A Place for Us is a deeply emotional novel told through the different viewpoints and perceptions of an Indian-American family. Author Fatima Mirza takes us through the struggles and personal turmoil that parents Rafiq and Layla endure as they search for ways to make their children's lives happy but still wholesome in their Muslim faith. As they look back on their lives, they find themselves coping with the decisions they had to make to keep their youngest and only boy, Amar, on the same religious path that they themselves have been on. With this pressure, Amar struggles to find a place in the Muslim community, but perhaps even more within his own family.
I enjoyed the intersecting points of view from each of the family members, but the constantly shifting perspective may be confusing to some. The book ends with a powerful monologue from Rafiq to Amar, his words pained and racked with regret. It was a deeply moving end to this emotionally charged piece of literature.
Freelance writer Nikole Paterson is at a Dodgers game with her boyfriend, when he proposes to her on the Jumbotron, but everything about this moment is horrible. They've only been dating for five months, and they've never even talked about getting married. Worst of all, he couldn't even spell her name right. Nik obviously turns him down, only to be met by a camera crew intent on further capturing her humiliation.
Carlos Ibarra and his sister Angela swoop in to save the say, hustling Nik out of the stadium and into a bar where her friends are waiting to help her lick her wounds.
This is such a warm, engaging romance novel, where we see Nik and Carlos evolve from friends to more than friends, all the while trying to carefully navigate the threads of their casual relationship as it develops into something more. While this is technically a sequel to The Wedding Date, you do not have to read it to enjoy this one.
Full of fun and with a sharp feminist edge, The Proposal is a romance novel you definitely don't want to miss.
Seven Days of Us is a novel that follows the Birch family during their seven day quarantine when the eldest daughter, Olivia, comes home from treating Haag patients in Liberia. Along with their younger daughter, Phoebe, and surprise visit from Mr. Birch’s son, whom he didn’t know about until recently, the Birch family find themselves learning more than they
bargained for during the holiday! With secrets abound and slow churning chaos ensuing once hidden truths are exposed, will these secrets drive an already unraveling family apart, or will it knit them back together with a stronger bond?
This novel was thoroughly interesting and original,
sentimental without heavy hysterics. Although it is not exactly a sad novel, it did have its points where I was enveloped with all of the feelings and empathy of the characters, truly grasping their sadness. Hornak weaves an absorbing tale of the Birch family that kept my nose in the book, making it hard to put down. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy novels filled with family drama and realistic endings.
Thirteen-year-old Lenora (Leni) Allbright has never really had a place she can call home. Her father, Ernt Allbright, a Vietnam POW, is always convinced that the next place they move to will return him to the man he was before the war changed him. After losing yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision to move his family to Alaska, despite Leni and her mother's reluctance to leave behind everything they know to venture into America's last true frontier.
The Allbrights meet a group of friendly people who are more than willing to help them prepare for the harsh winter ahead and lend some much needed heart to a lackluster existence. But it's not long before everyone learns that no matter how far you go, you can't outrun your demons, and with the devastating snow storms, and near constant darkness that winter brings, Leni and her mother must work together to survive against all odds.
Kristin Hannah brings the wild beauty of the Alaskan landscape to life, painting it as the stunning and dangerous place it is. Full of dark places and broken dreams, The Great Alone also shows just how strong the bond between mother and daughter can become. Highly recommended.
Ironfoot is the first book in the Enchanter General series by Dave Duncan. It takes place in 12th century Norman-ruled England, an especially bad time to be a a poor, crippled, Saxon youth. But such is the lot of our hero, Durwin, nicknamed Ironfoot for the metal boot he wears to support an injured leg. By chance, his cleverness and competency with horses earns him a place as a student at a university which teaches the art of magic along with the sciences. When catastrophe befalls a professor’s noble family, Durwin is called upon to accompany him home. While at the castle, he uncovers a string of murders and the burden of solving them falls upon his shoulders. He needs all his wits, luck with his spellwork, and the aid of the school bully to solve them.
This book would appeal to those who enjoy historical mysteries as well as fantasy readers. The setting is quite historically detailed, with just a little bit of magic thrown in. It should be interesting to follow Durwin’s career from lower-class stable-boy to Enchanter General as the series continues. The next book, Trial by Treason just came out in October 2018.
This is a book reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale. It is the story of a near-future America in which women and girls are given just 100 words to speak per day. They receive a jolt of electricity through a metal counter (i.e. bracelet) for every word they speak after 100. Women have been sent back in time to where they are the homemakers, cooking dinner for their husbands and tending to household needs while the men work "real" jobs. Books are thrown out or locked up with the only key on the husband’s keychain; men are in charge of everything from finances to medical decisions; women aren't allowed to write or even gesture with their hands to communicate. Adulterers (women only, because "boys will be boys…") and homosexuals are taken to labor camps in the Midwest. The country, in short, is run by morally "Pure" men.
Though Dalcher’s writing took some time to get used to (she is a little more candid than I am used to), by the midway point, I was totally sucked into the story. It's a semi-believable plot with just enough sexist garbage to really fire me up! Dalcher really knows what to say to frustrate the heck out of women reading this, but in the best possible way! It had me wanting to march in the streets and burn down the patriarchy.
To conclude, I ended up enjoying this book. It's a solid debut and I recommend it to those who like Atwood or other dystopian works of fiction.
On a snowy December night in London, Laurie James looks out the window of her bus and sees him-- the man she's convinced, in that split second, is the one. Their eyes meet, he makes a move in her direction... and then the bus drives away. Laurie becomes obsessed, spending months scanning every face at every bus stop and every cafe in the hopes that it's him. But it never is.
That is, until her best friend and roommate, Sarah, introduces him to Laurie at a Christmas party a year later as Jack, the man of Sarah's dreams.
One Day in December is a tense but moving romance spanning almost a decade as Laurie and Jack try to navigate life with each other... but not with each other. Theirs is not the only love story, though. The relationship between Laurie and Sarah is just as, if not more, important than whatever Laurie and Jack may or may not have. It's why Laurie keeps Jack's identity as "bus boy" a secret, so as not to break Sarah's heart. And it's why the ultimate climax of the book takes on an even deeper meaning-- Laurie and Sarah's relationship has to be solid before any relationship between Laurie and Jack can begin.
