Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first Neil Gaiman book, and I'm not sure I've ever read anything quite like it. It starts out as a book about a man going back to his hometown for a funeral, but doesn't follow any familiar tropes or plots after that. It becomes part memory, part fairytale (complete with a mean stepmother-ish character). But it was so incredibly well-written and the characters well-developed, that it wasn't cheesy or tired, it was spellbinding. I would never have read a book that someone described to me this way, I'd have thought it wasn't my style, but wow - was this good.

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Review: The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was really enjoyable to read. It was about a girl and her father, and alternated chapters between their current life, and the father's life in the past. The father had been involved in many illegal heists and scams/schemes, yet made a reasonably normal life for his daughter. (OK, to be fair, it wasn't "normal" or "stable" in that they moved often, and quickly, and there was a strange shrine to the girl's mother kept in the bathroom of whatever their current home was, but compared to his past, it was as good as he could do.) I really liked both the father and the daughter, and am still not quite sure which was the protagonist. Well-written, great character development, and surprising plot.

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Review: Rise: How a House Built a Family

Rise: How a House Built a Family by Cara Brookins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I hate when this happens - when someone is strong and brave and interesting, and publishes a memoir that is not well-enough written and edited. This was my issue with Casting Lots: Creating a Family in a Beautiful, Broken World and it's my issue here. Brookins is amazing - she escapes an abusive marriage (which she outlines in flashbacks throughout the book) and decides that what she and her four school-age children need to do is build a house - from scratch - to reboot their lives. And they do. From Sheetrock to flooring to framing, they literally build a house from scratch. I admire her and I loved the story, but I wish the writing had been better - more descriptive about the emotions, and less of a progress log. Brava Cara, but wish I had enjoyed reading about this more.

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Review: The Women in the Castle

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this book browsing at the library and didn't know anything about it. The plot was intriguing - after WWII, a woman seeks out the wives of several Nazi resisters whose husbands were killed as part of an unsuccessful plot to murder Hitler. She brings them together in an old estate, where the form a support system and kind of a family together. The book alternates between pre-war and post-war times, and I enjoyed learning about the characters' backstories, and also seeing what happened to them going forward. This was both well-written and well-plotted, with twists, disappointments, and victories, all of which made me see how much I had been invested in the characters.

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Review: Since We Fell

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was advertised on what seemed like every bus in Boston, and I like Dennis Lehane so I gave it a try. Like his other books, this was an addictive page-turner. This novel starts at the end - with protagonist Rachel shooting her husband. The next 3/4 of the book is her life story, leading up to that moment. Rachel doesn't have an easy life, and as a newscaster, she has an on-air meltdown, which leads her to years as a recluse. Once she realizes her (otherwise) picture-perfect life with her husband is anything but, she overcomes her anxiety and the novel gets really fun, with a movie-script amount of action. Did not disappoint.

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Review: The Blinds

The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It was about a town where people who were criminals or witnesses can go, get their memories wiped, and live "normally" for the rest of their lives. The novel had a very colorful and well-developed cast of characters, and did a good job setting up the town and the situation before diving into the mystery and action than dominates the second half of the book. I predict this becomes a mini-series on NBC :)

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