Fiction Review: The Leavers

As most of my regular readers know, I have been frantically reading books in preparation for Booktopia this weekend, an event held annually at the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. It’s a weekend totally focused on books where authors and readers hang out together and talk books for two days – I can’t wait! All of the books I’ve read for Booktopia have been great, but The Leavers by Lisa Ko really grabbed me. It’s an engrossing and powerful story of a boy torn between two families and two cultures.

As the novel opens, eleven-year old Deming is living in New York City with his mother, Polly (Peilan in her native China). Deming spent his first year in Manhattan with his mom but then lived in China with his grandfather until age five, while his mother tried to find a better job and get into a better situation for her son. They now live with her boyfriend, Leon, and his sister, Vivian, and her son, Michael, who is Deming’s age. The two boys call themselves cousins but are more like brothers, and the accidental family is happy together in their small apartment, while Polly works at a nail salon.

Then one day, Polly just disappears without a trace. She goes off to work in the morning as usual and never comes back. She had been talking about maybe moving to Florida for a better job, so Deming worries that she decided to go without him. But he know his mother loves him and would never leave him intentionally…doesn’t he? After she has been gone for six months, Leon returns to China and Vivian turns Deming over to the foster care system. A couple from upstate New York who both work as college professors soon adopt Deming.

Peter and Kay are very kind to Deming, whom they rename Daniel, but Deming is still confused and hurt by the events of the past year. What happened to his mother? Why did Vivian give him away? When will he be reunited with his real family? In Deming/Daniel’s new school, he is the only Asian kid, and people keep misunderstanding his background, even when he tells them repeatedly that he is from New York, not China. Daniel does make a friend in his new town, though – a boy named Roland who is also something of an outcast, as he is half-Mexican.

The novel moves back and forth in time, from Deming’s early life with his mother and his transition to living with Peter and Kay to the present day as Daniel, when he is in his twenties and living in New York, playing in a band with Roland. Daniel is constantly rocked by uncertainties, worrying that he is a disappointment to his adoptive parents, while still wondering what happened to his mother. Some chapters are from Deming’s perspective and some are from Polly’s perspective, filling in details about her own childhood in China, how she came to New York, and eventually, what happened to her.

This is a moving, powerful story of immigrants and of the unbreakable bond between a mother and son. It is, in turns, shocking, sad, and joyful. I was completely captivated by this original story of being torn between cultures – as both Deming and Polly are – and figuring out who you are. The Leavers won the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction, awarded by Barbara Kingsolver (one of myall-time favorite authors) for a novel that addresses issues of social justice, and that award was well-deserved. The novel is superbly written, as well as compelling. I think this is Lisa Ko’s first novel, though her short stories have appeared – and been lauded – in many publications. I can’t wait to meet her this weekend and see what she comes up with next!

352 pages, Algonquin Books

The Leavers
by Lisa KoHardcover

The Leavers

   

TV Tuesday: Chewing Gum

I first heard of the Netflix show Chewing Gum (originally a British channel 4 show) on one of my favorite podcasts, Pop Culture Happy Hour. The hosts there (who I often agree with) all seemed to like the show, so I decided to give it a try. At first, I thought it was pretty weird, but it has definitely grown on me, and I am hooked now. I sat down at lunchtime today to watch one episode and ended up watching three of them!

Chewing Gum is a quirky British comedy about a young woman who is naive but who craves some sexual experience. Tracey, played by Michaela Coel, has grown up in a small apartment in London in what I gather is the British equivalent of housing projects here in the US. Tracey is in her mid-20's but still lives at home with her mother, Joy (played by Shola Adewusi), and her sister, Cynthia (played by Susan Wokoma), who are both extremely religious. As a result, she has been seriously sheltered and has little life experience. Tracey's best friend, Candice, played by Danielle Walters, is far more worldly, with a serious (and hunky) boyfriend, though she still lives with her Nan in the projects, too.

