Fiction Review: Blackout

This weekend, I finished my 7th #BigBookSummer book, Blackout by Connie Willis, a favorite author for both me and my husband. Willis has a loose series of time travel books, Oxford Time Travel, and if you've read my blog, you know I love any kind of time-twisting plots! In this series, we both enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog, a sort of time travel farce, and last summer for Big Book Summer 2020, we both read Doomsday Book and were blown away by it--it was a favorite for both of us. Blackout won both a Hugo award and a Nebula award, so it was just as good as her other novels.

 

Blackout takes place about four years after the events of Doomsday Book. All of this series are about a group of historians (mostly grad students) in near-future Oxford who use technology to travel to different time periods and places. Their role is to observe and learn more about history, not to change anything. In this novel, many historians are traveling back and forth to various places and times during World War II. Merope (who goes by Elaine in 1940) is in a rural area of England, helping with the evacuation of children from London to the country. Michael has a busy schedule ahead of him, studying unsung heroes of the war, and his first stop is to Dover in spring 1940 to witness the massive evacuation of soldiers from Dunkirk across the channel by ordinary citizens with boats. Polly has already been to VE Day to see the victory celebrations, and now she is also heading back to 1940, right into the heart of London to witness how regular people coped with the constant terror of the Blitz. In each of these assignments, though—and more—things begin to go wrong. Their time travel technology seems to be glitching, with historians sent to slightly different times and places (“slippage”) than intended, and mistakes starting to occur. As some historians’ stays in the past extend longer than expected and they become enmeshed in 1940’s communities, how can they continue to avoid having an impact and changing the future?

 

As with all of Willis' books, Blackout was completely engrossing and compelling. Here, there is dual suspense created from the individual, very dangerous situations the historians are in while visiting the heart of WWII England and from the issues developing with the time travel system that may prevent them from returning home as planned. Willis is an amazing writer, creating in-depth characters I came to care about and using fascinating historical detail to bring the various settings to life. In fact, if you don’t normally read science fiction but enjoy historical fiction, you will probably love this novel as much as I did. She also weaves humor throughout her novels, even in the midst of the dangers of WWII. But I have one complaint: I was sorely disappointed that it ends in the middle of the action and says "To find out what happens next, read Part 2 in All Clear"! What? There's no indication on the book itself that it's only part 1, though a blog reader alerted me to this last week. Since it is part of a larger series, I would have appreciated knowing ahead of time that this is a two-part story, and Blackout is just part one. As frustrating as that was, it still didn’t dull my enthusiasm for this wholly unique, thrilling suspense/science fiction/historical novel. And, yes, of course, I will be reading book two, All Clear!

 

491 pages, Spectra (imprint of Random House)

Audible Studios

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. The excerpt is from an action-packed part of the story where Michael unexpectedly gets pulled into the action in the English channel and worries he may have inadvertently changed history.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

  

Or you can order Blackout from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 7/26! What Are You Reading?

Wow, another super-busy week, filled with family! My birthday was Friday, so my older son and his girlfriend came down from New York for the weekend, and my younger son was here, too. We had a typical two-day-long celebration! We ordered take-out Friday night from a favorite place. Saturday, with everyone there, we had my father-in-law over for a nice summer lunch. Then, the rest of us went out for dinner Saturday evening to a wonderful local seafood place. 

I opted both nights to skip the traditional birthday cake. My son is severely gluten-intolerant, and he and I are both dairy-intolerant and supposed to limit sugar. So, I used the piles of fresh peaches and blackberries we got from our CSA to make a delicious crisp, with sugar-free ice cream for my son and I. 

Saturday, after our dinner out, we came back home for a brownie sundae bar (with gluten-free brownies and sugar-free ice cream and sauce for my son and I). Both were a big hit!

 

I was also treated to lots of wonderful gifts from my family, including a stack of books I can't wait to read.

On YouTube last week, I uploaded just one new video, my weekly Friday Reads. Check it out to hear me gush about my current reads!

