Fiction Addiction

Do librarians know books? Yes! Check out the latest fiction reviews from an Indiana librarian!

Friday, June 03, 2011

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick



The setting is 1907 wisconsin. Our main characters are Ralph Truitt and Catherine Land.

Catherine answers a personal ad placed by Ralph for a "reliable" wife. Ralph is not looking for a romantic relationship. His desire is to have a wife to keep him company during the long Wisconsin winters.

The main thrust of the novel is the fact that Catherine is not who she says she is and neither is Ralph. During the course of the story you find out all of their secrets and the plot takes many twists and turns before it concludes.

The book has elements of the gothic novel "Rebecca" included in the fact that Ralph's first wife is dead. There are elements of the novel "Moll Flanders" in the fact that Catherine is a woman with a shady past that lives by her wits.

The plot is fast paced and I kept turning pages to find out how things would be resolved for Ralph and Catherine. Even though there are some dark aspects to the novel I still enjoyed it and it was great entertainment for an evening of reading outside on my deck.

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness by Brianna Karp





At age 22 Brianna Karp had a great job that she loved as an Executive Assistant. In 2009 she lost her job due to the recession and soon found herself homeless. Her only assets were her car, laptop and a travel trailer that she inherited from her father when he died.

This is an affecting story that gives a face to those who are homeless. But unlike many homeless people Brianna does not give up on the American Dream. Over the course of the book I couldn't help but be devastated for her when something unfortunate happened and cheer for her when her life improved.

This book helps erase many stereotypes we may have about homeless people. Not all are homeless by choice, mentally ill or drug addicts. The ways that Brianna finds to survive being homeless are no less than ingenious and at the end of the book I could only wish for the best for her.

What impressed me about her story is that she never whined. She just gave us the details of her life , no matter how gritty they were. It would have been very easy for her to give up on bettering her life, considering the things she went through. Even though she is young, she is wise beyond her years, and you won't be sorry that you read her story.