All We Ever Wanted

This is an absolutely fantastic, well worth your time, energy, emotion book. The characters are so well written and developed: Nina’s strength and determination; Tom’s utter belief in defending his daughter; Kirk’s absolute entitlement and elitism; Lyla’s fortitude and teen emotions; Finch’s mirroring his father’s attitude. The story is true to life for many teens: peer pressure, media nonchalance, and  today’s gossip is forgotten tomorrow. In this case, the deed is too harmful for parents to brush off and therein lies the story: trust betrayed, covered up sins, glossing over by teens. It is hard stuff for a parent to swallow, easy for some teens.

This is a tough topic within a thoroughly great book.

The Perfect Couple

The Perfect Couple is a terrific book by Elin Hildebrand. There is a crime, a series of secrets and enough things going on to make you shake your head and wonder whose shoe is going to drop next. The plot is actually rather fun (even with a possible murder at its core) because so many character stories intersect, run parallel, and diverge. Just when you might feel secure in thinking you have it all figured out you have not.

How to Walk Away

This book wrenched my very soul with the persistent, hard line look at the emotions the main character felt and experienced. Imagine being cajoled into flying when you deathly fear it and then being seriously injured in a fiery crash and the cajoler walks away unscathed. Plus, he is your just new fiancé and he cannot cope with your injuries or prognosis. Imagine your utter and complete devastation and then try to find a way to recover and regain some semblance of normalcy. This is what faces Margaret and this heart hitting book paints no rosy picture but one of grit, determination, desolation, and, ultimately, a form of success and new normalcy.

The Life Lucy Knew

Very, very very good book! It catches you right away and pulls you further and further into the story of a young woman suffering from a head injury and whose memories have been rewritten by her brain. I cannot fathom the idea of not knowing what my real reality is when there are so many secrets being held by others out of concern for my well being. Reading how the main character, Lucy, navigates her new reality and tries to come to terms with her false memories is truly engrossing and fascinating.