Book Review

Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A mother, Grace, and daughter, Jenny, are seriously injured in a private school fire. Grace receives a critical head injury that leaves her in a coma. Jenny is severely burned and may die. Her heart is failing and only a transplant can save her. Although the fire appears to be an accident, it soon becomes clear it was set on purpose, with the goal of killing Jenny. As Grace and Jenny lay unconscious in their hospital beds, their spirits connect with each other and follow family members, medical personnel, and police investigators as they eventually solve the crime. Lupton is a beautiful writer and in her hands this story seems plausible. A lesser writer could turn it into soap opera. The novel takes place over a period of a few days, is set in London, and is page turning. It is a sad but sweet story that shows the extreme power of love. Although unbelievable in the real world, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Thank Goodness for Book Clubs

If you're an avid reader, you're probably in a book club. If you're not, consider joining one. I say this because given my taste, I would read the same type of book all the time, mysteries. Chances are most readers do the same. They have their favorites and go to them when looking for a new book to read. There's nothing wrong with that. As the saying goes, "so many books, so little time". My book club however frequently steers me in another direction. We meet once a month. In December we have a social and select our books for the next year. Everyone gets a choice and whoever selects the monthly book handles the discussion and background on the author. I should mention we read only fiction. Recently I finished the book "Afterwards" by Rosamund Lupton, a British writer. I had never heard of the book but it was one of the club's selections, and I couldn't put it down. On my own I probably would have missed this book, and I'm so glad I didn't. I won't say much more about it as I plan to do a review of it which I'll post here. Other good books have come my way only because I've had to read them so I'd be able to participate in the discussion. Yes, there have been duds, but the good ones outweigh them. Are you in a book club? I'd like to know how your clubs operate and if you've found the same thing I have. When you have to get out of your comfort zone, is it usually a good thing?