HUMP DAY SERENDIPITY: WAITING FOR “NO CHILD OF MINE” — MAY 8

Welcome to another event that features books we are eagerly awaiting.  Visit Jill, at Breaking the Spine, to see what everyone is anticipating.

I just discovered a book that is my kind of read.  No Child of Mine, by Susan Lewis, is a glimpse into a devoted social worker’s world.  To be released on May 14, 2013.

 

 

Alex Lake’s day job is all about helping people, especially children. She cares about them passionately and does everything in her power to rescue them from those who mean them harm. It’s as frustrating a career as it can be rewarding, though all too often she is left wondering if she has done enough. When the case of three-year-old Ottilie Wade comes to her attention everything changes. She finds herself completely unable to detach from the child the way she should, and feels an overpowering need to make a real difference in little Ottilie’s life. To do this she needs the support of her superiors, but no one is prepared to believe that Ottilie is in danger. In the end, Alex follows the only course left to her, and takes law into her own hands.

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What book is calling to you today?  Come on by and share….

SERENDIPITOUS WEDNESDAYS: WAITING FOR “ALWAYS WATCHING” — FEB. 27

Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.  This is our special day for serendipitous finds, or books that we might not have known about without this event.

My serendipitous moment today came when I happened upon an upcoming release by a favorite author, and now I am very excited!  Chevy Stevens has a book coming out on June 18:  Always Watching.

Amazon Description: She helps people put their demons to rest.  But she has a few of her own…

In the lockdown ward of a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Nadine Lavoie is in her element. She has the tools to help people, and she has the desire—healing broken families is what she lives for. But Nadine doesn’t want to look too closely at her own past because there are whole chunks of her life that are black holes. It takes all her willpower to tamp down her recurrent claustrophobia, and her daughter, Lisa, is a runaway who has been on the streets for seven years.

When a distraught woman, Heather Simeon, is brought into the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit after a suicide attempt, Nadine gently coaxes her story out of her—and learns of some troubling parallels with her own life. Digging deeper, Nadine is forced to confront her traumatic childhood, and the damage that began when she and her brother were brought by their mother to a remote commune on Vancouver Island.  What happened to Nadine?  Why was their family destroyed? And why does the name Aaron Quinn, the group’s leader, bring complex feelings of terror to Nadine even today?

And then, the unthinkable happens, and Nadine realizes that danger is closer to home than she ever imagined. She has no choice but to face what terrifies her the most…and fight back.

Sometimes you can leave the past, but you can never escape. 

Told with the  trademark powerful storytelling that has had critics praising her work as “Gripping” (Kirkus), “Jaw-dropping” (Publishers Weekly) and “Crackling with suspense” (People magazine), ALWAYS WATCHING shows why Chevy Stevens is one of the most mesmerizing new talents of our day.

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I am now going to explore some blogs and see what other books I can add to my list!  Why don’t you come on by and take a peek here….

SERENDIPITOUS WEDNESDAYS: WAITING ON “THE CAT” — FEB. 13

Good morning, Blog World!  Welcome to another Serendipitous Wednesday, in which we celebrate the books we are eagerly anticipating.  Join our host,  Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Today I’m sharing about a book that grabbed my attention awhile ago.  The Cat, by Edeet Ravel, a story of loss and learning how to go on afterwards, will be released on March 26, 2013.

 

SINGLE MOTHER ELISE IS completely devoted to her eleven-year-old son; he is her whole world. But that world is destroyed in one terrifying moment when her son is killed in a car accident just outside their home. Suddenly alone, surrounded by memories, Elise faces a future that feels unspeakably bleak—and pointless.

Lost, angry, and desolate, Elise rejects everyone who tries to reach out to her. But as despair threatens to engulf her, she realizes, to her horror, that she cannot join her son: She must take care of his beloved cat. At first she attempts to carry out this task entirely by herself, shut away from a frightening new reality that seems surreal and incomprehensible. But isolation proves to be impossible, and before long others insinuate themselves into her life—friends, enemies, colleagues, neighbors, a former lover—bringing with them the fragile beginnings of survival.

Powerfully moving and deeply humane, The Cat is an unforgettable novel about the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.

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What do you think?  I know I’m eager to read this, because I thoroughly connect to stories about resilience after tragedy. 

EAGERLY AWAITING “THE INTERESTINGS” — FEB. 6

 

Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Today’s feature is a book by Meg Wolitzer, due out on April 9, 2013.  The Interestings is a dazzling, panoramic novel about what becomes of early talent, and the roles that art, money, and even envy can play in close friendships.

Blurb:  From bestselling author Meg Wolitzer a dazzling, panoramic novel about what becomes of early talent, and the roles that art, money, and even envy can play in close friendships.
The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. In The Interestings, Wolitzer follows these characters from the height of youth through middle age, as their talents, fortunes, and degrees of satisfaction diverge.

