Need You Now by Beth Wiseman

A family coping with everyday struggles is the gist of Need You Now. A stay at home mom, a dad working his way to partnership, and three children who are not perfect describes this religious family.

The story begins with the family’s move from the city of Houston, TX to out in country in an effort to improve their life. Their son, Chad, was in trouble, and they thought leaving the city would be a fresh start.

Chad improves, but their daughter, Gracie, develops major life threatening problems, brought on by stress. Their youngest daughter has special needs, and the marriage is in trouble at one point. So all is not well and Beth Wiseman takes us through the journey of these struggles.

The book is a nice wholesome story where families may read together and discuss what they would do if they were in any of the situations. There are lessons to learn.

However, I thought it was a bit too perfect. For the situations Beth Wiseman introduces and includes in her story, I feel they should have been expounded on. I feel more realistic dialogue was needed.

I was disappointed with the ending. I felt the characters needed more closure for the readers. It left some characters and their struggles hanging.  This may be the author’s purpose, if she has a sequel in mind.

The best friend of Darlene, the mother, was a strong character in the story. Once again I would have liked her to have been given more depth.

I recommend Need You Now for families who read Christian based books. It certainly is a nice story, especially to those who pray to God and have a strong faith.

Willow Pond by Carol Tibaldi

A crime story set in the 1930’s complete with speakeasies and gangsters. A toddler, Todd, is kidnapped while playing at Willow Pond with his nanny. His mother, Laura, a suppressed housewife at the time, and his father, Phillip, a famous actor, try to find their missing boy.

Crimes in the 1930’s were solved by police and newspaper reporters. In this investigation, it took about a year and a half because of incompetence by both.

Laura lived with her Aunt Virginia for most of her life after her parents died in an accident. Virginia was the owner of a speakeasy and had questionable connections. She used them to help find Todd.

Most of the story’s tension comes from the relationship between Laura and Virginia. Laura wants to become her own woman after being stifled in her marriage, and Virginia is a very strong and powerful woman. They clash during their efforts to find Todd, each using different methods, and Laura has a hard time in the end when Virginia’s hidden tactics comes to light.

Willow Pond flows beautifully as Tibaldi masters introducing and building her characters. She integrates the history of the era when apropos.

Tibaldi sheds light on how a woman owner of a speakeasy spends her day, how cops and reporters try to solve crimes back in the day, and how women are perceived in and out of marriage.

Tibaldi includes romance to Willow Pond. What would a good story be without lovers and tough decisions? Laura has her share of ups and downs and readers will enjoy the ride.

I recommend Willow Pond for readers who enjoy romance and crime. It’s a quick and easy read.

I would have liked to see more history of the time period integrated throughout the story.

As far as Laura’s character is concerned, for me, I just didn’t like her. She drove me crazy! There was not enough effort being done to find her son and she went on with her life way too fast and cheerfully to suit me during the year and a half. I realize one must go on, but I thought Laura should have experienced more anguish during such a time. Instead she had it pretty easy and it seemed her character would have been more realistic if the scale was tipped more in hardship than good times.

I was born and raised on Long Island so I was very familiar with Suffolk County and all the towns in the story. With this in mind, it was quite the read for me.

One Last Love by Derek Haines

They took ‘it’s never too late’ to a whole new level!

A beautifully written love story with a message of tolerance is what Derek Haines brings to his readers. His main character, Bonnie, as he likes to be called, is transferred from a hospital to a hospice to live out his last days. It’s here that he sheds his grumpy old bastard reputation and his prejudices with a little help from another patient, Madeleine, his unexpected last love.

Bonnie shares his last days with patients he held strong opinions about in life, to name just a few; a homosexual, a typical teenager he would never have related to, and a pompous ‘prat’. All contributed to changing Bonnie’s lifelong perceptions. His awakening, being in the last days of his life, may not have made any impact except for a last minute mea culpa, but Derek tells the story in such a way that you will be forced to think about your own attitudes.

Bonnie’s life wasn’t a barrel of laughs; he had crosses to bear, like many of us. A bad marriage which ended in a suicide, bad relationships, and losing his son at age 11. He hid his insecurities by being brash, but as Madeleine says, “Everyone knows you’ve got a soft centre under that grumpy crust of yours.”

I recommend One Last Love for those who enjoy a thought provoking romantic story with subliminal messages. For Bonnie, he experienced an epiphany in his last days of life. Along with that, he fell in love, perhaps the truest love in his life. If not for Madeleine and his new friends, he would have died alone.

I was left with one final message in One Last Love. Don’t be afraid to be open-minded and let people in. One shouldn’t wait for companionship and love until the last days of your life, even if unexpected as was the case with Bonnie and Madeleine. They took ‘it’s never too late’ to a whole new level!

Derek Haines, as always, brings his characters to life. Each one will captivate your heart. Readers will truly enjoy meeting Bonnie and his last minute friends who change his life if only for a few days.

A Song For My Mother by Kat Martin

A Song For My Mother by Kat Martin

While picking up my books on hold at the library, A Song For My Mother was being displayed on a shelf above my books. It’s a small book so I picked it up and read the book flap. Since it was a very short story I figured why not. It’s not one I would have read if not for being displayed, so I took it home. I try to expand the genres I read.

The story was about a mother’s love for her children. The mother in the story gets a chance to explain to her grown daughter why she made the choices she made when her daughter was young.

After 12 years of not seeing or talking to her mom, and after hearing the reason why her mother made the choices she did, the daughter forgave her and everyone lived happily ever after.

