Reviews By: Janet
The Lake of Dreams
Lucy Jarrett returns home from Japan to small town New York under the shadow of her father's death a decade ago. As she wonders through her childhood home she finds some hidden papers that lead her to a mysterious family history. What do the beautiful stain glass windows in the chapel mean to her family? Who is Iris and why did her great-grandfather send her away? In the midst of Lucy's research of the lost Rose and her daughter Iris, she may have also found a disturbing reason for her father's sudden death. This is a well written and believable mystery by the author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter.
The Postmistress
The novel takes place in 1940 and the main characters are three women leading very different lives. War is raging in Europe and Frankie is sent to cover the story for a radio network. She sees the ravages of war and tries to get the American people to see the danger at hand and convince them to join the fight. In the meantime, Iris James, the postmistress and keeper of secrets in a small town listens to Frankie's broadcasts and knows that it is inevitable that the United States will go to war. One of Iris's costomers is Emma, the wife of the young town doctor. In order to atone for a fatal mistake, he has gone to England to volunteer at a hospital. How are these women connected and who will deliver the terrible news?
Winter Garden
Winter Garden is a heartbreaking story within a story. Meredith and Nina grew up with a loving father and a very distant mother. They never understood their mother's silence or her disapproval toward them. Their father kept the family together and on his deathbed he asks Anya to tell her daughters the story of her life. They knew she was Russian, but had never heard the shocking story of her escape from Leningrad in 1941. What begins as a fairy tale ends in the dramatic story of her time in a German prison camp, her rescue by an American soldier, and her loss of her Russian family. Gripping images give you an idea of the atrocities of war.
The Best of Times
Have you every wondered what happens to people after they have been in a horrific car accident? You have read about the incidents in the newspaper, but seldom hear about the survivors. This novel introduces you to a large number of characters and puts them on an expressway on the way to weddings, meetings of old loves, affairs, and family gatherings. They are involved in a multi-car pile-up on the highway and this is the story about their lives after the accident and how it changed them forever.
The Hunger Games
The world no longer exists as we know it. In the futuristic book, North America has been destroyed and divided into 12 districts. Each year two young people are selected to participate in the ultimate survivor game, a fight to the death with only one winner. Katniss volunteers to take her younger sister's place because she is a hunter and thinks that she can survive the Hunger Games. Will she win? A young adult book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
House of Daughters
he House of Peine Winery has been in the family for generations. Clementine worked tirelessly for years next to her aged father to keep the business afloat. When he dies she finds herself sharing the estate with a hated half sister and another sister she knew nothing about. These sisters must turn from hatred of each other to cooperation to save the family vineyard. As an added feature, the reader will learn alot about wine making, especially champagne.
