The Gift

by Danielle Steel

It's the 1950s, Liz and John Whittaker along with their children, Tommy and Annie, are living in a dream world, they couldn't be happier. Then tragedy strikes taking four-year-old Annie. The family is devastated. Liz and John's marriage is falling apart and Tommy is struggling.

Meanwhile miles away, Maribeth Robertson is getting ready for her first Prom. She loves her beautiful peacock blue taffeta strapless dress with it's little bolero, but her dad is throwing a fit, telling her that she and all the other girls who are going to prom are dressing like sluts. She finally returns to her room where her mother helps her pick out a navy blue dress with a white collar and long sleeves. She feels mortified, but desperately wants to go to the prom - even if it is with David O'Connor, a boy she barely knows, but the only one who invited her. Maribeth knows he probably couldn't get a date with anyone else.

Once at the prom, David goes in search of drinks for both of them, and when he returns after almost a half hour, Maribeth realizes David had had a few "drinks" before returning to her. She wasn't interested in alcohol and is realizing that coming to the prom wasn't such a good idea after all.

After sending David back for a "proper" drink for a teenager, she decides to walk home, but rests on a bench outside for a while. There she is approached by Paul Browne, the coolest and most handsome high school senior who offers her a ride home. It takes some coaxing, but she finally accepts the ride, and is secretly thrilled that he has noticed her. He suggests going for a hamburger before going home and she readily accepts. After they've eaten, they get back into the car and he suggests driving around for a little while as there is still time before her curfew.

I think she's never been on a date as she is giddy with the attention he is showering on her. They find a place to park and a kiss leads to other things and finally the inevitable. She is confused, happy and scared.

A couple of months later her biggest fear is realized and she knows she has to tell her parents she is pregnant. Of course, her father hits the roof while her mother cries. Her father sends her away with money to cover staying at a local convent until the baby is born. One month there and she knows she cannot stay any longer. She still has a few hundred dollars and decides to head for Chicago. At a bus stop, she eats in the diner. She decides she loves the atmosphere of the town and when she notices a help wanted sign in the window, she decides to stay. She gets the job and meets a young man.

Maribeth doesn't realize it, but she has a "gift" for everyone in that town, especially the Whittakers.

I'm not particularly a Danielle Steel fan, but I found this to be a lovely story of someone who's fallen from grace, finds love and redemption and then the strength to give to others.

Bye Bye, Sweet Susie

by David A Estes

Just before Jeff Timberlake’s mother dies, she hands him an envelope and instructs him to deliver it to an old friend in the town of Marlow, Missouri. This suits him fine because Marlow is on the way to St. Louis where he’s going to apply for a newsman job at a radio station. 

When he hits the outskirts of Marlow he sees a billboard that reads … ‘SUSIE McCORD DIED HERE’. The words pique his interest. Is Susie McCord a celebrity? someone he should know? He’s not sure, but one thing he discovers is the town folks clam up when he starts asking questions. His journalistic nose tells him something is going on in the city of Marlow.

David A. Estes has written 10 novels so far and I've read three of them. I love his Ozarkian style of writing, especially depicting the 1950s or 1960s as in this book. I enjoyed the interaction between Jeff and the people of Marlow. As Jeff noses into the town's business, I was waiting for someone to run him out of town. I thought it a tad unbelievable that he could solve a four-year-old mystery of who killed Susie McCord within less than a week though. But then sometimes those things are easy in books.

The Bell Jar

by Sylvia Plath

I know this has been reviewed by many others. But while the book appears on many of the must-read lists, I found it was one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Supposedly, Plath is writing about her own life and attempts at suicide masked in comedic drama. Esther has received a coveted six-week internship at a famous magazine publishing house. During a summer break from her college classes that are covered by scholarships, she lives at a hotel for girls - those what were prominent in large cities during the 1950s and 1960s. Even as she has her mental breakdowns, those expenses are covered by a wealthy matron. I find myself jealous of all that has been given to her and she seems to have no appreciation for any of it. In fact, nothing nor no one seems to be good enough. All she can see are the flaws of others.

It seems to me that when someone is continually looking for perfection in others while ignoring their own blemishes, they are going to be disappointed. The protagonist in this book tears down and dissects everything around her. This book seems to glamorize that depression. But then, maybe shock treatments were the "thing" back then like psychiatric and psychological treatments seemed to be the "thing" in the 1960s. I read other reviews of this book, I read explanations of this book, but the thing I wonder is if had she not committed suicide shortly after the publication of the book, would it still be a must-read?