Book Review: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Are our lives determined by fate? Or is it all just a matter of chance?

Is there just one person in all the world that we’re meant to be with? Or is life more of a multiple-choice quiz, where different answers may be correct in different circumstances?

In Maybe in Another Life, the characters say one thing, but their lives and actions give a very different message.

Hannah Martin, age 29, has lived anywhere and everywhere, but has no idea where she truly belongs. After a go-nowhere disastrous affair in New York ends, Hannah moves back “home” to Los Angeles, to reunite with her best friend Gabby, pick up the pieces, and start from scratch.

And maybe, just maybe, rekindle an old flame with her high school sweetheart Ethan.

On their first night out on the town, Hannah faces a moment of truth: Should she go home with Ethan and see what happens… or call it a night, head back to Gabby’s place, and spend the night alone? At the moment of decision, the narrative of Maybe in Another Life splits.

From this moment on, we follow two separate narrative threads in alternating chapters. In one, Hannah does go home with Ethan, their dormant feelings are rekindled, and they begin to work through what an adult relationship might look like. In the other, Hannah turns Ethan down, continues on the way home with Gabby, and is struck by a hit-and-run driver, resulting in serious injuries and a lengthy hospital stay.

In both versions of Hannah’s life, she’s confronted with choices. What does her future hold? How do you know if you’re meant to be with someone? How do you recognize a soulmate? What do you give up for a relationship, and what are the deal-breakers?

Likewise, in both versions, Hannah tries to puzzle out the question of destiny and predetermination:

“You think things are meant to be?” I ask her. For some reason, I think I’ll feel better if things are meant to be. It gets me off the hook, doesn’t it? If things are meant to be, it means I don’t have to worry so much about consequences and mistakes. I can take my hands off the wheel. Believing in fate is like living on cruise control.

Hannah has been so busy searching for the perfect life and what she’s “meant” to do, who she’s “meant” to love, that she’s never fully engaged with her options anywhere she’s been.

“Doesn’t it scare you?” I ask her. “To think that you might have gone in the wrong direction? And missed the life you were destined for?”

Hannah’s life is so messy that she has to believe there are other forces at play:

“I mean, I think I have to believe that life will work out the way it needs to. If everything that happens in the world is just a result of chance and there’s no rhyme or reason to any of it, that’s just too chaotic for me to handle. I’d have to go around questioning every decision I’ve ever made, every decision I will ever make. If our fate is determined with every step we take… it’s too exhausting. I’d prefer to believe that things happen as they are meant to happen.

Ironically, the split narrative demonstrated that it is all random, and that every decision changes the course of events. Towards the end of the book, a party guest talks about the multiverse theory, in which every decision leads to multiple universes in which all possible outcomes exist. From the moment Hannah decides to go home with Ethan — or not to go home with Ethan — she has two different parallel lives. In both lives, she confronts pain and difficult choices, finds a soulmate, faces hard truths, and finally sets off on the path toward professional fulfillment as well as a life filled with love.

The lovely thing about Maybe in Another Life is that both halves of the story feel right! Neither of Hannah’s two lives is 100% easy, but both feel real and both seem like valid outcomes. In both, Hannah begins to grow, take chances, and own up to the decisions she’s made that lead her to this point. Both feel like the absolutely right thing for her, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

I really enjoyed the writing in Maybe in Another Life, which maintains a light touch even in heavy situations. Hannah herself is a person with a lot of room to grow, but she’s self-knowing enough to own up to her mistakes and want to make better choices. And through it all, she’s got a great sense of humor, is a devoted friend, and knows that she needs to finally do something with her life.

The author gives Hannah certain quirks and habits that are both charming and make her feel like an individual, rather than a stock character. In particular, Hannah’s need to always have her hair in a high bun and her constant craving for cinnamon rolls are recurring motifs, and to my surprise, the repetition is actually pretty charming (rather than annoying, as it so easily could have been).

I liked the double narrative, although occasionally I lost track of which event happened in which version of Hannah’s life. No matter, though: Both halves of the story contain ups and downs, loves lost and found, and the true and deep friendship between Hannah and Gabby, which is a key element of the entire story. It’s not often that contemporary novels emphasize the huge difference a good friendship between women can make, while also dealing with romantic entanglements and all sorts of other drama. But here, it’s crystal clear that the bond between Hannah and Gabby is the most important element for both women, grounding them in such a way that they’re able to make their life decisions from a position of strength and support.

