Atonement by Ian McEwan

I really liked this book even though what Briony did to her sister and family friend was despicable, it was an interesting setting (late 30s in Great Britain), very well written and kept me interested through the last page.

It's an intriguing name for the novel since in my opinion since Briony never really acquires atonement for what lies she has told. What a spiteful character.

Wow--I was not expecting the ending on this one. I had to read the last couple of pages again just to make sure I understood what the author said. I'm anxious to see how the movie is with Kiera Knightly and James McAvoy.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This is a classic--really an insightful story about a poor family living in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. It was interesting to get a glimpse of how it must have been to scrounge up enough money to make it through the week. I loved Francie, the main character. She is 10 when the book begins and turns 17 at the end. So we walk with her through her childhood and her finishing grade school. She and her brother are the first in the family to graduate from grade school. She has to go to work when her father passes away, but eventually she finds her way back to school. Oh and meets a boy of course.

I strongly recommend reading this if you haven't.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

This is the book club pick for November. This book was way better than I thought it was going to be. It was engaging, entertaining and really taught me a lot about the caste system in India. It's about a man named Balram who is a driver for a wealthy man, Mr. Arok (I think...can't remember exactly now). The format of the book is a lengthy letter to this Chinese diplomat. So he (Balram is narrorating the novel) tells you about the small village he grew up in and how he becomes a driver for this family. Well you know that he commits a murder right from the get-go, but it's how the story is woven together that I think is the neat part about this book.



I highly recommend this book. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and you should be able to find it at your library or local bookstore. Check out our bookclub blog for the future post of our discussion on this: http://lovestoeatlovestoread.blogspot.com

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

The 4th and last book in the Twilight series. See other posts for the basic gist of this series. I won't give away too much, but Bella ends up a vampire in this book just like she's always wanted. Of course there are some very big things that happen to her prior to that happening, but again I won't give away anything in case you are at all interested in reading the series. It was fun, entertaining and worth reading this series.

Digging to America by Ann Tyler

I listened to this book. I've never read anything by Tyler before but she is a popular contemporary fiction author. The story was about two families who adopted little girls from Korea. They meet at the airport when the girls are arriving from Korea. This starts their relationship with each other and over the years the two families grow to be very good friends. One family, the Yazdans are Iranian-American and the other is your typical caucasion family of European descent. You learn about some of the traditional customs in Iran, but mostly the book is about how the characters relate to each other. It was short and entertaining.