The Good Sister by Jamie Kain

The Good Sister by Jamie Kain *YA
Reviewed by Cassandra, Teen Librarian at Mary Jacobs

The Fault in Her Stars meets The Lovely Bones, only Sarah’s leukemia is in remission and she knows who is responsible for her death. The Good Sister is a fast-paced young adult novel.

Sarah, the oldest of the Kinsey sisters, draws us into her purgatory world in the opening chapter. We understand from the start, there is more to her death than meets the eye. Did Sarah fall to her death on the rocky coast, or did someone push her? Only one other person knows what happened to Sarah on the trail high above the Pacific Ocean, and she’s not talking.

Rachel, the middle sister, and Asha, the baby, take turns with Sarah, telling the story of their lives, sharing their feelings for one another and their experiences growing up with hippie parents in a carefree lifestyle. Pieces of the puzzle come together and we learn of the shocking events that led to Sarah’s death.

I didn't love the story but I can see the attraction. Just a fair warning this is a young adult book with all the trappings of a young adult book: alcohol and intense relationships. 

That Night by Chevy Stevens

That Night by Chevy Stevens

Fifteen years ago Toni’s younger sister was murdered.  Toni and her boyfriend Ryan were accused and convicted of the crime.  Now Toni and Ryan have been released from prison and are trying to form new lives for themselves.  They are not supposed to have contact, but years later feelings between the two are still strong, and they unite to uncover who really killed Toni’s sister.  It seems that there are members of the small Vancouver Island community that don’t want the real killer named, or refuse to believe that the convicted could actually be innocent.

This was one of those very rare occasions where my mother and I were reading the same book at the same time.  I will admit she named the murder before the end of the book.  I did not: point to mom!

It was a good murder mystery, but I liked the whole sociological aspect of the plot.  An innocent woman goes to prison as a young adult and comes out fifteen years later.  What must that be like?  Forget the whole incarcerated while innocent thing, how did prison change her?  And what did she have to do to survive?  And how do you find a normal life after being out of society for so long?  The changes Toni underwent, and the way she suffers even after paying her debt to society were what made this book so interesting to me.

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

Deb and Chip are honeymooning in the British Virgin Islands when they discover mermaids on a snorkeling trip.  What follows is a scarily realistic depiction of what may actually happen if mermaids were found to be real: denial, hate groups, exploitation by tourism, etc.  Then things get really weird.

This is a good choice on audio because the narrator captures Deb.  She is a narcissistic, shallow woman, or so we are led to believe, but there is more to her.  For the first disc or two you will be listening to her wedding and honeymoon preparations and you will doubt her depth as a character and her likability.  It was amusing listening to her ponder her life and honeymoon choices so I continued to listen.  Then, early in their honeymoon, Chip and Deb find the mermaids and she becomes more dimensional, but still a little odd.  In fact, everyone is odd, but when all gets really weird, it all makes sudden sense.  Definitely one of the more left field endings I’ve ever read.  But for all that it still fit. 

How would the world react to mermaids?  I’m sure leaving them in peace would never be in the cards.

The Forgers by Bradford Morrow

The Forgers by Bradford Morrow

A man is found dead, hands severed (and never found), in his home surrounded by priceless first editions and precious signed novels, most terribly damaged.  His sister Meghan is devastated and wants to know who could have possibly wanted to harm her brother Adam.  Meghan’s boyfriend, Will, is a convicted forger and when visiting Adam’s Montauk bungalow he recognizes many tools of the trade.  Yet Will refuses to begin doctoring books with forged signatures again, no matter how much money he could be making.  Until he starts to receive threatening letters, letters cleverly written in the hand of dead authors; this forger may be as good as Will once was.  What does this person possibly want with Will?

I listened to this book, but I was very fortunate to also have the print copy checked out at the same time.  There was a point early in the book where I swore I missed something, but I didn’t.  I was just confused.  And my confusion continued.  I can’t say why, it would ruin the book, but my puzzlement carried throughout.  Which wasn’t a good thing because when the big reveal happened I felt like somehow I already knew it, hence my confusion.  I’m sure after reading this paragraph you are perplexed – my apologies.  In summation, save your confusion for a twisty thriller that confuses on purpose with a big shocking reveal. 

Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches by Cherie Priest

Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches by Cherie Priest

Lizbeth Borden, made famous because of the double homicide by axe she was acquitted of at trial, has moved to the outskirts of Fall River, Massachusetts with her sister Emma.  Their house by the sea, Maplecroft, is ideal for their current activities: saving the people of Fall River from the creatures that sometimes come up from the sea as well as the ailments that occasionally affect the hapless residents.

Each chapter in the book is voiced by another character including Lizzie, her girlfriend Nance, the local doctor, Emma and other characters like a Professor from Miskatonic University.  For those in the know that reference to Miskatonic U. made you smile because it’s the fictional creation of H.P. Lovecraft many of his Cthulhu stories reference in one way or another.  So Lizzie and her axe are saving us all from the tentacled denizens of the deep.  It’s a neat concept and I did enjoy the mashup.  It was also really interesting to have an apocalyptic type of feel to a story that takes place in the late 1800s.  While technology is still in its infancy it is the heyday of amateur scientists and naturalists and hearing how they test and observe new life forms is disconcerting knowing how things would be done now, but interesting nonetheless.

The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit by Graham Joyce

The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit by Graham Joyce

It’s the 1970s and David takes a summer job at a resort in a decaying seaside town on the coast of England.  He chooses the location because the resort’s name is on the back of a faded photo of his father, a man who died when David was only three.  At the resort David is a green coat, one of the members of the entertainment group which organizes and runs activities for children and seniors.  He makes friends, some who seem more scary than friendly, and tries to find his place in this medley of characters.  Underlying it all are the apparitions of a well-dressed father and son that only he can see.  What tie do these figures have to his past?

As much as I dislike the term, this truly is a coming of age story.  David is a young college student who learns about love, loss and politics while working at the resort.  The time period and setting bring to life a very politically charged time in England that mirrors some of the issues we were battling in America.  It is a quick read, and a good listen, I jumped between both, that will bring a bit of summer sun to your winter nights.

A Good Marriage by Stephen King

A Good Marriage by Stephen King

Darcy is home alone because her husband of twenty-seven years is on a business trip.  Her favorite show starts in mere minutes and the television remote stops working.  She heads into the garage in search of AA batteries and trips over a box.  In it are the catalogs she loves (darn her husband for not giving them to her!) and something disturbing.  She knows she should leave well enough alone but she looks around some more and finds so much more.  Turns out that even after twenty-seven years there are things you don’t know about your spouse, even if you have a good marriage.

A short listen (only three discs!) based on one of the novellas in his 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars which has been made into a movie.  Looks like the movie will be MUCH different than the book based on the one sentence synopsis I read: could be interesting to compare the two.  A fun but disturbing listen from Uncle Stevie.