A Boy and his Dog at the End of the World

~ noveltherapy

About one hundred years after the world as we know it comes to an end, Griz and his family survive in isolation on a remote Scottish island. When a stranger arrives and steals Griz’s dog, Griz impulsively goes after him, chasing the thief into the dangerous unknown.

I’m a big fan of dystopian fiction and so the set-up of this book appealed to me. Overall, I liked it a lot, though there were places in the middle of the book that seemed to drag. The story really picked up in the last quarter or so of the novel, though, and the ending was very well done. This book is not Station Eleven or The Stand, but with that said, I recommend it to people who are fans of this genre.

The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals

~ noveltherapy

(Available August, 2020)

Thanks to Becky Mandelbaum, Simon & Schuster, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. In The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals, it’s post-election 2016, and Ariel returns to rural western Kansas when she finds out that her mother’s animal sanctuary has been burned in a hate crime.

This is a solid debut novel and it succeeds in many ways. Mandelbaum’s writing is quite good. I would recommend this novel to fans of literary fiction and especially to animal lovers. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

While I enjoyed this novel, a couple of things kept me from loving it. First, I thought the political angle was a bit too heavy-handed (and I say that as someone who agrees with the political point of view expressed by the characters). Second, I really wanted to like the mother and the daughter — they are the emotional core of the book — but I found them both to be selfish and destructive, so much so that it was hard to root for them or empathize with them. So, while I was engaged in this book and was very interested to see how it would end, these shortcomings kept me from giving book a higher rating.

2019 Favorites and Looking Ahead to 2020

~ noveltherapy

As we wrap up 2019, I’ve taken stock of the books I’ve read this year and put together a list of my very favorites. There are still many books from 2019 that are on my bedside table that might have made the list, but I didn’t get to them in time. Maybe they’ll make the list for 2020! In the meantime, here are my favorites from the past year and a few books I’m looking forward to in 2020.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful, joyful New Year, and as always, happy reading!

Alison’s Favorites 2019

Fiction:
The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett
The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes
The Hiding Place, by CJ Tudor
Girls Like Us, by Christina Alger
Daisy Jones & the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Ask Again, Yes, by Mary Beth Keane
The River, by Peter Heller
Long, Bright River, by Liz Moore

Non-Fiction:
The Library Book, by Susan Orlean
The Death of Politics, by Peter Wehner
The Fifth Risk, by Michael Lewis

Books I’m most looking forward to in 2020:
The Unwilling, by John Hart (June, 2020)(author of The Lost Child and Down River)
Simon the Fiddler, by Paulette Jiles (April 2020)(author of News of the World)
The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel (February 2020)(author of Station Eleven)
The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson (February 2020)(author of Devil in the White City, and In the Garden of Beasts)

The Other People

~ noveltherapy

The Other People, by C.J. Tudor — Available January 28, 2020!

Thanks to C. J. Tudor, Random House – Ballantine, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. I was so excited to read this book, as I have loved Tudor’s previous two books (The Chalk Man and The Hiding Place). I’m happy to say that it did not disappoint!

I don’t want to summarize the plot too much so as not to spoil it, but basically this is an engaging thriller that starts with a man’s frantic search to find his kidnapped daughter. There are some spooky/supernatural/Stephen King-like moments in this novel, but not quite as many as The Hiding Place (which was very Stephen King like!). The characters were well-drawn and engaging, and the plot was clever and complicated, but ultimately believable.

This novel hooked me immediately and kept me turning the pages until the end. There were some twists at the end that I did not see coming, and some of those worked better than others. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. Tudor has become one of my favorite thriller writers and I can’t wait to read her next book!

Highly recommend, especially for fans of Stephen King and/or Dean Koontz.

Where the Lost Wander

~ noveltherapy

Where the Lost Wander, by Amy Harmon

Put this on your to-read list for 2020! Available April, 28, 2020.

