Books Reviewed By Lorie

Four siblings in their 20’s – and virtually alone in the world – face life, love, surfing, and a blowout party in this captivating novel.

OxyContin played a large part in the opioid epidemic. Learn how the drug – and the company who owns the patent – helped fuel it.

Rachel Joyce wrote “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.” She returns with a new trek: Two women travel 10,000 miles in search of a beetle.

Lucy Barton is a character created by Elizabeth Strout in 2016. Strout revisited Lucy in 2017 and again now with her latest book, Oh William!

James Smale is a novelist in New York in 1992. He is shocked when he learns Jackie Onassis is the editor interested in his book!

Three teenage siblings are changed forever after finding a boy in the field. Wait! Why are his legs red? Oh no! He’s been stabbed!

Helen Wilcox wrote a bestseller under the pen name, Maud Dixon. Florence Darrow is a wannabe writer who usurps Helen’s life.

These are the five most-read book reviews I have posted over the last two and a half years in a publication called Books Galore.

When a 69-year-old woman disappears, should her adult kids report it to the police? What if they think their dad will be the main suspect?

When an 11-year-old boy dies, his dad takes over his service project, and learns a lot about his son – and himself – in the process.

Travel from Poland to Chile, to Israel, and to New York City to figure out the mystery of the book-within-this-book.

“Physician, heal thyself” applies to psychologist, Grace Sachs, who counsels women who SHOULD HAVE KNOWN the truth of their marriages.

The story of Jacob Finch Bonner, an author who is in “the special purgatory for formerly promising writers.” He needs a smash hit!

It’s a 95-year-old mystery: In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. Where did she go? Perhaps you can solve the mystery…

An Israeli woman and a Palestinian man fall in love in New York. Ultimately they will both go back to their homes. What can/will happen then?

A teenage boy befriends a 92-year-old blind woman & solves the mystery of what happened to her previous caregiver who disappeared.

The story of three friends in Rome, Italy during World War II. One is Jewish, the other two try to save him and his family.

By the end of this book, Eudora gets exactly what she deserves! And I mean this in the kindest of ways, and with some rejoicing.

I post slice-of-life blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. But what if there is a 5th Tuesday? I write about books!

Two people with little in common become friends and then so much more – and it only takes them 12 years to recognize their love!

Rachel makes a deal with God. If He’ll save her sick son, she agrees to live forever. It’s 2000 years later. She’s still alive…

A divorce was easy to get in Reno in 1938. It took 6 weeks to establish residency. A dude ranch offered fun during the wait.

Two books in which a found object becomes the proof of a marital infidelity, and thereby rewrites the history of the marriage.

The New York Post called Elin Hilderbrand, “the queen of the easy-breezy summer read.” This is her twenty-seventh novel and newest book.

The book opens with a woman sitting vigil over her barely breathing daughter. Two moms are featured in the book. Which one is it?

Best selling author, Cheryl Strayed, stars as “Sugar,” an advice columnist who uses the stories of her life to drive home the points she makes.

I post slice-of-life blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. But what if there is a 5th Tuesday? I write about books!

When Owen Michaels disappears, he leaves behind his new wife – and his teen age daughter. What’s up with that?

Modern-day Brooklyn, DC in the 70s, and biblical times all overlap in this unique retelling of the story of Queen Esther and Queen Vashti.

Get inside of Graham’s head as he deals with his much younger – and too talkative – wife, his very uptight ex-wife, and his autistic 10-year old son.

The relationship between 26-year-old Jane and 40-something year old Duncan, the perennial playboy, grows into something much larger than romantic love.

This book helps me understand that modern culture plays a part in my need for fame as a writer, and that the realities of publishing negatively impact my financial success.

A 305 page book that fully imagines the private life of William Shakespeare without mentioning his name once. Huh? What’s that all about?

If you’ve ever thought of making a deal with the devil, Addie Larue would tell you to remember the old adage: Be careful what you wish for.

Like a Pick-A-Path book, the author explores two outcomes for Hannah, asking the question: Does fate find us, or do we determine our “fate”?

On the one hand, this book is about gay marriage from a child’s point of view. But more than that, it’s about unconditional love.

Meredith is torn between two lovers in this novel. Readers will wonder two things: Who will she pick and why? And [What’s] Not a Thing?

I post slice-or-life blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. But what if there is a 5th Tuesday? I write about books!

