Picture Perfect By Jodi Picoult

 It is a picture-perfect life. 

That is what everyone thinks when they see Cassie and Alex.

Cassie is a well-known anthropologist. Alex Revers is a renowned actor and director who will sweep the Oscars with his new film.

Their wedding and marriage life was picture perfect for outsiders. But, there were skeletons in the closet. 

Both of them had traumatic childhoods. 

Will discovered Cassie when she showed up at the graveyard with a head injury and no memory of how she got there. As the story progresses, Cassie remembers everything that happened. 

Then to protect her unborn baby from Alex, she turns to Will for help. Will helped her to hide from the world she knew. But, when the baby is born, she goes back to Alex. 

Ahe has her past to blame for going back to the abuser. When she realizes for the sake of her baby, she has to leave Alex. 

In the end, she takes her life and freedom back. Picoult is not bringing a happily ever after Cassie with Will, though. 

The book describes the life of the Indians in the Lakota reserve. I liked that. But, I was pissed off at some point with Cassie trying to live the life for Alex. 

But, it is the way the author wants it. 

Ever tried any book by Jodi Picoult?

Who Is Maud Dixon?

 I finished reading my second book for 2022. 

"Who is Maud Dixon?" is a thriller by Alexandra Andrews. 

Look at the book cover: do you see the two faces?

That brown line at the middle from top to bottom is not just a line. Look closely, can you see it?

When the story begins, we are with Florence. She lost her job. Then she got hired as an author's assistant. 

We think we are going to find out who is Maud Dixon, the famous novelist.

The writing style captured my concentration. A real nice book to escape from your mundane life. 

Do you like to read it?

"Malibu Raising": a fire and how it started

 The Reva's are going to have a party. If you know where the party is, you are invited!

Reva siblings were raised by their mother. They have a famous father, who abandoned them years ago. 

Nina Reva, the famous surfer and model, worked hard to raise her siblings and to keep them together after their mom passed away. She didn't want to be famous, don't like the world staring at her. 

The famous father who abandoned them and their mother come to the party. Do Nina and her famous brothers and the baby sister let him in their life?

This is a novel that kept me turning the pages. Very good narrative style. Loved every moment of reading it. 

I enjoyed creating the graphic for this post as well. 

"Hurry Home" : Story of sisters

 "Hurry Home"  by Roz Nay is a recent novel I finished reading.

The story is narrated by sisters Alex and Ruth in alternative chapters. 

We cannot trust either of their versions. 

Chase is Alex's boyfriend. Alex lives with Chase in his apartment.  Ruth shows up at Alex's doorstep pregnant. 

Alex let her live with them. But, she had an agenda. Alex uses her power as a social worker to "save kids" as she tells in the story. She doesn't like her co-worker Minerva. Their boss is not interested in confrontation. Sully is a police officer. Alex is friends with him. But Chase didn't know that. 

Eli Beck is the father of Ruth's child. He is a drug dealer. Ruth brought money and drugs with her when she came to Alex's house. That is missing. 

Chase learns a lot about Alex and her past life from Ruth. While we are nearing the end of the novel, we can trust one of the sisters. 

I cannot figure out why Alex behaves like she does in the novel. 

The photo of the book is from Goodreads. All graphics are done by Bindu

This book tells how an abuser got away

 I finished reading "Secret Life" by Kevin Donovan. Jian Ghomeshi was a popular talk show host in CBC. Kevin Donovan was an investigative journalist at The Toronto Star. 

I was following that case in 2016, then totally forgot about it. The women accused him failed on cross-examination. It was pathetic to see those abused by Ghomeshi had to go through the questioning of his lawyer. 

The book reveals a lot more about the investigation. News media cannot publish an investigation without real proof.  Donovan and his team were working hard to bring solid evidence of abuse. The abused women didn't keep their text messages and emails. But, Ghomeshi did.  He bought powerful legal help with his money. But, CBC acted on the evidence and fired him. 

It was a very courageous act for those women to come forward and to be named as victims. While reading the book, I can understand the agony of those victims in putting their names out there. 

After reading the book, I wanted to know what Ghomeshi doing now. 

He is working with the Roque Media, which focuses on Iranian Canadians. With unnamed investors and prominent Iranians to back him, he is back on the media. 

The book reveals the failure of CBC in addressing issues of sexual harassment reported by female employees. 

I finished "Akin", a novel

 It was a long work week.

The subway train ride gave me a lot of time to read. Having a good book is a reward for the commute.

Noah is a retired professor and widower. He lives in the upper west. He is getting ready to start a trip to France, where he was born. He found few photos his mom had kept in an envelope and curious about why she kept them. Now, he hopes to find out the details of those during his trip. That is when social services called him. He has a great grand nephew, Michael, who needs someone to take care of him. Noah is the closest relative available for that job. Now, he is forced to take Michael for the trip.

A pre-teen and a senior citizen is not a peaceful combination. They argued about Micheal's Coke drinking to writing his travel journal. 

Within the two weeks, time at Nice, they found they like each other. Michael helped Noah to uncover the truth about his mom's photos. Now, Noah is relieved that his mother was helping Jewish kids to escape from the Nazis. Understanding the risks other generations have taken to protect loved ones, both Noah and Micheal grasp how akin they are! 

I loved reading it. The story makes me think about how Michael and Noah going to live their life together. Will Michael ever going to know how his father got killed and his mother got imprisoned? That is the beauty of a good novel. It makes us think and make stories for the characters.

Do you agree?

Who Is Vera Kelly?

 

I was not writing but I was continuing my reading.

It is an interesting title for a book, right? 

"Who Is Vera Kelly?" Then I wanted to know who she is.

She was working for a radio station and became a CIA agent.

How many times we heard about a female spy? 

So, Vera started working in Argentina wire trapping a leading politician. She was also spying few student activists in Buenos Aires. When her trusted allies abandoned her, she had to take extreme measures to save her life and return to America. 

It is an interesting story about a female spy. I came to know that there is one more Vera Kelly book by Rosalie Knecht. I want to read that too.