Until I Say Good-Bye

Until I Say Good-Bye

Susan Spencer-Wendel

Genre: Memoir

Summary (from Goodreads):  In June 2011, Susan Spencer-Wendel learned she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)--Lou Gehrig's disease--an irreversible condition that systematically destroys the nerves that power the muscles. She was forty-four years old, with a devoted husband and three young children, and she had only one year of health remaining.

Susan decided to live that year with joy.

She quit her job as a journalist and spent time with her family. She built an outdoor meeting space for friends in her backyard. And she took seven trips with the seven most important people in her life. As her health declined, Susan journeyed to the Yukon, Hungary, the Bahamas, and Cyprus. She took her sons to swim with dolphins, and her teenage daughter, Marina, to Kleinfeld's bridal shop in New York City to see her for the first and last time in a wedding dress.

She also wrote this book. No longer able to walk or even to lift her arms, she tapped it out letter by letter on her iPhone using only her right thumb, the last finger still working.

However, Until I Say Good-Bye is not angry or bitter. It is sad in parts--how could it not be?--but it is filled with Susan's optimism, joie de vivre, and sense of humor. It is a book about life, not death. One that, like Susan, will make everyone smile.

From the Burger King parking lot where she cried after her diagnosis to a snowy hot spring near the Arctic Circle, from a hilarious family Christmas disaster to the decrepit monastery in eastern Cyprus where she rediscovered her heritage, Until I Say Good-Bye is not only Susan Spencer-Wendel's unforgettable gift to her loved ones--a heartfelt record of their final experiences together--but an offering to all of us: a reminder that "every day is better when it is lived with joy."

Marcie's Review:  I cried and cried while reading this book, but in spite of that, it's a beautiful, heartwarming, uplifting book.  Susan acknowledged some of the unhappy thoughts and bad feelings she'd had following her diagnosis with ALS, but she chose to focus her time on making joyful memories with her family.  This book was such a good reminder to give my kids an extra hug and choose joy every day.

I had a few complaints, namely that the chapters were, at times, a little jumpy, but I decided to overlook that in my rating given that she wrote the entire book on her i-phone using only her right thumb.  What an amazing accomplishment! 

Becky's Review:  I enjoyed reading this book and I admire Susan for having written it even though it was so difficult for her to do so.  I also admire Susan for her attitude after being diagnosed with ALS.  The book was a little disjointed and a lot of it focused on her life before ALS rather than how she lived with joy after her diagnosis.  I love to read memoirs but this one fell short for me-it was lacking the emotion that you find in good memoirs.  There were moments where I teared up-especially the part when she took her daughter to New York.  She does write the book as more of a journalist and just includes the facts.  I wanted more.

Marcie's Rating: 4.5 stars 

Becky's Rating: 3.5 stars

The Language of Flowers

The Language of Flowers

Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

Review: This book was recommended to me by a trusted friend as the best book she'd read all year, so my expectations were, perhaps, unreasonably high.  The writing style was lovely, and the first half of the book was engrossing, even given the complicated and not quite likeable personality of Victoria.  I enjoyed watching Victoria blossom as she worked in the flower shop, and was fascinated by the flower history and the magic Victoria causes as she finds the perfect flower arrangement for her customers.  The second half of the book left me feeling unhappy; I guess I would have preferred a sappy happily-ever-after ending, and that wouldn't have made the book nearly so interesting.  The real problems I had were twofold.  First, the relationship between Victoria and Grant was so one-sided that I couldn't see why Grant kept putting up with her.  And secondly, Victoria's decisions were so, so terrible that I lost all respect for her (if I were to be any more specific, it would be a complete spoiler).  I couldn't relate to her at all, given her terrible childhood in the foster system, and so it's possible that her reactions were completely understandable.  But while I felt sympathy and pity for her, I didn't like Victoria at all towards the end. 

Rating: 4 stars

The Romanov Cross

The Romanov Cross

Robert Masello

Genre: Thriller

Summary (from Goodreads):  Nearly one hundred years ago, a desperate young woman crawled ashore on a desolate arctic island, carrying a terrible secret and a mysterious, emerald-encrusted cross. A century later, acts of man, nature, and history converge on that same forbidding shore with a power sufficient to shatter civilization as we know it.

