Clubbing in June -- Part 2

 

The Readers discussed What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty for the June meeting. When 39-year-old Alice wakes up in a hospital after bumping her head in the gym, she is shocked to learn that she has lost 10 years of her memory. She thinks she's still 29, happily married, and expecting her first baby. None of those things are true, and as she and those around her adjust to the shock, she must decide if she likes the new Alice everyone is telling her about, or if she wants to regain the old Alice and the life she remembers.

The Readers enjoyed the twists and turns of this book as the main character truly must rediscover herself. It earned a strong 3.4 rating.

The Questers discussed The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah for the June meeting. Set during the Great Depression, the reader follows Elsa and her children from Texas to California as they try to escape the suffocating drought that is devastating the nation. Grit, determination, and heartbreak are all themes running through this novel.

The Questers agreed that the book was well written, but incredibly depressing. While readers were prepared for sadness in a book set during this time, it was a bit overwhelming. They gave the book three out of five stars. 

The Young Soul Readers discussed You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston for the June meeting. Lylah and her friends are looking forward to a night out partying until one of them comes up missing. When a note arrives implying more members of the friend group will meet the same fate, life as they knew it takes a turn and might never be the same. 

The Young Soul Readers were not very intrigued by this young adult mystery and gave it a lowly two stars. 

Clubbing in May -- Part 1

The Questers discussed The Maid by Nita Prose in May. The first book in a series, this mystery follows efficient and etiquette driven Molly Gray as she cleans rooms at The Regency Grand Hotel. The reader soon realizes through a series of conversations and events that Molly is probably on the spectrum and takes words at their literal meanings and trusts people to be honest when representing themselves to her. This leads to big trouble for her when she discovers a guest at the hotel has died under suspicious circumstances and she is the pain suspect. 
The Questers found Molly to be endearing and rooted for her to find happiness at the end. The group agreed that the many red herrings planted by the author were very good distractions and there were surprises at the end that no one saw coming. The book received a 3.5 rating from the group. 

Overbooked discussed The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan in May. The book follows two generations of women. The mothers are Chinese born immigrants to San Francisco, while the daughters are American born. The reader sees the painful memories and experiences of these women, as well as their hope for the future, through the perspectives of both generations.

Overbooked members generally enjoyed the novel, but agreed that the various points of views and character names often made it hard to keep track of people and events. The group gave the book a 3.5 rating. 

Once Upon a Crime members read The Library Book by Susan Orlean for May. This nonfiction book is based on the true story surrounding the mystery of a 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. This catastrophic event damaged and destroyed over a million books. Arson was suspected, but never proven. The reader is not only left trying to figure out how and why this happened, but is also given a glimpse into the crucial role libraries play in our communities and society.

The discussion group gave this title a 3.5 rating.

Clubbing in April -- Part 2

The Questers discussed Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt for the April discussion. Main character Tova Sullivan has dealt with a lot of heartbreak in her life, losing both her son and her husband. She still has a group of friends that look out for her though, and she still supports herself with a custodial job in the local aquarium. That is where she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus and one of the most interesting characters a fan of fiction will ever encounter.

With interesting narration, the reader understands how smart Marcellus is, even if he does have a hard time understanding some of our human characteristics. As their bond grows, Marcellus helps Tova understand what happened many years ago when her son tragically disappeared on the cusp of adulthood. The Questers enjoyed the book and rewarded it with a strong 4.1 rating. 

The Readers discussed Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner for the April discussion. The book is set between 1938 and 1947 with the earlier years focusing on Rosie in the United States, and the later years focusing on Helen in Europe. Rosie is a teenager who loses her family to an accident and is taken in by her employers. Remembering her instructions from her parents throughout her childhood, Rosie tries to make it to adulthood without anyone finding out what makes her different. Being "different" in 1939 was a very dangerous trait, even in the United States. 

