Finished: The Dreamers (Walker) Page-turning book about a mysterious virus that begins at a small college campus in California causing a freshman girl to fall asleep, unwakeable to her room mate, Mei, or anyone else. She's hospitalized and does not survive. Soon, other students on the same dorm floor are falling asleep the same way. As the town realizes the "sleep sickness" is a virus and is spreading very easily, it is forced to self-quarantine, even closing its borders to incoming or outgoing people. The book follows the story of the room mate, Mei, as she escapes the college quarantine and works to help all the people who are falling ill; a survivalist father and his two young daughters; a college professor; a husband and wife, new to the area, with their days old infant daughter; and one of the other young women from the dorm who had just had sex for the first time before falling asleep. Inside her, a baby grows as the young man who she slept with falls into his own bout of sleeping sickness. The strange thing about the sickness is that you can tell that the people are all dreaming by the movements of their eyelids and occasional arm movements. After a few weeks, and much drama where people drop at the most inopportune times, or where one father is shot trying to cross the barrier of the town, some of the people start slowly waking up. Some of the people die. And, some of the people keep on sleeping. The people who awaken have all had dreams of their past in detail, or what they believe is their future. The father of the new baby wakes thinking he's dreamed about a bunch of events that will happen in the future, only to have his wife tell him that everything he thinks is in the future, they already did in the past. The survivalist father has dreamed there will be a fire that destroys the town library, and sure enough, the library, where they have established a children's ward of sleepers, burns down. He manages to save his daughter who has fallen asleep. One heroic boy from the dorm floor saves the tiny newborn baby, but in doing so, he makes the choice to go for the baby first before Mei, who he has worked closely with and fallen for, and Mei succumbs to smoke inhalation. :-( At long last, everyone who doesn't die, wakes up...except for Rebecca, the pregnant girl. She sleeps through her pregnancy, contractions, c-section and her baby's first few months. She dreams that she has a son and goes through life with her son at various ages, very vividly, until she's a grown woman with an adult son. When she wakes up, all she can do is ask where her son is. She can't believe she's only 19 and has a new baby daughter. People eventually return to their normal lives, or as normal as can be, but everyone who fell into the sleep is profoundly affected. It was really surreal reading this book at this moment in time when we are facing this pandemic of the corona virus!

Finished: Sea Prayer (Hosseini) A beautifully written and illustrated book written as a letter from a father to a son just before they are set to journey on the perilous ocean as refugees, escaping their once idyllic, now war-torn Syrian city. The book is less than 50 pages, but powerful and heart wrenching in every word. Inspired by the horrific image of three year old Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy who washed up on the shore in 2015 after trying to flee Syria, Hosseini paints a vivid picture in his words, and illustrator Dan Williams, beautifully haunting watercolor pictures on every page. Definitely worth buying the real book for this one. I'm not sure the electronic reader would do it justice!

