Ministers of Fire

Ministers of Fire Mark Harril Saunders

Afghanistan went sour in 1979. Burling saw the ambassador get assassinated and then hatched his plan to bring in the Chinese to arm the Mujahedin. But he had to take April, his operative's wife, and on that meeting on the runway near the Russian border, she was taken. The aftermath saw his career ended and his family life shattered.

Summer, 2002. A Chinese dissident has escaped house arrest and is being smuggled to the US by a group of underground Christians and intellectuals. April's husband, Lindstrom, is brought out of a sober retirement to get him out. The head of State Security, General Zu, was on the runway when April was taken. He's on the dissident's trail. Burling, who is now the consul in Shanghai is only vaguely aware of what's going on, even though Lindstrom thinks he orchestrated the entire thing. Lindstrom's contact is Charlotte, a cultural attache and Burling's current girlfriend, who reminds everyone of April. Everyone's connected and the past is coming to haunt them, but no one knows who is pulling what strings or why.

There are plenty of car chases and gun battles on the streets of Shanghai, but this is actually a character piece of slow tension. We see into the minds of many characters on all sides and various free agents. All of them are flawed and striving towards their future, or running from their past, or both. There are true believers-- in communism, in God, in doing what is right, and jaded cynics. There are secrets and lies and people who can't make sense of the post-9/11 landscape. They doubt each other, they doubt themselves, as they try to understand the situation and who's in charge.

I loved the character development and exploration. I especially enjoyed the look at the toll the life these characters lead take on their families. Burling's kids don't talk to him, resentful of the constant moving around the world, of the way their parents' marriage dissolved. I'm guessing that many of these issues are taken from Saunders's own life, as he grew up the son of a diplomat.

I loved the look into the lives and minds of the Chinese Security police, how they still grappled with the legacy of Tiananmen.

It's more of a LeCarre slow burn than a Fleming action romp, and it keeps you madly guessing and turning pages until the end.

AND! IF YOU LIVE IN DC! Saunders is doing a free event at the Spy Museum on Friday, June 29 at noon.

Book Provided by... the Spy Museum for review consideration and event promotion.

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Maisie Dobbs

Maisie Dobbs Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs is a private detective who uses her knowledge of human emotion and body language to help her solve her cases. She used to be the assistant and protege of the greatest in the field. He's retired and Maisie's trying to take up the mantle, which is hard when you're a woman in inter-war London.

Maisie's first case is simple enough--a man knows his wife is gone for long stretches during the day when he's at work. He worries that she's cheating on him and wants Maisie to find out what's going on. Maisie solves the case easily enough but it leads her to something deeper. The Retreat seems harmless enough--originally it was a place where men with horrible facial wounds from the war could live together and away from the stares and comments of the general public. Eventually it opened up to any WWI vet who had visible or invisible wounds from the war that made them want to get away. But something about the Retreat seems a bit off to Maisie, and so she finds a way to discover more about it.

Throughout the mystery we get Maisie's back story-- her years in service, her time at University, her apprenticeship with Maurice, her own services in the war as a nurse and the wounds she carries from that.

Oh my, how I loved it!

Regulars know I'm a sucker for anything WWI related. I also love that it really looked into the after effects of the war, especially dealing with the horrible facial wounds and scarring.

I loved how it wove Maisie's back story in with the mystery.

I loved the side characters, especially Priscilla. How can you not love a character that gives us the following line? Dear God, give me a drink that bites back and good tale of love and lust any day of the week.

Most of all, I loved Maisie herself, and how she went from a working class girl to where she is now, how she struggled with her new place in society and the effects it had on her and those around her. I also loved her struggle with her own memories and experiences of the war and how much baggage she is still carrying around.

Her way of solving the case reminded me a bit of Poirot. (Thinking things through a lot.) It reads like a cozy, but the issues it brings up are much deeper and more serious than the cozies I'm used to reading.

Luckily for me, it's a series, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Last Princess

The Last Princess Galaxy Craze

First there were the Seventeen Days-- 17 days of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. So much ash was spewed into the air they rarely see the sun anymore.

Eliza's mother, the queen, was poisoned while Eliza watched. Her unborn little brother was quickly born, but is forever ill because of the poison. Food and water and fuel are scarce.

As the book opens, Eliza, her older sister Mary, and brother are returning to London after spending a carefree summer at Balmoral. Before she leaves, Eliza's best friend warns her about what the adults have been keeping from them all summer-- there's a brutal rebel group that's gaining ground and territory and its leader is the same man who assassinated the queen. Once they return, the palace is overrun by rebels, the king is shot (again in front of Eliza) Mary and Jamie are captured and the palace is burned to the ground.

Eliza swears revenge for her family and knows the only way to get to the leader is by joining the rebel forces. She walks straight into the enemy camp but hiding her true identity is harder than she thought...

