Rest Now, Beloved
Blake S. Lee, 2015
CreateSpace
334 pp.
ISBN-13: 1508754039
Summary
In Rest Now, Beloved, a fictional account of an actual police case, seven-year-old Christopher Abkhazian refuses to be forgotten.
This child's death took place during the waning days of Prohibition in San Diego. Some said it was accidental death; pathologists disagreed.
Unsolved, it gathered dust on cold case shelves for over sixty years. When a team of forensic detectives reopens the investigation in 1990, it expects to put the case to closure. But this victim demands closure, not obscurity.
An unlikely duo begins an investigation of their own. Ex-policeman Pete McGraw believes this case has been purposely mishandled; there is a cover-up. McGraw knows the facts; he was the chief detective in 1933.
Reporter Sera Schilling begins delving. As the truth unfolds, she steps on a land mine when she uncovers a dark and deadly family secret—a secret they would kill to keep buried.
Author Bio
• Birth—April 5, 1944
• Where—Rochester, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., San Diego State University
• Currently—San Diego, California
Writing under the pseudonym of Blake S. Lee, the author is a long-time resident of San Diego. She is married, the mother of three grown daughters, and the grandmother of four grandchildren who delightfully fill her time. Having taught high school literature, she has a profound respect for the written word and admiration of other brilliant minds who have expressed it. This is her debut novel.
Ms. Lee has been asked how the idea for this novel came to her. In 1990, as a graduate student in an archival records research class, she was assigned a name of a victim. She had no further information, other than the victim's death became a cold case. It was her responsibility to "solve" the case using documents, interviews, records, etc.
The path that the protagonist, Sera Schilling, a newspaper reporter, takes in seeking the truth behind a child's brutal death so long ago mirrors Lee's paper trail, the mode of investigation in 1990, pre-computer age. The obsession for closure that propels protagonist, Pete McGraw in his obsession for closure, is felt in Lee's compelling sensitivity to the lives and times of those involved in the boy's death.
The catalyst that fired inspiration to write a fictional account of this story was when this case was reopened by a forensic team of detectives in 2005. Using no new information, witnesses, or evidence, the team closed the case and purged the records. Feeling that this re-investigation appeared shamefully scanty, Lee wrote this parallel story in order to give the victim voice. (From the author.)
Book Reviews
A fast-paced and haunting mystery novel (that) almost seamlessly weaves together the new and old, bringing sentimentality, family, love, and violent injustice together in a way that feels both touching and painfully true.
CreateSpace
An intrepid junior reporter takes on a decades-old cold case.... Lee's engrossing prose is rooted in specific detail that wonderfully evokes the setting of San Diego, both contemporary and historical. A complex, well-plotted tale with an engaging setting.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Although the book, Rest Now, Beloved is specific to a place and time, what human issues are presented to readers that are universal and common?
2. How does the relationship between Pete McGraw and Sera Schilling evolve in the book?
3. Pete McGraw's police journal is the key to solving the mystery. Why does Lee wait until near the end of the story to present it?
4. If you were to choose a single adjective to describe your feelings at the end of the book, Rest Now, Beloved, what word would you choose and why?
5. What drives Sera Schilling?
6. What drives Pete McGraw?
7. What are your impressions of the fictional character, Paco? Was his character developed enough to create suspense? Why did author Lee keep his character in the background?
8. In what ways does Rest Now, Beloved differ from typical mysteries or cold case novels?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
Barking Madness
Ryan Hill, 2015
Pulse Publishing
491 pp.
ASIN: B010GDGZ6S (ebook format only)
Summary
Rosetta Harper and her family have just moved from Florida to a small, rural New England town. Her beauty and manipulative ways have quickly made her the center of attention and part of the "it" group at her new high school.
But all is not as it seems. She inadvertently becomes the target of a twisted series of events involving supernatural creatures, scary visions, and horrific nightmares that test her loyalties to her friends and family.