The kind of creativity that is rewarded at age fifteen is not always enough to propel someone through life at age thirty; not everyone can sustain, in adulthood, what seemed so special in adolescence. Jules Jacobson, an aspiring comic actress, eventually resigns herself to a more practical occupation and lifestyle. Her friend Jonah, a gifted musician, stops playing the guitar and becomes an engineer. But Ethan and Ash, Jules’s now-married best friends, become shockingly successful—true to their initial artistic dreams, with the wealth and access that allow those dreams to keep expanding. The friendships endure and even prosper, but also underscore the differences in their fates, in what their talents have become and the shapes their lives have taken.

Wide in scope, ambitious, and populated by complex characters who come together and apart in a changing New York City, The Interestings explores the meaning of talent; the nature of envy; the roles of class, art, money, and power; and how all of it can shift and tilt precipitously over the course of a friendship and a life.

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What exciting features await each of you?  I’ll be stopping by….

WAITING ON “ANOTHER FORGOTTEN CHILD” — JAN. 9

Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday event, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine. 

Today’s feature is a book I’m eagerly anticipating, due out on 2/5/13.  Not long to wait!  Another Forgotten Child, by Cathy Glass, spotlights issues with the child welfare system.

Eight-year-old Aimee was on the child protection register at birth. Her school repeatedly reported concerns about her bruises. And her five older half-siblings were taken into care many years ago. So no one can understand why she was left at home to suffer for so long. It seems Aimee was the forgotten child.

The social services are looking for a very experienced foster carer to look after Aimee and, when she reads the referral, Cathy understands why. Despite her reservations, Cathy agrees to Aimee on – there is something about her that reminds Cathy of Jodie (the subject of ‘Damaged’ and the most disturbed child Cathy has cared for), and reading the report instantly tugs at her heart strings.

When she arrives, Aimee is angry. And she has every right to be. She has spent the first eight years of her life living with her drug-dependent mother in a flat that the social worker described as ‘not fit for human habitation’. Aimee is so grateful as she snuggles into her bed at Cathy’s house on the first night that it brings Cathy to tears.

Aimee’s aggressive mother is constantly causing trouble at contact, and makes sweeping allegations against Cathy and her family in front of her daughter as well. It is a trying time for Cathy, and it makes it difficult for Aimee to settle. But as Aimee begins to trust Cathy, she starts to open up. And the more Cathy learns about Aimee’s life before she came into care, the more horrified she becomes.

It’s clear that Aimee should have been rescued much sooner and as her journey seems to be coming to a happy end, Cathy can’t help but reflect on all the other ‘forgotten children’ that are still suffering…

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Why am I waiting for this one?  Having worked in the child welfare system for many years, I am all too familiar with those cases that fall through the cracks.  This one sounds like a must read.

What are you waiting for?  Come on by and share….

 

 

WAITING FOR “LIFE AFTER LIFE” — JAN. 2

Good morning!  I am really happy to be back to the normalcy of our regular Wednesday, with upcoming reads as the centerpiece.  Check out Breaking the Spine to see what everyone is waiting for.

My pick today is a Kate Atkinson book to be released on April 2, 2013:  Life After Life.

What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

Does Ursula’s apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can — will she?

Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best.

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I’m excited about this.  Why?  I have adored several books by this author.

What are you waiting for?  Come on by and share.

SERENDIPITOUS WEDNESDAYS — WAITING ON “THE GLASS BUTTERFLY” — AUGUST 15

Welcome to a Serendipitous Wednesday in which we discover upcoming releases we’re excited about.  Hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine, hop on over and see what’s coming.

My pick today is an exciting book due out 8/28/12, called The Glass Butterfly, by Louise Marley.

 

The only way therapist Victoria Lake can think to protect her estranged son, Jack, from a case turned deadly is to make a complete break from the past. As painful as it is, it’s safer for him if he – and her enemies – think she’s dead. Jack never wanted to believe in his mother’s psychic abilities. Yet he can’t deny his own conviction that she’s alive, despite the meticulous police investigation and the somber funeral. To survive, Victoria knows she has to reinvent herself completely. She can’t even listen to her beloved Puccini. But without the music in her ears, eerie dreams invade her sleep. Lush with the sounds and sights of 19th-century Tuscany, they’re also loaded with a present-day warning she can’t afford to ignore…

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I am so glad I don’t have long to wait for this one!  What are you waiting for?  Come on by and share….

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY — THE ACCIDENTAL FEMINIST — DEC. 21

 

Welcome to another edition of Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Today I’ve found a title that fits in with the theme of this blog about “accidental moments” and “serendipity.”

The Accidental Feminist, by M. G. Lord, is all about how Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary actress, has lived her life defiantly in public—undermining post-war reactionary sex roles, helping directors thwart the Hollywood Production Code, which censored film content between 1934 and 1967.

