Book Review: "The City" by Dean Koontz

Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

"...childhood is a time of fear as well; some of those fears are reasonable, others irrational and inspired by a sense of powerlessness in a world where often power over others seems to be what drives so very many of our fellow human beings."

Jonah Ellington Basie Hines Eldridge Wilson Hampton Armstrong Kirk was born in the late 1950s to Sylvia, an exceptional singer, and her erstwhile husband, Tilton, who saddled Jonah with all of those names in an effort to ingratiate himself with Sylvia's father, Teddy, who was a musician. But as Jonah grows, he realizes that his father is not a dependable person, and he drifts in and out of their lives until the moment Sylvia puts her foot down, when Jonah is eight years old.

One day Jonah meets a mysterious woman he calls Pearl, a woman who calls him "Ducks," and intrigues him beyond anything he can imagine. She claims to be the heart of the city in which he lives, and she can see everything that is going on within it. She unlocks Jonah's musical ability and finds him a piano on which to practice, and then opens his eyes to some disturbing visions. Over the next two years, he sees Pearl several times, and in his dreams she shows him more disturbing things that obsess him.

When he sees a woman featured in one of those visions, he wants to understand who she is and what will happen to her, but in doing so, he sets in motion a chain of events that will drastically impact his life and those he loves, and cause him to question what causes people to do the things they do. It's a lot of pressure for a 10-year-old boy trying to be the man of the house.

The City is an intriguing, well-written look at growing up in what seems like a simpler time, yet life isn't ever simple. It's the story of feeling like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, and how finding an ally can make the responsibility easier and so much harder to bear. And it's the story of how we carry the scars of our youth through our entire lifetime.

When an author is prolific, like Stephen King, John Grisham, or Dean Koontz, we tend to expect the familiar from them. It's not that every book they write is identical, or isn't creative; it's just surprising when we read a book that's a departure from what we're used to. That was definitely the case with The City; while it's been a while since I've read one of Koontz's books, this definitely wasn't quite what I expected from him. While there are some distinctive Koontz-ian touches, this is a more straightforward novel than I've seen him write in a while, although what I expected when the book began was vastly different than where the book finished.

If you pick up The City expecting a novel full of fright and horror and psychological drama, you'll be disappointed, but if you pick it up expecting a nostalgic look at growing up and facing the demons you know and those you don't, it will be worth your time.

Book Review: "Adam" by Ariel Schrag

Sometimes when we're attracted to a person we bend the truth about ourselves a little bit to get them to like us. But no one does it quite like 17-year-old Adam Freedman.

As Adam's junior year of high school ends, he's not quite sure he fits in with friends anymore, because they all have girlfriends and he tends to be a little more on the awkward side. He desperately wants a girlfriend, however, and really wants to lose his virginity (although don't tell anyone he's a virgin). When his friends start pairing off in couples, leaving him the odd man out, Adam decides to spend the summer living with his sister Casey in New York City, where she is a student at Columbia and has fully immersed herself in the LGBT culture, without worrying that their parents will find out.

Adam finds himself drifting aimlessly through the summer, still feeling like a third wheel, and longing to meet the girl his dreams have envisioned—a beautiful redhead—so he can go back to his California high school a completely different person. When he meets Gillian—a redhead, no less—at a rally in support of same-sex marriage. He is instantly smitten, and when they meet again at a party, the two feel a strong connection. There's just one problem—Gillian is a lesbian, and has no desire to date a man. What's a guy to do?

Desperate to build a relationship with Gillian, he pretends to be transgender, one who was born female but has transitioned to male, which explains Adam's youthful appearance. (He's also led her to believe he's 22, the same age she is.) Adam knows that a lie, especially one so serious, isn't a good foundation on which to build a relationship, but he can't stand the thought of being without Gillian. The more intense their relationship grows, the more he feels pressure to tell the truth, but instead he learns everything there is to know about being transgender, so his cover doesn't get blown.

But Adam realizes how one lie leads to other lies, and the pressure of maintaining such a facade takes its toll on happiness. And he also learns that memorizing facts about what it's like to be transgender doesn't even scratch the surface of understanding what life is really like. Along the way he'll find himself in some compromising positions (both sexually and ethically), and he'll be more surprised than he ever imagined.

Ariel Schrag's debut novel is sweet, funny, and quirky. At times I found Adam's character a bit reprehensible, but then I remembered he was only 17, and many an immature 17-year-old has done far worse, particularly in the pursuit of sex and love. (Often more the former than the latter.) Adam pokes fun at every LGBT stereotype, and while it does raise some interesting social issues, ultimately it's simply a charming boy-meets-girl novel, albeit this one tweaks that formula a bit.

I enjoyed this book, quirks and all, and found Schrag's storytelling ability to be breezy and refreshing. I'll definitely be watching to see what comes next in her career.

