Historical Fiction: A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Sepetys

Seeing a new book available by author Ruta Sepetys is always exciting for me. Ever since I read her first YA offering, Between Shades of Gray, I have been a fan of this woman's work. And A Fortune of Sand is actually geared towards adults, focusing on a wealthy family who made their fortune in the automobile industry in 1920s Detroit.

The Situation: Marjorie Lennox has embarrassed her father once again. But given the state of the family, all of the gossip, and various open secrets, her latest adventure is not that big of a deal. As an aspiring clothes designer, Marjorie sees an opportunity to pursue the passion her father has never approved of when she spots a brochure for an artists' residency. With the help of two of her siblings, they all pretend that she is simply staying at the family cottage in another town, when in reality she is given her own small apartment in close proximity to other creative women, all funded by a wealthy and handsome man that Marjorie has longed to get to know for quite some time.

The Problem: Overall, the residency is a dream. A new sewing machine and dressing mannequin available on request. Pretty much any fabric Marjorie could want is brought to her. And the freedom to spend the days creating. Sure, some of the rules and restrictions are a bit much. And there is most certainly a strange air of mystery over the entire thing. Bernice the furniture maker insists the building is haunted. The playwright stays in her apartment never to be seen. And Ivy the artist has an obsession with all things Christmas. The more Marjorie attempts to find answers, the more she begins to question the situation, the benefactor, and even her own family.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in and around Detroit and Grosse Point, Michigan. The Lennox family is an automotive dynasty with a whole host of issues and secrets and scandals. For the most part, the story focuses on Marjorie and her time at the residency, but the third person narrator also often follows her older brother Graham as the situation develops with the family and their windshield business. Set in the 1920s, there is much discussion of the dangers of Detroit as the various automobile giants compete, and gang violence continues to rise. Marjorie's pursuit of the arts is frowned upon, mostly by her father, making the secrecy surrounding the art residency necessary. But other issues regarding women's rights are also brought up.

My Verdict: Narratively and structurally speaking, this book is a little bit of a mess, which is upsetting because the premise is so promising. A young creative woman gets the opportunity to take part in an exclusive art program against the wishes of her father, only for the program to not quite be what it seems. On paper, that interests me greatly. For me, the issues begin with Marjorie's fasciation with the program's benefactor. Something about it feels forced and fake. And Marjorie's family - with their over-the-top schemes and almost cartoonish personalities - is difficult to take seriously. All of the action feels like it is leading to a big, explosive conclusion, but what the readers get is a quiet reveal that does not solve much, or feel at all satisfying.

Favorite Moment: I liked seeing Marjorie create her dresses, including the ones she made for others.

Favorite Character: Marjorie's brother Graham is more than a little silly, but I appreciate his commitment to a cause, and he seems to genuinely care for his sister.

Recommended Reading: I certainly prefer Sepetys's YA books, such as 2022's I Must Betray You. 

Science Fiction: The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed

Hardbacks are wonderful, of course, but there is nothing like a solid paperback, and I was loving the feeling of Mahmud El Sayed's The Republic of Memory as I was reading it. Plus, the cover is as intriguing as the premise. After leaving Earth, the people on the Safina find themselves in the middle of a potential resistance, the consequences of which could keep the ship from ever reaching its destination.

The Situation: Two hundred years into its journey, and with 200 years still left to go, the Safina continues through space after leaving a doomed Earth behind. A crew maintains the ship, with Admin leading the charge, as they all head towards a new start on a new planet. One of the primary goals of the crew is to keep alive and maintain the ancestors currently in cryostasis, who will be awakened once the journey ends, and ready to begin their new lives. But while they sleep, generation after generation endures life on the Safina, and not everyone is okay with that.

