familysecrets

The Waters | Bonnie Jo Campbell

bailed

I gave it a good shot but just didn‘t really care about the characters and no mystery to keep me hanging on. Anyone else?

dabbe #hailthebail! 🤩🤩🤩 4w

30 likes1 comment

HettyG

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson: A Novel | Ellen Baker

pick

This is really a very sweet story. It also made me think about how much more common “open adoption” is these days (lots on this topic in my last book “Relinquished”) and how maybe it‘s not so much because it‘s the right thing to do, but also because it‘s just not optional anymore. With DNA testing the truth will out, anyone keeping an adoption a secret is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
Also, I would like to learn to make Cecily‘s 15 layer cake!

33 likes

marleed

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson: A Novel | Ellen Baker

pick

I think the cover art here is misleading. Although a Midwest 19th circus is the origin story of a 4-generation Minnesota family, this is much more about the potential discoveries to be found when submitting your DNA sample to an ancestory company. I find that fascinating because 👇

marleed A close friend‘s (in her 60s) dad is an octogenarian who always knew he was adopted but was never inclined to find out more. Well, my friend leaves nothing to mystery. Through ancestory.com she‘s connected her dad to half siblings and she continues to communicate with newfound cousins 3 states away. 👇 2mo

marleed And if that wasn‘t enough, she knew a deceased maternal aunt gave up a child many years ago. She found that child and found 3 additional half-siblings- all 1/2 to each other. She contacted all 4 and invited them (and some of their adult children) to her beautiful home where they all travelled to meet for the first time. The siblings met again last weekend and another trip is already planned for the summer. 2mo

Aimeesue Wow! What a great story. Curiousity leads to amazing things! 2mo

marleed @Aimeesue It‘s crazy to find such close relations on one side of a family, but that she got 1/2 siblings together on both her maternal and paternal sides is just unbelievable! I could listen to her for hours because those connections make her so incredibly happy. 2mo

57 likes4 comments

Texreader

The Waratah Inn | Lilly Mirren

Free ebook right now. Works for #Australia #readingOceania @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Librarybelle Thanks for posting this! 2mo

33 likes1 comment

Hooked_on_books

The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare | Kimberly Brock

pan

As if clunky transitions, poor balance, and the book within the book ultimately being underwhelming weren‘t enough, then the total white washing of 1940s South Carolina was appalling. Every book doesn‘t have to tackle social justice, but one set deep in Jim Crow and taking pains to examine white prejudice against other whites (the Italian POWs “look just like us” WOW) should, rather than calling enslaved people “workers.” Gross.

47 likes

kissmehardy

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson: A Novel | Ellen Baker

pick

What a great read! I love how the nonlinear narrative worked and how all the plot threads came together at the end. Cecily was a fascinating if VERY naive character early on, and I was just so happy that she got her happy ending. Probably a good book club book! #historicalfiction

15 likes1 stack add

marleed

The Waters | Bonnie Jo Campbell

pick

My thoughts here were all over the place. I wasn‘t keenly interested in the characters until Donkey (sweet reason for her name) took center stage at chapter 3. I thought the story might veer to a right-wing heavy-handed story on abortion which I wasn‘t interested in. It didn‘t; however, the concern impacted my experience. I got all the way to the end before realizing I really liked this and all its complicated relationships.

75 likes