At the start of season one, Tracey is determined to finally have sex and lose her virginity - she is more than a little obsessed with this mission! Her straight-laced boyfriend, Ronald, though, is just as religious as Tracey's family and seems immune to Tracey's increasingly aggressive advances. You can tell right away that this relationship isn't going to last long, and sure enough, Tracey is soon dating a white boy from the projects named Connor (though she doesn't dare tell her mother that).

This show is loud, colorful, and outrageous...and a whole lot of fun. Did I mention that it's quirky? Michaela Coel is wonderfully exuberant as Tracey (she also writes the show and created it and says it is semi-autobiographical). Tracey is very childlike, dressing in bright primary colors and wearing her hair in two long braids, and innocent, though she desperately wants to be a sophisticated, worldly woman. She is also incredibly endearing and lovable, and I was rooting for her right from the start.

This show is definitely not for everyone. It is quite crude and very open about sex, though Tracey's attempts to have sex are often more silly than sexy. The show is filmed in a unique way, with Tracey often speaking directly to the audience. It's very, very funny, but it also gives an inside view of what it is like to live in a housing project and tackles topics related to race and religion very frankly. Like I said, I am totally hooked now, in season 2, and can't wait to see what happens next.

Chewing Gum was originally broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK and is available now on Netflix.

It's Monday 5/1! What Are You Reading?

Wow, May 1 already?? What happened to April? The year is flying by, as it so often does lately. I had a pretty good week - mostly recuperating and catching up after not feeling well. I still had a few bad days last week but seem to be past that now. And I had a wonderful weekend escape, a trip to the beach with my two closest friends. We went to a state park, got fresh crabs for dinner, went kayaking, and talked nonstop all weekend! Lots of fun - there's nothing like good friends.

Now, I have just a few days to recover and rest up for another trip - to the much-anticipated Boooktopia 2017 with my mom. The problem is that the next three days are packed full, so I won't have the rest time I really need. So, I am a little worried about this next trip...but also very excited to meet these wonderful authors and get together with other book-lovers, including my mom and some friends I met at Booktopia two years ago. Should be fun!

Here's what we've been reading the past week - all Booktopia reading for me!

• I finished The Leavers by Lisa Ko, on my Kindle. This is the story of a boy who's torn between two families and two cultures. After spending his first 5 years in China with his grandfather, Deming rejoins his mother in NYC, where they live together happily with her boyfriend, his sister and her son. When Deming is 11 years old, his mother disappears, and he is adopted by a white family in upstate NY and renamed Daniel. The narrative goes back and forth between Deming/Daniel's childhood and his present life, at 21, and between his and his mother's perspectives. It was completely engrossing - I can't wait to meet the author this week!
• Now, I am back to another Booktopia book that I started last month and then set aside (to read the library books before they had to go back) - Books for Living by Will Schwalbe, the best-selling author of The End of Your Life Book Club (which I still need to read!). This second book about books is a series of essays about books and life - each chapter focuses on one book and one thing he learned from it. The books run the gamut from classics to children's books to old nonfiction to modern novels and more. I'm enjoying it very much and can't wait to meet the author. I am signed up for one of his sessions, which is like a book group discussion. I have dozens of pages dog-eared for quotes, names of books I want to read, and more.
• On audio, I finished listening to another Boooktopia book, Celine by Peter Heller, a mystery about an older woman named Celine who is a PI specializing in reuniting families. She is hired by a woman whose father was thought to have been killed by a grizzly bear many years ago, though his body was never found. I enjoyed it - a mystery, yes, but also a character study of Celine herself and her life, while she investigates this case. Plus, I loved the setting in Yellowstone National Park.
• Now I am listening to another Booktopia novel, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney, a story about an elderly woman walking around Manhattan on New Year's Eve 1984, thinking back over her life and her career as one of the first women advertising executives.  I started reading this one in print and have now switched to the audio (I'm trying to juggle my Booktopia books to fit them all in!). I'm enjoying it so far.
• My husband, Ken, finished The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, a popular YA post-apocalyptic novel that was made into a movie last year. We've had this book in our house for years, but none of us had read it until two weeks ago. Our son read it, then he passed it onto his Dad. Ken enjoyed it, and they are both looking forward to the sequel. My turn next!
• Now, Ken is reading one of my review books, due out tomorrow: Crime Song by David Swinson, a sequel to The Second Girl. Both feature PI Frank Marr, a retired cop who was forced to leave early due to his addictions.
• Jamie, 22, says he is on a science fiction kick! This is a switch from his usual fantasy obsession. After finishing The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, he also finished reading The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin, book 2 in the Dreamblood series, which he loves. 
• Now Jamie is reading Columbus Day, book 1 in the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Alanson, a series about an outer space war where the Earth is unsure of who are enemies and who are allies. I wonder if our recent viewing of the TV show Colony is influencing his reading choices!