Fun action adventure, light romance, and a destroyed London. I want to know more of the politics of the rebel group and also why the King had that much power-- much more than any modern king has held. The twist about the romantic interest was easy to spot, but I didn't mind. I liked how that story played out. The end was a bit tidy, but ah well. I don't have a lot to say about it. Eliza was pretty awesome. A few of her moves were a bit beyond belief, but they were so awesome I DON'T CARE. It was a very fun read and am very much looking forward to the sequel.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Close to Famous

Close to Famous Joan Bauer

Foster and her Mama left Memphis in the middle of the night, on the run from a boyfriend gone bad. They end up in Culpepper, WV, where they find a town dominated by the new prison--a prison that was supposed to give the town jobs and revililization, but didn't.

All Foster wants to do is bake, and have her own cooking show. When life gets rough, she just pretends she's on camera and narrates her cooking, practicing for her big break.

Meanwhile, there's a recluse movie star who sees Foster's hidden shame (she can't read), a budding documentary filmaker (who doesn't have a camera), a church that needs saving, and a robotic tarantula.

We have a small town full of quirky characters and a plucky girl who's new to town and saves the day and really, just a lot of tropes and themes that usually make me roll by eyes, BUT NOT THIS TIME. Foster's voice and determination to bake got me right from the start. I LOVE when she pretends she's on camera-- she's got it down perfectly and obviously uses it to work out her thoughts in a very fun way. They way Bauer draws side characters gives them a little more depth (and humor) than average. I especially loved the dynamic between the prison and the town--it's a fascinating issue and one that Bauer handles well and except for one scene, the prison isn't a scary presence. I liked how she explored how the town deals with the promised prosperity that failed to materialize.

I had to read this one for a training and wasn't expecting to love it as much as I do.

One note-- this was Schneider Family Book Award winner. The Schneider Family award "honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." I assume it won because Foster can't read. The only problem is, that assumes Foster can't read because of a learning disability. WHY Foster can't read is never really discussed and a disability is only 1 possible explanation. (I mean, Doug Swieteck can't read either, but that's just because he never had good instruction, not because of a learning disability.) That's not to detract from the book at ALL, mostly a committee process thing that I'm curious about.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Abandon

Underworld Meg Cabot

Picking up *right* where Abandon left off.

Pierce realizes that she does actually love John. She gets to know a bit more about the world that is the underworld. But, she has visions of horrible things happening on Earth, especially to her cousin Alex. Of course, when she and John barge in to save Alex, they have to deal with the aftermath of their exit at the end of the first book.

We learn lots more about the Underworld and how it works, also about John's back story. (Mutiny!) And about what Uncle Chris went to jail for and the back story there. (Turns out the Rectors have been a bit smarmy for generations!)

I love Pierce, although I wish she would let people finish a sentence once in a while (John, too). It might get them in a bit less trouble. But, once again, cliffhanger ending.

It's a page turner with some truly excellent new characters (Team Mr. Liu!)

It's going to be a trilogy. The first one follows so close to the second that I felt a bit out of place as I tried to remember minor details. I have a feeling that all three books will read more like one long book than three separate books that build a unifying arc. Frankly, my advice is wait until next spring when the third one comes out and then read them all at once. It'll make the intervening months that much easier to handle.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Midnight in Peking

Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China Paul French

It's taken me a few days for me to say anything about this book besides "I just... wow. I mean, it's just, Beijing and... wow. I mean... wow." And that goes for the rather explosive content and also the way French can spin out a story. (I mean, wow.)

In early January, 1937, the night of Russian Christmas, Pamela Werner was murdered. Horrifically. Her body was found the next morning outside the supposedly haunted Fox Tower in Beijing.* She lived with her father in the Tartar city, just outside the Foreign Legation, so the investigation is under the control of the Chinese police. But she's a British subject, the daughter of a former British Consul, and this isn't an average robbery gone wrong. To get around the British legation promoting an envoy to the case that they would control, the Chinese police appoint a detective from Tianjin, where Pamela went to boarding school. DCI Dennis was former Scotland Yard and wasn't under the legation's control. His hands were tied by the British as to what he could and couldn't do, but he wouldn't get in the way of the investigation.

But the British want to save face and hinder things at every turn. The Consul in Beijing has a personal dislike of Werner's father. National and personal politics play large. The White Russians who run the Badlands, the strip of seedy dive bars, opium dens, and brothels between the Legation Quarter and the Tartar city, aren't talking. In Tianjin, Pamela was a quiet school girl. In Beijing, she had several boyfriends and liked to party. Meanwhile, the Japanese are surrounding the city and getting ever closer. Everyone's fleeing-- either the investigation or the threat of war.

The murder remains unsolved, and the case technically open, but no one working on it. Pamela's father starts his own investigation and gathers his own evidence and reaches his own conclusions about who murdered his daughter. The Japanese get involved. Then they're not. Different personal and national politics at play, but they still have a major role in the investigation. Pamela's father has a compelling case to make against his main suspect (one that French agrees with) but the Consul and London are ignoring his pleas and evidence. Personal politics make it easy to write him off. The war makes it easy for his files and notes to get shoved in a drawer and lost (until French found them in an uncataloged file at The British National Archive in Kew.)

