Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

Review by Maggie:

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens is a good read but not as enjoyable as her first novel Still Missing.  However, I have heard from many people that they liked it better than her first.  I would be interested in hearing your opinion.  I thought it could use some editing and that it went on for about 100 pages too long. Telling the story through her therapy sessions she is able to convey a sense of stress. This is an effective story telling method that worked well in her first novel. Sara, her character, is an adoptee who is eager to find her birth parents. When she does find them it is a disaster. Her mother wants nothing to do with her and Sara does not want her father to know her. Character development is nil so there is no one that we like. The character we learn the most about is the serial killer father and we end up finding him sympathetic. This book lacks suspense and is bit predictable.

As she did in Still Missing she has the surprise fiend at the end.  As I mentioned before, some patrons are telling me they liked it better than her first novel---what do you think?

~Maggie

Request Never Knowing from The Bangor Public Library

What was your favorite book of 2011?

As we approach a new year I thought it might be fun to hear what everyone's favorite read was in 2011.  Old or new, fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter.   Mine, without question, was Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.  (read Jan's review on Garden Spells)  Maggie's was A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth.  (read Maggie's review on A Kind of Intimacy)  We would love to hear yours.  So, please take a moment to place a comment below and share your favorite book of 2011.

As always, hope to see you in our library someday soon,
Jan

        

True Things About Me by Deborah Davies

This is a story about a nameless, childless, single homeowner ( I think we are told about the house so we know that she was once a responsible person).  She has a job at the benefits bureau and in her capacity as a counselor she encounters a handsome ex con---- within a half hour she meets him in a parking lot and has mindless sex with him.  From that time on she is in thrall to him.  Her behavior is wrong and self destructive but she cannot stop herself.    Ms. X  is in such a compulsive cycle she stops going to work  and neglects her family and only friend.    He steals from her and even beats her and she is totally controlled by him.    We are not given any background on him and do not understand her addiction.  We just read on as Ms. X descends to the gutter.  It is a offbeat story but very readable.

~Maggie

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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Every once in a while a book comes along that is so special it breaches the genre boundaries.  If I had to categorize this I would lean toward calling it woman's fiction, but I think all readers would find something compelling about it.

Garden Spells came highly recommended to me by one of our patrons. I was compelled to pick this book up simply because of her recommendation, but I must confess what finally motivated me was the awesomely low page count of 286! :o) I was in the mood for a short, light read--but what I received was something so much more. From the moment I started the first page I literally could not put it down until I read the very last amazing word, and consequently went to work the following morning yawning with a very large coffee in hand to get me through the day. So, while this is a shorter book, the content is filled with some of the most beautifully written characters I have read in a very long time.

What touched me the most about this book was the relationship journey between four Waverly women: two sisters, a distant cousin, and a five-year-old daughter. It is set in a quirky southern community, with some magic realism thrown in. Each Waverly woman is born with a "gift." Evanelle, the distant cousin, described as "79 but looks like 120", is compelled to give people items like a lighter, or bed sheets, or a mango peeler. Every item she gives will have a significant meaning in the receiver's life. Claire runs a catering business while using herbs from the Waverly garden to weave a magical evening for her clients through her menu. Sydney has a gift for making people look good, and her daughter, Bay, knows where things belong.

Claire has always accepted her gift, unashamed of being one of the "odd" Waverly women, while Sydney hated the distinction and left town as soon as she was old enough. Now Sydney is running from an horrifically abusive boyfriend, knowing he will eventually harm their daughter, and returns home to the only safe place she knows. Although this is a secondary story line, there is a charming love story involving Claire and her neighbor. There is also a mischievous apple tree who (and I will say who because it has emotions) throws apples at people. If a person eats an apple from the Waverly tree, they will see the most important event of their life, which isn't necessarily a good thing. So, the Waverly women are always burying the apples.

I cannot rave enough about this book! There isn't a character or line I would change. There were moments when the author wrote in Bay's perspective, the young daughter, that were simply beautiful, although heart-wrenching. I was thoroughly touched by this book.

Garden Spells is officially on my top ten favorite reads of the year. It was that perfect!

Hope to see you in our library someday soon,
Jan
Request Garden Spells from the Bangor Public Library

A Long Drive Home by Will Allison

A Long Drive Home is a sad and tragic story.  Glen is driving his six year old home from school which he does each day when a driver cuts him off and causes him to slam on his brakes.  Glen is upset but only gives in to road rage when he again encounters the reckless driver and decides to scare him cutting the wheel so it appears he is turning in front of the speeder.  However, the driver veers and crashes into a tree and is killed instantly.  The other driver was an intoxicated teenager.  Glen realizing no one witnessed his actions (except maybe his daughter) lies to police about the accident.  A sly detective Rizzo is able to put bits together and pursues Glen and  the carefully crafted happy suburban life is soon torn asunder.  The tale is told from Glen’s persepective and in a letter he writes to his daughter explaining his actions.  Allison tells a compelling story with great brevity.

Maggie

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Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray

This is an enjoyable read until the last chapter where she wraps everything like a happy package much like the artfully wrapped packages the cakes are delivered in.  The heroine Ruth likes to bake; she has no other outlets when things go wrong or go right she bakes.   She is very good at it and her cakes are legendary ---however, her family is getting really tired of them.  Her happy life all of sudden starts going wrong, her husband loses his job, her teenage daughter starts rebelling, her long divorced mother lives with her, and out of the blue her father who has been missing in action for most of her life has health issues and needs to be looked after-----this does not set well with her mother.  In the meantime, to support her family she starts baking cakes for sale.  Of course, her cake business is a success and as quick as you can say ‘ lemon poppy seed cake’ everyone is living happily ever after.

~Maggie

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The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: the astonishing rise and spectacular fall of a serial impostor by Mark Seal

This is non fiction that reads like a novel.  The story of a young german man that had a yearning to get out of  his rural German village and achieve the American dream.   He arrives in America on a bogus student visa and immediately starts trying on new identities.  After an instant marriage to get a green card--- he completely abandons his german heritage.  He tries out several identities until he hits on the one that guarantees his rise in society.  He is Clark Rockefeller--- the name, his attire and lock jaw manner of speaking give him access to exclusive clubs, upscale social circles and prestigious jobs.  His only credential being the name Rockefeller—If he had not kidnapped his only child after a bitter divorce he would probably be still included in the same social circles instead of languishing in prison awaiting trial on murder charges... So many people were willingly deceived by him and put up with his eccentricities simply because they thought he was a Rockefeller.
~Maggie

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