Alice Rue Evades the Truth

Finished April 16

Alice Rue Evades the Truth by Emily Zipps

This book was such a fun read. It has humour, real emotions, a crazy fake relationship, the reality of life struggles, and so much more. 

Alice has had a hard life, losing both her parents and spending middle and high school trying to care for her father through his health challenges. The hospital is still a difficult place for her to be. Alice works as a night receptionist in an office building in Portland, Oregon. As the book opens, Nolan Altman, a man who works in the building there and who Alice has had a crush on even though they've barely spoken, had a medical incident. Alice administer CPR and calls for help and saves his life. Nolan is in a coma, and it is unclear whether he will ever recover. 

Due to a crazy remark Alice made during the crisis and a comment by one of the EMTs attending, Nolan's family believes that Alice is his girlfriend and they embrace her into the family. His sisters Van and Marie, his parents, his aunt and uncle all take over her life. Mainly it is the women who take over, with the men quiet and supportive. Alice tries to deny the relationship right away, but is again misunderstood. As she gets deeper into the family and the way they care for her, she finds it harder to tell the truth. 

As a result of news coverage of the story, Alice is reconnected with her cousin who has recently moved back to town. They were very close as children, but her cousin's family moved away as her own family faced its crisis. The two women work through the realities of the situation they had no control of at the time, and begin to build new bonds as adults. Her cousin is married with two young children and she finds herself drawn into their family life as well. 

Also as a result of media coverage, Alice finds her work situation changing. She is moved to the day shift, and begins to make friends with one of her co-workers, as well as other people who don't sleep during daylight hours. Dare she hope for a different life for herself?

During all this Alice finds herself drawn to someone else, Nolan's sister Van, and is unsure what to do about her growing feelings. The more she learns about Nolan, the less interested she is in him, and she doesn't feel any connection there. 

This is a story of a young woman finding that there may be a happier life for her outside of how she exists now. Her life is changing on all fronts and she realizes that she can make friends and find connections. A hopeful and happy read. 

Breakaway

Finished January 27

Breakaway by Catherine Gayle

This is the first book in a series around a hockey team based in Portland Oregon, called the Portland Storm. The male central character here is Eric "Zee" Zellinger, and he is the captain of the team. One of his lifelong best friends, Brenden, is on the development team in the AHL affiliated with the Portland Storm. He's had a few injuries that set him back, but is hoping to get moved up to the NHL team. Brenden's little sister Dana is also a strong hockey player, but back when she was playing for her college team she was attacked after a game and gang raped. 

Dana has been undergoing therapy for a few years, but still has issues with men and physical contact. She is beginning to lose hope for a normal future relationship, but when her therapist suggests a sex therapist, she gets an idea. She can't handle a stranger for this, but she thinks of Eric, someone she's always trusted and decides to show up in person and ask him to do this for her. 

The idea is to gradually increase physical contact, moving towards intimacy. Eric is shocked but he's also a person who's cared deeply for Dana for years, and wants to help her. He also finds himself attracted to the woman she is now. 

Due to the storyline, you can see the tropes here: slow burn, friends to lovers, and brother's best friend.

The book steps away from the classic romance to deal with trauma, PTSD, and panic attacks, all of which it portrays well. As a Canadian, I grew up knowing hockey, and I enjoyed that aspect of the book as well. 

The only factual critique I have is the scene on the ice with the Zamboni. I KNOW that for safety reasons, when a Zamboni is on the ice, no people are on the ice. So that bothered me a little. 

Otherwise, an interesting read, and satisfying romance. 

Perfectly Undone

Finished May 15

Perfectly Undone by Jamie Raintree

Set in Portland, Oregon, this is a story of self-awareness and dealing with trauma from the past. The main character, Dylan Michels has worked hard to get where she is, a ob/gyn doctor at the Women's Clinic. She has a deep desire to do research in the area of early detection of pregnancy issues, like ectopic pregnancies. Her older sister Abby died from an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy when she was a teen, and this is a big part of what drives her. 

Dylan lives with her partner Cooper, a pediatrician, and they had long planned to marry. As the book opens, Cooper is proposing, but Dylan finds herself unable to commit. As the two go through weeks of bad communication, it becomes clear that there is a secret about Dylan and her sister that lie at the heart of Dylan's inability to choose happiness. 

I found Dylan interesting. In the scenes in the clinic and hospital, it is clear that she is respected by her fellow doctors and the other staff. She is a good doctor, focused on her patients and their concerns. Her buried trauma around her sister has led her to where she is, but also left her unable to move on. 

None of the other characters here have the depth of Dylan. Whether it is Cooper, the nurse Enrique, Dylan's boss Vanessa, patients like Erika, or her friend Megan, we don't see enough of them to get a real sense of them as people. 

