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Sometimes I wonder, when it comes to memoirs written by average people (in other words, non-celebrities), if the person’s life is really that interesting, so interesting that it deserves a book. Sometimes the answer is definitively no. In this case, I would answer yes, for the most part.

Ms. Metz has written a very honest story about discovering her husband’s true life after his death. When she finds out that her husband had multiple affairs, including one with a close friend, she starts investigating the whos and wheres and, most importantly, whys. The story of her relationships with her friends (who all apparently knew of her husband’s infidelities, but chose to keep it to themselves), her daughter, and the women who had affairs with her husband, makes for compelling reading.

I found the story started to drag towards the end, particularly when Ms. Metz starts trying investigating the possible biological or evolutionary reasons why her husband strayed.

Ultimately, this is a story of betrayal, recovery, and finally perfection in the new life Ms. Metz built for herself and her daughter. A reminder that even when the worst has happened, and you think you’ll never find peace again, life goes on – and maybe perfection is never really far out of reach.

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Bad Mother is a book of essays written by Ayelet Waldman, an author who became (in)famous when she wrote that she loved her husband more than her children. The essays in this book are candid, honest, and well-written, and while I may not totally agree with her everything she’s written here, several of the essays in this book struck a chord with me.

As a mother of 3 boys, ages 8 and under, I have often thought of myself as failing to live up to the “good mother” standard that is put forth by the media–and yes, us mothers ourselves–today. I yell at my kids more than I should, I don’t make it to every school function, and I’m a working mom with a full-time job who has not once desired to be a stay-at-home mom. I have felt guilt, anger, sadness, despair over the choices I’ve made. But reading Ms. Waldman’s essays have made me realize that I am not a “bad” mother – I am a normal mother, a good-enough mother, and my kids are doing just fine.

In so many of the essays in this book, I saw myself. I’ve been through the same things, felt the same feelings, made similar decisions. I want to thank Ms. Waldman for voicing what many of us keep hidden away, and making it OK to feel the way we do.

All mothers should read this book, whether they be working moms or stay-at-home moms, married moms or single moms. If you are raising children in today’s society, please read this book! Whatever your situation, you will feel so much better after you spend time with Ms. Waldman!

Highly, highly recommended!

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Many of my friends have recommended (more like insisted!) that I read Lisa See’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but I have just not had a chance to get to it yet. But when I read the description for her new novel, I knew I didn’t want to wait to read it. It was everything I was expecting – a wonderful story that drew me in from the very beginning!

The story of Pearl and her younger sister May starts in 1930s Shanghai. The descriptions of the city and the sisters’ lifestyle are vivid and enthralling. I really felt like I was there. After the girls’ father gambles away his livelihood, the two sisters are forced to marry to help settle their father’s debt. But it’s not that simple. When the Japanese attack China, everything changes and the girls struggle to leave the country. Their journey out of China is heartwrenching and I found it hard to put the book down.

Arriving in San Francisco, the girls find that not everything is what they thought it was, and they spend months in detainment before they are allowed into the country. They finally arrive in Los Angeles Chinatown, and realize that their lives will never be the same again.

The main focus of the story is the relationship between the two sisters, and the constant pull between their old life in China and their new life in Los Angeles. I found the descriptions of how the Chinese were treated before, during, and after WWII to be both supremely interesting and sad. Having lived in the Los Angeles area my entire life, I now have an even greater appreciation for the Chinese who worked so hard and overcame so much to make their new lives in America.

The ending definitely left me wanting more! I can only hope that there is a sequel in the works, because I want to know what happens next!

I devoured this book in only a few days (I work full-time and have 3 little boys, so that is no small feat!), because I couldn’t stop reading it. I highly recommend it! And you can be sure I won’t wait much longer to read this author’s other novels.

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I’d classify this novel as mommy lit with a dash of mystery and a generous helping of fantasy – a mix that works surprisingly well.

