Family Pictures, by Jane Green

This was a very enjoyable, thought-provoking book, except for the explicit sexual descriptions (I admit I am a prude). There were some errors in context that were mildly annoying, but I could get past them. I could predict from the blurb what was going to happen, and was just waiting for it to "hit the fan." It did, very explosively, and devastatingly, utterly wrecking the lives of two families. How the women managed to pull themselves and their children out of the pit made interesting reading.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis

An award winning children's/young adult story about a typical African American family of the upper midwest who travel to Alabama to visit relatives before a fateful September Sunday. Mr. Curtis very skillfully blends humor with tragedy.

Evergreen, by Belva Plain

Having finished and enjoyed one Belva Plain book, I was eager to read another.

A great family saga, following Anna Friedman from her childhood in a 19th century Polish village through her immigration to America. Anna's life encompasses World Wars I and II, marriage, family, the depression, her husband's successful business, and many tragedies and joys.She lives to see grandchildren and a great granddaughter some fifty-odd years after her arrival.
Ever since her service as a maid in the Werner household, Anna has kept her attraction to the handsome young son of the family to herself, and after an incident several years later, she has even more devastating secrets to keep.

Whispers, by Belva Plain

Whispers and rumors abound, in the home and among friends and neighbors. Lies and cover-ups, to oneself, to children and other family members, to friends and neighbors. Finally, abruptly, and dramatically, it all must come out. A story of domestic violence, told very skillfully. This was not a pleasant book to read, but it kept me enthralled to the end.