Where We Belong

Audible Original Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde 

https://www.audible.com

Fourteen year old Angie and her family are about one step away from homelessness. It’s just Angie and her mom and her little sister Sophie; since Angie’s dad died eight years ago they have been struggling. After getting evicted from their home, they have worn out their welcome at every friend and relative in town. Sophie is a non verbal (but also VERY non quiet!) autistic child of six, and her disability makes trouble for them everywhere they go. 

Everyone is strongly suggesting institutionalizing Sophie, but Angie can’t bear that option. Can Angie and her family figure out how to live and stay together? Then an unlikely possibility presents itself, and strangely enough it begins with a dog.

This was a lovely character story, and the audio narration was wonderful as well. 

I also read recently by this author: Falling Apart and Other Gifts from the Universe

I also listened to recently from Audible Originals: Reset

Remarkably Bright Creatures

 Fiction by Shelby Van Pelt

https://www.audible.com

I tried reading this book in print several years ago and couldn't get into it, but I heard people raving about the audio version. I decided to give it a another chance with the slightly different medium.

Interestingly, I liked it much better in the audiobook version. It's a weird premise: the narrator is an octopus, and that's the reason I was hesitant at first. But actually, the octopus is only one of the narrators. There's also Nova, the woman who cleans the aquarium at night where Marcellus the octopus lives, and Cameron, a young man who comes to visit the aquarium while searching for his father.

This turned out to be a fun book.

Seven Perfect Things

Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This story is about Abby, a thirteen year old girl who saves a sack of puppies that someone tried to drown. But then Abby has to decide what to do with seven puppies that her parents will definitely not let her keep. 

As usual with this author, this was a lovely, heart-warming story with interesting and believable characters. It might have ended a little too happily even. 

I also read by this author: Dreaming of Flight

Dreaming of Flight

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

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: 

Worthy

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.amazon.com

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.

I also read recently by this author: The Wake Up

The Wake Up

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Aiden Delacorte has been a cattle rancher all of his adult life. It’s a rough job for a tough man, and he’s always done it well. But one day his toughness inexplicably disappears and he become sensitive to the pain and fear of the animals he works with. It’s called The Wake Up, and it turns his life upside down. 

This was a really good book with a lot to think about.

I also read recently by this author: So Long Chester Wheeler

Starter Villain

 Audible Original Fiction by John Scalzi.

https://www.audible.com

Charlie is a thirty-five-year-old, divorced, laid-off journalist struggling to hang onto his childhood home and eke out a living as a substitute teacher. His only friend is his cat, Hera, and his dream (an it-will-never-happen kind of dream) is to own the neighborhood pub.

Then his estranged uncle dies and leaves him... not an inheritance, but an adventure.

This was a fun story with great narration. I will look for more by this author.

I also read recently by Audible Originals: Will Save the Galaxy for Food

I also read by this author: Travel by Bullet

How the Penguins Saved Veronica

 Fiction by Hazel Prior

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

I chose this book for its title. Obviously.

It was a fun little story about a crotchety old lady in Scotland called Veronica who became slightly obsessed with fate of penguins in Antarctica.

A Different Kind of Gone

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.audible.com

Norma is a waitress and a horseback search-and-rescue volunteer in the small town of Sloot, Arizona.. or maybe it’s Sloot, Utah. (The town sits on the state line.) One day she goes out to search for a missing girl called Jill Moss, and she comes face to face with a situation she’s never seen and is not prepared for. Norma has to make a choice that has consequences she can’t possibly foresee. And that’s just the beginning…

This was a really good story that gave me a lot to think about. Also the audiobook performance was great!

I also read recently by this author: Heaven Adjacent 

Frankie and Amelia

 Youth Fiction by Cammie McGovern

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This is a story for young readers written from the point of view of  a cat. It was a fun read.

I also read by this author: The Art of Seeing

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

 Fiction by Hiro Arikawa

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a different sort of story: it was written in Japanese and from the point of view of a cat. (Obviously I read the version that had been translated into English.)

The cat is called Nana. He was a stray but got adopted by a man called Satoru. After several years together, Nana and Satoru go on a journey around Japan together to visit old friends. Satoru says he is looking for a new home for the cat, but it appears to the reader that he may have another goal.

This was a sweet story and a quick read.

Blind Hope

Subtitled: An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued

Nonfiction by Kim Meeder

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

The idea behind this book was nice; it’s about a young woman called Laurie who adopted a dog with special needs and found purpose in life. I did not really like the way it was written, however. I can’t explain it, except that the author didn’t really make it interesting to read. I think she was more interested in imparting life lessons than telling a good story. Which is fine, except that I prefer stories to lessons. 

Lessons From Lucy

Subtitled: The Simple Joys of An Old Happy Dog
Nonfiction by Dave Barry

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Dave Barry is a humor writer, but in this book he tries to impart a little serious wisdom in the form of "lessons" he's "learned" from his dog. Fortunately, he doesn't get TOO serious...

The Lessons are pretty normal, non-earth-shattering stuff --enjoy the moment, make new friends, let go of your anger, et cetera-- but the good part of the book is the funny way Dave tells the stories.

I also read recently by this author: Insane City

Leaving Time

Fiction by Jodi Picoult.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com

To begin with, I'll point out that Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. This is because of her ability to tell a good story about realistically-drawn characters, and to tell that story from diverse points of view. Sometimes the people she invents are likable and sometimes they are not, but they are always believable.

Often she writes about an "Issue" (political or otherwise), but the important part of the story is always, to me, the characters. Also, her stories always elicit a strong emotional reaction, which can be good or bad. (See her reviews! Wow. But watch for spoilers from the disgruntled.) To me, this is the point of a good novel , and what makes it Art: the emotion it wrings from the reader. (Although, to be fair, I don't like a novel that makes me feel bad, no matter how Arty it is. See We Need to Talk About Kevin.) But the emotions I get from Jodi Picoult's novels are not bad ones, and I think often it is the "Issue" that upsets the angry reviewers.

Anyways...

This particular story is about Jenna, a thirteen-year-old girl who wants to find her mother Alice, an elephant researcher who disappeared without a trace when Jenna was three. The story is told by both Jenna in the present (she hires a detective AND a psychic) and Alice in the past, and many of the Alice segments are about her obsession with elephants. (The fact-heaviness of the elephant parts apparently bothers some readers, but I thought is was interesting, and consistent with Alice's character.)

I was beginning to read this book when I went to the dentist and she asked me about it. I explained the basic premise, and the dentist asked me, "So does she find her mother?"

"Well," I said, "I'm only on like page fifty, so I don't know yet."

But now I know the answer is...

Read the book and find out. Heh heh heh....



I also read by this author: The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home