Since We Last Spoke by Brenda Ruffener, 287 pages

This was a hard book to read subject wise but you know that's a possibility by the blurb on the back.  I kept putting the book down but then almost instantly picking it back up because I had to know what happened. I didn't cry until the end of the book at which point I started sobbing. It's the type of book that I hope everyone will read. It brings to light things people don't always want to talk about but should. Grief should never be bottled up. Teen readers and adults readers will both get a lot from this book.

Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover 334 pages

I struggle with how I want to describe this book.  It was riveting, but so unsettling.  This autobiography was remarkable in that the author got out and away from her upbringing as well adjusted as she did.  Don't get me wrong, I'll bet she's going to be struggling for the rest of her life to undo the damage growing up the way she did caused.  However, the fact that she was able to break away from her family and all their psychological problems and abuse is really impressive.  Her story is never really presented in a woe-is-me way, it is presented in a very matter of fact way that is almost more unsettling.  I love biographies and this is one that I will probably never forget. 

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, 277 pages

Oh, this is a well written, but sad, story.  Esme Lennox is a high strung young woman from a good family who does not conform easily to her parents wishes.  It is sometime in the early 1930's in Scotland and "difficult" women can be locked away in a mental institution for really no reason at all, with no prospect of release.

The story involves three women: Esme, her older sister Kitty, and Iris, the granddaughter of Kitty.  Sixty-one years after Esme is locked away and forgotten by her family her grandniece, Iris, learns of her existence.  The story of what really happened all those years ago unfolds slowly through the voices of Esme and Kitty, who now has Alzheimer's disease.  The book has a satisfying ending but I am unsure if it is a happy ending.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, 286 pages

The Owens women are witches and unlucky in love.  So it has been for over 200 years.  Two young sisters lose their parents and move across the country to be raised by two elderly aunts they've never met.  Thus begins Alice Hoffman's "Practical Magic."

I missed the book the first time around and read it after reading the excellent prequel, "The Rules of Magic."  Both are entertaining chick lit reads.  I'm glad I went back and read this one, though my heart remains with the Rules.  It was great fun to see how Alice Hoffman has matured as a writer between the 1995 publication of "Practical Magic" and the 2017 publication of "The Rules of Magic."

The Alphabet Sisters by Monica McInerney, 437 pages

The "Alphabet Sisters" is the story of three estranged sisters and their grandmother who finagles them back in the same room again by demanding they attend her 80th birthday party.

Set in Australia, it is the story of the sisters relationship with each other and the men in their lives.  It is also the story of the sisters being on their own for the three years they didn't speak and how that changed them.

This book was okay but I would have been happier if it ended 100 pages earlier than it did.  

The Past by Tessa Hadley, 362 pages

This is a book club book for the library.  Some of the book club members didn't like it.  Not much happens.  It's about four adult siblings, three sisters and one brother, who spend three weeks at their grandparents house in the English countryside.  The group has to decide if they are going to keep the house or sell it. 

I liked the family dynamics and one dramatic part in the book, okay really, one line saved the whole thing for me. 

So, if someone is looking for a mostly calm, well written book with not a whole lot of action then this just might be the book for you.

Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst, 278 pages

In the mood for a bit of psychological thriller?  Interested in a book about the autism spectrum?  Like a good family story?  This book has all that and more.

The story unfolds from the perspective of three characters: Alexandra (mom), Tilly (on the spectrum) and Iris (Tilly's sister).  Alexandra and Josh, parents to Tilly and Iris, are looking for help with raising Tilly the best way possible.  They think the find the answer in Scott Bean, who has a blog about how to have a harmonious family with a child on the autism spectrum.  Scott Bean has the idea of starting Camp Harmony, a camp where families will spend a week, learning how to better interact with each other.

Alexandra, Josh and the girls leave their life and head to Camp Harmony to help start the camp with two other families, along with Scott.  Unfortunately, things end up being not so harmonious at the camp . . .

The Bartender's Tale by Ivan Doig, 414 pages

This is billed is a Western, which frankly, is not my genre of choice.  Set in a small Montana town in 1960, it may be a Western but it is also a coming of age story.

Rusty lives with his bachelor father, Tom, who owns the locally famous bar, the Medicine Lodge.  Rusty's mom left when Rusty was just a baby, but the two do just fine on their own.

The summer Rusty turns 12 brings changes to their lives.  This is a slow paced tale that totally captivated me from the beginning. 

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, 262 pages

Eilis Lacey is an Irish immigrant to Brooklyn after WWII.  She takes a job as a bookkeeper and moves into a boarding house. While in America she sort of reinvents herself and finds romance and a career both of which seemed unattainable at home.  But when a family tragedy takes her back to Ireland, she discovers what her life might have been like if she had stayed.  And then she has to make a choice, go back to America where she has commitments and a life waiting for her.  Or stay.  I won't tell you the choice she makes and I'm not even sure it was the right choice.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction from this era.  It has some romance, but I wouldn't catalog it as such.

America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, 587 pages

"America's First Daughter" is the fictionalized account of Martha "Patsy" Jefferson Randolph, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson.  The authors based the story on letters and other primary sources, as much as possible.

It is an enthralling and intriguing story about the life of Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter, who was alive during the Revolutionary War and traveled with him to Paris when he became America's minister to France.  They were in France as that country's own revolution started.

