Pachincko

Fiction by Min Jin Lee

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story, set in Korea and Japan and spanning most of the twentieth century, follows a wonderful character called Sun-Ja through most of her life. It's very very good; it reminds me of the work of Lisa See and Amy Tan, my favorite Asian authors.

I highly recommend this book!

The Forbidden Door/ The Night Window

Fiction by Dean Koontz

https://www.barnesandnoble.com  https://www.barnesandnoble.com

These two books are the conclusion to the Jane Hawk series, which began with The Silent Corner. The next two books are The Whispering Room and The Crooked Staircase. The ending and all the events leading up to it were very exciting!

I enjoyed reading these concluding books together; I'd definitely recommend getting the whole five-book series and reading it all at once. These are super thrillers.

However, these stories are not for the squeamish. Here's the basic plot:Very Bad People have taken over half the government and want us all dead or enslaved; only Jane and a very few good folks stand in the way. You may guess that the Very Bad People do some very very bad things along the way, but we know that Jane must prevail in the end. Right?

I also read recently by this author: The Frankenstein Series

Outbreak

Fiction by Davis Bunn

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was supposed to be a thriller about an outbreak of a terrible disease, or the prevention thereof. I was hoping for something reminiscent of Michael Crichton, a fast-moving story that would have enough technical detail to be believable but not get bogged down in the science of it all.

Unfortunately, it was confusing and slow-moving. I still don't understand the what was really happening. There's supposed to be a sequel, which maybe would explain the holes in the plot, but I didn't like this one enough to go in for another try.

Sorry.

I also read by this author: Miramar Bay

The Past

Fiction by Tessa Hadley

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Adult siblings Alice, Fern, Harriet, and Roland journey with their respective families to their grandparents' cottage in the country, to spend a three-week holiday together and to decide what to do with the old place. Unsurprisingly, (Three weeks?! Seriously?!) there is a bit too much togetherness going on during their stay and tensions erupt.

This was a pretty good character story but I had some trouble liking these people for a lot of the time. Also I don't like the title; although there is a flashback to the past in the middle of the story, the book is mostly about the present. I did like the ending.

I also read by this author: Clever Girl

What Was Mine

Fiction by Helen Klein Ross

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Lucy longs for a baby of her own, but can't have one. So she steals someone else's. She gets away with it, too. Except she eventually gets caught.

That's the plot of this novel in a nutshell. Interestingly enough, this information is actually revealed fairly early in the book, but it doesn't spoil the story at all to know it. This was a fascinating book.

The only small problem I had with it was how Lucy was found out. It seems to me, that if this were real, she could have kept the secret of her child's origins forever. But maybe she somehow wanted to get caught.

A Thousand Naked Strangers

Subtitled: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back
Nonfiction by Kevin Hazzard

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

Obviously I picked this book just for the clever title.

I've done this before, and sometimes the book isn't quite as clever as the title; however, this book definitely was.

This book was full of funny stories about crazy things, and also managed to show the reader a little of the author's journey through life and what he learned. I recommend this one!

Dogs of Babel

Fiction by Carolyn Parkhurst.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Linguistics professor Paul's wife Lexy dies unexpectedly from a fall while at home alone with the couple's dog, a Rhodesian ridgeback called Lorelei. The police are satisfied that Lexy's death is an accident, but Paul becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened. He is convinced that Lorelei can tell him, and takes a sabbatical from work to focus exclusively on animal communication  research. Basically, he begins to spend all his time trying to get a dog to talk.

His colleagues are convinced he's gone off the deep end in his grief, and it may well be so. But the reader can't help but wonder: What if it's possible? Maybe dogs can talk, if we listen hard enough.

This was a very interesting character story.

I also read by this author: Harmony

Darkest Fear

Fiction by Harlan Coben.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is #7 from the Myron Bolitar Series (see The Final Detail for the others I've read, all out of order). In this story, Myron is trying to find a missing bone marrow donor in order to save a thirteen-year-old boy who might be his own son.

Yeah, I know. That's a weird premise, isn't it? But somehow the story works, and you'll never guess where it's going to go...

