Souvenir - Terese Foewler

one sentence summary:
A woman's life has become mundane but all of that is about to change.

review:
This is a truly heart wrenching story, it literally made tears run down my face more than once. The writing is beautiful and the characters are so well developed that the way the react to the situations they are put in are exactly the way we think they will (but might hope they wont). I highly recommend this to anyone who likes the Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah style of story telling.

9/10

Anybody Out There - Marian Keyes

one sentence summary:
A woman was in a terrible accident and has returned home to Dublin from New York with her very supportive family to sort her life back out.

review:
This was a hilarious read with a really sad twist (that I didn't see coming) and a happy(ish) ending. I really enjoyed the quirky writing style and the oddball characters of Keyes universe. There was something really relatable about every character, even the ones you don't want to relate to you still do. It is a quick read and I recommend it for anyone who like heavier than average chick lit.
8/10

Skylight Confessions - Alice Hoffman

one sentence summary
Follow one family as it shatters and tries to pull itself together.

review:
I really enjoyed this story, I can tell the imagery from it is going to stick with me for a long time. The characters were very well developed, they all had wonderful flaws and were very relatable. Hoffman must have spent longer researching mental illness and drug addiction than she did writing the book because from my perspective it was really well written. I highly recommend anyone interested in drug addictions or anyone who wants to understand how to develop characters without glaring descriptions.

9/10

Porch Lights - Dorothea Benton Frank

one sentence summary
A woman trying to pull her life back together takes her son moves home to her parents house for the summer.

review: 
not a badly written book, I enjoyed the perspectives that it offered and the detailed descriptions of South Carolina. The romance was a bit forced but the other relationships, mother/daughter, grandmother/grandson, and that of the grandmother/grandfather characters were all very well done. The story starts out from a dark and depressed place and ends with a happy ending. The writing style reminded me of Kristin Hannah / Jodi Picoult.

7/10

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fanny Flagg

one sentence summary
Friendship can come from the most unexpected people in the most unexpected ways

review
This is a wonderful novel, telling a story of a small town over fifty years of history. It shows true friendship in all sorts of forms and how much of a struggle it can be. In a hodgepodge of entertaining stories the lives of four women are patched together and you can't help but like them. It also takes an unflinching look at race relations in the Southern USA during this time. I recommend this to anyone who likes witty, amusing stories told in off handed ways.

8/10

Stranger in a Strange Land

one sentence summary:
A human raised by martians returned to earth as a young adult.

review:
This novel embodies the ultimate culture shock. Written in the early 1960's this is a fascinating look at what was thought to be possible. A classic of the SciFi cannon for a good reason, it is brilliantly written and the characters embodies every big question science fiction authors strive to answer. What is the future of humanity like, what happens to human morals, where do we go from here, etc. I recommend this to anyone who has any interest in SciFi, Philosophy or Sociology.

8.5/10

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey

one sentence summary:
a 1960's look at the internal working of an insane asylum

Review:
I loved this book, I found it fascinating how mental illness was treated and defined in the 1960's (which in some ways was much better than how we do it today, in Canada at least, at least they were trying to fix the problem, they just didn't know how).The greater story is that of men trying to find their place in the world, or alternately a way to use the modern world to benefit themselves. That in times of hardship the human spirit remains intact, and even thrives. The writing is descriptive and detailed, it flows through your brain like cotton candy. It is such a unique read, told from a wonderful point of view, I highly recommend this be on everyone's "have read" shelve.

q10/10

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne

one sentence summary:
from very different parts of WWII society two boys become friends.

review:
This is a wonderful "children's book", written so a fourth grader could easily read it on their own it touches on some very grown up concepts. The concepts in this book would make it both a wonderful and terrible class read. This story made me sob, literally sob, while it is an easy read as far as vocabulary goes it is anything but when it comes to the story. I recommend everyone read it (as an adult it shouldn't take more than a few hours) but be warned it will make you feel.

8/10
8/10

The MaddAddam Trilogy - Margaret Atwood

one sentence summary:
what happens after the plague changes life as we know it?
review:
these novels are rather brilliant. The writing is superb and the characters are so well drawn out that even the most unbelievable attributes become logical. Atwood always writes with unforgettable voices and this is no exception. The world she as created is a beautiful as it is terrible. I highly recommend these to anyone who enjoys good writing / post-apocalyptic dystopias / Canadian authors. They are typical in tone of Atwood, that is to say a bit dark but with their own twisted humour thrown about for good measure. I would say of this series that the world she created surpasses the characters (which is a-typical of her work as usually the characters are the strongest point... on the other hand the world she created is almost like a character onto itself, especially as it is further flushed out in the third instalment.)
8/10

if you enjoyed this check out Huxley, Bradbury and Iain M Banks

The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields

One Sentence Summary
Daisy lives the typical middle class suburbia life
Review
This is a well written look at the mundane. Making the mundane into a fascinating story about a woman who is trying to make her own way in the world into a character study of the commonplace. The writing is beautiful prose and the story is worth reading. Though the story is not always happy it is worth reading if you enjoy reading for the sake of writing without a particular action packed story.
8/10

If you enjoyed this check out these other Canadian authors:
Alice Munro
Margaret Atwood
Michael Ondaatje

Standing in the Rainbow - Fannie Flagg

One Sentence Summary:
The people of Elmwood Springs have very interesting lives, read up on them here.

Review:
Tracing a 50 year time span in the small town of Elmwood Springs and following the people from there Fannie Flagg does it again, creating characters we want to follow. This is book two in the Elmwood Springs series, it does a commendable job of filling in the back story of everyone in the town. I really enjoyed the small town, everybody knows everything feel to the book made me kind of want to move to a tiny town and travel back to the 1950's. This novel does an excellent job of touching on Americana from Bazooka Joe Bubble Blowing contests of the 40's, to the Korean War, to the rise of big business and the death of main street. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a light read for a sunny or rainy afternoon.

6/10

If you enjoyed this I recommend reading books by:
Fannie Flagg (duh)
Rebecca Wells
Garrison Keillor
Tom Sharpe (for the UK equivalent)
Jan Karon

A Redbird Christmas - Fannie Flagg

One Sentence Summary:
Oswald is told by his doctor that if he stays in Chicago he will die so he moves south to the small town of Lost River where he is adopted by the small close knit community.

Review:
I am not ashamed to say I love Fannie Flagg, her stories are all have characters I want to have tea with and communities I would hate to live in because everyone knows everyone else. Her writing is simple, old fashion, character driven, small town exposing story telling. I recommend this to anyone looking for an easy read with a happy ending full of off the wall characters.

6/10

If you enjoyed this I recommend you read these authors next:
Garrison Keillor
Alan Bradley
more Fannie Flagg
Rebecca Wells
Garth Stein