BookBrowse | Book Reviews and Recommendations

Soy Sauce for Beginners
by Kirstin Chen

Not so great... (9/29/2013)

I must be getting old because I found this book to be too "chick lit" for me. Gretchen, at least for the better half of the book, was unlikeable and self-centered. The best part of Soy Sauce for Beginners was learning how soy sauce was made!

Songs of Willow Frost
by Jamie Ford

Jamie Ford's second book (7/1/2013)

Jamie Ford has written another excellent book. That being said, however, it was one of the saddest books I've read...the poverty in the time of the Great Depression, the prejudices that existed against the Asian American communities, the cruelty of the step father of Willow, the main character, all made it a rather depressing book to read.

It took the tenacity of Will, a twelve year old boy, who lived in an orphanage, to search for his mother that finally brings hope into his life and that of his mother.

The Lion in the Lei Shop
by Kaye Starbird

The Lion in the Lei Shop (5/17/2013)

The Lion in the Lei Shop by Kaye Starbird is one in a series of novels called "Book Lust Discoveries"...these are novels that had been published between 1960 and 2000, were out of print, but chosen for reprint by NPR commentator, Nancy Pearl because they were such good books.

She was so right on this particular book...I thought it was wonderful! The book begins on Dec.7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. It is a beautifully written account, spoken in two voices, that of a mother and daughter who live through the bombing, evacuate to the States and learn to survive without the husband/father who is left behind to serve his country.

This is a poignant, sad, funny story...I couldn't wait to finish the book, but then when I did, wished I could start it all over again.

The Laws of Gravity
by Liz Rosenberg

The Laws of Gravity (4/12/2013)

This is a riveting novel about 2 cousins, Ari and Nicole-best friends from childhood. They grow up, marry and have children. Nicole discovers she has life threatening cancer, and her only chance is cord blood that Ari has banked. What will happen is what no close knit family would want to go through. Lives are forever changed. This is an emotional, heartrending story.

Walk Me Home
by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Walk Me Home (4/4/2013)

Two young girls, in fear of being sent to foster care, walk away from their home after their mother has died in order to search for the mother's ex boyfriend. This is the story of their journey on foot with little more than the clothes on their backs through New Mexico and into the desert of Arizona where they meet up with a Watapi Indian woman who takes them in after they are caught stealing eggs. This is a lovely heart wrenching/warming story and one in which you will find yourself pulling for them all the way!

Palisades Park
by Alan Brennert

Palisades Park (2/16/2013)

Palisades Park is Alan Brennert's third novel, all of which I have read, and, while Molokai was very much my favorite, I found this to be a wonderful history of the Park as well as an entertaining story of the Stopka family whose lives were interwoven throughout the book. This is a book that will hook you right from the beginning through to the end!

With or Without You: A Memoir
by Domenica Ruta

WITH OR WITHOUT YOU (11/18/2012)

You will love it, you will hate it, you will even despair, but no matter how you feel, you will be in thrall of this young woman's life and how she turns it around. She was born to a drug-addicted mother who, incredibly, turned her daughter into one as well when she was a teen. Ruta is well into her 20's when she comes to realize that she needs to change her life into one without addiction and without her mother.

This is quite a read!

My Brilliant Friend
by Elena Ferrante

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND (6/2/2012)

Elena Ferrante's novel, is a wonderful journey of life in the 1950's in and around the city of Naples, Italy. At that time, for many of the citizenry, it is a life or poverty and need, yet it is also about strong family bonds and friendships.
The narrator is Elena Greco, aka Lenu, who recounts her friendship with Lila Cerullo, the shoemaker's daughter. Always mindful of family, they charge into life, as children and beyond with Lila always pushing and Lenu ever holding back.
Ferrante's ability to limn out the characters is superb...I felt as though I could recognize them had I met them on the street. While it seemed to bog down at times, Lila's narration kept up my interest. This is the first book in a trilogy so I am looking forward to reading the next!

The First Warm Evening of the Year: A Novel
by Jamie M. Saul

The First Warm Evening of the Year (4/13/2012)

Like a mystery story, The First Warm Evening of the Year, held me in its trance. It is a love story, but unlike most romances, it is poignant, heart-rending and suspenseful. Saul's wonderfully crafted characterizations, and his ability to write with compassion and elegance make for a wonderful read.

Losing Clementine: A Novel
by Ashley Ream

LOSING CLEMENTINE (2/1/2012)

Clementine, a depressed, flip, extremely talented artist is planning her demise within one month's time. She sets out to tie up loose ends, and in do doing, learns more about herself than she realized. What would have ordinarily been a dark story, considering the theme, LOSING CLEMENTINE, is an upbeat, humerous novel about a life that had been frought with tragedy and turmoil. This is Ream's first novel, and I look forward to reading her next book.

