The Silver Star

This was a highly anticipated book for me. I loved some of Walls other books - The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses in particular. Amazing memoirs. So well written and compelling. I was so intrigued to read some fiction from her since her memoir was so good.

This book is a page turner for sure. However, it's just okay. I'd give it a 3 out of a 5. Maybe a 3.5 if I've had some chocolate and wine and am feeling generous.

It has loads of potential but just not pulled off as well as I expected. The story was not fleshed out as well as it could have been. I can see how her past has influenced her fiction though and that's interesting. It's a fine story but one of those that makes you want to root for evil and makes morality ambiguous. The bad guy certainly deserved punishment. Justice certainly needed to take place. SPOILER ALERT!!! I felt happy that the bad guy got more than he deserved. That's just not justice. Too much punishment is just as bad as not enough. There's a venue for justice to happen and while I get that the courts messed it up, that doesn't mean people can take it into their own hands.

This book is great for book clubs though. And I'm glad I read it. And I'd even recommend it. I was just disappointed with Walls execution of the novel.

Travels With Charley

Travels With Charley is a book about a 1960 road trip that Steinbeck took in order to get a pulse on America and its people. If you read the book, here's a good place to start. There is some speculation that he fictionalized the book and most of it's not even true. He definitely went on the road trip, but a first draft of the book included his wife, while the final manuscript, he went alone. There are details in the book that couldn't be true. And the conversations he's purported to have seem literarily tweaked.

Even if Steinbeck took "literary freedoms", this was a good book. Funny, clever, and just plain good story telling. Because it's a book about stories and not main characters or any kind of plot so to speak, I listened to it on CD. I felt like Steinbeck was right in the car with me telling me his stories.

It did get a little tedious at the end of the book, but the beginning and middle were great. Overall, I'd say that I enjoyed the book, but probably wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Some types who might enjoy this book are: dog lovers, men, literary types, people watchers, and those not looking for a page turner.

Letters to Skye

This book gets mixed reviews and I'm not sure I can recommend it. Overall, good writing. Good story, except for one thing: it makes you root for adultery. The overall message concerning love is that you do what feels good. If you find someone you love, you act on those feelings, regardless of your current martial status.

In order for me to recommend this book, the reader needs to be grounded in the moral truth that adultery is wrong. This book will make you want the main characters to have an affair and even might make those less grounded think the right and wrong is blurry and grey. When in actuality, it is very black and white.

The book is written in letter format which I love. However, it's a little unrealistic. Letters during wartime took a long time to get to where they needed to go. But not in this novel.

But it does have a good ending. The novel was just long enough and wrapped up well.

This is Jessica Brockmole's first novel and I do look forward to other books from her, as I enjoyed her writing style.

Life After Life

This is a very confusing book unless you know what it's about going in. I'm partial to not having a clue with books so as no bias can creep in. I spent the first 100 pages figuring out what the hell was going on!

Basically, on a fundamental level, Ursula dies over and over and gets redos in her life. She gets to change the future based on the way she died and what happened to her. Although it's sort of like an intelligent version of Groundhog Day, it's still a very unique book. One Amazon.com reviewer likened the different lives of Ursula to transparencies laid on top of one another. They all have some pivotal schemes in them that change the course of the future, but each transparency is different in the directions they turn and how they end.

Really, it seems like a brilliant idea for a writer because it's a dream come true. You can create these amazing characters where you get to change the course of their lives. I imagine (I'm not a writer!) that writers have many different ways they want to end a book or a character. This is the perfect novel for that!

I would describe this book as beautifully written, layered, and highly intelligent. Some heavy philosophical and religious themes can be pulled out if you want to think more about the authors words. Or you can just read it and enjoy the "what ifs".

Overall I enjoyed the book immensely. I highly recommend it. I will warn you: it's long. But worth it!

The Girl With No Name

This memoir was recommended to me by a friend of mine who shares similar likes and dislikes in books and whose opinion I trust wholeheartedly. So when she recommended this, I was excited to read a good book. And this book is wonderful. Partly because it's a true story.

A 4-year-old girl from Columbia found herself alone deep in the jungle of South America. She does eventually get out of the jungle when she's a preteen. The book is divided into two parts - her time in the jungle and her time after she got out. And as fascinating as her time in the jungle was, it's her life after that was compelling.

This book opened my eyes a little bit more to the capacity for evil that is in human beings. And the capacity for sacrifice and love.

This book is a must read!

Fly Away

This is one of many novels by Kristin Hannah, a new-to-me author that I think I've fallen in love with. Her writing is so interesting and well done. The plot of Fly Away is compelling. Heavy themes, but a light read. The characters are frustrating and endearing. I love them and hate them - a sign of a good novel to me.

I don't think I have anything bad to say about this book. It's a wonderful story of redemption and friendship. How you can't judge one's current actions without judging their past.

Actually, now that I think about it, I have one thing to say that can either be negative or positive, depending on your personality and preferences. The novel reads a little bit like a Hallmark movie. Do you know what I mean? It's the classic outline for one. Meet the sweet characters. There's a dying mom. There's a teenager full of angst and a newly single dad trying to parent her through the grief. Then comes the conflict. Teenager goes wild. The mom's best friend becomes an addict. But the ending turns out well. Wraps relationships up nicely. Maybe that's what I mean about a Hallmark movie. The book is full of conflict that ends up all fine. I'm not giving away anything though - I knew all would end well as I was reading the book. A little cheesy. Because it's destined to be a Hallmark movie.

All that to say, if you like books that have lots of broken relationships that make you mad, but then all ends well - this is a good book for you. It's an easy read. And because it was written well with interesting narration, I'll read some of Hannah's other books.

The Woman Upstairs

What a strange book. It's definitely for those who love literature. Claire Messud is a New York Times best selling author and after reading this book, I can see why. It's literature. It's artistic. It's beautifully written and the vocabulary is amazing. It reads sort of like poetry at times (but readable and understandable!). It's a highly intelligent novel and Messud paints pictures with her words of not only things, but emotions and thoughts.

But it's a weird book. Over half-way through and I still didn't know where the book was headed. What the point was. Even what the plot was. Is that good or bad? Perhaps if I were a more introspective person I'd get it?

The book was told through what I'd call conversational narration. Nora Eldridge is a single 37-year-old 3rd grade teacher who describes herself as "the woman upstairs". This woman has tried to be all things to all people, getting approval by denying herself.  She thinks she's independent, but as she invests herself fully and completely in a friendship with the mom and dad of one of her classroom kids, she realizes the woman upstairs isn't actually a happy one.

I get the sense that the author is trying to be edgy in her view of women and their identities. But in the midst of trying to pull that off, her main character, Nora, just comes across as insecure. Overall, I'd put this novel in the camp of feminist literature.

If you are interested in reading this book, it's helpful to know what it's about. Read some reviews and see what literature buffs think the book is about. Because even after finishing it, I still feel like I need to go read reviews to see what it was really about.