Maybe in Another Life is a very quick read. It’s light, but heartfelt. Not sugary, not glossing over the hard stuff, Maybe in Another Life shows a young woman dealing with real life… and the way every decision has consequences. This book is quite fun to read, and yet manages to be emotionally real even amidst all the jokes about cinnamon rolls.

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The details:

Title: Maybe in Another Life
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication date: July 7, 2015
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

18Jul2015

Book Review: The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

The poignant story of what happens when a woman who thinks she’s lost everything has the chance to love again.

Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey’s feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.

My Thoughts:

I feel like I’ve read at least 4 or 5 contemporary novels about young widows in the last fews years, and while The Sweetheart Deal is the latest, it’s certainly not the least.

When Audrey’s firefighter husband Leo dies in a tragic ski accident, she’s left alone with three boys to raise. But not entirely alone: Years early, celebrating the Y2K New Year with quite a lot of booze, Leo made his best friend Garrett sign an agreement saying he’d marry Audrey if anything ever happened to Leo.

Audrey never knew about the deal, but Garrett has never forgotten. So when Leo dies, Garret drops everything in his own life to support Audrey and the boys, moving into their guest room and committing to finishing the addition to the house that Leo left half-built.

Needless to say, eventually Audrey emerges from her devastating grief to find comfort and the hint of new love in Garrett’s arms. But will the drunken promise from all those years ago come between them? Dunh, dunh, dunh….

The Sweetheart Deal is actually quite engaging, and I felt that the author did a very good job of portraying how the different family members deal with such a shocking loss. Different characters narrate different chapters, so we see events from the perspective of Audrey and Garrett, as well as each of the boys. It’s interesting to see how the kids come into the story, how their feelings complicate matters, and how Garrett very selflessly immerses himself in doing whatever he can for Leo’s family.

While Audrey has a best friend as well, it’s the friendship between Leo and Garrett that really drives the story. Friends since boyhood, they’re bonded in a way that we don’t often see in female-centric contemporary love stories, where the main friend relationship is usually between women. Garrett’s feelings here are intense and conflicted: He loved Leo truly and faithfully, would do anything for him, and sincerely wants to protect and assist Leo’s family. His feelings for Audrey grow out of his grief and devotion, and he deals with heaping helpings of guilt as well.

Audrey’s initial bereavement is realistic and heartbreaking, and she is really to be admired for her strength in caring for her boys even as she falls apart inside. There’s no suggestion at all that she wasn’t madly in love with her husband. Instead, we see a woman who suffers a great loss trying to figure out if she’s entitled to any future happiness, and trying to understand if what she wants is wrong for herself, for her children, and for the memory of her husband.

The characters are all Catholic and their faith does come into play, but not in a way that feels heavy-handed. Audrey’s religion guides her actions, and she gains strength and insight through the counsel she receives from her priest – but I never felt alienated by the religious aspects or that they took away from the story.

Ultimately, the romance with the husband’s best friend feels deserved and well-developed, given the odd backstory and the guilt everyone feels.

The Sweetheart Deal is a sweet, moving, sad, and finally uplifting love story that deals with challenges that feel all too real. The plot is not complicated, but by focusing on an everyday family and its crisis, the book remains grounded and is quite accessible.

I think, if I hadn’t recently read other books about widows in their 20s or 30s finding their way back to love, I might have been more moved by The Sweetheart Deal, so perhaps it’s not really fair to even mention the other books. I did like this book a lot, and readers who haven’t read other books with similar set-ups should find it fresh and engaging.

The Sweetheart Deal is a quick read, but it hits the sentiment right on the nose and strikes a good balance between grief and hope. Recommended for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction focusing on family and marriage.

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The details:

Title: The Sweetheart Deal
Author: Polly Dugan
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: May 19, 2015
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

2Jul2015

Thursday Quotables: Jesse’s Girl

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

NEW! Thursday Quotables is now using a Linky tool! Be sure to add your link if you have a Thursday Quotables post to share.

Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally
(release date July 7, 2015 )

What happens when an ordinary girl meets a teen pop star?

The lighting is dim, and he doesn’t seem to notice I’m here, which is good, because I’ve moved from ogling the guitar to ogling him. Who wouldn’t? He was one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” and it is a truth universally acknowledged that you should stare at people who’ve made that list.