Molly Marx was a New York city mommy, with a doctor husband, a beautiful daughter, a career in magazines, and a comfortable apartment. However, an early death has left Molly in the Duration, where she looks down upon her friends and family, watching them deal with her death and hearing their thoughts as well as their words. Molly’s views into her friends and family members lives are interspersed with Molly’s own flashbacks on past events, telling the story of Molly, her marriage, and her relationships with her sister, her daughter, her best friend, and another special someone. It was interesting to see how all these different threads came together to converge on the circumstances regarding her death, of which we are not entirely privy to until the end of the novel.

I didn’t think I would enjoy a novel like this – I’m not usually a fan of fantasy-type situations, and on the surface, the premise of a deceased woman telling her story seemed rather silly. But I enjoyed this book – the way the author handled the afterlife was very matter-of-fact, and not overdone at all. The mystery of how Molly died kept the plot moving forward at a fast pace. And the other characters were well developed, leading to a well-rounded story that was a pleasure to read.

Perhaps the ending came together a bit too tidily, and a little too sweetly. And the novel could probably have been a little shorter – it seemed to drag in some places. But overall, a good read that is definitely worth your time.

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This is the first Kristin Hannah book I’ve read, and while I thought it was a decent read, it wasn’t great by any means.

Yes, it’s full of emotion and drama, and plot twists and turns that keep you turning the pages to the end. But…I never really felt connected to the characters, and honestly didn’t care much about what happened to them.

The primary focus of the story is on the relationship of the three sisters, Winona, Vivi Ann, and Aurora, whose mother died when they were teens, and whose father is emotionally unavailable.

Winona was just a whiner – poor me, I’m fat; poor me, no one loves me. Yawn. The constant pity-party got old. Aurora got short shrift – her character wasn’t as fully developed as it could have been, and she was really just a supporting player. And Vivi Ann was just annoying – I really wanted to slap some sense into her.

Repetitive in places (how many descriptions of the mountains or the water do we need?), and spanning a long period of time, I kept reading only to find out what happened, and not out of a desire to become a part of these characters’ lives.

Worth checking out of the library (like I did), but I wouldn’t buy this one at the bookstore.

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This was a wonderful book. More than chick lit, this was mommy lit with substance and a heart. I could completely relate to the main character, Lanie – I too have 3 boys close in age (mine are 8 and under) and it was eerie how much of Lanie’s story paralleled my own life!

This story was real, and honest, and true to life. It wasn’t candy-coated like so many chick lit/mommy lit books are. We don’t all have pristine houses with matching furniture – we decorate using garage sales finds and thrift store treasures because we’re living on a budget – just like Lanie. Our kids don’t have a nanny and do embarrassing things, or aggravating things, or messy things – but we love them with all our hearts – just like Lanie. And our marriages aren’t perfect, misunderstandings happen, and feelings get hurt – but we do everything we can to make things right and hope for the happy ending – just like Lanie. This story was REAL, and that’s what made it so wonderful.

Just a great down-to-earth book, and an engrossing read. Highly recommended!

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I wanted to like this novel – based on the plot summary, it sounded like a rich, historical novel with lots of intrigue and interesting characters, set during one of my favorite time periods – Britain before and during WWII. However, while the author made a valiant attempt, the story fell short.

The first section of the book (roughly 115 pages), was the story from Delia’s point of view – a young, naive Virginia girl who marries into English high society. Sounds like a story with possibilities, doesn’t it? The problem was that large swaths of time (multiple years) are glossed over with just a sentence or two, and before you know it, she’s got two teenage daughters and a frosty marriage. There was no delving into the character and her relationships – we were just hitting the high points – almost as if it was the Cliff’s Notes version. Not satisfying at all. It was at this point that I seriously considered not continuing with the book.

