Goodreads Choice Awards 2024

It is certainly one of my favorite times of the year, even though this year this event totally snuck up on me.

It is time for the annual Goodreads Choice Awards! Yes, it is the time when readers cast their votes for their favorite books of the year, and there are always surprises, upsets, and quite a few "oh yeah, of course" wins. First things first, we gotta take a look at who has been nominated.

In the Favorite Fiction category, there are three DSNs who have earned a place among the nominees. If there was a sub-category for workplace fiction, both I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, and Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum would fit into it. They have made the cut, along with Danzy Senna's Colored Television (blog post coming later this month). All three are certainly worthy, and after much deliberation, I will give my vote to Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well. Anyone who has ever worked in an office will relate to many parts of this book.

For the Favorite Historical Fiction category, this blog may have a record with seven DSNs nominated. This is always a tough category, and this year will be no different with Kristin Hannah's The Women, Xochitl Gonzalez's Anita de Monte Laugh's Last, Percival Everett's James, Vanessa Chan's The Storms We Made, Kate Quinn's The Briar Club, Elizabeth Gonzalez James' The Bullet Swallower, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia's The Seventh Veil of Salome all nominated. It is a stacked list for sure, and I only choose Anita de Monte Laughs Last after the most careful of considerations. Quinn's The Briar Club is a close second, and Hannah's The Women is not to be brushed aside either. 

There is one DSN that made it into the Favorite Fantasy category, and that is Meg Shaffer's The Lost Story. Two young boys get lost in the woods, only to emerge six months later, completely changed. Only one remembers what happened, but it changes the course of both of their lives. Personally, I hoped for more from this story, but I understand why it is popular. 

I gotta say, I am proud of myself for managing to have five DSNs nominated in the Favorite Science Fiction category, as it will always and forever be a genre I struggle to connect with. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard, Annie Bot by Sierra Greer, Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell, and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley all made the cut. For me, the winner would be Beautyland, but it will certainly have a hard fight against Jeff VanderMeer's Absolution. 

Five books made it into Favorite Debut Novel category, four of which are already nominated in somewhere else. Joining Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, The Storms We Made, Sky Full of Elephants, and The Ministry of Time is Morgan Talty's Fire Exit. This time I will be voting for Hwang Bo-Reum's novel, set in a neighborhood bookshop in South Korea.

The only DSN to make it into Favorite Young Adult Fantasy is The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste, and intense and imaginative story set in a world where brewing love potions may be a lucrative business, but also a dangerous and illegal one. And for the Favorite Young Adult Fiction category, we have The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson, and the dark academic mystery Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé. It may not be my favorite YA of the year, but I will give my vote to Where Sleeping Girls Lie, mostly for its inventive and intriguing boarding school setting. 

Only one memoir from the blog made the cut to be nominated as a Favorite Memoir, and it is Hanif Abdurraqib's There's Always This Year. And I am thrilled to see Madness by Antonia Hylton earn a place in the Favorite History & Biography category, as it is as fascinating as it is informative. 

And there we have it readers. Twenty-two DSNs stand proud and ready to receive your votes as you pick out your favorite books for this year, at least from those listed by Goodreads. As usual, I am surprised by a few omissions, as well as a few inclusions. And then there are those authors who I am used to seeing be included, but are not, despite having a book come out this year. Readers are always looking for their next favorite author, and I certainly will be investigating some of the nominees that I previously failed to take notice of. 

With voting for the opening round closing on Sunday, November 24th, be sure to make your voice heard. 

Science Fiction: Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

Being able to squeeze in at least one more science fiction novel before the end of the year is a win for me, as I know it is a genre I can often neglect. Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell first grabbed my attention due to its title, and the premise, as you will soon understand, was more than a little interesting, and I had to know where it would lead.

The Situation: Up until a year ago, Charlie Brunton was serving time in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now, he is a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University. His situation is certainly strange to believe, but what is stranger are the circumstances that allowed it to happen. Before Charlie made it out of prison - where he was broken out, not released - every white person in the U.S. suddenly walked into the nearest body of water. And what remains is a very different country, with a population of people that encompass a wide range of reactions and feelings about what happened. Charlie enjoys being a professor, and would have continued to do it if not for the letter he received from the biracial daughter he never got to meet.

The Problem: Sydney has spent the year since "the event" isolated in her home in Wisconsin, after the rest of her family walked into the lake. While she does not know him, or trust him (or even like him), Charlie was the only person she could think of to reach out to. He is the only person she could look to for help in reaching a place where she believes other members of her family now live. But as the two of them travel south, neither of them is truly ready for what they find. Every region and city operates a little differently, and when they reach what is now the Kingdom of Alabama, Charlie and Sydney will have to re-evaluate what they know about America, the event, and themselves. 

Genre, Themes, History: The book has been tagged as science fiction, speculative fiction, dystopia, and even fantasy, while also including a decent amount of magical realism. Naturally, race is a theme as the book attempts to imagine what this new world looks like, how it operates, and how people would feel. But the reader also gets to see stuff like what Campbell imagines airports and air travel would look like, something I was certainly interested in as someone who loves to travel. Even everyday things like a trip to the local Wal-Mart is a different experience, as is a day trip to a beach. And then there are the people, whose reactions are as diverse as they are, as everyone continues on in various ways. While Charlie has his own complicated feelings, Sydney struggles even more, and must make her own difficult journey regarding grief and identity.

My Verdict: With such an ambitious (and for many, incredibly contentious and uncomfortable) plot, I was surprised to find that this book was less than 300 pages. Granted, it would be impossible to include every imagined or possible scenario following an event like the one suggested here, but I wanted to see even more of the different parts of the U.S, and see more communities and industries and how they operate. Campbell's style of writing is lyrical at times, and then overelaborate in others, with the story and plot coming second to character deliberation. But what is certainly clear is that being alive in this suddenly 'post-racial' country is a complicated matter, and that the struggle with identity continues, as does the desire for community and connection.

Favorite Moment: The description of the Mardi Gras festivities is fun and illuminating, and wonderful picture of joy and community.

Favorite Character: Sailor, a pilot, is on a mission and will not be deterred, although he is not as stubborn and cold as he first appears to be.

Recommended Reading: I recommend James by Percival Everett, which is a retelling of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

Young Adult Fiction: Sunrise Nights by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro

It is no secret on this blog that I am a big fan of Jeff Zentner's books, so it should not be a surprise that I have finally come around to talking about Sunrise Nights, a young adult novel he cowrote with Brittany Cavallaro. A mixture of poetry and prose, the book follows two teens across three separate nights, over the course of three years.

