March Vacation Books.

I love having time to read on vacation. It's the best. I was originally pumped to read this first book, The Husband's Secret by Liana Moriarty, because I found it on the New York Times bestseller list, so I assumed it would be good. When I looked it up at my local library, there was a HUGE wait (like 45+ people), so then I really thought it would be good. I had been on the waiting list for months, and it lined up absolutely perfect that it was my turn over our vacation!

Unfortunately, the initial hype did not live up. It was okay, but definitely not my favorite. The book revolves around three different families in Australia, and each chapter is about a different family and has numerous characters, so it took a few chapters to actually learn who was who and who went with what family. All three families, obviously, intertwine throughout the book and their stories intersect. 

I don't want to give away plot, but it's basically about secrets people keep and the damage they can cause. Personally, I thought the book was kind of petty. It dealt with serious subjects, but handled in a gossipy/soap opera-ish way, in my opinion. I also didn't like the amount of language in the book. I think foul language is totally unnecessary.

I also absolutely hated the epilogue at the end. Remember the "What If?" post I put up earlier this week? This was the worst thing to read after thinking about that. The epilogue went through all the characters and listed ways their lives would have or could have been different if they would have taken a different path or made different choices. 

So, read it if you want to, but I wouldn't recommend very highly.

This next book, The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, I would TOTALLY RECOMMEND! I loved it so much. I heard a recommendation for this book from another blog I read (http://haverleecolyer.blogspot.com/), who gives lots of book reviews. I was originally drawn to read it because it deals with a girl who grew up in foster care. Foster care is an intriguing, fascinating, and passionate topic for me. With teaching children who have been in or are in foster care, and also contemplating being foster parents someday, the topic drew me in. It's about a girl named Victoria, and you immediately get drawn into her character, root for her, and empathize with her. The chapters go back and forth in between past tense (to mainly when she lived with Elizabeth), to present tense (to her emancipating from the system, getting a job, and her story with Grant). 

It's so good. Read it. It also weaves in a lot of information about flowers and their meanings, because Victoria is passionate about flowers and ends up working at Bloom. I liked that aspect because I have a secret dream of being a florist.