book review: The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

The front of this book promised ‘taut, almost unbearable suspense.’ I have to say, I was skeptical, particularly once I began reading and the style was epistolary. How unbearably suspenseful can a series of letters really be?

Turns out, pretty taut.

Talk about a page turner! This (*very) young bride’s husband is shipped off to fight the Civil War after a single day of married life together. He is a widower with a young son—hence the book title, the second Mrs. Hockaday.

The book notes tell that the story was inspired by a real incident. I’m sure there was a LOT of conjecture on the part of the author, but it sure made for a good story! Many of the letters are written by Placidia (the second Mrs. Hockaday) from jail, as she’s awaiting trial. As the reader, you have to first unravel why she’s in jail and what she’s accused of, then determine why she won’t defend herself. The nice part is, it’s mostly Southern women in the 1860s writing, so the vagueness of the details that keeps the reader in suspense feels believable as ‘ladies won’t talk about such things’ rather than anything overly contrived on the part of the author to maintain the suspense for her readers.

The conclusion was satisfying, although as in the case of most reasonably authentic war stories (and in the case of a marital conflict as turns out to be the case here) — there’s not a ‘happy’ ending so much as the avoidance of any further disaster.

Highly recommend. This was a fun read!

book review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

How did I earn an English degree without ever reading this book? It was wonderful. This was one of those books that I’d heard referenced occasionally but still managed to know nothing about. It did not disappoint, and I can see why it’s often referenced as an iconic story. Generations of love and loss, with poverty as the background of it all. The book includes so many memorable scenes, and many realistic characters. I was actually sad for the story to end, because you know there’s so much more to come for the very real-feeling people you’ve gotten to know.

The author based the setting and many of the incidents on her own life, which is saddening based on the level of poverty. One chilling thing that comes up over and over again is a ‘game’ the family plays that they are lost and can’t find anything good to eat, which is how the parents try to distract the children when there is nothing to feed their family. The children narrowly escape many horrors and painfully endure others. Despite the setting and the reality portrayed, the story is hopeful. The protagonist Francie loves to read, using books to explore other worlds and lives, which ultimately opens up a wider future for her than most.

Francie’s hardworking mother is both a hero and an anti-hero in the book, as you watch her love for a hopeless lost cause (Francie’s father) drain the family, but as the reader, I was also inspired by the way she persevered in difficulty and stayed true to her commitment. The entire family’s story was captivating, from the younger siblings to the grandmother to the singing-waiter-father, as the author gives regular glimpses back into the parents’ earlier lives. She has a strong message of paternal sacrifice as the older generation has come to America, knowing they will be destitute and scorned for their ethnicity, but hoping that it will lead to a brighter possible future for their children and grandchildren.

book review: Cemetery Road by Greg Isles

New favorite book opening!

I never meant to kill my brother. I never set out to hate my father. I never dreamed I would bury my own son. Nor could I have imagined that I would betray the childhood friend who saved my life, or win a Pulitzer prize for telling a lie. All these things I have done, yet most people I know would call me an honorable man.

Caught my attention right away.

This book had a lot of twists and turns, general intrigue and —-very unfortunate adult content. I’ve never read this author before and he really held my attention in some of the opening action sequences—which are SO difficult to write. For example, a sequence of swimming across the freezing Mississippi River with a group of friends on a careless dare was truly riveting. The sequences relaying his experiences as a war journalist were also captivating and felt authentic.

Unfortunately, because the content involves a betrayal (an extramarital affair) the content descends and there were a lot of parts I didn’t read. I felt like the really compelling layers of inter-connected mysteries could have existed without that. Disappointing. The final question of “who fathered this child” can be asked without showing the reader.

Book review: bridge to haven by Francine Rivers

I literally hated every single thing about this book. I only finished it because it’s by one of my top-three-favorite authors. Honestly, I was so angry reading it that I think my motivation to finish was I felt like I had to finish the fight I was having with Francine Rivers. Bailing on reading would have been the equivalent of walking away from a fight I was morally justified in winning because the other person was so, so, SO SO very wrong.

A friend of mine told me that I need to stop reading books that have anything to do with foster care, and he’s right. Because people get it SO WRONG and it breaks my brain.

SPOILERS AHEAD BUT THIS BOOK IS GARBAGE SO DON’T READ IT

Let me summarize this hideousness. Druggie woman delivers a baby under a bridge (book title) in a town called Haven (also book title). Town pastor strong-arms his wife into being foster parents when she’s terminally ill. Wife dies. Husband/dad bails on the foster child but keeps his biological son. The foster daughter gets adopted by someone else—a family (who by the way wanted the baby from the beginning but he made a commitment to this child and then bailed when things got hard!!) who have a daughter her age; they were best friends but as sisters are endlessly competitive. The pastor’s biological son and the foster/adopted daughter continue their intimate sibling relationship as they grow but the pastor cuts off contact saying essentially ‘it’s too hard’ and ‘I want her to bond with her new dad.’

Ok, so now they’re grown up. The girl has a series of horrifically abusive relationships with men (one of which includes a man forcing her to have an abortion against her will when she gets pregnant). So she comes back home now (she shaved her head because she’s edgy) and runs into her foster brother at a restaurant and “falls in love” with him who of course has “always loved her.” Wait, I’m sorry, what? GROSS GROSS GROSS. And the crazy thing is, we’re supposed to ship them—like the author isn’t using this to emphasize her male-relationship issues. But wait, there’s more. The girl’s biological mother re-appears (she’s successful now, by the way, and beautiful), and starts a relationship with the boy’s dad (the pastor, one who bailed on being the girl’s parent).

Hold it because I’m still not to the worst part. The kids get married (ew!), but the girl is still uncomfortable with his father who abandoned her (gee, go figure). But it’s ok because there’s like a big snowstorm and this huge healing moment for the family and SURPRISE the big healing at the end isn’t from her finding a safe, intimate male relationship with her brother-husband (which is gross anyway) — no no no — it’s from the father-in-law that she’s finally accepted is her “true father” and that the abandonment is what was best for her (EXCUSE ME?) and SHE STARTS TO CALL HIM DADDY AGAIN. HER HUSBAND-BROTHER’S DAD. SHE’S CALLING HIM DADDY.

I honestly had to wash my hands after reading this; it was that heinous.

FREE FAMILY EBOOK: the night the angels got lost

Not only is this a fun family story, it’s FREE to download for any device right now! Can’t beat that!

The Night the Angels Got Lost (or so I thought) by Laurie Christine Ressler is a retelling of the birth of Christ from the perspective of a young shepherd girl complete with fun details and dialogue. This three-part read-aloud series helps fill the gap for older children who are past picture books but still willing to sit with you to hear a story.

Highly recommend!

Click here to download the book.

Post-baby catchup: book review list

A new baby joined our family in March, and I’ve been remiss in blogging. I am now ready to catch up! The good news is that, while I’ve been nearly unable to write anything, I’ve been reading like crazy! Very excited to share a series of book review blogs as we head into the holidays. Some I liked, some were fine, and a few I absolutely hated.

Look for reviews on…

• The Night the Angels Got Lost by Laurie Christine Ressler (my first children’s book review!)

• The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

• The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan

• The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

• Cemetery Road by Greg Isles

• Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers