Honestly, We Meant Well

 Shirley J.                       Adult Fiction            Lost Loves, Found Loves, Lust, and its aftermath

Honestly, We Meant Well by Grant Grinder    320 pages

What do a philandering husband, a gay son looking for love or lust, whichever, and a college professor pining for what she gave up years ago and looking at the prospect of an empty nest and waking up to the same old grind every day have to do with the islands off the coast of Greece?   A lot!   A fun story even given that every body in here has their flaws, but, then, don't we all?   Sue Ellen Wright loves teaching and loves her students, her philandering husband, a writer and teacher LOVES some of his students, along with anyone else he sets his eye on but also loves his wife, he just doesn't always remember her when in pursuit of coeds.   After finding out her husband is cheating (friends run back and tell her when they see him out canoodling) and after confronted, he doesn't deny it exactly, Sue Ellen is offered the chance of a lifetime, an all expense paid trip to Greece to give a presentation.   Having a bent for crazy women, her husband's current conquest is a little crazier than he is ready for and he wants to get as far away from her as possible.  He begs his wife to take him on the trip.  Thinking better of it, but, doing it anyway Sue Ellen takes the cheater and also her gay son who is going through a complete mess of things in his own life, bawling over his lover who left him while seeing the  photos of his former lover and said former lover's new love all over his former lover's Facebook page.   Deciding maybe a change of scenery will do them all good and cleanse the demons from their lives she books them all for 3 weeks in Greece.  Afterall, she waxes nostalgic, her first real love was in Greece where many years ago she fell for a man and the ancient culture surrounded by the Aegean Sea.   Seems like she never got over him.   Really good book, great characters, funny situations and dialogue.  I recommend this one for teens on up.

Parisian Charm School: French Secrets for Cultivating Love, Joy, and That Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi

Shirley J.              Adult Non-Fiction                  How to live like a French Woman even if you are not one

Parisian Charm School: French Secrets for Cultivating Love, Joy, and That Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi   by  Jamie Cat Callan    224 pages

For the most part, the author shares that French women have confidence.   They show their unique personal style in the things they do, the way they dress and in how they live.   They are not just beautiful they have an inner beauty they bestow upon the world through their joie de vivre (joy in living).  They love nature and love to bring it inside their homes through flowers, lovely art, interesting curios and in the signature colors they choose for themselves.   True aficionados of sparkling, entertaining and often sensual conversation and hostesses (French folks love to host and attend dinner parties) extraordinaire, they are gifted with the ability to flirt in more ways than Americans can think of from the food they prepare and serve to the way they look up at you through their eyelashes in a most coquettish way.  It is a part of life, n'est pas? (Isn't that so?)   This book cites examples from many of Jamie Cat Callan's French female friends who share insights on how to live one's best life from the French viewpoint.  A delightful read and the reader will be able to dip a toe into the real Paris away from the tourist locales, and learn things from the French perspective, even picking up bits of the language and recipes along the journey.   An enjoyable read for teens on up.   Now I want to read Jamie Cat Callan's other titles.

 

My Little Golden Book About Betty White

Shirley J.                   Juvenile Non-Fiction                        Betty White, her work with animals, her life

My Little Golden Book About Betty White by Deborah Hokinson  24 pages

I loved this book.   When I saw it I had to read it.  Who knew a My Little Golden Book about Betty White! How cool is that?  It talks about her life growing up in Illinois with lots of animals and her animal loving parents, her love for husband, Allen Luden, her acting work and her deep love and devotion to animals and animal causes.  She even visited COCO, the signing gorilla and became such great friends that Coco  nicknamed Betty, "Lipstick."   Coco would even ask about her friend, "Lipstick," between their visits.  Such a lovely lady, Betty White.    I recommend this to young, infant even, a wonderful book to read aloud all the way to elderly, who might also like being read to.   Betty's appeal is multi-generational.