The Problem: Some of the crew onboard the Safina have had enough, and several groups have formed with the aim of changing how things are done on the ship, and a few even believe the ancestors should be awoken now, instead of after landing. Iskander is in Admin, and as a translator, he enjoys his job as it allows him to make connections across the languages, cultures, and religions onboard. He is aware of the resistance, but would rather not be involved. He also wishes his sister Damietta felt the same. When a blackout occurs, Admin is determined to find the true cause, and those responsible, but the crew is ready for a change. And if the Safina is not soon back on course, none of this will matter anyway.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction novel set on the Safina, a massive spaceship headed for a destination that should take 400 years to reach. In the early half of the book, the people onboard the Safina celebrate Launch Day, and with 200 years behind them, they have 200 years to go. In order to keep the ship running, there are of course crew that must maintain the ship; make sure there is enough food; monitor oxygen levels; and keep the ancestors in cryostasis alive. But with ever-growing resentment against the Administration, the Safina is on the brink of revolt. It is a time when Earth has been destroyed and left behind, but even life on a distant planet may be too much to hope for.

My Verdict: The world building here is incredible, and delightful, and to me, endlessly fascinating. The idea of life aboard a massive spaceship on its way to a destination that will take centuries to reach is beyond interesting. The story of the civilization living on the ship being on the brink of a conflict not only makes sense (because humans), but also raises interesting questions as to what would be the best way to make something like this happen. Things become less enjoyable for me with the focus on specific characters. Few of them are likeable, and at one point, the viewpoint of one annoying character is sacrificed and replaced with someone even more irritating. Regardless, a second book is promised for 2027 and I am curious to know the fate of the Safina.

Favorite Moment: At one point, Damietta's feelings towards her brother change, allowing for at least some growth and change for her character.

Favorite Character: Lebanon, Iskander's cousin, is doing his best, and simply wishes to do his job and one day get married, and continue his life on the Safina. 

Recommended Reading: Walk the Vanished Earth by Erin Swan remains one of those books that I think about occasionally because of the ideas it presented. 

Contemporary Fiction: Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

For me, it is always exciting to see the announcement for a new book by Rainbow Rowell. Cherry Baby is about a woman whose life is in transition, as she waits for her husband to return from Los Angeles so he can pack up the rest of his things. Life and relationships are already complicated, and are made even more so when Cherry reconnects with a friend from before she was married.

The Situation: Cherry did not ask to be made into a character. She had no intention of ever being recognized by strangers who read her husband Tom's web comic, or who had seen one of the trailers for the upcoming movie adaptation. But that is what is happening, as people are recognizing that the character of Baby, from the Thursday comic, is undoubtedly Cherry, in all of her overweight glory. Maybe it would not be so bad if Tom were there with her. But instead, he is in Los Angeles, and Cherry is in Omaha taking care of the massive dog that he wanted. And while it may not yet be public that Cherry and Tom are getting a divorce, Cherry cannot imagine what it will be like to be recognized in public once that news breaks.

The Problem: For just one night, Cherry decides to leave the dog at home and see one of her favorite bands, not knowing that she is about to run into an old friend. A friend from before she met Tom. A man that used to date her best friend (a best friend who is now happily married with kids). Russ knew Cherry before the Thursday comic became what it is, and thankfully, he knows nothing about it. Now Cherry is getting a glimpse at what life could be like without Tom, even though he inevitably must return to Omaha to pack up his stuff as he and Cherry divide up their life. And then there are Cherry's four incredibly nosy and involved sisters to contend with. For Cherry, things are about to get more complicated before they have a chance to settle down.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of fiction set in and around Omaha, Nebraska, where Cherry works and lives. Through a third-person narrator, Cherry remains the primary focus as she navigates the possibility of divorce; reconnecting with an old friend; working full-time at a job she loves; a large family where she is the middle of five sisters; and her daily reality of being overweight. Cherry has always been fat, just like her sisters and her mom, and while it is not something she is ashamed of, it is always at the forefront of her mind. And the fact that the Baby character in her husband's comic looks just like her further complicates everything.

