The rain came pouring down, but then it stopped, but not the fun for Sister Lynn and her little darlings, Rowie and Kaia Rose

 

Let's play CANDYLAND at Nana's house.

Oh, Nana, my sister Lynn, got a gift package from the one and only Kremp's.

Help yourself, but save me the V8.

And the crackers.

And the multigrain bars.

Now the sun is out.

We must check for a rainbow.

None.

Did you ever wish you were a child again?

One of the K Mart Special Portraits. They make you feel guilty for not buying the whole set. 

Today Sarah posted my review of Nicole Bokat's Happiness Thief on Amazon. I could not figure out how to do it.

A HUMDINGER OF A NOVEL

The Happiness Thief, a novel, by Nicole Bokat

She Writes Press, 265 pages

By Ruth Z. Deming

This is the first novel I’ve read by Bokat and it certainly will not be the last. It took all of four days to read. The suspense was as chilling as a Ruth Rendell mystery. Our heroine, Natalie, believes she had something to do with her mother’s death. Was she driving with her mom when the terrible accident occurred, making Natalie a motherless child at only thirteen? How she adored her 38-year-old mother, a food photographer. Dreams and visions pop up spontaneously. Should she be hospitalized for her near nervous breakdowns? Yes, more than one. We tour downtown Boston – the home of the family - and see the clothing shops, the tea and coffee houses, the Boston Harbor. Natalie will try everything to save herself, including making love with all the wrong people.

Her step-sister is Isabel, “Belle” for short. They are best friends. Belle would never let her sister down? Or would she?

“Trust” is one of the main characters in its 265 pages.

Isabel is “a happiness guru.” She offers expensive classes to help patrons find peace and satisfaction. Is Isabel also seeking what she is teaching?

We also visit the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, where some of the Happiness classes take place. Isabel is swamped by fans, flatterers and even stalkers.

Bokat’s vocabulary is extraordinary. I found myself looking up words like jacquard, vertiginous, and crinoline.  

“I don’t want to be a perpetual victim!” cries Natalie.

Will she get her wish?

The end is both shocking and satisfying. Read it now. And why not twice?  

- Ruth Z Deming