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Monday, January 27, 2020
MG Novel Straightforward, Thought-Provoking, and Entertaining
2:10 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Twins are rare enough, but 11-year-old Minni King and her sister, Keira, are more unusual still. Children of a Black mother and a white father, Minnie's skin matches her dad's while Keira's is the same shade as their mom's. Their parents have always assured them that what matters most is that they're all part of the strong, tight-knit King Family, but that doesn't mean their unique family doesn't attract plenty of stares and ignorant comments from people in their mostly white Pacific Northwest community.
When the girls' overbearing grandmother calls, insisting Minni and Keira come stay with her in Raleigh, North Carolina, in order to compete in the Miss Black Pearl contest, Keira's over the moon. She's vivacious and gorgeous, the perfect candidate for a
Mingling in a mostly Black society for the first time in her life, Minni feels very, very white. While she struggles to define her own Blackness, she also bristles at her grandmother's constant criticism of Keira. As the sisters each experience racism, prejudice, and confusion about their mixed ethnicities, they will both learn valuable lessons about identity, understanding, sisterhood, and family.
As the white adoptive mother of a bi-racial child, I'm always glad to find books like The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier (who is the daughter of a Black father and a white mother). They open my eyes to issues my daughter will likely face in her life and aid me in knowing how to help her through them. While The Other Half of My Heart tackles issues like race and identity in a blunt, straightforward way, the story is also funny and entertaining enough to keep middle graders reading. The plot's a bit loosey-goosey, but the story moves fast enough to prevent it from getting dull. While the tale is predictable, I still found it enjoyable overall. I listened to this one as an audiobook and especially liked the narrator, Bahni Turpin.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of other novels about being Black (or bi-racial) in a white world, including The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods; Black Boy, White School by Brian F. Walker; Sell-Out by Ebony Joy Wilkins; SLAY by Brittney Morris; etc.)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
To the FTC, with love: I received a free audiobook of The Other Half of My Heart through a promotion at Audible.
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Winning Elements Combine to Create Compelling, Entertaining Mystery
4:21 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
1939—Aspiring artist Anna Dale is thrilled when her sketch wins a federal contest designed to install colorful murals on the walls of post offices throughout the United States. Unexpectedly, the 22-year-old is assigned to paint in the tiny Southern town of Edenton. With the recent death of her mother, Anna has nothing to keep her in New Jersey, so she settles down in the North Carolina town, determined to do her best to immortalize its virtues in her mural. While some of the townsfolk welcome her with open arms, others look askance at her city airs, her unconventional ideas, and the fact that she bested Edenton's resident artist in the contest. When a shocking turn of events shows Anna just how deep some people's resentment lies, she's forced to decide if completing the mural is really worth the risk.
2018—In jail for a crime she didn't commit, 22-year-old Morgan Christopher is surprised when she receives a visit from two women she doesn't know. When they offer her a job restoring an old painting, at the bequest of a well-known artist who has recently died, Morgan's shocked. Especially when she learns the task comes with a generous payout and immediate release from incarceration. Morgan can't say no. Although she knows nothing about art restoration and can't fathom why a famous painter would want her for the job, Morgan vows to do the best she can. When she sees the painting—an old mural that was never installed at the Edenton, North Carolina, post office like it should have been—she's intrigued by the artist's odd renderings of the town. Was Anna Dale insane? Why did she paint such weird motifs? The more Morgan works on the painting, the more she has to know: What happened to Anna Dale, a talented painter who was never heard from again after she left Edenton?
Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain combines some intriguing elements—small-town secrets, a mysterious painting, and an impossible task assigned to an improbable underdog—to create an engrossing, entertaining mystery that I quite enjoyed. Anna and Morgan are likable characters, both of whom are sympathetic and admirable. Although I know little about painting, it was interesting to learn about the restoration process. I also enjoyed the pacing of this story, which kept me engrossed and guessing. The Big Reveal at the end of the book didn't surprise me at all, however, but that's okay because it felt so right. With all of these winning elements, Big Lies in a Small Town is engaging, compelling, and enjoyable. I'll definitely be checking out Chamberlain's backlist now.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a little of The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a few F-bombs, plus milder expletives), blood/gore, violence, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of Big Lies in a Small Town from the generous folks at St. Martin's Press via those at NetGalley. Thank you!
Thursday, January 23, 2020
My First Audiobook a Slow, Gory Slog
7:29 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
As an aspiring journalist, 16-year-old Nathalie Baudin is thrilled to be writing a column for Le Petite Journal. Even if the editor, an old family friend, hired her only as a favor to her unemployed mother and away-at-sea father. Even if she has to dress as a boy to do her reporting. Even if the job means spending her days studying corpses at Paris' public morgue. Despite her unladylike interest in the macabre, she's as horrified as everyone else when a serial killer begins preying on the city's young women. She's even more aghast when, while viewing the victims' bodies at the morgue, she begins having nauseating visions of them being brutalized. Most confusing of all, the scenes are from the perspective of the killer. Why is she having these strange visions? What could they possibly mean?
Soon Nathalie realizes that her gruesome waking dreams are a weird gift that could help the police find the killer who has been dubbed "The Dark Artist." But that means opening herself to more violent visions, which leave her frightened and disgusted. Is it worth her sanity to encourage the blood-soaked visions? As Nathalie searches for answers, she stumbles across shocking secrets about her family and herself. Her sleuthing soon attracts the attention of the murderer. With a killer on her own tail, she must find answers—and fast—before she becomes the next corpse lying on a slab for all of Paris to view.
