The Red Thread by Ann Hood #37

This is the story of several American families who are considering adoption of Chinese baby girls. At the same time in China baby girls are being given up for adoption. Well written.

Best Intentions by Emily Listfield (#36)

Loved this book! Living in New York City, Lisa is a busy mother of two daughters, working in a stressful industry, feeling unsure of many things in her life especially her marriage. Quickly we get involved in her situation, identifying with the complexity, deeper and deeper until shocking events occur that change everything. I became obsessed with this book! Very well written, clearly defined characters, an engrossing plot......What could be more perfect! I wish all the books I pick up could be as interesting.

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen (#35)

This is a totally awesome book about a seemingly average family living their lives when unseen tragedy hits them. Ms. Quindlen is one of my favorite authors. She has great skill in describing the ordinary leading to the extraordinary. Very highly recommended.

The Quickening by Michelle Hoover (#34

The Quickening by Michelle Hoover is a beautifully crafted though very sad book set in the early 1900's Great Plains. Eddie and Mary are two wives who develop a relationship based on their proximity in spite of their very different personalities and backgrounds. Their lives intersect in so many ways as they meet the challenge of taking care of their families, dealing with the Great Depression, and a situation affecting both of them profoundly and from which they never fully recover. I loved this book, and I will think of it often, but it is very sad. Makes me think about the grandmothers and great grandmothers I never knew and what they must have endured and suffered.

The Passage by Justin Cronin (#33)

Everyone is raving about this book; it's been called the book of the summer. However, I was not impressed. For my taste it was too unrealistic, complicated with many characters, and a story line that just keeps going relentlessly without tidying up loose ends. It is the first book in a series of three and has been optioned for a movie so I think we will be hearing a lot more about it. I particularly enjoyed the first couple hundred pages (out of 766) where the story is concerned with a little girl named Amy coming from a dysfunctional situation. After that the story meanders and twists and I'm sorry to say I just didn't enjoy it.
The book is set in the future when a virus infecting people and turning them into vampires (virals) has gotten out in the country causing millions of deaths and leaving just isolated pockets of people without modern conveniences. People are trying to find each other and find protection from the virals. A little girl named Amy seems to have special powers that offer protection from the virals.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (#32)

When a poor black woman named Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in the '50's, doctors took a sample of her cells without permission and discovered to their amazement that these cells grew rapidly and without limits. Soon cell samples were distributed widely in the scientific community and led to many important discoveries such as the cure for polio. The cells, known as "Hela" grew and multiplied, went around the world, were shot into space, commonly used in laboratories everywhere, and becoming quite famous. At the same time Henrietta's young family suffered many troubles without her, unable to even afford heath care at the very institutions profiting from her cells which had become a multimillion dollar industry.
This book is both a mystery and a scientific read. The author tracked down the history of the Hela cells while learning about Henrietta's family. Well done.

The Center of Everyhing by Laura Moriarty (#30) and Girl with a Pearl Earring (#31)

While in New Jersey at Tom and Kelly's house I read two excellent books:

The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty is the first book by a favorite author whose more recent two books I have read in the past few months. The main character, Evelyn, is being raised by a struggling single mother. The author created a very believeable plot with strong characters. I could barely put the book down. My only comment is that I wanted the book to continue. What would happen to Evelyn in the years to come?


The second book is Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. I had heard about this book for a long time and believe I had even begun it before but finally I had time to really enjoy it. Set in Holland in the 1600's, a maid in the house of the painter Vermeer captures his interest when she reveals an ability to perceive colors and composition in his paintings and becomes the subject for a portrait. The author gives a realistic view of life at that time and place.


I highly recommend both books.