This is a beautifully told story of love, friendship, and heartache. Told through the eyes of two girls whose journey through the tumultuous years of Japanese colonization, WWII, the Korean War and beyond tests the strength of their friendship. Extremely interesting is an in-depth look into the culture of the haenyeo, an all-female diving collective on Jeju Island, where women work and men stay home to care for the children.

A novel. A fable. Magic? Superstition? This book is a wonderful work of art! Obreht moves seamlessly between reality and superstition. The story is richly developed and masterfully written. I often felt as if I were looking at a painting rather than reading text. There is movement in the story, but it is so steeped in beautifully crafted detail, that the ultimate sensation is visual. I really enjoyed this book.

Powerful story, well written, hard to put down. This heart-wrenching historical fiction tells of the kidnapping and selling of the South‘s poorest children to wealthy families across the US. As you follow the lives of one such family, you feel the impact of this trauma on the kidnapped siblings and their biological parents. But ultimately you see the impact on the children and children‘s children of these adopted youngsters. Well worth reading.

Pitched as a thriller, this book aims to evoke the Cold War era but with a modern twist. There are 2 simultaneous threads to follow (loosely connected) - an oil deal between Russia and the US, and an old hoax played on Hitler which Russia wants to use to shame the West. I found the plot to be a bit contrived and not particularly well developed. A quick read for a lazy afternoon. Hint, but not a spoiler, “book worm” does not refer to the heroine.

What if you knew the exact date you would die. How would you live your life? Would you inadvertently make choices that conform to a destiny you believed to be true? This is the subject of Chloe Benjamin‘s novel. Four youngsters seek out a psychic to hear their fortunes. In following them over the next several decades, you feel their angst wrt this knowledge, but also their indelible bonds of “siblinghood”. Well written - makes you think.

Unlike his previous novels with quirky characters and a lighthearted style, Backman‘s latest grabs you with a violent act that cuts across the emotional and moral fabric of Bear Town and its inhabitants. At its core, the town‘s identity is its hockey team, forging fierce loyalty and powerful friendships. Backman masterfully develops a multi-dimensional cast of characters - each dealing with what they know in their own way. Two thumbs up.

This book deals with events that took place during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Now long since past, they are but bitter memories that an old “comfort woman” survivor imparts to her long lost granddaughter who was adopted as an infant and raised in America. Though a work of fiction, the novel is based on historical facts depicting horrific acts against innocent Korean girls. A story of courage and resilience well worth reading.

Based on the true story of a group of concentration camp survivors known as the Rabbits. The story is at times gritty and difficult to read, yet powerful and moving. It follows 3 main characters, a New York socialite, a Polish teenager with the underground resistance, and a female doctor who performs debilitating experiments on the prisoners at Ravensbruck. I found it similar in style to Ackerman‘s “The Zookeeper‘s Wife”. A very worthwhile read.

Another delightful Louise Penny murder mystery featuring Chief Superintendent, Armand Gamache. Reading another Gamache mystery is like returning to Three Pines and visiting old friends. You are at once part of life there, comfortable with the characters, and along with them are drawn into the tension of the murder. What sets this particular murder apart is not so much the crime (though unusual), but what Gamache struggles with - his conscience.

This is the first book of The Ancestor - a fantasy trilogy revolving around women of the Convent of Sweet Mercy where girls are trained to fight. The Abbess plucked Nona, a young peasant girl accused of murder, from the gallows causing her accusers to seek revenge. Lots of action and tension as the author paints a picture which is easy to visualize and drops you into his fantasy world. Enjoyed the book enough to pick up book 2.

Though still early in the year, I have to say Pachinko is the best book I‘ve read to date. It is the story of Korean immigrants trying to make a home in the land of their oppressors. The book is masterfully written with a wonderful depth of its characters which follow 4 generations of a family through 7 decades. Unlike my usual style of racing to the end, I found myself slowing down, not wanting to say goodbye to these people. A must read book.

This was a strange book - a story told by the ghosts of the cemetery in which President Lincoln‘s son, Willie, was buried. There were all sorts of ghosts - from crude to compassionate. But it also dealt with the sadness of losing a child, and Lincoln‘s grief was exquisitely portrayed. Interspersed throughout the book were quotes from actual reports of the time. Not a favorite book, but one I‘m glad I read.

A very moving story - classified as a mystery, but I felt the mystery was a means to explore the growth and development of the boy at its center. 13 year old Frank Drum experiences a violent loss that forces him to mature and look at life, faith, and relationships with a new perspective. Especially moving is his relationship with his younger brother. Told in the first person by Frank, the style is relaxed, yet at times intense. Good read.

