sarahsbookstack's Reviews (2.55k)

Eileen wrote this story after finding a non-mailed letter in the wall of her home from a Joan Dumann. 
She researched as much as she could but didn't find a lot on Joan, so she made this story of what she might have been like until the year 1971 - the year of Joan's murder.

Now, at times while reading, I felt bad for Joan's character but then I always remembered that Joan kind of brought all the things that happened to her on herself. She would make wild decisions, oftentimes without consulting those that it would affect,  But I believed that she always believed she was making the right choices. 

I felt the second half of the book, I was more into than the first half but I'm glad to have stuck with it.

You have to suspend some belief but I didn't feel it took away from the book. 

This was a good story mixed with name themes- sorrow, forgiveness, mystery, second chances, magical realism and more. There is a whole story missing from people's memories

We have 2 families- The Haywood's whose magic runs through the women. They can take your sorrow and bury it in their shadow garden to take away pain. The Bonner's whose bourbon can make you forget memories of the past.

As a Bonner (Kaden)comes back into town and people only remember his name and a Haywood (Irene) falls seemingly quick for him, the families are at war  once again. But there is something happening to the shadow garden and this summer, the families need to find a way to find one again the memories of that lost summers to put things back to rights.

Make sure to read the author's note and her basis behind the story. It says things more beautifully than i ever could.

Though this book has the Vietnam War as kind of a backdrop and I wasn't alive for it, I could feel the bits of tension in this novel when it's talked about and with Hoagie having been hurt in that war.
This is reminiscent of childhood summers and made me nostalgic for the wonder you can find.

I love the Vitale family and their relationships with each other. I love that the girls act as if Joey is their brother and not just a family friend that visits in the summer. They include him in their adventures. They (and the neighbors) include him in the neighborhood and make him feel at home.

I love that Vita and Joey connect with each other this summer as they both pursue their dreams (Vita has always known she wanted to be an actress on the stage and Joey found this summer his knack for photography). At all 400 pages, it seems a bit daunting but it flies by and I was sad when it was over.

Too confusing. 

As a mom of an Autistic boy, this book broke my heart over and over again. I could only take 50 pages a day. I sort of understand how hard it can be with an Autistic child (my son is very different from Wes as all children on the spectrum can be) but I've never felt anything but undying love for my child 

This is the story of Wes. He's a 14 year old Autistic boy. This is told from his perspective. His hopes, his fears, his sensory needs, he tells the reader all. His family doesn't understand him and even has hatred for him... Except his military father. He is the only one who has patience and love for Wes.

There are things that happen to this family that I won't give away but it tears you up inside reading about them going through it. The ending though is beautiful!

Holy cow, Avery and Elle have my heart!
They aren't mother and daughter but I see the motherly love that Avery has for Elle.

Avery has a very tragic past and she's still not over it. When the widower she's dating proposes, she says she can't and runs back home, she inadvertently brings his daughter Elle with her.

As Elle is whiny and Avery is dealing with so much, they will squabble and push each other's buttons, but ultimately come to understandings between themselves and about themselves and their lives. 

You will want tissues at the end!

Iris ran from her dark past and is making a new life for herself. Only one person (Lowell) alive knows some of the truth about her. He helps her a lot and one day offers her a chance to house sit his lodge.

Things are going pretty well until she hears a voice coming from a toy walkie talkie that dredges up the sinister past.

I loved how great a mom Iris is to her son Finn. He is her world and she does what she can to shelter him from the bad. Sawyer, the property's caretaker, helps her out and they fall in love. But their worlds collide in a big way. Lowell is a big sweetheart of a man 

I read this book in a few short hours! The author sure knows how to write a compelling story that keeps you turning the page. Lowell is a big sweetheart of a man and I love how he's like a dad to Iris and a grandfather to Finn. I got so angry at the one police guy..... He was such a jerk to Iris and didn't believe that she was scared. I'm glad to know he probably got chewed out and maybe even "let go" of his position. 

I liked this book and getting to see into some of the back scenes of movie making.

We have (closeted) Nicholas who is very snobbish and is known as The Big Bad Wolf of Hollywood. Then Chris (out and the world knows it), who has only been on the runway, walks into the second role of this long lost queer romance book being made into the movie.

They cannot stand each other... At first.
It took a long time for me to even warm up to Nicholas. They even  forever to warm up to each other to even start something close to a friendship. But a 4 day storm, some alone time, and paparazzi out both the secret relationship they forged and Nicholas himself.

This was an uber cute romcom that i finished in under 2 hours. Dogs and a heroine that is shy and awkward but doesn't want to be invisible?
Yeah, I'd be friends with Fiona. We'd be awkward together at first but i think we'd get comfortable in our discomfort! 

I highly enjoyed and laughed at their first official (cause staring at the handsome guy/beautiful girl across a lobby doesn't count) meet-cute. Which then turns into a hilarious and uncomfortable situation as Jacob is hired to help Fiona with a speech she has to give for an award about her work as a vet that does special work for the homeless and their pets.

Jacob- I adored him. He has all the confidence in the world except around dogs. As he finally explains to Fiona later in the book, I understand his reticence towards dogs. I love how Fiona helps him understand his fears and helps him get past it.

Such a sweet romcom that I kept picturing in my mind the movie Must Love Dogs. (Though two vastly different stories.)

I had a blast reading this book. I loved having to go on this adventure with Lauren. She's a character in her 40s which is not often an age i get to read about. There is great Jewish representation, I learned a lot through their dinners during Seder and other traditions that were talked about .

I'm glad Lauren's "not mature enough to get married" fiancé runs. Yes it's obviously a big blow to Lauren on that day for the groom not to show up but it's good she got out of a horrible marriage before it even happened! 

Lauren's family is so interesting. I felt bad for Lauren having to hear so many derogatory comments from her mom about her weight. I was happy when she finally stood up to her mom. 

I like that she was able to start to trust another man through Rudy. Rudy became her driver when she had a car accident and can't drive so the company loaned a car. Rudy just seemed like such a great guy (

i mean, taking care of his nephew part time when his mom is in a coma?

)