Her Name Is Rose
by Christine Breen
enjoyable heartwarming debut (2/20/2015)
I enjoyed this debut novel quite a bit, finding it engaging and interesting. Readers with experience of and/or interest in adoption and/or cancer should note that these themes are central to the book. The characters were generally likable and believable, though several made truly stupid decisions in order to move the story ahead. (Hey, I'm gonna catch a last-minute international flight to try to find someone in person, with only a decades old address to go on!) But it was generally well-written, with many heartwarming moments; I will certainly check out future work from this author.
A Fireproof Home for the Bride
by Amy Scheibe
bit of a runaway train at the end -- but quite good (12/27/2014)
This was quite a good read. It started off pretty slow, but picked up speed eventually, to the point where I felt almost breathless at the end. There's a fair bit of understated-ness, and more disturbing events than I'd bargained for, but overall it was an engrossing, memorable book.
Most interesting to me was reading about the time period (late 50s), region (upper Midwest), and religious interactions and influences (Lutheranism, Catholicism) in the story.
Vanessa and Her Sister
by Priya Parmar
well-written and interesting read! (10/7/2014)
This interesting and well-written novel about the Bloomsbury group, focusing on the relationship between painter Vanessa Bell and her sister Virginia Woolf, was entertaining, as well as heartbreaking in parts. Particularly interesting to me was the "unconventional" nature of their circle, including open discussions of sex and acceptance of homosexuality. The device of including travel tickets and telegrams in the text was more distracting than intriguing, and Virginia came off as an extremely selfish and unkind person, but I highly recommend this book, especially to anyone with an interest in the art and writing scene in Britain in the early 1900s.
