Reviews by Vy A. (Phoenix, AZ)

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The Good Neighbor
The Good Neighbor
by Amy Sue Nathan
The Good Neighbor (8/16/2015)
Main character Izzy Lane is a very likeable character. The author creates sympathy for her immediately and we can relate to her growing predicament when an innocent idea spins out of control. The relationship with her son is precious as is with her neighbor, Mrs.Feldman. …more
Make Your Home Among Strangers
Make Your Home Among Strangers
by Jennine Capó Crucet
Make Your Home Among Strangers (5/6/2015)
The author has done an excellent job of depicting the struggle and frustration of a young Cuban lady who, against her families' wishes, displays ambition and strives for a better life through education. The contrast between her Cuban community in Miami and the privileged …more
The Sweetheart Deal
The Sweetheart Deal
by Polly Dugan
The Sweetheart Deal (2/16/2015)
When a family outing on the slopes turns tragic, ending the life quite unexpectedly, of a strong, healthy husband and father, we experience the many faces grief takes through the people left behind. Told in six first-person viewpoints --his wife, Audrey, his three sons and …more
A Fireproof Home for the Bride
A Fireproof Home for the Bride
by Amy Scheibe
A Fireproof Home for the Bride (1/2/2015)
A Fireproof Home for the Bride is a gentle read, yet it deals with volatile issues such as racism of the 50's, corrupt politics, immigration and religious differences. It is a coming-of-age for Emmeline Nelson whose future seems to be cast in stone by her parents and …more
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: The Untold Story
by Barbara Leaming
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis The Untold Story (11/9/2014)
I highly recommend this biography.The Untold Story sub-title says it well. As a devoted fan of Ms. Kennedy for fifty-four years I thought I had read everything written about her. Author Leaming's attention to personal detail and thirty-page bibliography brings to light many …more
Accidents of Marriage
Accidents of Marriage
by Randy Susan Meyers
Accidents of Marriage A Novel (6/24/2014)
Told in three viewpoints (husband, wife, teen daughter) the reader is drawn into their heads and hearts as they deal with difficult issues such as spousal-abuse, infidelity, brain injury and the recovery process. Minor characters are also well-developed in the family …more
The House We Grew Up In
The House We Grew Up In
by Lisa Jewell
The House We Grew Up In (3/10/2014)
If you like stories about family relationships and how families deal with a crisis, you'll love The House We Grew Up In. Lisa Jewell creates characters that, in spite of their often dysfunctional behavior, are so appealing, so real. I sometimes could not believe their …more
Safe with Me
Safe with Me
by Amy Hatvany
Safe With Me (11/10/2013)
Safe with Me would make a great book group discussion because it deals with ethical and moral issues on many levels—organ donors, spousal abuse, women's friendships, the loss of a child and fragile parent/child relationships.

Similar to a Jodi Picoult novel with difficult …more
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
by Saira Shah
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen (6/20/2013)
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen is a book that is well written but at times was very difficult to read because Anna and her husband Tobias face so many unbelievable challenges when their baby is born with extreme disabilities. Author Shah doesn't sugarcoat anything, and the result …more
The Last Girl
The Last Girl: A Maeve Kerrigan Novel
by Jane Casey
The Last Girl (4/26/2013)
The fascinating prologue to the story drew me in totally but the rest of the story did not live up to my expectations. I normally like police procedure novels but I found the sub-plots confusing. Told in first person from Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan's point of view, …more
The Hour of Peril
The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War
by Daniel Stashower
Hour of Peril (12/24/2012)
Anyone interested in American history, as well as President Lincoln scholars, will appreciate this very detailed account of "the first time they tried to kill Lincoln". Peril tells of Lincoln's thirteen- day voyage from Springfield, Illinois to Washington in the spring of 18 …more
The Roots of the Olive Tree
The Roots of the Olive Tree: A Novel
by Courtney Miller Santo
The Roots of the Olive Tree (7/16/2012)
Roots of the Olive Tree would make an excellent book club choice. With five generations of women in the Keller family there are characters women of every age can relate to. My favorite is the 112-year old matriach Anna, who strives to be the oldest living person in the …more
The First Warm Evening of the Year
The First Warm Evening of the Year: A Novel
by Jamie M. Saul
The First Warm Evening of the Year (4/15/2012)
With only a few characters and in a short time span, author Jamie Saul captures many complex emotions in both fragile and solid relationships. This story deals with friendship at many levels and many types of love--love between siblings, parents and children, spouses and …more
Half-Blood Blues
Half-Blood Blues: A Novel
by Esi Edugyan
Half-Blood Blues (2/21/2012)
Berlin 1939. Paris 1940. Amidst this pre war-time setting, The Half-Time Swingers, a German-American Jazz band forms. This novel is a story of music and friendship and how both can fill men’s souls, especially the black “swingers” who form a bond that lasts a lifetime. It …more
Before the Poison
Before the Poison
by Peter Robinson
Before the Poison (11/20/2011)
Chris Lowndes, in my opinion, is as charming a protagonist you will meet in literature. In Before the Poison he is a grieving widower who retires to his native Yorkshire from California. The opening scenes are shades of Rebecca, with a foreboding mansion and the ghost of a …more
Next to Love
Next to Love
by Ellen Feldman
Next to Lover (7/23/2011)
In an interview with author Ellen Feldman, she says she likes to write about monumental events of history but in human terms. She explores how individuals influence history but also how history shapes personal lives. In Next to Love she accomplishes this so beautifully, …more
A Lesson in Secrets
A Lesson in Secrets: A Maisie Dobbs Novel
by Jacqueline Winspear
A Lesson in Secrets (3/14/2011)
A Lesson is Secrets, Jacqueline Winspear’s eighth novel featuring psychologist-investigator Maise Dobbs will not disappoint her fans who have come to expect a story that is rich in historical details (England, 1932), as well as a study of human nature as seen through Maise’ …more
Solomon's Oak
Solomon's Oak: A Novel
by Jo-Ann Mapson
Solomon's Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson (10/18/2010)
Solomon's Oak can be appreciated on many levels. If one is an animal lover, especially of dogs, it will touch your heart,somewhat reminiscent of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. If you are a nature lover, you will appreciate the folklore of trees and flowers woven throughout. …more
The Wives of Henry Oades
The Wives of Henry Oades: A Novel
by Johanna Moran
The Wives of Henry Oades (12/28/2009)
Based on a true story, taking place at the turn of the 20th Century in New Zealand and San Francisco, this book was difficult for me to put down because of the compelling characters and descriptive writing style, as well as an unbelievable series of horrific events which …more
State by State
State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
by Sean Wilsey, Matt Weiland
State by State A Panoramic Portrait of America (11/4/2009)
“A road trip in book form” is how the editors of State by State describe their book. They believe that in spite of America becoming more homogeneous each year, it still retains an essential deep-grained variety. The search for each state’s differences in landscape, …more
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