In a Book Club Far Away

Three estranged friends are reunited when one of them texts out an SOS. Regina, Sophie, and Adelaide are army spouses - they met and bonded over book club - but ten years later Regina and Sophie aren't on speaking terms. Bouncing back and forth between 2011 and present day - readers learn about what drew the three friends together and at the conclusion learned what pivotal event drove them apart. Adelaide's husband is stationed in Germany when the pains start. She'll need surgery and she'll need someone to watch her two year old daughter - there is no one she trusts more than her two friends and maybe she can bring them back together in the process. A story of female friendships and a discovery that family isn't just those related by blood - it's the people will choose. Totally okay book, but not mind blowing. 

Good Luck with That

I adored this story - it was brave, courageous and hard to read at moments - but it resonated with me so much. Good Luck With That is the story of three women who became best friends at fat camp and vowed that they would all change their lives and be skinny someday, but it opens up with a tragedy. Marley and Georgia have stayed really close - in fact they live in the same building - their pal Emerson though still lives a state away. It's been a few years since they've seen her and they are shocked when they get the call that she is on her death bed. When they arrived that are STUNNED at just how large Emerson is, she isn't just fat she is super morbidly obese and dying. What happened, how did she get so bad. They've all had weight issues their entire lives, but this is over the top. She gives them a letter and makes them promise to do what's in it. Sadly Emerson dies and they realize that she has given them the list from summer camp of all the things they said they wanted to do when they got skinny - get a piggy back ride, do a photo shoot, tuck in a shirt, etc. Marley and Georgia may not be super obese but they are both fat and they both have insecurities - is this list too juvenile... is it too hard? Wonderful and eye opening - a look at insecurity, weight, family, trust, and more. A wonderful novel. 

Later

I thoroughly enjoyed this. The writing style was great and it mixed crime and horror into a nice little package that wasn't nearly as long as many other King novels. Jamie Conklin isn't just your average kid, he's got a special talent that no one would believe. His mother knows about it, but he's never needed to use it for anything - until his mom asks him for a favor and he starts to realize the implications of using his "talents." Growing up has never been more complicated or scary. I don't want to give too much away but this is basically a mix of The Wire and The Sixth Sense - but way cooler. A stellar new novel from Stephen King! 

Wench

Great potential, but honestly it was too meandering and complicated for a feminist teen fantasy. When Tanya's guardian (the owner of the tavern she works at) unexpectedly die - Corpsmen under seize the tavern and she has nowhere to go. She's only seventeen but the best years of her life were spent working there, brewing beer, breaking up barfights, cooking, and cleaning. She's at a loss for what to do when she decides that she will accompany the contingent of men who requisitioned her bar and stole her supplies to the capital to see the Queen. Along the way there are bandits, thieves, junkoff (magical spill off), romance, detours, and unexplained magical objects. Tanya finds herself wielding a magic feather with the potential to change the world as she knows it. The only question is why she, a teenage tavern wench, can use it and not the wizards and magic users of the realm. This book was ALL OVER THE PLACE. Great concept - poor execution. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

This book was SO HYPED - personally I didn't get the hype until the last quarter of the book. I though the first 75% was slow and at times tedious. I still ranked it a 4 out of 5 though because I LOVED the ending. Readers just have to go through a lot of build up to get to the good bits! Addie LaRue is cursed - no one remembers her name or face. Everything will be fine until someone leaves the room and falls asleep and then she is a clean slate - someone they have never ever seen before. It's no way to live a life - let alone an eternity. For three hundred years she has roamed the Earth - invisible to all but the one who "granted her wish." She just wants to be noticed - to leave an impression on someone - anyone. One day she walks into a New York bookstore and everything changes. Very slow build up but SUPER satisfying ending. Completely unique and original concept!

Girl, Wash Your Face

Keeping up my string of controversial readings, I decided to finally read this book after I was given a free copy. I've had friends that loved it and friends that loathed it. I can definitely see both sides of it. I will say this book definitely coming from a place of entitlement. Rachel thinks she is "everywoman," but she has so many privileges that her advice often falls flat. Don't get me wrong it's not all horrible advice, but not everything she's "selling" is achievable for women who come from far less entitled circumstances. A lot of it common sense advice viewed through a Christian lens and accompanied by her personal stories of overcoming adversity. There are some good takeaways but nothing you wouldn't find in another self-help book. The advice I liked best was about how we shouldn't break promises to ourselves because we wouldn't break promises to our friends. We need to treat ourselves with more respect. But that was my biggest takeaway. Honestly, I don't get all the fuss.

The Soul of a Woman

 

Allende, Isabel. The Soul of a Woman. digital. 2021. Books on Tape. 

Bestselling author, Isabel Allende, offers up an intimate memoir on the impact feminism has had in her unique and fulfilling life. As a child and later as a young woman in the sixties; Isabel realized that women were often seen and not heard. Her mother's circumstance and that of many other women in Chile inspired her to a life of action - she is nothing, if not passionate in all her undertakings. Three marriages, two children, one heartbreaking loss, and travels around the globe have brought her closer to the human condition and the hearts of women everywhere. Women want not just love, but safety, bodily autonomy, value, respect, and connectedness. The Soul of a Woman is a quilt of stories, poetry, anecdotes, and truths that women carry - in every culture and continent. Passionately narrated by Gisela Chipe; filled with warmth, feeling, and emotion. The book concludes with the hope that Allende will "light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished." Beautiful and fulfilling; a must read for women everywhere. Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN