After suffering through a couple of books that could only be described as, well, duds, I finally found two winners. What do they have in common? They are both emotional, with fantastic main and supporting characters. They are both bravely written. What do I mean by that? I mean that they are books you don’t want to skim. You want to savor them. You want to marinate in their phrasing and uniqueness. In fact, you will find yourself playing them out in your mind like the movie adaptations they both should be (with the guarantee they wouldn’t get ruined.)
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett, by Annie Lyons, could be seen as a female version of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove, but that is where the similarities end. Unlike Ove, Eudora has never been married. She’s dedicated herself to the care of her mother and sister. Life doesn’t have much meaning beyond her self-imposed duty and a promise to her father long ago. Now she has a choice to make: endure modern society with its fast-paced ways, rudeness, and digital detachment? Or speed up the inevitable? While Eudora explores whether or not she still has a purpose, we journey back in time and learn more about her earlier years. They were far from easy. Yet, patience, endurance, and serving others can often boomerang back to us when we least expect it. I highly recommend this brilliant book about Eudora Honeysett’s brilliant life! 9.5/10 Stars
The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman, by Julietta Henderson is that Norman, age twelve, really isn’t that funny. But he is smart, polite, kind, and very good to his single mum, Sadie. He is content to be the straight man to the real firecracker, his best friend, Jax. Jax is a force of nature. He’s the one with the ideas, the bravado, and the goals. After all, how many kids would name their future stand-up routine “Sausages and Gravitas?” Only Jax. Except for one problem. Jax is dead. His death pulls the rug out from under Norman and mum, Sadie, needs to find a way to breathe life back into her darling son. With a little help from a willing, unexpected accomplice, it just might be possible. What happens next is the road trip of a lifetime in this book that will grab you by the heart and not let go until the very end. This is brave writing. I loved it. 9.5/10 Stars
Readwithkristie.com 