I also read recently by this author: Run Away

Red Queen

YA Fiction by Victoria Aveyard.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

The characters in this story occupy a universe where humanity is divided into two groups: Reds and Silvers. Reds are regular people like us, and they are basically a slave race, born to serve the Silvers. Silvers are not only richer and more privileged than Reds, they also have almost supernatural abilities that set them apart: some have incredible strength, or superhuman speed, or magical healing ability. But the main thing that sets the two races apart is their blood. While the Reds, like regular humans, have red blood in flowing in their veins, the Silvers have... can you guess? Silver blood! It's not clear if they evolved from humans or if they are aliens or what, and I guess it's not important to the story.

Anyways, background aside, the story focuses on a young Red girl called Mare who is destined to somehow rise into the Silver world. It's a pretty good story, and it's only the beginning in this book. I'm not sure if I want to commit to the rest of the series, however. The characters din't quite grab me as much as I'd like. Still, it was exciting.

The Book That Matters Most

Fiction by Ann Hood.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Ava's husband Jim has just left her for another woman after some twenty-five years together. The children are on her side, aghast at their father's betrayal, but it doesn't help her much as they are both abroad, one studying in Italy and the other in the Peace Corps in Africa. So Ava joins a book group for solace, and the group is embarking upon the theme, "The Book That Matters Most." Each book club member will choose a book that they think is the most important to them personally and have everyone in the group read it.

Personally I find this theme a little grandiose, and in general I dislike being asked things like, "What is your FAVORITE book?" or "What book has influenced you the MOST?" I just love too many books to choose just one, and also it seems like one is pressured to pick a Classic or Intellectual Book of some kind in order to not look like a dullard. And these people in this story did just that, almost invariably choosing books your high school English teacher would make you read. (Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, The Catcher in the Rye, etc.) Still, one character does remark cheekily, "Mark Twain's definition of a classic is a book you have heard of but never read."

But Ava's book choice is a personal one, a reminder of her troubled past, and throughout the book club year we learn about her life, and about her daughter Maggie, who is indeed abroad, but she isn't actually studying. And will the faithless Jim come crawling back? We can only hope...

Mischling

Fiction by Affinity Konar.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This was an almost-poetic novel about children in Auschwitz, if you can believe that. The title refers to a German word for half-breed or mixed blood, something the Nazis detested, but the main characters are not really mischlings at all. Sasha and Pearl are a pair of identical twins, Polish Jews plucked from the cattle car by the infamous Dr. Mengele for study in his laboratory.

The story is both beautiful and terrible, and I feared to finish it because I hated the thought of these poor girls' destruction. (Even though, you have to expect that in  Holocaust book, I know.) Even at the liberation of Auschwitz it still looked really bad for Pearl and Sasha, and that was the point I'd been hoping for things to get better. But the good news is that they don't both die....

I would recommend this book, as long as you know it's very sad, but that there is hope at the end.

Don't Believe a Word

Fiction by Patricia MacDonald.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

I really like Patricia MacDonald's suspenseful books! In this story, a young woman called Eden discovers that her mother and handicapped half-brother have been tragically killed. The police call the deaths a murder-suicide, but Eden is not so sure....

This was an exciting story!

I also read recently by this author: Little Sister

Revival

Fiction by Stephen King.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Jamie Morton first meets Charles Jacobs, the man he calls his nemesis, when he is six years old and Jacobs is around twenty-five, but it is hard to see any darkness in their encounters at first. Indeed they appear to share a truly positive connection initially. But they are fated to encounter each other many times over the next fifty years in this strange story, and everything ends badly.

Stephen King can write such amazing characters! I felt like Jamie and his family and everyone else in this book were completely real, and it as impossible not to care about these people. Of course, that makes it all the worse when terrible things begin to happen, and in King's work terrible things always seem to happen. Still, sometimes there is is enough good in the story to make it worth reading, and the characters are so compelling!

Unfortunately, I felt like the awful ending ruined this book. Looking at the reviews on b&n.com, (see above) I find I am not alone in that opinion. I can't give this one a whole thumbs-up, but I will give it a half because the first part of the the novel was so good.

I also read recently by this author: The Outsider

Summer of Fear

Fiction by Lois Duncan.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Another fun, exciting read by Lois Duncan, this book tells the story of sixteen-year-old Rachel. When her orphaned cousin Julia comes unexpectedly to live with her family, Rachel tries to be friendly and welcoming.

But it looks like Julia is no friend to Rachel, and may be a danger to everyone!

A good thriller with some surprises in store.

I also read recently by this author: Don't Look Behind You