Currently Reading: The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

Goodreads Blurb

Lucy Acosta’s mother died when she was three. Growing up in a Victorian mansion in the middle of the woods with her cold, distant father, she explored the dark hallways of the estate with her cousin, Margaret. They’re inseparable—a family. 

When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she’s ever known, tragically disappears while walking in the woods surrounding their estate, Lucy finds herself devastated and alone. Margaret has been spending a lot of time in the attic. She claims she can hear her dead mother’s voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin’s sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations.

Author Biography

Ever since she was little, Amy was especially intrigued by horror books and movies. Raised in a small mountain town in Arizona, she sustained herself on a steady diet of Goosebumps, Fear Street, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books before discovering Stephen King in her mother’s bookshelf.

Amy lives with her husband, their two precious squidlings, and an old gentleman cat by the name of Frodo. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, crafting, and playing games across many platforms.

Review: Find the Kind: The Biggest Day in Kindness History by Samantha Berger

Goodreads Blurb

The Gnumans are moving! And they are in for quite an adventure. Packed with hilarious details, larger-than-life characters, and endless amounts of kindness, this zany story reimagines classic search-and-find books with a whole new world of fun.

The Gnumans—a family of gnus—aren’t sure how they will feel about their new home. After a rocky move to Kindness County, they discover that their new neighbors have BIG plans for them. Young ones will laugh out loud as the family and the narrator try to keep up with an itinerary that only keeps getting bigger and more exciting!

Throughout, readers will look for Otto the sharing otter, Hildey the helpful hippo, Plácido the polite-y-osaurus, the Grati-Dude—and many more kind critters—on every page. Searching for and finding each of these characters’ acts of kindness makes this book a unique search-and-find story adventure. And with so much to look for, readers will discover new details every time they return to this book.

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

This book will bring happiness to all who read it. Being kind goes a long way, especially when a new family moves to a new town named Kindness. I had never seen a town so friendly and helpful. This book has a kind vibe, and the beautiful animals and colors will bring a smile to anyone. Children will enjoy not only a lovely story but also the illustrations and colors, which are perfect. There are so many details to look at and enjoy the story. The story also includes things to find throughout the illustrations—a second chance to go back to reading and searching for characters and items. I’m off to locate the town of Kindness and all the friendly neighbors who will become new friends.

Review: The Pigpen Problem: How to Calculate Area and Perimeter by Bill Wise

My Review: Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed this funny and mathematical story. This book is perfect for teaching kids how to calculate the perimeter with some fun animals. I also enjoyed the adorable comics and the amusing characters. I’m terrible at math, but I learned something new. Yes, I counted all those boxes and used the calculator to create the perimeter. The book provided vocabulary descriptions, explained how to get the calculations, and provided imagery to assist with practice. It is the perfect book to help teach kids some math equations.

Review: The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Goodreads Blurb

Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business—that is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly… about Anna herself. What does this person want, and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story—and she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.

My Review: Rated 4 out of 5 stars

A thriller by the author of The Plot will leave the reader on a wild goose chase with Anna Williams-Bonner to bury her hidden past at any cost. Anna isn’t who everyone thinks she is. So be wary of what information you might know about Anna, or she may silence you. Anna was living her best life until her past knocked on her door again. Who might know about her past, and will they expose her secrets? The readers are in for a roller coaster ride with a character fearlessly fighting to keep her skeletons locked in her childhood home.

The story started slow at the beginning. Halfway through the book, it starts getting thrilling. As the story went on, I wondered who might be behind all the threats, and I wasn’t really sure. I was surprised at how the story turned out. I knew that Anna would be the winner in the end. This character is intelligent, deceiving, and ten steps ahead of everyone. She is also not scared of getting into situations that might end in death for her or someone else. She is a manipulator and sneaky. I liked that the story provided more context on the deaths that occurred in the previous book. Making Anna a writer in this sequel was ironic and brilliant. If you haven’t, I hope you decide to read The Plot and pick up The Sequel to continue this plot twist.

