The Leavers by Lisa Ko

Lynnie

contemporary fiction


I have very mixed feelings about The Leavers. On the one hand, it's a solid and compelling story- Deming Guo is raised by a single mother in NYC, after spending years with his grandfather in China. One day, his mother goes to work and never comes home, leading to his eventual adoption by an American family who change his name to Daniel Wilkinson. On the other hand, it was really depressing.

This is the problem, I've no doubt that Lisa Ko wrote a very realistic situation and certainly Deming/Daniel's reactions and attitude make complete sense; he is a real example of a little boy lost. Most of the time in the book I felt pity for pretty much all of the characters and at times it was simply exhausting to read about so much misery and unhappiness.  In the end, I just prefer a more uplifting story to one that is so realistic no matter how well-written.

This is a very timely book, but also emotionally draining and heartbreaking. Mostly, it was Deming/Daniel's discomfort in his own skin that I found most difficult to read.

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

Lynnie    

Amy       

contemporary fiction

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson is the story of a family and how it's intertwined with the small Alabama town that bears their family name. As you would imagine, scandals, secrets, and fierce love abound.


Lynnie's Review

This is another great book by Joshilyn Jackson. This book is a love story to the old, small-town south while openly acknowledging its warts, and the often racist nature of these towns. Jackson calls it out while also recognizing that change does not come easily. Like all of Jackson's books, I adore the characters in The Almost Sisters and am already sad that my time with them is over. Jackson's books are an escape, pure and simple. It takes a deft hand to talk about race, privilege, family, and presumptions and make it fun to read but this book does it. When you go on vacation this summer, take this book with you- you won't be disappointed.

Amy's Review

I’ve been wanting to try a Joshilyn Jackson novel and my sister recommended this one.  I love Jackson’s sense of humor and relevancy! I don’t know if it’s just the dorkiness of Leia or if this is how Jackson always writes. But, it’s real, witty, and clever.  Leia’s story begins with a tricky situation—she’s single, 38 years old, and just discovered she’s pregnant.  And then her story just keeps escalating with more tricky situations. And, through it all, she’s in relatively good humor which made it fun.  The storyline grabbed me at the beginning because it was believable and I wanted to know how things would work out.  It continued to be a fun ride as things got crazier.  Sadly, the ending fell a bit flat. I mean, it was a nice (albeit unsurprising) ending but the mood changed and it ended up being sweet and lost its fun momentum.

This novel also tackled the serious issue of southern racism in a manner that was honest and real.  I appreciated the way the story was treated.

I definitely want to try another one of her novels and see if it’s as much fun.

Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #1 and #2)) by Sarah J. Maas

Amy   

young adult, fantasy, action-suspense

I did not enjoy the first Sarah J. Maas novel that I read (A Court of Thorns and Roses) but was encouraged to give Throne of Glass a try by a friend.  I’m glad I did.  I enjoyed it once I got into it. (By the way, is that the author's face on the cover character? It sure looks a lot like it.)

In the novel, Celaena is released from a concentration camp/prison in order to compete to be the King's new Royal Assassin.

The not-so-good: I found the premise contrived and unlikely, so I was doubting that I’d enjoy it at the beginning.  Celaena is supposedly the most infamous, terrorizing assassin in the land yet she’s only eighteen and has somehow survived being jailed in a concentration camp for a year (when it is stated that no one survives that long) with her sanity, spunk, and sense of humor intact. Oh, and she’s gorgeous. Right.  The Captain of the Royal Guard also just happens to be about her age. Out of all the warriors and soldiers in the kingdom we are expected to believe that the evil, power-hungry king would have chosen an inexperienced (he’s never even killed anyone!) captain, who happens to be best friends with the belligerent prince, as the person in charge of the safety of the royal family and kingdom.  Seriously. It’s a fantasy but this groundwork felt forced in order to create the setting the author needed.

The good: If you can swallow all of that, then it’s a fun tale that involves quite a bit of adventure, violence, hard work, action, friendship, and love interests. The characters are great and the mystery and suspense are well done.  This book has one of the better love triangles I’ve read which is also satisfying.

So, I’ll read the sequel and see what happens next!

Amy   

The Throne of Glass saga continues where it left off.  Celaena is now the King’s Champion and doing his bidding throughout the land, bringing him the heads of his enemies.  Meanwhile, she is determined to undermine his rule and shake him from power.

Again, Sarah J. Maas annoys me when she creates the setting in which the story will work. I mean, all authors do that. But, this one does it so ungracefully and implausibly that it pulls me out of the already fantastical story.  For me, a fantasy world needs to have bounds that feel real and possible within the parameters.  With the first book, I was annoyed that all the prime “good guys” are young adults in their teens/early 20s that, overly conveniently, are in positions of power. The thing that perturbed me the most in this installment was the sudden appearance of Mort and the convenience of his existence.  As if he were a little Disney sidekick, he appears so that Celaena has someone from whom to learn and with whom to conspire as well as a measure of comic relief for the reader. 

Again, I had to forcefully look past the failings of the exto-structure of the story in order to enjoy the inner contents.  Maas knows how to write great suspense and action.  She knows how to draw intriguing characters.  I couldn’t help but care about them and was riveted in the scenes following Chaol’s capture.  But, alas, when not sucked into the richest segments of this novel, the rough edges showed and pulled me out of my high opinions.  I suppose I’ll read the next novel in the series to find out what happens in the truly new setting that was defined at the end.  But, if I never get around to it, that would be fine.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Lynnie    

Amy       

fiction

Told from the perspectives of all the people involved in the rise to fame of the fictional Daisy Jones and The Six, we learn about the people in the band and the band's activities, struggles, successes, and failures.

