Book Review: Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena

 

About:

Welcome to Stanhope - a safe neighbourhood. A place for families.

William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he's been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter Avery unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper.

Hours later, Avery's family declare her missing.

Suddenly Stanhope doesn't feel so safe. And William isn't the only one on his street who's hiding a lie. As witnesses come forward with information that may or may not be true, Avery's neighbours become increasingly unhinged.

Who took Avery Wooler?

Nothing will prepare you for the truth.

My Thoughts

When I finish a book in a day you know it is really good. In Everyone Here is Lying, we meet Dr. William Wooler a handsome medical doctor who is having an affair with co worker and neighbour Nora Blanchard. When Nora breaks off the affair, William becomes frustrated, so much so that he takes it out on his nine year old daughter Avery, who is deemed a difficult child.

When Avery goes missing, fingers start pointing and this is when the lies and lives of the peaceful community of Stanhope becomes intertwined.

What I like about this book is that it was very dramatic from beginning to end. Each character especially Avery was so unique that it made for a very interesting story. This is my first time reading a book by this author and of course it would not be my last. A great thriller to start my vacation.

Book Review: How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

 

About

Cara Romero thought she would work at the factory of little lamps for the rest of her life. But when, in her mid-50s, she loses her job in the Great Recession, she is forced back into the job market for the first time in decades. Set up with a job counselor, Cara instead begins to narrate the story of her life. Over the course of twelve sessions, Cara recounts her tempestuous love affairs, her alternately biting and loving relationships with her neighbor Lulu and her sister Angela, her struggles with debt, gentrification and loss, and, eventually, what really happened between her and her estranged son, Fernando. As Cara confronts her darkest secrets and regrets, we see a woman buffeted by life but still full of fight.

Structurally inventive and emotionally kaleidoscopic, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is Angie Cruz’s most ambitious and moving novel yet, and Cara is a heroine for the ages.

My Thoughts

This was our March Book Club Pick @we_read_books_period and it was a very interesting book indeed. Thanks for this recommendation.

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is set in Little Dominican Republic, New York at the height of the recession that occurred in the early 2000s. In the story we meet Cara an immigrant from the DR interviewing for a job after loosing her job in a factory where she worked for over 20 years.

Every chapter of the book is a different session of the interview. It is in this job search Cara tells of the life of an immigrant in the USA the highs and the lows. I love stories like these so it really gripped me.

Cara's relationships were very notable in the book. Her sister Angela, her friends Lulu and La Vieja Caridad these women all had struggles and similar demons to deal with. It was Cara's relationship with her son Fernando that took me on an emotional rollercoaster.

Very creative and somewhat poetic, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water is truly a MUST Read.

BOOK REVIEW: The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

About:

" New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America's history and legacy of racism in this suspenseful YA novel following a biracial teenager as her Georgia high school hosts its first integrated prom.

When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation … Maddy did it.

An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.

After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life.

But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret … one that will cost them all their lives. "

MY THOUGHTS

Loved It.

This is definitely a must read if you enjoy YA thriller.

In this book we meet Maddy Washington a shy teenager who has a deep dark secret that becomes revealed one rainy day on the track. This revelation makes Maddy's life even more miserable than it already was in a high school that does not embrace diversity.

As Maddy tries to survive at school, at home she had to deal with an abusive father who is determined at all cost to hide who his daughter really is. Maddy soon finds out a secret that could change her life forever, and that it did because the night of the prom was something that no one in the town of Springvale never forgot.

This book is the perfect example of how a thriller is supposed to be written. I hear people saying it was inspired by Carrie. I will definitely be trying to read Carrie now after reading this.

I especially loved how this book touched on serious issues and was able to do it in a very unique way. This was good.

I recommend this one.

 

Book Review: The Whispers by Ashley Audrain

 

About

From the author of THE PUSH, a pageturner about four suburban families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens--and what is lost when good people make unconscionable choices

The Loverlys sit by the hospital bed of their young son who is in a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night; his mother, Whitney, will not speak to anyone. Back home, their friends and neighbors are left in shock, each confronting their own role in the events that led up to what happened that terrible night: the warm, altruistic Parks who are the Loverlys' best friends; the young, ambitious Goldsmiths who are struggling to start a family of their own; and the quiet, elderly Portuguese couple who care for their adult son with a developmental disability, and who pass the long days on the front porch, watching their neighbors go about their busy lives.

