Books I've Read: Brother, Brother

 

Once again, I read this book and discovered after reading it that I had read it before.  A long time ago, but still... weird that nothing about it rang a bell for me.  Usually I get a sense of familiarity when I re-read something, but not this time.  And even stranger, I really enjoyed this book, so you'd think I'd remember it.

It's about a boy who has always been called Brother.  He's lived with his grandmother since his mother died, but she's been sick with cancer for years and as the book begins, she too dies, leaving Brother alone.  Among her things, he finds a newspaper story about a senator she's vocally despised for years and his son.  The accompanying photo shows the son and Brother is shocked to recognize his own face.

Understanding that this can only mean one thing, Brother heads to the near--private island where the senator lives to find out why he is only now discovering he has a twin.

On the way, he meets Kat, a smart, resourceful and very exciting girl who is eager to help him.  Not being someone who accepts help easily, he accepts her assistance grudgingly, but quickly finds he enjoys her company.  

On the island, he takes his time before approaching the senator, meeting his stepsister first and learning a little about the family he never knew was his.  He also begins to understand his grandmother's relationship with the family and reasons behind her ongoing hatred of them.

As secrets layer on lies, Brother has to decide if he even wants to be a part of this family who have claimed him, or if he'd prefer to make a family of his own.

I really enjoyed this book.  Brother's voice and perspective were unusual and effective and the supporting characters were well drawn.  I particularly enjoyed little Jack, the five-year-old Brother finds himself saddled with for the journey after his guardian disappears for a few days.

It's a fairly simple coming of age story, but Brother is an interesting character to spend time with and watching him figure out who he is and who he wants to be was satisfying.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

After his grandmother's death, seventeen-year-old Brother sets out, with the abandoned son of a friend, on a 200-mile trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks to find his twin brother, of whose existence he just learned.

Part coming-of-age story, part love story, this is a book about finding out that who you are and where you come from aren't necessarily the same thing.

Weekly Goals 11-5-26

 It's looking like a busy week, so I'm not setting myself any big goals.  I'm teaching every day at the gym except Monday because it's our new release week and some classes need two instructors to launch the new programs.

After saying on Friday I hadn't had any new rejections, two came in yesterday, including one for a query I sent on Saturday.  Which was disappointing, but I always feel like it's better to know than to have to assume it's pass because it's been six months with no word.

I wrote a story yesterday for my collection.  I'm not sure I like it much, but I'll sit on it.  If I still hate it when I've written the rest, I'll write a different one to take its place.  My crit group are giving me good feedback on the ones I've already written.  I hope they can get through the bulk of them before I have to submit the story to the contest.

This week's goals are to write another story for the anthology and to learn all the spin classes I need to learn in time to teach them.  I think I've got the R30 one down, but tomorrow morning will be the test of that.  Once I've done it a couple of times, it'll be in there for good.  And I only need to learn half of the Ride for the weekend, so I'll do that on Friday.  It's my birthday, so I'm planning to take half a day off to celebrate (and to learn the class).

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 8-5-26

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!

And it has felt like a really long week too.  Unfortunately, I have a lot to do this weekend, so it's not going to be as restful as I'd hoped.

I want to try and write the next story for the anthology, but I also have a lot of other things I need to do.  I have 10 bags of mulch sitting on my lawn that need to be spread over the garden.  The weather isn't that great, but looks like it might improve on Sunday, so I think I'll do it then.

I'm teaching 6 classes next week, so need to learn both the new R30 and the new Ride classes for that.

And my house hasn't been cleaned in over a week, so that needs to happen too.  Plus, I'm going to have dinner with my extended family on Sunday.

But, on the plus side, I got no new rejections this week and a nice note from an agent who has my MS to tell me she's just behind, not ghosting.

On the work front, we sold out two out-of-town concerts, which is an exciting work-related milestone.  And a big piece of work I've been doing is close to getting the green light as a new project for us.  

I've taught four classes this week on top of all that, plus done a tuition session, so it's no wonder I'm a little tired.

What are you celebrating this week?

IWSG - May

 It's the first Wednesday of the month so it's time for....

The awesome co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi!

This month's question has me scratching my head: What is the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers?

I have, and have had, tons of amazing feedback over my many, many years as a writer, so picking the most inspiring is a really tough ask!

But I think when I get down to it, I always feel the most satisfied when one of my readers (and most of all one of my crit partners - she's tough) tells me I made them cry.  I know...  it's not usually a positive thing to cry, but my books tend to have heartbreakingly sad moments in them and when a reader tells me they cried, I feel validated.  I did a good job and nailed the emotional intensity the way I wanted. 

Realistically, it's not just crying either; I write emotional stories about people going through a range of things in their lives.  I want the reader to feel the giddiness of falling in love for the first time, or the joy of reuniting with a loved one they thought they had lost forever.  So, if a reader tells me they felt those emotions along with the characters, that's a win for me.

