Race Across the Sky: A Novel by Derek Sherman

Race Across the Sky: A Novel by Derek Sherman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Who would you run one hundred miles for?

Caleb Oberest is an ultramarathon runner, who severed all ties to his family to race brutal 100-mile marathons across mountains. Shane Oberest is a sales rep for a cutting-edge biotechnology firm, creating new cures for the diseases of our time. Shane has spent his life longing to connect with his older brother, but the distance between them was always too vast.

Caleb’s running group live by strict rules, but Caleb is breaking one of them. He has fallen in love with a new member and her infant daughter. When Caleb discovers that the baby has a fatal genetic disease, he reaches out to Shane. On the verge of becoming a father himself, Shane devises a plan that could save this baby and bring his lost brother home. But to succeed, both brothers will need to risk everything they have. And so each begins a dangerous race that will push them past their boundaries, and take all of Caleb’s legendry endurance to survive.

Derek Sherman’s authentic, compelling story of ultramarathons, biotechnology, and family takes us deep into new worlds and examines how far we will go for the people we love.

My thoughts: I was first introduced to the world of ultra marathoners by a colleague who coaxed me into reading Born to Run which fascinated me yet, by no means did it inspire me to go run up and down a couple of mountain ranges. Or around the block. Still, that kind of dedication and mindset is intriguing.

This book is a fictional novel based on the lifestyle of ultramarathoners. These are people who run events of 100 miles or more at a time. They push their bodies past the point of physical pain, past the point that their kidneys shut down and yet they continue to run. They are generally a disciplined population of runners who find a higher level of living when in training. And they are always in training. This fictional group is a running club called "Happy Trails," coached and directed by a man named Mack. They live cult-like and much like a commune. Somewhat off the grid, and generally living as equals. Of course, Mack is the exception and just a little bit of a narcissist. Like a lot.

Meanwhile, back in the Bay area, brother Shane is changing career tracks from pharmaceutical sales to biotechnology. This is where the brothers intersect as Caleb, the runner in the commune seeks out Shane's expertise. It was just a little bit too convenient that Shane chooses to move into biotech.

So I guess I'll share what gives it three stars instead of four. The general story of Caleb and Shane did not engage me. I felt ambivalent about the brothers, June, and most of the characters on the whole. Except Lilly. I did care about her.

Yet the story is a vehicle to providing interesting and relevant information about the world of pharmaceuticals and sales. How the drug reps are pushing doctors hard to prescribe meds that may or may not work but investors need to see a return. There's a huge cushion for paying big bonuses to reps and doctors. Which makes me wary, how about you?

On the other side of the same coin are biotech companies that work with the proteins within our own bodies to heal itself by injecting a genetically altered protein that corrects the faulty genes. Not to cure but to control so the sufferer can live with the ailment without all the side effects from the ailment and/or the chemicals in meds. On the other hand, they still work under the rules of the FDA and must adhere to the rules and testing of each trial which is both necessary, ethical, and hugely expensive. Which comes into play in this novel.

The author is very well read on the issues of pharma and biotech. He is also convincing in the arena of why someone would choose to leave the rat race to become an ultra marathon runner. The adjectives used paints an intriguing picture of kinetic energy and feelings of peace in nature. Not that I'm convinced to do it, but I can see the allure.

Great information. Interesting story line that just didn't quite hook me. I'd still recommend it to people for information.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty REVIEW

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description: To be opened in the event of my death

With one swift, vicious movement, she sliced the envelope open, and pulled out a handwritten letter.

love you and the girls...
so sorry to leave you with this...
cannot bear

The Husband's Secret is a funny, heartbreaking novel of marriage, grief, love and secrets. When her husband announces he's in love with her best friend, painfully shy Tess picks up her young son and returns to her mother's house. There she begins an unexpected affair with an old flame. Rachel is a woman in her sixties consumed by grief and anger at the loss of her daughter twenty years earlier. When her son announces he is taking her beloved grandson overseas, Rachel begins a descent into deeper bitterness and pain. Cecilia is the quintessential "I don't know how she does it" woman. A devoted mother to three daughters, she runs her household like clockwork, is President of the P&C, owns an extremely successful Tupperware business and is happy in her fifteen-year marriage. Until she discovers a letter in their attic labelled: "To my wife Cecilia, to be opened in the event of my death"... Her husband's secret is a bombshell beyond all imagining with repercussions across the lives of all three women.

