THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB by Damien Angelica Walters

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Is it true that people become psychologists or psychiatrists because they have so many of their own personal problems? That seems to be the case with Heather, a child psychologist who is at the center of our story. 

The Dead Girls Club is billed as a supernatural thriller yet I did not find that to be the case. The more apt description, in my opinion, is it is a wannabe supernatural story but never gets there plus it's hardly thrilling. I had to force myself to get through the second half of the book. In fact, because it’s considered a supernatural thriller, I expected The Dead Girls Club to be a fast read that I wouldn’t be able to put down. I was wrong. Finally, while the ending caught me by surprise, it seemed anti-climactic.

The story is alternately told in ”Then” and ”Now” chapters with ”Then” being when our main character Heather is 12 and ”Now” is when she is 40-ish. For me, the ”Then” chapters were more compelling and interesting -- we learn about the Red Lady, an urban legend about a witch who was killed centuries ago. These stories were the most appealing element for me as was the buddy relationship between young Heather and Becca, the Red Lady storyteller.  

The ”Now” chapters were somewhat boring and didn't hold my attention as well. There seemed to be some redundancy and aspects came across as contrived. Her husband and two other childhood friends were never fully developed and didn’t play much of a role — it felt like the husband in particular was an afterthought.  These chapters show that Heather is spiraling out of control, becoming increasingly paranoid. She isn't exactly a likable or sympathetic character and that contributed to my being unengaged with the story.  

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

THE CONFESSION CLUB by Elizabeth Berg

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The Confession Club is a fun and fast read, much like a beach read. It’s a heartwarming and comfortable story about friendship, love, honesty, and second chances. While this is the third book in the Mason Series, it is a completely a stand-alone story and Berg fills in any missing details that you need to know. Just be warned that whether you read the first two books or not, you may find the beginning rather confusing like me even though I read Books 1 (The Story of Arthur Truluv) and 2 (Night of Miracles).

It was not easy for me to become engaged with this book and the characters. The first chapter introduced eight people, none of which were in the first two books, and I wasn’t able to get a feel for any of them. With chapter 2, the focus honed in on two main characters and I began to enjoy the story. What wasn’t clear to me while reading chapter 1 was that all of the eight new people were secondary or actually tertiary in importance.

The book tells of a group of people that began as a supper club and has evolved into a confession club where women share their insecurities and regrets in a nonjudgmental setting. 

Naturally, it was endlessly fascinating, what people confessed to. There was a saying someone shared at an early meeting: The truth is always interesting. So, too, an honest confession. And it wasn’t necessarily the sin that was interesting; it was the willingness to say, There. Have a good look at my imperfections. It made you feel better about your own.

“That’s what life is, at its best. A confession club: people admitting to doubts and fears and failures. That’s what brings us closer to one another, our imperfections.

“But to say out loud our missteps or inadequacies—to confess in an honest way and to be lovingly heard—well, that’s the kind of redemption we need on a regular basis.”

The reader will find, throughout the book, insights from everyday people and truisms about everyday life, which makes The Confession Club very real, relatable and at times inspirational.

All around are broken people, doing the best they can. And getting better.

“The only way to get out of that darkness is to go into it,” Karen says. “That’s how you can come out the other side. You’re going to have to hurt more before you finally feel better.”

For me, the story was not about the confession club but rather about Iris, who we met in Night of Miracles and her relationship with a homeless man named John, a vet with PTSD. While Iris is well developed, I didn’t feel like I got to know John that well but maybe that’s in keeping with his character because he has PTSD and isn’t forthcoming with details about his life.  For both of them, they get a second chance at love with each other.

When she abruptly revealed her feelings for John at Confession Club, and revealed as well a kind of shame at feeling this way about a homeless man, Joanie said, “Did you ever hear that Elaine May quote ‘The only safe thing is to take a chance’?”

While The Confession Club is entertaining, I found the first two books more enjoyable and satisfying. In fact, The Story of Arthur Truluv is a wonderful book that everyone needs to read. What? You haven’t read it? Well, get to it!

THE MOTHER-IN-LAW by Sally Hepworth

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Why does the Mother-in-Law always get the bad rap? Sometimes it’s deserved and sometimes not. I’ll let you be the judge. The distinctive feature of this book, my first by Sally Hepworth, is that it’s told from two POVs — the Mother-in-Law (Diana) and the Daughter-in-Law (Lucy).  The reader gains insight into their complicated relationship by learning how each of their perceptions of the same situation and/or their motivations differ.  In typical fashion, the Mother-in-Law seems like an awful and unfair person who seeks to control her children but when I read Diana’s POV, it gave me a whole different take and my opinion of her changed accordingly.  It’s so easy for misunderstandings to occur and this book drives that point home.

But for some reason, despite our similarities, when I look at her, all I see are our differences.

A Mother-in-Law can’t help but be in a no win situation. It’s difficult to navigate being attentive versus annoying, generous versus spoiling the grandchildren, having strong opinions versus being controlling, etc. Similarly, there is only so much a Daughter-in-Law can do to gain the approval of their Mother-In-Law.

