A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (audio)

★★★★★

"But it occurred to me, on occasion, that our memories of our loved ones might not be the point.  Maybe the point is their memories - all that they take away with them."

'A Spool of Blue Thread' is the second book that I have read by Anne Tyler (the first one being 'The Amateur Marriage' last month) and it will not be the last.  This was a wonderful book by an amazing author.  

The book tells the story of four generations of the Whitshank family.  There's Red and Abby and their four grown children and we slowly get to meet the rest of the family.  As details are revealed, the family becomes more complicated, but also more understandable.  I love how the story unfolded and we found out more and more about each character.  Anne Typer has a unique ability to incorporate of the everyday details into the realistic lives of her characters.

I cannot say enough good things about this book.  I absolutly loved it and didn't want it to end!!  It was the perfect combination of emotion and character development and I can't wait to read more from this author!

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (audio)

★★★★

"You don't need water to feel like your drowning, do you?"

I've read a lot of Jodi Picoult books in the past - 10 according to my Goodreads account - but I somehow missed this one along the way.  I'm not sure how I overlooked it.  Other than 'My Sister's Keeper' it is probably one of Picoult's most well-know books so far.  I kept thinking that I had read it before, but I guess not.  Overall, it was a good book, but it wasn't one of my favorite of the author's novels.

The story centers around a teenage girl named Josie and a school shooting that happened at her high school where her use-to-be best friend Peter killed 10 students and injured 19 others - all in the time span of 19 minutes.  The novel goes back and forth between when Peter and Josie were young children and the present where everyone in the town is trying to deal with the aftermath of the shooting: Josie who has lost her boyfriend, Josie's mom Alex who is involved in the case, Peter's parents, parents of the killed and injured students, the student's themselves, and of course Peter.  

The argument that Peter made behind the massive murder of innocent teenager was that he had been bullied from literally day one of attending kindergarten.  As the story progresses, it is evident that Peter had been badly bullied and much of the bullying came from Josie and her popular group of friends.  Peter was always seen as 'different' and never really fit in.  As the trial begins to play out, the author leaves the reader to question if Peter's actions were justified.  Of course, killing innocent people is never ok, but we begin to understand how awful Peter was treated all throughout school.

This novel brings up a lot of questions.  Why do troubled teenagers (or adult) involved in mass murders do what they do?  Is it because of their parents?  Or how they were treated at school?  Or something entirely different?  And, most importantly, how - as parents, educator's, etc. can we prevent this from happening - both centering around Peter's violent actions and on those of the students that bullied him to the point of causing him to take innocent lives?  Lots of things to think about...

I remember high school - as I'm sure we all do.  It wasn't always fun and teenagers can be downright awful towards other students.  It's been almost ten years, but Jodi Picoult's vivid writing of how high school brought back a lot of thoughts and feelings from my own high school days.  I wasn't bullied a lot per say, but I had a lot of friends who were 'different' and it wasn't always walking through the hallways or, in my case, getting picked last for gym class (do they still do that anymore??)  Luckily, I didnt' really care.  I had my own interests and friends and I couldn't really have cared less what the popular crowd thought.  It left me wondering how a certain instance of bullying can barely effect one person, but cause extreme issues in another.  Throughout the story, I wanted so badly to tell Peter that it gets better.  That his whole world isn't always going to be walking through the dreaded high school hallways.  I'm still not quite sure how to portray that to young students these days.  You can say 'it gets better' all you want, but when you're living in the moment, just an entire day can feel like a life time.  Peter thought like this and didn't see any other way out.  

This book was an important one on many levels and I'm glad I read it, but I would have liked to see a slightly different ending.  I'm not sure what exactly, but there seemed to be so much build up and the conclusion seemed to fall a little flat for me.  After reading the book, I am still left with a lot of questions as to why certain characters did what they did.  Not to give too much away, but I cannot understand Josie's thoughts and actions throughout a majority of the last half of the book.  It just didn't add up for me.  I guess I was expecting something a little different, but still a book worth reading nonetheless.

We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (audio)

★★★★

This is the second novel I have read by Vanessa Diffenbaugh that I have read - the first one being 'The Language of Flowers' back in 2013.  I equally enjoyed this book as well.  I really like the author's use of language and ability to craft an intriguing and realistic novel.  

This book focuses on many deep issues that people today regularly face, particularly love, motherhood, and growing up and raising your children in a world that isn't always what it should be.  My favorite part of this book, besides the beautiful language, was the development that all of the main characters went through during the novel.  The choices that they made and the challenges that they faced were able to impact them in a positive and encouraging way. 

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

★★★★★

"America, I think, is about poor people playing music and poor people sharing food and poor people dancing, even when everything else in their lives is so desperate and so dismal that it doesn't seem there should be any room for any music, any extra food, or any extra energy for dancing.  And people can say that I'm wrong, that we're a puritanical people, an evangelical people, a selfish people, but I don't believe that.  I don't want to believe that."

