Posted on by Maureen

Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo 

Book Description 

Gabriel Fisher was born an orphan, weighing eighteen pounds and measuring twenty-seven inches long. No one in Lakota, Wisconsin, knows what to make of him. He walks at eight months, communicates with animals, and seems to possess extraordinary athletic talent. But when the older brother who has been caring for him dies, Gabriel is taken in by his devout Amish grandparents who disapprove of all the attention and hide him away from the English world.

But it’s hard to hide forever when you’re nearly eight feet tall. At seventeen, Gabriel is spotted working in a hay field by the local football coach. What happens next transforms not only Gabriel’s life but the lives of everyone he meets.

Life, and Death, and Giants is a moving story of faith, family, buried secrets, and everyday miracles.

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Posted on by Maureen

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore 

Book Description 

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

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Posted on by Maureen

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 

Book Description 

“The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

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Just By Looking at Him by Ryan O’Connell

Book Description

From the star of Peacock’s Queer as Folk and the Netflix series Special comes a darkly witty and touching novel following a gay TV writer with cerebral palsy as he fights addiction and searches for acceptance in an overwhelmingly ableist world.

Elliott appears to be living the dream as a successful TV writer with a doting boyfriend. But behind his Instagram filter of a life, he’s grappling with an intensifying alcohol addiction, he can’t seem to stop cheating on his boyfriend with various sex workers, and his cerebral palsy is making him feel like gay Shrek.

After falling down a rabbit hole of sex, drinking, and Hollywood backstabbing, Elliott decides to limp his way towards redemption. But facing your demons is easier said than done.

Candid, biting, and refreshingly real, Just by Looking at Him is an incisive commentary on gay life, a heart-centered, laugh-out-loud exploration of self, and a rare insight into life as a person with disabilities.

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Posted on by Maureen

Quiet Dell by Jayne Anne Phillips

I found Quiet Dell at the library. It was on display at the end of a bookshelf. The synopsis seemed interesting, so I added it to my reading list. Quiet Dell is a novel written by Jayne Anne Phillips. It is based on real life events in 1931, but has been fictionalized.

The story is presented in a rather interesting manner. The reader is first introduced to the victims. The Eicher family has been living in genteel poverty since the death of Mr. Eicher several years before the book begins. Their situation becomes even more precarious after the death of Mr. Eicher’s mother, the matriarch of the family. Asta Eicher has been corresponding with a man she met through a lonely hearts service, and she believes that this man is the solution to all of her problems. But he is not, and within a month, Asta and her three children are dead. Read more

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Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck

I don’t remember how I first heard about Fallen Beauty. Usually I have a good memory when it comes to books, and I can remember whether a book was recommended on Amazon or if I read a book review in Entertainment Weekly. But I’m just drawing a blank when it comes to Fallen Beauty. Nevertheless, it was in my library pile, and its due date was quickly approaching, so I put it at the top of my to-read pile.

Fallen Beauty is a work of historical fiction written by Erika Robuck. This is her fourth novel, and her third to feature prominent 20th century American literary figures. I actually have her Call Me Zelda on my Kindle. I do believe that it was a Kindle deal of the day. No, I don’t think that there is a correlation between the Kindle deal and finding out about Fallen Beauty. Read more

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Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope

I found Sense and Sensibility on the new release shelf at the library. I am familiar with Joanna Trollope’s name, but I don’t think I have read any of her other books. The title intrigued me: Sense and Sensibility is another of Jane Austen’s great novels. I didn’t mean to go on an Austen fanfiction bender; it just sort of happened.

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Longbourn by Jo Baker

I am a big fan of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, so I was excited when I found out about Longbourn, written by Jo Baker. Pride and Prejudice fanfiction, for lack of a better term, is nothing new. There are a few novels that I have enjoyed, and some that I did not enjoy.

Fans of Pride and Prejudice will recognize Longbourn as the Bennet family home. The novel takes place below stairs of that fine home, as the small household staff works to meet the needs of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters. As the events of the novel unfold, the members of the staff are right there. Mrs. Hill the housekeeper strives to make Mr. Collins’ visit a pleasant one, and everyone is concerned about what will happen when he does not make a match with one of the five Bennet daughters. In a poignant moment, Mary is devastated when Mr. Collins chooses Charlotte Lucas, and locks herself in her room, playing melancholy songs on the pianoforte. Read more

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This House Is Haunted by John Boyne

I just finished reading This House Is Haunted by John Boyne. I found it on Amazon when I was browsing for books, and then requested it through the library network. I did not recognize the author at first, but then I later realized that he also wrote The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. He has written several other books for both children and adults.

I am not always a fan of ghost stories. I will admit to being a scaredy cat. But, I love 19th century England, so I gave this book a chance, and I’m glad I did. Read more