March 2.0

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
Her first book in eight years, Sekaran has written a humdinger of a story that is getting tons of buzz out there in the publishing world.  Charged with provocative themes of race, class, illegal immigration, and familial rights, this is a winner.  You'll need to get past the first 40-50 pages for the characters to gel, but be patient; it is worth it.  In this modern day re-telling of King Solomon and the mothers who both claim one child, Sekaran gives us two different mothers:  one, a young Mexican girl who has come to America, through the help of coyotes and generous parents, and who experiences horrific tragedy to give herself and her family a better life; the other woman, well educated at Berkeley, with a steady job, Silicon Valley husband, who desperately wants a child but is denied by her biology.  Throughout the book, we see the story of Solimar, an illegal immigrant, the fear that forces her to run through sidewalks in case ICE is around, who takes far less pay for her work as a nanny due to fears of IRS issues, and who is imprisoned for a nonsensical reason, in danger of losing the child she bore.  However, we also see Kavya, a woman who so longs for a child she can think of nothing else, who is a sincerely loving woman, who bonds deeply with the child in her care.  I found myself having to starkly and honestly confront my own embedded of class and race,  about what a child needs, or deserves - this is a powerful story that will provoke great conversation.

The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright
Wright's previous book, The Rent Collector, was a favorite of mine a couple years ago, and he writes another interesting, heartwarming book on his second outing.  Based on a true story, just like his previous book, this time the focus is on India and its troubling past with illegal adoption practices.  We first meet Chellamuthu as a seven year old boy, part of an extremely poor Indian family.  While he is sometimes physically abused, due to cultural beliefs in his village, Chellamuthu is loved.  However, when his father leaves him on a street corner, unaccompanied for a short time, kidnappers take the small boy and deliver him to an orphanage in the big city.  The motives of the head man are questionable and provoke questions:  does he know the boy has a loving family?  does he care? does he care for the orphans to save them? or does he use the orphanage to fleece American families?  It is an intriguing dynamic.  As Chellamuthu then transitions to an American boy in his newly adopted family, he becomes Taj and we watch the years go by and his past fade.  Eventually, Taj must confront old memories and search for his past.  The only problem with this book?  At times, it does taste a bit saccharine, occasionally the story line drags a bit, and if you have seen the movie Lion, yep, it is a similar plot.  However, it is a heartwarming, multicultural story that would be appropriate for all ages.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Looking for your next vacation read, the one you cannot put down, the one where you want the world to stop tugging on your shirt sleeve? Look no further - Clare Mackintosh's latest (I Let You Go) is a serious page turner, as was her last one.  Written up in the New York Times book section for hot new mysteries, this one deserves all the accolades.  Playing on the real fears surrounding CTV, social media, and our obsession to let the world know everything about our lives, Mackintosh weaves a tale of suspense.  Two women take center state:  Kelly, a police officer, dying to be more than just on patrol and to work in the 'majors,' a dark past that keeps her back, and an insatiable curiosity and spot-on memory; Zoe, an ordinary mum, stuck in a dead-end job, torn between the current husband and the cheating ex, who sees a picture of herself in a newspaper advertisement as she rides the subway home.  As Kelly begins to piece together the pattern of rapes and murders, Zoe must protect not only herself, but her nineteen year old daughter.  Macintosh throws in numerous possible suspects, leading us down one dark alley after another, with a shocker of an ending.  This book does not disappoint.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
George Saunders, labeled "one of our greatest living writers" is back after his spectacular book of short stories, The Tenth of December.  His latest book will likely win a Pulitzer, American Book Award, etc etc etc.  It was an immediate bestseller and raved over in the New York Times and various book blogs.  Yet...I must be missing something.  On one hand, it is a highly creative plot line.  In 1862, President Lincoln visits the tomb of his eleven year old son, Willie, two days after his death of typhoid fever.  The book unfolds as various spirits, stuck here on earth in the 'Bardo' (a Tibetan term for the state in-between life and death), share their past lives and their perspectives on the current situation between Willie, who is desperate to see his father one last time, and Lincoln, who cannot let go of his beloved child.   Each chapter begins with numerous small tidbits of facts from historical diaries, news tidbits, etc., followed then by back and forth conversations from the spirits.  Many of their past lives are fascinating, humorous, terrible, you name it.  Admittedly, I had a hard time following all the strings of conversation and keeping characters straight; I also found myself more intrigues by the historical facts, rather than the ghostly tales.  I listened to the audio version which had tons of famous actors and has been highly reviewed; perhaps the written version where I could visually see the spirits' names might have been better?  I am looking forward to my Village Books bookclub discussion so they can clue me in to all the nuances I am sure I missed!

