November 2009: The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

Title: The Thirteenth Tale
Author: Diane Setterfield
Genre: Mystery / Fiction
Year Published: 2006

Synopsis: Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself.  Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long.  Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good.  Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness - featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.  Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

Chosen by: Lindy

Reason this book was chosen: My first experience with Diane Setterfield was listening to a book on CD while driving to Medford, OR for Christmas a few years ago.  I was completely mesmerized by the language and couldn't wait to get my hands on a paper copy so that I could see and read the words with my own eyes.  My husband then bought me The Thirteenth Tale for Christmas and I loved it.  I chose the book for the book club for two reasons.  Selfishly, I wanted to read it again, and I wanted to expose the Boyer Wives to Setterfield.

Stephanie's Review

Dark, foreboding, eerily compelling, this tale is like a contemporary Jane Ere, Northanger Abby, or Wurthering Heights.  It has the same bookish naïve heroine with pain from her past who stumbles upon the dark, enigmatic figure surrounding herself/himself in mystery and hiding a secret.  A ghost who isn’t a spectre, a murderess, a fire, and plenty of twisted characters at which to wonder, make-up this strangely familiar plot. Although the author jumps around in time, we learn information as the main character uncovers it.

I enjoyed being disturbed by this book.  The famous author with the hidden past finally revealing herself through a murky story of dysfunctional siblings, parents, and grandparents.  Eccentricity and insanity, twinness, neglect and abuse, the relationship between siblings, the child lost and the child ignored or left behind, the enabling caregivers, themes that dance around one another from one generation to the next in our author’s mind. 

While we all wish to be shocked by the horror of such families as described by The Thirteenth Tale, we need look no farther than our own geneology to find terrifying similarities.  Life, it seems, is not so different from a gothic novel, contemporary or ancient.  Will our lives perpetuate the sins of our parents and grandparents, or will we break the cycle?

Kristin's Review:

I was doubtful after reading the first few pages of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.  Her style of writing was peculiar, although I did notice the amazing range of vocabulary.  Another thing I noticed right away was the chapters are not numbered (52 chapters, many of them only a few pages).  But after I got into it, the mystery of Vida Winter’s story took me captive, and I found myself neglecting house duties!  

I appreciate this book because of the rich text and the way Setterfield describes her characters, settings, and props.  It was as if inanimate objects were given a life of their own!  Almost all the characters in this book were unique and had their own quirks.  Actually, strange might be a better descriptor for the people.  The ghost theme was odd and gave the storyline added creepiness.  There was one time I felt eyes on the back of my head while I was reading alone….

There are two things I have against this book.  The first is the disturbing brother/sister sexual relationship around page 70.  The other is the plot and characters got surprisingly twisted at the end, and I got a little confused.  It takes a while for everything to get explained, but I got a hold of it now.  I think.  

Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading this book.  It might be comparable to Harry Potter-type stories (although I’ve never read them, I’ve seen the movies).


Lindy's Review:

The words, the sounds, the imagery - these are the reasons I love this book.  Perhaps it is because I "read" this book on CD that the story seems so alive and captivating.  Setterfield uses an extensive vocabulary, but not words that are hard to understand.  She reintroduces the reader to normal, everyday words that are seldom used, but that create vibrant images.  Imagine if we all spoke using a wide range of words.  Imagine if our words painted a picture instead of just hung out there like blank, shapeless objects.  Would we tell better stories?  Would we draw each other into deeper conversations?  Would we understand one another better?

 Jaimie's Review:

The Thirteenth Tale was a great book and was very entertaining. It’s a page turner that compels you to keep reading once you’ve started.  In fact, when I picked the book up again after getting about halfway through, I sat down to read and didn’t get up until I was finished!

I didn’t see the twist coming at the end, so the book gets good marks for having an interesting plot.  It is also well written, although it does have some briefly sketchy scenes (so that’s a fair warning to anyone thinking about reading it).

Although it was entertaining, the book won’t make it to my favorites list for a couple of reasons.  First, the book divides its time between two main characters.  I think this made it difficult for me to really become attached to either, since the experiences in the story aren’t anchored to one person’s point of view. 

