The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maggie is a psychologist working in a hospital and developing her own private practice in her home office. Lakshmi is a married Indian woman whose attempted suicide has brought the two together.

Maggie's professional guard is let down in her treatment of Lakshmi and offers to treat her free of charge. Week by week Lakshmi tells stories of her homeland and her life in American with her domineering husband.

With the help of Maggie and her husband Lakshmi's life begins to open gradually like a flower beginning to bloom. But there are secrets that are so disturbing that lives will be ruined.

An excellent read. Thrity Umrigar is at the top of my favourite authors list.

Review: Becoming

Becoming by Michelle Obama
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved every word of this book. It drew me in and I was living in the whitehouse with Michelle. Her writing makes you feel like you are her good friend. She is so generous in sharing aspects of her life and I can't recommend this book enough.

She starts with her childhood in Chicago, her father who had MS and a devoted mom all living in the upstairs of her great aunt's small house.

An excellent read.

Review: Favourite Daughter

Favourite Daughter by Kaira Rouda
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I looked forward to this book because I loved her book, The Best Day Ever. However it was a disappointment. There were no surprises and you knew almost right from the start who the murderer was. It dragged for most of the book and somewhat repetitive.

Review: Dog on It

Dog on It by Spencer Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very entertaining mystery. Involves Bernie, a private detective and his dog Chet.
Of course I always love a story where the dog is the protagonist.

There has been a kidnapping. Unfortunately the parents believe that its a runaway.
The father is in very deep with gangsters for a lot of money and they want their money back any way possible. Kidnapping is not beneath them. Did I mention they are the Russian mofia?

Bernie finds himself in some deep trouble and its a good thing that he has Chet, a very smart cookie.

An excellent read.

Review: Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book so much and I actually did cry a few times in the reading.

A teacher, Reuben, gives his junior students an assignment for extra credit. He asked them to come up with an idea that would change the world.

Trevor, the son of single mom Arlene, takes up the challenge and starts his own experiment to see if his idea could actually change the world. His simple idea is to do a good deed for three people. Those people are not to pay him back but must forward the good deed on to three people they find that need help.

You never know how something you do for someone will affect lives.

A gem of a book. Excellent read.

Review: The Secrets Between Us

The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a story that I absolutely loved. It was a surprise when I realized that it was the second book with the same characters and basically a continuation of the first book, The Space Between Us byThrity Umrigar. You could read this as a stand alone, but would be better to read the first book as well.

Bhima continues to do housework and cooking and raising her granddaughter in the slums in Mumbai, having lost her daughter and her husband to AIDS. We do get a much better insight into how Bhima lost her good job of many years with the same family and especially losing what she always thought of as her family. She was an integral part of that family and loved the children just as her own.

Years before Bhima's husband had left her and had taken their son with him. He had been doing a lot of drinking and Bhima had "shown" him up in front of his buddies. That left Bhima alone and had to face the death of her daughter and son in law on her own and assume the raising her her granddaughter.

An excellent read.

Review: I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful book. It is the one book that I think everyone should read, especially the young ones.

Caitlin at the age of twelve was given a project by her teacher to write a letter to a pen pal. Martin, a student in Zimbabwe was the recipient of her letter and he responded. This started an absolutely wonderful friendship that has stood the test of time.

Highly recommended, a superb read.