Book reviews: Await your Reply and The Long way Home

At first I thought I would only write about books I liked because I only "book talked" books I liked.  But then I thought, it would be advantageous to tell you about the other books I read.  So here are two in a row.

Await your Reply by Dan Chaon
I borrowed this book from Overdrive using my public library card.  You can too!  Directions are located here.  I did an advanced search and selected Best Young Adult Books.  This was one of the few on the list available for checkout.  I figured I would read it.

Here is my "book talk" for it.
What is identity?  How do we determine who we are?  In this book four characters determine their own identities.  Three of the four characters use forms of identity theft to determine who they are at any given moment in time or in their relationships to others.

Lucy:  Imagine falling in love with a teacher only to have him ask you to take the role of a daughter as you travel out of the United States to Africa.  From there you become his wife.  Wow...who are you anyway?

Ryan: Discovers he was not the son he thought, but adopted.  His biological father convinces him to "die" and become a different person.  Wow who are you anyway?

The villain: The man who changes identities and lives many lives.  He doesn't even know who he is anymore and is just trying to find someone who he can truly love.

The brother:  Trying to find his brother before he hurts someone.

I would not recommend it for YA.  It left a flat taste in my mouth.  The ending was not really "there" for me.  It did come very well reviewed but I simply did not care for it.

The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion
I borrowed this book for free on Amazon as a Prime User.   I selected it based on Amazon reviews and availability.

Here is the book talk:
This is a fun read about friendship and how we connect to each other. Three women meet at a grief counseling session.
Jazzy: is a young woman who is drawn to the session by he psychic ability.
Marnie: is a middle aged woman whose loss included the loss of her beloved step-son.
Rita: never recovered from the death of her daughter.  This is because her murderer still roamed the world.

When these women meet a spark is ignited that leads to a trip from Wisconsin to Las Vegas where Marnie is going to confront the woman who took back her son after having abandoning him years ago.  Marnie's landlord Laverne joins the group on their search for a better world for each one of them.

This is a great beach book (particularly free).  I would happily read another book by the same author.

Jan