April Read: Funny Story by Emily Henry

 

Emily Henry returns this month with her latest sure-to-be-a-massive-hit novel, Funny Story. It clocks in at 384 pages, so be prepared to put some time into this one!

I have a love/hate relationship with EH's novels. Out of the four I've read, I've only really, really liked one, and that was Book Lovers. It charmed me and I not only liked the characters, but the whole dang book. Funny Story comes in second as my next most likable EH novel. 

The premise is pretty interesting: Daphne's fiancé, weeks before their wedding, leaves her for his childhood best friend, Petra. Devastated, with nowhere to go in the small Michigan lakeside town she's moved to for her marriage, she ends up moving into Petra's old apartment--the one she shared with her boyfriend, Miles. He's also reeling from the breakup of his relationship with Petra, and loves to play sad love songs 24/7. Two broken-hearted people living together, trying to cope with the betrayal of their ex-relationships. At first, they avoid each other as much as possible. But as the weeks go by, they both start to become friendly, and wounds begin to heal. 

Daphne is an introverted children's librarian, and Miles works at a winery. He's utterly charming in every way, and before she knows it, Daphne is feeling all the feels--especially when  they decide to pretend to be involved in order to attend Peter and Petra's upcoming wedding. It's the old "we'll show them we've moved on" move that backfires when Miles and Daphne begin a slow burn "oh crap I really like this person" with some sexual tension that gets pretty steamy. All the while Daphne is counting the days until she can fulfill her end of summer library readathon and leave Michigan for good. 

Of course, both have baggage that's more of the check-in kind than the carry-on kind, and that interferes in what should be a simple falling in love story. Add in new friendships, a visiting sister, and troubled childhoods, and what could have been a 300 page novel ends up much longer than I think it should be. I had to stop reading for a few days because I was getting annoyed at the slow pace. I guess I'm an impatient gal when it comes to love!

I enjoyed the setting and I'm convinced Michigan is a place I must visit. It was also refreshing to read a romance about two people who are just ordinary, everyday people with jobs that are fulfilling but aren't about climbing the corporate ladder or making the most money. If anything, it reminded me that romance lives even under the worst circumstances, and love wins out if you have the courage to step into it. 

So overall, I did enjoy the book, but felt it was too long. Daphne and Miles are likable characters and a good match that is definitely believable. Secondary characters and the charm of small town Michigan during the summer months round out what will certainly be a HUGE summer hit. 

This novel will be out in the US on April 23rd in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

Thanks to Berkley and Penguin/Random House for an advanced copy to read and review! 

Rating: 4/6 for a summer romance long on build-up but with a charming setting and two likable people who fall in love when it's least expected. 

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April Read: Funny Story by Emily Henry

March Read: Murder Road by Simone St. James

 

Oh, Simone St. James did it again. Managed to fascinate me while giving me the creeps. She is one of my favorite authors, and I have read every one of her novels, all the way back to discovering her first paperback during my bookseller years a loooong time ago. I'm thrilled she's getting the attention she deserves and becoming more popular with every new novel. 

This one will make you unwilling to drive down a dark, empty road by yourself for quite some time. It takes place in 1995, and starts out with April and Eddie Carter; two newlyweds on their way to a resort for a short honeymoon. It's late at night, and April wakes up in the front seat and discovers Eddie has become lost, and doesn't quite know how he got lost. But lost they are, late at night, on a lonely road with no one in sight. 

Until they see a young woman running down the road, begging for help. There is something very, very wrong with the young woman, and the road. A big black pick up truck comes roaring down the road, chasing after Eddie and April and the injured young woman in the back seat. They get to the town of Coldlake Falls just in time to escape from the black truck, but unfortunately the young woman dies at the hospital. The police are looking at Eddie and April, covered in blood, and in a bit of shock. Strangers in a small town; a dying woman in their back seat. They're forbidden to leave town as the police investigate, and that's where things really take off and get interesting. 

Eddie and April's backgrounds are messy and they both have kept secrets from each other. But murderers they are not, and they become determined to figure out what happened on Atticus Line Road that night. It wasn't natural, what they saw in the back of that black truck...