Was it the KMT? The Japanese? A jealous boyfriend? Was it a message to someone else? Or something far more sinister? (Answer: far far far more sinister.)

Secret nudist colonies, stateless prostitutes, political assassinations, and cocktail hours spent at smoky back tables gathering gossip, rumor, clues and evidence, Shura**... and a world on the brink of war. Basically, but John LeCarre and Eileen Chang in a blender and make the result a true story, and you get Midnight in Peking.

French has a gift for spinning out the suspense and tension. He deftly explains the back-history and the politics, making it understandable so the reader can get a sense of the all the factions at play, but without letting it get in the way of the story he's trying to tell. It's a powerful, gripping read.

I will warn you it's not for the faint of heart. Pamela's murder is truly horrific. Both the state of her body and the conclusions Werner reaches are beyond any Law & Order episode.

The end papers of a beautifully illustrated map of Old Peking, BUT they don't function as the most useful map. This book really needs a good map to help the reader get his or her head around the geography of everything.

It's a fascinating and distressing look at the last days of colonial Beijing. It's a page-turning murder mystery. And I mean... wow. Just... wow.



*Beijing = Peking. They are pronounced exactly the same. Throughout the book, French uses the old Wade-Giles system of Transliteration. Tianjin reverts back to Tientsin. I assume it's because it's more historically accurate. The Pinyin Romanization standard was invented by the communists over a decade after the events in this book. It also adds to that colonial old-world feel that pervades the drawing rooms and hotel bars where the action takes place. However, as someone whose mind works in Pinyin, this took a bit getting used to. Although, if you want to be super-technical about it, at the time this book takes place the city's name had been changed to Beiping/ Pei-p'ing because jing means capital and in 1928, Chaing Kai-Shek had moved the capital back in Nanjing (Nan means south, Bei means north) so Beijing was no longer the capital and so its name changed (back) to Beiping (ping means plain. The city had been named Beiping at the beginning of the Ming dynasty, when the Ming capital was at Nanjing. Before then, it had a few different names.) Until 1949 when Mao moved the capital back to Beijing and changed the name back. Interestingly, Nanjing never changes its name when it's not the capital. Thus endeth my supreme nerdiness.

**Shura was a half-Chinese, half-Russian of indeterminate sex who passed as man or woman, European or Chinese, depending on Shura's mood. Shura was a wine dealer, cabaret star, and a jewel thief. After the Bolsheviks murdered Shura's Tsarist official parents, Shura walked across Siberia and Mongolia to get to China. You know, AS YOU DO. Shura is a minor character, who greatly helps Werner's investigation, but I'm currently mildly obsessed.

Book Provided by... my local library

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In defense of Chick Lit/ Highland Fling

Several female authors that I greatly respect (Maureen Johnson and Jennifer Weiner to name a few names) are very much against the "chick lit" label. When men write about love and romance and marriage and the drudgery of an entry-level position, it's LITERATURE. But when women do it, it gets a pink cover and is easily dismissed as "chick lit."

And they have a point. Especially because it seems that a lot of women's fiction (by which I mean written by women and having a woman as a main character) gets labeled "chick lit" and dismissed.

But "chick lit" used to mean something, and something that I think is useful. The same way that we use steampunk, high fantasy, cozy mystery, or bodice-ripper historical romance, chick lit used to mean something very specific. It was a term coined to mean a rather formulaic romance that featured the following

1. A modern setting, usually in a large city (usually New York or London)
2. A female protagonist who is late 20s/early 30s and single. She has a job, usually entry-level or administrative support, often in media/publishing
3. A current boyfriend or crush who is all wrong for her
4. Another guy that she doesn't like, but will end up being her one true love
5. Sexy times, but mostly off-page
6. A little bit of adult language
7. A lot of heart and humor
8. Overall a light, "fluffy" mood and tone.

Many people look at Bridget Jones's Diary as starting this genre. (Although this one is a bit smarter than many of the others I've read (and enjoyed) as Fielding seems to have some of Austen's gift of observation of society's foibles.)

Which is my way of saying, when I say "chick lit" (and we probably need a better term than that) I'm talking about something very specific. It's a genre that I do enjoy. Which brings us to today's review...


Highland Fling Katie Fforde

Jenny Porter is self-employed as a virtual assistant, determined to never have a boss again, after the dot-com she worked for went bust, with managers making out like bandits but the workers didn't get severance, or even their last pay check for hours they had already worked. One of her clients wants her to check out a failing woolens mill in the Scottish highlands.

Jenny can immediately see the mill is in dire straits, but after meeting the workers and the family that owns it, she's determined to find a way to save it, not wanting the workers there to go what she went through. Of course, this is all complicated by Ross Grant, a tourist who keeps showing up at the worst times and makes her go weak at the knees-- when she's not throwing cups of coffee at his knees. And then her boyfriend Henry shows up, determined to undo everything she's been trying to do.

