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.

151. Evil Eye - Madhuri Shekar

Listened on Audible - freebie/Audible Original
narrated by many readers
Unabridged audio (1:38)
2019
doesn't say, will count 80 pgs.
Adult CRF Epistolary US & India
Finished 12/12/20
Goodreads rating: 4.06 - 4810 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Phone conversations & voicemails between a daughter of Indian background living in LA and her parents in India

What I posted on Goodreads:  same as below

My comments: Spoke theater, the whole thing is telephone conversations and voicemails between a mother, a daughter, the father, and the boyfriend.  It gets creepy.  Creepy fun.  I quite liked it.

Goodreads synopsis: Pallavi is an aspiring writer living in California. Her mother, Usha, is thousands of miles away in Delhi - and obsessed with finding her daughter a husband.

          In Madhuri Shekar’s ingenious Evil Eye, hilarious back-and-forth via phone and social media takes a shocking, supernatural twist when Pallavi meets the perfect man - leading to a climactic showdown that will leave listeners on the edges of their seats.

          (from another reader) this was a chilling and captivating story that I couldn't get enough of. Told through a series of telephone conversations and voicemails, a mother living in Delhi becomes increasingly concerned when her independent and career driven Indian -American daughter begins to be involved with a new man. Although Usha wants nothing more than her daughter, Pallvai to marry, an uneasy feeling begins to grow. Except everyone else thinks Usha is going crazy.

33. Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman

Listened to eAudio/Prime
narrated by Brittany Pressley
Unabridged audio (0:50)
2019 Amazon Original Stories
28 pgs.
Adult HistFict Short Story
Finished 2/19/2020
Goodreads rating:  4.05 - 4526 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Setting:  1908 coastal Massachusetts

First line/s:  "There are those that insist that mothers are born with love for their children and place them before all other things, including their own needs and desires."

My comments:  Read beautifully.  A very interesting short story taking place in 1908 on an island off Rockport, Massachusetts, of a hateful mother and the 12-uear-old daughter who has decided to go mute upon the death of the father she adores.  I wish it had been longer, I would've liked more development of the characters and plot because it was good. 

Goodreads synopsis:  In this haunting short story of loyalty and betrayal, a young woman in early 1900s Massachusetts discovers that in navigating her treacherous coming-of-age, she must find her voice first.
          For fatefully observant Adeline, growing up carries an ominous warning from her adulterous mother: don’t say a word. Adeline vows to never speak again. But that’s not her only secret. After her mother takes a housekeeping job at a lighthouse off the tip of Cape Ann, a local woman vanishes. The key to the mystery lies with Adeline, the silent witness. New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic Alice Hoffman crafts a beautiful, heart-wrenching short story.
          Alice Hoffman’s Everything My Mother Taught Me is part of Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single setting. By yourself, behind closed doors, or shared with someone you trust. 

Picture Book: Saturday by Oge Mora

Illustrated by the author

2019 Hachette Book Group

HC $18.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.54 - 641 ratings

My rating:  4
Endpapers: monthly calendar with days crossed off, in shades of purple, lilac, and lavendar

1^st line/s:  "This morning Ava and her mother were all smiles.  It was SATURDAY!"

My comments:  Love the story, not quite so in love with the illustrations , but I do like them. done in collage where the cut paper is evident in many places.  Mom works six days a week, so when their Saturday plans keep having bumps in the road, they make the best of it.  Very upbeat, great message, positive and fun.

Goodreads: In this warm and tender story by the Caldecott Honor-winning creator of Thank You, Omu!, join a mother and daughter on an up-and-down journey that reminds them of what’s best about Saturdays: precious time together.
          Today would be special. Today would be splendid. It was Saturday! But sometimes, the best plans don’t work out exactly the way you expect….
          In this heartfelt and universal story, a mother and daughter look forward to their special Saturday routine together every single week. But this Saturday, one thing after another goes wrong–ruining storytime, salon time, picnic time, and the puppet show they’d been looking forward to going to all week. Mom is nearing a meltdown…until her loving daughter reminds her that being together is the most important thing of all.
          Author-artist Oge Mora’s highly anticipated follow up to Caldecott Honor Thank You, Omu! features the same magnificently radiant artwork and celebration of sharing so beloved in her debut picture book.

55. Sotah by Naomi Ragen

read on my iPhone
originally 1992
493 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 6/17/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.12 - 2144 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary (1992) Jerusalem

First line/s:  " 'Yes, I understand all that!'  Chaya Leah insisted, biting the pillow pressed to her chest to keep from screaming in frustration."

