Year 3, week 41: Before We Were Yours

This week's book:

Before We Were Yours

By Lisa Wingate

This was my book group's book for May. I read it a while ago so others in my group could read it for the discussion. The book is historical fiction, and the book goes back and forth between 1939 and 2015. 

In 1939, a twelve young girl lived on a riverboat with her siblings and parents. When their mother was having a hard time delivering twins, their father took her to the hospital. While the parents were gone, the children were taken/stolen and placed up adoption by Georgia Tann. Tann ran the Tennessee Children's Home Society, an adoption agency in Memphis, Tennessee, that trafficked over five hundred children. Wealthy people would essentially buy these children and raise them as their own. Tann not only stole these children he thought came from unfit families, she also abused them greatly, leading to many children's deaths. The police and people around town profited from this "orphanage". One of the most famous people who used the Tennessee Children's Home Society was Joan Crawford, which always makes me think of Mommy Dearest, but that's for another day. Sadly, Georgia Tann never faced justice, due to her dying of ovarian cancer. There was a movie starring Mary Tyler Moore that came out in 1993 titled Stolen Babies that deals with the crimes Tann committed.

 

The other time period the book is based in is 2015. A woman is unhappy with where her life is going and she ends up uncovering some dark secrets from her family that might just cross paths with the Tennessee Children's Home Society. 

Even though the subject matter is dark, it is so well written and I enjoyed the book greatly. The bond between sisters in the book was strong as well. I would recommend the book. 

Year 3, week 40: Little Fires Everywhere

This week's book:
Little Fires Everywhere
By Celeste Ng

This week's book was my book group book in April, and I actually enjoyed it and probably would have picked it up even if I didn't need to. I'm not saying that I don't always love the books we read in book group, but let's be honest, I don't always enjoy every book.

This story is about a fairly wealthy family who make friends with a single mother who is an artist. Everyone has their own secrets, and to be honest I don't think there really is a fully likable character in the whole book, which probably makes it more realistic. But I had a real problem with it as well.

For the first half of the book, I couldn't pinpoint what other books this novel was reminding me of. It took me seeing a quote about this book by Jodi Picolt that it dawned on me that the book sounds like one of her books. The book also reminded me of Big Little Lies because there are a lot of different moms just trying to do what they think is best, but maybe not doing great or getting everything right. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view and you see a different way of seeing how the story is unfolding.

The story is based in a well-to-do town in the 1990's with a family with four kids that are completely opposites. A single mother comes into the family's life and shakes it up. There are all these secrets that never come to light, which pains me. Whenever I watch or read a drama, I always want people to communicate better. I can't give much more about the plot, because it twists and turns quite a bit in the novel. Apparently the book has been turned into a Hulu show starring Reese Whiterspoon, Carrie Washington and Joshua Jackson. I haven't watched it but I have heard it is good. I would probably recommend the book, even though I did struggle with some of the plot points and secrets.

Year 3, week 39: Cat and Nat's Mom Truths

This week's book:
Cat and Nat's Mom Truths: Embarrassing Stories and Brutally Honest Advice on the Extremely Real Struggle of Motherhood
By Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer

Have you ever watched a couple of cute blondes riding around in their car dropping Mom Truths on different Fridays? Well if you have, this book was written by them, Cat & Nat.

I haven't watched as many as their videos as the #imomsohard ladies, but I still get a kick out of some of their videos. Cat and Nat videos are more funny complaining about kids and husbands (and sometimes we moms need that) and the #imomsohard videos cover more topics. The reason I struggle with Cat and Nat is that they seem more negative, and I don't always need that.

Their book is a little better at lifting other moms up but not without making being a mom sound like the hardest, most blah job that never has rewards. I did keep wondering, if they thought being a mom was so sucky why did they keep having kids? They are saying all these things about how moms that have it more put together are just the worst. I'm not put together by all means but after reading this book, maybe I am more all together or organized than I thought I was. The book just didn’t feel like it had much heart.

I would recommend the book if you are a mom and you need a major pep talk or a chuckle. Added bonus is that the chapters are short and easy to pick up and put down while trying to parent during this quarantine.

Year 3, week 38: Undercover Bromance / Red, White & Royal Blue

Two books this week.


Undercover Bromance
Novel by Lyssa Kay Adams

This novel is the sequel to The Bromance Book Club, which I read earlier this year. It tells the story of the friend of the hero and the sister of the heroine from the original, and how they fall in love.

The book is supposed to be a light hearted romance, but the author tries to bring in some deeper issues such as the Me Too movement and abuse. It was was a quick read and sort of mind candy, which is all I can read at the moment since my kids are trying to kill me. There is going to be a third book in the series coming out in October which has a computer genius, which might be more in my wheelhouse since my hubby is a computer programmer.

If you want to hear more about the characters from the first book dig in, but I don't think it's a stand alone book.


Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel
By Casey McQuiston

I have wanted to read this book for a while now. The plot sounded so good that I literally started reading it less than an hour after a friend of mine dropped off some books for me a few weeks ago.

The title of the book is a pun/play on words, and that is one of the entries of my reading challenge this year. When I googled books with that criteria this was one of the top entries. The story is of the first female president's biracial son falling in love with one of the princes of England. I was just so excited a book with this progressive plot was not only out there for kids that might be struggling with discovering who they are or who they love, but I was so excited that is book was an option for Book of the Month members to pick. How awesome is that, a book about two high profile boys falling in love and it all being okay being so mainstream? I was also jazzed about the book because I love the TV show West Wing so much.

I do have to say for as excited as I was about the book, it was a little long by the end, just wanted the plot to wrap up. I also wasn't prepared for the amount of detail that the book went into what the guys were doing between the sheets. I would recommend the book definitely if you are into politics and are game for a romance between two guys.

Year 3, week 37: The Woman in the Window / Rebecca / The Turn of the Screw.

Three books this week:

The Woman in the Window
By A. J. Finn

This was recommended on my audiobook app. It tells the story of a woman that can't leave her house due to agoraphobia. She thinks she witnesses a murder and then no one believes her. The book made me think of Hitchcock's Rear Window, and since none of us can leave our houses at this time I thought it would be perfect.

I found the plot meh. I just didn't care about any of the characters. It is clearly a rip off of Rear Window, so much that the main character is constantly watching Hitchcock's films. It was okay but I found myself bored with it by the end.



Rebecca
By Daphne du Maurier

I bought this book forever ago and just couldn't get into it. Everyone one says it's a classic and I just tried so hard. A woman that thinks she's being haunted by her new husband's deceased wife, what a creepy idea. I ended up listening to the book back and forth picking up or dropping off my son to school. Before all of this social distancing started. I would zone out and stop listening then I would have to go back and have to relisten on what was going on. About half way through I realized I thought I might have seen the Hitchcock film adaptation.

The book was fine and has an old fashioned way of being creepy. Maybe I should have read it closer to Halloween.



The Turn of the Screw
By Henry James

I bought this book last summer because I heard that Netflix was going to do the same thing it did with Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, which I loved. But I read it wrong that it wasn't coming out until this fall, not last fall. I decided to postpone reading it until closer when the limited series comes out.

When the quarantine started, I thought it would be fun to read the book together with the hubby so we would know the story before we watched the show. The hubs had a hard time reading it and I had a hard time listening. So I thought we could listen to it via audiobook, still we would find other reasons to not listen to the book. I ended up just finishing the book by myself and blah. I hope I enjoy the show better.