Helen is the sister of Rosie's employer and she left for Europe years ago to be a nanny. She considers the families she works for to be her own. When Hitler begins to invade the continent though, a child she tends is in grave danger. The decisions Helen makes to keep Brigitta safe have life altering consequences. 

The Readers gave the book a 4.33 rating. 

The Young Soul Readers discussed It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini for the April discussion. The story follows teenager Craig Gilner as his perfectly planned life begins to crumble into failure and depression. After a near suicide, he ends up in a mental hospital, where he meets a variety of new people with new problems. While this is a serious novel about mental illness, it has funny moments of levity also.

The discussion group gave this a generous three stars, as most members had a hard time finishing it and suggested a potential reader just skip it. 

Clubbing in March -- Part 2

 

The Questers discussed Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus in March. Set in the 1960s, this novel reminds readers of a time when women were not expected to excel at work, and if they did, they were supposed to allow their male counterparts to take the credit for their hard work. The main character, Elizabeth Zott, is a highly intelligent chemist who falls in love with Nobel Prize nominee Calvin Evans. Their quirky relationship works because they respect each other, even if no one else does. When tragedy strikes though, Elizabeth finds herself hosting a cooking show where she uses her genius to create recipes, as well as havoc among her female audience. 

The Questers enjoyed this book and found it had a nice balance between humor and more significant, though-provoking themes. The group gave the novel 3.8 stars.

The Young Soul Readers discussed The Final Six by Alexandra Monir in March. This is a futuristic novel focusing on brilliant teenagers being sent on a mission to establish a new colony on Jupiter's moon. Leo, a championship swimmer form Italy, and Naomi, an Iranian-American science genius, team up to save the human race from an already damaged Earth. As they train for a mission that literally holds the survival of the human race in the balance, the two grow together with a deep bond. Aware of a failed mission from the previous attempt, the two face the pressures of success, as well as figuring out who they can trust. This novel has readers on the edge of their seats. The Young Soul Readers gave this book 3.3 stars.

The Readers discussed The River by Peter Heller in March. Set on the Maskwa River in Canada, this adventure novel follows two friends, Wynn and Jack. They embark on what should be a relaxing wilderness experience where they look forward to unplugging from the world for a while. However, when a wildfire threatens their path, it turns into a fight for survival. 

The Readers found the book to be exciting and gave it a strong 3.45 rating. 

Clubbing in February -- Part 2

The Questers discussed Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner in February. The book is set between 1938 and 1947 with the earlier years focusing on Rosie in the United States, and the later years focusing on Helen in Europe. Rosie is a teenager who loses her family to an accident and is taken in by her employers. Remembering her instructions from her parents throughout her childhood, Rosie tries to make it to adulthood without anyone finding out what makes her different. Being "different" in the 1939 was a very dangerous trait, even in the United States. 

Helen is the sister of Rosie's employer and she left for Europe years ago to be a nanny. She considers the families she works for to be her own. When Hitler begins to invade the continent though, a child she tends is in grave danger. The decisions Helen makes to keep Brigitta safe have life altering consequences. 

Only the Beautiful is a profound story of a dark time in history, making for a deep and thoughtful discussion for the Questers. They gave the book a solid four stars.

 

The Young Soul Readers discussed You Have a Match by Emma Lord in February. This is a cute coming of age tale set at a summer camp with a splash of social media stardom. When Abby finds out she has an older sister she never knew about, and that this older sister happens to be an Instagram star, her life and her potential romance with long-time best friend Leo, is thrown into a tailspin. While trying to unravel the mysterious reasons her parents gave her sister up for adoption, Abby realizes there are many more ups, downs, and surprises that need to be embraced if one is to truly experience life. 

The Young Soul Readers gave the book a respectable three stars.

The Readers discussed Recitatif by Toni Morrison in February. Morrison weaves a story of two girls thrown together as roommates in a girls' shelter when they were eight years old. As the reader gets to know Twyla and Roberta, we know that one girl is white and one is black, but we don't know which is which. After they grow up and lost track of each other for years, they are finally reunited. Separated by experiences, opinions, and conflicts, there is still an undeniable bond that was forged when they were young girls. 