The story alternates POV between Rosetta and Michael.
Shortly after moving into Ashwood, Rose gets the attention of Tommy, a "popular" boy. After going to a party and heading home through the woods, the pair comes face to face with a massive wolf. They are attacked leaving Rose severely injured and Tommy dead. This physical attack results in Rose believing she is afflicted with something monstrous. Rose soon finds herself living in a world of ghosts and monsters.
Hearing screams from the road, Michael runs through the woods to find the source. What he finds will forever change his life. Rosetta Harper, the new girl who he has admired from afar is on the ground before him fighting for her life.
Her rescue will be the start of a slow-building, back and forth friendship that develops into a loving relationship. At first, Rose wants nothing to do with Michael. He isn't popular, a jock, or outgoing at all. He is completely out of her social circle, but as the story develops and Rose seeks to discover the truth about her past and her future, so does their connection.
Barking Madness is a coming of age, psychological thriller about a teenage girl coming to terms with the death of a boy at school and the terrifying events that follow. The characters are complex and believable with dark, sharp-witted humor.
The voices throughout the book are accurate and give an inside peek at the mind of teens in the complicated and awkward high school years. All the while, taking you on a thrilling journey to the truth.
Author Bio
• Birth—November 4, 1995
• Born—Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
• Raised—West Newbury, Massachusetts
• Education—University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Currently—lives in Newbury, Massachusetts
His own words:
My name is Ryan Hill, and I am a fiction writer. My Debut novel, Barking Madness, is a dark and witty YA Psychological Thriller with lots of Paranormal twists and turns It is also a coming of age story that provides an inside peek at the mind of teens, in the complicated and awkward high school years.
The book features two protagonists with alternating POV’s and a psychotic killer. I really enjoyed creating the different layers of characters and relationships in the story and felt I was successful in building believable and distinctive personalities. The supporting characters have strong voices, as well, and will grab the reader’s attention.
I first started writing down ideas for my story in middle school, and in July, 2013, before my senior year, I decided to take the plunge and start writing my novel. After a lifetime of playing soccer, I quit the high school team, and unbeknownst to anyone, began writing. I was completely dedicated and had a complete manuscript in 8 months. Barking Madness was published by Pulse Publishing in August 2015.
I was born in Greenwich, Connecticut but now live in West Newbury, Massachusetts with my family. Currently, I am a sophomore at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and pursuing a degree in English. When I’m not doing homework or writing, I can be found on my Xbox, at the gym, or watching a movie, as I am a huge fan of film.
With survival horror being my favorite genre, some of my favorite movies are Evil Dead 2, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Alien, The Shining, The Thing, Grindhouse, and Scream. But my all time favorite horror movie is An American Werewolf in London. I have a soft spot for werewolves, which is the main reason I included one in my novel Barking Madness. I don’t know what it is about them, but I just find them interesting. (From the author.)
Follow Ryan on Facebook.
Book Reviews
Wow holy hell what did I just read? Barking Madness I think I can safely say this title perfectly sums up this book, it's certainly an unusual and intriguing read. Make sure you allow plenty of time to read this as it's a very long full length novel with no cliffhanger!
#Minxcoco - Hashtag Minxes Love Books
Barking Madness has the common themes found in YA literature: young protagonists, set in high school and trying to find their way, and themselves, when everything around them seems to be in a state of change. However, it does not read like the typical YA. It is darker, not only in the style of writing, but also in some of its themes – domestic abuse, drug use, and suicide. This is obviously not a happy book. But the writing is actually one of the things I liked best about this novel. It is atmospheric.... I liked Barking Madness for its different spin on YA, and dealing with realities that teenagers face.