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: Passengers - kind of like Castaway in space

Fiction Review: Edgar & Lucy by Victor Lodato - another Booktopia author I can't wait to meet - an excellent and original novel

Free Audiobooks - SYNC Season Starts - don't miss this great opportunity for free audiobooks from now through the summer!

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.

What are you and your family reading this week?  

Steamed Maryland Blue Crabs - first of the season!

 

Free Audiobooks - 2017 SYNC Season Starts!

Every summer, I look forward to downloading FREE audiobooks from SYNC, a program hosted by AudioFile magazine.

Each week, SYNC offers two free audiobooks that you can download onto any device. The two books usually include one contemporary YA title, paired with a classic or a nonfiction book with a similar theme or subject matter. Each pairing is available for download for one week, to be replaced by a new pairing the following week. Once you download the books, however, you can listen to them whenever you want.

SYNC's program for 2017 started yesterday, so head to the SYNC website right away to download the audiobooks for week 1! This first week is featuring:

• The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich, a modern YA psychological thriller, and
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, a classic novella

I am excited about these first two. I am trying to read more classics this year (and not doing very well so far) and have never read anything by Oscar Wilde. And the YA novel sounds spooky and intriguing.

I have listened to so many amazing audiobooks through SYNC in the past. I can't wait to see the rest of their line-up for 2017!

Fiction Review: Edgar & Lucy

While on vacation a few weeks ago, I read Edgar & Lucy by Victor Lodato, another book for the upcoming Booktopia event where I will get to talk to the author about his novel. Edgar & Lucy is a unique story about the relationship between a mother and her son, combining family drama with suspense.

Eight-year old Edgar is an unusual boy. Born albino, his stark-white skin and brilliant green eyes make him stand out physically, while his odd behaviors once led the family doctor to suggest autism. Edgar’s father died when he was just a baby, in some sort of accident that adults sometimes whisper about but no one talks about openly. His young mother, Lucy, was devastated by his father’s death, while his grandmother, Florence, responded to the tragic death of her only son by holding her grandson closer.

Florence and Edgar are very close and live in Florence’s house with Lucy, who feels left out by their insular relationship. They have their routines together and accept each other’s eccentricities, while Lucy often lives a separate life, working at a local salon and going out with a string of men. Edgar is curious about the secrets in his history and wants to know more, but neither Lucy nor Florence wants to talk about it. He feels oddly attracted to a mysterious man with his own dark past, and when bullies threaten Edgar, a crisis occurs.

I won’t say anything more about the plot of this novel, except that it takes some very unexpected, twisty paths with elements of suspense, mystery, and a touch of the supernatural. It’s one of those stories that is best discovered page by page by the reader, without spoilers. As the story twists and turns and the tension increases, Edgar and Lucy each yearn for the other while outside forces (and internal self-doubts) keep them apart.

This is an engrossing and fascinating novel, a completely original story that kept me reading compulsively. The characters are all deeply flawed, but their yearnings and insecurities make them both relatable and worthy of empathy. It’s one of those books where you find yourself silently begging the characters to open up and talk to each other, but they each keep their secrets for far too long. Despite its often dark subject matter, there are moments of wonder and wit as well, and the natural world plays a strong role in the novel. I was completely absorbed in this compelling story and its unbearable suspense until the very last pages. I can’t wait to meet the author next week!

544 pages, St. Martin’s Press

Macmillan Audio

 

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.

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible, narrated beautifully by the author who is also a playwright.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

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!