Finished: Greenwood (Christie) A very good book about four generations of the Greenwood family and how deeply trees and forests affect their lives and determine their choices. It begins in 2038 with Jacinda "Jake" Greenwood as she works on the last remaining forested island in North America. The trees all over the rest of the U.S and Canada have been destroyed by a fungal blight and people live in perpetual dust and poverty. Though her last name is Greenwood, she doesn't know she is related to the rich and powerful lumber tycoon, Harris Greenwood. What unfolds in beautiful prose is the history of her family going from 2038 to 2008 to 1974 to 1934 to 1908 and back again until the story ends with Jake and exactly what she's going to do with the family history she has partially discovered. 2008 tells the story of her own father, who she never knew, Liam Greenwood, who has become a master carpenter, a maker of fine furniture and beams from reclaimed wood. He had been in love with Jake's mother, and crafted for her a beautiful viola, but she rejected his proposal of marriage. When she discovered she was pregnant, she sent pictures of little Jacinda, but Liam was so heartbroken that he never responded. 1974 tells the story of Willow Greenwood, Liam's mother and an extreme activist against cutting down trees! When her rich father, Harris Greenwood, leaves her his entire estate upon his death, including that last island which Jake now finds herself working on, Willow gives it all to charity! She takes her son Liam and decides he will not be raised by the money like she was...raised to destroy things of beauty. 1934 tells the story of the Greenwood brothers, Harris and Everett, and the very divergent paths they took in life. Harris, who has been blind since macular degeneration took his sight at 16, has built himself up from nothing to one of the wealthiest lumber/business men in North America. He wants for nothing, except maybe for his illicit love with poet, Liam Feeney. Everett's life takes the opposite turn. When Harris enlists to fight in World War I right before his eyesight begins to fail him, Harris refuses to be medically dismissed. The day before Harris is to sail off, Everett ties him up and takes his place in the military...so all the awards that Everett gets for bravery go to Harris. Harris is livid with Everett and it causes a rift that takes many, many years to heal. Everett suffers from his experiences in the war and becomes a sort of vagabond who lives off the land when he returns home. It is simple fate one day when he is tapping some maple trees while squatting on the land of another rich man, R.J. Holt, when he finds a squalling newborn baby in a blanket cocoon hanging by one of his tapping nails, left for dead he presumes. He takes the baby to warm her up, intending to find her a good home, but falls in love with her along the way. He takes her train jumping, etc., and makes his way to his rich brother, Harris, who he hasn't seen in years. The baby ends up being Willow Greenwood. 1908 tells the tale of how the brothers came to be brothers and live off the land themselves. There is a horrific, fatal passenger train wreck, where one train collides with another, in which all the passengers are killed except for two young boys who seem to be about 10 years old....one from one train with dark hair, and one from the other train with blonde hair. They instantly bond and become wards of the town, though no one will take them in to live with them. The town asks an unmarried woman with a shack on her land if she'll take them in and she says yes, but she only lets them live in the shack. From then on, they are brothers. Their mishaps and purposeful misdoings become well known all around...but both boys survive and grow up, of course, to be Harris and Everett Greenwood. They were given the last name Greenwood by the town because they survived their teenage years by chopping and selling wood, but always selling it green before they were supposed to. So...the story is long, but compelling. I can say there are quite a few unlikable characters, but also some characters who you really root for! I will definitely look and see what else this author has written. :-)

Finished: The Wives (Fisher) A psychological kind-of thriller about a woman named Thursday who marries a man who already has two other wives. Well, not really, because his first wife divorces him when he meets Thursday. And, after Thursday miscarries their late term baby, he finds solace in another woman, who he proceeds to get pregnant. He tells Thursday that his first wife never wanted children, so he wanted children with her, therefore, they agreed that he could go back and forth between the two. After Thursday miscarries, he then adds the third "wife", even though they're not legally married...but now splits his time between the three. At least...that's what he tells Thursday. He also tells her that the other two wives are aware of the situation as well, so Thursday feels like they're all in the same boat loving this "amazing" man, Seth. When Thursday accidentally finds a receipt for the OBGYN in Seth's pocket, she suddenly knows the name of the third wife. They've never known each other's names. Against her better judgement, she googles the name and actually goes and meets the third wife, Heather, without telling her she is the second wife. Things spiral downhill from there after Seth finds out Thursday has spent time with Heather, and that Heather has confided that Seth has a temper. When Seth confronts Thursday, she had been about to confront him about bruises on Heather. She ends up falling and hitting her head and Seth has her taken to a psych ward, where he proceeds to tell the doctor she has had delusions before. He also tells Thursday when she wakes up that she's had delusions and a fantasy life ever since they traumatically lost their baby. It gets pretty convoluted not knowing who to believe...especially when wife number one, Regina, decides to take her revenge. It seems she NEVER agreed to any arrangement and Seth flat divorced her for Thursday because she wanted to focus on her career and not have children. It ends up pretty wacky and you still don't know who to believe...or whether to believe that Thursday really is mentally unstable, until the very end. :-) A pretty fast read, but not high on any favorite books list for me.

Finished: American Dirt (Cummins) Heartbreaking story of the grueling journey of a Mexican mother and her young son, Luca, as they flee the imminent danger of the cartel in Acapulco and attempt to migrate to the United States. Lydia works at a bookstore, and her husband is a journalist, who writes an expose about the local, very powerful, and very ruthless leader of the cartel in their area. When the cartel leader orders the execution of her entire family at her niece's Quinceanera, Lydia and Luca miraculously escape harm when they just happen to leave the party and go into the house so Luca can use the restroom. Sixteen of her family members lay slain in the courtyard, including her mother, her husband, her sister, nieces, and nephews. Without the time to grieve them for a single minute, Lydia throws some essentials into a backpack, takes her mother's purse that contains their family money, and runs with Luca. What ensues is their dangerous, horrific journey to the north....learning the ropes from other migrants...riding on tops of trains, putting their lives in the hands of a "coyote" to smuggle them across the border...constantly looking over their shoulders for the cartel to find them. Lydia and Luca meet two teenage sisters on the journey, and they become like family. Most of the other migrants are helpful as well, but there are always a few bad seeds in any good bunch that add to the terror of the journey. This is a beautifully written story, and one that hit very close to home in terms of current events, as Lydia and Luca witness the huge wall with barbwire fence, cameras and border patrol in  the cities along the border which prevent them from crossing over to the U.S. They hear first hand stories from people who have lived in the U.S. for years, but who have just recently been deported, while their children, who are American citizens, are permitted to stay behind. The plight of these people is brought to heart wrenching light in a powerfully written book.