This edition of Recitatif had an introduction that was almost as long as the book itself, and The Readers felt like it told them all about the story before they even read it. The discussion group gave it a struggling 2.2 stars and put it in the "don't bother" category. 

Clubbing in January -- Part 1

The Night Owls kicked off their 2024 discussions in January with Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sustanto. This comical first book in a series received a 3.2 out of five stars, meaning the majority of members liked it. Main character, Maddeline Chan finds herself in quite the predicament when her blind date ends up dead and her mother and aunties concoct a plan to dispose of the bodies. The Chans have a family wedding business, and they can't let a pesky dead body in their cooler throw a wrench into their success. While they try to figure out a solution to this farce, Maddeline runs into an old flame, which only complicates things more. Some discussion members liked the slap-stick comedy, likening it to a Weekend at Bernie's kind of situation, while other members thought a lot of it was just absurd and hard to believe ever happening. The aunties were definitely the highlight of the book. 

The Questers discussed The Last Lecture in January. Professor Randy Pausch was told he only had months to live when diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While many teachers offer up inspirational words of wisdom in what is known as their last lecture, his was literally, his last opportunity to tell his students, his children, and the world what he had learned. In this book, the reader gets a glimpse into that lecture and the thoughts and actions behind his words. While the Questers found the book generally inspiring, some had a hard time reading it, as it hit a bit too close to home. Many members agreed that it could be read differently at different stages of life, and also thought it would make a great graduation gift. Overall, the group gave it 3.68 stars.

Once Upon a Crime members began a new year of discussions with Cat about Town by Cate Conte. It is the first novel in this cozy mystery series. When Maddie James opens a cat cafe, she is not prepared for one of her new feline friends to stumble upon the dead body of the town bully. She's gone from the cat-whisperer to the main suspect, while still managing to attract two eligible bachelors who are trying to woo her. This is the perfect read to curl up under a blanket and enjoy a touch of mystery, a touch of humor, and a touch of romance. The discussion group gave it a 3.7 rating.
 

Questers -- December 13, 2023

The Questers ended 2023 on a high note with a book almost everyone in the group liked. The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin received 3.6 stars.

The book introduces readers to three main characters: Alice, Jake, and Harry. All three have experienced great loss, loneliness, and grief, but when their lives surprisingly intersect on Alice's bee farm, we see a beautiful friendship develop. As the bees are threatened by the newest chemicals being used by local farms, the three misfits band together to help the bees, their community, and each other. 
 

The Questers agreed that this was a pleasant read with very likable characters. When we put the book down, we felt good about what we read. It also provided a lot of interested information about bee keeping and bees in general. There was just enough conflict to make it interesting without leaving the reader feeling a lot of angst. 

Questers - November 9, 2023

Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins introduced the Questers to Lillie Silva, who suddenly finds herself alone when her son leaves for college and her husband leaves for another woman. Up until the moment Brad announces he has found someone else who helps him find his "joy", she thought they had an ideal family and marriage, and was even planning a European vacation for the two of them. The news prompts her to get closer to the sister she grew distant from in adulthood and forces her to navigate her rocky relationship with her own mother, since her in-laws abandoned her also. 

The book offers glimpses of humor as Lillie allows herself some vindictiveness toward her husband's mistress, but when she meets his soon to be step-daughter, her heart begins to soften. She finds herself thrust into the role of midwife for the young and beautiful Melissa, the object of Lillie's disdain. 

The Questers liked the book, giving it 3.3 stars out of 5. The humor helped to balance the sadness of the destruction of this marriage. The mother-daughter relationships in the story provided the growth in characters needed for it to not spiral into a chaotic, depressing tale. 
 

