More Than Enough, by Anna Quindlen

We liked this book a lot. Quindlen is a beautiful writer. Her character-building, her settings, her description of everyday life is skilled & believable. The main character is Polly, married to Mark -- and they're dealing with infertility, going thru round after round of IVF. Polly is part of a book club with 4 other women, they meet monthly mainly to talk. As a joke, her book clubs bffs buy Polly a DNA kit which reveals any possible family out there. This sets off a flurry of bewilderment and worry for Polly (no spoilers). 

The theme of "being enough" weaves its way thru the book. Polly, who feels less of a woman because of the infertility. The students at the girls school where Polly teaches. A specific character (no spoiler) who searches for missing family links, even though they are loved by the small family they have. 

There's ample "perfection" in this book that, at times, feels a bit too good to be true. Eg, Polly's brother Garrison is the best ever big bro. Polly's husband is the sweetest. Her mother-in-law is perfect. Polly's friends are fairly perfect too, one rich, who likes to share her wealth with expensive gifts for her book club bffs. Polly is great as a teacher, and her students idolize her. --- That's quite a lot of perfection, yes? 

We give this book 4.25 out of 5 stars. Deducting 3/4 of a star due to the overload of perfection. Also, we both got lost a few times. Eg, introducing us to Polly's nieces, then many pages later, we hear their names again ...but it was hard to recall who they were because the intro was brief and seemed inconsequential at the time. And a couple other instances. As the reader, I don't want to get lost once, let alone 3 times. Again, both thumbs up on this book. 

The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah

Parents Cora and Ernt and 13 yo Leni (Lenora) move from Seattle to Alaska to a cabin on the edge of a small town. Ernt is a Vietnam vet and a drunk who physically abuses his wife. Emotional abuse of the daughter comes about from both parents, in my view. 

Ultimately, this is a survival tale -- how to survive the Alaskan wild as well as survival by individuals -- such as a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, and a family living with alcoholism and physical abuse. This book details the abuse quite a bit; those parts were *not* easy for me to read (personally speaking). Honestly, the abuse pissed me off so much that I began to dislike the mother, Cora. 

We do recommend this book. We enjoyed the story. However, about three-quarters into the book, it began to feel repetitive. As in, he's drinking... again. They're scared... again. She's forgiving him...again. Etc. The author knows how to set scenes and create interesting characters. We just wish she would've tightened this story by about 100 pages (it's 438 pages). We both began feeling frustrated with how long it was, and began wishing for it to end. For this reason, we deducted a star -- it gets 4 stars out of 5.

Desire Lines, by Christina Baker Kline

I was drawn by the promise of a mystery -- a girl goes missing on the night of high school graduation. Instead of a mystery, this book holds *hints* of a mystery that's not really addressed until much later in the book. Parts 1 and 2 delve into the missing girl's bff, Kathryn, who escaped her hometown by going away to college, where she meets a guy, gets married, and after just 2 years, they divorce. It's been 10 years and Kathryn returns home to live with her mother while she figures out her life. There's a ton of introspection by Kathryn, but none is all that interesting. Kathryn herself is not a deep character; I found her to be petty. 

This is a slow book, and I gave up waiting for discussion of the mystery that's promised on the book jacket. I did not finish it, and cannot recommend it. This was a bummer because I loved this author's Orphan Train.

Note: "Desire Lines" is an interesting term with multiple meanings. In the book, it's used in "orienteering," where you try to find your way in unfamiliar territory, using a compass, and if you stumble across a path, you can assume it leads to safety. In another definition, desire lines can signify freedom of choice -- not following prescribed paths in life, but striking out on your own unique path.