As well-heeled nobs queue up to enter their luxurious cabins on the famed Titanic, the unlikeliest of first-class passengers lines up with them.  Valora Luck, a 17-year-old British-Chinese acrobat, should be accompanying her wealthy employer on the trip across the sea.  The old woman's surprise demise has left Valora with two unexpected gifts—a ritzy room all to herself and the freedom to do whatever she pleases during the voyage.  The young woman intends to use her time to find her twin brother, Jamie, a sailor whom she hasn't seen in two years; persuade him to join her once again as a dynamic acrobatic duo; and convince an influential American circus owner onboard to hire them.  No small task, she knows.

When Valora is turned away on the gangplank because of her ethnicity, she's devastated but determined.  She will get on Titanic, no matter what it takes.  With a little assistance, some sneaky acrobatic moves, and a lot of pluck, she does just that.  In order to do what she needs to while on the ship, Valora has to dodge ship security by keeping a low profile, disguising her true identity, and not drawing any attention to herself.  She needs to be able to move throughout the entire ship without arousing suspicion.  Just as she's finding success, pulling all her goals within reach, disaster strikes.  As Valora struggles to save herself and those she loves from an icy death, her future seems to be sinking right along with them.  Will she and Jamie live to find acrobatic success in New York City?  Or will they, like so many others, go down with the great, "unsinkable" Titanic?

I find the Titanic disaster endlessly fascinating, so when I heard that Stacey Lee—one of my favorite YA historical fiction writers—was penning a novel about the disaster, I was stoked.  Especially since the story was to pay homage to the ocean liner's real Chinese passengers.  Although there were eight Chinese men aboard Titanic, six of whom survived, their stories have never been told.  Unlike other of the ship's refugees, these men were not welcomed warmly in America.  Instead, they were shipped off within 24 hours of arriving in the U.S., all but ensuring their plights would be forgotten.  Luck of the Titanic is not directly about these men, but it addresses issues of racism, classism, and other challenges Chinese people faced in Europe and America during that period.  These elements add intriguing layers to the story, which is also packed with plenty of action and conflict to keep readers turning pages (which I did, finishing the book in a day).  Valora is the best kind of storybook heroine.  She's daring, determined, kind, loyal, and brave.  It's easy to root for her as well as the other very likable characters in the book.  While I loved all of these things and more, there's one thing about Luck of the Titanic that I despised: the ending.  It took me by surprise, but not in a good way.  In fact, the finale made the novel feel unfinished and dissatisfying.  I didn't exactly throw Luck of the Titanic at the wall (I bought an expensive hardcover, so I had to be careful) in frustration, but I wanted to, darn it!  The ending soured the read for me, which—up until that point—I had been enjoying most thoroughly.  Grrr.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other Titanic novels I've read, which you can see by selecting "R.M.S. Titanic" from the drop-down menu under the "Labels" tab on the left sidebar of my blog)

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Luck of the Titanic with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

I'm a little tardy to the TTT party today, but better late than never, right?  Since I'm not a big app user or podcast listener, I'm not really feeling today's topic—Top Ten Online Resources for Book Lovers.  I'm going to skip it in favor of last week's—Favorite Book Settings—which I missed due to being in Europe.  I know I've done topics like this before, so my selections may sound a *little* familiar... 

If you want to join in the TTT fun, click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

1.  Scotland—I've long loved me a moody, broody Scottish setting.  Now that I've been there, I'm even more interested in reading about this lovely land, the ancestral home of my paternal ancestors.  

2.  Creepy old buildings—Be it a house, a hospital, a hotel, a school, whatever...as long as a book features a spooky edifice (preferably teeming with ghosts), I'm in.

3.  The American South—I enjoy a good Southern yarn, especially when it's filled with quirky characters and Down Home warmth.  There's just something about the South, y'all.

4.  World War II—Although I've stepped back from WWII novels a bit this year, I still find it an endlessly fascinating setting.  

5.  Dystopian/post-apocalyptic—I'm not reading as much in this genre as I have in the past, but I still dig a good end-of-the-world tale.

6.  Small towns—Quaint little villages make the perfect setting for cozy mysteries, psychological thrillers, rom-coms, horror stories, and more.  I especially love a good small-town-with-big-secrets yarn.

7.  Extreme situations/climates—Even though I'm a huge wimp, I enjoy immersing myself in engrossing survival stories, especially when they're set in places with chaotic, unpredictable weather that's going to act up at just the wrong moment.  

8.  Islands—I'm also all about tales set on islands.  The isolation ups the ante for any kind of story, be it a mystery, a psychological thriller, a rom-com, or whatever.

9.  At sea/maritime disasters—While I'm not afraid of water, I still don't love the idea of floating along in the sea with all kinds of dangers—real and imagined—lurking below me.  Because of this, books set at sea, especially survival stories, mysteries, thrillers, and action/adventure tales, always give me a shivery thrill.  Titanic books will 100% always get my attention.

10.  American West/pioneer/homesteading—I've mentioned before that I'm the descendant of both Mormon pioneers and Oregon Trail adventurers.  I grew up hearing their stories, so I've always been fascinated with this time period and setting. 

If you read this blog with any regularity, you're not going to be surprised by any of my answers.  You've seen what I like to read—do you have any suggestions for books I haven't read yet that fit in these categories?  What are your favorite book settings?  I'd love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!                 

Propriety is important in Victorian England.  Just not to eccentric surgeon Dr. Horace Croft.  Ever since he took in Nora Beady—an 8-year-old orphan—he's been teaching and training her.  Now 21, she's an invaluable medical assistant as well as a gifted surgeon in her own right.  Capable as she is, even Dr. Croft realizes that Nora's interest in medicine would be seen by outsiders as shocking, manly, and unnatural.  It must be kept secret at all costs.  When Croft brings a young doctor into his practice, Nora fears she will be found out.  Forced to act like a proper lady, hiding her ability in the surgery, she feels like she's going mad.  When she makes an important discovery, one that could change medicine forever, Nora is torn between offending society by revealing her true self and boldly claiming her own discovery instead of letting the men around her take credit.  Is she brave enough to risk everything by finally stepping out of the shadows into the spotlight?