Finished: The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Morris) The true story of a young Slovakian Jewish man, Lale, who is taken to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, where he spends three years doing whatever he can to survive. Since he speaks several languages, he is put to work by the SS as the person who tattoos the incoming prisoners.They call him Tatowierer. He gets a few special privileges, such as a bit of extra food, and much less harassment from the guards. He uses whatever he can to share  his extra food with his fellow prisoners. One day he looks up at the arm that is shoved in his face to tattoo, and it's a frightened young girl. Lale falls in love with her on the spot, and from that day on is determined to meet her. Her name is Gita, and she falls in love with Lale as well. They do everything they can to survive the tortures of the camp, including frightening encounters with the evil doctor, Mengele. The story goes on to detail the atrocities of the camps and explores how Lale and Gita survive, with the help of many of their fellow prisoners and friends, most of whom do not make it out alive. In 1945, as the Russian army gets closer and closer to the camps, the Germans begin rounding up prisoners and shooting them or marching them out to other camps. Gita is marched out with the other women and she and Lale are devastatingly separated. Lale makes his way out of the camp on a train as the camp basically falls apart. Gita manages to escape from the march with four other women and makes her way back to Slovakia. Lale is taken by the Russian army to once again use his language proficiency to help them procure women for their parties at night. He's given all the food and showers he needs, and a bedroom to stay in, however, he's always under armed guard when he's taken into town to talk to the women and give them money and jewels to come back to the Russian headquarters. When the Russians finally trust him and send him on his own, Lale takes more money and jewels than he needs and makes his escape. He also makes his way back to Slovakia. He searches and searches for Gita with no luck until one day a towns person suggests he triy the Red Cross lists where many former prisoners returning home are registering to find loved ones. Then, one day in the streets (it's not really explained if it's because of the Red Cross lists) Lale and Gita finally cross each other and fall into each other's arms. They are married and finally have the child they always wanted. It's with the help of this son that the author has written this true story of two survivors of the horrors of the Holocaust.

Finished: The Testaments (Atwood) The much awaited sequel to The Handmaid's Tale was excellent, and a satisfying read if you've been wondering what happened after the end of the first book. You might have to brush up on that book before reading this one to remember the different characters. If you watched the series on TV, then you will be pretty much in tune with all the characters! This recap will have major spoilers, so I really suggest you not read past this point if you're going to read the book. The book was hard to put down and so well written. It's told from the viewpoints of three main characters, whose identities you figure out rather quickly. However, the different time periods that the story is told in may throw you at first, as you think they're all being told at the same time. I never thought I'd enjoy a book where one of the main narrators was Aunt Lydia! However, her back story was tragic, as are all of the women's back stories in the Gilead world. She survived and made herself into what she was, which rather seemed like a monster both in the first book and in the series. She did that to ensure her own safety. What is stunning in The Testaments is that she's actually working from deep inside, from her position of power, to bring down Gilead! Her machinations are deft and always ten steps ahead of the man in charge, Commander Judd. The other two narrators are girls when we meet them, and one is about 16 and the other about 23 as their identities are revealed. They are giving testaments to their own life stories, again, both tragic in the Gilead world and the Gilead-influenced Canadian world. They end up being the two daughters of June, otherwise known as Offred. Her oldest daughter, whose name is now Agnes, loves the mother who has raised her, and believes her story that she "rescued" Agnes from terrible people, chose her from all the other children, and ran with her to safety from the forest. Agnes has no memory of her real parents, but comes to know her story as she gains access to the genealogy trees of all the handmaids in Gilead. Agnes refuses to get married when she's 14, threatens to take her own life, and begs the Aunts to take her into their charge where she will become an Aunt herself. Aunt Lydia agrees. Meanwhile, baby Nicole, who had been rescued from Gilead by her mother, has also grown up with parents who are not really hers. She is now known as Daisy. They have loved her and protected her, but they have also been deeply working for the Mayday organization which helps women and children escape from Gilead. When they are murdered on what Daisy thinks is her 16th birthday, Daisy is spirited away by a good friend of her mother's, Ada. Ada moves her around and finally explains to her that she's the baby Nicole that all the children of Canada have learned about in school...the famous baby who was rescued from Gilead that Gilead has been searching for for years. Her real mother gave her up as an infant to protect her, but has kept her eye on her all these years. As it turns out, the only place to keep Daisy safe is Gilead itself! Ada and the Mayday organization have been in touch with their deep cover mole (who we all know is Aunt Lydia) and Aunt Lydia says she will be able to blow the entire Gilead operation apart if they can send her baby Nicole to help with the cause. So, Daisy is smuggled back IN to Gilead, and put under Aunt Lydia's charge. When Aunt Lydia finally explains to Daisy and Agnes that they are actually sisters, both daughters of a handmaid who'd been quite a rebel, they agree to transport all Aunt Lydia's knowledge of the evil doings of Gilead back over the border to Canada with a microchip implanted in Daisy's arm. Of course, the trip back is very suspenseful, but the sisters finally make it, and are embraced by their real mother at the hospital. Gilead is brought down by these brave women (and a handful of men). The last we see of Aunt Lydia, there is loud knocking on her door and we assume she is arrested. We don't witness her demise, but she had been ready to give her life for the cause. This was such a good book and a great wrap up of the stories of these characters. It might also be nice, though, to see another book that explores exactly what June was doing all that time.....though we may see more of that in the TV series!