Here's what we've all been reading this week:

I finished my 7th #BigBookSummer book, Blackout by Connie Willis, a favorite author of mine and my husband's. Willis has a loose series of time travel books, Oxford Time Travel, and if you've read my blog, you know I love any kind of time-twisting plots! We both enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog, a sort of time travel farce, and last summer for Big Book Summer 2020, we both read Doomsday Book and were blown away by it--it was a favorite for both of us. Blackout takes place about four years after that last novel. All of this series are about a group of historians in near-future Oxford who use technology to travel to different time periods. Their role is to observe and learn more about history, not to change anything. In this novel, many historians are traveling back and forth to various places and times during World War II (including Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, rural England where children were evacuated to, London during the Blitz, and more). This time, though, things begin to go wrong with their time travel technology and mistakes start to occur. As with all of Willis' books, it is completely engrossing, but I finished it Saturday and was sorely disappointed ... it ends in the middle of the action and says "To find out what happens next read Part 2 in All Clear"! What? There's no indication on the book itself that it's only part 1, though a blog reader alerted me to this last week. Of course, I will be reading it.

Now I am taking a short break from the Big Books to read a novel for one of my book groups that is coming back from summer break in August. We are reading The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin. Yes, that Justin Cronin of The Passage fame, but this novel is a far, far cry from that sci-fi/horror/thriller trilogy! It's a quiet story set in the northern woods of Maine about several lives that intersect. It begins in 1947, as a wounded WWII vet moves his young wife and baby son up to a remote area of Maine to start their lives over. Then, the narrative shifts to present-day, where that baby has grown up to own and work in that same camp/lodge with his own wife and adult daughter. An elderly millionaire who comes to the camp every summer has returned for one last fishing trip before he dies of cancer. I've only just started it, but it seems to revolve around relationships, secrets, and of course, that gorgeous, remote setting. I actually bought this book in Maine (and our last visit there was in 2014 so that's how long it's been on my shelf!), and I am glad to finally be reading it.

I finished listening to a Big Book on audio, Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. It's narrated by twelve-year-old Eli Bell, who lives in Australia. His mother and step-father are heroin dealers, his older brother, Gus, is mute, and his best friend is an elderly, notorious felon named Slim who is know for his multiple prison escapes. So, there is a lot going on here and a lot for Eli and Gus to deal with, but it's interesting and engaging. As you might guess from that set-up, Eli doesn't have an easy life, and things get a whole lot worse for him and Gus. But Eli is clever and determined and has learned a lot from his buddy, Slim. This is a unique novel, I enjoyed it very much, and it had a very satisfying conclusion.

I am now listening to another Big Book on audio, After the Flood by Kassandra Montag. This post-apocalyptic novel takes place more than a hundred years from now, when rising sea levels have not only covered the coasts but also the interior heartland of North America. All that's left are individual colonies on the tops of mountains, surrounded by vast oceans. Myra and her seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, live on the water on a boat. Myra's grandfather taught her to fish (and built the boat), so they trade their catches for other necessities but are barely scraping by. Seven years ago, Myra's husband kidnapped their young daughter, Row, and Myra has been unable to find them. But now, she finally gets a lead as to Row's whereabouts, in an area near the Arctic Circle, and is determined to go find her long-lost daughter. This is a dangerous world they live in (apocalypses never seem to bring out the good in people, do they?), and the novel is already gripping and compelling.

My husband, Ken, is reading a Father's Day gift, The Lost Man by Jane Harper. This author of Australian thrillers has become a favorite of ours (and many other people!) recently, and we both read and enjoyed her first two novels, The Dry and Force of Nature. This third novel is a departure from those first two, as it does not feature Australian Federal Agent Aaron Falk. Instead, it focuses in on one Australian family. In the Australian outback, two brothers, Nathan and Bub, meet, for the first time in many months, at the remote fence line of their two properties when their brother,  Cameron, is found dead there. They have to come together to support Cameron's family and his ranch. As is often the case with thrillers, there are family secrets to protect, plus the mystery of Cameron's sudden death. Ken is enjoying it so far!

Our 26-year-old son returned to a favorite fantasy series, The Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu. He started by re-reading book 1, The Novice. When he finished that, he moved onto book 2, The Inquisition, and quickly finished that one, too! He has a summer job doing environmental sampling, but he was thrilled to learn he could read during the waiting periods that dot his days! He was here this weekend and is now reading book one of a new-to-him fantasy series, The Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, which is ranked as one of Time magazine's Top 100 Fantasy Novels of All Time - impressive! It's set in a world inspired by ancient Rome, so I can see why my son was interested in it!

Just one blog post from last week (very busy week!):

Fiction Review: The Air You Breathe by Frances de Ponte Peebles - outstanding historical novel set in 1930's Brazil, about an intense friendship between women.

