A Thoughtful Coming of Age Story

 

Arthur is sixteen growing up in Mason, Missouri. He is a quiet boy who likes nature, helping people, and he thinks a lot. He’s close to his older brother Frank who protects him from their father, an abusive veteran who drinks too much and starts fights. Sixteen is the perfect time for first love and Arthur falls for Nola the most popular girl in the class. Unfortunately, she has a crush on Frank, but the two become friends.

This is a quiet book. The characters are deftly portrayed. They’re the kind of people you’d like to know. Much of the book is filled with the joy and anguish of being a teenager, but there is sadness and tragedy. Through all of, Arthur’s quiet winning personality shines through.

I found this book truly delightful. Arthur is the kind of boy you’d like to have living next door. He is comfortable with nature and with helping older people, who he befriends. Although tragedy strikes the family and Arthur’s love life is not what he wishes it were, he continues to be a thoughtful boy growing into a caring adult.

This is a book that makes you glad about living on earth and having boys like Arthur growing up there. I recommend this book. It made me feel happy and hopeful. I hope it will have the same effect on you.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

How International Society Worked to Support Hitler

 

World War I saw the demise of the Austro-Hungarian empire and tsarist Russia thus displacing many aristocrats who had held vast estates and titles. They were used to living under regimes run by an autocratic leader and were adept at using social gatherings for political maneuverings and gossip. Some of these people, notably Princess Stephanie Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfurst, were eager to use their social skills to advance Hitler’s aims.

This is a very well written and researched book. I was surprised to realize how much the displacement of high society people after the First World War contributed to Hitler’s propaganda machine. I had read about many of the participants, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Mitford sisters, and Charles Lindbergh but others were new to me. I found the story of Princess Stephanie particularly fascinating. The author introduces her in the beginning of the book. It makes an excellent point of how these spies functioned.

If you’re interested in World War II, I highly recommend this book. It’s a view of pre-WWII that I had not had before.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

A Royal Romance Re-imagined

 

Philip II of France and Richard I (the Lion Hearted) were rival kings and in this re-imagined history, lovers. They were raised with different expectations. Philip always knew he would be king and a sense of duty to his country was instilled in him from his earliest years. Richard was the second son. He was not slated to be king until his older brother died. He had a great deal of conflict with his father who he hated. These two very different men from different backgrounds come together in a poignant romance.

The book is well researched. The author spends much of the first part of the book going into the historical and political background. I found this very well done. It laid the ground work for the romance, but did put the actual coming together off until the later part of the book.

I am not a big fan of telling history and presenting characters with actions and desires they didn’t have, at least as far as we know from the historical record. However, the author is upfront about this in both a note at the beginning and another note at the end.

The two men are well portrayed. The author does a good job of letting reader get to know each man by alternating chapters where each tells his own story. I thought it as an effective device. The writing is quit lovely and makes the story more believable. While not really historical fiction since it takes liberties with the history, it’s a satisfying romance.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

A Gothic Mystery Reminiscent of Jane Eyre

 

Margaret Lennox, recently widowed and left without resources, has taken a position as a governess at Hartwood Hall, a large, remote country house. Her charge, a ten-year-old boy is delightful, but the house and the other occupants seem full of secrets.

The townspeople gossip about the house, and Margaret can’t help but listen. They believe the house is haunted and the residents are strange. There are whispers that the owner is a witch. Although she discounts the gossip, Margaret feels uneasy. She thinks that she sees shadows, candles burning where they shouldn’t be and there are strange noises in the night.

Margaret fears her own past will catch up with her. She is also uneasy about her budding relationship with Paul, the groundskeeper.

The book is very atmospheric. The underlying tension and the strange occurrences make Margaret unable be comfortable in her new position. The story is told completely from her point of view, which works well. We see the eerie house through her eyes as an outsider. She is also a strong woman and doesn’t easily give in to her fears.

The time is 1852 and the author has done an excellent job using the historical background to keep the story realistic while providing details that help build the feeling of unease and suspense. If you enjoy historical fiction with a Gothic tone, you’ll like this book.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Keeping Your Head Above Water as a RideShare Driver

 

Damani is a Sri Lankan RideShare driver. Life has gotten more difficult now that her father is dead and she’s become the caretaker of her grieving mother who refuses to leave their basement apartment. Her friends are trying to organize and protest in the hope of getting a better life, but Damani has little time for protests, she’s barely eking out a living as it is.

Then she meets beautiful, rich Jolene. She seems perfect. There’s chemistry between her and Damani, and Jolene becomes an ally in the protests for livable wages and justice for the under-served like Damani. However, things are not always as perfect as they seem and in the end it turns out they’re definitely not.

Damani is an interesting character. She talks tough. She’s into working out so that she’s able to deal with any dangerous situations with her riders. She has weapons hidden all over the car. I found her breezy style interesting but it began to drag in the first half of the book. The second half is much livelier. It’s hard to put down.

The book is very readable social commentary. I’m not sure the romantic aspect adds a great deal, but it does enliven the ending.

I received this book from Knopf Doubleday for this review.

A Myth Retold without Fantasy or Magic

 

Three women figured prominently in the tale of Perseus: Danae, his mother, Medusa, the Gorgon he slew, and Andromeda, his wife. In Greek mythology, Perseus, descended from Zeus, is a perfect hero. However, the experiences of the three women in his life paint a different picture. In this book Perseus comes across as cruel angrily trying to prove his descent from Zeus.

Instead of the magic and fantasy of the Greek myth, this book is relentlessly realistic. The story is told from the point of view of each of the three women in turn. I liked that each woman had a section of the book to tell her story. It kept the flow going. I often find that a story becomes choppy when the author moves back and forth from chapter to chapter among characters.

While I found the book interesting, I am not a big fan of retelling myths in all the grim reality of the period. I enjoyed seeing how the author envisages the historical settings. However, for me the myths have their own beauty. It is the way people at the time looked on their gods and heroes and the magic and fantasy play a major role.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

A Town Divided: A Family-Divided

 

The small town of Wesleyan, Georgia is bitterly divided over whether to remove the statue of a Confederate general. Marietta, whose husband Harry has recently died, is on one side; her brother, a well-known trial attorney is on on the other. When an ice store paralyzes the town during Harry’s funeral, people are thrown together for shelter. Marietta finds herself marooned with three others all coming to grips with their feelings.

The ice storm precipitates a crisis when the town emerges from the ice storm to find the statue gone. Things rapidly swing out of control as feelings run high about the vandalism. Some people support the action, others are ready to fight, including Marietta’s broth, Macon.

Although the statue of a Confederate general is at the center of the controversy, this is not a book about racial problems. It is the story of people coming to terms with their inner demons and growing because of it. In the beginning of the book, I didn’t like Marietta. She seemed rigid and had turned away from friends because her ideas differed from theirs. This included her brother and her former best friend, Butter. As the story progressed, I liked her better because she tried to see others point of view. She didn’t want to lose her friends and family.

The book is beautifully written. The setting and life of a small southern town is brought to life. It‘s a delight to read about the setting and the characters. I also liked the fact that the story was told from multiple points of view. It showed that everyone has their own problems and can grow.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.