1) All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis: This book was a surprise to me. I bought it at a small bookstore in Webster Groves, MO (The Novel Neighbor-great store) without having ever heard of it. It turned out that I really liked it!
It is about a couple who began fostering children and after eleven years, felt that their family was complete with the four children who lived with them. The mother had conditions for taking in children-no babies, delinquents, and especially no girls. But a six-year-old girl, who had been taken from her home for neglect and abuse, became available and the parents were asked to keep her just until another foster home was available.
Six-year-old Agnes won over the family and changed them over time in ways that were never expected. It is a very heartwarming story that won my heart! (By the way, has anyone else heard of the name Patry?)
2) Anxious People by Fredrik Bachman: This book has had a lot of critical acclaim and people loving it. I just wasn't taken with it.
The story is about eight strangers who were looking at an apartment that was for sale and while there, a failed bank robber appeared at the apartment and then hold the people hostage. There were some funny moments in the story, but I just never cared much about the characters. It's odd because I really love a couple of his books.
3) Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger: The third book of the Cork O'Connor series. And another good mystery that takes place up around the Boundary Waters. As I wrote last month-I recommend reading these. They are well-written stories!
4) Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler: Ms. Tyler is a longtime favorite of mine, but I just didn't care much for this story. It was about a middle-aged man who had his life routines disrupted by his "woman friend" and a young boy who showed up at his house. I was very disappointed with the book.
5) The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristen Harmel: Thankfully, because I have read a couple of Ms. Harmel's books, I stuck with this one. I kept thinking it was too preposterous to be true.
The story began with a young baby being stolen from her home one evening. The woman who took the baby girl raised her in the wilderness of the forests in Poland teaching her everything when would need to know about survival. As the girl got older, she learned that there were groups of Jews hiding in the forests. She knew nothing about the war that was occurring and learned that a group of people called Nazis wanted to hunt down these people and kill them. Eventually, she began teaching a group that she had come across in the woods about survival techniques, etc. to help them live. She began to learn how to interact and socialize with others and they all became her family.
I just kept on reading the book, not sure where it was going and not especially happy that I was reading it. Until the end. I loved the ending and then was able to read the author's notes after the ending and learned that, of course, the story was based on real events. It is a book that I will read again and look at it differently. I should have trusted the author!!!
