The Forest of Hands and Teeth

AUTHOR: Carrie Ryan
PAGES: 308
WEBSITE: http://www.carrieryan.com/
TWITTER: @carrieryan
ACQUIRED: Library

SUMMARY: Mary lives in a small village, where Sisterhood make the rules and the Guardians serve and protect, enclosed by a large fence. The purpose of the fence is to keep the villagers safe and keep out the Unconsecrated who come up from the Forest of Hands and Teeth and relentlessly pound on the fence. This is how it is, and this is how it has always been. Life is within these fences and nothing is left on the outside. There are various theories why this village exists. Some claim they are the chosen people and their ancestors were the best of their time and were sent to the village to survive. But Mary hopes for more, always wanted more, knew there was more to life than staying behind the fence. Out there, past the Forest of Hands and Teeth is the ocean. Her mother had always told her stories about the ocean, fairy tales others would say.
Mary learns a few secrets of the Sisterhood while staying in the Cathedral. And she begins to question the Sisterhood, her belief in God and whether there are others out beyond the fences.
Mary begins to realize that her dreams will never come true, she will never see the ocean, she will never be able to marry the man she loves. Her life is about duty and what is best for the village.
When the fences are breached and the Unconsecrated come pouring in Mary must choose between the one she is Bound to and the one she loves, between her village or chasing her dream.

SUMMARY: When I first started reading this book I thought it was going in the same direction as M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village." After reading a few chapters I realized it was nothing like that movie. I totally got sucked into Mary's world. I could hear the Unconsecrated, a.k.a zombies, constant moans. I wondered, with Mary, is the ocean real in her world, would she ever taste the salty water.
Mary struggling to come to terms with the fact that life inside the village was not about love but about duty was heartbreaking. She was Bound to a man that loved her, while she longed for the love of his brother, who was promised to her best friend.
Mary loses so much I couldn't see how she kept going. Her world is turned upside down but she holds on to her dream. In the end is it worth it? What kind of world is she really living in?
It was a great read. I really loved it. I wanted to laugh, cry and scream "RUN MARY RUN!!!" in some parts.

The Postmistress

AUTHOR: SARAH BLAKE
PAGES: 318
WEBSITE: http://www.sarahblakebooks.com/
AVAILABLE: FEB. 2010
AQUIRED: ARC recieved by Barnes&Noble Free

SUMMARY: It is a time of war. World War II is going on and Frankie is reporting it back over the air waves through the radio into the homes of Americans.
In Franklin, Massachusetts, a small town on Cape Cod, Emma, the new bride of the town doctor, listens to Frankie deliver her message, "we must do something."

Frankie Bard, an American radio gal, is reporting from the Blitz in London. She feels there is a deeper story to be told, the story of the Jews. She is determined to capture their voices, their stories and shed some truth on what this is really going on in this war.

Iris James is the new postmistress of Franklin. She brings with her a sense of order. She takes her job very seriously. She understands how important her role is in keeping the mail delivered to those who are desperate for any type of word from loved ones, and how important it is for a simple letter to be delivered on time.

When Emma's husband, Will, decides to "do something," which means volunteering his services abroad, Emma feels herself slipping away. She had always felt alone, until she met Will, and now her world was being turned upside down. Everyday she wrote Will a letter. And everyday Iris watched Emma open her mailbox to find a letter from Will that she had just placed inside.

Iris finds herself breaking the rules by steaming open someone else letter, reading it and then making the decision not to deliver it.
While a war is going on, the three women find themselves together in a thread of a story that intertwines them. In the end no matter how you try to change an ending what will be will be. Everything matters, everything adds up, its all there is.

