The Fold

The Fold Peter Clines 4/5	Published June 2015 First Sentence "'I just don't think it's that good,' said Denise."
Publisher's Description: STEP INTO THE FOLD.  IT’S PERFECTLY SAFE. The folks in Mike Erikson's small New England town would say he's just your average, everyday guy. And that's exactly how Mike likes it. Sure, the life he's chosen isn’t much of a challenge to someone with his unique gifts, but he’s content with his quiet and peaceful existence. That is, until an old friend presents him with an irresistible mystery, one that Mike is uniquely qualified to solve: far out in the California desert, a team of DARPA scientists has invented a device they affectionately call the Albuquerque Door. Using a cryptic computer equation and magnetic fields to “fold” dimensions, it shrinks distances so that a traveler can travel hundreds of feet with a single step. The invention promises to make mankind’s dreams of teleportation a reality. And, the scientists insist, traveling through the Door is completely safe. Yet evidence is mounting that this miraculous machine isn't quite what it seems—and that its creators are harboring a dangerous secret. As his investigations draw him deeper into the puzzle, Mike begins to fear there’s only one answer that makes sense. And if he’s right, it may only be a matter of time before the project destroys…everything. A cunningly inventive mystery featuring a hero worthy of Sherlock Holmes and a terrifying final twist you’ll never see coming, The Fold is that rarest of things: a genuinely page-turning science-fiction thriller. Step inside its pages and learn why author Peter Clines has already won legions of loyal fans.
Dear Reader, I feel like I just left an amusement park, this book was SO much fun. It was chock full of everything I love... science fiction, adventure with a twist of horror. Going into the book, I was under the impression that this was strictly Sci-Fi and would be a fun little romp through teleportation and what not. Not the case. This jumped over that into a story that became complex enough to keep the attention of the intelligent reader but brought the comedy and horror for those of us who crave a nice merge between the two. Clines does this seamlessly, the action doesn't really get going until the middle of the book and you won't see too much horror until the end, but I promise you... it's worth it. I love the main character, Mike, as unbelievable as he is. I'm not sure if someone like him actually exists out there but it was a very clever (or cop-out) device the author used to resolve many of the mysteries. Let me explain, this guy... he has more than a photographic memory, he has the IQ of Einstein and a unique ability to remember EVERYTHING he's ever learned, experienced and seen. I know somewhere in the book Clines mentioned a name for this *ability?* but I didn't note or bookmark it (bad Amber). I'd be interested to go back and look into it and see if he modeled it after a true case or just made it up from existing cases all rolled into one. No matter what, I think everyone will agree it gives the character something unique and will keep the reader curious enough to want to learn more (plus a little jealous, I know I was). Not only does 'Mike' have this crazy ability but he also has a great sense of humor, which is much needed in such a heavy scientific setting. I always find the inclusion of some comedic relief greatly appreciated in these types of books. I'd also say that "The Fold" is VERY accessible and would appeal to pretty much about anyone willing to give it a shot. It might be the perfect book to introduce a reader into the sci-fi genre. Peter Clines has done an excellent job keeping the setting within our time period by sprinkling tons of pop culture references throughout. I love when an author does that and it reminds me of books like "Ready Player One", "The Martian" and a few others recently published that could be compared (even though they fall into different genres). I appreciated all the geeky shout outs, Clines knows his readers and definitely gives them a little "somethin', somethin'". I'm super tempted to write more about what the book is about but I feel that the pace of the book stops me from doing so. You really don't get the reveal of how "The Fold" works or what it is until a good chunk of the way in. I was happy I didn't know, and I want my readers to have that same experience. However, I do want to caution those of you who don't like scary/messy bits - because this book has some of those. Not a ton... but maybe enough to shy away the easily scared. Other than that, I would definitely recommend this to anyone, Clines is now on my radar as an entertaining author who can be trusted to deliver an adventurous romp into the unknown. Happy Reading, AmberBug

