March Picks

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. This epic novel follows four young men who meet in college. The story takes the reader back in the early lives of each of the friends, exposing the horrific struggles and trauma of one of the characters in particular. The book follows the young men as they navigate through college, careers, relationships and growing into middle aged men. This is a book that makes a huge emotional impact and points out that every living person you see is carrying around some kind of emotional baggage and heartache. A powerful and wonderful book that stayed with me long after finishing. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. This fictional drama tells the story of a family dealing with the aftermath of a deadly school shooting. What makes this story unique is it is told from the perspective of the family of the killer. The story goes back in time as the mother and father raise Kevin and put a spotlight on what he was like as a toddler and small child and how that may have indicated the terrible act that was to come. A fascinating probe at motherhood, fatherhood, family dynamics, and the psychology of a killer.

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld. This is a great domestic story about twin sisters Kate and Violet who have psychic abilities and can sometimes predict future events. After a childhood where they were in the spotlight for their premonitions, Kate tries to follow a more traditional path of marriage and kids in suburban St. Louis while Violet embraces her abilities by having a career as a psychic medium. After Violet goes on television to predict a devastating earthquake coming to the St. Louis area, Kate must come to terms with her own gift because she fears her sister may be right. A story told with wit, humor, and intelligence ~ I almost always love what this author produces!

The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. This dystopian science fiction book tells about a college town in California where a strange sleeping sickness seems to be happening. As people fall asleep and cannot be wakened, the story follows various residents as they try to figure out how to avoid this frightening thing from happening to them and their families. Medical professionals and the world at large are baffled by this epidemic and the town is cordoned off from the rest of the world. The author paints a wonderful cast of characters in this book who must deal with the fear and paranoia of this inexplicable condition.

Dream When You’re Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg. A historical fiction book that tells about two sisters, Kitty and Louise, who must say goodbye to their boyfriends Julian and Michael who are going overseas to fight. The girls write letters to the young men and get responses, in which the reader is exposed to glimpses of what that time would have looked like on the home front and what it must’ve been like on the battlefront. The author paints a picture of the 1940’s in this lovely and sentimental story.