What Happened to Nina?

What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan, 322 pages

Nina and her boyfriend Simon have been dating for several years when they decide to spend a week alone at his family's vast country estate in Stowe, Vermont, hiking, climbing, and generally enjoying the mountainous landscape. But when Nina doesn't turn up at home when she said she would, her parents become panicked and are convinced that Simon knows more about her whereabouts than he's letting on. Before long, the search for Nina has become a social media sensation, with increasingly crazy conspiracy theories and slanderous spin against both Simon and Nina's family (though the latter is at least partially fueled by Simon's wealthy and influential parents). Still, Nina's parents just want to know what happened to their daughter... but will they ever find out?

Based on the 2021 murder of Gabby Petito, this fast-paced thriller keeps you guessing as it bounces back and forth between points-of-view of Nina's parents, Simon's parents, the investigating police officer, and even, in the foreword, Nina herself. It's compelling and surprisingly fresh, given the "ripped from the headlines" nature of the book. A good quick read.

Just Haven't Met You Yet

 

Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens (2021) 371 pages

Laura works for a company called Love Life, a lifestyle website where she interviews people about how they met. Suki, her difficult boss (to put it mildly), wants to suck in viewers with feel good stories and get them to buy "stuff" in targeted ads, which helps keep the business afloat. Laura talks Suki into letting her travel from London to Jersey, an island in the English Channel, to see where her parents met and fell in love 30 years ago. Laura's father died when she was a small child, and her mother died a couple years ago. Suki gives Laura a long weekend to make a good story out of the trip.

Laura's wish is to find her own true love, and her hopes start to soar after she lands on the island and discovers at her hotel that she has picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. The items in the suitcase show her a man that seems to meet all of her requirements on paper, and she tries to meet him, supposing that he has probably taken her suitcase. Laura enlists the help of Ted, a man who grew up on the island, who drives a cab part-time while he's helping his aging father.

Laura does some cringy things, a bit reminiscent of the "I Love Lucy" show, but she is also thoughtful and learning that the life she imagined her parents had together was not at all what she had been led to believe.

The story's character development and many subplots made it hard to put this book down.

Ghosts

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (2020) 303 pages

Nina Dean is thirty-two. She has written a cookbook which "has a thread of memoir spun between the recipes," and is editing proofs of her second book, while working on a third. She has also bought a flat‒which is need of upgrading‒but it's hers. She's also ready to date again after a few years between the breakup she had with her longtime boyfriend, Joe (who is still a good friend). Other friends include Katherine, who's married with a second child on the way, and Lola, a stylish single who has found only short-term dates, rather than a long-term relationship, to her chagrin.

Nina's parents, who are 17 years apart in age, have their own issues: Nancy, her mom, now says her name is Mandy. Nina can't accept that at all, one more thing they seem to be butting heads about. Nina's dad is suffering from Alzheimer's, with bad days starting to become more frequent.

What happens here is a large slice of Nina's life: Nina gets onto a dating app, navigates friendships that sometimes seem to be more work than joy, helps manage her dad's declining health, and tries to handle the neighbor in the flat below her, who turns out to be loud and intimidating. And the main attraction is Max, whom she meets on the dating app, who seems so promising, before he ghosts her after several months of dating.

Sharks in the time of saviors

 

Sharks in the time of Saviors / Kawai Strong Washburn, 376 pgs. read by a cast

A struggling but loving family takes a vacation and the seven year old son falls overboard. Sharks churn the water and the worst is expected but instead the boy is returned to his mother in the jaws of the natural predator.  How is this possible?  What other gifts are in store for the family?  For that particular son?  The two other siblings feel like the focus is never on them but they manage to become accomplished in their respective areas while feeling somewhat neglected.  The family dynamics change as everyone struggles and the chosen son experiences heartbreaking failure.  The setting in Hawaii is almost a character in this book that includes some magical realism but remains focused on the strong relationships of the family.

The audio book is well done with a cast bringing each distinct voice to life.

Truly Madly Guilty

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty (2016) 415 pages

Australian author Liane Moriarty, author of Big Little Lies, The Last Anniversary, Nine Perfect Strangers, and more, brings us three couples whose lives have changed because of an incident that occurred during a backyard barbecue. Clementine, a cellist preparing for an audition with the Sydney Royal Chamber Orchestra, is married to Sam, who has just gotten a new job marketing energy drinks. They have two small children. Erika and her husband Oliver are both accountants, enjoying the rigor of jobs that make up for the uncertainty they each experienced as children of dysfunctional parents. Vid and Tiffany love to entertain, and have plenty of money to do so with relish. The reader is kept in suspense about the barbecue for what seems like too long as Moriarty weaves the story, going back and forth through the past two months, with a few stops at the childhoods of Clementine and Erika, who've known each other for many years. But as the story unwinds, it turns out that all the details gleaned during the lead-up to the incident contribute strongly to the story's impact. Great multi-layered story incorporating marriages, friendships, children and secrets.

Inheritance

Inheritance: a memoir of genealogy, paternity, and love / Dani Shapiro, read by the author, 247 pgs.

A DNA test reveals that the author's beloved father is not actually her biological father.  Raised and strongly identifying with her Orthodox Jewish background, the idea that she is not her father's daughter throws her for a loop.  Through research, she locates her biological father while learning more about the fertility clinic her parent's consulted prior to her birth. Faced with her new reality, she reaches out and tries to build a relationship with her "new" father.  At first he resists but later they meet and enjoy each other.  This book takes us through a lot of emotions and details of research and discovering her "new" family.  I listened to the audio book and enjoyed hearing the author's voice.

