Claire Maguire is SIlently Correcting Your Grammar

Claire Maguire is in her seventies, a retired English teacher, and one of those wonderfully curmudgeonly women I enjoy reading about. She lives alone in a loft above a barn, with no husband or children, and has largely withdrawn from the world. Deeply antisocial, her only pleasures seem to be books, writing, and the English language — and correcting everyone else’s grammar, often not so silently. When Helen, the woman whose property Claire lives on, asks her to take over a summer writing class at the community center, Claire reluctantly agrees. Almost immediately, something begins to change. Surrounded by a handful of women of different ages and backgrounds, Claire slowly reconnects with the teacher and the person she used to be. As she comes out of her shell, we discover that there is a story behind her bitterness and a reason she abandoned the passions she once had. She even finds herself in an unexpected romance! I have enjoyed author Dave Boling’s historical fiction, and was so surprised by how different this book felt! Claire is smart, funny, painfully honest, and occasionally a bit of a know-it-all, but never in a way that made me dislike her. Of course, give me a book about books, writing, and grammar, and I am already won over. Claire reminded me of the infamous Olive Kitteridge and, more recently, Mad Mabel. She is that same kind of grumpy woman whose sharp edges are hiding a much more complicated  history. These are the women I always want to know more about. A wonderful, enjoyable book that seems to be flying under the radar, it is simply perfect to enjoy those last days of summer! And yes, I am aware that Claire would certainly delete my many exclamation points, but that's a risk I am willing to take! Lol. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

John of John

An Oprah pick that everyone is describing it as atmospheric. (it is!!) The author transports you to a remote Scottish island in the 1990s - a cold, foggy, rainy place where sheep farming and Tweed weaving are slowly dying, and everyone is struggling financially. After four years at art school in Edinburgh, Cal is broke, unemployed, sleeping on friends’ couches, and barely eating. He is a talented textile artist, but there are no job opportunities. During one of their weekly calls, his deeply religious father, John, convinces Cal to come home because his grandmother Ella isn’t doing well. Cal tells himself he is returning for her, but the truth is, he doesn’t any other options. Once home, Cal struggles to understand more about his mother’s leaving, his father’s bitterness, and the many secrets buried within their small island community. Faith, fear, shame, sexuality, and the pressure to live according to other people’s expectations play a large part in his future choices. The writing is undeniably beautiful, but at over 400 pages, I kept waiting to feel something bigger: to be shocked, moved, sad, or completely invested. That moment never came.  I am an outlier on this one, so please give it a try if you'd like a quiet, beautifully written story set in Scotland. ⭐⭐⭐

Hollow Bones

Jodi Picoult has always been one of my go-to favorite writers. I’ve loved so many of her books that, years later, I still think about them. I don’t know whether my tastes have changed or this particular book simply wasn’t for me, but Hollow Bones too long and overstuffed. The story begins in the aftermath of 9/11, when Eloise disappears and is presumed dead, leaving behind her husband, Adam, and their two-month-old daughter, Molly. Eloise’s best friend, Evie, steps in as Molly’s surrogate mother and eventually marries Adam. Twenty-five years later, their lives are still shaped by what happened. The premise is compelling, and the book’s exploration of survival, grief, and postpartum psychosis is genuinely interesting. As always, Picoult’s writing and character development are excellent. The problem (editing?) is that there are so many characters and storylines, each with such an extensive backstory, they sometimes feel like separate books. They eventually connect, but much of the detail felt unnecessary, and were unrealistic. At 464 pages, the book dragged considerably. In the beginning I was completely invested, but somewhere around the halfway point, it began to lose me. I wish the story had been tighter and more focused. Thanks Netgalley for the early peek. Releases in September. ⭐⭐⭐

 

The Wild Beneath

Annie grows up aboard a sailboat with her parents, Aiden and Mara, spending her childhood traveling  around the remote island where her father was raised. Homeschooled aboard the boat “sailboat school” and nicknamed Little Fish, Annie is more at home in the water than almost anywhere else. Her mother, has an even deeper and somewhat mysterious connection to the sea, adding a lovely touch of magical realism to a story filled with extraordinarily vivid descriptions of the ocean and it's creatures. The one constant in Annie’s life on land is Evan, her childhood best friend and first love, who longs for something more permanent with a girl who has never learned how to stay in one place. When Annie is a young woman, a devastating tsunami strikes the island and changes all of their lives forever. This book is a beautifully written page-turner filled with romance, family, loss, and just enough magic to make it dreamy. I can understand the comparisons to Wild Dark Shore, although this one leans further into the mystical connection between humans and the natural world. A great book to lose yourself in this summer. Highly recommend. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Good Parts

Landon and Rose are college sweethearts whose beautiful and loving relationship is shattered by an unbearable tragedy. Told through alternating timelines, Rose’s memories of their life together and Landon’s efforts to find her afterward, The Good Parts introduces an intriguing world in which a pill can erase a person’s past. Rose chooses to take it, hoping to escape her grief and begin a new life, while Landon tracks her down and hopes she might somehow fall in love with him twice. I was immersed in their romance and fascinated by the book’s questions about memory, trauma, and what the body or heart might retain even when the mind forgets. And I really enjoyed the Edinburgh setting. Unfortunately, the story became increasingly repetitive midway through, and the writing never felt strong enough to support such a magical premise. Although I really liked the first half, by the end I was ready for it to be over and no matter how interesting a book may be, I never think that is how a reader should feel. ⭐⭐⭐