Review: The Lilac Bus

This book, a collection of interwoven short stories, follows a group of people who commute to and from their small Irish town to Dublin on the same bus. Though they spend a fair amount of time in one another's company, it quickly becomes clear that those travelling on the bus know very little of one another. As the story of each is revealed the reader learns that each character had significant problems and heartbreak.

This formula is one that will be familiar to regular readers of Binchy's fiction. This is one of Binchy's early books, but she has used this formula in later books to great effect. There is something comfortable about Binchy, and the reader can slip into reading her easily. Binchy delivers here exactly what the reader has come to expect from her, and that's certainly not a bad thing.

Maeve Binchy, The Lilac Bus (Delacorte, 1991) ISBN: 0385304943

Review: The Book of Tomorrow

This book is best describedas chick lit with a magical twist. Dublin teenager Tamara Goodwin has lost everything. Her father has committed suicide, leaving the family in debt and leading to them losing their home. Tamara's mother is so overwhelmed by grief that she sleeps all day and rarely gets out of bed. She and her mother have been forced to move in with an aunt and uncle who live in the middle of nowhere.

If all of this was not bad enough something strange seems to be happening in Tamara's new home. Aunt Rosalind is evasive, and she refuses to let Tamara see her mother. The garage remains mysteriously locked, and Tamara is ordered not pursue any of her curiosity about the surrounding area. Most significantly, she acquires a diary that writes entries for her, foreshadowing the next day's events.

The course of the plot of this book is rather predictable, though the magical elements do offer a sort of interesting twist. I don't generally read books with any kind of fantastic elements, but I did think that Ahern offered just enough here to create interest without overdoing. The magic did not necessarily always seem logical. I know, it's magic, but whether Tamara could change the future or not did seem to vary from day to day. Probably the best thing about this book is the setting, on the grounds of a ruined castle and an old convent. The setting was somewhat magical in and of itself, and it definitely added to the atmosphere.

Cecilia Ahern, The Book of Tomorrow (Harper, 2011) ISBN: 0061706302

Chick Lit Challenge

Chick lit is a favorite guilty pleasure of mine. I've read all the Shopaholic books. I've read a lot of Jane Green and Marian Keyes. I find reading chick lit the epitome of relaxation. So, I'm joining the Chick Lit Challenge for 2011. I need to read at least eight chick lit books in the year- should be no problem.

Want to sign up for this challenge? Click on the image!