Review: The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore

As parents we raise our children to adulthood and launch them into the world hoping that they have learned to stand on their own two feet and will be happy. And once we send them out into the world, we want them to come home to visit, briefly filling the empty nest with life and noise and chaos, before heading back into their own grown-up existence. But as children, when things aren't going well and it's all we can do to hold it together, we turn first to our parents, even after we are grown. In Meg Mitchell Moore's debut novel, empty nest parents welcome their children and grandchildren home only to discover that the children are struggling and intend to stay for a while. Going from two quiet older people to a house packed with 6 adults and 2 small children, life changes very quickly and Moore captures it in all its messy reality in this well-written and charmingly perceptive novel.

First to come home to Ginny and William is oldest daughter Lillian. After discovering that her husband cheated on her, she packed her three year old daughter and new infant son into the car and headed home to her parents. To them and to the inquisitive Olivia, she's only said that she has come home for the summer for vacation, prefering to nurse her broken heart and to feed her anger in private but still within the comfort of her family circle. Next to descend on the home in Vermont is son Stephen and his very pregnant, workaholic wife Jane. Not wanting to be gone from home too long, they intend to only stay the weekend until Jane has a scare, is put on bed rest, and told to remain in Vermont at Ginny and William's, where Stephen will have to defend his desire to be a stay at home dad and Jane will be forced to scale back on her job even as she tries to head off a work crisis and to come to a better understanding of her mother-in-law all from the excruciatingly boring state of bedrest. Last to drift home the summer of the full house, is youngest daughter Rachel, the baby of the family who has lost her capacity for joy. She is on the verge of crumbling both emotionally and financially, not entirely knowing what she wants out of life but being too saddened and dissatisfied to think much into the future.

With all these disparate people living in tight proximity, even if it is a very loving proximity, tensions simmer and erupt as each person's needs and habits rub up against the others. Moore has captured beautifully the mixed emotions of such a situation. She has drawn characters who are are completely true to life facing everyday sorts of challenges and yet they are never mundane or boring. Their struggles are universal and completely relatable. As they all face the life they've chosen, each character is lucky enough to be cared for and loved by the others, allowed room to breathe even if they occasionally irritate and annoy each other. Precisely what families are best at.

Most of all, the summer of unexpectedly communal living allows each of the characters to grow, to come to an understanding or acceptance of his or her situation, and to decide where to go next. It allows them all to find contentment in the present and weather the bumps in the road as just what they are, merely bumps in the road of life. Moore has written a delightful, entertaining, and positive novel. She captures beautifully the tensions among a family where members really do love each other most of the time. The dynamics between parent and adult child are spot-on. And her ability to portray the mixed emotions of empty nesters who have happily welcomed grown children home only to find they miss their quiet and ordered life is fantastic. This is not so much a domestic drama as a skillful, accurate portrait of modern life.

For more information about Meg Mitchell Moore and the book visit her webpage, her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to Anna from Reagan Arthur Books for sending me a copy of the book for review.

Review: Skinny by Diana Spechler

We hear again and again how obsessed we as a culture are with the cult of the skinny. The media bombards us with the message that only bone thin is acceptable. The diet industry is a multi-million dollar cash cow. Weight is a health issue, a social issue, and a personal issue. And it's a rare woman who has not faced at least some struggles with weight or body image.

The main character of Spechler's Skinny, Gray Lachmann is not fat. At best, she's currently chunky. She's spent her whole life being thin but after her father's death, for which she feels culpable, she medicates herself through food, packing on the pounds. Instead of facing her grief, she eats and eats and eats until she is burstingly full. But she stays hungry. And when as the executor of her father's will, she learns of a trust set up for an unknown woman, she does some digging and discovers the existence of a teenaged girl who must be her half sister, the product of her father's affair. When she learns, via Eden's blog, that she will be spending the summer at a fat camp, Gray promptly applies for a job as a counselor, determined to meet and befriend her sister.

