A busy pub date: Part 2 for adults

This is Fiona Davis’s third New York City based historical novel and it is a winner! I have not read her earlier books,The Address and The Dollhouse, but may well do so now.
The Masterpiece has a dual narrative structure, one story is set in the 1920s-30’s and the other in the 1970s. The stories of Clara Darden and Virginia Clay overlap and intersect.
Darden is an illustrator, teacher and painter in the earlier era while Virginia, a divorcee, begins working at Grand Central around the time when the landmark battle was underway. Each woman has a backstory, relationships and challenges, all of which are well depicted.
Did you know that in the 1920’s there was an art school right in Grand Central? Did you know that Sargent was one of the founders? Are you interested in historical preservation? Do you enjoy a story with a plot twist? If you can answer yes to any, or all of these questions, I highly recommend this book.

If you like Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and WWII intrigue, you will certainly like this book. I have read and enjoyed all of the novels in this series, starting with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Maggie Hope is a resourceful, smart and spunky protagonist who takes great, and possibly foolish, risks, in order to help with the war effort. In The Prisoner in the Castle, Maggie has been exiled to an island where agents who pose a risk to security are secretly being housed. Over the course of Maggie’s stay on the isolated and claustrophobic island, life goes on with one big exception…Maggie’s fellow agents are being killed at a rapid, daily rate. Why? What danger do they present? Who can be trusted? How will the murderer be stopped? Will Maggie survive or could this be the end of the series? You will need to read the novel to find out.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a fun read in an enjoyable series.

A very busy pub date! Part 1 for children

I loved this book! The author speaks to the middle school reader without ever being condescending or talking down. When historical background is needed, it is simply included in the text.

Eleanor Roosevelt comes alive with her bravery, deep desire to do right and also in her doubts and difficulties. The reader learns the basics of Eleanor’s biography; not being beautiful for her mother, having a father who was an alcoholic, being orphaned. There is an excellent chapter or Eleanor’s schooling in England and its impact on her. The joys and imperfections of her relationship with Franklin are acknowledged. The young reader learns of affairs but gently.

The author shows the ways in which Eleanor’s consciousness was raised. She describes the prejudices with which Eleanor grew up and how she began to overcome them and fight for her beliefs.

I have read a number of books on the Roosevelts so felt knowledgeable going in. Yet, I still learned a lot. Of note, too, are the illustrations which make historical personages real and present.

I recommend this book highly for readers from middle school through adulthood.

This is an inviting book for young readers (or those being read to) that adults will enjoy as well. Mini biographies of the well and not so well known are offered along with appealing illustrations, quotes from the personages and funny (at times) but always true award titles. Some examples: The Bad-Tempered Musical Genius Award (Beethoven); The 1,279 Goals Award (Pele); The Most Loved Diary Award (Anne Frank); The Saving Lives Award (Pasteur); The One Voice Award (Malala Yousafzai) and many more. This book is inspiring and wide ranging. It will give children a sense that they can accomplish great things while enjoying the accomplishments of those who came before them. Highly recommended!

Here is a picture book that will appeal to many children, especially those who have felt different for any reason. This short, whimsically illustrated, story is about Maud, who does not fit in with the other dragons but has one very loyal friend, a mouse. All of the other dragons are more darkly colored; they breathe soot into the skies to bring on darkness. However, when Maud needs to take on the job in an emergency situation, her breath matches her colorful appearance. So now you know know why it looks so pretty at sunset…share this knowledge with a child in your life!

A gorgeous, geography I Spy book for young children (Rosart)

I am honestly not sure who will love this book more: will it be the children or the adults who are either looking at the book with them or grab the book to look at on their own? The illustrations are so appealing, friendly and engaging. The two-page spread for each state captures the spirit of that state and its special attractions. And, of course, I Spy is a fun game. Add this one to your shelf and delight in the glories of the USA.

#IspyThe50states #NetGalley

E-book bargains for lovers of women’s fiction (Moyes and Moriarty)

The Horse DancerThe Husband's Secret

$1.99 today.  Jojo Moyes had written a number of novels before she became well-known for her stories about Louisa Clark.  The Horse Dancer is a story about a girl, her grandfather, a horse and the woman and lawyer, Natasha, who becomes involved with the girl, Sarah.  I have not as yet read this one but plan to.  A blurb is below:
“Reading Jojo Moyes’s newest novel, The Horse Dancer, I had to keep reminding myself that I was not, in fact, reading Dickens. . . As a storyteller, Moyes again takes a note from Dickens, moving easily between several storylines, toggling between the past and the present, the urban and the rural, the domestic and the professional, with ease and confidence. . . Moyes’s vision of people lifted from despair by nothing more than love (and a little money) is nothing if not poignant.” —Washington Post

Liane Moriarty wrote The Husband’s Secret before her breakout novel Big Little Lies.  This one is also in my TBR pile.  $2.99 today.