Everyone, no matter how old they are, wants their mother’s approval. And EVERYONE, no matter who they are, wants their mother-in-law’s.

Of all the worries I’d had—that she wasn’t the mother-in-law I’d wanted, that she didn’t live up to my expectations—I hadn’t, narcissistically as it turns out, considered that she wouldn’t like me.

Someone once told me that you have two families in your life—the one you are born into and the one you choose. But that’s not entirely true, is it? Yes, you may get to choose your partner, but you don’t, for instance, choose your children. You don’t choose your brothers- or sisters-in-law, you don’t choose your partner’s spinster aunt with the drinking problem or cousin with the revolving door of girlfriends who don’t speak English. More importantly, you don’t choose your mother-in-law. The cackling mercenaries of fate determine it all.

The reader will definitely be drawn in by the first sentence:

I am folding laundry at my kitchen table when the police car pulls up.

The Mother-in-Law is a fun and fast read and I will definitely read more of Sally Hepworth’s work.

           

THE CHILD OF AUSCHWITZ by Lily Graham

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Could a baby be born in Auschwitz and survive? I know that babies were routinely killed at Auschwitz but I would never have imagined that one could be both born and survive. The Child of Auschwitz is the story of that miracle and is based on the life of Vera Bein who gave birth to a daughter in December of 1944 while in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

I was born into a world that had forbidden my existence.

The simple fact of me, had any of the authorities known, would have been enough to end my life before it had even begun. Still, I came. Small, and half-starved, yet determined to be alive, on one of the coldest nights in one of the darkest places in human history.

Lily Graham seamlessly interweaves the story of Eva Adami while in the camps and several years before being captured. While there are sections that explore the past, Eva also tells stories, including how she met her husband and their courtship, to a small group of other female prisoners to detract them from their hellish existence. We become acquainted with Eva’s family and learn how Eva met Michal, who becomes her husband. Eva voluntarily goes to Auschwitz from the Terezin Jewish ghetto in order to find her beloved Michal. Accompanying her is Sofie, her new friend who’s in search of her cousin who looked after her young son Tomas until  she was captured. She needs to find out from the cousin where she hid her son so she can find him after the war. We witness the exceedingly close and remarkable friendship between Eva and Sofie, both of whom are completely devoted to one another and will do whatever it takes to both protect and save each other. It is a beautiful friendship that seemingly knows no bounds.

Eva shows incredible strength and resilience and we really get to know her and Sofie. It is a moving and emotional story that will hold the reader until the final pages.It was truly miraculous that a baby could born to a mother who is starving and stick thin. It was also a godsend that the baby was unable to cry, due to the tiny size of her lungs, and so could live undetected by the Nazis. 

I barely made a sound, my underdeveloped lungs unable to allow me to cry. It would make my life hard, a price I would pay for all my years, but it is why I survived.

While the atrocities inflicted on fellow human beings are unimaginable and incomprehensible, this is also a story about hope, courage, a determination to survive, friendship and a Mother’s love for her child.  The Child of Auschwitz is beautifully written and the character development is very well done. The ending felt rushed to me but this did not deter from my overall positive reading experience.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

THE BROTHERS OF AUSCHWITZ by Malka Adler

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The Brothers of Auschwitz, a biographical novel,  is the most moving and disturbing Holocaust book I’ve ever read and there have been quite a few. Yes, any story about the experience of being in a concentration camp is deeply upsetting but this one was extremely raw and emotional for me. The detail is exceptional and it will shock you to your core. The reader will feel the pain, anguish, desperation, helplessness, terror, and the horrors of it all as experienced by these two brothers who were taken at 15 and 16 years old. You can’t help but feel outrage that human beings were treated in such a brutal and barbaric way.

We all knew the method at Zeiss. The method: No food, no water, no place to breathe, no shower, no coat, no medication, just work, work fast, until death comes. It takes about three months to come. In the meantime they bring a fresh, healthy consignment and the old-timers get on a train to the nearest available crematorium. Yes. Three months was enough for the Germans to turn healthy young men into a pile of disgusting rags.

There are aspects of being a concentration camp prisoner that I never even contemplated but are on clear display in this book. Yes, it is very difficult to read at times but I feel it is an important book that is worth reading because it brings the experience to life like no other book. There is a marked tension throughout the story that had me on the edge of my seat, unable to put this book down.

This is a story about family, love, the will to survive and above all else, hope. The bond between these two brothers is remarkable and you cannot help but wonder if either would’ve made it through without the other. It is a miracle that they even found each other and were able to stay together. 

What really makes this story stand out from all the others I’ve read is that roughly one-third of the way through the book the war ends. It’s the aftermath that we witness up close and the post traumatic stress that the brothers experience for the rest of their lives. Acclimating to civilized life after suffering and struggling to merely survive is no easy task. It is impossible for them to escape the images, memories and even the smells. 