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Fiction Review: The Air You Breathe

I finished my 5^th Big Book of the summer, The Air You Breathe by Frances De Pontes Peebles and really enjoyed it. It’s historical fiction set in Brazil, beginning in the 1930’s, about an intense relationship between two women and the music they shared.

 

The women first meet as nine-year-old girls from very different backgrounds in rural Brazil. Gracas is the “Little Miss” of a sugar plantation. Her family has just moved there to take over the plantation, and she has been brought up in a wealthy, pampered environment. Dores is a kitchen girl, an orphan widely considered among the other servants as the lowest among them, who has never known love, affection, or the freedom of childhood play. Gracas is soon bored at the plantation and intrigued by the other girl her own age, so she demands that Dores play with her. Her mother acquiesces and allows Dores time away from the kitchen. The two girls become fast friends, running around the plantation together. When Gracas’ mother takes them to a concert and buys a record player, they both become enamored with music and dream of becoming famous singers on the radio. As teens, they run away to Rio together to make their dreams come true. The novel moves back and forth from the present, when Dores is an elderly woman, to her retelling the story of their past. In Rio and beyond, the girls face one challenge after another together, though it is hard for them to ever shed their original roles.

 

This is a warm, moving story encompassing both pain and joy as the girls chase their dreams. History, race, and class are a part of the story, but music is at the center of it. I wished I were listening on audio, with all of the music included (I don't think it is)! Interspersed between chapters are song lyrics that are relevant, helping to tell the story of not just the music they were creating but their lives at the time. The Brazilian music, culture, and history also underlie their story, and I thoroughly enjoyed losing myself in this unfamiliar world. This novel was quite tragic, but it included many instances of pure joy and delight from the happiness they found in making music together. The Air You Breathe is a unique, beautifully written story of complicated friendship, music, and love.

 

449 pages, Riverhead Books

 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!  
 

Or you can order The Air You Breathe from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

It's Monday 7/19! What Are You Reading?

What a weekend!

Apologies to the blogs I didn't have time to visit last week. I normally do much of my blog visiting on the weekend, but my mother called Friday to ask if they could visit on Saturday. It had been 18 months since we'd had any houseguests, and we hadn't seen them since Christmas 2019, so of course, we said yes (I only just recently hit the "fully vaccinated" milestone due to my immune problems). What followed was a whirlwind of cleaning the house and clearing all my husband's accumulated stuff out of the guest room!

Of course, it was wonderful to see them again! They joined us Saturday evening for an annual joint birthday celebration for me and one of our oldest, dearest friends (who my mom and her husband know well, too) at a favorite restaurant, and it was the first time any of us had hugged each other in at least a year and a half! Funny how hugs have become so meaningful now. I'm a natural hugger, but suddenly, it is such a big deal to be able to hug a friend or family member.

We just hung around the house on Sunday and had my 96-year-old father-in-law over in the afternoon. There was a lot of talking and catching up all weekend! While I took my daily nap, "the boys" (my husband, my son, and his Pop Pop) worked on my son's old car and checked out his new company truck. It's unusual for me, but I forgot to take a single photo all weekend, so here's one my mom took of my son and his Pop Pop with the new truck.

 

Yesterday and today, I was (and am) totally wiped out (that's just how my chronic illness works), but it was worth it, of course.

I posted two new book-related videos to YouTube last week, which you can check out at the links:

• June Reading Wrap-Up, with a quick summary of each of the five books I finished in June
• Friday Reads, my usual end-of-week video update on what I am reading

And, of course, the #BigBookSummer Challenge continues! Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I am still reading my 7th #BigBookSummer book, Blackout by Connie Willis, a favorite of mine and my husband's. Willis has a loose series of time travel books, Oxford Time Travel, and if you've read my blog, you know I love any kind of time-twisting plots! We both enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog, a sort of time travel farce, and last summer for Big Book Summer 2020, we both read Doomsday Book and were blown away by it--it was a favorite for both of us. Blackout takes place about four years after that last novel. All of this series are about a group of historians in near-future Oxford who use technology to travel to different time periods. Their role is to observe and learn more about history, not to change anything. In this novel, many historians are traveling back and forth to various places and times during World War II (including Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, rural England where children were evacuated to, London during the Blitz, and more). This time, though, things begin to go wrong with their time travel technology and mistakes start to occur. As with all of Willis' books, it is completely engrossing, and I am loving it.

