About the book: “From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured fAbout the book: “From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs.”
I want to confirm the above; you need not have read The Family Upstairs in order to read and l-o-v-e The Family Remains. That said, I think you’ll want to read both no matter what.
It all starts with a bang: detective Samuel Owusu is called to a scene where thirty year old bones are discovered… these bones are connected to a case that has never been solved. There are three other intricately drawn “mysteries” within the story that connect the characters, and I don’t want to spoil that part.
Picking up each breadcrumb, and there are many, I analyzed every detail, hoping to figure it all out. Now back to my first paragraph, I actually think you have to read The Family Upstairs first to truly to take the full journey with this book. There are lots of characters to keep straight, and the first book serves as the perfect foundation for getting to know them all. Dark and disturbing, The Family Remains is Lisa Jewell’s best thriller yet.
I finally read and listened to Black Buck! Now I see what everyone is talking about! If you are looking for a book that will make your laugh until youI finally read and listened to Black Buck! Now I see what everyone is talking about! If you are looking for a book that will make your laugh until your sides hurt, this is it! Black Buck is a witty satire and commentary on race and work in the US.
Written as a memoir/sales manual (I loved this format!), Black Buck is Darren’s story (he is nicknamed Buck). He has been working at Starbucks when he lands a sales job in a startup. He looks at this as an opportunity to make his mom proud. Darren’s journey isn’t an easy one once he begins working at SumWun. He has to fight far harder than his white colleagues for promotions and acknowledgements. Not only that, he’ll also be ridiculed and put down over and over again. Darren never gives up, though. He puts everything he has into his own survival at the company.
Black Buck offers so much for us to think about it in a perspective and voice from which I needed to hear. The messages are important, and I’m grateful to see this one receiving well-deserved buzz because we need more stories and voices like this.
I wish the author had not chosen to use the R word and on multiple occasions, too.
I’ve been talking about this book often the last couple months. What Could Be Saved is one of THE books I’ve most been looking forward to in 10 stars!
I’ve been talking about this book often the last couple months. What Could Be Saved is one of THE books I’ve most been looking forward to in 2021. I read The Possible World by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz in 2018 and knew right away she is my favorite kind of storyteller. Immersive, carefully constructed, and precise storytelling. Swipe to check out more pics.
What Could Be Saved is everything I hoped for and more. There is an intriguing mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire book, and this is not meant to be a thriller. The mystery involves the disappearance of a young boy, and early in the book, decades later, we learn he may have been found by his family.
Set between Bangkok, Thailand and Washington, DC, and in the 1970s to the near present, this is a story of a family “lost” for different reasons. Robert and Genevieve Preston move to Thailand with their three young children for Robert’s work “building a dam.” It becomes apparent his work is entirely different when they are still there years later. One day, their son, Phillip, is late being picked up from a judo lesson and is never seen again. It’s tragic, and the family is left to pick up the pieces for all the years to come. But as I mentioned earlier, Phillip reappears. It is really him? And where has he been?
What Could Be Saved is a book I’d recommend for everyone. Family dynamics, secrets, lies, trauma, pain, healing, hope, an intricately detailed plot, and a compelling mystery; this one has it all. It’s everything I love in a book, and of course, I gave it a big hug at the end, and not because things were tied up in a neat bow. The conclusion of the book felt realistic and worth the investment I had in these complex characters and their lives. Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend!
I received a gifted copy but also bought my own finished copy.
Wow, this was so much more than I expected it to be. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines starts off with Lila’sThank you, @randomhouse, for the gifted book.
Wow, this was so much more than I expected it to be. The Sweet Taste of Muscadines starts off with Lila’s mother passing away. What ensues is a witty southern story filled with secrets and so much heart.
Pamela Terry’s southern storytelling voice is strong from the start. I felt as if she were speaking directly to me. I could hear the Georgia drawl (or at least the sharp and sweet drawl of one of my dear friends who happens to be from Georgia).
The family dynamics and this story evolved into such a surprise I don’t want to give any of that away. I’ll just say that the mom, Geneva’s, death has a bit of mystery to it. Why was she found in that place? What happened to her? And what secrets may she have been trying to hide?
I enjoyed it all, and especially its messages about “home.” A completely satisfying read from a new voice I can’t wait to hear from again!
This long-running series has been my go-to for comfort reads for years. I have missed several of the more recent releases, but I’m happy to report thaThis long-running series has been my go-to for comfort reads for years. I have missed several of the more recent releases, but I’m happy to report that I was able to jump right in to Fortune and Glory and meet Stephanie where she was!
It felt good to be along for her foibles and escapades again. If you are a fan of this series, you are in for a treat, a good laugh, and maybe, finally the answer of who she’ll choose between Ranger and Morelli?!
We all go through difficulties in life, and at some of my most challenging moments, when I had to decide between reading and possibly nothing at all, I was able to pick up a Stephanie Plum book and laugh and feel soothed. That’s good stuff, and I’m grateful for books like this when we need them!
What a remarkable, stunning, memorable, huggable story. I read The Map of Salt and Stars by this author two years ago and could not imagine writing moWhat a remarkable, stunning, memorable, huggable story. I read The Map of Salt and Stars by this author two years ago and could not imagine writing more lyrical and descriptive. I loved every minute with that book, but wow. In The Thirty Names of Night, Zeyn Joukhadar has penned a masterpiece. Where The Map of Salt and Stars has symbolism with salt, Thirty Names has the symbolism and imagery of birds. I could go on and on about the stunning ways birds were integrated into the story.
The characters and timelines: I adored these characters. The two main characters and their relatives and friends are depicted with such warmth and humanity. There are two narrators. The first is unnamed for a large portion of the book as he claims his identity as trans. The second timeline takes place in the past with Laila narrating. Something happened that rarely happens for me and dual timeline books- I loved both periods of time equally and couldn’t wait to return to the other narrator with the alternating chapters.
Lastly, I have to mention culture, which I should have mentioned first (I want to mention allll of it first because I literally loved everything about this book). The Thirty Names of Night is steeped in Syrian and Syrian American culture, the history of Syrians in the US, and Little Syria in NYC. It’s about friendship (these friends- these loyal, loving friends), it’s about family- both biological and found family. The Thirty Names of Night is a profound story, one to savor, feel, and not rush through, one on which to reflect and learn. I’m grateful to the author for the ending, one that really couldn’t be topped and showed his immense love for these characters.
Have you read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Sadly, I have not, though it’s waiting on my shelf, along with all of Betty Smith’s other books now. While reaHave you read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Sadly, I have not, though it’s waiting on my shelf, along with all of Betty Smith’s other books now. While reading Tomorrow Will Be Better, I picked up two newer editions of A Tree and bought the other two rediscovered classics, Maggie-Now and Joy in the Morning, released by Harper Perennial in November. I wish Betty Smith had written more novels, and I promise you, I would read them all.
I’ve read that Betty Smith was a born storyteller, and I would agree. I was invited in to this story and these complex characters’ lives. I knew their struggles and their fears, as well as their hearts. Brooklyn in the 1920s came to life in these pages- the families, businesses, and sense of community. In some ways this is a simple or quiet story, which happens to be what I love best because I have time and space to reflect even deeper on the meaning. I can’t wait to pick up the other books, and I hope it won’t take me too long.
Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader
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