28. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

listened on Libby/borrowed from the library

narrated by Gabra Zackman  beautifully

Unabridged audio (11:00)
2018
338 pgs.
Contemporary CRF
Finished 3/27/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.25 - 129,079 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary Wisconsin, then Seattle, then Thailand

First line/s: "But first, Roo was born.  Roosevelt Walsh-Adams.  They had decided to hyphenate because --- and in spite of --- all the usual reasons but mostly so their firstborn could have his grandfather's name without without sounding too presidential, which seemed to his parents like a lot of pressure for a six pound, two ounce, brand-new tiny human."

My comments: The husband is a stay-at-home author dad, the wife's an outstanding ER doctor.  Four sons, and the then fifth Claude, who really wants to be Poppy, right from the start.  A move from Wisconsin to Seattle, for safety, and then on to Thailand for clarity.  Great parents raising great kids amid turmoil and questions and wanting to do the right thing.  There were a few places where I burrowed my brow or scratched my head, a few places there was just a little too much fairytale telling or philosophical thinking, but all in all this was a great story, beautifully narrated.

Goodreads synopsis:  This is how a family keeps a secret…and how that secret ends up keeping them.
          This is how a family lives happily ever after…until happily ever after becomes complicated.
          This is how children change…and then change the world.
          This is Claude. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess.
          When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl.
          Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. Until one day it explodes.
          This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.
          "This is a novel everyone should read. It’s brilliant. It’s bold. And it’s time.”
―Elizabeth George, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Banquet of Consequences

54. A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick

I read this one!  The only one I could find was Large Print.....
2009, Algonquin Books
291 pgs.
Adult Historical Fiction with a more than touch of mystery...
Finished August, 2015
Goodreads rating: 3.24
My rating: 4
Setting: Winter , 1907, rural Wisconsin

First line/s:  "It was bitter cold, the air was electric with all that had not happened yet."

My comments:  This book was not at all what I expected, and I read it all in one long sitting (a great day to spend inside when it's 110 degrees outside). I enjoyed the surprises and the way they were added to the story. Although I can't define "normal" sexuality, desires, self-admiration, self-loathing, and religious fervor, I do think the author goes a little over the top here and there. The time period and setting added another layer of unexpectedness, as I don't read a whole lot of historical fiction and know very little about the state of Wisconsin. On the whole, I enjoyed reading this book very much. 

Goodreads synopsis:  Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt a passionate man with his own dark secrets has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways. 
With echoes of "Wuthering Heights" and "Rebecca," Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.

4. One Came Home - Amy Timberlake

2013, Alfred A. Knopf

258 pgs.

Middle Grades Historical Fiction and Mystery

Finished 1/10/15

Goodreads rating: 3.85

My rating:   (2) It was okay 

1871 Wisconsin (Placid - where current day Wisconsin Dells stands)

1st sentence/s:  "So it comes to this, I remember thinking on Wednesday, June 7, 1871.  The date sticks in my mind  because it was the day of mys sister's first funeral and I knew it wasn't her last - which is why I left.  That's the long and short of it."

My comments:  This really was an okay story - and I'm not sure why I'm not more excited about it.  I like that it was a mystery and historical fiction.  Probably I'm so used to my adult mysteries that I wanted more in that department?  The setting was excellent, a dusty town in Wisconsin in 1871.  Time was tough to follow..people dying and marrying and the pigeons arriving all happened more closely together than the story made them seem.  And I liked that the 13-year-old protagonist really did seem 13.  Random thoughts, I know....

Goodreads book summary:  In the town of Placid, Wisconsin, in 1871, Georgie Burkhardt is known for two things: her uncanny aim with a rifle and her habit of speaking her mind plainly.

     But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of "pigeoners" trailing the passenger pigeon migration. And when the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body—wearing Agatha's blue-green ball gown—everyone assumes the worst. Except Georgie. Refusing to believe the facts that are laid down (and coffined) before her, Georgie sets out on a journey to find her sister. She will track every last clue and shred of evidence to bring Agatha home. Yet even with resolute determination and her trusty Springfield single-shot, Georgie is not prepared for what she faces on the western frontier.

20. Lake of Tears - Mary Logue

#9 Claire Watkins

2014 Tyrus Books

207 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 4/7/14

GoodreadsRating: 3.38

My Rating: 2/ It was okay

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary rural Wisconsin

1^st sentence/s:  "The tattooed flames on the man's shoulder were illuminated by the fire."

My comments:   I have not read books 1 through 8 in this series, which means I don't have the background information on the main characters I probably needed to better understand some of what was going on.  And I think the mystery was a little weak. Had to force myself to finish, because I didn't care about most of the characters.  