I am also listening to a Big Book on audio, Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. It is a complex narrative at first, but I am well into it now (almost finished) and enjoying it. It's narrated by twelve-year-old Eli Bell, who lives in Australia. His mother and step-father are heroin dealers, his older brother, Gus, is mute, and his best friend is an elderly, notorious felon named Slim who is know for his multiple prison escapes. So, there is a lot going on here and a lot for Eli and Gus to deal with, but it's interesting and engaging. As you might guess from that set-up, Eli doesn't have an easy life, and things are about to get a whole lot worse for him and Gus. But Eli is clever and determined and has learned a lot from his buddy, Slim. This is a unique novel, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

My husband, Ken, has started on another Father's Day gift, The Lost Man by Jane Harper. This author of Australian thrillers has become a favorite of ours (and many other people!) recently, and we both read and enjoyed her first two novels, The Dry and Force of Nature. This third novel is a departure from those first two, as it does not feature Australian Federal Agent Aaron Falk. Instead, it focuses in on one Australian family. In the Australian outback, two brothers, Nathan and Bub, meet, for the first time in many months, at the remote fence line of their two properties when their brother,  Cameron, is found dead there. They have to come together to support Cameron's family and his ranch. As is often the case with thrillers, there are family secrets to protect, plus the mystery of Cameron's sudden death. Ken is enjoying it so far!

Our 26-year-old son has returned to a favorite series, The Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu. He started by re-reading book 1, The Novice. According to the blurb, "Fletcher is working as a blacksmith’s apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher must travel with his demon, Ignatius, to an academy for adepts, where the gifted are taught the art of summoning."  When he finished that, he moved onto book 2, The Inquisition, and quickly finished that one, too! He has a summer job doing environmental sampling, but he was thrilled to learn he could read during the waiting periods that dot his days! I'm not sure what's he's reading now, but he and his girlfriend will be visiting next weekend for my birthday, so I'll have a chance to talk books with him.

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: A Quiet Place II - a great follow-up to that stunning first movie ... and our first time back in a theater!

My Summary of Books Read in June - a great reading month!

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Books Read in June

1. 

June was another great reading month for me. Low in quantity but high in quality and plenty of Big Books. You can watch my June Reading Wrap-Up video on YouTube, to hear more about each of the books I read and what I liked. Here's what I finished last month:

End of Watch by Stephen King (OH) - adult fiction

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson (NY, DC, IL) - NF memoir

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Julia Grames (Italy, CT) - adult fiction on audio

The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray (NY, Czech Republic, Austria) - adult fiction

All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor (NY) - Teen/YA fiction on audio

So, that's just five books total read in June, but four of them were over 400 pages so counted for my annual #BigBookSummer Challenge! I read three books in print and listened to two on audio. Four of my books were fiction, with a single memoir for nonfiction. And most of what I read last month were for adults, with just a single teen/YA novel on audio. That one, All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor, was my favorite of the month, for its original plot, unique approach to telling a story, and awesome full-cast audio production. You can read any of my reviews (and listen to audio samples) at the links.

Progress in 2021 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link above. I have some fun ones going this year!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2021 - Just two of my five books in June were from my own shelves (because I don't count audios) ... but they were Big Books!

2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - June was The Great Outdoors, and The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Julia Grames included lovely descriptions of the countryside and gardens of rural Italy.

Back to the Classics 2021 - No classics in June.

2021 AtoZ Reading Challenge - It's getting tougher, but I filled in E and L last month.

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2021 - this is a unique one, with 50 quirky categories. My list is getting pretty full now, but I added another 3 categories to my list this month. That brings me up to 25, so I'm halfway there!

1. Book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover:  I figured End of Watch by Stephen King counts for gruesomeness!
2. Book from your TBR list you meant to read last year: The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray
3. Book from your TBR list chosen at random: All of This Is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor (a lucky pick!)
   

2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge - I added one more nonfiction book, The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson.

Diversity Reading Challenge 2021 - Just two of my books were diverse last month, and I counted The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Julia Grames for the mini challenge theme for June, LGBT+, though it was only a minor character.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I traveled to the Italy, Czech Republic, and Austria last month in my books.

