So many genres, so little time
This is an emotional story about a daughter that cannot do enough to please her neurotic mother. It's a story about two sisters from two different worlds. It's a story about a dysfunctional family. I have read many stories about dysfunctional families, but I found this one to be lacking character development and a slow… Continue reading Momentary Mother by Lisa De Niscia
I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid…I know ordinary kids don’t make other kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get scared at wherever they go. My name is August, by the way, I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse. August may not look… Continue reading Wonder (Wonder #1) by R.J. Palacio
Frances Baldwin is resigned to die. She has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure and her quality of life is diminishing, but convincing her family to let her go is an uphill battle. Her husband Bill is angry and in denial, her youngest son Randy doesn't want any part… Continue reading Finding Frances by Janice M. Van Dyck
Hell was three generations of women living under the same roof. Joanie “Roxanne” Pilcher is a divorcee who has found out that her ex is going to be a daddy with the young woman he is living with and her new boss, Zoe, thinks she is a charity case. From Joanie: “What was worst of… Continue reading Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough by Ruth Pennebaker
I am a big fan of young adult and Christian fiction and was excited about reading Ms. Byler's debut novel. However, I found the book to be choppy and slow to get to the meaning of the book title, running around. It wasn't until most of the way through the book that the main character,… Continue reading Running Around (And Such) (Lizzie Searches for Love #1) by Linda Byler
Welcome to the real world of trying to become a child star. Ruth Rabinowitz is helping her daughter Bethany find her niche in the rigorous and volatile television and/or motion picture business in Hollywood. But is it costing her marriage and her sanity? Mimi Rogers is a long-time, aggressive, cranky, talent agent for child, teenage,… Continue reading Seeing Stars by Diane Hammond
Hailey has a father who has lost his job and is drinking, a mother who lost her inheritance when she married her father and has recently lost a baby, and a brother who has lost his faith in God. What has Hailey got to lose? Her respect? Her virginity? Her "best" friend? Her soul? Tusa… Continue reading Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa
“Without really trying, I have become a collector of other families’ secrets.” –Steve Luxenberg. Steve Luxenberg’s memoir reads like a mystery. In the Spring of 1995, Steve finds out that his mother, Beth, had a sister, Annie, who was mentally and physically disabled. This and other family secrets unfold in a number of shocking revelations… Continue reading Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg
Alyse Myers’s memoir is very personal, brave and honest. This memoir was mainly about Alyse Myers’ rocky relationship with her mother. The eldest of three girls, Alyse adored her father, but hated her mother. Alyse was her father’s favorite, but her mother’s jealousy and anger at the attention he paid to Alyse was something that… Continue reading Who Do You Think You Are? by Alyse Myers