Outside Wonderland: A Novel
by Lorna Jane Cook
Outside Wonderland(1/29/2011)
Couldn't put the book down. The life situations that the Stenen's went through were believable. A storyline going for each of the Stenens but still their lives were intermingled with joy, sorrow, happiness and loss. I had to keep reading to see what choices each of them would be making. The chapters with parents "watching over" them didn't really add anything to the book for me and I found myself just skimming them by the end of the book.
Minding Ben: A Novel
by Victoria Brown
Minding Ben(12/22/2010)
The story line was a bit predictable but I read on because I needed to know more about Grace and her experiences as a nanny. Dialect was difficult to follow at some points. Maybe a few too many characters that we didn't get to know well enough and some that would have been best left out of the storyline all together.
Fast read with great characters. The author had me wanting to know more about the two boys from different ethnic backgrounds. Interesting to note that it was an ethnic reversal of sorts from what you usually see in this type of story line. Enjoyed the book and am recommending it to my book club for a future selection.
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.