Spectacle, a debut novel by Jodie Lynn Zdrok, has an intriguing premise and a creepy, atmospheric Jack the Ripper feel. While neither of these elements is all that original, the combination presents a compelling jumping-off point. Unfortunately, the story Zdrok spins from it is slow, with a lot of meandering around before it gets anywhere. The tale gets repetitious and dull, making its 368 pages feel like double that. Add in a lot of bloody, gory scenes, some of which made me feel physically ill, and Spectacle became a tough tale to get through. I did become invested enough in the story to finish it, but in the end, I just didn't find the book all that enjoyable or satisfying. Needless to say, I won't be bothering with the sequel, Sensational, which comes out in February.
I should mention that I listened to Spectacle as an audiobook—my first one ever. The narrator, Laurie Catherine Winkel, is okay. Her narration is a little stiff, with her French sounding more natural than her English. My daughter says she sounds like the Google Translate voice. I don't know if listening to Spectacle as opposed to reading it altered my experience with the book or not. I think I would have felt the same way, no matter what, but I'm still a noob when it comes to audiobooks, so who knows?
(Readalikes: Reminds me of the Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting [The Body Finder; Desires of the Dead; The Last Echo; and Dead Silence] as well as various books about Jack the Ripper)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for brief, mild language; violence; disturbing subject matter; and blood/gore
To the FTC, with love: I received a free finished audio copy of Spectacle as part of a promotion offered by Audible.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
A Borrow, Not Buy Top Ten Tuesday List
8:26 AM
It's Tuesday, so that can only mean one thing: it's time for my favorite bookish meme. Since I already did a version of this week's topic (Top Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf) not long ago, I'm going to change it up a little and talk instead about the My Top Ten Most Recent Library Acquisitions. I've always utilized my local libraries (both city and county), but after spending a pretty penny on new books in 2019, I'm going to try to borrow more and buy less in 2020. We'll see how that goes ...
First, won't you join the TTT fun? It's easy and enjoyable, I promise! All you have to do is head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few quick instructions, make your own list, and then spend some happy hours surfing through the book blogosphere. It's a great way to find reading recommendations, discover new blogs, and spread the love throughout our wonderful blogging community.
Alright, here we go with My Top Ten Most Recent Library Acquisitions:
1. The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer (audiobook)—Ever since I found that I don't actually hate audiobooks, I've tried to have one on deck at all times. I borrowed this one, the eighth installment in one of my favorite YA series, because of a recommendation from an anonymous blog commenter. I always enjoy the Bloody Jack books and this one is no exception. I'm especially taken with the narrator, the late Katherine Kellgren, who does an excellent job giving voice to the irrepressible Jacky Faber. The books are hefty, so the audiobook is over eleven hours long. Still, it's a fun one.
2. A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths—I'm behind on the Ruth Galloway mystery series, but it's another one I've enjoyed immensely. This installment, the fourth, concerns the murder of a museum curator, then the museum's owner. Naturally, Ruth and D.I. Nelson are called in to investigate. I can't wait to catch up with Ruth and Co.
3. Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu—I've heard good things about this mystery series starring a feisty Singaporean widow who runs a restaurant and solves mysteries in her spare time. The opening installment involves a murder and the disappearance of one of Aunty Lee's guests, two puzzling events that must be related.
4. What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr—In this standalone from Barr, a woman in her 60's wakes up in the Alzheimer's unit of a nursing home. Although she can't remember how she got there, Rose is convinced she's still in her right mind. When another shocking event occurs, she becomes sure of it—someone is trying to eliminate her. But why?
5. Second Sight by Aoife Clifford—I always like a good going-home-to-confront-secrets-of-the-past type books, so this one sounds appealing. It's about a lawyer who returns to her Australian hometown after a devastating wildfire, only to witness an old friend commit a crime that propels her on a journey to uncover the secrets others would like to remain buried forever.
6. Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson—I enjoyed Johnson's newest MG novel, Dog Driven, so I wanted to try another one by her. Ice Dogs is a survival story about a girl who gets lost in the Alaskan wilderness during a dogsled race. Sounds exciting!
7. The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan—I've only read a couple of Colgan's novels, but I loved them both, so I want to read more from her. The Café by the Sea is the first book in her Mure series. It stars Flora, who returns to her hometown to lick her wounds, only to find herself caught up in the dramas of island and family life. Fun!
8. Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner—Graphic novels aren't really my thing, but this one jumped out at me while my 11-year-old daughter was perusing the shelves for Pokémon books. The story centers on a half-white, half-Japanese boy who is sent to a California internment camp during World War II. Should be a quick, interesting read.
9. A Sky Full of Stars by Linda Williams Jackson—This is another book I noticed while browsing the children's section with my daughter. Set in 1955, the story is about a 13-year-old girl who's frightened of growing racial tension in her Mississippi town. Trying to decide if she should leave the state altogether or attempt to stay and push for change, she learns some valuable lessons about racism, community, and taking action.
10. The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers—I've never read anything by Meyers, but the title of this 2013 novel caught my attention. It's about a woman whose extramarital affair leaves her pregnant and alone. Five years after she places the child for adoption, her lover's wife finds out what happened. Told from the perspectives of three women caught in the drama, it's a novel about the consequences of infidelity, the journey toward forgiveness, and the power of family, even in the most unlikely of situations.
There you go, ten books I recently grabbed off the library shelves. Have you read any of them? What have you checked out lately from the library or acquired from a bookstore? I'd love to know. Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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