2018 Reads: Books 61-65

Friends and former bandmates Elizabeth, Andrew, and Zoe have seen each other from college to marriage and full-fledged adulthood.

Now, their kids are nearing adulthood themselves and the past seems to haunt the tight-knit group of friends.

It's a sweet book by a talented writer who weaves the stories of friendship, adulthood, parenthood, and living in the moment.

Samantha McAllister is one of the most popular girls in the junior class. She wakes up every day to perfectly straighten her hair, expertly apply make up, and pick out the perfect outfit.

Living the seemingly perfect high school life - none of her friends know that Samantha struggles with severe OCD that she can't control.

A chance encounter leads Sam to Caroline - a girl she's never met but quickly bonds with. Caroline recognizes some of Sam's struggles and takes her to the Poet's Corner, a hidden room in the school where a group of misfits gather. Sam finds herself drawn to the group and craves their acceptance more than the more 'in crowd' at school. There's a twist at the end that I didn't see coming but it made the book all the more powerful.

Lo Blacklock, a travel journalist, was handed an assignment of a lifetime - a week on a luxury cruise. She steps foot on the ship and it's almost as if she steps into another world... until she needs to borrow some mascara.

The question of Lo's sanity hangs on that tube of mascara and the woman who may... or may not... have lended it to her.

I loved this book and the fact that I was questioning both the other passengers and Lo's sanity throughout the book.

This book weaves together the lives of three women who never expected their paths to cross.

After Nina Popkin's adopted mother dies, she is on a mission to learn more about her history and the mother that birthed her. At thirty-five, she finds out something she never knew - she has a sister.

Popkin unites with Lindy McIntyre and is determined to have a somewhat traditional sister relationship... against Lindy's initial wishes.

Together, the two girls track down their birth mother and, against all odds, bond as sisters.

This book is charming and sweet. I love Dawson's writing and the message behind this novel.

Eighty-five year old Lillian Boxfish takes a walk around Manhattan on the last day of 1984. As she walks block by block, the reader is walked through her life - from her reign as the once-highest-paid woman in American advertising to a marriage and divorce to follow.

This book takes place in one night, but the reader is taken across time periods and life events.

I loved Lillian early on in the book, and by the end wanted to know even more about her. She is remarkable, intelligent, funny, and honest. I wanted to be friends with Lillian!