Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Publish date: 2009
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Length: 466 pages
"Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child.

So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes.

Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over." (Goodreads)

I had never read a Liane Moriarty book before this, despite her being pretty popular. I know my friend Elizabeth is a fan and we usually have similar tastes, but I still never read anything by her. My book club (the adult one, not the student one!) chose this for our April/May-ish book, so I started reading it toward the end of spring break and stayed up really late one night to read a big chunk of it! Oops (but not really).

What Alice Forgot is about a woman named Alice who falls at the gym and when she wakes up, cannot remember the last 10 years of her life. Like the blurb says, she thinks she's 29 and pregnant with her first kid, but is actually 39, divorced with 3 kids. Sometimes amnesia type books can be really frustrating, but this one was very fun and enjoyable. I loved that Alice had no clue how to take care of kids and laughed out loud a few times at those scenes. 

Some of the book felt slightly frustrating (like, Alice, just ASK what happened on this occasion or to this person), but the majority of it was a fun journey to go on with her. I liked Moriarty's writing style and can definitely see myself reading more of her books. There was a lot to discuss with my book club and although I/we felt like the ending seemed rushed, we still liked it overall. I flew through reading it and like I said, stayed up way too late one night reading the first half! This would be a great pick if you need a quick, easy read and is definitely a good vacation book. 

What Liane Moriarty book should I read next? The Husband's Secret?

Review: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Publish Date: 2006
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Length: 406 pages
"Biographer Margaret Lea returns one night to her apartment above her father’s antiquarian bookshop. On her steps she finds a letter. It is a hand-written request from one of Britain’s most prolific and well-loved novelists. Vida Winter, gravely ill, wants to recount her life story before it is too late, and she wants Margaret to be the one to capture her history. The request takes Margaret by surprise — she doesn’t know the author, nor has she read any of Miss Winter’s dozens of novels.

Late one night while pondering whether to accept the task of recording Miss Winter’s personal story, Margaret begins to read her father’s rare copy of Miss Winter’s Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation. She is spellbound by the stories and confused when she realizes the book only contains twelve stories. Where is the thirteenth tale? Intrigued, Margaret agrees to meet Miss Winter and act as her biographer.

As Vida Winter unfolds her story, she shares with Margaret the dark family secrets that she has long kept hidden as she remembers her days at Angelfield, the now burnt-out estate that was her childhood home. Margaret carefully records Miss Winter’s account and finds herself more and more deeply immersed in the strange and troubling story.

Both women will have to confront their pasts and the weight of family secrets... and the ghosts that haunt them still. " (Goodreads)

The Thirteenth Tale was one of those books that I was aware of, but never added it to Goodreads or anything. I have a copy in my classroom library and thought the cover was cool, but that was as far as my interest went. We decided to read it for our June Book Club meeting, so I bought a copy for myself and started reading it when school got out. 

This is a timeline of my feelings as I read: 

Little slow to start.

Hmm...that's interesting. 

I WISH I COULD READ FASTER BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD!!!!!

And now I'm sad that it's over :(

I loved The Thirteenth Tale. Like, really loved it and gave it 5 stars which is pretty rare for me. The beginning was a little slow as we get to know Margaret and the mysterious Miss Winter, but then it really picks up the more you learn about the latter's past. There were all sorts of twists and turns that I didn't expect and I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for the last 200 pages. 

Read this if you are looking for something different or if you just need a good book. I don't reread very often but I get the feeling I'll be rereading this at some point so see what I might have missed the first time around. Let me know what you thought if you've read it too!