Fiction Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Many years ago, my husband and I enjoyed the movie adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, so when I saw the novel, written by Jonathan Safran Foer, in a used bookstore, I snatched it up. That was also many years ago, but the pandemic has helped me to dive deep into my waiting-to-be-read shelves! I loved this warm and funny novel populated by likable, quirky characters that is all about grief, love, and healing.

Nine-year-old Oskar lost his dad in 9/11 more than a year ago, and he is still grieving deeply for the loss. He misses his dad's help with his many inventions, the "missions" he would send him on out in the city, and the stories he would tell Oskar at bedtime. Oskar is a very imaginative child with a huge vocabulary and a lot of anxiety. He doesn't have many friends--kids tend to think he's strange--but he has his mom and Grandma, and he seems to be on a first-name basis with everyone in his neighborhood from the doorman to the mailman to the guy who runs the locksmith shop down the road. One day, searching through his dad's closet and embracing all the memories it holds, Oskar finds a mysterious key at the bottom of a blue vase that looks out of place on the top shelf. He's never seen a key like it before, and Oskar decides that it's a mission his dad left for him. His only clue is the word "Black" written on the tiny envelope the key is in. Oskar comes up with a plan to visit every person in the NY metro area with the last name Black: that would be 472 people, at 216 different addresses. He sets out to visit each and every one of them (in alphabetical order), to try his key in their locks and ask them if they knew his dad. His adventure takes him to every corner of the five boroughs and to many, many people, some of whom become new friends. This journey begins to help Oskar heal.

In alternating chapters, the stories of Oskar's grandparents are told, slowly unfolding bit by bit. They met in Germany when they were teens during WWII, but Oskar has never met his grandfather. He left before Oskar was born ... and, in fact, before Oskar's father was born. His story is told through a series of letters, written beginning in 1963 and titled Why I'm Not Where You Are, sharing his childhood, adolescence, and meeting and marrying Oskar's grandma. She gets her own voice, too, told in a series of letters to Oskar, written in 2003 from the airport and detailing her own life, from Germany to NYC to the present. Oskar and his grandma are very close, and the story of her past and his grandfather have always been a mystery. In this way, the slow unraveling of his grandparents' story is also an integral part of Oskar's story.

It's not just the story and the characters that make this such a unique novel; it is also written in an original way, integrating Oskar's first-person narration in the present with letters from each of his grandparents, referencing and filling in the past. The book also contains photographs, presumably taken by Oskar with his grandfather's old camera, which he carries around his neck, and a few written items from Oskar's life. The author plays a lot with form and presentation, providing a multi-media way of slowly learning about the main character and his family and following Oskar's adventures around the city. There are plenty of heart-breaking references and remembrances to the events of 9/11 (after all, that's understandably on Oskar's mind a lot). As such a precocious child, he understands far more than most nine-year-olds probably would, though he is still naive about certain things. That dark theme is countered by plenty of humor. The world is an amusing place when seen through Oskar's eyes, with his mix of worldliness and innocence. Many of these funny moments took me by surprise, causing me to suddenly laugh out loud. Reading this novel is a unique experience: an original story peopled by quirky characters, carrying both heartbreak and hope. I would definitely like to read more from Foer (this was my first of his), and I'd like to re-watch the wonderful, uplifting movie adaptation of this novel, too.

368 pages, Mariner Books
Recorded Books

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 sampleof the audiobook here, with three different narrators, and/or download it from Audible. The sample provides a good glimpse into Oskar's strange, funny narration.

You can purchase Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buy through indie bookstores using Bookshop.

 

Or you can order Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Middle-Grade Review: Notorious

Last month, in need of something light and fun in my book life, I listened to the latest middle-grade novel from Gordon Korman, Notorious, on audio. It fit the bill perfectly! Like most of Kormon's novels, it is an interesting, warm, suspenseful story with plenty of humor, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

