The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell has been on my “to read” list for a long time. I feel like I have read something else by Jewell, but I can’t remember what it was. The House we Grew Up In is the story of a family broken apart by the death of one of the four children and the mother’s hoarding disorder. While it was an interesting story, I found it depressing and parts of it entirely unbelievable. I stuck with it and am glad I read through to the resolution, but I can’t say that I found it an enjoyable read.

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica is similar to her book, The Good Girl, which I reviewed here. In Pretty Baby, a still grieving mother takes in a homeless girl and her baby with devastating consequences. We learn as the story progresses about the history of both characters, which explains their motivations and decisions. Pretty Baby moved along much more quickly than The Good Girl and, while it was predictable, I enjoyed watching the story come together. Unfortunately, this was the first book I read after finishing The Nightingale (my review here), and any book that followed that would lose out by comparison.

Having recently poo-pooed Sarah Pekkanen’s last title, Things You Won’t Say, I finally finished one of her older books, Skipping a Beat. I have had Skipping a Beat on my Kindle for a while. Even though it was a quick read, I kept putting it aside in favor of more appealing books that were arriving from the library. Since it was on my Kindle, though, whenever I had a moment of peace (waiting at gymnastics, waiting at the eye doctor, waiting during baseball warm-ups), I would pick it up again. The book was so light that I could remember where I was no matter what I else I was “really” reading. Consequently, it took me a long time to get through this one. Skipping a Beat was a little better than Things You Won’t Say, and it had a more creative premise about a husband and wife managing life, relationship, and wealth after he has a near-death experience. Clearly it was not compelling enough, however, to keep me moving or to put it ahead of other books. Sadly, I can’t even remember all the characters’ names at this point…which I suppose is not a ringing endorsement. Again, I keep hoping I’ll like Sarah Pekkanen’s books more than I do. Since she’s local, I have a soft spot for her. I suppose I’ll keep trying with the hope that something appealing will materialize.

I rarely purchase books anymore, being lucky enough to get them either from the library or by using gift cards given to me by friends and family. Having read reviews of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, however, I decided to buy it – at this moment, the book has over 10,500 Amazon reviews, 86% of which are five star. That’s a hard book to beat. As I finished it last night, tears dripping, I realized why people loved it so much. Not only is the story one of courage against unbelievable adversity, but it is also a touching story about family and love. Yes, the topic is depressing. Yes, I have read lots of books that cover World War II and the Holocaust. But, this one is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Absolutely purchase this book. I can’t imagine that you will be sorry you did.

I keep giving Sarah Pekkanen a try. She’s a local author and I want to like her books. I have been reading Skipping a Beat for months in fits and starts, but better books keep getting in the way. It’s not that I don’t like the stories, but the characters are always flat. I never really care about them and I end up being annoyed that I stuck with them as long as I did. I have the same love/hate relationship with Anita Shreve (my college roommate will agree with this one). I inevitably think I am going to like Anita Shreve’s books (and I always love her covers), but they always, always fall short. Things You Won’t Say was completely the same way for me. The premise was interesting (depressed cop whose partner was shot then kills an unarmed teenager), but I just wanted to get through it to find out what happened and I basically speed-read it (I don’t think that’s actually a correctly-used phrase) because it was due back at the library before we left for vacation. While I did enjoy the book from about pages 250 to the end, that was because the story moved along at a good clip. However, I wouldn’t bother with this one unless you really like her writing already.

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant (The Red Tent – another great book) was recommended by two of my middle school teachers who I am friends with on Facebook. I love being in touch with so many people who I might not otherwise keep up with. But, I digress. I really enjoyed The Boston Girl. It’s a quick read about a woman growing up in the early 20th century and is, as my teacher described it, “a happy summer read.” If you are looking for something light, but more engaging than your average summer read, this is it.

The recommendation for Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll came from a colleague who loves reading as much as I do. I read some reviews that panned the book, but I am glad I read it. It moved as quickly as Girl on the Train, but wasn’t nearly as good. I enjoyed it, however, and it had an interesting premise. There ultimately wasn’t much to it, but it was a good thriller nonetheless.

At the Water’s Edge is the latest by Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants). I adored Water for Elephants and was excited for Gruen to have come up with something new, especially something set in Scotland. I read a number of negative reviews of the book, however, and almost didn’t read it. In the end, I am glad that I did, because I would have wondered about it if I hadn’t. It was OK – not my favorite, but better than I thought it was going to be. The characters were a bit shallow and I didn’t really like any of them until close to the end. And, there were a lot of elements of the story that were just not fleshed out enough. Overall, though, it was a decent story of a search for the Loch Ness monster and a failing marriage.