The Turtle House

The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill, 296 pages

In 1999 Texas, architect Lia Cope has hit a wall with her career and moved back home, where she shares a room with her grandmother, Mineko. Mineko recently moved in with her son and daughter-in-law after her house burned down. The forced proximity of Lia and Mineko has led to bonding, as Lia records Mineko's stories from her youth in Japan through her immigration to the United States. But when Mineko is forced to live in a senior living facility, the pair plots a course to recreate the titular Turtle House, a long-lost beloved place for Mineko.

While the stories of Mineko's life in Japan, and as a WWII Japanese bride for an American soldier, are fascinating and engrossing, the more modern elements, particularly Lia's tale of college and the run-up to her return home, falls a little flat in comparison. I kind of wish it had simply been a historical fiction story of Mineko without Lia's involvement. Oh well.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, 330 pages

When precocious eighth grader Bee chooses a family trip to Antarctica as a prize for perfect grades, her quirky, agoraphobic mother Bernadette is thrown for a loop. Told in a mostly epistolary form consisting of emails between Bernadette and her Indian online assistant, and between snooty moms at Bee's school, this is a fantastically funny book. I'm glad I bought it, as I intend to read it again whenever I need a laugh.

You Must Remember This

You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood's Golden Age by Robert J. Wagner  256 pp.

The Golden Age of Hollywood is generally considered to be the period from the 1930s to the 1950s when the studio system reigned supreme and produced many of the greatest films ever made. Actor Robert Wagner was born at the beginning of this era and grew up in Bel Air, California. He remembers seeing Hollywood and especially Beverly Hills grow from countryside to the home of the stars. This isn't a book of gossip or of who did what to whom. Instead it's about the growth of the areas where the studios grew up and the movie moguls and stars built their mansions, the restaurants and favorite night spots, who gave the best and/or most elaborate parties, and the people who made it all happen. Because Wagner grew up there and had a contract with 20th Century-Fox as a young man, he knew and worked with many of the most famous of that era. He includes many reminiscences of time spent with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Wagner bemoans the loss of that glamorous time. Some parts are rather slow but for classic movie buffs there is a lot to enjoy. However, I couldn't help hearing Wagner's distinctive voice in my head, narrating as I read the book.

Madison Square Tragedy

Madison Square Tragedy: The Murder of Stanford White by Rick Geary  80 pp.

This is Geary's latest installment in the "Treasury of XXth Century Murder" graphic novel series. It's the story of beautiful, young actress/model Evelyn Nesbitt, her love affair with architect Stanford White, White's murder by Pittsburgh millionaire Harry Thaw, and the trial that ultimately allowed the mentally ill Thaw to go free. As always, Geary's artwork is detailed and realistic pen and ink drawings. While well executed, it's not my favorite of Geary's work.

The Girl You Left Behind / Jojo Moyes 369 pp.

Wouldn't it be great to have a name like this author's?  "Hi, this is Jojo Moyes calling, and I was wondering if you would..."  Who could turn you down?

But seriously, this author of the lovely Me before You has written another charming book, this one set alternately in northern France during WWI and contemporary London.  Sophie becomes the object of obsession of the Kommandant in power in her small French village during the war.  The Kommandant wants Sophie, Sophie wants to be reunited with her husband at the front.  Each has power over the other. In the end, who will win?

Liv is in possession of a mysterious painting of a beautiful young French woman.  As her ownership of the piece comes into question, Liv is forced to learn more about this woman.  What became of her after she was painted during that long-ago war?  Some of the plot twists strain belief here, but the characters are absolutely true, and they make good company.