Reputation

Reputation  by Lex Croucher  336 pages

As I read in a promo, Reputation is "Mean Girls" crossed with Jane Austen.  Georgiana Ellers is abandoned by her parents at her aunt and uncle's home while they move to a seaside community for her mother's health.  Georgiana is bored to tears with all of the activities her aunt has for her which includes counting embroidery needles at the most exciting.  While at a party where a local couple are showing off their new painting, Georgiana encounters Frances who leads her into a world of alcohol and drug use along with some heavy petting not common in the Regency era for young girls.  When Georgiana declines to go along with Frances (and friends), She finds herself on the outside of the "in" crowd.

"Reputation" explores situations that are more modern and not typical to a Regency romance.  It definitely put a spin on what Regency readers are used to and thus, may not be for all readers who like this genre.

The Reckoning

 

Shirley J.                  Adult Fiction                        Prisoners of War, Small town life, betrayal, murder

The Reckoning by John Grisham   448 pages

Killer book!  Literally and figuratively.   Excellent story with gritty details that will put the reader right in the middle of everything taking place.  It is riveting.  This story is so good you won't be able to put it down and if you must you will race back to it first chance you get.  The story takes place in rural Mississippi with flashbacks to other locales and incidents.  There is the small town feel of hero worship for a local man, gossip because they can and unanswered questions that push some over the edge.   It is a story of pain, survival, betrayal, and consequences.  The reader will really feel for these characters as each has their own story which leads them to do what they do.  It is an excellent blend of emotions.  You will admire, feel sorry for, crave justice, hate the dirty dealings going on and be mesmerized by what happens.  I can't praise this book enough.   It captures the reader from beginning to end.   There are some pretty weighty ethical dilemmas dealt with here, I think this one is best for mature teens on up.  Great book.

The Perfect Escape

 

Shirley J.              Young Adult Fiction                            Escape Rooms, Zombies, Korean Culture

The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park    320 pages

Nate Jae-Woo Kim and Kate Anderson meet at the zombie-themed escape room they both work at and although Nate has been carrying a passion for years for another girl who sometimes notices him and hangs with him and his buds, Kate has a certain je ne sas quoi and while Nate has to question his feelings he begins to let go of the dream as the former gal fades into the background and Kate comes center stage in his life.   They share witty banter and the characters are so likeable not always so much Nate's 6 year old sister, Lucy, who he absolutely adores and excuses far more than anyone I know would.   But Lucy does have her good points and shows her golden side.   Nate's family are in financial arrears when his Dad is pushed out of his position at work and Nate is frantic to try to help out.  Kate wants money to get away and start a new life, her mother is dead and her Dad is a drone parent, not spending time with her but having the family robot keep an eye on her and put her under house arrest if her Dad so deems it.  Both Kate and Nate are so up on zombies that they decide to team up and enter a week-long survivalist  competition held by a local tech company in which the participants have to evade zombies to win.  The cash prize is huge and could be the answer to helping Nate's family and getting Kate to NYC away from her Dad.    A good story with lots of fun repartee.   I recommend this one to Middle Schoolers on up though with the warning that Nate is fond of using the F word.  

Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day

 

Shirley J.                 Adult Non-Fiction                        Self-Help, Creating Joy in One's Life    

Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day by Ken Mogi          224 pages

I really wanted to like this book but it tends to get a little lofty at times and many times I lost interest in it.   Which is not to say there aren't some things to be learned here, but, it is having to trudge through the mud of prose that weighs you down and doesn't teach anything that put me off.   My take away from this book is give yourself a happy reason to get up every morning, whether it is you love what you are going to be doing that day or you have a tasty breakfast to look forward to.  Give yourself a reason.   The examples of other folks' joy are teaching moments but there is a gap of, "meh" from time to time while reading that slows the process and mentally makes you want to put this book down.   I can't recommend this one since I found it hard to keep reading at times.   So, while anyone interested from middle school on up could read it, there are other such books that are more interesting. 