My Verdict: Ultimately, this is a novel about relationships and just how complicated they can be, whether it be marriage, family, dating, or even relationships with coworkers, and that is the part of the book that I like, or at least the part I found the most interesting. The actual plot of the novel was not my favorite, and many of the characters are hard to like. In fact, Cherry may be my least favorite of everyone that can be found on the page. She is someone that makes everything about her, including other people's decisions that they make for their own life. She is also wish-washy, and by the end I had a hard time caring about what she decided to do. 

Favorite Moment: I enjoyed the look at both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with Cherry's large family.

Favorite Character: Cherry's boss, Meg Jones, seems like someone I would not mind working for. She even likes Cherry's somewhat outrageous and maybe not always completely professional, but really cute, clothing choices.

Recommended Reading: My favorite of Rowell's books is still Fangirl, but Scattered Showers was a neat concept.

Young Adult Fiction: Hear Ye Mortals by Yamile Saied Méndez

Author of 2020's Furia has released another young adult novel set in Argentina, but this time during the political tumult of the late 1970s. The Aguirre brothers love music, and love making music with their friends. But during a time when musicians are considered enemies of the state, they have to think of their friends and loved ones, while also wanting to rebel against the forces that want them to stay quiet.

The Situation: Adrián cannot imagine a life without his brother Daniel. Together, the two of them write songs (Daniel the music, Adrián the lyrics) for their band. Along with three other friends, they practice regularly and look for opportunities to break out. When Adrián writes a song that references pigs, many warn that he has to change the lyrics, as the police will believe the song is about them. The boys insist it is not, but the song mysteriously reaches the airwaves, becoming popular overnight, and can be heard from every radio in seemingly every house and store in Rosario. Daniel is thrilled, while Adrián is cautiously optimistic about what this could mean.

The Problem: The boys have been warned that to take ownership of the song could mean bad news, and when one of their bandmates goes missing, they fear their innocent song has brought real problems to their friends and family. With curfews being enforced; people being dragged into green cars; libraries being destroyed; and school clubs being canceled with those involved being brought in for questioning; Adrián fears that at any moment, he or Daniel may be next. But surely running and/or hiding cannot be the answer. Making music can be their way of taking part in the resistance. However, those in power are ready to inflict unspeakable pain on anyone they choose, and the Aguirre brothers must not only think about themselves, but their friends and family as well.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult novel set in Rosario, Argentina in 1976, beginning during the reign of Isabel Perón. At the start of the book, the situation is already dangerous, but things get worse once Perón is removed from power, and a military junta is installed. At the center of the novel are the two Aguirre boys, Daniel and Adrián, who lead their band and write the songs they play, including the one that ends up becoming a song of protest for the people in Argentina. The book mentions the curfews, the disappearance (and subsequent interrogations via torture) of the people, and the government's attempts to destroy libraries, books, and knowledge, all told through a mysterious narrator.

My Verdict: While my knowledge and enjoyment of the author's previous book is what ultimately led me to this one, I was also intrigued by the title, which is lifted directly from Argentina's national anthem. The story is fast-paced and with many characters right from the start. There are so many that it is easy to get confused at first, but everyone is soon easily distinguishable, with their own traits and flaws and history. The choice to have the narrator telling the story to an uninvolved third party is an interesting one, but it works well to bring more attention to what was happening in Argentina at the time. Readers are invited into a story of hope during a time when having hope could seem foolish, even reckless.

Favorite Moment: Near the beginning of the book, the musicians figure out what the name of their band should be, and it is perfect.

Favorite Character: Adrián is a soft-hearted young man who simply wants to write and play music with his brother, and be around the people he loves. Unfortunately, he lives during a time where even these two simple things are not allowed.

Recommended Reading: The historical fiction novel The House of the Spirits by Isabelle Allende is a very different novel, but could make for an interesting follow-up. 

