Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi

A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although her grades were decent, and she had a boyfriend (albeit a not very attentive one), Penny Lee found high school to be incredibly mundane.  Penny wants to be a writer and is looking forward to going to college, even if it is only an hour away.  Maybe she can writer herself a new life, one that is not only more interesting, but one without an overbearing mother that dresses too young and tries too hard to be her friend.

Sam is a mess.  He sleeps on a mattress on the floor of a spare room over the coffee shop where he works.  Sam is an aspiring filmmaker that can't afford to finish school and he is also struggling to get over a bad break up.  

When Sam and Penny meet through Jude who is Sam's ex-niece and Penny's new roommate, their first encounter is incredibly awkward.  In spite of that, the two exchange numbers and eventually text their way to a relationship where they share everything with each other.  It is much easier to type their fears, dreams, hopes, and anxieties than to say them face-to-face.  Sam and Penny become each other's "emergency contact".

Choi pens some quirky, awkward, and angst ridden characters that at times seem too old in the way they conduct themselves, but it totally works.  She adds just the right element of conflict and the pace of the story is spot on.  This book is in the same vein as Eleanor & Park and I can see why fans of Rainbow Rowell also like this book so much.  Both authors have a flair for this genre and write complicated, yet endearing characters that stay with the reader long after the last page.

My only criticism is with the timing, I'm a little confused.  Jude met Sam when she was seven.  She had an iPad.  iPads were introduced in 2010, so if she is seven in 2010, she would be 15 in 2018.  How is she old enough to go to college? Did I miss something?  

MARY H. K. CHOI is a writer for The New York Times, GQ, Wired, and The Atlantic. She has written comics for Marvel and DC, as well as a collection of essays. Mary's debut novel is Emergency Contact. 

Choi grew up in Hong Kong and Texas and now lives in New York. 

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

A special thank you to Greer Hendricks for a copy of the audiobook.

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.

At first, the book alternates between the perspectives of Richard's ex-wife, Vanessa, and his new-and-improved younger fiancée, Nellie.  Vanessa was left humiliated and penniless with the break up and she has a drinking problem—is this what was responsible for the dissolution of the marriage?  Nellie can't shake the feeling that she is being followed and that there is something to the anonymous calls she has been receiving.  Vanessa is jealous and becomes obsessed with her replacement—she is determined to stop Richard from marrying again.  Just how far will she go?

That's about all I can safely synopsize.  But what I can tell you is that I'm speechless.  What a fantastic book.  It is just as spellbinding as An Anonymous Girl (due out early 2019).

The writing is BRILLIANT!  You can tell that Pekkanen is a seasoned author and by extension, Hendricks' previous editing experience also makes her a great writer.  The attention to detail and pace is what really sets this book apart in this genre, especially with all the "girl" and "wife" titled books out there right now.  (Is it me, or does every other mystery/thriller book have "girl" or "wife" in the title?)

And the plot is so layered—when you think the story is over, there is one final twist.  So.  Bloody.  Clever!  The difference between 4 and 5 stars was the subplot with Maggie and Jason.  I actually thought this was a bit of filler that wasn't necessary.

BUY NOW

GREER HENDRICKS spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Allure, and Publishers Weekly.

SARAH PEKKANEN is the internationally and USA Today bestselling author of eight previous novels. A former investigative journalist and feature writer, her work has been published in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many others.

Together, they have written the New York Times bestselling novels The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

A special thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Can a town that is already broken, survive more tragedy?

After a scandal rocks Beartown and leaves a town divided, the citizens are dealt another blow when they learn that their beloved junior hockey team will be dismantled. Hockey is what binds them together and brings meaning to the term community. The only people that are happy about this are the former Beartown players that now play for the rival team in Hed. Tension is at an all time high and things are starting to get dangerous.

A new team starts to form around the fastest player, Amat; the loner, Benji; and instigator, Vidar. Under a new and unlikely coach, the boys learn to grow together, breaking old bonds and forging new ones.

As the big game between Beartown and Hed approaches, the incidents between the towns are piling up and the hatred is growing stronger day-by-day. Can Beartown hockey and its residents be saved?

Us Against You is thought provoking and at times, heartbreaking. The book is an examination of loyalty, friendship, and the family dynamic. It is a fantastic followup to Beartown—I found that book incredibly appealing and timely, covering topics such as homophobia, racism, sexism, and politics.

This novel was another incredible read and I was glad to reside in Beartown again. Backman is an engaging and dynamic writer, and I hope he goes for the hat trick with a third book in the Beartown series.

FREDRIK BACKMAN is a blogger and columnist as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry.

Backman lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.

In Her Voice: Women Talking by Miriam Toews

Miriam Toews Women Talking photo credit In Her Voice.  All other photos belong to Girl Well Read - do not use without permission.