2021 Literary Escapes Challenge - I added no new states (as usual, too many books set in NY!).

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In June, I filled 19 spaces on my bingo card:

Spaces Filled: 

End of Watch: set in current times, shelf love, in a series, dangerous character

Mighty Queens of Freeville: library book, book club read, set in a small town, dress on the cover

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna: audio book, bride, free book

The Lost Time Accidents: read a physical book, meant to read for a while now, not in a series

All of This Is True: sports, set in a school, secrets, YA

Free Space

What was YOUR favorite book read in June?

Movie Monday: A Quiet Place Part II

We celebrated a BIG event last Thursday: we went to see a movie IN A THEATER! Yes! It felt like an extraordinary, thrilling experience. And we chose a great movie to welcome us back to the theater: A Quiet Place Part II, which is perfect for the big screen. First, if you have not yet seen the first movie, A Quiet Place, check out my review at the link. It is a wholly original, genre-busting movie that defies categorization and is outstanding by any measure (and probably not what you think). Here's a quick review, with no spoilers (even if you haven't seen the first movie yet), of the sequel:

A Quiet Place Part II picks up right where the first movie ended, literally moments later, though first, it takes a look back at how all of this began. It starts with Day 1, the day when normal life suddenly shifted to this strange, terrifying, necessarily-silent world. John Krasinski is the dad; his wife, Emily Blunt, is the mom; and they are at their son's (Marcus, played by Noah Jupe) baseball game. It's a typical small-town Saturday scene, with dad bringing oranges for the players and mom encouraging her son through his case of nerves when he's up at bat. Big sister Regan, played by Millicent Simmonds, is deaf and is in the stands, watching her older brother and helping to keep an eye on her younger brother. A local friend, Emmett (played by Cillian Murphy) is sitting next to them, cheering on his own son and joking with Regan and her dad. Then, the world as they know it comes to an abrupt halt, as some sort of fireball falls from the sky and lands nearby. Hysteria ensues, followed quickly by terror, as the townspeople catch the first sight of the gruesome alien creatures. Then, the story jumps to the moments after the first movie ended. The family must leave their home, which has become their safe haven over the past year-plus. That pregnant belly mom was sporting in the first movie is now a young baby, adding to the family's danger, though they have taken extraordinary steps to keep the baby quiet. As in the first movie, it is essential to stay completely silent because these aliens hunt by sound, but they must leave and go in search of a new place to live. They leave with just a pack or two each, carrying the baby in a sound-proofed "cradle" between them, looking for safety. They eventually find Emmett, far from town, though he's not eager to add this potentially noisy group to his own safe place. Danger, excitement, and a quest for a better life ensue.

This sequel was excellent, though a little bit more in the sci fi horror category. The focus is still very much on the family dynamics and their love for each other, but this movie had far more scenes with the aliens and far more jump-scares! At one point I jumped so hard, I hit my elbow against the armrest. The quiet is still an essential feature here, though it is not as quiet a movie as that ground-breaking first one, but the sound design is still very creative and unique here. It still feels dangerous to munch on your popcorn during the quiet scenes! Millicent Simmonds as Regan is still absolutely outstanding in her role, and she has an even larger role in this movie, though Noah Jupe, playing her brother, gets a bigger role here, too, and is excellent. It's a wholly unique story, produced and filmed in an original way, showcasing a family's love for each other in the midst of a terrifying post-apocalyptic situation.

A Quiet Place II is currently available only in theaters, but it will soon be coming to streaming services, Redbox, etc.

It's Monday 7/12! What Are You Reading?

We had another HOT week here in the Mid-Atlantic. When it's 90's and high humidity, I just can't tolerate much time outdoors ... and I love being outdoors! Besides, the weeds in the gardens are winning the battle. And how come the deer and rabbits are eating all the new flowers we planted in May but they don't touch all the weeds out there? Discerning palettes, I guess. We did have one nice day, Saturday, when I was able to get out and do a little more weeding and mulching. We also enjoyed some time at a local park with my father-in-law, which is always nice. 

The big events of my week, though, were actual social activities ... out in public! For the first time since early March 2020, my husband and I went to a movie theater! It felt like a thrilling, stunning event for us, even though it was just us and one other couple in the theater. We went to a 5 pm matinee of A Quiet Place II, which was just as good as the first one. I'm so glad that John Krasinsky held it back until theaters were open again because this is a movie that is made for the big screen. It's also the only set of movies where eating popcorn feels like a very frightening thing to do! For the record, I don't normally enjoy or watch horror movies, but these two movies are in a genre all their own--moving family dramas with elements of sci fi thriller.