Twelve-year-old Keenan has lived an exciting life, moving from one continent to another with his mother and his step-father, who both teach at international schools around the world. He was enjoying their latest home in Shanghai when he contracted tuberculosis ... yeah, really! He moved back to the U.S. to recuperate at his father's house. Only his father's house is just barely in the U.S., on an island called Centerlight located right on the U.S.-Canadian border. So, his dad's house is in Michigan, but the neighbor a few doors down lives in Ontario. It's even stranger in the middle of town, where the international border zigzags through downtown, with double post offices, police forces, and other government services and no official border crossings. While resting in his dad's backyard (TB leaves you with no energy), a girl named Zarabeth--but known as ZeeBee--comes into the yard and introduces herself. ZeeBee has all the energy Keenan is missing and talks a mile a minute, but she's interesting and entertaining. She knows all about (is maybe even a little obsessed with) the island's unique history; being located on the border and isolated on the island, it was a hotspot for smuggling during the Prohibition era. And she is convinced that her dog, Barney, was murdered by one of the many people on the island who hated the large, aggressive dog. She considers Barney 2, her new dog, a seriously-lacking replacement. Over the course of the summer, as Keenan begins to heal, the two friends investigate Barney's death and learn more about the island's history, as the stakes get higher and higher.

Notorious is a wonderfully complex and twisty mystery, with plenty of surprises in store, but this delightful novel offers more than just action and suspense. It is also a story of friendship and family, with plenty of warmth and humor woven in. I also found the history in the book fascinating, filled with gangsters and criminal activity from the 1920-30's. Both Keenan and ZeeBee are fun, likable characters that you want to root for. This was the perfect audiobook for me right now, and I'm sure both kids and adults will enjoy it--it's a great book for families to read or listen to together.

320 pages, Balzer + Bray

I also recommend Kormon's wonderfully exciting and action-packed sci fi thriller trilogy, Masterminds, that features his same warm, witty suspense with realistic kid characters. 

Listen to a sample of the excellent audiobook, read by multiple narrators, here and/or download it from Audible. In this sample, Keenan describes the island and his current situation.

You can purchase Notorious from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buy through indie bookstores using Bookshop.

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

It's Monday 5/4! What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday!

We are still riding a rollercoaster here: of weather, of health, of stress. Whee! Last week was another cold, wet week, and I felt awful most days (my husband thinks there's a connection there). I was supposed to have a video chat interview with another chronic illness blogger for my new book, but first we had to reschedule when she wasn't feeling well, and then we lost power here for 24 hours! I am a dinosaur who does not have a smartphone or tablet (or any data plan to go with it - my husband, either), so with no wifi, I was stuck. We made the best of it, brought in some lanterns from the camper, cooked on the propane burner on our grill ( a must-have!), and watched DVD's on my laptop in the evening.

What a lovely campsite!

Everything turned around on the weekend! Our power came back on about noon Friday, the skies cleared and the sun came out, and somehow, I woke up Saturday morning feeling great. So, we went camping ... in our driveway! We moved the cars back and set up our pop-up camper in the driveway. We went for a local hike (gorgeous day), ate a picnic dinner with our son, enjoyed a socially-distant campfire in our new firepit with some good friends, and slept snugly in our camper. Sounds silly, I know, but it was a nice break from routine, and we really enjoyed our "camping trip." We capped it off with some take-out lattes and scones Sunday morning before resuming normal, busy life.

Enjoying a campfire in the driveway

For me, camping also means some extra reading time, so I took advantage of that Saturday, too. Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I am still reading Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett, a Christmas gift from my husband. This novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critic's Circle Award! It's a drama about a family of five that struggles with mental health issues, including severe depression. John, the husband, was hospitalized for depression while he and Margaret were still dating, and despite the lack of information at the time, Margaret loved him and decided to stay with him. They marry and have three children: Michael, Celia, and Alec. Michael also struggles with some of the same issues as his dad, which affects everyone in the family. Each family member gets their own voice, as chapters alternate between them.  I was immediately pulled into this immersive novel. Some parts are a bit difficult to read, though the self-descriptions of mental illness from John's and Michael's perspectives are also enlightening. I can see why it was nominated for so many awards (and won some, too).

I just finished listening to a teen/YA audiobook, Bent Heavens by Daniel Krauss, the author of Rotters, which I also enjoyed on audio. This sci fi thriller is about a teen girl named Liv who's infamous at school because her dad, who was the high school English teacher, claimed to have been abducted by aliens, had a serious breakdown while directing the school play, and then disappeared. That was two years ago, and Liv just wants to get through her senior year and get on with her life. Her childhood friend, Doug, believed all the crazy stuff her dad told them, and the two teens helped her dad set traps all over their yard before he disappeared. Liz just went along for her dad's sake, but the two of them have continued to check and maintain the traps these past two years. Now, though, Liz goes out back one day and finds an inhuman creature in one of the traps. Was her dad telling the truth? Could he possibly still be alive somewhere? This was a suspenseful, action-packed story, though it was a bit dark and violent for my taste (I should have remembered this from Rotters!). I did enjoy it overall, and there are some seriously unexpected twists here.