I didn't like this one nearly as much as I wanted to. I liked Ross, the "tourist" who is OF COURSE Jenny's mystery client. But the problem was with Jenny and Henry. I could never figure out why Jenny was with Henry. Their relationship is on the rocks at the beginning of the book, but there's no sense of why she ever started dating him. Supposedly he's hot, but there's never chemistry or anything. Which brings us to Jenny. Jenny's really really really nice. And that's all I can really say about her. She's just really really really nice. There's not a lot else going on besides being really really really nice.

The supporting characters are all crazy characters (because all small towns are filled with crazy characters) but they were very enjoyable and are what made me finish reading the book.

Overall though, instead of rooting for the romantic ending I knew was coming, my reaction was "oh, finally" and not in that happy FINALLY! way I felt at the end of the Downton Abbey Christmas Special (you know what I'm talking about.)

Ah well.



Book Provided by... my local library

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One for the Murphys

One for the Murphys Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Carley's step-father put her and her mother in the hospital. Before her mother regains consciousness, Carley is released into the foster care system. She's placed with the Murphys, a picture-perfect family. They're too good to be true and Carley keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. But, slowly and gradually, they worm their way into Carley's heart and Carley worms into theirs. But what's going to happen when her mom gets better and she has to leave?

I started reading this, thinking I'd get a few chapters in before bed and ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting. I loved it. First and foremost, I adored Carley's voice. She uses a lot of sarcasm to keep people at arm's length but she's really funny. Even her interior monologue has this cutting wit that we tend to see more in YA fiction than middle grade (but still totally age appropriate.) The chapter titles, especially, were a nice touch. The Murphys were pretty dang perfect, but even then we see that fostering a child is a personal crusade of Mrs. Murphy and her husband and oldest son need some time coming around to Carley. But it's so nice to read about a positive foster care experience. There's this very bittersweet feel to the entire book-- the ending's a bit messy (in the best way).

I love how slowly Carley opens up. In a lot of books, something happens and suddenly the protagonist drops all of her anger and fear and relationships are perfect. Carley doesn't immediately warm to the Murphys and it's slooooooooooooooooow and happens one family member at the time, and for every two steps forwards, there's a step back. It is just so well done.

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I do. Even though I know she's fictional, I'm going to be rooting for Carley to make it for a long time to come.

ARC Provided by... the author, for review consideration

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The Lily Pond

The Lily Pond Annika Thor, translated from the Swedish by Linda Schenck

In this sequel to A Faraway Island, Stephie is on the mainland, studying at school and lodging with Soderbergs. Unfortunately, the Soderbergs aren't as warm as Stephie expected. She's to eat her meals in the kitchen and once Mrs. Soderberg keeps her from going back to the island one weekend because she's throwing a big party. Stephie's excited to attend, until she discovers that she's to be hired help, not a guest.

The one highlight of the Soderberg home is Sven, on whom Stephie quickly develops a crush (oh, such a painful storyline to read.)

In addition, on the mainland, Stephie learns that the Nazi threat grows ever closer and even though Sweden is a neutral country, there are more than a few Nazi sympathizers. And, of course, letters from home show how desperate the situation is getting for her parents-- for modern readers who know what the truth ends up being about the fate of some many European Jews, it is heartbreaking to read, and rage-inducing to read the reactions of the Swedish adults Stephie tries to get to help her family.

There are four books in this series and I cannot wait for the next two to come out in the US. Sadly, there was a two-year lag between the first and second one. Maybe they'll speed up the publication cycle because the first two have both won awards? I don't want to wait until 2015 to see how it all turns out!!!

Book Provided by... my local library

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My Name is Not Easy

My Name Is Not Easy Debby Dahl Edwardson

It starts with Luke and his younger brothers Bunna and Isaac leaving their Inupiaq village to go to Sacred Heart boarding school. Isaac is deemed too young to be there and taken to live with a "good Catholic family." His brothers (and mother) don't know where and have no way to get in touch with him or to bring him home.

Despite the bleak start, it's not nearly as dark or depressing as I thought it would be. There are multiple narrators.* In addition to Luke, there's Chickie, the white girl who lives in an Arctic village. Donna, an Indian raised by nuns, Sonny, the head of the Indian students, Amiq, the head of the Eskimo students, and Junior, an overlooked boy who makes a difference in the end.

The book covers four years of schooling and with the multiple points of view, it dips in and out of time, offering snippets of life. This gives the reader a bit of distance from some of the bleakness present in the school. The book focuses most of its attention on the relationships between the students, which is another reason it doesn't get as dark as it easily could.

There are some big historical events incorporated into the text-- military testing on Arctic students, plans to nuke Cape Hope to build a bigger harbor, the Duck-In protests, the Seward earthquake and tsunami.** There's a great author not explaining about what's true and what isn't. Most of the storyline involving Luke and his brothers comes from the life of Edwardsons's husband and his brothers and their time at a Catholic boarding school.

