into this book immediately and could hardly put it down. Beth Greenfield's writing is honest and raw, and I think she did an excellent job of relating her feelings as a young teen. It was hard to read that her parents were too bereft to help her, and that family counseling never happened. I wish the book had been longer and had filled in the intervening years, explaining how she had pulled out of her destructive behaviors. I hope she plans another book.

"Secret Daughter" transported me to another world in the way of "Shanghai Girls", "Honolulu", "Cutting for Stone", "The Help", and "On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet", but in addition this book engaged me on a deep emotional level. My only regret is that it could have been expanded by not skipping ahead in time so often. I wanted to know so much more about these families. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-written, gripping story, and especially to those who can relate to living in two cultures or to the complex issues of adoption. I know I would have loved this book anyway, even if I didn't have a three-year old granddaughter adopted from Kolkata.

I will recommend this book to my book club which read The Kite Runner last year. This is a sad, moving, intense, sweeping novel, with themes of connection and loss, trust and treason. The author's vivid descriptions carried me to Nagasaki, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and I can see this as a wonderful film. My history background is sadly lacking, so I am going to follow up with some of the author's suggestions for further reading. I strongly recommend this book.

I loved this book! This is a tale of ambivalence. What makes one a mother? What is "normal"? Who am I? Susannah, Julian, Frankie, Kim, Dicey, and Tim all deal with how they are perceived with others and how they experience themselves. The setting is remarkably described; I felt I was truly in the desert with them. This will make a great film.