Patty Pick for 10/23/14 is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

There are not too many people on the planet who have not heard of 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. When this book came out in hardcover, my 

book club fought over it at our annual Christmas dinner. Every year we bring 

a wrapped book and do a book exchange. We can "steal" a book from 

each other when it's our turn or keep the book we unwrapped. It's a lot of 

fun to do this at the end of a good meal. We share the books with each other 

during the year and often they end up being a pick for someone's month. 

Gone Girl was a hard fought battle and everyone wanted to read it first, for 

good reason. This in one twisted psychological thriller! Just when you 

think you have figured out what is going on, you are turned in another 

direction and totally lost again. This one had me fooled up to the end and 

then I was not ready for it to be over. 

Nick & Amy Dunne are getting ready to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary

when she disappears. They seem to be the perfect couple. As the police investigate and Amy's diary is revealed, a different picture of their marriage emerges. Nick swears his innocence and his twin sister, Margo, is trying to solve this with him, but Nick 

seems to be digging a deeper hole for his guilt with each step. This will confuse 

and intrigue you but definitely keep you glued to every page until the end!

Patty Pick for 10/16/14 is "Little Mercies" by Heather Gudenkauf

"Little Mercies" by Heather Gudenkauf starts off with the chaos in the day of a normal family. Ellen and Adam have three children and busy lives. They are running separate ways to get their days started. On her way to work, Ellen receives a disturbing call from one of the children she oversees as a social worker with the DHS. She rushes to their house with the police to try to get the children out of the dangerous situation. 
As  she works with the police to diffuse the situation, a distubance grows behind her in the neighborhood. As the sound of breaking glass reaches her ears, it dawns on Ellen that they are breaking into her car to rescue her infant daughter from the inferno it now is.
How did she forget that Avery is in there?
That starts this story of a terrible accident and the journey through the maze of social work and child abuse and leads us back to the original story of a family in crisis. 

While Ellen and Adams's lives are falling apart, Jenny stumbles into the life of Ellen's mother, Maudene. Maudene knows that Jenny is in trouble and can not stop herself from trying to help. Jenny, like many 10 year olds, wants her family back together. Her father is in jail and her mother has been missing for years. Jennny thinks her grandmother is close by and is determined to find her. 

As this family tradegy unfolds, you can see that there for the grace of God go all of us. We all make mistakes in our lives that we wish we could take back. Where will the mistakes that Jenny and Ellen make lead them? You will want to read this book n one sitting to find out. I enjoyed other Heather Gudenkauf books and this is another good one!

Patty Pick for 10/9/14 is The Time Between by Karen White

 

"The Time Between" by Karen White is set in Charleston and Edisto Island, SC. With Charleston being one of my favorite cities and Karen White being one of my favorite writers, there was no doubt I would read this book. In fact, I have been trying to get to it for a while now. There never seems to be enough time to get my reading in. Of course, writing a novel at the same time does 
make it difficult. But I digress....

"The Time Between" tells the story of two sets of sisters. The main characters, Eve and Eleanor, have both changed due to events they created and happenings that they could not control. Eve is now in a wheelchair and Eleanor feels responsible. She has lost herself in the guilt of her sister's injury and Eve has let her. When Eve becomes pregnant, things start to change. Eleanor is offered an extra position helping the elderly aunt of her boss and Eve begins to see the true Ellie come back to life. They both struggle to understand 
the changes and work through their feelings. 

Eleanor's boss, Finn Beaufain, recruits Eleanor to be a part-time companion to his 
elderly aunt Helena. They have recently lost Helena's sister Bernadett under mysterious circumstances that neither one seem to want to talk about. Helena is suffering and can 
be pretty hard on Ellie. Ellie is the name that Finn's daughter, Gigi, gives to Eleanor and it fits. Gigi is wise beyond her years and together they work to bring some life back to Helena's days. Finn seems to be willing to offer more to Eleanor that she is ready for. 

As the mystery around Bernadett's death is revealed, Helena also reveals the secrets she has carried her whole life. As Helena comes to terms with her decisions, so must Ellie with hers. So much happens in the last third of the book, that you may need to re-read parts to keep up! This is a touching and searching story of what one sister will do for another and the paths their lives take after those actions. 

Patty PIck for 10/2/14 is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak!

The Book Thief is one of those wonderful books that is written as a young adult book but is so well written any age will enjoy it. It definitely transcends any attempt to pidgeon-hole it into a certain genre. My book club read this a few years ago and it has stayed  with me. It is one of my favorite books of all time and it will become yours if you dare to open the first page. 

The story is set as a World War II story starring Liesel, who is a German girl heading to a foster home with her brother during the rise and reign of Hitler. On the journey to their new home, Liesel's brother dies and is buried. Liesel begins her book thievery at his gravesite. She continues to recover books throughout the war and shares them with all those around her. Her foster father teaches her to read and their Jewish friend, who hides in their basement until caught, actually writes her a story that will touch your heart. 

This entire book is narrated by Death. This twist sounds macabre but adds a special feeling to this book. Death adds humor along the way, while bringing reality to the situation.The poetic thoughts that Death shares with us makes this special and not another depressing book about war.

The imagery that Markus uses with will bring this book to life. The movie version had a lot to work with. The words in the this book will make you want to slow down and savor each one but you will definitely want to know how it ends.