Books of the week – May 3
“The Wife Upstairs”
By Rachel Hawkins
In this modern rewrite of Jane Eyre, Jane is running away from her past and she decided to settle down in Birmingham, Alabama. She miraculously gets multiple dog walking jobs in the Thornfield Estates. It’s a private community full of mega rich people who do nothing but gossip and make jabs at each other. The residents are so rich they don’t notice when Jane steals from them. However, she sees an even better steal in the recently widowed Eddie Rochester. His wife, Bea, and her best friend, Blanche, went missing while boating on Smith Lake. Jane eventually convinces Eddie that they are meant to be, and she moves in. But what are the strange noises coming from upstairs and why are the residents so suspicious of Eddie?
This book is full of twist and turns that will keep the reader guessing. Everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted – not even the narrators. You can find this book in the library and on the Libby app.
“Weyward”
By Emilia Hart
In this debut novel by Emilia Hart, the journeys of three women through five centuries are intertwined and show how resilient women are when suffering from domestic and sexual abuse. In 1619, Altha Weyward is on trial for supposedly using witchcraft to kill a village man. In 1942, Violet Ayres is trying to uncover the secrets of mother and the family she was forced to forget. In 2019, Kate Ayres is running away from her controlling and abusive husband before he kills her. Each of these women are hyper connected to nature and it appears as though this connection allows them to bend nature to its will. It does appear that they are witches. This ability makes them targets for men who cannot wield such power. The men think they can take control of the power if they control the women. They will learn that each of these three women cannot be controlled.
One of the main themes of this book is female empowerment. During each character’s story, they face the wrath of men and must learn to overcome it. They all grow into mentally and emotionally powerful women who stand up to the men in the end. This book can be found in the library.
