6.27.2016 - The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is quite a powerful book.  Although it features two teenagers and could conceivably be a Young Adult story, it also has some more adult dark humor and subject matter.

Ivan is a 17 year old, severely disabled young man who has spent his entire life in Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus.  His deformities, as well as most of those in the hospital, came from radiation poisoning from the Chernobyl fallout.  Every day is the same for Ivan - he can even use one of the resident's rocking as a clock.  He has a gruff exterior, fakes comas so he can eavesdrop on the happenings, likes to play pranks on the nurses.

Besides one elderly caring nurse, no one has ever truly cared for him and the same could be said for him.  Until Polina, a teenage girl who comes to the hospital with leukemia.  They eventually forge a relationship that could only be described as love, and it changes both of their worlds.

Written in the form of Ivan's diaries, this book has moments of hilarity as well as heartbreak.  Certainly puts you in the mind to think about how very, very hard of a life some have - and should make all of us consider that when dealing with others.

6.21.2016 -- Ink and Bone

Thanks to NetGalley, Touchstone and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book - awesome!

Another page-turner from Lisa Unger. This one even invoked a lot of the supernatural in it - people with various psychic abilities.

Finley Montgomery has known she inherited her grandmother's visions and wants to use them to help others, as her grandmother did. Her mother didn't want to encourage it, but as Finley grew, she couldn't deny her abilities nor the pull to return to The Hollows, NY, where her grandmother lives.

Wolf & Merri are a married couple, each with issues that pull them away from their 2 children. They decide to go for a vacation to a cabin in The Hollows. While on a hike through the woods, Wolf and their son are shot and Abbey disappears.

These two main story lines intersect into a thrilling ride of a story. This one was tough to put down!

6.17.2016 - The Last Time She Saw Him

Thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this debut thriller!

I really liked this book and am so excited that it's going to be the first in a series staring Julia Gooden, a crime reporter for a Detroit newspaper.

This story involved a personal story for Julia - when she was a child, her brother was abducted from the room they were sleeping. He was never found and Julia never forgave herself for not being able to remember what happened in order to help find him. Fast forward into the present, Julia is a mother of two small boys and recently separated from her husband - mostly due to the fact that she has become increasingly paranoid and frightful for her children and won't let them live normal lives. However, her fears come to life when her youngest is abducted.

Are the two crimes related? Is a family member involved? You'll enjoy this fast-paced story. The story veered a tad for me at the very end, but still a great story and one I had a hard time putting down. The author's writing is crisp, her plot lines and twists intriguing - a great debut and I can't wait for the sequel!

6.15.2016 - My Name is Leon

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and the author for the opportunity to read this wonderful debut novel!

This is the story of Leon. A nine-year-old boy in England in the early 1980s - a time of racial riots and unrest contrasting with the excitement of Prince Charles & Lady Diana's upcoming nuptials. Leon is a half-black child and his mom just had a white baby, who Leon loved above all else and took care of when his mom wasn't able due to a combination of depression, mental illness and bad choices. Things got worse and the kids were thrust into the foster care world. But Jake, a white infant, was quickly adopted out leaving Leon behind.

The whole book is written from Leon's perspective - and what an ability the author has to go into the mind of this young boy. His emotions feel so real and raw because life just isn't fair.

A wonderful debut - with hints of another book coming featuring a grown-up Leon - I can't wait!

6.13.2016 - In Twenty Years

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author for granting my wish to read and review this book!

This is the story of 6 friends who met at the University of Pennsylvania. They became what they referred to as a 6-point star - promising to always be there for each other.

Until life interferes and the ringleader of the group, Bea, dies. Twenty years later on what would have been Bea's 40th birthday, the remaining group assemble in their old college house. They have become estranged and there are enough grudges and secrets among them to make for lots of fireworks.

But each of the characters draws you in - their background makes you understand their past and present behaviors. There are so many relatable moments too, as the group has to come to grips with the fact that they aren't those 20 year olds any longer.

Definitely put this one on your summer reading list!

6.11.2016 - The A to Z of You and Me

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This was the story of Ivo, a 40-year-old man who is in Hospice. Shelia, one of his nurses, gets him to play a game to help relax and focus him - he should think of a body part and a story that goes along with it for every letter of the alphabet.

As he plays this game alone in his room, he recounts his life and we learn about the group of close friends he had, his relationship with his parents, sister and girlfriend. Intermingled with the stories of his past is the reality of his current situation - isolated and dying.

