Books: Miss Mave's Faves

These books I read two years ago remain among my favorites. You can probably buy them for a pittance or pick them up at your library.

Do Not Become Alarmed
by Maile Maloy

My opinion of this one differed from that of most Goodreads readers--who gave it an average of 3.5 stars. I gave it 5! Liv and Nora (cousins) and their families take a holiday cruise to South America. When they go ashore for the day—women and children in one direction, men in another—trouble awaits.






The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

An aging Hollywood icon inexplicably chooses an unknown journalist to write her life story–a love story that takes us back to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Warning: explicit sexual content

Beneath a Scarlet Sky
by Mark Sullivan

I love WWII stories and I love them more if they are true! This is not particularly well-written but I was riveted by the story. Pino Lella, the "forgotten hero" is still living today in Italy.

This Is How It Always Is
by Laurie Frankel

The story of Claude, a transgender child, and the family who loves him. As the parents try to keep him safe and happy, they unintentionally weave a tangled web of secrets that ultimately damage the entire family.

The Night the Lights Went Out
by Karen White

A fun light-hearted read with enough mystery to keep you engaged. I listened to this as an audible and the dialogue was enhanced by the Southern accents of the readers. Chick-lit but not all fluff.

The Book of Polly 
by Kathy Hepinstall

Well-developed characters and authentic dialogue propel the story of Polly, a steel-magnolia mother of three, whose youngest was born when she was in her late fifties. Willow, the 10-year-old narrator of the story, is obsessed with the possibility of her mother's death. I had a few laugh-out-loud moments while reading this.

The Almost Sisters 
by Jocelyn Jackson

Another Southern fiction book on my list of favorites. Are you beginning to see a pattern?
The protagonist in this book is a graphic artist or cartoonist.Whatever they are called, I care nothing for the genre, so the parts about her successful "novel" woven throughout the story did nothing for me. Yet, the book had many layers—race relations in the deep South, the requisite "secret in the attic", and a few quirky relatives. Good reading.

Once We Were Brothers
by Ronald H. Balson

"The gripping tale of two boys who find themselves on the opposite sides of the Holocaust."

For me, stories of the Holocaust rank right up there with Southern fiction. I have read a few of Balson's and eagerly await his newest one.

Slouching Toward Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline
by Robert H. Bork

I read this book in 1997 when it was first published and re-read it this summer in light of the apparent demise of American values.  Even if you disagree with Bork's politics, the book is worth reading.






Hum If You don't Know the Words
by Bianca Marais

This novel, about apartheid in South Africa during 1975-76, begins with the Soweto Uprising which brings the two main characters together. I listened to the audible version of the book which I would recommend because the reader does an amazing job with the accents.