Cold Revenge

Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd tracks Evie aka Petie’s attempts to keep her true identity hidden while planning revenge against the man who ruined her life.

Evie was just beginning probation following time in juvenile detention before getting what seemed like a dream job. The job turns into a nightmare when her employer, Donald White, frames her for the murder of a mother and son. Evie manages to escape during a chance accident while being transported to her life sentence in prison. She becomes Petie and starts working for a remote fishing/wildlife service in Alaska.

Petie is able to reconnect with her mother and sister, while also making important contacts. Her connections to a powerful businesswoman along with help from an unexpected ally allow her to finally face the elusive Donald White, who is now attaching himself to her mother.

It was an okay read.

Life or Death

Exit by Belinda Bauer follows the events of a botched euthanasia case. The Exiteers are a small group of carefully trained men and women who bring an easeful death to those in need. Felix and new recruit Amanda are Exiteers on scene when the wrong man is euthanized. Ailing father Skipper was supposed to be killed, but instead his son Albert dies. This leaves Albert’s son Reggie, new Exiteer Amanda (who also happens to be Reggie’s girlfriend), and their housekeeper as possible suspects. This prompts a steady plot to figure out how/why the mix up occurred.

The story transitions between Felix’s and the police investigator’s points of view. Felix tries to make amends by getting to know the intended “patient” Skipper and conducting his own investigation of sorts. Meanwhile, the police are trying to track down the Exiteers and motive which unravels an entire gambling racket.

This was a slow, steady read for me with well-written characters and events.

An Artful Story

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain is a parallel story taking place during two time periods.

In 1939, Anna Dale wins a mural contest and is assigned to paint for a post office in the small town of Edenton, North Carolina. Some town members are irritated that an outside woman got the job instead of their own resident painter, Martin Drapple. Some also don’t care for Anna’s progressive ways such as wearing pants, working in the warehouse at all hours of the evening, and using a black teenage boy as one of her volunteer assistants.

Meanwhile in 2018, Morgan Christoper is able to get an early release from jail after a vehicular manslaughter charge if she agrees to restore an old, mysterious mural (Anna’s) with a very strict timeline. Morgan begins to realize that the painting is far more special than she could ever have imagined. Of course, there is much more depth beyond my quick summary. Both Anna and Morgan need to overcome some major setbacks in their respective lives.

The author artfully 🙂 weaves these stories together, which kept me interested from start to finish.

Harmonic Convergence

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson was a pleasant surprise from next year’s Nutmeg nominee list, reminiscent of The Freedom Writers with a twist of The Breakfast Club.

Haley is about to begin seventh grade, yet the story follows her memories of sixth grade. She was part of a small specialized class with only five other students: Amari, Holly, Ashton, Esteban, Tiago and their teacher Ms. Laverne. Their teacher decided to give their class time alone in an unused Art classroom every Friday to build connections with one another. This was a very successful experiment. Haley brought in her recorder and each student took turns sharing his/her stories.

Students share their experiences with racism, police brutality, jail and immigration. The students support each other and forge an unbreakable bond. Harmonic convergence is defined in the book as “when people come together and they all care about the same things…all that energy together can shift a whole planet” (140-1). This feeling is a powerful entity in the story, promising what we can accomplish with time, care and attention to others.

Vicious Cycle

The Chain by Adrian McKinty is a page turner that I sped through in just over a day. This book plays into one of every parent’s worst fears: losing a child.

Rachel is a single mom who has already had her fair share of trials in life when her fourteen-year-old daughter Kylie is kidnapped. This rockets her into a horrifying web known as The Chain. Now Rachel must pay a ransom and kidnap another child to continue the process. Only when the next link is completed will the kidnapped child be safely returned to his or her parents. Getting the police involved or trying to outsmart the rules in any way will result in everyone’s death. Rachel reaches out to her former brother in law and ex-Marine Pete for help. Readers follow the entire horrifying process by switching perspectives between Rachel, her daughter and Pete.

The trauma of the experience makes it impossible to truly overcome even after it’s supposedly over. Rachel wonders if she can break the chain and its cycle of events?

Stepping Out

I’m finally back at it, and looking forward to getting my hands on as many books as possible this summer!

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling takes readers into thirteen-year-old Aven’s story. Life can be quite challenging for Aven as she was born with no arms. Her adoptive parents have pushed her to be self sufficient with the day to day tasks of eating, dressing and the like. Her biggest challenge is getting others to see and know her beyond her disability. This becomes extremely true when her family moves to Arizona to take over a failing tourist spot named Stagecoach Pass. She must start in a new school while adapting to their new setting. There is a lot to figure out about Stagecoach Pass and how her family ended up there.

