My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
Louisa Young
Harper, May 31 2011, $25.99
ISBN: 9780061997143
Upper class Peter and Julia Locke have an ideal marriage. However, WWI has Peter becoming a commanding officer fighting on the continent. Working class Riley Purefoy is taken in by the affluent upper middle class Waverly family. He dreams of marriage to their daughter Nadine, but WWI has him on the continent in Locke’s unit. Combat at the front changes both of them.
On the home front, Julia struggles without a man around telling her what to do. Her cousin Rose thrives with her volunteer work at the VA hospital. Nadine finds the war freeing her of the yoke of class imprisonment as she becomes a nurse. When the men come home, pre war relationships cannot be reconstructed.
This engaging historical tale focuses on the impact of WWI on class status and boundaries in Great Britain. The four lead characters are fully developed so that the reader understands the transition from before to during and after the war. Although the deep look at times leads to a slow pace, readers will appreciate Louisa Young’s belief that one outcome of the war to end all wars is the breaking down of progenitor class barriers.
Harriet Klausner
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Thirteen Reasons Why-Jay Asher
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher
Razorbill, Jun 14 2011, $10.99
ISBN: 978595141880
The box outside his family home was addressed to Clay Jensen. Inside are seven audiotapes with numbers on them. Nothing else is inside. He plays the first tape in which Hannah Baker starts musing about herself. Hannah Baker committed suicide and on the tapes she recorded the Thirteen Reasons Why. Each of the “Baker’s dozen” on her list is to listen to the tapes before sending it on to the next culprit. If someone fails to meet her terms, Hannah has a public backup plan to embarrass those who led her to kill herself. Clay wonders why him as he was nice to her and she rejected him. Still he listens trying to learn why him before he forwards the tapes to Jennifer.
This is not an easy read for obvious reasons, but is handled deftly by Jay Asher. The story line rotates between Hannah’s telling her story and Clay’s attempts to figure out why she added him in the mix with the others who were nasty to her. Character driven, Thirteen Reasons Why makes a strong case for people to become involved especially with those who are down and need a friend; even if they reject your overtures try again and again for it takes a caring community to prevent the taking of one’s life.
Harriet Klausner
Jay Asher
Razorbill, Jun 14 2011, $10.99
ISBN: 978595141880
The box outside his family home was addressed to Clay Jensen. Inside are seven audiotapes with numbers on them. Nothing else is inside. He plays the first tape in which Hannah Baker starts musing about herself. Hannah Baker committed suicide and on the tapes she recorded the Thirteen Reasons Why. Each of the “Baker’s dozen” on her list is to listen to the tapes before sending it on to the next culprit. If someone fails to meet her terms, Hannah has a public backup plan to embarrass those who led her to kill herself. Clay wonders why him as he was nice to her and she rejected him. Still he listens trying to learn why him before he forwards the tapes to Jennifer.
This is not an easy read for obvious reasons, but is handled deftly by Jay Asher. The story line rotates between Hannah’s telling her story and Clay’s attempts to figure out why she added him in the mix with the others who were nasty to her. Character driven, Thirteen Reasons Why makes a strong case for people to become involved especially with those who are down and need a friend; even if they reject your overtures try again and again for it takes a caring community to prevent the taking of one’s life.
Harriet Klausner
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Daughters of the Revolution-Carolyn Cooke
Daughters of the Revolution
Carolyn Cooke
Knopf, Jun 7 2011, $24.95
ISBN: 9780307594730
In 1968 in Cape Wilde, New England, The Goode School welcomes only male offspring of affluent families. As racial and gender barriers are under assault, headmaster Goddard “God” Byrd refuses to allow the other weaker sex entrance to his school.
However, a double shocker occurs through a typo when fifteen years old Negro female Carole Faust receives a scholarship. The school faculty, alumni, family members and students are divided over the brilliant radical girl while God is in a 24/7 rage. At the same time, Goode alumnus Heck Hellman drowns leaving behind his wife Lil and their little girl Ev who no longer meet the school’s economic criteria.
This is a superb historical novel that focuses on the social unrest of the late 1960s with timely comparisons to the present. The cast is powerful as Carolyn Cooke insures the diverse opinions are handled with respect even that of God who may be an anachronism today but not then; as the author avoids caricatures. Satirically mocking the boomers whose good intentions reform has led to an outcome of the greatest economic division ever between the upper class and the rest in this country, Daughters of the Revolution reflects that the social reform movements of a past remain very relevant today.
Harriet Klausner
Carolyn Cooke
Knopf, Jun 7 2011, $24.95
ISBN: 9780307594730
In 1968 in Cape Wilde, New England, The Goode School welcomes only male offspring of affluent families. As racial and gender barriers are under assault, headmaster Goddard “God” Byrd refuses to allow the other weaker sex entrance to his school.
However, a double shocker occurs through a typo when fifteen years old Negro female Carole Faust receives a scholarship. The school faculty, alumni, family members and students are divided over the brilliant radical girl while God is in a 24/7 rage. At the same time, Goode alumnus Heck Hellman drowns leaving behind his wife Lil and their little girl Ev who no longer meet the school’s economic criteria.
