Memphis Reads Archive

Fiction/Coming of Age



Andrea Bledsoe-King, Cordova Library

Labels: Coming of Age, Fiction, Mainstream Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King, Staff book reviews, Women's Fiction

Labels: Historical Fiction, Reviews by Darletha Matthews, Women's Fiction

Based around Betty Jean (BJ) and Tammy, neighbors in the self-proclaimed Los Angeles ghetto, these women have seen a lot of heartbreak and hatred in their lives but their respective homes are filled with love and warmth.

Betty Jean, a hard-working room service clerk, is doing all she can to hold herself together until retirement. Her “much-older” husband, Lee David, has retired and homebound with Alzheimer’s disease. Betty Jean doesn’t like leaving him alone with a home healthcare nurse, but what choice does she really have if she wants to have any financial stability in the future? Betty Jean will also be the first to tell you she wasn’t the best of mothers to her three kids, but she wasn’t the worst, either.

Tammy, blonde with blue eyes, has always been shunned by other neighbors for marrying a black man. She stands by her decision by stating, “Love isn’t a color; it’s a verb!” Although her adult children, Max and Montana, have not always made the smartest decisions in life, Tammy is still fiercely protective of them.



Andrea King, Poplar White Station

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King, Women's Fiction

Fiction/African American

Nakia reviews SULA by Toni Morrison (Originally published by Knopf, 1973) 

Sula is a story about friendship. It is a story about two young African American women (Sula and Nel) who lived in the South during the early to mid-1900s.  Although they faced many adversities, the two found solace in sharing their joys and sorrows with each other.  Sula is complicated, negative, disloyal and promiscuous, but throughout parts of the book, you will still find yourself pulling for her. She’s gutsy, protective, and brutally honest at times.  I enjoyed reading the development of the other characters in the book as well – Eva, Tar Baby, Hannah, Cecile, Chicken Little and Helene.  

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Nakia Armstrong, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's

Andrea reviews LOVE ANTHONY by Lisa Genova (Gallery Books, 2012)

Just as I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Genova’s other novels, Still Alice and Left Neglected, I totally consumed her newest novel, Love Anthony.

Two women, Olivia and Beth, from two different lifestyles are brought together by a chance encounter as they both are dealing with a loss in their lives.

Olivia is Anthony’s mother. Anthony was diagnosed with autism when he was three. Anthony in his short eight years of life never spoke, hated to be touched, and almost never made eye contact. Olivia and husband David always felt there was an unreachable treatment for Anthony, and when they could not obtain it they felt they failed Anthony in the worst possible way.

Beth, mother of three daughters, is feeling her own loss as she finds out her husband of 14 years has been sleeping with another woman for the past year. Now, the two women are alone and must overcome their heartbreak in their own way. Because of a peculiar meeting, Anthony is brought to life again in a most peculiar way.

This was a heartbreaking tale of motherhood, friendship, and autism. It will inspire readers to have the courage to move on from their personal tragedies.

Andrea King, Poplar-White Station Library

Labels: Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Inspirational


As I was saying, though, I usually don’t read this genre because, personally, I don’t want to “preached at.” This book wasn’t like that; instead, it was a lighthearted and fun read about four women who own and run the small Atlanta-based business, Jelly Jar Catering.
       
Parts were a little cheesy, and a lot of the “women can have it all” rants were tiresome. But overall, business owners Jo and Ellie, and their employees, Cate and Daisy, seemed to be fun people who led realistic lives with all the issues that come along with it. In fact, I almost felt I could have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine with them. I do wish that the author had included some of the recipes the women prepared. (After all, it is a book about a catering company, right?)
       
If readers just want a fun, lighthearted title, How Dolly Parton Saved my Life would be a good choice but I do not recommend it if they want something academic and substantial.


Andrea King, Poplar-White Station Library

Labels: Inspirational Fiction, Reviews by Andrea King, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Historical

Beth reviews BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel Books, 2011).