OPINION: This is an ARC, so it might have changes that would effect my opinion on it when it is completely polished and ready for stores. With that said, I found the beginning of the book had no rhythm and was patchy. I really couldn't get myself to keep reading it for any period of time. That was until I reached chapter 6, about half way through that chapter the book turned around for me. I was finally able to understand the characters and care about the story.
I'm not big on war stories, so I can't say I loved this book. World War II plays a huge role in this book, so if you enjoy reading about that time in history you might enjoy this book.
I really didn't care for Frankie and as I kept reading nothing every got me to want to know her. The last few chapters I could relate to her a little. But I really wish their was more to the story of Iris and Emma instead of so much focus on Frankie.
In the end I'm glad I read it. I think we should all read something that isn't what we would normally read. I learned some things I didn't know about that time in history.

Dune Road

AUTHOR: Jane Green
PAGES: 341
WEBSITE: http://www.janegreen.com
TWITTER: @janegreen
ACQUIRED: Purchase
SUMMARY: Although her ex husband is not dead, Kit has felt as a Wall Street window throughout her marriage.
Kit, feeling lost and disconnected throughout her marriage to Adam, is getting a new lease on life. She is ready to abandon the big house and flashy clothes.
In Highfield, Kit and her children buy a little cottage and get a simpler life. A life with substance.
Kit makes friends with her older neighbor, Edie, who helps her find a job. And this isn't just any job, Kit is working as an assistant to the famous writer, Robert McClore. A mysterious tragedy drove McClore into seclusion and few, besides Kit, are granted access to his house at the top of Dune Road.
With Kit's few close circle of friends: Edie, Tracy and Charlie; she feels safe and loved. When Charlie's husband loses his job, Charlie begins to lose everything and it is hard for Kit to watch her friend have to sell everything, take the kids out of private school and downsize, not because she wants a simpler life, such as Kit, but because she is forced to.
Tracy encourages Kit to date an attractive man, who seems perfect, maybe too perfect. Tracy becomes distant and Kit is hurt as she feels Tracy is keeping secrets from her.
When a surprise visitor arrives, Kit learns her mother has a few secrets of her own. Kits new, wonderful, simple life becomes anything but. Everything it not as it seems.

OPINION:
Who doesn't love a good chick lit.? Jane Green is one of the best at this. I, however, didn't love Dune Road, but I enjoyed it a lot. I felt some situations were too predictable, but there were a couple of surprises in this book I didn't see coming. I am a Jane Green fan and I always feel I get my moneys worth when buying one of her books. I'm trying not to give anything away here. There is a character in this book who is rotten to the core, and you will instantly know who it is, but there is a twist even with that.
I hope you enjoy it. Some of my other favorites by Jane Green are: The Other Woman and Bookends.

The Beach House

AUTHOR: Jane Green
PAGES: 340
WEBSITE: http://www.janegreen.com
TWITTER: @janegreen
AQUIRED: Library
SUMMARY: (from book jacket)
Known in Nantucket as the eccentric woman who lives in the rambling house atop the bluff, Nan doesn't' care what people think. She's sixty-five years old, her husband died twenty years ago, her beauty has faded, and her family has flown. If her neighbors are away, why shouldn't she skinny-dip in their swimming pools and help herself to their flowers? But when she discovers the money she thought would last forever is dwindling and she could lose her beloved house, Nan knows she has to make drastic changes.
So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach.
Slowly, people start moving into the house, filling it with noise, with laughter, and with tears. First arrives handsome Daniel, quiet and contemplative and struggling to break free of his secrets. Then there is Daff, a recent divorcee who is looking to relax and reconnect with the part of herself that is neither wife nor mother, while her rebellious teenage daughter spends the summer with her father. Nan's son comes home for the summer, ans as the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family expanding until a unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside down.

OPINION:
What a great read. I'm never disappointed with a Jane Green book, but this is one of her bests. The main character actually is Windermere, Nan's house, that is being turned into a boarding house for the summer. The people who arrive at the house all are full of secrets and each have a past they would soon rather forget. Every character is connected through the house and lost in some way. In the end each person finds where they really belong, where they have always belonged, home. Family is not always just the people you were born into. Family is the people you choose to love. And home is something everyone seeks.