My comments:  I've wanted to read this for years.  There's a WORLD of difference between "cultural" or secular Jews and Orthodox Jews, and another, even huger world between Orthodox Jews and the Hasidic community!  This book takes you right into one family in the Hasidic community of Jerusalem and follows three sisters from adolescence through their young marriages.  Some of it is shocking, some of it fills me with despair, and yet some of it is very enlightening.  All of it, however, fills my feminist being with deep frustration.  Such an interesting story.

Goodreads synopsis: Set against the backdrop of Jerusalem's ancient rituals, Sotah is a contemporary story of sacred and profane love, and a young woman's struggle to reconcile tradition with freedom. Ninety three weeks on the best-seller list.vSotah introduces a family with three daughters approaching the age of marriage: Devorah, Dina and Chaya Leah. In the strict orthodoxy of their world, a Sotah is a wife suspected of infidelity who can be tried by ordeal to prove she is guiltless. Which sister could be capable of such a thought, let alone the act? Into the pious world of strict chaperoning and modest clothing, where a married woman's hair must never be seen by a man other than her husband--insinuates this serpent suggestion of evil. Ragen's powerful tale of three sisters spins endless questions: Which one? Could she? Did she? What changes could come into this orderly world because of unthinking actions?

71. Stay Dead by Anne Frasier

#2 Elise Sandberg, Savannah homicide detective
listened on Audible
20014 Thomas & Mercer
310 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 7/31/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.13 - 4910 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Setting: contemporary Savannah, GA

First line/s:  "The voice on the phone was hesitant."

My comments:  I loved the unusual way this book came together...Elise surviving a harrowing kidnapping, but we don't know of any of the details of the case or the crime.  They emerge slowly, intertwined with present happenings.  Very cool, and a good way to present the story.  I love these characters - all of them, even the bad guys!  The Savannah setting, the Gullah culture, the wonderfully written characters, and the touch of will-the-or-won't-they combine to make this a terrific read!

Goodreads synopsis:  New York Times bestselling author Anne Frasier takes readers back to her dark, enchanting Savannah—a place as terrifying as it is mesmerizing.     
          Homicide detective Elise Sandburg is traumatized after her run-in with a madman the press has dubbed “The Organ Thief." As Elise takes refuge in her deceased aunt Anastasia’s abandoned plantation to investigate and recover from her ordeal, she begins to question everything—from her dangerous line of work to her complex relationship with her handsome, tortured partner, David Gould. But with a madman on the loose, and her mother’s claims to still hear from aunt Anastasia, she may have more immediate problems on her hands. In Elise’s world, where cold hard crime mixes with the local Gullah culture, nothing is ever what it seems, and no one is above suspicion—not even the dead.

MOVIE: Julieta

R (1:36)

Opened 12/21/16 in the US

Viewed Sunday evening, Feb. 12, 2017 at Carlisle Theater, Downtown Carlisle
IMBd: 7.1/10

RT Critic: 84   Audience:  75
Critic's Consensus:  Julieta finds writer-director Pedro Almodóvar revisiting familiar themes -- and doing so with his signature skill.

Cag:  4.5 Liked it a lot, excellent movie

Directed by Pedro Almodovar

El Desio

In Spanish with subtitles

My comments:  What a very sad moivie!  set in Madrid with occasional forays to the countryside/seaside, and ultra-depressed woman in her 50s writes a journal to her estranged daughter, who has been gone from her life for 12 years.  Two different actresses play the 25-year-old and the 55-year-old, and they are both terrific.  I always love getting into reading the subtitles as I try to take in everything that is going on in the scene.  It uses a lot of different parts of my brain, and I'm glad to see I'm stil up to it, ha ha!  This is a really good movie, but the overwhelming sadness/depression (it's everywhere, within every relationship in the story!) takes the rating down just a little bit for me.

RT/ IMDb Summary:   (RT) After a chance meeting, middle-aged Julieta (Emma Suarez) learns that her long-lost daughter has resurfaced in Madrid. This begins a painful reflection by Julieta into her checkered past, flashing back to the moments of pain that defined her current life.  (IMDb) Julieta lives in Madrid with her daughter Antía. They both suffer in silence over the loss of Xoan, Antía's father and Julieta's husband. But at times grief doesn't bring people closer, it drives them apart. When Antía turns eighteen she abandons her mother, without a word of explanation. Julieta looks for her in every possible way, but all she discovers is how little she knows of her daughter.