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The Light Between Oceans

The Light Between Oceans M.L. Stedman 4.5 / 5	Published 2012 First Sentence "On the day of the miracle, Isabel was kneeling at the cliff's edge, tending the small, newly made driftwood cross."
Publisher's Description: The debut of a stunning new voice in fiction--a novel both heartbreaking and transcendent  After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.  Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.  M. L. Stedman's mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel's decision to keep this "gift from God." And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another's tragic loss.  The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.
Dear Reader, I adore creative works which impel me to ask, "What would I do in the same situation?"  This books was certainly one of those, and I think that's a large part of why I loved it so much.  Granted, the writing was also beautiful and haunting, which made this move from a really good book to a great one.  I can see why it is beloved by many. Tom begins his postwar career as the lighthouse keeper in a remote southwestern Australia outpost, and he is lucky to make the acquaintance of Isabel, the love of his life.  She is willing to move to the island to live with him in isolation, and everything goes beautifully until the couple begins to experience miscarriages.  Isabel is broken from the experience of losing her babies (three times, no less!), and therefore it seems almost to make sense when she wants to keep a strange infant who washes up on shore one day.  Against his best judgment, Tom grudgingly agrees to this, even while he worries that the baby might have family that is waiting for her return.  Since the couple is so very separated from society and visits the mainland only every few years, it is easy for them to pass off the newborn as their own. Yet Tom's conscience begins to sink its teeth in and not let go, even while Isabel continues to fight to keep the child that they have both grown to love so much.  Izzy can internally rationalize her own situation so well that when there is the threat of Lucy being taken away from her, Isabel feels the righteous anger of a birth mother.  So while the reader can really sympathize with Tom's situation (he feels the need to do what is right, and not make the baby's true family suffer a loss they don't have to), Isabel's situation is also oddly understandable, particularly in light of her having lost so many babies.  It makes sense that she is so wracked with grief that she grasps at the first chance at a happy family.  In a strange way, anyway.  I'm lucky never to have experienced either the loss of a baby or the terror of being a mother losing her beloved child, but I could still understand Izzy's feelings (even if I couldn't condone them). The story just feels so real, and I think that is what I loved most about it.  It was also great exposure to a post-WWI Australia, which I had only been vaguely aware of.  The country was suffering just as much as Europe and America after the war; they'd lost innumerable young men to the fight, too.  It's not something I've encountered much in my exposure to WWI, so it was good to be reminded. I also loved how the lighthouse played a central role in the story, being both a beacon of love and light and hope, but also a warning to ships (and perhaps people) to stay away - DANGER!  After all, that is its job.  I loved the "light between oceans" concept, as Tom's light was located at the dividing line between the Indian and Antarctic Oceans.  The baby girl, though, also played a role as a "light" which both united and divided many people (unintentionally, as she was so young when everything happened). I want to talk and talk and talk about this novel, but I'll shush for now.  If anyone would like to discuss further, though, I'd be glad to in the comments!  For now, I'll leave the readers with some images from The Write Life which show one of the lighthouses that Stedman based Janus Rock upon: by Carol Warner of The Write Life by Carol Warner of The Write Life Beautiful, huh?   Read the book for more beauty.  Seriously.  Humanity written perfectly. Yours, Arianna

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The Forgotten Garden

The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton 5 / 5	Published 2008 First Sentences "It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she'd been told.  The lady had said to wait, it wasn't safe yet, they had to be as quiet as larder mice.  It was a game, just like hide-and-seek."
Publisher's Description: A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied, and a mystery. The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric and compulsively readable story of the past, secrets, family and memory from the international best-selling author Kate Morton.  Cassandra is lost, alone and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident ten years ago, feels like she has lost everything dear to her. But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family.  Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early twentieth century - Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself.
Dear Reader, Wow.  I just LOVED this book.  I can't think of anything that was wrong with it.  It was an adventure story, a mystery, a family saga, and much more, all rolled into one.  Oh, and I can't forget: it was also a fairy tale of sorts, and fairy tales play a very large part in this book.  The premise is that there is a very young girl who is found on the docks of a port in Australia in 1913.  She has no memory of her past, and no idea who or where her parents are.  The things she carries with her lend no clues to her identity.  Therefore, the harbormaster takes her in and eventually he and his wife adopt the child as their own.  Over the years, Nell grows up believing she is their daughter.  When she is finally told the truth of her origins - or rather, her lack of them - her world is turned upside down.  She begins a quest to learn the truth of her heritage.   The book jumps back and forth between a turn-of-the-century story about a destitute young girl trying to survive in a corrupt London, daily life in a lord's manor house at around that same time, a 1975 trip which Nell takes to the England town where she believes she has roots, and another 2005 trip which her granddaughter Cass makes to dig deeper into the mystery.  I love all of the layers and the wonderful writing style which Morton employs.  Her characters are real, very multi-dimensional, and truly sympathetic - even when some of them become corrupted, that just makes them more human.  The whole book feels like something of a fairy tale, and very magical, even though the entire book is at the same time totally realistic.  I think it's more the way the book is framed, and how the tale unfolds.  It's as if Morton has written something of a modern-day fairy tale.  I don't know if I've mentioned how I do things regarding my bookshelves, but my general rule is that if I truly love a book, I want to own a copy for myself.  That way, I can return to it (although I rarely reread) or lend it, or simply see it and smile at an old and happy friend.  I definitely plan to aquire for myself a copy of this book.  One of the best I've read in a while.  Beautiful and enchanting.  I didn't want it to end. Yours, Arianna

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