Review: What Happened to My Sister

This book is the story of Carrie Parker, her mother, and Carrie's imaginary friend, Emma. Carrie's mother is abusive and negligent, and she is vehemently opposed to Carrie's companionship with Emma. Over the course of the novel we eventually find out why. Carrie desperately longs for her mother's attention and affection, and walks on eggshells to avoid raising her mother's ire. The slightest thing sends Libby Parker into a rage. When Carrie meets Cricket she makes the first real friend of her life, and attention from Cricket's family gives Carrie some much needed stability.

This is a book about a child's will to survive in the face of horrible abuse. Throughout the book I kept hoping that Libby would be caught and taken away- her treatment of Carrie is criminal. The book is billed as a possible stand-alone read. Certainly it's possible to dive in and understand what is necessary to appreciate this book. Still, this is a follow-up to Flock's Me and Emma, and the premise of the entire plot gives away what I suspect is the crux of the first book. I haven't read Me and Emma, but I suspect the plot of What Happened to My Sister relies on some major spoilers.

Elizabeth Flock, What Happened to My Sister (Ballantine, 2012) ISBN: 0345524438 

Review: A Virtuous Woman

Gibbons's novel, a novella, really, is the story of a southern woman's relationships and the profound effect she has on those close to her. Born to a privileged family, Ruby Pitt enters first a disastrous, then a profoundly loving marriage. Though these relationships move her squarely into the working class, we see that love triumphs over class, status, and lineage. Told in alternating chapters by Ruby and her husband, Jack, at the time surrounding her early death from cancer, the book relates the history of Ruby and Jack's relationship. This is not a plot-driven, so much as an emotion-driven book. A beautiful, quick read, I couldn't help but feel deeply for Ruby, and especially for Jack.

I read this book as part of the 2008 2nds Challenge. I'd previously read Sights Unseen, which is still my favorite, but this was an enjoyable read too.

Kaye Gibbons, A Virtuous Woman (Vintage, 1997) ISBN: 0375703063

Review: Hidden Carolinas

Here we have a new edition of Catherine O'Neal's Hidden Carolinas, one of Ulysses Press' Hidden travel series. Moving from western Carolina east, and then south, this book covers both North and South Carolina. This is a comprehensive travel guide, in that it covers lodging, attractions, restaurants, shopping, driving routes: a bit of everything that might concern the traveler. That said, the book focuses heavily on attractions. Indeed, this is a guide that is unapologetic about uneven coverage. There is more on North Carolina than South Carolina, and far more on the western portion of NC than the eastern. Unsurprisingly, I found the section on western NC to be the strongest. The guide also has a clear focus on outdoor activities, in keeping, on assumes, with the 'hidden' theme. The 'hidden' theme means coverage of essentially, what one might expect- hidden gems and attractions that don't draw huge crowds. These listings are included with more popular attractions. Clearly, this is a smart move, as most people are not looking to buy multiple travel guides for a particular region. Thus, coverage in this guide is good, though it clearly weighted towards certain things. The one thing that might keep me from buying this guide is the fact that it's printed on newsprint-like paper, in black, white, and green. There are approximately fifteen pages of photos at the beginning of the book, but in travel books I prefer photos throughout, in the chapters that describe the places in question. Overall, this is a solid travel guide. I'm not sure that much distinguishes it from other guides, but it gets the job done.

This book was received through Mini Book Expo for Bloggers. Thanks to Ulysses Press.

Catherine O'Neal, Hidden Carolinas (Ulysses, 2008) ISBN: 1569756384