The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy: Sunday Salon

 

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream: A Novel

by 

Jeannie Zusy

Publication, September 20, 2022, Atria Books

Description 

A very funny, occasionally romantic, and surprisingly moving novel about how one woman’s life is turned upside down when she becomes caregiver to her sister with special needs.

Every family has its fault lines, and when Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland where her older sister lives, the cracks start to appear. Ginny, her sugar-loving and diabetic older sister with intellectual disabilities, has overdosed on strawberry Jell-O.

Maggie knows Ginny really can’t live on her own, so she brings her sister and her occasionally vicious dog to live near her in upstate New York. Their other sister, Betsy, is against the idea but as a professional surfer, she is conveniently thousands of miles away.

Thus, Maggie’s life as a caretaker begins. It will take all of her dark humor and patience, already spread thin after a separation, raising two boys, freelancing, and starting a dating life, to deal with Ginny’s diapers, sugar addiction, porn habit, and refusal to cooperate. Add two devoted but feuding immigrant aides and a soon-to-be ex-husband who just won’t go away, and you’ve got a story that will leave you laughing through your tears as you wonder who is actually taking care of whom. (publisher)

My NetGalley/Goodreads review:

Bets, Ginny, and Maggie are the Frederick sisters whose relationships are featured in this novel. Maggie the third sister, becomes a caregiver for special needs middle sister Ginny, while the oldest, Bets, lives a life of California surfing.

Sisters and how they relate to one another, the sacrifices they make for one another, or sacrifices they don't make, are the themes. A surprising turn around at the end of the novel shows the sisters in a new light. 

The novel, however, takes too long to get to this point, frustrating the reader. The book could have been shorter and some of the middle events cut or omitted in order to get to the ending.

I enjoyed the first three-quarters of the book and wished the main points, though surprising and thought provoking, could have been reached earlier.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Book Review: Fault Lines by Emily Itami

 

Fault Lines by Emily Itami, September 7, 2021, Custom House

Genre: contemporary women's fiction, multicultural

Setting: Tokyo

Source: library book

 

Review: 

Fault Lines is about a mother and wife feeling trapped in household duties with young children, having no career of her own and an indifferent often absent husband who seems to take little interest in her home life. Mizuki has no other outlet outside of  being a perfect Japanese mother and wife, and misses the days when she was single and worked as a singer.

Enter Kiyoshi, whom Mizuki begins a friendship with that becomes more serious as they spend many days and evenings together exploring the vibrant city that is Tokyo.  Her outings happen during the school hours and on the  evenings when her children are asleep with a babysitter and her husband is working late at the office.

The cultural aspects of being a traditional woman, mother, and wife in Japan stood out for me. The rigorous expectations of society for women are difficult for Mizuki as she has lived in the U.S. and experienced more freedom and life choices. That she finds comfort in a friendship outside of her marriage is not a surprise. The outcome of this friendship could go both ways, as Mizuki is influenced by her culture and her love for her children. She describes the fault lines in herself as similar to the ones that lie beneath the city of Tokyo, always threatening to plunge the city into a catastrophe. 

I enjoyed touring Tokyo by day and night through the book, visiting the various sights, restaurants, and museums and the crowded and busy main streets. The story was excellently told to reveal a place and culture that many Westerners don't know or may not understand very well. 

Book beginning:

The whole Kyoshi situation started a long time before he was ever in the picture. The way a calligraphy painting begins before the first black stroke makes it onto the page. 

Page 56: 

The bar was in Shinjuku, and though places were closing, the streets were still full of people.

The Friday 56. Find any sentence that grabs you on page 56 of your book. Post it, and add your URL to Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.

At Least You Have Your Health by Madi Sinha

 

At Least You Have Your Health

by 

Madi Sinha, April 5, 2022, Berkley

Genre: women's fiction, contemporary fiction

About: 

Dr. Maya Rao is a gynecologist with three young children, a career, and a happy marriage. But Maya is forced to walk away from her career.

She meets Amelia, owner of an exclusive wellness clinic that needs a gynecologist for house calls to wealthy women clientele.  (publisher)

Book beginning:

When Amelia DeGilles - forty-five, tailored jeans, nude sling backs with a red sole - caught the arm of Maya Rao - thirty-six, threadbare leggings, brown stain on one off-white canvas sneaker - in the parking lot of Hamilton Hall Academy after the October parent council meeting, people noticed.