Questers -- October 11, 2023

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a classic American tale of two drifters trying to find a little piece of the world where they belong. As they work as ranch hands, they have a goal in mind to own a piece of land, raise their own animals and food, and just live their lives in peace. They face challenges along the way, especially when Lennie's lack of intellectual development is taken advantage of by others. 

This is a tragic tale that masterfully creates an emotional investment for the reader. We want the diminutive George and gargantuan Lennie to see their dreams come true, but foreshadowing makes us doubt that possibility as much as the characters doubt themselves. Dangers lurk around every corner for Lennie, who doesn't understand his own strength or the motives behind George's orders to stay away from people who might cause them trouble. 

The Questers gave the book a 3.13 rating out of 5 stars. They respected the writing and agreed the author created a classic by giving the readers an emotional storyline that resonated with our own deep desires for human connection and a place of belonging. However, it is a deeply sad book, which contributed to such an average rating.  

 

Questers -- Sep5tember 13, 2023

The Questers met in September to discuss The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel. Primarily set during World War II, the novel follows Eva, a brilliant young forger in occupied France, as she struggles to keep her mother safe while also working for the resistance. She is responsible for forging documents to help Jewish children escape into Switzerland. This is a deeply emotional book, as the characters feel the weight of humanity's lack of civility bearing down on them.

When Eva begins giving the children their new names and backgrounds, she fears she is erasing their identities. With her partner in forgery Remy, they concoct a code in a book to preserve the original names of the children they are saving. Eva and Remy are then left to wonder if they have, in the effort to save these identities, lost their own. 

The novel is full of intrigue, religion, romance, betrayal, and history. The Questers thought it to be a very thought provoking read, with half the discussion focusing on whether such an atrocity could take place today and how we would react if faced with the same dilemmas as the characters in the book. Would we betray our neighbors? Would we save ourselves? Would we be brave enough to risk our lives for children we never knew or would know again? 

The novel received a 4.1 out of 5 star rating.

 

The Questers -- August 9, 2023

The Questers book group met in August to discuss Robin Cook's Blindsight.
This is the first book in a fourteen book series that began in 1992 and added its last installment in 2023. Cook develops his main character, Laurie Montgomery as a medical examiner, in this medical thriller.

When Laurie is performing autopsies on a series of overdoses by young, wealthy professionals, her personal pain of losing her brother to an overdose prompts her to take her investigation further than her superiors have ordered. She can't shake the feeling that these deaths are caused by tainted cocaine and could be prevented if her boss would simply see what she sees instead of focusing too much on the political ramifications of publicizing the rampant use of illegal drugs by high class and influential families. 

At the same time Laurie is noticing this series of deaths, Lou Soldano is a New York detective investigating a series of mob hits. Visiting the morgue is out of his comfort zone, but his attraction to Laurie makes it easier, if not a little awkward for the reader. The Questers had a hard time pulling for this couple's potential romance, as the chemistry seemed lacking. As both characters work their cases, eventually a tie is made between Laurie's overdoses and Lou's homicides. 

Overall, the Questers liked the book, giving it 3.12 stars out of 5. They did have a hard time reconciling some of the errors, such as a complete disregard for doctor-patient confidentiality. It seemed like a huge plot hole that was only briefly mentioned by the author. Others felt like there were just too many characters to keep straight and the characters seemed a bit cliché.

The Questers -- July 13, 2023

The Questers discussed Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty for the July meeting. The four Delaney siblings have different memories of their years growing up in their parents' tennis academy than Joy and Stan, who insist that they didn't realize their children were uphappy in their formative years. This is not a tale of bitter kids blaming their parents for all their shortcomings, however. Overall, they all love each other, they just don't always like each other, and they definately don't always understand each other. Add Savannah, a complete stranger who shows up on Joy and Stan's doorstep with bruises on her face, to the mix and tensions begin to rise between parents and children. The more Savannah integrates into their lives, the more confused the kids are about what their parents are doing and why this stranger enjoys cooking them dinner so much. When Joy goes missing, and the police suspect Stan of her murder, this strange young woman seems to be the missing piece to the puzzle to either exonerate or condem their father. 

