The Children Return

Gratitude. Fans of the Bruno, Chief of Police, series by Martin Walker will be delighted by the seventh installment titled, The Children Return. Struggles of the past and present come home to Saint Denis in the Dordogne. An autistic boy named Sami has returned home to Saint Denis after being forced by Islamic extremists to become a terrorist bomb maker in Afghanistan. Jihadists arrive in Saint Denis to kill Sami who had escaped from them. Bruno needs to protect Sami and his family as well as the town. The kindness of farmers in Saint Denis during World War II wins the gratitude of a Jewish woman who was welcomed there as a child. Bruno and the town present her with a plan of how they would benefit from her philanthropy. As with the earlier novels in the series, Walker does a great job with character development, plot momentum, and bringing the location to a reader’s vivid awareness. The food can almost be tasted. Readers who like crime fiction as well as fans of the series are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Children Return from amazon.com.

Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania

Calming. The college admissions process can lead to frustration, anxiety, and crushed hopes. Frank Bruni advises parents and students to relax about all this in a book titled with a summary that describes his message succinctly: Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania. In a little more than 200 pages, Bruni tells his own story along with others to support his perspective. One’s value doesn’t come from the school one attends. Achievement and success may not correlate with the ratings of a school. So Bruni advises everybody to calm down, reduce the pressure and use the experience at any college to learn, grow and mature. I was delighted by his examples of U.S. Presidents, CEOs and award-winning scientists who did not attend prominent universities. If that’s how we measure success, the top rated universities may not lead one to those positions. Relax. Any reader with trepidation about the college admissions process will love reading this book. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Where You Go from amazon.com.

The Dream Lover

Choices. Elizabeth Berg tackles historical fiction with her latest novel titled, The Dream Lover, structured as a memoir by George Sand, Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin. Much of the novel chronicles romantic liaisons, which will please those Berg readers who expect pages filled with relationship issues. Berg adopts a writing style that mimics the writing of George Sand, and that choice led to a narrative that was often tedious to read. The choices of memoir and the style of Sand had other consequences. Readers are left with Sand’s own view of her life, and there may have been richer material from Sand’s critics and admirers. Berg’s choices also lead toward a comparison of her prose with Sand’s, and for those readers familiar with both, Sand is likely to be viewed more favorably. All that said, I was entertained by reading this novel. Readers who love Berg’s writing are those most likely to enjoy this novel. Rating: Three-star (It’s ok) Click here to purchase The Dream Lover from amazon.com.

Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Family. Readers who enjoy twentieth century American history are those most likely to enjoy an engaging book by Marc Peyser and Timothy Dwyer titled, Hissing Cousins: The Untold Story of Eleanor Roosevelt and Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Two branches of the Roosevelt family dominated political life in the early twentieth century. Teddy Roosevelt led the Sagamore Hill branch and Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the Hyde Park branch dominated during the Depression and World War II. Eleanor was the wife of FDR, and also a cousin. Alice was TR’s daughter. Peyser and Dwyer roam through the politics, the family life and the choices made by these two strong and complicated women. While Alice is best known for her clever wit and Eleanor for her public service, there’s a lot more to both of them, and the authors cover them in ways what were interesting and engaging. The catchy title calls attention to their differences, while the narrative draws readers into their similarities and to their shared passion for life in the public arena. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Hissing Cousins from amazon.com.

A History of Loneliness

Complicit. Sadness and melancholy are the highpoints in John Boyne’s finely written novel titled, A History of Loneliness, that takes on the topic of child abuse by Irish priests. Protagonist Odran Yates is an Irish priest who was not an abuser, but he was close by and oblivious as it was done under his nose, by a priest friend and classmate. Boyne moves back and forth in time as he constructs Yates’ growing awareness of his own complicity in what happened over decades. Boyne’s prose will please those readers who enjoy literary fiction. His sensitivity to the victims of abuse constrains the novel in all the right ways. The essential loneliness in the lives of celibate priests pervades the narrative and creates the gloomy atmosphere in which the plot develops. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase A History of Loneliness from amazon.com.

Sweetland

Island. Sixty-nine-year-old Moses Sweetland lives on an island off Newfoundland named Sweetland by his ancestors who settled there. In Michael Crummey’s finely written novel, Sweetland, readers are drawn into this person and this place. The tension in the novel comes from the decision by the government to pay to relocate the remaining residents of the slowly dying island, provided all agree. Moses and one other person have not agreed, creating conflict with their neighbors. The themes of community and isolation are presented, along with the depth of this fully formed character who reflects on his life in ways that will provide a complete picture of a complicated person who has lived a hard life, and who is willing to stand alone. Readers who enjoy well-written literary fiction are those who are most likely to be entertained by this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Sweetland from amazon.com.

The Stranger

Vulnerability. Harlan Coben presents three elements in his novel, The Stranger, which will satisfy many readers. His plot grabbed my attention quickly, and the momentum continued to the end, including a handful of twists that were delightful. His characters, especially protagonist Adam Price, face situations that are believable, and their behavior always seems realistic to how any of us might act. Finally, Coben’s exploration of the vulnerability present in all relationships came across as reflective, thoughtful and insightful. Sometimes all it takes to create doubt is the whisper of a question or a small statement that can unravel the binds that unite us with others. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Stranger from amazon.com.