After almost no progress for two years and nine months, Ophelia finally is able to track Thorn’s trail on the ark of modernity, Babel. With the help of her friends, Gail, Fox, and Archibald, Ophelia reaches Babel under the false name of Eulalia. As she meets the ark of the twins, Pollux and Helen, Ophelia enrolls at the conservatory of the Good Family with the aid of Ambrose, a young ecstatic boy, in order to find Thorn and discover who God really is.
The Missing of Clairdelune is the second installment of The Mirror Visitor, right after A Winter’s Promise. Ophelia visits the Court of Farouk, a family spirit with immense power, for protection of her family in exchange for reading Farouk’s ancient Book. However, there seems to be a misunderstanding as she is later appointed Vice-Storyteller.
Starfish by Lisa Fipps is about a girl named Ellie who is in 6th grade and is getting bullied by the kids at school because she is obese. At home her mom is her biggest bully. She verbally abuses Ellie and says that she is too big and needs to lose weight, so now Ellie feels like she needs to lose weight for her mom to love her again. Ellie's mom also forces Ellie to try a new diet every week so that she loses weight.
Monique, a journalist is recruited to interview the famous actress, Evelyn Hugo, for an auction. When Monique goes to interview Evelyn, she learns that she is actually going to interview Evelyn to write Evelyn’s biography. Monique hears Evelyn’s story from the beginning to the end and learns about her glamorous, secretive, and shocking life including the stories behind Evelyn’s seven husbands and Evelyn’s actual paramour. After learning about the secrets that Evelyn has kept from society, Monique learns that her life is connected to Evelyn’s as well.
Happy Place, by Emily Henry, is a book about a couple, well broken up, who were both invited on a vacation with their friends. Their friends are unaware of the break up, and Wyn and Harriet want to keep it that way. This book follows the story of them “pretending” to still be together the week of vacation.
Reminders of Him is definitely my favorite CoHo book! It usually takes me a long time to get into a book, but I was sucked in right away! It is a quick and great read. It follows the story of Kenna. She was involved in a traumatic event which caused her to lose custody of her daughter. This book follows her journey to get her daughter back. She encounters challenges and a possible lover, Ledger. This book is a double perspective with Ledger. With this, you are able to get drawn to all the characters emotionally.
As I read The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, I wasn't expecting to have an experience as interesting as the one I had. The book starts with a witty yet somewhat dark description of the protagonist, Quoyle. He suffers through a whirlwind of tragedies including his wife’s repeated unfaithfulness, his parent’s joint suicide, and an unsuccessful career. Throughout the book, it felt like Proulx was making fun of Quoyle’s misery and I was shocked to see how casually she treated the tragic events in his life.
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone is a young adult fiction novel featuring the main character, Samantha McAllister. Samantha “Sam” is part of the popular girls’ group at her high school, dressing in fancy, cute outfits, eating the right types of lunches, and having crushes on the cutest and popular guys in the school. She has to do all this, or else, her “best friends” will turn toxic and exclude her from their group.
TW: This book contains mentions of suicide attempts and a murder by stabbing (off page).
This was a sweet, heartwarming story about the highs and lows of familial connections, tradition, friendship, and you know what? It’s just about connections in general. Not only that, this book manages to keep it real with us this entire time and still be light-hearted and heartwarming.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is an apocalyptic dystopian novel, McCarty is able to present a bleak and death-ridden world like no other that uses vivid imagery and extensive world-building to create a real sense of hopelessness. A father and son travel across the desolate world following the road seeking a warmer climate facing the “bad people’ along the way with close calls and showing the true horrors of the wasteland, cannibals, marauders, and a constant struggle for supplies and safety.
