#41: Two By Two by Nicholas Sparks

Any Nicholas Sparks fan will have already bought and read this book and no matter what I say about the novel, they will read it anyway.  Anyone who doesn't like Sparks won't read it and, therefore, my words matter little to that sort of person, too.  As a result, I almost didn't post anything other than the title of the book so I could keep track of the total number of books I read this year.  But something stopped me, so I am writing about this book regardless of the fact that few people will probably really care.

I have read every book Sparks has ever written.  Sometimes I have read them twice--once when first published and then again before a movie premier to remind myself of the plot.  They are always sad in some ways and hopeful in others and someone always dies, maybe not a main character, but someone.  Two By Two, however slight, shifted, in my opinion, from standard Nicholas Sparks, and it makes me wonder if we aren't going to start to see new things from him.  

Two By Two is the story of Russell Green and his family: wife Vivian and daughter London.  We get Russ's own thoughts and comments in italics while the main story, with lots of character involvement, is told in bold print.  While we get background information about the family and extended family, the novel focuses mainly on the year when Russ's life spiraled out of control--he quit his snob, started his own company, made no money, wife had to go back to work, wife decides to leave him, wife threatens to take away his daughter.  Knowing that Sparks himself is recently divorced, I had to wonder how much of Russ is actually Sparks himself, or some version of himself.  I don't know details about his divorce, nor do I want to, but there were times when Russ's emotions were so raw and intense, it just made me think that only someone who had experienced divorce and the possibility of losing a child could write so passionately about it.  (Although it can be argued that Sparks has written about so many things passionately that he perhaps knew nothing about except through research.  How many times have I heard a friend say, "I can't believe a man wrote this.") I spent much of the book wondering about this and wondering when the sudden death that seems so often to occur in Spark's novels was going to jump up and surprise me.

Yet what I got instead for much of the book was a detailed story about a man and his family.  I looked forward to reading, much in the same way I loved reading The Longest Ride, and while my heart broke for Russ, I didn't cry.  I didn't even come close, whereas when I read The Longest Ride, I was crying about 50 pages in and never stopped.  I loved reading about the evolution of Russ as a dad, as a friend to others, and as a son/brother.  I was anxious about Vivian, a character that flip flopped so often you never really know what she was going to say or do, but after a while I realized that Russ was going to be able to handle her, no matter what.  I thought Russ was going to be OK.

And then...Sparks threw in his curve ball--death--so I took a deep breath and turned the page and kept reading and you know what?  It turned out OK.  The death he created (perhaps in the spirit of "Everything happens for a reason") only helped to enrich the other characters.  No one fell apart.  No one changed the course of their lives.  No one packed up and moved away because they couldn't cope (although people do move away but for other reasons).  I did cry because it was sad, but everything turned out OK in the end.  Would I have preferred if this character had not died?  Yes, of course, but I don't think other characters would've come to the realizations they came to without this devastating event.  People changed because a woman died.  Her death enabled them to realize things about themselves that they wouldn't have otherwise.  They moved forward and the ending left me with hope.  I can't always say that about other Sparks books.  Mostly I just feel like crying for days because the story is so sad.

But not this one.  Perhaps that's why I wonder if Sparks' writing isn't changing a bit.  Has his divorce changed his outlook on life?  Has his perspective changed?  Will we see more hopeful stories from him in the future?  I am a Sparks fan.  So you can bet that I will keep on reading his books regardless, but a little more hope and a little less death would be nice.  After all, I read to escape reality.  Not wallow in it.

Happy reading!
:) Dodie

#40: The House Girl by Tara Conklin

The House Girl is the story of Josephine, a 17 year old house slave from Virginia, and Lina Sparrow, a young lawyer living in New York.  Told in alternating chapters, we learn the stories of both of these women--stories that eventually converge in a rather interesting way.

If you like history, art, and law, this book is right up your alley.  I appreciated the overall story more when I had finished the book than while I was reading because I often felt bogged down by the immense amount of detail.  Conversation between characters was sparse in this novel and lots of time passed in between page turns as I waded through the details and repeatedly talked myself out of just putting the book down and walking away.  I am glad that I stuck with it and finished it because it did end well. It just took a long time to get there!

Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie

#39: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

I did not feel as though I could consider myself well-read unless I had read this book, which people rave about.  I read it, but I did not enjoy it.  I chuckled a few times, but Bridget's life of drinking, dieting, and searching for a man, day after day and page after page, is not the sort of life I'd like to read about.  Maybe I am missing something, but it just wasn't for me.  Honestly, I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Consider yourself warned.
-Dodie

#38: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars is a book recommended to me by a middle school english teacher.  It is a Young Adult novel, but I would suggest no one younger than a high school freshman read this one as there are references made that some would prefer middle schoolers not know about.

