The Good Father

The Good Father
by Noah Hawley
Doubleday, 2012. 305 pgs. Fiction

Dr. Paul Allen, a successful doctor in New York, is home with his family when a televised news report announces that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and his older son Daniel is caught on video as the assassin. The novel alternates between Dr. Allen’s attempts to understand his son’s actions and the time leading up to the crime, which Daniel spent traveling aimlessly across the United States after dropping out of college.

 This was a fascinating book; it is both a literary novel about a family crisis, and a mystery that will keep you reading all the way to the surprising (but satisfying) ending. The author covers a lot of different contemporary topics, including divorce, politics, guns, youth culture, and family responsibility, but the book is really about the two main characters, a father and son, and what makes their relationship work or not.

JC

Perla

Perla
by Carolina De Robertis
Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. 235 pgs. Fiction

While Perla was growing up in Buenos Aires during the years after the end of Argentina’s Dirty War, she knew that her father’s career in the military put him on the wrong side of history. But, she always loved and defended him until the day an uninvited guest appears in her home and causes her to question everything she thought she knew about her past.

If you are not familiar with recent Argentine history or the magical realism common in Spanish literature, you might be a bit more confused than I was when I read this book. The focus of the book is on the characters and the lessons they learn about themselves, their families, and their country, rather than telling a straightforward story for those who know nothing about the subject already. But, the writing is beautiful and the story, though a bit meandering, is compelling and definitely worth a read.

JC

Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?

Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? A Guide to Modern Manners
by Henry Alford
Twelve, 2012. 242 pgs. Nonfiction.

Henry Alford notes that most of us can easily spot bad manners, but we aren’t always sure what good manners are in modern society. Alford decides to explore what good manners are by visiting Japan, known for its excessive attention to politeness, interviewing writers like Judith Martin, and trying his hand at advising his friends on tricky etiquette questions.

This book is less of a how-to guide and more of a memoir. Alford is quite funny and some of the chapters were very insightful; some of the other chapters were less helpful or interesting. I did like that he addresses many modern issues like Facebook and email etiquette and I liked his final conclusion that having good manners mostly means using your imagination to figure out what another person might be thinking or feeling in a particular situation.

JC

Defending Jacob

Defending Jacob
by William Landay
Delacourte, 2012. 421 pgs. Mystery

Andy Barber has been a successful district attorney in his small Massachusetts town for years, but when his son Jacob is accused of murdering a classmate his life begins to fall apart. He and his wife Laurie wonder what the best way to defend their son is, and as the case proceeds they have to confront difficult questions about loyalty, family history, justice, and parenting.

The pace of this book was a little slower than I expected; it includes quite a bit of courtroom drama and so often goes over the same material more than once. It is also narrated by Andy Barber, and it took me at least half the book to realize that Andy might or might not be telling the truth (both to himself and to other people). Sometimes I wanted to reach into the book and smack him because he could be kind of frustrating. The twists and turns of the plot and the interesting narration do make this a great read if you want a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

JC

Rearview Mirror

Rearview Mirror
by Stephanie Black
Covenant Communications, 2011. 316 pgs. Mystery

When Fiona Claridge was in college, she was responsible for a car accident that killed her roommate, Mia Hardy. Eight years later she has mostly moved on and teaches English at a small college in New England. However, her grief and guilt over Mia’s death come back when someone begins sending her sinister packages with threatening messages. She assumes the culprit is a disgruntled student, until the incidents escalate and she realizes that she needs to find out who is threatening her before she becomes the next victim.

It took me a little while to get into this book at first because there are a number of different characters and figuring out how they are all related to each other is a bit tricky. But, once I figured out who everyone was I enjoyed this mystery a lot. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot and I was kept guessing until the end; the plot is also rounded out by a bit of romance as well as Fiona’s emotional journey coming to terms with the accident she caused.

JC

Pride and Popularity

Pride and Popularity
by Jenni James
Inkberry Press, 2011. 238 pgs. Young Adult

Chloe Hart despises the popular kids at her school, particularly Taylor Anderson, who has all the other girls following his every move. Then Taylor decides that Chloe is the only girl he is interested in and Chloe can’t tell if he is sincere or simply trying to get on her nerves. If you’ve read Pride and Prejudice you’ll probably be able to figure out how the book ends, but it’s still fun to see how it happens.

