The Next Time You See Me By, Holly Goddard Jones

The Next Time You See Me By, Holly Goddard Jones

Synopsis from Goodreads: Thirteen-year-old Emily Houchens doesn’t have many friends. She finds more comfort playing make-believe in the woods near her house in Roma, Kentucky, than with her classmates, who find her strange and awkward. When she happens upon a dead body hidden in the woods one day, she decides not to tell anyone about her discovery—a choice that begins to haunt her.

Susanna Mitchell has always been a good girl, the dutiful daughter and wife. While her older sister Ronnie trolled bars for men and often drove home at sunrise, Susanna kept a neat house, a respectable job, a young daughter. But when Ronnie goes missing, and Susanna realizes that she’s the only person in Roma who truly cares about her sister’s fate, she starts to question her quiet life and its value.

The Next Time You See Me is the story of how one woman’s disappearance exposes the ambitions, prejudices, and anxieties of a small southern town and its residents, who are all connected, sometimes in unexpected ways. Emily; Susannah; Tony, a failed baseball star-turned-detective, aspiring to be the county’s first black sheriff; and Wyatt, a fifty-five-year-old factory worker tormented by a past he can’t change and by a love he doesn’t think he deserves. Their stories converge in a violent climax that reveals not just the mystery of what happened to Ronnie but all of their secret selves.

My Review:

Susanna’s sister Ronnie has gone missing but since she’s kind of the town bad girl no one but Susanna seems to care which gets Susanna wondering if the life she has is the life she wants. Then there is her students Emily & Christopher, Emily is a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks and Christopher little rich boy with attitude…Ugh Christopher is such a little puke and I don’t understand how Emily can even think of being friends with him. Emily truly needs some serious counseling between her insecurities, self esteem, being bullied and what happened in the woods I hope her parents will get her some help!

Then there is Wyatt a 55 year old overweight factory worker, I liked Wyatt I also felt sorry for him, I felt he’d been bullied his whole life, pretty sure the night at the bar wasn’t the first time he’s been bullied he fell for it all too easily. Thought it was sweet that he and Sara got together and was rooting for them both to find love.

The prayer service for Ronnie made me wonder how often those are done; a prayer for a missing person who wasn’t well liked and didn’t attend church. I agree with Susanna that it all just felt wrong but I can understand that she was feeling like finally people were starting to take her sisters disappearance seriously.

This book was very hard to put down it has bullying of kids and adults, a missing person, a murder,  old loves returning and some very, very flawed people but it comes together in a fabulous story. I don’t want to give any spoilers but there was a certain storyline that I hoped would be a red herring and am amazed that the author made me feel bad for a murderer but I was emotionally invested and it was a great twist well an emotional twist for me. All these different characters with nary a thing in common all find themselves thrown into the drama of Ronnie’s disappearance some in ways that will leave you shaking your head in wonder.

4 Stars

Library2Go Audiobook Spotlight #9~Calling Me Home: A Novel by Julie Kibler Narrated by, Bahni Turpin & Lorna Raver

Most of you know our new Library2Go service makes it easy to download ebooks but what some might not know is there is also a great selection of audiobooks available for download too. I will spotlight some of my favorite audiobooks and narrators.

This book is also available in hardcover at the library

Calling Me Home: A Novel by Julie Kibler Narrated by, Bahni Turpin & Lorna Raver

Synopsis from Goodreads: Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler is a soaring debut interweaving the story of a heartbreaking, forbidden love in 1930s Kentucky with an unlikely modern-day friendship

Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle McAllister has a favor to ask her hairdresser Dorrie Curtis. It's a big one. Isabelle wants Dorrie, a black single mom in her thirties, to drop everything to drive her from her home in Arlington, Texas, to a funeral in Cincinnati. With no clear explanation why. Tomorrow.

Dorrie, fleeing problems of her own and curious whether she can unlock the secrets of Isabelle's guarded past, scarcely hesitates before agreeing, not knowing it will be a journey that changes both their lives.