My thoughts: Liane Moriarty is an artist.

First of all we have different women that seem to have nothing to do with one another. The book toggles between each of them. Additionally, the prologue is a quick synopsis of Pandora and her box, pointing out that Pandora was never told to not open the box. Why wouldn't she open the box? She had no idea what would be unleashed when she opened the box. The stories are also interspersed with a little bit of history of the Berlin Wall. Which would seem odd except that, when you think about the Berlin Wall, Pandora's Box, and Tupperware. They are all trying to do the same thing; keep what needs to be kept in. But, like all of the above mentioned containments, eventually things leak out and there is no predicting how that will turn out.

The stories have stories within them. The detail of ordinary is wonderful. The characters are consistent and the issues are relevant. Each of them are dealing with a different life event. Each of them will eventually end up tied together in some way. Each of them will be changed forever by the opening of their boxes. The boxes contain the afflictions others have let loose. But they still have deal with the fallout. Like a spilled bottle of sesame oil, the smell lingers and there is nothing to do but deal with it.

I also loved the way Moriarty addresses ego. In every case, ego plays a part. The best advice given is by Tess' mother. "Be more bendy." Nothing is cut and dried. Even when the protagonist knew the moral and ethical or egotistical answer, it changes when it happens to her. Just as it changes when we are in the midst of our own crises. I loved Tess the most. I was drawn to her when her husband and best friend/cousin inform her that they have fallen in love. But they haven't, you know. "You haven't slept together but you want to." Right. Well then, she informs them, as she packs her bags, I just changed the sheets this morning. Go for it. I'm going to my mother's house. So she sets the most tone for their shameful secret. They've fallen in love but want to keep their happy threesome together. Just in a different arrangement. Tess brings it right out into the open and takes away the thrilling secretiveness of it. Change the sheets when you're finished. Stop sneaking around. I loved how she turned the situation on its head.

But all of the characters are interesting. None of them are easily categorized. They are all a little part of us and have too much ego. The development of the story explores each of the lives and circumstances, eventually drawing the women together, along with peripheral characters, and the crashing down of the Berlin Wall.

Very well written. But do be aware of the language. It is harsh at times. Yet appropriately so.

The Mark of a Giant: 7 People Who Changed the World by Ted Stewart

The Mark of a Giant: 7 People Who Changed the World by Ted Stewart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description: On the Shoulders of Giants examines the lives and contributions of seven men and women who changed the world: Abraham of Ur, Pericles, the Apostle Paul, Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa.

My thoughts: As a self-declared nerd, I will admit that I read history books for fun. That said, I do find myself yawning after so much time as the author of a history book gives way. Too. Much. Information. I realize it's to give the reader a well rounded education on any given topic and there are bibliographies to back it all up which is the responsible thing to do when you are a student in a history class. But sometimes I just want a good story in the history book. That is what I found with this book.

The author devotes one chapter per historical giant. The information on that particular person is immense and surprising. Everything is referenced at the end of the chapter but I forgot I was reading a book that was, essentially, a history book. It was fascinating and not necessarily well rounded although it was very well researched. The author clearly chose each giant with great care, studied their lives and accomplishments, and found at least one or two qualities to concentrate on and led the reader to this conclusion evidenced by their life. This is not to say that the author ignored other aspects of the giants' lives but merely brushed upon it and moved on.

An example would be the chapter on Martin Luther King Jr. The greatest achievement of Martin Luther King Jr. was the act of becoming a peaceful figurehead for the Civil Rights Movement. He was not a southern African American and did not know all the ins and outs of being completely and utterly oppressed. He grew up in a home where his parents taught him well, a son of a son of a Christian minister, he made the choice to follow the footsteps with the huge bonus of earning a Doctorate in Theology. He was an unlikely candidate to lead the Movement because of his Northern heritage, his education level, and his young age. He had also dabbled and publicly rejected communism and dabbled in an eye for an eye mentality only recently being moved by Ghandi's life and example of non-violence. This is the man, with the oratory gift, that made the argument then led the Black community to boycott the city buses for over a year which turned the tides of rights being recognized by the federal government.