The story spins out over the course of one week, in the alternating voices of the women in each family as they are forced to face the secrets within the walls of their own homes, and the uncomfortable truths that connect them all to one another. Set against the heart wrenching drama of what will happen to Xavier, who hangs between death and life, or a life changed forever, THE WHISPERS is a novel about what happens when we put our needs ahead of our children's. Exploring the quiet sacrifices of motherhood, the intuitions that we silence, the complexities of our closest friendships, and the danger of envy, this is a novel about the reverberations of life's most difficult decisions.

My Thoughts

Wow!!! Where do I start with this review? This book was a wild ride that's for sure. One night changed everything for the ladies of the suburb of Harlow Street, when Xavier, the son of Whitney fell through the window and is at hospital fighting for his life. The question was did he accidentally fall or was he pushed.

The ladies of the area Rebecca, Blair, Mara and Whitney were all neighbours in Harlow Street but the secrets they held....

This story is about friendship, relationships, jealousy. It really shows that as women many times we may look at someone's marriage or just their life in general and feel as if we are missing out or ask ourselves why can't I have a husband like that or a child like that.

Blair and Whitney were very well written characters. I really felt it for Rebecca though.

I highly recommend this one. It is full of drama yes. But equally it has some important life lessons for women.

Book Review: The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

About:

Michael was in a hurry. He was scrambling up the ladder at Drake & Sweeney, a giant D.C. law firm with eight hundred lawyers. The money was good and getting better; a partnership was three years away. He was a rising star with no time to waste, no time to stop, no time to toss a few coins into the cups of panhandlers. No time for a conscience.

But a violent encounter with a homeless man stopped him cold. Michael survived; his assailant did not. Who was this man? Michael did some digging, and learned that he was a mentally ill veteran who'd been in and out of shelters for many years. Then Michael dug a little deeper, and found a dirty secret, and the secret involved Drake & Sweeney.

The fast track derailed; the ladder collapsed. Michael bolted the firm and took a top-secret file with him. He landed in the streets, an advocate for the homeless, a street lawyer.

And a thief.

My Thoughts

The master of legal drama did not disappoint with this one. Michael Brock was an amazing character. Imagine a lawyer on the fast track to being a partner of one of the top law firms in D.C., when a hostage encounter with a homeless gunman would change his career drastically, sending him to be a lawyer for the homeless, hopeless and destitute. THE VOICELESS.

Many times persons enter the legal profession, or any profession to be of service to the community, but then when money comes in the way the focus becomes just that, getting rich. Grisham being the masterful storyteller that he is, worked in a message that persons should always try, especially as lawyers to remember that the job is there to provide a service, to be of a benefit to humanity and be a voice for those who cannot do it themselves. 

The cast of characters were amazing. The most notable being Mordecai, the head of the legal clinic that Michael eventually began working with, When I read legal books, I always look forward to a trial. I think more could have been done with the "Case of the Missing File" I wanted more drama there. 

Overall this was a good read.

 

Book Review: The Wife Before by Shanora Williams

About

Samira Wilder has never had it easy, and when her latest lousy job goes south, things only promise to get harder. Until she unexpectedly meets a man who will change her life forever. Renowned pro golfer Roland Graham is wealthy, handsome, and caring, and Samira is dazzled. Best of all, he seems to understand her better than anyone ever has. And though their relationship moves a bit fast, when Roland proposes, Samira accepts. She even agrees to relocate to his secluded Colorado mansion. After all, there’s nothing to keep her in Miami, and the mansion clearly makes him happy. Soon, they are married amid a media firestorm, and Samira can't wait to make a fresh start—as the second Mrs. Graham . . .

Samira settles into the mansion, blissfully happy—until she discovers long-hidden journals belonging to Roland’s late wife, Melanie, who died in a tragic accident. With each dusty page, Samira comes to realize that perhaps it was no accident at all—that perhaps her perfect husband is not as perfect as she thought. Even as her trust in Roland begins to dwindle and a shadow falls over her marriage and she begins to fear for her own life, Samira is determined to uncover the truth of Melanie’s troubled last days. But even good wives should know that the truth is not always what it seems . . .
 