Over the years, Dorrie and Isabelle have developed more than just a business relationship. They are friends. But Dorrie, fretting over the new man in her life and her teenage son’s irresponsible choices, still wonders why Isabelle chose her.

Isabelle confesses that, as a willful teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell deeply in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family's housekeeper—in a town where blacks weren’t allowed after dark. The tale of their forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences makes it clear Dorrie and Isabelle are headed for a gathering of the utmost importance and that the history of Isabelle's first and greatest love just might help Dorrie find her own way.

My Review:

This is such a great story! But be careful where you read it and have tissues ready especially towards the end, I happened to be driving at the end of this one!

I fell in love with both of these characters Miss Isabelle and Dorrie were true friends even though such different people. Dorrie is an African American single mother and hairdresser who has been doing 89 year old Isabelle’s hair for over a year and they have grown close but when Isabelle asks Dorrie to drive her from Texas to Ohio for a funeral, Dorrie jumps at the chance to get away from her own troubles for awhile and help the old lady out.

This book is told in alternating chapters by Dorrie and Isabelle, Dorrie dealing with her own problems at home in the present day and Isabelle telling the story of her life; that when she was 17 in Kentucky in the 1930’s she fell in love with a black man and the consequences that occurred due to her actions. Isabelle’s story is so heartbreaking but beautiful and the friendship that grows between these two women is one of the best friendships out there. I adored this book and couldn’t put it down I didn’t want to stop listening I needed to know how the story played out because with each bombshell Isabella would drop you could see so many ways the story could go and most of them had very dire consequences.

I received the ebook galley of this book from netgalley then I heard that it was going to be narrated by, Bahni Turpin & Lorna Raver so of course I waited for the audiobook and I am so glad I did. These two are perfect for the characters Bahni as Dorrie and Lorna as Isabelle bring the emotion of this book bubbling to surface in waves of emotion that will make you feel everything these characters are going through. Lorna Raver’s telling of Isabelle’s story is at times pure raw emotion that conveys so beautifully the heartbreak of her long life and Bahni Turpin’s Dorrie is smart yet has this soft vulnerable side that Turpin brings to life without flaw.

I highly recommend this book on audio with these two narrators how can you go wrong! This is one the best books I’ve read this year. If you like southern fiction and beautiful friendship stories give this book a try you won’t be disappointed!

5 stars

PS After reading the book the cover will about break your heart!

Six Years by, Harlan Coben

Six Years by, Harlan Coben

Synopsis from Goodreads: Six years have passed since Jake Sanders watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd. But six years haven't come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd's obituary, he can't keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd's wife he's hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she's been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life ? a time he has never gotten over ? is turned completely inside out. As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can't be found or don't remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake's search for the woman who broke his heart ? and who lied to him ? soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction. Harlan Coben once again delivers a shocking novel that deftly explores the power of past love and the secrets and lies that such love can hide.

My Review:

This book will grab you, throw you back in your seat and make you hang on for dear life because it is going to be a heck of ride! This was so hard to put down because it didn’t let up for a minute. It is very hard to write a review with no spoilers and not so much gushing.

Six years ago Jake watched the love of his life Natalie marry another man (Todd) she made him promise to leave them alone but now six years later Jake sees an obituary for her husband and decides to go to the funeral and at the least catch a glimpse of Natalie but the wife is not Natalie it is someone else, someone who Todd has been married to for over 16 years. Jake sets out to find Natalie and discover what is going on, but some things are not that easy especially when you are trying to find someone who doesn’t want to be found and Jake soon learns the hard way that he is not the only one looking for her.