Nina Arquiza - Bookbed.org
Ryan Hill has nailed a great read.... I have to hand it to Ryan Hill, he nailed the negative teen persona and nailed it hard! Like a fly on the wall, the reader is privy to teens at their best and teens at their worst.... The language is blue, the drugs and drinking run wild and it becomes hard to separate their reality from Rose’s perception of reality. Looking for nailbiting intrigue, high teen angst and cruelty towards each other? In other words, how NOT to act?... a great read that will keep you guessing until the end.
Dii - Amazon Customer Review
A Thrilling Masterpiece. Barking Madness is indeed one incredible YA paranormal thriller that readers everywhere won't forget.... A must read novel that is compelling beyond belief. Characters that will shake everything you have come to know. Definitely an addictive story for all. I highly recommend this thrilling adventurous novel and rate it a five out of five stars. I look forward to more of Ryan Hill's amazing work in the future (5 stars).
Danielle Urban - Amazon Customer Review
Barking Madness by Ryan Hill is one awesome book that I will not soon forget! Wow, some parts still literally send chills up my spine.... The story flowed well, and the author writes very authentically, like how teens really act and talk... Does a great job of making us feel like we are really a part of the story, and I can't wait to read more from Mr. Hill in the future. Recommend for fans of thriller/suspense/fantasy/paranormal (4-5 stars).
Claire Middleton - Goodreads, Indie Book Reviewer
Discussion Questions
1. What did you think of the book Barking Madness? Were you engaged immediately, or did it take you a while to "get into it?" Did you find the beginning build up too slow or did you enjoy it?
2. Describe Rosetta and Michael's personality traits, motivations, inner qualities. Describe the dynamics between the main characters Rosetta and Michael. What is the relationship between Michael and Kyle? Do you admire or disapprove of them? Do they remind you of people you know or knew in high school? Can you believe that I wrote this as a senior in high school? Would it surprise you if I told you these characters are loosely based on people I know?
3. How has the past shaped Rosetta's and Michael's life? What lies ahead for Rosetta and Michael?
4. What are Rosetta and Michael's family dynamics like? Do they come from loving or dysfunctional families? Or a combination of both?
5. Do the main characters change by the end of the book? Do they grow or mature? Do they learn something about themselves and how the world works?
6. Is the plot engaging—does the story interest you? Is this a plot-driven book: a fast-paced page-turner? Or does the story unfold slowly with a focus on character development? Were you surprised by the plot's complications? Or did you find it predictable, even formulaic? Did the end leave you questioning what you read?
7. About the book's structure, does the time-line move forward chronologically...or back and forth between past and present? Does the author use a single viewpoint or shifting viewpoints? Why might the author have chosen to tell the story the way he did—and what difference does it make in the way you read or understand it? Did you enjoy the way it was written?
8. What main ideas—themes—does the author explore? (Consider the title, often a clue to a theme.) Did the title work with the storyline? Did you agree with the title?
9. What passages strike you as insightful, even profound? Perhaps a bit of dialog that's funny or poignant or that encapsulates a character? Maybe there's a particular comment that states the book's thematic concerns? Did you like the sarcastic, dark relationship between Michael and Kyle and Rose and Rosetta?
10. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it?
11. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?
12. Has this novel been one that you've reflected back on? Do you agree with the way the teenagers in this book are portrayed? Are you empathetic to them? Is it believable? Do you think it's possible for teens to have lives this complicated? Is this a real world book or complete fantasy? Should it be classified as Psychological Thriller, Paranormal, or both?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
The Moonstone
Wilkie Collins, 1868
Penguin Random House
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780140434088
Summary
When you looked down into the stone, you looked into a yellow deep that drew your eyes into it so that they saw nothing else.
The Moonstone, a yellow diamond looted from an Indian temple and believed to bring bad luck to its owner, is bequeathed to Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday.
That very night the priceless stone is stolen again and when Sergeant Cuff is brought in to investigate the crime, he soon realizes that no one in Rachel’s household is above suspicion.
