Category: Literary Fiction

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Wow. I waited way too long to read this book. I haven’t been this emotionally impacted by a book in a long while, and I can’t even think about this one without tearing up all over again.

This multi-generational drama follows two women living in Afghanistan from the 1950s up through the early 2000s. Mariam is a harami, born outside of wedlock and forever doomed by this fate. Married off at fifteen, she struggles to bear children and fears the daily storm of her husband.

Laila, a child of Kabul, is a teen when revolution hits the city hard, forever changing her own fate as a brilliant, college-bound young Muslim woman into something far more darkly shadowed. Laila and Mariam end up tied to the same cruel man, Rasheed, as the country they love crumbles around them.

Reading this book can be overwhelming and heavy at times, and I had to take quite a few breaks while listening in order to breathe and separate myself a bit. It’s really, really hard to read some of the intimate abuse as well as the harshness of the regime governing them in Afghanistan. I never knew the half of it, what women in this country faced for years and years and I’m sure even now, and there was almost a shock of disbelief for me with each new chapter.

For example, when the Taliban takes over, Laila talks about the new rules being played out on loudspeakers and written on flyers strewn all over Kabul. Things like women cannot leave the house unless accompanied by a man, no films or television, etc – and as I’m listening to that, it suddenly hits me that while what I’m reading is technically fiction, this is rooted in truth. This detail really happened. And I just…it didn’t even hit me the reality of these rules, this situation until I was reading about how affected these women on an everyday level. That’s why I think books like this are so important; I personally didn’t connect with the real world counterpart until I was emotionally connected to the characters in this story who were experiencing it.

I loved both Mariam and Laila for different reasons. I saw more of myself in Laila’s feistiness, but Mariam’s gentle nature was warm and inviting, and made me care for her and her happiness. Their interactions with the other characters in the book were also enlightening, and I feel like they were just as important to telling the story as the actual plot; the way everyone interacts is informative of the culture in its own way. Everything about this book feels thoughtful and artfully composed to be heart-wrenching.

Sad as it is and hard as it is to read, this is just such an important book. It really shifted my perspective on world politics and opened my eyes to things I didn’t previously get/understand. I’m so glad I read it, finally pulling it out of the tbr pile – I wish I hadn’t waited so long to do so.

Have a fabulous weekend.

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Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

Other Possible Prompts: 22. An unlikely detective, 26. Has an “Author’s Note”

Trigger warning for this review: suicide and mental illness discussed throughout.

Quite possibly the fewest number of prompts a book has fit all year! I actually enjoyed this book for the most part, but I think it could’ve been at least one hundred pages shorter, hence my lower rating. The story is interesting, but I don’t know if it’s interesting enough to carry it nearly five hundred pages.

On the cusp of an incredible career in science, a Harvard degree, and his whole life ahead of him, Cady Archer’s brother Eric jumped from his dorm room window at Harvard University and left this world. His schizophrenia had turned his last few years into a disturbing frenzy, unlike the brother she had grown up with. Now, over a year later, Cady has decided to start her own degree there by joining the class as a freshman…however, there’s a lot more than legacy to her decision. Eric left behind a series of cryptic notebooks and unanswered questions, and Cady wants to know more about that last year of his life that took him from her.

As she meets his friends and teachers, and sees the sights he did, Cady grows increasingly confused by what she learns. Were Eric’s final months more than a delusion? Was he onto something with his concern about being watched – but too far into his illness to get the help and attention he needed? And what, then, of the voices she herself hears?

There was a lot going on in this book. There’s just…a lot of different story elements, so it becomes a bit hard to follow the point. I think it makes it entertaining, but as for the point she was trying to make…that was a bit lost in translation. There’s the mental illness aspect; Eric was schizophrenic, and evidently, Cady becomes concerned she is meeting the same fate. While she would already be predisposed to it, in her efforts to track Eric’s last movements, she put herself in the same environment that brought on his own schizophrenia and thus increased her odds of developing it. Then, it seems like maybe those voices are ghosts. Each of the voices in Cady’s head have historical reference at the college, which Cady picks up on from time to time. But then also, maybe they’re voices and bodies from another dimension? See there’s a lot happening here and it’s ultimately not clear to me, even at the end, which one we’re supposed to believe (or maybe we’re not supposed to care?).