Of course, our main character isn’t the only one who notices Jesse. Here’s what happens when he steps outside his dressing room mid-snack, only to be surrounded by his adoring fans/groupies:

Before I can answer, the horde descends on him. It’s scarier than a zombie apocalypse.

“Shit,” he mutters.

“Oh my God, I love ketchup too!” a girl squeals at the bottle in his hand. “We have so much in common!”

Want to know more? Check out my review of Jesse’s Girl!

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Click on the linky button (look for the cute froggie face) below to add your link.
After you link up, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment about my quote for this week.
Be sure to visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

1Jul2015

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

This week’s pick:
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith
(to be released September 1, 2015 )

On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they’ll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

This new must-read novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that must be made when life and love lead in different directions.

Sometimes, nothing will do but a good contemporary young adult romance, and Jennifer E. Smith’s books are perfect for that kind of mood! I always enjoy her characters and their dilemmas, and I’m really looking forward to this upcoming new release.

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays? Come join me for my regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. You can find out more here — come play!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

1Jul2015

Blog Tour & Book Review: Second Life by S. J. Watson

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Bookshelf Fantasies is participating in the blog tour for the release of Second Life, author S. J. Watson’s second novel following the huge hit Before I Go To Sleep.

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep, a sensational new psychological thriller about a woman with a secret identity that threatens to destroy her.

How well can you really know another person? How far would you go to find the truth about someone you love?

When Julia learns that her sister has been violently murdered, she must uncover why. But Julia’s quest quickly evolves into an alluring exploration of own darkest sensual desires. Becoming involved with a dangerous stranger online, she’s losing herself . . . losing control . . . perhaps losing everything. Her search for answers will jeopardize her marriage, her family, and her life.

A tense and unrelenting novel that explores the secret lives people lead; and the dark places in which they can find themselves, Second Life is a masterwork of suspense from the acclaimed S. J. Watson.

My thoughts:

In Second Life, Julia is a part-time professional photographer married to a successful surgeon named Hugh. Julia and Hugh have adopted the baby son born to her sister Kate, now grown into a teenage boy, Connor. Life is good — until Julia gets the horrifying news that Kate has been murdered, apparently the victim of a random mugging.

Distraught and wracked with guilt, Julia decides that there’s more to the story. She begins to dig into her sister’s life, uncovering bits and pieces of a world that her estranged sister never shared with her. Kate lived a free and easy life in Paris, and was an active participant in the “hook-up” lifestyle, meeting men online for cyber and real-world sexual encounters.

Julia decides that Kate’s hidden life must hold a clue to her murder, and begins to explore. But at some point, the exploration stops being about Kate, as Julia gets sucked into an online flirtation with a stranger that turns sexual, and before long, Julia is consumed by the affair she’s stumbled into.

We know early on that Julia has a history of addiction, involving both alcohol and heroin, and the temptation of a drink is ever-present in Julia’s mind as she deals with her guilt and grief over Kate’s death. It’s easy to see that she’s channeled her out-of-control emotions into yet another addiction, her obsession with the online world — and the seemingly perfect and sexy man she meets there.

Second Life spends a great deal of time detailing Julia’s headlong rush into an affair, and unfortunately, the emphasis on the seedy details of Julia’s seemingly willful endangerment of her marriage and family takes center stage for far too much of the book. For large sections, the mystery of Kate’s death is almost an afterthought. Julia throws herself completely into the affair, and the book bogs down in the sexual encounters and hotel trysts.

After a somewhat slow start, the book picks up momentum by about the halfway mark, as Julia starts to realize that her perfect lover is hiding all sorts of secrets from her, and as her affair starts to overshadow everything else in her life that she values. Eventually the pace quickens and the plot becomes more intriguing, as the dangers closing in on Julia become connected back to Kate, as well as to Julia’s hidden young adult past.

I hate to say it, but Second Life overall didn’t really work for me. The main plotline was highly unappealing, with its voyeuristic emphasis on the details of Julia’s infidelity. I understand that Julia was acting out her grief and loss, giving in to her addictive tendencies and flirting with danger to numb herself in some way from the pain of losing her sister. But I just couldn’t sympathize, and felt that her horrendous choices were so clearly illogical and bad for her family (including the son she claims to love so much) that the plot teetered on the edge of becoming completely implausible.

