MONTHLY WRAP-UP: SOME FABULOUS READS!

 

Wow!  How could August be over already?  Summer is ending, and it all just flew by.  The good news:  I read more books this month than last.  The not-so-good news: not as many as some previous months.

There were some stunning books on my stack.  Click the titles for my reviews, and tell me about your month.

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AUGUST 2015:

1.  Apple & Rain (e-book), by Sarah Crossan – 329 pages – (coming-of-age fiction) – 8/12/15

2.  At Risk (e-book), by Alice Hoffman – 274 pages – (historical fiction) – 8/8/15

3.  A Window Opens (e-book), by Elisabeth Egan – 384 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 8/4/15 (NetGalley)

4.  Before the Storm (e-book), by Diane Chamberlain – 437 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 8/31/15

5.   Cold Spring Harbor (e-book), by Richard Yates – 178 pages – (literary fiction) – 8/17/15

6.   Friday on My Mind, by Nicci French – 375 pages – (suspense thriller/mystery) – 8/10/15

7.   In the Unlikely Event (e-book), by Judy Blume – 397 pages – (historical fiction) – 8/30/15

8.  Lost Lake (e-book), by Sarah Addison Allen – 294 pages – (fantasy/contemporary fiction) – 8/7/15.

9.   Mistake I Made, The (e-book), by Paula Daly – 368 pages – (suspense thriller) – 8/24/15- (NetGalley)

10. My Real Children (e-book), by Jo Walton – 320 pages – (historical fiction) – 8/22/15

11. One Moment, One Morning (e-book), by Sarah Rayner – 416 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 8/26/15

12.  Summer Girls, The (e-book), by Mary Alice Monroe – 380 pages – (contemporary fiction) – 8/20/15

13.  We Never Asked for Wings, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh – 294 – (literary fiction) – 8/15/15 (Amazon Vine)

14.  X (Kinsey Millhone #24) (e-book), by Sue Grafton – 416 pages – (suspense/mystery) – 8/14/15 (NetGalley)

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BOOKS READ IN AUGUST 2015:  14

PAGES READ IN AUGUST 2015:   4,862

BOOKS READ YTD:  123

FAVORITE FICTION READ IN AUGUST –  Tied:   The Mistake I Made & The Summer Girls

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CURL UP WITH INTROS/TEASERS: “THE SUMMER GIRLS”

 

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by A Daily Rhythm.

It’s time to share!  Today’s featured book is The Summer Girls, by Mary Alice Monroe, Book I of a trilogy.

 

 

 

Intro:  (Sea Breeze, Sullivan’s Island, SC)

April 5, 2012

My darling granddaughters—Dora, Carson, and Harper,

Greetings, my precious girls!  On May 26 I celebrate my eightieth birthday—can you believe I’m so ancient?  Will you come home to Sea Breeze and your old mamaw and help me celebrate?  We will do it proper with a lowcountry boil, Lucille’s biscuits, and most of all, each other.

My dears, like an overripe peach, I’m past my prime.  My mind remains sharp and my health is good, considering.  Yet, with an eye to the future, I’ve decided to move to a retirement community, and it’s time to sort through all that I’ve managed to clutter my house with all these years.

(I love stories about decluttering, as there is usually some hidden treasure somewhere).

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Teaser:  (Carson) Never, not even as a little girl, had she hesitated to leap into the salt water, as eager as any other creature of the sea that had been on land too long.  The ocean, the Atlantic especially, was her motherland. (p. 49).

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Blurb:  From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe, the heartwarming first installment in the Lowcountry Summer trilogy, a poignant series following three half-sisters and their grandmother.

Three granddaughters. Three months. One summer house.

In this enchanting trilogy set on Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe captures the complex relationships between Dora, Carson, and Harper, three half-sisters scattered across the country—and a grandmother determined to help them rediscover their family bonds.

For years, Carson Muir has drifted, never really settling, certain only that a life without the ocean is a life half lived. Adrift and penniless in California, Carson is the first to return to Sea Breeze, wondering where things went wrong…until the sea she loves brings her a minor miracle. Her astonishing bond with a dolphin helps Carson renew her relationships with her sisters and face the haunting memories of her ill-fated father. As the rhythms of the island open her heart, Carson begins to imagine the next steps toward her future.

In this heartwarming novel, three sisters discover the true treasures Sea Breeze offers as surprising truths are revealed, mistakes forgiven, and precious connections made that will endure long beyond one summer.

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Would you keep reading?  I know I am already hooked.

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REVIEW: AT RISK, BY ALICE HOFFMAN

 

Set in the 1980s, when HIV and AIDS were greatly misunderstood, and when fear clouded the minds of people who were first aware of it, At Risk: A Novel shows us an ordinary New England family under siege by the terror of the disease.

In Morrow, Massachusetts, Ivan and Polly Farrell are stunned at their eleven-year-old daughter’s diagnosis. Amanda had contracted the virus after a blood transfusion.

A talented gymnast, Amanda’s world collapses from the effects of the disease…but more importantly, from the stigma of it.

What unfolds in this gripping novel is a story that might seem dated in our more knowledgeable times, but it is a stark reminder of what fear and ignorance can do.

Multiple perspectives are offered from Polly, Ivan, and Amanda, with further glimpses from Charlie, Amanda’s brother; Ed Reardon, her doctor; and Laurel Smith, a young medium with whom Amanda feels a special connection.

As I read this story, which can be relevant even now, when one considers anything that ignites fear in others, I felt a full gamut of emotions as I watched this family cope. Recommended for Hoffman fans, as her brilliant prose kept the story moving along. 5 stars.