One of Us is Lying
                             Karen McManus

                                   Debut

                             2018 A-Z Challenge ------O

I am so glad I am not a teenage in today's world.  The pressure that they put on themselves and that are put on them by others.

5 teenagers are sent to detention, the jock, the homecoming queen, the brainiac,  the guy no one likes, and the druggie.  They all feel they were set up for the detention. One of them dies and the other 4 all say they had nothing to do with it and again,  they have been set up.  Who is lying.?

#2018atozchallenge

2018 A to Z Reading Challenge

Bookworm and I have both achieved Iguana Status by reading 10 books in the challenge to date!!

Dear Zoe, by Philip Beard

Debut Novel

2018 A to Z Challenge - "D"

Another book that lingered on my shelf for years despite the fact that I was really interested in reading it!  A rather short book but packed with a lot of feels.

Our main character is Tess who is 15.  The book is told as a "letter" written to her youngest sister who was killed by a hit and run driver on 9-11.  A book about how personal grief got swallowed up on a day when the nation grieved as a whole.

Tess is a character that I think many can relate to whether it be on the subject of grief, teenage angst, divorced/blended families, figuring out ones self.  You sometimes forget that this is written by a man as the female teenage voice seems so authentic (well, there is one moment of male ego that does remind the reader that yes, this was written by a man - ha ha)

#2018AtoZChallenge

To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn

Series

The problems with me and series....1.  Once I start one I usually have to finish them even if my interest starts to wane.  2.  I can't read them back to back to back so it can take me months/years to complete a series.

This is one of those that I started and the first book was fun and light and I thought that it would be an enjoyable series to follow.   Well, this is book 3 of 8 and they are terribly, terribly redundant!  Not in a typical genre "you know how it will end" redundancy, but Chet (the canine narrator) who repeats himself over and over again and admittedly does so!  At first it seemed kinda humorous but by book 3 I'm so over it.

So, I suppose it's good for me to have my second problem of not being able to read a series one book after another because I would SO not recommend that with this repetitive series. 

I tried to simply focus on the plot of the story which involves a missing elephant (I always love a good elephant story) and for the most part it was an okay mystery.  I will continue the series as we already purchased them all, but I can't say I'm wagging my tail about it.

Quotes:  "He has a way of saying just oh sometimes when he's talking to women, maybe a thing I've mentioned already.  If I did, did I also point out its never a good sign?"

"...easy to tell from that barroom smell, which I must have described already, probably more than once..." [Yes Chet, you have!  See what I mean!]

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict

Historical Fiction

2018 A to Z Challenge - "C"

I was drawn to this book by its genre of historical fiction (one of my favorites) and Carnegie himself, as I reside in Pittsburgh and you don't have to look far to see his mark on the city.

A fairly short book, just under 300 pages, with short chapters making it a quick and easy read.  At times I felt Benedict was a bit repetitive, but it wasn't enough to distract me from the story.  A bit of a love story, but it spoke more about the early immigrants' struggles in America and was a tale about the strength, intellect and limitations of a woman.

I enjoyed the fictional window into the complex life of Andrew Carnegie.  I benefit from and support the wonderful library system here in Pittsburgh, have been to the Museum and Music Hall often and while the Carnegie home no longer exists, I do plan on visiting the neighboring and similar Clayton home owned by the Fricks.

Quotes:  "'I am not about to stand idly by when a classist remark is doled out here in democratic America'"

"...I had never heard of a library open to the public without a hefty subscription fee."

"'I can distinctly remember standing before those bookshelves and feeling inspired and overwhelmed by the opportunities found there.  I would carry my book around with me the following week, reading it in breaks snatched from my work.'"

"History often produced the grisliest of results.  Simply because those events were past did not make them any more palatable."

#2018AtoZChallenge

Song of a Captive Bird by Jasmin Darznik

PageHabit Subscription - February - Historical Fiction

2018 A to Z Challenge - "S"

Author Jasmin Darznik does an amazing job of weaving the true life of poet Forugh Farrokhzad with her actual writings and a fictional story to allow you to tap into the emotion of this extraordinary woman.

The oppression and repression that continues in so many countries to women specifically is heartbreaking yet women like Forugh not only fight against it, but do so without a desire to escape their homelands.  The love of country is so profound even when the men of their country often betray them.

Quotes: "He was twenty-six years old, an age at which a young woman would have long since been declared torshideh, or pickled.  But for a man it was, of course, different; he could defer marriage for as long as he could deflect his mother's appeals.

"One after the other, the married women holding the canopy stepped forward and took turns rubbing a cone of salt against a cone of sugar to symbolize how sadness and joy, the two constants of life, merged in marriage."