As my own personal bias, I think it’s only fair to add that a book about infidelity had better have a lot of other compelling elements going for it if it’s going to appeal to me in any way. Otherwise, it’s a turn-off — and that was the case for me with Second Life.

I did find myself hooked for the last 100 pages or so… until the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. I won’t say more about it, but the answers to the mystery were fairly prediction, and what’s more, the final scene was a lousy payoff for the tense build-up.

I really enjoyed Before I Go To Sleep and ended up recommending it to lots and lots of reader friends. Sadly, Second Life does not live up to the promise of the earlier book.

I usually try to find a reason to recommend or praise a book if I’m participating in a blog tour. While Second Life didn’t work for me, I could imagine that readers who are into thrillers and aren’t bothered by the subject matter the way I was might enjoy this book. If you read it and have a different opinion, please share your thoughts!

Find out more:

Purchase Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

S. J. Watson was born in the Midlands and lives in London. His first novel was the award-winning Before I Go to Sleep, which has sold over four million copies in more than forty languages around the world. It was recently adapted into a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong.

Find out more about S.J. at his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

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The details:

Title: Second Life
Author: S. J. Watson
Publisher: Harper
Publication date: June 9, 2015
Length: 416 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Review copy courtesy of TLC Book Tours

For further information, stop by TLC Book Tours to view other blog tour hosts.

29Jun2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far in 2015

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is the Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015. I love looking back over the year (or in this case, the first half of the year), and seeing the weird and wonderful mix of books that I’ve read.

My top 10 for the 1st half of 2015 includes some new releases, some books from a year or so ago, and some that go way, way back. In case you want to know why these books are on my top 10 list, I’m including the review links for any I’ve reviewed:

1) Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (review)

2) The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant (review)

3) The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian (review)

4) Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova (review)

5) The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson (review)

6) Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (review)

7) Winger by Andrew Smith (review)

8) Emma by Jane Austen (re-read via audiobook; no review… but I loved it!)

9) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (review)

10) The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer (I read most of this series in late 2014, but since I read Fairest in 2015, it counts!) (review)

What are the best books you’ve read so far in 2015?

Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out my regular weekly feature, Thursday Quotables. Happy reading!

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29Jun2015

Take A Peek Book Review: Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

“Take a Peek” book reviews are short and (possibly) sweet, keeping the commentary brief and providing a little peek at what the book’s about and what I thought.

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.

But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?

My Thoughts:

I wouldn’t normally pick up a book about a romance between a small town girl and the superstar she meets cute… but this is my third book by Miranda Kenneally, and I went into Jesse’s Girl expecting something special. And that’s exactly what I got.

Maya dresses goth/punk, loves 80s music (especially Madonna and Queen), and wants to spend her life rocking out with an awesome guitar. The band she started has kicked her out, though, and her dream of auditioning on Wannabe Rocker seems to be slipping away. But meeting Jesse opens her eyes to the idea of taking risks to get what she really wants, as well as seeing that celebrity and superstardom come at a price… and that the lives of the rich and famous can be awfully lonely without a loving family to back you up.

That may sound like a lot to pack into one young adult novel, but it works. The first half of the book is a “one special day” type of story, where Maya and Jesse start as semi-hostile strangers, have a ton of crazy adventures as they both break rules and defy expectations, and end up connected in ways that go way beyond the attraction they both feel.

Maya is shown as a strong girl who needs an even stronger infusion of confidence. She learns to open up, and in turn gets Jesse to start realizing that he doesn’t have to give up his own dreams in order to be loved.

Jesse and Maya are well-developed characters, with flaws as well as talents. I appreciate the economic diversity that the author features in her novels. Maya’s family is proudly working class, and every dollar counts. Maya can’t take anything for granted, and meets her financial challenges head on without shame. It’s interesting to see how she views Jesse’s financial success and life of creature comforts, and yet still values her messy, loud family with their beat-up cars more than anything money can buy.

Fans of Miranda Kenneally’s earlier books will be delighted by this return to Hundred Oaks, especially as favorite characters from earlier books show up here in supporting roles. Reading Jesse’s Girl makes me realize that I need to go back and read the three other books by this author that I’ve missed!

