SONGS OF WILLOW FROST by Jamie Ford

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

I really enjoyed Jamie Ford's last book, HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET. I thought it was a very sweet story and reminded me of a fairly shameful period in American history.  I was interested to see how he would follow up on the success of that novel.  I was very pleasantly surprised after reading his latest work, SONGS OF WILLOW FROST.

12-yr-old William Eng is living in an orphanage in 1930's Seattle.  He is the only Chinese boy at the orphanage and he has waited for his mother to come back and claim him after seven years.  It is the Depression and many of the children in the orphanage have parents who cannot take of them and abandoned them to the system.  William's last memory of his mother is finding her unsconcious in a bathtub and watching as she is taken away to the hospital. He hasn't seen her since.  On his birthday, William sees a movie starring a woman named Willow Frost that he is convinced is his mother.  Spurred on by his blind friend Charlotte, William decides to try and find his mother and learn the truth about his abandonment once and for all.

I really loved this book.  I though Ford had interesting things to say not only about that particular time period in history and the evolution of movies but also gives us insight into the world of the Chinese population living in Seattle at that time with the complexity of customs and social mores.  I also loved the focus on the relationship between mothers and sons.  The story is both sad and beautiful and I found it quite moving.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  A very sweet tale of one boy's courage in trying to find the truth about his past and that of his mother.

August Read: THE BIG DISCONNECT by Catherine Steiner-Adair and Teresa H. Barker

Although I am not anti-technology, I would like to see a lot less of it in our lives. I believe that computers at school belong in a lab and not in a classroom. At this time, our 5-yr-old son does not use a computer or tablet and only gets to use educational apps on my smartphone on very rare occasions.  I care much more about him engaging with the world and in creative play.  Technology is fairly intuitive and I'm not worried about him being "left behind."  This book is brand new and I have really been looking forward to reading it.  I hope it offers lots of topics for discussion.

Barefoot Books

I am starting a new adventure today as a Barefoot Books Ambassador.  Many of you know that I am passionate about books.  I have worked in libraries for over 12 years and I love sharing my passion for reading with children. When my son was 2, his godmother gave him a Barefoot Books book.

He made me read it over and over and he insisted that I SING the entire book.  I was so grateful that it came with a CD for those times when my voice wouldn't cooperate.  Since we got ANIMAL BOOGIE, we have been adding to our collection.  I love the colorful books, the multicultural emphasis and the high quality of the products.  As I was browsing the online store recently, I saw that they offered opportunities to sell these wonderful books. I have been looking for additional ways to earn money and loved the idea of combining extra work with my passion for books and literacy. So, I am going to try my hand at being a Barefoot Book Ambassador.



I hope you will take a moment to browse all the wonderful products that are available.  Even if you don't live nearby, I can be your Ambassador and I'm happy to answer any questions about the products.  I hope you will enjoy Barefoot Books as much as I do!!!  I will periodically do a special book review on a Barefoot Books title to keep you up to date on the lastest that the company has to offer.

NIGHT FILM by Marisha Pessl

I received an advance copy of this book through the Amazon Vine Program.

When I first picked up NIGHT FILM, the tone and layout reminded me a little bit of HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Danielewski.  The book opens with journalist Scott McGrath heading out for a run.  McGrath attempted an expose on mysterious underground horror filmmaker Stanislaus Cordova but the whole thing blew up in his face. McGrath's career was devastated by slander charges and he is working to rebuild his life.  When McGrath returns from his run, he discovers that Cordova's daughter, Ashley, has been found dead in an apparent suicide.  Despite his best efforts, McGrath finds himself getting drawn into Cordova's world once again as he attempts to discover what really happened to Ashley.  As he gets deeper into his investigation, McGrath is joined by a young coatcheck girl who was one of the last people to see Ashley alive and a mysterious young man who has a hidden connection to Ashley.  The three of them work to retrace Ashley's steps in her final days and find out what drove the girl to suicide.

