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2021 Fall Flurry of Holidays Challenge -- November Reviews and Discussion
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Not sure that it counts to read a Christmas book in November but I couldn't wait and wanted to share in case anyone is looking for a fun YA holiday book.10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
Super cute YA holiday story. High school senior, Sophia is excited to stay with her grandparents over Christmas break while her parents support her sister with a difficult pregnancy. Due to the enormous size of her family, she anticipates lots of chances to slip out and meet up with her boyfriend Griffin until she hear Griffin talking about her at party. Arriving at her grandmother's in tears, Nonna devises a plan of 10 blind dates where different members of the family set her up over the break. The large family is fabulous. The dates are spectacular.
I quite enjoyed my read as Sophia balances the health difficulties of her sister, the break up with Griffin, the large quirky family and coming back into her own.
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie4 stars
Sherman Alexie had a complicated relationship with his mother Lillian for most of his life. She was beautiful, a gifted quilter, kind to those outside of her family, one of the last people to speak the Spokane dialect, and a consummate liar. Lillian had an extremely rough childhood on the reservation and became an alcoholic along with her husband who would leave the family for weeks at a time on his drunken benders. At one point when the state threatened to take the children away Lillian stopped drinking cold turkey and never drank again. That is not to say that she was affectionate to her family. Sherman especially longed for her tenderness as he had many medical issues as a child. He saw how caring she was to strangers and wished for that care for himself. This memoir was written after Lillian's death and serves as Sherman's way to come to terms with a woman that he loved and mistrusted all of his life.
I was somewhat aware of the terrible treatment of Native Americans over the years but Alexie pulls no punches as he describes life on the reservation. At times his stories are very amusing but others are absolutely heartbreaking. This is a powerful look at a culture many of us know very little about. Much of the book is written in free verse. Unfortunately I think my mind is too literal to understand some of his poems. That is not to say that they are not well done and important but I believe the fault may lie with me. I recommend this highly.
I read this book a long time ago. Thank you for the memories. Native Americans were treated awful and he says that. Also, the mother issue. This book was painful for me to read and your review brought some of that back but also the good stuff that he wrote about her. Thanks for the review. peace, janz
Remembrance DayOn Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle / Hampton Sides
4 stars
This is about the Korean War. The Marines were ordered to come in to North Korea from the water, then over mountains during the coldest time of the year (in what turned out to be one of the coldest winters). There were a lot of stupid decisions made by two people higher up in the chain of command (sorry, I don’t know the military well enough to remember titles and who outranks whom), though the next in that chain knew they were stupid decisions and he did his best to follow orders, but to find ways to keep damage to a minimum.
I really liked this; it was really interesting. I know very little about the Korean War, and not only did this tell the stories of these Marines and how they (most? some? of them) got out of a bad situation, but I got a bit of insight into how the war started.
It seemed fitting to have an account of a storm that happened in November at right the same time as I read it in the Fall Flurries.
Sisters of the Sweetwater Fury: A NovelReview - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For November, a book bout food and cooking and love of family ...
Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger – Lisa Donovan – 3.5***
Donovan is a chef and award-winning essayist who has worked in a number of celebrated restaurant kitchens throughout the South. This is her memoir. Her passion and focus has been on desserts but she knows her way around the entire kitchen. Her journey from Army brat to single mother to just-another-restaurant-worker to pastry star is interesting, and she tells her story with insight and honesty.
My full review HERE
The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau by Alex Kershaw - 4 stars - My ReviewBiography of an American soldier, Felix Sparks, focusing on his experiences in WWII in Italy, France, and Germany. Sparks was one of those that survived, almost miraculously, through many battles on the front lines. He was centrally involved in the liberation of Dachau. He rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a general. Kershaw depicts Sparks as a soldier of integrity who is willing to go to bat for his men when he feels they are being unnecessarily sacrificed.
