Review: The Returned

The Returned
The Returned, Book 1

Author: Jason Mott
Pages: 352
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Read: August 18-
Source: ARC from publisher

Description from Goodreads:
Jacob was time out of sync, time more perfect than it had been. He was life the way it was supposed to be all those years ago. That's what all the Returned were.

Harold and Lucille Hargrave's lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time ... Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.

All over the world people's loved ones are returning from beyond. No one knows how or why this is happening, whether it's a miracle or a sign of the end. Not even Harold and Lucille can agree on whether the boy is real or a wondrous imitation, but one thing they know for sure: he's their son. As chaos erupts around the globe, the newly reunited Hargrave family finds itself at the center of a community on the brink of collapse, forced to navigate a mysterious new reality and a conflict that threatens to unravel the very meaning of what it is to be human.

With spare, elegant prose and searing emotional depth, award-winning poet Jason Mott explores timeless questions of faith and morality, love and responsibility. A spellbinding and stunning debut, The Returned is an unforgettable story that marks the arrival of an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

First Sentence: "Harold opened the door that day to find a dark-skinned man in a well-cut suit smiling at him."

Review:

At BEA, Harlequin was really pushing The Returned. The publicists were all really excited for it and recommending it highly. While a bit interested, I was also skeptical, because, hey, they're publicists and pimping the more highly marketed titles extra hard comes with the job description. Well, in this case, they were right. The Returned is slow-moving, but elegant, graceful and thought-provoking.

The Returned is not going to work for every reader, though that's not surprising since no book does. I suppose what I mean to say is that it will be a tough read for many. The pace of The Returned is slow most of the way through, though there is some serious speed right at the end. What Mott's really digging into is the concept, so it's a very philosophical read, a brainstorming of what such a strange occurrence could result in. If you need books packed with action and excitement, The Returned will not do that for you. Sure, it's people coming back from the dead, but it's not zombies and there's no mayhem or brain-chomping.

In The Returned, Mott puts forth this concept: people who died begin coming back to life. They don't all reappear, nor do they necessarily seem to appear in the location where they died. None of them remember anything between their death and returning to life, and they are all the precise age that they were at the time of their demise. All memories seem to be intact. Scientists can find no rhyme or reason in why anyone is returning and why some do or do not return.

Using a family in the small town of Arcadia as an example, Mott depicts the spiral of society into chaos and hatred as this phenomenon occurs. As one might expect, there's a lot of discussion of what it means to be human and what the Returned really are. These people died but now here they are. Is it the same person or a different one? Should they have rights? The ethical concerns are fascinating.

Mott also looks at the possible logistical issues with regards to the Returned. Since they pop up in seemingly random places, like Harold and Lucille's son Jacob who appeared in China, there's the difficulty of sorting people back to where they belong. More of an issue, though, is what to do with all of these Returned if the formerly dead begin to outnumber the true living. The government doesn't know how to handle the situation, and the public is torn between hatred and fear of them and joy and hope at having lost loved ones back.

What this does to interpersonal relationships is my favorite aspect, of course. A situation like this begs so many questions: if a person remarried after the spouse's death and the spouse Returns, what happens? What if two teenagers were deeply in love until one of them died, and, now the dead one Returns still 16 with former love so much older? If they had sex would that be statutory rape or a whole new situation? In pretty much every way, no one has any clue how to deal with the Returned. It's scary and confusing and hopeful and worrisome.

If you're wondering whether The Returned is right for you, I point you to those hypothetical questions. Do you find the consideration thereof a fascinating enterprise or do you think that such speculation on something so utterly unlikely and illogical is pointless? If the former, read away. If the latter, probably not, I'm sad to say. The Returned lives in the hypothetical, and the beautifully simple writing likely will not be enough to save the novel for you if you simply do not care for that.

However, despite the fact that I loved the intellectual exercise, the writing, and that the ending almost made this hard-hearted reader cry in a public place, I did have a couple of issues with the book. First off, I think it's a bit ridiculous that, at least towards the start, there was never any move to put The Returned to work, except for the one famous artist. I mean, come on, if there are more people then there will need to be more stuff, so there need to be more workers. Obviously. Also, I'm not a really a fan of how the book wrapped up, which, sadly, I cannot explain without spoilers. I just felt like it was sort of a weak and anticlimactic way to do it. I get why, as that ending is more poetic, but I thought it a bit too simple.

Though I have nothing against romance novels, I am really excited to see Harlequin broadening their horizons with titles like The Returned, especially since they're doing so with such great books like this one. Patient readers who adore high concept reads that will really make them think need this book.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "There is a music that forms sometimes, from the pairing of two people. An inescapable cadence that continues on."

Review: Two Boys Kissing

Two Boys Kissing

Author: David Levithan
Pages: 208
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Read: August 10-11, 2013
Source: ARC from publisher

Description from Goodreads:
New York Times bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.

While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.

This follow-up to the bestselling Every Day showcases David's trademark sharp-witted, warm-hearted tales of teenage love, and serves as a perfect thematic bookend to David's YA debut and breakthrough, Boy Meets Boy, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2013.

First Sentence: "You can't know what it is like for us now—you will always be one step behind."

Review:

After several disappointments with David Levithan's works written with Rachel Cohn and Andrea Cremer, I'd built up some healthy skepticism about whether his writing really worked for me. With Two Boys Kissing, I now know that he's an author I definitely need to be reading, and am no longer concerned about the collection of his books I already own. Two Boys Kissing is beautiful, a statement about what matters and what it's like to be a gay boy or man.

David Levithan's writing is pretentious, of that I have no doubt. It certainly will not appeal to a lot of readers, who will be annoyed by that, and I don't know how it will play with teen readers, but I love it. The writing in Two Boys Kissing is complex and beautiful and simple. There were so many beautiful quotes that are heartbreaking or inspiring or funny. Plus, I'm personally not bothered by pretentious writing so long as it fits the narrative style and it's perfect for Two Boys Kissing.

The narrators of Two Boys Kissing are, in fact, none of the boys involved in the plot of the story. In fact, they are all dead. In what the blurb aptly describes as a "Greek Chorus," gay men from times before, specifically a generation dead from AIDS watches the boys live out their lives and marvels at how times have changed. At first, I was immensely skeptical of this writing style, but I actually ended up being a huge fan of the way this played out. Though a bit distancing from the actual teen characters and their issues, I found myself highly connected to this chorus of dead men, choking up in every one of their little asides, either from sadness or the inspiring beauty of their words.

By having this chorus of men narrate, Levithan was able to do two things: universalize the experience of being a gay man into more than just what the eight boys specifically focused on have experienced and indicate how much progress has already been made in the acceptance of homosexuality. Certainly total acceptance remains in the future, but the chorus marvels at the fact that two boys can kiss in front of their high school for over a day and receive largely positive feedback. Being gay is no longer as closeted as it used to be.

