February reads

No stand outs this month, just okay books....

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 3.5* set in the future, where there is no longer a United States, it’s now the Republic of Gilead. Women are not allowed jobs or money, or any freedom. There are several classes of women : childless Wives, the housekeeping Marthas, and the reproductive Handmaids, who turn their offspring over to the "morally fit" Wives.

Leaving Ireland by Ann Moore 3.5* the continuing story of Grace, this time her travels to America and her life and friends there.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker 3* Truly is a “little giant” her entire life and suffers for it, while her sister is the complete opposite…..just ehhhh for me, though I know everyone is raving over this book.

Wife Goes On by Leslie Lehr 3* chick lit about a group of divorced women

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie YA 3* the story of a teenage Indian boy who decides to go to the local “white” school instead of the one on the reservation

The Wishbones by Tom Perrotta 3* a man plays in a wedding band and finally asks his girlfriend of 15 years to marry him…then regrets it.

They Did it With Love by Kate Morgenroth 3* chick-lit mystery, The story of 5 rich women in a CT suburb who are members of a mystery book club. One of them is murdered and the rest try to solve who did it.

Perfect Family by Pam Lewis 3* the youngest sister of a “perfect family” is found drowned at the summer home. They find out their family is not as perfect as they all believed. The book starts out strong, but the ending is a tad hokey.

Cost by Roxana Robinson 3* the youngest child of a family is addicted to heroin. It’s the story of the family’s struggle to get him clean.

The Professor’s Wives’ Club by Joanne Rendell 3* chick lit about professor’s wives

Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin YA 4* a story of abuse told by a young Haitian girl

Two Rivers by T. Greenwood 3* a widower raises his daughter by himself after his wife dies when the baby is born. A train derailment in the town he lives in changes his life when he takes over a black pregnant teenager.

When the Finch Rises by Jack Riggs 4* historical fiction set during the 60’s, revolves around 2 12 yr old boys who are friends and live in a small mill town in NC.

Picturing the Wreck by Dani Shapiro 3* a psychoanalyst has an affair with a patient. His wife leaves him, taking his son. 30 years later he finds his son and makes contact.

The Common Bond by Donigan Merritt (ARC) 3* I received as an ARC a few months ago but had trouble starting it as I had so many other good books in my TBR pile. Once I did finally start it, it was just ehhh. I loved the Hawaiian setting, the people and the culture. The other part was basically a love story between Morgan and Victoria. It’s ill-fated from the start as she was dating his best friend when she cheated on him with Morgan. The book starts when Morgan returns to Hawaii after Victoria’s untimely death, which he blames himself for.

The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett 3* set during WWI in a hospital for destitute tuberculosis patients in the Adirondack Mountains in NY. One of the wealthier patients that lived in a nearby house starts a weekly learning group that ends up causing tragedy.



Thousand Pieces of Gold by Ruthanne Lum McCunn 4* biographical fiction of Lalu Nathoy/Polly Bemis. Sold by her father during hard times in China, captured by bandits, sold as a prostitute, she eventually is brought to America where she is bought by an evil Chinese saloon owner. She befriends another saloon owner and her life eventually begins to change for the better. Told during the gold rush years, very interesting look at life during that time.

The Secret River by Kate Grenville 3* William commits a crime in 1806 in England and is sent to Australia to serve his sentence. There he eventually tries to better his life by acquiring land, but the native people are not too happy about his (or the other white settlers) presence. Reminded me a lot of the Native Americans and the white settlers in America.