Pieces

Pieces by Maria Kostaki. CA: She Writes Press, 209 p. ***

Pieces of Sasha's life are portrayed vivadly from early childhood in Cold War-era Moscow to Athens, Greece. Having no control over where she lives in her youth to out of control adult behavior seeking love and acceptance. Taken from the Grandparents who love her to live with her narcisstic mother, who tells Sasha, "I feel sorry for you...you'll never find someone who has the ability to love in the way that you do. You love unconditionally, desperately." The death of her step-father, Michael, the only father she has known, has triggered her memories of life with him and her mother. Sash lashes out at him in her grief for the biological father she never knew and the step father who raised her. "You were supposed to be my prototype male. I still have nightmares about your fingers, the tattoo on your wrist, your palm slamming on my mother's face, the gold ring on your middle finger. But I loved you anyway." 

It is a gritty, alcohol laden story of survival and hope. Kostaki has painted a harsh picture of life in Moscow and the resilience of family during tough times.  Love prevails....

If not for the Summer Reading Challenge, I probably would not have picked up this book to read. A little confusing for me at times, it was  a worthwhile read. Kostaki has a talent for bringing the reader into the story with a few well chosen words. 

Maria Kostaki is a native of Moscow, Russia, but has spent most of her adult life on a plane from Athens, Greece to New York City and back. She holds a master’s in journalism from New York University, where she was a recipient of a grant from the Knight Foundation. She has worked as an editor and staff writer for Odyssey magazine in Athens and New York, and her nonfiction has appeared in publications including Elle Décor and Insider Magazine. Her fiction has appeared in Flashquake and Mediterranean Poetry.

Worthy

Worthy: A Novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Seattle: Lake Union Publishing, 2015. 321 pages, paperback. *****

Virginia works in a diner in a small town longing for love and a family of her own. Aaron's wife died of cancer and he is raising Buddy by himself.  Aaron finally works up the courage to ask Virginia on a date. Life intervenes with disastrous results. 

Fast forward nineteen years and Virginia is co-owner of the diner and engaged to be married.  Her fiancé may not be the perfect guy, he doesn't get along with her dog T-Rex, but at fifty-six years old, she thinks she has run out of options. Her best friend Fern is content to live alone, but Virginia can't stop thinking about what might have been with Aaron and Buddy.

Catherine Ryan Hyde has woven a heart-warming story of love, relationships, compassion and what really makes a family. Life doesn't always turn out the way we expect and Hyde is masterful in her moving story of a young boy who experiences loss and always feeling different from others. Definitely a 5 star read! 

Hyde is the bestselling author of twenty-seven published and forthcoming book. Her bestselling 1999 novel Pay It Forward was adapted into a major motion picture. 

Eight Hundred Grapes: a novel by Laura Dave. NewYork: Simon & Schuster, 2015. 260 p. *****


Thirty-year-old Georgia Ford's life takes an unexpected turn when at the last fitting for her wedding dress she sees her fiancé walking down the street with a gorgeous woman and a little girl. When opening the door to catch his attention, Georgia hears the little girl call Ben, Georgia's fiancé, "Daddy." With the clothes on her back (which happens to be her wedding dress), Georgia returns to the family winery and the venue for her soon to be held wedding. Seeking solace and advice, Georgia discovers discord in her parent's perfect marriage; her two brothers are at odds with each other and the family vineyard is about to be sold.

A poignant tale told humorously and with such grace, it was hard to put down. Dave has a strong storytelling voice and each character is likable and identifiable. Even though there is no Reading Guide, I recommend it for a Book Club choice. There are a few subplots which would make good discussion points.

This is may favorite of the books I have read so far for The Summer Reading Challenge 2015. I was drawn in from the very beginning and couldn't wait to see what happens next. Loved the ending, so fitting and perfect.

Laura Dave is the author of The First Husband,  The Divorce Party, and London Is the Best City in America. Her work has been published in fifteen countries, and three of her novels, including Eight Hundred Grapes, have been optioned as major motion pictures.

Received two copies of Worthy by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Which one to read? The published copy or the Advanced Reader's Copy (the Uncorrected Proof)? Decisions, decisions...It is hard not to judge a book by the cover, isn't it?

The Balance Project: a novel. by Susie Orman Schnall. SparkPress, 2015. 273 pages with Book Club Discussion Guide; The Balance Project Questionnaire. ****

"Sometimes things fall apart because life has something better to come."