This is a small town with some eerie back story--hitchhikers found dead, murders unsolved, whispers of strange occurrences on Atticus Line Road. So many unsolved murders on that road, and the police are suspicious of anyone who comes through town. 

Will Eddie and April figure it all out and stay safe and out of jail for a crime they didn't commit? As they unravel the pieces of the puzzle, it becomes clear just why they were drawn to Atticus Line Road that night. It's one heck of a twist!

Anyone who loves eerie thrillers with a definite nod to creepy ghost stories will be all on board with this latest from Simone St. James. I love how her characters are always flawed in some way, and find themselves caught up in bizarre and ghostly events that require them to be stronger and braver than they've ever been. To believe and accept the unbelievable, because it's the only explanation. 

Loved it! Not surprised. I'm never disappointed with this author. 

Rating: 6/6 for a novel that will keep you patiently on the journey with Eddie and April as pieces slowly fall into place. A great ghost story about revenge, redemption, family, and leaving the past behind for a brighter future. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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March Read: Murder Road by Simone St. James

Back to the Prairie by Melissa Gilbert

 

As soon as I as Melissa Gilbert had written another memoir, I just had to read it. I did gulp it down in one weekend (which is something I haven't done in a long, long time). 

I grew up a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House in the Big Woods is my favorite book) and of course my family always watched the TV show every week. Then Melissa Gilbert dated Rob Lowe and wow I thought she was pretty fantastic outside of her role as LIW. She was part of the cool, young, rising stars set of the early 1980's. 

Then darn it all, she married Bruce Boxleitner, who I had a huge crush on in the 80's. Dang. I read her first memoir, Prairie Tale, and loved it. I thought she had managed to have a pretty sweet life. 

I was wrong. She ended up divorcing Bruce after many years of marriage, and found herself in her forties divorced, financially strapped, and so tired of living the Hollywood life. And then...she met Timothy Busfield. You know, the actor from Thirtysomething and one of the geeks from Revenge of the Nerds. That guy. The universe  works in weird ways, and they came together at the best time in their lives. Finding so much in common, and, yes, life goals to still achieve, they ended up in Michigan, and finally, upstate New York. That's where most of this memoir takes place. 

Melissa and Tim start over, and the pandemic gave them the chance to really dive into living a simple life on fourteen acres of woods in a small ramshackle home they refurbished. Melissa is definitely a city woman, but found herself embracing country life-and also discovering she's pretty darn handy at home maintenance, gardening, and raising chickens. She found fulfillment and a place to land. 

Now in her late 50's, Melissa's tale is about starting over and discovering that there's always a chance to find your happily ever after. Every mistake you make leads to your best life. She also says she finally learned she's "earned the right to her opinions". As someone in my 50's as well, I will say there's something almost magical about this age. You do let go of so much stuff, grow into who you really are, and start putting yourself first. I guess that's the trade off for hot flashes! 

Fair warning Melissa is very clear on her political views so if you're a Trump fan who can't bear to hear any criticism, don't read this book. 

Otherwise, enjoy Melissa's memoir. It's a fast read, and her voice is very strong. Her energy is apparent and I found myself hearing her voice as I read (I did not listen to the audio).  She's survived a lot of heartbreak, childhood issues, and boy oh boy, back and neck pain. I had no idea she had such such painful medical issues. 

Rating: 4/6 for an uplifting memoir about embracing life, opportunities, and always learning something new. Love and family are the center we always return to and the  foundation from which we grow. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Back to the Prairie by Melissa Gilbert

Beach Read by Emily Henry

I finished a book! I'm still trying to find my pandemic comfort reading. I think it's trending towards lighter reads. If I can't focus on a book right away, I put it aside. Sunnier days ahead will send those books back to me and I'll happily read them then. 

So, Beach Read. Emily Henry is an author I haven't read before. She writes YA novels and I think this is her first adult novel. I was excited to read it because it looked like a rom-com and I was all in! This is, however, one of those novels where the cover does not match what's inside. For one thing, the two main characters (Gus and January) only actually sit on the beach near the very end of the novel. They aren't beach people, especially when the beach in on Lake Michigan and the water is cold. 