My Italian Bulldozer: A Paul Stuart Novel (1) (Paul Stuart Series)

 

Shirley J.                    Adult Fiction                                       Italy, Tuscany, Tourists, Bulldozers        

My Italian Bulldozer: A Paul Stuart Novel (1) (Paul Stuart Series) by Alexander McCall Smith                   240 pages

A deeply enjoyable novel.   Paul Stuart writes about food and when his relationship with his girlfriend of 4 years goes south (she leaves him for her personal trainer) and Paul begins to suffer from writer's block along with his broken heart,  his editor and friend, Gloria suggests he get away to clear his head and cheer up.  She suggests he go to Tuscany to enjoy the food and write about it from there.  He takes her up on it.  The adventure begins on the plane over to Italy when he meets an Italian University professor who strikes up a conversation with him.   Thank goodness the man gives him his card because man, does Paul need it!  It is one thing after another once he gets to the rental car counter ending up with Paul going to jail!   The turn of events takes him on all sorts of adventures and meeting loads of new people getting a new attitude on life in the process.   It is an absolutely joyous adventure ride to share with Paul even when that "shrew" of an ex-girlfriend shows up to "apologize," not that she plans on leaving the trainer, he just has "issues...".  So why is she ruining Paul's getaway?    I really liked this story and want to read the next Paul Stuart book as there are 2 in this series.   I recommend this one to adults.   The whole feel lends itself better to adults, even jaded adults not so much to the young and those blessed to avoid heartbreak.   

Death of an Artist

 

Shirley J.       Adult Fiction     Painters, Wood Workers, Free Thinkers, a former cop and Murder

Death of an Artist by Kate Wilhelm   288 pages

Set in Oregon with lots of description to color the mental view for you of a small coastal town where everyone pretty much knows everybody else but a great getaway from the outside world.  Stef is an artist who refuses to sell her work.   She likes to show it but never sells anything by choice.  She is on her 5th husband (free thinker/free spirit that she is) who isn't a favorite of her mother, Marnie nor her daughter, Vanessa (Van).  Turns out the jerk had dollar signs in his eyes when he met Marnie and begins selling some of her art without telling her.   A big blowout ensues when she finds out.  Once the LOUD argument starts, Van and Marnie fine other places to be.  Now if that were me, and that was my mother or my daughter, I would be an arms length away at her side or near enough to let her soon to be EX she had backup if needed.   But they both walk out and leave her to it not wanting to listen in and going on past break ups where Stef was more than capable of giving her old man at the time, the boot.   Next thing you know they get the message that Stef "fell down the stairs" and died.   Knowing full well Stef went up and down those stairs a million times a day and never had a problem.   Knowing that Vanessa's son hadn't been home and no toys were left out to trip on.  And Marnie knowing that the painting, Dale Oliver (current jerk in Stef's life), says she was carrying down the stairs when she tripped, was never upstairs to need carrying anywhere.  It was on the lower level already in storage.   Ex cop looking for a new life in woodworking, Tony's help is enlisted as an unofficial P.I. to investigate the circumstances that Marnie and Van believe were more than suspicious and that Dale murdered Stef.   But can they prove it?   Good story.  Likeable characters and the reader might learn some things about painting and woodworking.  I recommend this one to teens on up.

The Trouble With Hating You

 

Shirley J                  Adult Fiction                      Indian culture, Arranged marriages/matchmaking

The Trouble With Hating You by Sajni Patel     352 pages

Liya Thakkar is sick of her parents trying to make marriage matches for her and when she realizes the latest invitation to come over to her parent's house for dinner is really an ambush for the latest man they are trying to palm her off on she bolts.  She bolts so fast and so hard she practically knocks the guy and his mother down on her furious way out the door.   She is happy being single, a modern successful woman who enjoys hooking up at bars with whoever she chooses, regardless their nationality.  Turns out the guy she just about bowled over is the new lawyer hired to save her company from going under.   He's even less thrilled to see her than she is him and she isn't thrilled at all.    Dislike turns to hate but there is a thin line between love and hate the saying goes.  A good story, with lots of laughs and great character development.  Story line is pretty true to life, folks only need a bit of info to spread it around and ruin reputations.  of course their b.s. needs to matter to the person being talked about and frankly Liya could give a rat's patootie!  Lots happens and new developments abound.   Good story.   I recommend it to middle schoolers on up.  

