I’ve gone two weeks without a post because I’ve been reading Rutherfurd’s latest historical novel — the lengthy (over 800 pages) “New York”. This novel traces the history and development of the city of New York from the early Dutch settlers and Native Americans to 2009. As with other Rutherfurd novels, “New York” traces the lineage of fictional families through the years: primarily the English Master family, but also the Dutch Van Dyck’s, an Irish family, and an Italian family, with other characters along the way playing key roles.

I love Rutherfurd’s novels. I find his attention to historical detail is so expertly woven into the narrative that I’m learning while following an interesting plot line. Of course, I also love, love, love the city of New York, so I found it fascinating to learn of the history of the area’s development. I also loved the true historical characters that play a role in the story: JP Morgan, the Astors and the Vanderbilts, Theodore Roosevelt, etc.

What can I say — like his previous books I’ve read on London and Ireland — Rutherfurd’s novel is historical fiction at its finest!

Yes, it gets my coveted 5 Stars award — “It’s so good I have to own it!” I got mine as a birthday gift.

Ann Rinaldi is one of my favorite YA historical fiction writers. As an adult, I enjoy her books and find them full of interesting historical facts. The Secret of Sarah Revere was no exception. Sarah, one of Paul Revere’s children, is a thirteen-year-old living in Boston with her family as the country is on the brink of the Revolutionary War with England. Sarah’s father often is gone on his “rides” as he travels the country alerting patriots to British activity. Sarah’s home life is centered around her siblings, especially older siblings Debbie and Paul, and her step-mother, Rachel. Sarah also has a strong crush on family friend, Dr. Joseph Warren, and struggles with her “new” feelings for him as she also deals with adolescence and the fear that the world as she knows it is changing.

This was an interesting perspective to have as the narrator. I knew little about Paul Revere’s children, except that he had many. Sarah was a strong female protagonist, though I did find her attraction to Dr. Warren – a man almost three times her age – as somewhat unbelievable. I also did not like the story line of her suspecting him of being attracted to/having an improper relationship with her step-mother. At times the book moved slowly, but the second half of the book picked up as the action increased.

For the YA reader, I think the themes of loyalty are strong in this book: Sarah’s loyalty to her father and step-mother, Paul Revere’s loyalty to his country and his belief in liberty, etc. What exactly does it mean to be loyal?  A teacher could craft an interesting lesson in “loyalty” and compare these characters with other characters from other Rinaldi books, or from history. Also, throughout the book the idea of “it doesn’t matter what people think; what matters is what you know to be true” comes up again and again (another teachable moment!). And, of course, one must ponder the title….what IS the secret of Sarah Revere? Far be it from me to spoil that one for you!

While this isn’t my favorite Rinaldi, it is a good one and I’d recommend it to those with an interest in the Revolutionary War era. I got my copy from my local library.

I’d give it 4 Stars!

For my online historical fiction bookclub (through facebook!) we read Deborah Noyes’ Captivity for June. What an intriguing book! My library had it on the new release shelf and I hadn’t heard much about it. Captivity tells two, intertwining stories: one following the lonely, reclusive, and grieving Clara Gill as she shuts herself away from society after a scandal, and the Fox sisters, Maggie and Kate  – of upper state New York, who have bizarre, supernatural experiences and claim to be able to communicate with the dead. The amazing thing is – the part about the Fox sisters is based on fact. There really were these sisters who claimed to be visited by ghosts and spirits and who, by their popularity and actions, gave rise to the spiritualist movement in the mid-1800’s in the United States. {I visited Wikipedia (certainly not the font of knowledge and wisdom but right handy in a pinch!) to find out more about them. Apparently, Maggie claimed it was all a hoax shortly before her death, then attempted to recant her confession.}

I enjoyed this novel, even though I found it very slow at times.  My favorite passages were about Clara. I was routing for her throughout the book to start living life again and to move on from her tragedy. I did find the seances fascinating. I have to say Leah’s control and manipulation of her sisters made me angry (all the more since it was based in fact!).

