Category: Fiction

Meg Donohue must be a devoteé of Fannie Flagg, because she also names her chapters after the character whose narrative we will be hearing. In the case of How to Eat a Cupcake, each chapter is named either “Julia” or “Annie.”

Julia St. Claire is the privileged only child of Tad and Lolly St. Claire. She’s blond, beautiful, educated, and successful in everything she attempts. Her upscale upbringing in the tony San Francisco neighborhood of Pacific Heights has been a life most people can only dream about.

Annie Quintana is the illegitimate daughter of Ecuadorian immigrant, Lucia Quintana. Upon the announcement of her pregnancy, Lucia was disowned by her strict family. She made her way to the US, working a series of jobs until she became the housekeeper and nanny for the St. Claire family. Although Lucia and Annie lived in the estate’s carriage house, they were cherished by their employers. Lucia had the gift for putting everyone around her at ease and she could cook and bake like no else.

Through the years, Annie’s and Julia’s relationship changed as they got older and were forced to navigate the murky depths of the exclusive Devon Prep high school, the St. Claires paying both tuitions. Eventually the girls grew apart, their once sisterly bond fueled by competition and loathing–the kind of nagging dislike that people only experience when they actually care deeply for one another. The kind which only fades if both parties make amends.

Then one day, Annie’s mother, Lucia, died.

Trust me, I’m not giving anything away. This is the expository information generously given at the beginning of the novel. The main plot picks up 10 years later. The girls are now 28 year old women whose lives are about to intersect once again. Julia is now a talented businesswoman with all the right connections. Annie is a gifted baker living with a dash of cynicism after losing the only relative she ever knew. The following year for both of them will be a learning experience in trust, faith, and introspection.

Since we hear each of their inner voices, we see what is genuine and what is perceived.

Although, technically, a “light” read, the relationship between the women felt very real. That is what kept my attention to the end. Most lifelong friendships are complicated, as any relationship with a lot of history. I think of friends I have had since early childhood. There have been ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and lengthy periods with no contact at all. But when you know someone for most of your life there is a unique bond. Discovering which is stronger–Julia and Annie’s childhood bond or the events that later tore them apart–is what makes this novel worthwhile.

8.5 out of 10 stars

Another winner by Fannie Flagg!

Sookie Krackenberry Poole leads an enviable life, to say the least.  Her husband, Earle, is loving, supportive, and an excellent provider.  Together they have 4 independent children who honor and respect their parents.  With the exception of her flamboyant, out-spoken mother, Lenore, everything is practically perfect. Which makes it all the more difficult when Sookie discovers she is adopted.

What follows is a plot for which Fannie Flagg is both adept and famous, 2 parallel storylines that intertwine and eventually intersect.  One is Sookie’s journey of discovery about her origins. The other is the story of the Jurdabralinski family’s daughters, who burst through the boundaries of expectations for women in the 1940s.

Using excellent character development and sensitive points of view, the author takes her readers on a fun adventure that explores relationships between mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends.  But, trust me, this story is anything but predictable.  Just when you think the story is headed towards a straight road, it takes a sharp, unexpected detour.  All in all, this is Sookie’s story, and proof that self-discovery in all forms can happen at any age.

A wonderful read.

9.5 out of 10 stars

Anne Frank.  Her name is synonymous with the plight of the Jews during the Holocaust. Her diary humanized the life of a young girl bursting with effervescence and dreams of the future, only to have them cruelly ripped away at age 15.

But there was another diary written by another sister.  Anne’s older sister, Margot.  The quiet one. The reserved one.  The excellent student. The “paragon of virtue,” as she was called in the family.  The sister whose work camp order prompted their father, Otto, to shuffle the family into the famous “Annex” in the early hours of July 6, 1942.

After their arrest in 1944 and suffering the atrocities of the concentration camps, only Otto Frank survived. He edited and published Anne’s diary in the early 1950s, which became a hit Broadway play and award-winning film, making Anne Frank an icon for all time. 263 Prinsengracht is now the “Anne Frank House,” with over one million visitors per year.

Margot’s diary was lost and never found.

What is known about Margot is brought to life in this respectfully written “what if” novel by Jillian Cantor.

I couldn’t put it down.

What if Margot survived? What if she made her way to America?

Set in 1959, the year the movie The Diary of Anne Frank hit the big screen, Margie Franklin is a quiet woman in her early thirties, working as a legal secretary.  She has no family. She always wears long sleeves. She lives and behaves modestly. She lives with fear and guilt. She lives a lie every day. She has a secret.

If you are someone who has always been intrigued by the Anne Frank story, as I have, you will greatly enjoy this novel. Told entirely from Margot’s perspective, you sense her daily conflict with wanting to be seen for who she is, yet still being “the quiet one.”  Her inner voice is very authentic.

Appropriate for any age.  I highly recommend it.

9.5 out of 10 stars