Everyone Cady meets at Harvard sucks. I was going to sugarcoat it, but it’s honestly true. There isn’t a single character I liked without hesitation. Her roommates suck, her love interests suck, the professors suck. And while they’re not from Harvard, her parents, a central part of the story, also suck. Cady isn’t my absolute favorite, but she sucks significantly less than everyone else. I at least understood her; the other characters around her do really annoying, awful things with no rhyme or reason. It’s really no wonder Cady was having a bad time at Harvard.

There was an author’s note at the end detailing the historical research Serritella did to inform the personalities of the “ghosts”. I respect that, but what I was actually most worried about was her representation of schizophrenia. This is a huge part of the book, and truthfully I wouldn’t know if she had or had not done it justice, or given her characters and over-dramatized version of it. There is no mention of her background or research in this area, which bothers me. Has anyone read this and have some background knowledge that would shed some light on her representation of schizophrenia? I would be much more worried about this, than of her historical representation of some ghosts.

I think what bothers me most, even having enjoyed the ride of this story, is that it truly goes nowhere. The ending, in my opinion, clearly seems to be aiming for something, but misses its target. I couldn’t tell you what she meant by it.

This book was decent, but I don’t think I’m recommending it. I wouldn’t read it again, given the opportunity. Have a wonderful weekend.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Why did I resist this one so much?! I feel like I’ve said that a lot this year (writing from 2022)…I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a number of bestsellers that I probably wouldn’t have picked up, if not for friends’ recommendations or local booksellers’ praise. Book Lovers falls squarely in that category. And I loved it!

Feeling that she’s losing a beloved closeness with her little sister, Libby, city-girl and shark-like literary agent Nora agrees to a month’s retreat to the small town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina. The pair set out with a list, written by Libby, of things you do in small towns according to literature: save a small business, ride a horse, and date the locals. While she remains committed to working through the “vacation”, she endeavours to help with the list before Libby’s third child arrives…the last thing she’s expecting is cold and ruthless book editor Charlie to be in Sunshine Falls, too. And they just can’t seem to stop running into one another.

This book is, and somehow isn’t, what I was expecting. I don’t think I ever expected it to be a ~romantic comedy~ in its entirety, despite its Book Lovers title. However, there was *a lot* more romance than I thought there would be. I love Nora and Charlie’s dynamic. It feels both reminiscent of The Hating Game in its wit and simultaneously transcendent of it for how they fit together so well, so perfectly to serve the plot and their character growth. This isn’t wholly a romance, but it hits the mark for that as well.

I also love that, from the very beginning, Nora acknowledges that she will never be that small town girl people fall for, that she is cutting and calculating, loves the city, and is never going to soften for another person. She remains committed to that narrative and I love her all the more for it. Not everyone needs to get teary-eyed for small Christmas tree farms and towns where everyone knows everyone. City girls and hard-working bosses deserve love and happiness too! And not only do they deserve it, they can find it in places that aren’t those very small towns. I like the hopefulness of that message, and how surprising and refreshing it feels in the romance genre.

But the real reason I love this book all around is the storyline. There is so much more here than a love story. This is an awesome work of literary fiction, and while I may not have totally related to Nora, I connected with her, thought her story was well-composed and earnest. Her relationships with her sister and formerly her mother, her previous romantic entanglements, her clients – they were all very real and raw; even when things were bad you could feel every human reason why Nora was the way she was, as things slowly unfurled. I just really loved all of these characters, in their own way. Henry nails a small town-feel, but with a larger focal point: a bigger problem than that small town can solve. There’s a lot to love here.

Highly, highly recommend this one. Don’t be me, don’t resist. Just read it. ❤

Have a wonderful weekend!

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver

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Rating: 2 out of 5.

