Educated by Tara Westover
329 pages

What’s it about?
Tara Westover was raised in the mountains of Idaho with her isolationist Mormon family.   Tara never went to school, never saw a doctor, and was so isolated from the rest of the world that she had no idea how different her life was from most of America.    When her older brother decides to study for the ACT and go to college, Tara glimpses a way into a different world.  This is Tara's story.

What did it make me think about?
The incredible power of family- even if your family is way out there.  

Should I read it?
 I highly recommend this one.  Tara Westover writes about the struggle to see herself as separate and apart from her family.  If  "we are the stories we tell ourselves" - then Tara had to write herself a new story.  This book is about that journey.

Quote-
​"Not knowing for certain, but refusing to give way to those who claim certainty, was a privilege I had never allowed myself.  My life was narrated for me by others.  Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute.  It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs."

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All Over But the Shouting by Rick Bragg
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

9 stars

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
438 pages
 
What’s it about?
This novel centers around 13-year-old Leni Allbright.  It is 1974 and Leni’s father, Ernst, is home from the Vietnam War and having trouble assimilating after his experience as a P.O.W.  He decides that moving to Alaska, the last great frontier, will fix everything.  So Leni, Ernst, and her mother Cora load up the VW bus and make their way to Alaska.  But will Alaska be the answer to all their problems?
 
What did it make me think about?
This is a novel of equal parts about PTSD, abusive relationships, the bond between a mother and her child, and perhaps most of all this book is a love letter to the state of Alaska.
 
Should you read it?
Many of us read “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah.  It was hugely popular.  Much like her previous book- the characters in this story seem to be written as either all good or all bad.  The characters can feel a little too simplified for me.  It is usually pretty easy to see what is coming.  However the plot really does move along- especially in the second half.  I also found myself really drawn in by the end of the novel and reached for my Kleenex more than once…  If you liked “The Nightingale”, or Jodi Picoult novels, then you should definitely pick up this book.
 
Quote-
“She could never tell him how it felt to live with a dad who scared you sometimes and a mother who loved him too much and made him prove how much he loved her in dangerous ways.”
 
If you like this try-
Beartown by Frederik Backman
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
​The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinit

7 1/2 stars

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
306 pages

What’s it about?
 Celestial and Roy are a young, black, upwardly mobile couple who are newly married and starting a life together.  When Roy is mistakenly sent to prison their lives change forever.

What did it make me think about?
This book is about marriage, commitment, and family.  It is also about the experience of being a black man in America.  Ms. Jones story draws us all in by the universal truths she tells about relationships- but she also shares a viewpoint that many of us (by the color of our skin) can not be familiar with.

Should I read it?
I liked this book- but did not love this book.  I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t just love it.  I could understand where Celestial was coming from- but I did not always like her very much.  Maybe this was my stumbling block.  This book was timely, well written, and thought provoking.  I would recommend it- it would be a good book club choice.  

Quote-
"Human emotion is beyond comprehension, smooth and uninterrupted, like an orb made of glass.”


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Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

8 stars



​

Driftless by David Rhodes
429 pages
 
What’s it about?
This book is a collage of stories that center around the small, rural town of Words, Wisconsin. It is the kind of small town that you drove through 30 years ago and wondered if it would still be there the next time you passed through.  It is town alive with characters that live a different kind of life- a life that is slowly becoming extinct.
 
What did it make me think about?
This book is about life in a rural small town and it made me sad to think this way of life may be coming to an end.  This book was also about our universal journey through life and how- although we are essentially alone in our experience- we do not have to be lonely.  It is about the connections we make as a community and how those connections ultimately sustain us.  It is a message that resonates whether you live in a small, rural town or a high-rise in the city.  Having said that it also uniquely demonstrates the attitude and work ethic that have sustained the American farmer for hundreds of years.
 
Should you read it?
Well- this book was a slow starter for me. I really loved it, BUT these interwoven stories are not for everyone.  There are so many characters and it takes awhile to see who is who, and how they connect.   The characters are SO incredibly well drawn that you find yourself looking forward to hearing from them again.   In some ways Mr. Rhodes writing reminds me of Wallace Stegner.  I remember reading “Angle of Repose” and enjoying it but feeling like I could only read it slowly.  I felt the same way with “Driftless”.  So I encourage you all to pick it up and take your time as Mr. Rhodes is a man of immense talent!
 