Twenty-five year old Lucy Cooper, is assistant to high-powered, media darling, forty-five-year-old, Chief Operating Officer of Green Goddess and Co., Katherine Whitney. Whitney in her best-selling novel, the Balance Project, espouses that women can have it all...career, perfect marriage, adorable children, exercise, best friends...all it requires is balance. Lucy is the one charged with keeping it together for Katherine while Lucy's life is falling apart. Lucy has no time for her boyfriend Nick, laundry, best friend Ava, family, etc. Cracks soon appear in Katherine's perfectly balanced life when the nanny gets sick; her husband has an affair and Lucy applies for a different job. To save herself, Katherine undermines Lucy and their relationship with disastrous results!

Life's challenges for working women are poignantly told, humorously and realistically. Schnall has captured those moments when life gets in the way no matter how well planned the situation is.
Fans of The Devil Wears Prada will enjoy this book.

The Balance Project: a novel was inspired by the interview series called The Balance Project that Susie does on her website. There is a Questionnaire in the back of the book for anyone who wants to participate or you can go online to The Balance Project Interview.


Susie Orman Schnall grew up in LA and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. The Balance Project is her second novel. Her first novel, On Grace, won numerous awards.

Wishful Thinking by Kamy Wicoff. Berkeley, CA: She Writes Press, 2015. 359 pages. With reading group questions and topics for discussions. ****

What working mother doesn't dream about being in two places at once and full-time at the office and still have quality time with her kids? What if an application was developed that would allow it to happen and the app mysteriously showed up on your lost phone?

When Jennifer Sharpe, overworked, spread thin, divorced mother of two, discovers the Wishful Thinking app on her phone she doesn't know what to think. The app does come with a warning that if she chooses to use it, Jennifer must contact the designer for some instruction prior to use. Feeling pressured at work to stay long hours, promised a twenty thousand dollar bonus for the completion of a community project and challenged by her ex-husband for a fairer custody agreement, Jennifer throws caution to the wind and creates an "event." Through the use of a secret bathroom on the eighteenth floor, Jennifer was able to time travel to attend her son's guitar recital and a scheduled staff meeting at work. Promising the designer, physicist Dr. Diane Sexton, that she will limit her use of the app, Jennifer soon becomes addicted to being "superwoman." When her worlds collide (who didn't see that coming) Jennifer allows her best friend and a work colleague in on her secret routine. Using her talent for time travel, Jennifer unveils an embezzler and like all superwomen, saves the day.

Told with humor and angst, Wicoff creates a fantasy world in which many working parents can relate and identify with daily. A tale of parenting, friends, love, divorce, romance and lack of sleep. This novel will appeal to many sleep deprived, guilt driven Mom's who can't do it all no matter how hard they try and will provoke many pool/beach side conversations.

Kamy Wicoff is the founder, with author Deborah Siegel, of SheWrites.com, the world's largest online community for women who write. She is also the founder, with publisher Brooke Warner, of She Writes Press. 

The grown ups by Robin Antalek. New York: William Morrow, 2013.    ***

"It was the summer all the children in the neighborhood caught a virus."

Suzie Epstein's 15th birthday party was derailed by an argument between her parents. Some speculated that Suzie started it all because she was the first to get sick, others wondered if there had been an adult supervising the party, others would not have caught it too. Or was it Suzie showing Sam Turner the box of photographs hidden in a closet on the top shelf in her father's room? How many mothers in the neighborhood were included in this private collection and what did inclusion mean? Suzie and Sam sharing their first serious kiss seem to seal an unspoken agreement, but Sam is not sure what he has agreed to.

 That summer of 1997 when vacations got cancelled, summer jobs started late and attendance at camps postponed; set in motion a chain of events with far reaching consequences masterfully crafted by Analtek. Told in alternating voices of Sam, Suzie and Bella, Analtek takes us on a journey of seemingly daily nondescript events, which add up to friendship, first love, marriage, heartbreak and family.

Antalek has certainly created powerful voices for her main characters, each vying for the opportunity to tell his or her story. Sam, Suzie and Bella grow up in the 15 years represented as time marches on.

I enjoyed this book, but it left me not quite satisfied with the story. Perhaps, it is my perspective and age, but I felt that at times it lacked the depth needed to convince me that the characters are "real." There were times when Antalek was a craftsman and I wanted more of that "voice." When I read fiction, I want to continue the story or wonder what the character is doing, saying, feeling now after the book ends. This book just didn't do that for me. I will look forward to reading additional work by Antalek and see her progression as a writer.