11. The Life List - Lori Nelson Spielman

read on my iPhone
2013, Bantam
368 pgs.
Chick Lit/ CRF
Finished 2/20/16
Goodreads rating: 4.09
My rating: 4 (lots of 4s lately, it seems.....)
Setting: Contemporary Chicago

First line/s: "Voices from the dining room echo up the walnut staircase, indistinct, buzzing, intrusive.  With trembling hands I lock the door behind me.My world goes silent."

My comments:  Definitely chick lit, of which I'm not the biggest fan, but every chick needs to read one every so often.  I found this sitting in my Nook app, not sure where it came from or how long it had been there, so with nothing better to do, dug right in.  Entertaining, predictable, aggravating, interesting, and fun.  I learned a bit about the geography of the city of Chicago, which was a nice bonus.

Goodreads synopsis:  In this utterly charming debut — one woman sets out to complete her old list of childhood goals, and finds that her lifelong dreams lead her down a path she never expects.
1. Go to Paris
2. Perform live, on a super big stage
3. Have a baby, maybe two
4. Fall in love 
          Brett Bohlinger has forgotten all about the list of life goals she’d written as a naïve teenager. In fact, at thirty-four, Brett seems to have it all—a plum job at her family’s multimillion-dollar company and a spacious loft with her irresistibly handsome boyfriend. But when her beloved mother, Elizabeth, dies, Brett’s world is turned upside down. Rather than simply naming her daughter the new CEO of Bohlinger Cosmetics, Elizabeth’s will comes with one big stipulation: Brett must fulfill the list of childhood dreams she made so long ago. 
          Grief-stricken, Brett can barely make sense of her mother’s decision. Some of her old hopes seem impossible. How can she possibly have a relationship with a father who died seven years ago? Other dreams (Be an awesome teacher!) would require her to reinvent her entire future. For each goal attempted, her mother has left behind a bittersweet letter, offering words of wisdom, warmth, and—just when Brett needs it—tough love. 
          As Brett struggles to complete her abandoned life list, one thing becomes clear: Sometimes life’s sweetest gifts can be found in the most unexpected places.

49. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life - Dana Reinhardt

Listened to in the car back & forth from the first days of school
Audio read by Mandy Siegfried - and she was great
5 unabridged cds (5:30)
2006 Listening Library/ Wendy Lamb Books
240 pgs.
YA CRF (there's a bit of s-e-x)
Finished 8/8/2014
Goodreads rating: 3.76
My rating:    (4.5) I really loved it
TPPL
contemporary suburban Boston

My comments:  I found this to be a wonderful story. I loved it. The protagonist, Simone, seems genuine and real; a "typical" (whatever that is) American teenager. Her doubts, her questions about life, her constant questioning about her own feelings, her jumping to conclusions about the way boys feel about her....Reinhardt seems spot on. I love the information that was included about Judaism - which would probably be boring for an already-Jew, but would be fascinating for any non-Jew interested in learning about other cultures. My only (tiny) problem with the story is that Simone's parents allow her, a 16-year old, to drive into the city of Boston all by herself from the suburbs. I, as a past-resident of the Boston suburbs - and a parent - know this would be something that most parents I've ever encountered would never allow. Ever. And driving all the way to the Cape.....alone??? Ah, well.....Super story nonetheless.

Goodreads book summary:  Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.
          Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you. 
          She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.

12. The Art of Mending - Elizabeth Berg

Audio read by Joyce Bean
Brilliance Audio, 2004
6 unabridged cds
6 hrs.
237 pgs.
Rating: 3.5 (I had my ups and downs with the protagonist)

Laura and her family travel to Minnesota to their annual family reunion/state fair trip. Her sister Caroline wants to talk to Laura and their brother Steve alone. Always strange - weird, even - Caroline opens up about issues with her mother from when she was a child. Neither Steve or Laura believe her, Steve is actually disgusted with her. Then their father died, the only person other than their mother who might know the actual truth. Laura watches, thinks, questions, and even has her mother come stay with them. Reality shifts and changes upon close examinations, of course. Interesting. But none of the characters was particularly likeable. Maybe it was the mood I was in. I enjoy Elizabeth Berg immensely, but this one didn't hit home at all for me.

A Mother's Song - Janet Lawler

Illustrated by Kathleen Kemly
Sterling, 2010
$14.95
24 pgs.
for: ages 3-6
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Light blue with 3 "snapshots" that are illustrations from the story

A lovely, rhyming mother-daughter picture book. There's lots to examine on each page as mother and daughter explore and have fun through the neighborhood with their puppy.

Feel summer showers
fall cool on our toes,
before running off
to wherever rain goes.

Chase after leaves
floating down from the trees.
They're dancing in circles
like lost bumblebees.