Sometimes I have images with sound from life in the camps. The images and sounds come like thieves in the day.

There are so many things these former prisoners had to learn or relearn — not to gulp their food, not to steal food, not to keep food in their pocket or hidden in their bed, to say please and thank you, to wash their hands before a meal, and so much more.  There were many newly acquired fears that stuck with them. Because they were shuttled in cattle cars from one camp to the next, one brother won’t ever get on a train. Also feared are hospitals and one brother refuses to ever set foot in one — as a result, he won’t even go for a much needed cataract surgery. One brother confesses that he can’t and won’t go anywhere near a BBQ. Going to a bakery is a very scary proposition because of the ovens. Then there are the mental images and sound bytes that assault their senses at any time. You may leave the concentration camp but the camp never leaves you. 

I realized that the war had ended in the world but not in people’s hearts. I knew, the war would never ever leave us. Just like putting a boiling iron with a number on the body of a calf. The calf grows older, the number remains unchanged.

In fact, after the war was over, the brothers discovered there was a new “hell.” Safely ensconced in Israel, they faced humiliation and later felt shame.

...you went like sheep to the slaughter and didn’t resist. You didn’t fight like men. There were thousands of you in their trains, why didn’t you revolt. You could have grabbed their guns, at least wiped out a few Germans before the crematorium. Aah. We felt new enemies had risen against us. For the Germans we were garbage, in Eretz-Israel we were sheep.

We should have attacked them. We should have caused havoc, stopped those convoys walking and walking to the crematorium as if they were handing out candies on sticks in there. They’d have fired their rifles, so what, was gas any better? At least we’d have stopped the pace of death, I think about that and go mad. 

Before the hunger we could have risen against them. The hunger weakened our minds. A hungry person can’t think about anything, his mind is stupid. The Germans took care to make us stupid in the camps, so we wouldn’t notice the convoys going to the crematorium, is it any wonder that we were silent? People didn’t even have the strength to commit suicide. The mind needs a lot of strength to think it’s better to die.

There seems to be some issue with the translation as what’s written seems “rough around the edges.” Perhaps it will be improved when published but if it’s not, it is still a book that needs to be read.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK One More Chapter and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

EVERY THING YOU ARE by Kerry Anne King

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Everything You Are is both a heartwarming and heartbreaking story that is an enjoyable read.  It is about a cello, a magical cello that tears a family apart and ultimately, brings it back together. It is well-written and includes important themes like addiction and suicide plus forgiveness, love, redemption, family, and hope.

Braden Healey is an accomplished cellist who, after an unfortunate accident, can no longer make music. He is convinced he is cursed. Divorced from his wife and kept from his children, he has succumbed to a life of alcoholism and has given up all hope. But after his ex-wife and son are killed in a tragic car accident, he is left with no choice but to return in order to raise his 17 year old daughter Allie and protect her from the curse.

Even though he is an alcoholic, Braden has other redeeming characteristics that makes him a sympathetic character. He is trying to make amends with his daughter but she rejects his efforts at every turn. While desperate to remain sober, he feels pulled to drink again and again. Braden is a broken person forced into a situation that will cause him to rise to the role of Father despite setbacks along the way or fail miserably and lose his daughter.

<i>Braden does the math, the number of days from Monday to Thursday divided by the distance between him and the drink he just poured, multiplied by the enormity of his failure and loss. All the calculations come out to the same answer: he is a miserable excuse for a human being.</i>

<i>Braden needs a wall to lean on. He needs to be nicely inebriated, lubricated, sloshed, to protect him from his daughter’s venom and the overpowering presence of the cello. He needs it so bad he can taste the wine in his mouth, warming his throat, creating a shield between him and his emotions.</i>

At the urging of a friend Braden joins what appears to be a novel approach to deal with alcoholism, in contrast to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). It is called Adventure Angels and is a different kind of support group. Instead of what is considered to be AA’s themes of guilt, shame and powerlessness, Adventure Angels treat each day like an adventure and try to bring a positive experience to someone else, perhaps through an altruistic act. If the member suffers a setback, they inform the group who then decides on an adventure for them. Some might say this approach reinforces their bad behavior but Adventure Angels consider it a celebration of an individual’s return to sobriety.

The cello plays a predominant role in the story.  This musical instrument is the one thing that Braden and Allie have in common. He paid for music lessons so that she could learn to play the cello, but like her father, she has given it. Braden and Allie hear it playing music at times and also feel a magnetic pull toward it. The magical realism element adds another layer and for me, greatly enhanced the story. But the power of music truly has the power to heal.

<i>In all of the years since he walked away from his music, his home, and his family, the cello has followed him into his dreams, inhabited all of his waking moments. A phrase of music here, a sensation of strings beneath his fingers there, a phantom bow in his hand when he’s drowning his memories in a bar.</i>

   

<i>Maybe he and Allie still have a chance. Maybe they can connect over the music. If he could teach her, it would be almost like playing himself.</i>

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.