From Publishers Weekly

Australian author Moriarty, in her fifth novel (after The Hypnotist’s Love Story), puts three women in an impossible situation and doesn’t cut them any slack. Cecilia Fitzpatrick lives to be perfect: a perfect marriage, three perfect daughters, and a perfectly organized life. Then she finds a letter from her husband, John-Paul, to be opened only in the event of his death. She opens it anyway, and everything she believed is thrown into doubt. Meanwhile, Tess O’Leary’s husband, Will, and her cousin and best friend, Felicity, confess they’ve fallen in love, so Tess takes her young son, Liam, and goes to Sydney to live with her mother. There she meets up with an old boyfriend, Connor Whitby, while enrolling Liam in St. Angela’s Primary School, where Cecilia is the star mother. Rachel Crowley, the school secretary, believes that Connor, St. Angela’s PE teacher, is the man who, nearly three decades before, got away with murdering her daughter—a daughter for whom she is still grieving. Simultaneously a page-turner and a book one has to put down occasionally to think about and absorb, Moriarty’s novel challenges the reader as well as her characters, but in the best possible way. Agent: Faye Bender, Faye Bender Literary Agency. (Aug.)

 

 

For Adult Literary Explorers; The Writer’s Map by Lewis-Jones

Are you a true bibliophile? Do you enjoy entering both fictional and real worlds? Do you enjoy seeing the maps that writers create and love? If yes, this book is an amazing one and one that deserves a place on your bookshelf or coffee table. Readers can dip in and out and explore the many places within the book guided by well-known writers. I highly recommend this one. The illustrations are intricate and reproduced well. The text is interesting and offers lots of insight. One note: I read this as a digital ARC. I am eager to see the paper book so that I can browse back and forth more easily.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher.

#TheWriter’sMap #NetGalley

For young Reading Stars; If I Had a Dog by O’Neill.

This book is part of a series for very beginning readers.  The number of words is limited and those words are repeated within the text to offer reinforcement for young learners.  New readers will feel pride in their ability to read and understand this story.  If I Had a Dog is a written with a sense of humor that children will appreciate.  Definitely recommended for the target audience!

Today’s e-book bargains

Some  great reads that are available today.

A Piece of the World is by the same author who wrote Orphan Train.  That was a favorite read of mine and I will blog on it in the future. This novel is about the artist Andrew Wyeth and his most famous model.  You probably know the painting, Christina’s World and now you can learn more about her.

“The novel evokes the somber grace of [Wyeth’s] paintings … Christina’s yearning, her determination, her will to dream, occupy the emotional center in both the novel and the painting. A Piece of the World is a story for those who want the mysterious made real.” (New York Times Book Review)

The Patron Saint of Liars is an early book by Ann Patchett who wrote one of my all time favorite novels, Bel Canto.  TPSOL is about a young woman who becomes pregnant, is unmarried and is sent to a maternity home.  The story takes place well before there were many reproductive choices.  Find out what happens to the protagonist, her child and how they live their lives.  I am also re-posting my comments on Bel Canto below.

Have you ever been asked to name your favorite fiction title?  Have you ever tried to answer this question just for yourself?  When I am in this situation, I always think about Bel Canto.  I delayed reading this novel for ages.  Who needs to read a novel about a hostage situation I would ask myself.  Life is tough enough.  Wow!  Was I wrong.  This is an amazing book.  Never have I cared about characters so much and been so sad to know that there could not be a happy ending for them all.  The set up is a hostage takeover at an opera performance for a private party and the aftermath of this event.  All of the characters are nuanced and I cared for each and every one of them.  If you have not read this, do so, do so, do so!

The Bookshop on the Corner is an easy, enjoyable read for those who like romance and women’s fiction.  Besides…a book about the love of books is always fun, right?

I have not read The House at Tyneford but have had it for awhile.  Maybe, now that I have been reminded, I will read it.  The story begins at the outset of WWII and is a family saga.  Has anyone out there read it?  If yes, let me know what you thought.

HAPPY READING!

The House at Tyneford

A big book, indeed! (Penzler)

Do you enjoy mysteries? Short stories? Female detectives? If yes, this book deserves a place on your bookshelf. It is filled with stories from different eras and covers 150 years of writing, beginning with the Victorians. My favorites sections are the Golden Age, Mid Century, the Modern Era and Bad Girls. Many, many of my favorite authors are to be found in this collection. At over 1000 pages, this will be a book to dip in and out of over time. Highly recommended!