We all know of Anne Frank, but what about others deported from their homes in the worst of times and forced to live in deplorable conditions?

Between Shades of Gray takes us on Lina's journey before, during and after Stalin's deportation of Lithuanians. Lina lives through the worst mankind has to offer and also amazing kindness from unexpected places. The author, Ruta Sepetys, based the book on interviews from actual survivors. This makes the book all the much harder to read and all the much more a necessity to read it.

Beth, Cordova Branch Library

Labels: Historical Fiction, Reviews by Beth, Women's Fiction

Fiction/African American

Darletha reviews MAMA RUBY by Mary Monroe (Kensington, 2011)

Ruby Upshaw is the seventh daughter of a preacher who resides in Shreveport, Louisiana in the mid-1930s. Ruby’s parents think she is an obedient, upright child, but like her six older sisters, Ruby has been leading a double life since she was eight years old. By the time she is fifteen, she will have enough street smarts to do whatever it takes to survive.

Ruby lives in a racially-segregated town, but she isn’t afraid of anybody. As a plus-sized girl with a tough demeanor and pocket knife for protection, people are afraid of her! Ruby becomes best friends with Othella, the daughter of a well-known prostitute. Despite her father’s warnings to stay away from “fast” girls, Ruby sneaks out of the house regularly to party at Othella’s house and fool around with several boys.

Ruby’s promiscuity leads to the secret birth of a child she is forced to give away. In subsequent years, Ruby and Othella relocate to New Orleans in hopes of finding good husbands, but what they actually encounter are a series of bad situations involving prostitution and violence. Ruby lives a difficult life that will transform her into a bitter, vengeful woman with a score to settle.

This novel is the prequel to Monroe’s debut novel, The Upper Room, which continues the Ruby/Othella story. What stood out to me the most were Ruby’s endless misfortunes, which I might better understand when I read The Upper Room. Readers who love plenty of drama and a candid writing style will enjoy this book. There are many, many shocking moments, so there is plenty to talk about with friends or in a book club setting. As a bonus, the hardback version contains discussion questions and brief interview with Monroe.

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Darletha Matthews, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's

Laura reviews JOY FOR BEGINNERS by Erica Bauermeister (Putnam, 2011)

This book begins with a dinner party that Kate is hosting for her friends as a thank you for their support as she battled cancer. Her friends insisted it was to celebrate that she is now cancer free.

Her friends had been encouraging Kate to take a white-water rafting trip with her daughter, Robin, but Kate has always been too scared to do it. At the dinner party, Kate announced she would do this if each of her six friends would agree to take up their own challenges within a year. Since Kate did not get to choose her challenge, she proposed that she should be allowed to choose the challenge each friend received. Each woman agreed, but with some apprehension.

Each chapter of the book is named after one of the women and reveals how they came to meet another person in this tight-knit circle; how the relationships among the friends developed before, and after, Kate’s cancer; how they approached their challenge; and how their individualized challenge was significant to a weakness they would deal with to help them live their lives more fully.

I particularly enjoyed how it seemed that both similarities and differences among these women and their own life challenges were important to the establishment of their friendships. The group dynamic was interesting in that certain pairs of friends seemed to have closer relationships and see each other more often, but the entire group could still get together and enjoy each other’s company, too.

Laura Salehi, Bartlett Branch

Labels: Reviews by Laura Salehi, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's

Andrea reviews THE WEIRD SISTERS by Eleanor Brown (Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011)

This is not a novel of sentimentality and sap. In fact, the cover reads “See, we love each other. We just don’t happen to like each other very much.”

These three sisters are the daughters of a small town college's Shakespeare professor and his wife. Apparently overzealous in his expertise, Dr. Andreas decided each daughter needed to be named after a Shakespearean heroine. Rosalind, Bianca, and Cordelia are grateful for their names because their father’s colleague, a Classics professor, named his daughter Lysistrata, nicknamed Lyssie!