This is a superb historical novel that focuses on the social unrest of the late 1960s with timely comparisons to the present. The cast is powerful as Carolyn Cooke insures the diverse opinions are handled with respect even that of God who may be an anachronism today but not then; as the author avoids caricatures. Satirically mocking the boomers whose good intentions reform has led to an outcome of the greatest economic division ever between the upper class and the rest in this country, Daughters of the Revolution reflects that the social reform movements of a past remain very relevant today.
Harriet Klausner
The Oregon Experiment-Keith Scribner
The Oregon Experiment
Keith Scribner
Knopf, Jun 17 2011, $26.95
ISBN: 9780307594785
Scanlon and Naomi Pratt changes coasts when they leave big city New York for small town Douglas, Oregon as he has a position as a professional mass movements especially radicalism. She had been a professional “nose” helping create perfumes until a car accident destroyed her gifted olfactory sense.
Three things occur after arriving in the Pacific Northwest that shakes up the Scanlon adjustment equilibrium. Naomi gives birth to their first child. Second she wakes up to the smell of mint as her nose is back. Finally Scanlon meets two radical locals at the Pacific Northwest Secessionist Movement, Clay and Sequoia. The former will turn the Pratt family life into a nightmare with his desires; while the latter will have Scanlon wanting her.
This is a great character driven profound look at idealism when a person confronts difficult to accept compromises that impact one’s values yet are pragmatic and for the larger populace fair as Keith Scribner turns Ayn Rand upside down and the Tea Party into coffee drinkers. The Oregon Experiment is a thought provoking tale as readers will ponder when concessions for the better good are acceptable.
Harriet Klausner
Keith Scribner
Knopf, Jun 17 2011, $26.95
ISBN: 9780307594785
Scanlon and Naomi Pratt changes coasts when they leave big city New York for small town Douglas, Oregon as he has a position as a professional mass movements especially radicalism. She had been a professional “nose” helping create perfumes until a car accident destroyed her gifted olfactory sense.
Three things occur after arriving in the Pacific Northwest that shakes up the Scanlon adjustment equilibrium. Naomi gives birth to their first child. Second she wakes up to the smell of mint as her nose is back. Finally Scanlon meets two radical locals at the Pacific Northwest Secessionist Movement, Clay and Sequoia. The former will turn the Pratt family life into a nightmare with his desires; while the latter will have Scanlon wanting her.
This is a great character driven profound look at idealism when a person confronts difficult to accept compromises that impact one’s values yet are pragmatic and for the larger populace fair as Keith Scribner turns Ayn Rand upside down and the Tea Party into coffee drinkers. The Oregon Experiment is a thought provoking tale as readers will ponder when concessions for the better good are acceptable.
Harriet Klausner
Maine-J. Courtney Sullivan
Maine
J. Courtney Sullivan
Knopf, Jun 16 2011, $25.95
ISBN: 9780307595126
In 1945, former Navy officer Daniel Kelleher won a bet with a former shipmate Ned. To pay his debt Ned gives Daniel land in Cape Neddick on coastal Maine. Daniel and his pregnant wife Alice raise a family and over time the Maine estate becomes their summer home.
In the present, Alice the widower has become a drunk who holds court as she has since the Great War on the Maine estate as her family arrives for the summer. She internally rages over Daniel’s death turning him into a martyr while their sexagenarian daughter Kathleen blames her for all their woes. Kathleen's sister-in-law Ann-Marie is an inane harmless doll belonging inside one of those dollhouses she collects. Finally there is the thirty something peacemaker, Alice’s pregnant single daughter Maggie whose mom wants her to come to grips over what a baby means.
The cast is powerful as each of the four women seem real and different though they possesses a guilt streak longer than the East Coast as if it is part of their DNA. Daniel comes alive through how the quartet perceived him. Although the plot is somewhat thin, readers will enjoy three generations of females coming together as each seeks solace and redemption, but with Daniel dead none know how to commence achieving their respective salvation.
Harriet Klausner
J. Courtney Sullivan
Knopf, Jun 16 2011, $25.95
ISBN: 9780307595126
In 1945, former Navy officer Daniel Kelleher won a bet with a former shipmate Ned. To pay his debt Ned gives Daniel land in Cape Neddick on coastal Maine. Daniel and his pregnant wife Alice raise a family and over time the Maine estate becomes their summer home.
In the present, Alice the widower has become a drunk who holds court as she has since the Great War on the Maine estate as her family arrives for the summer. She internally rages over Daniel’s death turning him into a martyr while their sexagenarian daughter Kathleen blames her for all their woes. Kathleen's sister-in-law Ann-Marie is an inane harmless doll belonging inside one of those dollhouses she collects. Finally there is the thirty something peacemaker, Alice’s pregnant single daughter Maggie whose mom wants her to come to grips over what a baby means.
The cast is powerful as each of the four women seem real and different though they possesses a guilt streak longer than the East Coast as if it is part of their DNA. Daniel comes alive through how the quartet perceived him. Although the plot is somewhat thin, readers will enjoy three generations of females coming together as each seeks solace and redemption, but with Daniel dead none know how to commence achieving their respective salvation.