Bleh. I actually really liked Josie Silver usually so this was kind of a huge disappointment. I think I was expecting the complete wrong thing, but on top of that, it wasn’t good at being what it turned out to be. I’m going to stop speaking in code now and just tell you what’s up…

As one of her writing assignments, journalist Cleo is sent to the remote island of Salvation, Ireland to “marry herself” on her thirtieth birthday. Already feeling annoyed and out of control, she’s even more upset to find that the cabin she rented has also been rented by American photographer Mack, who traces his roots back to Salvation and is here to see the land for himself. With neither budging or willing to leave, they share the cabin and continue to get on each other’s nerves.

Meanwhile, they’re both falling hard for Salvation. The tiny island of one hundred residents has a natural beauty and an incredible kinship neither have ever felt – Cleo lives in London with the hopes of making her dreams come true, and Mack has had his marriage on pause for over a year. What will the island teach them about what’s happening in their own homes?

So, based on the description of this book and the reviews I saw, I assumed this was romance. I guess I kind of assumed that about The Two Lives of Lydia Bird as well, but this one especially. I purposely wrote this description so you would not confuse it as romance. I definitely would not actually classify it as such. This is definitely more in the “contemporary fiction” side of things, and not good contemporary fiction either. The characters fell flat or were borderline annoying, and a lot of the plot elements were unnecessary to the story.

I immediately bristled when I discovered that Cleo was British. Every time I read a British book or it has British characters, I find myself increasingly frustrated by the frivolity and harshness of them. Especially in contrast to the nice, Irish folk who live on Salvation, Cleo really starts out hard to like. She snaps at Mack unnecessarily, and acts like a princess who cannot be bothered to do things for herself. I’m glad to see there’s some character growth by the end of it, which I think is due in part to the island changing and shaping her character. I think Cleo does go through a transformation, compared to Mack, but I think what Silver is not doing is drawing direct comparisons and lessons from the plot. That lacking component makes the book, and each little piece of it, feel near pointless.

This ending? Also sucks. I know I’m picky, but I can’t stand stuff like this. It reminds me of A Lot Like Adios and I’m not here for it. I get that life is messy, and life should inform art…but I like when there’s a clear direction and a happy bow to tie it all together when I read. I didn’t even know how I wanted this to end, as the reader, but this wasn’t it. It felt open ended and depressing; I would not be satisfied with it if I were the character, and shouldn’t you want the best for your characters?

The only bright spot in this whole book was the island. The landscape and the people of Salvation were the best part of this book. The supporting characters were lovely and warm, and I wish I could’ve read about them instead. Delta and Barney, especially.

I think this turned me off to Josie Silver in the future. While I loved Lydia Bird, both synopses have felt a bit like a bait and switch in a bad way. I’m all set with that.

Have an awesome weekend!

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

The 52 Book Club 2022 Challenge Prompt: 20. Related to the word “gold”

Other Possible Prompts: 12. Set on at least two continents, 23. Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name, 33. A bilingual character, 41. Involves a second chance, 50. A person of color as the main character, 52. Published in 2022

This book was simply stunning. I am on a wildly good streak of books as of late, this one no exception. Carrie Soto is Back is somehow even better than I expected it to be, as Taylor Jenkins Reid has a habit of doing to me!

Six years ago, Carrie Soto retired from professional tennis the world record holder for most slam wins, among other things. Obsessed with tennis since childhood, she made a career out of her incredible tennis ability and need to win. Now, as she sits in the stands in 1994, she watches her world record for wins get broken by Nicki Chan, and makes the decision to come out of retirement and get her record back. This is Carrie’s journey back into tennis, and to finding herself.

I don’t even like tennis, but I couldn’t put this down. How does Reid do that?! I don’t like band books, either, but Daisy Jones & The Six was easily the best book I read last year. Carrie Soto will definitely be in my top three this year. While tennis plays a big part in Carrie Soto, Reid finds a way to keep it completely captivating – and there’s a lot more to it than just the games. This is about Carrie’s identity, who she is with and without tennis, and what the definition of success really is.