Dr. Andreas has written each daughter a letter stating, “Come, let us go; and pray to all gods/for our beloved mother in her pains.” As obscure as this message is, each sister realizes it’s time to come home, since their mother has cancer.

Rose, the oldest and dutiful daughter, has decided to put her wedding plans on hold and move back home to take care of her mother. Bean, the flirtatious middle daughter, has gotten fired from her job in New York and decides to return to her small town home as a way of escaping legal and financial issues. Cordy, the spoiled youngest, arrives home to Barnwell last, after indulging in a hippie lifestyle.

Being their father’s daughters, the three spout Shakespearean phrases when conversing or arguing with each other. The liberal sprinkling of such phrases and quotations actually works well, but it also takes some getting used to when reading the book. This novel also took some getting used to based on the fact that the three sisters speak as a single point of view. The pronouns “we” and “us” are most commonly used.

This is a solid, charming, well-written story by Eleanor Brown, who can boast of having her Master’s Degree in Literature. Using the single point of view works well because the sisters can talk about themselves or each other freely and equally. Although the sisters start out at odds with each other and themselves, it was refreshing to see all of them end in peace.

Andrea King, Poplar-White Station Library

Labels: Chick Lit, Reviews by Andrea King, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's Fiction

Darletha reviews GODS IN ALABAMA by Joshilyn Jackson (Warner Books, 2005)

This story begins with one of the best first liners: "There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus."

Chicago transplant, Arlene Fleet, has avoided Alabama, its gods, and all family gatherings since she graduated from high school ten years ago. After she killed Jim Beverly, the high school quarterback, she made a promise to God that she would stop fornicating, never lie, and never return to Possett, Alabama, if the body was never found. Unfortunately, Arlene’s past has arrived in Chicago in the form of Rose Mae Lolley.

Rose Mae, the missing quarterback's girlfriend, is searching for answers to his disappearance. Even worse, Arlene’s African-American boyfriend thinks it's time to be properly introduced to her family, despite warnings of their racist views. Arlene must decide if she is ready to travel down south to come to terms with her not-so-pretty past.

This was a funny but sad novel I couldn’t stop thinking about after I finished reading it. The story is told from Arlene’s perspective, utilizing flashbacks to pull the reader into her inner thoughts and her unexpected, sometimes disturbing, actions. Like many Southern novels, there are quirky but likeable characters. My favorite was Aunt Florence, the proud Southern Baptist who unloads a ton of guilt on Arlene with her sharp wit. Be prepared to laugh and cry because this novel pulls heavily on your emotions.

Darletha Matthews, South Branch Library

Labels: Chick Lit, Reviews by Darletha Matthews, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's

Beth reviews CERTAIN GIRLS by Jennifer Weiner (Atria Books, 2008)

If you missed Jennifer Weiner’s book Good in Bed, you missed a great book! It’s been 13 years and many things have happened to Cannie Shapiro. Her book (also titled Good in Bed) became a bestseller. She, along with her sister Elle and daughter Joy, went on extended book tours. There were television interviews, and newspaper columnists were writing about Cannie (instead of her writing the columns about other people). Her world has changed.

After her book was published and she learned to express her own wishes and personal demons more clearly to Peter, Cannie and Peter finally married. But all the attention of being an author was just too much. Cannie simply stopped. She refused to write another book that would bring her personal attention and picked up a pen name and a book series. She was able to become a stay-at-home mom for Joy.

Joy, now almost 13-years-old and about to be bat mitzvahed, is embarrassed by her mom. To Joy’s eyes, Cannie is always there. Always. Did Joy do her homework? Did she put her hearing aids in? Did she eat her snack? Does she want to go to the park? Or for a walk? And then Joy reads Good in Bed. Who is this woman, her mother? Did Joy ruin her life? What is the truth about Bruce, her real father?

In true rebellious, teenage-girl style, Joy clashes with Cannie at every turn. They argue about the bat mitzvah invitations, the dresses, and even who to invite.