Book Review: "I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You" by Courtney Maum

British artist Richard Haddon has finally found success with his first solo show in Paris, although he feels he's lost his edge and is selling out. And while he should be happy to finally be selling his work, the rest of his life is a shambles. His affair with an American journalist has ended, as she's left him to marry a cutlery designer. Richard's despondence over the end of his affair exposed the secret to his wife Anne, a successful French attorney, who is maintaining cordial relations solely for the sake of their young daughter.

But when a painting that Richard made for Anne when she was pregnant and they were deeply in love sells as part of his show, the bottom drops out of their relationship, and he suddenly realizes he is going to lose both his wife and his daughter. And after months of not really caring, he feels the potential of this loss greatly. He knows he must do all that he can to win his wife back, which won't be easy, because he has to first realize what relationships and love are really all about. And at the same time, he's desperate to get some of his professional edge back.

"But can we come back to love after an absence, or does it die from neglect?"

I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You is an enjoyably moving and funny story about a man trying to regain control of his life, professionally and personally. It's about realizing that perfection isn't perfect, and isn't possible, but that reality has so much more to offer. And it's also about seeing things in a different light.

Courtney Maum does a great job with this book. Richard and Anne aren't always tremendously likeable, but I really enjoyed their characters and rooted for them to be happy. And while the plot of the book is fairly familiar, Maum throws in some fun twists and supporting characters along the way. Some of the reviews I've read of this book liken it to a mix of Where'd You Go, Bernadette and Beautiful Ruins, but I disagree. I think this is a fun, sweet, fairly straightforward book that should be enjoyed without comparison to anything else.

Book Review: "Remember Me Like This" by Bret Anthony Johnson

In the small town of Southport, Texas, the Campbells seemed like the perfect family. But one afternoon, their 11-year-old son Justin mysteriously disappears. Four years pass without any tangible clues, or any idea what happened to him.

The uncertainty takes its toll on Laura and Eric, both of whom find very different ways of trying to cope with this loss. Their younger son, Griffin, who fought with Justin earlier in the day he disappeared, is also struggling with guilt and uncertainty. They still hold out hope that they'll find Justin, or at least understand what happened, and they're not quite ready to move on.

"That was the inconceivable and debilitating shock: You could grow accustomed to what had once seemed so miserable and alien. You could feel a foreign presence in your body, endure the pain and deep threat of it, and not notice as it turned to bone."

After four years of false leads and shaky optimism, Laura and Eric get a call one day from the police. Justin has been found—alive—in nearby Corpus Christi, and he appears to be fine. Strangely, he had been nearby all along and they never knew it. Buoyed by this unbelievable turn of events, they are excited for their lives to get back to the way they once were. Yet amidst all the happiness comes uncertainty and fear—can Justin cope with what happened to him? Is he angry at his parents for not being able to find him? Will he be able to get on with his life and progress normally, or will he be damaged by his experiences? And how will the rest of them truly be happy and relax knowing that in a split second, everything can change?

"Really, once the worst happens, it's always happening. It's never not happening."

Bret Anthony Johnson's Remember Me Like This is a beautifully written, moving book about coping with tragedy and coping with happiness, how both force us to remain on edge. It's a book about whether to face and give voice to our fears, or keep them bottled inside. It's also a book about the fragility of love and the strength of family, and how it forces you to do things you might never imagine.

I really enjoyed this and thought it was tremendously compelling. At times I worried where the book would go, but Johnson did an excellent job slowly unfolding the plot and getting me fully enmeshed in this family and their story. It may be a little difficult for some to read given the subject matter, but it's not really a heavy, emotional book. It's just a pretty excellent one.

Book Review: "The Vacationers" by Emma Straub

Other than holidays and weddings, there's nothing quite like a vacation with family and friends to hit all the right buttons on the dysfunction scale. No matter how idyllic, relaxing, and/or fun the plans seem like they'll be, some type of crisis, tension, or anguish (if not all three) is sure to arise, and turn everything at least slightly topsy-turvy.

And so it goes in Emma Straub's newest novel, the fun, breezy, The Vacationers. New Yorkers Franny and Jim Post have planned a two-week vacation to the Spanish island of Mallorca. This is a much-needed vacation—although they're getting ready to mark their 35th anniversary, tensions and recriminations have been bubbling up at home since Jim's long-time job at a men's magazine ended.

Coming along for the journey to this island paradise are the couple's daughter, Sylvia, who will start college in the fall, but is plagued by the betrayal of friends and social media's fixation on her misguided exploits at a party; their son, Bobby, a Miami real estate agent, and his older girlfriend, Carmen, a personal trainer, both of whom are arriving with luggage and baggage; and Franny's best friend, Charles, and his husband, Lawrence, who are dealing with anxieties of their own.