One of the things that made this book so compelling were the photos of evidence throughout the book.  You see the same articles, websites and other pieces of evidence that the McGrath and his team are seeing. The reader feels as if they are going through the investigation with Scott and slowly piecing together what happened to Ashley and the truth about Cordova. The book constantly keeps you guessing about the truth and Pessl manages to maintain a high level of suspense throughout the book without it feeling gratuitous.  I found the book hard to put down because I was so anxious to found out the truth about Ashley and Cordova.  The ending was a little bit disappointing but, overall, I really enjoyed the book.  It worked really well as a mystery/suspense story.

BOTTOM LINE:  Recommended.  A highly suspenseful book that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you attempt to solve the mystery of Ashley and her father along with McGrath.

THE THINKING WOMAN'S GUIDE TO REAL MAGIC by Emily Croy Barker

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

When I first heard about this book, I thought it would be reminiscent of Deborah Harnkess' All Souls Trilogy.  Beside the fact that it deals with magic, it isn't.  Others have compared this book to JANE EYRE.  I can see why they would say that but I wouldn't make a comparison there either.  The writing style (not the content) reminded me most of Diana Gabaldon. 

Nora Fischer has hit a rut in her life.  Her academic career and dissertation have stalled and her longtime boyfriend has dumped her.  Attempting to get her mind off her recent troubles, Nora attends a wedding with some friends only to discover that her trouble has followed her.  In an attempt to get away for a little while, Nora goes on a hike only to stumble through a portal to another world. The fantasy world she discovers is almost too good to be true.  Nora becomes involved with a mysterious handsome man and her world falls apart yet again soon after.  Realizing she is now stuck in this other world, Nora begins to study magic with the magician Aruendiel in the hope of both making a life for herself and possibly finding the way back home.

This book is highly detailed and well-written.  Barker has really thought out the alternate world and gives a wonderful amount of detail. The reader can often become bogged down in the detail, however.  The book moves at a glacial pace.  It took a couple hundred pages for me to really get into the story.  Even then, the pace was very very slow.  The action doesn't pick up until the very end and then the book end abruptly. I have a feeling there will be a sequel. Too many loose ends and unanswered questions.  There is a lot of good in this book but it is missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.  In some ways, it lacks fun.  It needs a little more humor and playfulness.  I loved all the details about the magic and magical history but it all felt a bit dry.  I'm hoping Barker will be able to flesh everything out in a sequel.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended with reservations.  There are a lot of interesting details in this book but it is very dry and slow.  If Barker can add the missing ingredients in a sequel, she could have a winner.

THE SILENT WIFE by A.S.A. Harrison

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

A lot of reviewers are drawing comparisons between THE SILENT WIFE and GONE GIRL.  While the structure of the book is similar, I was reminded more of THE KINGDOM OF CHILDHOOD by Rebecca Coleman.  Within the first two pages, the reader is introduced to psychotherapist Jodi Brett and knows that she has done something very wrong.  Jodi and her partner, Todd Gilbert, have been together for twenty years.  Jodi has created a perfect life for them and acts as a wife in every way but in an official capacity. She has never wanted to get married. She is the most patient and forgiving of women even though Todd is a prolific philanderer. THE SILENT WIFE chronicles the disintegration of their marriage and is told from both Jodi's and Todd's points of view. 

I didn't find Todd to be a particularly interesting character.  He seems like your run-of-the-mill charismatic cheater. Jodi, however, is fascinating.  She is clearly an intelligent, beautiful, and capable woman. As a psychotherapist, she should have a pretty good sense of self and understanding of what drives human beings.  But her perfection makes her seem more of a cartoon character than a real person. This point of view changes, however, as the book progresses. The reader gets to know Jodi much better and sees what makes her tick. As their "marriage" falls apart in an irreperable way, we see the true Jodi start to come out.

