Two Halves are Better than One

Title: The Perfect Elizabeth : A Tale of Two Sisters

Author:  Libby Schmais

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffi

ISBN: 978-0312270803

Pages: 228

Liza and Bette are two sisters who seem to be opposites, but together they seem to be a Perfect Elizabeth. Bette is scholarly and driven to complete her PhD on food in the English Novel and Liza is unfocused and has a job she dislikes. Liza wants to write a book, but doesn’t have the confidence to move forward – which is true for her lack-luster love life with Gregor.  Bette, on the other hand, continues to be heartbroken over her divorce. But, Liz eventually becomes feed up with her job and quits without a plan, moving in with Gregor to save money.  Bette meets a man who sweeps her off to California and both sisters need to learn to live apart and build their own identities – though both struggle with this.  Without many prospects, Liz visits Bette in California and pitches her children’s book, which gets picked up as a cartoon. Things quickly change for both women and with more confidence, they embrace their new lives. 

This was definitely a beach read – fairly easy to read and not taxing.  At first I was a little annoyed with both characters as they seemed quite whiny – a bit like Bridget Jones’ Diary (which I did not like).  But, eventually, both woman recognizing their own agency and made some choices that helped them discover themselves.  

There is a short reading group guide at the end. 

Surviver - before the TV series

Title: Freedom's Landing
Author: Anne McCaffrey
 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
ISBN-13: 9780441003389
Pages: 336
 
Could you or I survive when all the comforts of modern life are taken away?  Long before the reality TV shows tackled this question, Anne McCaffrey thought about it and the result is the Catteni series of books, with Freedom's Landing being the first in the set.

Humans from Earth, along with many other species, are kidnapped and enslaved by the Catteni race on a distant planet.  Kris, a woman from Denver, finds the opportunity to steal a speeder and escape to the jungle.  One day, she sees a dog fight overhead and rescues the Catteni being pursued.  Unfortunately, Kris is re-captured and dumped on a completely different planet with hundreds of others, both human and non-human. Angry and confused, the dumped group is rallied by an ex-military sergeant, who organizes supplies and purpose.  Kris again rescues the Catteni, Zainal, by making a case that his knowledge could be valuable.  The motley crew learn the dangers of the planet as they trek toward the hills for shelter and various characters are introduced.

Slowly the caves become home and Kris and Zainal are tasked to lead exploration parties around the planet.  Beyond the various species known, there seems to be a mysterious alien race, dubbed the Farmers,  who had mechanized the planet into a factory farm, leaving behind cattle, fields and robot workers.  The new colonizers take advantage of the discovered technologies and re-create many modern conveniences.   The Catteni continue to drop more colonizers and Zainal, being a high-ranking officer, demands reports and information about the planet, now named Botany. He reveals that the Catteni are only middle management for a race called the Eosi.  As Kris and Zainal develop their relationship, old-fashioned prejudice blooms among some of the disgruntled settlers and threatens the stability of the fragile colony.  As the numbers grow, the settlers continue to expand their living quarters by re-purposing the Farmer's barns.  Hoping to attract the notice of the Farmers, Kris and Zainal led a group to the central command post when a nefarious man, Aarens, sets off a homing beacon. Recalled back to the caves, the homing beacon is noticed by someone - which will be continued in the next book.

Kris, the main character, is determined, direct and self-reliant - a protagonist I tend to admire.  She quickly makes friends and is admired by or lusted after by most she meets.  There are few obstacles she can't overcome or skills she doesn't have, including martial arts and survival training.  However, things go too smoothly to be realistic.  As an escapist read, I enjoyed this book.  It was diverting and easy to read on my phone. Most of the plot points were broadcasted early in the story - no shock that Kris and Zainal got together and that some people don't like it.

Beach Read

Title: How to Bake a Perfect Life

Author: Barbara O’Neal

Date: 2011

Publisher: Bantam Books

ISBN: 978-0-553-38977-6

A few months ago my local newspaper had a list of food related novel.  Some were mysteries, others were beach-reads.  This was a beach read - a fun, easy and it even came with recipes.

Ramona is trying to make a living baking the 100 year old house she inherited from her grandmother.  With multiple major repairs on house, Ramona is drowning.  Then  her pregnant daughter’s soldier husband is badly wounded and Sofie leaves to be with him.  However, she leaves behind her step-daughter, Katie, who was taken from her drug addicted mother’s home.  In between this drama, Ramona meets the kind boy who befriended her during her 15th summer that she spent with her aunt learning how to bake and giving birth to Sophie.  The story alternates between each of the major actors and flashbacks.  There is a fun twist at the end and a few good recipes.   Not a great book, but a fun read .