But Gray carries her own food and emotional demons to camp with her and rather than mentoring the campers, she stays at a remove from them. She does try to advocate for the kids as she discovers more and more just what sort of charlatan is running the camp and how unqualified and shoddy everything connected to Camp Carolinas is but she is so immersed in her own dramas, guilt over her father's death, a growing estrangement from her long-term boyfriend, a developing flirtation with the camp's buff fitness director, and her own burgeoning anorexia, that she doesn't even see so many of the things going so terribly wrong at the camp. Worse yet, Eden, Gray's entire reasno for being at the camp in the first place, has no interest in befriending Gray, wanting desperately instead to fit in with the cool girls at camp.

Written from Gray's perspective, the novel taps into the multi-faceted feelings that are so commonly associated with food issues: loathing, depression, anger, helplessness. Food is a panacea, the option that dulls the intensity of these negative emotions, at least as long as Gray is still chewing. When Gray stops eating and starts shedding the weight, she is high and powerful, superficially in control, and the storyline reflects that but it also still contains the seeds of destruction as Gray has acknowledged but not faced the root cause of her previous binging behaviour. The emotional portrayal in the novel is spot on. And while the reader might not like Gray or her decisions very much, it is clearly evident that we aren't the only ones. Gray herself doesn't like herself very much either. As Gray unravels, the plot takes some unexpected twists that make it all the better for their appearances. As often as Gray details the quirks and personalities of those around her, as characters, they stay backgrounded and a bit thin, as ironic as that sounds given that almost all of the characters are in actual fact fat. A quick read, one that kept my attention, I could relate easily to portions of the story, having fought a weight battle for much of my adult life. I don't know that it will have changed my relationship with the scale, but it certainly did give me pause, help me examine my own food demons a bit closer, and offer me an enjoyable afternoon of reading.


For more information about Diana Spechler and the book visit her webpage, her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter.

Thanks to Trish from TLC Book Tours and the publisher for sending me a copy of the book for review.

Review: Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax

Sometimes a light and fun book is exactly what the doctor ordered. I actually have a full shelf of books set aside for the very fact that they have been recommended to me as just such books. Some of them are supposed to make me laugh. Others are just supposed to be romping good stories. And when I see a new Wendy Wax book out, I know that I am going to have another addition to my shelf, one that is guaranteed to deliver what it promises and to let me slip seamlessly into the world in the pages for a few hours.

Three very different women, taken in by a Ponzi scheme and who have lost everything, unite to rehab the only asset they now own, third shares in a large but neglected mansion on Pass-a-Grill beach near Tampa. As they work to bring Bella Flora back to its former glory so that they can sell it and recoup at least some of their catastrophic losses, the women become friends. But the secrets they are hiding from each other could prove more devastating and unsurmountable than the amount of work they have to do on the house.

Madeline, a stay at home mother and wife, discovers, almost by accident, that her husband has been laid off from his investment firm job for over six months. Not only had he invested his clients' money in Bernie Madoff-like Malcolm Dyer's Ponzi scheme but he'd sunk all of their own money as well as his mother's in the too good to be true portfolio. And once he has told her the truth, Steve retreats to the couch and a state of complete depressed catatonia. As if losing their life savings isn't bad enough, the mother-in-law who has long disliked her has had to move in with them thanks to declining health, her daughter calls and asks to come home after having gotten pregnant by a married Hollywood star and then fired from her film job as a result, and her college-aged son loses his scholarship because of bad grades. The sky could not fall any further in on her.

Avery is the disgruntled sexy side-kick on a home renovation show with her now ex-husband. Despite being the driving force behind the show in the beginning, and the one with the architecture degree, she has allowed herself to be sidelined almost to the point of being a prop. And then she is let go. Still grieving the sudden loss of her father the year before, she is horrified to learn that her entire inheritance has been lost in Malcolm Dyer's investments.