Under great pressure from both sides, Martin Luther King Jr. did not budge from his stance. He received death threats, his house was bombed with explosives. The white community did not adhere to non-violence and there were still physical altercations at times yet he continued to preach peace and turn the other cheek. The author briefly touches on titles of other events in the Civil Rights Movement and admits there is too much to write into one chapter. He also admits that MLK, Jr. decided to jump on a different bandwagon the last couple of years of his life that may be distracting to his original greatness, yet he consistently preached and practiced non-violent means to conflict.

It was fascinating. I was disappointed that the chapter ended. This was how all of the chapters were for me. I was completely enveloped in the life of Marie Curie and her perseverance under horrific conditions while testing and isolating radium. Far too little was written on Mother Theresa but enough that the reader understood the depth and breadth of her love of God's children. 

It is a book to be read slowly and then digested a few days before continuing on. Very well written. Very well researched.

The Time Between by Karen White

The Time Between by Karen White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A stunning new novel of betrayal and forgiveness from the New York Times bestselling author.

Thirty-four-year-old Eleanor Murray is consumed with guilt for causing the accident that paralyzed her sister—and for falling in love with her sister’s husband. But when her boss offers her a part-time job caring for his elderly aunt, Helena, Eleanor accepts, hoping this good deed will help atone for her mistakes.

On the barrier island of Edisto, Eleanor bonds with Helena over their mutual love of music. Drawing the older woman out of her depression, Eleanor learns of her life in Hungary, with her sister, before and during World War II. She hears tales of passion and heartache, defiance and dangerous deception. And when the truth of Helena and her sister’s actions comes to light, Eleanor may finally allow herself to move past guilt and to embrace the song that lies deep in her heart…

My thoughts: I had no idea what to expect with this book and I'd written it off until I saw the rave reviews. Not that I always agree with rave reviews but this time I did. I just didn't like the book description about a woman who feels guilty about paralyzing her sister then she holds a flame for her sister's husband then takes care of an old woman. How depressing. Obviously there was much more.

The book is told by different points of view and slowly reveals the way we punish ourselves for decisions we made years ago and how we own more than our share of guilt. We carry out shame or we punish ourselves by giving up things we love. There is a time for apology and there is a time to forgive, including ourselves.

The characters and their stories are flawlessly sewn together to give the book a cohesive momentum. The book is not a fast moving book but one that must be thoughtfully consumed. The characters and their interactions define them and develop them into people we know and, in some ways, are.

Beautiful writing style and book. Book club worthy.

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Description: Hardships and heartache brought them together…now it will tear them apart. 

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.

My thoughts: If you loved the story of Layken and Will, you will probably want to know what happens next. I enjoyed the first book. This is the second book and it seemed a little contrived and shallow. It's the angsty will-we-be-together-or-not and hello-old-girlfriend, and the problems seem a little too simplistic yet drawn out. I liked the ending. It was very cute.

This book will not make sense if the first book is not read first.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Such a tough book to review! I think it fair to say that I missed some of the symbolism. I did not miss the beautiful and vivid prose. The author is an amazing writer who uses words to paint a landscape so complete, I could not help but see the ruins of the cities in Chechnya and want to weep. The story itself is not all sad and the reader is left with hope by the end of the book yet, although the story is fiction, the reality of life in Chechnya is not.

There is a rich history of the country of Chechnya which is briefly touched upon. The story taking place for the reader, however, is a time covering the two most recent wars which I feel less than certain enough in their causes to explain them. One war was largely the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The other was a confused grab of power between the feds and resistance fighters who were largely Muslim thus many have misinterpreted that it is the extremists who are attempting a holy war. With my companion reading of Wikipedia, which I know is not the best source but it was what I chose, the second war is largely propaganda and the snatching of power. Best as I can tell, however, the Feds consist of the Russian soldiers who are actually hardened criminals and other soldier were were conscripted against their will.

The actual history of the country is important but not vital to understand the story. Jumping around in the timelines of the two wars which is a very short amount of time, the story unfolds as Sylvia is the sole medical doctor at a Chechnyan hospital Akhmed is the best friend of Dokka who has just disappeared. Havaa is Dokka's daughter and now Akhmed's responsibility to keep safe so he takes her to Sylvia who knows only by reputation. Sylvia is waiting for her sister, Natasha to return home. Ramad is an informer for the government, causing the death of 12 people, at last count. Kassan is his diabetic father who is lonely for conversation but nobody will talk to him because of his son's habits.

