The One's We Choose by Julie Clark

Hello Lit Babes,

 This was a whirlwind of a story.  The main character is a strong and independent woman named Paige Robson who is a geneticist, studying Oxytocin and a single mother of a boy name Miles.

Miles is a darling boy who is now questioning who his father is and why he can't know him.  Paige does everything she can to make him feel loved and wanted but something is still missing.

Miles becomes disengaged at school and isolates himself, feeling like an outsider when other boys his age speak of their fathers.

Paige does a thoughtful dance, gently tippy toeing around the fact that Miles was a child of an anonymous donor.   As Paige tries to help Miles understand why he doesn't have a relationship with his father, Paige has to figure out her own very complicated relationship with her father.  The story ebbs through the realties of life and relationships, and educates you on the very fabric that creates us, and how so much of it passes on from generation to generation.  And this is where the story unfolds.

Julie Clark's prose is engaging and thoughtful.  It hooks you into a dazzling world of genetics, family and the stark realities of life.  It's witty plot is filled with DNA and before each chapter a snippet of it is explained.

This is a wonderful read and I highly recommend this book.  You will learn a lot and love the touching story.  The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark is her debut novel forthcoming on May 8th.

You can pre-order this book now on Amazon here:  The One's We Choose

You can also follow the author here:

Instagram:  Julie Clark Author

Twitter:  Julie Clark Twitter

Thanks for reading.

The Literary Babe

Disclaimer:  I received The One's We Choose as an eARC (my first) from Julie Clark & NetGalley.  However, this does not have any influence on my review.  Thank you Julie Clark and NetGalley for sending this to me.  It was a splendid read.  

Book Club Pick's For the Month of March

Hello Lit Babes,

 Once a month these cool book clubs select an awesome book.  Here are March's book club picks from Belletrist, Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine and Oprah's Book Club.

Reese's Book Club Pick

Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine picked Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal.  I am really looking forward to this story with it's exotic theme and women characters of all ages.  This sounds sexy, thought-provoking and funny.  Let me know if you have picked it up and your thoughts below.

From the back cover...

Every woman has a secret life . . .

Nikki, a modern daughter of Indian immigrants, has spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki impulsively takes a job teaching a “creative writing” course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community.

The proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn English, not short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of erotica and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories that they’ve held in for far too long. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind.

As the class grows, a group called the Brothers, who have appointed themselves Southall’s “moral police,” threaten to reveal the class's scandalous stories and the mysterious secrets lurking beneath this seemingly sedate, tight-knit community.

A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows is a reader’s delight.

Belletrist Book Club

For this month's pick Belletrist chose The Ghost Notebooks:  A Novel by Ben Dolnick.  The Washington Post describes it as, "An elegant, eerie new novel . . .  Powerful."

This novels is a supernatural story of love, ghosts, and madness as a young couple, newly engaged, become caretakers of a historic museum.  Here is the description:  When Nick Beron and Hannah Rampe decide to move from New York City to the tiny upstate town of Hibernia, they aren't exactly running away, but they need a change. Their careers have flatlined, the city is exhausting, and they've reached a relationship stalemate. Hannah takes a job as live-in director of the Wright Historic House, a museum dedicated to an obscure nineteenth-century philosopher, and she and Nick swiftly move into their new home. The town’s remoteness, the speed with which Hannah is offered the job, and the lack of museum visitors barely a blip in their consideration.  Who doesn't like a love story with ghost.  Sounds hauntingly romantic.

Oprah's Book Club

We are waiting for Oprah's pick for the month of March.  We loved her pick for February, An American Marriage.  

Oprah, if you are reading this, please tell us your book club pick for March.  The suspense is killing us.

Happy reading,

The Literary Babe

P.S. - Our next book giveaway will be April 1st!  Stay tuned.

P.P.S. - I was fortunate to receive my first ARC (Advance Reader's Copy) and it was amazing! It is a debut novel by author Julie Clark and it was a stunning debut!  Will tell you more in my next post!

Don't Judge A Book By It's Movie

The Oscars are here!  The 90th Academy Awards show airs tomorrow, Sunday, March 4th at 5 pm (PST) on ABC and this years host will be Jimmy Kimmel.

This is a show I look forward to every year with their inspiring speeches, how they started with a dream and now are receiving an Oscar for their interpretation of a script.  It's inspirational and moving, and not to mention the fashion is also fabulous.

Here is a printable list for this years Oscar nominee's:  OSCARS

Who do you think will win Best Picture?

I'm looking forward to tomorrow nights Oscars and I am also looking forward to some amazing books that will be made into movies this year.

Here are 5 books that are being made into movies in 2018.  Pick them up before you see the movie.  The book is always better.

1) A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle In Time is a classic children's story.  It's a fantasy book about a young girl in search of her missing father.  Her father went missing while looking for new planets.  Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine star in this book adaption.  Release date is March 9th.

2) Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.  I have yet to read this book but I will certainly read it before the movie comes out.  This sounds like a fun read.  Release date is August 17th.  

3) Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. Then Bernadette disappears.  Release date October 19th.

4)  The Girl In The Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist have not been in touch for some time.

Then Blomkvist is contacted by renowned Swedish scientist Professor Balder. Warned that his life is in danger, but more concerned for his son's well-being, Balder wants Millennium to publish his story - and it is a terrifying one.  Release date is November 9th.

 

5)  Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

We all know and love this series by E.L. James.  Some may not but that's ok.  This is the 3rd and final book of E.L. James book series and in this case, I did enjoy the books a bit better than the movies.
Release date was February 9th.

















Have a wonderful Oscar weekend and may the best picture win!  
Thanks for reading.    

Literary Babe