Lynnie's Review

I recently read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (in fact, it was one of my favorite books from 2018) and enjoyed it immensely so I was looking forward to another of her books. Similar in some regards (former stars reliving their hey-day through an interview) there are plenty of differences in Daisy Jones and The Six as well. 

I loved the style of this book as each character's stories were interwoven to create a full picture of an event; sometimes it made me laugh out loud and at other times it broke my heart. So rarely does an author find a way to really show you so many perspectives on a story but Reid does it brilliantly.

I loved the story itself, but I loved the characters even more and I found myself looking for opportunities to spend more time with this book so I could spend more time with them. A thoroughly enjoyable book from beginning to end and one of my favorites so far this year.

Amy's Review

I had enjoyed another novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) and my sister suggested I give this one a try.  This novel is exactly like reading a Behind the Music story without the benefit of audiovisual aids. No fun photos.  No awesome music cuts.  And since these are fictional characters, there is no one that we care about before hearing their story.  These characters are exactly like all the people you’ve ever seen on a Behind the Music episode.  Yet, despite all of this, I did enjoy getting to know the characters and read through their journey.  I did care about them. The really fun part was watching the relationships develop.

I read this novel while on a beach vacation and it was perfect!  Nothing heavy or Earth-shattering—just a good story that held my interest.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Amy   

memoir

I loved this memoir. Michelle Obama’s tale in Becoming is compelling, genuine, and relatable. Her skills of observation, analysis, and description are superb.  She was insightful, thoughtful, and reminiscent. (Wow, that’s a lot of adjectives but it’s all true!)

She is a contemporary of mine—she is only a few years older—and I really enjoyed the memories of my own childhood and my own motherhood that were jogged by reading her memories from those same time periods even though our lives were very different.  Her parents’ philosophies about raising children were inspirational. They encouraged individuality, self-destination, and hard work. Her family was not materially wealthy but they were rich in family love and support. Her effort to find her own balance juggling work and family is also so eloquently explained and familiar to me personally.  Her honest feelings about not wanting to share her husband with the world as he was thinking about running for President, were heartfelt and understandable.  And, I enjoyed her perspective about how much life in the White House is so different from daily life for most families. Of course, I already had an idea of how difficult it would be to live any aspect of a “normal” life as the First Family.  But, she really drove it home as she is only one of a few people who can. 

Reading all about the political campaigns from her perspective were eye-opening. I’ve often thought it would be rough running for office and it definitely is—especially with a family for whom you want stability. I lost a little interest during her detail about her personal initiatives even though I admire all of them. Of course, they were important to her in her role as First Lady and I don’t blame her for devoting significant detail and explanation about them. Other than the few sections that got more political and less personal, her story drew me in.  Her ideas and impressions were fascinating to me.  Her influence has made a difference to the very women, children, and future to which she devoted her energies. She has made her mark and I appreciate her so much. I loved learning about her very interesting and unique life!

Michelle was her own narrator of the audiobook which was amazing!  I love hearing any author narrate their own book but memoirs are even more poignant when read by the author because the reader can truly hear their emotions and personality through their own voice.  Her voice is clear and genuine and I give her a very resounding A+ as a narrator.

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Amy  

historical fiction, fantasy

I just don’t get it. I must not be in the right mood for Like Water for Chocolate. Laura Esquivel’s writing is clunky (sort of folklore-ish) and the story is disturbing and full of grief and frustration.  While it probably strives to be a fable with the moral of the story being to follow your heart, instead I see the morals being: don’t be such a selfish, terrible, controlling mother, don’t let your mother destroy your life, don’t marry your sister’s beloved, don’t marry your beloved’s sister, and don’t put up with so much crap from other people that your life has no meaning of its own.  I mean, what’s to like about this story?  Sure, it’s quirky with the recipes but those recipes provided nothing of interest to me.  I skimmed right over them. They didn’t add to the story and it was gimmicky to me.  If there is some magical cleverness with the writing style, it went, unappreciated, right over my head. Besides, I hate cooking.

I probably wouldn’t have finished except that it was a short book and I kept hoping I would start liking it.  Instead, I am left shaking my head and angry at myself to sticking with it to the end.  

Daughter of Moloka'i (Moloka'i #2) by Alan Brennert

Amy   

historical fiction

I read Moloka’i by Alan Brennert six years ago and was concerned that I wouldn’t remember enough to enjoy this novel.  However, since Moloka’i was written 16 years ago and this sequel was just released, I figured I could remember enough of the heartache of Rachel, a girl sent away from her family to live in a leper colony on Moloka’i when she was 6 years old.  This sequel, Daughter of Moloka’i, is the story of Rachel’s daughter, Ruth, who had to be given up for adoption rather than be raised in a leper colony before the cure for Hansen's Disease was discovered. From the start, Ruth’s story pulled me in.  However, the most gripping section is its horrifying description of life for Japanese Americans in the wake of World War II. I had not known much about the internment camps and I learned a great deal through this story. As with Moloka’i, this novel pulled at my heartstrings and was populated with memorable characters. 

Unfortunately, at about the 80% mark it really started to drag.  Life was happy for Ruth but the story lost its momentum.  I had to psych myself up to finish it.  I like that there was closure but the story went on too long.