My husband, Ken, is still reading one of the oldest books on our TBR shelves, 13 Steps Down by Ruth Rendell, which we bought at a used bookstore about 15 years ago and neither of us had read yet. Yeah, we have a problem, I know. Rendell is the author of over 80 books, including many mysteries written as both Ruth Rendell and as her pseudonym, Barbara Vine. This one sounds like a classic British mystery, featuring an obsessed and strange lodger and his equally strange elderly landlady. We've heard great things about Rendell for many years; I'm glad he's finally tackling this one! He says it is very British so far and a bit slower-paced than the thrillers he's used to, but he seems to be enjoying it.

Our son, 25, finished reading The Sixth Strand by Melissa McPhail, book 5 in her A Pattern of Shadow and Light series - yay! He loves this series and even gave his dad book 1 for Christmas last year, so he could share it with him. This is another giant book (900 pages) for him, so it's took him a while to read it, but he is enjoyed every minute of it. There's nothing like diving back into a favorite fictional world. Now, he's been busy shopping with his Amazon gift cards (we put one in his Easter basket!), choosing both old favorite series and new books to try.

Now, Jamie is returning to another favorite series, Warlord, book 6 in the The Sanctuary Series by Robert J. Crane. We gave him book 1, Defender, for Christmas 2018, and he loved the series so much that he quickly read books 2, 3, and 4, also. So, this past Christmas, we gave him book 5, which he read last month. The series is epic fantasy about a world called Arkaria and features dragons, titans, goblins, and more. He loves the series, and is thoroughly enjoying this next book now.





Blog posts last week:

TV Tuesday: Better Call Saul - Need some bingeable TV with suspense and humor? We're loving this one!

Fiction Review: The Late Show by Michael Connelly - great start to a new thriller series featuring a female detective

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?

Reading while "camping" this weekend

Fiction Review: The Late Show

Last month, as distracted as everyone else right now, I indulged in a fast-paced thriller by a favorite author to hold my attention: The Late Show by Michael Connelly. I have read many books in Connelly's Harry Bosch series (and we love the TV adaptation, Bosch), and I'd been wanting to read this first book in a new series since I gave it to my husband for Christmas in 2017! I enjoyed getting to know Connelly's new female detective, and this twisty mystery kept me guessing.

Renee Ballard is a detective in LAPD's Hollywood division, working what is not so affectionately known as "the late show," the midnight to morning shift. As you might have guessed, this is not a coveted position, though how Renee ended up there is not immediately clear. She and her partner, Jenkins, respond to calls for detectives throughout the night, writing up reports and turning the cases over to their daytime colleagues for follow-up each morning. It's a frustrating job since they never get to see a case through to its resolution. Tonight, though, they pick up two cases that both pique Renee's curiosity, after a slow start to the night. They begin with an elderly woman whose credit cards have been stolen; these kinds of crimes are hard to solve, but they assure the woman the LAPD will try. Next, they are called to a brutal assault. A transgender woman has been savagely beaten, dumped in an empty parking lot, and left for dead. This case really bothers Rene since the beating was particularly horrible and senseless. Finally, an unidentified person shoots five people in a night club, and Renee is still at the hospital when the fifth victim, a cocktail waitress, is brought in. She was still alive at the club but has died en route. Renee heads to the crime scene of the shooting, where she notices some things that don't make sense to her. She asks to follow-up on the transgender beating, an unusual request to stick with a case for the late show, but it is granted. She is also intrigued (obsessed?) with certain aspects of the shooting, but she's been specifically told to stay away from that case, from the head detective who has a vendetta against her. With the victims in mind, though, and her clever mind working overtime, Renee secretly follows up on clues that only she has.

This novel has everything you want from a mystery/thriller: interesting and unusual cases, lots of unexpected twists and turns, and a detective you want to root for, in spite of her flaws (much like Bosch). It's clear right from the start that Renee has a history and some issues (and you learn more as the story continues), but you can also tell that she's a good person and a good cop who cares about the truth and the victims she is helping. I love the way that a good mystery drops breadcrumbs throughout the novel that all eventually come together, and Connelly is a master at that. I really enjoyed immersing myself in the gritty nighttime world of the LAPD again, and now I am extra-eager to read the next book in this series, Dark Sacred Night (which I also gave to my husband as a gift!), in which Ballard and Bosch team up. Can't wait!