I think a lot of type A ladies are going to see themselves in Carrie. I certainly did. I loved her ruthlessness and need to win, but also her drive and her innate sense of direction. Sometimes it’s hard to like Carrie, but I always loved her. She can be tough and a bit mean, but she’s never wrong. Her story and her sense of self just click, and I think the lesson she learns in her return to the courts is a good one for all of us to take in, in a world that moves so fast. Though I have to say, the whole time I was reading it, I kept thinking “I genuinely hope this book ends with Carrie getting some sort of help…” and, spoiler alert, it does not. I think Carrie displays some behaviors of OCD, and her brashness clearly derives from a discomfort with losing (sounds familiar!). I loved her but it couldn’t be comfortable to live in her head, with her insecurities, and I wanted better for her.

The supporting characters in this book were also AMAZING! I loved Carrie’s dad, Javier, and her tennis partner, Bo. Her agent was also wonderful. I liked all of them for supporting Carrie while also nudging her in a direction that was healthier for herself, her mind and her body. They help make this story the learning journey it is and should be. They soften Carrie, in contrast to the way tennis hardens her around the edges.

I have a hard time conveying just how much I loved Carrie Soto is Back. Sometimes, a book walks into your life at just the right time, and I think it sticks with you a lot more for that. I’m so glad I read this one.

Happy reading! 🙂

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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Rating: 3 out of 5.

The 52 Book Club 2022 Challenge: 16. A book you’ve seen someone reading in a public place

Other Possible Prompts: 5. Chapters have titles, 8. Involving the art world, 15. A five-syllable title, 37. Set in a rural area

In an effort to fulfill the ever-difficult prompt, a book you’ve seen someone reading in a public place, I finally cracked and read Where the Crawdads Sing. And I have to say: I did not get it. “It” being the seemingly mass appeal of this book, or what it is people seem to be getting out of it.

Abandoned by everyone in her life, one by one, Kya “Marsh Girl” Clark is on her own in the wild North Carolina landscape by the age of ten. She evades school, relies on the help of neighbors, and learns from nature. Dirty, unable to read, and completely illusive, she becomes a legend to the people of nearby Barkley Cove – and not a good one.

But in 1969, Chase Andrews is found dead in the marsh – and the only clues they have point to Kya. This story explores prejudice, community, and the true meaning of humanity by telling Kya’s story and investigating the murder that could finally trap her.

I think one of the absolute biggest problems going for this book is the hype. This firmly lands in the “doesn’t live up to it” category for me. When you read the synopsis of this book they literally make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread, like it’s going to forever change your perspective on life and love. Let me be clear: it does not do that. And the most important part of my review will be this – it’s not a bad book, but everything you think you know about it is going to ruin it. I did not dislike this book, but it absolutely did not meet my expectations. If you got this far into 2022 without reading this, wait another five years before picking it up, if at all!

I also don’t believe this to be anything profound. I got whispers of To Kill a Mockingbird and even The Island of Blue Dolphins while reading Where the Crawdads Sing. If you ask me, it’s borrowing lines and vibes from stories that have already been written. And further, what bothered me *the absolute most* was feeling that sense that I’d heard this story before, and knowing that we were definitely talking about racism without ever talking about racism. Ugh. The prejudice that Kya experiences throughout the book, the fact that she was put on trial because she was “the outsider”, the judgment of being dirty, or uneducated – we were talking about racism the whole freaking time, but Owens made Kya white. Further reading on Owens’ actual life and the portrayal of black characters in this novel only further my point. Frankly, it’s cowardly on Owens part and I don’t like how her life experiences play into this story, at all.

This, and a thousand other things, really ruined this book for me. I vaguely remembered talking to coworkers about it years ago, so I did know how it ended. As I was getting down to the very last pages, I thought I was mistaken, but no. I don’t really care for that ending either in the grand scheme of the novel’s larger importance, but as a story element, it felt just and right to me. Very, very odd, but justified. That’s a minor spoiler so I hope I don’t ruin it for you.

