Big Brother by Lionel Shriver

Lionel Shriver writes fiction that deals with "issues." One of my favorite books is her novel, So Much For That, which dealt with cancer.  This one deals with obesity. It's a great read and really gets the you thinking about overeating and underachieving.
The main character, Pandora, runs a successful business in the middle of Iowa - but it's a quirky thing, an idea that "took off" and made her rich and somewhat famous. She's appeared on the cover of New York Magazine as an example of a woman entrepreneur who made it. Her brother, Edison, sees her there and when he runs into hard times calls to ask if he can come and stay with her and her family for a bit.
When she picks him up at the airport, she barely recognizes him; her once slim and nice-looking brother is now nearly 400 pounds! And he's pretty miserable and obnoxious. Fletcher, Pandora's finicky husband (and a health nut!) has no patience for Edison and things flare up out of control in the family. (There are two children, Fletcher's from his first marriage, who get embroiled in the mess as well.) Fletcher pretty  much tells Pandora that it's him or me and she chooses Edison, taking him on as a "project."  She asks for a year to see if she can get Edison to lose the weight and get his life as a jazz musician back on track.
There's an interesting twist at the end of the book that was surprising to me, but with hindsight, was perfect! Pandora allows her brother to swallow her whole life; I bought it, because of the family history that is a big part of the story as well. But how many sisters would do that?
There's a lot going on in this novel. I must say, I really enjoyed it. I like Shriver as an author and plan to read her other novels as well.

The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty

After just reading Defending Jacob, I was not sure I was up for another novel about a young teen whose life is changed forever because they are responsible for taking another's life. In this case, it was an accident (Kara, the high school senior) hits a classmate while driving her mom's SUV.  She was on the phone, fooling around with her friend and just careless. And she knows it and her guilt is overwhelming.
What this book is really about, however, is the relationship between Kara and her mom, Leigh, who has had a pretty awful childhood, but is now married with two children. Her own mother was not really much of a mother and abandoned Leigh while she was still in high school; Leigh had to survive on her own. And she did, but not without consequence. How Leigh and Kara begin to communicate and develop an understanding is the real crux of the book. Kara says to her mom, "....you don't like me." This confrontation between mother and daughter is pretty powerful stuff.
Kara actually tells her mother that she (Leigh) has been nicer to her since the accident happened. "You should have told me this was all it would take for you to like me. I would have just killed someone a long time ago." A little dramatic - yes - but this confrontation wakes Leigh up to how her own childhood has caused her to build a shell around herself
In the end, I liked this book more than Defending Jacob for the characterizations and psychological aspect of how the "murder" impacted the family.

Dear Lucy by Julie Sarkissian

Not sure what prompted me to pick up this book when I found it in the Library one day. I think I had read about it somewhere and the jacket enticed me with favorable reactions from some of my favorite authors: Ann Hood and Joyce Carol Oates. The novel did not disappoint! It is a very different style of writing, I will say.
The story is told from the different perspectives of the novel's characters. Lucy is the main character and she is developmentally disabled. She is living on a farm with Mister and Missus and another young girl (pregnant) named Samantha.  Mum mum, Lucy's mom, is always present, but not always physically.  Lucy is on the farm because her mom can't deal with her, and when she is agitated, it's apparent that life with Lucy is very challenging. Samantha has been sent away from her home, too, because of her "condition."
There are some interesting techniques that the author uses to have Lucy communicate, even with her limited capability.  Jennifer, her "pet" chick, speaks for her and through this character we learn what Lucy is thinking.  This is a story about motherhood and its natural pull on those who bear children.
There is a lot of  sorrow and heartbreak in this novel and it's a gripping story, but with a very strange ending. I am not sure that I liked the ending, but can't think how I would have ended it differently.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

What a great read! Intriguing, good character development, interesting premise and plot.  The story takes place in Newton, MA, which is a comfortable, well-to-do suburb of Boston. A murder takes place and it's a young teenage boy, Ben Rifkin, stabbed in the park on his way to school. Jacob Barber ends up getting charged in the murder - he happens to be the son of Andy Barber who is the Assistant District Attorney, and he is well respected in the community.

But as we learn more, the fact that Jacob is accused is not so far-fetched. Turns out that Andy comes from a lineage of murderers. Does Jacob have this gene? Why hasn't Andy told his wife Laurie about his relatives - his father!

The story is suspenseful and gripping and the end is a shocker! But I won't give it away.