Each month we give away books to members to read and review (or discuss). Members who choose to take part usually receive a free book about every 3-4 months. Here are their opinions on one just published book:

Bone River
by Megan Chance

Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Publication Date: 12/04/2012
Historical Fiction

Number of reader reviews: 22
Readers' consensus:


BookBrowse Members Say

"Bone River has something for everyone who likes a great read. History, love and betrayal, mysticism and mystery. Beautifully written with an intricate plot, I cannot recommend it enough. I gave it a five, but really I want to give it a 6." - Carole P. (Framingham, NA).

"I really enjoyed this book. It is quite different from anything that I have read. The characters are totally believable. Leonie has promised her dying father to marry his assistant, 20 years her senior. Her father has trained her as an 'ethnologist', studying indian artifacts and remains in Pacific Northwest in the 1880s." - Janice T. (Ruckersville, VA).

"Once I began the prologue, I was hooked. I read page after page, and hated when I had to put it down. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric. Throughout the book I felt as though I was there on the Querquelin River. There are many wonderful themes for discussion, and I can't wait to recommend to my Book Club." - Betty B. (Irving, TX).

"I know I'm in for a good read, when the first time I pick up the book I don't put it down until Chapter 6 ... Beautifully written, a bit historical, a bit mystery, a bit moral dilemma, and a bit of unexpected hot romance; an original story that's refreshingly unpredictable with surprising twists. Would make a great book club choice." - Darlene C. (Simpsonville, SC).

"This is one of those special books that tells a unique story through mystery and romance by an author who knows how to write and intrigue her readers. This will be one of my favorite books of 2012." - Patricia D. (Woodland Hills, CA).

"A very engrossing story. I liked Leonie Russell from beginning to end and cheered her struggle to be herself and think for herself against the wishes of both her father and her husband." - Joyce S. (Tyrone, GA).

These are the opinions of 6 of the 22 members who have reviewed this book to date. Read all the Reviews

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I am delighted to present our annual roundup of BookBrowse's Favorite Books as selected by you, our members & subscribers to this free newsletter (and thank you to all of you who took part in the voting a few weeks ago).

As in past years these books have been selected not simply on the number of votes each book received (as is the way with most "popular awards") but by asking people to rate each book they read from a shortlist of titles, so that we can gauge how good a book is rather than just counting votes - as a simple vote count tends to favor the best selling books, which as we all know, aren't always what we think of as the best!

The initial shortlist was selected in house but the voting form allowed early participants to recommend other books - and as a result, at least half a dozen additional titles were added to the voting list, and most of these late additions ended up on our list of 2012 favorites.      

The next step was to select the 2012 BookBrowse Award Winners from among this list of favorites - the book with the highest overall rating in its category being the winner.
This year's winners are:

Below is part of BookBrowse's review of Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Read the review in full here

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
by Katherine Boo

Hardcover (Feb 2012), 288 pages.


Publisher: Random House
ISBN 9781400067558

Review:
The consensus is in: Katherine Boo's narrative nonfiction about corruption, struggle, and hope in Annawadi, India, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, is very popular with BookBrowse reviewers; 30 out of 30 readers rate it 4 or 5 stars! Here's what people are saying:

Some books carry me along, this one pulled. It was not easy to read, yet not easily put down. Poverty, corruption, racism, economic envy, and brutal indifference toward human life pummel the inhabitants of Annawadi, Mumbai's undercity, yet amazingly, there exist pockets of hope and aspiration. I have been inspired by this book (Karen J). There have been few books in my life that have stayed with me long after reading them - for instance, To Kill a Mockingbird and Angela's Ashes - and now I will add Behind the Beautiful Forevers to the list (Anne B). ... continued

Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers

Above is part of BookBrowse's review of Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Read the review in full here

Browse the book

Read-Alikes:
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
A Free Man by Aman Sethi
Animal's People by Indra Sinha
Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus
Heliopolis by James Scudamore
Q&A (Slumdog Millionaire) by Vikas Swarup

Below is part of BookBrowse's review of The Light Between Oceans. Read the review in full here

The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
by Margot L. Stedman

Hardcover (Jul 2012), 384 pages.

