The Good House

Author: Ann Leary
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio, 2013 (print book: St. Martin's Press, 2013)
Pages: 8 discs (print book: 304)
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Ann Leary's The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Boston's North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. She's also a raging alcoholic. Hildy's family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place—"if they invite you over for dinner, and it's not a major holiday," she advises "run for your life"—and now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem.

As if battling her demons wasn't enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. There's a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire—and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get. An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good.

Review: My coworker came in one day all excited about this book, and told me not only did I have to read it, she highly (strongly) recommended the audio version. She said the narrator was excellent, and now, having listened to this, I wholeheartedly agree. The novel is well-written, and it's quite an entertaining (and at times, sobering) story, but Mary Beth Hurt (the narrator) takes it to a whole new level.

Even though all of my books come from the library, this one doesn't seem to fit any of the other criteria on my 2016 Reading Challenge. I'm counting it toward that one.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Author: Shel Silverstein
Genre: Poetry
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishing, 1974
Pages: 183
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins. There you'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

Shel Silverstein's masterful collection of poems and drawings is one of Parent & Childmagazine's 100 Greatest Books for Kids. School Library Journal said, "Silverstein has an excellent sense of rhythm and rhyme and a good ear for alliteration and assonance that make these poems a pleasure to read aloud."

Review: Of course I've known about Shel Silverstein and this book for years, practically since birth, but I had never sat down and read it. When my 2016 Reading Challenge required a book of poetry Where the Sidewalk Ends immediately came to mind. It was cute. While most of the poems are nonsensical and simple in their meaning, his use of alliteration and rhyme was just fun.

I highly doubt some of these would be published if written today, guns and death are just a couple of the themes that I found questionable in my 2016 mind.

Reflection

Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher, 1996
Pages: 403*
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Rachel Huber returns to her hometown of Reflection to care for her ailing grandmother. Twenty years ago, a tragedy occurred in Reflection and the people hold Rachel responsible. Now, she finds herself the object of anger and hostility. She is not without her allies, however. Lily Jackson, a young woman who was personally touched by the tragedy, perplexes everyone by treating Rachel with compassion. And Michael Stoltz, the minister of the Mennonite church, is elated by Rachel's return. He and Rachel were close friends as children, and that childhood bond quickly evolves into a loving relationship that must be hidden. It is Rachel's grandmother, Helen, however, who becomes her strongest advocate, surprising Rachel with her wise counsel and rare sterngth--and with a wealth of secrets she has long been concealing.

Review: Chamberlain's writing has certainly evolved over the years, and now having read a few of her books, I like her newer books better (Reflection was republished in both 2010 and 2014). That isn't to say this wasn't good. I did enjoy it. However, the story line was pretty typical or expected, although there was a bit of a plot twist toward the end. It took me longer to get into this novel than it had several of her others, but as an author I really like, I hung in there knowing it would pick up.

It took me a few days to get 3/4 of the way into it, but the last 1/4 was excellent. I binge read that portion this afternoon while my children "destroyed" the house.

If you're a Diane Chamberlain fan, you will like this. If you haven't read Chamberlain before, this is not the book to read first. I recommend Necessary Lies instead.

I'd like to read all of Chamberlain's novels, and luckily this was set in Pennsylvania, my home state. That was a requirement for my 2016 Reading Challenge.

*My paperback copy, published in 1996, was 403 pages. The hardcover edition published later is shorter because the dimensions of the book itself are larger.

The Stolen Marriage
Summer's Child

Necessary Lies