Author: Akbar, Kaveh

I have no idea where this title came from but it must have had a good rating because reading the cover it isn’t something I would normally pick up.

Cyrus is a young Iranian living in America. His mother was killed when the US brought down a commercial flight travelling between Tehran to Dubai. Cyrus and his father moved to the Midwest shortly after; Cyrus has no memory of his mother. Cyrus has had addiction problems all through his extended university days. He is struggling because he wants to make his life (and death) mean something. He begins writing poetry and stories of some of the ancient martyrs and wondering how his death might fit into that story. It isn’t until he meets Orkideh that he feels he might be on the right path to understanding martyrdom.

Goodreads Rating: * *

Author: Steinbeck, John

This is a classic off our own bookshelf. I’ve read other books by the author but it wasn’t until we saw one episode of a TV series based on the book that I decided to read it. The series follows the book quite closely with a few bits left out and others added to make the story clearer.

Adam and Charles are brothers but very different. Their father was not a nice man and both boys suffered under his rule. Adam was forced into the Army while Charles was left to run the family farm. After two stints in the Army and a few years of roaming the country Adam returns to the farm. One night a young woman appears on their doorstep, badly beaten. She becomes the focus of the story. There are a lot of characters in the book besides the brothers and each one has a story connected to the brothers.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * (if you like the classics)

Author: Amy Meyerson

I was walking past one of our free library boxes and stopped to look. The title of this one spoke to me and I came home with it.

Miranda was an only child and loved the visits she had from her uncle Billie, who would often leave clues inside books from the bookstore he owned. When Miranda was twelve the visits stopped suddenly and with no explanation. Fast forward several years, Billie has died and Miranda now owns the bookstore. There are still clues waiting in books for Miranda to solve until she comes to better understand her past.

Goodreads Rating: * * *