But Peter and Cannie are growing as well. They have decided they want another child. Cannie cannot carry a baby so a surrogate is needed. When do you explain all this to a 13-year-old? And how does one choose a surrogate?

This book is wonderful! I recommend reading Good in Bed first and then enjoying this second installation about a family that truly loves one another—no matter who each person turns out to be.


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Beth, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's Fiction

Beth reviews GARDEN SPELLS by Sarah Addison Allen (Bantam, 2007)

Perhaps it is from being raised on a farm in the southern Appalachians, but the depiction of earth magic in Garden Spells seemed completely natural to me. The thought of families having “legacies,” normal. My Nanny and Mammaw (grandmothers) always touted something herbal for your ailments and poultices seemed common. Sprained your ankle? Wrap it in strips of brown paper bags, soaked in vinegar. (Yes, it really works!) I’m currently seeking horse shoes to place above the entrances to my apartment—I want to catch my luck. This book, with its earth magic and family legacies, made me feel right at home.

This first novel by Sarah Addison Allen quickly had me immersed in the small town of Bascom, N.C. Thirty-four year old bachelorette Claire Waverley, of the Waverley ancestry, expresses her talent through cooking—she evokes emotions in those who eat or drink her homemade foodstuffs. However, not all Waverly’s appreciate their gifts—Claire’s mother ran away from her gift as does her sister, Sydney. Now, 10 years after leaving home, Sydney returns with her daughter, Bay, to the town she ran away from. As Sydney rediscovers her place in Bascom, she also learns of Claire’s fears of new places and experiences. Syndey's compassion for her sister allows her to discover and accept her own Waverley magic. The sisters slowly grow closer and learn to love each other—which brings with it new possibilities.

Curious as the best way to gain someone’s affection? Want someone to express their love? Sarah Addison Allen has included the Waverley’s Kitchen Journal for you to enjoy.


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Beth, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's

Beth reviews THE SAME SWEET GIRLS by Cassandra King (Hyperion, 2005).

Twice a year, six southern college girlfriends make the trek to the reunion of their private society, "Same Sweet Girls." As the novel opens, 30 years have passed and these "girls" are nearing 50. They each have led their own lives, intertwined through and yet so different from the lives of the other SSGs...

Corrine Cooper is a folk artist, but battles serious clinical depression with the help of a manipulative psychiatrist, later to become her husband.

Lanier Brewer is separated after a brief, ill-advised fling.

Astor Deveaux, an exotic, former Broadway dancer, flirts wildly with men but remains with her husband, a famous painter 33 years her senior.

Julia Dupont is trapped in a passionless marriage and an over-scheduled life as Alabama's first lady.

Byrd and Rosanelle round out the group--not quite belonging or accepted.

But when one of the SSGs becomes terminally ill, the remaining friends feel it necessary to resolve their own problems before she dies. With a string of narrators, it is hard to follow this book at first.* Soon however you find names falling into place and the love flowing from one woman to another.

*Try the book on tape! I’ve heard it is wonderful!

Cassandra King is a native of Alabama and has published many stories, essays and books to terrific reviews and acclaim. She currently resides in South Carolina with her husband, Pat Conroy, and belongs to a real-life Same Sweet Girls group, which reunites every year.

Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Beth, Women's Fiction

Fiction/Women's Fiction

Beth reviews the BIG STONE GAP TRILOGY by Adriana Trigiani

Adriana Trigiani, author of the BIG STONE GAP TRILOGY, has created a wonderful series that reminded me of home...with characters who speak with an Appalachian accent and live in a town so small everyone knows everyone else’s business. The writing was perfect. I could hear the dialect and actually "see" the cast of characters...from the cashier to the rescue squad driver to Ave Maria’s family in Italy. This is a series you will have to finish!

BIG STONE GAP (Random House, 2000) is a town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town’s pharmacist and self-proclaimed spinster. At thirty-five, she fills her days with plenty of good friends and hobbies. Then in 1978 her world is turned upside-down and she is suddenly an “It” girl--marriage proposals, greedy family members, partying with celebrities and planning a trip she’ll remember forever. Can Ave Maria handle all the changes in her life? And will they make her happy?