The remaining four sections of the book are each told from a different character’s point of view, which was somewhat annoying, as we never really discovered each character’s motivations. Each of the characters could have had their own book – particularly Delia, Davina, and Petra – which would have been much more interesting. As it was, much of the book was just overly detailed descriptions of what each character was wearing, or eating. It became so tedious that I found myself starting to skim the text in some places.

The “family secret” that twists its way through the entire story was far too obvious – I had it figured out very early on (before the end of the the first section), and the way it was dealt with became quite over-the-top, with much drama and the requisite big misunderstanding that separates two lovers. Yawn.  

The last section of the book became a military espionage story, which didn’t fit at all with the rest of the novel in my opinion. And of course, the end was wrapped up far too quickly, with the misunderstanding revealed and all the loose ends tied up.

I did like the changes in setting between society London and British-occupied Egypt. I had not read a book set in 20′s/30′s Cairo before, and the author’s descriptions of place were interesting. But they couldn’t make up for the “been there, done that” storyline.

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I had been waiting for this book for so long. I’m a HUGE fan of this author, and have loved all her previous essay books. In fact, they are some of the few books that have earned “keeper” status – I don’t swap them. This book did NOT disappoint.

HILARIOUS!! I was laughing out loud throughout, and I think I actually snort-laughed at one point even. The essay on “It’s all good” was so so funny – I’m laughing again just thinking about it. The story of her adventures on a cruise ship – priceless! I could really relate to the whitewater rafting trip. I must be an idiot girl, because the author feels like a good friend to me.

I stayed up all night (despite the fact that I had to be up at 6am for work, even!) reading this, because I could not put it down. Highly recommended! Can’t wait for her next essay book!

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When I started this book, I had no idea that the premise was roughly based on the life of Laura Bush. Which was probably a good thing, because if I HAD known that, this liberal-leaning reader probably would not have picked this book up.

However, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was hooked right from the beginning, and I was only 75 pages in when I started telling friends about this great book I was reading. The first half of the book was SO good, filled with twists and turns and little bits of foreshadowing.

The main character, Alice Lindgren, is a school librarian with a tragic past. We see her as a young teen before the tragedy occurs, when suddenly an accident happens and her world changes. Skip forward in time to a young adult on her own in the 70s, when she meets her husband, who seems wildly mismatched for Alice.

The story of their courtship and marriage moved quickly, and I was quite engrossed. More foreshadowing, more intimate descriptions of their privileged lives and not-so-perfect marriage. I couldn\’t stop reading.

But then, all of a sudden, we move forward nearly 20 years, and her husband has been governor and is now president. The story slowed down, became more introspective. I felt robbed. I wanted to know the details of how the couple ended up in the governor\’s mansion. I wanted to understand Alice\’s feelings about the road to the presidency. Ultimately, these elements were revealed, as flashbacks, but not as engagingly as the previous two-thirds of the novel.

When it finally dawned on me that this novel was a fictionalized account of George and Laura Bush, things finally started to make sense. But I felt jolted out of a fictionalized world, into an all-too-real world, and I couldn\’t stop thinking about how much I disliked the people this book is based upon.

If I could, I would give the first part of this novel 5 stars, and the last part closer to 3 stars.

I do recommend this novel. The author is extremely talented, with an extraordinary gift for prose. I look forward to her next novel.

It’s a quick read, and even though the 3 main characters are annoying in the beginning (you wonder how they can be so stupid), you do become invested in the story and in finding out how they are going to fix (or in one case, ruin) their lives.

What really annoyed me, however, was the constant references to brand names. Did I really need to know the brand name of every piece of clothing Liza put on for a date, including her bracelets and fragrance, not to mention her shoes and bag. I don’t mind a brand name here and there, but in this book they were constant, and the book started to read more like a luxury goods catalog.

The ending was a bit rushed and disappointing. As I got towards the end of the book I actually wondered if I was missing a bunch of pages, because I couldn’t believe the story was going to be over in just 10 pages. The Page Six style epilogue wrapped things up just a little too neatly.