Aven stays true to herself which allows her to befriend Connor, a boy with Tourette’s, and an overweight boy (forgetting his name). These friends support each other to be brave and to step outside their comfort zones. In the midst of their growing friendship is their work on solving the mystery of Stagecoach Pass, namely figuring out who the unseen owners (the Cavanaughs) really are, and more importantly, where they disappeared to.

This is a sweet story of overcoming obstacles, the necessity of kindness and the power of friendship.

Different Worlds

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett explores the extremely different experiences that can occur between races, in this case between biracial, identical twin sisters. Desiree and Stella Vignes were born in the tiny town of Mallard; a place in which lighter skin is prized.

Side note- I read this book about a month ago, so the details are a bit foggy. The story flashes back to events leading up to the teenaged sisters running away from home. The sisters were extremely close throughout this time, until eventually Stella abandons Desiree. It turns out that Stella met and later married a white man, and crossed over to be considered fully white. In making this decision she gave up all connections to her sister, mother and hometown. Meanwhile, Desiree marries a very black man who ends up being an abusive husband. Both sisters have daughters around the same age (of course with no knowledge of each other). Desiree’s daughter is dark-skinned like her father, while Stella’s daughter is blond and blue-eyed.

Desiree escapes her husband by moving back to Mallard with her mother and daughter. The story tracks Desiree’s progress as she moves back into her childhood home while also following Stella’s life as white housewife.

Eventually, the daughters/cousins randomly meet. The story gets interesting with the prospect of the sisters being reunited. But Stella’s life has been a lie, making it almost impossible for them to ever gain back the relationship they once had. White privilege is a central topic apparent through this book. It is also full of family dynamics, frustrations and important relationships. It kept my interest throughout, despite not having the ending I hoped for.

Lasting Impressions

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab spans 300 years of Addie’s life. Her story begins in a small town in France in 1714. In a desperate moment to escape a forced marriage, she promises her soul to a dark god, Luc, in exchange for a life of freedom. Her freedom is granted with a strange twist: no human remembers her past their first encounter and she remains the same age (23 if I’m remembering correctly). It’s the ultimate freedom and curse. Once someone walks away or falls asleep she instantly becomes a stranger to him/her. She is unable to leave a mark, have possessions, write or speak her name. Until she figures out some ways to bend the rules.

We follow Addie through her experiences with numerous times, places and people. Addie is tempted to surrender to Luc numerous times. But her stubborn will and the promise of new encounters keeps her going. Everything changes when she meets Henry. He is a young man who actually remembers her. An intricate love story begins in which Addie feels truly seen. She finally can share her story. But things take a sad turn once she realizes that her relationship with Henry is all part of Luc’s plan.

I found this story to be a satisfyingly steady and constantly intriguing read. One can’t help but think about the people that cross our paths and the impressions we make along the way.

Scientific Love

I’ve been in a reading drought until finally reaching my April break! The One by John Marrs was a perfect remedy.

This is a sci-fi book that follows several characters in pursuit of their perfect matches. The Perfect Match happens to be the name of an app/site that asks users to send a DNA sample in order to find their one, guaranteed true love. Users pay a small fee if a match is found in order to receive his/her contact info. Amazing results are promised to follow.

Nick and Sally are deeply in love and engaged to be married until discovering that they are not each other’s true match. Can a relationship survive the aftermath of this news? Mandy is already divorced and feels destined for loneliness until finding her match. Although, she may be too late once she discovers that her match was in a terrible hit and run accident. Christopher is a psychopathic serial killer; is it possible for true love to change him? Jade’s match lives across the globe from her. She needs to decide if meeting him face to face is worth leaving everything behind. Ellie’s match seems perfect until she realizes he has a sinister plan. Each scenario includes plenty of interest and unexpected surprises.

I was hooked from the beginning, and finished the book feeling that matters of the heart can’t be predicted or manipulated, even by science.

Secrets and Lies

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware is a reunion of sorts. Main character Isa is beckoned by her former high school friend Kate along with the rest of their foursome: Fatima and Thea. The girls were inseparable through high school until being kicked out.

Isa brings her infant daughter Freya along with her. The journey back to Salten has her reminiscing about meeting the girls and the relationships they built. Kate’s very easy-going dad (also the art teacher at the private school) allowed them to hang out at their house close to the school every weekend. Along with Kate’s stepbrother, the girls drank, smoked and pretty much did whatever they liked until the day that Kate’s dad was found dead.

The girls devise a plan to hide his death so that Kate won’t be sent away from her home as she is just shy of her sixteenth birthday. Now it’s almost twenty years later when bones are found in the marsh near Kate’s home. The women need to get their stories straight so as not to destroy their current lives. Or is the damage already irreversible?

For me, this one is okay…