This is my favorite Harlan Coben book yet this had so many twists and turns that when you think you know what is going on it changes, yes, I was right on a few things but there were more aspects that left my jaw dragging on the ground. There were times when you have to roll your eyes at Jake, or maybe that’s just me because I am about as unromantic as they come. And there were times when you wanted to yell NOOOO at him as he charged from one dangerous situation to another (I actually did yell this once luckily I was by myself!).  I really liked that Coben even had me wondering about Jake’s sanity for awhile I was beginning to wonder myself if Natalie was real or if it was a figment of his imagination, but that is what made this book so great even the reader starts questioning Jake. Okay I need to stop here because everything else I am thinking of writing is spoilerific but man do I want to discuss this book with someone who has read it!

If you haven’t figured out yet I loved this book, if you are looking for a thrill ride full of twists and turns you need to read this book!

4 ½ Stars

Library2Go Audiobook Spotlight # 8~The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew narrated by, Karen White

When deciding which book to read next most people know what they are looking for in print form what this column will highlight is a different form of reading, and that is listening to the audiobook. I love audiobooks whether it be traveling in the car, cleaning the house or working I listen to audiobooks all the time.

Most of you know our new Library2Go service makes it easy to download ebooks but what some might not know is there is also a great selection of audiobooks available for download too. I will spotlight some of my favorite audiobooks and narrators.

Library2Go Audiobook Spotlight # 8~The DryGrass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew narrated by, Karen White (Also available as an ebook)

My Review:

Since this book is set in the south in the 50’s and the Watts family has a “colored girl” you know something bad is going to happen to change everyone’s life, But this book was so much more than the story you are expecting.

Jubie Watts is 13 years old the summer everything in her life changed, even though her family employs “a girl” she is more like family to her and she doesn’t really understand the racial tensions that are rising around her. She really has no idea what kind of people her parents are, especially her father but that is all about to change as Jubie’s coming of age story unfolds you can’t help but want to reach out and give her a hug.

This book has shades of The Help which you can’t help compare it to but it is much more than just about the help it is about how you see your family, how you deal with seeing wrongs done to people and what you decide to do about them.

This is good 50’s southern fiction I say if you liked The Help or The Secret Life of Bees give this one a go!

Audio Production: Karen White narrates this one and I must say how impressed I was, I’ve listened to other books narrated by Karen but this was the first southern fiction and I will admit to being pleasantly surprised at how well she shifted between the different ethnicities. I highly recommend this book in audio because Karen’s narration is spot on!

4 Stars

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Synopsis From Goodreads: A gripping novel set in Belle Époque Paris and inspired by the real-life model for Degas’s Little Dancer Aged Fourteen and a notorious criminal trial of the era.

Paris. 1878. Following their father’s sudden death, the van Goethem sisters find their lives upended. Without his wages, and with the small amount their laundress mother earns disappearing into the absinthe bottle, eviction from their lodgings seems imminent. With few options for work, Marie is dispatched to the Paris Opéra, where for a scant seventy francs a month, she will be trained to enter the famous ballet. Her older sister, Antoinette, finds work—and the love of a dangerous young man—as an extra in a stage adaptation of Émile Zola’s naturalist masterpiece L’Assommoir.

Marie throws herself into dance and is soon modelling in the studio of Edgar Degas, where her image will forever be immortalized as Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Antoinette, meanwhile, descends lower and lower in society, and must make the choice between a life of honest labor and the more profitable avenues open to a young woman of the Parisian demimonde—that is, unless her love affair derails her completely.

Set at a moment of profound artistic, cultural, and societal change, The Painted Girls is a tale of two remarkable sisters rendered uniquely vulnerable to the darker impulses of “civilized society.”

My Review:

This was an interesting story with very well done, fully fleshed out characters , and with what I love about historical fiction, it made me go do research so I had Degas’ Ballerina portraits and the little dancer sculpture on my computer so I could look at them while reading. These characters are all very flawed but really just trying to survive the world the best they know how.

The story of these girls was fascinating and I loved the liberty the author took to combine Emil’s story with Antoinette & Marie’s I think it added such a great layer of depth to the story, where if it hadn’t been there, this book would have had less “meat” to it. There is a third sister in this story but to me she was just a secondary character to Antoinette & Marie, yet even though their mother is a smaller part of the story too I really felt her presence whenever she was in a scene, like when she was visiting Antoinette but really she wasn’t there to see her daughter it was just an excuse for a few extra hours off work. I thought this epitomized who this woman was.