One thing that comes up often in the text and isn't covered in the author's note that I would like to know more about is the animosity between the Indian and Eskimo students. They sit on opposite sides of the cafeteria, have different leaders, and don't get along. There are a few hints as to why (conflicts going back generations) but I don't have the background to understand it completely and it's something I want to seek out a bit more information on.

Overall, it's a very powerful book, but one that readers will still enjoy. I liked the wide cast of characters and the how gently Edwardson treats her subject without shying away from it. I think this is one that teens will really enjoy, but it's going to take some slick handselling to get them to pick it up.



*Although some characters get to narrate and some are told in limited third person

**Although I didn't know about ANY of those historical events except the earthquake.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Mediator: Shadowlands

Shadowland Meg Cabot

This is Book 1 of The Mediator series.

Susannah talks to the dead--she's a mediator and helps them move on to the other side-- usually with a punch or, if that doesn't work, an exorcism. She's just moved to California from Brooklyn because her mom remarried-- she likes her stepfather but isn't overly fond of her stepbrothers or California. But, her new home has a few surprises-- Susannah's bedroom is haunted by Jesse, a super-hot ghost who's been hanging around for 150 years or so. Her school also has a ghost-- the very angry spirit of the it girl who's death opened up the enrollment spot Susannah filled. All Heather wants is her life back. Susannah's school also has Father Dominic, who just also happens to be a mediator but with a much more gentle touch than Susannah's.

Susannah is the epitome of Cabot's trademark sarcastic voice. Overall a nice girl, she does have an edge and doesn't have the time, energy, of inclination to deal with high school mean girl politics-- she has some ghost ass to kick. She always has the perfect one-liner comeback. There's some slight sizzle with Jesse and with Heather's ex-boyfriend (which just angers the ghost even more) but nothing too swoony. I expect things with Jesse will heat up over the course of the series. The final battle with Heather was a bit underwhelming BUT I think of this as more of a set-up novel for the rest of the series. I get the sense that Susannah's younger stepbrother David knows/sees more than he's willing to voice (even to himself.) Also, I think Susannah has a lot to learn from Father Dominic and I'm interested in seeing that relationship develop.

That, and I love love love love Susannah's voice-- she's now one of my favorite Cabot characters. Lucky for me, I have many more books in this series to read!

Book Provided by... my local library

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Good Neighbors: Kind

The Good Neighbors: Kind Holly Black, art by Ted Naifeh

The faeries have taken over town. Rue's mother is in charge and keeping her (literally) underground. Amanda, the other folklore professor has created a human army to fight back. Rue has a plan to make it all stop, but at what outcome.

Someone I missed this one when it came out and it had been a looooooooooooooooooong time since I read Kith and it took me awhile to remember what was going on. I highly recommend that you read all three books together and wish they had been published as 1 book (maybe they will now that they're all out?)

It was a good and... interesting conclusion to the story. I was a little detached from the boy drama, but I think that's just because I had been away from the series for so long that I couldn't easily remember the relevant details, so that's all on me.

I like how Black's work returns us to the darker side of fairies (I mean, we never even remember that even Tinkerbell was originally not that nice. Pretty, yes, but also jealous and spiteful.) Naifeh knows how to draw a good glare.

Overall I really liked the series. I'm just having a hard time explaining why.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Pennyroyal Green (double review!)

Pennyroyal Green is a village in Sussex with two aristocratic, powerful families-- the Everseas and the Redmonds. Of course, they are enemies. It is the these families and the other people in the village that the Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green series of romances concerns itself. I've read the second and sixth book (as those are the only two my local library owns.)

Starting with the sixth and most recent book (Because that's the one I read first)

How the Marquess Was Won Julie Anne Long

Phoebe Vale is a teacher at Miss Endicott's Academy-- the girls school in Pennyroyal Green for recalcitrant aristocracy.
Over the holidays, she's invited to the Redmonds to be a companion their niece, Lisbeth, who has her sights set on the Marquess of Dryden. Dryden wants Lisbeth because her dowry contains land that made up his mother's dowry and was lost by his father's gambling--- it's the only piece of the estate that Dryden has yet to recover. Of course, the chemistry is between Dryden and Phoebe. Lisbeth does all she can to remind Phoebe of her place, and Phoebe just wants to survive long enough to catch her boat to Africa, where she'll be joining a missionary group in order to see more of the world.

I loved Phoebe's strength, voice, and wit. I also liked the slow burn of the attraction between her and Dryden. Even after it's there, it takes forever to act on. Long builds the heat and tension slowly and gloriously. I liked it so much I went straight to the only other book I could get my hands on.

Like No Other Lover Julie Anne Long

Miles Redmond is a scientist and renowned explorer of the South Seas and, since the complete disappearance of his brother Lyon, Miles is also heir apparent. Cynthia Brightly was the toast of the ton, but no she has a broken engagement to an Earl's heir and is down to her last few pounds. Her best friend, Violet Redmond, doesn't know how desperate she is, that she must find a husband at this house party, for when it ends, she has no where to go.

