People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Hello everyone.  I hope you are staying cool in the soaring temperatures.

When I was a kid, we looked forward to two things, Christmas and vacation.  As really young kids, we would go to "the shore" and visit Cape May, New Jersey.  If you've never been, it's charming without lots of high-rise hotels but smaller family run resorts.  The neighborhoods are close by and filled with Victorian houses.  There is a boardwalk and it was my dad's requirement that we get up every morning at the crack of dawn and ride bicycles.  We even tried a bicycle for two one time, that was a complete disaster!  My aunts, uncles and cousins would also go to Cape May so not only was it a wonderful vacation but nice to spend time together.  As we got to be teenagers, Cape May was too relaxed for us and we all went to Myrtle Beach with lots of miniature golf, amusement parks and t-shirt shops.  The first time I ever played Pac Man was in Myrtle, we had chicken pox in Myrtle, and most notably while walking on the beach right next to me, my sister got pooped squarely on the head by a seagull in Myrtle.  I'm still laughing today.  What?  It's funny!   We were a bit away from our hotel and she had to walk back like that...I may or may have not laughed hysterically the entire way.   Also, on vacation I met some wonderful friends who I am still in contact with to this day...literally decades later.  Vacations are good.

I recently read People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry.  In the past I reviewed Beach Read by the same author.  I acknowledged that it was a romance and in general they aren't my thing (although I've read some great ones).  Beach Read seemed like it was trying to have a more involved story but compared to thrillers it was just too slow for me.  Still, I admitted that I wanted to watch this author as she could make me a romance reader.  I was so anxious to read People We Meet on Vacation to see what Emily Henry had in store for us.  I'm glad I did.  This story is about two friends, Poppy and Alex, who have gone on vacations together for years and about how their friendship has evolved, often because of the time on these trips.  The pacing is far superior to Beach Read and the dialog will have you laughing from beginning to end.  Sometimes sweet, sometimes serious and thoughtful, this book is perfect for your summer trip or anytime you need to brighten your day.  I am thrilled for Henry to have started to really bridge that gap between generalized fiction and romance.  I cannot wait for the next one.

Things to pack: bathing suit, beach towel, sunscreen, People We Meet on Vacation, and if you're my sister...shower cap to wear on the beach...just in case.

56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is wonderful so far. 

The world has changed from the Covid virus. While being necessary to stay home many people have found it annoying.  Hubby and I are homebodies, so it hasn't been very difficult.  Wait, the constant cooking has been trying, worse yet the mountain of dirty dishes eating at home all the time creates.  Given that people have lost everything including people they love, dishpan hands seems like something to celebrate. Everyday I am crushed seeing the news and unendingly grateful for being able to stay home.  

I recently read 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard.  This is the story of two people, Ciara and Oliver, that meet at the very beginning of the pandemic and begin dating. Knowing that a quarantine is coming, and that they enjoy each others company, they decide to move into Oliver's apartment to weather the storm.  Told in differing time periods and from different perspectives the reader is left to answer two questions.  When police discover a single dead body in Oliver's apartment, who is it and what happened.  

Going into this story I was afraid it would concentrate too much on the virus.  To be honest, I've been reading up a storm because I want an escape not a reminder of the real world. However, 56 Days uses the quarantine as a vehicle to throw the characters together, it doesn't dwell on it.  The jumping timelines and narrators didn't bother me, but it rarely does.  If you dislike it, this isn't the book for you.  The story was interesting.  I have a bit of a complaint about the writing.  Some of the sentences just don't make any sense, if they do, they are awkward and have to be deciphered.  I really don't want to have to bring my Little Orphan Annie Decoder Pin to figure out what a book is saying.  Now, this occurred only a couple of times and in the first forty pages or so.  I just wonder why an editor didn't find it a stumbling block while reading too.  While I don't think this author has the smoothest writing style in general, her books are still interesting.  Obviously, I wouldn't want every author to write in the same way so I'll definitely read more Howard books.

Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena

Hello everyone.  I hope your day has been pleasant.

If you had wealthy parents would you consider killing them for their money?  Please note, I'm assuming you would all say no or run along as you have totally creeped me out.  Now, if your parents turned up dead would you throw your siblings under the bus to collect their share of the money? For me...absolutely.  I'll be getting phone calls tomorrow but let it be known that they are all goners!  Time to get even for my parents going with "what the majority wanted" and there being three of them (my sisters are triplets).  What they wanted always won.  Unfair.  So, if it comes down to it, up the river they go.  I'll even put my palms together and repeatedly curl my fingers, with an evil laugh, Disney villain style. Forget pricking your finger on that spinning wheel, you're prison bound! (Sleeping Beauty, must I tell you everything.)

I recently read Not A Happy Family by Shari Lapena.  I love that Shari Lapena writes about upstate NY since that is where I grew up.  In this case, the story is about a family that lives in the Hudson Valley.  The very wealthy parents of three children are murdered.  The entire book is about who did it and why.  Lapena is an expert at convincing the reader that someone is guilty only to accomplish the same thing in the next chapter with another person.  A very fun read.  Not really thrillery but a great mystery.  Think the movie Knives Out, but much better.  The book features interesting character development which is revealed slowly, allowing our feelings toward each person to remain fluid.  Compounded with short, cliff hanger chapters and you've got a book that will fly by.  A great one to read on vacation.

By the way, to any reading siblings, expect no cakes with files from me.  You'll be lucky to get a cupcake!

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a nice day.

I had some interesting and memorable teachers.  Two high school English teachers come to mind.  I had a sweet little old man that kind of looked like a Bassett Hound (old to me then, he was probably in his late 40's). He used to exaggerate the way words were said, saying at least every syllable, if not more.  Vegetable wasn't vegetable it was "veg-e-ta-ble".  Hey, it kept our attention.  Another English literature teacher was also the drama coach, he was a natural for both and there was no distinction between the two.  I remember reading The Old Man and the Sea, going around the classroom each person reading one sentence.  Then, he had little pieces of wisdom he wanted to impart.  I still remember him telling us that the words "certainly" and "surely" were interchangeable.  He would chant "When I say certainly, you say ..." waiting for us to say "surely".  When the classroom would respond he would jump up and give a kind of high pitched roar.  His feet would literally leave the ground.  Silly as it sounds today, he must have done something right because I still remember what he taught, and him.

I recently read For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing.  This is the story of a fancy private school and the people that teach and learn there.  We follow several people but mostly Teddy, who was recently named Teacher of the Year.  He is very concerned about making his students the best they can be, even those that really rub him the wrong way.  Given that this is a wealthy school, he feels that several of the students have an elitist attitude that they would be better served without.  But what happens when teachers start getting sick, then dropping dead?  

This book is fairly long at over 370 pages and worth every sentence.  As things start going bonkers at this ritzy school you kind of want to give a bit of an evil laugh, it's like stepping back in time and binge watching a wacked version of Knots Landing (a prime time tv show kind of soap opera from 1979-1993).  While you won't find Joan Van Ark here, you will find plenty of twists and turns.  The author tells us pretty early on who is responsible but that just adds to the fun as we get to see that persons planning as well as the ominous results.  This fun and frantic read features short chapters with many ending in questions or cliff hangers.  A perfect summer read.  My favorite of Samantha Downing's so far.

Beware, this may have you digging out your yearbook and giving your teachers a second look.