 

Movie stars establish themselves as brands—and Taylor’s brand , in its most memorable outings, has repeatedly introduced a broad audience to feminist ideas. In her breakout film, “National Velvet” (1944), Taylor’s character challenges gender discrimination,: Forbidden as a girl to ride her beloved horse in an important race, she poses as a male jockey. Her next milestone, “A Place in the Sun” (1951), can be seen as an abortion rights movie—a cautionary tale from a time before women had ready access to birth control. In “Butterfield 8″ (1960), for which she won an Oscar, Taylor isn’t censured because she’s a prostitute, but because she chooses the men: she controls her sexuality, a core tenet of the third-wave feminism that emerged in the 1990s. Even “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966) depicts the anguish that befalls a woman when the only way she can express herself is through her husband’s stalled career and children…

Defying death threats she spearheaded fundraising for AIDS research in the first years of the epidemic, and has championed the rights of people to love whom they love, regardless of gender. Yet her powerful feminist impact has been hidden in plain sight. Drawing on unpublished letters and scripts as well as interviews with Kate Burton, Gore Vidal, Austin Pendleton, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Smith, and others, The Accidental Feminist will surprise Taylor and film fans with its originality and will add a startling dimension to the star’s enduring mystique.

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I would never have pictured Taylor as a “feminist,” but from this blurb, I can see how we could reach these conclusions.

I’m eager to read this book.

What are the rest of you waiting for?  I hope you’ll come on by and share.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY — HOME FRONT — NOV. 2

 

Welcome to another edition of Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

This event allows us to spotlight upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.

Today I’m excited about a book from a favorite author, Kristin Hannah:  Home Front, coming on January 31, 2012.

Blurb:  From a distance, Michael and Joleen Zarkades seem to have it all: a solid marriage, two exciting careers, and children they adore.  But after twelve years together, the couple has lost their way; they are unhappy and edging toward divorce.  Then the Iraq war starts.  An unexpected deployment will tear their already fragile family apart, sending one of them deep into harm’s way and leaving the other at home, waiting for news.   When the worst happens, each must face their darkest fear and fight for the future of their family.  An intimate look at the inner landscape of a disintegrating marriage and a dramatic exploration of the price of war on a single American family, HOME FRONT is a provocative and timely portrait of hope, honor, loss, forgiveness, and the elusive nature of love.

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What are you anticipating eagerly today?  Please stop by and share….

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY — SHOCKAHOLIC — OCT. 19

 

Welcome to Waiting on Wednesday, our time to share about upcoming releases we’re anticipating.   Hosted by Breaking the Spine, you can take part, too, by spotlighting what you’re excited about, and linking up at the site.

My WOW is another book by Carrie Fisher, whose many other page-turning tomes have me eagerly reaching for this new one, due out November 1, 2011.

Shockaholic is a memoir that highlights some of the author’s recent treatments for her bipolar disorder.  Expect that same sense of humor she displays in all of her books.

In Fisher’s newest memoir, it appears she has yet another brand-new problem to overshare about (though don’t expect to relate to it). This time, the electro-convulsive shock therapy she’s been regularly undergoing is threatening to wipe out (what’s left of) her memory.

But get ready for a shock of your own. Not only doesn’t she mind paying the second electric bill, but she loves the high-voltage treatments. In fact, she gets a real charge out of them. She can’t get enough. In fact, this might even be a brand-new addiction for her. But before she can truly commit herself to it in the long term, she’d better get some of those more nagging memories of hers on paper.

It’s been a roller coaster of a few years for Carrie since her Tony- and Emmy-nominated, one-woman Broadway show and New York Times bestselling book Wishful Drinking. She not only lost her beloved father, but also her once-upon-a-very-brief-time stepmother, Elizabeth Taylor. And as if all that weren’t enough, she also managed to lose over forty pounds of unwanted flesh—not by sawing off a leg (though that did cross her zapped mind) but by doing what might be termed “wishful shrinking,” all the while staying sober and sane-ish. And she wants to tell you, dear reader, all about it . . . and more.

Why? Because she wants you to someday be able to remind her about how Elizabeth Taylor settles a score and the scatological wonders of shoe tycoons. She doesn’t want to forget about how she and Michael Jackson became friends or how she ended up sparring with none other than Ted Kennedy on a dinner date. And she especially wants to preserve her memories of Eddie Fisher—what their relationship really was and the beautiful story it turned out to be in the end.

Yes, of course, Shockaholic is laugh-out-loud funny, acerbic, and witty as hell. But it also reveals a new side of Carrie Fisher that may even bring a pleasant shock your way: it is contemplative, vulnerable, and ultimately quite tender.

 

I’m very excited about this newest book by a favorite author.  What are you anticipating?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….