Big little lies

Big little lies / Liane Moriarty, 460 pgs.

A school trivia night turns tragic when things get out of hand and someone ends up dead.  The book traces back in flashback, six months prior to figure out where the problem started.  Three main characters are moms with kindergarten kids.  Two are old friends and a third, Jane, has just moved to town.  This book shows us the relationships of the women with each other, their kids, and their husbands.  Each has something that is eating away at them.  We go through most of the book before we find out whose body is recovered at trivia night.  This has recently been made into an HBO limited series that changes the setting from Australia to California.  After two episodes, it seems like the series is sticking pretty close to the book and that is a good thing.

Good Enough

Good Enough by Paula Yoo  322 pp.

Patti's parents want only the best for their daughter so they have raised her under the pressure of being perfect. In her senior year of high school, Patti spends all her time studying, doing practice SAT tests, and practicing her violin all to get her SAT score up to 2300 and earn admission into Harvard/Yale/Princeton. The pressure to be a "Perfect Korean Daughter" is getting to her and she starts to rebel...in very small ways. She develops a friendship with a new boy, and fellow musician at her school who teaches her about popular music and jams with her without her parents' knowledge. Her Korean-American church friends, who are similarly pressured, help her to sneak off to a concert with her friend. Her ultimate rebellion (if you can really call it that) is applying and auditioning for Juilliard behind her parents' back even though she knows they don't want her to make music her career choice. Of course, Patti gets caught in her deceptions and a confrontation with her parents is inevitable. This debut book by a Korean-American author is very well done and accurately shows the pressures many high school students have placed on them.

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer 293

This reminded me of Louis Sachar's The Cardholder: A Novel about a King, A Queen, and a Joker. A passionate bridge player, he hoped to turn the young reader into a future bridge player. There were elements of mystery and humor. Wolitzer is a voracious Scrabble player. She brings an assortment of young players to the national Youth Scrabble Tournament. This is a two person team competition. Some of the players are not very nice. One has been coerced to play by a father who never got over losing at the Youth Scrabble Tournament. One player may have an other worldly talent -- is he cheating if he uses it? One goes with the hope of remeeting a guy she had taught the game to several years ago. The parents are almost as interesting as the contestants. They have their own baggage. One contestant recently learned that the father, he had been told had died years ago, may actually still be alive. Lots of different threads, along with Scrabble rules and strategies make this a winning tale of competition.

Wendel

The Complete Wendel by Howard Cruse  288 pp.

This is a compilation of all the Wendel cartoons that appeared in The Advocate magazine from 1983-89 and one stand-alone comic published in 1990. It is a look back on what was going on in the LGBT community during the era when AIDS was beginning its devastation and the Gay Pride parades were gaining status. In spite of the political commentary that appears in the cartoons, it is really the story of the day to day life of Wendel-an aspiring auther, his partner Ollie-an actor, Ollie's son from a brief marriage, and their many friends. There is a lot of nudity and sex in the cartoons as well as some stereotypical characters that remind me of some people I know. Cruse's portrayal of the meetings of a political organization where every person takes offense at something reminds me of some meetings I've been involved in. Cruse ends the book with a "Where are they now?" look at the main characters.

Special Exits

Special Exits, a Graphic Memoir by Joyce Farmer 200 pp.

Lars and Rachel are an elderly couple who are slowly deteriorating with age. Their house is filthy, piled with junk, and falling apart. Their daughter, Laura, struggles to manage their out of control lives while maintaining a career and her own marriage and getting attacked by her parents' Siamese cat. At first her father and stepmother are managing okay until Lars has an automobile accident (which brought back memories of my own father) leaving them with no way to get groceries. They are very set in their ways and don't want 'strangers' in their house so they refuse any attempts to get them home health aids. Because of their failure to go to the doctor, Rachel loses her sight to glaucoma and her health fails in a variety of ways. Eventually Laura puts her in a home. Lars' health is also failing but he refuses to see a doctor. By the time he is diagnosed it is too late to do anything more than hospice.

This is a sad but realistic view of what sometimes happens with the elderly and how families struggle to do the best they can for them. It made me thankful that my 94 year old mother is still doing so well.

The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown  320 pp.

Rosalind (Rose), Bianca (Bean), and Cordelia (Cordy) Andreas all end up living back in their parents' home to regroup after their individual disappointments in life. Their father, a professor of Shakespeare, tends to speak in quotes from the Bard. Their mother is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Rose has always been the homebody, and, unasked, has taken over caring for her parents frequently to the annoyance of the rest of the family. The always glamorous Bean has returned home from New York emotionally damaged but keeping it all inside. Cordy, the youngest, has returned after wandering the country like a gypsy and carrying a secret of her own. Each must come to terms with the fact that their lives have not turned out the way they expected and must figure out the direction they need to go now. Should Rose leave the safety of her small town existence with the man she loves? Can Bean change her addiction to the high life and high spending to be happy in small town Ohio? Will Cordy be able to change her wandering ways and still stay true to herself? How can you not like a family who believes "there is no problem a library card can't solve?"

This book is written in a kind of collective first person. The point of view is that of all the sisters and occasionally a single sister. It takes a little getting used to. It was also very obvious to me that the author has had experience with cancer treatment either personally or in caring for someone with cancer. The descriptions of what the mother went through were spot on and brought back many memories of my own chemo treatments.