Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Nine strangers arrive at a health resort to be renewed, to lose weight, to find themselves, to rest.  The author does a great job in describing each character--their flaws and their strengths, their past mistakes and present difficulties, their hidden hopes.  Moriarty seems to be a master at creating fun, real characters who are also dealing with hard, underlying issues.  The strangers do pull together and face a tough situation, which cements their friendship and helps them to realize what they really do want in life.

The craziest of characters is the leader, of course.  Fascinating, aggravating and scary!!  I love that Moriarty can tell a good story, and still keep it on the lighter side.  Enjoyable.

The Storyteller by Jodi Piccoult

A gut wrenching Holocaust story.  A gentle, kind brother. A cruel, dispassionate brother who was targeted as a soldier by the Nazi machine.  A survivor who pretended to move forward.  The granddaughter who finally uncovers her grandmother's story.  So many losses, so much persecution.

As in Picoult's style, there are choices to be made and a twist at the end. A hard, good read.