Thanks to Amy Harmon, Netgalley, and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. Set in 1853 on the Oregon Trail, Where the Lost Wander is a wonderful story of hardship and love. I don’t read much historical fiction but I loved this novel from the first page and was sad to see it end. Highly recommend, especially for fans of historical fiction.

Long, Bright River

~ noveltherapy

Long, Bright River, by Liz Moore

In Philadelphia, amidst the ravages of the opioid epidemic, police officer Mickey searches for her addicted sister, Kacey, who has gone missing. Has Kacey finally fallen prey to her addiction? Or is she a victim of a killer who is targeting vulnerable women in the area? Mickey endeavors to find her, while trying to keep her own life from spinning out of control.

It’s hard for me to categorize this book because while it has elements of a police procedural and of a slow-burn mystery/thriller, it’s such a smart, emotionally resonant novel that it’s more of a literary novel (that happens to be a page turner). I loved this novel, though it was at times hard to read, given the stark depiction of the opioid epidemic. Liz Moore’s writing is exceptional. Highly recommend!

The Wives

~ noveltherapy

The Wives, by Tarryn Fisher

Thursday’s husband has two other wives. She’s never met them and knows nothing about them until one day she stumbles onto the name of one of the wives. She can’t help herself – she tries to find the other wives. And so begins a “shocking” thriller. Or maybe not.

Hooboy…. I really didn’t like this book. I was skeptical of it when I first read the synopsis, but it was a Book of the Month Club selection, and I was curious about the premise, so I gave it a shot. It did not go well for me.

I had my back up about this book by the second page. I didn’t understand why Thursday would agree to this set-up, and frankly, the way she talked about herself (the book is written in first person) and her relationship was extremely stereotypical and off-putting. But the book moved quickly, and I stuck with it to the halfway point. Then, just when I was about to give up on it completely, the book zagged — and to my dismay I found myself in YET ANOTHER unreliable narrator novel. Oh, great! Another mentally ill/substance abusing/delusional (take your pick) woman. Enough already. I finished this book but I wish that I hadn’t.

Clearly this book was not for me. If you do happen to enjoy this sub-genre of unreliable female narrators, then you might enjoy this more than I did. Otherwise, this is not worth your precious reading time.

The Giver of Stars

~ noveltherapy

The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes

In Depression-era rural Kentucky, five women defy convention and take WPA jobs as “pack horse librarians,” riding arduous routes through the hills to deliver books to needy families. As a result, the community and all of the women are forever changed.

I loved this book from the very first page and was sad when it was over. The characters were so well developed, I felt like they were all real people and I was completely invested in their stories.

Highly recommend!

The Night Fire

~ noveltherapy

The Night Fire, by Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch # 22, Renee Ballard #3)

Michael Connelly’s Bosch series is one of the longest-running and most consistent series around. As with all series, some installments are better than others, but the recent addition of detective Renee Ballard, who works the night shift and partners with a now-retired Bosch, has breathed new life into this series. Bosch’s brother, Mickey Haller (the “Lincoln Lawyer”) also makes an appearance in this book.

Connelly is great at what he does — his police procedural and courtroom dramas are first rate. This latest installment of the Bosch series is quite good and I highly recommend it. Also, if you haven’t read his novel The Poet (which is not a part of the Bosch series) run out and do it now!

The Dutch House

~ noveltherapy

The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett

I am wildly jealous of Ann Patchett. She has an uncanny ability to write novels that are consistently gripping, luminous, emotional, layered and utterly real. She scores again with Dutch House, a sweeping family saga that I had trouble putting down after the very first page.

In The Dutch House, Danny Conroy tells the story of his family and their historic mansion — the Dutch House — in the suburbs of Philadelphia. When Danny and his sister Maeve are thrown out of the house by their step-mother, they are impoverished and alone, and deal with the ramifications of that decision for the rest of their lives.

This novel is not perfect. There were a few plot points and things here and there that didn’t really ring true to me. But it is a testament to Patchett’s skill that I loved this novel despite those things. This is probably one of my favorite books of the year. Highly recommend!