I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman

Wow...another remarkable read by Laura Lipmann.  Ms. Lippman has excellent portrayals of the characters, a great storyline, and vivid descriptions of situations and gripping scenes.  You can just feel the emotions of each character.

A perfect family, a tranquil life and then......after 20 years a letter arrives in the mail.   Not a friendly letter, but one from someone you would not want to remember. Eliza lives with her husband and two children in Maryland and has a secret from her teenage years that she wants to forget, but the letter brings the nightmare back and also brings a decision about whether to reply or just ignore the communication.   After she makes a decision, a phone call from the sender, along with his continued, manipulative influence further complicates the situation. 

We, the readers, relive Eliza's nightmare of the terror and control she had to endure as we also follow Eliza in her present life.

“There was a bond.  He could make her do anything.  Wasn’t that proof of something between them?  He had granted her life.”   Page 276   My rating is 5/5 – you won’t want to put it down.  It is pretty intense and frightening how someone could have such power over another human being.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Flying dishes, prom gowns, red high-heeled shoes, embarrassing school days....what more could a child take.  

Cee Cee Honeycutt lived with her parents who consisted of a mother who thought she missed out on life since she left her home town in Georgia to marry an older man and her father, an absent traveling salesman.  Life didn't really turn out very well for anyone in the family, but once Cee Cee met Great Aunt Tootie, her life was something she never would have imagined.

Here is how she happened to be with Aunt Tootie.....one day as Cee Cee's mother was coming back from the Goodwill store wearing her newest prom gown, she absentmindedly ran into the street and was hit by an ice cream truck and died.  Cee Cee was then moved to Savannah, Georgia, with her Great Aunt Tootie, but not before her loving neighbor, Mrs. Odell, told her about the Life Book we all have with pages that need to be turned when the time comes. 

And what a page in Cee Cee's life was turned when she arrived in Savannah....loving people to surround her and protect her, especially Oletta, Aunt Tootie's cook, and of course Aunt Tootie who showered Cee Cee with hugs and affection that had been lacking in the previous twelve years of her life.  Cee Cee’s unconventional neighbors and a beautiful home also helped add pages to her Life Book.

You will absolutely LOVE this book especially if you like sweet, nostalgic, heartwarming reads with a Southern charm...some of the scenes were laugh-out-loud and others brought tears to your eyes with the tenderness.  

The characters were lovable and genuine.  It is a beautiful, touching read...just like a BIG hug. 

Going to end my review with a quote from Oletta, my favorite character:  "Don’t go wastin’ all them bright tomorrows you ain’t even seen by hangin’ on to what happened yesterday.  Let go, child.  Just breathe out and let go.”  Page 290    Cee Cee definitely had “bright” tomorrows to put in her Life Book thanks to all the loving women in her life.

Thanks, Miss Hoffman… This is going to be one of my all-time favorite books.

5/5

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

What can you say about a 50-year-old classic such as this, nothing but FANTASTIC and lots of lessons learned about integrity and respect.

I remember reading it in high school, but appreciate it more as an adult...the relationships between the characters, their thoughts and morals, and the life style of that 1930's era is so charming and sweet as well as sad.

I loved Scout...she was just adorable....you wanted to be with Scout, Dill, and Jem during their summer fun and antics, during their agony at the trial's outcome, and when events occurred in town after the trial.

Don't miss reading it for the first time or reading it again.  5/5

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

What a heartwarming, cozy, feel good read.....a sweet, nostalgic book...but with all good things there usually are regrets, heartbreak, and secrets.  I really enjoyed this book...you will be surprised at who/what the "good daughters" turn out to be and will also learn some fun agricultural facts about fruits and vegetables.

Dana and Ruth were born on the same day, but they came from two completely different backgrounds.  Dana Dickerson had a childhood that wasn't stable, and Ruth Plank had one that was totally what a childhood should be.  Dana's parents were flighty, moved around, and their father never held a job for too long...her mother was an artist and acted as though she didn't even have any children.  Dana actually never even called her parents Mom and Dad.  Ruth's parents were very down to earth, had a farm to take care of, made sure their children were taken care of, and were called Mom and Dad.

Ruth's mother felt some sort of kinship with Dana's mother since their children were both born on the same day, even though Dana's mother laughed at Ruth.  Ruth's mother would make a point of visiting the Dickersons each year even though it was a long trip and as usual an uneventful, uncomfortable, and unfriendly occasion.

The book continued by describing the lives of the two families during the 1950's with the focus on the girls and their choices of careers and partners that of course had been affected by their family and childhood. 

I really enjoyed the book...it was during the time I was a child, and I could relate to some of the situations...if you liked The Glass Castle, you will like this as well.  My rating is a 5/5.   Great story.

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

Fairies, trees, switching places, family, trust, secrets, longing to return........

Henry Day was tired of babysitting his sisters and ran into the woods after his mother insisted that he help more with them.   The changelings took him that very afternoon. 