And again: I’m going to try to reel back here to remind you that I did not dislike this book in a literal sense. That’s what’s irking me the most, quite frankly. If I had read this with absolutely no knowledge of the controversy, the hype, or anything else about the book, I may have enjoyed it more. I know with 100% certainty though that I still would’ve seen the hints of the novel being about racism, though, and that does bug me. I cannot read this and not hear To Kill a Mockingbird, honestly.

So that’ll do it – I had a lot of thoughts. Evidently, not all good. I hope you all have a great week.

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Other Possible Prompts: 5. Chapters have titles, 8. Involving the art world, 11. A book with less than 2022 Goodreads ratings, 13. Includes a club, 15. A five syllable title, 23. An author with an X, Y, or Z in their name, 36. Recommended by a favorite author, 40. A book with photographs inside, 46. A job title in the title, 52. Published in 2022

My streak of meh books continues. I really think this is the improvement to Paul Tremblay’s work that I was looking for, but I still had to drag myself to the finish line on this one.

Art Barbara is not his real name, but this is his memoir. Beginning in the late 80s, after being told he needs more clubs and extracurriculars to get into college, Art starts The Pallbearers Club: a group that attends the funerals of the homeless, or older people with no one left. There, he meets Mercy, a girl of undistinguishable age, with a camera and a fascination for Art and his club.

Over the next twenty years, Mercy floats in and out of his life, but Art’s life revolves and progresses around the time he spent with Mercy. She left a permanent – and possibly harmful, supernatural – mark on his life that is nearly inescapable.

I don’t really know how to describe this book and I don’t think Tremblay did either. It’s a very, very weird book, but I think it’s kind of a good weird. It very much reminded me of Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick – my go-to recommendation for something oddly heavy. It feels like digesting a lot, which is why it took me longer than expected to finish these less than 300 pages.

The writing here is EXACTLY what I knew Tremblay was capable of when I read, and did not love, Survivor Song. It wasn’t his story, not in the sense that it wasn’t original but in that it was not his scene, not the setting for his storytelling skills. The Pallbearers Club is his story. This blend of 80s cult classic with 90s hopelessness and confusion is a perfect blend for his style and wordplay. This part of the book, at least, was top notch, and solely convinced me I would read another of his books if it sounded like the right one.

I think the characters and the story were also very distinct and interesting, and I liked all of it. They were extremely well-rounded; the relationships and exploration of them through dialogue and moments spent together were exactly what they should’ve been to relay their toxic friendship and increasing madness. It was an intriguing concept, but something about it feels like it could’ve been done better: I liked this book, but I couldn’t wait to be done with it, if that makes sense. It was dense in all the wrong ways. It felt clunky, yet the prose was so perfect. It’s hard to explain, but something about this was disjointed in a way that affected my enjoyment, but not so much my absorption of the point and the book itself.

I would still recommend this one. This is Tremblay in his element, I’m sure of it. There was a lot of good here to go along with the bad.

Have a great weekend!

Devil House by John Darnielle

Devil House by John Darnielle

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Rating: 2 out of 5.

The 52 Book Club 2022 Challenge Prompt: 1. A second-person narrative

Other Possible Prompts: 8. Involving the art world, 30. Audiobook is narrated by the author, 38. Don’t judge a book by its cover!, 52. Published in 2022

My bad book streak continues! Someone end my misery. Welp, by the time you read this, hopefully I will have read something worth giving five stars to again.

So to be completely frank: I have no idea what this book is really about. There are parts of it that I just…completely lost. I truly thought this was going to be a dark and creepy ‘Salem’s Lot-esque novel, maybe some Amityville touches, but this book isn’t so much horror as it is critical fiction. Here’s what I definitely parced plot-wise:

Writer Gage Chandler crafts tales of true crime by getting up close and personal with his stories and their history, and many of his works have even become movies. When his editor stumbles upon a random article from the 1980s about a satanic killing in an old porn shop north of San Francisco, he implores Gage to buy the home, move into it, and tell the real story.

