I received Jemimah Wei's "The Original Daughter" as an Advanced Reading Copy through BookBrowse. The story centers around a Chinese-Singaporean family, but in many ways, it could have been written about any family where there is love, jealousy, and loyalty.

I took my time reading this because I wanted to understand the culture and the family dynamics. Wei describes everything so vividly that I was quickly immersed. The same love that binds the characters is the same love that breaks them. Love can be a powerful weapon and a soothing salve at the same time.

While reading Wei's rich prose, I wondered how I would have reacted if one day a younger girl had been introduced into my household and I was told that from now on, this was my new sister. Would I have made her my chosen"one"? Would I have made her feel welcome?

This story takes place in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore. BUT, people everywhere and at any time need to feel they belong.

This is Wei's first novel. I hope it's not her last.

I received this book through Book Browse as an Advance Reading Copy.

I have been feeling lately that books and movies just are not original anymore until I read Laila Lalami's "The Dream Hotel". This book was so frighteningly real, even though it's set in a futuristic society. Lalami creates a world not too far removed from today's world. We feel Sara's struggle as a working mom of infant twins--sleep deprived and stressed. Without reading the fine print for a sleep program that has worked well for her husband, Sara enters into world where dreams are not random, rather possible portents.

We feel Sara's frustration, panic, and despair as she's thrust into a world not of her conscious making. Having no prior experience to guide her, Sara learns to survive as best she can while watching her twins emotionally pull away from her and her husband struggle in his own way.

Perhaps it's the cynic in me, but I don't believe we are too far removed from the world in which Sara lives. And that's frightening.

"Everything We Never Knew" by Julianne Hough and Ellen Goodlett begins with a "what the heck" moment, and Lexi Cole's life is set on the path to never being the same again. While I accept the premise of Lexi's Saturn return for how this book moves on, it just feels forced and rushed. It takes courage and strength to make major changes in one's life. It also should take a moment to think how these changes might affect us and those who care about us. Lexi becomes self-centered after she learns about Saturn return and energy lessons and just can't understand or accept why her loved ones can't embrace her new changes, too. About the only scene I found to be "real" was when Lexi tries to mend the broken relationship she has with her mother. The fact that her mother takes no responsibility in what happened to Lexi as a teen probably would have happened without Lexi's new talent. This is the novel's pivotal scene.

This book was Okay. I received it as an Advance Reading Copy from BookBrowse.

While the premise for Bart Yates' "The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl" was different, I found it to be more disappointing than strange. I would just get into the people who comprised that day, then that day was over. Then it's 8 years later. There was a lot of repetition from each event day to the next, as though the reader was the one who lived the 8 years and needed to be reminded how cranky Aggie was, how strong Bo was, or that Isaac was a writer.

Several of the significant days were centered around a natural disaster: an avalanche, a dust storm, an earthquake, etc. Generally when a person survives a disaster, they come out of it having learned something about themselves or about those who survived with them. I don't feel that Isaac or his "family" learned much at all. More so than "strange", Isaac's life was sad.

Michelle Collins Anderson, author of The Flower Sisters, has woven a rich tapestry by letting the characters tell the story of the worst day that ever happened to the little town of Possum Flats, MO. Each segment of the book is told by a different narrator with a different "voice" and a different story. An astute reader will figure out this historical novel's biggest secret early, but knowing the secret does not in any way ruin the reading of this gem. Anderson perfectly captures the voices of the men and women--the young and not so young; the business owner and the preacher--and interweaves them.

The novel goes back and forth between 1928 (the year of the devastating dance hall fire) and 1978 (the year fifteen-year-old Daisy is left by her mother to spend the summer with her grandmother). Through the letters Daisy writes to her mother and the segments she narrates, we learn much about the townspeople of Possum Flats through her "fresh eyes". Daisy and each narrator become our guides to understanding how and why the citizens have changed since that devastating day in 1928.

I loved this book. In fact, there is nothing about this book I didn't like (well, besides having to finish reading it so that I could submit this review). I look forward to reading another Michelle Collins Anderson book. She sure can write a story.

This book was recommended by BookBrowse as a book I might like. The bad news is: why in the world haven't I read this before now? The good news? It's the first in a series!

Wow! This book is wonderful! It is rather reminiscent of old detective noir books. I could almost hear a wailing sax in the background as I read.

Ryder and Nautilus have such a wonderful rapport that goes beyond friendship. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.