It sounds like it would be morbid and sad, but it's really more the opposite. Ivo made mistakes and like all of us has to learn how to best deal with them and move on - whatever form moving on must take.

6.10.2016 - Saving Abby

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is the story of Claire and Josh - a couple who write and illustrate children's books featuring a young adventurer, Jack. They go on many travels to find places and stories for Jack, some of these featured in chapters of their travels. But their main story is their inability to conceive a child. After many years of trying, they finally release that dream. Then, of course, she becomes pregnant.

I read this quickly, even though I knew what was going to happen. I liked the characters - even though they were all a bit perfect. I doubt that in real life a best friend would also be your doctor, and if she was, hopefully she'd be a little more aware than this one!

But those are minor critiques - overall, this was a definite tear-jerker of a good story!

6.9.2016 - The Island House

Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is a perfect summer beach read. What could be better than reading about Nantucket, the ocean, the lifestyle - all perfectly described in this book so that you really can experience it.

A good storyline - Courtney gets involved with her college roommate's big Nantucket family and becomes one of the matriarch's so-called "summer children;" a group of her children's friends that come back to Nantucket every summer and live with them.

As they grow up, Courtney is living in Kansas City working as a professor. She has a very best male friend, Monty, who surprises her with his feelings before she leaves to spend the summer once again in Nantucket to celebrate her summer mom's birthday. Once on the island, she must confront her feelings for one of her friend's brothers as well as face challenges that await.

There are lots of good topics to explore in this book, even though it is a great beach read. Topics like mental illness, and how it affects all family members.

This may have wrapped up a little too neatly for me at the end, but still a great escape read.

6.8.2016 - A Robot in the Garden

Thanks to NetGalley, Doubleday and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

What a cute, quirky book - a fun read! Very similar in plot to another recent read, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper.

In this book, Amy and Ben are a married couple having some issues when a robot shows up in their garden. Not just any robot and certainly not the trendy house androids that Amy would like to do things around the house that Ben can't quite manage to get done. No, Tran, is an old school robot that seems to be broken and no one knows how to fix him.

So Ben starts following leads and he and Tran go on excursions trying to find his builder and get him some help. Along the way, he meets many people who guide him on to the next person. Their experiences are funny, cute, poignant.

In the end, this is a story about love, friendship, grief and growing up. Charming, to say the least. I hope someday a Tran shows up in my garden!

6.4.2016 - Small Great Things

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Ballantine Books and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC because I am a huge Jodi Picoult fan and have read all of her books. This one won't disappoint. Like all of her books, it takes a hot-button topic and gives all sides, along with a twist, to help you really feel the topic in ways you couldn't have imagined.

This story is all about race and racism - both overt and passive. It's told in 3 different voices - Ruth is a Black labor and delivery nurse in a Connecticut hospital and has been there for over 20 years. Turk is a White Supremacist and the father of a newborn baby. Kennedy is a White public defender who takes Ruth's case.

When Turk and his wife are in the hospital after the birth of their son, Ruth comes into their room to do a check on both baby and mom. Turk refuses to let Ruth touch his wife or child and loudly complains to the nurse in charge, who puts a note in the hospital record that no African American should touch the baby. Then an emergency happens to the baby and Ruth steps in. The father sees her giving chest compressions to the baby.

What follows is a trial where race isn't brought up although it's at the crux of the case. And where everyone involved has to question their values and thoughts on this subject.

It's a powerful book made more powerful by the author note at the end. Truly makes you think about race in a different way.

Highly recommended!    

6.2.2016 - It Takes One

Thanks to NetGalley, Redhook Books and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm really excited because this is the first of a planned series of books centering around Audrey, a criminal psychologist, with a dark past. When she was a teenager, her and her friend, Maggie, killed Maggie's dad because he was molesting her. After a stint in juvenile detention, she came back to her small Maine town and faced a small town's rejection of her. She couldn't wait to escape. But she can't escape her violent side, even though she has tried to make peace with it.

Now living in California, Audrey comes back into town for her mother's birthday. There is another murder in town and Audrey is the first suspect in mind. She has to deal with all the resentment people have for her, including her sister, as well as try and find the killer.

This is a very fast-moving, suspenseful novel with lots of twists and turns. I loved the story - but be aware that there are some violent scenes. I can't wait to read the next one in the series