Thursday, July 10, 2014

Grief and Gossip - July 10, 2014

Currently Reading:         
  • An Alphabetical Life: Living it Up in the World of Books by Wendy Werris
  • What a Lady Craves by Ashlyn Macnamara (received through NetGalley)
  • We are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt (received through NetGalley)
  • James Madison by Lynne Cheney (received through NetGalley)

Recent Reviews:
Next Life Might be Kinder by Howard Norman (received through Goodreads)
4 stars

Sam and Elizabeth have not been married long before she is murdered in the hotel in which they had been living.  This book jumps between Sam’s extraordinary grief, his therapy sessions and his courtship with Elizabeth leading to the days before her untimely death.  As Sam deals with his misery, he must also contend with a manic movie director who is filming a picture on Elizabeth’s murder.  The anger and helplessness that Sam feels is portrayed through his interactions with his therapist which though it was my least favorite section of the book, did accentuate Sam’s deep feelings of grief and anger.  There are many layers to this novel and I think that they are seamlessly threaded together.   Overall, this is a story of once-in-a lifetime love and the aftermath of its tragic demise.  I received this book from the Goodreads Firstreads Program in exchange for an honest review.


The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu (received through NetGalley)
4 stars

This young adult novel takes one girl’s perceived misdeeds and projects it through the thoughts of four young witnesses who are all in some way involved.  Rumors about Alice and what she may have done on the night of one party spiral out of control in a small Texas town.  Told in alternating narratives four of her classmates reveal their own actions in the drama and also the hidden parts of their own lives that may have motivated them.  Alice herself, is a complete enigma whose personality and actions didn’t seem to add up enough to create such intense censure and I also felt the book ended rather abruptly.  That said, the entre into these small-town teenagers minds was compelling and definitely worth the read.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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