405 pages, Little, Brown and Company

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here from the start of the book, read by Katherine Moennig, and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase The Late Show from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buy through indie bookstores using Bookshop.

Or you can order The Late Show from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

TV Tuesday: Better Call Saul

As many of our favorite network shows are wrapping up for the season (some earlier than planned because they ran out of new episodes), we have turned to streaming services for some old favorites, like Bosch (on Amazon), and are trying some new shows. One that we liked immediately is Better Call Saul, a funny, suspenseful Breaking Bad prequel spin-off that stands on its own.

Jimmy McGill, played by Bob Odenkirk, is a two-bit lawyer, struggling to make an honest living. His office is in the backroom behind a nail salon, he drives an old car that is literally falling apart, and he works hard as a public defender to earn a measly $700 per defense. Jimmy puts on a good show in front of others, but it's clear he is a decent guy who cares about his clients and wants to succeed. He also cares deeply for his brother, Chuck, played by Michael McKean. Chuck is a partner in a high-powered, slick downtown law firm, but he's currently trapped in his own home, helpless, as the victim of his own mental illness. After a lifetime of big brother Chuck bailing out (sometimes literally) screw-up baby brother Jimmy, their roles are now reversed. As Jimmy scrambles to make a living, sleeping on the pull-out couch in his tiny office, he also takes good care of Chuck, bringing him newspapers and groceries and following his rules to keep all electromagnetic radiation away from him. But life is never easy for Jimmy: even as he leaves the courthouse where he toils so hard for so little, he always gets stopped by the parking attendant, Mike (played by Jonathan Banks and delightfully familiar to Breaking Bad fans), for not having his card properly validated. Through a complex scheme-gone-wrong to earn a few extra bucks, Jimmy ends up tangled up with criminal Nacho Varga, played by Michael Mando. Somehow, eventually, Jimmy will end up transformed into slick lawyer Saul Goodman, who plays a role in Walter White's drug business in Breaking Bad.

First, you do not need to have seen or know anything at all about Breaking Bad to enjoy Better Call Saul. The show completely stands on its own, as the prequel story of one side character from Breaking Bad, but fans of that huge hit will delight as familiar characters (like Mike) show up here and will wonder how Jimmy eventually becomes Saul. We were reluctant to watch this spin-off for a while, in part because we didn't really like the Saul character all that much, but Jimmy in this earlier incarnation is great fun to root for and a much more complex character. He's smart and hard-working and caring but clearly the underdog. It's a fast-paced show with plenty of intrigue and suspense through the cases that Jimmy gets involved with, and it's got a great sense of humor that keeps things light. So far, we haven't seen any of the darkness that so permeated later seasons of Breaking Bad (which was still funny). We're loving this show so far and are looking forward to seeing where Jimmy's career takes him and how he will eventually make the transformation to Saul Goodman.

We've watched just the first six episodes of season one so far, but there are five seasons out, with more planned, so this is a great one for binging! Season five just finished airing on AMC, so it is available On Demand through your cable provider or you can see some episodes for free at the AMC website. The first four seasons are available on Netflix, so season five will probably end up there, too, in due time.

It's Monday 4/27! What Are You Reading?

May begins this week (!), though it often still feels like March here weather-wise, and it's something like Day 43 or so of living in the After. Life sometimes feels like a post-apocalyptic book these days, doesn't it? Though luckily, so far anyway, everyone seems to be much nicer and kinder than in most post-apocalyptic stories! At least I haven't seen anyone in our neighborhood carrying weapons or forming roving bands.

Is anyone else having a hard time focusing and getting any work done right now? It's weird because things aren't all that different for me from my normal life. I often spend a lot of time at home due to my chronic illnesses. It's actually kind of a relief to me to see every single item in April crossed off on my calendar - no medical appointments for me, my son, or my elderly father-in-law. Of course, I miss my book groups and other time with my friends, but even fun outings always carry some stress for me, resting ahead of time and worrying about whether I can manage it or not.

Wait, I was talking about not being able to focus and ended up babbling about my empty calendar--see what I mean? My husband is home with me 24/7, so that's very different (and certainly distracting), and the news is still somewhat distracting, though less so than a month ago. I'm just having trouble concentrating and am spending way too much time on social media (probably missing social interactions more than I realize!). I make a list each week of things I must do ... and then end up transferring most of them to next week's list at the end of the week!