Also, the story didn’t leave me contemplative about life, or choices, or irony, or anything.  When the story was finished, it was finished; there was no more to say about it. But, I do think this was a good read for enjoyment’s sake, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, suspenseful story.  

Two weird things that stood out to me:

1.  The way the author describes both of her main characters’ passion for reading was a little strange.  The characters speak of reading as being utterly absorptive and books as the quintessence of life – sometimes even more essential than human lives.  As much as I love to read, I did not sympathize with these feelings. I’ve never felt that strongly about books.

2.  Diane Setterfield describes one main character’s (also an author) books as “brutal and sharp and heartbreaking…everyone achieved their heart’s desire, but only when it was too late did they realize the price they must pay for escaping their destiny.  Every Happy Ever After was tainted...”  She also goes on to glorify how the books by her fictional author do not have neat endings, all tidied up into marriage and death and happiness. Because Diane described books like these in her own book with such esteem, I expected The Thirteenth Tale to be this way.  You can imagine my surprise when at the end, everyone is generally happy!  And, she tidies everything up!  In fact, the last chapter is devoted to explaining what happens to each of her characters in the end, leaving absolutely no ambiguity.  Strange. 

Lindsay's Review:

Oh, where do I start with this review? This is one of the most disturbingly interesting books I have read in awhile and I found myself in a love/hate relationship with this story.

What I Enjoyed:
This book pulled me in from the very beginning. I enjoyed getting to know Margaret Lea and her unusual upbringing. Her hunger for the written word surpassed her desire for food or the company of another person, and this is described so well that I could vividly picture her pouring over her books or hunting through stacks of manuscripts for the ones that spoke to her. I loved Vida Winter’s eclectic sense of style and her amazing storytelling ability. There were many lovable and fascinating characters, and all were portrayed brilliantly. I raced through this book and when I would set it down it tugged at me to pick it up again.

What I Disliked:
One of the first signs that I might not enjoy the book as much as I had hoped was the depiction of the relationship between Isabel and Charlie. I have always found brother/sister sexual relationships to be extremely disturbing, especially if abusive and violent. Also, Charlie inscribing Isabel’s name into his leg bone was not something I wanted to contemplate, nor his filthy lifestyle and suicide. Aside from the twisted behavior exhibited by Charlie, the twins, and others throughout the story, I had a problem with some of the plot devices. I felt the big revelation at the end about there being three identical Angelfield girls was less than believable. Vida was only half sister to the other two, and it’s not likely she would look like their twin by sharing a father. Another thought, I didn’t think Ambrose would take advantage of Emmeline in that way after being rejected by Vida. It didn’t seem to fit his character. These are just a few of the little details that didn’t seem to add up.

In conclusion, reading this book was like taking a cruise to a barren desert island; except for a few stormy patches, the trip is great fun, but your destination isn’t what you hoped it would be. It leaves you with a flat, disappointing ending to what was a promising beginning.

October 2009: Safely Home, Randy Alcorn

Title: Safely Home

Author: Randy Alcorn
Genre: Christian Fiction
Year Published: 2001

Synopsis: Is this the day I die?

Li Quan's father had taught him from childhood to ask this question every day. He told young Quan, "one day the answer will be yes, and on that day you must be ready."

Quan stiffened at the shout behind him. The voice rang with the authority of the Gong An Ju, the Public Security Bureau. "You meet in the night like the criminals you are. How dare you defy the law? In three minutes," Scarbrow said matter-of-factly, "we will shoot every man and woman—and child—who does not declare himself loyal to the people rather than the gweilos, foreign devils."

Quan, Ming and Shen clasped each other's hands. Quan breathed deeply and braced himself. "Surely this is the day."

American business executive Ben Fielding has no idea what his brilliant old college roommate is facing in China. After 20 years he expects to pick up where they left off. But when they're reunited in China, the men are shocked at what they discover about each other. The paths they've walked have shaped their lives and loyalties in radically different ways.