Nicole is a high profile matchmaker who deals in fulfilling the requirements of her wealthy clients. She is under no illusions about love, except perhaps the love she still has for her younger brother, the one she mothered during the years they lived in dire poverty as their mother worked around the clock just to survive. The problem is that Nicole's brother is the infamous Malcolm Dyer and he stole everything she had too. She's lost her business, her home, and all the trappings of success that she worked so hard for after vowing that she would never again live like she lived as a child.

Each of the women travels down to Pass-a-Grill to look at her last remaining hope, the dilapidated mansion in which they each have shares, determined to sell the house and try to get back to some semblence of a normal life. But the house is worth much more rehabbed than it is "as is" and the women, each keeping the secret not only of the ruinous state of her own finances but of the even more dire situations in their backgrounds, commit to bringing Bella Flora back to its original glory with a little help from the contractor son of Avery's dad's old partner. And as they rebuild this glorious old house, they rebuild their own lives as well, becoming stronger and more confident people into the bargain.

The main characters are delightful. Each of the women faces different challenges and has to learn to push past the defeat and create the sort of life she wants to lead. The secondary characters are just as well drawn and appealing as the main characters and help the main characters make the changes they need to make to grow and develop into the people they want to be. While there are men swarming all over Bella Flora, as it is transformed, it is refreshing that this did not turn into three (or four) love stories where a romantic relationship passes for change and growth. Instead, the women become stronger and more capable on their own, showing real change and growth and any relationship chemistry takes a backseat to their own senses of empowerment and dawning strength. A quick and engrossing read, this is the perfect book to accompany a beach chair and a frozen drink. The reader will almost wish to be in said beach chair, frozen drink in hand, next to these three fictional but remarkable women as they find and share their "one good thing" at the end of each long day.

For more information about Wendy Wax and the book visit her webpage and her Facebook page

Thanks to Lisa from TLC Book Tours and the publisher for sending me a copy of the book for review.

Waiting on Wednesday

This meme is hosted by Breaking the Spine and is meant to highlight some great pre-publication books we all can't wait to get our grubby little mitts on.

For me, I can't wait to read: The Ninth Wife by Amy Stolls. The book is being released by Harper Paperbacks on May 10, 2011.

HarperCollins says this about the book: Thirty-five-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist Bess Gray is a single woman living in Washington, D.C. who falls in love with Rory, a charming Irish musician with a secret. When Rory asks her to marry him, Bess, who had nearly given up hope of marrying at all, is horrified to find that he has eight ex-wives. She sets out on a cross-country journey with the intention, unbeknownst to Rory, of seeking them out. In alternating chapters, Rory ruminates about each of his ex-wives and how he became a serial spouse.

Along for the ride are Bess’s grandparents who’ve been married 65 years and fight constantly, her gay neighbor (himself an utter mystery), a Shar-Pei named Stella, and a mannequin named Peace. Will Bess say yes to Rory? Would a sane woman really consider becoming any man’s ninth wife?

Review: When Did I Get Like This? by Amy Wilson

Everyone knows just how easy it is to parent children and to hold fast to the convictions we cherish about parenting, especially before we are ever actually faced with a living, breathing human being who has no qualms about making it abundantly clear that he or she was put on the planet only to rattle and test these self-same convictions. I know I looked askance at parents who parked their children in front of the television too long, who leashed their kids in public places, who fell prey to fast food and junky convenience food (mac and cheese in the blue box anyone?), and so on and so forth. Then I had my own wee people and learned that it was easy to be sanctimonious until faced with my own offspring. Then I was just plain worn down and willing to compromise. I jokingly admit to being a slacker mom, which really just means I'm doing my best even if my once impossibly high standards are now no more than curb height. But it is good to know I am not alone in this.

Subtitled The Screamer, the Worrier, the Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget-Buyer, and Other Mothers I Swore I'd Never Be, I read Amy Wilson's mothering essays and wondered if she had been spying on my life. So many of the situations she faces with her crew of three mirror what I faced with my crew of three. (As the mother of older children, I should probably not tell her that what she is facing now is merely the tip of the iceberg. I think it's almost kinder to let people discover the exponential increase that is the rule of parenting growing kids all on their own; that way they can't run away screaming even before faced with these new, more fun situations.) But Wilson has captured beautifully the humor and frustration involved not only with daily life when you live with the under four foot set, but also the ways in which society has dictated standards that Average Mom can't possibly maintain if she wants to stay sane.

