The Women by Kristin Hannah

 

I finally cracked and read a Kristin Hannah novel. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy; otherwise I probably would not have read it, for a couple of reasons: I wouldn't have gotten around to it, and I tend to avoid novels about the Vietnam War. 

I didn't lose any family in the Vietnam War, and I don't really remember much of it at all--I was a small child, born just as it was ramping up. By the time it ended, I was about 6-7 years old. I only remember Walter Cronkite on the evening news, seeing some of the footage in color on my parent's console TV. I don't recall my parents ever talking about it, either. That little I do remember is still pretty sharp in my memory. 

This novel, is, you guessed it, about the women who served in Vietnam: the nurses, mostly. Those fierce women who saw some of the most grisly and devastating parts of the war, who toiled through unimaginable scenarios to save men's lives and get them home. 

Francis "Frankie" McGrath lives on Coronado Island, California. Her parents are wealthy, and her brother Finley has just signed up to go to Vietnam. In 1966 no one knew the horrors of the Vietnam War just yet, and it was considered honorable and expected of men to join the armed services and go over and end the hostilities quickly. At a party, Frankie meet Rye, one of her brother's good friends, who tells Frankie "women can be heroes, too." That one phrase changes Frankie's life. 

Frankie, fresh out of nursing school, decides she wants to follow Finley to Vietnam as a nurse. At twenty, she's sheltered and not happy with the limited choices she has, and the expectations of her parents to get married and raise a family. 

Once Frankie steps off the plane in Vietnam, her world is completely shaken. From her first days in camp and meeting her friends Ethel and Barb, to meeting Jamie, a surgeon who is clearly interested in Frankie, she's thrown into a world where there's no time to be afraid. Frankie's experiences in Vietnam shape her into a veteran who cannot shake her experience once she comes home.

The novel is split into two parts: Vietnam, and the return home. It spans 1966-1982, and follows the heartbreak, heartache, and struggles Frankie endures once she returns home and discovers Vietnam Vets are not being welcomed home. Will Frankie overcome her demons? 

This was one heck of a read. I started it this past week and power read over the weekend to finish it. I was afraid if I stopped I wouldn't pick it back up; only because some of it is tough to read. Frankie's PTSD, nightmares, and drug and alcohol use are harsh and your heart breaks for her struggles in a world where even the vets don't believe women served in Vietnam. As Frankie tells them, they would only have seen her if they were gravely wounded. 

Loved it--I'm glad it wasn't just about Frankie's experience in Vietnam, but also the aftermath at home, and the years it took to overcome the results of her experience. 

This novel is released in the U.S. on February 6th in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. I know it is going to be immensely popular and bring new fans to Kristin Hannah. 

Rating: 6/6 for an absorbing, heartbreaking, tough look at the Vietnam War from a nurse's experience on the ground in the harshest conditions. It also examines the aftermath of the war and the mental toll it takes on veterans and how the system failed so many when they needed help and compassion the most. Powerful stuff. 

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The Women by Kristin Hannah

August Read from the Shelves: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

 

I've been dilly-dallying between four books the past few weeks and not finishing any of them. When that happens I do what's probably counterintuitive and pick up a whole different book and read it. I've had this memoir in my stacks for a few months and decided to dive in and reset my reading mojo.

Whoa. Lots and lots of some pretty hard stuff in this memoir. Not a read for people who may have experienced physical or mental abuse; eating disorders, or alcohol abuse. I've read a few interviews with Jennette and she said she decided on this title because she wanted it to grab people's attention, and also because she knew her three brothers would immediately get it and understand. I think it's safe to say there are plenty of other people who also get it and understand. 

Jennette McCurdy's acting career wasn't something I was aware of; I was long grown up and not watching Nickelodeon when she was on iCarly. To think of her years on that show, and how miserable she was, is heartbreaking. This kid went through some stuff.

