State of Wonder by Ann Pachett

I read the book jacket of this book and didn't think I would really be interested in it. But I do like Pachett's books so I decided to take a chance. (Did you ever meet anyone braver than I am!). I actually listened to the audiobook and the reader did a great job. The story centers around a pharmaceutical company in Minnesota. They have a researcher, Dr. Swenson, who is studying a tribe in the Amazon jungle. The women in this tribe are having babies in their sixties and beyond. I don't know who would find that appealing but the company thinks there is big, big money for them if they can figure out why. Swenson has been down there for years with very little contact much to the dismay of the greedy company. So the company has sent Anders Eckman to check things out. Before Anders relays any useful information, word is sent that Anders has died of an illness. Now they send Dr. Marina Singh off to check on things for the company and see what she can find out about Ander's death at the request of his widow. I quickly became involved in the novel and enjoyed every minute of it. Complex characters, a geography and culture lesson, a bit of romance and of course......a mystery! What did happen to Anders and why won't Dr. Swenson call home????

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

I am so hooked on Lisa See's books! If you loved Amy Tan's books but haven't tried See's, you need to rush to the library because you have a treat in store. My history background is lacking when it comes to China so I have been getting an education along with my entertainment. Dreams of Joy is a follow up book to Shanghai Girls. That was the story of Pearl and May two sisters who escaped from China (the Japanese were invading) and came to L.A. Now it is 20 years later and Pearl's daughter Joy has escaped L.A. (no invasion - she is just angry with her family, idealistic and really didn't think this all through) to go to Shanghai. She finds her biological father, a famous artist, and goes with him out in the countryside where he will be teaching people to draw. (Not people with talent, just people - part of Mao's Great Leap Forward.) Joy thinks it is all a wonderful idea, she is with her wonderful father, and falls in love with a wonderful guy. That is the first part of the book - after that it is not so wonderful. Pearl risks everything to return to China and bring her daughter home. It was a terrific book. I have learned more about China from this author than I ever did in school! Highly recommended - but read Shanghai Girls first!

Room by Emma Donoghue

This book is really different! It is told from the voice of a five-year-old boy named Jack. It begins on his fifth birthday. Jack doesn't have a party like most five-year-old kids because his life is different. He has spent all five years of his life in one room. His mother has tried to make his life as normal as she can. From Jack's point of view she has been completely successful because he knows no other way of living. His mom does whatever she can to keep Jack's mind stimulated, his body healthy and his heart full of love. Eventually they are able to escape - but there is no way for Jack to escape the consequences of spending his whole life in one room. It is a fascinating book.

Escape by Barbara Delinsky

I can't imagine that every woman has not thought of escaping her life at one time or another - even if only for a day. That is why it is easy for the reader to understand Emily and her 'escape'. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Tim. Well, 'live' might be a bit overstated. They reside there but as for living, there is not a lot of that. Both she and Tim are lawyers. Tim is hoping to become a partner in his law firm in a few months, so he has been working insane hours. Emily thought she would take her law degree and help victims of corporate greed/abuse. Part of it came true. She spends her days calling victims - but she is doing it to help the corporation, not the victims. And is she at least calling from a comfortable office? No. It's a cubicle. One day she has had it. She walks out of work, packs and drives away (in her husband's car that he is very fond of!). None of this was planned but she soon knows where she is headed. During college she spent a summer in New Hampshire. Before the invention of the cell phone I am sure it was much easier to escape. But Emily has to try and explain to her husband, to her boss and to her parents what she is doing - pretty tough because she doesn't know what she is doing! An entertaining book.

10th Anniversary by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

This is the tenth (in case you missed that reference in the title) book in the Women's Murder Club series. I don't read many of Patterson's anymore but I never miss a book in this series. For those who are not familiar with the members of this club, they are Detective Lindsay (who has just gotten married), Assistant D.A. Yuki Castellano and Cindy, a newswoman (whose last name I can not remember!). Lindsay is investigating the case of a teenager who was left for dead. She has a newborn baby who is missing. Yuki is prosecuting a woman who (alledgedly!) murdered her husband. She is under a lot of pressure to win a convinction. As always, it is fun to read about the interaction between the friends as they try to solve crime.

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Hannah writes good books and this one is no exception. Like the book I blogged about previously, this is another cautionary tale - this time it is about teens and drinking. The book opens with an introduction about Lexi, the daughter of a drugged-out mother. She has been in and out of foster homes for years. Her life changes when her social worker tells her that she has great news - Lexi does have a living relative even though her mom always said there was no one. It is her great aunt, Eva. Although Eva lives in a trailer with not much money, she welcomes Lexi into her home and gives her the love that Lexi has always craved. Her first day of school (high school) is scary, but she has been in this situation many times before. Feeling the rejection in the lunchroom she heads outside and sees a girl sitting by herself. When she approaches her, the girl (Mia) warns Lexi that to be seen with her is 'social suicide'. Immediately the two bond and Mia takes Lexi home to meet her family. Mia's dad is a doctor, her twin brother Zach is the heart-throb in town and her mom, Jude, is mother-of-the-year material. Over the next few years Lexi becomes an integral part of the family. Until one tragic night. The characters are likable and believable. It is a story of love, despair and forgiveness. It's a good one - don't miss it!

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman

The Bergamots are a normal middle-class family in the process of transitioning to a different life. They have left a small college town to move to New York City. It is a great career move for Richard. His wife Liz has given up her academic life to see that the children get settled in. Jake is 15 and although he was nervous about finding friends, he has landed in a group at his private school. Coco is the six-year-old whom they adopted from Chinese. One of her new friends is having a birthday night at the Plaza Hotel (with mothers invited!). Jake is off that night to his own party. It is not chaperoned and things are a bit wild. Daisy, an eighth-grader, finds Jake attractive and makes some advances. Jake tells her she is too young and thinks that is the end of it. But the next morning he receives an email with an attachment from Daisy that is rated XXX. He should have deleted it but instead he forwards it to his friend Henry. Henry calls Jake immediately but it goes to voice mail before he can answer. By the time he retrieves the message from Henry, it has been forwarded on, and on and on. This is the story of how social media can ruin lives in the blink of an eye. It is a horror story if you have kids who have access to computers. I don't, but I still found it to be very scary.