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction based in fact – along with a good touch of Gothic! I’d give it 3 3/4 Stars!

The very lovely Dawn from “She Is Too Fond of Books” recently lent me a copy of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees. If you know me – even a little bit – you know my complete obsession with the Alcott family. Yes, I know odd little facts about them, have read just about everything written about them, and even can be found occasionally cavorting in a hoop skirt at their museum (Orchard House) in Concord, MA. Ms. McNees has taken a summer that the Alcotts truly did visit and stay in Walcott, New Hampshire and created a tale of lost love for Louisa. It is evident that she researched her Alcotts. She does a wonderful job of tying in their philosophies, their beliefs, and their real life into this imagined daily life. However, this is a work of fiction and I just couldn’t suspend my knowledge of the Alcotts in order to enjoy it. Ms. McNees is a wonderful writer — the problem was me. Call me inflexible, call me rigid, go ahead and just call me weird, but I could not get through this book. I didn’t care what was going to happen and I knew it wasn’t true anyways, so I lost my motivation.

I know that lots of my blogging friends have read and enjoyed this novel, so please feel free to comment and provide a link to your post so that my readers can read another (more normal I suspect) perspective!

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees (currently languishing…)
New York by E. Rutherfurd (gotta start it – it’s looooong)
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chavelier (forgot I had it until I was cleaning)
Captivity by Deborah Noyes (for bookclub — creepy weird and based on true story – making it really creepy weird!)
The Secret of Sarah Revere by Ann Rinaldi (YA historical fiction)
and yes – a Rhys Bowen Molly Murphy installment!

And where they are from: From the library except for Lost Summer and Remarkable Creatures which were given to me by fellow book bloggers and New York which was a birthday gift.

Well, once again I’ve been missing in action. Not to make excuses, but I’ve been out of the house a lot lately between end of the school year commitments, activities at my theater, and I just hosted a really fun wedding shower for my niece and had loads of relatives here for it! But — I haven’t forgotten you, gentle readers!! I listened to this audiobook over (ahem) Memorial Day weekend and wanted to let you know about it. I also read in some other blogs that this is audiobook week in the blogosphere, so I’d like to hereby pretend that I knew that and was waiting to create this post.

So, without further ado, let me share my thoughts on Sam’s Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson. First, if you know me, you know I enjoy James Patterson’s novels. This looked like a real change for him — a romance basically — and I was curious how he would handle it. Well, to be honest, I’m still a bit on the fence as to whether I liked this book or not. The story is told in alternating chapters between Jennifer, a young professional, and her beloved grandmother, Samantha (Sam), who raised her after her parents were killed. Sam is in a coma and Jennifer finds the letters at her house. They reveal a lot about Sam’s life that is eye-opening and profound for Jennifer. At the same time, Jennifer begins a relationship with an old friend, Brendan, whom she then finds out (BIG SPOILER ALERT!) is terminally ill. Far be it from me to tell you if Sam survives, if Brendan survives, and if even Jennifer survives. However, during this novel, which I listened to in the car, I’d think “Why in the world am I listening to this??? This reminds me of one of my least favorite books (sorry, fans) ‘Bridges of Madison County'”. But I kept listening….interpret that as you may!

I did enjoy the fact that this novel was read by two different narrators, embodying Jennifer and Sam. I particularly enjoyed Sam’s voicing. And just to add — I got it from the library.

Overall, I’d give it 3 1/2 Stars!

I really enjoy the novels of Elizabeth Berg — I’ve read almost all of them. So when I saw that she had a new one out this spring I decided to purchase it. The Last Time I Saw You focuses on a group of people attending their 40th and final high school reunion.

First let me say, in case you don’t know me personally, I am one of those people who just love, love, love their high school reunions. It may be due to the fact that I moved 3,000 miles away to go to grad school and I’ve stayed 3,000 miles away – or perhaps because I really did enjoy my time in high school – but regardless, sign me up, put me first in line, make me help organize it, whatever — I just love a reunion.

