The Family Chao

 Fiction by Lan Samantha Chang

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In the small town of Haven, Wisconsin, there is a family-owned restaurant called Fine Chao, run by Leo and Winnie Chao and their three sons. Leo and Winnie came from China to make their fortune in America, and to give their children a better life. On the surface they succeeded: their three sons seem successful, or at least on the the road to success. Dagou, the oldest son, is a manager and cook at the restaurant; Ming, the second brother, has a high-paying career in the city; and the youngest boy James is studying to be a doctor.

But the problem is, Leo Chao is a jerk. He is such a jerk that his own wife has literally entered a Buddhist convent to get away from him. Mostly just his own family know about Leo’s unpleasantness, but the small Chinese community in the area are also aware that he is far from a model minority. 

The concept of “model minority” is important in this book. Although it’s not something I’ve thought about before, it’s true that we as Americans like to stereotype Asians as a “good” minority and other ethnicities as “bad” minorities. Asians are supposed to be hard working, high achieving, family oriented, and so on. But the whole idea is rather ridiculous when you look closely at it. Human beings are so much more complex than that! We are not socks to be sorted.

In this story, all three Chao sons feel the pressure to be “good” Asians, which is not necessarily the same as just being good people. But everything comes to a head at the Christmas party, and chaos ensues. 

(Incidentally it took me halfway through the book to realize that the name Chao when pluralized spells Chaos. I’ve got to hand it to the author on that bit of cleverness!)

This was a good story with great characters. The surprise in the middle is really unexpected, and there was a lot to think about. I recommend this book!

One of Us is Dead

 Fiction By Jeneva Rose

https://www.audible.com

In Buckhead, the richest area of Atlanta, everyone who is anyone gets their hair done at Jenny’s salon, Glow. Olivia, Shannon, Crystal, and Karen certainly do. So Jenny is just the person to explain to the police just why one of these rich ladies got murdered!

This story is told from the perspectives of each of the women, and it’s a long way into the book before you discover which one is dead. 

This was a good mystery/thriller but not a great one. The ending was definitely a surprise but I didn’t love the characters. 

Memorial

 Fiction by Bryan Washington

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Mike and his boyfriend Benson live together in Houston. They really love each other, but they have been going through some troubles.  The major issue is Mike’s lack of fidelity, although Benson tries to act like he doesn’t mind. 

Then Mike hears from his mother in Japan that his father is dying. Although his parents are divorced, he knows this will upset his mother, so he invites her to come for an extended visit to the apartment he and Benson share in Houston. Then (inexplicably!) he leaves for Japan the day after she arrives, blithely expecting Benson to take care of her in his absence as he goes to see his dying father instead.

Although Mike’s mother and Benson are strangers, they begin to forge a relationship. Mike stays in Japan for months, waiting for his father to die. Occasionally he texts. Benson continues to muddle along as he always has, but it’s clear he needs to decide if he will continue to accept Mike’s casually selfish behavior or demand a change. 

This was an interesting book and I really liked some of the characters (NOT that dirtbag Mike). The story was difficult for me I guess; I really wanted good things for Benson. I wasn’t exactly happy with the ending but I guess it was realistic. I don’t know how to rate this one.

Unmissing

 Fiction by Minka Kent

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this book, newlywed Lydia Coletto is abducted while hiking a forest trail near her home, leaving only her backpack behind. After a few years she is declared legally dead, and the husband she left behind moves on to marry someone else. But ten years after her abduction, Lydia comes back!

This was an interesting story but not as engaging as I would have preferred.  I think I just didn't like the characters much.

Truths I Never Told You

 Fiction by Kelly Rimmer

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1957 Grace Walsh has four children under four, and she's not coping well. Her husband Patrick is gone all the time, and Grace has no one to talk to. She starts to write about her struggles with what the reader recognizes as postpartum depression, getting her feelings out in a series of notes.

In 1996 Grace's youngest daughter Beth is also struggling with the adjustment to being a first-time mother. Cleaning out her parents' house, after her father has been hospitalized for dementia, Beth finds some of those notes. Beth knows her mother died young, but can remember very little about her.

This story is about what really happened to Grace, and also about the differences and similarities of the experience of motherhood in the two time periods. Women came a long way in those forty years, but somethings are always going to be difficult.

This was a good story that gave me a lot to think about.

I also read recently by this author: The Things We Cannot Say

The Postmistress of Paris

 Fiction by Meg Waite Clayton. 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is set in occupied France in 1940, but very little of it takes place in Paris. Still, the main character Nanee is a postmistress of sorts; she's an American heiress who carries messages and helps smuggle endangered artists and intellectuals out of France.

This was a good story and Nanee is based on a real American woman who did this work during the second world war. 

Just Like You

 Fiction by Nick Hornby. 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This author usually writes good characters, likeable and believable and often funny. This book was no exception, and the story was good as well.

Lucy is a forty-one -year old teacher with elementary-aged kids, and she's in the process of a divorce from Paul, a man who should have been perfect for her. Paul was great, except for the alcoholism and illegal drug use that killed their relationship. 

Lucy is half-heartedly attempting to date again when she meets Joseph, a man who is too young for her and of a seemingly incompatible background. Can a relationship between them work out?

I also read recently by this author: Juliet Naked

A Stitch in Time

 Fiction by Kelley Armstrong 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I read another time-travel romance by this author that I liked (see below) and thought I'd try this one. This one I didn't like as much. 

The story seemed too disconnected because the main character kept slipping back and forth from the past to the present. Sometimes it was random, but sometimes she could control it. I felt like the time travel element was not believable with such changeable rules.

I don't know if it was just the mood I was in, but this book was not for me.

I also read by this author: A Rip Through Time

The School for Good Mothers

 Fiction by Jessamine Chan

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this story, Frida Liu makes a terrible decision under extreme stress and leaves her one-year-old daughter Harriet alone at home for a few hours. We all know this is a bad thing to do, but what mother hasn't thought of just walking away from her extra-fussy baby after night after night of no sleep?

The situation is complicated by the fact that Frida was abandoned by her husband since just after Harriet was born (he "just fell in love" with someone else, who happened to be younger than Frida and child-free) and she's been required to go back to work well before she was ready, taking a lower-paying job to get "flexible" hours so that she can take care of Harriet. Any mother can understand why Frida was having so much trouble.

But Frida gets caught, and there are dire consequences for bad mothers in this book.

I literally could not keep reading this book because I was so upset by it. I could identify so strongly with Frida, and I was so angry at how the husband and mistress could get to be the good guys, that I had to stop reading before the story even got to the titular School. 

It's a testament to the skill of this author that the characters were so compelling I could not bear to see them suffer, but I wouldn't really recommend this book for enjoyable reading.

The House of Eve

 Fiction by Sadequa Johnson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Ruby and Eleanor are both young black women in the 1950's, and both of them find themselves unexpectedly pregnant and unmarried. Because of their class and age differences, their paths after "getting in trouble" are not the same. Ruby is only fifteen, and hoping to go to college to rise out of poverty, while Eleanor is twenty, already attending Howard University, and has a few more options.

Their two stories are completely separate; however, the reader knows that there will be a link. This was a great story with memorable characters.

Where are the Children Now?

 Fiction by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke.

https://www.audible.com

Where are the Children? was Mary Higgins Clark's very first novel, published way back in 1974. This book is its long-awaited sequel. 

One problem, though: Mary Higgins Clark died three years ago. The co-writer (really a ghost writer), however, does a good job of imitating her style, probably because he worked with her on several books before she died.

It's a good story but not quite as good as the original. I was definitely surprised at the end!

I also read by these authors: You Don't Own Me