During the two-week period, the extended Post clan will sunbathe, swim, eat themselves into oblivion a time or two, visit a few tourist spots, and confront a host of issues—from infidelity, insecurity, uncertainty about the future, lust, betrayal, anger, and deception. (Just to name a few.) But while that laundry list may make The Vacationers sound like a heavy, melodramatic book, it's truly anything but. In Straub's capable hands, the plot flows like the waters of the Mediterranean, and the characters, while flawed, hook you quickly.

This is a book about the balance between keeping up appearances and letting it all hang out, dealing with the truth or continuing to live in denial, and fighting for what you want (as well as what you don't). There isn't necessarily anything unique about the plot, but it's still fun and interesting, and a really quick read.

Truth be told, The Vacationers couldn't be any more appropriate of a title for a book that will be perfect to read on the beach, on an airplane, by the pool, or wherever your vacation takes you.

Book Review: "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

This was one crazy roller coaster ride of a book. And I mean that in a good way.

Cadence Sinclair Easton is the oldest grandchild of a wealthy family that owns an island off Martha's Vineyard. Each summer she and her mother, along with her two aunts and their families, join Cadence's grandparents on the island. But while the Sinclair family endeavors to project the image that life is perfect and everyone is happy, that is far from the case—Cadence's grandfather, the patriarch of the family, manipulates her mother and her two aunts into a King Lear-esque war over who should own which house on the island, and who should inherit much of the Sinclair family fortune.

Although family tension causes some strife, Cadence is happily ensconced in her own world on the island with her two cousins, Johnny and Mirren, and Johnny's best friend, Gat, who is the son of Johnny's mother's boyfriend. Gat is Indian, and although he wouldn't trade his summers on the island for anything, he strongly feels that the elder Sinclairs don't believe he is worthy of being a part of the family. But that doesn't stop Cadence from falling madly in love with Gat, the summer both are 15 years old.

One day Cadence wakes up in the hospital, the victim of a traumatic brain injury. No one really knows what happened to her, what caused her to be found shivering on the beach. Plagued by debilitating migraines, unable to remember much of what happened that summer, Cadence is tremendously depressed and longs for the companionship of Gat and her cousins, who appear to have abandoned her in the wake of the incident. It is not until she returns to the island two summers later than she can begin to confront them and try to understand what really happened that night—and what has caused everyone to refuse to talk to her about it.

The less said about the plot of We Were Liars, the better. This is a book with a lot of twists and turns you'll want to savor. It reads a bit like a movie or a cross between Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and perhaps One Tree Hill. While the characters are perhaps a little familiar, as are the emotions of young love, betrayal, and family turmoil, E. Lockhart imbues the story with a freshness, an emotion, that will keep you hooked.

I wanted to read the entire book in one sitting, and read it in a little more than a day. Don't read a lot of reviews before reading We Were Liars—give yourself the chance to experience it not knowing much about it. It's definitely a book that will keep you thinking.

Book Review: "The Spark and the Drive" by Wayne Harrison

Full disclosure: I received an advance readers copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Seventeen-year-old Justin Bailey is growing up in a small, rural town just outside of Waterbury, Connecticut. Feeling socially isolated among his fellow high school students, Justin lands an internship at a garage owned by renowned mechanic Nick Campbell, famed for his ability to transform muscle cars into powerful machines.

In Nick, Justin finds a friend, a mentor, an inspiration, even a bit of a father figure, since his father moved out of the house a few years before. Nick encourages Justin's mechanical skills, finally guiding him in a direction for his future. Working alongside fellow mechanics Ray and Bobby, Justin begins to develop confidence, despite their good-natured teasing. And even though he is fiercely protective of his much-younger sister April and his mother, who is struggling with alcoholism, when Justin is with Nick, his wife Mary Ann, and their young son, he finally feels as if he belongs.

Yet when tragedy strikes Nick and Mary Ann, things change dramatically. For the first time, cars are returning to the garage requiring rechecks of work Nick performed, and the mechanics wonder whether this mechanic known across the country for his skills has lost his touch. As Justin tries to help Nick, he finds himself growing increasingly drawn to Mary Ann, whose emotional instability leads Justin to believe her marriage to Nick might be over. Justin is torn between the possibility of a relationship with Mary Ann and the idea of betraying the one man who has been consistently good to him.

Wayne Harrison is an excellent writer and while the elements of this plot may be familiar, his storytelling ability makes it tremendously compelling. This is a book about the dilemma between love and betrayal, about the emotional angst that the cusp of adulthood can bring, and of struggling to find your way in the world when you don't feel as if there is a place for you. While Justin's actions weren't always admirable, they were in keeping with a young man of 18 years old, and this only added to the depth and complexity of his character.

I really look forward to seeing what's next in Harrison's career. This was a book driven as much by talented writing as it was by plot, and I definitely hope it finds an audience.