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Reviews by Joan P. (Owego, NY)

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Extraordinary Adventures
by Daniel Wallace
Extra-ordinary Adventure (2/14/2017)
Edsel Bronfman is different and I didn't quite believe he could be real for awhile. The result of a one night stand and raised by a single mother who is now slipping into dementia, he finds himself at 34, alone and leading a routine life. One phone call changes that. Hemore
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 - A World on the Edge
by Helen Rappaport
Caught in the Revolution (10/19/2016)
I found this book a pleasant surprise. It made clear a very confusing and complicated time in history. By culling the experiences of the Petrograd ex-patriot community, through old letters and diaries, we got a first hand account of the daily events during the monthsmore
The Secret Ingredient of Wishes
by Susan Bishop Crispell
The Secret Ingredient in Pies (6/30/2016)
The Secret Ingredient in Pies is a love story, romantic and familial, with more than a little magic tossed in. Too many pies, wishes and secrets mixed in with predicable characters make this an easy summer read. This was an interesting and creative book but not my cup ofmore
The Children
by Ann Leary
The Children (4/30/2016)
The children are all grown up. They are the two girls, Sally and Charlotte, that Joan brought to the marriage and Perry and Spin that came with Whit. Add to the group, Everette, the caretaker's son. You might say that Lakeside Cottage and Holden, the private school, aremore
The Opposite of Everyone
by Joshilyn Jackson
The Opposite of Everyone (11/28/2015)
I am an impatient reader and always feel annoyed when a plot thread is interrupted for a flashback or in this case a mythological tale. Joshilyn Jackson is a skilled writer and in her hands this device is well done and makes sense. This was the best way to explain themore
Fear of Dying
by Erica Jong
Fear of Dying (4/29/2015)
Having read "Fear of Flying" as a young woman, I was anxious to see if Erica Jong had interesting insights on the loss of youth and dying. She does. As we age we deal with the death of our parents and ultimately with our own mortality. I found some parts of the book muchmore
Make Your Home Among Strangers
by Jennine Capó Crucet
Make Your Home Among Strangers (4/7/2015)
I now have a better understanding of what it feels like to be a second generation Cuban in America. Lizet is torn between her personal ambition and loyalty to her cultural heritage. She is a scholarship student at a prestigious college in upstate New York. She has to adjustmore
Her Name Is Rose
by Christine Breen
Her Name Is Rose (1/29/2015)
Iris is having a very hard time. She lost her husband, her job and has newly discovered health problems. After this depressing, slow start, "Her Name Is Rose " takes off. Because of a death bed promise to her husband, Iris tries to find her adopted daughter's birth mother.more
Blue Stars
by Emily Gray Tedrowe
Blue Stars (12/5/2014)
The "Blue Stars" in the title refers to the banners displayed by the families of American Servicemen. This book is about two of these families. They are very different culturally and financially. Ellen, a college professor, is the legal guardian of Michael who has lost amore
Her
by Harriet Lane
Her (4/28/2014)
I read "Her" in one sitting. This is an exquisite short novel. The author develops the two main characters bit by bit until readers feel they know them well. Not so fast! Doubts build gradually. The frazzled Emma is the older mother of two small children who is barelymore
The House We Grew Up In
by Lisa Jewell
The House We Grew Up In (3/6/2014)
I can't believe that one family could have so many dysfunctions. It read like a social worker's entire case load combined. It's understandable that one problem could breed many but this many? That said I can't believe how much I enjoyed this book.

The style bothered me atmore
The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry That Built America's First Subway
by Doug Most
The Race Underground (12/9/2013)
This book is the painstakingly researched but very readable story of the men and machines that brought rapid underground transit to New York City and Boston. In the half century after the Civil War, America saw the engineering marvel of the Brooklyn Bridge, the use ofmore
Buying In
by Laura Hemphill
Buying In (10/7/2013)
Buying In gives the reader a not very pretty picture of the people involved in our banking system. Sophie, the ambitious girl from a small town, finds that it takes dedication and sacrifice to succeed in big business. As the story progresses, we meet Ethan her hard drivingmore
The Sisterhood
by Helen Bryan
The Sisterhood (5/7/2013)
This book is enlightening as well as a good story. Through flashbacks, a young American girl tells the story of Los Golondrinas, an order of nuns with convents in Spain and South America. The reader is introduced to five young girls from the time of the Spanish Inquisitionmore
A Thousand Pardons
by Jonathan Dee
A Thousand Pardons (10/10/2012)
A marriage, strained by boredom, infidelity,and public humiliation ends in divorce. The story tells how the three people most involved go on. The wife discovers new talents and starts a very successful career. Her husband handles his disgrace and punishment in a verymore
Shine Shine Shine: A Novel
by Lydia Netzer
Shine, Shine, Shine (5/30/2012)
The lesson learned from this book is things aren't what they seem. Could Sunny have more problems- strange astronaut husband- autistic child- and a mother in a coma? Yet she seemed to be able to handle anything that came her way. Once she began to wear a wig to deny hermore
Wife 22: A Novel
by Melanie Gideon
Wife 22 (3/28/2012)
Wife 22 was not my cup of tea. Perhaps my age and intolerance for living life electronically is the reason. It reinforces my belief that we live in a superficial world of quick posts and instant information and miss the warmth of face to face involvement.
William and Alicemore
A Good American: A Novel
by Alex George
A Good American (1/4/2012)
"A Good American" turned out to be surprisingly good. It started out being interesting but ordinary. As it went on it gathered steam and got better and better.

The characters that I thought improbable developed and became real. There were some that were unreal butmore
The Sisters: A Novel
by Nancy Jensen
The Sisters (9/1/2011)
I have rewritten this review three times and each time felt I hadn't put my finger on what disturbed me about this book. Was it the format with alternating narrators? Was it too many serious social problems superficially covered? Was it that there were too many charactersmore
Things We Didn't Say: A Novel
by Kristina Riggle
Things We Didn't Say (5/8/2011)
The story begins with Casey moving in with Michael and his three children. Her sudden role as mother is daunting since Casey's ex-wife, Mallory, the children's birth mother, is a highly dysfunctional woman who is determined to undermine Casey. As with many patched togethermore
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