 

Movie Monday: Passengers

There were some really great-sounding movies released this winter that my husband and I just didn't have time to go see in the theater, and now they are all being released on DVD and streaming. Hurray! After a fun dinner out with friends Friday, we stopped at Redbox and capped off our evening watching Passengers, an intriguing sci fi movie that is kind of like Castaway in space.

5000 passengers and several hundred crew are traveling aboard the luxury star ship Avalon, on their way to a distant planet that houses an Earth colony. Both the ship and the colony are owned by the Homestead Corporation, and these lucky passengers will be starting whole new lives once they arrive. The hitch? The trip takes about 120 years to complete, so they are all - passengers and crew - traveling via autopilot in a state of hibernation.

Something on the ship malfunctions, though, in the first few minutes of the movie, and one of the hibernation pods stops working and wakes its sleeping inhabitant, Jim Preston, played by Chris Pratt. Jim soon realizes he is all alone on the giant ship, the only one awake, and that he has awakened 90 years too early - that means that he will die alone on the ship before he even arrives at the new colony. Things go downhill pretty quickly for Jim, with no company except a robot bartender named Arthur, played by Michael Sheen.

Fortunately for Jim, a second passenger wakes up later, and his sanity is saved. Aurora Lane, played by Jennifer Lawrence, is a beautiful writer from New York who wants to write about the journey and the new colony. Like Jim was, she is upset to find out she woke up when she wasn't supposed to, but at least they have each other. Things are looking up for a while until other aspects of the ship begin to malfunction until reaching a suspenseful crisis point.

We both enjoyed this unique movie that takes place entirely on a ship and has just three actors on-screen (often, just one) for most of the film. Although much of the movie is a love story (this is not a spoiler - it's quite evident from the trailer), there is also plenty of action and suspense, first as they each try to figure out how to fix what went wrong and later as more things begin to go wrong and certain crises come up. The set is gorgeous, on this space-age cruise, and Pratt and Lawrence are both excellent in their roles. For that matter, Arthur is quite charming and amusing himself. The "science" is sometimes a bit iffy, as it usually is in movies like this - I couldn't help wondering why scientists hadn't appreciably increased human lifespan now that they knew how to do things like colonize a distant planet and induce hibernation in humans for decades. But, we were both willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. My husband and I both enjoyed the movie, with romance, a sense of humor, and plenty of suspense. It was a fun journey on a Friday evening!

Passengers is currently out on DVD, available at Redbox or wherever you get DVDs. You can also rent it from Amazon, starting at at $4.99, or buy it digitally or on DVD there (links below). It is not currently available on Netflix.



    

It's Monday 4/24! What Are You Reading?

I always like the fresh start feeling of a Monday morning, but that is especially true today. Last week turned out to be a lost week, spent mostly lying on the couch. My chronic immune disorder was badly flared up (what we call a "crash"), probably from being exposed to all kinds of germs from my niece, nephew, and younger cousins Easter weekend! I started to perk up a little bit by Friday and was able to leave the house and even enjoy dinner out with friends, but I was still pretty worn out this weekend. Today, I am feeling back to normal...or at least my own version of normal. So, I am looking forward to a new week and a fresh start (and plenty of catching up from last week!). I kicked off my week by finally making the phone call to our health insurance company I'd been avoiding for the past few weeks. Not a good result (no mistake - we really do owe that much), but I finally made the call and knocked it off my list - a good start to a new week!

The silver lining of a sick week is that I had extra reading time! Here's what we were all reading last week:

