Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

It’s strange how everything is ramping up again schedule-wise. School registration is at the end of this month and yet we have no final word on how classes will be handled this fall and school starts on 8/11. Voice, monologue and dance lessons all adding up. My calendar is slowly filling up again. I swore it wouldn’t. Can I go back to simple without having the entire world shutdown again?

Right Now:

At the moment I am prepping for a picnic with my youth group. We kept is simple. Meeting at a park. Everyone brings something to share. Not sure how much of a turnout we will have. RSVPs were spotty. I am looking forward to some fresh air.

This Week:

This week is pretty easy going. My daughter’s acting intensive starts this weekend but that’s all on her. She is very excited. Especially for the master classes with various Broadway stars. Other than that, not much else going on.

My son is moved into his rental house now. The new job is going well. Crossing my fingers that there won’t be another shutdown for California. Talk of one is looming.

My husband is glad to be back in the gym. It makes me nervous but he enjoys it.

Reading:

Last week I reviewed The Last Flight and Emma in the Night. This week my review for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will post. Oh my gosh! That book! Why was it marketed as warm and funny?? Yes, it has some warm and funny moments but I wasn’t expecting a story like that. Stop by later this week for the review.

I just picked up The Guest List by Lucy Foley. It’s on my Summer Reading List and I’ve read one other book by this author so I am looking forward to it.

Watching:

My daughter wanted me to watch The Edge of Seventeen with her. I enjoyed it but the actress in that role (Hailee Steinfeld) looks exactly like my daughter so it was like watching my daughter go through life. See a side by side here:

Grateful for:

Simple meals. Back to soup and a sandwich.
Patio coffee time
Plants. They’ve really cheered me up.
Bubly brand sparkling water

Are you also waiting for your school district to decide how fall will look? It’s causing a lot of anxiety in my house. I want my daughter to have a senior year but the hybrid models look so confusing.

Emma in the Night
By Wendy Walker
St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250141422, August 2018, 336pp.

The Short of It:

No one can be trusted.

The Rest of It:

Three years ago the Tanner sisters disappeared without a trace. One day, Cass shows up on her mother’s doorstep, three years older but without her sister, Emma. When the investigators are called in to question her, she urgently pleads for them to find Emma, who is hopefully still on the island she just escaped from.

The investigators don’t fully believe the story Cass is telling them. Something is off. To complicate things, Cass and Emma’s mother is narcissistic and continues to turn the attention back to herself anytime Cass or Emma is in the spotlight. One of the investigators, Dr. Winter, is very familiar with this disorder since she dealt with it in her own childhood so she watches them all carefully to see if she can decipher what really happened to Emma and Cass.

Emma in the Night is super twisty and delves into some much deeper issues than you might expect. This family is beyond dysfunctional and no one can be trusted which makes for good reading. Until the final pages, I had an idea of what happened to them but nothing solid and I was somewhat off when it was finally revealed.

This is a smart, highly detailed story about a seriously messed-up family. It’s gritty and some parts will leave you cringing. Some of the story lines could be triggering as well so be warned. Overall, I’d recommend it.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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