Cora is enslaved in Georgia and is approached by a man who asks her to escape with him. While her first instinct was one of fear and incredulity, she eventually agrees to do so after a particularly heinous incident. We follow Cora and her journey on the Underground Railroad, which is an actual railroad that runs between stops that are all underground.

Cora’s escape takes us many places throughout the south and we meet many brave people who risk their lives to help those that make the dangerous choice of searching for freedom. This book is incredibly suspenseful and it felt like Cora was suddenly ripped from safety so many times. A major appeal of this book is its suspense, so I won’t go into any of the details of her journey, but it is heart wrenching and terrifying.

If you're interested in reading my rambling review with many political opinions, it can be found here.

This is the story of a Swedish family that inhabits Bear Island, an isolated chunk of land in the middle of a huge lake. Of course, during the winters, it's a desolate and desperate place. This family has a strange pull to that lake and for many of them, that pull spelled their deaths. The main storyline is around Alice, a young woman who is a part of the bloodline of the people of Bear Island, but she has no idea because she was adopted as an infant. And no matter where she goes in New Hampshire, it seems like everyone around her knows more about her story than she does.

This novel was written in a sort of dreamy way. I could feel myself being transported to the towns described. I could feel the missing pieces that Alice always seemed to have by not knowing her true heritage. It was very enjoyable and Maxwell's first published novel. I look forward to more of her work.

This story is wonderful. It focuses on Elizabeth Bennett, the second oldest of 5 girls, who has a mother that is absolutely focused on getting her daughters married. As Jane, Elizabeth's eldest sister, is being courted by a new man in town, Elizabeth meets his friend, Mr. Darcy. He is a seemingly rude, proud, and condescending man. Everyone immediately dislikes Darcy and writes him off as being unworthy of attention.returnreturnAs the story progresses, heartbreaks follow. Jane's courtship falls through and their youngest sister, Lydia, runs off to a marry a militia man who has a good reputation, but is found out to be quite shady. Through all of this, Elizabeth learns more and more about Mr. Darcy and discovers that he isn't so proud, but actually shy and a little bit socially awkward.returnreturnThis is a very simplistic explanation of a very complicated story, but it is wonderful to read how Elizabeth processes new information and her seemingly steadfast view of an individual changes over time. In addition, Elizabeth herself is already such a strong character and speaks up for herself and those around her at the risk of being "unladylike." Wonderful book and such a wonderful character!

This book was incredible - well written, honest, and heartbreaking. For a full review, I've included a link to my blog post:

https://katiesneverlistless.wordpress.com/2017/02/14/four-simple-rules-for-reading-a-little-life/

This story is full of ogres, dragons, and pixies – definitely not what I was expecting for my first Kazuo Ishiguro novel! Set in the time of Arthurian legend, Beatrice and Axl are on a quest to their son’s village. It’s a difficult journey not just because of the hazards along the way, but because there is a strange mist over the entire island that causes its inhabitants to lose their memories. Some memories come back in flashes and snippets, but there is this constant cloudiness that suppresses everything. Even within a simple conversation, two people can become so confused that they’re often repeating themselves or reminding the other what has been said.

This story explored some very fascinating themes and I highlighted a TON on my kindle. I don’t want to say too much, because watching the themes unfold was a big part of this novel’s appeal. This was about lifelong relationships and the things that we do that are hurtful to the most important people in our lives. It was about nearing the end of our lives and how we become separated from our loved ones when we die. There were some interesting religious allusions – the things we do because we believe that it’s what a god wants, despite our own inner voice telling us that it’s wrong.

It seemed as though Ishiguro was exploring Alzheimer’s in some way. Memories swam to the surface, but in fuzzy and incomplete ways. Conversations were cut off or needed to be repeated for meanings to be understood, and even then it didn’t always work.

I thought this was written brilliantly. There were moments when I found the story to be slow, but there was enough of an undercurrent that kept pulling me along. The way the characters kept repeating themselves was executed so well – I could feel the mist settling over me and my own brain start to feel bogged down. My heart pounded through the last third of the book as Axl and Beatrice neared their destination. I was so worried about what was going to happen.

I’ve never been a huge Arthurian legend fan and this time period has never been a favorite for me, so the odds of me liking this book were not huge. But I’m going to step out on a limb and say that this will be one of my favorite reads this year. And I am definitely going to return to Ishiguro!

Quite possibly the best book I've ever read. Don't rush this one - savor every delicious morsel.

Fun and lighthearted read that made me want to bake as much as possible. It also made me want to reread the original Alice to make sure I understood the world through the looking glass!

I picked up The Nest on a whim because it was available on Overdrive. I'd resisted reading it because it has seemed so popular lately and, for some reason, I thought that was a bad thing. WRONG! I loved it!

Set mostly in NYC, it tells the story of the Plum family. Their father tucked away a nice little sum of money to be split among the four siblings when the youngest turned 40 years old. The family referred to this well-invested money as "The Nest." They were all looking forward to it for various reasons, some more humble than others. But before the siblings got their share, their oldest brother had a horrible car accident and needed a LOT of money to settle with the victims. Their emotionally distant mother, who had control of the distribution of the funds, decided to raid the nest to help keep this scandal out of the papers.

Sweeney skillfully switches between all of the members of the family and their perspectives within this family drama. This book was addictive - I finished it in just a couple of days because I couldn't put it down. Happy ending? The characters are complex, so it's difficult to know what would have been the best ending for anyone -- and I LOVE that!