The Situation: Jude Wheeler loves photography, and has since he was a young kid. He has a good eye, and it is the one thing that allows him to feel in control. With his parent's splitting up, retreating to his camera gives him solace, and it is the reason he is attending Harbor Arts Camp in Michigan. It is also where he meets Florence, a girl who loves dancing, and knows she is good at it. Thing is, she is losing her eyesight, and it is all but certain the her time as a dancer is limited. When the two meet, they proceed to spend the entire last night together - known at the camp as Sunrise Night - by exploring the town, only parting at sunrise after they make a pact: no contact for the next year. Not even through social media. And they will meet up next year at camp.

The Problem: Both Jude and Florence manage to stick to their agreement, but simply meeting up the next year at camp proves to be more complicated than it sounds. Quite a bit has happened to both of them over the last 12 months, and neither of them is ready to be completely honest about it. When a misunderstanding threatens to undo the bonding they have managed to do in just the handful of hours they have known each other, it is not clear what the next 12 months will do to their relationship, and what their last Sunrise Night at camp will bring. 

Genre, Themes, History: This young adult fiction novel is a collaboration between Zentner and Cavallaro, and takes place over three separate nights, each one 12 months after the previous one. Split almost equally between poetry and prose, with the prose being mostly conversation, Jude and Florence proceed to get to know each other exclusively during what is known as Sunrise Night at the Harbor Arts Camp in Michigan. Since the campers are allowed to stay up past their usual curfew, though they must check-in at predetermined times, Jude and Florence explore the city, ending up at a bowling alley, diner, coffee shop, arcade, and even a Target. As they take turns being the first person narrator, Jude and Florence tell their story, while they also learn about each other.

My Verdict: I opened this book at a time when I was kind of lamenting my inability to find YA books like this in 2024. Clearly, I am either not looking hard enough, or my search method is flawed, because this book is exactly what I was hoping it would be. The format is a welcome change, and while I am always quick to admit my struggle in reading and understanding poetry, what is found in this book is accessible, fun without being vapid and cliched, and the conversation is smart, witty, but also believable. Jude and Florence are two teenagers whose worlds are changing a little quicker than they may like, and they only get to catch up with each other for one night of the year. It is an interesting concept that the authors pull off well. 

Favorite Moment: There is a reoccurring character that shows up at one point during each of the Sunrise Nights, and every encounter is funnier than the last. 

Favorite Character: Jude Wheeler is a lot braver than he thinks he is, as he never would have met Florence if he had not gathered up the courage to approach her on that first Sunrise Night. 

Recommended Reading: I recommend Zentner's In the Wild Light, his most recent solo YA novel.

Historical Fiction: The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Today I am discussing the fifth book I have read by popular and well-loved author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The Seventh Veil of Salome is partly a Bible story, and also part historical fiction set in 1950s Hollywood, as a young actress is offered the role everyone wanted.

The Situation: The movie is The Seventh Veil of Salome, and things would be going much smoother if they could just find someone to play the lead role. It is bad enough that the director is hard to work with; rewrites are still happening; and there are certain things that the censors simply will not allow, but the role of Salome still needs to be cast. When the completely unknown Vera Larios is given the part, many cannot believe that a no name from Mexico has landed the coveted role, especially the young and hopeful Nancy Hartley.

The Problem: With the sudden move from Mexico to Los Angeles, Vera finds herself in almost as much confusion and turmoil as Salome, the young woman in the movie who must choose between her loyalties to her family and the throne, and her love of a bold but doomed preacher. Vera is not even sure she wants to be an actress, but the pressure from her mother and the desire to do a good job keep her going. Hollywood is difficult to navigate, but having a few new friends close by may be enough to help Vera hold onto the opportunity she has been given. Meanwhile, Nancy is not quite ready to accept defeat, and is willing to do whatever it takes to be a star. But desperation can be a very dangerous thing.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in 1950s Hollywood, but also tells the story of Salome, the woman who asked King Herod for the head of John the Baptist after dancing for him. Vera Larios arrives in Hollywood and comes face to face with both racism and jealousy, but she is determined to perform the role she was hired for. But she also must be willing to deal with insistent and entitled male co-stars, demanding directors, and the relentless gossip columns. Vera, Nancy, and Salome are the main focus, but other interested side characters offer their viewpoint on what occurred.

My Verdict: For whatever reason, I felt immediately detached from Salome's story, perhaps because I was already familiar with the version that appears in the Bible. I was much more interested in what was happening with Vera in Hollywood, as a naive young actress trying her best to navigate an often hostile industry, at least for a young actress from Mexico. Her growth over the course of the novel was executed well, and Nancy's resentment over her career not going how she thought it should was displayed in a way that somehow still made her a three dimensional character. Perhaps Salome's story deserved its own book, apart from those who hope to use it to make their careers.

Favorite Moment: There is a moment when we get to meet Nancy's father, and the reader gets a glimpse into her past and why she views Hollywood the way she does.

Favorite Character: Vera is incredibly naive, especially in the beginning. But she slowly begins to speak and stand up for herself, even against her own pushy mother.

Recommended Reading: Brendan Slocumb's Symphony of Secrets is a different kind of historical fiction novel, this time focusing on a young composer hoping to make it big, but no one is interested in the music he comes up with on his own.  

Contemporary Fiction: Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

I am a long-time adorer of Rainbow Rowell. Her YA novel Fangirl remains as one of my all-time favorites, and is one of the few times I have truly felt like I could just read a book for forever. So I did not hesitate to pick up her most recent book, Slow Dance, a contemporary novel written for adults.

The Situation: Shiloh is a single mother of two, now living with her own mother, and doing her best to co-parent with her ex-husband, Ryan. Once a self-assured teenager who was great at making decisions, Shiloh now feels like every decision she has made has led her wrong. But today she is deciding to attend the wedding of one of her best friends from high school, Mikey, even though that means making small talk with strangers and former high school classmates. But the chance of running into her other best friend from high school, Cary, is something she must take advantage of. Sure, it has been 14 years since they have seen each other, and Shiloh is not sure what will come of this meeting. It could be great, but it could also be a disaster.

