Collaboreads: January {Inspiring Read}

I first learned about #Collaboreads from Kristin's blog and the bookworm in me rejoiced.

Finding new books to read is a never-ending quest for me so this link up is pure gold.  Here is the criteria:

A theme for the month is chosen

Pick your book

Read.  You get a whole month!

Review your book and link up with Amber and Rachel

January's theme was to read whatever inspires you so I chose my favorite author, Alice Hoffman and read The Probable Future.

Goodreads Synopsis:

"Women of the Sparrow family have unusual gifts. Elinor can detect falsehood. Her daughter, Jenny, can see people's dreams when they sleep. Granddaughter Stella has a mental window to the future - a future that she might not want to see.

In Alice Hoffman's latest tour de force, this vivid and intriguing cast of characters confronts a haunting past - and a very current murder - against the evocative backdrop of small-town New England. By turns chilling and enchanting, The Probable Future chronicles the Sparrows' legacy as young Stella struggles to cope with her disturbing clairvoyance. Her potential to ruin or redeem becomes unbearable when one of her premonitions puts her father in jail, wrongly accused of homicide. Yet this ordeal also leads Stella to the grandmother she was forbidden to meet, and to an historic family home full of talismans from her ancestors."

Riveting:

I love the generations of women who made up the Sparrow family and how Hoffman gave each woman a special gift on their 13th birthday. Hoffman can w-r-i-t-e about relationships but I wish some of the characters were more present throughout the story or maybe a story line or two were just dropped altogether. It was almost as if a string was dropped to be picked up too late to be of any importance (but in my opinion was very important.) 

  

Elements:

The three main Sparrow women were Elinor (grandmother), Jenny (mother) and Stella (daughter) and the story would bounce around from each women's perspective. It was awesome to relate to and feel for each one but I wanted more resolution at the end because that's just what I like.

Associate:

Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells. Family of strong women, check. A magical background, check. A fast read, check. I have a suspicion Allen was strongly inspired by Hoffman.

Design:

The cover I had was of an angel. This is the second angel I have seen on one of Hoffman's novels (the other being on the inside covers of The Museum of Extraordinary Things) so I wonder if there's a deeper meaning or personal connection there. I'll pretty much read any of her books regardless of cover design.

Stars:

3 our of 5.

This wasn't my favorite Hoffman novel, but her writing is so poetic and magical I can't quit her. The very last sentence alone made me savor the experience I had reading it. I won't spoil it by revealing it here but trust me, that last line is beautiful.

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Linking up with Amber and Rachel.