Mid-year book review

For the last several years, I've kept track of the books I read and made a post about them in hopes of helping others find a few books to read. I've really enjoyed hearing about good books from others and always enjoy when Nicole does her book reviews - a lot of the books I read come from her suggestions. (P.S. If you're a quilter and not reading her blog, you're missing out - she works on some really beautiful quilts!) Last year, I struggled a bit with my reading as I didn't love many of the books I read. For this year, I went back to my list of "books to read" and suggestions from others. Here's the list of books that I finished through June. 

1. The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand - my cousin loaned me this book and it was a good read. It's the story of a woman who's just lost her husband and decides to bring together five friends - one from each decade - to help celebrate her 50th birthday and reconnect. The friends all have interesting stories and there are twists and turns throughout the book. This isn't a heavy book by any means, but it got me thinking about who my "five stars" would be if I picked a friend from each decade to bring together. This time of year, I'd say it's a perfect beach read. 

2. The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron - I borrowed this one from my mom's stack of books while I was waiting for a few library holds to come in. It is the story of a 16 year-old girl in Poland during World War II who finds herself caring for her younger sister. She's Catholic and very disturbed by what's happening to Jewish friends and neighbors. She decides to hide several people in her apartment, and then it grows from there to the point that she has 13 people living above her ceilings. I didn't know until the end that this was a true story, and what an amazing one. You worry with her as you read the book, and you hope for the safety of all involved. I am a sucker for a WWII story, and this one was an excellent read.  

3. The Maid by Nita Prose - this book was recommended to me by Carol, a stitcher and former librarian (who has a fabulous stitching blog). It was one of her favorites that she read last year. I took this one on the airplane with me and did a lot of reading while I flew to the West Coast (it's funny how some books have memories like that tied to them, isn't it?). Molly is a maid at an upscale hotel and finds a dead body when cleaning a room. She first thinks to clean up the room before calling the police, which creates all kinds of challenges and suspicion that she was involved in the murder. This is a fun cat-and-mouse story that also explores how her mind works differently from others. I am not usually big on murder mysteries, but this book reminded me that they can be a little deeper than "who dun it?" and also fun to read as you get close to figuring out the killer. This one is set to be made into a movie and I will look forward to seeing it. Another good book. 

4. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - this one has been on my list for a long time and I finally put in the hold request to get it from the library (I think it had a long hold list for a long time). I can see why I had to wait - what an interesting story. Addie is a French woman who is unhappy staying in her small town in France in the 1700s. She makes a deal with a demon to be immortal, but her curse is that no one can remember her. The book goes back and forth in time as Addie lives over 300 years. Thing change in the late 1900s (or maybe early 2000s) when she meets someone who remembers her. It's a great fantasy/mystery that has you rooting for her. The descriptions of world events and people she meets over the years add to the interest in this book. This was another one that I'd rate as excellent and I was sad when I got to the end! It's also in the works to become a movie and I will be so interested to see who they cast in the main roles. 

5. The Last Flight by Julie Clark - this thriller was recommended by one of my work colleagues and I found myself turning the pages as quickly as I could. Claire has made plans to escape her marriage and when things go awry she decides to switch plane tickets with a woman in the airport, then learns upon landing that the plane she was supposed to be on has crashed and all of the passengers are assumed dead. She has to figure out how to make a new life for herself while also making sure that her very public face isn't recognized. As I read, I didn't know who the trustworthy and untrustworthy characters were, and it seemed that each chapter ended so that you had to keep reading. I know I had some late nights reading this one! I would say this one was a very good book, definitely worth a read if you enjoy a thriller. 

6. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue - I think this is my second Emma Donoghue book to read and I don't recall where I got this recommendations. The book follows a small group of women in a maternity room during the 1918 Influenza pandemic in London. The novel was written before our recent pandemic and it was eerie to think about the similarities 100 years apart, but also the advances in medicine. I could imagine the grit of London, the fevers of the patients, and the fear of people traveling through the city as I read this story. I enjoyed it as I read it, but didn't love how it ended, and found that I promptly forgot it as I had to look up the plot to write this paragraph! It was a good read, but didn't stick with me. 

7. Say Goodbye for Now by Catherine Ryan Hyde - this book had been on my "to read" list for a long time and I am not sure why I didn't get it before this - it was easily available at the library. It's the story of a boy who finds a dog that is injured. He learns of a vet outside of town who will treat the dog and walks in the summer heat to her house to get help. Along the way, he meets and befriends a boy who is new to town and black. The book is set in the late 1950's in Texas and addresses the racism of the time. It was a hard read at times, but it was a really good story. There's a little bit of romance, a lot of testing morality, and the lovely story of how animals can help people heal. I'll add this one to the very good category and recommend it. 

9. The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner - I finished this book right at the end of June (or maybe in the first few days of July) so it is fresh in my mind. This is another one that's been on my list for a long time. It is set in California in 1906, just before and after the great earthquake. Sophie is an Irish immigrant who has moved to California to marry a man and care for his daughter. The marriage isn't what she had hoped, but Sophie cares deeply for her step-daughter. On the day before the earthquake, she learns some shocking news about her husband. There is an altercation and then the earthquake and they are separated. The rest of the book shares the story of how Sophie manages in the days and weeks after the earthquake and how she deals with the information she's just learned. This one is fresh in my head, but I am not sure it will stick with me long term. I liked the setting and appreciated learning more about the earthquake and how people managed after it happened. The story was okay, but I struggled with the behaviors and actions of some of the characters. In the end, I'd rate this one as a good book. 

I am about halfway through the next book (another WWII story) now and looking forward to several others on my list in the coming months. I am happy with the set I've read so far - nothing that I didn't really enjoy and all of them from good to excellent. I am hoping that continues through the rest of the year. Let me know what you're reading and if you think there are others I should add to my list!