"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. 

Book No:30 The Last Thing He Told Me

 

When you realize the love of your life just disappeared from the life you know, you want to find out what happened. 

Hannah received a note from Owen asking to protect his daughter. There is no other information. If it is you, how agonizing it will be?

Hanna and stepdaughter Bailey did everything they can to find Owen.  The more they dug, the more confused they became. His past was not the one he told them. 

Laura Dave keeps the suspense till the end. I like the style and story. 

I made the graphic to show the inner vibe of the novel. I Hope, you like it. 

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book No. 29: How A Woman Becomes A Lake

 Actually, I finished 3 books last week. It was a bit more than my usual reading. 

I love to write about the book "How A Woman Becomes Lake" by Marjorie Celona. 

Leo took his sons on New Year's eve to the Square point. It was a heavy snow day. The lake was frozen. It was bone-chilling cold. 

Vera was walking her dog there and found Leo's older son standing in the snow. She called the police to report seeing the child. 

Later officer Lewis cote found Vera's car and her dog. But Vera was nowhere to be found.

Leo and the kids tell the police they never saw the woman first. Are they telling the truth?

Danny is so lost after Vera is gone. Lewis later finds out the truth. 

We can feel the melancholy in the narration. Life is not what we really see on the outside. The mind plays a lot of games on how we are treated by our parents. Some people can overcome the trauma. some cannot. 

With the story, we understand how Vera's death affects the characters. How their life turned around because of Vera. Even the dog Scout has to live with the loss of her and the new living conditions. 

Highly recommend this book to you.