MY THOUGHTS

The Wife Before by Shanora Williams was a very gripping thriller.

It follows Samira, a young woman who while taking up a waitressing gig to help pay her bills, encounters the very handsome, pro golfer Roland Graham. Roland is very handsome, rich and overall a good catch. As their relationship progresses Samira found out that Roland's ex wife committed suicide and that Roland was suspected as having something to do with it. Wanting to believe her (now husband) Samira set out on a quest to find the truth. Her curiosity is piqued further, when she finds journals from Melanie (The ex ) tucked away in a work shed.

The journals reveal a series of events and the contents could prove dangerous. Samira though becomes more determined than ever to get to the truth. It is her determination that made this book very exciting I think. I think the author was skilful in her use of the journals to dictate the past. To me that was the best part of reading the book. The ending was unexpected and this I liked as well.

A good quick read.

Book Review: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

 

About:

With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet.

Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, became obsessed with her purity, in particular, with the threat of what Rastas call Babylon, the immoral and corrupting influences of the Western world outside their home. He worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure, and believed a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience.

In an effort to keep Babylon outside the gate, he forbade almost everything. In place of pants, the women in her family were made to wear long skirts and dresses to cover their arms and legs, head wraps to cover their hair, no make-up, no jewelry, no opinions, no friends. Safiya’s mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life. And as Safiya watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under housework and the rigidity of her father’s beliefs, she increasingly used her education as a sharp tool with which to find her voice and break free. Inevitably, with her rebellion comes clashes with her father, whose rage and paranoia explodes in increasing violence. As Safiya’s voice grows, lyrically and poetically, a collision course is set between them.

How to Say Babylon is Sinclair’s reckoning with the culture that initially nourished but ultimately sought to silence her; it is her reckoning with patriarchy and tradition, and the legacy of colonialism in Jamaica. Rich in lyricism and language only a poet could evoke, How to Say Babylon is both a universal story of a woman finding her own power and a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we may know how to name, Rastafari, but one we know little about.'

My Thoughts

This memoir has to be one of if not the best memoir I have ever read in my entire life. Safiya Sinclair clearly took her time to paint a very clear picture of what her life was like growing up Rastafarian.

Hers is a story of pain and glory. What I absolutely love and appreciate about this story is the uniqueness of it. I was happy to learn more about Rastafarisnism customs especially.

Safiya and her family went through a lot, all members. Her father, I think is the most notable character. I love how in the midst of all the trauma the family experienced growing up with him, I cant help but feeling it made all of them stronger. I felt sad for him because, it seemed he had a vision of how his life would have turned out and felt like a failure in a way.

I cannot wait for my book club to unpack this.

This is a masterpiece.

Bridgertons #1: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

 About 

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...

This novel includes the 2nd epilogue, a peek at the story after the story.

My Thoughts 

This was my last book for 2023 and I enjoyed it a lot. As most people I would have watched Bridgerton on Netflix. I heard many mixed reviews about the novels.

I am not much of a romance reader but I fell in love with Daphne and Simon more than I did in the series. I love how complicated Simon was as a result of his childhood and how it took his one true love Daphne Bridgerton to help him conquer his fears. This whole story really showed what true love is.

There was humor in it as well. I especially liked Violet Bridgerton's character. She had some funny moments in the story. The book helped me to understand her a little more.

In all this was a great way to end the ye

Book Review: Too Late by Colleen Hoover

 

About 

Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.

When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan’s surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way.

No one except Carter.

Together, Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it’s too late…

My Thoughts 

The year started off really crazy for me however, I was to get through all that was going on with yet another amazing book by Colleen Hoover. Now if you have been following my reviews you will know that I am on a mission to read all the books by this author.

Too Late is one of my favourites. I like romantic stories with a storyline and Sloan and Luke's story was really dramatic to say the least. In Too Late we meet Sloan, a young woman who had to make some hard decisions because of the hands she was dealt in life. She finds some comfort in her boyfriend ASA.