• I finished reading Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato, one of the authors I'll be meeting at Boooktopia. It's the story of a young albino boy named Edgar who's had a rough life so far. His father died when he was just a baby, which devastated his mother, Lucy. They live with his beloved grandmother, but things continue to get more and more difficult for Edgar, until a serious crisis hits. I'm trying not to give away any spoilers, but it was a unique, compelling, emotional novel and even included some suspense. Highly recommended.
• I started to read another Booktopia book, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney, a novel about an elderly woman walking around Manhattan on New Year's Eve 1984, thinking back over her life and her career as one of the first women advertising executives. I was enjoying it very much, but I decided to set it aside when the audio version I had requested finally came in. I am trying to fit in as many Booktopia books as I can before the event in two weeks, so I will finish this one on audio, after I finish my current audiobook.
• With that one set aside temporarily, I moved onto another Booktopia selection, The Leavers by Lisa Ko, on my Kindle. This is the story of a boy who's torn between two families and two cultures. After spending his first 5 years in China with his grandfather, Deming rejoins his mother in NYC, where they live together happily with her boyfriend, his sister and her son. When Deming is 11 years old, his mother disappears, and he is adopted by a white family in upstate NY and renamed Daniel. The narrative goes back and forth between Deming/Daniel's childhood and his present life, at 21, and between his and his mother's perspectives. It's completely engrossing so far (I'm about halfway), and I'm enjoying it very much.
• On audio, I am listening to another Boooktopia novel, Celine by Peter Heller, a light mystery about an older woman named Celine who is a PI specializing in reuniting families. She is hired by a woman whose father was thought to have been killed by a grizzly bear many years ago, though his body was never found. It's interesting so far - a mystery, yes, but also a character study of Celine herself and her life, while she investigates this case.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, a popular YA post-apocalyptic novel that was made into a movie last year. We've had this book in our house for years, but none of us had read it until last week! Our son just finished it, so he passed it onto his Dad. Ken is enjoying it very much and says it's a quick read. My turn next!
• After finishing The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, 22-year old Jamie returned to reading The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin, book 2 in the Dreamblood series, and finished it, too. He loved book 1, The Killing Moon, a few years ago and was happy to have finally gotten to book 2 (which we gave to him for Christmas last year).

 Last week's blog posts - I did manage a bit of blog catch-up!

TV Tuesday: American Crime, Season 3 - another powerful, thoughtful season

My Summary of Books Read in March - a big reading month for me!

Memoir Review: Lab Girl by Hope Jahren - a moving and funny memoir by a woman scientist - my book group loved it

Saturday Snapshot: Virginia Outdoors - highlights from two beautiful state parks

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.

What are you and your family reading this week?   

Where/how I spent much of last week - extra reading time!

 

Saturday Snapshot: Virginia Outdoors

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads.

I thought I'd take a brief break from my National Park photo series to share some highlights from my recent vacation! The first week of April, my husband and I squeezed in a brief week-long trip to Virginia. Even though it's just a short drive away, we had fun exploring areas we'd never been to before. As always, we brought our pop-up camper along and mostly spent our time enjoying the outdoors - camping, hiking, and kayaking (and plenty of reading, too!). We also enjoyed one rainy day exploring Richmond (great food & fun, quirky shops!) and ended our trip with a reunion with one of my college roommates and her husband, whom we hadn't seen in 25 years! All in all, we had a great time and enjoyed a much-needed break.

We split our time between Pocahontas State Park, just south of Richmond, and Belle Isle State Park, on an island in the Rappahannock River north of Williamsburg.

Here are some highlights of the beautiful Virginia outdoors -

Lilypads on Beaver Lake at Pocahontas State Park, VA

Kayaking on Swift Creek amid tree reflections - Pocahontas SP, VA

We saw dozens & dozens of turtles at Pocahontas SP, VA!

A blue heron reflected in Swift Creek at Pocahontas SP, VA

Enjoying sunset & a campfire at Pocahontas SP, VA

Kayaking on Deep Creek at Belle Isle State Park, VA

We watched 2 osprey overhead while kayaking & saw their nest!

The Golden Hour on Mulberry Creek at Belle Isle SP, VA

Belle Isle SP - a gorgeous place!

Sunset over Mulberry Creek & Rappahannock River at Belle Isle SP, VA

Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend!

Memoir Review: Lab Girl

I first heard of the memoir Lab Girl by Hope Jahren on an episode of the New York Times Bookpodcast, which I listen to every week. I was intrigued by the interview with the author, so I was thrilled when my neighborhood book group chose the memoir about a female scientist. I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining memoir that also packs a surprisingly powerful emotional punch.