The book slowly but surely connects the characters to one another, even if only in passing, they each make an impression on at least one other character, changing or ending their lives. The brutality of the feds is horrific and something to be feared. There are characters who are indifferent to the consequences, knowing their conscience could not handle the alternative. Others who have turned off all political leanings and work only to survive. And then the truly innocent of them all.

It is a very strong and powerful book, carefully woven together as the characters lives intersect with one another, validating their lives and importance and changing hearts when the heart can be changed. An interesting writing quirk that I enjoyed immensely is the insertion of what will happen in 2.8 years in the future. Or in 57.3 years in the future. These comments are made off the cuff and are nearly missed as consequential but add immensely to the book.

For such a serious book, there is great humor in the scene where Havaa is directed to teach the one armed guard how to juggle. I admit that I laughed aloud.

The book is a worthwhile read. My three stars reflect my own personal feelings of the seriousness of the subject matter. It hurts to know what is happening in our world today. The writing is exquisite. The sociogram that you may need to write out in your head is complex but well worth drawing.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty Review

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description: To be opened in the event of my death

With one swift, vicious movement, she sliced the envelope open, and pulled out a handwritten letter.

love you and the girls...
so sorry to leave you with this...
cannot bear

The Husband's Secret is a funny, heartbreaking novel of marriage, grief, love and secrets. When her husband announces he's in love with her best friend, painfully shy Tess picks up her young son and returns to her mother's house. There she begins an unexpected affair with an old flame. Rachel is a woman in her sixties consumed by grief and anger at the loss of her daughter twenty years earlier. When her son announces he is taking her beloved grandson overseas, Rachel begins a descent into deeper bitterness and pain. Cecilia is the quintessential "I don't know how she does it" woman. A devoted mother to three daughters, she runs her household like clockwork, is President of the P&C, owns an extremely successful Tupperware business and is happy in her fifteen-year marriage. Until she discovers a letter in their attic labelled: "To my wife Cecilia, to be opened in the event of my death"... Her husband's secret is a bombshell beyond all imagining with repercussions across the lives of all three women.

My thoughts: Liane Moriarty is an artist.

First of all we have different women that seem to have nothing to do with one another. The book toggles between each of them. Additionally, the prologue is a quick synopsis of Pandora and her box, pointing out that Pandora was never told to not open the box. Why wouldn't she open the box? She had no idea what would be unleashed when she opened the box. The stories are also interspersed with a little bit of history of the Berlin Wall. Which would seem odd except that, when you think about the Berlin Wall, Pandora's Box, and Tupperware. They are all trying to do the same thing; keep what needs to be kept in. But, like all of the above mentioned containments, eventually things leak out and there is no predicting how that will turn out.

The stories have stories within them. The detail of ordinary is wonderful. The characters are consistent and the issues are relevant. Each of them are dealing with a different life event. Each of them will eventually end up tied together in some way. Each of them will be changed forever by the opening of their boxes. The boxes contain the afflictions others have let loose. But they still have deal with the fallout. Like a spilled bottle of sesame oil, the smell lingers and there is nothing to do but deal with it.

I also loved the way Moriarty addresses ego. In every case, ego plays a part. The best advice given is by Tess' mother. "Be more bendy." Nothing is cut and dried. Even when the protagonist knew the moral and ethical or egotistical answer, it changes when it happens to her. Just as it changes when we are in the midst of our own crises. I loved Tess the most. I was drawn to her when her husband and best friend/cousin inform her that they have fallen in love. But they haven't, you know. "You haven't slept together but you want to." Right. Well then, she informs them, as she packs her bags, I just changed the sheets this morning. Go for it. I'm going to my mother's house. So she sets the most tone for their shameful secret. They've fallen in love but want to keep their happy threesome together. Just in a different arrangement. Tess brings it right out into the open and takes away the thrilling secretiveness of it. Change the sheets when you're finished. Stop sneaking around. I loved how she turned the situation on its head.

But all of the characters are interesting. None of them are easily categorized. They are all a little part of us and have too much ego. The development of the story explores each of the lives and circumstances, eventually drawing the women together, along with peripheral characters, and the crashing down of the Berlin Wall.