Thrown together in an hour of encroaching darkness, watched by unseen eyes, both must make choices that will determine not only the destinies of two men, but two families, two nations...and two worlds.

Chosen by: Lindsay

Reason this book was chosen: I was indecisive while choosing a book for the book club, and looked online for something interesting and outside of my normal genre. I have read one other book by Randy Alcorn, which I enjoyed, so I decided to pick this book based on the rave reviews it received.
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Lindsay's Review:

This story is about two college roommates from very different backgrounds who are reunited 20 years later. One, a successful businessman, has fallen away from God due to personal hurts and disillusionment. The other, an assistant locksmith who had dreamed of being a university professor, has flourished in his faith in God. As the story unfolds, we come to understand how the two men have arrived at their current state of being. Through a series of events, one of them faces the ultimate test of faith; while reading it I was reminded to thank God for the religious freedom I experience everyday. I also enjoyed the glimpses of Heaven and the depiction of the angelic beings that watch over mankind. The author also inserts a great deal of Scripture, which is always a source of encouragement and inspiration.

   That said, I thought the development of the characters could have been better; also, a lot of the story was driven by dialogue instead of action, and this tended to be distracting to the overall plot. Many of the scenes were predictable and I did not get a sense of raw emotion from the main individuals; most of their reactions were tightly scripted and I could not picture them as vividly as I would have liked.
In conclusion, this novel is thought provoking and has a great message, but in my opinion it is fairly average and leaves something to be desired in the overall writing style.
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Jaimie's Review:

Safely Home is the first Randy Alcorn novel I have read, so when I began reading it, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had mixed feelings when I finished, so here is the good and the bad.

 What I did like about it? Although fiction, the story brings attention to a worthy subject: the persecution of Christians in China (and around the world).  What jumped out at me most in this book was that the author had seriously done his homework.  Apparently, there is still a great debate around whether there is actual religious freedom in China, and what American companies may or may not be entangling themselves in when doing business in that country.  The author answers every question in this debate through the stories of his fictional characters.  If anyone wanted to do some research and follow the trail of evidence laid down in the book, I’m sure they would be convinced of the fact that there is still religious persecution in our 21st century, modern, civilized, "enlightened" world, and that this persecution has serious ramifications. So, I did appreciate the subject matter and the excellent research by the author.

 With that said, what I didn’t like about the book was that…it was fiction.  It seemed as though the author did not put much creativity into the plot or the characters, but simply (and very obviously at times) used them as a vehicle through which to make his point.  I would have much rather read a non-fiction, call-to-action kind of book than wade through a predictable plot and bland characters to get all the well researched information.
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Kristin's Review:

 I enjoyed how Randy Alcorn begins Safely Home by jumping back and forth between two former college roommates's situations--a striking contrast between a Christian man in China (Li Quan) and an American business executive in the US (Ben Fielding).  When they cross paths 20 years later, it is apparent they have traveled down very different roads.  The change in Ben's life in the few short months he's with his friend Quan is amazing.  It's a great example of how God calls us His own, pursues us, and redeems us. 

At first I thought the incorporation of Quan's former family in heaven as out-of-place, but those "interjections" in the storyline seemed to fit as the book progressed, and finally made sense at the end.  I never really thought about this much before, but there are saints who have gone before us that are watching us!  This verse was shared with me two times this week, and reminded me of Safely Home.  Hebrews 12:1: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."  What a challenge for me to "run my race" differently, setting my eyes on Jesus and long-term endurance rather than those short sprints that wear me out so easily as my eyes search for meaning and purpose in the things of this world.

The focus on the house churches and Christian persecution in China was a real eye-opener to me, but even then I thought it surely couldn't be this way now.  It's a thing of the past...but is it? 
Including this book, Christians in China have more readily popped up in my daily life in various ways: a news article on the radio yesterday, a speaker at my Bible study mentions Hudson Taylor, etc.  Safely Home expands the bubble of what little world I know and is a great reminder for me to pray for believers in other areas of the world.  It sets my mind on the eternal rather than the temporal, remembering that this world is not my ultimate destination and that one day I will safely arrive at my real home.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting that is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 
Philippians 3:12-14
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Stephanie's Review:

Randy Alcorn’s plots begin in a compelling manner, but then reveal themselves to be mere platforms from which to share all his research and findings on particular controversial religious subjects. Like Crichton, Peretti, and Grisham, Alcorn can get a little “preachy” in the middle, even when I agree with his opinions. I wouldn’t compare these authors in general, only their tendency to use their books as soapboxes.

