book club

Jamie Ford's Songs of Willow Frost

From Jamie Ford, the New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, comes a much-anticipated second novel. Set against the backdrop of Depression-era Seattle, Songs of Willow Frost is a powerful tale of two souls—a boy with dreams for his future and a woman escaping her haunted past—both seeking love, hope, and forgiveness.
 
Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.
(thanks to his website)

This book was a good read,I really enjoyed the 1920s and 30s Seattle era. The back and forth between both main characters was pretty smooth,too. I felt like it might have been too long towards the end but definitely a unique story. I give it a B.

Lisa Scottoline's Keep Quiet

Scottoline delivers once again with Keep Quiet, an emotionally gripping and morally complex story about one father's decision to protect his son — and the devestating consequences that follow.

Jake Buckman’s relationship with his sixteen-year-old son Ryan is not an easy one, so at the urging of his loving wife, Pam, Jake goes alone to pick up Ryan at their suburban movie theater. On the way home, Ryan asks to drive on a deserted road, and Jake sees it as a chance to make a connection. However, what starts as a father-son bonding opportunity instantly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes, and with Ryan’s entire future hanging in the balance, Jake is forced to make a split-second decision that plunges them both into a world of guilt and lies. Without ever meaning to, Jake and Ryan find themselves living under the crushing weight of their secret, which treatens to tear their family to shreds and ruin them all.

Powerful and dramatic, Keep Quiet will have readers and book clubs debating what it means to be a parent and how far you can, and should, go to protect those you love.

(thanks to her website)

I "hated" this book after the first chapter :) It made me so anxious and nervous and upset through the whole story because it is such a powerful and realistic situation. I seriously had to take breaks while reading just to settle down because Jake was making me nuts. I did think that at one point towards the end that it was a bit too wacky with the twists and I really did miss the court/lawyer aspects and settings that are normally in LS's novels. I saw the ending coming about halfway through;I also give this a B.