The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

★★★

An interesting take on a young slave girl's experience with the Underground Railroad.  I enjoyed some parts, but overall the story seemed a little disjointed and I found myself losing interest.

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, etc.

★★★★ 1/2

"My mother once told me that a lifetime of good enough was a fair price to pay for a single moment of pure happiness.  This is my moment.  Don' take that away from me."

A wonderfully written historical fiction novel telling the story of three generations of women filled with history, family, love, and suspense.  This was a very unique novel in that it was written by three different authors.  The stories flowed well together and kept my interest until the very last page!

The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

★★★★ 1/2

I really enjoyed this book!  It had an interesting storyline and I was very intrigued by the artistic and historical details of the novel - especially those involving different techniques used in forging paintings.  

Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George

★★★★

This book wasn't really what I expected, but it was interesting nonetheless (even though it too me forever to get through it!!)  A very different comparison of modern Christianity to Jesus and his teachings and his relationship with those around him.

The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff

★★★ 1/2

This is the first novel that I have read by Pam Jenoff.  Looking back, I probably should have read the first book, Kommandant's Girl, beforehand that focused on some additional characters.  The author did a pretty good job of catching readers up, but it would have been nice to have more details.  

The story centered on Marta, a prisoner recently liberated from a Nazi prison camp and her life afterwards.  The book has a lot of plot twists and has an interesting perspective on post-World War II.

The New Year's Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts #11) by Jennifer Chiaverini

★★★

An Elm Creek Quilts novel that focuses on Sylvia's trip with her new husband Andrew to visit Andrew's children and tell them of their marriage.  There a a lot of flashbacks to different New Year's in Sylvia's past at Elm Creek Manor.

The Quilter's Homecoming (Elm Creek Quilts #10) by Jennifer Chiaverini

★★★ 1/2

An Elm Creek Quilts novel telling the story of Elizabeth Nelson - Sylvia's cousin - and her journey out West of California with her husband.

The Christmas Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts #8) by Jennifer Chiaverini

★★★

Another Elm Creek Quilt novel - this one goes back and forth between Sylvia and Sarah in the present preparing for Christmas at Elm Creek Manor and a variety of Christmas's from Sylvia's past.

The Sugar Camp Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts #7) by Jennifer Chiaverini

★★★ 1/2

The seventh book the the "Elm Creek Series" takes place in pre-Civil War Pennsylvania.  It focuses on Dorothea - who later became involved with Sylvia's family - and her role in the Underground Railroad and building a library for what eventually becomes Elm Creek.

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

★★★★★

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did, but I could not put it down!!  It tells the story of three sheltered sisters whose lives are turned upside down when there buggy is hit by rich factory owner.  It wasn't the most well-written or insightful book I have ever read, but it was funny and addictive and I haven't been that excited to finish a story in a long time - and for that it gets 5 stars.  Full of wit, charm, and family secrets this provided a much needed change for all of the heavy novels I have been reading lately!!

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (audio)

★★★★

"The world spins.  We stumble on.  It is enough."

This was one of the most interesting novels that I had read in a long time.  Filled with interwoven story lines, it features a host of unique characters and powerful insight to the connects that we make on a daily basis on how they effect our lives.  I very much enjoyed the audio version and the different narrators made the story even more intriguing. 

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

★★★ 1/2

"Fear is good.  In the right degree it prevents us from making fools of ourselves.  But in the wrong measure it prevents us from fully living.  Fear is our boon companion, but never our master."

This was a really unique and interesting story of a young girl's experience growing up in Moloka'i - an island in Hawaii where those diagnosed with leprosy were sent in the late 1800s.  Rachel's story is tragic in so many ways, yet she finds a new live in Moloka'i and is able to create a future for herself.  The writing was so-so, but I really enjoyed the historical aspects of the novel and all of the characters that were able to find hope in the midst of a horrible disease.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

★★★★ 1/2

"Don't be afraid.  There's the two of us now."

I don't know what to say about this book that hasn't been said before, but I FINALLY was able to get through the first 100+ pages and finished it.  I guess I shouldn't try to read such a huge book right before I have a baby or start a new job or be in the middle of grad school, but those things keep happening lately and I honestly had to start this book at least three times.  I knew it I would love it once I did - and I was right.  A perfect mix of history and romance and - time travel.  Didn't see how that combination could possibly work, but it did.  I would love to read the rest of the series...someday.  But for now I am very excited to FINALLY be able to watch the TV show!!!

Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson

★★★ 1/2

"The readers are in love with shipwrecks and terrible disasters.  And they make it sound very tragic...but also...wonderful.  I don't know how they do it."

This novel tells the story of Anne Shirley before we meet her in the Anne of Green Gables books.  I grew up reading the first books and some others and loved the character of Anne!!  It was interesting to think about what Anne's life might have been like - as it wasn't really discussed in great detail in the original books.  It was filled with tragic circumstances, but had a lot of hope as well.  I read the first novel to my almost two-year-old daughter when she was a few months old and plan to read the other books in the series someday.