Jesse’s Girl is a moving story of teens finding their way, a tribute to the power of romance, and a nice spotlight on the unbelievable strength that a loving family and supportive friends can provide. I’m really impressed with the author’s ability to create characters who seem both familiar and fresh, as well as her engaging storytelling. I was really swept up in the fun and feelings of this book, and recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good contemporary tale… particularly if you like a bit of a Southern twang in your fiction!

Interested in this author? Check out my reviews of other books by Miranda Kenneally:
Racing Savannah
Breathe, Annie, Breathe

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The details:

Title: Jesse’s Girl
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication date: July 7, 2015
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Young adult contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

27Jun2015

Book Review: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s hard to describe this small, lovely book and explain what makes it just so special — but I’ll try.

In the small Colorado town of Holt, the setting for previous novels by Kent Haruf, Addie Moore lives alone. And around the corner is her neighbor Louis Waters. Both are widowed, and are in their 70s. Both seem to lack real human connection in their lives, although they certainly have friends and acquaintances.

One day, Addie shows up on Louis’s doorstep with a proposal.

I’m listening, Louis said.

I wonder if you would consider coming to my house sometimes to sleep with me.

What? How do you mean?

I mean we’re both alone. We’ve been by ourselves for too long. For years. I’m lonely. I think you might be too. I wonder if you would come and sleep in the night with me. And talk.

She asks him to come sleep with her at night. Not for sex, mind you. It’s the closeness she seeks. She wants someone to fall asleep with, to talk with in the dark, to make the nights a little less lonely. And after some thought, Louis agrees.

On the first night, Louis comes through the alley to Addie’s back door with his pajamas and toothbrush in a paper bag, but Addie tells him to come to the front door from now on, if he intends to continue. There will be no sneaking around.

And that’s really it. Small town folks talk, of course, and people seek to create gossip and scandal, but Addie and Louis will have none of it. They refuse to be ashamed, and they refuse to stop. In the night, they talk over their lives, their marriages, their children, the disappointments, the dreams, the pain and the joy. And from these nights, the two form an unusual intimacy, closer than most marriages, that seems like a true meeting of souls.

Just, wow. What a book.

Kent Haruf uses deceptively simple language to paint a gorgeous picture of the inner lives of common people. Our Souls at Night is a short book, under 200 pages, and much of it consists of dialogue between the two characters. Their speech, like their lives, is plain and unadorned. They’ve been through a lot over the course of the years, and they talk to each other directly and openly, no hiding or subterfuge. It’s as though, after all they’ve experienced and all the ups and downs of their lives up to this point, they’re dispensing with the bullshit and getting right to what matters.

This is a beautiful, elegant, graceful book. The writing is spare, pared down to the essentials. There’s nothing fancy about the characters, their speech patterns, or the story. It’s simply a powerful book about the connection between two people who manage to find happiness and true connection at a point in their lives when everyone expects them to simply behave and then fade away.

I read the author’s novel Plainsong years ago and remember that I ended up loving it for its stripped-down beauty. I’m sorry that I haven’t read more by this author, and I do intend to correct that. Our Souls at Night is Kent Haruf’s final novel, as he passed away in 2014 at the age of 71.

This book really swept me up and moved me, and I’d like to page through it for a while longer before I return it to the library. My immediate reaction, though, right after finishing the final pages, is just this: Our Souls at Night is lovely, and should not be missed.

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The details:

Title: Our Souls at Night
Author: Kent Haruf
Publisher: Knopf
Publication date: May 26, 2015
Length: 179 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Library

23Jun2015

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: Career of Evil

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My most wished-for book this week is:

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
(expected US publication date: October 20, 2015)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

Career of Evil is the third in the highly acclaimed series featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott. A fiendishly clever mystery with unexpected twists around every corner, it is also a gripping story of a man and a woman at a crossroads in their personal and professional lives.

Cormoran Strike is back, with his assistant Robin Ellacott, in a mystery based around soldiers returning from war.

Ooh, ooh, ooh! A new Cormoran Strike book! Can’t wait!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

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21Jun2015

Book Review: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Synopsis:

(via Goodreads)

When 15-year-old Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the junior class at Adams High School. A good student and natural athlete, she’s immediately welcomed by the school’s cliques. She’s even nominated to the homecoming court and begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn’s bitter romantic rival. When a video of Carolyn and Shane making out is sent to everyone, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut, as Brooke and her best friend Gemma try to restore their popularity. Gossip and bullying hound Carolyn, who becomes increasingly private and isolated. When Shane and Brooke—now back together—confront Carolyn in the student parking lot, injuring her, it’s the last attack she can take.

