Book Chatter

Small Hours
By Jennifer Kitses
Grand Central Publishing, Hardcover, 9781455598526, June 13, 2017, 288pp.

The Short of It:

Told in one single day, this story is both well written and heartfelt. What happens to a couple when secrets begin to take over their lives?

The Rest of It:

After moving to what Helen believes to be the ideal neighborhood, Tom and Helen raise their daughters and slowly realize that the everyday struggles of work and raising children have created a slight rift between the two of them. The neighborhood is not what it seems to be and Tom’s relationship with another woman, one that results in another daughter almost the same age as the two he has, forces him to keep the secret long after he intends to.

What an interesting story. It’s told hour-by-hour and all in one day so what we see as a reader is the breaking point, really. The point where Helen and Tom have to come to grips with their reality and it’s not pretty but it’s very honest and very real. As readers we get to share in their regret and their fears. I really enjoyed the writing and the deep looks into each of the main characters. There are no “bad guys” here. Each character is trying his or her best to be the best person they can be. It’s a struggle but not impossible.

Lovely. Small Hours is lovely read with deeply flawed characters and a story that’s told in a quiet but direct way. I recommend it.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters

I’m in a weird mood. I can feel fall edging summer out and it feels glorious but then school started and we are back to having homework “conversations”, driving you-know-who back and forth and your basic running around. Plus, I usually have my garage all organized by now. I tend to use summer for that but it didn’t happen this year. I like to have it all squared away before the Halloween stuff comes out. I’ll work on it.

The other night though, my uncle and his wife were visiting Vegas and headed our way for dinner. That was a very nice visit and it broke up the week in a good way. My weeks can be so routine sometimes.

Right Now:

Today is a slightly different schedule for us because youth group is not meeting so we can all attend a beach baptism event at one of the local beaches. I’m all for going to the beach and some of our students will be baptized so it will be a good celebration.

This Week:

The Girl tries out for volleyball this Monday and Tuesday. The first game is 8/22 and I need to know if I should reschedule her orthodontist appointment or not. This last minute stuff gets to me.

Reading:

Honestly, I have not been reading this week. I’ve carried my books all over the place thinking I’d read them but nope. I am stuck on one book and it’s affecting my reading overall. I need to ditch it or push through it so I can move on.

Watching:

I feel like watching horror movies. Does that mean the R.I.P event is about to start soon?

Making:

I’ve made a lot of things with rice. Chicken with rice, chicken pineapple bacon sausage with rice, tacos with rice. It’s just easy and it’s what I can make when my daughter takes all my greens to make a smoothie.

Grateful for:

Cooler weather. It really hasn’t been cooler during the day but it’s been cool in the morning and I can tell that soon it will be fall and this oppressive heat will be leaving us.

On another note, the Otter Pup has developed a fear of flies. Has anyone else dealt with a fly phobia? I know this is a result of the bees flying out of our chimney last year but these are flies and she is terrified and quaking in her boots. If one gets in the house, we all have to drop what we are doing to take care of it or she will not stop shaking. Any ideas?

Chatting with friends about books and life…