Jennette's mother decided when Jennette was six years old that she should become an actress. Mostly because that's what her mom always wanted to be. Jennette wanted to make her mom happy, because she mostly wasn't-so she said "sure". Dragging Jennette around to auditions, being a pushy stage mom, using her past breast cancer diagnosis to illicit sympathy and open doors eventually got Jennette a starring role on what was to become a very popular kid's show: iCarly. 

What people may not have known was Jennette's home life was a disaster. Her mother constantly worked to keep her children (Jennette has three older brothers) dependent on her and always cried that she didn't want them to grow up. Jennette's dismay at puberty had her mom sharing her "calorie restriction" methods on an eleven year old who developed full blown anorexia, followed by years of bulimia and a dysfunctional relationship with food. This woman was the worst mother. So awful. What's sad is Jennette believed everything her mom said, and worked so hard to not disappoint her mom. This kid was completely lost, naive, and had no chance to figure out who she was, as long as her mother was in control. 

Jennette's mother died from cancer when Jennette was 21. She's free, you think. But no, years of terrible harm to herself required extensive therapy, and a lot of ups and downs. It speaks to Jennette's incredible strength that she's come out whole on the other side. Not only as a child of abuse, but a child actor in a terrible industry that isn't kind at all. 

Jennette's writing is spot on--she's got talent, and I hope she continues to thrive. This was a powerful memoir and I'm so glad I read it, even when it became uncomfortable. 

Rating: 5/6 for a moving, powerful memoir about a young woman's traumatic childhood and her struggle to find her voice. If you have a chance to watch one of her interviews about this book, please watch! 

Available in hardcover, ebook and audio. 

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August Read from the Shelves: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

July Read: Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom

 

It's been a hot minute since I read historical fiction! I read this over the weekend and wow it was a huge shift from what I've been typically reading over the last few months. 

Crow Mary is the fictional tale of a historical figure who is known as Crow Mary. She's a young woman living with the Crow tribe in Montana in 1872. Her father is the chief of the tribe, and her grandmother was married to a "yellow eyes", Mary's beloved grandfather. Before she was Crow Mary, she was named Goes First. She was smart, brave, and one heck of a shot. She was happily living with her parents when Abe Farwell arrived in the area looking to trade and possibly find a wife. 

Abe was taken with Goes First, and after reflecting on his offer, Goes First decides to accept his proposal, even though it means leaving her family and traveling to Canada to Abe's trading post. She feels marrying Abe is her calling and in doing so she can escape sad memories and help her tribe by marrying a white man. 

At first, things are going well. Goes First is given the name of Mary once they reach a fort where being an Indian meant trading pelts for whiskey and being cheated out of a fair trade by the white men. They were seen as such non-people that all Indian women were named Mary instead of honoring their native names. So now known as Crow Mary, or Mrs. Farwell, she begins to settle into her married life and make friends with other women in the area. 

Crow Mary and Abe travel to Canada and begin to build their trading post. This is where things take a turn, and Abe's decision to take a stand will haunt him and Crow Mary for years to come. 

I was fascinated by the Crow traditions and respect for family. Crow Mary was such an intriguing character; I couldn't help cheering her on when confronted with men who were just so nasty to her. While I would have wished for an easier journey for Crow Mary, everything she experienced made her a stronger woman. 

I attempted to find more information on Crow Mary, but was unsuccessful in my quick search on the internet. Her great-granddaughter writes the foreword to the novel, and the prologue is a definite circle around scene--you'll just have to wait and read the book! 

All in all, a satisfying peek into the life of a woman who took risks to save others, build a home, and raise a family. Author Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) did a lot of research and it shows in her meticulous and well crafted descriptions of life on the prairie. Rape, kidnapping children to send to Indian schools in Pennsylvania; violence and murder are all part of this novel. 

Rating: 4/6 for historical fiction that brings Crow customs and lifestyle to life in a well written novel about a strong, resilient woman who became a legend. If you are a fan of Western fiction, or heck, even the TV show 1883, you will enjoy this novel. 

