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Reviews by Sheila B. (Danvers, MA)

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A Council of Dolls
A Council of Dolls: A Novel
by Mona Susan Power
Very intense read. Highly recommend. (7/23/2023)
I was so engaged with the characters in this book. It's the story of three generations of Native American girls, each telling their story in the first person, but also through their beloved dolls who are actually their alter egos. Their experiences were so raw, the dolls took a lot of the intensity. I felt the authenticity of their lives through their stories and, once again, was horrified at the abuse that any non-white American being suffered and how the history I learned as a young student in America was a huge lie. I highly recommend this book and look forward to future works from the author.
Stealing
Stealing: A Novel
by Margaret Verble
Heartbreaking, Maddening, But Most of All Very, Very Sad (1/11/2023)
WOW. If you have any heart at all, this book will break it into a million pieces. This story is told by a 1950s era Cherokee nine year old girl who is done wrong by every white adult she meets. This is a book for people who like an unreliable narrator (my favorite kind) and a gritty, believable story. There were times I was so moved by her horrific life that I actually had to pause to take a breath.
Take My Hand
Take My Hand
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
An Important Story From the Jim Crow South (10/4/2021)
Take My Hand tells an important, and sadly, still timely story of the inequality and unevenness of how poor, uneducated minorities are treated in the USA. Written from the perspective of a privileged young black recent graduate of nursing school during the tumultuous '60s, and her experience with two young girls whose dirt poor illiterate guardians are taken advantage of and used for medical experimentation. Assumptions and decisions are made for them that have permanent life altering effects. Reminiscent of the Henrietta Lacks story, this book will educate you and stay with you for a long time to come.
Mrs. March
Mrs. March: A Novel
by Virginia Feito
Just the Kind of Story I Needed Right Now (5/26/2021)
Mrs. March is my favorite kind of narrator -- an unreliable one -- and she doesn't disappoint. I thought Feito's use of language was descriptive, yet not claustrophobic, and I had a hard time not reading "just a little more" to see what was next for our complex and well developed Mrs. March. Full disclosure, I am drawn to very dark story lines, and I found this quite satisfying. I did hear this is slated to be made into a movie starring none other than Elizabeth Moss. I look forward to the movie as well as future books by Ms. Feito.
Lola
Lola
by Melissa Scrivner Love
The Story Interesting, the Delivery Fell Short (4/3/2017)
Although there were lines of eloquence here and there, I felt the author was afraid her reader wasn't getting the point of Lola's place in life, so she kept repeating what I felt was the obvious. This book may appeal more to a younger generation than mine. That being said, I look forward to Love's future, maybe more mature works.
A Piece of the World
A Piece of the World: A Novel
by Christina Baker Kline
A Riveting Read (1/7/2017)
I found this book to be very sad, yet I couldn't put it down and was always reading a little bit more to find out what was going to happen. As far as the history goes, I feel Ms. Kline did an outstanding job of depicting rural daily life in the early 1900s. Being a young woman at that time wasn't easy...being a young woman with severe limitations had to be next to impossible, yet Christina persevered.
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel
by Bryn Greenwood
Stark Reality (5/29/2016)
I couldn't put this book down, and when I had to, I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's a love story that has changed my perception, once again, of what constitutes love. I know there are realities like this out in the world as painful as that is to comprehend. Bryn is on point in her description of the confusion and survival instincts of being a child in a chaotic, dysfunctional family, one has to wonder how much of it she personally survived. I look forward to her next book and am glad I was chosen to read and comment on this one.
Shelter
Shelter
by Jung Yun
Riveting family study (1/12/2016)
A damaged family fraught with secrets---until it blows wide open. Unspeakable acts behind closed doors; survivors and victims. Realistic reactions to terrible events. I liked this book a LOT as it is a study in man's inhumanity to man and its effects on the children and the children of those children.
The Things We Keep
The Things We Keep
by Sally Hepworth
A Thoughtful Life (9/10/2015)
I've always believed that we go through certain life experiences to prepare us for something that is coming down the road...whether to help ourselves or another person. In The Things We Keep, which is told from multi character perspectives, Eve's life experience brings her to work at an assisted living facility so she can advocate for a woman (Anna) with early onset Alzheimer's Disease who is only in her late 30's. The different voices, and the reality of Anna's decline, is very realistic. And yet the story is not depressing or frightening. Life happens in countless different experiences, one experience preparing us for the next.
Maybe in Another Life
Maybe in Another Life
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Good summer read (6/27/2015)
This is a good, light summer read. The characters are relatable and it's an interesting tool to look at alternate sides of the paths fate leads us down. I think this book would be of particular interest to 20-something adults who are still finding their way.
Dangerous When Wet
Dangerous When Wet: A Memoir
by Jamie Brickhouse
Dangerous when wet...and laughing...and crying (3/18/2015)
I really enjoyed reading Jamie Brickhouse's love letter to his two favorite things in the world -- his mother and alcohol. Mama Jean was a force to be reckoned with who loved fiercely. Every time I put the book down, I went back to read "just one more chapter." Being approximately the same age as Jamie, I understood the world in which he existed. I laughed out loud, and cried. I recently lost my brother to a form of dementia. Mama Jean's story will bring awareness to this little known horrific disease. It was a satisfying read that hit just about every emotion.
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