Weirdly, one of my crit group stopped reading my latest book because he found it too difficult to keep reading.  Is it strange that I felt almost triumphant about that too?  If he felt that deeply about the situation my poor Arlo was in, I must have done it right.  Admittedly, I feel like that doesn't bode well for trying to sell the book, but I feel like there are enough lighter moments in the story to carry it through the darkness.

I also really like it when people enjoy my description.  I try hard to balance my writing and give just enough description to allow the reader to understand the setting.  And if I can use description to give character details as well, all the better.  So, it's a real treat for me when readers tell me they liked my descriptions.  Apparently I'm really good with food...

What pieces of feedback have really resonated with you?

Weekly Goals 4-5-26

I had a busy weekend, so I didn't get any real writing done, just a 500 word story for a monthly challenge I take part in.  So, this week I need to write at least one more story for the collection I'm working on.  I also have a lot of gym work coming up, so I need to learn some classes for the new release week next week.

And... that's about it.  I expect a busy week at work because we have out of town concerts this weekend, but one of them is sold out already and the other is close to sold out, so I could be wrong about that.  I'm not going on this tour which might be a mistake.  One of the venues is one we've never used before.

I have a lot of mulch arriving for the garden sometime this week, so I'll need to get that out next weekend too.

And that's about it for my goals.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 1-5-26

  

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!

And how is it already May?  It's my birthday in two weeks and it feels like we just had Christmas.

It has been a rather uneventful week which is probably worth celebrating.  I had a couple of new rejections for A Stranger to Kindness, but one of them was very lovely and articulated exactly why she was passing.   Amazing how a thoughtfully worded rejection can hurt so much less.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me, so I'm not sure if I'm going to get much time to write a story, but I'll give it a go.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've read: 16 Forever

 

I picked this one from a list of books recommended to me by the Libby app when I was searching around for something to read on my phone.  And it was a fun read.

The book opens with Carter Cohen waking up, excited for his 16th birthday, certain his life is going to change today.  His first inkling that something is wrong comes when his annoying younger brother isn't hogging the bathroom as usual. And when he goes into his brother's room, it's strangely tidy.  Then, when he gets downstairs, his parents sit him down and explain that this is the 6th time he's lived this day - every year when he reaches the eve of his 17th birthday, he loops back in time and has no memory of the previous year he was 16.

In his last loop, Carter and Maggie fell in love.  She was hoping that telling him "I love you" on the eve of his birthday would be the key to him turning 17.  But, when he doesn't contact her that morning, she knows it hasn't happened.  Worse, at school, he doesn't even recognise her.  Unable to deal with the pain of being with someone who will forget her in a year, Maggie vows to pretend she doesn't know him.

But pretending is harder than she thinks it will be, and Carter senses something about her.  It becomes harder and harder for them to be apart, and more and more necessary because Maggie is keeping something a secret from everyone.

Over the course of the year, Carter and Maggie fall in love again.  But with college on the horizon for Maggie, and Carter's 17th birthday approaching again, can they figure out a way to keep him from forgetting her all over again?

This was a fun premise to start with, but as the problems Carter encountered got more and more challenging, the fun part of it got a little dark.  I mean, poor Carter woke up younger than his little brother!  And his poor parents, having to deal with a teenager long after they would have expected to have adult children who had left the nest.

There was some fun stuff in there, like the way Carter used his ID, with his actual birthdate, to legally buy booze and cigarettes and vapes for his friends.  Technically, not breaking the law..  But it was sad how he developed a talent one year, only to have lost the ability when looped again.  I can only see this as being a horrible way to live, no matter how much you enjoy being 16.

I enjoyed this book because Carter was a pretty fun character to spend time with mostly.  I didn't like Maggie so much, which was a shame because she's the POV narrator for some parts of the book.  I kind of understood where she was coming from, but there were places where she was unnecessarily cruel and that bugged me.

But if you're looking for something kind of light and fun to read, but with a little substance, you could do worse than this one.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

It’s the morning of Carter Cohen’s 16th birthday, and everything’s going his way.

He’s psyched and ready to get his driver’s license, his little brother’s not hogging the bathroom, and, man, something smells good for breakfast…

But when Carter bounds downstairs, Mom bursts into tears. It happened again. It’s Carter’s 16th birthday—for the sixth time. Every time he’s supposed to turn 17, he loops back a year. His memory gets wiped clean, his body ages backward—the rest of the world moves on, just not him.

Maggie Spear, on the other hand, has been dreading this day ever since she and Carter started dating. When she spies him in the halls and he doesn’t seem to know her at all, it’s obvious that it’s over between them. She can’t be in a relationship with someone who is just going to forget her again and again. Since Carter doesn’t remember that they’re together, then it’s probably better if she just pretends that they never were.

Except Carter senses that there’s more to their story than Maggie’s letting on, and Maggie’s keeping secrets of her own—but in the process of trying to let the other go, they find themselves falling in love all over again.

With Maggie soon leaving for college and Carter’s birthday quickly coming around again, will they be able to find a forever that isn’t stuck at 16?