Crenshaw

 

Shirley J.                   Juvenile Fiction                  Like Harvey the 6ft. Rabbit, Crenshaw is a 6ft. Cat

Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate      272 pages

I love the story about Harvey the 6 foot tall rabbit so I also loved this story about Crenshaw who happens to be a 6 foot tall cat.   Crenshaw is kind of like the cat in a hat, only not so mischievous.   Crenshaw is "here" to help a little boy named, Jackson, who's family is going through some really hard times (ie. living in their car, not a lot of food, more).  Not an uncommon occurrence as his parents being sort of hippie types they have an altruistic way of dealing with life and joking through the difficult days ( who needs a t.v. anyway when there are free parks to enjoy outside!), but, that doesn't feed a hungry child's belly nor a dog's either.   As things were getting really bleak, Crenshaw showed up in Jackson's life.   An imaginary friend that Jackson didn't conjure intentionally but who showed up on his own when Jackson was at his lowest to do odd things to make Jackson feel better and to support him emotionally as a friend during tough times.  Jackson's dog could see Crenshaw and adored him always trying to be by him and get Crenshaw to play ball with him.  Crenshaw didn't particularly like dogs he told Jackson but for the most part tolerated Jackson's dog.  This is a sweet, sad, yet uplifting story that I think would make an excellent film and I hope someone has the good sense to make one of it.   I recommend this book to all ages, Moms, Dads, Grandparents, etc. read this one even to young listeners, kids, I think you will really enjoy this story and adults, treat yourself.  I think we all could use a Crenshaw in our lives now and then.   Comforting as your favorite stuffed animal friend only better because he can talk and interact with you.  Good book. 

1001 Dark Nights: Haunted House

 Shirley J.                   Adult Fiction              Hauntings, Salem, MA, Killers, Skeletons

1001 Dark Nights: Haunted House: A Krewe of Hunters Novella     123 pages

Another series.   However, it might be interesting to explore.   This story takes place at Halloween in Salem, MA.   It involves the fiancee of one of the Krewe members, Kylie Connelly who is contacted by a friend who has just bought a "haunted" house in Salem, MA.    She gets more than she bargained for when she accidentally falls through drywall into skeletons and a fresh body on the other side!  Apparently someone has been stashing dead bodies in the wall for a long while but now there is a newly killed corpse of a tourist.    The story will explain the connection to the killer that Kylie has paranormal experiences with via remote viewing through the killer's own eyes!  The book does a good job of surprising you in this Halloween who done it.   I recommend this one to middle schoolers on up.

She's Come Undone

 

Shirley J.     Adult Fiction            How a girl then a woman copes with trauma throughout her life.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb   480 pages

At first life is pretty good for Delores Price, then her Dad leaves her and her mother for another woman.  Then there is the creepy guy with a thing for Delores feet that grows into full fledged pedophilia, then Delores insulates herself with food and an off-putting manner and size.  Her mother dealing with mental problems of her own tries to steer Delores to college to get away from their living situation back in her grandmother's house with hyper critical but meaning well Grandma.   Delores is ostracized over her weight and her former pen-friend/ soon to be college roommate who shared a great bestie thing with her until they actually met in person turns out to be the biggest jerk of all to her.   And if you can believe it, that was probably the better parts of her life.  Yup, it gets worse, but, Delores has this sweet try to make the best and believe the best attitude during her adult life after college and she is treated like a doormat by the man who professes love for her while diddling young girls.    It is worth the read.   I am waffling on whether to recommend this one for the younger set, but, on the other hand it is a cautionary tale.   I will say I recommend it for mature middle schoolers on up.         