Another aspect of Two Boys Kissing that I loved was the diversity of the characters, both ethnically and situationally. Characters, both main and minor, come from different racial backgrounds, and that's just a fact and not a defining characteristic. Levithan also portrays with the eight gay teens eight different experiences of being a young gay in America. There are the two boys kissing, broken up and trying to figure out how to become friends. There's a couple in a healthy relationship, accepted by both sets of parents. There's a potential couple in the making, one of the boys who is partway through his gender change from female to male. There's a boy who was badly beaten for his sexual identity, determined to support his best friends in their record-breaking kiss. Finally, there's a boy who fears no one will ever love him who trolls the internet for connection, pretending to be whatever someone wants on a gay dating website. Two Boys Kissing really focuses on capturing the whole range of experience and does so well.

My complaints are very minor. First off, and this could be very serious for some, Two Boys Kissing is definitely preachy. However, I support the messages herein and didn't mind the preaching. Still, it's worth noting that Levithan isn't setting a scene before the reader and leaving them to draw conclusions; he also sets out the conclusions he wants the reader to draw. The other thing, and this is really nitpicky, is that Levithan really loves the term "screwing," and uses it a lot. It really just seemed really out of place and overused, since I feel like it's slang that I don't hear all that much anymore.

I loved Two Boys Kissing. Levithan has written a gorgeous novel with a unique perspective and really delved into the issues of being a gay male. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in GLBT fiction.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quotes:

"They should be going to sleep, but good company is the enemy of sleep. We remember this feeling so acutely—the desire to linger away the hours with someone else, talking or holding or even just watching a movie. In those moments, the clock seems arbitrary, since you are setting your understanding of time to another, more personal measure."

"'They beat the shit out of me,' he told people, soon after. 'But you know what? I didn't need that shit inside of me. I'm glad it's gone.'"

"There are millions of kisses to be seen, millions of kisses only a click away. We are not talking about sex. We are talking about seeing two boys who love one another kiss one another. That has so much more power than sex. And even as it becomes commonplace, the power is still there. Every time two boys kiss, it opens up the world a little bit more."

Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Fairyland, Book 1

Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Pages: 247
Publisher: Square Fish
Source: Gifted by Kayla of Bibliophilia, Please

Description from Goodreads:
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

First Sentence: "Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents' house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog."

Review:

Though Catherynne M. Valente's novels have been on my radar for a while now, I've honestly been a bit terrified to read them. They're so lauded by readers I respect highly and I really feared that I would be the black sheep of dissidence. I'd heard they were strange and that doesn't always jive so well with my tastes, but, oh, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is just the right kind of strange.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland recalls many classic tales: Alice in Wonderland, the myth of Persephone, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to name a few. I make these comparisons not to suggest that Valente's tale lacks in originality in any way, but that she cleverly weaves a story full of allusions to those classic tales. Though I don't usually do this, I'm going to structure much of my review around these comparisons, since The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland has been reviewed by many people already, and I feel free to do my own weird thing with it.

The tone and the sheer madcap adventure-filled feel of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is one hundred percent Alice in Wonderland. Though there was little that specifically seemed directly out of Carroll's classic absurdist tale, his influence is visible on every page. The girl stumbles into a magical land and bounces from quest to quest, with the ultimate goal of unseating an evil female ruler, who destroyed the benevolent queen. Valente fully embraces the absurd, but, where Carroll's story lacks for me—characterization, Valente shines, but I'll talk about that more later.

The Persephone myth works as a frame story to September's adventures. There are clever references throughout, but the main purpose is to explain why September will eventually return. I love the way that Valente set up the very end. It's simply perfection, bringing the rest of the plotting full circle. Sometimes it feels like the weird novels are so spontaneous and surprising because the author didn't know what was going on either, but it's very apparent that Valente knew exactly what she was doing.

I have two points to make with reference to the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The most overt similarity is that one of the characters traveled to Fairyland by means of wardrobe, an obvious omage to Lewis' tale. However, there's another comparison to be made, a bit subtler. Like Lewis' classic, September travels to a magical world during wartime. Her father is off fighting in WWII and her mother works as an engineer. She feels lonely and doesn't understand what's going on very well. Valente turns September's adventures in Fairyland into a neat platform by which to make observations on the nature of war.

As I said, there's so much more to Valente's tale than those structural similarities, all of which I love a lot. Her characters are a delight, though I must admit this is one of those times where the supporting cast is much more dear to me than the MC. September is a delightful girl, it's true. She has a lot more strength and graciousness than the average heroine, and is much more empowered in her story than any of the ones in the three classic tales I mentioned previously, which is utterly fantastic. She just can't compete with her sidekicks, though.

Those who know me well will probably not be surprised to learn that my favorite character is A-Through-L, affectionately known as Ell, the wyverary. He's a wyvern, sort of like a dragon, but also the son of a library. He knows absolutely everything about anything found between the letters A through L, which is immensely helpful on a journey, and he's the most delightful companion a girl could want through Fairyland. I also love Gleam, a lantern over a century old and desperate for adventure, and Saturday, a creature similar to a genie who I'm really looking forward to getting to know better in the next installment.

Even the evil Marquess is a marvelously well-drawn character. Often villains take a back seat to the good guys, lacking complexities in books with otherwise sophisticated characterization. Valente, however, made her villain one of the most complex characters in the piece. She gives the Marquess a reason for the way she is, and makes her at least a little bit sympathetic.

On top of all of that, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Her writing is a veritable feast of deliciously underused words. Though I do think this might be a tough read for children, it would be a perfect choice for parents to read aloud to their kids, though they may end up explaining quite a few terms. This is a story that will delight children, I think, but adults even more so, in a rather different way perhaps.

Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is absolutely marvelous, and I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who delights in verbiage, characterization, fairy tales, or any of those stories I mentioned above. With this one book, Valente goes on my auto-read list.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "All children are heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things and leap so very high that grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.)"

Review + Giveaway: Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone

Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone

Author: Kat Rosenfield
Pages: 279
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Source: Gifted ARC from YA Books Central

Description from Goodreads:
An arresting un-coming-of-age story, from a breathtaking talent

Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.

Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.

First Sentence: "The night before Amelia Anne Richardson bled her life away on a parched dirt road outside of town, I bled out my dignity in the back of a pickup truck under a star-pricked sky."

Review:

Oh, that awkward moment where you read a book that's come highly recommended to you from just about everyone you know and then you don't like the book. There seem to be a lot of times where I'm that guy: the one who goes against the grain of popular opinion. I could list a number of books my friends all loved that I didn't like much at all, as well as ones pretty much no one else cared for that I thought were fabulous. Honestly, it's frustrating this divide that leaves me agreeing with others no more than 3/4 of the time.

Though I did not particularly enjoy this book, I am not blind to its charms, so do allow me to start there. Kat Rosenfield has, no doubt, a marvelous career ahead of her. With the first sentence, I knew that I would love her writing, and I was right about that at least. If this is how well she writes a debut, she will be going big places. Her style perfectly matched the tone of the novel, a mood of hopelessness, of loss, and of confusion.