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July Read: Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom

I Finally Read a Taylor Jenkins Reid Novel: Malibu Rising

 

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  I'll admit sometimes I stubbornly refuse to read an author right out of the gate--mostly because there's so much praise about the novels that I have to take a step back and not rush to jump on the bandwagon. I don't want to read something just because everyone else is--I'd rather come around in my own time. 

So, I ordered Malibu Rising from BOTM and decided to give it whirl. I was looking to read something very different after reading my Christmas novels in December. This fit the bill!

Yeah, I loved it. I don't know if it was the setting: Malibu in the early 1980's; or the characters, or reading a novel set by the Pacific Ocean in the warm California sun. All of it combined to create a read that I simply couldn't put down. 

So, the Riva family: Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit. Children of singer Mick Riva (I kept picturing Dean Martin), who was a famous crooner in the 1950's, all the way up to the early 1980's. He had married their mother June before he hit it big, and left her after only a few years of marriage--but was never completely out of her life. Their mother became an alcoholic, and did her best to raise her children in Malibu when it was a sleepy beach community. 

Now the kids are all grown up: Nina is a famous model and surfer; Jay is a famous surfer competing for world titles; Hud is the photographer who keeps Jay in magazines. Kit is the youngest-an amazing surfer, but her talent hasn't been noticed by her siblings just yet. It's the day of their famous once a year party at Nina's malibu mansion. A party that started out small years ago, and now has reached epic proportions: only those who are in the know attend-famous people and hangers on. 

Leading up to the party, we learn about the Riva family history, and how all of the kids came to be in this spot at this certain time. The sacrifices Nina has made to  raise her siblings; the unhappiness they experienced growing up without a father present, and where they plan to go in life and love. 

I loved the setting, all of the siblings, and the back story of June and Mick Riva. I definitely felt myself back in the early 1980's, too. It's a character driven novel, but enough happens that you're never bored. Once the party kicks into gear, so much is happening all over the place you don't want to stop reading. 

So yeah, now I'm going to read another of Taylor Jenkin Reid's novels. She's definitely talented, and writes a darn good story. I don't think I would have been able to stick to this novel if I'd tried to read it before now, so I'm glad I waited and read it when I wanted to, and not because I felt I had to join the crowd. 

Rating: 5/6 for a novel that transports you to 1980's Malibu-the surfing, the beaches, the sun. All of the characters were well defined and each had a compelling story. Loved it!

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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I Finally Read a Taylor Jenkins Reid Novel: Malibu Rising

The Siren by Katherine St. John

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I looked at Katherine St. John's previous summer thriller The Lion's Den but I just never had my interest peaked enough to grab it and read it. Now that I've devoured her second novel, The Siren, I'm going to have to go back and read it. This is a novel that surprised me completely.

The cover certainly gives it a certain, shall we say, Jackie Collins vibe? So I was expecting something frothy and over the top. Instead, I got a novel about the underside of fame and a whole lot of surprises, all taking place on a jewel of a tropical island. 

Hollywood has come to the island of St. Genesius to film The Siren, a thriller of a movie that reunites ex-spouses Cole Power and Stella Rivers. Cole is a HUGE Hollywood power star, while Stella is seen as a has-been. A child star who became famous for her short marriage to Cole and her public meltdowns after, Stella is desperate for a job. 

Cole's son Jackson is the director of the film, but Cole holds the purse strings. Also on the island is Taylor, the producer, and Felicity Fox, Stella's new assistant. Each woman has a reason why this film is so very important to them, and as everyone gathers, you start to uncover the motives behind each of them. 

Let's make it clear: Cole is a major league asshole. A handsome leading man who has gotten away with an awful lot of awful things, he owns the island and knows just how to manipulate Stella and Taylor. 

