August 2.0

  Lightning Strikes by Willian Kent Krueger

The author of This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace is back to his Cork O'Connor mystery series, but this time with a prequel. And my oh my, how I loved this book!!! Having read three of the series, it felt like I was coming home as I re-entered the town of Aurora, MN, with all the beloved characters but decades past. Taking place in 1967, we meet a twelve year old Cork, his two best buddies, his heroic father who is the current sheriff, and the Native tribe members who mentor them all. Mysteries abound with unsolved deaths amidst the lake country on reservation, as Krueger uses the prejudice against the Anishinaabe to highlight the hatred that can kill. And if you have not read the rest of the series, this prequel stands alone and gives the reader an incredible tour of the small town of Aurora, Minnesota and the compelling characters who inhabit it.

Things We Lost in the Water by Eric Nguyen

Featured on Obama's summer read list, as well as Book of the Month, this book has sat on my shelves for awhile. It is the tale of the immigrant, the refugee who flees a war torn country, who seeks safety wherever they can find it it, who lands in America alone, not knowing the language or culture or idiosyncrasies of society. Debut author Eric Nguyen nails all the feels of the refugee in his tale of a Vietnamese family in New Orleans, spanning three decades of time. The tale is told through the eyes of the mother and her two boys as they grow into manhood, as we see the hole left by the father who did not get on the boat. At times, the story loses me as it jumps around frequently in time; I found the character of the youngest boy, Binh/Ben to be the most compelling and wanted to hear his voice more. The water motif is used throughout, as the push and pull of prejudice, the struggle to survive economically, and the desire to fit in moves each member of the family through their own ocean currents. I thought of my own life, remembering Lynn Nguyen in my seventh grade class, wearing hand me down American clothes, having just arrived in Seattle. I remember not knowing what to say to her, not knowing what she had been through, not knowing her experience - I wish I had known more. This book is worth the read.

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange

Quite honestly, I was surprised by how much I loved this book. A debut novel, full of Irish Catholic siblings, family drama, financial stresses, relationship issues, this book gripped me from the very first page. When the estranged daughter comes back to her New York home, after a distance of five years and thousands of miles, the story began and never let go of my heart. Tautly written in just 300 pages, I found myself wanting more of the Brennans; I look forward to her next novel!

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray

If you are planning a trip to New York City, read this book. If you like historical fiction, read this book. If you get annoyed with formal voice and dated prose, I would not recommend it. For me, it was a fascinating story of the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan, charged with cataloguing, acquiring, and organizing the millionaire's enormous collection of original manuscripts and books, as well as paintings. And what was most amazing was that this force of nature was a woman born into a close-knit Washington, DC Black family, yet raised to 'pass' as a white woman. For all her life, Belle da Costa Greene was really Belle Greener, daughter of a prominent civil rights activist, yet also daughter to a mother who wanted to give her children the same opportunities as white people had at the turn of the century. It is an intriguing tale, and even more intriguing, told by the dual team of a white author and a Black author who forged a friendship through a pandemic as well as the research and construction of this book. PS if you read the Authors' Notes, you do find out the reason for the formal voice!)

Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen

Here was another Barack Obama summer-read-list choice, and once again, he has compiled a list that opens my mind to other times and places. This book is a compilation of short stories of modern-day China, of the immigrants that left and came to America, of those that stayed, of some who worked in factories and others who work in shopping malls, of ordinary lives and ordinary people. As always with a short-story collection, I found some stories to be better than others, and some characters more compelling. What I truly enjoyed about this book, though, was the way it opened up my brain and forced it to breathe. I know very little about China of today, except for the news headlines, which quite frankly don't give us much on the people and how they live. While I did not necessary love this book, I am glad I listened to this great group of narrators.

Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal

Here's a classic example of "Don't judge a book by its cover." This book was physically gorgeous, with black pages and flowers painted on the edges. I mean, incredible. Sadly, the story inside...not so much, at least for me. This historical fiction focused on the obsession with freak shows during Victorian England (yes, the Queen was a huge fan, sadly), as well as the horrendous manner in which these performers were treated. If the author had stuck with that, I think I would have liked to book more. The main character, Nell, has leopard spots on her body and is treated as a freak in her home village, so dad sells her to the circus and Nell finds fame (she kinda likes that). She also finds love with the brother of the circus owner. Yet, the author also splices in a weird telling of the Crimean War and its impact on the two brothers; this just did not work for me and felt very disjointed. Ultimately, I ceased to care much about the circus performers and was just glad when the book was over.

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

I adore VE Schwab and her adult books; I mean, Darker Shades of Magic was a five-star trilogy, and I adored Addie LaRue. Yet, her YA books have left me a bit more meh. The Vicious duology was fine, a unique story about dying to become a super hero. This first book in this duology is more 'monstrous,' as in some characters are monsters created from a traumatic event in a weird, messed up America. There's the trope-ish 'bad girl' who is very human, and the 'good boy' who fights against his family's past and just wants to be a good monster. I mean, it entertained me but I won't pick up the second book, so there's that.