Holly's Updates en-US Fri, 17 May 2024 16:42:15 -0700 60 Holly's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review6513364858 Fri, 17 May 2024 16:42:15 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly added 'Romancing the Dark in the City of Light']]> /review/show/6513364858 Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus Holly gave 5 stars to Romancing the Dark in the City of Light (Hardcover) by Ann Jacobus
bookshelves: currently-reading
This is the second one of Ann Jacobus' books that I have read, and I can't wait for the third. As with the first, I read it in two days. This is actually her debut novel, written a few years before The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent and, like that one, it blew me away. This story follows Summer, a lovable, troubled, alcoholic 18-year-old living in Paris against her will with an absent mother after having been expelled by yet another boarding school. Summer is grieving her dead father and her old life, discovering the truth about her father's death, is unable to stop drinking, and is in love with the concept of killing herself. She is seduced by someone named Kirk -- a charismatic, handsome, dementor-like character who is a terrible influence and gets increasingly worse until you eventually realize he is a figment of her imagination and is actually the personification of seduction and temptation � namely, the seduction of suicide. He is the devil ready to lead her, literally, to her death. Luckily, Summer befriends a wonderful classmate named Moody whom I would love to have as a friend too, and who (spoiler alert) ends up saving her life in many different ways. The dialogue is perfect; the pace is so well crafted that you read it quickly and wonder and worry about Summer when you're not reading; it is incredibly contemporary; the backdrop of Paris is interesting and so well drawn; the story is entirely believable. As with Jacobus' other novel, this book changed me, made me a better person, made me more sympathetic to what it is like to be a high-schooler today. Getting inside Summer's mind and feelings, understanding her temptations, made me more empathic. I loved Summer and loved the story, which has stayed with me for many days. ]]> Review5856047278 Wed, 20 Sep 2023 14:36:21 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly added 'Washed Ashore: Family, Fatherhood, and Finding Home on Martha's Vineyard']]> /review/show/5856047278 Washed Ashore by Bill Eville Holly gave 5 stars to Washed Ashore: Family, Fatherhood, and Finding Home on Martha's Vineyard (Kindle Edition) by Bill Eville
If you’ve been fortunate enough to get to enjoy Bill Eville’s essays in the Vineyard Gazette over the years, reading his new book is a wonderful catch-up with an old friend. Bill Eville is a father and husband who happens to be an uncommonly gentle soul with an innate sense of how to savor the moment. Through his heartfelt essays about life as a “washashore� on Martha’s Vineyard � from stay-at-home dad to editor of the Gazette � he teaches us how to savor, too. This book is about learning to let go and simultaneously hold on. It shows us how to slow down, pay attention, and actually live.

Wallace Stegner used to say, “Hard writing makes easy reading.� The time and love Bill put into crafting each of these essays makes them such quick reading that I wanted to start the book over as soon as I had finished. I loved it, and often found myself laughing out loud while tears trickled down my face.

This collection is precious for nostalgic empty nesters like me, but I think it would be just as wonderful, and helpful, for today’s new parents, who seem to me always rushing, staring at their phones and ironically missing everything while they’re busy framing their photos. I wish I could have read this book when my children were young (and I am a savorer!), and that my husband could have. We would have been more present.

Everyone can benefit from Bill’s lovely reminder that a lot is happening with our families every day, even when it seems nothing is happening, and that every bit of it is important. Perhaps this book will nudge younger parents to acknowledge that their children will be grown up and gone much sooner than they can possibly imagine.

Bill Eville is a master. I am so glad he gave up banking and became, as he was meant to be, a writer. Lucky us!
]]> Rating644565529 Thu, 07 Sep 2023 09:35:21 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly Eger liked a review]]> /
Holly Eger liked Dianne C Braley's review of Split Rock: A Martha's Vineyard Novel:
Split Rock by Holly Hodder Eger
"I was drawn to this book being a part-time Vineyard resident and writer. The island is a magical place, and capturing its setting in words is no easy feat; however, Eger makes it seem so. The realness and complexities of the characters and the emotional twists and turns that life takes us were conveyed masterfully. I felt more as if I was living this journey alongside a friend than reading it. Thank you for the journey, Holly. I can't wait to read what's next. "
]]> Rating643284111 Sat, 02 Sep 2023 19:08:43 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly Eger liked a review]]> /
Holly Eger liked Kyle McAndrews's review of Split Rock: A Martha's Vineyard Novel:
Split Rock by Holly Hodder Eger
"I read Split Rock right before a trip to the Vineyard, and I was amazed at how much the book gave me a sense of place on the island. The characters are memorable and entertaining, and I loved how the different landmarks within the vineyard are memorialized in this story. Highly recommend, very enjoyable read!"
]]> Review5802803593 Mon, 28 Aug 2023 12:24:55 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly added 'The Silence in the Sound']]> /review/show/5802803593 The Silence in the Sound by Dianne C. Braley Holly gave 5 stars to The Silence in the Sound (Paperback) by Dianne C. Braley
I loved this novel and loved the heroine. I was cheering for her so much that I could not put the book down, wanting to make sure everything turned out all right.