Publisher: Scribner
ISBN 9781451681734


Review:
With 27 out of 30 reviewers rating it 4 or 5 stars, Margot L. Stedman's The Light Between Oceans is a top pick among BookBrowse readers! Here's what they have to say:

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It's literary fiction set in Australia after WWI with fully developed characters and poetic descriptions of physical and emotional aspects of life (Mary P). Margot L. Stedman brings Tom and Isabel, two flawed, desperate but likable people, alive in the pages of her book, weaving a compelling and morally complex story that will keep readers mesmerized until the very last page (Amy M). This is a great book. I never before thought about lighthouses except in terms of their usefulness in days gone by. I hadn't thought about the men who worked in them, their families, their loneliness, or their absolute dedication to their responsibilities. But this book is more than history, it's a story of love, selflessness and selfishness. The characters are amazing, and I found myself struggling over who I sided with the most, and I wondered, if I were in their places, would I make my choices with my heart or my conscience? I can't wait to discuss this with my book club (G. Bridget Davis).

This is a wonderful exploration of life, love and responsibility. I highly recommend this book (Barbara E). This story drew me in from the first page. Compelling and provocative, it raises many questions about right and wrong, and the human heart's capacity for love and forgiveness. Gorgeously written - the people and settings spring to life from the pages - it's really an amazing first novel from this author. I hope to see more from her in the future (Lisa M). A perfect novel - not to be missed (Nikki M). Quiet controlled prose creates a sense of time and place inhabited by real people. There are no heroes or villains. Just regular folk who have to live with the consequences of their decisions in a world that is, after all, never fair (Shirin M). ... continued

Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers

Above is part of BookBrowse's review of The Light Between Oceans. Read the review in full here

Browse the book

Read-Alikes:
The Lighthouse by P.D. James
The Paperbark Shoe by Goldie Goldbloom
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The World Beneath by Cate Kennedy

Below is part of BookBrowse's review of Wonder.
Read the review in full here

Wonder
by R.J. Palacio

Hardcover (Feb 2012), 320 pages.

Publisher: Knopf Children's Books
ISBN 9780375869020

BookBrowse Rating:
Critics' Consensus:

Review:
I am sitting in my local bakery right now and there is a young man here. He is different from me. He looks different and sounds different. And I find myself wanting to gaze over at him while, at the same time, wanting to avert my eyes. Not because I am afraid, nor because I am repelled, but because I don't know how to respond... The way I feel is complicated.

R.J. Palacio's debut novel, Wonder, examines these kinds of complex emotions in a way that is strikingly simple. I don't mean that it is an easy book. It is not. And I don't mean that its structure is plain or undemanding. It is neither. Palacio has created a story that spans the 5th grade year in the life of Auggie Pullman. Of course Auggie's life is anything but simple. He has undergone 27 surgeries on his face and still won't describe what he looks like. As he says, "Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." Plus he has been home-schooled his whole life, and this is the year he finally goes outside of his apartment and into an actual school.

But still - the story is a simple one. Auggie comes from an ordinary family. He lives with both his mother and his father - two funny, compassionate, loving, concerned parents. He has one teenaged sister who is struggling to figure out who she is and how to relate to her family. Auggie has a good friend. He makes a few more. He becomes the target of a few bullies. The school year follows a typical rhythm, full of holidays and class projects and field trips. Simple stuff. Unassuming stuff. And it is precisely because Wonder is so simple and unassuming that its truth is able to permeate every single page. There is a unique intimacy that Palacio has created with this book, so much so that it is as though she has eliminated the ink and paper (or text and screen) and has offered, instead, a living, breathing experience that unfolds between the reader and the story. The emotions are raw and pure. The actions are clear and vibrant. This is particularly true for Auggie; he is a visual shock to everyone who meets him, and is thus a shock to the reader's imagination as well. Because Palacio is immensely skillful at paring down her words to their essential intentions, and because she does not waste space or time with extra description or metaphor or her own opinion, the heart of Wonder pounds loud and clear... continued

Reviewed by Tamara Smith

Above is part of BookBrowse's review of Wonder.
Read the review in full here

Browse the book

Read-Alikes:
Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Our latest blog post highlights ten of our favorite author interviews from 2012 - a collection of video Q&As, transcribed interviews, and compelling conversations that  look at issues and events from around the globe and provide readers with plenty of food for thought.