The narrative covers Sparks’ life before and after the war, but the bulk of it is about his war-time experiences. The author relied on interviews with Sparks and even found a German officer who witnessed Sparks’ heroism in rescuing wounded men on the battlefield.
The story is gripping. It vividly depicts the horrors of war as well as the courageous efforts of individual soldiers. Some of the overall strategy is included, but it is more a story of fighting on the front lines. The reader can tell that Kershaw greatly respects Sparks, but he also confronts the controversies faced during Sparks’ career.
I never tire of reading about WWII. It was a time of great struggle, sacrifice, courage, death, and even hope. I read this book in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Link to PBT Discussion Thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia, and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots by Nancy Goldstone 4 starsInteresting history of Europe during the 1600s.
We hear so much about the 1500s (Henry the 8th, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare). And the 1700's (French and American revolutions, rise of Napoleon).
But this book fills an interesting gap of the 1600s. Religious and secular wars, Holy Roman Empire and the Hapsburgs, Germany and Eastern Europe splintered into tiny principalities. And tons of intrigue, backstabbing and drama. This book follows all of it.
I was interested to learn how many of the wars of this era were fought essentially between families vying for personal and family power.
The book drags just a little as, inevitably, some of the story turns into who attacked whom and where. But overall the author did a good job of bringing some potentially dry subject matter to life.
This book was on my "unofficial trim" list this year, and was one of the oldest books on my TBR. So glad I read it.
About Native AmericansA Mind Spread Out on the Ground -Alicia Elliot - 4 stars
Review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
After the Armistice Ball by Catriona McPherson4-stars
I rounded up a bit generously in rating this one for a host of reasons, though it's just a good solid historical mystery set in Scotland in spring 1922. I'm rewarding it for providing a marvelous background of Britain after WWI - think those last 3 or 4 seasons of Downton Abbey.
It starts rather simply with a missing set of valuable diamonds, last worn at the Esslemont's Armistice Ball in 1921. Of course, it turns out to be far more than a simple theft. Dandelion 'Dandy' Gilver, an aristocratic matron in a cold marriage, children off at school, content with her life more or less, if bored and somewhat at loose ends. Dandy also feels caught still in the Victorian past, not quite comfortable in this post-WWI world where all as changed for the British aristocracy. When the Duffy diamonds go missing, and Lena Duffy starts subtly blackmailing Dandy's friends Daisy and Silas Esslemont to pay out on insurance that had lapsed, Daisy begs Dandy to solve it all, and will pay her to do so. As much out of ennui as anything real belief she will be able to find or settle the diamond theft, and thrilled for the first time in her life to earn money of her own, Dandy embarques on an 'investigation'. Soon that investigation leads to a devastating fire in which the youngest Duffy daughter Cara perishes, and suddenly Dandy joins with Cara's fiance Alex to investigate what seems not to be an accidental death and one related to the missing diamonds.
I came to love Dandy, who is pretty blunt about her struggles to find her place in this new world and in her life now that the boys are at school, as well as the lack of passion or even much warmth in her marriage. The plot twists about nicely, even creating a few monments where I as reader was just as confused by the clues as were Dandy and Alec, though there were also answers I saw from the very beginning that they did not, a deliberate ploy of the auhor who was basically affirming what happens in real life: people don't question what has been in front of them forever, something particularly true of the aristocracy. Also, that the aristocracy can no longer just tidy things up discreetly. The author also deftly interweaves the social and economic transitions happening, as well as the rise of the annual Armistice Day celebrations that continue to this day.
I will definitely be reading more of this series.
Boxes in the Basement by Kathi Daley First in Inn at Holiday Bay series
3 stars
This is a really enjoyable start to a series set in coastal Maine. It's also set mostly in November, ending just a couple weeks after Thanksgiving, which made it perfect for a blustery rainy November day's read!
