We'll Always Have Paris

We'll Always Have Paris by Jennifer Coburn is a Mom/Daughter travel memoir that follows an 8 year old and her mother across Europe on several trips over the course of 8 years. Coburn is convinced she is going to die young since she lost her father at age 19. She decides to take off to Europe with her daughter and make memories while she can.

This is not an exceptionally daring, adventurous or even interesting book. It could have been, but Coburn is a pretty timid traveler and there's nothing much out of the ordinary here. I applaud her for doing this with her daughter despite her fears, it just wasn't enough to make a memorable book. An ok read.

Daughters of Ireland

Daughters of Ireland by Santa Montefiore is a big sweeping novel about three women who grew up in a small village in West Cork Ireland. Their lives have gone in different directions, one to New York, one to South Africa, while the third stays behind in Ireland. The novel moves back and forth through time telling the history of their families and the castle that they all grew up playing in.

A decent read, somewhat forgettable. It left the reader hanging at the end, so surely there is a sequel in the works.

Make Your Home Among Strangers

Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capo Crucet is a great debut novel about a Cuban immigrant family. It is about the first in the family to go to college and what that experience is like.

Lizet is accepted to an elite, white, New England college and leaves her family behind in Miami. She finds herself swimming in unknown waters, while an Elian Gonzales based story plays out back home. This novel delves into what it means to be true to yourself, your culture, your family and how hard navigating those waters can be even for the smartest of us. A great read.