book club – yonahlossee riding camp for girls

If you’re new here, and you’re not into reading, don’t worry Our Fifth House isn’t turning into a book review blog.  Just once a month I’ll be posting a book review.  If you’re interested in joining our club, we’d love to have you (email me Carmel@ourfifthhouse.com)!   And if you don’t want to officially join our club but want to read along occasionally, every month in our review post we will also announce the book chosen for the next month.  Either way feel free to join in the reading fun!  
This month’s book, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, was chosen by Kirby.  I read this one pretty fast.  It’s the kind of book that starts out somewhat slow but kind of grabs your attention and leaves you wondering…….and then by the middle of the book you just can’t put it down because you’ve got to find out how it all ends.  I would give this book a 4 star rating out of 5.  
book review of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls
The story, set in the 1930’s, follows Thea Atwell a 15 year old girl who is held to blame for a family tragedy and is sent away from her small Florida town to Yonahlossee, a boarding school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  It’s a coming of age story that’s filled with family drama and scandal.  It’s a page turner for sure, dealing with everything from family issues to sex, money, class………and horses.  I mean, there is all sorts of stuff going on in this book! 
I enjoyed the book while I was reading it………..but once I was done reading………I was left wishing it had ended differently…….or maybe that the story had played out differently.  I know the time period has a lot to do with the way the family scandal is handled, but I just kept wishing/hoping/wanting Thea’s parents to stop blaming her……to finally realize the part they themselves played in what happened.  I just felt like there was a confrontation or a big discussion that should have happened between Thea and her parents that never did…………and that was kind of depressing.  
I enjoyed it………would recommend it……..but with the warning that it might leave you a little ticked.  A 15 year old girl is blamed for something that forever changes her family, and the truth is she alone is not to blame………….and that just kind of left me feeling unsettled. 
This next month was my turn to choose a book, and I chose Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. 
book club - Dark Places
I’ve read both of her other books, Gone Girl and Sharp Objects.  I had been holding off on reading Dark Places because, well, it sounded the darkest.  I wasn’t sure I was up for this level of dark, but I couldn’t resist any longer.  I hear it’s coming to the big screen this fall as well, so if you’re up for a little something that might give you a chill up your spine read along with us.   Okay, I have to be honest, I’ve already finished reading!  I chose the book last week and we all agreed, and once I started reading I just couldn’t put it down!  But, I’ll save my review for next month. 
Have you read either Yonahlossee or Dark Places?  What have you been reading this summer?   
You can check out the reviews of the books we’ve read so far over in the sidebar under “book club”.  And be sure to check out Cassie and Kirby’s review of Yonaholssee coming later this week. 

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  • I sent Cassie a message and I'm joining the club! Dark Places is on hold from my library, and then I'll be reading along! Can't wait!

    Katie @ On the Banks of Squaw Creek

  • Dark Places is dark, twisted and gritty like all Gillian Flynn novels. And like all Gillian Flynn novels, it leaves you feeling empty. I read it a while back, and I enjoyed the characters, the signature Flynn prose, the flashbacks to the massacre and the way she unfolded the series of events that lead you to the truth. Better than Sharp Objects but Gone Girl is still my fave. Howdy from Southern Indiana/Louisville, KY. 1982 KY Derby Baby ; ) Plenty of Derby memorabilia, horseshoes and horses adorn my casa!

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