Also on the positive side, I give Rosenfield full credit for telling a unique story, one I have never seen the likes of in YA fiction. She parallels the lives of the titular Amelia Anne and Becca, born and raised in the town where Amelia Anne breathed her last. Both girls are in love, or think they are, with boys who fail to please them sexually. Both have big plans that they fear their boyfriends will not support. Amelia Anne graduated from college the same day that Becca graduated from high school. Amelia Anne died, stuck forever in some sense in this town where Becca dreads being trapped.

Moving into what I did not like now, I have to go back to the writing. Much as I loved the way Rosenfield phrased things and put together her sentences, I did not like the storytelling method she used. I did like getting to see both from Becca's perspective in the present and Amelia Anne's perspective in the days leading up to her death, although I really hate the way her chapters weren't given chapter numbers. What drove me crazy, however, was that the narration occasionally either switched to third person omniscient in Becca's section or that she was telling the story from some unidentified date in the future. The numbered chapters often included reflections on things Becca simply could not know or hints at knowledge she could not yet have possessed. These details detracted from the novel for me, rather than adding additional crucial knowledge.

Amelia Anne Is Dead and Gone is one of those books about terrible people. All of them, with the exception of Amelia Anne, are awful. I did not like a single one of them. Of course, sometimes authors can make this work, make you curious about characters you would happily hurl off a cliff. In this case, though, I just did not care about them. When the dramatic twists happened, instead of being shocked and excited, I was more like "whatever, can we please move this along?" and entirely bored with the whole thing. No matter how clever twists are, if you're not emotionally invested, they lack impact.

Were it not for the beauty of the writing, this rating would be a 2. Though I didn't like this, I urge you not to take this book off your list solely based on my review, as so many reviewers I trust implicitly loved it. As it is, I would read something else of Rosenfield's in a heartbeat, because of how incredibly talented I can tell she is.

Rating: 2.5/5 - solely for the writing

Favorite Quote: "Innocence can only last so long, especially the kind that comes from growing up sheltered by quiet neighborhoods, immaculate concrete sidewalks, so much nothingness for miles around. Kids riding plastic Big Wheel biked too fast down dead-end streets; spills taken on sharp corners; asphalt picked out of knees and elbows that bleed, scab over, then heal. Same faces, same streets, day in and day out, eyes that never witness anything more desolate than those empty, gravel-strewn country roads. And then, one day and all at once, the veil lifts."

Giveaway:
Since I know others have loved this, I am passing along my ARC to someone who will no doubt appreciate the book more than I do.
Some other reviews to check out in case mine doesn't make you want the book:
Wendy of The Midnight Garden: "One of my favorite books this year is definitely Kat Rosenfeld's Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone."
Jenni of Alluring Reads: "This is a fantastic story and one that I definitely feel I could read again and again and come away with something new each time."
Kelly J. of Stacked: "Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone is Kat Rosenfield's debut and it is a knock out."

US/CAN only. Just fill out THIS FORM and leave a comment on the review by December 26th.

Review: The Diviners

The Diviners
The Diviners, Book 1

Author: Libba Bray
Pages: 592
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Nabbed at BEA

Description from Goodreads:
Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies." When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

First Sentence: "In the town house at a fashionable address on Manhattan's Upper East Side, every lamp blazes."

Review:

Woohoo, I finally finished The Diviners. This thrills me both because it's insanely original and good, and because it's so incredibly long and took me forever. Partially, this was because it was my secondary book, but still...oof. Libba Bray has firmly cemented herself in my mind as an Awesome Author, both for her hilarious personality and her talented writing. Though I didn't like A Great and Terrible Beauty when I first read it ages ago, I loved Beauty Queens and now this one. Libba Bray is one of those authors with the remarkable ability to do something entirely new and astounding every time.

Though The Diviners was pretty slow-going for me, I really did pos-i-tute-ly love it. The storytelling style Bray uses appealed to me entirely. She tells the story in third person, but with a sort of magical realism flair to it, sometimes following a character and sometimes trailing the wind. This fit the story like a glove, and really set up the precise tone needed to pull this tale off.

On the downside, I wasn't entirely sold on Bray's use of multiple perspectives. I love them usually, whether third or first person, but it felt forced here. Basically, most of the book was Evie, with a smattering of chapters from Memphis' perspective, and then random bits of chapters following other characters/things. For the most part, the narration that didn't follow Evie found my mind wandering off course just a bit. I just feel like Memphis didn't do enough to justify his having such a large chunk of narrative relative to his importance.

The paranormal plot line, though clearly not yet fully-fledged, still opening up like a bud to become a bloom, delighted me too. Diviners have abilities, sort of like X-Men, which you know is totally one of my favorite things. Evie can see a bit of the past when touching objects. Memphis can heal. The powers are different for each individual and all fascinating. As I said, this was not as big a part of the book as you might expect yet, but will clearly be more central to the next installment.

Another aspect that Libba Bray gets just right is the creep factor. If you're someone who's scared by books, she will no doubt have you cowering into your blankets. Thankfully, I'm not bothered by horror in books (though I can't stomach it in the slightest in films), so it didn't scare me. I could still admire, however, her ability to create suspense and an eerie scene. I suspect that the story is told the way that it is precisely so we can pop over to the victims' points of view.

On top of that, I loved Evie. She starts out as this shallow, selfish girl, who I definitely still loved, but grows into this even more loveable girl throughout. I say that, but her core doesn't really change at all. She lets more of her good qualities shine through, but she's not magically a good girl or something; she still loves to party, to drink, to manipulate people and to be the center of attention. Evie is straight up hilarious, and I like that, much as she's a party girl, she really doesn't seem all that bothered about boys. Romance doesn't seem to matter to her all that much, except in the matchmaking sense, determined to help her straight-laced friend Mabel land her crush.

I never quite felt the same liking for any of the other characters that I did for Evie. Jericho and Will I like, but I don't know enough about them to be super invested. Memphis really does seem like a marvelously nice guy, but he just bored me, and I'm really creeped out by pretty much every other character in his story line. My least favorite character, though, by far was Sam. Intellectually, I know he's sort of the more messed-up, male version of Evie, but, for whatever reason, I just cannot stand him. Maybe I just can't get over the fact that he stole from Evie when he first met or how freaking cocky he is.