Army epidemiologist Frank Slater is facing a court-martial, but after his punishment is mysteriously lifted, Slater is offered a job no one else wants—to travel to a small island off the coast of Alaska and investigate a potentially lethal phenomenon: The permafrost has begun to melt, exposing bodies from a colony that was wiped out by the dreaded Spanish flu of 1918. Frank must determine if the thawed remains still carry the deadly virus in their frozen flesh and, if so, ensure that it doesn’t come back to life.

Frank and his handpicked team arrive by helicopter, loaded down with high-tech tools, prepared to exhume history. The colony, it transpires, was once settled by a sect devoted to the mad Russian monk Rasputin, but there is even more hiding in the past than Frank’s team is aware of. Any hope of success hinges on their willingness to accept the fact that even their cutting-edge science has its limits—and that the ancient wisdom of the Inuit people who once inhabited this eerie land is as essential as any serum. By the time Frank discovers that his mission has been compromised—crashed by a gang of reckless treasure hunters—he will be in a brutal race against time. With a young, strong-willed Inuit woman by his side, Frank must put a deadly genie back in the bottle before all of humanity pays the price.

The Romanov Cross is at once an alternate take on one of history’s most profound mysteries, a love story as unlikely as it is inevitable, and a thriller of heart-stopping, supernatural suspense. With his signature blend of fascinating history and fantastic imagination, critically acclaimed author Robert Masello has once again crafted a terrifying story of past events coming back to haunt the present day . . . and of dark deeds aching to be unearthed.

Review: I had mixed feelings about this book.  I got caught up in the medical mystery surrounding the Spanish flu and the story of Anastasia Romanov, but did not enjoy the story of the inept, idiotic criminals and their religious mastermind.  It added an unnecessary point of view that didn't add much to the story other than wondering how they managed to survive so long.  The historical information seemed accurate, and the setting of very small town Alaska was interesting, although I would like to have seen more glimpses of everyday life other than that of the criminals.  Finally, the character of Frank Slater seemed to be highly intelligent, motivated and courageous, but he had either the most awful luck, or a truly inept sense of management, both of which seemed to be at odds with his character.  All in all, a quick read with an interesting plot, but it had enough flaws to make me rate it lower than I had expected.

Rating: 3 stars

The Last Telegram

The Last Telegram

Liz Trenow

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  Decades ago, as Nazi planes dominated the British sky, eighteen-year-old Lily Verner made a terrible mistake. She’s tried for decades to forget, but now an unexpected event pulls her back to the 1940s British countryside. She finds herself remembering the brilliant, lustrous colors of the silk she helped to weave at her family’s mill, the relentless pressure of the worsening war, and the kind of heartbreaking loss that stops time.

In this evocative novel of love and consequences, Lily finally confronts the disastrous decision that has haunted her all these years.

Review: A moving story about a young woman who takes over her family's silk weaving business during WWII. It's partly a coming of age story wherein spoiled Lily learns that she can cope with the challenge of developing new products and managing employees in a male-dominated manufacturing business.  It's also a romance, when Lily falls in love with a Jewish German refugee taken in by her family to work in the silk mill.  And finally, it's a history lesson about silk manufacturing, a topic which sounded a little boring, but turned out to be a fascinating part of the story.  I usually enjoy books about how British women coped on the homefront during World War II, and this book provided a unique perspective.

I had a few minor complaints, which is why I didn't rate this any higher.  Once the war ended, Lily's recounting of the past also ended, and the story jumped back to the present.  The reader found out a little about her life (who she had married, what happened to John), but I thought that would have made a fascinating continuation of the story.  I also wanted to know more about Lily's brother John and his experiences in the POW camp, and his return to married life.   

Rating: 4 stars

Calling Me Home

Calling Me Home

by Julie Kibler

Genre: Historical Fiction/Women's Fiction

Synopsis: 89 year old Isabelle McAllister has a favor to ask her hairdresser, Dorrie Curtis.  It's a big one.  Isabelle wants Dorrie to drop everything and driver her from her home in Texas to a funeral near Cincinnati.  With no clear explanation why.  Tomorrow.

Dorrie, a black single mother fleeing problems of her own, wonders if she can unlock the mysteries of Isabelle's guarded past.  She hardly hesitates before agreeing to Isabelle's request, never imagining it will be a journey that changes both their lives.

