Joy School
by Elizabeth Berg -- this book continues the story of Katie Nash whom I
read about last month; Katie moves to Missouri with her military dad,
and she meets new people. This book is about that. I am enjoying these
Katie stories.
Snobbery With Violence
by Marion Chesney -- I read another book in this series (out of order)
last month, and found it cute so I decided to read another. It features
the same main characters, Lady Rose Summer who doesn't want to settle
for just any ol' husband, and Captain Harry Cathcart. An Edwardian
Murder Mystery
The Ambassador's Daughter
by Pam Jenoff -- this book says it's the prequel to two other books
she's written. I've read one of them, but it's been 8 years ago so I
might have to reread it! This book was about Margot and her father -
German Jews living in Paris and later Versailles after World War I. The
world was figuring out the treaty and how to deal with Germany. Margot
meets interesting people: Krysia, the Polish musician, who runs with a
secretive crowd. She also finds work with a handsome soldier, Georg.
The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love
by Joan Medlicott -- Three senior ladies living in a boardinghouse in
Pennsylvania visit an old, run-down farmhouse in Madison County, North
Carolina, that one of the ladies - Amelia - inherited upon her cousin's
death. Grace and Hannah join Amelia in sizing up the place, and
ultimately decide to fix it up and move there! My mom found this book
at the local library, and it seems it's a series of sorts. I may find
others to read. While we can't find Covington in Madison County, we do
recognize many of the other towns and cities mentioned in that area of
WNC.
Benjamin Franklin's Bastard by
Sally Cabot -- a fictitious account of Benjamin Franklin, his
common-law wife Deborah, and Benjamin's son who lived with them since
infancy
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
by Christopher Paul Curtis -- a junior fiction book I found at the free
little library; Starts off in Flint, Michigan, but later in the book
the Watson family visits their grandmother in Alabama
The Bookshop on the Corner
by Jenny Colgan -- When Nina's library branch is closed, and she
doesn't get a new job within the library system, she contemplates
opening a book shop - in a big van. Does she really have to move to
another country (to Scotland from England) to do so?
At the Edge of the Orchard
by Tracy Chevalier -- a book about the Black Swamp in Ohio, of growing
up there with warring parents, of apple trees, and finally leaving home
going westward until he gets to the end of the country. The story of
James and Sadie, and later their son Robert as he deals with the past. A
different tale, pretty good.
Hasty Death
by Marion Chesney -- I finally looked up the order of these Edwardian
Murder Mysteries, and saw books 2 and 4 (which may be the final one) in
the local library; so this continues the story of Private Detective
Harry Cathcart, Lady Rose Summer, Daisy, Beckett, and the other
characters I've grown to enjoy in the previous 2 books I've read.
Our Lady of Pain by Marion Chesney -- book 4; see above
Pretending to Dance
by Diane Chamberlain -- Even though I figured out what was going to
happen, this book still made me cry. Two storylines here: Molly and her
husband trying to adopt a child, and Molly thinking back to her life in
the mountains of North Carolina where she lived with a therapist father
with MS. A touching story.
Burnt Mountain
by Anne Rivers Siddons -- I've read a couple other books by this author
which I liked fairly well. This one was puzzling. I hardly ever read
reviews of books I've read, but did so just now, and find I'm not alone in
my thoughts on this one. It's about Thayer who grows up outside of
Atlanta. She has a difficult relationship with her mother (of course),
but loves her father and grandmother. She goes off to camp each summer,
and later becomes a counselor. She met Nick Abrams. And later she
marries an Irish fellow named Aengus. Boy, is he strange.
A Star for Mrs. Blake
by April Smith -- In 1929, Congress passed legislation that allowed
mothers and widows of men killed while serving overseas, and who were
buried there, to travel on these pilgrimages to visit their graves.
This is what brought together five women from the northeast US, and this
book follows them on their trip. The story of Cora, Minnie, Katie,
Wilhelmina, and Mrs. Olsen among others who traveled with them or met
them there.
The Madwoman Upstairs
by Catherine Lowell -- Samantha Whipple goes to school at Oxford,
lives in a tower, and tries to follow clues her deceased father left
her about the supposed Brontë family legacy. A rather odd book. I
didn't care overly-much for the main character's snarkiness
all.the.time. I guess she'd be hilarious to some people. I didn't find it quite so cute.
The Gardens of Covington by
Joan Medlicott -- second book in a series mentioned above; this
continues the story of Hannah, Amelia, and Grace, along with the
interesting people within their new community in Madison County, NC. I
have close relatives in that particular county though it appears
Covington is fictitious. Still, it's neat to see Asheville,
Weaverville, Mars Hill, Marshall, and Hot Springs mentioned. I enjoyed
reading more about their lives and the happenings there.
The Orphan's Tale
by Pam Jenoff -- While working at a train station, Noa sees a train car
full of infants. Realizing these infants are being left for dead, she
takes one and escapes to the woods. She's found nearly frozen to death
in the woods by Peter, a clown from a circus that still travels through
Nazi-occupied lands. This is the story of Noa and Astrid, both
aerialists. Good story.
Cherished Mercy
by Tracie Peterson -- book 3 in Heart of the Frontier series that was
about sisters Grace, Hope, and Mercy who traveled west. I wanted to see
what happened with Mercy, of course.
A Land More Kind Than Home
by Wiley Cash -- another story that takes place in Madison County, NC.
This is about a family and a church, a weird church lead by an evil
man. When a young boy winds up dead, the secrets of this church are
exposed. A rather disturbing book, really.
The Lies We Told
by Diane Chamberlain -- when a hurricane brings disaster to the North
Carolina coast, Drs. Ward, sisters Rebecca and Maya; and Dr. Pollard, Maya's husband, Adam, are sent to help. When Maya is ordered onto a chopper
which crashes, Rebecca and Adam presume she's dead. Maya is living on a
piece of land, made an island by the flooding. She has no way to get off
the island for a couple of weeks. In that time, she becomes involved in
the island life while Rebecca and Adam deal with the drama around them.
Riveting story.
A Drunkard's Path
by Clare O'Donohue -- book two in the Someday Quilts Mystery series;
Nell and her quilting friends try to solve the mystery involving the
death of two young women. This is a good book to read while at the park or children's museum with Sophie; which is mainly where I read it.
Real Friends by Shannon Hale -- Bridget gave this a raving review so I put it on hold at my library. It just became available the other day, and I picked it up, read it all at the park (took about an hour or less), and returned it the same day since I see others have a "hold" on it. It's definitely the most colorful autobiography/memoir I've read. It's the story of Shannon in elementary school, dealing with her best friend and later The Group. It's told in a comic book style which is why I could read 220 pages in about an hour.