As filming begins, you get to know each of the ladies, and you slowly start to put the pieces together. As a hurricane threatens to disrupt filming, things really start to heat up, and wow! the action really kicks in. I found myself so immersed in the last 1/4 of the book that I completely lost track of time and realized it was much later than I thought when I finished the book. It's definitely one of those "What?! What?!" kind of books--I was talking to myself a lot! 

I've been reading a lot of what could be termed "domestic thrillers" but this is definitely not a domestic thriller. I'm not sure what exactly I'd call it. Dang it was good! I'd take this on a vacation without hesitation. And now I'm heading to the bookstore to buy her first novel. There is drug use and rape (off scene) in the novel, so be aware of that if you are sensitive to those topics. 

This is definitely one of those books that I had no idea what to expect and was blown away by it and so surprised in a very good way. A huge thanks to Grand Central Publishing for sending me an ARC. This novel just was released in hardcover on May 4th, so run out and grab it!

Rating: 5/6 for a novel about Hollywood, dirty secrets, and a reckoning that is long overdue. In a bigger sense, it's also about hiding your true self, the evils of social media, and survival. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Siren by Katherine St. John

The Whisper man by Alex North

This month has been a tough one for getting through books. I've struggled, when I usually zip through a few a week. I started reading The Whisper Man a few weeks ago, and kept putting it down, picking it up. I just couldn't get my head into a novel about a serial killer of little boys. But this weekend was rainy and gloomy, and I decided to buckle down and finish it. There was much more to it, and the deeper I got into the story, the more gripping it became. 

Tom Kennedy and his little boy Jake are moving to the small town of Featherbank to start over after Tom's wife and Jake's mother dies unexpectedly, leaving both in the depths of grief. Jake is a quiet boy; he loves to draw, and is always having conversations with his imaginary friend, a little girl who keeps him company. A new house, a new school; Tom hopes Jake will come out of his solitude and make friends. Tom, a published author, is stuck trying to begin a new novel, but he's suffering from writer's block. 

Their new house, unbeknownst to Tom, is known as the haunted house in Featherbank. He's uneasy living there, but just isn't sure why. Jake picked out the house, and it was the only house he was excited to move to, away from the only home he'd known. Tom and Jake are still navigating life alone, and they have some miscommunication that leaves Tom feeling like a horrible father, and Jake feeling pretty alone. 

A little boy has disappeared in Featherbank, eerily similar to a horrible case 20 years before, when Frank Carter, known as the Whispering Man, kidnapped and murdered four little boys. Local detective Pete Willis is haunted by his inability to get Frank to tell him where the last little boy's remains are...and Frank likes to dangle that over Pete's head. Frank is a pretty horrible man, and the stuff of nightmares. Locked away in prison, he rules the prison and has a deep hatred of his wife and son, who witnessed much of the horror, and finally turned him in to the police. 

Pete, a recovering alcoholic, and suffering all these years later with guilt for not finding the last little boy, is horrified to think that the Whispering Man is back, and that Frank had someone helping him all those years before. 

What connection does Tom's house have to the Whispering Man? Who is the little girl who talks to Jake? Is Jake the next victim of the Whispering Man?

At first, this started out a little slow for me, and I blame that on not reading enough of it before putting it down for awhile. Once I started again, I plowed through, and the tension and uneasiness grew with each page I turned. I had no idea what to expect, but there are definitely a few twists I didn't expect at all. I figured out who the Whispering Man was, but didn't quite connect the dots until the big reveal. And the end...oh gosh. Terribly sad on many fronts; but also a gut punch that haunts you. I keep thinking about certain phrases and what they mean--the kind that make me go "Oh! Now I see!" for hours after I've turned the last page. 

This was a really good thriller. There are no gruesome depictions of murder, but the subject matter is a bit tough to swallow. However, a story that will keep you up late at night, racing to the end. Definitely one to discuss! 

Rating: 4/6 for a police thriller, a family drama, and a chilly look at the mind of a serial killer. It picks up speed about halfway through, and then you can't put it down. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Whisper man by Alex North

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger

I've missed reading my sci-fi/fantasy books.  Somehow I got away from them this year, but I plan on making up for my horrible neglect. 