Arcadia: A Novel
by Lauren Groff

Arcadia (12/6/2011)

I was a young married woman with a family in the 60's when communes, "free love" and drugs became the "thing" to do. I think, perhaps, that is one reason why I did not much enjoy Arcadia. I must admit that Gross's prose is quite excellent but it wasn't enough for me.

Proof of Heaven: A Novel
by Mary Curran Hackett

Proof of Heaven (8/27/2011)

Proof of Heaven is a story about a single mother whose strong Catholic faith pushes her to search for a solution or miracle to save her terminally ill son. Colm, "pronounced Col-um", is the wonderful little boy who knows he may die soon and desperately wants to meet his absent father. Through their quests, along with the support of his uncle and doctor, they come to know love, peace and acceptance.
While I had some problems with this book; i.e, Colm's wisdom and maturity at such a young age, and his mother's sometimes obstinacy, this was a lovely, sad but uplifting story.

Heat Wave: A Novel
by Nancy Thayer

Heat Wave (4/30/2011)

Since I spent much of my youth on Nantucket many years ago, I was truly interested in reading Nancy Thayer's new book. I was disappointed, initially, that this was going to be a bit of a "fluff" book: 30 something women who lived well on Nantucket socializing and stealing other women's husbands. However, there was more to the story - one of loss, friendships lost and redeemed and love given and received. This is a light, "breezy" type of beach book that is quickly and easily read.

Outside Wonderland: A Novel
by Lorna Jane Cook

Outside Wonderland (2/6/2011)

Outside Wonderland is an imaginative novel about a family who has suffered the loss of each of their parents at different times in their youth, and the difficulties they encountered in their adult lives. Unbeknownst to them, the parents are residing in the "Here" ( or heaven) and are able to watch them from above.
If you are looking for a quick enjoyable read this is the book. It doesn't have a lot of depth, and the characters are rather mundane.

Solomon's Oak: A Novel
by Jo-Ann Mapson

Solomon's Oak (9/27/2010)

Solomon's Oak, a one hundred year old tree, is the central focus around which three lonely strangers come together. They each have endured loss and tragedy in their lives.

This is a splendid story about a grieving young widow fighting to hang on to her farm, an angry but scared teenaged runaway, and a retired disabled detective who was injured in the line of duty. Mapson does a remarkable job of bringing compassion, understanding and healing to these hurting three individuals.

The Doctor and the Diva: A Novel
by Adrienne McDonnell

THE DOCTOR AND THE DIVA (5/30/2010)

The Doctor and the Diva, Adrienne McDonnell's first novel, is a wonderful read from start to finish. It is inspired by the life of the author's son's paternal great great grandmother who deserted her husband and son to further her career as an operatic singer. This book is about obsessions:her unfailing attempt to bear a child, to fulfill her dream to to go to Italy and become a singer, and the love she had for a man, a well-known fertility doctor who is in charge of her care. We learn about the early beginnings of fertility treatment, we discover the beauty of the places she traveled by McDonnell's beautiful descriptions...all this in a book that will undoubtedly draw you in until the final page.

Ten Minutes from Home: A Memoir
by Beth Greenfield

TEN MINUTES FROM HOME (4/21/2010)

TEN MINUTES FROM HOME, by Beth Greenfield, is a touching memoir about her teenage years after a horrifying accident that killed both her little brother and best friend. Life from then on was of immense grief compounded by her inability to share her feelings with her parents, particularly her mother. This is a poignant story of an adolescent who is able to reach beyond her grief to understand her parents and to become the successful woman she is today.

The Secret of Everything
by Barbara O'Neal

The Secret of Everything (11/11/2009)

Tess Harper, an adventure tour guide, sets out to Las Ladronas in New Mexico, ostensibly to research prospective guided tours in that area, but in actuality ends up searching for her own true identity.

This book is an easy read and enjoyable due to the likable characters and the recipes that are included at the end of some of the chapters; however, it is just that: an easy uncomplicated read.

Gifts of War: A Novel
by Mackenzie Ford

Gifts of War (4/1/2009)

MacKenzie Ford is the nom de plume of a well-known British historian, and Gifts of War is his first novel.
It is a page turner about World War I, its tragedies and intrigues, of love and its secrets and deceptions. Ford's historical knowledge shines through, and with this novel, he proves that can write a "good" story as well.

Gifts of War is a winner. I look forward to reading his second novel!

Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story
by Asha Bandele

Something Like Beautiful (12/4/2008)

This is a memoir about a young woman dealing with depression as well as raising a young child as a single mother. I, initially, had quite a bit of trouble getting into her account of her life which I thought was somewhat overdone. However, the more I continued to read, particularly when she finally recognized that she finally needed help, I realized how beautifully she does write...she is truly a poet!

Reviews by Cam G. (Murrells Inlet, SC)

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Reviews by Cam G. (Murrells Inlet, SC)

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