Very well written. But do be aware of the language. It is harsh at times. Yet appropriately so.

View all my reviews

Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt

What I liked about Right of Way:

1) I loved the way the characters stayed true to themselves. When written in POV as Jace or Peyton, it was clear by the way they thought and acted. I never got confused who was speaking/thinking. They have spunk and personality.

2) Two points of view. The same story is told and overlaps as told by both characters but interpretation is different enough to bring much interest to the story. Good foresight to add the different perspectives.

3) Peripheral characters cracked me up and added a layer to the story that you simply can't get on a sitcom. BJ is they guy you know that has no social skills or sense yet he good looking enough that he gets by. The hotel clerk and Jace's exchange with the interruption of BJ made me laugh out loud. Jordan and Courtney were a great couple that stayed objective enough but added insight.

What I didn't like:

The language! Personally the amount and level of swearing was very distracting for me. Did not enjoy and can't recommend the book for teens because of it. Why so many f-bombs? It felt forced, like the characters were trying too hard to be grown up.

I wish there was more resolution in Peyton's relationship with her parents. The ending felt very abrupt and there is no wrapping up of issues.

All in all a memorable read, but not one I would buy due to content.

Thanks so much to Simon Pulse for the sneak peek.

Hidden by Catherine McKenzie

Hidden by Catherine McKenzie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description: When a married man suffers a sudden fatal accident, two women are shattered—his wife and someone else's—and past secrets, desires and regrets are brought to light

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Not one but two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son and contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother—her ex-boyfriend—Tim.

With Tish’s co-workers in the dark about her connection to Jeff outside the workplace, she volunteers to attend the funeral on the company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life. Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, our personal choices and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

“Catherine McKenzie’s latest book may be her finest. HIDDEN explores the intersecting lives of a man, his wife, and a woman who may or may not be his mistress. Imaginatively constructed, filled with nail-biting tension and gracefully written, HIDDEN is a winner.” — Sarah Pekkanen, author of These Girls and Skipping a Beat

“What I love about this deft, intimate novel is that here are no angels or demons here, just adults—husbands, wives, mothers, fathers—leading complex, messy, very human lives. They all struggle to weigh desire against obligation, what they want against what is right. I found myself in the impossible, wonderful position of rooting for all of them—and of missing them when the book was over.” — Marisa de los Santos, author of Belong to Me and Love Walked In

“Using distinct narrative voices, Catherine McKenzie has crafted a compelling novel that kept me turning pages at a breakneck speed. Heartbreakingly honest and real, Hidden is a wonderfully relatable tale.” — Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times bestselling author of On The Island

My thoughts: I love Catherine McKenzie. I started reading her books with Spin. It was funny, intelligent, and oddly insightful. Soon I found Arranged and then Forgotten. The books were growing more complex in terms of relationships and insightfulness. If you know me, you know that I love a really good book on complex, female relationships but absolutely love an author that writes in humor that makes me laugh out loud. That is the way of Catherine McKenzie. What she may or may not know is that if we lived closer, we'd be best friends.

An observation. Not everybody is a good writer. Not every good writer writes a good book. I'm even stunned to read emails from professionals at work with Master's degrees in education who can not write. In thinking more on that fact, I realize that my gift of writing did not come with my education in educational psychology. It came from my childhood habit of keeping a journal and writing in it all through the angst of my adolescence and beyond. Because there I could be who I truly am and I could also articulate what I couldn't articulate verbally because of a neurological stutter. So I'm not a strong public speaker so I compensate with writing. Although they make me speak publicly for work so maybe I will become stronger. *Snort* I won't.

So here's the last point I want to make on Catherine McKenzie and her talent and gift of writing. She is an extremely intelligent and educated woman who also happens to practice law. I've noticed an occasional character that has some law training in her books but this is not the emphasis. The emphasis is articulating thoughts, relationships, and feelings through her words. So. She is, most likely, a gifted public speaker as well as a writer who can take those feelings we haven't quite articulated to ourselves and turn them into something nearly tangible without comfortably choosing a lawyer niche. I find that incredibly talented.