The Problem: Attending Mikey's wedding turns out to indeed try Shiloh's patience, as well as threaten to completely drain her social battery. But Cary is there, just as she both hoped and feared, and the two manage to reconnect. But has it been too long? Back in high school, everyone thought they were together, but they never were. And now Shiloh feels like their moment may have passed. When she went off to college, and Cary enlisted in the Navy, they promised each other that nothing would change, that they would each stay in touch. But a combination of miscommunication, lack of communication, and of simply not recognizing what was happening has allowed the two of them to lose track of each other. And now it feels like they are starting all over.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a contemporary fiction novel set mostly in modern-day Omaha, Nebraska, but also moves back and forth through time between Mike's wedding and the months after, and when the three friends were in high school just trying to survive adolescence. It seemed clear to nearly everyone back in high school that Shiloh and Cary were interested in each other, but Cary has always been hard to read, and the most Shiloh can manage is to awkwardly poke him, punch him, kick him, pinch him, basically touch him just enough to be annoying. The novel gives the long and full history of Shiloh and Cary's relationship, and how two kids who were clearly in love in their teens, are now attempting to reconnect in their 30s.

My Verdict: Shiloh and Cary's story is interesting enough, and the 'will they won't they' of it all is enough to keep the story engaging while it moves along, reaching back in time while also moving forward at a steady pace. However, the much more interesting story of Cary's family steals the show for me. It is as if the opening band at a concert put on a better show than they headlining act (which does indeed happen), and left the crowd wanting more. More details regarding Cary's family history are given, but I found myself wishing that the book was only about that. Cary's family is given so much background that I would have loved a 500-page saga about them, John Steinbeck East of Eden style. The story of Shiloh and Cary is endearing; the story of Cary's family seems utterly captivating.

Favorite Moment: Shiloh's mother may not have always been the best parental figure, but there is a moment when she breaks into a disturbance between Cary and his family and proves she is no one to mess with.

Favorite Character: Junie (short for Juniper) is Shiloh's oldest child, and while she may be five years old when the novel starts, I enjoyed her overly dramatic reactions to everything, as well as her wild-eyed observations and declarative statements. 

Recommended Reading: I will always recommend Fangirl for those interested in YA, as well as Attachments for the adults. 

Door Stop: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

The time has come to tackle another door stop. On this blog, a 'door stop' is essentially any book that is 500 pages or more, and this week, it is Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. In this tale, Dickens tackles poverty, debtors' prisons, and bureaucracy and red tape in 19th century England.

The Situation: Life inside of the Marshalsea debtors' prison is the only life Amy Dorrit, or Little Dorrit, has ever known. She was born in the prison, and after her mother died when she was very young, she has spent her life being of service to her father, older brother and sister, and their uncle. William Dorrit entered the prison over 30 years before, and has become known as the "Father of the Marshalsea," while trying to hold onto the class and status in which he was raised. Though it would anger her father if he knew, Little Dorrit works as a seamstress for various individuals, one of which is the stern and harsh mother of Arthur Clennam. Arthur suspects that his family may have something to do with William Dorrit being in the debtors' prison, and resolves to find out and right any potential wrong.

The Problem: It is clear that Arthur's mother is holding back on some vital piece of information regarding Arthur's deceased father, so he must make his own investigation, while also entering into a business partnership with a local inventor. Meanwhile, the kind and good-natured Mr. and Mrs. Meagles worry over their spoiled daughter's potential attachment to a young artist who does not make much money, and who is also friends with a mysterious and potentially dangerous man known only as Blandois. Throughout the story, Little Dorrit remains sweet, and good, and hard-working, and while it is clear some take advantage of her goodness, including her own father, she would never hear of going against any of them, and remains a true and faithful servant.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a story of fiction written by Dickens and was published in 19 monthly installments, beginning in December of 1855. Little Dorrit may be the title character, but there are large chunks of the novel when the character disappears completely, while the story focuses not only on Arthur, but also the Meagles, Blandois, and a few other key characters. One major theme is that of imprisonment, as several characters end up bound to their locations for various reasons. Another heavily explored subject is that of government bureaucracy, as the narrator talks at length about the Circumlocution Office and their specialty of not getting anything done. And then there are several characters who experience sudden and severe turns of fortune.

My Verdict: This book is long...like Bleak House long. If there was ever a reason to be thankful for jury duty (and in my mind, there are few), it is because of the long stretches of time in which it allowed me to make headway with this book. The character of Little Dorrit is indeed incredibly good, and sweet, and pitiable, but she is also frustratingly naive, and good to the point of not wanting to cause anyone trouble, including those who do her wrong. Those familiar with Dickens will recognize the style of writing, the fun character names, and the dialogue that often feels to be going in circles (and sometimes it is). If I had to give it a ranking among the other Dickens books I have read, I would have to put it somewhere between Bleak House and David Copperfield, with A Tale of Two Cities still being my favorite.

Favorite Moment: Little Dorrit's older sister Fanny takes advantage of her younger sister's good nature, much like her brother and father. But even with all of her bluster and boasting, there is a moment when even she seems to admit that her situation is not ideal, though she does not do so with words.

Favorite Character: Mr. Pancks is a rent collector who, naturally, is viewed as a villain by those he has to collect rent from, but also enjoys a sort of side hustle as someone who restores people's lost inheritances, therefore helping to reverse the fortunes of a few characters. 

Recommended Reading: Middlemarch by George Eliot is even longer, but also follows a variety of characters in 19th century England. 

Contemporary Fiction: The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Reader's absolutely adored last year's The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer, so this year I went ahead and picked up the follow-up, The Lost Story, which was inspired by C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically The Silver Chair. Shaffer leans even more into the magical realism for this story, offering up a fantasy book for adults who are not too old for fairy tales.

The Situation: Jeremy Cox has a seemingly supernatural ability to find lost girls and women. He is known all around the world for the people he has found, and is currently appearing on a documentary TV show as a special guest, which is where Emilie Wendell meets him. She desperately wants to meet Jeremy to see if he will help her find her sister, who went missing 20 years ago. The thing is, Emilie's sister went missing in the Red Crow State Forest of West Virginia, which is the same forest Jeremy himself went missing, along with his best friend Ralph 'Rafe' Howell, 15 years ago. Both boys emerged six months later, mostly physical okay, but definitely different. Only Jeremy remembers what happened during those six months, and if he is to return to Red Crow to find Emilie's sister, he will need Rafe's help.

