Bound for Eden/ Tess Lesue/ 350 pgs

This is a new-to-me author. Someone recommended a book of Lesue's, but it was the second book in a series. I decided to read the first book in the series, this one, so I wouldn't be lost. It's a rollicking adventure with lots of action and those parts I loved. For reasons, Alexandra, along with her sister and brother, are on the run from a violent gang of brothers. They head for Independence, MO, hoping to head out on the Oregon Trail and go to their other brother who lives out west. To disguise herself from the gang who is out to get her, Alex dresses as a boy. In the beginning of the story, this makes sense. Later on, it does not make sense at all, and yet she and her siblings keep the truth from the hero. The hero is Luke, a horse breeder and wagon trail leader. I did not care for Luke and wasn't invested with the romance between him and Alex, which was mostly based on lust. As an Oregon Trail saga with lots of action, this is a great book. The characters were just not for me. Now to decide if I really want to read that recommended second book...

Welcome to the World Baby Girl / Fannie Flagg / 496 pgs

I read Standing in the Rainbow last year, and although it's obvious Fannie Flagg never bothered to research Missouri, I really enjoyed the whole story. I have to say my thoughts are the same here as well. Though I think Standing in the Rainbow is the better book, I did love the story of Dena and her mom. Fannie is a great writer besides her glaring mistakes concerning Missouri.

Welcome to the World Baby Girl is the first Elmwood Springs book. It goes back and forth between the 1940s and the 1970s. Dena Nordstrom is a hot, up-and-coming reporter in New York City, and yet the stress from overworking coupled with unresolved issues from when she was a kid are driving her to developing ulcers and panic attacks. When she is ordered to go see a therapist, the circumstances of her past, including her missing mother, come rushing back. Meanwhile, her extended family in Elmwood Springs are anxious to see and take care of their grown-up Baby Girl.

Between a Book and a Hard Place/ Denise Swanson/ 288 pages

Between a Book and a Hard Place by Denise Swanson is the next installment of the Deveraux's Dime Store series.  Deveraux Sinclare is attending a city council meeting when her long absent Mother shows up married to a rich Texan who is willing to support the town library for multiple years in exchange for using archived resources.  The Texan is found dead by Dev's mother and father and Dev must step in and solve the crime before her parents become murder suspects.  All the while Dev is balancing her relationships with Noah and Jake.  Dev and friends solve both the murder and a century old treasure hunt.

Standing in the Rainbow (Ballantine Reader's Circle Series #2) / Fannie Flagg / 493 pgs

My Brown Bag Book Discussion's August book is Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg. I read it a bit early, because I was in some sort of slump and couldn't figure out what else to read. I really enjoyed the story of a small fictional town in Missouri and some of its funniest, bravest, loveliest citizens. The book begins in 1946, just after the end of WWII and ends in the 1990s. You'll meet Dorothy, the hostess of one of the most listened to morning radio shows in the Midwest; her children, Bobby and Annalee; hairdresser Tot Whooten; the Oatman Family Singers; politician-in-the-making Hamm Sparks; blind songstress Beatrice Woods; and many fabulous other Missourians. Standing in the Rainbow is the second book in a trilogy, but do not let that keep you from reading the book out of order. I had never read a Fannie Flagg book before and had no trouble figuring out who the characters were. It seems the books are written a little out of order anyways. From what I read, the first book takes place solely in the 1970s.

Although I love this book and highly recommend it to anyone, I would remiss without pointing out the big inaccuracies that are in the book concerning Missouri geography, history, and politics. Twice, the Gateway Arch is mentioned as already existing despite it's only the 1940s and 1950s in the book. Missouri State University is mentioned even though that name was never used for a university until 2005. Also, it's stated in the book a couple of time that the governor appointed a lieutenant governor and an attorney general, when in reality, both of those positions have been elected positions since the 19th century.

Fannie Flagg is from Alabama and although her look at small town Missouri life was so good, she apparently didn't quite do enough internet research in 2002 to prevent making those mistakes in her book. If you're like me, you'll be almost tempted to let that keep you from enjoying the book. Don't make that mistake.

Gone Girl/Gillian Flynn/416 pages

Nick and Amy Dunne were living a storybook life in New York City until everything fell apart. Even after both of them lost their jobs, they didn't panic until Amy's parents came to her asking for a loan from her trust fund. The fund was originally started with money earned from her parents' children's book series Amazing Amy. With the majority of Amy's trust fund gone and the news that Nick's mother is dying of cancer and his father has Alzheimer's, Nick decides that moving back to his Missouri hometown to care for both of his parents is the only way to regroup. Amy's not happy with the decision or Missouri in general or the hometown specifically. When she goes missing on their 5th anniversary, mounting evidence points to Nick as the only suspect in his wife's apparent murder.

Although Flynn lives in Chicago, no one should ask her to write tourism brochures for the Midwest. Her Missouri is a vast waste land of closed shopping malls and abandoned subdivisions. Even Hannibal sounds like a ghost town. St. Louis fares a bit better in her descriptions, although her only mention of the Cardinals includes a loss. (She must be a Cubs fan.) The story itself is well-crafted and well-told. I was a little disappointed in the ending. I think she was going for a more menacing tone, but it basically just stopped. Overall, a good summer read.