Sarah Bannan’s deft use of the first person plural gives Weightless an emotional intensity and remarkable power that will send you flying through the pages and leave you reeling.

My Thoughts:

Weightless is a disturbing book, all the more so because it feels so real. There’s an air of distance created by the author’s use of a first-person plural narration. “We” observe everything that happens that junior year, and narrate the excitement generated by the arrival of a new girl into a town in which everyone has known each other literally all their lives. By using the “we” voice, the reader gets no closer to Carolyn and the other main players than the trio of girls whose viewpoint we share. The three telling the story are strictly B-list, always on the outside looking in, at once attracted by the inner circle and desperate for their attention, and at the same time wary of the way getting noticed can come with nasty results.

When you’re new, and when you’re a girl, it’s not so good to be good at something. Better to be average, to be barely visible, to make yourself scarce.

We don’t get to know Carolyn, and perhaps that’s the point. No one in this homogeneous town knows more than what they can see of her. It’s apparent that she has a history. There are the mysterious marks on her arms and torso, indicating that she’s a cutter. But she’s beautiful and smart, perfectly dressed and with an outsider’s flair, and everyone wants to be her friend — until being her friend becomes a liability.

The pressures of high school life are apparent. A thin girl is described as “rexy”, and that’s supposed to be a good thing. Hearing another girl throw up in a bathroom stall is barely worth noticing, it’s so commonplace. “We” are hyper-critical, but no more so than anyone else. There’s a constant emphasis on the right make-up and clothes, the gain or loss of a few pounds:

She looked skinnier than before and maybe we were jealous that she could keep on losing weight, and we wondered what it would be like to be so sick or so sad or mad or whatever it was she was, to be sick enough not to want to eat. It would be nice to be free of that, we thought.

The group narrating the story, and by extension, the entire student population, sees Carolyn’s transformation from new girl to most popular to object of hatred, and no one does a thing about it.

If we had realized what was happening, we might have stood up, shouted or at least cleared our throats.

“Cleared our throats”? The futility, the fear of interfering, the awe and admiration for the popular crowd — all lead to an absolute inability for anyone to break from the herd.

Weightless is a hard, sad, and powerful book. It drove home for me how insanely difficult it must be to navigate the teen years in an age when every private moment is fair game for public distribution via social media. The use of the first-person plural narration is a brilliant tactic that perfectly encapsulates some of the crazier aspects of the quest to fit in and be one of the crowd. If we’re not noticed, then we won’t be targeted — and Carolyn’s sad story is emblematic of what can happen when “we” dare to go our own way.

A final passage, narrating a hot air balloon ride, captures the outsider world view of the entire book:

We were at a distance from it and could see only what we needed to see. From here, we thought, if a car crashed, you wouldn’t hear it, and even if you did, it would look like a toy.

The outsider status of the narrative trio becomes at some point an excuse. We can’t do anything, because we’re not really involved. Or we do something we consider small, like spreading something via social media, fooling ourselves into believing that what we do doesn’t really matter very much, since we’re not truly included. Most especially, we can’t help. We’re too intimidated by Carolyn to offer true friendship, and we’re too scared of becoming pariahs to dare offending the popular girls. Sadly, the distance “we” maintain keeps the group from seeing Carolyn’s struggle as something real, something within reach; her crashing life is something observed from afar, like seeing a toy person falling to pieces rather than an actual, vulnerable human being.

As a final sad note, the author’s acknowledgements include a reference to a real case that at least partially inspired Weightless. For more information, check out this story about the Phoebe Prince case from 2010. (Note: If you’re thinking of reading Weightless, I’d suggest hold off on reading the article, as the events are similar enough to give a good idea of what happens in the book).

Wrapping it all up: I highly recommend Weightless. I’ve seen Weightless described as a book about bullying, but I think it’s much more than that. It’s a very well-written, disturbing, and unusual look at the cost of needing to fit in, and how an entire community can be culpable for making an individual suffer for stepping outside the lines of what’s considered acceptable.

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The details:

Title: Weightless
Author: Sarah Bannan
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication date: June 30, 2015
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary YA fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley