A Piece of Cake

 Nonfiction by Cupcake Brown. 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was also an interesting memoir of the Harrowing Childhood variety, but it's not the same as The Pale Faced Lie.

An eleven-year-old girl, called Cupcake by her mother and LaVette by her father, wakes up one day to find her mother dead and her life completely upended. She goes through many terrible things as a foster child, a runaway, a gangbanger, and a "trash-can" junkie, before finally finding herself and God's purpose for her life.

This is not a Christian story; for one thing, there are way too many cuss-words for that! Still, it is a story about the living God and His mysterious ways in one woman's life. 

The Pale Faced Lie

 Nonfiction by David Crow

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

David Crow grew up as the second of four children on a Navajo Reservation. His family was not Navajo, but his father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and claimed Cherokee heritage. His father was also a crazy man with an anger problem who had served time in San Quentin Prison. This was an interesting memoir of the Harrowing Childhood variety.

The story begins with the sentence, "I was three and a half the first time my dad told me we had to get rid of my mother." It's very absorbing to read.

The Girl in the Red Coat

 Fiction by Kate Hamner

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is told from two points of view, eight-year-old Carmel's and her mother Beth's, with alternating chapters. It took me a little while to get interested in it, because the beginning was not really the beginning. Chapter Seven is literally titled "Day 1." So chapters one through six were, what, a prologue? This was very odd.

Still once the actual story began it was very interesting. After taking about a week to read those first six chapters, I read the rest in a day. I wanted the ending to be a little more detailed; after such a long prologue there certainly could have been an epilogue.

Ashes in the Snow

 Fiction by Ruta Sepetys

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

What happened in Lithuania during the Second World War? I did not know anything at all about it before reading this book. 

I have read a lot of historical fiction about World War Two, and most of it focuses on countries affected by the Germans: France, Austria, Poland, Holland, and the like. Under the direction on Hitler, the Nazi Germans rolled over theses smaller countries, deported their people to concentration camps, and confiscated their lands and goods. Well, the Nazis lost, and therefore the many war atrocities they committed were on full display for all to see. We know all about that. 

But guess what? The Russians under Stalin were doing THE SAME THING to countries like Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. But since the Russians were our allies, and WON the war, nobody really talks about what was going on over there. This books gives a little idea of what happened to some of those people. 

The author herself is of Lithuanian descent; however, her ancestors were able to escape into Germany before the Russians conquered her land. She has done extensive research into what happened to those of her family left behind in 1940's Lithuania, and has produced this book.

It's a good story, although I did feel it ended too abruptly.

The copy I read (pictured above)was the movie tie-in version, but the original title was Between Shades of Gray. I thought the cover of that one was pretty: 

The Dream Daughter

 Fiction by Diane Chamberlain 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1965 Carly meets Hunter, a strange young man who is a patient at the hospital where she is training as a physical therapist. The doctors and nurses all say Hunter is uncooperative, but as soon as he spots Carly, he insists on having her work with him. She finds him to be surprisingly sympathetic, but she is already engaged. Still, her sister Patti is single...

This story begins with these two people, who are fated to meet and ultimately save the life of a child in a wildly unexpected way. It's a very good book!

I also read recently by this author: The Lies We Told

The Most Mis-Used Verses in the Bible

Subtitled: The Surprising Ways God’s Word is Misunderstood  

Nonfiction by Eric James Bargerhuff

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was an interesting book; most of the information was not exactly new to me, but some of the author’s takes on popular Bible verses were very insightful. It’s a great reminder that we should always look at the context of the entire Bible instead of cherry-picking the verses we like in order to get an accurate picture. 

Where the Forest Meets the Stars

 Fiction by Glendy Vanderah. 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Jo is a graduate student in ornithology, and she’s taking a summer to do field research in a remote cabin when she gets an unexpected visitor. It’s nothing creepy, however; it’s just a little girl. But where did she come from?

This is the beginning if a really lovely character story that I enjoyed a lot. 

If You Tell

 Nonfiction by Gregg Olsen.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This is a truly disturbing story of the real family of Shelley Knotek, dubbed by the media as "The Most Evil Mom in America." It's pretty horrible but also fascinating, and not for the faint of heart.

I also read by this author: The Last Thing She Ever Did

The Blessing Way

 Fiction by Tony Hillerman

https://www.audible.com

This is a mystery set in Navajo country in 1970. It was good but not great. 