Hope begins her memoir in the beginning, writing about her childhood in cold Minnesota, playing under the chemistry tables in her father’s lab at a local college where he taught. She realized, after she later went out into the world, that most people were not like her reticent, emotionally reserved Scandinavian family. She felt some closeness to her father because she shared his passion for science but had a distant relationship with her mother, though she has some happy memories of working in the garden with her during the short Minnesota growing season.

When it came time for Hope to go to college, she surprisingly chose to major in literature but soon realized she belonged in science, feeling at home in the laboratory. She recounts her experiences working in laboratories in college, as well as her unique experiences working in the hospital pharmacy at the University of Minnesota, helping to make up complicated courses of chemo involving multiple drugs and absolute adherence to strict sterility guidelines. After getting her undergraduate degree, she moved onto other universities for graduate degrees and eventually, teaching and running her own labs, criss-crossing the country from California to Georgia and Baltimore and finally to Hawaii.

In between longer chapters about her life and career, Hope intersperses shorter chapters about the topic of her lifelong studies and passion: plants. She cleverly matches the topics of these interesting and informative briefs to the part of her life she is discussing: roots, leaves, wood and knots, flowers and fruit, etc. Hope also talks openly about her personal challenges, which were (and continue to be) considerable. I won’t spoil it for you with details since she delves into that topic well into the memoir, but she has dealt with some amazingly difficult things.

Her honesty and willingness to share the raw emotions of her challenges made those sections of the memoir the most powerful and moving for me. As a scientist, she approaches even those very difficult topics with a straightforward and factual voice that make her struggles all the more moving. Here, she is talking about problems in the lab, but the passage applies equally well to her personal life:

“I know damn well that if there had been a way to get to success without traveling through disaster someone would have already done it and thus rendered the experience unnecessary, but there’s still no journal where I can tell the story of how my science is done with both the heart and the hands.”

That’s exactly what she does in this book, but it is not a depressing story. Hope describes those challenges in a matter-of-fact way and never loses her wry sense of humor. Many of the sections describing her escapades with her longtime eccentric lab partner, Bill, are laugh-out-loud funny, and I read several passages aloud to my husband. I especially liked their spontaneous road trip to Florida with a group of students to see a weird roadside attraction. Whether describing her projects in the lab; her relationships with Bill, her husband, and her child; or the harrowing trials she has endured personally, Hope approaches it all with a calm, matter-of-fact style that is warm, funny, and completely engrossing. Looks like that liberal arts degree was put to good use after all.

282 pages, Alfred A. Knopf

 

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.

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, read by the author, 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 Lab Girl from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Books Read in March

March was a BIG reading month for me, with a combination of book group selections, review books, audiobooks, and my first books read for Booktopia, an upcoming book event. Here's what I read last month:

• The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron, YA fiction audiobook
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Vietnam, CA), adult fiction
• Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (NY), adult fiction

• Making Friends with Billy Wong by Augusta Scattergood (AR), middle-grade audiobook
• The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron (France), adult fiction - SA review
• The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck (Germany), adult fiction - Booktopia

• How To Be Human by Paula Cocozza (UK), adult fiction - SA review
• The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak (NJ), adult fiction - Booktopia

Wow, 8 books - that is almost a record for me! They were all fiction, mostly for adults but with one YA and one middle-grade novel thrown in. Three were audiobooks. I enjoyed all 8 books, so it's tough to choose a favorite out of this group. I think my #1 choice would be The Sympathizer (which won the Pulitzer award), with Another Brooklyn a close second - interestingly, both of those were read for book groups, which always lead to good reads! Links above are to my reviews; I will post links to the two that I reviewed for Shelf Awareness when they are published.

Progress on 2017 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges! I read 8 books last month and not a single one was from my own shelves for my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge! For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, March was Time Traveler month which included dystopian or sci fi in a very different world, so The Forgetting fit perfectly.  No classics last month for the 2017 Back to the Classics Challenge. I slotted all 8 books into categories for my Well-Rounded Challenge. For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I added the Vietnam and read additional books set in the UK, France, and Germany. For my 2017 Literary Escapes Challenge, I added California, Arkansas, and New Jersey.