Ben McNally Books, In Her Voice, and Knopf Canada celebrated the release of Miriam Toews' newest work, Women Talking.  The event took place in Toronto at the Isabel Bader Theatre where Toews took the stage for a reading.  She was then joined by Rachel Giese and the women discussed the inspiration behind the book, Miriam's writing process, and how she gave a voice to these events.

Over several years in the mid-2000s, the women of the Manitoba Colony of Mennonites in Bolivia reported waking up with injuries consistent with being sexually assaulted, only they had no memory of the incidents.  The male elders said that it was either a demon at work, or that it was their "wild female imaginations".

Then, one night in June 2009, two men were caught trying to enter a home and subsequently the truth came out.  A group of nine Manitoba men, ranging in age from 19 to 43, confessed to raping the Colony women since 2005.  The men were using a veterinary sedative to incapacitate the families and would then rape the women and girls.  Court records indicate that there were 130 victims, though the actual number will never be known and is perceived to be much higher.

Toews' novel is "a reaction through fiction to these real events, and an act of female imagination". While the men of the Colony are off to the city to post bail for their brothers, the rapists, eight women hold a secret meeting to discuss this atrocity and "organize their response".  The narrative is written from the point of view of August, the one man that the women trust to take the minutes of their meetings.

Gripping, riveting, and touching.  Congratulations, Miriam on this wonderful accomplishment.

Canadian readers can buy the book now, it releases in the US in April of 2019.

Women Talking

The sun rises on a quiet June morning in 2009. August Epp sits alone in the hayloft of a barn, anxiously bent over his notebook. He writes quickly, aware that his solitude will soon be broken. Eight women--ordinary grandmothers, mothers and teenagers; yet to August, each one extraordinary-- will climb the ladder into the loft, and the day's true task will begin. This task will be both simple and subversive: August, like the women, is a traditional Mennonite, and he has been asked to record a secret conversation.

Thus begins Miriam Toews' spellbinding novel. Gradually, as we hear the women's vivid voices console, tease, admonish, regale and debate each other, we piece together the reason for the gathering: they have forty-eight hours to make a life-altering choice on behalf of all the women and children in the colony. And like a vast night sky coming into view behind the bright sparks of their voices, we learn of the devastating events that have led to this moment.

Acerbic, funny, tender, sorrowful and wise, Women Talking is composed of equal parts humane love and deep anger. It is award-winning writer Miriam Toews' most astonishing novel to date, containing within its two short days and hayloft setting an expansive, timeless universe of thinking and feeling about women--and men--in our contemporary world.

BUY NOW

MIRIAM TOEWS is the author of five previous bestselling novels: Summer of My Amazing Luck, A Boy of Good Breeding, A Complicated Kindness (Canada Reads 2006, Canada Reads Canadian Bestseller of the Decade 2010), The Flying Troutmans, and Irma Voth, and one work of non-fiction, Swing Low: A Life.

She is a winner of the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, the Libris Award for Fiction Book of the Year, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Writers Trust Marian Engel/Timothy Findley Award.

Miriam lives in Toronto.

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

A special thank you to NetGalley, Atria, and Simon & Schuster Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Three different people are brought together in an interesting premise that travels from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to Chile and Brazil in the 1970s.

The story opens with a minor car accident which becomes the catalyst for an unexpected relationship between two people who thought they were living in the winter of their lives. Richard Bowmaster is a 60-year-old American human rights scholar that had lived for a time in Brazil.  During a snowstorm, Richard hits the car that Evelyn Ortega is driving.  She is a young, undocumented immigrant from Guatemala working as a nanny in the city.  At first it seems like a just a minor fender bender, but when Evelyn turns up at the professor’s house needing help, the situation becomes serious.  Richard doesn't know what to do with the young woman so he calls on his tenant, Lucia Maraz for her advice.  Lucia is a 62-year-old lecturer from Chile who is attracted to Richard but has given up any hope of a more intimate relationship.

These three very different people are brought together in a captivating story.  Allende's narrative moves from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala in the recent past to 1970s Chile and Brazil and sparks the beginning of a long overdue love story between the two older characters, Richard and Lucia.

Allende explores the timely issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees.  It is a much needed novel in these regards.  However, having the story unfold the way it does is a disservice to the weighty topics that she depicts.  The structure is disjointed—the life stories are much more interesting than the modern day storyline that binds the characters together and I felt that Allende should have used another narrative style.  The backstories are beautifully written and incredibly moving in their harsh realities but again, the present day plot takes away from this.  Perhaps this was done on purpose, to juxtapose a love story against the darkness.  

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Seeking women ages 18–32 to participate in a study on ethics and morality. Generous compensation. Anonymity guaranteed. 

Are you ready to sign up? When Jessica Farris stumbles upon an opportunity to get paid to participate in a psychology study conducted by the mysterious Dr. Shields, she jumps at the chance to earn some much needed extra money. All she has to do is answer a few questions, collect her payment, and be done with it. But when the questions become more personal and intense, and Jess is placed in scenarios rather than just answering questions on a computer, she feels that Dr. Shields is playing a game with her—it appears the good doctor knows what she is thinking and what she is hiding.