The Problem: Even though Jeremy remembers where he and his friend were while they were lost, he has always refused to tell Rafe anything about it, who cannot remember a thing. In fact, the two of them have not spoken in years. While Jeremy has become a famous missing persons investigator, Rafe has become somewhat of a reclusive artist, mostly emerging from his home to protect his property and the animals on it from poachers. But if Jeremy is to find Emilie's sister, it means telling Rafe the truth. A strange truth about the magical land they were in while they were gone. It was a world full of beauty and magical creatures, but also incredible dangers, and haunting memories. Emilie is not the only one looking for something she has lost, and Jeremy and Rafe will have to confront their shared past to find it.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a fantasy book set primarily in West Virginia, specifically the fictional Red Crow State Forest, but also the magical realm of Shanandoah. Nearly half of the book is set in the world we know, and the other half in Shanandoah, where evil and mischievous entities known as the Bright Boys cause havoc, but are almost always outdone by the queen and her Valkyries. Occasionally, the book's storyteller will interrupt to provide background, or let the reader know that certain details are being skipped intentionally, or to even give props to the reader for noticing specific details. The book also confronts the pain of traumatic memories, and considers if beauty and love are worth it if they bring pain, sorrow, and grief along with them. 

My Verdict: The part of the story that involves Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie moving around in our world has moments that are incredibly compelling, and help build the mystery about Shanandoah. The part about the magical place with unicorns and insects with wings of fire is enchanting and wonderful. But for some reason, the bringing of the two worlds together does not quite work for me, and I do not know what the disconnect is. It is like two separate stories smashed together. Also, I will admit to not being a fan of the interrupting storyteller, as I did not fully see any added value in the mechanic. Fantasy lovers may still enjoy the adventure, and it seems there is a chance there will be more in the future.

Favorite Moment: There are two horses in Shanandoah who are incredibly loyal and helpful, and come in clutch when dealing with an enemy.

Favorite Character: Rafe's mom will not let him into her house unless he shaves. But once he does, she feeds him and his friends, and together they are able to deal with what happened when Rafe was a child.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Shaffer's previous book The Wishing Game, and also the entire The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Young Adult Fiction: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Another year seems to mean another YA thriller from author Karen M. McManus. This time it is Such Charming Liars, set in a remote New England town where a jewelry heist plot goes terribly wrong, and two teenagers with a complicated past must work fast to solve the puzzle.

The Situation: Sixteen year-old Kat has always considered her and her mother Jamie to be a team. For as long as she can remember, it has been the two of them sticking together through everything. And after a career of being a jewelry thief, Jamie has decided that life is no longer for her. One more job, and the two of them can move on to some sort of normalcy. Liam has never considered himself and his serial con artist father Luke to be a team. And it is no surprise when Luke seems to have designs on the daughter of a wealthy man, whose birthday party they are attending at the family's compound. But what is a surprise is the appearance of Kat and Jamie, the latter of which was once married to Luke for 48 hours, 12 years ago, and whose latest jewelry heist assignment is at the same compound. 

The Problem: The 48 hours that Jamie and Luke were married are full of memories that neither Kat nor Liam care to revisit, but they still manage to treat each other as something closer to step-siblings, even after all these years. And when a murder takes place on the compound, throwing everything and every plan into chaos, Kat and Liam must stick together. Even with security on high alert, it becomes clear that the threat of danger is still very real, and the newly reconnected stepsiblings may now be targets. Kat's past experience and street smarts will come in handy, and Liam is just charming and naive enough to be endearing, but it may not be enough to save them, or at least help them solve an ever-growing mystery.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult thriller novel set mostly in and around a small town in Maine. The majority of the action takes place on the Sutherland Compound, where billionaire Ross Sutherland's birthday party is to take place. There are two narrators, though Kat is allowed more chapters than her former stepbrother Liam. While Kat has essentially been raised by a jewel thief, who has worked for years for a woman who has used a cleaning business as a front for a theft ring, which meant having to move often, Liam was raised by his mother, before her death meant moving in with his scam artist father. The story is similar to McManus' other thrillers, but this time being centered more around a jewelry heist, and moving away from the usual setting of a high school or camp.

My Verdict: No matter how many twists and turns a McManus book takes, I always remain invested and interested in seeing where everything ends up. Each twist and bend in the story may be slightly more ridiculous than the last, but it is never quite enough where the believability goes completely out of the window...though I will say that this book got closer to that point than any of the seven McManus books that came before it. The story is exciting and intense, the setting is refreshing, and I think YA thriller lovers have another fun book to explore.

Favorite Moment: Kat's lockpicking skills are impressive, and they come in handy more often than they probably should. 

Favorite Character: From the beginning, it is clear that Liam knows exactly the kind of man his father is, and even takes active steps to ruin many of his plans.

Recommended Reading: For a different sort of YA thriller, I recommend Holly Jackson's Five Survive. 

Historical Fiction: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

Author Kate Quinn has become one of my favorite historical fiction writers in recent years, so I was excited to pick up The Briar Club, her latest book set in Washington, D.C. in McCarthy's America, when some of the population was scared of communists, while others lived in fear of being accused as one.

The Situation: It is Thanksgiving of 1954, and two detectives have arrived at the Briarwood House to find a dead body on the top floor. The Briarwood House is a fairly ordinary boarding house for women, run by the penny-pinching and nosy Mrs. Nilsson, and her young son Pete. But since Mrs. Nilsson was out at her bridge club, the detectives must look closely at the other residents and some of their guests. There is the policeman's daughter Nora, who is wanting to create a life away from her family and past; Reka, the older woman who came to the U.S. to escape Hitler; Fliss, an English woman and mother who is somehow always so frustratingly put together; Bea, a former baseball player; Claire, a woman who dreams of a house of her own; Arlene, the one no one likes but is desperate for everyone's approval and attention; and then Grace, the mysterious newcomer who says little about herself, but whose apartment it is in which the dead body was found.

The Problem: The story begins four years ago, when Grace March first arrived at Briarwood House and agreed to rent out the available room on the top floor. As the fateful night of Thanksgiving 1954 approaches, each resident of the boarding house tells their story and how they got to be where they are. They each have their own views on what McCarthy has done, and their own feelings about communism, and they all certainly recognize that the young Pete deserves a better fate than the one Mrs. Nilsson has carved out for him. While they are all different, what they now have in common is that they are all being looked at as suspects, and each one must decide what truth they will tell.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction book with the majority of the action taking place in Washington, D.C. between the years 1950-1954. Along with the young Pete Nilsson, each female guest at the boarding house gets their own chapter and the chance to tell their story and how they ended up at the Briarwood House. In between the chapters, the story returns to where it started, Thanksgiving night of 1954, when the police find a dead body in Grace's room. As each resident tells their story, time moves forward, slowly revealing a full picture of how it came to this, all against a backdrop of the McCarthy era and the paranoia of post-World War II America. 

