How to Be an American Housewife
By: Margaret Dilloway
Rating: Good
Shoko is a Japanese girl at the time of WWII.  She and her brother and sister are in a field when the bomb goes off at Nagasaki.  They are far enough away that the bomb does not affect them until later in life.  Her brother and her are very close until Shoko is a young women and falls in love with a "undesirable" man.  She is forbidden to see the man, and is disgraced.  Her father feels that Shoko only choice to marry would be an American GI. Shoko had been dating Charlie, a GI that she met in the hotel gift shop where she works, and decides to marry him.  Her brother is furious with her for dating someone that is beneath her, and then agreeing to marry an American.  He refuse to talk to her and has disowned her. When she arrives in America, she purchase a book for Japanese women that are moving to America with their husbands.  Shoko has a son, and a daughter, that she raises in America without any connection with her family.  When Shoko gets sick and tries to go back to Japan, she reaches out to her estrange brother, but does not get a response.  She becomes to ill for travel, and her daughter agrees to go in her place. Shoko daughter eventually finds her uncle, and is shocked by what he gives her to take back for her mother. The book is well written, entertaining, and insightful.  A good way to spend time on a rainy day.

The One & Only
by: Emily Giffin
Rating: Not so Wonderful
When I read a book, that I think is "Not so Wonderful", I have to refrain from posting a review, and think about the book before being negative. I am still thinking "not so wonderful" for The One and Only by Emily Giffin.  The book is based in the small town of Walker Texas, and revolves around a relationship of the head college football coach, Clive Carr and Shea Rigsby.  Shea is best friends with the daughter of the head coach, and grows up going in and out of the Carr house as easily as her own.  After graduating from Walker, she continues to work at the college and interact with the Carr family.  When Coach Carr's wife dies of cancer, Shea discovers that she has romantic feelings for the Coach. The book tries to distract from the inevitable, by Shea leaving her job at Walker, and getting a reporting job covering the Walker College football season. Simply written and with an overuse of the word "Coach" is another reason that this book is "Not so Wonderful".

Between Georgia
By Joshilyn Jackson
Rating: Good
This book starts off with a bang, and finishes with a..... bang.  A story about a family feud between the Fretts and the Crabtree's, that continues to escalate through Bernice and Mona. One of the Crabtree daughters is hiding her pregnancy, and gives birth to a baby girl in Bernice's living room.  Bernice's deaf sister holds the baby and claims the baby as hers.  Nonny grows up as a Frett, but is well aware of her Crabtree roots. She has established herself as the peacekeeper between the families, until a horrible accident happens to one of the Fretts. As hard as Nonny tries, she can not prevent the ongoing acts of revenge between the families. For all of my friends familiar with Athens and Between Georgia, this is a must read.  A roller coaster ride that is very entertaining. I really enjoyed it.

The Girls of August
By: Anne Rivers Siddons
Rating: Good
This is a good book about four friends that reunite on different beaches for a girls week in August.  Rachel, Barbara, Maddison, Cassandra are the four original girls of August.  They met while their husbands were attending medical school. Cassandra and Teddy divorce and Teddy remarries Melinda who is later killed in a car accident.  The girls reunited on Tiger Island South Carolina with new comer Baby, Teddy's new 20 something wife. The house belongs to Baby's family and she hopes that it will help her enter the group. The generation gap between the original three women and Baby make for some comical situations, and some unkind confrontations.  Beautifully written in the style that Ms. Siddons is known for, The Girls of August is an entertaining read.

The Lowland
By Jhumpa Lahiri
Rating Great
A story beautifully written about family, terrorism and love. Two brothers that are so close they can sense each others presence, but so different there lives will be separated by beliefs. The journey begins in Calcutta India during political unrest. Subhash is quiet, reserved and wants to please.  Udayan is outgoing curious and strong willed. Both brothers have two different destinies, but one will assume the responsibilities of the other. A brother that loves the other so much, his life is altered for the other ones actions. Written with picture clarity of events and scenery, The Lowland is a movie for the mind.