Emily Gray Tedrowe has done it again. She has written a beautiful, yet heartbreaking novel about women you really connect with and care for. I couldn't put it down. She also has done a great job of making us involved in a world that most of us know little about.

When I started reading the book I thought I could predict how it would unfold. I was wrong. The mothers and wives endured so much pain, heartbreak and worry and stood strong in the face of minimal support and humiliating experiences. I was shocked at our government's inability to deal with these returning soldiers' and their families' many needs.

Ellen, a Midwestern literature professor who's "son" enlisted in the Marines and Lacey, an Army wife who's husband had been deployed again, are drawn together at the Walter Reed Army hospital. While their husbands struggle to heal, they are forced to manage the frustrating incompetencies of the system as well as their own lives miles away. The bond that forms between them is one many women will appreciate and understand.

This is a book for women, mothers and anyone who really wants to understand what military wives and mothers are going through. It's a necessary book to open our hearts and minds. Bravo!

Vanessa and her Sister is a beautifully written story told through a first person narrative from a journal that Vanessa kept, interspersed with tickets, announcements and letters saved from friends. Parmar does an excellent job of giving Vanessa a clear, funny, smart and very human voice. Vanessa's loving but conflicted relationship with her sister, her crumbling marriage, and her friendship with Litton Strachey and others is depicted in a compelling, sympathetic tone. Vanessa was the anchor in the life of her exhausting, often manipulative but gifted sister Virginia. The interesting question becomes can she chose a life of her own, one with joy and love over her loyalty to her sister? The answer unfolds in a way that rings true to the bonds and strains of sister relationships.

The novel takes place from 1905-1912. The influence of the Bloomsbury Group is strongly felt. They were an eccentric group of mostly Cambridge educated men who would meet at the Stephen's house on Thursdays to discuss books and art. They had free spirited opinions about life and love and their exploration of open marriages, homosexuality, bisexuality was surprisingly current.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. I felt there were some problems with the pacing and the number of characters who flitted through the pages but the sisters relationship really touched my heart.

I really enjoy Randy Susan Meyers' writing style. Like in Comfort of Lies she writes about identifiable characters who you care about and root for. Unfortunately I hoped for some unexpected twists. However, the story is little more than the back cover blurb. Maddy and Ben get into a serious car accident because of his out of control temper and she ends up in a hospital fighting for her life. She's left in bad shape, he acts badly and than begs for forgiveness and that basically where the story ends. An unsatisfying ending from a book that started so promising.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. Lisa Jewell has written another great novel with characters that are so real you can feel their thoughts and emotions. The story revolves around a seriously flawed mother and a tragedy that devastates everyone. What at first seems like a story you've read before keeps unfolding in surprising and brilliant ways. There's so much depth, heartbreak and fascinating insights into what makes people act the way they do. There's also so much love and joy and beauty and kindness packed into this wonderful book. Read it. These character will stay with you long after. I wanted to keep living with this family and wished I could keep reading.

I love, loved this book. Kelly Corrigan is an involving, passionate writer who tells stories like your best friend. You understand what she's talking about and you nod your head in acknowledgement of the truths she shares. This is a wonderful story about mothers and daughters and the importance of friends. It's about finding out what's really true and how truth changes over time. As her editor wrote: "I'm excited for you to turn the page. You're in for something very special". I agree and would add, you'll also be very sorry when it ends.

I have loved Gail Tsukiyama's books, especially Samurai's Garden. This one was enjoyable and a quick read but it was definitely not her best. The story takes place during 5 months of China's Cultural Revolution when the father of an ordinary family is taken away for voicing his opinion. The story is told from the perspective of different family members although their voices all have the same tone. Through these characters we learn what happened and how secrets and misunderstandings have been harbored. The most compelling voice is that of a 15 year old homeless, pregnant girl who becomes connected to the family. It is an easy novel to read and the author does bring all the story lines to a purposeful resolution. Having said that, I was left feeling like the depth of the story was missing. It felt more like a Young Adult novel.

I found this book frustrating to read. What this book explored is the fascinating terrain of love lost and new love found and the crazy dance of relationships. However, very little happens and much of the dialog is internal and introspective. Plus I just couldn't buy the idea of love at first sight for two middle aged and wounded people. I did appreciate the writer's intense psychological analysis and his gentle handling of each character.

I loved this book. Clementine is a wonderfully drawn character, full of flaws but heartbreakingly sane. She's made a decision to end her life and just wants to finish a few things. However, life intrudes and her journey is wonderful. The story is bold and funny and you find yourself identifying with many of her thoughts and actions. This is a great read!!!!

Set in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi in the days before Hurricane Katrina hit, it's a portrait of a poor rural family trying to survive in the best ways they can. The writing is poetic and the brutal realities are conveyed with a beautiful, raw power. The story is told in the voice of Esch, a fourteen year old girl who's desperate for love and kindness in a life filled with emptiness. Her brother Skeetah satisfies his needs for a loving connection with his violent pitbull who kills the puppies he births. Overall, the book didn't work for me. The story was often confusing to follow and there was little chance for redemption or a glimmer of light. After 260 pages, I hoped there would be some change or an expanded vision. This is not a book I would recommend.

I really wanted to like this book because I loved her first novel, "The writing on my forehead". I many ways the themes of both books are similar. Both deal with family lies, ties that bind, cultural differences and prejudices and love. My problems with the book were the predictability of the story and the lack of complex depth to the characters. This author clearly has a message to deliver--"don't judge a book by it's cover", but she ends up sacrificing her story (which could have been very interesting) to fit the pieces together.

From the opening page I was hooked. Written in beautiful, creative prose, this story is about two strong women struggling with motherhood (in all it's glories and difficulties), identity, love and family. These are women you really care about. You want to know how their lives unfold and how their lives are connected. I loved the twists, surprising revelations and resolutions. Nothing disappointed me and as so rarely happens, the ending was complete and satisfying. I didn't want to stop reading it and I didn't want it to end.

Roger Rosenblatt's memoir of the months following his daughter's sudden death is told with great simplicity and restraint. Unfortunately, for me that didn't work. I wanted to read more of the emotional pain and less of the day-to-day details of caring for his 3 young grandchildren. I did appreciate the sense of wonder as a new family structure is created. It was remarkable to see how Roger and his wife changed their lives to be there for their grandchildren and son-in-law. In a time when families are so fractured, it's inspiring to read about one that bonded with love following a great tragedy.

Carolyn Wall's debut novel is told in the simple, rural language of a poor mountain town in Depression-era Kentucky. The beginning of the book started slow but soon I was sucked in to the powerful narrative. It 's a heartfelt story filled with quirky, unforgettable characters and their loves, family secrets, and transformations.

Olivia Harker Cross is the center of this suspenseful story. She is proud, head strong and a survivor. the title refers to the shattered lives that need cleaning up. Olivia lives with her beloved grandson, Will'm in the small grocery store they run. When her daughter returns to reclaim Will'm, trouble intensifies and Olivia fights to save the life she's built. I grew to care about the unusual cast of characters. I kept reading anxious to know how their lives unfolded.

Themes of love, loss, betrayal, bigotry, death, and forgiveness give this book surprising depth and intensity. The ending was not what I expected which made me all the more impressed.

This is not a book for the weak at heart. Having lived with addiction for too years (my mother, sister, and husband were all addicts), I know the veracity with which Ginnah Howard writes. This is an unsparing look at both sides of addiction. The frustration and confusion of a mother who tries desperately to save her son and the deception and madness of the son in the throes of his addiction are beautifully depicted. For anyone who wants to better understand addiction and wants to read a very real, deeply moving account, this book's for you.