Books I read in March 2018

Hope was Here by Joan Bauer ***

This is a Newbery Honor book.  So it's not exactly part of my goal, but it was a good book.  It's about a girl named Hope who lives with her aunt because her mom couldn't handle motherhood and abandoned her.  The aunt is a cook so teenaged Hope is a waitress.  They live in several places but this book takes place in small-town Wisconsin where they moved to work.  Since I was a waitress in high school and college, I enjoyed the waitressing aspect of the book.  Also, there were real and believable characters and the book was about...hope.  Good book.

The False Friend by Myla Goldberg **

This book had a very compelling story--it's about a woman who remembers something from her childhood, the disappearance of her best friend, that everyone else remembers differently.  I was interested in finding out whose memories were correct and why and then the book just ended.  It was as if the author woke up one morning and realized the date and that the manuscript was due so sent it in.

I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass **

This book chronicles the lives of two sisters over several decades.  It was OK but the sisters were pretty much unlikable.  Meh.

Flora by Gail Godwin ***

Definitely the best book I read this month.  It's a pretty sad tale about a little girl who is left in the care of a distant relative over the summer.  There is a polio scare so they are quarantined away most of the time.  Even though the story was sad and I prefer a happier one, I really liked this book.  The writing was impeccable and I felt like it was summer and I was right there with them.

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor ***

Mark gave me this book for my birthday and I was surprised by that because there is a dog on the cover and he refuses to read books with dogs on the cover.  He is convinced they're not getting out alive.  Emma told me she picked out the book on Mark's behalf and then that made more sense.

I liked the book.  It's about a boy who lives in rural West Virginia and finds a dog who is mistreated by his owner.  Marty, the boy, tries his best to hide the dog but you know that's not going to work out.  It was jarring when there was mention of a computer at his friend's house because I was convinced it was set during the Depression based on other descriptions.  Guess I don't know a lot about rural West Virginia.