We need an escape. Beach time is still too far away, but I've been enjoying some early beach reads anyway. Reading really is the best escape for me, especially these nice, relaxing, easy reads, where everyone ends up happy and no one has to breathe through rags because of dust storms (sorry, Tim Egan, I quit reading The Worst Hard Time. It was too much reality right now).
We Never Asked for Wings
I saw this sitting on my sister in law's coffee table and immediately requested it from the library. Diffenbaugh's first novel, The Language of Flowers, was a surprise and a delight, so I was super excited about this. With such high expectations, it's no wonder I was a tiny bit disappointed. This story is similar to the first in the consistent use of theme and imagery (birds and feathers this time), the close look at how systems fail fragile populations (children of immigrants), and the faith the author demonstrates in individuals to do the right thing for friends or even strangers (a young mom, her new hipster boyfriend, and a teenage boy). I just never fell in love with any of the characters in this like I did in her first book. Diffenbaugh expresses in her comments at the end that this was a harder book to write, and as I'm working on my second manuscript, I understand, so I shouldn't be too critical. It's also a good story, a sweet story, that should probably be allowed to stand on its own.
By the way, this is one of those covers that does not match the book. I'm not sure the graphic designer even read it. Yikes.
Fiction by Monica McInerney
I set very few expectations on this book, having never read this author and checking it out on the recommendation of a friend. If anything, I had the opposite experience as with Wings, being a little bored at first and then growing to care for the Gillespies. Maybe that's the author's exact intention. She starts with the mom of the family writing a Christmas letter full of bad news and honest evaluations of the family members' flaws. Not a great start for a character-driven reader. As they came together, though, and acted like a family instead of a group of selfish misfits, I loved them for their love for each other and misguided attempts to help each other through their domestic, romantic, financial, and hair problems. Plus, this book is pretty long, so it draws that mental escape out for a bit.
Actually, looking at this image, I realized that this cover doesn't exactly fit either. This is set in the Australian outback, and while there is a painted door with roses nearby featured in the story, I think these look a little too lush.
One Plus One
Ah, there's a cover that doesn't promise anything, except another Jojo Moyes book. Her covers are all pretty similar, which makes it handy for spotting them on the Book Club Favorites shelf at the library. Since I liked Me Before You and loved The Girl You Left Behind, this came with a pretty good guarantee, I think. And before you protest that those are not beach reads, this one is. It's a simple, road trip-unlikely couple-sweet troubled kids-one big drooling dog, kind of story. Happy ending, win win. The one thing that annoys me about Moyes is that it always seems to be the men who have the money to help the broke woman and the women who have the social skills to fix the emotionally stunted man. They do kind of save each other, but it seems like there should be a little more variety in who does what kind of saving. Maybe I'm just an idealist. And I am, I suppose, a writer, so I guess I should take that as a reminder to give my own characters a chance to break some gender roles.
So there you go, friends, mindless reading to get you through the rest of your school year/baseball season/finals studying/allergy season/whatever ails you. Love to you.