If you cried when you read Charlotte’s Web to your children, prepare to sob when you read The One and Only Ivan to your grandkids.

The Midnight Library is the place between life and death where you can not only review your “book of regrets,” but you can try to fix them.

There’s a 200-year-old curse on the second-born daughters of the Fontana family. Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy, a true curse, or a bunch of hooey?

A rumor on an online women’s forum brings 4 ladies together. One is agoraphobic, two have straying husbands, & the fourth is raising a newborn alone.

Two sisters star in this book. One is a cop and the other is a drug addict/prostitute. What happens when a serial killer comes on the scene?

If you like a book that makes you laugh and cry and that teaches a life lesson or two, this romantic-comedy-with-substance is for you.

Mega-star Evelyn had 7 husbands! But who was the love of her life? The answer takes us to a serious & deadly side of that era in Hollywood. 

If you are a person who ever enjoyed reading a fan magazine or an in-depth interview in People Magazine, this book’s for you.

Regarding family Astrid says, “This was the job of a parent: to fuck up, over and over again. This was the job of a child: to grow up anyway.”

There is controversy surrounding this book, which was an Oprah Book Club pick. Here’s the question: who has the right to write about the migrant experience?

Civil War veteran, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd, works to return a ten year old girl – who had been abducted by Indians four years earlier – to her family 400 miles away.

Twelve-year-old Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed 191 people including his family. But, can he survive it emotionally?

I post slice-of-life blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. But what if there is a 5th Tuesday? I write about books!

This book is a mystery and a love story. What happened to Eleanor in the past? And, can she  move beyond it to love others, and more importantly, herself?

Two points of view tell about the “Lost Battalion” in WWI in this novel: Major Whittlesey, the commander, and Cher Ami, the carrier pigeon that saved them.

After the death of a teenager girl, the author has the audacity — and the ingenuity — to take us to the afterlife (Elsewhere) and show us how things work there.

Everyone lies about their lives. What would happen if you shared the truth instead? The one thing that defines you, making everything else fall into place?

Read all about the many challenges of the fishing industry, the many challenges of marriage, and the many challenges of raising teenagers.

Race issues and personal identity are among the big issues to talk about in this book. It’s easy to see why it is a Good Morning America Book Club Pick.

Two options for the mother/teenage daughter relationship are mentioned: killing the daughter or taking a bullet for her. Plan C? Just wait out the teen years!

I found myself shouting at one of the characters with regularity. “No! Don’t do that! That’s a bad idea! Are you nuts?” Find out why…

This is the story of LOVE in capital letters between Marilyn and David Sorenson. Can their four adult daughters live up to their example of marital bliss?

I post new blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. But what happens when there is a 5th Tuesday? Check this out!

If you knew the exact date of your death, would you be more reckless or more reverent with your life? Chloe Benjamin looks into this question.

This book makes me not only want to read everything written by Ann Patchett, it makes me want to buy them all from Parnassus, her book store.

The secondary story in this book is what I liked best. In it, an odd collection of people come together to become a loving family.

This is the heart warming story of the 38 planes & 7000 people who could not enter US air space on 9/11/01 & landed in Newfoundland instead.

This historical novel tells about actress Hedy Lamarr. Her life was amazing. From Louis B. Mayer to Hitler, she knew a lot of famous people!

This book has autobiographical elements, mirroring Patchett’s parents’ divorce and her subsequent life with a stepfather and step-siblings.

This book is told from the point of view of someone who fits the criteria for an autism-spectrum disorder. Thus, it’s intriguing to be inside of her head!

This is the story of Maeve and Danny Conroy, their wicked stepmother, and the mansion they all covet: The Dutch House.

If you’re not always sure how to negotiate friendship, this book’s for you. If you wonder how to move from isolation to connection, this book’s for you.

Olive Kitteridge is quite a character! She stars in two books and in an HBO mini-series. The first book about her won a Pulitzer Prize. And now? She’s back!

There are lots of reasons that this book was enjoyable, but especially in the time of coronavirus, if you are looking for happy ending, this book’s for you.

Joan Didion’s husband, John Gregory Dunne, literally died mid-sentence as he sat at home waiting for dinner. Of course readers will want to know more!

Three male college friends reunite decades later to figure out what happened to Jacy, the girl they all loved, the girl who disappeared after graduation.

A wrenching story about racial injustice featuring a biracial “man” (he’s 18!) and an “underage girl” (she’s 17!) in love in North Carolina (the south!).

