A Book A Week

With the Texas heat reaching record highs this week, I've fully embraced summer reading mode. Although I read various genres year-round, this is the season when I crave quick, twisty novels that I can devour in a few sittings. This week, I've turned to Janelle Brown's 2020 hit, Pretty Things, to satisfy that craving. The novel delivers with alternating perspectives, captivating drama, and a pace that keeps you turning pages late into the night.

Nina finds herself disillusioned with her life. Despite doing everything right—attending college, earning a liberal arts degree, and avoiding her con artist mother's mistakes—she's nowhere near where she thought she’d be. Now, to make ends meet, Nina and her Irish boyfriend Lachlan have resorted to a life of crime, stealing from wealthy LA kids. It’s not the dream life she imagined, but it’s getting her by. When her mother falls ill, Nina is driven to take a huge risk. She decides to put everything on the line to pull off her most intricate and dangerous scam yet, all to help her ailing mom.

Vanessa is grappling with her own form of disillusionment. As a wealthy heiress, she once aimed to make a meaningful impact and leave a lasting legacy. Instead, she has become ensnared in the superficial world of Instagram, traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. Beneath this enviable facade, however, lies a life marked by tragedy. Seeking solace, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling estate, Stonehaven. There, she will confront the dark secrets of her past, secrets that are destined to intertwine with Nina’s life.

Pretty Things marks the third time I’ve read a book by Janelle Brown, and it reaffirms why I’m so captivated by her writing. She excels at creating characters who blur the line between empathy and abhorrence, making them complex and engaging throughout their journeys. By alternating perspectives between characters, Brown provides readers with deep insights into their motivations while gradually unveiling their true intentions. This technique infuses the story with a profound sense of uncertainty, which drives the book’s pacing.

While the novel initially takes time to establish its characters and main plot, by the halfway point, I was completely hooked. The twists and turns along the way are both shocking and seamlessly integrated into the storyline. Overall, Pretty Things delivers another compelling summer read from an author who continues to impress with her unique storytelling.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2024, 43)

"We are ping-pong balls, paddled about by fate and coincidence, doing our best to wrestle back some agency from the forces that move our lives."

Elli was always hesitant about going into acting. Why shouldn't she be? She was only a child after all. She was shy and reserved, the kind of kid more content with quietly playing than drawing attention to herself. Why then, you may ask yourself, did Elli become a child actress? The answer is quite simple really. Her identical twin sister Sam wanted her to. The sisters were inseparable. They had that innate connection that twins often do, each able to sense the other's thoughts and desires without having to say a word. Sam was much more outgoing, and she was willing to bring her sister along for the ride. Naturally, the impulses of the stronger-willed sister won out, setting the siblings on a course that would alter the rest of their lives. 

As adults, the inseparable bond of the twin sisters has splintered into estrangement. Elli retired from acting, got married, and created the perfect suburban life as the owner of the flower shop. Sam went in the opposite direction. Like countless child stars before her, she fell into addiction. She clings to the hope of reclaiming her former fame, but the reality is far more depressing. There isn't a likelihood of her ever earning a living as an actress again. On her plummet to rock bottom, Sam made the worst mistake of her life, a moment of weakness and desperation that ultimately severed the last remaining threads of her relationship with Elli. 

It comes as a surprise when Sam receives a call from her father asking for her help. Divorce and the recent adoption of a two-year-old girl have left Elli's life in shambles, a stark contrast to the picture-perfect image Sam long held in her head. Elli left the new daughter in the hands of her parents as she embarked on a mysterious self-help retreat for the weekend. Only she never came back, and she isn't answering her phone. Sam's parents have recruited her as a last resort to come help care for the child. They're certain that Elli will come home in due time, but Sam isn't as sure. Her deep connection to her twin sister tells her that something may be terribly wrong. 

I first encountered the writing of Janelle Brown through her novel Watch Me Disappear. That novel veiled a poignant character study with an engrossing missing person mystery. This latest effort does much of the same but in a very different way. We see the perspectives of two sisters both in the past and present. Brown uses the shifting point of view to slowly reveal elements of her mystery and the motivations of the characters. While the mystery behind the missing sister helps the novel to maintain a swift pace, it is the relationship and deceit between the two twin sisters that fuels much of the suspense and tension. Brown's characters are so authentic that I couldn't help but fall under their spell. The genuineness of the characters helps balance some of the more implausible plot elements, grounding even the most unimaginable story beats into the real world. Overall, I'll Be You is a good thriller written in service of a great character drama. It proves Janelle Brown's narrative prowess and serves as a fantastic summer read. 

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads. 

(2022, 22)

"God, this must have been a difficult year for you."

It is hard to believe that it has been a year. One year of learning how to be a single parent to his daughter Olive. One year of quitting his job and writing a memoir. One year since he last saw his wife and his world changed forever. Even after a year to cope, Jonathan Flanagan still has more questions than answers. His wife Billie Flanagan went missing after embarking on a solo hike through the Desolation Wilderness. She vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. Now Jonathan is left to pick up the pieces.

"How many times can he write and rewrite the story of his life with Billie before he'll know what was really true?"

With no body and only minimal clues to definitively prove what happened to his wife, Jonathan is left in an emotional and financial limbo. Someone covertly recorded his eulogy at Billie's memorial service. His speech was uploaded to the Internet and quickly went viral. Jonathan was able to spin this moment of fame into a book deal that allowed him to quit his demanding job and spend more time with his daughter. As the money from his publishing deal dwindles away, Jonathan begins to question how well he knew his wife. How can he write a book about their life together if the life he knew was a lie?

"All memoirs are lies, even those that tell the truth."

Olive is facing a crisis of her own. Her close relationship with her mom was cut short by Billie's disappearance, and Jonathan's best efforts to fill that void are not working. A year later, Olive finds it hard to continue going to school and fit in with her friends. As she is walking to class, the world around her disappears and is replaced with the image of her mother, alive and well, beckoning her to look closer and trust in herself. At first, Olive attributes this vision to being a side effect of the anniversary of her mother missing. But Billie continues to visit Olive in these strange visions, and Olive gets the idea that Billie is trying to tell her something. For whatever reason, Billie wants Olive to look for her. Could her mom still be alive?

"You believe what you think you believe, until suddenly, you realize that you don't anymore."

Watch Me Disappear is a brilliant novel of family and suspense. Author Janelle Brown has written a poignant character study veiled by an engrossing mystery. At its heart, the novel is about a father and daughter dealing with the repercussions of losing a piece of their family. I was reminded of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette, in that the book focuses on a father and daughter searching for the truth behind a mother's disappearance. That being said, Brown's novel goes much deeper in creating a mature and nuanced depiction of the delicate intricacies of the character's relationship. While the mystery of Billie's vanishing is the impetus for the character development, it is the way Johnathan and Olive evolve throughout the story that drives the narrative. Watch Me Disappear is a thoughtful and emotionally moving novel that works as a solid mystery and even better family drama.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.

(2017, 30)