In BIG CHERRY HOLLER (Random House, 2001), Ave Maria has settled into her role as wife to Jack MacChesney and mother of Etta and Joe. But this new life isn’t what she had expected--with death, job-loss and many temptations. Ave Maria visits her family in Italy to decide what she wants or needs to do for her family and marriage. But in Italy romance is in the air and Ave has her own tests to face thanks to handsome Pete Rutledge. Is her marriage to Jack going to make it?

The last of the trilogy, MILK GLASS MOON (Random House, 2002), brings us to Etta’s teen years. Ave Maria is torn--she wants Etta to grow up but also stay "her little girl." A fortune-teller brings Ave Maria hope with the phrase "redream" but also brings uncertainty. As Ave travels to Italy and New York City, we share her stresses with family, friendships and life. Can Etta flourish under her mother’s pressure and attempts to influence her? Will Etta find what is in her own heart? Can Ave Maria accept the changes she must face with the passing of time?


Beth, Highland Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Beth, Women's Fiction

Doris Dixon reviews DIGGING TO AMERICA by Anne Tyler (Knopf, 2006).

When does a foreign-born person stop being an outsider?

One afternoon at the Baltimore airport, two families--one white, the other Iranian American--wait for their newly adopted daughters to arrive from Korea. Soon afterward, Bitsy and Brad Donaldson and Sami and Ziba Kazdan meet for dinner. Over time, the lives of the two couples become intertwined as their extended families gather each year to celebrate "Arrival Day," the anniversary of their daughters' first day in America. But are the two families close? Sami's mother Maryam doubts it. Now a widow, Maryam joined her new husband in the United States years before the Iranian Revolution of 1979. She is very familiar with the customs and language, but still feels like a foreigner. She blames Americans like the Donaldsons with their unstated rules of etiquette and fascination with the exotic. With the help of an unlikely new suitor, Maryam learns that most people, even those born in the United States, feel like outsiders at one point or another. Anne Tyler's seventeenth novel will appeal to readers who enjoy thoughtful, character-driven stories.


Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews by Doris Dixon, Women's Fiction

Clark Taylor reviews SUSANNAH'S GARDEN by Debbie Macomber (Mira, 2006).

Middle-aged Susannah Nelson takes stock of her life. Despite having a loving husband and a satisfying job, she realizes something is missing. Lately she's been remembering Jake, her high school sweetheart, who disappeared three decades ago. When Susannah goes back home to help her aging, increasingly forgetful mother, she tries to figure out what happened to Jake.

This is a touching and entertaining story about relationships and should have appeal for many, especially baby boomer parents. Debbie Macomber skillfully interweaves the various stories: Susannah's conflicts with her rebellious college-age daughter; her interactions with her husband after 25 years of marriage; her struggles to care for her mother; her longing to locate her high school boyfriend; and her rekindled friendships with former high school girlfriends.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could identify with several aspects of Susannah's story. I highly recommend it.


Clark Taylor, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: Women's Fiction

"WOMAN, BE WISE"

WILD STARS SEEKING MIDNIGHT SUNS (Doubleday, 2006) is the latest collection of short stories from playwright, novelist, and short fiction writer J. California Cooper. Readers are invited to learn from the mistakes of a cross-section of women and men. In "As Time Goes By," Futila Ways invests her time in satisfying and keeping tabs on her lover. She thinks her sister is foolish for pursuing an education. "The Eye of the Beholder," the strongest story in the collection, follows Lily Bea's efforts at self-improvement. Believing her to be ugly, her mother arranges a loveless marriage to an old, skinflint dry cleaner. Lily Bea's beauty shines as she finally gains love and independence. Tashyah and Greg are both bored by their lives and material possessions in "Success" but neither knows how to sustain a meaningful relationship. "Just-Life Politics" is the funniest story. On his death bed, a miserly employer asks his maid to pray for him. Her response is hilarious.