This is a beautifully written book which throws the reader into some of the most profound aspects of what it means to be human - interactions between siblings, friends, parent/child - how we react to differences of race, privilege, and our deepest secrets. What happens when the teenage daughter of an unconventional mother befriends the children of a rigidly conventional mom? Lives are turned upside down. I couldn‘t put this book down.

Definitely, it was the title that grabbed my attention, but the book did not disappoint. I found it to be a charming WW2 story based in England and the island of Guernsey. This story is beautifully told with compassion and humor entirely through letters. And through those letters, you get a glimpse of strength, friendship, loyalty, courage, and the effect the German occupation of the island had on their lives. A short yet poignant story.

The struggles, hopes, fears, successes, and disappointments of immigrants as they seek to find the American dream are brought to life with a Cameroonian family living in Harlem at the center of this novel. Author, Mbue, through her use of language and story telling wove a tale that captures both the racial divide and the divide between the haves and the have-nots. An enjoyable book in which one experiences the reality of striving for a dream.

What a delightful read. I really enjoyed walking with Lillian - our time together was over too quickly. Author Kathleen Rooney is a skilled narrator, painting pictures with her words and allowing the reader to feel personally connected to her heroine. Lillian‘s outlook on life and her ability to connect to others is a gift - walk with her and let some of her grit rub off on you.

A difficult topic was presented in this novel - should a secular court make a life and death decision on behalf of a minor child against the religious beliefs of the child and his parents. At times the story was well written and drew me into the agonizing decision judge Fiona Maye had to make. But in the end, I didn‘t find it as well developed as I would have liked, leaving one event out of character and not quite believable.

A real eye opener with respect to race relations in the United States. No definitive answers and no quick solutions, but steps everyone can and should take to make this country a better, more equitable place for people of all ethnicities. I highly recommend reading this book. You may find it helpful to keep a journal while you read as the author asks thought provoking questions throughout the book.

This YA book is a well crafted very quick read on a disturbing topic that should illicit much discussion. I loved the author's style for this book - it really allowed me to get inside the lead character's head. I couldn't put the book down. My 13 year old granddaughter recommended this book to me. She said, "The end made me lean backwards and gasp." I did. You will too.

Satyal's novel is built around the lives of Indian Americans as they grapple with a new culture, but it is so much more. His characters struggle to discover "who they are" as they relate to both cultures. This is a story of love, friendship, growth, and acceptance of self, including one's own sexuality. Moving and at times humorous, this is an interesting read.

I'm becoming a great fan of Louise Penny's Chief Homicide Inspector, Armand Gamache, and the cast of characters that inhabit his world. I love Penny's style, what I might call "gentle" murder mysteries - well written and intriguing with interesting characters, and just enough tension that you find it hard to put the book down. Enjoyable light reading.

Having little knowledge of Ireland's role in WWII, I was intrigued by the subject of this novel. Though the war is the backdrop of the story, it is less about military events and more about the characters themselves- their lives, relationships, conflicts, how they dealt with hardships, and most important how they grew to understand themselves. Not a "must read", but enjoyable & interesting to see Ireland's two opposing perspectives wrt WWII.

This story takes place on a circus caravan in Germany and France during Hitler's reign of terror. It is based on two stories uncovered in the archives of Yad Vashem, simultaneously highlighting the horrors of and acts of heroism in Nazi Germany. It is compared to Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants" and Kristin Hannah's "The Nightingale". Though I enjoyed the book and recommend it, I personally found the other two more powerful in scope and style.

Another Civil War era book, this one based on a true incident which took place in the South as it was being ravaged by war - the heroine a teenage newlywed left to manage a farm on her own. This is a story of courage, survival, and love which is told exclusively through letters and journal entries with language that is almost poetic in nature. A book so suspenseful you will not want to put it down. It will stay with you long after you do.

A delightful fast read. Set in 1870's Texas with its post Civil War climate of lawlessness, Indian raids, and economic hard times. A 72 year old widower and veteran of three wars is hired to return a 10 year old girl, rescued after 4 years in captivity with the Kiowa Indians, to her aunt and uncle half a state away. The relationship which develops is both poignant and humorous. I really liked this book; it ended all too soon.

The backdrop of this novel is a southern Illinois town on the Mississippi River in the late 1870s with a cast of characters that draws you in right from the start. The novel deals with survival in economic hard times, the after effects of the Civil War, politics - in particular, women's issues, and includes enough uncertainty wrt the characters that will hold your interest to the very last page. Loved her use of language.