Author Biography

Author of nine novels: THE SEQUEL (coming in October ’24), THE LATECOMER (2022), THE PLOT (The Tonight Show’s “Summer Reads” pick for 2021), THE UNDOING, originally published as YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted by David E. Kelley for HBO and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film of the same name, starring Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin and Paul Rudd), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS, as well as a middle-grade reader, INTERFERENCE POWDER, and a collection of poetry, THE PROPERTIES OF BREATH.

Out Now: The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

A thriller by the author of The Plot will leave the reader on a wild goose chase to bury her hidden past.

Goodreads Blurb

Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business—that is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly… about Anna herself. What does this person want, and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story—and she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.

Author Biography

Author of nine novels: THE SEQUEL (coming in October ’24), THE LATECOMER (2022), THE PLOT (The Tonight Show’s “Summer Reads” pick for 2021), THE UNDOING, originally published as YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted by David E. Kelley for HBO and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film of the same name, starring Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin and Paul Rudd), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS, as well as a middle-grade reader, INTERFERENCE POWDER, and a collection of poetry, THE PROPERTIES OF BREATH.

Watch for television adaptations of THE PLOT and THE LATECOMER!

I’m the founder of BOOKTHEWRITER, a New York City based service that offers “Pop-Up Book Groups” where readers can discuss books with their authors. (Online through Spring 2021) Please join our mailing list at http://www.bookthewriter.com to hear about our events.

If you’ve become aware of my work via THE UNDOING, you should know that my novel differs significantly from the adaptation — and that’s fine with me! Just know that the twists you might be expecting will likely not be there on the page. Other twists, yes, but you’ll have to read the book to find them.

If you’re trying to reach me, please know that I don’t do any communicating through Goodreads, and that includes friend requests and following. (You may also infer that I’ve read more than the few books listed here, all of which are — coincidence? — written by me. I have another GOODREADS account, under another name, with which I keep track of my reading, but it’s private.) I’m particularly inept on Facebook, as well, so trying to reach me that way will be spectacularly ineffective. If you want to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website, jeanhanffkorelitz.com

My review will be posted soon.

Little Free Library ARC Drop of The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Celadon books did an ARC promotion for The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz. I dropped off three ARcs at the Rose Memorial Library in Stony Point, NY.

Goodreads Blurb

Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business—that is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?

But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Something has gone wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly… about Anna herself. What does this person want, and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story—and she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.

Author Biography

Author of nine novels: THE SEQUEL (coming in October ’24), THE LATECOMER (2022), THE PLOT (The Tonight Show’s “Summer Reads” pick for 2021), THE UNDOING, originally published as YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted by David E. Kelley for HBO and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film of the same name, starring Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin and Paul Rudd), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS, as well as a middle-grade reader, INTERFERENCE POWDER, and a collection of poetry, THE PROPERTIES OF BREATH.

Watch for television adaptations of THE PLOT and THE LATECOMER!

I’m the founder of BOOKTHEWRITER, a New York City based service that offers “Pop-Up Book Groups” where readers can discuss books with their authors. (Online through Spring 2021) Please join our mailing list at http://www.bookthewriter.com to hear about our events.

If you’ve become aware of my work via THE UNDOING, you should know that my novel differs significantly from the adaptation — and that’s fine with me! Just know that the twists you might be expecting will likely not be there on the page. Other twists, yes, but you’ll have to read the book to find them.

If you’re trying to reach me, please know that I don’t do any communicating through Goodreads, and that includes friend requests and following. (You may also infer that I’ve read more than the few books listed here, all of which are — coincidence? — written by me. I have another GOODREADS account, under another name, with which I keep track of my reading, but it’s private.) I’m particularly inept on Facebook, as well, so trying to reach me that way will be spectacularly ineffective. If you want to get in touch, please use the contact form on my website, jeanhanffkorelitz.com.

I will review this novel soon.