While it took some time to get into this novel, I forged ahead because it was beautifully written. I'm glad I did.
The reader is introduced to people who unfold a tale from their point of view and in the end the reader is now challenged with the question,"Do we REALLY know anyone"? Although I found this story to be infused with profound sadness, I would recommend it.

It was a joy to read this beautifully written, captivating novel, told in a series of letters.
In 1912, a man & woman begin a correspondence from across continents. We see friendship, then love develop, learn of other people in their lives & see how WWs I & II affected individuals & families. Because I began to care about all these people, I waited in anticipation for each new letter to arrive!
The letters end in 1940, having shown , on a very personal, intimate level what people endure for love in its many forms - love between a man & woman, love of family, maternal love, love of country & even love of adventure.
I would recommend this book to everyone!

Flat Water Tuesday is the story of 5 members of a high school rowing team & their coach who share experiences during their senior year at an exclusive school. It is told by Carrey, one of the team members, an 'outsider' to this world of privilege, recruited because of his rowing skills. Eventually they share a tragedy as often befalls teenagers who engage in reckless behavior.
Interspersed in the story are details of the hard work it takes to train & excel in a sport, in this case, rowing. Also interspersed throughout, an adult Carrey tells of his present life & we see it is not working. However, it is not clear as to how this relates to his earlier days. The transitions between these time periods were disjointed & made little sense to me.
I found this book to be just OK. Although it was well written, I couldn't get invested in these characters & so I wouldn't recommend it.

This well written, yet heartbreaking story is told from the different , first person, points of view of each parent, a younger brother, a doctor, a girlfriend, and teenage Max, born with & labelled as intersex.

Max's perfectly groomed, educated parents focus on the outward behaviors of their 2 children & don't deal with the deeper issues each child is struggling with, especially Max. Daniel is difficult but Max is the 'good boy'. He gets good grades, is popular, good looking, obedient,athletic. Yet, when something tragic happens to him, they are clueless about his distress & shame.

On a general level, Golden Boy is about being different, keeping secrets,denial & self acceptance. It highlights how little the scientific community knows about sexual variation. It also deals with rape & the mind of the rapist who is often a person close to the family & the 'least likely suspect'. Golden Boy might be an important book for a high school class to use as a springboard for discussions on feeling different, tolerance, living with secrets & shame, sexuality, etc. Perhaps it would prevent a suicide. Abigail Tarttelin gave life to Max & I find the book's details haunting me despite having finished it.

This beautiful, compelling novel is the unfolding of a love story, a slice of aviation history & reveals what happens when a couple is thrust into the limelight, having to endure unrelenting hounding from the press & the public showing "the dark side of fame". It is also the story of a woman's place in society during this period of time, so despite all that Anne accomplished as Charles' co-pilot, she was always in her husband's shadow. Lastly, it reveals that the public hero, Charles Lindbergh, had aberrations , one of which was his 'justified' cruelty to his children.
I highly recommend this book.

Although this tale is beautifully written, infused with humor and rich descriptions, I found the story a little difficult to follow at times; I wasn't sure where it was going. However, the beautiful use of language made this a worthwhile read.
It was sad to read about the lack of concern 'the system' has for certain 'throw-away' people, subduing them , but making no attempt to better their lives.
In the end however, we get to see that even if it takes great courage, trying to reach out to others to help free them from their misery with a smile and a "hello" can brighten a person's life and change his world for the better.

This well-written,fast paced, compelling story held my interest mainly because it was too real. Our lives and those who matter most to us, can change in an instant by illness, sudden death, becoming an accident or crime victim etc. How one handles what life offers is the challenge and the characters in this book display a sampling of how one can handle life-altering upsets that can happen in 15 seconds.