"It's all been worth it.  Every fight, all those years of childish experimentation, the occasional heartbreak, the paltry checking account, the used, old trucks.  To have lived with another human being, another person, this man, as long as I have and to see him change and grow."

This was an incredible book and I'm so glad that I picked it up!  The book is essentially a love song to life - to friendships, to family, to love, to forgiveness, and to small-town rural Wisconsin.

Hank, Leland, Kip, and Ronny were all born and raised in the small Wisconsin town of Little Wig.  They have been friends since as long as they remember.  They each went their separate ways after high school, but they soon find themselves all back in town and husbands and fathers and still trying to figure out their place in the world.  And then there's Beth, who plays a special part in each one of their lives. Shotgun Lovesongs is a truly remarkable book and a tribute to American live and is filled with rich storytelling and finding hope against all odds.

This description says it all: 'There is conflict here between longtime buddies, between husbands and wives — told with writing that is, frankly, gut-wrenching, and even heartbreaking. But there is also hope, healing, and at times, even heroism. It is strong, American stuff, not at all afraid of showing that we can be good, too — not just fallible and compromising. Shotgun Lovesongs is a remarkable and uncompromising saga that explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again — and the kind of steely faith and love returning requires.'

This book was #5 on my top ten list of 2015.

We read this for the January 2016 selection of the Germantown Community Library Adult Bookclub.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

★★★ 1/2

"I will not let him see until none of us have any choices about what can be seen, what can be avoided, what is blind, and what will turn us to stone."

This novel tells the story of one family living in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi before Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005.  The story is told from the point of view of Esch, a fourteen-year-old African American living in rural poverty.  Since her mother died eight years ago, Esch’s father has left his four children to primary take care of themselves.  Esch spends much of her time hanging out with her three brothers Randall, Skeetah, and Junior. Throughout the story, Esch learns that she is pregnant and that Skeetah’s friend Manny is the father.

Each chapter of the book is a different day and includes ten days before the hurricane, the day of the hurricane, and the day after.  As the forecast begins to show evidence of a coming storm, the family begins to prepare by collecting food and making their house more secure.  No one thinks that the hurricane will cause much damage and Esch and her brothers are focused on their own problems.  Esch is primarily dealing with the knowledge of her pregnancy and accepting that Manny wants nothing to do with her or the baby.  Skeetah’s dog China has just given birth to a litter of puppies and he is busy taking care of them and training China for a dog fight.  As the oldest, Randall has taken on much of the parenting responsibly and trying to find the money to pay for basketball camp.  He also tries to keep Junior and other others out of trouble.  Their dad seems to be the only one worried about the hurricane even though he is largely absent in the day-to-day lives of his children.  As the hurricane quickly approaches, the family must work together to survive.

I generally enjoyed this novel and I liked the experience of reading a fictional account of Hurricane Katrina.  It reminded me a lot of historical fiction works that I have read except that it was set in a contemporary setting of a recent disaster.  The characters were very well developed and I liked the writing style.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

★★★★★

"Sometimes books don't find us until the right time."

"Every word the right one and exactly where it should be.  That's basically the highest compliment I can give.  I'm only sorry it took me so long to read it."

"Why is any one book different from any other book? They are different, A.J. decides, because they are.  We have to look inside may. We have to believe. We agree to be disappointed sometimes so that we can be exhilarated every now and again."

"It's so simple, he thinks. Maya, he wants to say, I have figured it all out.

But his brain won't let him.

The words you can't find, you borrow.

We read to know we're not alone.  We read because we are alone.  We read and we are not alone.  We are not alone.

My life is in these books, he wants to tell her.  Read these and know my heard.

We are not quite novels.

The analogy he is looking for is almost there.

We are not quite short stories.  At this point, his life is seeming closest to that.

In the end, we are collected works."

"We aren't the things we collect, acquire, read.  We are, for as long as we are here, only love.  The things we loved.  The people we loved.  And these, I think these really do live on."

This was a book about books and and love and loss. And people that fall into your life at the most unexpected times and change you in the most unexpected ways.  This was one of those books that I couldn't put down.  I read the first pages and fell in love with the story from the very beginning.  It was one of those books that seemed to have a little bit of everything in it - mystery, romance, literature.  And I loved the incorporation of short stories at the beginning of each chapter.

My daughter was about a month old at the time and, after putting her to bed completely exhausted, I somehow stayed up reading the entire thing - it was so good!  a bit like a Hallmark movie at times, but totally worth it.  Highly recommended for anyone that loves books as much as I do! And so many great quotes!

This book was #7 on my top ten list of 2015.