I ended up really enjoying The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. It was a little slow because I didn’t have dedicated chunks for reading through most of it. I did at the end, however, and that’s where it really became appealing to me. And, also, when I discovered that it was a fictionalized true story (I am embarrassed to admit that since I had never heard of the Grimke sisters and I was an American Studies major with a concentration in Women’s History). What worked for this book was the shifting back and forth from Sarah Grimke to Hetty (the slave Sarah was “gifted” when she turned 11). While Hetty’s was the weaker of the two narratives, it served to offer poignant perspective and to horrify the reader. This is definitely a book worth reading if for nothing else than to learn about some pretty courageous women.

Again with the beach reads. Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand didn’t disappoint. Again on Nantucket, again with Hilderbrand. Nothing deep here, but a good story about the last night of high school when a junior dies and her twin brother is gravely injured. What happens to their families and the rest of the island is the crux of the story. It’s so easy to read that it’s just like mind candy. Perfect for the beach.

I wasn’t sold on The Last Summer of the Camperdowns after the first 50 pages, but I did read the whole thing based on its good reviews. I kept thinking I would start to get invested in the story or I would start to like the characters. But, I never did either. So, I don’t recommend this one. It was flat, flat, flat.

Wow. All I can say upon the quick completion of this “fable” is wow. What a powerful little story. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas has been on my to read list for a long time. It’s so short, I am not sure why I hadn’t read it before. I didn’t realize until I picked it up at the library that it was YA. What a powerful book to have students read as they are studying the Holocaust. I highly recommend this somber and thoughtful little story.

I wanted The Pearl That Broke Its Shell to be as good as The Kite Runner. Harper Collins certainly went out of their way to tie this book to Hosseini and, of course, the books share the same setting. But, while I enjoyed this story, it was a far cry from The Kite Runner (my favorite of Hosseini’s books) and even A Thousand Splendid Suns and And The Mountains Echoed. I liked the dueling and intersecting stories of Rahmia and her great great grandmother Shekiba, women in modern day and early 20th century Afghanistan, respectively, but I felt like there was nothing new to these tales. It was astonishing how little things had changed for these women in all that passing time, however. The ending is hopeful, but I had trouble staying awake to finish. That’s never a good sign. Honestly, I would give this one a pass – it didn’t do anything for me.

Looking for a beach read that will suck you in and make you cry? Elin Hilderbrand’s The Matchmaker is it. It’s not too deep, the story moves quickly, and the premise of a successful matchmaker who can read people’s auras and has been married to a man who is not her true love is unique. I read it in a day and would have only liked it more if I had been at the beach when reading it. The Nantucket setting was perfect for summer. This is not anything intellectual, but it’s enjoyable.

I enjoyed Astonish Me. The story was compelling and the descriptions of dance and a dancer’s life were interesting. However, the characters were a little two-dimensional and I had trouble both relating to them and also believing their stories. That said, however, it was a good read and a fast one. You should pick it up.

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton was only OK. It got better as it went, but about 40% in, I almost gave up on it. Needless to say, in her usual fashion, she made it page-turning and there were lots of surprises at the end. I wouldn’t grab this one, though, lots of her others are much better.

I will confess to the guilty pleasures of British/Irish novels (some more literary than others). Ian MacEwan, A S Byatt, Maeve Binchy? Yes, please. Therefore, I don’t know why I have put off reading any more of Kate Morton’s books. I adored The Forgotten Garden and The Distant Hours and The Secret Keeper have been on my wish list for ages. Since the great library book scenario (where I requested about 50 books off my wish list from the library and received 20 all at once), I got two Morton books. They’ve been out for a while, so I felt no rush to get to them. Boy, was I wrong to put them off for so long. Sucked right in and dying to read and find out the secrets and story, I was lost to my family for many hours. While The Distant Hours could have been shorter, it moved very quickly. This multi-generational tale of a castle and its inhabitants was filled with twists, turns, and surprises. I loved it.  Even though it’s a bit dark in outlook (I always felt like it was raining), it would be a good beach read.