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Your Next Must-Read Thriller, Into the Water

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"I didn't have to be fixed, I could be fluid. Like the river. Perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult, after all."

Although many readers were obsessed with The Girl on the Train and Paula Hawkins had high expectations to live up to, I think she did the unthinkable with this book: She surpassed even her own writing.

For me, I thought The Girl on the Train was just an okay read. I loved the narrative pattern and the whole concept. I just thought the middle of the book lost its edge. Into the Water, however, was completely different in the fact that it never lost my attention for a second. Hawkins weaves together an intricate tale of family secrets, love, power, and revenge. Her expert writing kept the plot moving the entire time. I was stunned by the book and the secrets revealed up through the last paragraph.

The book focuses on a small town rocked by tragedy after tragedy, all centered around a cliff by a particular river. The book opens with a second death that has just happened. Lena's mother and Jules' sister has just died in what seems to be a suicide. However, questions surface as to what really happened on the cliff and if her death could be linked to the death of Lena's best friend, Katie, who died in a similar way.

The characters were lovable in this book and really easy to connect with. I liked that both Jules and Lena, although family, are very distant from each other and very flawed. I liked that they were not perfect characters in any way and both suffered great loss in life. Their relationship and the changes in it was a nice backdrop to the horror of the book.

There are a lot of narrative perspectives in this book, which was hard to keep track of at times. However, I think that is the lure of Hawkins' books; they are complicated to the point that when you finish, you are in awe that she pulled it all together. I liked that I never had everything figured out. I loved the dynamic characters and relationships.

I also loved how everything, even flashbacks, came back to the water. It became not just a setting and plot element, but almost a character in itself.

This book is definitely a must read for 2017. Hawkins shows us again why she is one of the greatest writers of our time with this novel.

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Finding a Magical Love: Sometimes You Just Know

Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's Five-Star Novel About Family, Love, and Identity

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"He never imagined that as the fund grew so, too, would his children's tolerance for risk, for doing the one thing Leonard had repeatedly warned them not to do, ever, in any avenue of life, from the time they were old enough to understand: count the chickens before they hatched."

The Nest is a family saga about the Plumbs and their dysfunction. The siblings in the family all find their own, unique problems. They all have one thing in common, however: they believe the inheritance money their father set aside for them when they are older will solve all of their dilemmas. Estranged from each other, they come back together in hopes of salvaging their wrecked lives with the money only to find things are much more complicated than they could have imagined.

This book touches on so many important themes. It deals with expectations, the power money can have on our lives, love, and how family loyalty is everything. During the course of the book, destruction of each individual character eventually is what leads them back together and what helps them realize that money truly isn't the answer.

I loved the multiple points of view of this novel because it kept it fresh and exciting. There was so much to the plot of this book that it never dulled. I loved following each individual family within the Plumb family and how their lives were a chaotic mess at times. I also really liked the idea of how small of a world we live in because other characters kept coming into the picture in various ways.

Most of all, this book emphasizes the impact we have on others and how our choices can affect so many around us. Sweeney highlights that we truly can't force our family to be what we want them to be. However, at the end of it, we realize that family, even with their flaws, is exactly what we all need to find happiness.

This book has such literary depth. I feel like I could read it again to catch the subtle nuances I missed. Sweeney expertly switches point of view in such a flawlessly smooth fashion, I felt like I was constantly seeing the whole story from every angle. This kept me engaged and helped pull out various themes. This book is a book to make you think and to make you appreciate your own family, troubled past and all.

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This One is Mine by Maria Semple
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Now she understood that there was a whole other dimension where love simply...was."

This is the second novel I've read by Maria Semple, and I have to say her books are very intriguing because they are, quite simply, different. Semple has a quirky, edgy vibe to her work that reads as raw, in-your-face, and real.

Violet Parry has the life everyone wants. She has a wealthy husband, a huge house, a beautiful daughter Dot, and everything her heart desires. There's just one big problem: She's not happy. Her marriage isn't quite what she thought it would be, and she finds herself bored with her life. When she meets Teddy, who is of a very different lifestyle than she is, Violet's world is turned upside down by the temptation of what she doesn't have.

In addition, this book follows Violet's sister-in-law as she also finds out what love means to her and what it doesn't mean. She tries to find herself and her identity through love.

I liked Violet as a character even though she makes horrible choices. There was something resonating about a woman who thought she knew what she wanted in life only to find out it isn't quite what she expected. We all have expectations of what will make us happy. Semple addresses the very difficult and sometimes taboo topic of: What do we do when what we thought would make us happy just doesn't? Violet is flighty, rash, and wanting things she doesn't have. I found her bad choices to be forgivable because Semple helps you understand where she is coming from. I didn't condone Violet's behavior and I am sure some readers actually hate her for what she did, but I just thought Semple was showing how life and especially love aren't these perfectly wrapped, boxed-in entities. People make bad choices. People get confused. People do things they aren't proud of. Violet is human in this book. I liked that.

I, however, found myself being harder on Sally. I found her to be very selfish, condescending, and frustrating. I did not really find her to redeem herself because of what she did. However, I think perhaps that is Semple's point as well. We are all willing to judge certain people for certain things, yet we can forgive others for equally wrong transgressions. Both females in this book have major, major flaws. It is interesting to see which, if any, character you are willing to forgive and why you are willing to do so.

This is what I like so much about Semple's works. They are complex, and their messages are winding. They make you think because it is clear they have depth, but it isn't always clear what that depth means. I found this book to be about identity and also how we judge others. I found this book to point out the idea you never truly know someone's life just by glancing from the outside viewpoint. I thought this book brought up interesting points about marriage, about love, and loyalty, and about drug abuse.

I did find the book to be very vulgar at points. Some of the dialogue was uncomfortable. For a portion of the book, I found it to be over-the-top, almost as if Semple was simply going for shock value. By the end, however, I could appreciate how the vulgarity contributed to character development and helped make the book raw and real. The real world isn't perfect and always comfortable. The real world has plenty of things that push us outside of our boxes. I can appreciate Semple's refusal to censor herself or her themes, even if they do push the envelope at times. Overall, I do not feel the vulgarity of some of the scenes detracts from the message. If anything, it adds to it.

I also appreciate that Semple's books are interesting. It's hard to explain what this means, but I find that her details are quirky and have an element of sophistication. From cultural references to tiny details, Semple's books definitely showcase her voice as a writer. I marvel at her ability to work in quirky details that truly make her a standout writer.

Overall, this is a good weekend read because it explores a less-rosy, much more complex view of love and marriage. I think sometimes it's good to read outside of the box and read books that challenge your views of different things. Even if you hate the characters' choices in this book, it makes you think about your own perspective of love, loyalty, and identity.

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