I wasn’t sure about how much I’d enjoy another adaptation of Jane Austen, but this was a lot of fun. The story fits into the plot line of the original fairly well without feeling forced, and I really liked Chloe a lot. The author has planned an entire series with the same group of characters, so thankfully you can still read more about Chloe and her family after this book is done.

JC

The Wedding Letters

The Wedding Letters
by Jason Wright
Shadow Mountain, 2011. 335 pgs. Fiction

This book is a sequel to The Wednesday Letters, and describes the courtship of Malcom and Rain’s son Noah. When Noah decides to marry his fiancée Rachel, a family friend begins collecting letters from their friends and family giving them advice about life and marriage. Then Rachel discovers something terrible about her past and the wedding plans seem to be in jeopardy. Can Noah and his parents save the wedding?

This book is a quick, cozy book about how family and friends can help us get through tough times in our lives. Reading it just might inspire you to start a new family tradition the next time someone you love gets married.

JC

A Thousand Lives

A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown
by Julia Scheeres
Free Press, 2011. 307 pgs. Nonfiction

In November, 1978 over 900 members of the People’s Temple died in Jonestown, a settlement in Guyana established a few years earlier by their charismatic leader Jim Jones. The event was reported as a mass suicide, and since then most coverage of it has characterized Jones’ followers as brain-washed religious fanatics. However, Scheeres’ book reviews hundreds of recently declassified documents to humanize the victims of this tragedy and to try and shed some light on what happened that terrible day and why so many people wanted to follow Jones.

This book was both really hard to read and incredibly fascinating—kind of like a car accident that you can’t help but look at as you pass by. In the beginning, Jones’ church was a haven of integration and social justice for many people, particularly those who were poor and black. I could see why so many would want to join his church and follow him, and why leaving was impossible once they got to South America and realized that Jones was descending into madness. I also had not realized how many of the people who died that day were either children or the elderly, and I agree with the author that simply dismissing Jonestown as a cult-suicide rather than a mass murder is unfair to the victims and fails to capture the real complexity of what happened there. If you’re not squeamish and want something to really think about, read this book.

JC

If I Should Die

If I Should Die
by Jennie Hansen
Covenant Communications, 2011. 235 pgs. Mystery

One morning, Kallene’s running partner Linda confides in her that she is having serious marital problems and is considering filing for divorce. The next day, Linda has disappeared and Kallene reports her missing when Linda’s husband refuses to acknowledge her fear that something is wrong. Soon Kallene finds herself involved in an increasingly dangerous police investigation, as well as trying to sort out her feelings for two different men: Linda’s brother and the lead detective assigned to the case.

I thought the mystery element of this book was well-done and I was kept guessing until the end. This book was more romantic suspense than straight mystery and I wasn’t expecting so much focus on the love story, but it is a good, quick read for a rainy afternoon (just make sure your doors are locked before you start the book).

JC

Elizabeth and Hazel

Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock
by David Margolick
Yale University Press, 2011. 310 pgs. Nonfiction

In September, 1957 courts ordered the schools in Little Rock, Arkansas to integrate. Nine black students were chosen to begin attending Central High school, but when they got to school the first day they were greeted by an angry mob that blocked their entrance. Photographer Will Counts captured an image of white student Hazel Bryan yelling racial slurs at black student Elizabeth Eckford that has become one of the most published photographs of the Civil Rights era. But what happened to Hazel and Elizabeth after that day? Margolick interviews both women and describes the ways in which they have lived with the legacy of that photograph during the last fifty years as well as how race relations in America have fared during that time.

This book gave me a greater, more complex understanding of recent American history. Margolick doesn’t shy away from describing the difficult and ugly parts of our past, and he doesn’t try to force the story into a moral or a happy ending. At the same time, this was a very good book and I felt like I understood and empathized with both of these women much more than I would have before reading it.

JC

Borrowed Light

Borrowed Light
by Carla Kelly
Bonneville Books, 2011. 410 pgs. Romance

When Julia Darling finds an advertisement in the paper looking for a cook at a remote ranch in Wyoming, she realizes that this could be the perfect escape for her from the humiliation of a broken engagement and life as a single woman in turn-of-the-century Salt Lake City. Life on the ranch is nothing like she expected, with its uncivilized cowboys, harsh weather, and mysterious owner Mr. Otto, who is hiding secrets from his past. The biggest challenge for Julia, however, is learning to find her own relationship with God and a sense of her own place in the world.