My Verdict: Sometimes, stories told by multiple narrators suffer that fate of having some characters be less interesting than others. What is smart about The Briar Club is that instead of switching back and forth between the different narrators, each one simply gets their own chapter, giving the readers the details for that specific point in time, and then moves on to the next character. Each chapter has its own sense of closure, while also continuing the story, and allowing room for the story to continue. And while readers will certainly have characters they like more than others, none of them are boring, and each detail has a purpose and a payoff. Quinn has weaved together yet another intricate and intriguing story with several strong women at the forefront of the action. 

Favorite Moment: Ever Thursday night, the ladies of Briarwood House meet in Grace's room for dinner, which is how the term 'Briar Club' comes to be. Included in each chapter is one or two recipes that are relevant to the story, and I am usually a sucker for food details in almost any story.

Favorite Character: Baseball player Bea may be obsessed with a sport that I have never had the patience for, but she is tough, knows what she wants (to play baseball, be around baseball, and be involved in all things baseball), and her enthusiasm for the sport may be grating to some, but is endearing to some of the least likely people in the book. 

Recommended Reading: I recommend both The Nightingale and The Women by Kristin Hannah. 

Contemporary Fiction: One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

As a long-time fan of Nicola Yoon's young adult novels, it was easy to decide to pick up and cover her first offering for adult readers, One of Our Kind. With a description that likened the plot to Get Out, and a promise that it would appeal to lovers of Paul Beatty's The Sellout, I was more than intrigued and interested to see where this story would go.

The Situation: Jasmyn Williams is a public defender, committed to helping young Black men stay out of the system. With one young son, and another one on the way, Jasmyn is certainly interested in creating the best possible life for her growing family, but that does not mean she is completely sold on moving to Liberty, California, the so-called utopia that is 100% Black. Not only are all of the residents Black, but so are the teachers, the service industry workers, even the cops. Even the 'modest' houses are large and expensive, and Jasmyn's husband, King, is convinced this is the right move for them. Since affording it is not a problem, especially with King's career taking off, Jasmyn pushes down her feelings of abandoning her roots and the people she serves and makes the move.

The Problem: Residing in a house with three living rooms may take some getting used to, but what Jasmyn is having the hardest time getting used to is some of the other residents. Being that Liberty was created to be a safe haven for Black people, she expected to find like-minded individuals just as interested in activism and the fight for equality as she is. Instead she is met with blank and apathetic responses to the latest shooting of an unarmed Black person, and comments that not only leave her perplexed, but angry. When she fears that King is becoming a little too comfortable with the Liberty way of life, she decides to dig deeper into the city's history, but what she finds may destroy everything.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of fiction, set in the made up town of Liberty, California, a place that was built specifically for Black people, granted they are wealthy enough to be able to afford to live there. Jasmyn fears that moving there will turn her 'bougie,' only giving in to her husband's wishes when taking into consideration the kind of safety a place like Liberty could give her husband, her young son Kamau, and the baby boy she is due to have in a few months. Divided up into five parts, there are excerpts from various articles and interviews that give more information on the founding members of Liberty, some of its other important residents, and also a few current events. The book looks at the wide range of opinions on police brutality, protesting (peaceful and otherwise), and even black hair care.

My Verdict: This is a pretty fascinating premise: A young and growing Black family moves into what is supposed to be a Black utopia, but the wife has a feeling that something is not quite right. It is a great set up for a thriller; unfortunately, the execution is more than a little off. I have to admit to being almost immediately turned off by the protagonist within the first 15 pages. Jasmyn is incredibly judgmental, and mostly of other Black women, and to the point that her assertions of someone else not being enlightened ends up showing how unenlightened (and insecure) she is. The protagonist is unlikeable and tiresome, and the constant mentions of police brutality and the suffering of Black people was heavy-handed and unnecessary. Instead of providing a good story, the plot got lost, and the book became cumbersome and almost hard to take seriously.

Favorite Moment: From the beginning, it is amazing how Jasmyn begins to accept her upgraded life, despite how critical she likes to be of others 'not doing enough.'

Favorite Character: Jasmyn's friend Tricia does not show up much in the book, but she is pretty much the only one to mention the positive aspects of being Black. She does what Jasmyn constantly fails to do, and that is look for the joy.

Recommended Reading: The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson is a YA thriller and a re-telling of Carrie by Stephen King. 

Nonfiction: The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum by Margalit Fox

While some readers will flock to any book about a serial killer or cult leader, I have always been more interested in con artists and organized crime. The title of today's book by Margalit Fox immediately caught my attention: The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss. A hopefully in-depth look at a little known figure from America's crime history certainly sounded exciting to me.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book that looks into the life of Fredericka Mandelbaum (who was also referred to as "Marm" Mandelbaum, "Mother" Mandelbaum, "Ma" Mandelbaum, and even "Mother Baum"). She would arrive in New York City, after leaving what is now central Germany, in 1850. But by 1870 she would be the picture of wealth and status, even though it was well-known by many around her how that wealth was accumulated. While chronicling Mrs. Mandelbaum's rise to prominence as an underworld figure, the book also explains what her role as a "fence" would entail; explores the lives of the men and women of the time who helped her grow her empire; gives detailed explanations of what it would take to successfully rob a bank in mid-19th century America; and lists all the reasons why Mrs. Mandelbaum was able to do what she did at that particular point in history. 

My Verdict: As is common with many nonfiction books out there, this one often feels like it is a magazine article that has been stretched out into enough pages so that it can be printed and sold as a book. With actual content that makes up only 206 pages - followed by 70 pages of references - not all that much of those 206 pages is actually about Mrs. Mendelbaum and her life. What I was hoping would be more of a biography of the woman's life is more of a look at how fences operated in the middle of the 19th century in New York City. The details concerning her inevitable fall from prominence are indeed fascinating, along with the lengths officials went to in order to catch her. But it felt like something was missing from the whole account, or perhaps maybe there was not quite enough material to fill out the book.

Favorite Moment: Included in the book are many illustrations and photographs, my favorite of which were diagrams of certain buildings and schemes that were important to how Mrs. Mandelbaum's enterprise operated.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead, a work of fiction whose main character is a reluctant fence operating out of his own furniture store.

Contemporary Fiction: Fire Exit by Morgan Talty

Literary fiction is a genre I am always willing to experience more of, and yet the amount of books that can be labeled as such are somewhat few and far between on this blog. These more character driven stories move at a different pace, and are often viewed as books where 'not a lot happens,' though that is not necessarily true. Morgan Talty's Fire Exit has the 'literary fiction' tag attached to it in Goodreads, and it makes sense. With the focus on a man who must come to terms with the past, it explores our relationship with the truth, and whose right it is to share it.