This book was a very quick read because I had to know what was going to happen and why. The ending felt a little anti-climactic to me but I absolutely loved Jodi's character. She is really fascinating.  Harrison does a great job in slowly revealing Jodi's true self.  The sections of the book with Todd were boring in comparison. While the book is suspenseful in many ways, I wouldn't classify it as a "suspense" novel. It is much more a fascinating look at a relationship built on lies that has finally fallen apart and the consequences that come of that dissolution.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  A really interesting and quick read that follows the disintegration of a marriage and its horrific fallout.

July Read: FREE TO LEARN

I finally got a copy of SIMPLICITY PARENTING and I'm reading it right now. So far, I am really really liking it. But I'm still behind!!! For those of you ready for a new read, our July title will be FREE TO LEARN: WHY UNLEASHING THE INSTINCT TO PLAY WILL MAKE OUR CHILDREN HAPPIER, MORE SELF-RELIANT, AND BETTER STUDENT FOR LIFE by Peter Gray.

This book focuses on the importance of play and "unschooling." I'm very curious to see what Gray has to say.  Do you have a favorite book from our Challenge yet?

GOLEM AND THE JINNI by Helene Wecker

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

Two magical creatures roam turn-of-the-century New York City.  Chava is a golem.  She was commissioned by a man looking for a wife who took his request to an Old World rabbi dabbling in dark magic.  When her master dies on the ocean voyage to America, Chava is left on her own to navigate the strange new world.  Ahmad is a jinni.  He was captured many years ago in the Syrian desert and trapped in an old copper flask.  A metalworker in New York City accidentally releases him from his prison and takes him on as an apprentice.  The book moves back and forth between Chava's and Ahmad's stories until they meet by chance and form an unlikely friendship.

I really loved this book.  I thought the story was beautifully written. I loved reading about both characters and their lives.  I loved how each story thread came out of a different tradition, one Yiddish and one Middle Eastern.  Wecker did a marvelous job fleshing out the characters.  Both of them were so compelling and interesting. Both Chava and Ahmad are prisoners in their own way but they find freedom and comfort in each other's company. This is not just a story of two magical creatures and how they can to be, it is also the story of dark magic and its consequences.  There is even a bit of mystery to the book.  For such a chunkster, I read it surprisingly fast.  I had a hard time putting it down.

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended.  A beautiful tale of the origins of two magical beings, their lives in New York City and how their friendship changed them both. 

Galley Bonanza

I am getting such quality books in the mail! Hard to know where to begin!!!!

INDISCRETION by Charles Dubow

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

About a year ago, I read THE FORGOTTEN WALTZ by Anne Enright which went on to win many awards. It was billed as a new kind of novel on adultery.  I did not enjoy it and I didn't really feel it had anything new to say on the subject. That is why I was a bit wary when I started to hear similar buzz about INDISCRETION.

Claire is a young, beautiful Manhattanite on the rise.  When a guy she has been casually dating invites her to the Hamptons for the weekend, she jumps at the chance. Even though her relationship with the man fizzles quickly, the weekend away proves life-changing as Claire meets the Winslows that weekend. Harry and Madeleine Winslow are the perfect couple. Harry is an award-winning author and Madeleine is a much-celebrated hostess.  When Claire attends a party at their East Hampton home, she is powerfully drawn to the charismatic couple and is drawn into their orbit.  Claire becomes a fixture at their home. But as Claire's affection and admiration turns into something deeper, the Summer will have far-reaching repercussions for everyone involved. 

The story is narrated by Madeleine's longtime friend Walter. Comparisons have been drawn between Walter and Fitzgerald's Nick Carraway and I see the resemblance.  Walter watches the events of that Summer unfold and, eventually, plays his own part in what inevitably follows.  His view of the events is very compelling and offers a more intriguing view of events than if they had been told by one of the main characters.  Ultimately, the story is heartbreaking.  INDISCRETION is a more effective cautionary tale against infidelity than "Fatal Attraction" ever could be.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  An incredibly compelling story about how infidelity can occur and the consequences that it can have.


















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