This is also a great look at life especially for the poor in the late 1800’s and how once their father dies they have to find work somewhere, there were much worse “professions” than being a dancer or even a nude model for an artist and we all know what that is. These girls don’t have it easy and go through some pretty tough times and tough men. Also the insight into the paintings of Degas that I think everyone has seen even if they don’t realize who the artist is was fascinating, he seems to be one of the few artists that actually had a modicum of success while he was still alive. I have always found his work fascinating because of its day in a life aspects’ so that made his part in this book extra interesting to me.

I highly recommend this book it is good historical fiction with a little look into the world of Degas, a little mystery and the daily life of the downtrodden of the late 1800’s.

4 stars

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: March Bookclub Pick

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: March Bookclub Pick

Our library bookclub was chosen to receive advance copies of this book from the publisher but we didn’t expect a 500+ page book so that was off-putting right away for some but once I got past the first 100 pages it was a fast read, some didn’t make it that far and gave up, some finished and liked it almost as much as I did and others finished and only found it a 3 or less star read. Our average Star Rating for this book was 3.5 so still pretty good. Our Library bookclub would like to thank the publisher Little Brown for choosing us to receive an advanced copy of this book. The review below is from our Librarian. 

This book started out slow for me the first 100 pages I was confused then all of a sudden I couldn't put this book down and I think it took me as long to read the last 400 pages as it did to read the first 100. There are times this book is confusing and I can see how people would give up on it but I am really glad I had to read this for bookclub so I didn’t give up after my usual 50-100 pages because that is when it gets good!

I really liked Ursula in all her different “lives”. She didn’t always make the wisest decisions but that is the crux of this book it is the different paths your life can take, if you do this then this is how your life will go and if you turn the other way and change that decision then this is what could happen. I also liked the family story we get to know the Todd’s is so many different ways because of the different decisions made by Ursula, and how her decisions affect what happens to others. I also got a kick out of Aunt Izzie she was a fun character.

The storyline’s about England during WWII are amazing you really get a feel of what it was like while the bombs are going off, the dust and dirt and coming around a corner to find a familiar street totally unrecognizable, when she was working as a relief worker helping find and identify the victims were heartbreaking and had such a real feel.  Ursula never really has very good taste in men no matter if it is a husband, lover or passing dalliance, I felt she was actually her happiest when she was living on her own.(Well most of the time, there is the gas incident).

As Ursula goes through life again and again she does have hazy memories more a déjà vu at times, other times just a feeling of dread, and sometime a straight up knowing of what will happen if certain events take place, yes I’m looking at you Bridget please don’t go to the fair! (Or her let’s kill Hitler phase) But she never fully realizes what is happening or why she sees the things she does or feels what she does about certain events. Each of her “lives” is varied some she dies young, some she has a husband and children, some she lives out a longer life and some of her “deaths” will shock you when the repeats start you almost feel like you are the one having déjà vu. I will say though that some of the stories start and it’s almost suspenseful as you wait to see how she dies this time.

I actually liked that the author didn’t fully explain what was happening to Ursula, be it reincarnation, déjà vu, past life or whatever you think it may be. I also am left wondering if her mother Sylvie wasn’t going through a similar “life”.

This book is one that I think will stay with you long after you read it, I am done now but still thinking of Ursula. I would recommend hanging in there if the first 100 pages are getting you down because once you get over that hump then it will really grab you! Kate Atkinson has written a fascinating, unique book that I think is deserving of all the buzz it is getting, just know this is very different than the Jackson Brodie series.