Spoiler alert: It does, and now she is a famous author!

What a great premise for a book: devoted daughter of alcoholic falls in love with and marries tortured, charismatic drug addict while working as a nurse for famous novelist who wrote Sophie’s Choice. Nurse reads Sophie’s Choice for first time while taking care of said novelist (William Styron) until, as she is spiraling into the same toxic co-dependency for which she chastised her mother, it one day dawns on her that she, unlike the doomed Sophie, has a choice. She can leave her husband and save herself. Unfortunately, this also means leaving William Styron as he is dying, but he tacitly understands what is happening, understands the choice she must make, and heroically gives her permission to leave. “It’s not your fault,� he says. “You can go.�

The story is set in the heroine’s hometown of Revere, Massachusetts, and her adopted home of Martha’s Vineyard; the contrast between the two places makes for a colorful backdrop against which the author masterfully weaves the novel’s themes. Getting inside the mind of a “non-elite� (author’s words) on Martha’s Vineyard is interesting. Getting to know William Styron (“Sophie was someone,� he says) is fascinating; if anything, I would have liked more of him, more insight into his soul as he lay dying. And being part of the many dynamics surrounding Mr. Styron’s family and household staff is simultaneously amusing and cringe-inducing.

But mainly, this story is about love, the excruciating heartbreak of addiction, and one woman’s rare resilience. It is about how, if one is strong and lucky enough, it is possible to break free and take charge of one’s own destiny. The heroine of Silence in the Sound realizes that while Sophie had an impossible choice, she does not, and she acts.

The author’s style is very raw and real, perfect for the story she tells. Her writing depicts anxiety and terror in such original, almost onomatopoeic ways that my heart kept racing. It is painful to watch the heroine make so many mistakes � at times you wish you could scream at her to turn around � yet this is what makes her ultimate triumph so gratifying.

I learned a lot about addiction, co-dependency, and denial from this amazing book. I also found spending time with the author and heroine, simply by reading the pages, inspiring. Strongly recommend!

]]> Review5775959632 Fri, 18 Aug 2023 08:50:53 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly added 'The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent']]> /review/show/5775959632 The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent by Ann Jacobus Holly gave 5 stars to The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent (Hardcover) by Ann Jacobus
Ann Jacobus' brilliant Young Adult novel, The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent, is a brave, important book different from anything I have ever read. The compassionate depictions of lovable, struggling characters enhanced my view of our world and made me (I hope) a better, more empathetic person. While everyone may be dealing with something difficult, modern pressures seem especially intense. We need to be mindful.

Written from the point of view of the mature-beyond-her-years 18-year-old Delilah (Del), the narrative is hard-hitting and inspirational at the same time. Del is a strong, bad-ass heroine for the 21st century, entirely original and convincing. I loved her. There were moments when I had to put down the book because I felt so sorry that she had to endure so much alone, moments when I was really uncomfortable (when she goes on a dangerous nighttime "bender"), and moments when I was downright anxious (when she contemplates jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge). As a naïve older woman, I felt a sobering new appreciation for how difficult it is to be growing up today with so many unreliable adult figures and temptations. As if baseline teenage angst isn’t enough, teenagers today are clobbered.

The suicide prevention line theme was fascinating to me. I didn’t know that the key to success for counselors talking to people struggling with suicide is to name their fear by immediately asking, “Are you suicidal?� Just naming it, being heard and seen, can make relief seem possibly within reach. Ignoring it, or talking indirectly around the problem, does not work.

And just naming it is what makes this book so important and necessary. Nothing is swept under the proverbial carpet in these pages. I hope suffering teenagers will find solace from this book and be able to use it as a starting place to initiate conversations with adults, counselors, and other kids who might help them.

The cancer theme with Del’s beloved aunt (an awesome character, by the way) really resonated with me, as I have unfortunately been in Del’s position � but as a grown-up, not as a teenager. I don’t know how Ms. Jacobus so believably got into the mind of a teenager acting in what should be an adult caregiver’s role, but she nailed it. I was blown away by how much Del handled, with guidance only from angelic hospice helpers, but because she still thinks like a teenager while acting like an adult, the story line is entirely plausible (also infuriating that she was forced into this position). The intimate scenes with Del’s aunt dying are painfully drawn, and Del’s grief and gradual process toward acceptance are lovingly, compassionately rendered. I think these scenes could be helpful for everyone, as they rang so true for me. I wish I had read this book before, so that I could have been a little prepared to witness my mother's death. No one tells you what it is like.

