In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. 

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.

Our thoughts:

This is a truly fabulous book by Khaled Hosseini. I have read and enjoyed his previous novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Hosseini has yet again produced another unforgettable tale.

As a quote taken from the book states, "A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop on board, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later". And Hosseini knows exactly how to take you on that trip. Emotionally heart-wrenching, it showed how one persons choices can have an effect on many generations.

Hosseini weaves his tale piece by piece, unfolding it layer by layer, right up to the end. I loved this wonderfully moving story.

When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. 

Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

Our thoughts:

What a fabulous book! I truly couldn't put it down.

Written in the narrative of both Belle, a black slave, and Lavinia, an indentured white servant, it depicts a life of slavery on a plantation in the Deep South during the early 1800's. This is a wonderful look at the cruelty of slave life but also shows the oppression of women, both black and white.

I loved how the story showed a true sense of "family", and that you didn't need to be born into a family to be considered a part of it. I also found it quite interesting that everyone, no matter if their ailment was physical or emotional, tended to do better if they were holding a baby or caring for a child. Maybe it is the parenting instinct which gives us hope and saves us when terrible things happen.

I believe that everyone should have a Mama Mae and a Papa George in their life. They were the quintessential parents who supplied support to everyone. If there is one thing that I hope to be in this world it would be that I am someone's Mama Mae.

The Kitchen House is Grissom's first novel and I absolutely loved it. She is currently working on writing Crow Mary, another work of historical fiction. That definitely gives me something to look forward to!

Three women. One stranger in a shimmering silver dress. Whatever binds them together has already destroyed one life. It just might consume them all.

Someday, Livvi Gray will break free from her past. Someday, she will escape her recurring nightmare about that stranger in a shimmering silver dress. Someday, she will have a family of her own. Now she's found Andrew, and someday seems to be right around the corner. But there's so much Livvi doesn't know.

Shortly before her thirtieth birthday, she will come face-to-face with the stranger from her dream-an encounter that will alter Livvi's future and crack open everything she knew about her past. Livvi is swiftly moving toward the ultimate turning point in her life-and she's not the only one. Linked by an unforgettable mystery, photographer Micah and young mother AnnaLee are also being rapidly drawn into a web of devastating secrets about the unexpected ways in which we choose to protect-and betray-the people we love.

Our thoughts:

This book is written as three separate story lines which finally come together beautifully in the end. The heart of this novel is a mystery full of secrets. The people keeping the secrets are trying to protect themselves and the people they love, but ultimately, the secrets only lead to more hurt.

I really enjoyed reading this book but it didn't end the way I wanted it to. Even though the characters were deeply flawed, I felt very sympathetic toward them. This was a great read. While I couldn't wait to finish this book to see how it ends, at the same time I wanted the story to continue.

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth.

Our thoughts:

For Amy Henderson, 1973 has been a lonely year of too many awkward moments to count--that is, until she helps rescue an injured seal pup. To help save Pup, she forms an unlikely alliance with a questionable boy in a worn-out army jacket, and a peculiar older woman the kids in town call "Old Coot." 

Amy finds that people aren't always what they seem, as she nurtures Pup back to health with the help of Craig and Miss Cogshell, while trying to hide Pup from the harbormaster and a group of nosy popular girls who have their eyes on Craig. Just as Amy starts to feel at home with her newfound friends, she must face an unexpected challenge that could change the future of her town, and her own life as well.

Our thoughts:

This is Strykowski's first novel and it was really cute. The budding friendship between Amy and Craig was very sweet and believable, as was their relationship with an elderly woman that the kids all referred to as "Old Coot". What I had a hard time believing was the idea that they were harboring a seal pup. I didn't think you could even keep a seal alive without having some place for him to swim, no less be able to keep him in a house. I can't imagine what that must have smelled like.

On the whole I liked this book. The characters insecurities, self-doubt, and wisdom made them all very convincing. This was a nice coming of age book.

Also, Quentin is one of the most unlikable main characters I've ever come across. He was spoiled, entitled and his inability to really care about anything grated on me to no end. I'm fairly sure that if I hadn't been reading this for my book club, I would have given up it.

This is a fascinating story. It's not particularly inspiring or uplifting - but it's incredibly eye-opening. Even though North Korea is now a staple on the news, hearing what goes on there from a first-person account is hard to swallow.

I actually listened to this as an audiobook and while I could appreciate the story, I didn't actually enjoy hearing it. The narrator was incredibly dry and monotone, which made the book come across boring when it really wasn't. If you're interested in this, skip the audiobook and go for the written copy.