There is an interesting plotline of the landscaping that Cooper has given Dylan as a gift. As the landscape architect Reese creates the garden from Dylan's short burst of input, we see how it relates to Dylan as well. 

Homeroom Diaries

Finished July 18

Homeroom Diaries by James Patterson and Lisa Papademetriou

This graphic novel follows high school student Margaret "Cuckoo" Clarke over the course of a few months. Cuckoo's mom has disappeared for a few days from time to time, but recently she's been gone for much longer, and Cuckoo now lives as a foster child with her neighbour Mrs. Morris. She's also spent a short period of time in a mental institution being observed after having some strong feelings around her mother's unexplained disappearance.

Her group of friends at school are all outsiders of some type, not fitting into one of the more defined groups such as: jocks, nerds, barbies, goths, haters, or zomboids. They refer to themselves as the Freakshow, and created nicknames for themselves that are worse that whatever the bullies come up with. Thus she is Cuckoo; her international baccalaureate best friend is Brainzilla; Asian friend Hanna is Eggy, short for Eggroll; Paul with acne issues is Zitsy; religious and sporty Paul is Tebow; and weightroom user overweight Beverly is Flatso. 

The group decides to work on a Happiness Project to bring nicer vibes to the school, but run into barriers along the way. 

They also have to deal with an out-of-touch principal; a underage genius teacher; a nosy school psychologist, and attitudes from their fellow students.

As the school year progresses, they undergo more challenges, from online bullying to personal loss, and work together to support each other. They also find support in unexpected places.

The drawing really bring this story to life, giving more insight into the characters. I really liked the narrator and her way of looking at things and being honest about her feelings. I also liked how the friend group really cared about each other. 

I really enjoyed this read. 

Glaciers

Finished March 3
Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith

This novel captured me right away. Did it help that the main character is a librarian? Maybe.
Isabel was born in Seattle, but her parents moved back to Alaska shortly after she was born to live in the homestead of her father's grandmother, in the country near Soldotna. This is where she spent her early years and learned about being alone, about making do with what you have, and about the meaning of treasure.
Following her parents divorce, her father moved to Portland with her and her older sister, where she soon realized she was several years behind when it came to fashion. This, perhaps, led to her love of vintage clothes.
All of Isabel's background sets the scene for this novel, a single day in her life. Planning for a party she is going to in the evening. Working as a preservation and conservation librarian, in the lower level of the library, with other subspecialists. The reader gets brought into her life, her friendships, her coworker relationships, as she moves through her day. In many ways, this is an ordinary day, but it is also an extraordinary day, for many reasons.
I loved Isabel, her thoughtfulness, her depth of feeling, her appreciation for small things, her imagining of others' lives. And I loved the cover of the book, how it just feels right for it. I love her love of postcards, one I share. With an earlier Indiespensable selection, I was made aware of this book through a reference in the accompanying package of goodies, which included postcards inspired by this book:

As I said, I prefer the cover version of the copy I had to the blue one in the package above, but the package is what got me looking for a copy. And I am so glad I found one.

Thriller by Canadian Author

Finished August 25
Switch by Grant McKenzie
Set in Portland, Oregon, this fast-paced thriller follows the character Sam White. Sam is an out-of-work actor now working as a security guard in a shopping mall. As he returns home after a night shift, he finds his house a smoking ruin and two body bags being removed from it. After falling into despair, and being questioned by the police, he receives a package with a cellphone in it and the cellphone rings with a call that tells him his wife and daughter are still alive. To get them back alive, he has to commit a series of violent acts that make no sense to him. As he tries to follow the instructions given him, hoping his family is safe, he meets Zack Parker, also a victim of the unknown caller, and the two begin to compare notes. They work together trying to stay one step ahead of their tormenter and figure out his identity.
I read this book in one day, and also did a variety of other things, so it was definitely a quick and engaging read.

Thriller on audio

Finished September 24
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain, read by Carolyn McCormick
This is a followup novel on the book Heartsick that introduced Portland detective Archie Sheridan. In Heartsick, which I haven't read, Sheridan had been tracking a serial killer known as the Beauty Killer for more than a decade and had finally got her caught and in jail, although not without personal cost.
Here, Sheridan is investigating a body found in a park, and reporter Susan Ward becomes involved in identifying the victim. Archie is distracted by the escape of the Beauty Killer, and is obsessed with her. As both the case and the hunt for the Beauty Killer move through the book, we see deeply into Sheridan psyche and his obsessions. We also see into reporter Susan Ward and her nontraditional choices in life.
While gory at times, and graphic, this novel presents real emotions and human behaviour and show what drives people to do things. I enjoyed it.