On the plus side, I enjoyed another socially-distant hike with my two best friends last week at our local nature center - a bit cold out, but it was wonderful to see all the spring green and enjoy their company. We talked a LOT (which is challenging with three people each six feet away).

We also had a nice weekend --did some yard work, enjoyed a gorgeous day on Saturday, and had a Zoom dinner with our closest friends. It was so good to see their smiling faces!

Saturday was also Dewey's 24-hour Readathon! I had fun participating in that. Obviously, it was a busy day, but I spent a lot of time weeding and cooking while listening to my audiobook. And I did take some extra time to just lie on the couch and read, which is a rarity for me (to read when it's not bedtime).

Oh, and I recorded a Mini Bookcase Tour #3 last week! These are just short video clips with me showing you one of the many bookcases in our house and describing what we keep there. I'm having fun with these, and I hope you are, too! I can't get the videos to post properly to the blog, but you can see them all on my Facebook page.

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

Last week, I turned back to Booktopia 2020 reading - the in-person annual event (supposed to start on Friday!) was of course cancelled, but Northshire Bookstore has a bunch of free virtual author events planned in its place (click on Events at the link to join the fun!), including several Booktopia authors coming up in May. So, this week, I finished reading Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen by Mary Norris. It's a memoir about Greece by a writer from The New Yorker. It's about her lifelong fascination with all things Greek: language, culture, mythology, and Greece itself. I had mixed feelings about this book: sometimes I found it interesting and engaging and other times, I was a bit bored with it. Surprisingly, the beginning parts, about the Greek and English alphabets, were fascinating to me, and I enjoyed reading about her travels around Greece when she got into some detail. I'm not at all into mythology, though I know many people are, and all of the New Yorker name dropping and many literary references were lost on me. Some of that is also probably timing--I continue to crave escapist fiction during these strange times.

I also finished another graphic novel, squeezing it in between other reading: The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown. I really enjoyed this unique YA graphic novel that tells the story of a pair of conjoined twins in a freak show in a turn-of-the-century circus. Jane and Isabel spent their entire lives sharing an arm and a leg and joined at the torso, until a surgeon in one town convinced them to have a separation surgery. He assured them it would be successful ... but, of course, it was not. Jane died (though her ghost hangs around), and the rest of the novel is about Isabel's challenges in adjusting to life by herself, after a lifetime of being part of a pair. She no longer fits into the freak show, though with her prosthetics, they come up with a new act as a "living doll." Most of the story is about Isabel's struggles with her own identity, with or without the circus. It's warm, moving, and thoughtful.

After I finished my nonfiction reading during the Saturday readathon, I delightedly selected a book from my overstuffed TBR bookcase (I'm enjoying that aspect of quarantine life). I chose Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett, a Christmas gift from my husband. This novel was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critic's Circle Award! It's a drama about a family of five that struggles with mental health issues, including severe depression. John, the husband, was hospitalized for depression while he and Margaret were still dating, and despite the lack of information at the time, Margaret loved him and decided to stay with him. They marry and have three children: Michael, Celia, and Alec. Michael also struggles with some of the same issues as his dad, which affects everyone in the family. Each family member gets their own voice, as chapters alternate between them. I've only just started the novel but am already fully immersed in its world and its characters.

On audio, I finally finished Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, a newly released novel. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1982, a young woman named Oona who is celebrating her nineteenth birthday is suddenly transported 32 years into the future, where she is a 51-year-old woman, living in a gorgeous house and greeted warmly by a man she's never seen before. From then on, each year at the same time, Oona jumps to another age and time in her life. This plot is right up my alley! As I've mentioned, I love time travel and alternate timeline plots in novels, so this was a perfect escape for me right now. It's pretty mind-bending as Oona jumps from one age/time into another, but that's exactly what I love about these kinds of plots. She approaches each year very differently and it takes her a while to get the hang of this bizarre life she's leading. I really enjoyed this novel, with all its unexpected twists and turns.