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Here is my Bingo card for March, with just 15 squares filled in. Almost everything I read last month was realistic fiction, so I missed some squares with fantasy elements.

Books fit in the following squares:

The Forgetting - in a series, audiobook
The Sympathizer - trust/betrayal, travel, college, recommended to you
Another Brooklyn - library book
The Last Neanderthal - spring fling, mentor/apprentice
Making Friends with Billy Wong - green on the cover, free book
The Impossible Fortress - music/bands
How to Be Human - changing habits
The Women in the Castle - engagement
Free space

What was your favorite book read in March?  

TV Tuesday: American Crime, Season 3

Although I already reviewed American Crime last year, during season 2, I wanted to review season 3 separately because - as was the case for season 1 also - it is wholly unique and stand-alone.

American Crime is a unique approach to a TV series, as each season is a completely separate story, with no connection at all to previous seasons. In essence, each season acts kind of like a mini-series. The only thing the seasons have in common is a handful of top actors, including Timothy Hutton, Felicity Huffman, Regina King, and Lily Taylor (though they play different characters each season). Each season of the show zeroes in on one aspect of crime in America. Seasons 1 and 2 each focused on one particular crime, with complex underpinnings, including racial tensions, and many shades of gray (a home invasion gone wrong in the first season and a male rape at a high school party in the second). Season 3 varies a bit from that formula, instead focusing in on one community and looking at multiple forms of criminal activity occurring there. Several storylines deal with immigrants, while another one focuses in on human trafficking (which, of course, can also affect immigrants).

So, in season 3, there are multiple storylines that are separate but intersect in one way or another, all taking place in one community in North Carolina. In the first episode, we meet Alonzo Gutierrez, played by Benito Martinez, who has struggled to get into the United States illegally from Mexico. He is looking for his beloved son, who left home as a teenager. All he knows is that he ended up working on a farm in North Carolina. Alonzo ends up on the Hesby farm, where he finds some people who recognize the photo of his son, so he begins working there as a migrant worker. The Hesby family has run this farm for generations, but they are now struggling to survive, with pressure to continually reduce costs to preserve a small profit. Matriarch Laurie Ann, played by Cherry Jones, runs the farm with an iron fist, determined not to lose her family's legacy. As you might have guessed, the pressure to cut costs results in hiring migrant workers for less and less pay and appalling living conditions.

Meanwhile, in the city, underage teen Shae is working for a pimp, selling her body to survive. One night, a john beats her, and when the police come, she is put into the hands of Kimara, played by Regina King, a social worker who is devoted to saving kids like Shae, all while she struggles to try to get pregnant herself. Kimara wants to help her new charge, but Shae's not sure she wants to be helped.

A few more episodes in, we meet Clare Coates, played by Lily Taylor, a wealthy woman who has hired a Haitian immigrant named Gabrielle to care for her beloved son. Gabrielle doesn't speak English, but Claire hopes that she can teach her young son French. Her husband, Nicholas, played by Timothy Hutton, owns a furniture company (another classic North Carolina industry) that is also struggling to make a profit, and he thinks it's absurd to hire a nanny who can't speak English.

It might sound confusing, but these storylines are each fleshed out as the season continues, and we get to know the characters. In some cases, there are intersections between the stories, as when Kimara gives a speech to a group of wealthy families, which includes Clair and Nicholas, to explain the tragedy of human trafficking and how resources are needed to help the victims.

As with previous seasons, the production qualities are very high, with excellent acting and writing, and I soon found myself drawn into these disparate lives and caring about the characters. One of the things I like best about this remarkable series is how thought-provoking it is, digging deep into complex issues and looking at the shades of gray that are often overlooked. For instance, we see the horrible conditions of the migrant workers on the farm but also the desperation of the owning family not to lose their business. I am only on episode 5 (of 10), so I am interested to see what will happen next. These are all compelling stories with plenty of suspense and unexpected twists that make me think more deeply about the complexity of the issues facing our society today.

