Meg Lelvis

If you found a letter after a loved one passed away, would you attempt to find the sender?

Munich was one of the favorite places I traveled to during my trip across Germany and thus, this book sucked me in from the beginning. The author does a fabulous job at weaving the two timelines together - the present and the past. The characters are deep and relatable and I found myself wanting to know more about the letter as much as Jack does.

While there weren't any surprises, I genuinely enjoyed solving the "mystery" and had difficulty putting it down. I recommend this to anyone enjoying historical fiction or books regarding Germany!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.… (más)

Back of the Yard by Meg Lelvis—an early reader’s review: This book seemed very familiar to me in several ways; my folks came from South Chicago (a little earlier than the story’s timeframe) and so the streets and locals were very easy to envision. Sadly, we also had a family member who suffered from clinical depression and the progression and the treatments in the story felt true to form.
This is a quiet book about how a tragedy can ripple through an entire family and even generations. Saying that there was a single tragedy is somewhat unfair—it was more of a storm of events that contributed to the situation—but it also spoke to the different ways in which different people react under similar circumstances.
This was a good read—more thought provoking than action-packed, but people need both kinds of stories for balance.… (más)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The story kept me engaged and interested throughout. The characters felt real, the emotions they felt were valid and the storylines authentic and engrossing. As Betty grows up in a Depression-era South Chicago neighborhood, she struggles to understand a family tragedy and the fallout that occurs. Sent away to live with relatives, Betty believes her mother must not want her and that feeling persists throughout Betty’s life. Betty, despite having a loving husband and children, begins to struggle with depression and begins her journey to find help. Betty’s mother’s depression and struggles to find appropriate treatment have influenced Betty’s childhood and adulthood. She longs for understanding and compassion from her mother. She longs to understand the illness ravaging her mother as she battles her demons. This was such a powerful story of loss and love. Of the influence of mental illness on all the members of a family and how that family learns to cope, often in dysfunctional ways. Highly recommended!… (más)