Asa is involved in shady dealings and is dealing with demons of his own. While undercover Luke gets a first hand view of the life of Asa. He suddenly becomes very intent on saving Sloan before it is Too Late.

Filled with suspense, drama and romance. Too Late is indeed a page turner.

The Amendment by Kiersten Modglin

About

The dark, scandalous, and completely twisted sequel to Kiersten Modglin’s #1 bestselling domestic thriller, THE ARRANGEMENT…

First, there was the arrangement.
A simple, yet salacious fix to the problems looming in their marriage.
But when things took a tragic turn, Peter’s and Ainsley’s lives quickly fell into disarray.

Now, their secrets have been exposed.
They know the truth—about each other and their marriage.
As they struggle to move on from their past and the damage they’ve caused, new problems begin to surface.

Someone they love is hiding a catastrophic secret. The fragile ground they stand on is starting to crumble. Their family is being torn apart at the seams. And, maybe worst of all, a threat from the past is lurking, ready to unveil the things they’d kill to keep hidden.

They thought the nightmare they’d made it through was over, but the worst is just beginning…

Once, they vowed to do anything to make their marriage work.
Now, that vow will push every boundary they have left.

In order to survive, they’ll need to completely trust each other.
But can they?
Last time they did, things went terribly wrong…
This time, it might be worse.
If there’s one thing that’s certain, their secrets are too big to let anyone walk away alive.

My Thoughts

I am obsessed with this series. 

What an ending!!! Normally when you read a sequel very often you find that the story gets boring but not this one. 

On to Part Three is all I can say.
 

Book Review: All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

About

Colleen Hoover delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

My Thoughts

This is my fifth time reading Colleen Hoover. Again you fall in love with a couple which in this case is Graham and Quinn. Theirs was a chance meeting that soon turned into a deep love and a marriage.

The story is interesting because it speaks to love in the face of challenges. This couple is suffering from infertility and it caused turmoil and sadness in their marriage.

The beauty about the story is the realness of it, since many couples go through these problems and sometimes do not survive the storm. Graham and Quinn represents so many people out there so while it is a love story it is also a story of hope and survival.

While this is not my favourite book by Colleen Hoover it is a decent read.

 

Holly by Stephen King

 

About

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

My Thoughts

Well, well, well.

As much as I read you would not believe that this was my first Stephen King novel that I read in it's entirety. I own quite a few of his books but never actually sat and read one. Last year I read about 30% of 11/22/63 and lost interest. (i will definitely be revisiting that one).

After reading Holly I am obsessed with King. I know to real Stephen King fans this is not maybe his best, but trust me I have been binge watching booktube for more suggestions.

Holly is a private investigator with a case that will blow your mind. What I loved is the complexity of the case because I kept wondering if she would ever figure out what the Harrises were doing....I would say no more. Read this you all.

Suggest another King book for me...

Book Review: The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

 

ABOUT

Ainsley Greenburg is a fixer.
It’s what she prides herself on.

So, when she realizes her marriage is at its breaking point, she makes a decision to repair it, no matter the cost. Approaching her husband to propose the arrangement is supposed to be the hard part, but Peter agrees to the salacious plan almost immediately.

The rules are simple:
They will each date someone new once a week.
They will never discuss what happens on the dates.

Soon, though, the rules are broken, turning terrible mistakes into unspeakable consequences.

When the only person they can count on to keep their darkest secret is each other, new questions and deceits surface. Can they truly trust the person they share a life with, or will the vicious lies that have mounted over the years destroy everything they’ve built?

Once, Peter and Ainsley vowed to stand together forever, but as they push boundaries of deception, suspicion, and temptation, each begins to wonder if ’til death do us part may come sooner than they’d intended.

MY THOUGHTS

I was up late last night reading this book because I was really anxious to get to the end, and the ending was EXPLOSIVE!!!!

Ainsley and Peter, upon hitting a rough patch in their marriage and after many failed attempts at reconciliation decides that the best thing for them would be an open marriage. So using a dating app that guarantees anonymity, this couple decides to "hook up" with strangers to somehow reignite a fire that they would have lost over the years. This arrangement set off a chain of events that would have you at the edge of your seat.