So this book is a completely different angle than any of her other books. The story is written first person, in three different voices. Jeff continues to narrate even though he died. He tells the reader of the past. He explains how he and Tish meet. How he and Tish meet again. He tells about Claire. About how he hesitated to move on expanding their relationship because she used to date her brother. Jeff gives the insights that only Jeff can give. But he doesn't reveal how important either Claire or Tish are to him. Only that they are significant to him. We are wondering until the very end (which is revealed) how important Tish was to him and whether or not he had an affair with her.

The beauty of the story is the complexity of the characters. Tish is not a vixen. She doesn't have a horrible husband. Jeff is not looking for a relationship outside his marriage. Claire is good but she questions if she may have planted seeds of doubt in Jeff's mind. They are all very human and fragile in their states of grief and relations. The way the author phrased certain ideas and experiences were finally too much for me. I got out my yellow highlighter (I did mention that I'm an educator, didn't I?) and the last quarter of the book is now filled with yellow.

This book has not yet come out in the U.S. It's only out in Canada. So all you Canadians, read it. All you Americans, just wait. You're going to love it.

Midsummer Night's Book Giveaway

Welcome to the FREEDOM TO READ Giveaway Hop!

This hop is hosted by: 

I Am a Reader, Not a Writer (HERE) 
and Mary from Book Hounds.  

The Never List by Koethi Zan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Description: The most relentless, deeply disturbing thriller writer since Jeffery Deaver and Gillian Flynn

For years, best friends Sarah and Jennifer kept what they called the “Never List”: a list of actions to be avoided, for safety’s sake, at all costs. But one night, against their best instincts, they accept a cab ride with grave, everlasting consequences. For the next three years, they are held captive with two other girls in a dungeon-like cellar by a connoisseur of sadism.

Ten years later, at thirty-one, Sarah is still struggling to resume a normal life, living as a virtual recluse under a new name, unable to come to grips with the fact that Jennifer didn’t make it out of that cellar. Now, her abductor is up for parole and Sarah can no longer ignore the twisted letters he sends from jail.

Finally, Sarah decides to confront her phobias and the other survivors—who hold their own deep grudges against her. When she goes on a cross-country chase that takes her into the perverse world of BDSM, secret cults, and the arcane study of torture, she begins unraveling a mystery more horrifying than even she could have imagined.

A shocking, blazingly fast read, Koethi Zan’s debut is a must for fans of Karin Slaughter, Laura Lippman, and S.J. Watson.


My thoughts: This is a fascinating psychological thriller, particularly in light of the recent events in Ohio.

The book opens with Jennifer and Sarah as children. They suffered a horrible trauma with Jennifer losing a parent. In actuality, Jennifer is truly untethered as her father is a useless alcoholic. So Jennifer and Sarah grow up together, under the same roof, taking great pains to stay safe. They come up with many, many rules and lists of things to never do to stay safe. Then in college they are still abducted and held in a cellar for years.

Now Sarah is 32 years old. She lives a solitary life in New York City in a building with a doorman. She orders take-out and he brings it to her. She works as an actuary, her office being her apartment. She stays safe. She repels all touch. She is highly traumatized and works with a therapist three times a week who comes to her apartment. One police officer has regular contact with her. The man who abducted her is coming up for parole. She needs to leave her apartment and provide a victim's statement.

The book toggles between now and then. The details of then are not clearly spelled out which is a relief for the reader, but enough information is provided that I would never hand this book to one of my children. The girls are held with two other girls in the cellar. Their captor is a professor at a university. He teaches psychology. He plays with not only the young woman's body in implements of torture, but also their minds. His goal seems to be to break them completely. He only takes them upstairs to torture them. There is also a box in the dungeon where he keeps Jennifer.

What we know is that Jennifer doesn't make it out of the cellar. What we know is that Sarah is very estranged from the other two victims by the end. What we also know is that each of the survivors has coped in a different way. I would honestly hate to write this book yet I did find it fascinating in the way that I find World War II fascinating. I am psychologically removed yet curious. Yet I never, ever want it to happen to one my own.

Sarah ends up with one of the other survivors as she uncovers interesting aspects to the case that has never closed. Jennifer's body was never found. The reader, via Sarah's research and flashbacks, gets a glimpse into the world of captivity and torture; the will to survive. What will a person do to survive? How much will she remember when it's all over? Are parts of it lost? How does she live with the guilt of helplessness while another suffers? Does she turn off her emotions? How does the Stockholm Syndrome play into this?