While The Diviners was not a perfect read, I still declare myself awash in admiration for Libba Bray's talent. This book is so unlike anything else I've read and the writing is superb. For those with a bit of patience, you will not want to miss this one, as it is remarkable.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote:

"'I thought you went to the library,' Uncle Will said.
   Evie cut her eyes at Will, who didn't look up from his book. 'Why do you think I'm so exhausted? If you'd like to know anything at all about this city in 1876, please raise your hand. No show of hands? Pos-i-tute-ly shocking.' Evie bunched a pillow into a corner of the settee and rested her face against it. 'There is a hideous invention called the Dewey Decimal System. And you have to look up your topic in books and newspapers. Pages upon pages upon pages . . . .
   Uncle Will frowned. 'Didn't they teach you how to go about research in that school of yours?''
   'No, but I can recite 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' while making martinis.'
   'I weep for the future.'  
'There's where the martinis come in.'"

Review: Belong to Me

Belong to Me

Author: Marisa de los Santos
Pages: 388
Publisher: Harper
Source: Own

Description from Goodreads:
Everyone has secrets. Some we keep to protect ourselves, others we keep to protect those we love.

A devoted city dweller, Cornelia Brown surprised no one more than herself when she was gripped by the sudden, inescapable desire to leave urban life behind and head for an idyllic suburb. Though she knows she and her beloved husband, Teo, have made the right move, she approaches her new life with trepidation and struggles to forge friendships in her new home. Cornelia's mettle is quickly tested by judgmental neighbor Piper Truitt. Perfectly manicured, impeccably dressed, and possessing impossible standards, Piper is the embodiment of everything Cornelia feared she would find in suburbia. A saving grace soon appears in the form of Lake. Over a shared love of literature and old movies, Cornelia develops an instant bond with this warm yet elusive woman who has also recently arrived in town, ostensibly to send her perceptive and brilliant son, Dev, to a school for the gifted.

Marisa de los Santos's literary talents shine in the complex interactions she creates between these three women. She deftly explores the life-altering roller coaster of emotions Piper faces as she cares for two households, her own and that of her cancer-stricken best friend, Elizabeth. Skillfully, de los Santos creates an enigmatic and beguiling character in Lake, who draws Cornelia closer even as she harbors a shocking secret. And from the first page until the exhilarating conclusion, de los Santos engages readers with Cornelia, who, while trying to adapt to her new surroundings, must remain true to herself. As their individual stories unfold, the women become entangled in a web of trust, betrayal, love, and loss that challenges them in ways they never imagined, and that ultimately teaches them what it means for one human being to belong to another.

First Sentence: "My fall from suburban grace, or, more accurately, my failure to achieve the merest molehill of suburban grace from which to fall, began with a dinner party and a perfectly innocent, modestly clever, and only faintly quirky remark about Armand Assante."

Review:
Though, for some reason, Belong to Me is treated as a standalone, it's really not. I'm not sure why the publisher decided not to market them as a series, since they are directly linked. Oh well. I read the first book, Love Walked In, a few years ago, and I was really impressed. Ever since, I've recommended it to people, but, with my memory and the way my taste in books can change and grow over time, I wondered if it was really as good as I remember it being. Well, if Belong to Me is any sort of reliable indicator, then yes. I highly recommend reading Love Walked In first, then moving to Belong to Me.

All the same characters from Love Walked In are back. On the surface, de los Santos' books look like chick lit, like girly, light, fluff books, at least that's what I get from the covers and the titles. While her books do, admittedly, have way more female appeal, I would in no way mark them as 'chick lit,' though the boundaries between 'chick lit' and 'women's fiction' and 'literary fiction' are hazy to me at best. De los Santos' novels are packed full of emotion and wit and hope, and are incredibly beautifully written. There are authors whose prose I just glory in, immersing myself in their words as though they were the perfect temperature pool, and de los Santos belongs on that list.

Belong to Me may be a bit of a cheesy title, but it speaks directly to the main thrust of the novel: belonging. Each of the main characters struggle with finding a place to belong, and, perhaps even more, with finding a place where they belong that doesn't fit their initial expectations. These themes move me so much, because, really, aren't we all looking for that place where we belong, that person that makes us feel at home wherever we are? This is one of those books that makes me want to believe so hard that happy endings are possible, not so much because 'true love' is real, but because a more basic, more enduring, more real love is out there and that people will work to preserve it.

De los Santos writes from multiple perspectives, a common, though still daring, writerly move. Not only that, but she writes with one first person perspective and the others in third person limited. In both books, the reader lives in Cornelia's head, follows her around in first person, feels directly with her. In Love Walked In, the other perspective is that of Clare, a girl whose connection to Cornelia is not immediately apparent. In Belong to Me, we have Cornelia's and two more: Piper, the queen bee of Cornelia and Teo's new suburban neighborhood, and Dev, a brilliant young teen.

Cornelia and Teo have just moved into a house in the suburbs for his new job. She's a city girl, and doesn't like the sniping of the local women; she feels lost without friends, without the buzzing of the city. I may be biased by the storytelling methods, but Cornelia is my favorite character. In fact, for the first hundred pages or so, my mind wandered a bit when the story went to the other perspectives, because I just didn't care as much about the others. A wholly forthright person, she protects people, loves poetry and sometimes lets her temper get the better of her. Cornelia has a unique way of phrasing thing and a brutal honesty about the selfishness of her emotions that makes me relate to her so much.

I hated Piper so much at first. You're supposed to, of course, but that doesn't make her any less awful. She's one of those people: perky, bitchy, obsessed with being the best, etc. As I read her perspective, I just kept fantasizing about stabbing her with a nail file. Then, though, she changed, rather suddenly, but not unbelievably. Her very best friend, possibly her only true friend, is dying of cancer. She throws herself into caring for Elizabeth, and, for the first time in her life almost, gives no thought to her image. Her struggle is to discover that she doesn't belong where she thought she did, as the queen of society, but as a person with wants and desires, even if they don't make her popular. It's amazing to me that de los Santos made me care for her character.

One of my very favorite over-used characters is the genius child. Yeah, I know there are far more genius children in fiction than in real life, but I just don't care. If I have to read about children, they damn well ought to be clever. Dev fits that perfectly. He has such a thirst for knowledge, about poetry, string theory, friendship, and his father, who he doesn't know. His mother left his father because she knew he couldn't take care of the baby, but Dev resents the man for not coming to find him, while also hating himself for still clinging to that fantasy.

So, yes, the characters are marvelous. You know what's even better? Their relationships with one another. It's one thing to have great characters, and another thing entirely to make their friendships and romances ring authentic and awkward and painful and true, but de los Santos hits those notes just right. I'm not a big crier, but my eyes did get a bit teary, both from sadness and happiness, more than once. Friendship isn't often enough of a focus, but each of these characters have friends who feel real, and who will have their backs.

The one last thing I feel that I must say about this novel before I wrap the review: de los Santos surprised me. Finding a book that can really sweep a rug out from under your feet is a rare thing, at least for me. She has this way of weaving story lines together in such a way that I think I know where things are going, but then BAM! they go somewhere else. I may have yelled at the book a bit in frustration when I got to the twist, because I didn't want the characters to be unhappy at all.