Historical Fiction: Honey in the Wound by Jiyoung Han

A multi-generational story about a Korean family as they endure Japanese imperialism is what is promised in Jiyoung Han's Honey in the Wound. There are spies to encounter, sparrows to dodge, and even tigers that may only need to be feared by those who commit terrible atrocities, but fight on the side of the vulnerable.

The Situation: In 1902 in the mountains of Korea, Geum-Jin and his twin sister, Geum-Ja, are born to parents who prefer to live apart from those in the nearby village. After years of war, the twins will find themselves living under Japanese rule, and even the mountains cannot protect them from the whims and brutality of the soldiers looking for any reason to harass the people. But life moves on, and soon Geum-Jin has children of his own, with a wife who has a strange ability to make anyone speak the truth, including Japanese officers. Their youngest daughter, Song Young-Ja, seems to be able to impart her emotions into her cooking, a gift that does not go unnoticed, and lands her in a teahouse of spies in Manchuria.

The Problem: Life in the teahouse is not easy, but Young-Ja gets used to the harsh living, and even harsher command of the owner of the teahouse. She makes friends, rises in rank from greeter to server, and is always eager to do her best and collect the bits of information that those in charge are so eager for. But this life is not meant to last, and it is only decades later, when Young-Ja comes into contact with Rinako, the granddaughter she never met, that she even considers the possibility of reconciling what happened. Rinako can see into dreams and knows things about people that they have not, and would not, share with her. But together, she and her hesitant grandmother begin the painful journey of confronting the past, and those responsible.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel full of magical realism, set in various places around Asia during Japan's war with, and occupation of Korea. It begins in Korea in 1902 when Geum-Jin is born, and moves through time, all the way to 1992 in Seoul, where Young-Ja resides as an old woman, and Tokyo, where Rinako lives with her father. Throughout the story, readers encounter tigers that speak; a flock of sparrows that warn of danger; tea that can cause the drinker to feel intense sorrow; and ghosts that cry out for help as well as haunt. At the center of everything is Japan's occupation of Korea, and how it affected Young-Ja's family in particular. 

My Verdict: Overall, this is an incredible story, but towards the end it did have the feeling of a movie where they started filming before the script was finished. Considering where the book started, with Geum-Jin and his life in the mountains, the ending with Young-Ja and Rinako felt a little disconnected, despite the fact that the reader did just go on a life-long journey with the older woman and saw exactly how she got to where she is. There are many parts of her story that are difficult to read and deal with, something she herself acknowledges in her attempts to move on from it. Ultimately it is a book that shines light on a dark part of history that is hard to face, but Han does face it, and does so boldly.

Favorite Moment: I was delighted any time an animal or insect acted in a way that did not make sense, especially when it served to help or protect someone.

Favorite Character: Rinako is a strange child who grows up with few friends, mostly due to her strange ability to see into people's dreams, and the resulting social awkwardness. But she is smart, and has a determination that her father does not understand.

Recommended Reading: Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim also takes place in Korea during the Japanese occupation.

Nonfiction: How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay by Jenny Lawson

This year's San Antonio Book Festival featured author and bookshop owner Jenny Lawson as one of its many presenters. Despite having three different talks that I wanted to go to that all took place around the same time (seriously, how does that happen every year?), I managed to witness Lawson's delightful humor and unique perspective as she talked about How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay. Fun story: It was Lawson and writer Lucie Frost on the stage, and there was supposed to be a moderator but they got lost??? Or something??? It did not matter because the two authors managed to hold their own just fine, and kept the audience laughing until the moderator showed up.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of nonfiction in which the writer/blogger/bookshop owner details her tips and tricks for staying alive, happy, and creative, which is not always easy for her due to having treatment resistant depression and anxiety. It is Lawson's first book that has been placed under the 'self-help' banner, and it truly does provide guidance and suggestions that she has used in order to keep going, in whatever way she needs it. Across 12 sections, each chapter is fairly short, and sprinkled throughout are various quotes, as well as a few illustrations like the ones that can be found in Lawson's coloring book You Are Here: An Owner's Manual for Dangerous Minds. 