At 56% of book:

"The baby says she wants to be born in Belize." 

Maya's eyebrows shot up. She laughed, assuming this was a joke. 

Would you read on? 

The Friday 56. Find any sentence that grabs you on page 56 or on a 56% page of your ebook. Post it, and add to Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.

Book Review: Red Thread of Fate by Lyn Liao Butler

 

Red Thread of Fate by Lyn Liao Butler

Pub Date 08 Feb 2022

Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley

Genre: multicultural interest, women's fiction

Rating: 4.5/5 

Source: Netgalley

My comments:

A sudden tragedy leaves Tam a widow, one who finds herself in charge of a cousin's five-year-old daughter and facing a decision of whether to go through with her pending adoption of a young boy in China. 

The accident that kills Tam's husband, Tony, and his cousin Mia haunts her days, as she struggles with the idea of raising two young children on her own.  

A heartfelt story but with a predictable ending, the novel keeps your attention,  especially as it takes you through the complex process of going through with an adoption from China.

********

First Chapter of Red Thread of Fate:

She was on the phone with her husband when he died.

Tamlei Kwan leaned against a wall outside the elementary school during her lunch break, her phone tucked between her ear and shoulder.  

First Chapter/Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews.

It's Monday: The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman

 As part of my "new beginnings" in staying away from mysteries for a while, I'm rereading this book as I have forgotten what it's all about and I do like the title. It makes me think of spring!

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman, May 2, 2017, Berkley

Here are my comments on the book, dated May 5, 2017, but I've decided to reread it.

Summary and comments: Lil, widowed for three years with two young children, is a school text illustrator in Southern California. Her boss signs her up for a vegetable growing class at the Los Angeles Botanical Garden, to prep for the next project - illustrating a series of vegetable guides the company is planning.

Lil attends the six-week class, held on Saturdays and led by gardening professor Ed Bloem. She not only benefits from gardening and meeting new people, but sees the benefits to her sister and Lil's two young children who also participate in the class. 

Lil's sister-in-law Maggie arrives broken hearted by a cheating hubby and somehow the setting and the new arrangement in Lil's life help everyone around her. In the end, Lil finds a new occupation and new love, and a new acceptance of her widowhood.

I liked the story, as I love gardening, and found the vegetable growing tips in the book interesting and useful. Though parts of the plot are predictable, the reading is easy and pleasant, not only for readers who garden but anyone who likes a good romance.

 Meme: It's Monday: What Are You Reading is hosted by The Book Date. 

First Chapter: White Lies by Susan Barrett

White Lies by Susan Barrett, August 31, 2016.
White Lies explores the joys and hazards of adoption, told from the perspectives of three women over half a century.

First chapter:

Beth: The Beginning 

Through the white light of pain Beth sees Joe. He stands at the foot of her bed, a forlorn, useless figure. Why did they let him in? Do they think he's the father? Six purple flowers flop their heads from a bunch clutched in his hand. Flowers are the last things she needs. Their name hovers in the gust of her pain. They'll need water, but what can she do about that? She cannot think of anything beyond the present colossal pain of agony. It overwhelms her. She is a single, screaming universe, pelvic bones pushed to their limits. Bodies are not designed for this. Her unwanted baby's head is stuck, it will kill her. Nothing gives. There is no release. 

"Daisies," Joe says, kneeling beside her. "From your mom's balcony."

Author SUSAN BARRETT has had seven novels published in UK and USA. Other work includes travel writing, television drama, and wildlife and children’s books illustrated by her husband Peter. They have two adopted children, now middle-aged. She has mentored new writers, held creative writing workshops, established a website for the writers and readers of quality fiction, and continues to write while practising as a counsellor.

Based on the beginning paragraph of the novel, would you read on?

MEME: Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book you are reading or will be reading soon.

First Chapter: Losing Me by Sue Margolis

Losing Me, a novel by the English author Sue Margolis,  published July 7, 2015 by NAL

First chapter:
As she sipped her coffee in the early-morning calm, there were no augurs or omens to suggest that before lunchtime, her life would be in the toilet. Her breakfast egg was boiling on the stove. Through the kitchen window the sky was streaked optimistic orange. The elderly heating boiler was roaring away. In a moment the pipes would start their reassuring ticking and knocking. She relished this time to herself - before the day kicked off, before everybody began demanding bits of her. She would have relished it even more if it hadn't been for Mark Zuckerberg. 