Obviously, I just love this book. I'm honestly not entirely certain who to recommend this book to, because I'm having trouble sticking it in a box. Basically, if you enjoy beautiful writing, pop culture references, and women's issues, then you should really read Marisa de los Santos.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote:

"'Sometimes, happiness feels so fragile,' I said.
   'Even ours?'
   Teo expected me to say no. I sat up so I could look at him.
   'Everybody's,' I said gently.
   I thought that he would touch my belly, but instead he touched my face. He slid his thumb carefully along my jaw.
   'So what do we do about it?' Teo asked.
   'You tell me.' I had my own ideas, but I needed to hear his. I held my breath.
   'Live. Forget that it's fragile. Live like it isn't.'"

Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Author: Emily M. Danforth
Pages: 470
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Signing at BEA

Description from Goodreads:
When Cameron Post's parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they'll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief doesn't last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship--one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to "fix" her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self--even if she's not exactly sure who that is.

"The Miseducation of Cameron Post" is a stunning and unforgettable literary debut about discovering who you are and finding the courage to live life according to your own rules.

First Sentence: "The afternoon my parents died, I was out shoplifting with Irene Klauson."

Review:
Alright, I can tell that this is going to be a tough review for me to write, so just bear with me. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about The Miseducation of Cameron Post, henceforth to be referred to as TMoCP. I mean, I do know that I liked it. I know that parts of it made me sad, and some made me laugh, and others made me want to throw the book across the room, all emotions that Danforth no doubt intended to elicit from me as a reader. Still, some elements of it, especially the conclusion will need to sit with me for a bit before I can really pronounce my feelings about them.

TMOCP differs greatly from any of the other lgbt ya books that I've read thus far in just how up front Danforth is about the sexual side of things. I was really surprised, since that tends to be sort of glossed over, though, to be fair, I haven't yet read a ton. Danforth does not shy away from anything, and the sexual experiences, while not graphic are definitely described clearly enough that the reader has a solid conception of what's going on. I really appreciated this frankness, especially since it fits Cameron Post's personality so well.

Speaking of Cameron, she's a marvelous character, sarcastic and with a powerful sense of self. That last may be an odd trait to attribute to her, since, through the whole book, she struggles with coming to terms both with her sexuality and her parents' death in a car accident. Despite her confusion over her feelings, she never really seems to doubt her core self, even if she's not entirely convinced how she feels about that core self. Though she questions whether her sexuality is 'right,' she never doubts her attraction to women or thinks that it isn't a part of who she is. I loved that, because so many YA heroines allow their doubts to overpower a sense of self.

Her personality, her responses to events, keep the painful portions from being too incredibly awful, because she's still the same Cameron Post. Though Cameron isn't a super chatty person, she has such a powerful voice that I just love. When backed into a corner, she tells people how it is; she confronts them with her own hypocrisy. When she goes off on someone in a long monologue, it is a thing of ranty beauty.

The other thing I just have to mention that made this book so strong for me is Danforth's descriptions of feelings. She really captures the craziness of how people, or at least women, think, the little confusions and doubts. For example, she mentions how in reaction to something, Cameron will feel sad, then feel angry at herself for being mopey, and then just feel sad again. These sometimes conflicting and spiralling strong emotions are so much how I really feel on bad days, and are so much more authentic and powerful than just saying Cameron felt sad. This same technique is displayed in the complex friendship between Cameron and Jamie, which I thought was very well handled.

At this point, you may be wondering about the relatively low rating, since all of that was rather a rave, especially for me. The book did feel a bit long, dragging in some sections, particularly most of the first hundred or so pages. Ironically, my other issue is the ending, which I thought felt rushed and unsatisfying. It's the kind of ending that doesn't tell you what happens to the characters at all, and I want to know badly. Perhaps the book had to end that way for some reason, but I'm not seeing it yet. As I said, I may need time.

Those concerns aside, I will definitely be recommending this book to pretty much anyone I can, particularly if they have interest in lgbt fiction. Though this will have meaning to only a couple of my readers, I still have to state for the record that I really wish we had read this and not Dairy Queen in our lgbt fiction week in my YA resources class in library school.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "I thought about that while he made his next calls, while I kept on with the newsletters. I thought about it during Sunday service at Word of Life, and during study hours in my room, with the Viking Erin and her squeaky pink highlighter. What it meant to really believe in something—for real. Belief. The big dictionary in the Promise library said it meant something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held conviction or opinion. But even that definition, as short and simple as it was, confused me. True or real: Those were definite words; opinion and conviction just weren't—opinions wavered and changed and fluctuated with the person, the situation. And most troubling of all was the word accepts. Something one accepts. I was much better at excepting everything than accepting anything, at least anything for certain, for definite. That much I knew. That much I believed."

Review: Love, in Theory Blog Tour

Love, in Theory: Ten Stories

Author: E. J. Levy
Pages: 224
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Publication Date: September 15, 2012
Source: UGA Press for blog tour

Description from Goodreads:
In this funny, brainy, thoroughly engaging debut collection, an award-winning writer looks at romance through the lens of scholarly theories to illuminate love in the information age.

In ten captivating and tender stories, E. J. Levy takes readers through the surprisingly erotic terrain of the intellect, offering a smart and modern take on the age-old theme of love--whether between a man and woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, or a mother and a child--drawing readers into tales of passion, adultery, and heartbreak. A disheartened English professor's life changes when she goes rock climbing and falls for an outdoorsman. A gay oncologist attending his sister's second wedding ponders dark matter in the universe and the ties that bind us. Three psychiatric patients, each convinced that he is Christ, give rise to a love affair in a small Minnesota town. A Brooklyn woman is thrown out of an ashram for choosing earthly love over enlightenment. A lesbian student of film learns theories of dramatic action the hard way--by falling for a married male professor. Incorporating theories from physics to film to philosophy, from "Rational Choice" to Thorstein Veblen's "Theory of the Leisure Class," these stories movingly explore the heart and mind--shooting cupid's arrow toward a target that may never be reached

First Sentence: "They met in a camping equipment store, where he was working as a clerk and she had come to rent a pair of climbing shoes."

Review:
In the past, I have always avoided short fiction, with the grudging exception of some anthologies with really appealing themes (ex. Zombies vs. Unicorns). Generally, short stories haven't made a whole lot of sense to me, since they tend either to be scrapped ideas that weren't good enough to make into a novel or too short to do a fabulous idea justice. Either I don't want the story at all or I want it to be much longer, a proper novel. Well, I happily report that E. J. Levy's short story collection Love, in Theory is precisely what I want short fiction to be.

These ten stories dovetail together nicely, covering a lot of the same ground with slight variations. I love Levy's writing, even in the stories I didn't care for as much. She also makes a lot of fabulous observations with a cynicism and honesty I find quite delightful. I expected this collection of stories about love to be something like a written version of the film Love, Actually, and I suppose it sort of is. However, Levy's stories are all a bit on the melancholy side, lacking the cute couples uniting to make a happy ending, like Love, Actually has, though it actually does have several stories that do not end well.

