Tag: hoarding

REVIEW: Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton

REVIEW: Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Page Street Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Fortuna Jane Belleweather has a secret. Well, actually, she has 58 million secrets. Jane bought the sole winning lottery ticket for a prize of $58 million.

Jane’s first problem is that she’s 17 for 2 more weeks. So she can’t turn the ticket in by herself yet. And it’s stressful to leave it hidden in random places in her house.

Second, Jane’s mom is a hoarder. It seemed to start when Jane’s dad died, and it’s progressively getting worse. She should never have access to this much money.

Third, Jane lives in a small rural community in Wisconsin. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. And they all know someone bought the ticket. So everyone is obsessing over it.

The more Jane learns about her situation and about the pitfalls of winning the lottery, the more panicked she feels about it. It might be better to tear up the ticket and let the town always wonder who the winner was.

Review

Woah, this was more stressful than I expected! Every time Jane left the winning ticket somewhere, I felt the panic of what might happen. Ugh.  Jane is really in a pickle (and it only gets worse). I found it fascinating that the community would be so hateful and resentful over the unclaimed money. They seemed to feel entitled to know who won – or entitled to criticize anyone who would keep it a secret.

I was relieved by the author’s solution in the end. It was the best outcome I could have imagined – better that the solution I exclaimed out loud when things got progressively out of control.

I didn’t love any of the characters in this. I had a lot of sympathy for Jane and her mom, though. And I despised the ex. There’s a great epilogue to show the reader what happens next that was satisfying. If you like lottery stories you might also check out Windfall or Too Lucky to Live. (Language, LGBTQ+, references to sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥ = Find/solid/good

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will release on October 20, 2020.]

Summary

As Christmas draws near, Meg has her hands full coordinating the Helping Hands for the Holidays ministry for the Ladies Interfaith Council. Her volunteers are pitching in all over town, doing household repairs, yard work, and other projects for folks in need.

Meg’s biggest project is for Harvey Dunlop, also know as Harvey the Hoarder. The town helped Harvey with his yard a few years back. The house is in even worse shape. Harvey’s cousins and neighbors have threatened to call in Adult Protective Services. And the town building inspector is about to declare the house a danger zone. Harvey knows if any of those people come in, they’ll simply throw his things away. Meg makes him a better offer, and Harvey takes it.

But all of the work the volunteers do comes to nothing when Harvey is injured and killed. When all the evidence points to murder, Meg is determined to find out who cut Harvey’s life short, just when he was getting the help he needed.

Review

There’s a TON going on in this book, and the mystery is just one part of it. In some ways it felt like a smaller piece of the story than it should be. But at the same time, what’s there – especially at the end – is highly satisfying.

The Caerphilly community – and Meg’s family – are a delight in this Christmas novel. There are the holiday events and gift-giving pieces that are fun when you have a large cast in an ongoing series like this one. While Meg’s husband still performs his one-man A Christmas Carol, it’s only a small piece of the larger story. The magpies are a fun but small sliver in the larger picture, too.

The service projects are a significant layer of the holiday activity. Harvey’s project is a big part of that aspect of the book. Even as the chief investigates and Harvey’s relatives squabble over wills and inheritance, Meg and her team are securing and sorting Harvey’s things, hoping to find clues. The case is a steady presence in the story. Meg doesn’t do a ton of interviewing or questioning suspects. But her examination of Harvey’s things draws plenty of attention, allowing her to help the chief get to the truth.

I think series fans will enjoy spending time with Meg and her friends and family during the holidays. Other readers may come for the Christmas story and enjoy a mystery on the side. There’s lots of fascinating stuff here about the history of the town during the Depression. And the reaction of Meg’s twins to Harvey’s hoarding was one of my favorite aspects of the book. Newcomers might struggle to track all of the events and characters in this one and might start with an earlier book before tackling this one.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ – Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes by Mary E. Lambert

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The downward spiral kicks off when the pile of papers falls over and lands on Leslie’s head. It was inevitable. That particular pile had been growing for days but Annabelle was apparently the only one to notice the danger before it happened. All it took was her brother Chad slamming out the door for it to come tumbling down.

In so many ways, this was business as usual at Annabelle’s house. The piles. The dust. The rat. Annabelle’s mom is a hoarder. This is why Annabelle won’t let her friends come within 5 mines of the house. It’s why she keeps her own room spare and immaculate. Unfortunately, it’s also why her sister, Leslie, is having nightmares of drowning, why she collects articles about hoarders dying in their own clutter, and why her anxiety is so bad it makes her physically ill. It’s why Annabelle’s brother is rarely at home and why her dad hides in his books or his work.

When Annabelle’s dad gets fed up and leaves early on a work trip and cuts off contact with the family, Leslie calls Grandma Nora. Now that someone else knows what’s happening, either Annabelle’s mom is going to get the help she needs, or everything Annabelle’s afraid of is going to become a reality.

Review

Such a great story and told so well! I loved Annabeth! She has some great observations about how things work in the world, even though at the same time she is too close to see her own situation objectively. I love the descriptions of how she has tried to handle her family in her own way. Annabelle also plays an interesting role in her family dynamics. I enjoyed watching that in process, too,

One of the messages of the book is that everyone has something going on. As a kid, you can grow up thinking either the dysfunctions in your family are completely normal, or you can think that your family is the only one that is “broken.” This story acknowledges that there are degrees – some families, like Annabelle’s, need outside professional help and other families are able to work things out on their own.

Annabelle’s friends are mostly supportive and compassionate in response to the things they learn about her family. And that allows her to focus on what her family needs.

This would be great for fans of books like The Seventh Wish, Still a Work in Progress, Finding Perfect and other stories of kids facing mental health issues, either in their own lives or in the lives of people they love.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