80. 365 Days to Alaska by Cathy Carr

read the book, borrowed from the library

2021
272 pgs.
Mid Grade CRF
Finished  7/27/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.29 - 243 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary CT, with a small part at the beginning in the wilderness/boonies of AK

First line/s:  "Rigel put the tip of the hunting knife into the hare's belly and made a careful slit." 

My comments: After spending her entire life in the middle-of-nowhere "bush" in Alaska, 11 year-old Rigel - pronounced RYE/JILL, is forced to move to Connecticut with her mom and two sister, five and 14 years old, leaving her dad, Bear, in Alaska.  She doesn't want to go, she's never left her home in the middle of nowhere and really, really loves it there.  So this story is the story of the following year in Connecticut, all the changes she has to adapt to, bullies and no friends and not enough nature and coming to love a crow she names Blueberry.  And of course she ends up making wonderful friends, finding the nature she needs, and adapting.  We get to know the diverse personalities of her  wonderful family member, too.  This is a wonderful story with lots and lots to sink your teeth into.

Goodreads synopsis:  A thoughtful middle-grade debut about a girl from off-the-grid Alaska adjusting to suburban life
        Eleven-year-old Rigel Harman loves her life in off-the-grid Alaska. She hunts rabbits, takes correspondence classes through the mail, and plays dominoes with her family in their two-room cabin. She doesn’t mind not having electricity or running water—instead, she’s got tall trees, fresh streams, and endless sky.
        But then her parents divorce, and Rigel and her sisters have to move with their mom to the Connecticut suburbs to live with a grandmother they’ve never met. Rigel hates it in Connecticut. It’s noisy, and crowded, and there’s no real nature. Her only hope is a secret pact that she made with her father: If she can stick it out in Connecticut for one year, he’ll bring her back home.
        At first, surviving the year feels impossible. Middle school is nothing like the wilderness, and she doesn’t connect with anyone . . . until she befriends a crow living behind her school. And if this wild creature has made a life for itself in the suburbs, then, just maybe, Rigel can too.
365 Days to Alaska is a wise and funny debut novel about finding beauty, hope, and connection in the world no matter where you are—even Connecticut.

1. Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker

listened on Libby, borrowed from the library

narrated by Therese Plummer, beautifully

Unabridged audio (9:51)
2020
342 pgs.
Adult Mystery/Thriller
Finished 1/3/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.03 - 2767 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary rural Connecticut

First line/s: "The sky grows dark as I drive."

My comments: First book of 2021!  Told back-and-forth in two voices - one a kidnapped mother, the other her daughter trying to find her.  Both still hurting horribly from the accidental death of the youngest daughter/sister.  It has scarred them both deeply.  Set in contemporary Connecticut and narrated beautifully, the story was mesmerizing.  HEA.

Goodreads synopsis:  One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life. The car abandoned miles from home. The note found at a nearby hotel. The shattered family that couldn't be put back together. It happens all the time. Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over. She doesn't want to be found. Or at least, that's the story. But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?
          The night Molly disappeared began with a storm, running out of gas, and a man in a truck offering her a ride to town. With him is a little girl who reminds her of the daughter she lost years ago. It feels like a sign. And Molly is overcome with the desire to be home, with her family—no matter how broken it is. She accepts the ride. But when the doors are locked shut, Molly begins to suspect she has made a terrible mistake.
          When a new lead comes in after the search has ended, Molly's daughter, Nicole, begins to wonder. Nothing about her mother's disappearance makes sense.
          Nicole returns to the small, desolate town where her mother was last seen to find the truth. The locals are kind and eager to help. The innkeeper. The bartender. Even the police. Until secrets begin to reveal themselves and she comes closer to the truth about that night—and the danger surrounding her.

13 - Since You've Been Gone - Morgan Matson

Audio read by Suzy Jackson

11 unabridged discs (12.75 hrs.)

2014, Recorded Books

449 pgs.