Abby, a writer living in San Francisco who suffered a devastating personal loss a year ago, decides the only hope to get past the crippling grief is to start over someplace new. She buys, sight unseen, a dilapidated old inn in Holiday Bay, ME, with the intention to renovate it, turn into an income-producing property, and hopefully start writing again. A day or two after she arrives in her new home, a young woman is murdered in the nearby forest, and Abby finds in her basement boxes of personal items belonging to 4 local young women, 2 of whom have died in the last year, and one of whom is missing. As Abby is a mystery writer, she's curious and starts investigating while beginning renovations on the inn, forming relationships with various local, and being adopted by a giant orange Maine Coon cat named Rufus.
The mysteries are very light and frankly are not the driving force behind the stories. What kept me reading with a smile on my face was the Abby and all the animals and people that come into her life. Plus, how can you not love a town that honors its name by naming its streets after different holidays and hosing festivals honoring those holidays? Even the local hardware store gets in on it with turkey decorations.
I'll definitely read more of this series.
A walk with veterans for Veteran's DayFreedom - Sebastian Junger- 4 stars
Review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier2 Stars
Lucy is out for a run one morning when she finds the body of Alison Franklin dead in the local pond. Rumored to be a result of drug use, Lucy feels there is something else going on. When her father, Ed is found murdered in his SUV, Lucy feels even more certain that something is going on and it may have to do with the new Mexican fusion restaurant that is being brought to the small town.
So this was supposed to be a cozy mystery, but I found it more of a racist political book. There was so much talk about majority of the town hating the thought of a Hispanic moving to town and opening a restaurant. It certainly wasn't the cozy feeling that I was expecting it to be. I don't think I'll be reading any others in her series.
I'm reading Firekeeper's Daughter and I encourage others to consider it too. It's great so far. I'm starting a thread in Footnotes in case anyone wants to join me. The MC is a college freshman in Michigan, and it is full of authentic information about life for the Anishinabe (Chippewa/Ojibwa) people. It's great on audio, especially with the accents and humor of some of the women in her family. It felt like a coming of age story at first (with a potential romance) but it's developing into an interesting mystery, with cultural commentary.
I like the storytelling style. There is no doubt that the author grew up in this culture.
A Lakeside Thanksgiving by Leeanna Morgan2.5 stars
I enjoyed this contemporary romance set on a lakeside in Montana, but it is the 3rd of a quartet that I am reading out of order and it just felt thin as a standalone. The Return to Sapphire Bay Quartet tells the story of 4 sisters who must live in their grandmother's house in order to inherit it. The sisters decide to stay and inherit, turning it into a inn over the year they must live in it. Each book tells the story of a sister finding her HEA, while at the same time there are a couple of plots that run through all 4 books with important developments in each one. You also learn bits and pieces about others in the town of Sapphire Bay, some of whom have books in other mini-series of their own.
In this book 3, Barbara, a social media and marketing consultant, is working remotely for her San Diego based company while working with her sisters to turn the house into a profitable inn and oh, by the way, help plan the weddings of 2 of the sisters. Theo is an award-winning journalist whose last expose for the NYTimes involving a powerful politician backfired and he was slapped with a defamation suit and the loss of his job. Somehow he ended up in Sapphire Bay (it's never clear) and starts a radio station. When denied grant funding multiple times, he seeks advice from Barbara. Sparks fly, some events occur improving Theo's situation, and suddenly they are both having to make big decisions - stay and be together or leave to pursue careers. You get one guess which happens. Along the way, a plot line involving Terry family history makes significant progress forward. All is set for the final installment as the last sister finds her HEA.
While quite charming, with good characterization, an interesting bit involving town storage rooms packed with abandonned furniture, it's a little too lacking in heat. Nothing hotter than a few kisses and handholding happen - and I'm usually just fine with that but here, it just needed a teeny bit more spice. Also while it read just fine as a standalone, ti really needs to be read while curled up in one's blanket fort over a weekend with its 3 series cmpanions. For example, there's never an explanation as to why the town's Welcome Center (which seems to operate as a community center more than what I consider a Welcome Center) has storage rooms filled with abandonned furniture from past town residents.
