Big Little Lies

by Liane Moriarty

Amy Einhorn Books, G.P. Putnam's Sons, Penguin Group, 2014

B+ because I hate gossip and bickering. A- because it is a well-written who-done-it!

Numerous people insisted I would love the TV series. They don’t know me very well. I insisted on reading the novel before watching the show. I’m glad I did.

Maddie means well but is nosy and bossy. Her 2nd husband, Ed, is a saint. Celeste and Paul are wealthy, kinky, and fun to be around. Jane is hiding from herself.

Their four kids all start kindergarten together in the first chapter. Maddie’s’ daughter Chloe is outgoing and a leader. Celeste’s twins, Josh and Max, are…well…boys, while Jane’s son Ziggy is more reserved.

On the first day of school, someone chokes Renatta’s (queen bee of the school committee) daughter, Amabella.

Renata makes a scene, Amabella points out Ziggy. Battle lines are drawn when Ziggy says he didn’t do it, and Jane supports him.

The cattiness and bitxxing infuriates us for months. Until a body flies off a balcony at the school fundraiser.

Moriarty entertains us with not only story but format. To engage the readers early, she introduces the murder in the first chapter but doesn’t tell us who died. The investigation then overlaps the backstory explaining the first months of kindergarten — an excellent use of format to set the story apart from more traditional reads.

I congratulate the author on her mystique. I pride myself on picking up loose threads and small clues. I was able to figure out who the victim was, but I was wrong about the murderer, although I nailed the motive. It was very well done, indeed!

So well done, in fact, that I decided to watch the tv series. But, the gossip and anger and talking-behind-the-backs of ‘friends’ gave me agita. I didn’t watch a second episode. I didn’t want it to ruin the book!

I Am Still Alive

by Kate Alice Marshall

Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018

One of the best hooks ever, “Hatchet meets the Revenant…” by S. A. Bodeen, describes this YA survival story in four perfect words. I gave this must-read an A+.

Jess Cooper’s Dad left her when she was an infant. Her mom raised her until she was killed in a car accident when Jess was 16. After months of rehab and foster homes, the state finally tracked down her dad, Carl Green, and she is flown to live with him in Alaska.

Only he lied. He keeps a mailing address in Alaska but lives off the grid in the wilderness of Canada. Carl’s best friend Griff meets Jess at the airport in Anchorage; they then drive and fly for hours to join her dad and his dog, Bo. It’s summer, but summer is short.

Jess is miserable, disabled, lonely, and out of her element. She wants to leave. Her dad promises it’s just for one year. He’s teaching her how to survive the long winter. She watches him set traps, learns about berries and other flora. She hunts with bow and arrow, learns to avoid predators, and how to cook over an open fire. A plane arrives, and it’s not Griff.

It’s too good a story for me to give it away here, so I won’t. But Jess and Bo have to learn to survive on their own. The things this author puts her antagonist through would make you think she doesn’t like her very much. But she made Jess strong!

Marshall used an unusual format that added to the power of this novel. Told in first-person point-of-view, she alternated with the backstory BEFORE she was alone in the wilderness and her survival AFTER.

When the BEFORE catches up with the AFTER, her goal becomes less of survival and more of revenge.

The writing is fast-paced. The main character is challenged beyond all belief, in an entirely plausible way, making it hard to put down.

Marshall took us into the beautiful, unforgiving wilderness. She also took us into a frantic and violent underworld. They collide in masterful prose.