Book description:
Knocking on sixty, Barbara Stirling is too busy caring for her mother, husband, children, and grandchildren. But when she loses her job, everything changes. Barbara is forced to face her feelings and doubts. Then a troubled, vulnerable little boy walks into her life and changes it forever.

MEME: Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book you are reading or will be reading soon.

The Blue Bath by Mary Waters-Sayers: Book Beginning

Moving between the London art world and the days of a love affair in a dusty Paris studio, life and art bleed together for now married Kat Lind and her former artist lover, David. 

The Blue Bath by Mary Waters-Sayer, May 3, 2016, St. Martin's Press

Book beginning:
Prologue

Entering the front hall, Kat saw it coming, but could not stop it. The swift and silent arc of the sledgehammer came to its own abrupt end as it smashed through the smooth plaster wall. She squeezed her eyes shut, momentarily stunned by the force and the sound of the impact ....

Chapter I: 
Sometime after the arrival of the second builder and the ensuing chorus of intermittent hammering, Kat left the house and made her way through Holland Park, glad for the relative peace of its wooded paths. The tops of the trees strained to catch the low, rose-colored sun....

Page 56:
Jorie spoke French to anyone who was not immediately identifiable as English.

Comments: Half-way through this library book and really liking it so far. 

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

First Chapter: The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig

Contemporary Women's Fiction: The Memory of Lemon by Judith Fertig, published June 14, 2016 by Berkley

First chapter, first paragraphs:
Neely

Lydia, the twenty-something bride-to-be sat stony faced on the settee in my front parlor.
This was not the way I wanted to start the week. Since I had opened my bakery in Millcreek Valley's bridal district in January, I had learned a lot about wooing, in the business sense. When I did wedding cake tastings, I took potential clients away from the cheerful light and beveled glass cases of Rainbow Cake and drew them quietly, seductively into the more intimate setting of my home right next door. 

Memes: Every Tuesday Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where readers share the first paragraph sometimes two, of a book that they are reading or plan to read soon. 

Do the book description and first paragraph of the first chapter above appeal to you? Would you read on?

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB at Books and a Beat, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Sunday Salon: Sweltering Summer Reading

A contemporary women's novel is my current read:

The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig, published June 2, 2015, to be followed by the second in the series, 

The Memory of Lemon

Books just read:

As Death Draws Near: A Lady Darby Mystery #5 by Anna Lee Huber, to be released July 5, 2016. A four star read with an atmospheric setting in an abbey in Ireland, nineteenth century. 

Next in line to be read, for a book tour in July:

The Ninja's Daughter: A Hiro Hattori  Novel by Susan Spann, to be published August 2, 2016 by Seventh Street Books. Master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo solve the death of an actor's daughter in 16th century Japan.   

This has been a slow month for new books at my house, but there are lots of novels around my desk that call for attention!
How about you? Whats new in your reading?
Keep cool in this sweltering summer!

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer.
Also visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Book Date. 

Review: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted weekly by Jill at Breaking the Spine. What new releases are you eagerly waiting for. Link your post to Breaking the Spine

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson, to be released February 15, 2016 by William Morrow
Genre: contemporary fiction
Objective rating: 5/5

My comments: 

Foster homes for girls, single mothers, career success, siblings, family relationships.

There is quite a mixture of themes in this novel, but it works well, and the main character Paula is worth following as she moves from survival in a home for juveniles to becoming a wealthy and successful divorce lawyer, all the while dealing with memories of her gypsy-like mother, Kia, and Kia's legacy.

This is a book to wait for....

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy of this book 

Book Review: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan, published December 1, 2015 by William Morrow Paperback.

Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller.

A brief summary: A divorced single mother of an eight-year-old boy becomes distraught when her son goes missing in the park during a regular Sunday walk with their dog.

 The cops follow multiple leads, just hints and threads of clues, as no one saw the boy in the woods during the walk or after he ran ahead of his mother to a rope swing in a secluded clearing just ahead of them. 
Rachel becomes a suspect in the case, while she does her best to follow leads to find her son. Who in contact with young Ben in his everyday life and would have reason to abduct him? Seems several people fit the bill. As days go by, no one is sure of the outcome. But a determined detective on the police force is sure he is on the right track. 