Ms. Jacobus does not slink away from anything in this story. It is not for the faint of heart, which is why young adults will appreciate it so much: the book tells it as it is with no phony BS. We adults need to be aware of how exposed today’s youth are to realities which we might prefer to ignore, so that we may figure out ways to help them. ]]> Rating638753004 Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:03:31 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly Eger liked a review]]> /
Holly Eger liked Destiny's review of The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent:
The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent by Ann Jacobus
"In The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent, eighteen-year-old Delilah ("Del") is recovering from her own suicide attempt, getting treatment for her depression and anxiety, and most importantly, maintaining her newfound sobriety. Living with her beloved aunt and working at a suicide prevention crisis line, Del is making a way for herself in San Francisco.

Del's progress is upended when her Aunt Fran is diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Now left to help tend to Fran's hospice care and one mind-boggling final request from Fran herself, Del is forced to rethink her whole life and face many hard decisions, meanwhile tackling her own demons along the way.

Ann Jacobus writes a courageous story of a brave girl learning to cope with her own problems while being side-swiped by a whole new reality. Del's struggles are so universal and relatable that even if you've never faced addiction or attended AA, you can still feel your soul be moved by her epic journey of self-discovery and growth along the course of the novel.

The writing is beautiful and moving throughout. In fact, the poetry written by Aunt Fran that is interspersed periodically really tugs at the heartstrings and sets your emotions on high.

Further, if you're like me, and are as riveted by the novel's conclusion and find yourself reading the Author's Note, you'll see how this gorgeous book came to pass and I can guarantee your eyes will no longer be dry, if they aren't already waterfalls!"
]]> Review5775959632 Thu, 17 Aug 2023 15:03:10 -0700 <![CDATA[Holly added 'The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent']]> /review/show/5775959632 The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent by Ann Jacobus Holly gave 5 stars to The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent (Hardcover) by Ann Jacobus
Ann Jacobus' brilliant Young Adult novel, The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent, is a brave, important book different from anything I have ever read. The compassionate depictions of lovable, struggling characters enhanced my view of our world and made me (I hope) a better, more empathetic person. While everyone may be dealing with something difficult, modern pressures seem especially intense. We need to be mindful.

Written from the point of view of the mature-beyond-her-years 18-year-old Delilah (Del), the narrative is hard-hitting and inspirational at the same time. Del is a strong, bad-ass heroine for the 21st century, entirely original and convincing. I loved her. There were moments when I had to put down the book because I felt so sorry that she had to endure so much alone, moments when I was really uncomfortable (when she goes on a dangerous nighttime "bender"), and moments when I was downright anxious (when she contemplates jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge). As a naïve older woman, I felt a sobering new appreciation for how difficult it is to be growing up today with so many unreliable adult figures and temptations. As if baseline teenage angst isn’t enough, teenagers today are clobbered.

The suicide prevention line theme was fascinating to me. I didn’t know that the key to success for counselors talking to people struggling with suicide is to name their fear by immediately asking, “Are you suicidal?� Just naming it, being heard and seen, can make relief seem possibly within reach. Ignoring it, or talking indirectly around the problem, does not work.

And just naming it is what makes this book so important and necessary. Nothing is swept under the proverbial carpet in these pages. I hope suffering teenagers will find solace from this book and be able to use it as a starting place to initiate conversations with adults, counselors, and other kids who might help them.

The cancer theme with Del’s beloved aunt (an awesome character, by the way) really resonated with me, as I have unfortunately been in Del’s position � but as a grown-up, not as a teenager. I don’t know how Ms. Jacobus so believably got into the mind of a teenager acting in what should be an adult caregiver’s role, but she nailed it. I was blown away by how much Del handled, with guidance only from angelic hospice helpers, but because she still thinks like a teenager while acting like an adult, the story line is entirely plausible (also infuriating that she was forced into this position). The intimate scenes with Del’s aunt dying are painfully drawn, and Del’s grief and gradual process toward acceptance are lovingly, compassionately rendered. I think these scenes could be helpful for everyone, as they rang so true for me. I wish I had read this book before, so that I could have been a little prepared to witness my mother's death. No one tells you what it is like.

Ms. Jacobus does not slink away from anything in this story. It is not for the faint of heart, which is why young adults will appreciate it so much: the book tells it as it is with no phony BS. We adults need to be aware of how exposed today’s youth are to realities which we might prefer to ignore, so that we may figure out ways to help them. ]]>