For another, I found this novel to be less rom-com and more a tale of two damaged people who are really struggling to come to terms with their pasts in order to move on. January is 29 and it's been a year since her father suddenly passed away. She's published three romances, and is on a deadline for her fourth. She's broke, and suffering from writer's block. She's traveled to North Bear Shores in Michigan to get her father's second home ready to sell (she needs the money!). She's also come to face the second home her father secretly had with another woman. January's unable to face the fact that her father was unfaithful to her mother for most of her life, and her happy childhood memories are crushed under her father's secret life. Happily ever after doesn't exist. 

Gus lives in the house next door to January. He's also a published author, and oh boy, January and Gus went to college together. January and Gus didn't get along at all. So of course sparks will fly, but the path to happiness is very rocky. They make a pact that January will write her idea of the great American novel, and Gus will write a novel that has a happy ending. Whomever gets published first wins. 

As their friendship grows, January's writing fire is lit! She's finally writing again. And she finds herself falling for Gus and preparing herself for heartbreak. For most of the novel you never quite know what Gus is thinking; he's pretty hard to read. But finally, you get a peek inside Gus and he's quite charming. But you're still not sure if happily ever after is in the cards for these two. You have to read to the end to find that out. 

This story wasn't what I expected when I picked this book up and began to read. I'm still trying to decide if I am disappointed or not. There was a lot of emotional baggage between Gus and January, and I felt it weighed the book down a bit. What I did take away was that we should be happy with now, and be satisfied with that--we aren't guaranteed happy all the time, and that's okay. Happy is also in the small moments that we think are just everyday, and that I can agree with and recognize. Those small, quiet moments are what we string together to make one big happy life. 

Rating: 3/6 for a novel that has me on the fence. There were parts of it I enjoyed very much, and other parts that felt really heavy. Gus will steal your heart and you'll find yourself cheering for him and January in their complicated path towards love. 

Available in the United States on May 19, 2020 in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Beach Read by Emily Henry

Notes from a Public Typewriter by Michael Gustafson & Oliver Uberti

This delightful little book found its way to me through a book group friend. She graciously let me borrow it, and I read it in today's early morning hours. It's a quick read, but you will want to linger.

Michael Gustafson and his wife Hilary own the Literati bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In a town that loves bookstores, and especially independent bookstores, the Literati bookstore has a particular hook: an old fashioned typewriter that sits in the store, ready with paper, for anyone to sit down and type whatever comes to mind. Michael collects the papers, and after many pushes and prods from friends, he decided to share some of those simple, profound, sad, graceful, and uplifting messages.  

One man used the typewriter to type "Will you marry me?" to his girlfriend; another began a pen-pal relationship with a man who dresses up as a werewolf and plays the violin around town. Some message speak of heartbreak and loneliness; others whimsical and fun. There's something very satisfying about typing on an old manual typewriter. The strike of the keys resonates in the deepest part of yourself, and the effort it takes to type puts your whole body and mind into what you're trying to say. 

I learned to type in high school, in a typing class in the early 1980's.  We had electric typewriters, which were a huge improvement over manual typewriters, but they were still a bugaboo. I was impressed with myself that I could actually type fast. That one little typing class has provided a foundation for typing that has seen me through many years of work and college degrees. Oh, I remember having a meltdown when my typewriter ran out of ink and I was halfway through a paper, unable to finish--and it was due the next afternoon. I look back at those papers, and I see the correcting fluid, the messed up margins; nothing compares to the effort it took to use a typewriter! I did get my paper finished in time, by the way. 

I loved this little reminder of a past that wasn't so long ago. Michael's connection to typewriters, and one in particular, strengthens his connection to his grandfather, and he keeps his grandfather's typewriter on display at the Literati. People bring old typewriters to him and he displays them in the window of the bookstore. Ah, books and typewriters. 

This would make a sweet little gift for aspiring writers, bookaholics, or anyone who loves how whimsy can sometimes  bring out our deepest feelings. 

Rating:  5/6 for a delightful little find on a lovely bookstore, the people who call it home, and the people who find a sense of themselves sitting at the typewriter. 

Available in hardcover. 