I would be remiss not to mention Charlie, the golden labrador belonging to one of the sisters and the radio station mascot, who manages to wear with aplomb his neon pink tutu to the Thanksgiving half marathon.
Veterans Day / Remembrance Day
In Pale Battalions - Robert Goddard - 5 Stars
In Pale Battalions tells the story of the newly widowed Leonora Galloway who sets off, with her daughter Penelope, on a holiday in Paris. The first stop on their journey is the Thiepval Memorial for those who died at the Battle of the Somme during World War I. This is where Leonora's father has been memorialized as one of the WW1 heroes. The memorial lists her father's date of death as April 30, 1916 but Leonora isn't born for another eleven months. She realizes this man can't be her father. Thus starts the story, told mostly in flashback by Leonora, of the skeletons hidden in the closets of Leonora's relatives.
The novel is part mystery and part historical fiction. In some places it reminded me of a Daphne DuMaurier Gothic novel, with all the elements of evil relatives, unexpected plot changes, huge manor houses, and psychological twists.
The writing is elegant and lyrical but totally readable. The story is very cleverly written and you can never be sure what you think is going on is real or just a plot twist. Some readers may find the pacing slow, but I was completely dazzled by the story.
Thanksgiving means food. Memoir of a pastry chef...
Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger – Lisa Donovan – 3.5***
Donovan is a chef and award-winning essayist who has worked in a number of celebrated restaurant kitchens throughout the South. This is her memoir. Her passion and focus has been on desserts but she knows her way around the entire kitchen. Her journey from Army brat to single mother to just-another-restaurant-worker to pastry star is interesting, and she tells her story with insight and honesty.
My full review HERE
I've never been a fan of non-fiction, and I don't find it easy to read and retain. But I picked up this book as its both the monthly pick for the Jewish Book Group, and its my November Fall Flurries for my main group. And what an education it was to learn about the life and trials that befell Soviet Jewry, through the lives of Masha and Voldaya Slepak, whose journals and story tells years of oppression, violence, needless death, and yet another attempt to exterminate or kick out Jews.
The story itself was incredible, even more so that we never find out how Voldaya's father Solomon escaped was should have been extermination. As an old Bolshevik, and a Jew, he should have been arrested and executed a long time ago, and he always escaped sure death, always stayed protected. He swore to his son that he and his family would never leave, and somehow they never could. The father son disconnect was one of the most compelling parts of the story. By attending his estranged father's funeral, that had a big impact on saving Voldaya's life at the time. Many people had the Slepak's story, but many didn't live to tell it, and others got out far earlier, and with less circumspect behind the scenes mystery. I thought it was a story worth telling and reading, and am glad I had the opportunity (twice) to pick it up and remember.
Turkey Trot Murder by Leslie Meier2 stars
On an early morning training run tor the upcoming Turkey Trot, journalist Lucy finds the body of the daughter of a local billionaire who died after falling through the thin ice of the pond. Everyone immediately assumes on zero evidence that the girl was under the influence of drugs and that led to her accidental death. This leads to scenes with the girl's father spouting anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric, bogging down the cozy murder mystery with a poorly plotted portrait of a s,all town in Maine ripped apart by America for Americans racist rhetoric and actions.
Published in 2017, it is clear the author felt a need to address the anti-immigrant racist rhetoric and demonstrations that were roiling the US at that time. I don't have a problem with that. I do have a problem when those themes dominate a cozy mystery story when they have zero relationship to the murder, and in fact, the murder mystery seems an afterthought tacked on to fit with the author's series.
I remember enjoying the first 2 or 3 of her Lucy Stone series, but if this is an example of how it has evolved, count me out.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien4 stars
I wanted to read this book last year for Fall Flurries but it never happened. I wanted this one because I wanted to read something for Veteran's Day. This year I restarted it and was able to finish.