The content of Safely Home is an interesting parallel between religious persecution in China and the United States. China’s abhorrence of Christianity takes the form of government brute squads secretly arresting unregistered Christians, confiscating Bibles, and imprisoning, torturing, and murdering countless citizens whose only crime is professing Jesus Christ as Lord. Meanwhile, we “civilized” Americans, leaders of the free world, practice religious intolerance in the workforce, government, and media. We aren’t prejudiced against Buddhists, Muslims, African Americans, Women, Native Americans, or Homosexuals…only Christians. We fire them, label them, ostracize them, and hate them, all in the name of tolerance, of course.

Finally, Alcorn’s ideas about windows in heaven, birthing into the afterlife, and angelic warriors guarding the chosen, have sparked much discussion as to the nature of heaven and have aided with ousting the ridiculous images of baby cherubs sitting on clouds strumming harps in eternal boredom. I don’t know how I feel about our dead loved ones watching selected scenes from our lives while peering through windows in heaven. But I do love the idea of entering heaven with senses like a baby’s; every second in heaven is better than the last because the longer we are there the more our new eyes can see, the better our new ears can hear, etc because they are developing and being used. Like a baby emerging from the womb and slowly making sense of our world, we enter heaven and slowly realize how incredible it is.

September 2009: Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier

Title: Rebecca
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Genre: Fiction, Romantic Suspense
Year Published: 1938

Synopsis: With the opening sentence, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired when she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room in the immense, foreboding house were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten – a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walks in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife – the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.
Opening sentence: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”
Chosen by: Jaimie
Reason this book was chosen: This book was referred to me by a coworker and it looked intriguing from the description on the back cover. It wasn’t intimidating in either length or content – perfect for the first book our book club will tackle.
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Jaimie's Review:

This book opens at the end of the story with the main character, whose first name is never revealed, living in a hotel room in a foreign land, reminiscing on all the events that have yet to unfold to the reader. You understand immediately that these future selves of Mr. and Mrs. de Winter desperately long to live at Manderley again, but cannot do so for very compelling, yet unknown reasons. The question plaguing me throughout the novel was – how did the Mr. and Mrs. de Winter you meet in the first pages, which are at the end of their story, become so very different from the Mr. and Mrs. de Winter they were at the beginning of their story, and why can they not be at Manderley? In fact, the climax at the end was not the revelation of the truth about Rebecca, but the moment when I finally understood how the first scene of Mr. and Mrs. de Winter reminiscing from a foreign hotel room came to be.

While I was intrigued by the story as I was reading it, I was disappointed in the end to find that the plot is remarkably similar to Jane Eyre. And, since I have already read Jane Eyre, the unoriginality of Rebecca’s plot made the whole book seem a little mundane in retrospect.

However, this is not to say that the book was devoid of anything original. Daphne du Maurier provided excellent descriptive narrative, not only of the surroundings, but also of her main character’s thought processes. I enjoyed reading the well thought out scenes that contemplated absurdities of life that I myself have considered. Check out this example of the main character contemplating what is happening around her in the moment of her worst crisis:

“In a few minutes Frith came in, followed by Robert carrying the table for tea. The solemn ritual went forward as it always did, day after day, the leaves of the table pulled out, the legs adjusted, the laying of the snowy cloth, the putting down of the silver tea-pot and the kettle with the little flame beneath. […] It’s funny, I thought, how the routine of life goes on, whatever happens; we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit. […] Robert came to clear away the tea. It was like any other day. The routine was unchanged. I wondered if it would have been so had Maxim not come back from Lanyon. I wondered if Robert would have stood there, that wooden expression on his young sheep’s face, brushing the crumbs from the snowy-white cloth, picking up the table, carrying it from the room.”

