Life with Cornelia

Cornelia Brown is back! If you read Marisa de los Santos' first book Love Walked In, you'll be thrilled to learn that you can jump back into life with Cornelia and Teo and Clare in the new novel, Belong to Me. Cornelia and Teo have married and moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia, and Clare is living with her mom back in Cornelia's old neighborhood but visits regularly. Cornelia has a bit of trouble making friends in her new home at first, but Piper and Lake turn out to be very important in her life--for surprising reasons. You'll love these characters--they are people I would love to get to know in "real life." If you haven't read Love Walked In, don't worry, you'll still be able to enjoy Belong to Me. De los Santos has a fresh way of writing that makes you feel like you're right there in the setting with her characters. You won't have any trouble getting to know Cornelia and her family and friends. I'm already waiting for the next installment of "life with Cornelia"... will there be one?

A new author to watch

Rebecca Johnson, contributing editor at Vogue magazine, has written a great first novel, And Sometimes Why. It's about a family, the McMartins, with two teenage daughters, Miranda and Helen. One ordinary morning, the girls argue about whose turn it is to drive the car, and Miranda wins. Helen ends up hitching a ride on the back of her boyfriend's motorcycle (unbeknownst to her parents, who don't even know about the existence of this boyfriend). From that point on, it is no ordinary morning. And there are no more ordinary days left for the McMartins. Helen and her guy are involved in a serious accident involving another car. The guy is killed, and Helen is left in a comatose state. Johnson lets us see the unraveling of this family as they deal with their grief, and the writing is heartfelt and true. In fact, I wondered if the author had been through something similar, because the words seemed so right. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident, who was not at fault, is Harry Harlow, a celebrity game show host. Johnson also takes us into his life and how the accident changed his life and really shook things up for him. He comes across as a gentle person who has not always been smart about his choices and in fact has just let life happen to him. He seems bewildered at where he finds himself. Although this novel is based on a tragedy, there is much to enjoy here--good writing, interesting characters, even a little humor.

The Dreaming Void

Peter F. Hamilton's new space saga, the first in a trilogy has just arrived at the library. Less action and more political than his previous novels (Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained), it takes place in 3589 more than 1500 years farther into the future. By this time humans have conquered immortality, but continue to look for the perfect religion. A growing number believe it can be found in the Void, a self-contained micro universe that is expanding in all directions consuming everything in its path, stars, planets, and civilization. Inigo, an astrophysicist who is studying the Void, dreams of this universe as a paradise where thoughts become actions and dreams become reality. His dreams are transmitted to hundreds of millions and a new religion, the Living Dream is born. Inigo becomes its prophet and when he disappears, another Dreamer encourages a pilgrimage into the Void which could trigger an apocalypse. A desperate race ensues to find Inigo and the second Dreamer. Some factions want to impede the pilgrimage and others to accelerate it. Could this pilgrimage ignite a catastrophic expansion of the Void? Be prepared for a cliffhanger!

A hidden life

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is an incredible book. Maggie O'Farrell has written a tender, wrenching story of a woman whose life has been a complete disaster. This woman, Esme Lennox, was bright, defiant, original, and ornery as a child, and that became her downfall. She enters the life of Iris Lockheart, who is her great-niece, very suddenly and unexpectedly. Iris leads a solitary but somewhat complicated life in Edinburgh, and she discovers quite out of the blue that (1) she has a great-aunt, and (2) this aunt is being released into her care after serving more than 60 years in a mental institution. We learn Esme's backstory gradually as we witness Iris and Esme's meeting and tentative relationship. We also learn about Iris's entanglements with a married man and with her beloved stepbrother. The fullness and richness of lives reduced dramatically by circumstances beyond their control made me have to catch my breath numerous times while reading this book. No one really gets what they want or need in this book, but it's still a satisfying journey for the reader because of its thought-provoking power. You will love and empathize with Esme after reading this book.

Gone but Not Forgotten

Gone, Baby, Gone is one of those books that stays with you long after you've turned the last page. Dennis Lehane has a knack for putting you right there in the midst of the action. In this case, the reading experience is not for the faint of heart. The story is about the abduction of a child, but it becomes much more than that, carrying you into the underworld of crime and crime-fighting in Boston. It's very dark but totally compelling. At one point, Patrick Kenzie has encountered a horrific scene of violence and depravity. He has trouble sleeping and continues to be assaulted by memory flashes of what he has seen. I could relate to that! I was as physically removed from that scene as I could be, sitting in my comfortable chair in front of the fireplace. But I felt a bit of that despair, and had to keep telling my mind to stop trying to recreate those images. Now that I've painted such a dreary picture, I should tell you that I do not regret reading this book. Despite the sad encounters, and the feelings of hopelessness the characters often felt and expressed, the author has skillfully shown me a section of the world that I probably would never encounter otherwise. And I have learned from it. Isn't that a good reason to read a book? Not to mention the fact that he kept me on the edge of that comfortable chair I mentioned--there are quite a few twists and turns in this story. Read it and weep.