Carla Kelly is an experienced historical romance writer, so the plot of this book and its historical details are one of its strong points. The characters are all different and well-developed and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the book. The thing I liked most about this book was the depth of the story, because the romance is secondary to the story of a young woman growing up and discovering her true self.

JC

Year of Wonders

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague
by Geraldine Brooks
Blackstone Audio, 2010. 308 pgs/10 hours. Historical Fiction

Anna Frith narrates the tumultuous events of the year 1666, when the plague arrived in her small village of Eyam in cloth sent from London. The local minister encourages the villagers to take the radical step of sealing themselves off from the rest of the world in order to prevent the disease from infecting others, an act that has both good and evil consequences for everyone.

I listened to an audio version of this book read by the author, and I really liked the narration. Her voice is just perfect as Anna’s, adding the right inflection and tone to the words. However, I found this to be a harder book to listen to than it was to read simply because the content is very difficult. Brooks has done meticulous research into the realities of country life in the 17th century and the horrific symptoms of plague (not to mention the horrible things that desperate people do to each other). This book is beautifully written but not for the faint of heart.

JC

Captive Heart

Captive Heart
by Michele Paige Holmes
Covenant, 2011. 255 pgs. Romance

Emma Madsen flees Boston for a teaching job out west in Colorado, but her life changes forever when bandits stop her train and one of them kidnaps her, saying he is looking for a teacher. As Emma travels with Thayne Kendrick to their mysterious destination across the prairie, she begins to wonder if there is more to this outlaw than she thought.

I know I can always count on Michele Holmes to pack as much action into her romances as she can. This book did not disappoint; there are many twists, turns, and surprises to keep you on your toes as you read. I enjoyed the way she switches back and forth between the two main characters so you get the story of their romance through both their points of view. This is a great read if you like a little action with your romance.

JC

A Plague Year

A Plague Year
by Edward Bloor
Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 305 pgs. Young Adult

Tom Coleman starts a diary at the beginning of his ninth grade year in the fall of 2001 and chronicles the descent of the plague of methamphetamine onto his small, Pennsylvania town. It begins with unexplained thefts of cold medicine and cleaning supplies from the grocery store his father runs and ends up affecting his everyone in his family and his friends.

Edward Bloor has crammed a lot into this book: class issues, drug problems, the economics of small town life, family dysfunction, and the events of September 11th. Tom is an engaging narrator, though sometimes a bit unreliable and naïve, and I thought his telling of the story was quite compelling. Some elements of the plot and some of the characters less well-developed than others, but that could also be due to the fact that the story is told through Tom’s journal rather than a more omniscient narrator. If you have enjoyed Edward Bloor’s other books you will like this one as well.

JC

The List

The List
by Melanie Jacobson
Covenant, 2011. 289 pgs. Romance

Ashley watched her sisters struggle after marrying young, so she impulsively created The List of twenty-five things she must complete before she ties herself down with marriage and kids. She thinks a summer with her cousins in California would be a great way to cross a few things off her list before she goes to grad school, but when she chooses Matt as her surfing instructor and potential summer fling, she gets more than she bargained for.

This book is a light, funny read that is perfect for a rainy Saturday afternoon or a day at the beach. Ashley is a bit annoying at first, and since the book is from her point of view I also felt like we didn’t get to know Matt as much as I would have liked to, but it’s fun to watch Ashley change her mind about love. The ending is very satisfying and this book almost convinced me to go to California and try my luck with surfing lessons.

JC

The Story of Beautiful Girl

The Story of Beautiful Girl
by Rachel Simon
Grand Central Publishing, 2011. 346 pgs. Fiction

One stormy night in 1968, retired school teacher Martha Zimmer opens her door to find two mysterious strangers on her porch. Lynnie is developmentally disabled and Homan is deaf, and they have escaped from the nearby Pennsylvania State School for the Incurable and Feebleminded. A few hours later the authorities catch up to the pair; Homan escapes into the woods, Lynnie is taken back to the institution, and Martha is left with the newborn baby that the two hid in her attic. The book then chronicles the next forty years in the lives of the characters as they try to find their way back to each other while the world changes around them.