"Because I was a woman, they wanted to silence the screams on my lips and stifle the breath in my lungs.  But I couldn't stay quiet.  I couldn't pretend to be modest or pure or good.  No.  I was a women and I couldn't speak with the voice of a man, because it was not my voice - not true and not my own.  But there was more to it than that.  By writing in a women's voice I wanted to say that a woman, too, is a human being.  To say that we, too, have the right to breath, to cry out and to sing."

"'Well,....it doesn't matter. My feelings aren't enough to persuade him to make some sort of change.'  Her answer was quick. 'They should be,'"

"As if poetry could be destroyed like a building or a body.  But art wasn't like that.  Art could survive; even when suppressed, even when outlawed, it could survive far worse fates than fire."


#2018AtoZChallenge

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

PageHabit Subscription - October - Mystery

2018 A to Z Challenge - "L"

What a deliciously diabolical debut written by two sisters!  A psychological thriller that reminds you: to not judge what you don't know about another person's life, be careful what you wish for and my 101 reason never to get married!!

You may think you know the 3 main characters:  Amber, Daphne and Jackson, but do you really??  I don't want to say anything more and spoil this wicked little thriller!

#2018AtoZChallenge

A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake

Once Upon a Book Club Selection
November 2017

2018 A to Z Challenge - "T"

Wow, just wow.  A slave-era story told in alternating past and present voices from the conflicted historical city of Charleston, SC.  You will love and hate the characters as much as you will love and hate the city itself.

Jordan-Lake gives us a novel not only meticulously researched, but also replete with genuine characters and a mystery that gathers speed as you near the end of the book.  Not only does she paint an accurate and disturbing picture of the horrors of slave life in Charleston in the 1800's but she weaves in more recent history.  Stories that I mourned when I heard them on the news, far removed from Charleston, but once immersed in this story, they pierced my heart.

With all the books I read that cover all different eras of human history, it never ceases to disappoint me how terribly cruel we can be to one another, yet through such unimaginable horrors, the human spirit continues to rise up, to strengthen, to heal and sometimes, miraculously, forgive.

Quotes:  "You got some kind of slippery grip on your stack of nice." (Gabe - I just love Gabe!)

"Lots of people seem trustworthy at first.  But nobody comes thorough in the end."

"Hard not to spend up the life we've got now railing at what we wish hadn't been."

"Only for some of us, maybe forgiveness is more a journey than a moment in time."

"A life worth living is one of compassion.  And a life of compassion will include may tears."

#2018AtoZChallenge

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Guilty Pleasure
2018 A to Z Challenge - February Mini Challenge - Second Chances Love Story

I again rolled my eyes at a "love story" challenge and turned to Goodread's Lists to see if there was possibly a book on my non-romance bookshelves that could meet this challenge.  And there it was, the book that has been on my end-table TBR (not to be confused with my bedside table TBR, my bookshelves TBR, my monthly book box TBR, my stack-on-the floor TBR). 

A friend loaned this book to me so I looked at it often, wanting to read it so I could return it and quit feeling guilty (as she has borrowed and return many of my books in the time period that I've had this book), but I knew enough about it that I knew I had to be in a "this book will rip your heart out" mood to read it.

Nothing like a challenge to get you to steel yourself for an emotional read!  I did make sure that as I got closer to the end that I would be at home and not in public for the inevitable ugly cry that would ensue.  Yet, I did not find myself sobbing uncontrollably, albeit I did have to have a box of tissues and I had to put the book down as I could not see through the tears.  Now, I'm not totally heartless (you should see the tears I've been shedding during these Winter Olympics - winners, losers, you name it I'm crying), but I think the humor that was throughout this book prevented me from wallowing in the sorrow of it, even though I was taken by surprise - No Spoilers for those who have not read it.

While my life has not been touched by childhood cancer, I thought Green did an amazing job of writing for so many perspectives of those affected by the non-discriminating illness and the struggle of teenagers and parents of teenagers who are faced with an already trying time layered with the complexities of mortality.

Quotes: "It took me a sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints and forty minutes to get over that boy."

"And in freedom, mot people find sin."

"You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stores, and we made the funny choice"

"I thought being an adult meant knowing what you believe, but that has not been my experience."

#atozminiChallenge

                  The Woman in the Window
                            A. J. Finn

               2018 A-Z Challenge ------- "W"

Oh Anna!!!!! You showed me so much about being an agoraphobic, maybe too much in the first half of the book.!!  What a debilitating disorder!!!

Anna has been unable to leave her house for 11 months, she is estranged from her husband and daughter, but they talk almost every day and she entertains herself by watching her neighbors, playing online chess and belonging to an agoraphobia's website.