Cooper encourages readers to extend themselves beyond the mundane into a larger, beautiful world full of opportunities. But, in order to enjoy all that the world offers, one must choose carefully how and with whom to invest time, energy, and love.

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For your consideration:

The Random House Readers' Companion includes a biographical sketch. Its questions for book clubs are particularly good. I am "borrowing" question 2 for this post:

"Cooper has been praised throughout her career for her unique style. How would you define that narrative style? Do the narrators in each story adopt a common tone and/or speak from a common situation, or are there significant differences between her narrators? What are the strengths of this style, and what might be its shortcomings? Which characters do you feel tell their stories most effectively? Can you think of other writers who use the same kind of narrative device?"

The book's dust jacket includes the following words of praise:

“My fifth grade teacher, who has since become one of my friends, one day said, ‘Instead of calling and asking me for advice, try reading J. California Cooper.’”

—Halle Berry, from “Halle Berry’s Bookshelf” in O, The Oprah Magazine, on Some Love, Some Pain, Sometime

How useful is J. California Cooper's "advice"?

Labels: African-American Fiction, Reviews by Doris Dixon, Women's Fiction

Kristin Hannah, MAGIC HOUR (Ballantine Books, 2006).

When's the last time you read a good tearjerker? Well, put on the kettle, find a comfy chair, and curl up with Kristin Hannah's latest.

Dr. Julia Cates has spent years focusing on little else than building an impressive career as a child psychiatrist. When a client goes on a shooting rampage, the teen girl’s parents and the media blame Julia for not predicting the tragedy. Her career in shambles, she goes home to Rain Valley, Washington at the request of her sister Ellie. A strange, lost child has suddenly appeared in town and, Ellie, the chief of police, tries to help her. The girl is wild, cannot speak and has scars from ankle restraints.

Julia agrees to work with the six-year-old girl, who she quickly realizes is only terrified not autistic. She talks soothingly to the child, sings to her, and moves her from the hospital nursery into a customized cocoon, a safe space Julia creates in her own childhood bedroom. Over time, the girl responds to bedtime stories, trips outside and anything colored red. Julia calls her "Alice" after the famous story, one of the girl's favorites. Alice comes to trust her protector and even speaks simple words like "stay" and "no leave." But will she ever be able to tell Julia who she is and how she became lost in the woods?

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MAGIC HOUR will appeal to readers who enjoy inspiring, heartwarming stories. It is not a "gentle read" in the strictest sense because of a peppering of mild profanity. The novel best fits into the category of "WOMEN'S FICTION." According to Diana Tixier Herald, Women's Fiction:

• centers on the lives of women and how they overcome challenges often with the support of friends
  
• includes but does not focus primarily on romantic interests
  
• focuses on relationships, friendships and humor
  
• features mature women protagonists
  
• has an emotional appeal
  

[(Genreflecting: A Guide to Popular Reading Interests 6th ed.(Libraries Unlimited, 2006): p. 494.]

Kristin Hannah began her career writing romances. Hannah has a gift for depicting human relationships, the ways people disappoint and support one another. In this novel, her 16th, she examines the ties between sisters and childhood friends. A gentle, romantic relationship blossoms between Julia and Dr. Max Cerrasin, the physician who first examines Alice. Like Julia, Max fled Los Angeles for emotional and professional reasons. But, the bond between Julia and Alice is the real love story. Both Julia and Alice are transformed as their special relationship evolves.

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For your consideration:

• What did you like best about Kristin Hannah's MAGIC HOUR?
  
• Who are you favorite writers of Women's Fiction? (examples include Julia Alvarez, Elizabeth Berg, Maeve Binchy, Jennifer Chiaverini, Pearl Cleage, Debbie Macomber, Terry McMillan, Luanne Rice, and Joanna Trollope).
  
• What other genres do you enjoy reading?

Doris Dixon, Raleigh Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Doris Dixon, Women's Fiction