The Submission by Amy Waldman

This was such a thoughtful and well written book. I really took my time reading it because I wanted to think about the characters and the issues and the politics presented.
The story...yes, it is fiction, takes place after 9/11 and opens with a jury debating the various design submissions for a memorial at the site of the attacks. The panel consists mainly of artists, and there is one woman, Claire, who is the spouse of a victim. She rallies for one design, which most of the others haven't chosen as their first selection. Claire's influence, probably because of her status as "family member," helps to bring the others to her side.
The submission and selection process is anonymous; the jury do not know the identities of the artists/architects who have submitted designs.
When the name of the artist selected is revealed as Mohammad Khan, outcry from the public is loud and antagonistic. Khan is American, and pretty mainstream at that. While he is a Muslim, he is not a practicing one and is basically non political.
The novel describes conflicts, mind shifts, prejudices and sensitivities of the characters and the public during this difficult time in our history.
There are several very interesting characters and

Light from a Distant Planet by Mary McGarry Morris

This was not on my "Want to Read" list because I didn't know that Mary McGarry Morris had a new book out. She is one of my FAVORITE authors, especially "Songs in Ordinary Time." I want to read that again now.
I really enjoyed this book although I have to say, at the beginning it seemed slow. But she was building up the characters so strongly at the beginning and that ends up being so crucial to the story.
I went online and read some reviews of people who compared the main character, Nellie, to Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Yes, there are similarities. Both are extremely ethical and honest. And they feel that they have a special "sense" when it comes to understanding people. And Nellie does.
She is a very well drawn character. This coming of age story is a murder mystery, coming of age, and family drama. I really liked this book and found myself actually reading passages over again. Nellie's struggle to "do the right thing" causes so  many conflicts with her family and within herself.

Room by Emma Donoghue

Thank goodness I persisted and that my friends encouraged me to persist. Because the first time I took this book out of the library, I read a few pages, got discouraged, drew conclusions about it that were not even to close to what the book is about, and returned it.
I am so glad that I listened. What an amazingly intelligent and creative work of fiction! Room is told from the voice of Jack, a five year old boy who has lived his entire life in an 11 by 11 foot room with his mother, a captive - the victim of a rapist and kidnapper. She was "stolen" by a bad man (the way Jack describes it) on her way to the college Library and has been living there for about seven years. Jack is the man's son, but that is really never discussed between Ma and Jack.
Jack knows no other world and his days are full and rich the way he tells it.  There are "thousands of things" to do every morning and Ma has set up his life for him in a very interesting and rich way. Jack is happy most of the time, except when Ma is Gone. Everything in Jack's life is a proper noun: Room, Bed, Wardrobe, Rug, and the outside world in Outer Space. What he sees on TV is not real to him. Only he and Ma and Old Nick are real. Ma constructs a world for Jack that explains everything for him in a way he can accept and even love.
When she choreographs their escape, using Jack (what a bold and brave scenario she creates and gets Jack to go along with!) to accomplish the task, she ends up bringing Jack into a world that he is fears and hates. It was safer for him in Room; he becomes the focus of tabloid headlines when their escape makes it to the news.  He does't understand this new world. Why shouldn't Ma breastfeed him? How can those people who "live in the television" have depth and size? How would they fit?
Jack meets a whole new family and has to live without Ma for a while because she needs time to adjust to life again. He knows no other life than that which he had with her in Room.
Read "Room."  You will not be disappointed!

Now You See Me by SJ Bolton

This was an interesting psychological thriller, recounting the episodes of a "Jack the Ripper" copycat murderer.  On the anniversary of the original Jack the Ripper's first killing, a young detective, Lacey Flint, finds herself holding onto a dying woman while leaning against her car in East London, where the original murders took place.  She feels responsible for the woman's death because she was with her during her last breaths of life. Could she have caught the killer? The woman was still alive and her blood still warm and fresh!
Lacey soon receives a call from a journalist who supposedly got a letter from the killer and it shows that the killer is a Jack the Ripper copycat.
Lacey is somewhat of an expert on Jack and her knowledge becomes useful to the investigation.
Lacey becomes a suspect herself in the eyes of her nemesis, Mark Jonesbury, also on the case.
Throughout the book, it is clear that there is a link between Lacey and the murderer.  It turns out, also, that these murders have something to do with a set of twins and that Lacey is somehow involved.
I won't give any more away, but just say that it was a fast read - a good  mystery. Now on to more serious stuff!

Three Stages of Amazement by Carol Edgarian

I really enjoyed this contemporary American novel, dealing with one woman's challenging life in San Francisco in the beginning of the Obama presidency. Lena's husband, Charlie Pepper, is a successful doctor who seeks to abandon his practice to sell his invention, a device that will allow him to perform surgery remotely.
He sacrifices home and the responsibilities there for this dream and risks losing his wife and family life.
A complication arises when Lena's uncle Cal Rusch offers venture capital to support Charlie's project; without this money, the project could die.  Lena despises her uncle with good reason. But I won't give that away, nor will I give away how the issue is resolved.
The Peppers have two interesting children who are demanding; Charlie has little to do with them, but Lena works to keep the home front stable despite Charlie's absence. The theme of the struggle of love vs money is ever present in this novel.
The characters are interesting and real and the challenges they face equally so.
The book is so rooted in the present tense; references to Bernie Madoff, the troubled economy, the Obama presidency, all make for a very relevant read!

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

I found this at the library one day and since I liked her other book so much, I checked it out. Chevy Stevens does manage to write compelling, fast-moving novels. But I don't know that I can say this is a great book. The novel tells the story of a woman who was adopted early in life and who struggles when she finds out that her father is a serial killer and she is the product of a rape. She tries to help the local police find and apprehend her father, when he starts to seek her out to establish a relationship with her.
There is one "twist" in the novel that I will not reveal but it seemed a bit contorted to me.

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

This is an interesting coming-of-age story, but there are two young women at the heart; they are half-sisters, having the same father. James Witherspoon is a secret bigamist. The two daughters are just four months apart in age and each lives with a mother who is married to James.  Only one of them live with him full time and in public.  The first part of the book is told from the point of view of Dana Yarboro, a pretty and smart young woman who, with her mother Gwen, "surveil" to check up on James and his other family. The second part of the book is told from the point of view of Bunny Chaurisse Witherspoo, who is not as pretty as Dana, but has the advantage of having her father in her life full time. 


Dana always feels second best and she does get a secondary role in James' life. James tries his best not to have the girls' paths cross. But they do meet and of course, their friendship sets their worlds toward an inevitable collision.  


The fact that the story is told from both perspectives makes for an interesting read. At first, the reader feels that Chaurisse has all of the advantages; when you read from her point of view, a different picture emerges. She doesn't know that she has this "advantage" of a father who lives in the home. She speaks of a "silver girl" as someone who is better than she is - prettier, smarter, more popular. And when she meets Dana, that is what she finds. Dana knows that Chaurisse is her sister, but Chaurisse is in the dark.