Goodreads Review:  Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins has had an easy summer in Fort St. Antoine, Wisconsin; the only problem is that her daughter Meg is leaving for college soon. When Claire walks down to the park to watch the Burning Boat--a large replica of a Norwegian longboat set on the shores of Lake Pepin, burned at the autumnal equinox--she has no idea that more than just a wooden structure is going up in flames.   

          The next day, the bones of a young woman are found in the ashes. When Claire learns that the new deputy she has hired, a vet returning from Afghanistan, was the young woman's former boyfriend, and that he is now dating her daughter Meg, she is desperate to find out who is responsible for the death.
          In order to get to the heart of this mystery, Claire must understand what happened in an attack in the mountains of Afghanistan, which left one man wounded, one man killed, and one man disturbed. Could one of those two remaining men be the killer?

39. Front and Center - Catherine Gilbert Murdock

#3 Dairy Queen series (D. J. Schwenk, Wisconsind high school athlete and dairy farmer...)

audio read by Natalie Moore

5 cds (5:55)

2009, Listening Library

254 pgs.

YA CRF

Finished 9/13/13

Goodreads Rating: 3.95

My Rating: Loved it (4) 

TPPL

Contemporary Red Bend, Wisconsin

My comments:  All three books in this series were terrific, and I can't imagine reading them out-of-order or as a standalone.  There's so much helpful background on each of the character in books one and two.  This book, for some reason, seemed a little different.  I had realized that D.J. was shy, but didn't realize to what extent until I discovered her quietness on the basketball court, where she could outplay anyone, but needed leadership qualities.  It was fun seeing how she finally figured out how to deal with that.  And it was great seeing how much she loved her now-wheelchair-bound brother, who pushed her until she didn't even want to talk to him.  I think my favorite thing about her, though, was the way she thought about things, cleverly and with great humor.  Murdock pulls off a first person narrative with gusto! (But what's with the cover photo?  Yuck!)

Goodreads:  After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I'm always in the background—it's a family joke, actually, that us Schwenk kids could go to school naked on picture day, we're all so crazy tall. But I mean I was returning to the background of life. Where no one would really notice me or talk about me or even talk to me much except to say things like "Nice shot," and I could just hang out without too many worries at all.

But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who's keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway...

What's going to happen if she lets these people down? What's going to happen when she does? Because let's face it: there's no way, on the court or off, that awkward, tongue-tied D.J. Schwenk can manage all this attention. No way at all. Not without a brain transplant. Not without breaking her heart.

34. Off Season - Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Sequel to Dairy Queen

read by Natalie Moore (brilliantly!

2007, Listening Library

5 unabridged cds

277 pgs.

Finished 8/28/30

YA CRF

Goodreads Rating:

My Rating:

Awesome (5) 

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary Red Bend, Wisconsin

My comments:  This is the sequel to Dairy Queen, a book I finished very recently and loved.  I couldn't wait to read this one.  Same spectacular writing, same wonderful reading (Natalie Moore was just terrific). same intricate character development, same subtle, clever humor.  And such voice!  The story is a little sadder...I guess I should probably say bittersweet.... but quite remarkable.  I love the way Murdock digs into her characters and makes them feel so real.  As much as a "happy ending" is (always)anticipated, Murdock keeps it believable. Things don't always turn out the way you'd really like them to.  I love D.J. Schwenk! What a great girl!

Goodreads Review:  Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk. She’s in eleventh grade, finally. After a rocky summer, she’s reconnecting in a big way with her best friend, Amber. She’s got kind of a thing going with Brian Nelson, who’s cute and popular and smart but seems to like her anyway. And then there’s the fact she’s starting for the Red Bend High School football team—the first girl linebacker in northern Wisconsin, probably. Which just shows you can’t predict the future. As autumn progresses, D.J. struggles to understand Amber, Schwenk Farm, her relationship with Brian, and most of all her family. As a whole herd of trouble comes her way, she discovers she’s a lot stronger than she—or anyone—ever thought.

   This hilarious, heartbreaking and triumphant sequel to the critically acclaimed Dairy Queen takes D.J. and all the Schwenks from Labor Day to a Thanksgiving football game that you will never forget.

32. Dairy Queen - Catherine Gilbert Murdock

1st book in a series of two

audio read by Natalie Moore

5 undabridged cds (6:09)

2006, Houghton Mifflin

275 pgs.

Finished 8/20/2013

Genre: YA CRF

Goodreads Rating: 3.77

My Rating: 4.5 - Loved it

Found the CD at a Friends of the Library book sale

My comments:  A delightful read - and I'm glad I listened to this one.  Beautifully read, wonderful story.  The protagonist - and other characters - seemed very real to me.  Who would have known that being raised on a Wisconsin cow farm would make such interesting reading?  I hope the library has the sequel on cd.....

Goodreads Review:  When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D.J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D.J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.