I did enjoy it. And am glad I gave it another go.
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Complications by Danielle Steele3 stars
A top rated hotel in Paris has just reopened after years of renovations and with it comes some complications. There is a politician involved with a death, a medical emergency and new couple brought together by these events. To me the story line of Gabrielle and Alaistair is the most interesting and developed story. She is an American art buyer who is recently divorced from and he is a doctor with health issues of his own. The two help each other through some difficult times. They live an ocean apart, but her work has her travel to Europe and Alaistair soon comes to New York for Thanksgiving and meets Gabrielle’s family. Their romance is believable and is the biggest part of the book; they are also the most likable characters. Overall Complications is a quick read that is fun but somewhat predictable.
Remembrance DayMurder on the Flying Scotsman by Carola Dunn – 4 Stars
This was a very quick read which sees Daisy mixed up in another murder, with Scotland Yard and Alec being called in. Alec’s daughter Belinda also plays a much larger role in this book, having run away from her grandmother to find Daisy, who she knows is on the train. It was good to see Alec’s interactions with his daughter and she was an easy way for Daisy and Alex to spend more time together and develop their relationship. The book also has the usual large cast of, generally unpleasant, characters, who provide a significant number of suspects, including one man who was suffering from shellshock, having formerly been in the trenches during WW1. I’m really enjoying this series, and I hope to read the next one soon.
Remembrance DayA Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd – 4 Stars
This is the first book following Bess Crawford, a nurse in World War 1 who is determined to investigate a seemingly solved, and now largely forgotten, crime, which she believes to have framed the wrong person. I cared about the characters, and the plot was also strong, with a plausible mystery. I also liked how the author, by way of Bess, sensitively covered topics including mental illness, family dynamics and what we would recognise today as PTSD. I felt the authors (a mother and son team) did a very good job with setting the scene of gloomy wartime London and Kent. Whilst I did predict part of the ending, there were still bits that surprised me, and I hope to continue with this series soon.
The Trouble with Turkeys - Kathi Daley - 2.5 Stars
The Trouble with Turkeys finds Zoe Donovon and her assistant from the animal shelter, Jeremy, babysitting several hundred turkeys on a farm. The owner, Charles Tisdale, has died and the heirs need someone to take care of the stock until the turkeys can be sold for Thanksgiving.
Of course, Zoe dives right into the mystery of what really happened to Charles. His family thinks his death was an accident, but Zoe isn't quite sure. Together with Zak, her former adversary from high school, Zoe comes up with a long list of suspects who could have wanted Charles dead.
This is a fast holiday read. I thought there were way too many characters but it was still an enjoyable story. Not as enjoyable as the first book, Hollywood Hijinks, but I will try her Christmas themed book, Christmas Crazy, in December
Veterans Day / Remembrance Day
A High Mortality of Doves - Kate Ellis - 4 Stars
A High Mortality of Doves is the first book of a mystery series set just after WW1. There is a killer on the loose, terrorizing the women in the Derbyshire village of Wenfield. Readers know they are lured to their deaths by letters claiming to be from brothers, fiancés, or sons who have been killed in the war. Each letter requires secrecy and a promise to meet at an isolated location. The chapter ends at that point and takes up again when the women are found, stabbed in the chest with a bayonet, a dead dove in their mouth.
Eventually Scotland Yard are called and Inspector Albert Lincoln has the unenviable task of tracking down the killer. Lincoln suffers from his own time in the war. He is scarred and disabled due to injuries caused by an exploding shell. Ever since the death of his young son from influenza, his wife, Mary, has been grief-stricken, depressed and has shut Albert out of her life.
Flora Winsmore is an intelligent and vulnerable young woman who longs to leave Wenfield and make own life as a nurse in a city hospital. She still mourns the death in of her brother, John, and is deeply sympathetic to the men who had returned from the war scarred in both body and mind.