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Notes from a Public Typewriter by Michael Gustafson & Oliver Uberti

Revisiting Childhood Favorites: Author John Bellairs

A recent challenge on Facebook had me posting my favorite reads, and that got me thinking about John Bellairs. I didn't have very many books as a child, but I remember very clearly having the first two Lewis Barnavelt stories in paperback. I have no idea where they are now; I'm hoping in a box somewhere in my basement. I was lucky enough to find Barnes and Noble had put together the first three in one hardcover volume for the incredible price of $9.95 years ago and snagged it, along with another volume of his Johnny Dixon mysteries. They've sat on my bookshelf for years. Friday night, I decided I needed to re-read John Bellairs. I managed to read the first two of the three this weekend. 

There is a movie coming out in September for TheHouse with a Clock in its Walls starring Jack Black as Uncle Jonathan, and Cate Blanchett as Mrs.           Zimmerman. I watched the trailer, and it's of course 

vastly different than the book--a whole lot more magic fantastical stuff.  I think kids will love it! I will certainly see it in the theater. 

I read the first two novels of the Lewis Barnavelt series. I believe there are at least 10 of them; some finished after John Bellairs died in his early fifties in 1991. I'm still crushed he didn't have more time to write more novels for young kids. They are wonderful. 

So a quick recap: Lewis Barnavelt has lost his parents in a car accident, and he's sent to live with his eccentric Uncle Jonathan in New Zebedee, Michigan.  Set in 1948, life was a bit simpler, of course, but no less full of magic, both good and bad. Uncle Johnathan is a magician of sorts, and a wizard, who lives in a mansion on a hill. His next door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman, is a witch, who makes the best chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa, and waffles for breakfast.  Lewis realizes his first night at Uncle Jonathan's home that he's in a wonderful place, where stained glass windows change scenes, and the mirror near the front door shows scenes from history-or sometimes just shows your reflection. He's got a fireplace in his room, and plays poker with his Uncle and Mrs. Zimmerman on a regular basis. While all seems well, Lewis faces bullying at school because of his size and his inability to play any kind of sport. He cries easily, and dreads lunchtime at school. I really felt for Lewis; seems bullying has been around for generations. He's called fatty, fatso, lardo; picked last for the baseball games, then told to go home because they don't want him to play. Thankfully, he's got a wonderful place to go home to-but a home with a strange clock ticking in the walls. 

The mansion was the home of the evil Isaac Izard and his wife, both into dark magic. Now both dead and resting in a mausoleum in the local cemetery, they started something in the house that could mean doomsday for everyone if Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman don't figure it out. Lewis' desire to keep a friendship with a popular boy has him casting a spell on Halloween night to raise the dead (he has no idea what he's doing, but is desperate to impress his friend)--and boy howdy, does he succeed. Who does he raise, and what does it mean for the house, the ticking clock, and the town of New Zebedee? 

In the second novel, The Figure in the Shadows, Lewis is still being bullied at school, and has just lost his beloved Sherlock Holmes hat to the biggest bully in class. He's made a new friend: Rose Rita, a tomboy who is tough and prefers jeans to skirts. Hoping to cheer Lewis up, Uncle Jonathan opens up Grandpa Barnavelt's old trunk, and inside Lewis finds an old amulet his Grandpa won on a bet the night before a big Civil War battle. Mrs. Zimmerman says there's no magic to it, but Lewis thinks otherwise. He wears it on a chain around his neck, and suddenly has all sorts of vivid dreams about battles, fighting, and revenge. And then there's the mysterious postcard that arrives at midnight, with one word: Venio. "I come." Gulp. Lewis is too afraid to confess to Uncle Jonathan he's been messing with magic again, so what is he going to do? 

The first novel was illustrated by Edward Gorey, and I have always had a soft spot for his illustrations. They are perfect for John Bellairs novels. The second novel is illustrated by Mercer Mayer, and while it is charming, it doesn't hold a candle to Edward Gorey. I believe most of Bellairs' early novels were graced with Edward Gorey illustrations, so I'm not sure why Mercer Mayer illustrated the second Lewis Barnavelt novel. Maybe a later edition?

There is something completely engaging about John Bellairs' writing, and I was just as thrilled to read them today as I was decades ago. I think they stand the test of time, certainly. They are a perfect example of good vs. evil, the many ways we create families, and the effect bullying can have on us as children. I'm craving some chocolate chip cookies, thanks to Mrs. Zimmerman! 

