Jodi Picoult: Keeping Faith

For the second time in her marriage, Mariah White catches her husband with another woman, and Faith, their seven-year-old daughter, witnesses every painful minute. In the aftermath of a sudden divorce, Mariah struggles with depression and Faith begins to confide in an imaginary friend. At first, Mariah dismisses these exchanges as a childs imagination. But when Faith starts reciting passages from the Bible, develops stigmata, and begins to perform miraculous healings, Mariah wonders if her daughter a girl with no religious background might indeed be seeing God.

A great read, as always! The moral dilemma for all characters involved and in particular the strong motherly feelings and instincts are well developed. A must read and unputdownable...

Diane Chamberlain: The Shadow Wife

Mara Sommers and Joelle D'Angelo have been best friends for years. They have shared everything, including the joy over Mara's first pregnancy. But when something goes terribly wrong during childbirth, Mara is left severely brain damaged. Alone and grieving, Joelle turns to the one person who understands her pain: Mara's husband. When Joelle discovers their one night of passion led to pregnancy, she is torn between grief and the unexpected joy of being pregnant with Liam's baby.

A lovely story about healing, love and unexpected events in life. It was easy to identify with all of the characters and to understand their motivation for their choices. The "healer" was also a very interesting component. I only found Jo's premature labour and the events following that labour a little bit too predictable and a weak ending to a strong story...

Chitra Divakaruni: The Mistress of Spices

Tilo, an immigrant from India, runs an Indian spice shop in Oakland, California. While she dispenses the classic ingredients for curries and kormas, she also helps her customers to gain a more precious commodity: whatever they most desire. For Tilo is a Mistress of Spices, a priestess of the secret, magical powers of spices.

I came across this book and its author through the film "Mistress of Spices", which was so fascinating that I wanted to read the book, too. The film was very close to the book, but even so, the storyline and the more detailed descriptions of the spices and their powers were well worth the read. Mystical, magical and gripping...