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
If I were to just scratch the surface, this is not my kind of book.  It has guns, and I mean a lot of guns; it begins with a child shooting a gun, chapters about each of the twelve bullet holes placed on Samuel Hawley's body, and minute description of his large gun collection.  However, below the surface, this is a powerful story of a wounded man, both physically and emotionally, loyalty to friends and family, and the unending search for love in this world.  I honestly did not think this book would be as deep as it became; I was figuring a bang-bang, shoot-em-up thriller, but I was so wrong.  The story swerves back and forth in time, spooling out the story of Hawley's life through each of his twelve wounds:  his beginning steps into the criminal world, the marriage and loss of his wife, his complicated relationship with his daughter and mother-in-law, and his search for heroism.  Tinti is a talented author, who uses the threads of Hercules and his twelve labors, the desire to be heroic when one is riddled with flaws, and the call of not only nature but the wisdom in the stars to show each character the way home, both literally and figuratively.  Do not put this book down, do not skim the surface and think it is a thriller - dive deep and swim through this rich and exciting book.  It is well worth your time.

Ill Will by Dan Chaon
This book gets lots of buzz, but honestly, I did not find it worth the hype.  Premise:  young boy named Dusty with a newly adopted fourteen year old foster brother named Russell who is abusive towards him, and oh yeah, spends decades in prison for killing the boy's parents as well as his aunt and uncle. Now that Dusty's wife has died and left him with two teenage sons, brother Russell returns to emotionally abuse the older son.  Yep, I stopped reading there.  I felt like I needed to take a shower - such ugly characters and a plot line that repulsed me.  One star...don't waste your time.

March Books

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
For those of you who were first entranced by Lisa See's debut back in 2006 (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan), you will be happy to know...she's back, and I mean really back.  I loved her first book, 'meh' on her second book, liked her Shanghai Girls series, and heartily disliked her latest, China Dolls.  However,  in her latest book due out in March 2017, Lisa See has hit another home run.  This time, she sets her story in the tea mountains of rural China in 1989 where we first meet Li-yan, a little girl part of an ethnic minority group called the Akha.  This community has never been touched by the modern world, with no electricity, a spiritualism based on nature, and strict traditional rules that go back thousands of years.  The tale moves back and forth between Li-yan's life, and that of her daughter, adopted into an American family after a tragic decision forced upon the young mother by her culture group.  As the novel delves into the secret and hidden world of the tea trade, it exposes the corruption, the wealth, and the fascinating details of how tea is not only grown and then fermented, but marketed and sold to the greedy collectors.  I read voraciously and ceaselessly, and finished with a satisfaction I had not felt for quite some time in See's novels.  What a pleasure to not only be entertained, but to take a peek into another world and their ancient traditions.

Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister
Perfect timing for a historical fiction that highlights a bad-ass woman, doing a man's job, and kicking ass.  Oh...and it is based on the real woman.  Many of us have heard of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency, born in Chicago, and hired by presidents, railroads, and banks to recover stolen goods or track down criminals.  However, did you know they hired women?  Kate Warne, the main character and real-life widow, applied and was hired as the first woman detective, ultimately heading a department of women investigators.  Macallister's story covers Kate's first cases, the discrimination of the men, the attempted assassination of Lincoln, and ultimately, the incredible system of Union spying the Pinkerton detectives did during the Civil War.  This was an eye-opening saga into a little-known piece of American history.  Yet, more than that, it is an incredibly engaging book with a stellar main character leading the charge into women's rights through her actions, her bravery, her sass, and her intelligence.  This book is suitable for teens as well - no bad language, minimal sex, and an inspirational bit of history by which younger readers can be inspired.  Greer Macallister knows how to write and make you turn pages; her first novel, The Magician's Lie, was a winner as well.  Girl in Disguise is another hit - thanks Net Galley!