Cynthia immediately goes for Miles, but he's been ordered to woo someone else, someone who's father will fund his next expedition. Plus, Miles is still smarting from something he overhead her say years ago, when she was Belle of the Ball and he was still a second son. But of course, they're super attracted to each other anyway, even as they try to make matches elsewhere.

I didn't like this one as much. It took me a long time before I liked Cynthia and I was well into the book before I believed their attraction or relationship. Had I not enjoyed How the Marquess Was Won so much, I doubt I would have finished it. But, I'm glad I did, because I did end up enjoying it.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series-- they're all on their way via ILL. The two I've read are later, and there are many clues about Lyon Redmond in both titles--I want to learn more. Also, both of the ones I've read focus on the Redmonds, with heavy hints and clues about Eversea scandal-- I want to learn more about Pennyroyal Green's other prominent family. Plus, I really loved Violet in Like No Other Lover and I know one of the books is all about her. Now, I just have to wait for the ILLs to come int!

Book Provided by... my local library

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Chime

Chime Franny Billingsley

Briony is a witch. It's her greatest secret, that and the fact that she's responsible for the head injury that led to her twin sister's mental issues* and the fact that she's the one the injured Stepmother. She didn't kill Stepmother, but she might as well have. She's the one who called up Mucky Face, who caused the river to swell and flood and knock Stepmother down.

Briony has the sight. She can see the spirits and creatures, she follows the Old Ones. The Boggy Mun is killing the town's children with the swamp fever. Her sister, Rose, is sick. The Boggy Mun tells her if she can stop Mr. Claybourne from draining the swamp, he'll make everyone well.

But things are complicated by Eldric, Mr. Claybourne's man-child son, with is mane of hair and easy ways. Things are complicated by Leanna, the new woman in town who captures Eldric's attention. Things are complicated by Cecil who seems to think he already has Briony's heart.

Things are complicated because Briony's a witch and has to take care for Rose.

Bad things first-- I had read a million reviews of this, so I knew going into it that Briony is well, HOLY UNRELIABLE NARRATOR BATMAN. On the other hand, I think I would have figured that bit out rather early on. As it was, I figured out what was happening and the truth of the situation pretty early on.

Also, Briony's ignorance and self-hatred gets really tiring. Not in a boring way, but her narrative voice mentally exhausted me. You know how after reading Junie B. Jones, you need some adult time because it's like talking to a hyper 6-year-old for the entire time you've been reading? Yeah, like that. But not a hyper 6-year-old (I'm not doing a good job explaining this.) I couldn't read it for long stretches of time because Briony just wore me out. Which was too bad because...

I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK. Just loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove. I just wanted to take Briony aside and sit her down and be like, GIRL! IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!

I loved the setting of Swampsea. Billingsley makes the haunted creepy swamp and thing of supreme beauty. It's also wonderfully atmospheric. I know the book takes place in high summer, but I wanted to read it on cold, misty, foggy days because they seemed to fit better. Briony hasn't been in the swamp, her beloved swamp for three years because, as Stepmother said, Briony plus the swamp plus the Old Ones led to bad things. But the death of Stepmother and the arrival of Eldric changes everything.


But more than anything, the language and the writing. If Billingsley wrote the manual that came with my paper shredder, I would reread that thing every week.**

Check it out:


The swamp hadn't changed... It was just as I remembered, a foreverness of mud and water, water and mud, and to the west, a blackness of trees.

"Rose left no tracks," said Eldric.

She hadn't, she couldn't. The swamp is too oozy and flowy and drifty to hold an imprint. In April, the swamp smells of winter, but the snow has melted; the season of mud has begun. Beyond the stretches of mud and water lay the end of the world, where the air turned blue. p 26

How could I have forgotten that the swamp has no beginning? How could I have forgotten that the swamp simply seeps into exsistence? That it bleeds and weeps into existence?

The itch was gone--the itch of my scar, the itch of the swamp craving. How lovely to seep and bleed and weep into the swamp. p 51





*it's never named, but she seems vaguely severely autistic?

**So, I just searched to see what else she had written. Um... Big Bad Bunny? That's a favorite of mine to read when I visit schools! Doesn't have quite the same dreamy misty lyrical quality but...



Book Provided by... my local library

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Nonfiction Monday: Dan Eldon Safari as a Way of Life

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life Jennifer New

Dan Eldon was the son of an American mother and a British father and he grew up in Kenya. Throughout his life, he was always creating art, most notably in his journals (which have been published separately.) He traveled extensively throughout Africa and in the 80s, effortlessly crossed the continent's notable class and race lines. In 1993, while working as a photojournalist in Mogadishu, a mob killed him after an American airstrike killed many elders, women, and children. He was 22.

While writing this book and her previous biography of Eldon, Dan Eldon: The Art of Life, New interviewed over 100 of Eldon's friends and family. The young man presented in these pages is one of endless energy and impossible schemes that easily become reality, a talented artist who was just starting to really find his way.