Finished: There There (Orange) Eye-opening and heart-breaking book about a group of current day Native Americans, some related, some not, who all end up converging at the Big Oakland Powwow, after we spend the book reading about their lives, their back stories, their heartbreak, and their hopes for the future. Most of them live in Oakland, have had very tough lives, and are still barely hanging on, which causes some of them to do desperate things. Others of them find out they are actually related to one another in one form or another. Hearing the modern characters telling the stories of their ancestors, usually when relating the horror and oppression to a younger generation, was deeply moving. Great book! Thank you to my son for picking it out for me for Christmas. :-)

Finished: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Mackesy) I read this book in early December, when I saw it advertised and thought I might want to get it for my daughter, Jenny Cate, seeing as how she's a horse person, and had lost her beloved horse, Sara, recently. I loved the book, so got one for me too. The illustrations are as powerful as the prose. The message...friendship, family, being yourself, loving others. I was pretty much hooked from the beginning, when I read this exchange between the boy and the mole:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” asked the mole.

“Kind,” said the boy."

Just a lovely, lovely book full of lessons we could all learn from, especially in this crazy world today.

Finished: The Dutch House (Patchett) The story of the bond between two siblings, Danny and Maeve, who grow up in a huge, ornate house called The Dutch House...that is until their father remarries and the brother and sister are asked to move out of the house after their father dies, when Danny has just started college. Deserted by their mother when they are very young, Maeve and Danny are raised by their rather distant father and their nurturing housekeeper and cook until the remarriage. They are very supportive of, and protective of each other. Their step-mother marries the father more so because she's in love with the house rather than their father. She's got two young daughters of her own and they are shown favoritism as Danny and Maeve get older. As the years go by, Maeve and Danny will get together in her car, parked across the street from the house and wonder what their step-mother is up to, and if the house still looks the same inside. When their father dies, he leaves the entire house and all it's contents to his wife...but he does set up an educational fund for all the children to go however far they want in college and beyond. The book is very compelling and develops each character so deeply that you really come to care for Danny and Maeve. It's one of those books that stays with you even after you finish reading it. As they go on with their lives, Danny and Maeve always put each other first, much to the dismay of Danny's wife and children. And, when Maeve is in her early 50's and is debilitated by a heart attack due to her lifelong battle with diabetes, their mother comes back into the picture to spend time with Maeve, who was eight years older than Danny when she left, and longs to have the relationship back. Danny can't forgive his mother for leaving them and going off to help less fortunate people. She'd always hated the ostentatious house, was uncomfortable living in it, and just wanted to help the poor. Sadly, she did that at the expense of her own children. Maeve and Danny are finally able to put the Dutch House in the past when they go with their own mother to visit their step-mother and find her deteriorating from Alzheimer's. As is typical of their mother, she decides to move into the house and care for their step-mother. Maeve succumbs to her heart condition, and her namesake, May, Danny's daughter, eventually become a successful actress and buys the Dutch House after both her step-grandmother and grandmother have passed away. I really like this book and all the relationships that were developed in the telling of the story! Last book read of 2019!