When beginning this book, think part Ohio case with torture implements and an unlikely captor and think part Elizabeth Smart. Although Elizabeth Smart was very young, she possessed a strong will to live and, due to being very young, was also highly suggestible to harm to her family if she ever chose to run. She had to prove that she was trustworthy before she could be taken out in the world. The story explores a number of different aspects of masochism, sadism, slavery, among other things. It was an interesting book. 

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Letters from Skye: A NovelLetters from Skye: A Novel by Jessica Brockmole

Letters from Skye: A Novel by Jessica Brockmole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description: A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart.

March 1912: Twenty-four-year-old Elspeth Dunn, a published poet, has never seen the world beyond her home on Scotland’s remote Isle of Skye. So she is astonished when her first fan letter arrives, from a college student, David Graham, in far-away America. As the two strike up a correspondence—sharing their favorite books, wildest hopes, and deepest secrets—their exchanges blossom into friendship, and eventually into love. But as World War I engulfs Europe and David volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait for him on Skye, hoping he’ll survive.

June 1940: At the start of World War II, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, has fallen for a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Her mother warns her against seeking love in wartime, an admonition Margaret doesn’t understand. Then, after a bomb rocks Elspeth’s house, and letters that were hidden in a wall come raining down, Elspeth disappears. Only a single letter remains as a clue to Elspeth’s whereabouts. As Margaret sets out to discover where her mother has gone, she must also face the truth of what happened to her family long ago


My thoughts: What a delightful book! I mean, delightful for a story during war.

Told in four distinct voices with a few cameos throughout, the book is told entirely in letters and two time periods. The first time period is is early during the Great War. Davey sends a fan letter to a poet named Elspeth. They start a congenial pen pal relationship that makes the reader smile and occasionally laugh out loud. Davey is confident, brash, and American-ly familiar. Elspeth requests he stop calling her Mrs. Dunn. She advises that her friends call her Elspeth since that is her name. However, since Davey is not yet categorically a "friend," he may call her whatever he chooses. His response is to choose to call her "Sue." How very random and hilarious. The relationship develops and deepens naturally via correspondence. The become very dependent on one another be there at the end of the letters.

The other part of the story features Margaret, a young woman who lives with her mother in Edinburgh. She has just discovered that she loves her best friend who has proposed to her. He is a soldier in the Royal Air Force and it is now WWII. Margaret's mother responds to the news of her daughter's engagement in a peculiar manner. The bombing of the city reawakens something in her mother who suddenly disappears. Margaret begins the search to find her mother and solve the mystery surrounding what happened to her during the first war and why she is estranged from her family now. Meanwhile, Elspeth is writing letters, trying to track down David. What happened to him? This will eventually be answered.

The relationship between Sue and Davey develops at a natural pace. The tone changes between them yet they stay true to their established personalities. Many themes are explored via their letters and relationship; the many faces of commitment and loyalty, being in love with more than one man, fidelity and infidelity, grace, sin, forgiveness, pride, and the damaging effects of keeping secrets. The book took unexpected twists and turns and I had no idea how it would end. I loved the way it ended. I loved the choices each character makes. I don't love infidelity and but I liked the way it was handled. Both lovers grapple with the guilt and reluctance to end their relationship. Every character shows multi-dimensions. They are all human and fallible; neither good nor bad. They make mistakes, they make choices, the choices have consequences.

Reaching over all of the story through all of the time is the internal battle of loyalty to self and others. When is self loyalty turned to pride? Besides the line, "I will call you Sue," my favorite line is the unexpected words by Davey, "There you are." As if he expected her all along. He's not surprised that she's there. This is extended to those they love throughout the book. There you are, any one of them could say because they show up when they love someone whether it be one another, a sibling, a dear friend, a child, a parent...

It's very difficult to not compare the book to a certain book about the island of Guernsey because there are certainly similarities in general location, time frame and current events. The book is dissimilar enough that it can stand on its own. Not to mention, that certain book about the island of Guernsey is one of a kind but a fantastic introduction to writing a novel strictly through correspondence.

Definitely worth the read. If I didn't compare it with another book, I'd probably give it five stars. But I did compare. I shouldn't have. But I did.