This book is beautifully written and it provides an insightful window into the inner lives of the disabled. I thought the author did a good job switching points of view between the various characters, although I wanted to read more about baby Julia and her life with Martha. I thought the ending was a bit too neat and some of the characters a bit too starkly bad or good, but generally I enjoyed this book.

JC

The Magic Room

The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters
by Jeffrey Zaslow
Gotham Books, 2012. 285 pgs. Nonfiction

Becker’s Bridal has been in business since 1934 and brings thousands of brides each year to the small town of Fowler, Michigan. In this book, Zaslow tells the history of the store and the individual stories of some of the women who have bought their dresses there. He describes how the wedding industry and societal expectations have changed during the last seventy years, as well as the journeys that many women take before they find lasting love.

I had a great time reading this book; sometimes I laughed and sometimes I cried. The author writes a story that is sweet and optimistic without being overly sappy. He comments on the state of the world and on the difficulties women can face in their families and romantic relationships without being overly didactic. Keeping track of the stories of the different people profiled was a little difficult sometimes, but by the end of the book I felt like I knew them and wished I could read more about them. If you like feel-good, true-to-life love stories, this is the book for you.

JC

LIE

LIE
by Caroline Bock
St. Martin's Griffin, 2011. 211 pgs. Young Adult

“Everybody knows, nobody’s talking” is the mantra repeated by a number of the characters in this book. What no one is talking about is the fact that Jimmy and Sean have spent months harassing Hispanics in their Long Island town, and now they have been arrested and charged with murder after a man was beaten to death with a baseball bat. Will the people who know start talking, or will they keeping lying to themselves and to the police?

This book was generally a good read and I think the author was brave to handle the difficult subject of hate crimes. I think she did a particularly good job of portraying the mind set of those who see violence or racism and are afraid to speak up. The book is told from the viewpoints of a bunch of different characters, and while this did add to the story a bit, I mostly felt like it was distracting. I had a hard time keeping track of who people were and I felt like I never got to know anyone very well. I think a book about a difficult subject like this one should try to explore the reasons why people do the things they do, but in the end I felt just as confused about the characters’ motivations as I did in the beginning.

JC

The Wise Man Returns

The Wise Man Returns
by Kenny Kemp
Cedar Fort, 2011. 357 pgs. Fiction

Melchior of Alexandria has just been promoted to a powerful position as chief priest in the temple of Serapis and thinks he has everything he could ever want in life. However, things change when he casts a unique astrological chart that indicates that a new King of the Jews has been born. Melchior travels to Judea and meets the young Jeshua and his parents, and his interactions with them will shape the rest of his life. Three decades after his first trip, Melchior finds himself drawn back to Judea to find out the fate of Jeshua and to determine for himself whether he is the promised Messiah or not.

Despite what you might think, this is not really a Christmas book and it is most certainly not lightweight. The author has clearly done an amazing amount of research into the world of the Roman Empire and brings it to life convincingly without being dry or boring. What I enjoyed most about the book were the characters. Melchior is a complex man who spends his life wrestling with questions of belief and loyalty, and the reader journeys with him as he searches to understand the world and his place in it. While the book is generally uplifting and clean, life in the ancient world could be brutal and there a few scenes that may disturb more sensitive souls.

JC

Letters in the Jade Dragon Box

Letters in the Jade Dragon Box
by Gale Sears
Deseret Book, 2011. 296 pgs. Historical Fiction

Wen-Shan has been living with her great uncle Zhao in Hong Kong for ten years, but remembers nothing of her first five years living inside communist China. Zhao refuses to discuss the past with Wen-Shan, including the mother she can’t remember. One day shortly after Chairman Mao’s death in 1975, Wen-Shan and her uncle receive a priceless gift from Chin: a box containing letters and other family heirlooms. The items in the jade dragon box help Wen-Shan and her uncle connect with each other and their past.

I thought this was a well-written, absorbing read about relatively recent Chinese history. I loved seeing how the letters helped Wen-Shan open up and connect with those around her and I thought the characters and setting were all vividly described. However, after recently reading several other books about communist China, I felt like this one was a little lightweight. It’s a good book, but definitely not epic historical fiction. This is written by an LDS author and she incorporates some elements of LDS history in Hong Kong, but they are presented in a way that feels natural within the context of the story.

JC