The novel provided a lot to discuss, but most discussion members who were familiar with Moriarty's other novels agreed that it was not her best offering. The characters were engaging and the end provided an intesreting, yet dark twist, but there were too many aspects of the plot that were unrealistic to garner a lot of respect for this novel. For example, key to the storyline was that Stan and Joy welcomed this stranger into their home for weeks, and most members found that unbelievable. Everyone did agree, however, that we wanted to keep reading it to find out how it ended. The book earned 2.84 stars out of 5 from The Questers.

The Questers -- June 14, 2023

The Questers met in June to discuss Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. This suspenseful thriller chronicles a marriage orchestrated by a psychopathic lawyer who gets his kicks by controlling his new, unsuspecting wife. After wooing her as the perfect suitor, Jack flips his new wife's world upside down on their wedding night, revealing a personality Grace never glimpsed during their courtship. Jack capitalizes on the love and commitment Grace has for her sister, Millie, who has Down's syndrome. Grace lives in fear of what Jack might do to Millie if she ever tries to cross him. This is a psychological game that the reader is brought into and wants to escape just as much as Grace wants out of the nightmare she's living.

The Questers had a hard time with the creepy, psychopathic tone of the book, but did like the linear aspect of the story line. Members of the group were relieved that it was a quick read, because they definitely wanted to get to the end to see if and how Grace escapes this living nightmare. The novel earned 2.93 out of 5 stars from the Questers.
 

Questers -- May 10, 2023

The Questers' latest discussion revolved around the classic novel Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Many members had read it previously, and they felt like they liked it better during that first reading experience, but could not pinpoint the reason for that. One theory was that as we evolved as readers and as individuals, we no longer saw the plot as a romantic tragedy, but more of a story of manipulation and control. 

When the main character, who isn't even respected enough to be granted a first name in the novel, meets and marries a rich, handsome, and much older widower, she is not prepared to live in the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca. The reader is left wondering if she is paranoid, as each glance and comment from the servants of her husband's much beloved estate make her feel inferior or if the servants are, indeed, comparing her to their former employer. Just as the novel begins to seem bogged down in the details of this intimidation, a twist in the plot revitalizes the story and breathes new life into the mystery surrounding Rebecca's death. 

Book club members all agreed that if the book was written today, instead of 1938, the reader might view the characters differently, altering the status of this novel as a classic. For example, Maxim de Winter is a handsome, brooding, somewhat sympathetic character as viewed by an earlier audience, but through today's lens he is seen as a controlling, manipulative, and cold husband to his much younger new wife. Overall, the Questers evaluated it as a thought provoking read, but a little too wordy. The group gave it 2.83 stars out of 5. 

The Questers -- April 13, 2023

 

The Questers chose The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs as the nonfiction title to discuss this year. Jeff Hobbs was Peace's roommate at Yale University. Peace never quite fit with the Ivy League crowd, but the intellectual genius never quite fit in on the streets of his hometown of Newark, New Jersey either. Hobbs doesn't try to necessarily answer why Peace couldn't escape the dangers of his drug riddled past, but he definitely writes the narrative to force the readers to ask those pertinent questions. Given what some would consider the opportunity of a lifetime, a free ride to Yale, Peace cannot seem to branch out to a legitimate career. 

Even though the reader wants to root for Peace to succeed, the title gives the ending away. There will be no triumphant breaking of generational poverty in this biography. When a generous alum offers Peace a free education, it seems the table has been set for him to support himself and his family upon graduation. However, without a mentor and guidance, Peace finds himself falling back into old habits of survival and comfort by smoking and dealing marijuana. The comfort of danger and poverty is more of an incentive than material success in an unknown world. 

The discussion group gave the book a 2.96 star rating. There were times when the book was a bit slow and hard to follow, but it provided a very lively discussion with difficult societal and moral questions. For those wanting a thought provoking read, this is a good one for the reading list. 

