Fun Fall Reads

Limelight, by Melody Carlson, is a delightful read! The main character is an 80-something-year-old Hollywood "starlet" from "back in the day" who loses her assets in Hollywood and is forced to move back to her hometown. She is quite stuck on herself and has very refined tastes... besides being an old woman! Limelight tells the story of how she manages to get along in her new (old) surroundings and learns a few things about herself as she does so.

From the publisher: "Claudette Fioré used to turn heads and break hearts. She relished the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle because she had what it takes: money, youth, fame, and above all, beauty. But age has withered that beauty, and a crooked accountant has taken her wealth, leaving the proud widow penniless and alone.

Armed with stubbornness and sarcasm, Claudette returns to her shabby little hometown and her estranged sister. Slowly, she makes friends. She begins to see her old life in a new light. For the first time, Claudette Fioré questions her own values and finds herself wondering if it’s too late to change."

What Matters Most, also by Melody Carlson, is a part of her Diary of a Teenage Girl series. I didn't actually have a chance to read this book. You know why? Because my own Teenage Girl snatched it up the minute it came in the house! She read it... and then carefully tucked it away on her "keeper" shelf. Which is high praise because my Teenage Girl is a reluctant reader.

I asked her just now (via IM) how it was and she said she loved it. When I asked why she said, "idk I just LOVE her books"! Great review, huh?

From the publisher: "Sixteen-year-old Maya Stark has a lot to sort through. She could graduate from high school early if she wants to. She’s considering it, especially when popular cheerleader Vanessa Hartman decides to make her life miserable–and Maya’s ex-boyfriend Dominic gets the wrong idea about everything.

To complicate matters even more, Maya’s mother will be released from prison soon, and she’ll want Maya to live with her again. That’s a disaster waiting to happen. And when Maya plays her dad’s old acoustic guitar in front of an audience, she discovers talents and opportunities she never expected. Faced with new options, Maya must choose between a “normal” life and a glamorous one. Ultimately, she has to figure out what matters most."

Leaving Carolina, by Tamara Leigh, was a good story but a little harder to get into. I'm not sure why, except maybe because there were so many characters to try to keep straight. Piper Wick (the main character) comes from a very large family whom she hasn't seen in years. So she's not even sure herself who everyone is. It was a challenging story about complicated family relationships.

From the publisher: "Piper Wick left her hometown of Pickwick, North Carolina, twelve years ago, shook the dust off her feet, ditched her drawl and her family name, and made a new life for herself as a high-powered public relations consultant in LA. She’s even “engaged to be engaged” to the picture-perfect U.S. Congressman Grant Spangler.

Now all of Piper’s hard-won happiness is threatened by a reclusive uncle’s bout of conscience. In the wake of a health scare, Uncle Obadiah Pickwick has decided to change his will, leaving money to make amends for four generations’ worth of family misdeeds. But that will reveal all the Pickwicks’ secrets, including Piper’s.

Though Piper arrives in Pickwick primed for battle, she is unprepared for Uncle Obe’s rugged, blue-eyed gardener. So just who is Axel Smith? Why does he think making amends is more than just making restitution? And why, oh why, can’t she stay on task? With the Lord’s help, Piper is about to discover that although good PR might smooth things over, only the truth will set her free."