The last TLC blog tour I participated in was for Before the Rain, a memoir supposedly of love and revolution that follows the romance of two lesbian reporters. I could not help comparing these two, because for all that Before the Rain is non-fiction and Love, in Theory fiction, this short story collection feels infinitely more personal. Having finished this, whether incorrectly or no, I feel I have a sense of who E. J. Levy is, through some of the themes that continually appeared throughout the stories, especially as several of the main characters were writers or worked in academia. In reading this, I felt as though I could sense Levy working through issues she had confronted in her own life or in the lives of close friends and family members. This closeness I felt for the author, whether I'm right or not, made the stories so much more powerful for me.

Over half of the stories focus on well-educated women in their late twenties to early thirties, who struggle with love and romance. These women long for romance, for connection, but, when they find it, the theory of the emotion, the ideal, the dream, does not really seem to fit into their lives. These stories, while they might bore some with the similarity of the heroines, held the most appeal for me, since I cannot help seeing myself reflected in them. Reading about women who have similar reactions and difficulties with romantic relationships to mine was incredibly cathartic.

Another subject that comes up in nearly every story is adultery. If you can't handle stories of infidelity, this collection will not be for you. The adultery comes in just about every form, and, though that's a subject I don't tend to love either, handled quite deftly. This does not seem to have been included for shock value or torridness, but just because that's life; it's a thing that happens and, unfortunately, has to be included in any depiction of love, in the working out of what love really might mean in the face of all of this cheating.

The other most interesting repetition, that again I can't help but stick out to me as perhaps being personal, is that of a lesbian becoming very attracted to a straight man, whether or not she acts on it. Interesting, too, is that the sole gay main character does not question his sexuality, though he does fight against settling down, as almost all of these characters do. The LGBT themes run strongly here, appearing in slightly less than half of the stories.

These stories will not appeal to everyone, but I loved it. A couple of the stories in the middle fell flat for me story-wise, so I couldn't quite rate this five stars. The themes and tone herein remind me a lot of Carol Shields' The Republic of Love, so if you enjoyed that I recommend this heartily, and vice versa.

Rating: 4.5/5

Favorite Quote: "As a scholar, it was her job to see things in relationship to other things; the only thing she couldn't see in a relationship was herself."

Thank You for the Music - Amanda Seyfried

Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury

Editors: Sam Weller & Mort Castle
Contributors (listed in order): Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Jay Bonansinga, Sam Weller, David Morrell, Thomas F. Monteleone, Lee Martin, Joe Hill, Dan Chaon, John McNally, Joe Meno, Robert McCammon, Ramsey Campbell, Mort Castle, Alice Hoffman, John Maclay, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Gary A. Braunbeck, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Audrey Niffenegger, Charles Yu, Julia Keller, Dave Eggers, Bayo Ojikutu, Kelly Link, Harlan Ellison
Pages: 433
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Source: TLC Book Tours

Description from Goodreads:
"What do you imagine when you hear the name" . . . Bradbury?

You might see rockets to Mars. Or bizarre circuses where otherworldly acts whirl in the center ring. Perhaps you travel to a dystopian future, where books are set ablaze . . . or to an out-of-the-way sideshow, where animated illustrations crawl across human skin. Or maybe, suddenly, you're returned to a simpler time in small-town America, where summer perfumes the air and life is almost perfect . . . "almost."

Ray Bradbury--peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors--is a literary giant whose remarkable career has spanned seven decades. Now twenty-six of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.

First Sentence: "He published in Weird Tales and The New Yorker."

Review:
I must begin this review with a confession: I am actually not a fan of Ray Bradbury. Why accept for review an anthology all about him? Fair question. Easily answered: they had me at Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood.

As a child, my parents recommended Ray Bradbury to me as something they thought I would like, hoping to train me up to be as big of a sci fi fan as they are, and bought me a copy of The Martian Chronicles. This and The Hobbit haunted my childhood, as I struggled between my desire to love the books and my inability to slog through the author's prose. Throughout my childhood, I tried repeatedly to read both of these books and never made it far. In school, I was forced to read Fahrenheit-451 and loathed it.

However, opinions do change as you grow older. I fell in love with Tolkien in undergrad. In graduate school, I revisited The Hobbit and found my opinion quite change. This time it was not so much of a struggle. Of course, I also revisited Fahrenheit 451...and still really didn't like it. Oh well. Maybe I just haven't grown into Bradbury yet. Or, maybe, I need to try one of his other works. If you have any suggestions, do share them. I say this just to explain that my rating might have been higher were I Bradbury fan. Much as I enjoyed it, I can only imagine it's better with knowledge of Bradbury.

Anthologies are rather tricky things to review. Usually, what I do (in the two I've reviewed) is have a little awards ceremonies for the stories awarding 'Best of' various wacky categories. For this one, I don't feel like that would really get my point across. I'm also not sure what categories I would choose. A couple I do know, so I'll share those for your edification. Funniest story: Charles Yu (his story seems indebted as much to Douglas Adams as to Bradbury); Most forgettable story: Thomas F. Monteleone (I read his story twice, having gone back unable to recall just that one, and I still have no idea what happened); Best Twist: Julia Keller (she got me).

The stories in Shadow Show break down into two basic categories: science fiction stories with twists and stories about the endurance of love, life and language. While I liked all of the latter stories, my favorites were the former, as were my least favorites. The latter are more philosophical than anything else and were, for the most part, not as much fun to read, though I did like the thoughts behind them.

My favorite part of Shadow Show, though, was not the stories. That seems a rather dismissive and insulting thing to say, but I don't intend it to be. Following each story, each author wrote a brief note about their story, about its debt to Bradbury, and about their relationship with Ray (personal or literary). I loved these. Even for my least favorite story (also one of the longest stories unfortunately), I liked reading that bit.

What I found so incredibly moving was the incredibly love for Ray Bradbury and his work that welled out of these pages. The explanations made this so incredibly clear. The stories were on some level so incredibly personal, many based on personal experiences. Many others had been in the author's mind for ages, inspired by Bradbury not out of a duty to write a short story for this collection but because they WERE really inspired by Bradbury. That was so incredibly powerful.

While I'm mostly avoiding specific discussion of particular authors, I do have to speak to the most moving piece of writing (one of my personal favorites). Harlan Ellison nearly made me cry, though his account of his friendship with Ray Bradbury is largely light-hearted. His writing style, his wit and the clear friendship between the two is simply beautiful. What made this so incredibly poignant was Ellison's clear knowledge that this would likely be his last published work and that both he and Bradbury would soon die, and, certainly, he was proved correct about Bradbury who passed away in early June. Before reading this, I didn't have any plans to read Ellison, but now I definitely will be.