Hailed by T. S. Eliot as "the first, the longest, and the best of modern English detective novels," The Moonstone is a marvellously taut and intricate tale of mystery, in which facts and memory can prove treacherous and not everyone is as they first appear.
Sandra Kemp’s introduction examines The Moonstone as a work of Victorian sensation fiction and an early example of the detective genre, and discusses the technique of multiple narrators, the role of opium, and Collins’s sources and autobiographical references. (From the publisher.)
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Author Bio
• Birth—December 8, 1824
• Where—London, England, UK
• Death—September 23, 1889
• Where—London, England
• Education—studied law at Lincoln's Inn, London
Wilkie Collins has long been overshadowed by his friend and collaborator Charles Dickens—unfortunately for readers who have consequently not discovered one of literature's most compelling writers.
His novels are ceremonious and none too brief; they are also irresistible. Take the opening lines of his 1852 story of marital deceit, Basil:
What am I now about to write? The history of little more than the events of one year, out of the twenty-four years of my life. Why do I undertake such an employment as this? Perhaps, because I think that my narrative may do good; because I hope that, one day, it may be put to some warning use.
It's a typical Collins opening, one that draws the reader in with a tone that's personal, but carries formality and import.
With his long, frizzy black beard and wide, sloping forehead, Collins looked like a grandfatherly type, even in his 30s. But his thinking and lifestyle were unconventional, even a bit ahead of his time. His characters (particularly the women) have a Henry James–like predilection for bucking social mores, and he occasionally found his work under attack by morality-mongers. Collins was well aware of his books' potential to offend certain Victorian sensibilities, and there is evidence in some of his writings that he was prepared for it, if not welcoming of it. He writes in the preface to Armadale, his 1866 novel about a father's deathbed murder confession...
Estimated by the clap-trap morality of the present day, this may be a very daring book. Judged by the Christian morality which is of all time, it is only a book that is daring enough to speak the truth.
Career
Collins began his career by writing his painter father's biography. He gained popularity when he began publishing stories and serialized novels in Dickens's publications, Household Words and All the Year Round. His best-known works are The Woman in White and The Moonstone, both of which—along with Basil—have been made into films.
Collins often alludes to fantastic, supernatural happenings in his stories; the events themselves are usually borne out by reasonable explanations. What remains are the electrifying effects one human being can have upon another, for better and for worse. His main characters are often described in terms such as "remarkable," "extraordinary," and "singular," lending their actions—and thereby the story—a special urgency. In one of his great successes, 1860's The Woman in White, Collins spins what is basically a magnificent con story into something almost ghostly: The fates of two look-alike women—a beautiful, well-off woman and a poor insane-asylum escapee—are intertwined and manipulated by two evil men. One of those is among the best fictional villains ever created, the kill-'em-with-kindness Count Fosco. Fosco is emblematic of another Collins hallmark—antagonists who manage to throw their victims off guard by some powerful charm of personality or appearance.
The Moonstone, published in 1868, is regarded by many to be the first English detective novel. Starring the unassuming Sergeant Cuff, it follows the trail of a sought-after yellow diamond from India that has fallen into the wrong hands. Like The Woman in White, the novel is told in multiple first person narratives that display Collins's gift for distinctive and often humorous voices. Whether it is servants, foreigners, or the wealthy, Collins is an equal-opportunity satirist who quietly but deftly pokes fun at human foibles even as he draws nuanced, memorable characters.
Though The Woman in White and The Moonstone are Collins's standouts, he had a productive, consistent career; the novels Armadale, No Name, and Poor Miss Finch are worthwhile reads, and his short stories will particularly appeal to Edgar Allan Poe fans. Fortunately in the case of this underappreciated writer, there are plenty of titles to appreciate. (From Barnes & Noble.)
Discussion Questions
1. Sitting near the Shivering Sand with Betteredge early in the story, Rosanna says, "It looks to me as if it had hundreds of suffocating people under it—all struggling to get to the surface, and all sinking lower and lower in the dreadful deeps!" What does she mean? Who are the people who can’t escape, and why can’t they?
