The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley was another fantastic recommendation by my former colleague. It’s a WWII period piece inside a framework of the present. There’s some mystery as well, which makes it a real page-turner. The story within the story is about the Crawford family and their estate, Wharton Park. Framing the story is Julia’s life recovering from an accident and learning about her grandmother’s life at Wharton Park. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and if you are a fan of Downton Abbey, as I am, you will like this too.

It’s been a while since I posted. I had two false starts which I spent a lot of time on before I abandoned them. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, while interesting at first, didn’t keep my interest and I abandoned ship about halfway in. The Sellout by Paul Beatty was my book club’s choice for this month. I didn’t get through 20% of the book in a week before I decided that it wasn’t for me. So, I was a little trepidatious when I began Pope Joan, by Donna Cross, another recommendation by The Golem and the Jinni friend. I love historical fiction and haven’t picked one up in a while, so this was a nice treat. It was a really interesting story about a woman who wanted to be educated so badly that she ended up posing as a man and was revered so highly by those around her, that she finally became pope. Some believe that Pope Joan existed and some believe she is a myth. Either way, this was a well-told tale, and one I would recommend you pick up.

On recommendations from several trusted reader-friends, I picked up Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance. This is the memoir of a self-proclaimed hillbilly, who went on to graduate from Ohio State and Yale Law School, rising up from a desperate childhood. It has also been described as a book that explains, in some part, why Trump was elected. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. I have read much more compelling memoirs (The Glass Castle, for one). In addition, I didn’t really feel like I learned anything new or surprising about Americans and our “culture in crisis.” It’s a good read, just, for me, not a great one.

While I’ve been reading a lot about India lately, I couldn’t help but pick up The Orphan Keeper by  Camron Wright (author of a favorite of mine from last year, The Rent Collector). The Orphan Keeper is based on the true story of Chellamuthu who is kidnapped in India and adopted by an American couple. Once he begins to speak, however, and tells his new parents what happened, they lead a search for his birth parents. Compelling idea, no?! This was a long book, but it was written so well that it moved along quickly. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Rent Collector, but it was quite good and I highly recommend it. It’s a wonderful book.

Wow – what a book! Karolina’s Twins, by Ronald Balson, was another recommendation by my former colleague who always steers me in the right direction. I read and reviewed Saving Sophie last year on her recommendation and enjoyed it. Karolina’s Twins is Balson’s latest, set in WWII Poland. The premise for this story (like that in Once We Were Brothers – which I have not yet read) is that an investigator/lawyer team in Chicago help people figure out a mystery from their past. In this case, aging Lena Woodward is trying to find her friend Karolina’s twins to honor a promise she made to Karolina during the war. You delve right into this story and I found the book hard to put down – a good way to start 2017!

The Mothers by Brit Bennett was the last book I read in 2016. It was a good last choice. Not amazing, but quite readable – and a good story. The book follows Nadia Turner’s life from young adulthood to thirty-something. It delves into choices, family, religion, community, and the Black experience. Overall, this was not only well-written but also engaging. I wanted to keep reading and wasn’t eager for the book to end. It was quiet, however, and a thought-provoking experience. It’s a good pick.

I was lucky enough to have a second book to read over break by Shilpi Somaya Gowda of Secret Daughter, reviewed here. The Golden Son tells the story of Anil, doing his medical residency in Texas while the rest of his family is in India. Simultaneously, we read about Anil’s childhood friend, Leena, who enters an abusive marriage. Their lives intertwine over the course of the story. Family ties and individual interests ultimately combine for Anil as he learns and grows. I enjoyed this book very much, but not as much as Secret Daughter. If you had to choose one over the other, I would choose that one first.