Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
This is THE Catherine Ryan Hyde book, the one she is famous for. I thought I had read it before, but it turns out I had just heard the concept or watched the movie or something, because if I had read THIS book before I would have remembered.
This is a lovely story.
Fiction by Amy Koppelman
Fiction by Binnie Kirschenbaum
At the beginning of this book, a woman (possibly named Bunny) is institutionalized after a long slide of depression followed by a violent breakdown. She is refusing treatment.
A few chapters in, I realized that reading the chronicle of her spiraling decline might devastate me beyond repair, and I had to stop reading. Maybe the author should take it as a compliment that her prose affected me so...
I'm logging the book here as a Did Not Finish so I don't accidentally try to read it again.
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Stewie is eleven years old, a sensitive boy who raises chickens and sells their eggs to neighbors. His older sister, who is his guardian, worries that maybe he is too sensitive. In truth, he is mourning the loss of both the grandmother who raised him from infancy and the parents he doesn't really remember. Then Stewie meets Marilyn, an elderly neighbor who reminds him of his recently deceased grandmother, and forms a relationship with her. But Marilyn has her own secrets...
This was a lovely little character story. I really enjoyed it.
I also read recently by this author:
Fiction by Alyson Richman
In 1987, Katya and Sasha are a Ukrainian couple in the USSR. Katya's recent injury has stalled her ballet career, and Sasha knows he can find work in his field of biology anywhere, so when the Soviet Union offers a chance for some Ukrainian Jews to go to the USA, they take it.
In 1999, Maggie Topper is a young fifth-grade teacher with boundless enthusiasm who takes on the task of home-tutoring their American-born son Yuri whose heart condition makes it impossible to attend school.
This was a good story; I will look for more by this author.
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Hayden Reese has an anger problem that lands him periodically in jail for assault, but he is also a caring man who loves animals. The people in the small town he lives in try to give him the benefit of the doubt because he has a tragic past: Hayden is an orphan, and his wife and fifteen year old daughter both died before he came to live there.
But then a young woman named Allegra Reese shows up to town looking for her father, and it seems that maybe Hayden hasn't told the truth about his past. The reader begins to get a look into his real past, however, and it's a different type of tragic. There's a reason he's so angry.
This book has a strange title but it was still a very good story. This author writes good characters.
I also read recently by this author: Funerals for Horses
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
In this book, Ella Ginsburg is searching for her brother Simon, who disappeared months ago, leaving behind his car, clothes and wallet. Everyone is pretty sure he's dead, including Simon's wife, but Ella can't accept that.
Ella sets out on this doomed journey, walking without proper shoes or clothes because "that's how Simon did it." She seems to succumb to madness while reliving terrible memories from her and Simon's childhood. There is a resolution at the end but almost the whole story is quite awful.
This is the first novel written by Catherine Ryan Hyde, and it's not nearly as good as her later efforts.
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
At the beginning of this book, a widower named Aaron and his young son Buddy are heading to the local diner. They're going to have dinner, of course, but they are also going because Aaron has developed a tendresse for Virginia, who is a waitress there, and he's thinking of finally asking her out. But Aaron and Virginia's happy ending together will get derailed by what is coming next...
This was a sweet character story that didn't go the way I expected. It was a little sad.
Fiction by Joshilyn Jackson
Ro Grandee has decided to kill her abusive husband Thom, sure that if she doesn't, then he will kill her. She saw a gypsy woman who told her, "It's him or you." But will she be able to actually do it?
This was an interesting story with several surprises.
I also read recently by this author: Between, Georgia
Fiction by Ayobami Adebeyo
This story, set in Nigeria during the end of the twentieth century, gave me an interesting glimpse into as culture I'm completely unfamiliar with.
At its heart, it's simply the story of Yejide and Akin, a married couple navigating though the crippling despair of infertility until the strain breaks them apart. But the cultural aspects of the strongly patriarchal, polygamous traditions in Nigeria, along with the political unrest of the time make everything worse for Yejide, and for Akin too, as it turns out.
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Fiction by Kate Christianson
At the beginning of this story a woman called Rachel is required to leave her job in Washington DC and go home to Maine because her mother has died. Waiting there for her will be her sister Celeste and a truckload of guilt, so Rachel delays as much as she can before making the trip. Rachel was estranged from her mother and had not been home to Maine for many years, so it comes as quite a surprise when Rachel finds her mother has bequeathed her house to her.
This was a good character story that started a little slowly. I did like it by the end.
Fiction by Diane Chamberlain
This is a re-release of the book Cypress Point under a different title. Since I hadn't previously read that book before it didn't matter to me, but this seemed to be quite an issue in the reviews. So... heads-up, I guess.
Joelle is a hospital social worker who has recently discovered she is pregnant. The problem with that is: she's divorced and the father of this baby is married to someone else. Also he works at the hospital with her and she's in love with him.
This was a really good story.
Fiction by Diane Chamberlain
Amazon Prime Kindle Fiction by Freida McFadden
At the beginning of this book, handsome doctor Joel breaks up with his longtime girlfriend, and she becomes The Ex. Then we meet The New Girl, Cassie, ten years younger than Joel. Joel and Cassie seem perfect for each other, but The Ex is not letting go of him so easily...
This was an exciting story with a surprise at the end.
I also read by this author: One by One
I also read recently by Amazon Prime Kindle: I Remember You
Fiction by Cammie McGovern
Jemma Phillips has always defined herself in relation to her older sister Rozzie. Jemma seems to be in her sister's shadow, especially after Rozzie becomes a famous movie actress. But then Rozzie goes blind and needs Jemma's help.
This was a really good character story about the bonds between sisters. I liked it a lot.
I also read by this author: Neighborhood Watch
Fiction by Alison Espach
This book is (kind of) written in the second person; Sally Holt is telling the the story to her sister Kathy. What I mean is, Kathy is the “you” in the title, and indeed all throughout the story. This is interesting but also a bit awkward and clunky in my opinion.
The story begins with Sally at age thirteen and Kathy at age sixteen, the time of Kathy’s “sudden disappearance.” This terminology is not quite accurate though, and that’s another one of the things I didn’t like about this book. Kathy doesn’t actually disappear.
I don’t want to put any spoilers here, so I’m not explaining what I meant by that. Still, to be honest there aren’t many surprises in the plot at all. The story was about the characters, which were believable but not always sympathetic.
This story was okay but not great.
Also I don't like this cover; the copy I read had a better one.
Fiction by Ann Napolitano.
This book begins with William Waters, a boy born to damaged parents who cannot seem to connect with him. He grows up tall and latches onto basketball like a lifeline; later it's observed that basketball was the first thing that ever loved him back.
But really the story is about the four Padavano sisters. Julia Padavano meets William on his first day of college and almost immediately absorbs him into her loving and chaotic family. Julia is a girl with big plans --her father Charlie calls her his rocket-- and she has the future mapped out for herself, William, and all of her sisters. But life doesn't always conform to Julia's plans.
This was a really good story. I enjoyed the characters a lot!
I also read by this author: Dear Edward
Fiction by Nora Ephron
Heartburn is a classic, written in 1982; however I had never read it before. This performance by Meryl Streep won an award in 2014, and it was definitely deserved. I loved this story!
Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde
I also read by this author: Boy Underground
