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Roxi Reviews

May 17, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and her seventeen year oldest daughter, Samantha Van Leer is the perfect way to introduce Picoult’s style to young adult readers, YA. Van Leer, is a junior in high school and came up with the idea of writing a classic fairy tale with a uniquely modern twist.

Delilah is a loner. She hates school but loves to read. Her favorite book that she just can’t seem to put down is a sweet fairy tale she found in the school library. To Delilah there’s more than just words on the pages. The handsome prince indicates there is something deeper going on once the book is closed. Delilah falls in love with this Prince Charming and tries to get him out of the book as he is really tired of the role he portrays. Between the Lines is a fast paced, interesting, fun read. At first I thought the story line was going to be boring but within two pages I was definitely hooked! This　mother-daughter writing duo are a rare treat! I hope they team up for another YA read!

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Roxi Reviews

May 9, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes is a spectacular surprise that took me through the full range of emotions…belly laughing, heartbreaking tears and a deep sense of hope. I gobbled this novel up as fast as I could possibly read it. The incredible character development of Lou Clark and Will Traynor is so magnificent they seem like real people I met somewhere along my way. They remain in my memory and will for decades to come.

Me Before You is a story of two people who have absolutely nothing in common. Lou is an ordinary young woman leading a very ordinary life.

When her job unexpectedly ends, her desperate need for employment sends her to Will, who is horribly bossy and just plain rude. He is a wheelchair bound quadriplegic as the result of an accident that changed his world. No more extreme athletic competitions, world travel or high power business deals. Lou teaches Will that life is worth living and the lessons Will has for her are exciting and sad all rolled into a bundle of interesting reading.

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Reviews may be submitted for posting via our Contact form — we’d love to hear from you!

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May Book Club

May 8, 2013 by tiffany

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Roxi Reviews

May 3, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout is the story of two brothers who escaped their life in Maine as soon as high school ended. They are both lawyers. 　Jim, a successful corporate lawyer and Bob, a Legal Aid attorney. Their lives are sent spinning when their sister calls, desperately needing help with her lonely teenage son. The adult children struggle with their current issues as well as their past; a tragic death of their father. Strout is a brilliant storyteller, weaving humanity’s deepest desires and sorrows into a masterpiece. I feel blessed to have found this book.

Strout is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of Olive Kitteridge which I hope to checkout soon!

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Brown Bag this Friday

April 30, 2013 by tiffany

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Roxi Reviews

April 26, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult is an unforgettable novel that will live forever. 　

Sage Singer is a modern day gifted baker working the night shift by choice. Making pastries and breads helps her escape the bad memories of her Mother’s death, or so she tells herself.

One day Joseph Weber, an elderly gentleman, stops in for coffee and turns her world upside-down. Though it is a very slow upside-down, Joseph sees in Sage the hidden scars of a haunted life much like his own. In searing honesty Joseph shares his hidden shame to his new best friend, Sage, and asks her for an extraordinary favor. Sage confronts the moral and ethical side of the lengths we will go to in order to protect our families and to keep history from repeating itself.

Jodi Picoult writes with precision, beauty and brutal honesty. This work of art far exceeds any other novel I have read in recent years.

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Roxi Reviews

April 15, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny is a novel of suspense, mystery and travel in beautiful Canada and the hidden St. Charlotte Islands. Three Pines is a peaceful tourist village, at least it was peaceful until a dead stranger is found on the floor of Oliver’s Bistro. Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate finding holes in Oliver’s story and his fingerprints all over the hermit’s reclusive cabin. The ‘who-done-it?’ question hammers away until the very last page. The Brutal Telling is full of colorful characters, stories within stories, evil at every turn and hope. From Louise Penny’s books I learn, I ponder long after the story is finished, and I recommend this read.　

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Roxi Reviews

April 2, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny is a novel about the monestary Saint-Gilbert-Entreles-Loups, hidden deep in the wilderness of Quebec. The two dozen cloistered monks grow their own vegetables, raise chickens, make chocolate covered wild blueberries and sing. For a cloister that has taken the vow of silence they are world famous for their voices intoning ancient chants. These unbelievably beautiful chants affect the pleasure center in the brain in such a manner that they are known as “the beautiful mystery”.

When their famous choir director is found murdered, the lock is drawn to allow the first civilians entrance to the monastery, Chief Inspector Gamache and Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec. What the detectives find is both divine and terribly human. The “who-done-it” suspense keeps the reader on a tight rope and the ending is not quite the Disney-happy-happy I expected from a monastic tale.

I listen to my CD of monks chanting beautiful ancient melodies and have always found the cloistered life intriguing though I am not Catholic. 　I read this book during the Vatican’s vote for the new Pope which coincided with endless news of sex abuse scandal within the church.

The Beautiful Mystery is a read with deep allegoric tones and an age old tale of good and evil. It has enhanced my Lenten season meditations.

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Roxi Reviews

March 22, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

The Child’s Child, now before you zip ahead to read the review please pause a moment and ponder this book’s title and what it could possibly mean to you. Look back through generations of your family and friends asking what ramifications a child’s child may have had for them.

The Child’s Child by Ruthe Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, is a creatively constructed and cleverly suspenseful novel-within-a-novel.

The story is about sisters and brothers, social taboos, violence, intergenerational issues and courage. I found hope for humanity resonate by the story’s completion. I also found a calling for society to step-up to a deep compassion in areas where we are still rigid and unforgiving.

I do not want to release too much info about the story line as I just don’t want to give anything away and alter the suspense! Do yourself a favor and check this little treasure out. You won’t be disappointed!

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Roxi Reviews

March 18, 2013 by tiffany

Roxi Wilkinson has graciously agreed to share some of her recent reads with us. The following review is part of an ongoing series of guest posts written by Roxi:

Tell the Wolves I’m Home is Carol Rifka Brunt’s debut novel about love, loss, courage, healing and making a difference in the world. This magnificent book is told through the voice of a young teen growing into adulthood, 1987. Her Uncle, a famous painter, dies and is the only person who understood her. Her grief weaves a difficult yet rich relationship with a most unlikely character. I am not a ‘love story’ book hound but this is so very different as it is several love stories of assorted definitions. Perfect for your evening curl up time on the couch!

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