The Almost Moon, by Alice Sebold

Alice Sebold is the author of "The Lovely Bones" which is such a well written, interesting and vivid book, that a person couldn't help looking forward to this one, despite the fact that the first line of the book divulges that the main character kills her elderly mother. You kind of expect that she would work with another difficult topic with dexterity and maybe grace or insight, etc..

WRONG. This is a dreadful book. It is unrelentingly grim and alternatively just stupid and unbelievable. I did not find one redeeming thing to like about the novel, the characters, the plot - nothing. I think it will be a huge bomb, unless there are a lot of people out there who appreciate some kind of hidden meaning in an absolutely bleak and unbelievable outlook.

Joanne's rating: Bad. 1 / 10 (It gets one point because at least it was short)

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I'm not the biggest Jodi Picoult reader, although I have read most of her books and they are a very nice easy read, I find them a little "formula" like, and that is a pretty big word for me and book analysis.

Anyway, this is one of her better ones, and certainly most people LOVE it, I always hear it recommended. It is about a family who chose to "breed" an additional child in the hopes of saving an existing child from a blood disease. We had a great discussion at our bookclubs, and one of my good friends has a niece who had a disease similar to the character (sister) and it is so interesting always to note how people's life experiences change they way they see the world.

Worth reading, but isn't my favourite by a long stretch....

My score: 7/10

Cloud Mountain by Aimee Liu

This historical fiction is set in the early to mid 1900's, between San Francisco and China. It follows the marriage of a Chinese man (Paul) and a white woman (Hope) as they marry in the USA (where that is mostly illegal) and then live much of their lives in China, where Paul is an active revolutionary (or counter-revolutionary, or some such political reformist) admidst his family's history of wealth and status under the old empire. The story is loosely based on the author's grandparents real lives, and weaves political events and upheavals along with the ups and downs of their unusual and challenging marriage.

I thought it was a great novel, very well written and very descriptive, as well as being strong in the character development of several main characters. The historical timeline I found at the END of the book would have been helpful for me to have at the BEGINNING, along with the maps of China, which I did find useful. My only complaint was a rather vague ending, so if you read the book, let me know how YOU think it ended!

It seems easy to recommend this one! 8.5/10