2. Near the end of the first period of the novel, Sergeant Cuff makes three predictions. How do they affect your expectations of what will happen later? How do you account for Miss Rachel’s continued silence at this point?
3. When The Moonstone was first published, the narrative of Drusilla Clack was one of its most popular sections. The titles of the tracts she so profusely distributes ("Satan under the Tea Table," etc.) are in fact only slightly parodied from those that Collins encountered in his father’s religious circle. How does Collins allow the reader to see the vanity, greed, and pettiness beneath the model of piety and propriety she portrays in her story?
4. Collins had a lifelong interest in the inner workings of the mind, especially when it was under of the influence of "mesmerism" or opium. What does Collins’s treatment of dreams, drugs, and delirium suggest about the value of the subconscious and the subjective mind, especially as opposed to the more objective methods of Sergeant Cuff?
5. After a conventional happy ending in England, Collins shifts the setting to conclude with an epilogue in India. How does the portrayal of the Brahmins here compare with that of Betteredge and Miss Clack? How does the meaning of story change because of the Indian frame at its opening and closing?
6. Dickens was primarily a master of character, Collins of plot, argued T.S. Eliot. Yet each learned much from the other during their years of intense collaboration. (Dickens’s final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, draws heavily on The Moonstone.) What do you think of Eliot’s assertion that "Dickens’s characters are real because there is no one like them; Collins’s because they are so painstakingly coherent and life-like"?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Opposite of Everyone
Joshilyn Jackson, 2016
HarperCollins
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062105684
Summary
A fiercely independent divorce lawyer learns the power of family and connection when she receives a cryptic message from her estranged mother in this bittersweet, witty novel.
Born in Alabama, Paula Vauss spent the first decade of her life on the road with her free-spirited young mother, Kai, an itinerant storyteller who blended Hindu mythology with southern oral tradition to re-invent their history as they roved.
But everything, including Paula’s birth name Kali Jai, changed when she told a story of her own—one that landed Kai in prison and Paula in foster care. Separated, each holding secrets of her own, the intense bond they once shared was fractured.
These days, Paula has reincarnated herself as a tough-as-nails divorce attorney with a successful practice in Atlanta. While she hasn’t seen Kai in fifteen years, she’s still making payments on that Karmic debt—until the day her last check is returned in the mail, along with a mysterious note:
I am going on a journey, Kali. I am going back to my beginning; death is not the end. You will be the end. We will meet again, and there will be new stories. You know how Karma works.
Then Kai’s most treasured secret literally lands on Paula’s doorstep, throwing her life into chaos and transforming her from only child to older sister. Desperate to find her mother before it’s too late, Paula sets off on a journey of discovery that will take her back to the past and into the deepest recesses of her heart.
With the help of her ex-lover Birdwine, an intrepid and emotionally volatile private eye who still carries a torch for her, this brilliant woman, an expert at wrecking families, now has to figure out how to put one back together—her own.
The Opposite of Everyone is a story about story itself, how the tales we tell connect us, break us, and define us, and how the endings and beginnings we choose can destroy us...and make us whole.
Laced with sharp humor and poignant insight, it is beloved New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson at her very best—an emotionally resonant tale about the endurance of love and the power of stories to shape and transform our lives. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—February 27, 1968
• Where—Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA
• Education—B.A., Georgia State University; M.A., University of Illinois
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in Decatur, Georgia
Joshilyn Jackson is the author of several novels, all national best sellers. She was born into a military family, moving often in and out of seven states before the age of nine. She graduated from high school in Pensacola, Florida, and after attending a number of different colleges, earned her B.A. from Georgia State University. She went on to earn an M.A. in creative writing from University of Illinois in Chicago.
