I just finished reading One Day by David Nicholls. The story follows the lives of Dexter and Emma by returning to them on the same day every year to see what has happened to each of them, as well as where their relationship has gone. It's a good concept. However, I found myself wanting to slap both Dexter and Emma throughout the book (or at least flick them in the forehead). I was frustrated with the missed opportunities that they had, and their lack of communication was depressing to me. I guess that's what makes them believable, this is what people do.
There are several funny moments. I loved the letters that they wrote to each other. As I have heard many people say, this will obviously be headed to the movies. I won't give away anything about then ending, but I will say that it was predictable for me. It wasn't a feel-good story in my opinion, although realistic. In this case, realistic was a frustrating read.
Someone on Goodreads suggested reading this novel without reading the book flap first. It was easy to take that advice since I purchased this one as an ebook. I resisted the temptation to look up the description, and therefore I had no idea what was coming. So I won't post a summary here for those of you who haven't read it. With that said, this is an excellent, sad, heartbreaking novel. She really captures you with her writing. I haven't tried any of her other books, but now I intend to. I'm sure that this one will stick in my mind for a long time. At the moment, it has me just sad...I need cupcakes....definitely chocolate cupcakes. (I'd give it a 5/5).
Broken for You is one of those books that I've had on my shelf forever, which got there because someone I know loved it, and was lost for a few years in the piles. I'm not sure why I noticed it now, but I am glad that I did. Although some things about the characters made them unbelievable, other things about them spoke directly to me. Wanda was dealing with abandonment, both by her parents and by a man that she loved. Margaret was dealing with personal loss as well as family secrets that were a burden to her. The relationship that the two women build throughout the story was wonderful to read. Here is the actual book description from the back:
When we meet septuagenarian Margaret Hughes, she is living alone in a mansion in Seattle with only a massive collection of valuable antiques for company. Enter Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come west to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent many years building up protective armor against the outside world. As their tentative friendship evolves, the armor begins to fall away and Margaret opens her house to the younger woman. This launches a series of unanticipated events, leading Margaret to discover a way to redeem her cursed past, and Wanda to learn the true purpose of her cross-country journey. Both funny and heartbreaking, Broken for You is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world's wrongs.
Jenna Blum's first novel, Those Who Save Us, is one of my favorite books over the recent years so I was very excited to read her new novel as soon as it came out. The Stormchasers is a very different story, but her ability to create amazing characters is consistent. Here is the book description:
As a teenager, Karena Jorge had always been the one to look out for her twin brother Charles, who suffers from bipolar disorder. But as Charles begins to refuse medication and his manic tendencies worsen, Karena finds herself caught between her loyalty to her brother and her fear for his life. Always obsessed with the weather-enraptured by its magical unpredictability that seemed to mirror his own impulses- Charles starts chasing storms, and his behavior grows increasingly erratic . . . until a terrifying storm chase with Karena ends with deadly consequences, tearing the twins apart and changing both of their lives forever.
Two decades later, Karena gets a call from a psychiatric ward in Wichita, Kansas, to come pick up her brother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for twenty years. She soon discovers that Charles has lied to the doctors, taken medication that could make him dangerously manic, and disappeared again. Having exhausted every resource to try and track him down, Karena realizes she has only one last chance of finding him: the storms. Wherever the tornadoes are, that's where he'll be. Karena joins a team of professional stormchasers-passionate adventurers who will transform her life and give her a chance at love and redemption- and embarks on an odyssey to find her brother before he reveals the violent secret from their past and does more damage to himself . . . or to someone else.
I love the character of Karena. She struggles with her commitment to Charles and how it is preventing her from having a life of her own. The connections the author has made between the cycling patterns of tornadoes and the rapid-cycling of bipolar disorder are fascinating. It was hard to like the character of Charles, but I felt for him.
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin is a series of connected short stories. The characters are linked together by their employment with K. K. Harouni, a powerful landowner, or by their familial relationships with him. It takes place in Islamabad and rural Pakistan. Much of the focus is on several of Harouni's house servants. Each character is coping with some circumstances that are out of their control, while social status, wealth, and gender all play into their struggles.
I was easily pulled into this book. It was interesting to see how one story may impact another. I was somewhat disappointed at the message of hopelessness. I wanted more happy endings for some of the characters. However, I would still say that it's a very good read. It would be a great choice for readers who like the genre.