Jess becomes increasingly paranoid, especially when she realizes she is caught in a trap of jealousy and deception. Who can she really trust in this modern game of cat and mouse?

Can I tell you that I loved An Anonymous Girl just as much as The Wife Between Us? Gah! Greer and Pekkanen are incredible writers—they set the stage and then peel back the curtain to reveal some surprising twists. This story is not as shocking as The Wife Between Us. What happens instead is that the plot completely blindsides the reader because they are so captivated by the fantastic writing. These ladies could teach a master class for this genre, they're THAT good. They manipulate you into believing their characters, but in fact, you can't trust any of them. They also make you doubt your own conclusions. Brilliant!  

BUY NOW

GREER HENDRICKS spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Allure, and Publishers Weekly.

SARAH PEKKANEN is the internationally and USA Today bestselling author of eight previous novels. A former investigative journalist and feature writer, her work has been published in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many others.

Together, they have written the New York Times bestselling novels The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl.

Sadie by Courtney Summers

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie hasn't had it easy.  Her drug-addict mother is in and out of her life and Sadie is tasked with raising her little sister, Mattie.

Mattie goes missing and is subsequently found murdered.  This absolutely destroys Sadie and after a botched police investigation, Sadie makes it her mission to bring her sister's killer to justice.  Following what little information she has, Sadie strikes out on her own to find him.

West McCray is radio personality who is working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America.  When he overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, West becomes obsessed with finding Sadie.  He starts his own podcast that tracks her journey in the hopes of trying to figure out what happened and to find Sadie before it's too late.

Summers contemporary story is not pretty.  It's gritty, raw, and at times unimaginable.  But the sad fact is that what happens to Sadie is not unique and the world can be a dark and terrible place. 

I struggled with Sadie as a character—on one hand, she's a total badass and could be a strong female lead, but on the other, she's basically still a child that has faced some incredibly brutal situations that no one, let alone a child, should be subjected to.     

The alternating points of view is the perfect vehicle for this story.  Sadie's first person voice is vulnerable as evident through her stutter, yet strong as apparent through her sheer determination and will.  She is lost and doesn't want to be found.  The only thing keeping her going is to find and kill the man responsible for Mattie's murder.  West's narrative is true to his occupation as a radio presenter in that he is factual and purposeful.  He frames his views into consumable content, albeit somewhat flippant, because he is reporting and investigating without any personal attachment.  I took this as a comment on the impact of media and how numb we are as a society to things that should be horrific and cause for reaction/action.

The two are on a similar trajectory—Sadie to find the man responsible for her sister's death and West to find Sadie.  With each turn of the page, the reader is hoping for them to collide and Summers capitalizes on this to propel her narrative.  Her pace is spot on.

This book is not for the faint of heart.  Summers preys on the reader's anxiety and ratchets this story to a whole other level.  I actually had to take reading breaks with this one, not only to catch my breath, but because I felt suffocated by Sadie's darkness.  This novel could be a trigger warning for some because of some of the subject matter and should come with a warning to call this out.  

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

A special thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss, HarperCollins, and Park Row Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jessie Sloane had been caring for her mother, Eden, and is now on her own for the first time in her life. She takes out a lease on an apartment in an old carriage house and applies to college. But when the college informs her that her social security number belongs to a deceased three-year-old girl, Jessie begins to doubt everything she's ever known.

For as long as Jessie can remember, it had only been just the two of them.  When she asked about her father, Eden never disclosed who he was. The mystery of Jessie's life and who she is becomes further exacerbated by the grief surrounding the death of her mother as well as the lack of sleep—Jessie refuses to sleep because when she fell asleep at the hospital, her mother died, and she feels an incredible amount of guilt. As the days go by and the insomnia gets worse, Jessie's mind starts to play tricks on her and she can't decipher what is real and what is actually happening.  

Twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, Eden appears to be happily married and dreams of having a child with her husband, Aaron. The couple is struggling with infertility and Eden's desperation for a child becomes all-consuming. Eden makes an impulsive decision that years later has Jessie questioning her whole life—has it been a lie, or have her delusions finally gotten the best of her?

Told in alternating perspectives and timelines, the sharp plot is blunted by Jessie's delusions and Eden's obsessive behaviour. The reader is stuck inside both Jessie's twisted perceptions, not knowing what is real and what isn't, and Eden's emotional breakdown. As unreliable narrators, Jessie and Eden are the perfect vehicles to execute this psychological thriller.  

Kubica is at the top of her game and she pens something totally fresh in When the Lights Go Out.  I have reviewed her other books (Every Last Lie, Don't You Cry, The Good Girl) and would highly recommend this book; it was a fantastic read and I enjoyed the many twists in the plot.

MARY KUBICA is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature.

She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children and enjoys photography, gardening and caring for the animals at a local shelter.