The Me I Used to Be

 Fiction by Kristan Higgins

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Twenty-five years ago, they were the best of friends. Audrey, Jasmine, Micah, and Beck were called "the Core Four" in high school, but a terrible accident right after graduation broke them apart. Now Audrey has asked the other three girls to come back together with her for a reunion. So much time has passed; can they get their friendship back?

This was a lovely story with great characters. It was a little sad also.

I also read by this author: Life and Other Inconveniences

Under the Falls

 Fiction by Richard Russo

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Tyler Sinclair left his small hometown of Stone Mountain, NY, eighteen years ago without saying goodbye, even to his best friends. Since then he has become a popular singer/songwriter, and now he's coming back to Stone Mountain to play a benefit concert for an old friend's medical bills. But Tyler is terrified to face that old friend and confront the reasons he fled that area years ago. Also some people in town will turn out to be less than welcoming... 

This was a good story with believable characters. I didn't love it, maybe because most of the characters were not very likeable. Still, it was interesting.

I also read recently by this author: Empire Falls

By Any Other Name

 Fiction by Jodi Picoult

https://www.audible.com

Melina Green is a modern playwright; her sixteenth-century ancestor Emilia Bassano was England's first published female poet. This story is about both of them, and about women writers in general getting less respect than male ones.

I started this as an audiobook and ended up stopping midway through because I just couldn't bear to listen anymore. One of the narrators had an irritating voice, and the book was struggling through one of my least favorite plot devices: "I-Can't-Tell-The-Truth-Or-The-Story-Will-End-Here Syndrome."** But I did want to know what happened, so I got the hardcover book from the library.

I have read a lot of books by this author and I usually love them, but this was not one of her best. Still, it was okay.

I also read by this author: Mad Honey

**I-Can't-Tell-The -Truth-Or-The-Story-Will-End-Here Syndrome

(Most recently occurred in Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Squanto)

This shows up in romances quite a bit, in which a main character withholds some vital piece of information from his/her love interest (or other people) for flimsy reasons, making it obvious that the author is using the device to further complicate the plot and lengthen the story. 

Dear Debbie

 Amazon Prime Kindle by Freida McFadden

https://www.amazon.com

"Dear Debbie" is an advice column in the local paper of her New England small town, and Debbie Mullen is proud to write it. But recently she's been thinking of giving harsher and more pointed advice to her readers, especially the women who are being downtrodden by their husbands and families. 

Her own husband and daughters are taking her for granted and she worries they are also keeping secrets from her. But she is still loyal to them and will do her best to solve their problems, even if she has to do some slightly illegal things...

This was an exciting story with an unexpected twist.

I also read recently by this author: The Housemaid

I also read (for FREE!) from Amazon Prime Kindle: Wanting Daisy Dead

The Tin Box

 Fiction by Holly Kennedy

https://www.amazon.com

At the beginning of this story, Kenly is facing the fact that she must tell her husband a secret she has kept from him for over thirteen years. Then the narrative goes back in time to Kenly's difficult childhood and the experiences that shaped her.

I really liked the characters in this book, especially Kenly. The reader could understand her and her secrets easily. It was a good story but I'm not sure if the structure the author used was the best choice.

The Other Side of Perfect

Subtitled: A TRUE story of Love, Lies, and Learning to Forgive
Nonfiction by Venus Morris Griffin

https://www.amazon.com

Venus Griffin is a real estate agent in my local area who advertises on billboards like a lawyer. Recently she advertised that she had written a memoir, in addition to being a million-dollar realtor. So I ordered her book on amazon kindle.

I didn't know anything much about Venus Griffin besides her picture on the billboard, but this was a very interesting memoir. She definitely spilled all the secrets in her life! It was a pretty good read.

A Tender Age

 Fiction by Chang-Rae Lee

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is about a young Korean boy named Jeon-Gi in 1970's New York. Its written as if it's a memoir, with present-day grown J-G remembering what had happened in his childhood, so it may be semi- autobiographical.

It was well-written, in that everything was described meticulously well and the characters were realistic, but I didn't much like Jeon-Gi and I really disliked the things that happened in the story. I wanted to give up midway through the book but soldiered on to get to the ending; it wasn't worth it. The ending was abrupt and unclear. 

I see from reviews that many people really loved this book but I did not.