I also liked that Daphne du Maurier seamlessly transitioned the story from the present, to the past, and even into a farther past. One moment a character is talking about an event in the past, and the next moment the character is living that event, not just talking about it.

All in all, I would recommend this book only to people who haven’t yet read Jane Eyre or similar, and to those who enjoy sections of descriptive narrative intermingling with the action and dialogue.
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Kristin's Review:

Rebecca was difficult for me to get into, but after the first 70 pages or so I couldn't put it down! The author Daphne du Maurier does a great job of utilizing vocabulary that creates a dark, chilly, suspenseful mood. The setting of Manderley always seems to be grey, shadowy, and rainy which creates a dreary, depressing ambience. The main character--the new Mrs. de Winter--comes across as a young, childish, self-conscious creature who makes assumptions of what other people think of her--as someone who could never compare to the former Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca. On top of her own thoughts, the death-like, haunting skeleton of a housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, ever-faithful to Rebecca, never ceases to make the new Mrs. de Winter feel inadequate and unwanted. The fact that the new Mrs. de Winter's first name is never mentioned only adds to her being a "nobody".

This was a great suspense novel as I had no idea how it was going to end...what was going to happen to Maxim de Winter and the evidence brought forth against him, what results the doctor would reveal about Rebecca, how Rebecca's crazed cousin was going to take out his revenge, etc. The twists and turns in the storyline threw me and kept me reading as the chapters started blending together. Overall, Rebecca was very entertaining, but be aware that the book is somewhat dark and demonic.
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Lindsay's Review:

It is easy to see why this book is a classic; the first line is instantly engaging and takes you to a mysterious and darkly foreboding place. The narrator seems wistful for days gone by, but also relieved to never have to go back.

This is an interesting tale of heartache and regret; the basic human condition. There are small glimpses of hope, but the overall feeling is of despair and an impending sense of doom. I found myself resenting Mrs. Danvers, who constantly lurked about the house and brought oppression to the heroine (I don’t know what else to call her). I thought Maxim was selfish and deceitful to his new wife, who in turn allowed herself to be manipulated almost to the point of suicide. I liked the heroine in general, and I understand how circumstances in her life had shaped her into the compliant and submissive character she was, but she seems to lack a moral compass. Rebecca, the first wife and main character, completely dominates the story to the point that I was fed up with her by the end. The writer describes her in such detail that she is much easier to envision than the heroine, whose name is never given.

I had a problem with the climax of the book, when the heroine learns that her husband is a murderer. Maxim killed Rebecca for taunting him with the thought of her illegitimate child inheriting the De Winter estate, and the heroine is neither horrified nor appalled. All she can think about is the fact that Maxim never loved Rebecca, and she is relieved to be free from her power. The heroine then tries to help her husband lie to the authorities in order to keep him from being thrown into prison.

The ending of the book was extremely disappointing; with Manderly burning to the ground and Mrs. Danvers running off into the night. There didn’t seem to be any gratification for the long and dreary middle portion of the story, other than the fact that Rebecca turned out to be an unfaithful, cold, calculating, and deceitful person.

In conclusion, my opinion is that this book is well written and has interesting characters, but there was an undeniable lack of a higher power to save them all from their misery. The oppressive grip of the main character is a bit depressing at times and I felt that overall the story had few rewarding qualities. However, I don’t regret reading it; it made me examine my own life and realize that there is nothing apart from God.

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Prologue

Welcome to the Boyer Wives Book Club! As you can see from our About Us section, we, the Boyer wives, met each other through our husbands, who all went to Whitworth University together and call themselves the “Boyers”. Every year at our Loon Lake reunion we inevitably end up discussing our favorite books and authors. This naturally led us to the idea of creating a book club, where we could experience each other’s taste in books and discuss them in more detail.

