August reads

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalin 4* mixed storylines of German citizens and Jewish people as WWII is ending. Interesting look at the German’s perspective. I don’t think I ever gave it much thought to how it was for them once the war was ending/over.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt 3* 5 college friends matriculate…involves drinking too much, a little studying and murder….

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns 3.5* small town life in 1906, a 14 yr old boy and the town are shocked when his grandfather marries a woman almost half his age only 3 weeks after his wife dies.

A Wicked Snow by Gregg Olsen 2.5* gave it 2.5 only because I DID finish it. supposed to be a thriller, but wasn't very thrilling. a woman tries to come to terms with her mother's serial killing 20 yrs ago, but someone is trying to dig up the past.

How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper 4* the story of a young (late 20’s) widower and how he copes with his teenage stepson, dating, and his family. Has a lot of laugh-out-loud parts, but also sad. Quick, easy read.

The Book of Fred by Abby Bardi 4* a teenage girl, Mary, her parents are a member of a strange religious group that won’t allow medical intervention and 2 of her brothers die due to that conviction. The state takes all of the children to foster care while her parents await trial for child neglect. The story revolves around Mary, her foster mother, her foster mother’s daughter, and foster mother’s brother. They all learn from each other and change in ways they didn’t expect.

Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult 3*, not my favorite from her. The story of a couple’s break up seen through the eyes of the woman’s daughter, brother, lover, husband and herself.

The Garden Of Last Days by Andre Dubus III 3* the story revolves around a stripper who has to bring her daughter to work one night when the lady who watches her is hospitalized. her daughter disappears from the club. The story is told by the stripper, a bouncer that works there, a man who is thrown out for touching one of the strippers, and the babysitter. It’s an okay book, it just wasn’t as emotionally wrenching as The House of Sand and Fog.

About Grace by Anthony Doerr 3* a man dreams parts of the future. He starts falling apart when he dreams his daughter’s death. The writing is like beautiful poetry but the story itself is a little hard to believe, but it does make you keep reading to find out how it ends.

Covered Wagon Women Vol 6 by Kenneth L. Holmes 4*, actual diaries and letters of women on the Oregon Trail. Parts of it were fascinating, but it got a little monotonous in places

Before the Storm by Diane Chamberlain 2.5* too soap opera-ish, a woman has a boy with fetal alcohol syndrome who rescues a bunch of children from a church fire. He is later accused of setting the fire. Too many people sleeping with their friend’s daughter, or their brother-in-law or their best friend’s wife….

Fanny and Sue by Karen Stolz 4* the story of twin sisters born in 1920. At first I was thinking “what is the point of this story???”. By the end of the book I was mad it ended!

Land of a Hundred Wonders by Lesley Kagen 3.5* Gibby is NQR (not quite right) after an automobile accident that killed her parents and “dented” her head. She is an investigative reporter for a newspaper she writes and is writing a big story about the murder of a local man. There were several parts that made me literally laugh out loud.