Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This story is everything. It's such a rich and honest portrayal of family, and it ripped my heart open and stitched it back together a thousand times.

It's the story of 3 siblings, who all grew up in different homes, under different circumstances, not even knowing the others exist. It's told from 3 POVs that are so different and yet also achingly similar.

I love this one. It hurts in all the right ways, and my only complaint is that I'm an idiot and should have read this book last year, during one of the 9 different times I checked it out and then didn't follow through with reading it. I'm slow on the uptake folks, but I do eventually get there.

Book 4 read in 2018

Pages: 374

Ghost by Peter Barsocchini

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

A story of search and self-discovery, a basketball player's father's death, and an orphan.

Audio:  11 hrs. 40 min.

Print:  358 pages

The Bullet by Mary Louise Kelly

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Thirty year old murder is solved and revenge is enjoyed in France with food and wine; she may not be caught, hopefully.

Audio:  10 hours 54 minutes

Print:  384 pages

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Cutting for Stone is an absolutely beautiful story about love and medicine.  It is first the forbidden love of a beautiful Indian nun and a British doctor, both of whom are working in a small clinic/hospital in mid-twentieth century Ethiopia.  Next there is the love between their twin boys, who are left orphaned by her death during their birth and his disappearance.  Then there is the family love that evolves between their adopted parents, the two doctors who delivered them, and the babies.  Also, there is the love of the country, the images, sounds, and smells brought sympathetically to life by Dr. Abraham Verghese.  Conflict arises when both of the boys love a young woman they grew up with -- their housekeeper's daughter.
 
667 pages

"Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight? Confessions of a Gay Dad" by Dan Bucatinsky

Bucatinsky and his partner, now his husband, had been together over 10 years before deciding to have children.  This book consists of short vignettes of their journey to adopt and their evolution as dads once they do.  Perhaps best known for his role as James Novak on TV's Scandal, Bucatinsky writes with a lot of candor and humor about raising a girl and boy in Los Angeles along with his personal doubts of being a good parent.  He relays cute dialog with his kids, his insecurities when they seem to favor his husband, and his worries about how they will deal with being adopted by two men as they get older.  Luckily, they have lots of friends and families who accept and love them unconditionally.  I found one of the most insight parts to be when Bucatinsky worries that his four-year-old son's "tough guy swagger" may indicate that he'll be a bully and terrorize kids as he was terrorized himself.  There are other serious issues, but the author writes with lovable humor and tons of self-deprecation.  Recommended.  245 pages.

Already Home by Susan Mallery

(Posted for Diann Stark)

Jenna moves back to her home town after her marriage ends. She supported her husband’s dreams for so long she forgot about her own dreams. Jenna leases a building in town to start her own dream, she wants to teach people to cook. It didn’t take her long to realize she was in way over her head. With the help of a streetwise store manager and her adopted mom she was able to start making it work. Then walks in her biological “hippie” parents who want to reconnect with her. Jenna tries to balance starting her new business, getting to know her birth parents and siblings, having a new love interest, and dealing with her ex. Jenna always wanted the ‘perfect family’, she soon realizes there is no such thing.

Audio book 9 hrs. 10 minutes, 384 pages.

"Fear, Hope, and Bread Pudding" by Marie Sexton

After getting married in "Paris A to Z," Jon and Cole are back in Arizona living near Jon's widowed father, George.  Cole is rich and with Jon as his accountant, their lives are pretty easy; however, Cole wants something he may never have - a baby.  He knows that finding a woman who will give up her child to two men won't be easy, and after nearly a year of waiting he is becoming desperate.  On top of that, George is pushing him to reconcile with his estranged mother.  He tries by inviting her to spend Christmas with them in Germany, but Cole and Jon leave early to fly back to Arizona when they learn that an expectant woman is interested in meeting them.  Will she pick them to adopt her baby?  If not, how much longer will they have to wait?  Will Cole and his mother ever forgive each other enough to have a relationship?

This book is part of the Coda series, and I enjoyed it more than some of the others featuring Jon and Cole.  Cole really grew in this story, letting us see his desperation and despair over wanting something that his money can not buy.  His interactions with his mother are uncomfortable and sad but feel real.  We also get to glimpse his thoughts and self-reprimands in his e-mails to his best friend, Jared, in which he describes his and Jon's journey to find a baby.  He became a much deeper character in this book, and I grew to like him more and more.  140 pages (Kindle edition).