The Situation: Charles Lamosway has spent many hours on the porch of his home, watching another family's life unfold from across the river. That family lives on the reservation, where he himself grew up with his mother, Louise, and stepfather, Frederick. Charles has watched that family since the day the couple brought home their daughter, Elizabeth, from the hospital. It was a day that changed his life in more ways than one, mostly because the man who ends up raising Elizabeth is not her real father, and Charles has spent the years wondering if she should know the truth.

The Problem: Now Elizabeth is an adult, and is clearly struggling. But she is not the only one. Charles not only wrestles with the truth about the daughter he did not get to raise, but also the guilt he still feels over his stepfather's tragic death. His primary relationships include his often-drunk friend Bobby, and his still living mother Louise, who everyday sinks deeper into dementia, and may still harbor resentment over what happened to her husband. When it becomes clear that Elizabeth is in trouble, Charles makes a decision that will effect more lives than his own. The truth is important, but may not be his to share. And could it be too late?

Genre, Themes, History: This is a work of fiction, set in and around the community where Charles lives near Overtown, Maine. The character of Charles grew up on the Penobscot Reservation with his mother and stepfather, but had to move off the land once he turned 18. With no family of his own, and a strained relationship with his mother, Charles has spent much of his adult life observing and wondering about the family across the river, where his daughter lives with the man she believes is her real father. While Charles mostly wrestles with his own guilt over the past, and remorse for what his life could have been, he also struggles with the truth and how to handle it. Plus, there is the extra layer of caring for a parent with dementia. 

My Verdict: With Charles as the first-person narrator, there are many moments that are not overly descriptive, and several actions are completed seemingly without much forethought. He simply knows something to be true - or at least believes something to be true - and acts accordingly, having to deal with the consequences later. With most of the page-turning action happening in the final quarter of the book, Talty holds the reader's attention throughout the story by carefully revealing Charles' past, and why the characters are how they are now, including Elizabeth. I enjoyed the exploration of our relationship with the truth, and how both sharing it, and withholding it, can be a dangerous thing.

Favorite Moment: After reading that individuals with dementia often enjoy having something to take care of, Charles gives his mother a stuffed elephant, which remains by her side for the rest of the book. 

Favorite Character: Bobby is a mess. But he can be a helpful mess, and he does care a great deal for Charles' mother, Louise.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Neruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera. It is a different kind of story that also looks at complicated family relationships, and how communities attempt to hold onto the area where they live. 

Historical Fiction: Swift River by Essie Chambers

Going through the new releases for the month can be both exciting and frustrating. Some books move automatically onto the 'to-read' list, usually because they are written by someone whose book or books I have previously enjoyed, but there is always the question of just how much space to reserve for debut authors. I am glad to have made space for Swift River by Essie Chambers, which looks at the experience of a young woman who lives in a town where no one looks like her.

The Situation: It is the summer of 1987, and Diamond Newberry is working with her mother in order to have her father finally declared legally dead. It has been seven years since he disappeared, but because the body was never found, he had only been labeled as 'missing,' which meant no life insurance money. Over the years, various people claim to have seen Diamond's dad at a store, in a parking lot, or with another family two towns over. Looking back at the memories of her father's life in Swift River as the only Black man in the entire town - and his disappearance means Diamond has since become the only Black person in town - Diamond is not sure what to hope for. Her and her mother could use the money, but declaring her father dead is maybe something she is not ready for.

The Problem: The paper work and legal hoops Diamond and her mom must work through is fairly daunting. But the two remain determined, even as they often have to beg for rides to places, or even hitchhike. The two of them already standout, mostly because of Diamond's darker skin color and weight, contrasted next to her mother's pale skin and thin frame, which has always earned them various comments from strangers. To complicate matters, this is the summer Diamond has decided to learn to drive, even though she knows her mother is against it, and she has begun receiving letters from a relative from her dad's side of the family. Through the letters, Diamond learns not only more or her dad's history, but the town as well, and the generations of Newberry women that came before her.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction book set in the fictional town of Swift River, with most of the action taking place in 1987, but with flashbacks to 1980, the year that Diamond's father went missing. The town of Swift River is a 'sundown town,' and at one point, all of the Black people were forced out, even though the town depended on the Black population as a labor force. Through the letters Diamond receives from her recently discovered relative, she learns more about this time in her town's history, as well as her great-aunt's contributions to the community. It is a book that goes back and forth in time, reaching even further back as Diamond reads her great-aunt's letters, and explores themes of family, friendship, guarded secrets, and the complications of grief.

My Verdict: This is an interesting read, and a book that works hard to keep the reader engaged by moving back and forth through time, and including letters from two different characters outside of Swift River. Plus, there is Diamond's complicated relationship with her town, as well as her even more complicated relationship with her mother. The story is never boring, though often heart-breaking, while also being incredibly tense in places. The ending felt slightly rushed, as it felt like everything was being brought together too quickly, but I would not say there are loose ends or that anything was left unresolved. Perhaps the history of Swift River could have been its own separate book, instead of less than half of this one. 

Favorite Moment: I love that Diamond decided to learn to drive, carefully and over time putting aside money from her part-time job in order to pay for the classes.

Favorite Character: Diamond's new friend Shelly is probably not someone her father would have wanted his daughter to hang out with, but she is there for Diamond, even helping her out at her job without asking to be paid. 

Recommended Reading: I will always recommend Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. 

Young Adult Fiction: Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi

The long awaited third book of Tomi Adeyemi's Legacy of Orїsha series is finally here. Children of Anguish and Anarchy catches up to Zélie and the events that followed the second book, including what has happened to Orїsha now that the monarchy has fallen.

The Situation: The war has ended. The fighting is supposed to be over. What should now be a celebration for the maji is anything but, as Zélie finds herself captive in an enemy ship. With a majacite crown secured to her head, she is unable to summon the magic that has aided her so many times before. With no idea what is to come, Zélie is eventually brought fact to face with a new enemy that is determined to harness her magic for himself, and eventually take over all of Orїsha. King Baldry wants to become a god, and it becomes clear that he and his people are a force to be reckoned with, and carry their own incredible abilities that will be difficult to overpower. 