Lincoln asks Flora to help him understand the lives and personalities of the dead women, as well as his growing list of suspects. As these two lonely people grow closer and closer, readers wonder what will happen when Lincoln solves the murders.
This was such a compelling historical mystery, filled with lots of interesting characters and a fascinating snippets of life for the returned soldiers. Twists and turns are everywhere as potential killers are arrested and then released. I immediately got the next book in the trilogy, The Boy Who Lived With the Dead, and hope to read it soon.
Native American Heritage monthAn Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
5 stars
Thorough research with thoughtful connections of the US government's treatment of the indigenous populations and how that entitlement and inherent belief or mandate of superiority still affects the indigenous communities but also was applied and played out in imperialism of the 18th century and international "protection"/ interference of the Cold War and now the war on terrorism. It is fascinating that such racially biased and unjust legal documents used by the US to steal land and subjugate the rightful owners of the land, the indigenous populations, could be used to uphold torture and other human rights abuses in the supposedly modern day. I really wish that this was the history that I was actually taught when I was in school.
Native American Heritage monthBlood Bound by Patricia Briggs
4 stars
Fun urban paranormal fantasy that reads quickly with a fun group of characters. Mercy is a mechanic and and indigenous Walker/ coyote raised by werewolves. She is also friendly with some of the local Fae and vampires due to her auto repair shop. Owing Stefan, her vampire friend, she accompanies him to confront a visiting rogue vampire. Unfortunately he is a sorcerer vampire with a demon attached and it does not go well. Together all the preternatural do what they can to take down the evil before humans lash out against them in blame for all the increased violence and death in the community. Mercy is of course front and center while still trying to figure out her feelings for werewolves.
Slightly slow start to review the world building but hard to put down when the action got going.
Remembrance DayLife Class by Pat Barker – 3 Stars
This is the first book in a trilogy revolving around a group of artists studying at the Slade School of Fine Art – now a part of UCL. This book starts just before WW1, and the characters are based on real artists who were studying at the Slade at this time. Most of the story is told from Paul’s perspective, who is a northerner and outsider who is struggling to find himself as an artist. When the war breaks out, Paul fails his medical, volunteering instead at a field hospital, and a large part of the wartime period is told through letters he writes to Elinor. It was very interesting to see how the fighting at the front was depicted as well as how different people reacted to the war. The book also portrayed the treatment of German civilians who were living in England at the time as well as how relationships between different people were strained by war. I think I would have liked the book more if I had felt a stronger connection to the characters.
Veteran's day
: The Winds of War – Herman Wouk – 5*****
Book # 1 in the Henry Family saga introduces us to Commander Victor Henry, his wife Rhoda, and their children: Warren, Byron and Madeline. Victor wants a battleship, but he’s been selected to serve as Naval attache in Berlin. It’s 1937 and he’ll have a front-row seat to history. This is a larger-than-life story to tell, and Wouk captures the reader’s attention from the beginning, weaving the family’s personal soap opera drama into the fabric of history. This was a re-read for me, but I found it just as engaging and thrilling as the first time. I’ll probably give in and re-read the sequel as well.
My full review HERE
Remembrance DayButterfly's Shadow by Lee Langley – 4 Stars
This book was not really what I expected it to be – as I was reading the first part it reminded me of watching Miss Saigon, which I love. This focus on this book, however, is Joey, the son, and it follows him as he grows up in the US, and is then interned in a camp following the attach on Pearl Harbour. Joey and the other young men in the camp are offered their freedom, if they sign up to fight for the US instead. It is as part of his role in the army that Joey finds himself back in Japan, searching for his birth mother in Nagasaki.
I really liked the way the author researched and showed us elements of Japanese culture, and whilst I didn’t like all of the characters, I felt empathy for all of them, despite some of their actions, and I liked how we were shown the story from the different characters points of view.