Shadow Show bursts with love for both Bradbury and writing. For those who love Bradbury, you definitely need to procure a copy of this to read. For those that don't, you still should consider it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote (from Harlan Ellison's Account of Bradbury):

"Ray contends that in very short order he and I will be sitting down together cutting up touches with Dickens and Dorothy Parker, shuckin' 'n' jivin' with Aesop and Melville.

Uh . . . well, okay, Ray, if you say so.

(I am rather less condolent with that Hereafter stuff than is Ray. As averred Nat Hentoff, I come from, and remain as one with, a grand and glorious tradition of stiff-necked Jewish atheists. Ray and I have a long-standing wager on this one, which of us is on the money and which is betting on a lame pony. Sadly, the winner will never collect.)"

About My Song Choice: I thought of this song as I was reading,the love and the gratitude that comes from it. This book felt, more than anything, like a thank you to Ray Bradbury for a lifetime of enjoyment and inspiration from all of these authors. If you change the words a bit to speak of writing and books rather than music, I feel like this fits perfectly. Besides, beautiful writing has a sort of music of its own, doesn't it?

"So I say
Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?"

 

Summer 78 - Yann Tiersen

The Orchid House

Author: Lucinda Riley
Pages: 447
ARC Acquired from: Atria Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Since the tragic deaths of her husband and son in a car crash, Julia has lost herself, barely surviving day by day. Her career as a pianist is on hold indefinitely, and she avoids her well-meaning family members. When she learns that Wharton Park, the estate of the Crawfords, is for sale, she becomes drawn into an investigation of the past. Her grandparents, Bill and Elsie, worked for the Crawfords during the WWII era. By learning the secrets of the past, Julia is slowly able to face the future.

Review:
What an incredibly beautiful story. The lyrical language caught me from the very beginning. Lucinda Riley's novel is impressive, weaving together a tale that spans decades and continents.

Julia, at first, is not the most likable character; she is too lost in her depression, the cause of which you do not know for a while, to be too understandable, at least to someone lacking such an experience. She is actually rather rude to her well meaning family members, pushing away those that would help. But, as she becomes enthralled by the glimpses into the past, she begins to open up, like an orchid perhaps, revealing the bright spirit underneath.

Riley's novel champions love. She definitely seems to believe that real love is out there. However, she also clearly knows that love does not always win out. In fact, love may lose more often than not. Many romances end in tragedy, due to bad timing or a lack of reciprocation. She points out too how passion can blind one, and that love might be more calm than exciting. The variations of love felt by the characters is touching and inspirational and sad.

The historical fiction sections were completely fascinating, not that the modern ones were not. I know absolutely nothing about the WWII occurrences in Thailand. My favorite thing about historical fiction is learning things I previously didn't know. I may need to research this. Also, I now really want to go to Thailand and swim in the ocean.

If you like well-written fiction, do not miss this. Also, this might appeal to Downton Abbey fans. Speaking of Downton, both seasons just arrived in the mail. So excited!!!

Rating: 5/5

Red Right Ankle - The Decemberists

The Tea Rose
The Tea Rose, Book 1

Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Pages: 557
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Yet again, I'm not even going to try to summarize this book. Trying to do so would diminish its scope, as the story spans years and talking specifically to the plot would risk spoilers, which I am exceedingly loath to do, because no one should have this spoiled.

The Tea Rose spans a decade and two continents. It is first and foremost a love story, but don't let that fool you. As they say, "the course of true love never did run smooth." Joe and Fiona have been best friends all their lives, having grown up on the same street. They've been in love from the time they had such thoughts, and they both have huge ambitions to run a shop and have all the money they could ever need.

This is a story of poverty, of unions, of economics, of business. Fiona's family with three strong men to earn money in their various jobs can barely get by. They aren't able to save any money. Fiona works too, but women make a pittance compared to men, even though they spend just as much time at work. The employers refuse to pay more than a few pennies to their workers. Everyone has an air of desperation about them, except for the few folks who have all the money because they've squeezed the poor folks dry.

This is a horror story. In case East London doesn't sound terrifying enough, you will not be disappointed. Jack the Ripper's there too. And the cops can't find anything to figure out who he is or how to stop him. At least, he's only killing prostitutes, but who knows when that will change. Besides, how comforting is that when everyone you know is just a missed day of work or two away from that level of desperation?

This is a story of tragedy. Donnelly will get you excited and hopeful, and then stomp on your heart, light it on fire and then drown it. Even in the depths of despair when it seems the characters (and thus you, bound up in their fate) will never make it, she manages to kindle inspiration and hope. Completely beautiful.

The spark that makes all the parts of this novel come together lies in the characters, particularly Fiona. These are people who will stop at nothing to get what they want. Nothing can prevent Fiona from becoming a success; she will overcome any hardship thrown at her. She is undoubtedly one of the strongest heroines in literature. I may not always agree with her choices, as she is much more forgiving than I could ever be, but I always admire her spunk and intelligence and drive.

Donnelly made me cry. She made me angry, frustrated, terrified. She made me smile and left me feeling somewhat hopeful. You have to love a book that can run you through the gamut of human of emotions. This book is amazingly well-written and complex. This is historical fiction at its finest.

Rating: 5/5

"This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who love you now and loved you then
And some were sweet, some were cold and snuffed you
And some just laid around in bed.

Some had crumbled you straight to your knees
Did it cruel, did it tenderly
Some had crawled their way into your heart
To rend your ventricles apart
This is the story of the boys who loved you"

Spies - Coldplay

The Winter Palace:
A Novel of Catherine the Great

Author: Eva Stachniak
Pages: 440
ARC Acquired from: Bantam

Brief Summary:
Barbara is Polish, daughter of a bookbinder who moved the family to St. Petersburg for work. Before his death, her father asks a request of Empress Elizabeth, for whom he once excellently repaired a book: that she watch out for his daughter. This earns Barbara, or Varvara in Russian, a place working in the winter palace. She works, for a time, with the seamstresses, something for which she has no talent. Then, because of her own intelligence and her desperation to do something better, she becomes a tongue, a spy for the empress. In the process, she befriends, as dangerous as such a concept is in the world of politics, Sophie, a young German, who will later become Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.

Review:
What a completely beautiful and tragic book. I was hooked from the first page. Barbara has such a realistic and strong voice. Plus, I really love reading about Russia, which has always fascinated me for some reason, although I really could not say why.

Most little girls really want to be princesses at one point or another, and, although it wasn't my biggest dream, I certainly went through phases where I thought it would be awesome. After reading this, imagine me stomping those dreams down, because, good lord, I do not want to go through any of that business. All the spying, the court politics, the hypocrisy and the paranoia (is there a word for paranoia when it's completely justified?) would either drive you insane or turn you into a total bitch.

Speaking of, it is entirely terrifying to me that rulers managed to maintain for dominion when so many of them were so awful. Elizabeth does not seem to actually do much of anything but sleep with her guards and spend money on shiny new things for herself, even when Russia is in the midst of a war and does not have enough guns or food for the soldiers. Peter, the Grand Duke, clearly has some sort of mental deficiencies going on and yet is considered a candidate for the throne. How did such governmental systems last for so long?