We were VERY excited to be in a theater again!

And, on Saturday night, we ate OUT in a restaurant with friends! Again, an amazing experience. We hugged! We thoroughly enjoyed seeing each other again and the experience of being in a restaurant (we ate out after the movie, too). We'd forgotten how much better food is served hot, directly from the kitchen, instead of riding in takeout containers for 20 minutes.

I posted my usual #FridayReads video on my YouTube channel last week, where I talk about (OK, gush about) the book and audiobook I was currently reading:

And here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I finished reading The Air You Breathe by Frances de Ponte Peebles, which is historical fiction. The story begins in 1930's Brazil, where two nine-year-old girls from very different backgrounds meet and become friends. Gracas is the "Little Miss" of the sugar plantation her family owns, and Dores is a kitchen servant, considered the lowest of the servants for her age and her status as an orphan. Spoiled Gracas insists on Dores becoming her playmate, and her mother acquiesces. The two become inseparable, and after Gracas' mother takes them to a concert and purchases a phonograph player, they both become obsessed with music and make a pretty good singing duo. As teens, they run away to Rio together and struggle to find a way to break into show business. The novel moves back and forth from the present, when Dores is an elderly woman, to the past, as the girls face one challenge after another together, though it is hard for them to ever shed their original roles. I loved this novel! It’s a warm, moving story encompassing both pain and joy as the girls, then women, chase their dreams. History, race, and class are a part of the story, and music is at the center of it. 

 

Now, I am reading my 7th #BigBookSummer book, Blackout by Connie Willis, a favorite of mine and my husband's. Willis has a loose series of time travel books, and if you've read my blog, you know I love time travel plots! We both enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog, a sort of time travel farce, and last summer for Big Book Summer 2020, we both read Doomsday Book and were blown away by it--it was a favorite for both of us. Blackout takes place about four years after that last novel. All of this series are about a group of historians in near-future Oxford who use technology to travel to different time periods. Their role is to observe and learn more about history, not to change anything. In this novel, several historians are traveling back and forth to various places and times during World War II (Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, rural England where children were evacuated to, London during the Blitz). This time, though, things begin to go wrong with their time travel technology and mistakes start to occur. I have only just begun this book, but I am already fully immersed in that world and loving it!

 

I am also listening to a Big Book on audio, Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. It is a complex narrative at first, but I am well into it now and enjoying it. It's narrated by twelve-year-old Eli Bell, who lives in Australia. His mother and step-father are heroin dealers, his older brother, Gus, is mute, and his best friend is an elderly, notorious felon named Slim who is know for his multiple prison escapes. So, yeah, it's a little weird (what is it with me and weird books this summer?), but it's interesting and engaging. As you might guess from that set-up, Eli doesn't have an easy life, and things are about to get a whole lot worse for him and Gus. But Eli is clever and determined and has learned a lot from his buddy, Slim. This is a unique novel, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

 

My husband, Ken, just finished a Father's Day gift, his second Big Book of the summer, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Weir was the author of the best-selling novel, The Martian, (made into an excellent movie starring Matt Damon) and Artemis, which took place on the moon. This latest novel from Weir is being hailed as just even better than The Martian. Ryland Grace wakes up from a very long sleep to find himself on a ship, hurtling through space, with two dead crewmates, and no memory at all. As his memory slowly returns, he realizes that he is the sole survivor of a critical mission whose purpose is nothing less than saving mankind and the earth. The clock is ticking, and Ryland is all alone. It sounds like a great premise and reviews have been outstanding. Ken really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to read it, too!

Our 26-year-old son has returned to a favorite series, The Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu, starting by re-reading book 1, The Novice, so that he can move onto book 2. According to the blurb, "Fletcher is working as a blacksmith’s apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher must travel with his demon, Ignatius, to an academy for adepts, where the gifted are taught the art of summoning."   He's enjoying it so far--he always enjoys diving back into a favorite series and re-reading novels he enjoyed. He has a summer job doing environmental sampling, but he was thrilled to learn he could read during the waiting periods that dot his days!

 

Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: Summer 2021 Shows - what we're watching - there's something here for everyone!

Teen/YA Review: All of This Is True by Lygia Day Penaflor - unique plot & compelling story, well-written with an outstanding audio production!

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?