The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls

     Whenever I asked around about good books, The Glass Castle is one title that came up often.  After acquiring a copy on bookmooch.com (worth checking out if you don't use it already), I decided it was time I read it.  I truly loved The Glass Castle, but I must admit I should not have read it so soon after reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Both books are non-fiction accounts of people who lived very hard lives, so both were very depressing and infuriating stories; they made my heart ache for children and my temper rage in anger toward the adults involved.  In my latest read, Jeanette Walls presents a memoir of her life growing up with an alcoholic father and a delusional (deranged?) mother.  They moved from town to town , typically pulling the "skedaddle" in the middle of the night, and lived in substandard conditions wherever they went.  Jeanette and her three siblings had to fend for themselves and learn how to survive despite parents who neglected them and subjected them to dangerous situations.

     This was a fantastic book, although it was depressing at times.  I found myself getting quite angry at the parents, and feeling sorry for the children throughout the book.  The author did a wonderful job of showing how the children just accepted their parents as who they were, and found strategies to get through life in spite of being "dealt a bad hand".  I would have like to see a little more depth in the ending, where she explained some of her feelings about her situation a little more, but she did leave the reader with a lot to think about, enabling me to come to my own conclusions about the effects of her upbringing.  I highly recommend this book, especially for those who enjoy memoirs.

Bottom Line:  Intense memoir, that caused me to think about the effects of one's beginnings.
Overall Rating:  88

The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

     I have to admit I only picked this book when I found out that J.K. Rowling was the real author.  I loved the Harry Potter books, although I did not read the last two in the series.  I had already seen the movies and I never like to read a book after seeing the movie.  I do enjoy her writing and understood that her adult novels would be very different but I anticipated good writing from her in anything she does.  I was not disappointed; I did enjoy the book, though it was much different from what I expected.

     The book begins with the death of a supermodel, Lula Landry, which was ruled a suicide.  Her brother, John,  hires a washed-up private detective (Comoran Strike) to prove her death was a homicide.  The writing is not akin to that of fast-paced mystery novels with multiple twists and turns that is is so popular today.  Instead, Galbraith/Rowling writes in an older style reminiscent of Sir Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie.  I often found myself having to stop and think about the meaning of certain terms that, although English, are not commonly used in the United States.  It slowed the pace of the reading, but the high interest level kept me moving.  The mystery did have many different angles and complications, but the ending reminded me of something out of a "Columbo" episode, where everything gets wrapped up completely and many details are saved for the conclusion.  

     What I liked most about this book was the style of character development.  Instead of developing the characters through the first part of the book, as many mystery writers tend to do, Galbraith/Rowling kept adding layers to each character throughout the book.  They began as one-dimensional characters, sort of "pegged" into their roles and stereotypes, but each character began more deep and complex throughout the novel.  As a result, I became more attached to the main characters, especially "Strike" and even the deceased "Lula" and her family, as the novel progressed.  I look forward to getting to know Comoran Strike even better in the next book.

Bottom Line:  A great British mystery novel by a masterful writer.

Overall Rating:  88

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

     I had been hearing about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for at least two years.  It seemed to be on every "must read" list and was reviewed everywhere I turned.  When I read the synopsis, it sounded good enough, but it never got to the top of the list of books I wanted to read.  When I was perusing the public library a few weeks ago, I saw it on display shelf of "recommended books", so I decided it was time to check it out.  I am so happy finally took the time to read this book!  The previous reviews, though glowing, never conveyed (at least to me) just how good this book would be.  Although completely non-fiction, Skloot writes in a way that had me hooked from the beginning, and captivated me until the end.  When I read the last chapter, I said "What?  It's done? But I want to keep reading....."  This true account wove science, family, poverty, race, and history into one book that left me not only better educated, but full of new perspective on many different issues.  I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that the subject of the book, Henrietta Lacks herself, was from Clover, a small community in Halifax County, Virginia, where I was born and still have a lot of family.  I had heard about her before, but because she lived in Maryland at the time of her death, it wasn't widely known about her Virginia connection!