With that being said, as an adult, I was almost bored with the book (and the story of Cadence and her wealthy family as they vacation on their private island off of Martha's Vineyard each summer) until I realized that something eerie was going on, that something was not quite right, and I needed to keep reading to find out what it was.  Oh yeah, it was something eerie all right.  And while I won't ruin the story for you here, it's a good one.  A real page turner by the end.

And, in the end, We Were Liars made me afraid of the power of our children in the same way that The Casual Vacancy, by JK Rowling, made me afraid of your children because the children got mad at the grown-ups and exacted a revenge no one saw coming.  I have since stepped lightly around my teenagers, not that I am letting them rule the house, but I now realize how much power these days children really do have to make adult lives miserable should you cross them.

Of course, as with all good tales, when a bad deed happens, people must pay in some way and I do feel The Liars, as Cadence calls herself and her friends/family Gat, Mirren, and Johnny, paid a steep price for their actions.  They may have been trying to solve a family problem, but in the end they created more problems than they solved.  Is it a warning for teenagers to be careful what they do?  To be careful that while you think you can solve the problems of the world, you can't always?  That while you think you are adults you really aren't?  Yes.  I think that's exactly what this book warns.

It's also a fierce reminder that what we see isn't always the truth.  And that many of us are Liars.

Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie

#37: The Kid Who Ran for President by Dan Gutman

I heard about this book on John Oliver's political TV show on HBO.  He linked it to a discussion he had one evening about Donald Trump. He said, basically, that Donald Trump's candidacy was similar to Judson Moon's (the main character in the book) candidacy.  Except that instead of being 70, Judson moon was 12 (at which point her made some snarky comment about Trump often acting like he's 12).  I was intrigued to read this book to discover what Oliver was talking about.  I was further intrigued when I couldn't get the book on Amazon right away because it was sold out.  It made me wonder if I was not alone in checking on the book as I listened to John Oliver talk about the novel.

As I read The Kid Who Ran for President, I marked passages that reminded me of the currently presidential race.  I marked 16 different scenes in the 150 page book that reminded me of our current race for the White House.  (Note: this book was written in 1996)  Mostly the passages reminded me of Trump, as Oliver noted in his show, but some could've been about Hillary, too.  Or really any other candidate.

I think this is a good book to read with older elementary aged kids before a presidential election, so I am passing this off to my friend who teaches 5th graders, but I think older students, like my daughter who is taking AP Government this year, could read it and find the irony and humor in it that I picked up on as an adult reader.

John Oliver suggested that Trump follow suit, and like Judson Moon renounce his candidacy.  I hope Trump wasn't watching that night.  I need him to win and to move into the White House.  Of course, that means Oliver didn't realize there is a sequel to this book: The Kid Who Became President.  Oliver says Moon reminds him of Trump.  In this case, I hope Oliver is spot on right.

Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie

#36: The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

I love reading books about weddings.  Maybe it's because I am a girl.  Maybe it's because my wedding was simple and economical and I like to read about extravagant over the top weddings.  Maybe it's because I am a hopeless romantic.  Whatever the reason, I love a good wedding story and The Wedding Dress is a good wedding story.

If you like reading books about weddings, the story of Charlotte, a bridal gown retailer, who waffles about her own engagement and then finds a very mysterious wedding gown (mysterious as in Traveling Pants mysterious), will warm your heart, as it reminds you that some things in life are just meant to be.

This is a beautiful story!

Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie

#35: Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman

I heard about Wilde Lake from the author's mouth--literally.  Lippman spoke about her book at the Junior League book and author event I attended back in May.  She had a remarkable way of speaking about her book, giving only the slightest hints at actions and events, enticing us all into reading the book and finding out what really happened all those years ago on Wilde Lake.  Well...I am certainly not going to spoil it for you here, but I will give you some inside information about the book so you can decide if it's worth your time to read the book.

Cutting to the chase, Wilde Lake is a suspenseful, murder mystery.  I don't typically read this genre, but Lippman sells her book well and I was anxious to read it.  It's told by Lu, Luisa Brant, the newly elected state's attorney of Howard County, Maryland.  She tells the story in alternating chapters: one chapter is her present day story and the next is a chapter detailing her memories from the past.  When you combine events of the past with events of the present, you get the full story of what happened one night on Wilde Lake involving her bother, his friends, and a girl.  It takes a current murder case that Lu is working on for her to truly understand events that took place 30 years before.

It's a cleverly told story but it's hard to read at times.  Or at least it was for me.  There's a reason I don't typically read these sorts of books--I don't like to read about what I can see in brutal detail on the news each night.  However, this was a superbly written story so I don't blame Lippman for gory details.

If you are fans of Patricia Cornwell, or even John Grisham, you'd like this one.  Come to think of it, I should save it for my in-laws.  They love these sorts of books!

Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie