The House of Tomorrow

The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni is a story about Sebastian Prendergast; a boy who lives in a glass dome with his eccentric grandmother who he calls Nana. Nana kept Sebastian quite separated from the outside world because she wanted him to help fulfill the visions of the futuristic philisopher R. Buckminister Fuller. But, after Nana falls ill he finds himself pulled into the lives of the Whitcomb family which consists of a overstressed mother named Janice, a son named Jared who just recently had his heart replaced and a daughter named Meredith who has slightly whorish tendencies.

This book is a great read. If you’re looking for humorous book that has a lot of heart then this is the book for you. The characters are so well developed that by the end you can’t help but feel personally connected to them all. I especially love Jared Whitcomb; he is the most blunt and unintentionally funny character I have ever encountered in a book.

All I can say is; if you read it, you’ll love it.

Weight of the World by N.K. Smith

Weight of the World, N.K. Smith’s third novel in the Old Wounds series continues with the heart wrenching story of Sophie and Elliot and their attempts at acquiring some type of normalcy in their lives. Sophie has made some progress by refraining from drugs and sex but struggles to deal with her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Through Sophie’s increased closeness with Elliot, it becomes clear that Elliot has a lot bottled up inside of him that is boiling to the precipice.  

Elliot opens up a little to Sophie and tells her about living with his overly religious, brutal father but holds back from telling her the whole story. Through the author’s switch of narrator from Sophie to Elliot, the reader is allowed to step into Elliot’s mind and understand him better.

Sophie has found herself in a new position where someone in her life needs her for more than just her body and she’s not sure how to handle it. She chooses sobriety and self control for Elliot’s sake, begins to love him and hate herself for not being “right” for him. Meanwhile, she continues to deal with her father’s attempts to patch their relationship and her therapists’ attempt at getting her to talk about subjects she’d rather bury.

The end of this novel left me with an aching heart, a few tears in my eyes and a deep need to find out what happens next. There is so much more to uncover about Sophie and Elliot and their seriously disturbed childhoods. I truly look forward to reading the next instalment of this amazing series.