Be Frank With Me

 Fiction by Julia Clairborne Johnson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Alice works for a literary agent at a big publishing company in New York. Her boss's most famous client is Mimi Banning, a reclusive author who, at only nineteen years old in the early 1970's, had written a novel that was considered both a bestseller AND a classic. Since that time she has not published even one more word. But now Mimi is broke and needs to write something new, and fast! So Alice is sent to California on a a glorified babysitting mission to make sure the new book happens.

There are plenty of challenges waiting for Alice, not least of which is Mimi's prickly personality. But Alice is a capable sort, and deals with everything, including Mimi's nine-year-old son, Frank, a decidedly odd but kind of endearing child. 

This was a fun little story that I enjoyed a lot.

Whiskey and Charlie

 Fiction by Annabel Smith

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Charlie and his identical twin brother William are estranged as adults, although they had been very close as children. Back then they used to play walkie-talkies, and memorized the NATO phonetic alphabet. (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc.) That's when William began to use the name "Whiskey," which was the designated word for the letter W, and he was called Whiskey ever after that, except by his mother.

When Whiskey is involved in an accident and languishes in a coma, Charlie is racked with guilt and afraid he'll never have a chance to make up with his brother. The book goes back and forth between the past and present, juxtaposing the current vigil at Whiskey's bedside with the story of the twin boys' growing-up years.

I liked the story, but I found the construction of the book's plot a little awkward. For one thing, each of the 26 chapters about the past was named after a letter of the phonetic alphabet, which felt forced to me. It was like, "Oh, we're on 'M', so let's introduce a character named Mike!" Also I didn't like being continually pulled back to the present business of hanging around Whiskey in a coma. These things bothered me bit and slowed down my reading.

Overall, this was a good book though.

Imaginary Friend

 Fiction by Stephen Chbosky

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

A little boy called David disappears one night in a quiet Pennsylvania town, after scaring everyone with his talk of seeing a spooky imaginary world. Then fifty years later, another little boy called Christopher comes along, moves to town with his mother, and begins to see some of the same things.

This story started out well, but I started to dislike it about halfway through. Then I tried to keep reading, but it just got worse. I really liked Christopher, and some of the other characters, but horrible things just kept happening. (I told you I don't like horror books!) Also the story made less and less sense to me as I kept reading.

Anyways, I finally gave up. I don't really recommend this one.

You Don't Own Me

 Fiction by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Five years ago, Dr. Martin Bell was murdered in his own driveway while his wife Kendra slept upstairs and his small children played inside with the new nanny. The police investigation never resulted in an arrest. Now Laurie Moran, investigative reporter, is being urged by Dr. Bell's parents to find the killer. The older Bells believe the murderer was his widow, Kendra Bell. But Laurie isn't so sure...

This was a good story with some surprises, although it's not as good as Mrs. Clarks's classics.

Doctor Sleep

Fiction by Stephen King

 https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book is the sequel to Mr. King's classic The Shining, which (gasp!) I have not read. I decided not to go back and read that one because I generally don't enjoy "horror" stories, and it's pretty clear that's what that book is. This book, however, was different.

Doctor Sleep is the story of Danny, the little boy from The Shining, and what happens to him as he grows up. It's spooky, but does not fully turn into a horror book, in my opinion. It's mostly a character story about the grown-up Dan and how he lives with his strange abilities.

I enjoyed this book, and have successfully proved that you don't HAVE to read the first book in order to understand this one.

I also read recently by this author: Elevation

The Paris Winter

 Fiction by Imogen Robertson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1909 Maud Heighton, an English girl, is living in Paris. She is trying to become an artist; however, what she seems to actually be doing is slowly starving to death. Things begin looking up for Maud when she finds a position as a companion and English tutor for a sickly young Frenchwoman, but she does not realize that her troubles have only just begun.

This was an interesting story with good characters. It started slowly, but the ending was exciting.

Andrea Vernon and the Superhero Industrial Complex

An Audible Original

Fiction by Alexander Kane

https://www.audible.com

This is the sequel to Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for Ultrahuman Protection, which was a fabulous story. LISTEN TO THAT ONE FIRST. And, as I mentioned before, willingly suspend disbelief to enjoy the wacky other-world-ness of the story.

This was just as good as that story, or maybe better. It ends on a cliffhanger though, and the next book in the series isn't out yet.

I also read recently by Audible Originals: When You Finish Saving the World

Piece of Mind

 Fiction by Michelle Adelman

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lucy suffered a traumatic brain injury very early in her life that left her mostly okay, but still somewhat impaired. She requires medication and monitoring, and she still needs her dad to take care of her, even though she's twenty-eight years old now. But her dad is pushing her to get a job and be independent, and things are about to change for Lucy. 

This was an interesting story that did not go where I expected.