Belly Laughs

 Shirley J.                Adult Non-Fiction                           The nitty gritty reality of pregnancy    

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy   192 pages

I like Jenny McCarthy she is a hilarious comedienne.   So when I saw this book I had to check it out.  Girlfriend pulls no punches, she tells it exactly like it is from beginning to end of her pregnancy.  She tells women what to expect, what to watch out for and give women tips on how to make the difficult parts of pregnancy even the humiliating parts (eye openers here no woman usually ever speaks of but Jenny does!).   As hard a time as she had she still says she would do it again in a heartbeat.   This is enlightening even if you aren't pregnant and never will be, she lays bare the real world of what pregnancy is all about and in a witty, comical way.   She tells off on herself like crazy.   I recommend this book to high schoolers on up, learn what to expect girls!   It is an enjoyable read and told in Jenny's unimitable style.

A Lullaby for Witches

 “A Lullaby for Witches” by Hester Cox   320 pages 

Wow! Somebody is as bad as math as I am.  This is a dual-timeline story (one of my favorite plot structure!): 1876 and 150 years later. Well, 150 + 1876 = 2026. I don’t think it was meant to be futuristic. The story doesn’t give any indication of that. 

In 1876, Margaret Harlow is the daughter of a wealthy New England family in Tynemouth, Massachusetts, a town not terribly far from Salem. It is time for Margaret to marry. Her father has picked her husband, but Margaret has other ideas. Margaret isn’t like all the other girls. She does not want to do needlework all day and raise a passel of children. 

Margaret likes to roam the cliffs and the nearby woods. She learns about plants and their natural healing powers...both positive and negative. It isn’t too long before the word “witch” becomes synonymous with her. Women with a variety of aches and problems seek out Margaret, meeting her in her little cabin in the woods in the late evening/early morning hours. 

Fast forward to what I will call contemporary times. Augusta Podos has a job as a tour guide at the Old City Jail, in Salem. She hates giving the same tour day after day after day. When a dream job as a curator at Harlow House (Margaret’s ancestral home), Augusta jumps at the chance to work there. 

As she is getting the grand tour, Augusta sees a painting that is Margaret. Little is known about Margaret as she had fallen off the family tree. Augusta takes on the challenge of uncovering Margaret’s story. Along the way, Augusta dumps her fiancé and falls for one of her co-workers. 

Augusta feels Margaret’s. When she enters certain rooms, she is transported back to 1876 and sees what is happening through Margaret’s eyes. As time goes by, the hallucinations become stronger and stronger. 

I really enjoyed the sense of the paranormal and Augusta’s hunt for Margaret through the paper trail. However, in the last fourth of the book, the story took an evil and twisted spin that came from nowhere. It was a three-hundred-sixty degree turnaround that was not smooth. “A Lullaby for Witches” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

A World Lost

A World Lost by Wendell Berry, 151 pages

Andy Catlett was nine years old when his favorite uncle and namesake was shot and killed.  The murder left a void in little Andy's life, family, and community, a powerful absence strongly felt but unspoken.  As the decades pass and Andy becomes a man, he explores this loss in many dimensions, even as he gradually comes to recognize that he will never really know why his uncle died.

A World Lost is short, powerful, and mysterious.  Mysterious not because it is a whodunnit - the identity of Uncle Andrew's killer is never in doubt - but because it touches on deeper mysteries, mysteries involving the human person and the nature of sin.  Berry does not try to solve these mysteries, he tries to understand them, and that begins with accepting that they cannot be solved.  Who Uncle Andrew was is ultimately a question just as unanswerable - and infinitely more wonderful - as the questions surrounding his murder.

I'll Take You There

Shirley J.                  Adult Fiction                    Hollywood Movie Stars, Silent Films, Ghosts

I'll Take You There: A Novel by Wally Lamb     272 pages   

I loved this story.  It reads like it is reality not fiction because the hero, Felix Funicello, talks about his cousin, Annette Funicello and so many other stars and happenings as though he is relating facts, and even though the story is fiction, the facts Felix divulges are true.  Maybe that is because he is a film scholar who hosts a Monday night movie club, that might be the answer as to why the facts he relates are accurate and historically true.   It is a delicious story and when Felix encounters ghosts from Hollywood's past even from the Silent Film era, the tale unfolds with such joy and no fear of the paranormal.  Actually these ghosts help Felix work out his current life situation by taking him back cinematographically to view his life and see why he is who he is and how he got to be that way.   It is a joyful read.   I recommend this book to middle-schoolers on up.  It is funny and poignant and everything in between.   And when you come to the end, you will smile for having shared the events with Felix.    