The history herein is entirely fascinating, and I definitely felt everything along with Barbara. I loved how she did the best she could in every situation, and did it decisively. When she couldn't fight, she went along with things, like her marriage. And, in the end, she made that into a positive.

If you like historical fiction and have been disappointed by the quality of some of the books out there, read this one without worrying. I promise it's good!

Rating: 4.5/5

"I awake to see that no one is free
We're all fugitives
Look at the way we live
Down here I cannot sleep from fear no
I said which way do I turn
I forget everything I learned"

Ghost - Neutral Milk Hotel

In Search of the Rose Notes

Author: Emily Arsenault
Pages: 384
ARC Acquired from: Avon via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Nora hasn't been back to Waverly since she left for college. She kept up with her childhood friend, Charlotte, but otherwise there's nothing she wants to remember from Waverly. One day, Charlotte informs Nora that the body of their childhood babysitter, Rose, who went missing during her junior year, has been found. Her bones appeared near a local pond, clearly having been moved from somewhere else. Rose's disappearance had a huge impact on Nora, so this discovery compels her to go back to Waverly and learn what she can.

Review:
When I started this book, I really had no idea what it was about or what to expect. I requested it ages ago and have only just gotten around to reading it (obviously). Well, I was completely blown away. I didn't have high expectations, but the book kept drawing me in. The writing and the narrative style were utterly captivating.

The narrative alternates between Nora's present (2006) and her past (1996). This gives a good view into what happened then, along with the knowledge only a grown up can bring to the situation. The story lines from her childhood dovetail perfectly with the present happenings.

While the whole book has a spooky feel to it, there is little of the horrible in it. Mostly, the book just left me thinking about how fragile people are and what a huge impact actions can have. This is one of those books that I find myself having difficulty explaining, because I was more caught up in the beauty of the writing and the fascination of the relationships between people than something particularly dramatic in the tale, and those that I could relate would be spoilers.

Anyway, I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in ghosts, mysteries, or the difficulty in considering the events of youth from a mature perspective. This was a truly beautiful and tragic story.

P.S. I had trouble finding a song for this one, but I went with this one both because it references Charlotte's childhood fascination with the paranormal and because Nora mentioned being a fan of Neutral Milk Hotel.

"Ghost, ghost I know you live within me
Feel as you fly
In thunderclouds above the city"

Can't Help Falling in Love - Ingrid Michaelson

Becoming George Sand

Author: Rosalind Brackenbury
Pages: 296
ARC Acquired from: Mariner Books via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Maria, a college french lit professor, has been having an affair with a grad student (in the sciences, so he's not her student). This has been happening for a while and she is completely caught up in the physical and emotional thrill of it. When her husband, Edward, clues in, as generally happens eventually, her life has to change. Her separation from her life as it once was firmly entrenches her within her George Sand obsession. She sees something of herself as she is and as she wants to be in this fascinating nineteenth century authoress.

Review:
The description of this book, at least as I wrote it, does not remotely do the book credit. Largely because the story is not the real point. I mean, it is and it isn't. More than being about a plot it's about what it's like being a woman, about the spaces between love and marriage, about feminism, and about literature and language. The writing is completely gorgeous, sucking me in from the first pages, even though the opening scenes chronicle the affair, a thing in which I have little interest. To me, there is no excuse for cheating and I do not believe Maria's romanticized idea of it (and not just because I know what happens later); the treatment of the affair in early pages reminds me of Chretien de Troyes, and how in that time folks believed that true love had to be extramarital.

Rather than speaking to what I loved and didn't (what little there was of that) as I usually do, I really want to include some of my favorite quotes and let the author speak for herself.

"'You can't be loved whatever you do. You have to be someone good, to be loved. People can't just love you for existing.'
'Hmm. Well, maybe. You don't believe in unconditional love?'
'Yes, I do, but it's for babies. You have to be worthy of love.'" (221).

"That's it, the last gesture of a long friendship lived over distance and time, without frequent meetings, between two languages; a friendship built over books, plays, poems, the written word." (252).

"What is it she needs, at this point in her life? To touch another life, to have it touch hers. To create, to understand. To give back. To be part of a whole." (286)

Brackenbury obviously wholeheartedly loves and appreciates literature, which makes her such a joy to read. I now want to check out George Sand and to read a biography of her life, as she sounds fascinating. Today's song is dedicated to George, Maria and all the other optimistic women who keep looking for love and thinking they've found it (and sometimes been wrong about that).

"Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you"

The Secrets of the House - Jane Eyre Musical

The Thirteenth Tale

Author: Diane Setterfield
Pages: 406
Publisher: Atria Books

Brief Summary:
Margaret Lea works at her father's antiquarian bookshop and writes biographies of lesser known personages for fun. Otherwise, she spends most of her time journeying through the written world, particularly classics. One day, she receives a summons from famous, contemporary author, Vida Winter. Apparently, she has been selected to write the biography of the reclusive storyteller, who has never once told the truth of her past. Margaret is skeptical at first, but as the story begins, the story of twins, unfolds, she cannot resist being drawn into the drama.

Review:
I first read The Thirteenth Tale during my sophomore year in college. A good friend recommended it and, though busy with schoolwork (question mark?) I devoured the novel. From the first page, I was absorbed into its pages and the mystery they held. The resolution struck me as a bit unlikely, but I still loved it and purchased a copy when I got the chance.

Upon revisiting the story, I was able to appreciate even more the incredibly beautiful prose of Diane Setterfield. Her language lilts and carries me away in a delightful way. Her writing is both complicated and completely natural, much like the classic authors she frequently references. The storyline was both improved and diminished by my return journey. How? Well, the twist, which is so astounding, I remembered. This also made some of the more long-winded sections drag a bit, although the sections on Vida Winter's past always drew me in. At the same time, being able to really note all of the hints left for the reader let me appreciate the deft way in which the solution to the mystery was woven into the story. The plot seems less implausible with more attention paid to the details.

My only complaint is about the Postscriptum, which I found to be cheesy, overly fanciful and plain pointless. It really irritated me, because I loved the way the story resolved before I read it and then was unhappy with this new ending. Still, epilogues (or postscriptum, should one want to be fancy) have been the bane on the existence of many books (e.g. Crime and Punishment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and will likely continue to be. I, for one, will simply do my best to forget about the second ending. (And, knowing my memory, I shall triumph!)

Book lovers must read this! The early chapters of the novel are a love letter to reading that just made my heart soar with glee. Just make sure you sit down as you enjoy this one, because, as Margaret Lea cautions, "Reading can be dangerous" (4).

"The secrets of the house
Are just beyond these walls
They hide in long-forgotten shadows
Fragments of memories awakened and stirred
By a call my heart has heard"