The Typewriter Girl.

GoodReads Synopsis-- In Victorian London, there’s only so far an unmarried woman can go, and Betsey Dobson has relied on her wits and cunning to take herself as far as she can—to a position as a typewriter girl. But still, Betsey yearns for something more…so when she’s offered a position as the excursions manager at a seaside resort, she knows this is her chance for security, for independence, for an identity forged by her own work and not a man’s opinion. Underqualified for the job and on the wrong side of the aristocratic resort owner, Betsey struggles to prove herself and looks to the one person who can support her new venture: Mr. Jones, the ambitious Welshman building the resort’s pleasure fair. As she and Mr. Jones grow ever closer, Betsey begins to dream that she might finally have found her place in the world—but when her past returns to haunt her, she must fight for what she’s worked so hard… or risk losing everything.

My Thoughts--One of the most annoying books I've read in a long time. The main character was vulgar, frustrating, and not at all sympathetic.  The plot made little sense, and the writing was horrible.  Reader beware.

Songs of Willow Frost.

GoodReads Synopsis-- Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese-American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.  Determined to find Willow, and prove his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. The pair navigates the streets of Seattle, where they must not only survive, but confront the mysteries of William’s past and his connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however, is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees onscreen.

My Thoughts-- Oh gosh, this book was horrible.  Only by sheer will did I manage to finish it.  It was just ridiculously depressing, and the story just compounded sadness upon sadness.  And just when you think it can't get any sadder, it does.  Most of my time reading this book was spent wishing it was over. I don't remember the last book I read that was so depressing and hopeless. However, it did have a somewhat satisfying ending, so it gets an extra half star because I'm a sucker for a good ending.  One and a half stars.