As they drive, Isabelle confesses her longest-kept secret.  As a willful teen in 1930s Kentucky, she fell deeply in love with Robert Prewitt, a would-be doctor and the black son of her family's housekeeper-in a town where blacks weren't allowed after dark.  The tale of this forbidden relationship and its tragic consequences makes it clear that Dorrie and Isabelle are heading for a gathering of the utmost importance, and that the history of Isabelle's first and greatest love just might help Dorrie find her own way.

From the book jacket

Review:  This is a beautiful story of friendship between Miss Isabelle, an 89 year old white woman, and Dorrie, her hairdresser who is a single mother and a black woman.  The bond between these women became more like mother/daughter than client/hairdresser.  During the car trip to the funeral, the chapters switch off from present day Dorrie and the struggles that she is going through with her son and her new man, and Miss Isabelle's life in the late 1930s/early 1940s.  This is not only a story of friendship but of a beautiful love relationship between Isabelle and Robert.  The love story is quite heart wrenching.  You really get to know the 2 women very well in the story and it's almost like you are taking a ride with them on their road trip.  The author does a fantastic job with writing the story but also with developing the characters and making the characters extremely likable.  I really enjoyed the character of Isabelle and how she spoke her mind, especially at 89 years old!  The story also deals with racial inequality both in the 1930s and the present day.  I could not put this book down and I was quite satisfied by how the story end.  I would definitely encourage you to pick up this book!

Rating: 5 stars

The Secret of Happy Ever After

The Secret of Happy Ever After

Lucy Dillon

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): When story-lover Anna takes over Longhampton's bookshop, it's her dream come true. And not just because it gets her away from her three rowdy stepchildren and their hyperactive Dalmatian.

Unpacking boxes filled with childhood classics, Anna can't shake the feeling that maybe her own fairytale ending isn't all that she'd hoped for. But, as the stories of love, adventure, secret gardens, lost dogs, wicked witches and giant peaches breathe new life into the neglected shop, Anna and her customers get swept up in the magic too.

Even Anna's best friend Michelle - who categorically doesn't believe in true love and handsome princes - isn't immune.

But when secrets from Michelle's own childhood come back to haunt her, and disaster threatens Anna's home, will the wisdom and charm of the stories in the bookshop help the two friends - and those they love - find their own happy ever afters?

Review: A cozy, heartwarming story of the friendship between two very different women; it's the kind of book that would be just perfect to curl up with in front of a fire during a winter snowstorm.  It's light and easy to read, yet deals with marital issues, step-parenting, pregnancy, and childhood traumas in a realistic way.  I am a sucker for books about women trying to revitalize bookstores, and enjoyed all the references to classic children's novels, but I could not understand why Anna kept trying to push books like Little Women on her angsty, anti-reading teenage daughter.  I felt her efforts would have been more well-received if she had tried some current young adult fiction first, and as a librarian and bookstore owner, Anna ought to have known that herself.  But other than that small complaint, I really enjoyed this book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Island 731

Island 731

Jeremy Robinson

Genre: Thriller, Science Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads):  The high adventure of James Rollins meets the gripping suspense of Matthew Reilly in Jeremy Robinson's explosive new thriller

Mark Hawkins, former park ranger and expert tracker, is out of his element, working on board the Magellan, a research vessel studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But his work is interrupted when, surrounded by thirty miles of refuse,  the ship and its high tech systems are plagued by a series of strange malfunctions and the crew is battered by a raging storm.

When the storm fades and the sun rises, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island...and no one knows how they got there. Even worse, the ship has been sabotaged, two crewman are dead and a third is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man on shore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they quickly discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the Island’s former occupants: Unit 731, Japan’s ruthless World War II human experimentation program. Mass graves and military fortifications dot the island, along with a decades old laboratory housing the remains of hideous experiments.

As crew members start to disappear, Hawkins realizes that they are not alone. In fact, they were brought to this strange and horrible island. The crew is taken one-by-one and while Hawkins fights to save his friends, he learns the horrible truth: Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person taking his crewmates may not be a person at all—not anymore.

Review: I was drawn to this book because of the comparison to James Rollins and Matthew Reilly, authors whose books I usually enjoy reading.  This book, however, was a little over the top for me.  I got caught up in the drama of the search for the missing crew members, but once it turned into a human and animal experimentation science fiction story, I found it too unbelievable and disturbingly gory to enjoy.  The main character was both incredibly skilled and supremely lucky, and the non-stop action was too much to take.

Rating: 2 stars