I'd recommend these books to any young reader who likes magic, ghosts, the unknown, and suspense. I'm hoping more will return to print with the release of the movie in September. As for now, it looks like most are available as ebooks. 

I'll keep reading more as I find them, and smile the whole time. 

Rating for both novels: 5/6 for delightful writing, lovable characters, and oooh, the evil-doers! Just the kind of novels I would have loved to write myself. 

Used copies, paperbacks, and ebooks are available. Get to it! 

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Revisiting Childhood Favorites: Author John Bellairs

Bootstrapper: a Memoir by Mardi Jo Link

I found this audio book while rapidly scanning the non-fiction offerings at the library.  I was in a hurry, but I recognized the cover from the bookstore, and remembered that it had intrigued me a few months before, so I checked it out.  

So far I've listened to audio books where the narrator is also the author.  This book was the first one where someone else other than the author narrated it, and I have to admit I had a hard time with that for the first day of listening on my commute.  So much so that I almost stopped listening.  I'm glad I kept plowing through (also I didn't have another audio book to get me through the weekly commute!) because I ended up looking forward to listening to Mardi's life in Michigan.  But while I did enjoy it for the most part, I have a few issues with the memoir.

Mardi Jo Link was a woman with a 19 year marriage and three young boys, living in an old farmhouse (with a half-done remodeling project) on a  6 acre spread in Michigan.  Her marriage falls apart, and her husband moves across the street, leaving Mardi with what she calls Happy Valley.  She's always dreamed of living on an acreage, growing her own food, and having horses.  Now that she's finally got that, her impending divorce and lack of money threaten to take it all away.  Mardi is a tough woman, but sometimes I felt she was too willing to take the extremely hard road instead of confessing to her parents that she was in some financial trouble.  I feel that her absolute determination to keep her farm and raise her boys on it sometimes kept her from asking for help.  It's no shame to ask for help when you are struggling.  Yes, grit and determination are all well and good, but also being sensible and making sure you've got heat and food on the table to feed your kids is important  too.  Her parents would have helped her in a second.  That was a big beef for me.  

This memoir is about the year following the end of Mardi's marriage, and the ways she and her boys kept things moving along in the dead of winter:  scouting around for firewood, winning a year's supply of free day-old bread at a local bakery by growing the largest zucchini; applying for free school lunches for her boys.  And then there is the local carpenter, Pete, who is waiting for Mardi to give him the okay to finish the remodel of her second floor.  There's a whiff of romance there that flits in and out of the story, and I did like that.  It was unexpected by both Mardi and me as the reader.  She most definitely wasn't looking for romance that first year. 

**warning all animal lovers and/or vegetarians!**

 I got the biggest laugh over the chickens she bought as chicks to raise for food.  Mardi and her sons decide not to name them, as they will be food eventually.  Instead they call them "the meats".  I found that really funny, and I don't know why.  What's even more amusing is that when it came time to do the deed, Mardi couldn't do it.  Instead she ended up giving the chickens away, and made herself feel better by realizing that the people who took the chickens needed them more than she did in her diminished financial situation.

So does Mardi hang onto her farm?  How does she do it, if she does succeed?

For the most part, I liked this memoir.  I like to read about women who move through the difficult parts of life and come out the other side stronger and smarter than before.  I admire Mardi for deciding that come hell or high water, she was going to hang onto her farm, her childhood dream, and her desire to raise her sons her way.  That fire kept her tough when she didn't know what to do, and was often at her wit's end.  But much of this drama probably could have been if not eliminated, at least diminished if she'd just asked for help.  I think part of being a strong person is having the strength to ask for a hand when you need it and accepting help with grace.  

Rating:  6/10 for an entertaining memoir.  Mardi  can write very well, and I had moments of tearing up and laughing out loud.  But, I was annoyed that she refused to ask for help.  That caused some teeth gnashing on my part.  I still prefer to hear the author narrate their audio book instead of an actor. 

Available in hardcover, paperback, e-book, and audio. 

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Bootstrapper: a Memoir by Mardi Jo Link