Having enjoyed stage acting as a student in Chicago, Jackson now does her own voice work for the audio versions of her books. Her dynamic readings have won plaudits from AudioFile Magazine, which selected her for its "Best of the Year" list. She also made the 2012 Audible "All-Star" list for the highest listener ranks/reviews; in addition, she won three "Listen-Up Awards" from Publisher's Weekly. Jackson has also read books by other authors, including Lydia Netzer's Shine Shine Shine.
Novels
All of Jackson's novels take place in the American South, the place she knows best. Her characters are generally women struggling to find their way through troubled lives and relationships. Kirkus Reviews has described her writing as...
Quirky, Southern-based, character-driven...that combines exquisite writing, vivid personalities, and imaginative storylines while subtly contemplating race, romance, family, and self.
2005 - Gods in Alabama
2006 - Between, Georgia
2008 - The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
2010 - Backseat Saints
2012 - A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
2013 - Someone Else's Love Story
2005 - Gods in Alabama
2006 - Between, Georgia
2008 - The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
2010 - Backseat Saints
2012 - A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty
2013 - Someone Else's Love Story
2016 - The Opposite of Everyone
2017 - The Almost Sisters
2019 - Never Have I Ever
Awards
Jackson's books have been translated into a dozen languages, won the Southern Indie Booksellers Alliance's SIBA Novel of the Year, have three times been a #1 Book Sense Pick, twice won Georgia Author of the Year, and three times been shortlisted for the Townsend Prize. (Author's bio adapted from the author's website.)
Book Reviews
The unconventional characters in Jackson's books often provide thought-provoking studies of love and loyalty; this must-read also contemplates the transformative power of storytelling.
Bobbi Dumas - New York Times Book Review
The voice is hard-boiled and the plot engrossing...in [this] realistic, contemporary story with a mystery driving it.... Jackson makes her [herione] an easy character to root for by vividly depicting her inner struggle and past. This is an excellent read with a fresh take on the detective genre.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) The smart-ass, no holds-barred narration...should please the many fans of Jackson's snappy writing style.... [A] hard-edged, biracial, self-sufficient divorce lawyer allows family and love back into her life after fiercely shielding herself...for over 20 years. —Laurie Cavanaugh, Holmes P.L., Halifax, MA
Library Journal
Jackson excels at weaving a wholly absorbing story with vivid characters… [she makes] some affecting points about the importance of the stories we tell to each other and to ourselves.
Booklist
(Starred review.) [Q]uirky, Southern-based, character-driven novel that combines exquisite writing, vivid personalities, and imaginative storylines while subtly contemplating race, romance, family, and self. A searing yet ultimately uplifting look at broken people who heal themselves and each other.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Paula Vauss is a tough-as-nails divorce attorney who doesn't place much stock in personal relationships. She describes her upbringing as "a Frankenstein's monster made of stolen parts..." How much of who Paula is today is a response to her childhood?
2. After years of sending money to her estranged mother, Kai, Paula learns that Kai is dying of cancer and sends a cryptic message with the return of her last check. Are you surprised by her reaction to the news?
3. Why does the pro-bono work with young, underprivileged girls make Paula feel close to her estranged mother, Kai? How would you describe Kai as a mother?
4. Paula has spent the better part of her life beating herself up for calling the police on her mother. She reflects back on her deed: "If I had never dialed 911, we would have grown up together. I tried to imagine it—a world where Kai never went to prison, and I didn't land in foster care. Where I never learned to hit hard before I could get hit, and where I had a baby brother." How does Julian's arrival compound this guilt?
5. After her initial shock of learning she has a brother, Paula seems to accept the idea of Julian (and, eventually, Hana) into her life. Were you surprised by her acceptance?
6. Kai names her children after Indian deities—Kali for Paula (goddess of destruction, destroyer of evil forces); Ganesha for Julian (remover of obstacles, god of wisdom), and Hanuman for Hana (able to counteract bad Karma). What is the significance of her choices? Did you know anything about Indian deities before reading this novel?