Remembrance DayThe Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen – 4 Stars
This was not an easy read, but it was definitely worth it. The story opens in 1975 as Saigon is falling, and a general of the South Vietnamese army and his captain are making a list of Vietnamese who will be given a place on a plane leaving the country to start a new life in Los Angeles. The book tells the story of the captain, who we know is spying on and reporting on the actions of the General and the South Vietnamese veterans. The book is about the Vietnam War and its aftermath written from the point of view of the Vietnamese and, as such, does not always portray Americans in a positive light. It was a clever, witty book, that really gripped my imagination and held my attention.
The book takes place in the fall, and references fall activities, November weather, etc. Ethan's Everything by Lynn Jenssen, 4 stars
I really enjoyed this book about coastal life. I know the author as a romance writer, but this was so much more. It's the second in a series of books about a New England family, the Latimers. I know the author and her family (though I haven't seen her in many years), and it was fun for me to spot the many links between real life and fiction. I hope others will find the characters as realistic and lovable as I do. One scenario in particular brought tears to my eyes because I knew it was based on a real life incident.
This installment focuses on Ethan, who captains a fishing boat. He was previously approved as a foster parent when he sister Kate fostered two children, and he and his new wife Bree volunteer to foster a baby whose mother died in a car accident. As additional family members recover from the accident, the story takes a dramatic and violent turn. This is a heartwarming family drama series, with an interesting theme about recovering from sexual abuse.
I also liked the subplots about the family home, which has been in the Latimer family for centuries. There is a magical story about a seafaring ancestor, Adrian Latimer, who crashed his grand boat two hundred years ago on what is now called Latimer's reef. An aggressive real estate developer (and his buddy on the town council) are trying to gain control over the Latimer's waterfront property by claiming imminent domain. The family is working to find strategies to make it as hard as possible for the town council to go along with the plot. I'll need to read book three, about sister Megan, to find out what happens next.
Native American Heritage MonthFirekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley, 5 stars
I highly recommend this book about a Native American community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It's about the Anishanaabe people, which encompasses the Chippewa and Ojibwe cultures (if I understood it correctly.) This is a coming of age, mystery, adventure, and cultural book all rolled into one. It's one of the best "own-voices" books I have ever read. I might be biased because I think that my great great grandmother was a member of a Chippewa/Ojibwe tribe in northern Minnesota. This book made me feel homesick for a place I have never seen.
The cultural details are rich, resonant, and entertaining. I enjoyed hearing the language, slang, stories, values, traditions, and accents on the audio version of the book. The accents and voice inflections helped to communicate the personalities, sense of humor, or wisdom of the characters, particularly the older characters. When I was teaching, I had a list of about 20 key categories of things to examine when trying to understand, or communicate a culture. I think she covered most of them. I think this book could be useful reading for a high school or college class module on culture (minus the murder mystery). This book is tagged YA, and the protagonist is a young college student, but the author is skilled at translating the ideas to make the book relevant to any age group.
The book has an exciting mystery, but I would have liked it just as much (maybe more) as a coming of age or slice of life story. The main character was well developed and I would love to spend more time with her. Some aspects of the mystery story felt unrealistic to me. (But I could say this about all mystery/thrillers. I really hope the FBI doesn't conduct investigations the way it was done in this book.) The rest of the book more than made up for any weaknesses for me.
Jen K wrote: "Not sure that it counts to read a Christmas book in November but I couldn't wait and wanted to share in case anyone is looking for a fun YA holiday book.10 Blind Dates by [author:..."
Unfortunately, it won't count for November. Is there any other connection to November?
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Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
10 Blind Dates (other topics)Ethan's Everything (other topics)
Firekeeper’s Daughter (other topics)
The Sympathizer (other topics)
Butterfly's Shadow (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Patricia Briggs (other topics)Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (other topics)
Kate Ellis (other topics)
Kathi Daley (other topics)
Tim O'Brien (other topics)
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