Welcome to Litsy!

Things I love:
-The pacing leaves plenty of room for emotions to develop.
-The perspective shows both the frustration of the US medical system and the wonder we can access when knocked out of our unconscious narratives.
-The writing, beautiful without being sappy.

Things that don't quite work:
-The extended treatises on poetry and music go on too long for my taste.
-The meticulous detail, which gets tedious.

Soft pick for a #tob25 longlist title

Wow - this book 🙌 I was reading it thinking how sad and harrowing it was to be experiencing Elena‘s Parkinson‘s and her grief at her daughter‘s death. And then Pineiro knocks you out as both Elena and the reader‘s eyes are opened to the underlying truths - the story behind the story. This is the sort of novel where you dont realise how clever it is until the end.
Photo: subterranean tunnel Waiheke Island

Very The Fault In Our Stars coded!

This was such a good book!I honestly cried at the end though, it was not what I was expecting! I love this author.

This is the start of Small Rain. It‘s something, I think, anyone who has been to a US ER with chronic illness/pain would recognize. I was just there going through this the week before Christmas.

I really enjoyed this book which is written by a surgeon. I loved reading about the personal experiences and perspectives of this surgeon which were bursting with detail,pure honesty and emotion. I look forward to reading another book by Dr. Ruggieri.

This book definitely lived up to the buzz. Elena‘s daughter has been found dead, and she doesn‘t believe it was suicide. In a single day, despite her Parkinson‘s, she traverses the city to the only person she believes can help. I do not want to give too much away, but it is a stinging indictment of the church and attitudes towards women, who holds control and the attitudes and hate women internalize. Definitely reading more Pineiro!

Juniper Berry has grown up deep in the wilderness and knows almost nothing of modern conveniences. Instead she knows how to hunt and forage to survive with her family. Then, her brother becomes acutely ill, and the whole family travels to the city. Suddenly, she has to learn a whole new set of rules while living with an uncle she didn‘t even know existed and cousins who don‘t want her there.

#MiddleGrade #TRS2024

4.5/5 🌟

A gripping and honest story about a mother seeking answers after her daughter's death. It explores themes of religion, free will, motherhood, and illness with powerful, candid writing. A deeply moving and well-crafted book.