We have all heard of the butterfly effect - the concept that small causes can have large effects. This is the premise of Lively's novel, "How It All Began". The cause begins with the first sentence of the book. The effects build gradually with several characters. I found the book enjoyable, but the characters only mildly held my interest.

A true story, painstakingly researched and beautifully told. What makes this piece of history so readable is Letts' attention to detail. She gives you the background and personalities of the main characters. You feel their emotions, their agonizing decisions, and you relive the events through their eyes. You come to know and admire the horses as well and understand how these magnificent animals brought the humanity in soldiers on both sides.

A successful New York business woman's chance encounter with an 11 year old boy living a life of extreme poverty and deprivation becomes a powerful friendship that transforms both their lives. Nothing I write here could capture the essence of this book better than Catherine Ryan Hyde's words on the book's cover: "Complex and unswervingly honest, inspirational...this book is capable of restoring our faith in each other."

"It's something I call an invisible thread. It is, as the old Chinese proverb tells us, something that connects two people who are destined to meet, regardless of time and place and circumstance...It is, I believe, what brought Maurice and me to the same stretch of sidewalk in a vast, teeming city - just two people out of eight million, somehow connected, somehow meant to be friends.

Absolutely delightful. My third Fredrick Backman book. If you are unfamiliar wit this author, you are in for a treat. Backman's novels are light reading, but not without substance. His characters are a bit quirky, but they get under your skin and you find yourself experiencing life through their eyes. You may laugh; you may cry. But you will certainly be invested in the town of Borg and its inhabitants as they experience Britt-Marie.

In typical Picoult style, "Handle With Care" is current, relevant, and emotionally charged. The story deals with a severely disabled child, how this affects her family, and the "what ifs"... The book is narrated by several characters allowing the reader to be immersed in the issue from different perspectives. At times it was hard to read, yet even harder to put down.

Best book I've read this summer. It is obvious that author Sara Gruen did extensive research into the traveling circus world of the 1930s - including the performers, work crew, animals, bosses, spectators, etc. Allows the reader to glimpse a part of Americana one only dreams of. I couldn't put the book down. If you've ever seen a circus, or even if not, you should read this book.

A delightful summer read by the author of "The Art of Racing in the Rain". This is a very different reading experience. I really liked the previous book which was very popular, perhaps more so among "dog people". Though this one was not on a par with Racing in the Rain, it was well crafted and held my interest. Perhaps not as far fetched as "Discovery of Witches", still you have to have an open mind to accept his premise.

Had a hard time getting into this book. Once in, it held my interest, but It remained only lukewarm throughout.

Janie Chang weaves a charming fairytale relevant to the history and culture of the characters in her novel. I felt transported in time to Zhu Jialing's China whenever I picked up the book (and even lingered there awhile after putting it down). A very enjoyable read.

Everyday for Lucy's entire dog life Jane had sliced a banana for breakfast and had miraculously dropped one of the disks on to the floor where it sat...before being gobbled up. Every morning Lucy's prayers were answered, confirming her belief that God was old and clumsy and smelt like roses and lived in the kitchen. But no more. Lucy knew her God was dead. And now she knew the miracle wasn't the banana, it was the hand that offered the banana.

Thanks Tracy for recommending this book. Not a page-turner, but it had characters with whom I enjoyed spending time. A delightful relaxing read.

Really enjoyed this book. Well written and inspirational. I haven't seen the movie so I can't compare. But my guess is the book delves more deeply in the lives and times of these women.

Just starting this book. Already drawn in. I may find it hard to put down.

Just finished this book - my third from this author. I like her books - light reading, but each contains a message or social issue to ponder.

"Huston smiled. 'You know how many academics it takes to change a lightbulb?...Four to form a committee, two to write a report, one to file a grievance with the union, and one to ask the secretary to call a janitor.'"
Liked this quote - enjoyed the book.

Just starting this book. Chose a different genre- a thriller. Interesting characters so far, but need to read further to formulate an opinion. I'm afraid, however, that this read may cause me to fall behind in my knitting project.

A memoirs - this book is both humorous and poignant. The author recounts his time of being sole caregiver to his 90-year-old mother (a character to be sure) while at the same time reflects on his own life as a gay man and how it impacted his relationship with his parents and shaped his life. I enjoyed the book, but found it easy to put down when other activities called.

A Holocaust story - I was expecting historical fiction, but found instead a non-fiction story - a mix of narration, dialogue based on research, and excerpts from Antonina's diary. Both Ackerman and Antonina are excellent wordsmiths. Well worth reading.