I assume readers finished the story feeling good that all is forgiven and a good life was lived by all. I did not have this feeling. I think the mother made the wrong choices. I’m not even sure I would forgive the mother. I understand her daughter’s reason for leaving home and not communicating with her mother for 12 years.

However, the story itself was touching and the characters fit the story. But to me it lacked substance so I looked at it from a different perspective as I always try to bring something positive from a book I didn’t really enjoy. What I realized was Kat Martin’s dialogue sounded effortless and spontaneous. It was literary genius.

As any aspiring writer does, I read to improve my writing skills. A Song For My Mother is a great book to improve writing dialogue. It’s the perfect model to emulate.

A writer may take classes, purchase writing books, and write daily to improve. I learn better reading books by authors who have mastered writing dialogue, along with taking classes, purchasing writing books, and writing daily!

I recommend A Song For My Mother for readers who enjoy romance novels and feel good stories that have happy endings.

For aspiring writers, I recommend A Song For My Mother for its outstanding dialogue!

Clover Adams: A Gilded and Heartbreaking Life by Natalie Dykstra

Natalie Dykstra writes a well-written detailed biography of Marion (Clover) Adams. She was Henry Adams wife. Henry was President John Adams great-grandson and President John Quincy Adams grandson. The book is an enjoyable read rich in facts about the mysterious life of Clover Adams. The author includes the works of Henry Adams and the history of The Gilded Age.

For the time period, one would surmise Clover and Henry’s marriage and life were appropriate. Both were educated coming from influential families. Although they married later in life than most for the era, they were able to share their love for the good things in life. Both were intelligent and good companions to one another. They never had children.

However, as time went on, Clover felt unrest in her life and her marriage. She became desperate in many ways trying to figure out why she was unhappy. Henry was no help, as most men were not nurturing during that time, so Clover felt isolated in her depression. Clover only knew she felt sad, lonely, and unfulfilled. She tried to find something to make her happy and feel worthwhile so she took up photography. This was a double edged sword because it did help Clover feel better; however, it wasn’t highly regarded as art. She took many photos and had her ups and downs during this time. She had a complicated family which at times added to her sadness, other times brought her happiness. She had a close relationship with her father. When he died, this was the beginning of the worst depression for Clover. She truly did not recover from his loss.

So while Clover was suffering, Henry was also depressed. At the same time she was losing members of her family and it all became too much for Clover. She committed suicide on December 6, 1885. She was 42 years old. What gave her hope was what ended up killing her. She drank the chemicals she used to develop her photographs.

Natalie Dykstra suggests the answers to why Clover took her life may be seen in her photographs. Natalie’s extensive research includes Clover’s notebook, letters, and family papers. From this research Natalie was able to describe to her readers Clover’s daily life, her thoughts and feelings. It describes life in the 19th century.

The book contains 31 extraordinary photos. One is a photo of an untitled bronze statue named, “Grief” that marks the graves of Clover and Henry. It is located in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C. It’s sad, but people only know she was the wife of Henry Adams and that she killed herself.

Thanks to Natalie Dykstra, we know there was much more to Clover Adams.

The Gratefully Undead by Rebecca Cesar

If you like zombies, this is the book for you. The main character, Laurah, is a young independent woman living in New York. After another hard day at work, she falls asleep at her desk only to wake up in the early morning hours to the streets filled with zombies.

She meets Marc in her struggle to survive and both team up to save themselves and the city of New York. They butt heads with clashing personalities, but each grow on one another to form a lasting friendship.

The Gratefully Undead demands a precise vocabulary which is appropriate for the subject. The story is a horror adventure as the reader routes for Laurah and Marc to survive. Do they? You will have to read it to find out!

My favorite part of the story is when Laurah has a dream. In these two pages I enjoyed the author’s true writing style. She uses beautiful words and descriptions as it is a delightful dream free of zombies.

The Gratefully Undead is labeled appropriately, however, if profanity was omitted, middle school students could have enjoyed the story.

Book Review by Mary Crocco

The Squirrel That Dreamt Of Madness by Craig Stone

There are two ways to view this book, one is as a crazy, fun, entertaining read. The other is as a serious, thought provoking, wake up call to the age old morals: Things aren’t always what they seem; don’t judge a book by its cover. Craig Stone skillfully intertwines both views with his readers in mind.

Against the advice of family and friends, Craig leaves his regular 9-5 day job and after work social life to become an unemployed, homeless man, living in a park in London.

Craig writes, “It can be a struggle sometimes balancing doing what you want to do with doing what everyone else wants you to do; especially when nobody really understands what you are trying to do including yourself.”

My favorite parts of the book are the serious, thought provoking parts, where Craig expresses his innermost feelings about what he is doing in the park, and I get to peek inside his brain. I enjoyed gaining insight to the man who turned his life upside down for ten days. At times I found myself thinking he was crazy, other times I felt he was brave and courageous.

This crazy, fun, read is more than entertaining as Craig’s imagination goes wild creating characters from the people he meets in the park. His writing skills are overloaded with metaphors and similes that I read over more than once, even jotting some down. One of my favorite similes: “If I am worried and thinking about my bags all day then no matter where I am I have not put them down; like a CEO going on holiday with his work blackberry.”

Share Craig’s ten days in the park by reading The Squirrel That Dreamt Of Madness. It will remind you of forgotten morals while at the same time entertain you with a very crazy, fun, story!

Book Review by Mary Crocco