Science Fiction, like other genres, has many sub-categories. I tend to stick to contemporary fantasy, but also like good old magic tales.  I generally avoid techie science fiction. I love Mercedes Lackey's Elemental series, Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles,  Simon Green's Ghostfinders series, and Kristen Britain's Green Rider tales.  And of course, I was a huge fan of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels until she jumped the shark at about novel #9.  Ugh.  Same with Laurel K. Hamilton and the Anita Blake novels.  There are many, many more I will read and love as the years go by.  I've got Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series sitting on my bookshelves,unread.  I've got bits and pieces of other series also waiting patiently on my shelves.  I always love to peruse the science fiction/fantasy section at my local B&N.  You never know what will pop out.  

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge is just one of those books that popped out at me.  I'd seen it on a recent visit to the bookstore, but didn't buy it.  Then I was somewhere, looking at something, and I saw it again.  I checked out some reviews, and decided to go back to B&N and buy it.  The idea of bartenders saving the world from monsters by mixing the ingesting certain cocktails that give them certain powers appealed to me on many levels.  For one, the creativity Paul Krueger had to come up with this story line.  For two, it takes place in Chicago--my "ancestral" home: place of my birth, where my parents grew up and married.  I'm a sucker for stories that take place in Chicago.  

So, Bailey Chen has returned to live with her parents after graduating from Penn State.  She's unemployed, but hoping to get a job--any job--soon.  Her childhood friend Zane gets her a temporary job at his Uncle's bar, the Nightshade Lounge.  Bailey and Zane have a friendship that is layered with all sorts of unresolved issues of the romantic kind.  When he was interested, she wasn't; now she's interested, and he has a girlfriend.  One night, Bailey is left to close up the bar.  She decides to mix a screw driver  to drink before leaving for the night.  The strange thing is, this drink Bailey makes gives her some super human strength.  And she doesn't realize it until she's walking home, by herself, and runs into something not so human: a tremen.  Tremens are demons that look like blobs of grossness, and they jump humans and literally suck the life out of them.  They especially like people who have been drinking.  Something about the mix of alcohol and human produces a life force that tremens love.  

Bailey quickly finds herself as a bartender-in-training of a different kind:  a monster-fighting bartender.  They patrol the streets at night, making sure humans are safe from tremens. Properly mixed cocktails produce magical effects on bartenders that usually last an hour, enough time to patrol, kill tremens, and get back to the bar.  Vodka gives tremendous strength, whiskey grants telekinesis, and rum will get you the ability to blast fire from your fingertips.  Pretty awesome stuff!  

But of course, things aren't so simple.  There are more and more tremens popping up, and in packs, which is highly unusual.  Something strange is going on, and it's got to do with one mystical drink:  the long island iced tea.  

I'm not telling you anymore.  This is a fun novel, and the first in what I hope will be at least a trilogy.  In between each chapter are bits of cocktail magical history from "The Devil's Water Dictionary", Bailey's guide to creating cocktails. Bailey is your usual out of college, don't know what to do with my life twenty-something.  She's pretty smart, but finds out that sometimes being book smart just isn't enough when it comes to fighting demons.  The characters that surround Bailey are all colorful and slightly quirky, and I can't wait to see how everyone evolves--if, hopefully, there are more adventures ahead for the magical bartenders.  

Rating:  7/10 for a quirky take on contemporary urban fantasy.  I'll never look at a cocktail quite the same again!  

Available in paperback and e-book.

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Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger

The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum

I'm getting ready to talk about this book to fellow associates at work tomorrow (Thursday).  It's one of the few books I've reread; plus I bought the PBS DVD and have watched that twice.  My fascination with the many ways people die is a strange part of my personality that I just can't deny.  Forensics have always interested me, and this book is a sure hit for anyone who is a fan of chemistry, medicine, forensics,  true crime, and the history of New York City.