What most readers will notice right away is the striking design-- laid out to mimic Dan's journals, it is filled with his artwork, photographs, page spreads, and words (in full color.) I was most struck by the ones that are mostly paintings, although many are collages of his friends and family, interspersed with ephemera, words, and drawings.

I would have liked a little more context to really paint how stark the race and class issues were when and where Dan was growing up. A little more explanation of what it was like to be white in Nairobi and going to a largely ex-pat school would be helpful.

Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is over at Apple with Many Seeds.

Book Provided by... the publisher, for Cybil's consideration.

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Sunday Salon: Reviews that Made me Want to Read the Book

Here are a few reviews that I bookmarked because when I read them, I added the book to my TBR list.

Anne Boleyn by Evelyn Anthony

My friend sonetka (not her real name) just started a FANTASTIC new blog, The Head That Launched A Thousand Books, which analyzes and reviews various novels about Anne Boleyn. This one was the first one she read, and one of her favorites. As she says This is one of the comparatively few novels in which Anne the politician takes center stage. It’s not told entirely from her point of view, but takes frequent detours into other scenes and other people’s thoughts, notably Cromwell, Norfolk, and the demoted Princess Mary. Anne herself comes across as intelligent, brave to the point of being almost nerveless, and at first mainly concerned with seizing her moment both to advance her family and their views, and to do damage to Cardinal Wolsey, who thwarted her possible marriage to Henry Percy.

Vodnik by Bryce Moore

As Charlotte from Charlotte's library says: an immensely enjoyable journey to a place where old, strange, crazy magic fills the streets of a medieval city. It's part mystery, part the story of a boy finding magical powers (while dealing with culture shock), part an exploration of ancient stories, and altogether engrossing...It's funny, with flashes of dry wit that made chuckle. It's gripping, with some truly spooky moments. It was a treat, as well, to spend time with the magical beings of Slovakian folklore--it was refreshing to have a somewhat blank supernatural slate, and there was real uncertainty about which of the various beings were allies, and which enemies.

The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats

The Book Smugglers tell us that this book is a vividly detailed Historical novel about the lives of these two girls in the tense early period of English occupation of Wales and the narrative alternates between their perspectives... There is very little in the way of an actual plot (it’s not until the very last pages, when the Welsh revolt, that something happens) and the novel focus on the relationship between the two girls and on their narrative. These encompass and mirror perfectly in a microcosms, the fraught relationship between Welsh and English at large. Sometimes that relationship is tense and full of distrust and resentment. Sometimes there is an almost truce that borders on friendship. Theirs is a relationship in constant motion, shifting accordingly to what’s happening in the world around them.

Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung

Adult Books 4 Teens says Tied to the traditions of Korea, Jamie’s parents expect the world of her, and more. Her younger sister, Hannah, feels many of the same pressures, but doesn’t have the coping mechanism to deal with them. When Hannah packs up and leaves one day, leaving no note, Jamie is expected to find her and bring her back. Chung weaves haunting stories from the family’s past, of sisters from each generation who go missing...

No Safety In Numbers Dayna Lorentz

Our time in Juvie says: The tagline for this trilogy in “Contagion meets Lord of the Flies in a mall that looks just like yours.”

Lorentz really captures the tension and how young adults think in a situation like this. What I love about this story is each of her characters is unique and come from different multi-cultural backgrounds. This element is very hard to find in well-written young adult literature. The pacing of the story is right on target as the tension and fear ratchets higher and higher. I can’t wait for Book Two.



Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Akata Witch

Akata Witch Nnedi Okorafor

Sunny's parents are Nigerian, but she was born in the US and then they moved back to Nigeria when she was 9*. She's also an albino. Her classmates stare. Her father hates her.

She saw the end of the world in a candle flame.

And that's when she learns that she's a Leopard person. Leopard people work juju and have powers. They had their Leopadness from the Lambs (aka Muggles.)

And like that, Sunny enters a double life-- dutiful daughter, diligent student by day, Leopard person out to save the world by night.

Because there's a serial killer on the loose and he's been murdering children. The council knows it's a Leopard person and knows that Sunny and her friends have been chosen to deal with it...

Love.

First off, hey! It's a fantasy set in Nigeria! And the magic and magical world are ones with what I assume are Nigerian characteristics (I don't really know much about Nigeria, so I can't say for sure.)

Second of all, Sunny is awesome. She's smart and clever and nice without being too nice. She has some innate abilities and strengths but she also has to learn how to use them. She isn't instantly the bestest Leopard person ever. I think the supporting characters, especially her friend Chichi and Orlu are also really well drawn.

I like how Okorafor plays with Sunny's outsider status. In the Leopard world, she's a free agent, or one who isn't born in Leopard parents. She wasn't raised in the culture or the knowledge, which puts her at a disadvantage. In the Lamb world, she's between cultures. Her classmates call her akata which is a not-nice word for an African-American. The tensions here are played with even more when Sasha arrives from the States. Her skin color also sets her apart from her peers and family. Her in-between status makes her an excellent tour guide both to the Leopard world but also Nigeria.

