Finished: Normal People (Rooney) This book will have to sit with me for a bit while I figure out how I feel about it. It's the story of two small-town Irish teens, Connell and Marianne. Connell's mother is a single mom who works as a housekeeper for the wealthier mother of Marianne. Connell and Marianne have known each other for a long time, and probably know each other better than anyone else knows them, but they are totally different...in totally different "groups" at the high school, and even though they like each other, must pretend to barely know each other at school. When their relationship turns sexual, they realize how much they mean to each other, but Connell is the popular one at high school, despite his economic background, and he doesn't want to lose his place among his friends by admitting he likes the very weird, stand-offish, but extremely intelligent, Marianne. He asks Marianne to keep their relationship a secret, even though he's crazy about her. When he asks someone else to the spring "deb" dance, it breaks Marianne's heart and she breaks up with Connell. They end up at the same college in Dublin the next year and it seems the tables have turned. Connell is the one who is completely out of place amidst the super-rich kids (he's there on scholarship) and Marianne suddenly has a group of friends who think she's the best. The book explores the ups and downs of their relationship as they get together on and off during their college years, while also dating other people. When it comes to light that Marianne's older brother has always physically and emotionally abused her, we see why she's got such a low self-worth and why she tends to pick partners who are controlling and abusive towards her, except for Connell. The book is very well written and delves deep into both  Connell's and Marianne's emotions and confused minds. They seem to always give so that the other one can shine, but almost always at their own expense. I wanted more closure when the book ended, so am wondering if there will be more down the road between these two.

Finished: The Boy From the Woods (Coben) A nice page-turner from my favorite mystery/who-done-it author! The boy is actually a man all grown up now called Wilde. He doesn't remember how he was left in the woods or by whom, but he spends a few years of his young childhood living off the land while also befriending the son of one of Coben's other recurring book characters, defense lawyer, Hester Crimestein. Wilde is now a person who can be called on to help find people or solve mysteries. (I have a feeling Coben is going to do another book with this character!) Wilde is contacted by Hester's grandson, Matthew, the son of the now deceased boyhood friend, when a friend of his at school, Naomi, goes missing. Naomi is not a popular girl and is mercilessly bullied by the popular crowd. Matthew feels guilty for standing by and not intervening. While figuring out what has happened to Naomi, Wilde comes upon a much larger scandal involving a fanatical politician with murder in his past, and the wealthy parents of one of the bullies who are trying to cover the tracks of their own involvement in that long ago murder. A pretty good read to take my mind off these stressful times! I hope Coben DOES do another book with Wilde. He's a great character! (And, of course, he solves all the mysteries lol.)