Louise Caiola

Ana wakes up in the Botanical Gardens of the Palace of Portici in Campania, Italy, with no memory of who she is and what she is doing there. In spite of this, she manages to find her way back to her apartment and her boyfriend, Tommy. While she sleeps, she experiences disturbing dreams where a young woman named Ann Leigh is about to marry Shane, her childhood friend, in Nebraska. Who is this girl? Does this dream come from Ana’s imagination, or is this a memory? Little by little, Ana pieces her life back together, and, on the way, discovers that some things can’t be fixed.

The Making of Nebraska Brown is Louise Caiola’s second book after Wishless. This new adult mystery deals with questions of identity and trust. The story is entertaining and fast-paced, and the author knows how to keep the suspense alive throughout the book. However, the dreams (memories?) that Ana experiences would likely not come in a chronological order in real life. By choosing to write the book this way, the author probably didn’t want to confuse the reader, but it resulted in distancing him/her from the story. In addition, some aspects of Tommy’s behavior were odd. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but let’s just say that the way Ana and Tommy started their relationship was very unlikely. Finally, I found that Ann Leigh was not a likable character, and that she was very selfish. It kept me from identifying with her, or feeling any compassion for her plight.

The Making of Nebraska Brown was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

To read the full review, please go to my blog (Cecile Sune - Book Obsessed).… (more)

This author being new to me, I thought I had received this book as an Early Reviewer copy through Library Thing, however now I'm not so sure! When I started it I had no idea what it would be about or what style it would be in, so for me it was a wonderful surprise, in some sense mirroring the story.

I really enjoyed this book. The intrigue of trying to work out what had happened to Ana Lisa/Anne Leigh for her to become who she now was kept me captivated from the start. I too often thought I had worked it out, only for the story to take another twist and disprove my theory.

It reminded me very much of Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes, although altogether less dark. I think that if you like one of these books, you would also enjoy the other.

It is a very visual book, with a real sense of place and character as Ana's life unfolds. I was absolutely with Anne Leigh as she went up - and fell from - the water tower, the dryness and small-town feel of her Nebraska hometown, the rural roughness of Shane. And then as we see Italy through Ana Lisa's eyes, I felt the warmth on my skin, smelt the heady scents of the Botanical Park, apples and bakery. I reveled in her friendship with the quirky Renata, felt increasingly nervous about her relationship with Tommy. I experienced the awkwardness around her family, an expelled cuckoo. I felt alternately puzzled, elated, saddened and heartened by the apparent craziness of unfurling memories, initially fragmented and then filling in the gaps to complete the jigsaw. Whatever Ana Lisa/Anne Leigh felt, I was right there with her.

I do agree that in some parts I thought 'well I don't think that would have happened', however this in no way put me off - I see it as a sign of how fully engaged in the story I was, and ultimately life's not predictable!

I think it would make a great film, someone really ought to snap it up...

A great read from start to finish, definitely worth giving it a whirl.… (more)

When you can't trust your own mind, what can you trust. Anna wakes up from a 'dream' and finds herself in a foreign country. How did she get here and why does she understand the language? Slowly she begins to remember how she fits into this Italian world, but with those memories come other memories of another life.

This book had me intrigued from the very beginning. More than once, I thought I had 'cracked' the mystery. I was wrong. Very wrong. The twists and turns that Caiola creates in getting to the end were very entertaining.

However, the ending was very unsatisfying and unbelievable. I would still classify it as a worthy read despite that.… (more)

I received this in exchange for a review. I've read quite a few books this way and found a lot of excellent authors.
At first I thought this was going to be really odd!!! I'm glad I persevered past the first few pages. Ann Leigh is engaged to Shane but then on the next page she wakes up in a "park" in Italy not knowing who or where she is!. Spooky. Anyway, you soon find out that she has got amnesia and has to gradually put together her current life in Italy and also the life she had in America prior to that.
Most of the book is really well written but in the middle I lost the plot and wasn't interested in finding out what happened. However the plot picks up again. I was a bit disappointed in the ending but it was worth reading.… (more)