The Innocents by Francesca Segal

I just happened upon this book at the Library; it was not on my "Want to Read" list but I saw it on the 7  Day Shelf - those are the "popular" reads that are only available for a week and with a stiff penalty of $1.00 per day if they are late.  I didn't take it from that shelf; it was also on the 2 week shelf. I was intrigued, read the cover notes and took it home. Glad I did! It's refreshing to read a book that you have never heard of and know nothing about.
Apparently, it's the modern day equivalent of Edith Wharton's "Age of Innocence" and I truthfully think I never read that. Both books are social commentary on upper class folks. In this book, the people are upper class London Jews. And it's a story of scandal in their ranks.
Adam and Rachel are childhood sweethearts about to be married. Adam has lost his father in his youth, but Rachel's father embraces him as his own son and takes him into the family business as well.  Rachel is the perfect girlfriend, daughter and soon to be wife. All seems copasetic until Ellie, Rachel's beautiful and "wild" cousin comes to town.  That's all I'll say about the plot.
The writing is good, the story engaging and the struggles the main character, Adam, face are real and handled well.
I enjoyed this read!

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarity

I read about this novel in the summer and put it on my "Want to Read" list and then couldn't ever find it in the library. I finally did, right before our major storm, Hurricane Sandy.
I was so glad to have such a delightful and interesting book to read at such a lousy time!
I really didn't know much about Louise Brooks and this made me miss my mom so much! As a real "groupie" of movies and stars of that era, she would have given me her perspective and personal anecdotes.  :-(
Anyway, the more interesting character for me in this book is the chaperone, herself, Cora, who accompanies the 15 year old Louise to New York City to study dance at the Denishawn Dance Company (I didn't know that some of these people were "real" until I finished the book and did some research!)
The book covers so many interesting topics, from the "Orphan Trains" that took children to homes in the midwest, homosexuality (so taboo at that period in history), sexuality, sexual abuse, women's rights, suffragist movement, Prohibition, flappers, Ku Klux Klan, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and on and on.
And since the book spans so many years, societal change is documented through the eyes of Cora, a sensitive yet strong woman. Cora's story was much more interesting to me that that of Louise Brooks; she was an orphan on one of those trains, and found herself in Kansas after a childhood in a NYC orphanage. Her life has been good, but quite challenging. (A real surprise involves her husband, but I won't give that away!)
I am not giving anything else away; just get this book and read it!

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

This is only the second Geraldine Brooks novel that I have read, but she quickly became a favorite after I read March.
The book documents the year (1666) in the life of a village in England (Eyam, Derbyshire) as it is under siege by the Bubonic Plague. The central character, Anna, an 18 year old widow and mother of two sons, takes in a boarder to help with her finances.  He turns out to be the carrier of the disease that then wracks the entire village.  Anna loses her sons and more than half the village is wiped out. The local rector convinces the villagers to close out the village to anyone and live a quarantined life in order to spare neighboring villages and beyond. This plan proves successful, but divides the village, causing neighbors to accuse, kill, and shun others. The books deals with herbal medicine as a means to alleviate or irradiate the disease. Anna herself gets involved with helping others along with the rector's wife.
Brooks is an amazing documentary writer.  Her descriptive language is rich and moving. She was a journalist and covered the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal.

The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli

I was so excited to get this book, the second by this author. The first, "The Lotus Eaters," was certainly one of the more memorable books that I have read in the past few years.
And this book did not disappoint! (But I did like the first one a bit more.)
This book conveys some tragic stories that touch the life of Claire Baumsarg, a woman living and tending to a large citrus farm in California. The beginning of the novel quickly sets the stage for tragedy and drama, when Claire and Forster, her husband, and daughters Gwen and Lucy, lose their son and brother in a botched kidnapping attempt.  While the rest of the family wants to abandon the farm, Claire can't leave and this results in her divorce and somewhat of an estrangement from her daughters.
Fifteen years later when she contracts breast cancer, she hires Minna, a strange and mysterious young woman, to care for her.  What ensues is mystifying, captivating and engrossing.
Toward the end, I lost patience with Claire, but when the story shifts from the point of view of Claire to the first person narrative of Minna (Marie), the story makes more sense.
Soli is a talented author. I am ready for her next novel!

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

What a fabulous book as an end to summer reading! This novel takes place on an island that is not called Nantucket, but clearly IS Nantucket. There is a big wedding to take place on the weekend that the novel occurs and the bridal party and relatives are in place, ready for the big event.
Most of the novel is told from the point of view of the father of the bride, Winn Van Meter, who is not quite 60 and is marrying off his oldest daughter....he is the father of three daughters, which was clearly a problem for him philosophically. He was SUPPOSED to drop his SON off at Harvard...not a daughter.
Winn is such a wonderfully drawn character...or caricature... of the social climbing, blue blood WASP who wants to be in the best club, and has the "old money" house and has sons to rear. He lusts after one of the members of the bridal party and she is equally lusting for him. I found it hard to believe that this novel was written by a 28 year old female; she has such a great sense of Winn. She must have known someone very much like him to tell this story from his point of view...and do it so well!
This is such a fun book to read, but also so well written. A great social satire that will have you laughing and thinking.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

This book won the Man Booker Award and I understand why. It's a very thoughtful and intellectually challenging read. Lots of musings on life and relationships, friendships and remorse.
I was definitely challenged by the end of the book and bit confused.
This is a very short review, but in two short words....."Read it!"
(You will be challenged intellectually and rewarded with a great and intriguing story.)

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I waited quite a while for this book. I read the review in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/books/gone-girl-by-gillian-flynn.html) and was really excited to read it. And I was not disappointed. It was a psychological thriller that has twists and turns in each and every chapter. And some of them are short!
Her writing is really amazing. Ms. Flynn is a gifted writer.  On the one hand, I wanted to race through the book to follow the intrigue and drama; on the other hand, I wanted to savor her writing and her deep probing into the minds of these characters. The book is written in the first person from the point of view of the two protagonists: Amy and Nick. They are a married couple who are "celebrating" their fifth anniversary at the opening of the book. But that same day, Amy disappears. I don't want to give anything away, but will say that both of the characters have dark sides that are revealed slowly over time, so that the characters that you meet in the first 50 pages are very different people than those described on the following pages.
I raced through this book in just a couple days, which I am sure is the case with many of the readers.
What will hold me like this book next? It's a tough act to follow!