There are 6 episodes out so far this season, and all of them are still available On Demand (the first one comes off on May 30), and episodes 2 through 6 are also available for free on the ABC website. American Crime is also available on Amazon for $1.99 per episode or $14.99 for the entire season (and the first two seasons are also available there). So, you could pay $1.99 for episode 1 and then watch the rest for free on the ABC website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhhaNAZAwR0

         

It's Monday 4/17! What Are You Reading?

I'm back! I missed last week's Monday update because my husband and I took a little week-long vacation to Virginia with our camper. We were home for two days and then packed up again for Easter weekend with my family - 13 people in one house! It was great to see everyone, but pretty exhausting for me. This morning, my chronic immune disorder is flared up badly, so I am lying on the couch as I type this and planning on a very low-key day.

Our vacation was relaxing, though, and much-needed! We took some short hikes, went out kayaking twice, visited Richmond on our one rainy day, and capped off the week with a visit to my college roommate and her husband (who also went to school with us) in Williamsburg - lots of talking and laughing, as you can imagine! Of course, our trip included plenty of downtime and lots of reading. Here's what we've all been reading the past two weeks:

• I finished Lab Girl by Hope Jahren for my neighborhood book group. It's a memoir by a woman scientist, starting with her childhood playing in her father's lab at the local college. I knew I'd enjoy the science-y aspects of this, as a former chemical engineer, but it also turned out to be a very powerful memoir of some massive personal challenges she's faced. It was excellent.
• Next, I resumed my reading for Boooktopia, an awesome annual event in Vermont, where book lovers get together with authors for an intimate weekend of discussing and celebrating books - so much fun! My mom and I went two years ago and are going again the first week of May. I am reading Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato, one of the authors I'll be meeting at Booktopia. This is a hefty book, so I'm still reading it. It's the story of a young albino boy named Edgar who's had a rough life so far. His father died when he was just a baby, which devastated his mother, Lucy. They live with his beloved grandmother, but things continue to get more and more difficult for Edgar. I'm trying not to give away any spoilers, but it's a compelling, emotional novel.
• On audio, I am listening to another Boooktopia novel, Celine by Peter Heller, a light mystery about an older woman named Celine who is a PI specializing in reuniting families. She is hired by a woman whose father was thought to have been killed by a grizzly bear many years ago, though his body was never found. It's good so far - I'm just a  few chapters in.
• On our road trip, my husband and I were listening to The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle, which was billed as an engrossing thriller, but we had some trouble with it and finally gave up on it on the way home. For a thriller, it is very slow-paced and not very compelling, though it does have some interesting points. It's about an elderly man named Roy who meets a woman named Betty and moves in with her. Roy is clearly lying about a lot of things, though Betty seems to take him at face value. The book goes back and forth between present and past, delving further and further back into Roy's life and lies. I haven't decided yet whether I will finish it on my own, once I finish my Booktopia audio.
• My husband, Ken, finished The Red Hunter by Lisa Unger. As best as we can remember, he and I have only read one other Unger novel, Beautiful Lies. He likes thrillers a lot and enjoyed this one.
• Next, Ken read a book I gave him for Christmas, Run by Andrew Grant, another fast-paced thriller. He said it was very complicated and sometimes hard to follow, but he enjoyed it overall.
• Ken has just started reading The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, a popular YA post-apocalyptic novel that was made into a movie last year. We've had this book in our house for years, but none of us had read it until last week! Our son just finished it, so he passed it onto his Dad.
• Jamie, 22, read The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, as I just mentioned. He'd forgotten his current book at a friend's apartment so finally picked up this long-neglected novel. He said it was great! I'll have to read it next.
• And now, Jamie is back to reading The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin, book 2 in the Dreamblood series, which he got back from his friend last week. He loved book 1, The Killing Moon, a few years ago and is happy to have finally gotten to book 2 (which we gave to him for Christmas last year).

Just a couple of blog posts last week, in between trips - I will be getting back to my normal blogging routine this week. Two reviews of Booktopia books:

Fiction Review: The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak - a warm & hilarious novel about a teen boy set in the late 80's

Fiction Review: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck - about 3 WWII widows in Germany after the war

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.

What are you and your family reading this week?   

Reading & relaxing by the campfire on our vacation