The Little Book of LIfe Hacks: How To Make Your LIfe Happier, Healthier, and More Beautiful

 

Shirley J.             Adult Non-Fiction                         Self-Help Tricks to Make Life Easier & Better

The Little Book of Life Hacks: How To Make Your Life Happier, Healthier and More Beautiful by              Yumi Sakugawa      208 pages

 Loads of useful tips to be found here for so many different categories one has to deal with in life from improving your health to improving your looks to improving your living environment.  A very enjoyable read with illustrations on every page along with several hacks or shortcuts to improving your entire world.  Some of the lettering on the illustrations are hard to read as the author/illustrator uses read ink on a pink background in exceeding tiny print or the same with green ink on a green background.  It looks fun but makes those parts force you to get a magnifying glass out.  Other than that the book is hugely useful with shortcuts to getting stains out of clothes, improving your overall appearance, recipes for easy peasy drinks (sangria for one), food and facials, how to make your current clothes turn into a multi-verse of new outfits just by pairing them in new ways with accessories and in different combinations.   She even tells you how to make the best scrambled eggs ever (honestly, Yumi, I find microwave scrambled the fluffiest best tasting so far, but, I'll take your word for it).   She has an endearing way of sharing environmentally and world friendly ways in her unique style to common every day issues we all deal with.   I highly recommend this book for all the fun things you will learn from it and be able to save time and be more cheerful while attacking those former frustrating problems.  I recommend this book to middle-schoolers on up.  Might as well learn shortcuts early on kids!   

The Children's Blizzard

“The Children’s Blizzard” by Melanie Benjamin   368 pages

January 12, 1888, it was a balmy day in Minnesota. It was blessed relief for the immigrant homesteaders following a nasty cold spell. Heavy coats, mittens, scarves, clothing were all left at home as children made their way to their one-room schoolhouse. 

As the close of the school day neared, children, and even the teachers, were eager to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. As they prepared to go home, black clouds raced into the area with hurricane-force winds, heavy snow mixed with icy pellets, and the temperature plummeting.   

As they noticed the impending storm, some of the children ran outside, determined to get home before it. Others lingered behind, unsure what to do. Teachers weren’t really sure either. Send the kids home and hope they made it or take shelter in the schoolhouse and pray that the storm would either blow over or not be as severe as it appeared. 

Melanie Benjamin’s latest novel focuses on the storm and its aftermath. The two main protagonist of the story are Raina and Gerda, two schoolteachers who made the opposite decisions. At Gerda’s school, she kept the children inside. Raina had her children tie themselves together with the girls’ apron strings and out they headed. No one lived too far away, and Raina was sure they could all make it. One group of children froze to death; the other suffered deaths and frostbite. 

The story opens on that warm day several hours before the storm hits. The storm is the novel’s antagonist. It is a formidable foe bent on claiming as many lives as possible. I didn’t realize how many different ways a wordsmith like Benjamin could describe the storm. 

While the storm may have been the main character, the heart of the story is the life of immigrant homesteaders. It is a story of the people who settled the Great Plains and their daily struggles to survive.  

Benjamin based her story using actual oral histories of the survivors, but the characters are fictional. It is based on the store that hammers the Great Plains on that January day in 1888. The actual storm took 235 lives, many of them children, and many were not found until spring.  “The Children’s Blizzard” is a compelling and heartbreaking story. It receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Take My Hand

“Take My Hand” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez   368 pages

Poor. Young. Black. Screwed. That’s the theme of this unflinching novel that takes a look at women’s reproductive issues in the 1970s. Primitive to say the least.

Civil Townsend is fresh out of nursing school and wants to use her training to make a difference in the world. Her father, who is a doctor, wants her to follow in his footsteps. Civil has worked with him in his clinic and believes that nurses can make more change than doctors because they are the ones on the front lines.

