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!                 

Everyone knows the story of the "unsinkable" but doomed Titanic, but have you ever considered what really caused its demise?  Was it truly just an iceberg or something decidedly more ... ominous?  

Atmospheric and eerie, Alma Katsu's newest historical novel, The Deep, explores the idea of something both sinister and supernatural haunting Titanic.  It's told (mostly) from the viewpoint of Annie Hebbley, a 22-year-old Irish woman who takes a job as a stewardess on the great ship.  The voyage is barely underway before strange things start happening all over the vessel; Annie's not the only one who thinks something otherworldly might be afoot.  She tries to concentrate on her job, but she soon becomes obsessed with the wealthy couple to whom she's been assigned.  As Titanic moves toward its inevitable fate, Annie becomes more and more distressed by everything that's going on.

Although Annie survives Titanic's sinking, she's so traumatized by the experience that she's hospitalized for mental health issues.  A few years later, when an old colleague encourages her to apply for a nursing position aboard Titanic's sister ship, Britannic—which has been repurposed as a hospital ship for injured soldiers—she's hesitant to go back to sea.  Her psychiatrist, however, thinks confronting her fears might be the healthiest thing she can do.  Once aboard, however, Annie encounters a figure from her Titanic days.  As past and present collide, she senses once again that something not quite of this world is sailing alongside Britannic.  What does the malevolent presence want?  Will Britannic and her passengers survive whatever happens next?

I'm not a believer in the supernatural, but I still find The Deep's premise fascinating.  Katsu succeeds in creating the perfect setting for a spooky novel by utilizing two doomed ships as backdrops, then infusing them with a creepy, unearthly vibe that makes the whole tale uniquely chilling.  Although the story is peopled with interesting characters, none of them are very likable.  All are flawed and some of them are revealed as unrelentingly self-centered, snobbish, and greedy.  This made it tough to really connect with any of them.  Plotwise, The Deep plods along like, well, a large ship at sea.  The action picks up toward the end, heading toward a finale I found disappointing.  While the novel is definitely interesting with a haunting tone I enjoyed, it's also sad, depressing, and executed in a way I didn't love, which stinks because I really, really wanted to adore this one.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other novels about Titanic, although I haven't encountered any others with a supernatural element.  You?)

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and mild sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of On a Cold Dark Sea from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

In April 1912, a group of Irish travelers from County Mayo boarded the most magnificent ship the world had ever seen.  Despite their steerage class tickets, they marveled at the grandeur and luxury of R.M.S. Titanic.  Little could any of them imagine that so many—including most of their group—would not survive their voyage aboard the great, but ill-fated ocean liner.  

One of few steerage class survivors, 17-year-old Maggie Murphy is grappling with the enormity of her loss.  Alone in a new country, her neighbors and friends buried at sea, Maggie knows she has to put the tragedy behind her and move on.  Shoving her grief into the farthest recesses of her heart, she forges ahead, vowing never to speak of the terrible, fateful night she watched Titanic—and many of her loved ones—sink into the unforgiving deep.  

Seventy years later, Maggie watches helplessly as her 21-year-old great-granddaughter flounders after losing both of her parents within a short time.  In an effort to reach out, Maggie decides to unburden herself to grieving Grace.  As the women share their secrets, both will find closure and renewed hope despite past hurts.

I find books about Titanic endlessly fascinating, so when I heard about The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor, I knew I needed to read it.  Unfortunately, the story moves along slowly, features flat characters, and meanders about without offering any twists or surprises to keep the tale exciting.  Without any real story goals to push them along, our heroines seem aimless, observing action more than creating it.  Although I do appreciate that The Girl Who Came Home is a clean, hopeful story, on the whole I found it predictable and dull.  I wanted more depth, more originality, more motivation to keep turning pages.  I did finish this book, but overall, it just didn't do a lot for me.

(Readalikes:  Other novels about Titanic, like Voyage on the Great Titanic by Ellen Emerson White; The Midnight Watch by David Dyer; The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf; Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn; etc.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs) and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Girl Who Came Home from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Everyone knows the story of the ill-fated Titanic, which struck an iceberg in the frigid Atlantic Ocean on the evening of April 14, 1912.  Its subsequent sinking has been recounted in dozens of books, movies, news articles, etc.  What about the S.S. Californian, though?  Although the name may be familiar to some, how many of us know the tale of "The Ship of Shame"?  I didn't know much about it until reading The Midnight Watch, a debut novel by David Dyer.  

Through the eyes of John Steadman, an intrepid reporter for the Boston American (a real newspaper published in Massachusetts between 1906 and 1961), we learn the sordid details.  On April 14, the Californian was positioned only a few miles north of Titanic.  Herbert Stone, the former's second officer, spotted distress rockets from the latter during his midnight watch.  Although he wasn't positive what he was seeing, he awoke Stanley Lord, the Californian's captain, anyway.  Ignoring Stone's concern, Lord returned to his bed.  Although a total of eight rockets were fired throughout the night, they continued to be ignored.  Once the horrifying scale of the Titanic tragedy was discovered, Lord's inaction seemed especially suspect.  Why did the captain, a respected seaman known to be both scrupulous and brave, do nothing to aid the sinking ship?  If he had immediately steamed to Titanic's rescue, could the lives of 1500 people have been saved?  Is Stanley Lord directly responsible for that staggering loss?

This is the question that spurs on the fictional Steadman.  As his tenacious search turns up more and more concerns about Lord's curious failure to act, he knows he must uncover the truth.  Although "the truth" Steadman finds is highly controversial, even today, it makes for mesmerizing reading. 

Impeccably researched by Dyer—a highly-educated Australian maritime lawyer with extensive sea-faring experience—the novel is taut, gripping, and astounding in its implications.  Using a fresh angle, The Midnight Watch brings a unique perspective to the tragedy, serving up intriguing historical facts on a bed of engrossing, well-written fiction.  If you, like me, are endlessly fascinated by the Titanic disaster, you simply can't miss this excellent novel.

(Readalikes:  Other Titanic novels, including The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf and I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, blood/gore, and mature subject matter (prostitution, alcoholism, etc.)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

for violence and intense situations

To the FTC, with love:  I borrowed a copy of Dangerous Waters from my kids' elementary school library as part of my volunteer work with the school's reading program.