Interwoven with one of his other tales, The White Witch, Gage tells the story of Devil House and all that he can parce truly transpired there…but as he unearths more of the story, he is left thinking about the true meaning and impact of his work as a true crime novelist.

Self loathing mid-life crisis much? I just felt like there was…a lot of author in this book. It feels like a reflection essay disguised as a tale of “horror”. Which, by the way, it wasn’t, really.

I chuckled as I included “Don’t judge a book by its cover” as one of the possible prompts (only the second book I’ve put on that list this year), primarily because I absolutely adore this cover and the content is…not great. I usually look at book covers as “someone enjoyed the book so much that they took the time to make a truly beautiful cover that reflects the art inside”. I love the cover of Devil House and it’s 90% of the reason I bought the book, actually, but the principle of the artist loving it cannot possibly apply here. I get Amityville Horror vibes, or classic cult fiction from the cover – and none of that within its pages. Soooo disappointing.

This book doesn’t touch at all on any supernatural horror, like I was kind of expecting from the cover art, but it does delve into a lot of true crime. Each moment is painstakingly laid out and can be somewhat gruesome. These parts, the actual horror parts, are admittedly written with care and precision that keeps it interesting – like a car accident you can’t tear your eyes from. Those scenes show skill.

When I rated the book on Goodreads and mentioned the full review would follow, I jokingly said “I wasn’t high enough to enjoy this”. But, um, there’s definitely some truth to that. This book feels a bit like a fever dream or a bad trip. Maybe if you were on the same wavelength as when Darnielle wrote it, it would make more sense, but as it was…big chunks of the book were not at all meaningful to me. I zoned out too easily and was jostled by the writing style.

The only reason this book is getting two stars and not one from me is because of *the point*. Large chunks of the book (that actually make sense) tell the tale of what happens when true crime gets written, to those who are left behind. This is why the tale of the “White Witch” is included – though it confounded me at first. It comes full circle when we talk about the story of Devil House. This book could be far more impactful and widespread if an editor had taken more pain to rein it it from the wild ride it currently is. The sad story behind every true crime is kind of an interesting take…and I liked this one part of it.

So, not recommending this, obviously. Don’t let that damn cool cover fool you, friends. You can skip this one. Have an excellent week.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

The 52 Book Club 2022 Challenge Prompt: 14. A character with superhuman ability

Other Possible Prompts: 41. Involves a second chance, 42. An indie read, 43. Author who’s published in more than one genre

This gem came up in my library holds a couple weeks ago but I’ve just been putting it off – everytime I got it, it seemed I was already in the midst of something. Finally I decided to just borrow it, and I literally could not put this one down.

Wallace was a powerful, cold and calculated attorney who was very good at his job, if nothing else – and then he died. At his funeral, he is collected up by his reaper, Mae, and brought to Charon Crossing: a peculiar teahouse run by a man named Hugo. Hugo, Mae tells him, is a “ferryman” who will help him cross over.

Unwilling to believe himself really dead, Wallace learns to navigate the world as a ghost with the help of Nelson, Hugo’s grandfather, and Apollo, Hugo’s dog – both also dead. Wallace isn’t quite ready to pass on, but he’s not sure why just yet. This odd clan is going to help him find out why.

I love the characters in this book. They absolutely make the story – they are warm and alive, much like in The House in the Cerulean Sea. Despite the wild fantasy the story tells, these characters are deep set in reality with beautiful personalities and stories to tell. Even Wallace becomes something greater than he was.

I didn’t think I was going to like the premise (pondering the afterlife) in this one as much as the other Klune I read, but I really did. Perhaps even more so, because it felt a bit more like magical realism than deep fantasy – I don’t prefer fantasy, but I think Klune has a knack for it. I can picture it, see it, follow it and actually enjoy it more than I can any other fantasy story I’ve read in the last five to ten years or so (God, I’m old).