The Passengers

 Fiction by John Marrs

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story takes place in a not-so-distant future, in which all roadways in the British Isles are dominated by self-driving cars. The people are no longer drivers; they are passengers (hence the title) who reach their destinations by programmed routes navigated by artificial intelligence (AI). It works pretty well for the people of this Future Britain. There are no longer traffic jams in this brave new world, as the cars' AI systems communicate to each other and automatically avoid all congestion and most accidents. Everyone can sit back and relax as they safely and efficiently travel the motorways.

But what happens when we as citizens cede so much control to AI? What if we could no longer control the system at all? Or what if someone or something else seized the control?

This is an exciting thriller with several surprises.

When You Finish Saving the World

 Audible Original Fiction by Jesse Eisenberg

https://www.audible.com/

This tells the story of a family from three perspectives and at three different points in time. It's a really good piece of theater. I did feel like the ending was abrupt, but I understand why the author did that.

It's a story worth listening to.

I also read recently by Audible Originals: Phreaks

The Holdout

 Fiction by Graham Moore.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Ten years ago, a man called Bobby Nock was accused of a brutal murder, tried for the crime, and acquitted by the jury. Maya Seale was on that jury, and no one will let her forget it. After coming out of sequestration, she and the other jurors find themselves vilified by the media and public opinion. 

Under the pressure after the trial, almost every other member of the jury recanted on their position, and insisted it was only Maya's strong persuasion that convinced them to find Bobby Nock not guilty. Although Maya still feels she was right in holding out against conviction, and that the prosecution's case had not been sufficiently proven, she is reluctant to attend a ten-years-later-reunion reality show and rake it all up again.

Still, Maya and (almost all) the other jury members head back to the hotel in which they had been sequestered ten years before... and something truly unexpected happens.

This was a really good book!

The Perfect Child

 Fiction by Lucinda Berry

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Little Janie was found all alone in a parking lot wearing only a diaper and covered in blood. When brought to the ER by the police, she is found to have been severely abused and neglected, but fortunately her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Bauer, becomes strongly attached to her. Dr. Bauer and his wife, a nurse, decide to adopt Janie and give her a loving home. But will love be enough to save Janie? 

This was a good story but rather disturbing, because of the subject matter. 

One in a Million

 Fiction by Lindsey Kelk

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Annie Higgins is an expert on social media, and so when she takes a bet that she can turn ANYONE into an "Instagram influencer" within thirty days, she fully expects to win. However, the man she is tasked with transforming is a boring nerd with decided Luddite tendencies. Can she change him and win the bet? Will she discover his wonderful inner qualities and fall in love with him in the process? You can probably guess...

This was a fun and lighthearted romance, with enough humor in the writing to make it fun to read, despite the predictable romance plot.

Another Gospel?

 Subtitled: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity

Nonfiction by Alisa Childers

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I read the first chapter of this book as a “teaser” advertisement on Facebook and it interested me a lot. I bought the book on kindle and read at least half of it while waiting for a prescription at the military hospital. (It was a LONG wait, obviously.)

This is a memoir written by Alia Childers, who was in the popular Christian group Zoe Girl in the early 2000’s. She is a Christian woman raised by devout parents who experienced a crisis of faith as an adult.

I really recommend this book to any Christian who is wondering how to answer those who ask, “How do we know the Bible is true? And does it even matter?” The author had her faith well and truly shaken by these questions at a vulnerable time in her life, and came back so much stronger after searching for the answers. 

Eerie

 Fiction by Jordan Crouch and Blake Crouch 

https://m.barnesandnoble.com

After losing their parents at a young age and relying on each other throughout childhood, siblings Alex and Claire should be close as adults. However, Alex is working as a police officer in Seattle and hasn't seen his sister for years, after his intervention had failed to get her off drugs. Then a random lead in a missing-persons case helps him find Claire again, and Alex vows to help her now, no matter what the cost.

The book starts out really well with this setup, and then it takes a turn down Weird Street. WAY down weird street...

I liked the story, but the ending did not work for me. Still, it was a suspenseful thriller.

I also read by (one of) these authors: Desert Places

The Outside Boy

 Fiction by Jeanine Cummins

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is set in 1959 Ireland and is about the Pavee, a race I'd never heard of. They are sort of Irish gypsies, although they are not related to the European Roma people, ones typically called "gypsy."

Anyways, the Pavee family in the story are travelers who live in wagons, and the main character is a 12-year-old boy called Christopher. I really enjoyed the story and the characters; this was a good book, although not as good as Ms. Cummin's more recent novel American Dirt. It's still well worth reading.

I also read recently by this author: The Crooked Branch