Quote-
“Though he didn’t give a nickel what any particular individual thought about him and even help most of his neighbors in near-contempt, the mass of them all together- the community- had considerable weight.”
 
If you like this try-
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
My Antonia by Willa Cather
 Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
​The Bartender's Tale by Ivan Doig

9 stars

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan 
509 pages

What’s it about?
This book is based on a true story and takes place in Italy during World War II.   The story follows young Pino Lella from 1943 through the end of the war.  We see Pino change from a carefree teenager to a man willing to risk his life for what he believes is right.
 
What did it make me think about?
This novel made me wonder at all the stories that go untold after a war.  Italy during WW II is a very complicated place.  Between the Fascists, the Nazi's, and the Resistance their were lots of sides to come down on.  This story sheds some light on Italy’s history.

Should I read it?
For fans of "Unbroken", those interested in World War II, or anyone who likes historical fiction this is an engaging and interesting story.  Pino Lella is a man you will root for throughout this book.

Quote-
“Pino left the chapel believing that he’d entered it as a boy and now exited having made a decision to become a man.”

If you liked this try-
​Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
​The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

​8 stars

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
415 pages
 
What’s it about?
 Beartown is a dying community in the woods of Sweden.  The town has pinned its last hopes on its Junior Hockey Team winning a championship and putting the town back on the map.  With a large cast of characters this book examines the idea of what makes a community from lots of different perspectives.
 
What did it make me think about?
 This book asks so many questions.   What is loyalty?  What makes a leader?  What are the consequences of our obsession with athletes?  What does this obsession do to young star athletes?  What is required of a friend?  What does it take to be a good parent?  And it goes on and on….  I felt like there were so many ideas to explore in this book.
 
Should I read it?
 I thoroughly enjoyed the book.   The plot really picked up in the second half- but the characters were engaging from the first page.   Frederik Beckman    seems to write in platitudes, but they are all good and do not thwart the plot so how do you fault him for that?  Their were so many pearls of wisdom in this story that I had trouble picking out which quote to include.  One of my favorite themes in the novel was the power of our early friendships ,“You never have the sort of friends you have when you’re fifteen ever again. Even if you keep them for the rest of your life, it’s never the same as it was then.”  If I had included all the quotes I found memorable- my review would have been WAY too long!
 
Quote-
“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion.  The world becomes much easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into friends and enemies, we and they, good and evil.  The easiest way to unite a group isn’t through love, because love is hard.  It makes demands.  Hate is simple.”
 
If you like this try-
​​A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennesy by Rachel Joyce
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

9 stars

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
580 pages
 
What’s it about?
It is 1945 and 16-year-old Catherine Googin finds herself pregnant and alone in a small Irish town.  After the parish priest casts Catherine out of town in a very public way- she makes her way to Dublin.  Catherine will reappear again in this novel but the main character is Catherine’s out of wedlock son- Cyril Avery.  Cyril has a lonely childhood with his adoptive family.   It is the 1950’s and the Catholic Church rules Dublin with an iron fist.  In this time and place Cyril discovers that he is attracted to boys not girls.   And the novel thus really begins….
 
What did I think?
Wow!  John Boyne really has a bone to pick with the Catholic Church of Ireland.  His writing is beautiful but the story goes lots of different directions.  Boyne does a good job of demonstrating how heart-wrenching being a young gay teenager was in a time of repression.  However at times I just wanted to Cyril to be honest with someone- anyone….  At heart this is a character driven novel.  The plot sometimes goes awry and I didn't always like Cyril, but it drew me in all the same.
 
Should you read it?
I enjoyed most of this book.  It is certainly a reminder of how painful life can be if you are not in the majority.   It is also an interesting look at the harm that religion can do when it is more interested in the rules- than in the person.
 
Quote-
“But for all we had, for all the luxury to which we were accustomed, we were both denied love, and this deficiency would be scorched into our future lives like an ill-considered tattoo inscribed on the buttocks after a drunken night out, leading each of us inevitably toward isolation and disaster.”
 
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 *A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
*And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

7 1/2 stars