Now, I am listening to a teen/YA novel, Bent Heavens by Daniel Krauss, the author of Rotters, which I also enjoyed on audio. This sci fi thriller is about a teen girl named Liv who's infamous at school because her dad, who was the high school English teacher, claimed to have been abducted by aliens, had a serious breakdown while directing the school play, and then disappeared. That was two years ago, and Liv just wants to get through her senior year and get on with her life. Her childhood friend, Doug, believed all the crazy stuff her dad told them, and the two teens helped her dad set traps all over their yard before he disappeared. Liz just went along for her dad's sake, but the two of them have continued to check and maintain the traps these past two years. Now, though, Liz goes out back one day and finds an inhuman creature in one of the traps. Was her dad telling the truth? Could he possibly still be alive somewhere? This novel is great so far, fast-paced and original, though it's giving me some seriously weird dreams!

My husband, Ken, made a big switch after a bunch of fast-paced thrillers to The Pioneers by David McCoullough, a nonfiction history book. I received this one as an Advanced Reader Copy last year, and though I didn't review it, we hung onto it. It's about the part of American history that includes the settling of the Northwest Territory (i.e. Ohio), beginning in 1788, as a group of pioneers set out after the Revolutionary War seeking the freedom of religion, free education, and prohibition of slavery that existed further west from the original 13 colonies. McCoullough is an outstanding and award-winning writer, so I'm sure this is an amazing book, though I think I would have trouble reading about pioneers and westward expansion after reading An Indigenous People's History of the United States earlier this year! I may never be able to read American history in the same way again. My husband enjoyed it, though.

Now, Ken is back to the mystery/thriller genre he loves, and is reading one of the oldest books on our TBR shelves! He just started 13 Steps Down by Ruth Rendell, which we bought at a used bookstore about 15 years ago and neither of us has read yet. Yeah, we have a problem, I know. Rendell is the author of over 80 books, including many mysteries written as both Ruth Rendell and as her pseudonym, Barbara Vine. This one sounds like a classic British mystery, featuring an obsessed and strange lodger and his equally strange elderly landlady. We've heard great things about Rendell for many years; I'm glad he's finally tackling this one!

Our son, 25, is still reading The Sixth Strand by Melissa McPhail, book 5 in her A Pattern of Shadow and Light series. He loves this series and even gave his dad book 1 for Christmas last year, so he could share it with him. This is another giant book (900 pages) for him, so it's taking him a while to read it, but he is thoroughly enjoying it. He read 100 pages in the first day and is loving being immersed back in this complex fantasy world. There's nothing like diving back into a favorite fictional world.



Last week's blog posts:

Fiction Review: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - a darkly comic modern classic featuring WWII, time travel, and an alien zoo

Middle-Grade Review: Snapdragon by Kat Leyh - graphic novel about friendship, family, healing, and acceptance

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?

Middle-Grade Review: Snapdragon

I recently read a middle-grade graphic novel, Snapdragon by Kat Leyh, who co-wrote and drew the Lumberjanes series (I still need to read those!). This one is an original story about a likable girl whose family doesn't have much. She befriends a boy who wants to be a girl and the town's supposed witch and learns more about herself and her family along the way.

All the women in Snapdragon's family are named after flowers. Snap has heard that the ramshackle house in the woods is the home of an evil witch who lost her eye to the devil, eats roadkill, and casts spells with the bones. They also say she eats pets, so when Snap's beloved dog, Good Boy, goes missing, she braves the scary place. Snap finds Good Boy, and she also finds Jacks, who's not a witch at all, but an old woman who wears Crocs and is good with animals. Since she helped patch up Good Boy after he got injured, Snap goes back the next day, thinking maybe she could help with a bunch of baby possums whose mother is dead. Jacks and Snap become constant companions, taking care of the possums, while Jacks also shows Snap how to clean and recreate animal skeletons, a painstaking but satisfying process. In between, Snap hangs out with her next-door neighbor Louis, who Snap encourages to be him/herself and begins to go by Lulu. The two like to watch scary movies together, and Snap is especially glad of the company when her mom is working late. Eventually, while working with Jacks, Snap begins to realize the old woman might actually have a bit of real magic and a connection to Snap's own family.

Sample pages from Snapdragon by Kat Leyh (First Second)

I really enjoyed this unique novel about friendship, family, healing, and acceptance. It's lots of fun, filled with colorful, realistic, and action-packed drawings, but it also covers plenty of ground with serious issues, like gender fluidity, being gay, bullying, and not making assumptions about people. It was more real-life based than I expected for the first half of the story, though it takes some unexpected twists in the second half. Snap is a wonderful heroine, filled with courage and boldness and willing to stand up for her friends. And I loved the happy ending.