She obtains a position at the Montgomery (Alabama) Family Planning Clinic. A woman of her times, Civil believes that she can help women take responsibility for their own bodies and can decide if they want to have children or not. The clinic is overseen by a white woman, Mrs. Linda Seager, who has her own ideas about the issue.

The structure of the novel is dueling timelines and toward the conclusion, a triple timeline. When the story opens, it’s 2016 in Memphis. Civil is ready to retire after a forty-year career in medicine. She is getting ready to undertake a trip back to Montgomery and is relating the story of what happened there to her daughter, Anne. 

The story shifts to 1973. Civil has been assigned her first case with the clinic. She is to make a home visit to the Williams’ family and give India and Erica their quarterly Depo-Provera, a contraceptive injunction, which was used instead of the Pill. Many thought that it was more effective at preventing pregnancy because it lasted for three months instead of having to rely on a daily dose. 

When Civil arrives at the William’s shack, she is appalled by their living conditions. It’s a one-room cabin with inadequate ventilation, a dirt floor, a hole in the floor for cooking, clothes lying in piles, and dogs running in and out.  It smells worse than it looks. It is inhabited my two young girls, their father and their grandmother. 

What shocks Civil even more is that the India is only eleven years old and Erica is only thirteen.  They smell worse than the cabin. They haven’t even kissed a boy, much less had sex. It’s not even on their radar. I don’t remember how long the girls have been on the drug, but India hasn’t even begun her menstrual cycle. 

Civil’s sense of justice takes over. She cannot, and will not, allow those young, motherless girls to grow up like this.  She begins a crusade to take them off the shot and puts them on the Pill, get them into a subsidized apartment, on food stamps, and get dad a job. 

As Civil fights for the girls, she enlists the community to help. Eventually the girls’ case lands in federal court. This novel is based on the real case of Relf vs Weinberger. 

I could not book put this down. Some of the courtroom scenes were hard to read because they were based on law and were confusing.  That didn’t matter really, and I give “Take My Hand,” 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver

 Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver 437 pages

Anatomy of a Murder is a book that talks about a legal case from beginning to end, not unlike John Grisham's books.  It begins with Paul Biegler who is an attorney in Michigan's U.P. (upper peninsula) answering the phone in his law office after he comes back from a fishing trip.  On the other end is Laura Manion whose husband Lieutenant Frederic Manion is in jail after he shot the man who beat and raped her.  She asks that Biegler meet with her husband and take his case.  Biegler was once the District Attorney in Iron Bay but did not win a recent election to continue in that position.  He goes to talk with Lieutenant Manion to decide if he will take the case.  Once he makes the decision to take it, he enlists his secretary and his lawyer friend to help him in gathering information including visiting the location where the murder/killing took place.  What follows is a detailed view of meetings with his client and other potential witnesses, gathering evidence and finally the trial. 

I thought the book was well written and enjoyed reading an early legal story.  I had to make sure I remembered the time period the book was written in at times since there were some slurs and other situations that would not be appropriate in 2022.  I gave this four of five stars on Goodreads.

The Revenge of Magic

 Shirley J.                  Juvenile Fiction                                 Ancient Creatures with Magical Abilities

The Revenge of  Magic (Book 1 of 5  The Revenge of Magic Series) by James Riley    432 pages

Sort of a Manhattan Beach meets Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.   You have mad scientist Oppenheimer, students with magical abilities for healing and/or destruction up against ancient long forgotten creatures tunneling up from below the ground.   With the finding of magical books alongside dragon bones throughout the world as puzzle enough the U.S. Military is trying to find out what connection the creatures who claim to have been teaching humans how to use magic for the betterment of the world may have been subjugating the humans instead.   Throw in that the magic books found cannot be read by adults but the words can be seen by children born on what becomes known as Discovery Day the month and day all the children capable of seeing the words are all born on that is until Fort Fitzgerald comes along.     Lots of pulls from lots of other sci-fi paranormal tv shows, films and books that the reader will catch reference from or of.   The story isn't a bad one, it just isn't all that good of one.   I'm not inspired to want to continue the series but just because I didn't particularly care for it, doesn't mean that someone younger might not enjoy it.   I can't recommend it but I will offer that pre-teens who enjoy sci-fi and paranormal stories might think it was o.k.    No great shakes here though.