Because most of us live in different cities all over Washington State, we decided to use this public forum as a central meeting place for our book club. You can always find the current month's book on our blog's sidebar. At the end of every month, we will each be posting our thoughts on what we we read. Feel free to read along with us and post your own reviews or thoughts as comments to our posts!

Please see our individual bios below!
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Stephanie


Hi, I'm Stephanie Fevergeon, married to David of the "Boyer" brotherhood. We met when he attended one of my dance classes at Whitworth and found out I lived in his dorm. He asked me to the Homecoming dance to get Nate, the original "Boyer", to ask a girl out... and the rest, they say, is history! I got an Ed degree at Whitworth and then almost finished my masters at Central when two babies in two years changed my priorities for life. Now I'm trying to be a stay-at-home mom, talk my hubby into three more kids, and work a few nights a week on the side! I love books and would give all mine names and talk to them if I didn't have any friends :)



Kristin

My name is Kristin and I’m married to Kevin, also known as “Swish”. We both graduated from Whitworth in Spokane, Washington, my husband in music education/trumpet performance and myself in vocal performance. We were married in June 2007 a month after I graduated. I spent one year teaching elementary music and then stopped teaching to prepare for our baby girl Kiana, who was born mid-March earlier this year. Now I am a stay-at-home mom who enjoys creative outlets whether it be sewing quilts, making cards, baking, home decorating, or blogging. I also enjoy hanging out with friends, spending time with family, singing in a local choir called the Midcolumbia Mastersingers, and coaching high school color guard (my husband’s marching band) during the fall months. My favorite kind of book to read is adventure/romance historical fiction. I am excited to expand my reading repertoire through this book club!





Lindy

My name is Lindy Moyer and I am married to the "Boyer" himself, Nate. We met at Whitworth during my junior year. I was one of those struggling math majors who needed a lot of help, and he was there to step in and make everything make sense. The funny thing is I knew all the other Boyers before meeting Nate. Josh, Kevin, and Tyler were some of my first friends at Whitworth and I automatically knew Dave and Chris as a result. Nobody thought to introduce me to Nate though. Maybe they knew something we didn't! While at Whitworth I was both an English and a Math major. Currently I am a math teacher at Freeman High School south of Spokane. I have been at Freeman for five years and absolutely love it. This school year I'll be working part-time so that I can be at home with my precious baby boy in the mornings. I am also finishing up a Masters degree in Educational Administration along with my Prinicpal's Certification. It will be wonderful to finish up in December! I love reading historical fiction and poetry. During the school year I don't have much time for reading, but during the summer months I typically read about a book every 3-4 weeks. Reading is relaxing for me and allows me to escape to another world for a few hours at a time. My favorite place to read is on the dock at the lake.



Jaimie

Hi, I’m Jaimie, married to Josh a.k.a. "Shua". We met… online. He impressed me with his spelling skills and his ability to form complete sentences because he sent me messages using phrases such as, “How are you?” and, “I hope to hear from you” instead of “Wazzup gurrrrl” and “u r hot”. Our romance blossomed from there, and at this point in time we have been married for almost two years. I work full time in social services and occupy my free time with reading, watching movies from AFI’s Top 100 list (my husband's ambition, but I'm really enjoying it), hanging out with friends and family, being outdoors, playing volleyball, and doing volunteer work. I like books, fiction and non-fiction alike, that show me other times, places, experiences, and ideas through the eyes of the characters. I also have a personal blog here.





Lindsay

Hi, my name is Lindsay, and I am married to Tyler a.k.a. Billy Ty. He graduated with the other Boyers from Whitworth, and through all their stories I can get a sense of the fun times they have shared. When we all get together at the lake there are sure to be some laughs. I am so happy to be part of this great group of friends. Some of my hobbies are biking, shopping, traveling, hiking, drawing and painting. I love to cook and am always on the hunt for a good recipe, and I definitely love reading a good book while reclined on my favorite couch. My favorite genres are historical fiction and adventure/fantasy, and I really appreciate a story that is well thought out and leaves you feeling disappointed that you've finished it. I am excited to find new favorites through this book club!




The Future Mrs. Yujuico

Coming Soon?