224 pages, First Second

You can purchase Snapdragon from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buythrough indie bookstores using Bookshop.

 

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

Fiction Review: Slaughterhouse Five

I've been taking advantage of the stay-at-home orders, closed libraries, and canceled book groups to read from the deep recesses of my To-Be-Read bookcase. One author I have been meaning to read for decades is Kurt Vonnegut. He was a favorite of my father, and I fondly remember him enjoying Vonnegut's novels, one after the other, when I was a kid in the 70's. So, I finally pulled our old paperback copy (one my husband bought for 50 cents at a used bookstore in his hometown as a teen) of Slaughterhouse Five off the shelves. I admit I had been putting off reading it because of the title--what a silly thing to do! It turns out that this modern classic is not about slaughtering animals but about an ordinary life, time travel, aliens who keep humans in a zoo, and World War II. It's a rather unique story that is hard to describe.

The entire book is framed as a novel written by a man (the author?) who has been trying to write a nonfiction history book about the horrific bombing of Dresden at the end of WWII, which killed about 25,000 people (mostly civilians). Instead, he gives up and decides to write a fanciful novel, and the rest of this book is that novel. So, chapter 2 starts with the famous line: "Listen: Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time." Throughout the novel, Billy is a very young chaplain's assistant in WWII (himself a POW in Dresden, held in the basement of a building formerly known as Slaughterhouse Five, at the time of the bombing), an optometrist in upstate New York, a husband, and a father. Oh, and he was abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Tralfamadore, where he was held naked in a zoo with a Hollywood starlet so the aliens could see humans making love. So, there's that. The novel itself is told out of order, beginning when Billy is an older man, a widower, who finally comes clean and goes on the radio and writes to the newspaper about his adventures as an alien captive and time traveler. His grown daughter is, understandably, concerned about his mental state. From there, Billy tells the story of his life, with flashbacks to those surreal days in Dresden, his marriage, his career, and, of course, his experiences on Tralfamadore. Interspersed are the times when Billy suddenly time traveled to a different period of his own life, which makes the slightly mixed-up structure of the novel mirror Billy's life.

This novel is so much more than a plot description. It's very unique tone is difficult to explain. In trying to tell a friend about it, she said it sounded dark and disturbing. And, yes, the WWII scenes are dark--one of Vonnegut's premises is that that early experience affects everything in the rest of Billy's decades of life--but this is a comic novel, filled with absurdities, silliness, and laugh-out-loud moments. Sure, Vonnegut is trying to make some serious points here about the nature of war and its effects on the young people who fight it, but he accomplishes that through farce and dark humor. It's actually a very fun book to read, and a fast-paced, quick read, too, that fit in just right with my current state of mind (which mostly wants to read lighter books right now!). I can see now why Vonnegut appealed so much to my dad, who had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh, and I wish so much that I could sit down to tell him I finally read Vonnegut and talk to him about this unique, wild ride of a novel. I will definitely be reading more of this much-acclaimed author.

215 pages, Dell

Listen to a sample of the audiobook from an early part of the book that describes Billy's life, read by James Franco, and/or download it from Audible.

You can purchase Slaughterhouse Five from an independent bookstore, either locally or online, here:

You can also buy through indie bookstores using Bookshop:

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

It's Monday 4/20! What Are You Reading?

Another week has passed in this crazy, mixed-up world. That means lots of cooking and walks around our neighborhood, and a nerve-wracking trip to the grocery store, where some people weren't wearing masks and seemed totally ignorant of social distancing needs - eek! We did enjoy some highlights last week, though, including a walk with my friends!! It was such a thrill to see my two closest friends again, for our socially-distant walk at a local nature center. My husband and I returned to the nature center on Sunday and had a similar walk with our son and his girlfriend (who've been living away from us) - such a pleasure to spend time with loved ones, even from six feet apart.

A socially-distancing hike with our son and his girlfriend

Oh, and I did another Bookcase Tour Video last week - I can't get them to post properly on my blog, but you can see them on my Facebook page.

