Date: Feb. 25, 2011
Summary: Graphic start tells about incident at Prep School involving several boys and one girl in a dorm room. Someone videotapes the incident and it gets out. The unfolding story is told from various perspectives. Well-done. Set in Vermont.
Notes: Contemporary fiction. I hated it and loved it at the same time!
Rachel’s rating: Three (3) out of four stars
Date: April 8, 2011
Summary: Told from a dog’s perspective, this is a story of a family torn apart by a terrible disease. Enzo (the dog) tells the story while eavesdropping on his owner, Denny, his wife and their daughter.
Notes: Sad, depressing. Liked by the group but not by me.
Rachel’s rating: One and a half (1.5) out of four stars
Date: May 20, 2011
Summary: Set in the backdrop of the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929, this is the story of Honora and Sexton and their struggle to make their new marriage work and ultimately survive.
Notes: Plot is not well-developed, thin story. Quick read once you get into it.
Rachel’s rating: One and a half (1.5) out of four stars
Date: June 29, 2011
Summary: Biography of comic Tina Fey (known for her roles in Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock). Chronicles her childhood, her start in comedy and her famous impressions of Sarah Palin.
Notes: Read like a comedy routine. Disjointed. Funny at times. Not my favorite.
Rachel’s rating: One (1) out of four stars
Date: August 18, 2011
Summary: Twelve-year-old CeeCee was the primary caretaker of her psychotic mom until her death forces her to move to Savannah with a previously unknown great-aunt.
Rachel’s rating: Two (2) out of four stars.
Date: October 14, 2011
Summary: True story of Colton, who at four years old, has a near-death experience while battling appendicitis. He never actually loses his heartbeat but he losing consciousness and visits heaven. He meets a grandfather he never knew, a sister that was never born. His father is a preacher in Nebraska. Interesting.
Rachel’s rating: Three (3) out of four stars.
Date: December 2, 2011
Summary: Historical fiction about France’s involvement in the Holocaust. Told in alternating chapters, first in present day (2002) and in Paris in 1942 during the Vel d’hiv roundup, where French police arrested Germans living in France even if they wer born in France. In present day, Julia is an American and a journalist working on a story for the 60th anniversary. She finds out that her inlaws family is connected to Sarah.
Notes: Very sad, depressing, difficult to get through. Did not enjoy, though did learn a lot.
Rachel’s rating: One (1) out of four stars.