7. The night before Paula leaves for college, a very inebriated Kai tries to tell Paula a different version of the Ganesh story. What do you think Kai was trying to get across to her daughter?
8. Kai used to tell her daughter that "Kali destroys only to renew, to restore justice, Kali brings fresh starts.... Your name literally means 'Hail to the Mother,' over in India." How has Paula lived up to her namesake?
9. Paula attempts to tread lightly on the romance front with Birdwine, despite their mutual attraction. She learned in foster care that "Breaking things was what I did best." What do you think about Paula's relationship with her ex-lover/private investigator? We see in Paula's future that she does get married. Do you think she married Birdwine?
10. What do you think is the significance of the title, "The Opposite of Everyone"?
11. At the end of the novel, Paula reflects back on how "All around us are the shared stories that have formed our lives." How did Kai's stories bond her children together? Does your family have any "shared stories" that have become family legend?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Ramblers
Aiden Donnelley Rowley, 2016
HarperCollins
400 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062413314
Summary
A gorgeous and absorbing novel of a trio of confused souls struggling to find themselves and the way forward in their lives, set against the spectacular backdrop of contemporary New York City.
Set in the most magical parts of Manhattan—the Upper West Side, Central Park, Greenwich Village—The Ramblers explores the lives of three lost souls, bound together by friendship and family.
During the course of one fateful Thanksgiving week, a time when emotions run high and being with family can be a mixed blessing, Rowley’s sharply defined characters explore the moments when decisions are deliberately made, choices accepted, and pasts reconciled.
Clio Marsh, whose bird-watching walks through Central Park are mentioned in New York Magazine, is taking her first tentative steps towards a relationship while also looking back to the secrets of her broken childhood. Her best friend, Smith Anderson, the seemingly-perfect daughter of one of New York’s wealthiest families, organizes the lives of others as her own has fallen apart. And Tate Pennington has returned to the city, heartbroken but determined to move ahead with his artistic dreams.
Rambling through the emotional chaos of their lives, this trio learns to let go of the past, to make room for the future and the uncertainty and promise that it holds.
The Ramblers is a love letter to New York City—an accomplished, sumptuous novel about fate, loss, hope, birds, friendship, love, the wonders of the natural world and the mysteries of the human spirit. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1978
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Yale University; J.D., Columbia University
• Currently—New York City, New York, USA
Aidan Donnelley Rowley doesn't apologize for her long name. It is, simply, her name: first, maiden and married. Period. Aidan has been a lawyer and is now a mother of three, a novelist and a blogger. She was born in New York City and resides there today—all in the same neighborhood: the Upper West Side.
Aidan received her BA from Yale and her law degree from Columbia (also on the Upper West Side). She practiced law for a large corporate firm but departed once she realized she wanted to write full-time.
In 2009, she started her blog, then called "Ivy League Insecurities," as a haven to write and to share "bits and pieces" of herself. The blog is now called "ADR," and Aiden continues to try out ideas surrounding identity, motherhood, marriage, family and loss—the big issues that make up our lives.
Aidan's first novel, Life After Yes, was published in 2010. Her second novel, The Ramblers, came out in 2016. Both novels are set in New York. (Adapted from the author's blog.)
Book Reviews
A trio of New Yorkers leading charmed lives must overcome everyday complications.... Propelled by the kinds of rote sitcom-style misunderstandings..., this tale is light on plot, but Rowley’s Manhattan provides a vivid and charming setting for her nuanced (if not always sympathetic) characters to evolve.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) Rowley...captures the bright dialog, urban and romantic insecurities, and stylish lifestyle of...mid-30s Manhattanites who defy the jaded stereotypes and will have readers rooting for them as they stumble their way to happiness. Irresistible. —Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Library Journal
A week of soul-searching and lovemaking among Yale alumni in New York.... Enjoyable if at times overly earnest.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)