YA CRF

Finished 2/7/2015

Goodreads rating:  4.17

My rating:   4.5 Totally loved it- didn't want it to end

TPPL

Setting: contemporary coastal Connecticut, the summer before Senior year. 

My comments:  This book was so much fun to listen to!  Suzy Jackson did a terrific job as a reader, and although her voice for Emily was sweet and young, when she became Frank (especially) she added just enough male inflection to make it sound masculine and believable.  The story itself was great, watching a timid girl come into her own.  Such a nice change from the grizzlier YAs I've read recently.  And this book was totally and wonderfully real.  I think I was a lot like Emily when I was 17.....  So why not a five?  The last few chapters dragged a bit, at least compared to the rest of the book.

Goodreads book summary:  The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell. 
          But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.
          Apple Picking at Night? Okay, easy enough.
          Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not?
          Kiss a Stranger? Wait… what?
          Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?
          Go Skinny Dipping? Um…

36. Skylight Confessions - Alice Hoffman

Audio read by Mare Winningham
6 unabridged cds (7.5 hrs.)
rating:  interesting story, holds attention, depressing and clever
272 pgs.
2007 Hachette Audio
Alice Hoffman's 19th novel

Setting:  Contemporary small-town Connecticut with bits of NYC
OSS:  Arlyn (Arly) Singer, at 17, enters a more-or-less loveless marriage with John Moody thinking he's her destiny.....dying a few short years later after both partners have dabbled in infidelity, leaving a disturbed son, Sam, and baby daughter, Blanca.

The story begins with Arly, switching to Blanca and then to the governess that raises Sam, Blana, and John & his new wife's child.  Secrets are uncovered, ghosts are watched, lives unfold through the years.  It's sad, filled with heartache, and pretty much a downer to listen to, although I was quite mesmerized (beautiful reading by Mare Winningham) by the writing.

13. The Accident - Linwood Barclay

audio read by Peter Berkrot (and he was excellent)
2011 Brilliance Audio
11 unabridged discs
12 hrs. 30 min.
$29.99 (borrowed from TPPL)
400 pgs.
Liked it a lot (4)

Setting:  Contemporary suburban Connecticut
OSS:  Glen Garber, a self-employed contractor, tries to deal with the death of his wife under mysterious circumstances.

Glen Garber's wife, Sheila, is killed in a horrible auto accident that also claims the lives of a father and his young son.  But when Glen discovers that his responsible, law-abiding wife was supposedly extremely drunk and caused the accident, life begins to tilt.  After his 8-year old daughter, Kelly, goes on a sleepover and overhears a secret telephone conversation, everything and anything begin to happen.  More deaths.  More mystery.  Surprise after surprise, right down to the very end.  This is a roller coaster ride of a story, and that this poor protagonist kept his mind together at all is very surprising.  There are a couple of places that I felt, "what was he thinking?" but would probably have really come about in such strange situations that happened.  This was a really good story, really wonderful to listen to, that I brought in from the car to finish in the house (a bit unusual for me).

13. No Time for Goodbye - Linwood Barclay

an adult "thriller"
Bantam Books, 2007
pap $7.99
470 pgs.
Rating: 3.5 (it was good, but I figured out what happened in the first third of the book)

Cynthia Bigge wakes up one morning when she's 14 and both her parents and her brother are gone. No trace. No cars. No clues. A total and complete unknown.

Cynthia is raised by her mother's sister, Tess. And 25 years later she's married to a great guy, Terry Archer, who she met in college. The story is told by him, in the first person, and takes place now. A TV special has been made about the disappearance and then weird things start happening. Break-ins where nothing is stolen, but her father's hat is left on the kitchen table. Phone calls and emails with mysterious messages. And still so many unanswered questions. So a private detective is hired. And the story slowly unfolds. It's a pretty decent story, and the husband/protagonist is a pretty decent guy. An English teacher, so of course he is...

And yes, I'd read another by this author. I want to see if all his writing is as predictable as this one seemed to me. Even so, I did enjoy it....