Questers -- March 8, 2023

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles follows two different timelines with the main character, Odile, linking 1939 Paris with 1983 Montana. As the Nazis enter and occupy France, Odile and her friends who work at the American Library in Paris must protect the books in the library and each other. The reader meets an eclectic group of employees, volunteers, and subscribers to the library who are all trying to survive their new normal where it’s unclear who can be trusted. Odile’s father and fiancé are both French police officers who once proudly served and protected their citizens but are now thrust into the role the German occupiers force upon them, hunting down their Jewish neighbors and sending them to unthinkable fates. While Odile is determined to keep the library open throughout the war effort, the choices she and her coworkers must make come with grave consequences. Choices that once seemed obvious, moral, and ethical, are now a hazy shade of gray when faced with survival in a war torn country.

We meet Odile again approximately forty-five years later when her lonely teenage neighbor, Lily, befriends her and begins uncovering the layers of hurt and betrayal Odile has kept secret for decades. When Lily’s mother dies, she turns to Odile for comfort, but they soon discover they share a love of the French language and forge a deep friendship. Odile tries to guide Lily away from mistakes she made in her own teen years, mistakes that have had consequences lasting decades.

The novel contains romance, friendship, and heroism, but the Questers concluded it fell short developing those themes into a story that makes the reader really care about the characters. The characters themselves just were not interesting or exciting. However, the group did think the ethical questions that the novel evoked were interesting and could make comparisons between the choices the characters had to make and the choices we might have to make in our current times if faced with war. The Questers gave the book 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Questers -- February 8, 2023

 

The Questers book discussion group gave House Rules, by Jodi Picoult, 3.7 out of 5 stars. 

The story centers around Jacob Hunt, an eighteen year old young man with Asperger's syndrome, who is highly intelligent but lacking in empathy and the ability to read social cues. His obsession with forensic science paired with the police scanner in his bedroom actually helps  law enforcement solve the occasional criminal case. However, when a local college student who has ties to the Hunt family goes missing, Jacob's typical Asperger's behavior, such as lack of eye contact and emotion, are interpreted as suspicious behavior. Facing murder charges, Jacob's mother is desperate to make the judicial system see the innocent boy she raised instead of the cold-blooded killer described by the state. 

The Questers found House Rules extremely thought provoking. While the plot does hinge on a crime, the book is actually a character study. Jacob, his brother Theo, and his mother Emma are completely consumed by Jacob's Asperger's. It defines the color of their food, their daily schedule of events, and how their entire household functions. Jacob's father abandoned the family soon after Theo's birth and doesn't re-enter their lives until a desperate attempt by Theo to save his family during Jacob's murder trial. Points of discussion included people's personal experience with Autism and Asperger's, as well as how the author showed the isolation that family members face in a world that rejects the misunderstood. Club members recommend the title, but caustion that it is a deeply emotional read. 

Questers -- January 11, 2023

 

For the first Questers book discussion of 2023, we read Forgotten Bookmarks by Michael Popek. It’s a nonfiction book that a reader probably wouldn’t read cover to cover, but it provided a nice, relaxing read during what is usually a hectic December for our club members.

Michael Popek is a used bookstore owner. He noticed that as he received books that had been donated, he often found items such as bookmarks, notes, letters, and pictures that belonged to the previous owners. Some of these items were striking, transporting him to a time and place otherwise unknown, but giving him a glimpse into someone’s most poignant moments. Other items include recipes, letters to home from a World War II soldier, sheet music with notes written in pencil, and photographs that leave the story up to the reader to imagine. Popek began collecting these items, and soon realized he had the makings of a very unique book.

The Questers gave the book 2.9 stars out of 5. We all agreed it was a quick and relaxing read for the holiday season, but not something that required a lot of analysis. If you like books that help you gain insight into another person’s struggles or joys, this gives you a very quick peak, but leaves you wondering how the subjects of these unique finds continued their journey.