The After Party by Anton DiSclafani

★★★★

"In the end, the details weren't about beauty or status.  They never had been, for me.  They were about feeling at home in the world.  And Joan hated these details."

A wonderful story about friendship between two women and the challenges they face living very different lifestyles in the 1950s.  I really enjoyed the setting and historical aspects of the story - even though I didn't always like that characters, but they were well-written and interesting.

Three Sisters, Three Queen by Philippa Gregory

★★★★

Another entertaining historical fiction novel from Philippa Gregory - I don't think I've missed a single one of her books since I started reading them several years ago.  I'll admit, many of them have started blending together, but I still enjoy them.  This novel tells the stories of three different queens: Katherine of Aragon, Mary Tutor, Queen of France, and  Margaret Tutor.  Gregory has touched on these women in various degrees in her previous novels, but this gave a new perspective of no only their individual lives, but the connects that they had with one another.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin (audio)

★★★★ 1/2

"Never would I allow my size to define me.  Instead I would define it."

I wonderfully written and unique story about Mercy Lavinia "Vinnie" Bump - the women who would one day become Mrs. Tom Thumb.  I loved everything about this story: the descriptive setting, the interesting characters, and the extraordinary storyline of a women who would have a life beyond anything that her family dreamt of for her.  A novel full of heart, tragedy, and passion.  I have loved everything that I have read by Melanie Benjamin this year and this novel was no different.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly (audio)

★★★★ 1/2

"Don't waste your energy on hate.  That will kill you sure as anything."

Another wonderfully written novel focusing on the events of World War II.  I enjoyed the unique perspective of an all-women concentration camp and different point of views.  This novel tells the story of three women from very different backgrounds - a wealthy American women, a German doctor, and Polish political prisoner.  It was beautifully written, well-researched, and filled with memorable characters and powerful insight on a tragic part of the past.

The House Girl by Tara Conklin (audio)

★★★★

"Over the years she had learned to fold down rising emotion just as she would fold the clean bedsheets, the sheet growing smaller and tighter with each pass until all that remained of the wide wrinkled expanse of cotton was a heard closed-in square."

This debut historical-fiction novel by Tara Conklin intertwines two stories.  Seventeen-year-old Josephine Bell is a slave on a failing tobacco farm in Virginia in 1852 and Lina Sparrow is a young lawyer in New York in 2004.  The two women are connected with Lina becomes involved in a class action lawsuit against slavery and beings to research Lina and her descendents.  It also comes to fact that Lina might have been a famous painter and that her art was passed off as having been created by her owner.

I enjoyed this story - especially that of Josephine in the 1850s.  I thought she was an extraordinary women that had to endure circumstances beyond her control.  I found myself losing focus a little when reading about Lina in present-day.  I really liked description of Josephine's artwork (and would have liked to see more development of this), but the lawsuit seemed out-of-place to me.  I felt like it was just placed there as an after thought to better connect the novel, but it felt a little disorganized and unrealistic.  Even so, I found myself fascinated with the book.  I loved the author's use of Josephine's thoughts in the beginning of the story and thought that the incorporation of letters and art critiques added a lot of interesting aspects to the novel.

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin (audio)

★★★★★

"A woman's life, always changing, accommodating, then shedding, old duties for new; one person's expectations for another until finally, victoriously, emerging stronger. Complete."

This is a fascinating historical novel about Anne Morrow - wife of the famous Charles Lindbergh and his record breaking journey across the Atlantic.  I didn't know much about the Lindberghs before reading this story - aside from what is "written in the history books" - and I learned a lot while at the same time reading an extremely entertaining book.  

I didn't always like Anne's decisions (and I disliked the author's portrayal of Charles more often than not), but I liked her character and found her life so interesting. They were a famous couple from the start of Charles's flight and their lives were affected by it. Anne continually tried to live a "normal" life and was constantly in the spotlight.  I was heartbroken by their loss of Charles, Jr. at such a young age and how it impacted both of them, especially Anne, throughout the rest of their lives.  

Anne seemed like such an ordinary person at the beginning of the novel, but she ended up living such an extraordinary live.  From the start of the book, I could tell that she was going to be a character that was different.  She wasn't as pretty or popular as her sister and didn't have any desire for fame or fortune.  The result of her marriage to Charles was not exactly what she wanted in life, but she tried and tried to make it work.  Anne was extremely loyal to Charles for many, many years at the start of their marriage and was always trying to live up to his unrealistic expectations.  

I found myself really relating to her constant struggle to balance her role to be a wife, a mother, an author, and (much later on in her life) her own person.  This novel was essentially about Anne and Charle's marriage, but it was more about Anne's journey through different stages of her life.  She was constantly adapting and changing into what her husband or children or the press wanted and needed her to be.  And she was successful through all of it.  She was always know as the "aviator's wife" and I was glad to get a glimpse into many other parts of her life.  I'm not sure how accurate the book was to her true thoughts and emotions, but I was happy that she was able to find contentment at a later stage in life.  This was a wonderful book by a very talented author.  I loved the story and the characters and the emotions that it brought up, but what made the book amazing for me was the writing and the historical aspects that went into this book.