Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Meg's Picks: February 2018, part 1

If you're looking for something riveting to read, I have a few suggestions...

The Hush, by John Hart. Hart's latest is a big deal for several reasons. First is Hart himself, the only author to have ever won consecutive Edgar Awards for Best Novel (2008 for Down River and 2010 for The Last Child). Second is that The Hush takes place in the same world Hart created in his incredibly popular The Last Child. It's been ten years since the events that changed Johnny Merrimon's life and rocked his community. While Johnny has tried to maintain his privacy, books have been written about his experiences, and after a decade, the fascination remains. His only friend is a hold-over from childhood, and they share a bond of what they experienced in their youth...and what they lost. Jack, however, is unnerved by the darkness that Johnny now calls home, and seeks to bring his old friend back. A novel of persistence, the power of friendship, the pain of the past.

White Houses, by Amy Bloom. Bloom's latest novel (following 2014's Lucky Us) is a unique historical love story, that of Eleanor Roosevelt and "first friend" Lorena Hickok. The two met in 1932 when Hickok was reporting on FDR's first presidential campaign. Told from "Hick's" point of view over the course of meeting, becoming friends, and ultimately the open secret of her presence in the White House and her job in the Roosevelt administration. A poignant tale of fascinating people in compelling times.

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