Book Review

I hate to admit that I haven't been reading much lately, but between work and life, it's something that doesn't happen as much as I'd like. I have read a couple of books in the last few months, however, and I liked them enough that I thought I'd give my recommendations.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
From Amazon.com: This remarkable new novel weaves together the lives of Andi Alpers, a depressed modern-day teenager, and Alexandrine Paradis, a brave young woman caught up in the French Revolution. While in Paris with her estranged father, a Nobel geneticist hired to match the DNA of a heart said to belong to the last dauphin of France, Andi discovers a diary hidden within a guitar case - and so begins the story of Alexandrine, who herself had close ties to the dauphin. Redemption and the will to change are powerful themes of the novel, and music is ever present - Andi and Alex have a passion for the guitar, and the playlist running through Revolution is a who's who of classic and contemporary influences. Danger, intrigue, music, and impeccably researched history fill the pages of Revolution, as both young women learn that, "it is love, not death, that undoes us."

My friend Jen recommended this book to me. Well, recommended is a very tame word - she actually brought this book to my house, shoved it my hands, and said, "You have to read this. End of story." I'm always busy, so it took me a while to start and then once I did, it took me a little while to get into it. The main character, Andi, is not in a good place when the book starts. Her family has completely fallen apart and she's on the edge of the deep end (sometimes literally). Truthfully, it was a little depressing. However, once she got to Paris and started meeting people and reading this diary written in the aftermath of the French Revolution, I got completely hooked. There's an element of mystery as you try to piece together what happened to the girl who wrote the diary and how it fits in with the history of the French Revolution, and I loved seeing the similarities between the girls and how their lives intersect (quite literally). And of course, it was a great story, completely compelling and incredibly well-written. And in the end, there is an incredibly beautiful message of hope and healing. It's definitely worth reading.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
From Amazon.com: Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

I read this book for my ward's book group and I really enjoyed it. Again, it took me a little while to get into the groove of it, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading. It's written from the perspective of three very different women, and each one has her own distinct voice and personality. It felt a little choppy at times because of the jumps, and I would have like more resolution at the end, but it was a novel about change and so leaving the end open for the characters' lives to change fit the theme, I think. It had a ton of great moments, but funny and insightful, and it brought attention to an issue that I had never explored or heard much about before. There was a line near the end that really summed it up for me, and I didn't write it down but it was essentially that reaching across lines to understand each other is essential to our humanity. I also loved learning about the author's life and realizing that this was a very personal story to her. There's a quote on the book cover that compares it to To Kill A Mockingbird (which is pretty much my favorite book ever) and it isn't at that level, but I definitely recommend it.

Post script: I saw the movie and I loved it. I think it took all the best parts of the book and then gave the story more resolution, which was just perfect. So thumbs up for both the movie and the book!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Amazon's summary wasn't great, so here's my own: Starting in January 1946, writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a stranger and a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, about a book that he acquired that had her name in it. After the grimness of London during World War II, Juliet is eager to correspond with a fellow book-lover and learn more about Guernsey and the Literary Society. "And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name." (That last part was from Amazon.)

I absolutely loved this book - I saved the best recommendation for last! Full of quirky characters and both funny and moving stories, this book was written entirely in letters and was one of the best books I've read in a long time, possibly ever. I read it in just one day - I couldn't stop once I started! Through the letters, you get to know a cast of wonderful characters (I had a hard time keeping them straight at first), but you also get an incredible sense of what life was like for them during WWII. It wasn't all light and fluffy, though that aspect was definitely there, but the hardships, the bombings, the prison camps, and the losses were presented in a very non-dramatic way, making them even more powerful. The book was romantic without being sentimental, beautiful without florid descriptions, funny without even trying (you can ask Tim, I laughed out loud every other page), and touching without manipulation (I also cried quite a bit). It's a book about the power of books and stories to see us through our darkest times. It's about the power and love of a community, and the importance of compassion even in the face of brutality and fear. I definitely recommend it - though I think I might have been the last person on the planet to read it - it was wonderful.