The themes of this book, as we are forewarned, are very heavy. It deals with a lot of sad and sobering stuff, but it deals with it very well. Klune has the heart and mind to write about suicide, grief, and loss in a way that many authors can’t even touch. The empty feeling is captured and laid out on the page for you to grapple with. I cried multiple times reading this book and I’m not ashamed to say so. It is not an easy novel to read, especially if these themes have been in your own life.

My biggest complaint about Under the Whispering Door is the lack of bridge over the gap between how Wallace starts and what he becomes. For the most part, the character development is truly fantastic, but there’s a point, maybe around 35-40% of the way through, where I think Wallace made a very discernible shift without one particular catalyst. The rest of the transitions, including Wallace’s, are masterful.

I loved this book. Can’t recommend it enough. Please, please pick it up, but practice self care while you read it.

Have a great week. ❤

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

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Rating: 4 out of 5.

The 52 Book Club 2022 Challenge Prompt: 38. Don’t judge a book by its cover!

Other Possible Prompts: 29. Over 500 pages long (some versions), 41. Involves a second chance

Okay so, I was very skeptical of this one at first, but I’m super glad I read it. And honestly, as the prompt implies, I probably would’ve been more likely to pick it up if it had the cover to the right and not the old, paperback version I had in my hands. This one looks more thriller-like, which is sort of how I would describe this novel, versus the more literary fiction style cover of my copy.

This novel is hard to explain without ruining it! I’m going to keep it as general as possible, but just trust me when I say the intrigue and the twists are what will keep you reading! I think even the Amazon description of the book goes too far.

When CeeCee Wilkes was sixteen, she met a boy: Timothy Gleason, who captivated her and convinced her to do something that would haunt her forever. Now, thirty years later, Tim is being charged with the murder of Genevieve Russell, the woman he kidnapped, and her unborn child. But what CeeCee knows has the power to exonerate him, because no one killed Genevieve…and no one killed her daugther.

My boss and I frequently discuss books because we’re both readers, and we’re regularly trading novels. She said I absolutely had to read this one…and normally, these aren’t my style. I just had a feeling I wasn’t going to like Diane Chamberlain’s writing. And while I’m not sure I’d read another of hers, I am glad I read this one. It wasn’t what I expected from her and I didn’t find it preachy or even bad, and I definitely jibed with it – so it wasn’t that bad. This novel falls into more of a thriller crossed with a family drama, as opposed to the purely family drama I was expecting from Chamberlain.

My boss also told me not to read the description of the book, and not to read the first chapter until you finish the book. This is kind of why I’m hesitant to tell you much about the novel in the description, and I’d have to agree with her advice after having done it this way. She said it unfolds more like a winding mystery if you don’t. While it bothered my OCD a tad, I did give this a try (sort of). I just didn’t pay as much attention in the first chapter, so it didn’t actually make a big difference. I was more shocked and awed by the twists and turns of this book for having done this!

This one was just unexpectedly enjoyable for me. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be; while I thought it would be a family drama, the thriller aspect was a surprise. Even the family drama, which I would never pick up on my own, was captivating and interesting as it was told across many years, and you got to see each and every character grow up throughout the story.

And I actually loved all the characters. Except for the obviously awful ones, like Ken, most of them had redeeming qualities but were extremely human, so while they erred or did things I disapproved of, I couldn’t help but love them and want the best for them by the conclusion of the story. They’re by no means perfect, but they’re all likeable. They’re all people, written really, really well.

I think part of what makes that so interesting and important to note is that many of them have done horrible things. A lot of them have motives that make them do bad things, or they did bad things but they’re trying to move forward…the story forces you to grapple with the idea of what makes a person “a good person”, and just how much you’re willing to allow or forgive when they’re trying to move forward. I really liked this element and I think it’s the heart of what makes the story so captivating. What earns forgiveness?

So yeah, I definitely liked this more than expected. I never pick this stuff up so I was surprised I devoured it so quickly (I think this took me less than twenty four hours in total, even working a full day). I would definitely recommend it for a good mystery, but with some depth.

Have a wonderful week friends! 🙂