The changelings steal children after watching their daily routines for about a year to see if the child is the right one for the change and if it is the life the fairy would want to live.   The "stolen" child who replaces the fairy has to adapt to new surroundings, learn new things, and become used to a new life without any familiar people or family.  The fairy duplicate usually makes out better since he knew everything about the stolen child and his family thus making acclamation to the new life in the human world a lot easier.

The changelings that lived in the forest were scavengers, thieves, and had mean dispositions....they ate bugs, berries, killed rabbits and squirrels, and stole things from the humans…they went directly into homes and businesses.  The descriptions of their antics, how they lived, and what they did “grabbed” you so much that it made you afraid to go into the back yard in case they were hiding there doing their nightly stealing of clothes off the line or food in the houses since they could slip through any cracks by making their bodies squeeze thin.  :)

The book goes back and forth describing the lives of the switched children...each telling his story...the one growing into adulthood and the other remaining a child.

A childhood stolen is what I would call what happened...I felt bad for the AniDay (Henry Day), the child who was taken by the changelings and went into the fairy world...he seemed to have a difficult time with the change…he wanted to go back, but couldn’t…he had to wait his turn.  It would be difficult to forget everything from your past, but eventually they do.

The book was interesting, definitely different, and also so mysterious that you couldn't stop reading, but you also kept looking over your shoulder....4/5.

I enjoyed it as the pages continued to turn…the ending was thoughtful and heartwarming.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

I absolutely loved this book...couldn't put it down.

You will fall in love with the characters and share their joy, sadness, triumphs, and defeats...you will want to be right there with the ladies in the kitchen house preparing meals and being loved by them.

The book is during the time of plantation owners and slavery. On his boat trip back from Ireland, James Pyke brought Lavinia with him...she is a seven-year-old white child whose parents died on the boat during the return trip.

Lavinia is sent to work in the Kitchen House, and the black families learn to love her and she learns to love them as the only family she knows...her memory is gone when she arrives and remembers nothing about her parents and her childhood.

Lavinia works alongside the ladies in the Kitchen House and then learns to take care of the Mistress of house's new born baby...the Mistress begins to teach Lavinia how to read and write. Lavinia is the main character along with Belle, Mama Mae and Papa George and of course the harsh plantation owners

The book takes you through the loyalties the black families have for each other and their Master and his family. It also makes your heart ache at the truths of what really occurred on the plantations concerning the relationship between the slaves and the plantation owners.

A lot of tragedies throughout the story, a terrific account of occurrences, excellent depictions of the surroundings and people.

Through the author's wonderful descriptions, you feel you are right there......the novel is fabulously written.

If you loved THE HELP, you will love this book as well or you may like it even more.

ENJOY!!!! It is wonderful.

The Clouds Beneath the Sun by Mackenzie Ford

An archeologist excavation in Kenya filled with brilliant paleontologists is the setting of the book…the characters' work, cultural differences, and inter-personal relationships encompasses the main plot. In the first few pages the main character, Natalie Nelson, is on her way from Cambridge University to the camp, and she comes across a herd of elephants actually carrying out a mourning ritual...her first glimpse of the mesmerizing sights and sounds of Africa. The descriptions of the wildlife in Africa and the land itself was vividly and beautifully described by Mackenzie Ford.

When Natalie does arrive at the camp site, she is happy to see everyone has his/her own tent with private bath facilities. This is especially comforting the following evening since she didn't get a warm welcome at dinner as a result of her being the novice paleontologist and making a comment that was viewed as criticism of one of the veteran archeologists.

Just as things got better with that situation, and as the excavating continued, two veteran paleontologists, Richard and Russell, do something unthinkable, and a murder occurs. The sole witness happens to be Natalie. Natalie tries to relax and forget about the trial each night with a drink and a cigarette while listening to the African animals that circle the camp. The trial gets pretty complicated and worrisome for Natalie....a plea made to the Maasai chief concerning the trial is denied....the legal and cultural issues are of the utmost concern.


The book was a little slow, but does become a lot better in terms of "action" as you turn the pages to the final chapters....the focus of the archaeological dig, the murder trial, Natalie's turmoil dealing with it, the power of money, societal issues within Africa, relationship issues among a group of people working and living together, personal secrets, and family issues that included sibling rivalry, betrayal, and deceit keep your interest.

It wasn't a riveting novel, but it was intense at times, and it did bring you culturally into another very interesting society. The characters were well developed, and you could feel their pain, fear, triumphs, comradery, and all emotions that may have been felt from living in the middle of a beautiful, exotic African landscape. Being a passionate, knowledgeable paleontologist would have been even more helpful for enjoying the book.

My rating is a 4/5 because the "dig" was very interesting and the cultural aspect made you think how we are all the same, but also different. Even though the ending depicted the beautiful symbolism of the Maasai people, it will haunt you and make you realize what cunning, cruel, jealous, self-motivated creatures we humans can be.