She also takes her prescribed meds with her too many glasses of wine.   (Confession:::  I drank more wine than I normally do while reading this book).   So when she sees something happen at one of her neighbors, two things happen: 1. She is unable to help because she can"t leave her house and  2. No one believes her because she is on too many meds and drinks way too much.

While the first half of this book gets bogged down with Anna's daily (and yes, boring) routine, be prepared for a much-better second half. Some of your questions (or a least mine were), will be answered in the second half.  Some twists I did not see coming and a couple that I did, but over all a fairly good thriller.

                                                               #2018A-ZChallenge

The Life She Was Given - Ellen Marie Wiseman

Historical Fiction
2018 A to Z Challenge - February Mini Challenge - Red Cover/Red on the Cover

As a kid I loved circuses and then I grew up and discovered the horrible realities of circuses and circus life.  This book brought back the joy and the horrors of circus life for both human and animal entertainers.  While a "freak" such as Lilly may find love among her circus family, it is a horrible testament to not only what human beings can do to one another but what humans consider entertainment.

Wiseman's novel goes back and forth between Lilly's and Julie's stories, both originating from the Blackwood Manor.  The reader tries to puzzle together the connection between the two damaged but strong girls.

While the story does not focus on a particular historical event or character, the author has based it on research and stories about circus life, circus sideshows and tragedies of the circus.  Heartwarming and heartbreaking it is a story that will stick with you.  Stories like this are why I applauded Ringling Brothers retiring their elephant acts and why I will no longer go to a traditional circus, but prefer to be awed by the aerobatic spectacular shows such as Cirque du Soleil.

#atozminiChallenge

              Dreaming spies
               Laurie R. King
                      Series   
    2018-A-to-Z-Challenge --------------"D"                   
Well,  thanks to Laurie R. King,  I have gone on another great adventure with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.

 In the 14th book of the series,  Mary & Sherlock  boarded a cruise ship and traveled to Japan. While on the luxury liner, Holmes sees a man he is sure is a blackmailer. So the adventure begins!!!

Once Mary and Holmes are in Japan, they are approached by a small Japanese woman, who they met on the ship.  She has been sent to asked them to help the Prince Regent (the son of the Emperor) to help get an item back from a blackmailer.  Ah Ha,  the plot thickens.

The wonderful think about Ms King's writing is that she paints such a wonderful picture of places and events that she puts you right there with the characters. 
If you are intrigued to go on an adventure with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes but have not done so yet,  I would suggest you start at the beginning with "The Beekeeper's Apprentice". 

Ms.King does a excellent job of character development!!

                                  #2018AtoZChallenge

        The  Last Ballad by Wiley Cash
     
          Historical Fiction

When we think of civil rights, we usually think of the 1960's. Right?
Well , in 1929 at a North Carolina mill, several people put their lives and their jobs on the line for basic rights for all workers.

Meet Ella May,  the only white woman to work along side the black men and women at the mill. They were all poor , worked 12 hours shifts, and lived in run-down shanties.  Then the flyers for the unions started to appear and Ella May was asked to join the union. So with hopes of making a better life for herself, her children and her friends who worked as hard , suffered as much as she did, she joins the movement for equal rights for women workers and black workers. What a struggle!!!!

This was an interesting read showing just how long the working class has been struggling. 

                                      #AtoZChallenge

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

"K" Author
2018 A to Z Challenge - February Mini Challenge - Unconventional Love Story

Since I'm not a big romance reader I didn't think I would be able to find a book on my shelf to fit the "love story" mini challenges, but thanks to the Goodreads Listopia, I found The Good Girl on the list (and on my bookshelves) and voila! challenge accepted.

Since this is billed as a mystery/suspense/thriller I will avoid any spoilers.  I didn't find this to be as "addictively suspenseful" or "tautly written" as one reviewer did, but I did enjoy the chapters set up not only as various points of views of the characters, but also jumping in time from "before" and "after" the abduction that the book is centered around.  So the reader knows some things that the other characters have yet to discover, but of course we do not know all.   So if you are looking for an exciting page-turner that will keep you up all night, I wouldn't say this would be it, BUT it is a quick, easy read.

#atozminiChallenge

                     2018 A - Z Challenge  -------------------"C"

                       The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
                                  Phaedra Patrick
                                       Debut


On the anniversary of his wife's death,  Arthur Pepper finds a charm bracelet he has never seen before. By calling a phone number that he finds on one of the charms, Arthur begins a journey into his wife's past,  one that he never knew about. He learns a lot about the woman he had loved for more that 40 years and he learns a lot about himself along the way.  It is not always important to know someone's past,  but to love them for who they are in the present. 

 A nice sentimental read.

                                #2018AtoZChallenge