     This masterpiece tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a young woman whole died of cervical cancer in 1951, leaving behind cells that were taken from her body at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Her cells, which came to be known as "HeLa" cells, were the first of its kind, and instantly started multiplying in a laboratory.  Such cell growth was unprecedented and had been attempted for many years; however, HeLa cells surpassed all expectations and continued to multliply to the present day.  They have been sold to hospitals and laboratories all over the world, and have been used for thousands of research projects, including finding the cure for polio and isolating the case of the HPV virus and its link to cervical cancer.  At the same time she presents the story of the cells and their greatness, Skloot also intersperses the story of who Henrietta Lacks was, where she came from, and what came of her family.  In doing so, she provides primary accounts of medical, social, and legislative history in the United States.

Bottom Line:  And extremely well-written treasure of science, history, and humanity.

Overall Rating:  95

Top Secret Twenty-One, Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum Series)

     I have read every book in the Stephanie Plum Series, so I was looking forward to #21.  I am happy to say that I was not disappointed in this latest book by Janet Evanovich.  As with every "Plum" book, I have actually laughed out loud...very loudly.  A few times while reading, I started laughing so hard I had to place the bookmark at my page in case I dropped the book.  As usual, I finished the book in approximately 24 hours, because once I started reading, I couldn't stop.  I will admit that this wasn't the very best of the series, but it definitely provided me with a good story and enough laughs to make it worth the money.

     The usual characters are present in this novel, including Stephanie, Lula, Morelli, Ranger, Grandma, and Stephanie's parents; however, the special "treat" in this one is that Randy Briggs is back!  Stephanie's "little" nemesis is absolutely hilarious, and comes running to Stephanie because her latest FTA (failure to appear),  is trying to kill him.  Ranger is also being hunted as well, and he must find out who has targeted him and his company.  This book has the typical craziness of an Evanovich novel, in the form of rabid chihuahuas, funeral home shenanigans, Russian vodka dealers, and a "bucket list" for Grandma.Although I loved the novel, Evanovich didn't wrap it up as nicely as she usually does.  The ending seemed a little rushed; I felt as if she said "okay, I'm done writing now" and added a resolution.  Despite the weak ending, I was satisfied and will look forward to the 22nd book in the series.

Bottom Line:  Gut-busting laughs in classic Evanovich style.

Overall Rating:  85

Trapped, by Becky Durfee

Okay, readers, I have a confession to make.  I have a guilty pleasure.  Once in a while, I have to take a break from the "meaty" books that I read to expand my mind, and I escape to the land of fun reading.  And when I do, my first choice is the Jenny Watkins series.  This series, by Becky Durfee, is self-published on Amazon, but can be found at other locations, including at least one Barnes and Noble store.  Although I love best-selling books an always have to read the "latest must-reads", I also like at least one self-published author, and I'm liking her more and more with each book.

I have to admit, at the risk of sounding biased, that Becky Durfee is a local author. She lives in the same mega-community in our Virginia suburb.  Although I had taught her incredibly nice and intelligent son, and her daughter takes classes at the same dance/arts studio as my daughter, I really did not know Becky Durfee at all.  I decided to pick up the first book, Driven, at a charity holiday fair at my daughter's school.  The first book started a little slow, but I read through to the end and was pleased.  I bought the next book, Betrayed, because I wanted to see where she took the characters, and loved it.  At that point, I became hooked.  I immediately bought Shattered (book 3) and Exposed (book 4), and devoured then both in a matter days. Exposed ended in a cliffhanger, so I (im)patiently waited for the release of Trapped, the 5th installment in the series.  It was well worth waiting for!!

These mysteries take us through the life of Jenny Watkins, a wife and teacher who suddenly discovers she has psychic abilities.  She can receive contact from the dead to help her to understand their lives, but she is also able to help law enforcement solve crimes.  Durfee takes us through some fascinating cases, that span many different periods of history, while also getting us enmeshed in Jenny's personal struggles and triumphs. I have found that with each book, not only does Durfee's writing get better, but I'm more attached to the characters. In Trapped, she did an excellent job of incorporating history in a story about a present-day serial killer.  She also tastefully addressed issues such as slavery and prostitution, in a way that made me think about both from a different perspective.  As a result, I can't wait to read the next book....

Bottom Line:  The best book, so far, in a fantastic mystery series, by the best indy-author I've read!

Rating: 90