My Verdict: This is the third book I have read by Lawson (if you count the coloring book, and I do), and it may be my favorite. It contains her same brand of possibly inappropriately honest humor, mixed with incredible insight and encouragement that we all need to hear at times. The advice that is given is both clear and practical - some of it even seeming obvious once you read it - with Lawson providing examples of how it has worked in her life. She makes it clear that she is very much still working on all of this and often struggles to be creative, but she does not give up, and if there is one word I would use for how I feel after reading this book it would be "encouraged."

Favorite Chapter: In the section titled "Let's Fight the Brain Weasels," there is a chapter called "Pick Your Own Labels Before They Get Assigned to You," and it contains what Lawson calls "An (incredibly) Random Title Generator." It allows the reader to generate their own title, and I went with Steward of Curious Remembrances. Oddly enough, I laughed the hardest while reading the first paragraph of the acknowledgements because of a story about Lawson and her neighbor's lime tree. Not sure why, but it really made me laugh.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Dr. Ashely Alker's 99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them.

Contemporary Fiction: Love by the Book by Jessica George

The second novel from author Jessica George promised to be an exploration of true friendship. Love by the Book follows Remy and Simone as one of them wonders if she will survive the changes to her close-knit friend group, and the other is not sure if anything will ever go back to normal once a secret has been revealed.

The Situation: For Remy, her three best friends are nearly everything to her. She even wrote about them in her book, which turned into an instant best-seller. Of course, instant best-sellers result in an agent constantly emailing and messaging for ideas for the next book...ideas that Remy does not have. But that is not even her greatest concern right now. It seems one best friend is leaving for an exciting job opportunity in another country; one is about to have her first child and move away from London with her family; and the third has decided to withdraw and go back to a caustic relationship, leaving poor Remy a little lost. And then she meets Simone, a school teacher who likes her own company and is clearly keeping a secret, but the two start up an unlikely friendship.

The Problem: In her need for connection after no longer being as close as she would like to her friends, Remy makes a regrettable decision that has now altered her life. She is separated from her friends; still does not have a book idea; and has a big decision to make. Simone knows all about how everything can change, and quickly. In the course of a few minutes during one family dinner, Simone manages to lose contact with them, and must acknowledge how alone she truly is. That could be why she eventually concedes that she and Remy are friends, despite her initial instinct to keep her distance. But there is something there between them, and despite her reluctance, Simone may be able to help Remy make her decision, and Remy may help Simone regain the life she wants.

Genre, Themes, History: This book is a work of fiction set in and around modern-day London, focusing on Remy and Simone. In alternating chapters, each character tells their own story, including how they quite literally bumped into each other at a book event, and what they think of the other. Remy is open and giving, as well as a little hurt and lost as the dynamics have changed within her formerly close group of friends. Simone is guarded and a bit stern, but she knows what she wants, even though what she wants has led to a separation from her family. Naturally, friendship is at the core of the novel, along with family relationships, and the debate around having children.

My Verdict: What I love about George's writing is the simplicity of it, while still dealing with complex relationships and themes. The premise could not be more straightforward, with Remy adoring her three best friends and being sad about how things have changed, and Simone feeling adrift after losing connection with her family. And yet, what is included in the 300+ pages is not only insightful and thought-provoking, but also manages to look at all of Remy and Simone's relationships from multiple angles. The ending may be somewhat predictable, but it is also realistic, with the choices Remy and Simone make fitting with their characters.

Favorite Moment: I am always fascinated with the constant ask for 'more' that content creators deal with. Remy turns dodging her agent into an art form, as she is hounded for more book ideas. And of course, the one she does not really want to pursue is the one her agent is insistent on. Of course...

Favorite Character: Lin is one of Remy's three best friends. She is honest, ambitious, and loving in her own way, as she is not big into the touchy-feely stuff.

Recommended Reading: George's first novel, Maame, was one of my favorites of 2023.