Harriet Klausner
Friday, June 3, 2011
The Summer Garden-Paullina Simons
The Summer Garden
Paullina Simons
Morrow, Jun 21 2011, $16.99
ISBN: 9780061988226
Having survived the 1941 Nazi siege of Leningrad and Stalin’s brutal response, Tatiana and Alexander were kept apart but with WWII over they fled the Soviet Union. They reunite in the United States becoming Americans. Accompanied by their son Anthony the duo decided to stay in Arizona.
The couple struggles to overcome the reality of being strangers in many respects to one another. Still they believe they belong together. As they learn who each other is, Anthony joins the army to fight for his country in Vietnam. When Tatiana and Alexander learn Anthony is missing in action, the former Soviet officer travels to Nam to find his son and bring him home to his mother.
This is a fabulous finish to the strong romantic trilogy of the two Russian expatriates. Their post WWII drama in the States differs from the harrowing danger of surviving hostilities including from their homeland as now the tsuris is personal. As the couple deals with battle fatigue, matrimonial problems caused by their separation, and their son’s MIA status, readers will appreciate the end of their ballad as the Cold War becomes frequently heated. Using flashbacks, Paulina Simons provides an epic twentieth century saga (see The Bronze Horseman, and Tatiana and Alexander).
Harriet Klausner
Paullina Simons
Morrow, Jun 21 2011, $16.99
ISBN: 9780061988226
Having survived the 1941 Nazi siege of Leningrad and Stalin’s brutal response, Tatiana and Alexander were kept apart but with WWII over they fled the Soviet Union. They reunite in the United States becoming Americans. Accompanied by their son Anthony the duo decided to stay in Arizona.
The couple struggles to overcome the reality of being strangers in many respects to one another. Still they believe they belong together. As they learn who each other is, Anthony joins the army to fight for his country in Vietnam. When Tatiana and Alexander learn Anthony is missing in action, the former Soviet officer travels to Nam to find his son and bring him home to his mother.
This is a fabulous finish to the strong romantic trilogy of the two Russian expatriates. Their post WWII drama in the States differs from the harrowing danger of surviving hostilities including from their homeland as now the tsuris is personal. As the couple deals with battle fatigue, matrimonial problems caused by their separation, and their son’s MIA status, readers will appreciate the end of their ballad as the Cold War becomes frequently heated. Using flashbacks, Paulina Simons provides an epic twentieth century saga (see The Bronze Horseman, and Tatiana and Alexander).
Harriet Klausner
Folly Beach-Dorothea Benton Frank
Folly Beach
Dorothea Benton Frank
Morrow, Jun 14 2011, $25.99
ISBN: 9780061961274
On the surface Cate Cooper seems to be living the American dream. She lives in a luxurious house, drives expensive cars and wears designer clothing. Since her two adult children left the nest, she has time to ponder her situation in which she has no one except her sister to share her feelings of isolation with; not her husband or her alleged friends who are her spouse’s clients.
Cate wishes for a different life. That is until her desire comes true when her husband dies. She is stunned to lose the house, the car and her friends. She learns he cheated his clients and cheated on her with a second family. Despondent and angry she visits her Aunt Daisy on Folly Beach, South Carolina where she hopes to figure out what happened to Cate Cooper, but never expected to connect to a dead woman who came here for solace back in the 1920s and 1930s.
Mindful of Karen White’s On Folly Beach, which also rotates between two eras, but Dorothea Benton Frank’s visit to South Carolina has its own uniqueness to the plot. The two subplots focuses on the lead women decades apart seeking to find themselves on a barrier island at a pivotal moment in their respective lives. Readers will enjoy this solid character study as Cate muses about what happened to her and her dreams while the one woman play starring Dorothy within the story line makes for a whimsical visit to South Carolina.
Harriet Klausner
Dorothea Benton Frank
Morrow, Jun 14 2011, $25.99
ISBN: 9780061961274
On the surface Cate Cooper seems to be living the American dream. She lives in a luxurious house, drives expensive cars and wears designer clothing. Since her two adult children left the nest, she has time to ponder her situation in which she has no one except her sister to share her feelings of isolation with; not her husband or her alleged friends who are her spouse’s clients.
Cate wishes for a different life. That is until her desire comes true when her husband dies. She is stunned to lose the house, the car and her friends. She learns he cheated his clients and cheated on her with a second family. Despondent and angry she visits her Aunt Daisy on Folly Beach, South Carolina where she hopes to figure out what happened to Cate Cooper, but never expected to connect to a dead woman who came here for solace back in the 1920s and 1930s.
Mindful of Karen White’s On Folly Beach, which also rotates between two eras, but Dorothea Benton Frank’s visit to South Carolina has its own uniqueness to the plot. The two subplots focuses on the lead women decades apart seeking to find themselves on a barrier island at a pivotal moment in their respective lives. Readers will enjoy this solid character study as Cate muses about what happened to her and her dreams while the one woman play starring Dorothy within the story line makes for a whimsical visit to South Carolina.
Harriet Klausner
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