Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Summer We Lost Her by Tish Cohen My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is a compelling family drama that shows what can happen when a husband and wife lose their way, and how tragedy can either break them or make them stronger. Matt, a 50-something lawyer, and Elise, a 30-something Olympic-caliber equestrian, are in the Adirondacks to sell Matt's deceased grandfather's house. The trip started out badly when Matt and their 8-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy, Gracie, left NYC without Elise because she was having a problem getting her horse back from Florida and, because of that, she missed Gracie's first-ever school play. It gets even more tense as Matt reconnects with the woman next door who he lost his virginity to when they were teenagers. Matt eventually learns some things about his grandfather (who raised him after his parents died) that would mean...

Reclining Women Reading  (1939), Pablo Picasso

Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I would give the first half of this book 3 stars; the next quarter, 3 1/2; the final quarter, 5. The reason is that it was billed as a thriller but there was nothing thrilling in the first half and it was only mildly suspenseful. But I was rewarded for sticking with it because the last quarter of the book had me on the edge of my seat and was so twisty I couldn't -- and didn't -- figure out who the bad guy was. The story is about Becky and Carl Gerard and their 15-year-old daughter Meghan, who has a mysterious illness. After one flare up a doctor thinks he has the answer and begins treating Meghan. But then when she develops symptoms not consistent with that illness another doctor suggests Becky may have Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy and, because of that Meghan is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward for teens and her ca...

An upcoming exhibition of quilts at St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts aims to comfort victims of sexual assault while focusing on the need to create safer environments for all. “Discomforters,” an exhibition of quilts by fiber artist Ruta Butkus Marino, former curator at the Quick Center, opens Monday, April 1, and runs through Thursday, April 11. A panel discussion of sexual assault featuring Marino and panelists from the university and the local community will take place at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, at the Quick Center. The panel discussion is open to all. Words on Marino’s quilts are direct quotes taken from Project Unbreakable, a web-based photography project started in 2011 by then 19-year-old Grace Brown, the friend of a sexual assault survivor. Before disbanding the project, Brown collected more than 4,000 submissions from around the world, each photo showing a sexual-assault survivor holding a poster with a quote by his or ...

The Laughing Owl Press Co. is hosting an Interactive Art Show to benefit Kane Area School District art classes, grades K-12 at the Thomas L. Kane Memorial Chapel. Come enjoy music by The Moon Whistlers while viewing an art exhibit featuring Brooke Balliet, Sara Aiello, Cathy Sirianni, select KASD students, and other talented artists. Light hors d’ouvres will be served. Tickets are $10 and are available at the Laughing Owl Press and at the door.

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book kept my interest, but I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I suppose it could be called a character study on what grief can do to a person. It also shows what can happen if you have a few secrets that are uncovered and you never get a chance to explain. The story starts with young dentist Nick dying in a car crash, leaving behind his wife Clara and their children, 4-year-old Maisie and 4-day-old Felix. Shortly after the crash Maisie starts have nightmares, talks about a "bad man" who was following her and Nick on the day of the crash, and acts out in various ways when she sees black cars. This, and a couple of other things, lead Clara to believe Nick's crash may not have been an accident after all. She goes to the police but when the detective attempts to assure her it was, in fact, an accident and Nick's fault, she doesn't believe him and starts her own inv...

Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is an interesting character study about what grief and secrets can do to people. It starts with Allie Garvey at a funeral for a high school classmate with whom she shared a terrible secret. But, we don't know which classmate it is yet. The story then moves to 20 years ago and is told in alternating chapters by Allie, her classmates/neighbors, a new kid in town, and some of the adults in their lives. When an horrific event occurs the classmates don't tell anyone, and hope no one is able to connect them to it. But in the years that follow the event touches them all in profound ways and shapes the people they are by the time they get to the grave site. Allie is also dealing with the death of her sister from cystic fibrosis and her mother's severe depression stemming from that. One of the others in the group is a manipulative narcissist; one is a closeted homosexual; one is a ...