My thoughts:
I was immersed in the book, into the very realistic and well-drawn character of Rachel, who seemed helpless and put-upon, desperate to find Ben. Her ex-husband is not a big help, nor is his new and younger wife. 
The character of the detective is also intriguing, a man sure of his instincts in the case yet conflicted at the same time. 
The plot lagged a bit toward the middle, when it seemed as if nobody was getting anywhere in the case and no new clues cropped up. But read on.....exciting things start to happen fast. 

Themes in the book: Child abduction, family dynamics, divorce, single mothers, police procedure, the psychology behind some of those who abduct children. 

I gave this engrossing read five stars! Excellent for a debut novel.

I received an ARC of this book for my impartial review.

Book Beginning: The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty

The Friday 56: *Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader. Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. Post it. Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.
Also, visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty, published June 14, 2012 by Penguin Adult.
Genre: contemporary fiction, women's fiction
Source: library

Ellen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist who works out of the eccentric beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back. Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk. 

It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.

Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has. (publisher)

Book beginning:

I had never been hypnotized before.I didn't really believe in it, to be honest. My plan was to lie there and pretend it was working, and try not to laugh.

Page 56:

He said, "She's calling off the wedding? Because of you?"

I've read three of Moriarty's other books and really liked What Alice Forgot  (review) and Big Little Lies. I hope this one will be just as good.  

Book Review: Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn

Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe, published September 1, 2015; Touchstone
Genre: contemporary fiction; women's fiction
Objective rating: 4/5 stars

My comments: Francesca "Frankie" Caputo hides out in her former fiance's family cabin in the Washington State woods, unable to face friends or family after his death in a surfing accident. Her fiance, Alex, used to take her to this cabin, which she finds a refuge after his funeral.

However, Alex's parents want her out of the cabin and charge her with trespassing. She remains anyway, bolstered by friendships with new neighbors and one small child who shows her the forests and the foods one can forage there. Things come to a head when both her boisterous Italian family and Alex's parents come to the cabin, and Frankie finds out the truth about herself and her relationship with her now deceased fiance. 

An excellent novel of loss and family ties, truth and its consequences. A lovely novel revealing family and love relationships and their sometimes complex qualities. 

First chapter, first paragraph:

Aunty Connie's cucumber sandwiches, stripped free of plastic wrap, are lined up on a rectangular plate on Mrs. Gardner's table, pointed tips dried and turning stale, like rows of teeth. Four rows, the jaw of a great white shark. I stare at them too long and feel my father's gaze turn towards me. I force myself to blink. He watches me from across that room filled with people wearing black and charcoal. It isn't the weather for these colors; it's unseasonably hot and the musty smell of clothes pulled from the backs of drawers mingles pungently with spring sweat. 

Teaser, ch. 11:

"...You'd think your mom would be pleased - rapt - that she could offer Frankie a place to get away to think. To be away from it all." 

Based on the first paragraph and excerpts only, would you continue reading?
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. 

Book Beginning: THE INVISIBLES by Cecilia Galante

The Friday 56: *Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader. Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. Post it. Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.
Also, visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

The Invisibles: A Novel by Cecilia Galante, published August 4, 2015 by William Morrow Paperbacks; women's fiction
 Book beginning, chapter one:

It wasn't until she reached the corner of Grove Street, where the sidewalk buckled and the pre-dawn smells of yeast and fabric softener perfumed the air, that Nora remembered it was her thirty-second birthday. She stopped abruptly, as if someone had yanked a leash around her neck, and let the information settle along her shoulders. Thirty-two. The number rolled around in her head, and she waited for the onslaught of-- what was it exactly: relief? dread?-- that was supposed to arrive at reaching the end of another year, but it didn't come. Instead, the first line from a book she had once read occurred to her: "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person"....

 Book description: ... the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship. Thrown together as teenagers at Turning Winds Home for Girls, Nora, Ozzie, Monica, and Grace quickly bond over their troubled pasts and form their own family which they dub The Invisibles. But when tragedy strikes after graduation, Nora is left to deal with the horrifying aftermath alone as the other three girls leave home and don't look back.

Fourteen years later, Nora is living a quiet, single life working in the local library. She joins The Invisibles in Chicago for a reunion that sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will change each of their lives forever.

page 56: "We go around the circle, and everyone tells the rest of the group what they want. It can be anything, as long as it's not totally ridiculous, like a million dollars or something. And then, before the next meeting, we'll try to find a way to give it to you."

Looks like a compelling read. Looking forward to reading this one, sent by the publisher.