Historical fiction can be such an eye-opener. This tale of WWII shows us what it was like to be Jewish, Japanese, and/or German-American during the war.

Leslie Odom, Jr. was in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, starring as Aaron Burr. His book is chock-full of interesting advice for creative people.

The book is about a character named Archie Ferguson. Auster treats us to four different versions of Archie’s life, four different roads he might have taken.

Elena Richardson has four teenagers, two boys and two girls. Mia Warren has one teenager, Pearl. As neighbors, imagine all the relationships that can occur! The book opens with a major fire. How did all those relationships impact it?

Most read this as the story of a young woman leaving an abusive home life to make something of herself. Not me. I read it as the story of an abused woman who kept coming back for more “love” as she knew it at the hands of her abusers.

Kya, the so-called Marsh Girl, is abandoned by her family at the age of ten (10!) and left alone to negotiate life in the marsh. The natural world around her becomes her solace, best friend, and teacher.

An odd group of people comes together to form a family in this wonderful novel by Elizabeth Berg. An old man + an old maid + a teenager become a great family!

In this book, a group of women meet regularly to share their secrets. Where the book takes off, is when one of them falls in love with a Vietnam vet.

This is the story of a couple in their early forties who are going through an acrimonious divorce. Supposedly, the couple has shared custody of their two children until Rachel sneaks into Toby’s apartment in the middle of the night, drops the kids off, and vanishes.

Tina Fey has a lot more to offer her fans than just laughs in this book. Indeed, she teaches her collaborative world view – as learned on the improv stage.

If you like books where the author paints a picture of what happens in the afterlife, this book is for you. The basic premise is that the dead are able to talk to each other from their graves thus carrying on the loving relationships they had in life. If that’s not good enough, all the deceased are their best selves – free of dementia, alcoholism, and the like.

FILTH is an acronym for Failed in London, Try Hong Kong. Sir Edward Feathers is the main character in the book. He is the one who “invented” the phrase and whose professional life is explained by the phrase.

Did you know there was a major fire at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986? I thought this book was a mystery trying to find who set it. But that’s not what this book is. Instead, it’s a love story. As the author sings the praises of Central Library – telling us about its past, present, and future – the reader comes to love it too.

This book’s first person narrator is not named. We meet her as a child and follow her as she and a childhood friend, Tracey, grow up in public housing in London. They are “brown” girls.

Bear Bavinsky is a famous artist, and for a good long time it appears that he is the star of The Italian Teacher, but he is not. We first meet him in Italy when he comes to visit his wife, Natalie, and their five-year-old son, Charles, who is known as “Pinch.”

Let’s start off by saying that I was quickly jealous of Lori Gottlieb, the author of this book. Feeling that way, the book had to be compelling or I would have gotten ticked off at her and quit mid-memoir.

There are two creative works that tell the same story about a family living in Cambodia. What makes both stories compelling is that the featured family lives at — and derives their livelihood from — a municipal waste dump called Stung Meanchey.

I have had the good fortune to see Hamilton the musical twice. I am quite taken with the storyline, so it was a natural next step to read more on the subject. Perhaps I should have chosen Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton but instead…

Do you believe you’ve had previous lives? Even if you don’t, are you intrigued by the concept? Or are you certain it’s hogwash? Whatever your stance, you will be interested in this book.

I am one of five million people who have provided a saliva sample to 23andMe for the purpose of finding out more about myself. Such tests give results in two categories. They tell about ancestry and about genetic predisposition to medical conditions. I was looking for information in the first category.

Night of Miracles is the second of three books in Elizabeth Berg’s Mason, Missouri series. The first book was The Story of Arthur Truluv and the third book is The Confession Club.

As the book jacket tells you, Alicia Berenson has a perfect life in London. She is a famous painter, and she is married to an equally famous fashion photographer. One night, she kills her husband shooting him five times in the face. From that point she goes silent, unable or unwilling to speak.

“If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise, don’t put it there.” This famous writing advice from Anton Chekhov is very applicable to this book.

The Nest tells the story of the Plumb family. There are four adult children, Leo, Jack, Beatrice, and Melody. The nest in question is an inheritance from their father.

In this novel, 20-year-old Aviva Grossman works as an intern for Congressman Aaron Levin and ultimately has an affair with him. When they have a car wreck in which the other driver dies, their affair becomes public.