I came into this book thinking that it would be a very predictable story. But predictable it was not, the ending had me screaming in disbelief, now I HAVE to get my hands on the other two parts because I need to know what happened next. This is a quick read and very entertaining especially if you are a lover of psychological thrillers like me.

READ IT!!! I am trying to get my hands on the second and third book.

Book Review: Men Unleashed by Vaugh T. Stanford

About:

Are Men Dogs? Steven Gardner thinks they are. 

He grabs the chance to highlight, through his feature in The National Standard , the myriad ways that men in his country abuse the women in their lives. Week after week, Gardner churns out story after story of women's dreadful mistreatment at the hands of the men they had the misfortune to love. 

This journalist is on a mission to change all that. He wants women to stand up and demand that men do better. But Gardner does not foresee the storm that breaks over his head in the form of pushback from colleagues, from random haters – and even from himself. Can one flawed man change a nation?

My Thoughts

Domestic violence has been something that we as Trinbagonians have been grappling with for decades, maybe centuries. In some cases, it has has led to broken homes, individuals and in other cases it has led to death women in most cases have been on the receiving end of this type of violence.

Men Unleashed is a book like no other. I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to read this book where the author creatively addressed this issue in a work of fiction.

In the book we meet Steven Gardener, a journalist from Trinidad and Tobago, upon his sister being held for the attempted murder of her husband, was inspired to write a column entitled "Men are Dogs". The stories that this column shared made for very good reading in my opinion because they were so raw and realistic, some of them I could personally relate to in terms of similar things that have occurred to family members and even friends. I really like books that make you think.

While the book addressed some hard topics, there were also some fun sides to it as well. Steven was such an interesting character I actually wished to read more about him. A sequel perhaps??

I hope more people can put their hands on this book. Trust me you would not be disappointed.

I highly recommend.

 

Book Review: One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

ABOUT 

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

My Thoughts 

This has been my fifth time reading Taylor Jenkins Reid and if you have been following my blog, you could tell that I am a big fan of her work. It seems that everything she writes grips me from the very beginning. One True Loves is no exception.

Imagine thinking your husband, your first love is dead and as soon as you move on with a fiancé' no less, after three years, he returns very much alive and anxious to begin where you guys left off.

This was exactly the case with Emma Blair. Emma, upon hearing that her husband Jesse was found alive had to make a decision. Jesse had been Emma's "One True Love" since high school. It was difficult for her to move on, but her fiancé Sam, (who loved Emma from the sidelines since high school) made it easy for her to get over Jesse's death with his charming ways.

She was now in a situation where she had a husband and a fiancé. Emma had a decision to make. Sam or Jesse?

I loved everything about this story, there was love, sadness, loss. But what stood out for me was the theme of grief and starting over. Too often many people who lose someone like a spouse, feel bad I think to move on. Emma's story in how she dealt with grief and starting anew was handled quite well by the author which made for excellent reading,

Book Review: The Day I Fell off My Island by Yvonne Bailey-Smith

 

ABOUT:

The Day I Fell Off My Island tells the story of Erna Mullings, a teenage Jamaican girl uprooted from her island following the sudden death of her beloved grandmother. When Erna is sent to England to be reunited with her siblings, she dreads leaving behind her elderly grandfather, and the only life she has ever known. A new future unfolds, in a strange country and with a mother she barely knows. The next decade will be a complex journey of estrangement and arrival, new beginnings, and the uncovering of long-buried secrets.

MY THOUGHTS:

This was indeed a page turner. Another great Caribbean novel. I love stories about migration since this is very much a part of Caribbean life.

In this novel we meet Erna Mullings a young girl who lives in rural Jamaica with her grandparents. Having no relationship with both her parents, Erna spends her childhood happy in the humble home of her grandparents.

When Erna's grandmother Melba dies, and after her siblings " devil" dad kidnaps them. She is forced to go live with her mom, husband and siblings in England.

Life in England proves hard for Erna as she realizes that all is not well with Violet (her mom) and especially her sister Patsy, whose behaviour reveals something sinister.

Erna's determination to improve her situation in spite of everything is what made the book so wonderful for me. Her love for her island home and her grandparents was also very moving.

This story was tragic, yet very beautiful. I highly recommend this one.