A really good reading month. Not only was I able to get a lot of books in, there were some really fantastic ones in the bunch. Overall favorites were Lessons in Chemistry and Green Island. Read on for the recaps:
Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus - fiction - five stars - This was such a fun, clever, book. It's about Elizabeth Zott, a scientist who is famous for a cooking show. Zott has dealt with a lot of adversity in life, but faces it head on. She is matter of fact, briliant, and blunt. I really enjoyed her character, how she dealt with adversity, her outlook and attitude. I also loved the cast of characters that surrounded her. Just such a fresh character who was true to herself and uncompromising. Must read.
Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit - Colby Cedar Smith - juvenile historical fiction - five stars - Ellie really enjoys books written in verse, so I pick them up for her whenever I see them. This was one she and I both loved. It's loosely based on the life of her grandmother, and bounces between her present day life during the Great Depression, and her mother's life during WWI. I loved all the characters, past and present day, as well as the different voices in the book. Very well done and highly recommended.
Delphine Jones Takes a Chance - Beth Morrey - fiction - five stars - Delphine Jones was destined for big things. She was a great student and ready to take the next step, but then got pregnant at 17. She kept her baby, Em, who is now going to the same high school she went to growing up. Delphine has just been fired from her job, and encouraged by Em, starts to expand her life and try those things she thought were lost to her. I loved the relationship between Delphine and Em as well as the other characters in the book. Just a really good, uplifting read.
We Are Wolves - Katrina Nannestad - juvenile historical fiction - five stars - I first heard the term wolves when I read Tears of Amber earlier this year. It refers to children who roamed/lived in the woods in Prussia following the war because they had lost their families and homes. They banded together into packs to survive. This is the story of Mia and her siblings who flee the Russians and then become separated from their mother and have to learn to survive on their own. Carina actually read this one first and really enjoyed it. There are some very hard/sad parts in the story. It definitely doesn't sugarcoat things, I thought the author balanced the good and the bad really well. Mia is likable and you are rooting for her. Highly recommend.
The Water Keeper - Charles Martin - fiction - five stars - Finally going back and reading the first book in this series after I accidentally read the second book first. I really enjoyed this one, there was a twist I definitely wasn't expecting, but it was definitely a slower pace than the second book, which I wasn't necessarily expecting. It's the story of Murphy Shepherd, who rescues people for a living. The story is focused on him helping a woman named Summer recover her daughter Angel from men who plan to auction her off to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, he is dealing with some losses of his own. There was one thing in particular that I had a big problem with in terms of the storyline, but overall I really liked the characters, although some of it was a little anticlimactic since I had read the second book already.
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle - Jennifer Ryan - historical fiction - five stars - The story centers on two women, Cressida Westcott a fashion designer who has to flee London after her home and design house are bombed, and Grace Carlisle, the vicar's daughter who is preparing to marry. At the local sewing circle, the women meet while attempting to mend Grace's mother's wedding gown. Eventually an idea is hatched. Since so much, including fabric, is rationed during the war, the women begin to collect and fix/update old wedding dresses that brides can borrow. The sewing circle becomes something more as well, a community of women working to help each other. I'm a big Jennifer Ryan fan and her newest book does not disappoint.
An Unlasting Home - Mai Al-Nakib - historical fiction - four stars - Sara, a philosophy professor in Kuwait is accused of blasphemy. As she grapples with the charge and the potential ramifications, the book talks about her life as well as that of her maternal grandmothers. Her family's story spans Lebanon, Iraq, India, and the U.S. I thought this was a really fascinating look at the journey of a family from country to country as well as a really interesting look at more recent events (such as the invasion of Kuwait). While Sara was not my favorite protagonist, I really loved her grandmothers and their stories. Definitely worth the read.
With Love from London - Sarah Jio - fiction - four stars - I enjoy Sarah Jio books as they have likable characters and are quick, easy reads. It's kind of like Mary Kay Andrews, you know what you're going to get and if you like the genre that's good. In this book, Valentina Baker who is in the midst of a divorce, learns that she has inherited a bookshop in London from her recently deceased mother who left her. years ago. There had been no contact since. Valentina goes to London with intentions to sell the store, but falls in love with it as her mother introduces her, through a scavenger hunt, to her favorite people and places. The story flips back and forth between present day Valentina, and previous Eloise (her mother) explaining the backstory and why she left. Light and easy and sentimental.
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow - Jessica Townsend - juvenile fiction - five stars - This is the third book in the Morrigan Crow series and it's been out for a while, but I'm just now getting around to reading it. Morrigan has finally gotten permission and has begun to be trained as a Wundersmith. I thought that how this is being done was very clever since there really aren't any Wundersmiths around anymore except Ezra Squall. At the same time, there is a disease that is affecting the Wunimals (animals with human like tendencies/cognition) that makes them dangerously violent and then turns them into Unimals (normal animals). Morrigan works to learn her craft and also solve the mystery of how the Wunimals are being infected and how to stop it. A really good read, as I mentioned I thought this was pretty clever overall and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
Green Island - Shawna Yang Ryan - historical fiction - five stars - Really loved this one, like last months' Peach Blossom Spring it's a book that focuses on Taiwan. It follows the trajectory of the Tsai family which is caught up in the martial rule/purge of dissenters during the time of Chiang Kai Shek and later his son. Dr. Tsai, the father is jailed for ten years for speaking out for democracy. While he is away the family adjusts and when he returns unexpectedly, it's a shock to the system. He has changed and so have they. The narrator is his youngest daughter who was just a baby when he was imprisoned. She marries a family friend and they go to the U.S. to study and then stay and become naturalized. Her husband is an agitator for a free Taiwan and the book details his activities and how it affects the family in the U.S. and in Taiwan. This was another fascinating look at Taiwan, and I learned a lot. Highly recommend.
Coco at the Ritz - Gioia Dilberto - historical fiction - four stars - This was probably closer to three and a half stars but rounded up. I had always heard about Chanel being a collaborator, and this book really explored it. The scope of the book is pretty narrow, just a few years when Chanel is living at the Ritz in Paris under German occupation. She takes up with 'Spatz' a German who most consider a German spy. The book details their relationship as well as her brief questioning following the German retreat. Chanel is not particularly likable, nor do I think she is supposed to be in this retelling, but I think it's a pretty fair representation that also covers her justifications/reasoning.
I'm currently working on Violeta and enjoying it so far. After that, I've decided I want to try and read some new and not new to me classics. I'm going to start with East of Eden which I remember really enjoying years ago. Would love to know what you guys have been reading!
