2011: Book 39

For the Sins of My Father: The Legacy of a Mafia Life by Al DeMeo

288 pages

Completed 4/24/11

For a tale of death, greed, murder, and cheating, DeMeo's story of his childhood with his Mafioso father was heartwarming. A man who truly seemed to care for his only son, yet struggling with keeping up his obligations, the elder DeMeo's luck finally runs out; as does the younger's.

Planning to stage his father's murder, helping him to establish identities in the Bahamas, and meeting hordes of "uncles,' the younger DeMeo revisits the moment when he realized his father was not just a used car salesman. With poignancy that would touch any reader, the discovery of his father dead leaves Al in shock, as does the subsequent "tell-all" books and a legal case that seems to never go away. An easy read, it is still as full of heart as any father-son story.

2011: Book 17

Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Testimonies From Our Imprisoned Sisters by Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution


368 pages

Completed 2/25/11

I am a huge Wally Lamb fan; She's Come Undone and The Hour I First Believed are two of my favorites. After reading Lamb's I'll Fly Away a few years ago, I realized I had missed the first of the York prison stories in this compilation.

A collection of autobiographical and fictional stories from women in prison for various offenses - assault, homicide, manslaughter - the writing workshops run by Lamb in this Connecticut prison allowed these women to have a voice - most for the first time. With an underlying theme of abuse and sexual assault, these women's stories do not ask for pity or deny their crimes. Instead they are forced to confront the scariest thing - themselves. Some are joyful stories; most are horrific.

The voices that these women are able to express only through writing is indescribable; Lamb has offered them a way for their souls to be free, if only for a brief time. As the final line in the book by Dale Griffith, a writing teacher at York, so wonderfully puts: "My body's still in prison, but my spirit's finally free."

2011: Book #1

What Happened to Johnnie Jordan: The Story of a Child Turning Violent by Jennifer Toth 

320 pages

Completed 1/2/11

In 1996, fourteen year-old Johnnie Jordan randomly bludgeons his elderly foster mother to death and flees. Toth's book tries to conclude why Johnnie did such a thing by tying together his tumultuous childhood, his experience in the foster care system, the kindness shown to him by the woman whom he murdered, and the subsequent life of Johnnie behind bars.

Written in a sort of disjointed way that I didn't particularly care for, this book was nothing but informative, if not disturbing. A must-read for those considering work in child psychology or social work, I think that "What Happened..." is a wonderful glimpse into the brokenness that exists in young - and the elder - Johnnie Jordan.

LIZ: BOOK #21

Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen

336 pages

Completed 5/4/10


This novel revolves around two young sisters in the 1950s left to fend for themselves with a hospitalized mother, absent older sister, and alcoholic stepfather, in a town that's been plagued by two assaults and murders of two girls. The sisters' relationship is touching; other than that, though, nothing in this book really got to me.

Far too many characters with far too large families lead to confusion, a twisted love triangle, all combined with the unlikeliness of the majority of the situations written, this was novel was far too much of a stretch to be believable.

Sometimes after reading books, I check online to see what other readers had to say. I was surprised that the overwhelming majority of people loved this book - I thought it was overwritten, lacking, and disappointing all at the same time. I think it's time for a memoir...

LIZ: Book #14

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

464 pages

Completed 3/19/2010

Well, I have been slacking on reviews, so here is the first of a few!

My teenage sister is a big fan of Picoult's novels. I, on the other hand, could take her or leave her. When I listened to "My Sister's Keeper" on audio, I did enjoy the story, but was reluctant to pick up anymore of her books. This storyline, however, reeled me in.

A murder leaves a pregnant woman bereft of her husband and daughter. The murderer is apprehended and sentenced to death. Years later, the child is in need of a heart and the man who killed the family she never knew wants to give her his. Enter a variety of characters - a priest who served on the jury, a lawyer brought up in a religious environment, a bitter widow, an AIDS affected inmate - and an attempt to change a NH law, you have a story that lasts almost 500 pages (which could have been edited down...a lot.). When religion got to be a main storyline, I have to admit that I was bored.

This was a typical Picoult novel; predictable, medically-based, and heart-wrenching. If you are a fan of hers, or a believer in miracles, this is a must-read. Those who aren't, don't bother with this one.