There's so much going on here that I really hope this is a series. It stands alone, but the world is so complex and I want to spend more time in it. There's also a lot going on with Sunny's family's backstory that I'd love to explore further.

OH! And I liked that there was some super super light romance but NO instalove and NO love triangles and it was a really minor subplot that didn't hijack the story.

Overall a really excellent book. I che4cked it out when we got it in last spring, but didn't get a chance to read it before I had to turn in all my library books before going on maternity leave. Luckily, it stayed on my radar so I checked it out again and had a chance to read it this time. So glad I did.

*Usually. My one complaint with the book is that sometimes this shifted. Like, she moved back when she was 9, but at one point says she and Orlu have been going to school together since they were 5. I kinda got the sense that when she moved back changed in revisions but not all references to it were caught.


Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Nonfiction Monday: Is the End of the World Near?

Is the End of the World Near?: From Crackpot Predictions to Scientific Scenarios Ron Miller

This is a fun and scary book about THE END OF THE WORLD! AHHHHHHH!

It starts with a historical look at how we thought the world was going to end -- omens of comets and eclipses, to Cold War fear. It looks at religious takes on the apocalypse and famous works of fiction about the end of the world (including disaster films like Deep Impact). It also looks at famous end of the world prophesies, like 2012 and various pseudoscience predictions.

Then it looks at very real ways the early might/will end. Like the fact that in a few million years, the sun's going to explode. Or we might kill each other with nuclear warfare. Or a comet might hit and wipe us out like it did the dinosaurs. Or global warming.

I think in all the real ways the world might end, it takes a good look at the chances of that actually happening and what we as people can do to try to prevent them from ever happening.

Over all, it has excellent photographs and illustrations, a great lay-out, and a readable, conversational tone as it explores some heady issues. It might give more sensitive readers nightmares, but I think many kids will find it enthralling.

Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is over at Ms. Yingling Reads.

Book Provided by... the publisher, for Cybils consideration

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Sunday Salon: Fake Mustache

Have you been to the Spy Museum here in DC? I highly recommend it. Don't forget the gift shop, either-- they have a great selection of cool spy things, but also an amazing bookstore with fiction and nonfiction for all ages (seriously, excellent book selection).

How excellent? Well, they realize that a slapstick comedy about a fake mustache turning your best friend into an evil super-genius and the only way to stop him is to dress up like a tween superstar cow girl and then team up with that cow girl and her wonder horse is the PERFECT fit.


So, on Friday, Tom Angleberger will be there signing copies of Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie O'Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (and Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind.


Here are the details:

Come to a fun-filled mustachioed family event at The International Spy Museum on Friday May 18th from 2-4 PM. Don’t have your own mustache? Not to worry, they will be handing them out free. Theirs won’t be the Heidelberg Handlebar #7 with special powers that stars in the book, but they will be hairy none the less.

Books will be available at the store. This event is free.

Here's the review I ran last month:

When Lenny's best friend buys a suit and a fake mustache for that "man about town" look, everything goes wrong. The Heidelberg Handlebar #7 has special powers and Casper (or, as he's now known, Fako Mustacho) becomes an evil mastermind. He robs banks for billions of dollars and rigs a presidential election. Only Lenny isn't hypnotized by the power of the mustache. But, with the help of Jodie O'Rodeo, a former TV Cowgirl sensation, they might just be able to save the world.

As you can probably tell from the plot description, this one is wackier, siller and more of a tall tale than the Origami Yoda books. As such, it wasn't really my cup of tea BUT it's one that middle graders will eat up. I liked the fact that Jodie O'Rodeo did all her own stunts, just not her own singing. I also like that both Lenny and Jodie narrate this one, but they don't alternate chapters--it's more or less in thirds. I also liked the crazy things invented by he Heidelberg Novelty Company.

ARC Provided by... the publisher, at ALA

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Spell Bound

Spell Bound Rachel Hawkins

This is the third and final installment in the Hex Hall series. It opens with some big revelations-- Sophie's mom is actually a Brannick and many of the attacks by the Brannicks and the Eye have actually been the Casnoffs, trying to rule the Prodigium.

But when everyone gets magicked back to Hex Hall so the Casnoffs can perfect their evil plan, that's when things really start to heat up.

There was a little too much Sophie/Archer/Cal love triangle for me because (1) I never fully bought into the possible viability of Sophie and Cal as a romantic relationship. Too much chemistry with Archer. and (2) Ugh. Love triangle. Over it.

But, I continue to LOVE Sophie. Her voice is as hilarious and whip-smart as ever. I admire her strength in the face of fear and evil. Elodie continues to amuse and amaze and big bad final showdown lays everything on the line.

I also loved the running joke between the friends over who was the hero and who was the sidekick. (I mean, Jenna does have the angstier/more tragic backstory and Sophie does do all of the sarcastic wise-cracking, so I think Jenna does make a strong case for herself.)

On one hand, I'm glad that Hawkins knew when to wrap the series up and she does it well, on the other hand... I WANT MORE SOPHIE PLEASE.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.