      

SLPL December totals

 

This month four people read 25 books for a total of 7374 pages.  Both Shirley and Julie had bonuses, but Shirley read the most with 19 books as 5623 pages.  Thanks to everyone for their reviews!

Don't Come Back

“Don’t Come Back” (Book 2 of 2 in the Molly Donovan series) by Tower Lower   255 pages  

I didn’t read Book 1 in this series, and that’s okay, as this is a complete standalone. I have read both book of author Lowe’s Cotton Lee Penn historical mysteries and really enjoyed them. This novel suffers the same problem as those two though. Lowe needs to invest in a good editor; there are so many typos it is almost embarrassing. 

Now that I have that out of my system, let me tell you about what I like the most about all of Lowe’s mysteries. Her protagonists are non-ablest, but that doesn’t stop them. Their disability is like hair or eye color. Important to the reader experience, but not a game-changer. They aren’t written with pity. 

In this novel, the prologue sets up the mystery and creates that “gotta keep reading to find out what happens” feeling.  In the prologue, an elderly Navajo woman is kidnapped. The book’s characters believe she has taken off for a few days with her friend, Eduardo. When Alicia misses her dialysis appointment, which she needs to survive, her daughter calls the sheriff who brings in the FBI. 

The FBI agent, Ray Yazee, is a native of the area with a Navajo father and a white mother. His mother took him away from the area when he was a small child. Ray is curious about his Navajo heritage. He takes the case in the hopes of reconnecting to his roots and to learn the identity of his father. As he gets closer to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Ray begins to hear voices and chanting; he is sure it is the mountains calling him to come home. In one of his dreams, he is told to “find the one-armed Irish woman.” 

Maggie, on the other hand, has problems of her own. Her boyfriend, Miguel, took a three-week trip to Spain to help his cousin battle a drug addiction. But now he’s been gone for three months, and when he does, he brings his “cousin,” Isabella with him.  Cousin, yeah right. 

Ray and Maggie team up to find Alicia and get her to a life-saving dialysis treatment. The suspense is excellent and had me staying up past my bedtime to find out what would happen next.  

Although I complained about the errors earlier, this is really a top-notch suspense thriller. Lots happens in the six days over which the novel is set. Therefore, I’m going to give “Don’t Come Back,” 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

The Women of Pearl Island

 “The Women of Pearl Island” by Polly Crosby 352 pages

 If you are looking for a page-turner, you’ll want to pass on this beautiful, atmospheric novel. The plot builds steadily and gives lots of surprises, but it is the land and seascapes that make this novel a must-read. 

Tartelin Brown is having trouble moving past the death of her mother. She needs to get away from London and accepts a position as a personal assistant to an elderly woman in a wheelchair on an island off the British coast. 

The island is owned by the Stourbridge family. The elderly woman who calls it home is the last of her lineage. Miss Marianne was raised on Dohhalund (name of the island). Her family made their money from the herring trade and the pearls that are farmed off the island’s rugged coastline. It is a primitive place to live---no cell service, no electricity, and no phones. 

Tartelin’s main job is to collect a variety of butterflies so that Marianne can study them. Something happened on the island during World War II. Something that involved the nuclear testing done there, but no records have survived. Marianne is sure she can find answers in the butterflies that she has been collecting since 1955. 

The book has two timelines: 1955 and 2018. In 1955, a young girl comes to live with the family. Marianne distrusts her as she seems to steal all of Dad’s attention. But there is a bigger secret that Marianne uncovers. In 2018, as Tartelin roams the island in search of butterflies, she meets many people who help her discover the secrets.  

I enjoyed the scenery a lot, but the plotline was a tad slow for me. The book’s title was a mystery until near the story’s end when the island is referred to as Pearl Island. If that sentence had been deleted, the reader would never get it.  Or at least this reader wouldn’t.  Therefore, I’m going to give “The Women of Pearl Island,” 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.