Dr. Charles Norris was appointed the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City in 1918, following an outcry from the legislative bodies of the state of New York.  Too many people were being murdered by poisons, and the coroners were complete incompetents.  Usually coroners were undertakers, barkeeps, lawyers, disbarred doctors, and sometimes even shopkeepers.  They took bribes from any and all, altered death certificates, and often times showed up drunk to a crime scene.  There was no procedure, and toxicology was not practiced.  It was quite easy to get away with murder in New York City.  

Dr. Norris was a different bird.  A wealthy and brilliant doctor with high standards, he hired Alexander Gettler as his chief toxicologist, and began the process of building a forensic department in New York City.  These two men were quite simply willing to go to great lengths to prove a cause of death.  Dr. Norris demanded standards for death scenes, taught police the proper protocol for crime scenes, and refused to play the bribe game. Gettler devoted his life to developing tests to accurately measure different poisons in the body, and what these poisons did to people.  His testimony at trials often times was the deciding factor in sending someone to the electric chair, or sparing an innocent life.  

Each chapter is about a different poison:  wood alcohol, carbon monoxide, arsenic, thallium, radiation.  A big portion of the book discusses the disaster of prohibition, and the increase in alcohol deaths that ravaged the city of New York.  The stuff people drank to get a buzz was truly horrifying, with equally horrifying results.  

I love this book.  It was first published in 2010 and I could swear I published a review on it years ago--but no luck finding it on my blog.  This would make an excellent Father's Day gift for your favorite history buff or armchair detective.  Or who knows?  Give it to a budding young scientist and you never know--she may become a toxicologist.  

Available in paperback, audio, and e-book format.  You can also buy the DVD from PBS or your local bookstore.  I bought mine from Barnes and Noble.  

Rating:  9/10 for an excellent science book that is neither boring or slow.  It will keep you turning the pages, cheering on Norris and Gettler.  Almost 100 years after the founding of the New York Medical Examiner's Office, look how far we've come, thanks to these two pioneers.  

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The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

This is the hot hot hot book of the new year!  It's a Barnes and Noble Discover title, and it's in every major magazine.  So without further ado, I'll tell you about it.

Rachel is an alcoholic.  She rides the train in London every morning and late afternoon, usually drinking cans of gin and tonic.  She lives in a bedroom she rents from a friend.  She's in her early 30's, divorced, and fired from her job months ago for being drunk and insulting a client.  Her friend doesn't know she's unemployed because Rachel always leaves the house every day to take the train.  

Rachel takes the train past her previous life--the one where she was married and living in a home with a garden that runs up to the tracks.  She passes her home every day, noticing her ex-husband's new wife and baby.  She also notices the house a few doors down, and the man and woman who live there--Jason and Jess, as she calls them.  Gee, they seem to have a perfect life. 

Rachel is a mess.  She has blackouts and can't remember anything that happened.  The drinking ended her marriage, and she can't get past the fact that her husband Tom had an affair and finally divorced her because of her drinking.  She just wants her old life back.

But then she sees something one day while on the train that changes her perception of Jason and Jess and their perfect life.  And she wakes up one morning with dirt on her hands, bruises on her arms, and a bloody wound on her head.  What happened the night before?  The last thing she remembers is getting on the train to go to Witney to talk to her ex-husband.  What happened afterwards?  How did she get home?  Just how drunk was she?

This is a roller coaster of a novel.  Do you trust such an unreliable narrator?  Is she really being honest with herself, and you?  Oh, it gets good, and it gets crazy.  All I will say is that you need to read it all in one sitting, if you can.  It's hard to put down, because Rachel is (pardon the expression) such a train wreck.  But you can't help it--you stick with her.  As well you should.  

That is all I will say.  Read it.  

Rating:  8/10 for an effectively messed up narrator, a chilling look at suburbia, and a twisty ending.  

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audio.  

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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins