Listed in Alphabetical Order by Author Summer Sisters - Judy Blume: Summer Sisters is a riveting exploration of the choices that define our lives, of friendship and love, of the families we are born into and those that we struggle to create. For every woman who has ever had a friend too dangerous to forgive and too essential to forget. Summer Sisters will clue you to every page, reading and remembering. My Thoughts: I liked this story -- it was very different from anything that I've ever read, but I must admit that I HATED the ending. She just leaves you hanging with no sequel in sight. That I did not like. I need closure people. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Tara Road - Maeve Binchy: Against all odds, two newlyweds manage to buy the house of their dreams. In 1982, property speculation is beginning to be a big, big thing in Dublin--and their street is very much in an up-and-coming part of town. "They laughed and hugged each other. Danny Lynch from the broken-down cottage in the back of beyond and Ria Johnson from the corner house in the big, shabby estate were not only living like gentry in a big Tara Road mansion, they were actually debating what style of dining table to buy." But for its various inhabitants, the street is to become a boulevard of dreams--some broken, others created anew. Maeve Binchy has long proved herself a secure hand at multiple story lines, and over the course of 500 satisfying pages she focuses on Ria; her best friend, Rosemary Ryan, a beautiful, endlessly selfish career woman; Gertie, the battered wife of a drunkard; and several other intriguing women, each of whom has secrets not to be shared. There is even an all-knowing fortune teller who early on hints that Ria will travel and start a successful business--two things she knows are definitely not in the offing. Yet after our supposedly happy housewife and mother of two is confronted by some inexorable home truths, a chance phone call from America will change her life, forcing her to discard her illusions about men, women, and marriage and start all over again. At the same time, the Connecticut caller, Marilyn Vine, has her own lessons to learn when she and Ria swap houses for the summer. Yet there's nothing remotely preachy about this novel--even the bad guys (and yes, they're usually guys) and beautiful mistresses get to maintain some appeal. Summary taken from: Inside Book Cover. My Thoughts: This was an Oprah book club buy and I'm glad I did. Very interesting!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Babysitter - Diana Diamond: Some people can't help serving as mirrors of other people's failings and fears, and babysitter Theresa Santiago plays just that role vis-…-vis her WASPy employers in this tautly paced thriller. Although the title suggests the story is about Santiago, Diamond (The Trophy Wife) actually paints a vivid family portrait of political superstar Gordon Acton, his pedigreed wife and the couple's two bright and photogenic children. Acton is campaigning for a Massachusetts congressional seat, and it looks like he'll win. With his political profile in mind, he asks his wife, Ellie, to hire a Hispanic mother's helper. Ellie does so, but reluctantly, believing that the young woman will be ostracized by the mostly white population of Cape Cod where the family plans to spend the summer. Ellie hires the babysitter despite her misgivings, and Theresa turns out to be the perfect helper aiding Ellie with her doctoral thesis and winning over the children and even many of the snobbish and racist members of the Actons' club. Yet from the start it's clear that Theresa isn't exactly what she says she is. It's hard to know what is fact and what is fiction, especially when the Actons begin to suspect that their babysitter may be blackmailing them. Summary taken from: amazon.ca My Thoughts: Can we say OMG??? I couldn't put it down! Very good read! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Whispers and Lies - Joy Fielding: Nurse Terry Painter is so kind that she is considered a godsend by her elderly patients. When she rents out the cottage behind her house to a new tenant, Alison Simms, Terry begins to feel that her benevolent nature has made her an easy target. Alison seems especially interested in Terry's financial standing, and her extensive questioning makes Terry uneasy. Furthermore, every time they get together for a meal, Terry seems to become violently ill. Is someone tampering with her food? She is also being harrassed by a mysterious caller who seems to think she knows the whereabouts of a previous tenant. When Alison's creepy brother comes to visit, Terry becomes afraid for her own life. As Terry plans a retaliatory strike against those who would harm her, Fielding delivers a plot turn so surprising that all previous events are thrown into question. The author keeps the tension high and the pages turning, creating a chillingly paranoid atmosphere. Summary taken from: amazon.ca My Thoughts: Loved, loved, loved this book! That's the kind of book I'd love to write one day. I'm all about drama, twists and turns, suspense... It was great! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Chamber - John Grisham: In the corridors of Chicago's top law firm: Twenty -six-year-old Adam Hall stands on the brink of a brilliant legal career. Now he is risking it all for a death-row killer and an impossible case. Maximum Security Unit, Mississippi State Prison: Sam Cayhall is a former Klansman and unrepentant racist now facing the death penalty for a fatal bombing in 1967. He has run out of chances -- except for one: the young, liberal Chicago lawyer who just happens to be his grandson. While the executioners prepare the gas chamber, while the protesters gather and the TV cameras wait, Adam has only days, hours, minutes to save his client. For between the two men is a chasm of shame, family lies, and secrets -- including the one secret that could save Sam Cayhall's life... or cost Adam his. Summary taken from: randomhouse.com My Thoughts: If you like anything by John Grisham, then this is definitely a MUST READ! It's gripping!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Intensity - Dean Koontz: Chyna Shepherd, a psychology student spending the weekend in the Napa Valley with the family of her best friend, survives a killing spree in which all but she are murdered by Edgler Vess, a psychopath. Chyna is trapped in Vess's motor home where she must battle Vess to save herself. Kate Burton gives an extraordinary reading of this thriller, so chilling and terrifying that one can hardly bear to listen, yet one can't wait to hear what comes next. It's essential that the narrator effectively delineate the two characters in this story. Burton accomplishes this by lowering her tone for Vess's narrative and conveying the intense emotions of Chyna's struggle, as well as the memories of her troubled past. Summary taken from: amazon.com My Thoughts: One word: WOW! If you're a fan of Stephen King, you'll like Dean Koontz. I prefer Dean's work to Stephen's actually. Most of his stories (I've only read 3 or 4 to date) mess with your mind, but that's what they're supposed to do. This one kept me on the edge of my seat throughout! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I'll Take Manhattan - Judith Krantz: In the high-stakes world of magazine publishing, she weaves a dazzling tale of love and betrayal, and creates her most joyous character--sensational Maxi, an uninhibited woman who unexpectedly discovers that her talent for life is matched by a hunger to succeed. Gorgeous, flamboyant Maxi Amberville is twenty-nine and has already discarded three husbands on two continents. Life is a stream of endless pleasure in her lavish Trump Tower apartment--until her widowed mother married a man who plots to sell her father's magazine empire. And Maxi turns her incredible lust for living into a passionate quest for power. Maxi takes over the small weekly Buttons And Bows. She gathers her hot-blooded ex-husband, sassy daughter and a coterie of the powerful elite. Then, risking all, Maxi creates B&B --the glitziest, ritziest, most successful fashion magazine in the country. Here is a dramatic, sizzling story of love, family, ambition and one unforgettable woman who gives life and love everything she has. Summary taken from: Inside Book Cover. My Thoughts: Maxi turns tragedy into triumph! A good "woman" story. :o) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus: Two former Manhattan nannies blow the lid off of the private child-care industry with a hilarious debut that pulls no punches as it recounts the travails of Nan, a hip Mary Poppins looking for a job to fit around her child-development classes at NYU. Mrs. X seems reasonable enough when she hires Nan to look after her four-year-old son, Grayer, but she quickly reveals herself to be a monster a bundle of neuroses wrapped up in Prada, whose son is little more than another status symbol in a fabulous Park Avenue apartment. Mr. X is just as horrible, although he's rarely seen or heard, too busy navigating mergers and mistresses to make time for a family starving for his affection. Nan finds herself stuck in a low-paying job from which she can be fired on a whim, enduring a steady stream of condescension, indifference and passive-aggressive notes on Mrs. X's posh stationery. Against the advice of family and friends, she stays because of her devotion to Grayer but how long will it be before she explodes? The pages fairly crackle with class resentment that might have been more convincing if Nanny's own family weren't as comfortable, and the finale delivers more whimper than bang, but it's easy to forgive such flaws when everything else rings true. Especially impressive is the authors' ability to allow the loathsome Mrs. X occasional flashes of humanity and pathos. Required reading for parents and the women they hire to do their parenting. My Thoughts: This book was hysterical! Loved it! For a first book, it was great! Bravo to the authors! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My Thoughts: Let me just say this: HAVE TISSUE!!!!!! If you've seen the movie and cried, the book is gonna make you bawl. Wonderful story, but sooooo heartwrenching.