Struck me as too Sex and the City/ Real Housewives superficial treatment of superficiality. Didn’t care enough about any of the characters for any of the tragedies in the plot to hit as such. Was surprised to be this disappointed.

Fun to read

Fences is a beautifully written yet heart wrenching story of a black man and father being so affected by the past that he can’t move forward, causing him to lose control of those he loved over time. Troy, the main character of the play, is in many ways scarred from his past. He works with his hands because his father did and he knows that a skill if the only thing the harsh world can’t take away from you. Growing up in the post-civil war time period and seeing the ways in which his father and black people struggled, he refuses to believe society will ever treat black people justly and allow them a chance to pursue what they love most. This is reflected in his refusal to sign a paper and let Cory, his son, play football and gain an opportunity for college. Troy can not fathom a world which allows black people to play mainstream sports and tries to prevent the pain before it starts by stopping Cory from playing. Resentment grows in Cory and with added issues of society’s treatment of his disabled veteran brother, Gabe, Troy begins to feel stuck and out of control with his life’s path. In doing so, he cheats on his wife, Rose, with a woman named Alberta and becomes the father to a girl who he asks Rose to take in. Miserable, and pushing away all who cared about him in his life, he becomes a stranger in his own home and begins his “fight” with death until he passes 8 years later. His impact on those around him (both good and bad) lingers on. I liked the story, even with us heartfelt sad ending. It is an overall great book!

I don’t think I want to read any more books by this author. I tried her last one and that was a DNF and this one was almost a DNF too but I pushed through. I didn’t like Josie at all, she was too much of a wallflower character.

I read this book based on our book club's recommendation and also as it was a library staff pick. While told in its own unique way, the plot reminded me of so many things that have happened/are happening in society and the world. I got the impressions of COVID and anti-Asian sentiments, the removal and separation of children from Native Americans as well as their return from successful adoptions, separation of immigrant families at the border, etc. The "Crisis" and PACT were universal in their meaning as was the resulting abuse of power and tendency to look the other way. The way Celeste Ng told the story through the eyes of young Bird was very interesting, and the young adult fiction book, "The Giver", kept coming to mind.

It was ok but not the best by Rebecca Serle. I loved One Italian Summer. The characters were a bit jammed together

It was a little slow at times, but I enjoyed the story. I wasn’t aware that a group of women delivered library books by horseback in Kentucky in the 1930s and 1940s. The story has a twist near the end which I enjoyed.

I was very excited about this book. It sucked me in through the first 80% and lost a bit of steam. There were a few loose strings I’d like to have had cleared up . Overall, I enjoyed it yet wanted more from it.

I thought that I would like the plot more than I did. I am not a huge fan of regency era romance but I do like to read it once in a while. This was not it for me.

A powerful story that truly opens one’s eyes to the different forms of abuse and mistreatment faced by some (and how these can go unaknowledged both by the victim and those watching).