4 stars 

Audie Award Nominees on Library2Go

Audie Award Nominees on Library2Go

The Audie Awards are the Oscars for audiobooks those of us that are audiophiles follow these more closely than the Oscars these are awards for great narration and as anyone who has listened to an audiobook knows how important a great narrator is. These awards are put out by the APA - Audio Publishers Association (APA) is a not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to creating a public awareness of the audio publishing industry as well as providing industry professionals with educational opportunities to develop their businesses. To learn more about APA, please click here.

Full list of nominees from Audiofile Magazine here

So here is a list of the nominees that are available through Library2Go.

AUDIO DRAMA

Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You!, by Yuri Rasovsky, Narrated by a full cast, Blackstone Audio

Also nominated in ORIGINAL WORK

Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You!, by Yuri Rasovsky, Narrated by a full cast, Blackstone.

BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR

My Cross to Bear, by Greg Allman and Alan Light, Narrated by Will Patton, Harper Audio

The Seamstress, by Bernstein, Sara Tuvel; Thornton, Louise Loots; Samuels, Marlene Bernstein, Narrated by Wanda McCaddon.

BUSINESS/EDUCATIONAL

Spy The Lie, by Philip Houston, Michael Floyd, Susan Carnicero, Don Tennant, Narrated by Fred Berman, Macmillan Audio.

CHILDRENS 8-12

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall White, Narrated by Katherine Kellgren and Robin Sachs, Listening Library/Books on Tape.

CLASSIC

The Mark of Zorro, by Johnston McCulley, Narrated by Armando Durán, Blackstone.

              

            The Prime Minister, by Anthony Trollope, Narrated by Simon Vance, Blackstone.

HUMOR

The Cursing Mommy's Book of Days, by Ian Frazier, Narrated by Cynthia Nixon, Macmillan Audio.

INSPIRATIONAL FAITH NON-FICTION

Anna and the King of Siam, by Margaret Langdon, Narrated by Anne Flosnik, eChristian Inc.

Fearless, by Eric Blehm, Narrated by Paul Michael, eChristian Inc.

LITERARY FICTION

Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel, Narrated by Simon Vance, Macmillan Audio.

MYSTERY

And When She Was Good, by Laura Lippman, Narrated by Linda Emond, MacMillan Audio.

The Beautiful Mystery, by Louise Penny, Narrated by Ralph Cosham, MacMillan Audio.

NARRATION BY AUTHOR OR AUTHORS

Most Talkative, by Andy Cohen, Read by Andy Cohen, Macmillan Audio.

Yes, Chef, by Marcus Samuelsson, Read by Marcus Samuelsson, Random House Audio/Books on Tape.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership, by Colin Powell, Narrated by Colin Powell, Harper Audio.

SCIENCE FICTION

The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker, Narrated by Emily Janice Card, Random House Audio/Books on Tape.

SHORT STORIES

I Am An Executioner, by Rajesh Parameswaran, Narrated by Neil Shah and Lina Patel, Dreamscape media, LLC.

Astray, by Emma Donoghue, Narrated by Khristine Hvam, James Langton, Robert Petkoff, Suzanne Toren, Dion Graham, Hachette Audio.

SOLO NARRATION-MALE

Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter, Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Harper Audio. This is not available on Library2Go but we do has the CD’s in house.

          The Absolutist, by John Boyne, Narrated by Michael Maloney, Tantor Media.

SOLO NARRATION-FEMALE

The Boy in the Suitcase, by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis, Narrated by Katherine Kellgren, AudioGO.

Also Nominated in THRILLER/SUSPENSE

The Boy in the Suitcase, by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis, Narrated by Katherine Kellgren, AudioGO.

Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth, Narrated by Nicola Barber, HighBridge. This one is not available on library2go but is available on CD in house.

         Juliet in August, by Dianne Warren, Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Tantor Media.

TEENS

Dodger, by Terry Pratchett, Narrated by Stephen Briggs, Harper Audio.

     The Diviners, by Libby Bray, Narrated by January LaVoy , Listening Library/Books on Tape

Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini, Narrated by Gerard Doyle, Listening Library/Books on Tape.