Her honest and balanced accounts of the choices she's made throughout her life as a parent thus far are not presented as the be all end all of choices. In fact, more than anything, she advocates finding the things that fit for your particular family and letting the rest of society's expectations fall by the wayside. Her own family life and anecdotes about her children lead into more generalized musings on bigger, universal themes and the ways in which we live up to or fail to live up to the sometimes ridiculous standards we have created even as we find our own right way. While some of her parenting choices are different than mine, I could relate to her desire to do what is best for her kids and to learn that sometimes relaxing and going with the flow, even if if that means an iCarly catatonia, is the very best thing to do. I thoroughly enjoyed these essays and wish her the best of luck as she goes forward into the older years. As my grandmother says, "Little people, little problems. Big people, big problems." But I have no doubt that Wilson will tackle the bigger problems with the same grace and humor with which she has tackled these and I'll happily be on hand to read about them.

For more information about Amy Wilson and the book visit her webpage, her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter. Wilson also has a one woman show called Mother Load and you can find out more information about it on the blog, Facebook, and the website.

Thanks to Trish from TLC Book Tours and the publisher for sending me a copy of the book for review.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Spring break and a dance competition the past handful of weekends combined to ensure that my reading and reviewing were minimal the past two weeks. Oh well! Can't always live my life with my nose in a book. :-) This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Books I completed this week are:

West of Here by Jonathan Evison
Made For You and Me by Caitlin Shetterly
Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcolm

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Vagabond by Colette

Reviews posted this week:

The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert
The Long Goodbye by Meghan O'Rourke
The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcolm

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French
Strange Relation by Rachel Hadas
Slow Love by Dominique Browning
West of Here by Jonathan Evison
Made For You and Me by Caitlin Shetterly

Monday Mailbox

A little late getting to this, this is two weeks worth of books. Going away for the weekend makes it less likely that I get my lovely mailbox posted in a timely manner. But better late than never! This past two week's mailbox arrivals:

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok came from Riverhead Trade thanks to Erin at Penguin.
I have such a soft spot for immigrant stories, especially Asian-American immigrant stories.

Next by James Hynes came from Reagan Arthur Books.
Stalking, terrorism, and a job search. Sounds incongruous, no? But I bet it makes for a great comedic combination.

To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal came from Little, Brown and Company.
A love story that looks at what might have been. Can't wait!

Unsaid by Neil Abramson came from Center Street.
Narrated by a recently deceased vet, this story about life, relationship, and the mystery of animal consciousness sounds phenomenal.

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas came from Harper.
After a visit to Turkey many years ago, I am always attracted to books set there and this historical fiction appeals greatly.

Wherever Grace Is Needed by Elizabeth Bass came from the author.
I enjoyed her previous book a lot and this family centered tale looks to be as wonderful and touching as the last one.

The Watery Part of the World by Michael Parker came from Algonquin.
A boat and water on the cover? I don't even care what the book is about! But a double stranded narrative set on an island and the people who live there is enticing too.

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin came from William Morrow.
The fourth wife in a modern polygamous Nigerian marriage changes the balance of the family in this great sounding novel renamed The Secret Lives of the Four Wives in paperback.

When We Danced on Water by Evan Fallenberg came from Harper Perennial thanks to Trish at TLC Book Tours for a blog tour.
With a dancing daughter, I love to read about people who live in the dance world and the way that their art informs their whole lives.

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy came from Voice.
A WWII novel set on the island of Guernsey, this story of a woman who falls in love with a German living next door while her own husband is off fighting the war sounds fabulous.

As always, if you'd like to see the marvelous goodies in other people's mailboxes, make sure to visit Mari Reads as she is hosting this month's Mailbox Monday and have fun seeing how we are all doing our part to keep the USPS and delivery services viable.