A Colony in a Nation by Christopher L. Hayes
Thanks to Net Galley, I was able to read this fascinating new book by MSNBC anchor, Chris Hayes. Hayes writes a scholarly yet engrossing new book looking at the various nuances of law and the explication of so-called 'order' in today's America.  Borrowing the quote from Richard Nixon for his title, he explores the great divide in our country between the disenfranchised of our nation who still live as if in a separate colony, while the privileged 'nation' attempts to maintain the status quo. While he focuses on people of color, poverty and the inequities of the educational system also play a role.  It begins in Ferguson, where Hayes was on the ground reporting the aftermath of the shooting of a young black man, Michael Brown.  His insight into the past history not only of Ferguson, but also the surrounding areas, highlights information that is pivotal to the understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement.  American history is used to inform the reader of past practices in law enforcement: the fall out of tariffs all the way to revolutionary times, the statistics of stop-and-frisk, the community policing movement, the 'broken windows' policy, and many more.  Hayes also fully embraces his own white privilege and his Ivy-league background, honestly and provocatively displaying his own prejudices and forcing the reader to look in his or her own mirror.  This is not a book for the reader who wants a fast, thrilling mystery, but it is a book for our time, a book we should all read, a book that will not only make you smarter, but will force you to ask questions of yourself and the rules of society.  Do we want order or do we want to be safe?

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
When I picked up this book, I needed escape.  I was tired of politics, of satire, of real life tragedy.  Thirty pages in and my skin began to tingle; I had been transported to a magical world of monsters, storytellers, gods, and warriors and it was just what I needed.  Taylor sets her story in a magical city renamed 'Weep,' after the goddess of forgetfulness wipes away its memory. The cast of characters is extraordinary: Lazlo, the orphan child apprenticed by librarians, fascinated by the unseen city, and a gifted storyteller; Eril-Fane and Azareen, citizens of 'Weep,' victims of the gods, tortured by their past; the 'godspawn' children, trapped in the citadel above, waiting for a chance for vengeance; and Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares whose humanity is stronger than her godlike magic.  The writing is simply gorgeous, as are the well-developed and thoughtful themes of humanity, of compassion, of justice.  If you like fantasy, if you like writing that will take your breath away, if you want to turn pages late into the night, do not miss this book.  It is magic.


Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family's Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them by Gina Kolata
Admittedly, I do love a good medical story:  The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese, Better by Atul Gwande, The Remedy by Thomas Goetz.  If you are interested in genetics, medical research, impact on families, then this book is your thing.  The Baxley family is one of those "All-American," stereotypical, quintessential Southern families, the type whose father was the small-town doctor, church attendees, and tight ties with one another.  However, a mysterious genetic disease has ruined the picture for generations.  This book is the search for an answer, not a cure.  Author Gina Kolata does a masterful job of looking back at the history of this strange disease, one that causes the sufferer to slowly lose control of his or her body, speech, and brain.  Kolata goes far back in time and space to New Guinea where a young doctor sees a people devastated by disease and isolated culturally.   Kolata slowly builds the puzzle as doctors fight charges of quackery, advances in testing creates more questions, and false roads are taken.  As DNA testing evolves, we see all the pieces start to come together, all while the story of the Baxleys is threaded throughout.  It is a profound look at how science can impact a family, what one might do if given a chance to see their future, and the often futile attempts for normalcy in the face of great challenges.

One of the Boys by Daniel Magariel
A story of a mentally ill, drug-addicted father who takes his two sons away from their mother, this was a tough book for me. As a former teacher, I understand tragedy surrounding a dysfunctional family. I have seen children with bruises, angry-at-everything students, and I have met with some 'interesting' parents. I could see the great sorrow in this family as well as the effects of drugs and mental illness, yet I also saw great anger. My problem with this book was two-fold. First, I did not find the writing admirable; lots of choppy sentences and repetitive beginnings of sentences with little variety. Perhaps that was the author's intent; however, I found it unappealing. Secondly, I found little in these static characters to admire, to cheer for, to wonder about, or to even like even a little bit. None of the characters seemed to grow or change, creating little tension in the book. I was, to be honest, thankful it was so short as it was just one chapter after another of a crummy life for the two boys, leaving one with no hope for their future. I don't need a picture perfect ending, all tied up in a bow; I love complex, frustrating endings that make me think. This one just left me with a 'meh' feeling.