Another highlight of the week, as always, was our books. Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I finished reading a book from deep in my TBR bookcase (one advantage of the libraries being closed), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. This is the first Foer novel I have read, though I saw the movie adaptation (starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock) of this one years ago. I remembered the general premise and that I loved the story (it's a great movie), but I didn't remember all the details. It's about an extremely smart and precocious (possibly autistic) nine-year-old boy named Oskar who lost his dad in 9/11. It's been over a year, but he hasn't fully processed the trauma and grief yet. Oskar finds a key that belonged to his father, and he goes on a mission (much like the secret missions his dad used to send him on) to find the lock that fits the key. He's got all of New York City to search, so this is a big mission, but it's just what Oskar needs to help him move forward. Although that perhaps sounds a bit dark, it is ultimately about love and healing and has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Oskar is a delight, as is his grandma. It's also a very quirky novel with some unusual ways of telling the story. I enjoyed it, and now I want to watch the movie again.

I also finished a teen/YA graphic novel (those are quickies!), Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann. This recent release is a unique story of friendship, activism, and ... periods! It's about four teen girls in high school. Three of them, Brit, Abby, and Christine, have been friends for a long time. They meet the new girl, Sasha, when she suddenly gets her period for the first time during the second week of school, in front of everyone and while wearing white pants. Oh, yeah, every girl's worst nightmare! The three friends quickly cut off the mean kids making fun of Sasha and help her to the restroom, and a new friendship is born. Abby is appalled to find that the machine in the girls' room is empty, and after they help Sasha, she goes to talk to the principal about it. He cites budget cuts and makes other excuses, and Abby gets more and more upset. She starts thinking, what about girls that can't even afford sanitary products, even if they were available in school? With her friends by her side, Abby sets off to not only make necessary products available for girls but also to remove the taboo that surrounds any talk of menstruation. It's a fun story of friendship that touches on some serious issues and empowers girls to make a difference.

Now, I have turned back to Booktopia 2020 reading - the in-person annual event (supposed to be next week!) was of course cancelled, but Northshire Bookstore has a bunch of free virtual author events planned in its place (click on Events at the link to join the fun!), including several Booktopia authors coming up in May. So, I just started reading Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen by Mary Norris. It's a memoir about Greece by a writer from The New Yorker. The first chapter explains her lifelong interest in the Greek language and culture. I'm not too much further than that yet, but her explanations of the origins of both the Greek and English alphabets are fascinating. I have always wanted to visit Greece, so I am looking forward to hearing about her extensive travels there

On audio, I am still listening (I have no time alone for audiobooks right now!) to Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, a newly released novel. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1982, a young woman named Oona who is celebrating her nineteenth birthday is suddenly transported 32 years into the future, where she is a 51-year-old woman, living in a gorgeous house and greeted warmly by a man she's never seen before. From then on, each year at the same time, Oona jumps to another age and time in her life. This plot is right up my alley! As I've mentioned, I love time travel and alternate timeline plots in novels, so this is a perfect escape for me right now. I am loving it so far. It's pretty mind-bending as Oona jumps from one age/time into another, but that's exactly what I love about these kinds of plots. She approaches each year very differently and it takes her a while to get the hang of this bizarre life she's leading. I'm loving it so far, and there are some interesting twists in the story.

My husband, Ken, has made a big switch after a bunch of fast-paced thrillers to The Pioneers by David McCoullough, a nonfiction history book. I received this one as an Advanced Reader Copy last year, and though I didn't review it, we hung onto it. It's about the part of American history that includes the settling of the Northwest Territory (i.e. Ohio), beginning in 1788, as a group of pioneers set out after the Revolutionary War seeking the freedom of religion, free education, and prohibition of slavery that existed further west from the original 13 colonies. McCoullough is an outstanding and award-winning writer, so I'm sure this is an amazing book, though I think I would have trouble reading about pioneers and westward expansion after reading An Indigenous People's History of the United States earlier this year! I may never be able to read American history in the same way again.

Our son, 25, is still reading The Sixth Strand by Melissa McPhail, book 5 in her A Pattern of Shadow and Light series. He loves this series and even gave his dad book 1 for Christmas last year, so he could share it with him. This is another giant book (900 pages) for him, so it looks like he's reading a big encyclopedia when he carries it around the house! (Am I dating myself with that reference?) He read 100 pages in the first day, and is loving being immersed back in this complex fantasy world. There's nothing like diving back into a favorite fictional world.




Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: Miracle Workers: Dark Ages - need some laughs? This is the place! Available free on multiple platforms (including the network's website - no subscription required)

Fiction Review: The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata - unique novel about how one missing book brings two immigrant families together

My Summary of Books Read in March - a crazy month in the outside world, but good reading!

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?