The Problem: Far away from home, Zélie must work fast to thwart King Baldyr's plans, while also finding a way to protect Orїsha, a land that is still hurting from everything that has happened. But in the process, she has to decide if she can trust Inan, the boy that is supposed to be king of Orїsha, and her previous enemy. Her brother Tzain must decide if he can trust Inan's sister Amari, who is determined to redeem herself from her own acts of betrayal, and is willing to fight using her newly discovered strength and abilities. While the fight against King Bladyr and the Skulls will not be an easy one, it is clear that the people of Orїsha will need to be united if they stand a chance of surviving as a nation.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a young adult fiction novel, the events of which immediately follow the ending of the second book in the series, Children of Virtue and Vengeance. The readers encounter Zélie, Tzain, Amari, and Inan as they are held captive aboard the ship of a new enemy, the Skulls. Their king, Baldyr, has grand plans for the magic Zélie holds, and indeed for all of Orїsha. Much like in the first two books, magic plays a big role in everything. Readers are also introduced to two new nations of Orїsha: the Skulls, and the people of New Gaīa. All three nations will enter into a battle where everything is at stake, and sacrifices will be made. 

My Verdict: It has been five years since Children of Virtue and Vengeance was published, and the level of anticipation and excitement for this third book was certainly high, especially given the ending of its predecessor. This book certainly delivers on the action and adventure, but other aspects of the story feel rushed and a little hollow. It is interesting because the settings are well-described, and the characters are the same ones we have gotten to know over the past two books, but the new characters do not seem as developed, and their appearance is sudden and jarring. Also, I had a hard time believing the chemistry, or animosity, between any of them. When I turned the final page, I was happy to have joined Zélie on this adventure, but feel she deserved a better ending.

Favorite Moment: I enjoyed the first introduction to New Gaīa and its lush green landscape.

Favorite Character: Tzain has one main goal, and that is to keep Zélie safe. He has his own struggles to overcome, and has to figure out what kind of warrior he wishes to be, but he is determined to do what he has to do and is willing to meet every challenge.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Traci Chee's The Reader series, another young adult fantasy trilogy. 

 

Contemporary Fiction: I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

Anyone who has ever worked in an office environment will most likely recognize the title of today's book from at least one email they have received from, or even written to, a coworker. I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue promised to be a funny and relatable look at office work culture and all the complications within it.

The Situation: For Jolene Smith, her administrative job at Supershops is not at all something she aspired to, but it is the one thing in her life holding her world together. The rent may barely get paid, but her measly paycheck keeps her from having to move back in with her controlling mother, while also allowing her to stay stocked in the alcohol she knows she needs to stop drinking. For the most part, Jolene makes a concerted effort to interact with her coworkers as little as possible, knowing full well that she has now been labeled at the very least as 'antisocial,' and maybe at worst as 'hostile.' She finds some relief from the monotony in her whited-out hidden messages in her emails to people...that is until one of them is discovered.

The Problem: Now Jolene is required to complete a mandatory harassment training with the new human resources representative, Cliff. If this was not bad enough, something has been installed on her computer so that her emails can be monitored. But someone goofed: Whatever application was installed is allowing Jolene to see everyone's emails, as well as their inter-office chats. And none of it is good. When it becomes clear that a round of layoffs is on the horizon, Jolene must act fast to change how her coworkers see her if she hopes to keep her job. This means reaching out, working hard, and - horror of horrors - maybe actually caring. This plan cannot work forever, but hopefully just long enough for Jolene to secure her job.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a novel set in present-day Calgary, Canada, with much of the action taking place inside of the administrative offices of Supershops, where Jolene works as an admin. When her practice of hiding less-than-friendly messages at the bottom of her emails is discovered, an IT mix-up gives her access to everyone's emails, opening up a world of information on the coworkers she has never liked. There are secrets being kept; underhanded plots discovered; and of course, Jolene finds out how her coworkers really feel about her. While inter-office politics may be the focus, the book also deals with mental health, trauma, and unmanaged guilt.

My Verdict: As a professional paper pusher myself, there were parts of this book that I felt deeply. The obvious eavesdropping (people always think they are being sly...they are not); the passive aggressive emails; the back-stabbing; the front-stabbing; the obvious delight in a disliked coworker's downfall; and of course, the supervisor that no one likes and is not great at their job, but will never be fired. It is all here, and while the character of Jolene is not exactly a model employee, the author manages to garner enough sympathy from the reader to where I was rooting for her, even through her many, many mistakes. Her world is fully-formed, in all of its tedious and monotonous non-glory, complete with a pushy parent and a needy neighbor kid. Somehow both light-hearted and frustrating, I recommend this book to anyone working the 8 to 5 grind and trying their best to make it work.

Favorite Moment: There are some delightful nuggets in here, but I especially enjoyed a moment when Jolene pushes past her fear of speaking up in boardroom meetings, and her general dislike of making an effort, and manages to make a real, positive, impression.

Favorite Character: Poor Cliff. Being the new human resources guy means he is immediately the enemy, even without having done anything wrong. Everything he does and says is suspect, and having to evaluate employees in an already terrible office environment that he did nothing to cultivate has to be a special kind of hell.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Rainbow Rowell's Attachments, one of her earliest novels. 

Science Fiction: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

There was a good amount of discussion and hype around Kaliane Bradley's time travel novel The Ministry of Time. As someone who often has a hard time grasping the concept of time travel, I was hesitant to pick up this book and attempt to follow the narrative. Thankfully, the narrator acknowledges from the outset that the mechanics of time travel can be difficult to make sense of. Whether this is a copout on the author's part, or a clever way of putting the reader at ease (and maybe allowing some humor) is hard to know.

The Situation: In a not-so-distant future, a civil servant living in London is offered the opportunity to work with expats as a "bridge." While she may have gotten the position due to her own history as the daughter of a white father and a Cambodian mother who escaped her country, the pay is not bad, and it may get her closer to the job she wants. However, the "expat" she has been assigned to is not only new to London, but also new to this moment in history. Commander Graham Gore was part of a doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, and was supposed to have died in 1847. Now he is to spend an entire year living with a woman he does not know, in a London he does not recognize, with everything he does being restricted and recorded.

The Problem: Helping a 19th century commander acclimate to a different timeline is, at the very least, a strange task. A bridge must navigate their charges' unfamiliarity with how culture has changed, how language has evolved, and how to deal with the internet. Plus, there is the decision of when to inform Graham about 9/11, or what happened during World War II. Eventually, it becomes clear that the Ministry has plans for the expats that they are not telling the bridges about. And when people begin disappearing, and being labeled as defectors and traitors, the bridge begins to suspect that her job may not be as safe and secure as she had hoped, and that the future, all of it, may be at stake.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a science fiction novel that focuses on time travel, and what humanity would do with the ability to reach into the past in an attempt to alter a disastrous future. The first-person narrator remains nameless, possibly because what she is telling the reader is considered sensitive information. The man she is to assist, Commander Graham Gore, is a real person from history, although he was a First Lieutenant of the Erebus in 1945. Bringing a person from history nearly two hundred years ahead in the timeline has its expected consequences, with the ever present question of whether or not history can be changed, and should it.