Patsy was a wife and a mother of 11 children, but she was always foremost the daughter, companion and protector of her father.  Reading this makes me want to learn more about his other family as well, the Hemings. 

The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett, 357 pages

Sabine was the assistant to her magician husband, Parsifal.  He dies and she finds out his family, who she thought was dead, are alive and well in Nebraska.

After Parsifal's mother and one of his sisters visit her in Los Angeles, she travels to Nebraska, in the dead of winter, to find out more about the life Parsifal lived as a boy.

Ann Patchett weaves a wonderful story of loss and love and family and acceptance in this book that also includes a bit of magic.

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family & Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, 272 pages

I started this book thinking I know Hillbillies and their experiences because I had my own grandmother called Mamaw.  My dad was the oldest of seven, and the only one of his siblings to leave North Carolina.  But I did not live the life that J.D. Vance experienced.  I wasn't even exposed to it when visiting my family in North Carolina.

This is a book about broken families and a broken society that our government isn't able to fix, and is perhaps, making worse.  It goes a long way to explaining how our new president got elected.

How do we make the American Dream real and attainable for all Americans?  How do we heal broken families and break the cycle of poverty, abuse and lack of education?  Until we find those answers as a country and society, I fear we will continue to be divided.

The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins, 360 pages

It is 1959 and 12-year old Christy Hurley lives in Ireland with his father and extended family.  They are travellers, tinkers, nomads.  Christy's grandfather dies, the extended family settles down for a time so that Christy and his cousin Martin can get confirmed and Christy discovers a family secret that changes his world.

This is one of those rare novels that is so beautifully written that I didn't want it to end.

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, 302 pages

Ann Patchett's latest novel spans 50 years and tells the story of a blended family.  It all begins when Bert Cousins crashes Franny Keating's christening party because he wants to avoid his own four children and wife.

By the end of the party, Bert has kissed Franny's beautiful mother Beverly, which eventually leads to divorce and remarriage and six children being thrown together as step siblings. 

Love and families are complicated.  What shines brightly through this story is the love and loyalty that binds them together.  Ann Patchett is an incredibly gifted novelist and wowed me again.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty, 415 pages

Liane Moriarty's latest chick lit epic involves three couples and an infamous weekend barbecue. Something happens at the get-together and everyone there feels they are to blame, even the kids.

The actual event is shrouded in mystery and more than half of the book builds up to the big reveal.

Complicated relationships, difficult parents, strained marriages . . . pretty much life.  This wasn't my favorite Liane Moriarty book but it was definitely fun and worth the listen.

Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch, 256 pages

This is a sweet little slightly magical tale about a small cheese operation in County Cork, Ireland.  The two old cheese makers who run the operation, Corrie and Fee, determine they need to look for a new cheese maker.

Two unlikely candidates, Abbey, the estranged granddaughter of Corrie and Kit, a recently fired New York banker just might fill the bill.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, 297 pages

The book begins "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet."  This is the story of a family with a Chinese father and Caucasian mother who were married at a time when that was illegal in some states.  Lydia dies at the age of 16 in 1977.

Lydia, the favorite of three children, drowns and the question is was it murder or suicide?  The Lee's are an unhappy family with a mother, Marilyn, who wanted to be a doctor but fell in love and got pregnant so became a stay at home wife and mother instead.  It is the story of father James, the son of Chinese immigrants who has felt discrimination his whole life.  It is the story of their three lonely children who are the only Asian children in their schools.  The parents put all of their energy, hopes and dreams into Lydia.  This is hard on all three of the Lee children.

The first 3/4 of the book were very difficult to read.  Lots of sadness, lack of communication, frustration, misunderstanding and anger.  I almost gave up on it and would have, if it wasn't a book club book.  I am so glad I didn't give up.  The last 1/4 was hopeful, powerful and healing.  This is not a book where the story is tied up prettily at the end but it ends on a note of hope and that little bit of hope is all I need to be satisfied.

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, 237 pages

"Vinegar Girl" is a fun retelling of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew."

Kate Battista is an acerbic, put-upon 29 year old who works at a daycare, basically raises her 15 year-old sister and takes care of the household for her scientist father.

Her father asks even more of her when he requests that she marry his lab assistant, Pyotr Shcherbakov, to keep the young man from being deported.

This is a short and fun book that I recommend to fellow readers of chick lit.

A Few of the Girls: Stories by Maeve Binchy, 319 pages

A Few of the Girls is a collection of short stories by Maeve Binchy that was published posthumously.

I listened to this collection that was read by several different people.  I am not much of a short story person, but I enjoyed the stories.  Some were happy, some were sad.  All dealt with human relationships in one way or another.

Maeve was a prolific writer and I wonder if some of these were ideas she jotted down to be fleshed out later.  Whatever their purpose they offered the chance for me to step into Maeve's world one more time.

The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love and Loss by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt, 304 pages

CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt.  At the beginning of her 91st year they started an email correspondence where they shared what was important to each of them and what they still wanted to learn about each other.

I listened to the book and each read their own letters.  It was a fascinating look into their lives and strong relationship.  I probably would have never picked up this book, but I heard Anderson Cooper talk about it at a conference a few months ago and it sounded intriguing.