Now when I first ordered this book from Amazon I mistakenly thought it was about a 30th reunion. As I’m in my forties, I thought that’d be a perfect fit. However, when the book arrived I realized the people were attending their 40th reunion. I wondered: do I really have much in common with people who are 58?? Well, here’s the shocker, friends — yes, I do. With the exception that the offspring of the characters were grown and on their own and most of my friends and I still have children at home — these people worried about and were dealing with the same issues that face me and my peers every day: relationships, marriages, children, careers, health, and – yep – growing older.

So, without giving too much away (which you know I hate to do!), this novel follows several different characters as they plan for and attend the reunion — their hopes, their insecurities, their dreams, their realities. I have to say, I was at first worried that Ms. Berg might be writing in clichés: the gorgeous woman whose perfectionism hides a less than perfect life, the good-looking bit-of-a-jerk who is now less good-looking but still a bit-of-a-jerk, the outcast, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the nerd, the desperate female. However, once I really thought about it, I had to wonder: are these clichés or archetypes? Doesn’t just about every high school class have a nerd, an outcast, a cheerleader? Is Berg really writing about universals here? Because the more I read of these people, the more I read of myself and my friends.

I really enjoyed the book, as I do most of Elizabeth Berg’s novels. I highly recommend it if you like this type of “slice of life” read.

I give it 4 1/2 Stars!

So – I’ve been a little quiet on the book front. That’s because I’ve been reading all of Rhys Bowen’s books that I can find in the library. (I figured you didn’t need a review of each and every one!) I had posted about her “royal spyness” books – and I read the rest of the series lately. I really enjoy these cozies about a penniless royal (34th from the throne) who solves mysteries in her spare time.  Lady Georgie is a funny and strong young woman, and the books are peopled with interesting characters.

Then I discovered her Molly Murphy series, centering on a spunky, young Irish immigrant in turn of the century New York City who solves mysteries (actually she starts her own detective agency). I’ve really enjoyed reading this series as well – as much as the royal spyness books or perhaps even more. As a descendent of Irish immigrants, I always find reading about their experience appealing. I also love historical mysteries. And I love reading about places like NYC in the past (for instance, one of the books centered on female factory workers and their quest for better working conditions).

I see Ms. Bowen has a “Constable Evans” series of cozies, too. I’ll have to check them out.

In the meantime, I highly recommend these enjoyable, well-written, and well-plotted cozy mysteries to those who like this genre!

I love Barbara Kingsolver’s novels. I’ve read them all. Well – all except her latest: The Lacuna. I saw it in the library on CD and thought that would be a great way to experience it. However, that was a bad choice for me.

Let me start by saying that this book must be very long as it transferred to something like 16 CD’s. However, Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible – my favorite by her – was lengthy and I had no problem getting through it. Kingsolver is a beautiful writer. Her work is certainly not a quick beach read – or at least it’s not for me – it is literature. That said, it was not a good choice for me to listen to as I listen to books in the car. I kept losing track of what was happening. When this happens while reading, I just look back and re-read, double-check things, etc.  This wasn’t an option. I’ll be totally honest when I say: I was lost.  This is a book I should definitely read in print.

So – until that day – this review remains open!

As you might already know, I just love James Patterson’s books. I thought that listening to one in the car might be a good idea as it would hold my attention and I enjoy the short chapters.

Cross focuses on Alex Cross – his protagonist in many of his books – as he experiences the death of his wife (generally referred to as a past event in his books) and then crosses paths with the killer and hunts him down.

This book moved quickly. As is typical in Patterson’s books, there were over 100 chapters, most of them short (which was great for listening to in the car!). It held my attention but was “light listening” – again great while driving.

I listened to this book on CD, which I got from the library, but I can imagine enjoying reading it in print as well.

I’d give it 4 Stars!