My Verdict: This plot line has so much potential, and the author tackles the usual issues with time travel narratives. Leaving aside the question of whether such a thing is even possible, the book looks at what it would mean for someone from the mid-1800s to be suddenly thrust into the 21st century. Some of it is funny, a lot of is awkward (while still funny), and there are moments that get incredibly serious. The book ultimately takes more aspects of a spy-thriller, which would have been enjoyable if the pacing of the novel had not been slightly off, as well as some of the phrasing, and even some of the paragraph structure. There were parts of the narration where I had to go back after realizing I missed some crucial discovery, due to how everything was worded. For those readers who can get past this, they may find an enjoyable novel that looks at the progress we made, and where our world is headed next.

Favorite Moment: I did enjoy watching Graham discover new types of cuisine that he did not have the chance to encounter in his own time.

Favorite Character: Graham was fun to observe as he attempted to make sense of his new life, as were his new friends Arthur and Margaret, who were also brought forward from another time.

Recommended Reading: I recommend Recursion by Blake Crouch, a science fiction book that explores time travel and memory.

Historical Fiction: Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor

Books, even fictional ones, about areas of the world I know little about are often fascinating to me. In Whale Fall, Elizabeth O'Connor tells the story of what happens when a small remote island in Europe is visited by two researchers after a whale washes up on its shores. Short and to the point, the book follows one of the island's young inhabitants as she considers her future, while observing the island along with its new visitors.

The Situation: On a small island off of the coast of Wales, 18 year-old Manod lives with her father, Tad, and her younger sister Llinos. It is 1938, and while the island receives most of its news much later than the mainland, the news about an impending war still manages to reach its shores. But something else that has reached the shore and stolen nearly everyone's attention is the body of whale, and what follows its arrival are two English ethnographers who hire Manod as their assistant due to her ability to speak their language. For Manod, close contact with the researchers feeds her desire to some day leave the island and see a world she has always wondered about, and hopefully be able to bring her sister along.

The Problem: Manod is glad, almost proud to help the researchers, though their seemingly sophisticated ways often make her embarrassed of her simple life. She is happy to translate for them, while also show them around and explain the island's culture and customs. But while the visitors may prove to be Manod's ticket to leaving the island and seeing the world as she has dreamed, their work may also end up being a source of misinformation to those outside, as it does not look like they are accurately portraying life on the island. Manod does not recognize the people from their descriptions, and worries about the pictures they are taking. The longer they stay, the more things unravel, and the less sure Manod is about her future.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in 1938 on a small island off of the coast of Wales. The first-person narrator, Manod, is an 18 year-old girl who spends most of her days taking care of the house and her younger sister, until a pair of English ethnographers arrive on the island, and ask her to assist them, mostly as a translator. The body of a whale washes up on the shore of the island in the very beginning of the novel, and while it is not the primary focus of what is happening, its presence is always there, in the background, occasionally making an appearance as the residents attempt to figure out what to do about it. In the note on the text, the author explains that the island, while fictional, is an amalgamation of several islands around the British Isles. For Manod, there is a strong desire to leave the only community she has ever known, as well as the realization that the outside world may also be coming to them.

My Verdict: This is a short book, clocking in at under 250 pages, and yet it is pretty impressive how much O'Connor manages to put into this story, and I am not necessarily talking about the plot. It is a fairly straightforward story, but the struggles of the community; Manod's worries over their future as well as her own; and the researchers' weighty judgement of the island (while also being gleeful over how they will profit from what they find) is all conveyed through the young narrator's simple and somehow also complicated and tangled up observations of her own life, as well as how the ethnographers go about their work. The plotline of someone wanting to leave their small community for the big world outside may be a common one, but Manod's story feels unique and different and refreshing.

Favorite Moment: There are small moments when Manod's frustrations with her life come through, but they are never heavy-handed and are rarely obvious. 

Favorite Character: Tad is a lobster fisherman and the father of Manod and Llinos. He may not be the most attentive father in the world (most of the time he does not even call Manod by the correct name), but I appreciate that he is a man of few words, and is able to make it clear how he feels about the ethnographers, while saying very little.

Recommended Reading: I recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which is a very different (and much longer) story, but also about the inner workings of a remote community and one of its families. 

Nonfiction: There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib

As much as I would have loved to sit in on Hanif Abdurraqib's talk at this year's San Antonio Book Festival, I had just landed back in town less than 24 hours earlier from a trip to Tokyo, Japan, and the jet lag was too much. I managed to walk the festival grounds for a couple of hours that morning, and spend way too much money, but Abdurraqib's talk was later in the afternoon. So I bought There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, a few t-shirts, a massive barrel of lemonade (you read right), and went back home.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a nonfiction book in which Abdurraqib talks about his life and history with Columbus, Ohio, as well as his lifelong love of basketball, while also looking into the career of LeBron James, in particular his relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Broken up into five sections, including the "Pregame" and then four quarters, Abdurraqib allows the clock to count down while remembering the kids he grew up watching: the ones that people filled high school gymnasiums to watch and proclaim were destined to be the next big basketball star. Using both poetry and prose, Abdurraqib also talks of his love of Ohio, even with its myriad of teams known for losing, and the moments of violence that extend back to the 1970s car bombings.

My Verdict: I will start off by saying that I love how the book is organized. I liked having the four quarters, with their time outs and intermissions, and the countdown worked well with Abdurraqib's language and movement. The narration is linear, while somehow also not, without being confusing or frustrating. If anything, it simply felt to me how memory works: Some things bring up other things, and that other thing reminds you of something that contradicts what you said about the first thing. Often apologizing, and then refusing to apologize, Abdurraqib tells the story of why he loves where he came from, and why he had no desire to ever 'make it out' of there.

Favorite Moment: I do not follow basketball the way I used to...not that I ever did all that closely. But it was one of those things I used to know a lot about because I watched it with my dad, and being able to recall personal memories of some of the events mentioned in the book is a point of pride. 

Recommended Reading: I recommend Boom Town by Sam Anderson. In this book, Anderson details the history of Oklahoma City, as well as its basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.