Reviews by Jan B. (Tetonia, ID)

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The Antidote
The Antidote: A Novel
by Karen Russell
Good questions for our time! (3/15/2025)
This story takes place during the period around Black Sunday in the Dust Bowl years. It is a multi layered story with an unusual cast of characters and the story of the town they live in.

Beneath the story is the question for what happens when we choose to forget a memory. …more
The Gifts
The Gifts: A Novel
by Liz Hyder
The Gifts by Liz Hyder (3/5/2023)
What a story! This is about an amazing set of women in the Victorian age, each trying to become who they really are in terms of their gifts and talents, in a world that wants to narrowly confine the roles of women and how they may be.

Hyder's use of "angels" , these "gifts …more
The Forest of Vanishing Stars
The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel
by Kristin Harmel
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel (5/10/2021)
This story starts with a young toddler being stolen in the midst of the night, and who then grows up in the forests of Poland with an older woman who is wise in the ways of the forest and who protects and teaches the girl, Yona.

I have spent a large amount of my life living …more
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
by Mario Giordano
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (1/10/2018)
Auntie Poldi and the SIcilian Lions by Mario Giordano was a delightful read. It was like listening to to a far-fetched story of a not-so-distant relative by an Uncle who "loved" a good story and who could embellish with ease.

Auntie Poldi would have been my favored aunt: …more
The Essex Serpent
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
The Essex Serpent (2/15/2017)
This is a beautiful and brilliantly written story. Beneath this story of Victorian England, and the adventures of Cora as she plunges out into the world, lies the exploration of relationships. The author explores the idea of different types of friendships using everyone, …more
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel
by Bryn Greenwood
How do families form? (5/10/2016)
This was a hard yet compelling book to read. I wanted to stop reading it a couple of times, yet, the story is about such a different part of our culture, the part so affected by drugs and poverty and survival, I knew that I wanted to finish it, to hear what the author …more
The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell
The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell
by William Klaber
The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell (12/13/2014)
I enjoyed this book immensely. The author took the research notes a friend gave him, on a long -ago neighbor, flushed them out, filled in with his imagination, and the end result being this great historical fiction piece of the mid1800's that gives voice to an unusual young …more
How the Light Gets In
How the Light Gets In: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel, #9
by Louise Penny
How the Light gets In (7/16/2013)
I am a forever fan of Chief Inspector Gamache. His thoughtfulness, and his respect for humanity won me over from the very first book.

In this ninth mystery by Louise Penny, How the Light gets In, we find that Gamache has been disempowered by his superiors, by gutting his …more
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar: A Novel
by Suzanne Joinson
A LAdy Cyclist's guide to Kashgar (5/29/2012)
I love the idea of what the writer was creating with this story. Three women who leave London to become missionaries in Kashgar. Each of them with their own "agenda" as to why they were really going. I found some characters not very well developed, and the writing fairly …more
Until the Next Time
Until the Next Time: A Novel
by Kevin Fox
Reincarnation, Irish Style (2/28/2012)
This is an unusual storyline. It is a love story that takes place during "the troubles" of the 60's-70's. Yet it also spans through several lifetimes for many of the characters, as they recognize each other from past lives. I laughed, I was horrified, and I was mad at the …more
Before Ever After
Before Ever After: A Novel
by Samantha Sotto
Before Ever After (6/27/2011)
WOW! I sure like the concept of the story and how the author was developing it. I did find that the characters and the dialogue were not developed enough to make it truly captivating for me. It seemed like a very quick, fast forward sketched out trip. The historical stops …more
Raising Wrecker
Raising Wrecker: A Novel
by Summer Wood
A lovesong to "family" (11/4/2010)
This story is a love song to the meaning of Family, what it is like to raise an adopted child ... the unspoken questions, the murky unknowns, the pushing ahead because you have to, and that glorious binder called love. Wrecker, an adorable 3 yr old, is separated from his …more
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