June 2020 in Books

This month's list is pretty long, but almost half of the books are kids books.  I had a couple pretty dense/heavy books this month, so it was good to break it up with some of the books Ellie has been hounding me to read. Some really good books this month too.  I ended on a really high note too, I think the last three are my favorites this month.  Read on for all the details:

Beyond the Bright Sea - Lauren Wolk - juvenile historical fiction - five stars - Ellie got this one for Christmas this year from my SIL, and has been after me to read it ever since.  It's the story of Crow, a 12 year old girl who was discovered adrift in a canoe by a hermit living in the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts.  She was raised by him, and they're a family now, but she's always wondered where she came from.  One evening she sees a fire on an island far away and again starts to question her whereabouts.  This sets her on a path to discover her background and discover what family really means.  A sweet and sad story.  Definitely worth the read, looking forward to reading more from this author.

Hunting the Truth: Memoirs of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld - Beate Klarsfeld - memoir - four stars - This was a really interesting, and dense, book about the life of Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, she a German, and he a French Jew whose father died in Auschwitz.  They met and married, and their life's work has been ensuring that former Nazis do not positions of power in government.  They have been tireless and effective, affecting the election and re-election of such individuals.  They also worked to have Nazis tried, even in absentia, gaining convictions for Kurt Lischka, Alois Brunner, Klaus Barbie, and others.  They were the target of assassination attempts as a result.  Another immense project that Serge spearheaded was a book listing the names of more than 80,000 Jews deported from France to concentration camps or killed in France.  The book listed their nationalities as well as which train they were taken on.  It was a massive undertaking, but has been hugely valuable for those seeking information about their family members.  The impact of the couple's work is staggering.  This book was not a quick read, and I didn't always agree with their tactics ,but they have accomplished so much, and it is definitely worth reading.

Clara's War - Clara Kramer - memoir - five stars - The story of Clara, a 15 year old Polish Jew, and her family, along with several others, who survived WWII living in a hand-dug cellar.  The memoir is based on the diary she kept all throughout her time in the cellar.  It's a bit like Anne Frank, but without all the internal monologue, just the plot.  If your kid has had to read Anne Frank and couldn't get past that, this might be a good alternative.  It's pretty impressive that they were able to keep so many alive in the cellar.  A remarkable survival story.

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #1) - Jessica Townsend - juvenile fiction - five stars - I got this one for Ellie last year when we went on vacation and she LOVED it.  She read it over and over last year and had been on my case to read it too, and I finally had the chance since I was running out of library books . Loved it.  Morrigan is cursed - she was born on Eventide, which means that at midnight on her 11th birthday she is supposed to die.  But, there's something special about Morrigan, and before she can be killed, she is spirited away to a city called Nevermoor by Jupiter North, who presents her as his candidate for the Wundrous Society.  In order to join the society, Morrigan must pass three trials.  I really loved this whole story, the characters, Nevermoor itself, which is kind of like Willy Wonka's factory on crack, it was fun and clever, and just a great read.  Highly recommend.

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor, #2) - Jessica Townsend - juvenile fiction - five stars - Of course this is a series (the third book comes out in October and clearly we pre-ordered a copy), and I thought this book was just as good as the first (although Ellie says the first book is better).  In this edition, Morrigan and her cohort begin their training, unfortunately, because of Morrigan's talents, she doesn't get to take any good classes.  Meanwhile, Jupiter is gone more and more, and she is generally frustrated.  In addition, weird things are happening around Nevermoor and people are disappearing.  Some think this is Morrigan's fault, so she has to figure out what is happening and try and stop it.  Like I said, I think this one was just as good as the first book, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next in the series.

The Great Flowing River: A Memoir of China, from Manchuria to Taiwan - Chi Pang-Yuan - memoir - three stars - This was a big disappointment for me.  This book should have been fascinating, but it was so boring.  I did learn things, but it was a real slog.  The first part was the most interesting to me, about how childhood and how her family had to flee when the Japanese invaded, they continually moved inland as the Japanese advanced, and how at each stop her father worked to set up schools and find shelter for the students as they moved.  There were definitely good bits and nuggets, but there was also a lot of name dropping, and if you're not familiar with those people, those names man nothing to you.  I also found her description of Taipei/Taiwan really interesting.  I've been to Taipei a couple times to visit relatives (when I was young), and even then it was a huge city, all tall buildings and so cramped, so her descriptions of all one story Japanese style houses, and a very low density were fascinating to me. I  actually chatted with my mom about it as she moved to Taipei for school in middle school (from Indonesia), in the mid 50s, and she verified those impressions.  Disappointing.

Nothing to See Here - Kevin Wilson - fiction - four stars - This is a good book, but the whole premise is so weird that I had a hard time getting fully on board with the book even while I was enjoying it because it's just so weird, if that makes any sense.  Lillian, who is living in her mother's attic, is contacted by her old roommate Madison (who is now married to a Senator who is being considered for Secretary of State, and has a LOT of money) to be a nanny/governess for her step-children whose mother just died.  Once Lillian arrives she learns that there is something different about the kids - they burst into flame when upset.  This doesn't hurt them at all, but causes a fair amount of damage all around hem.  I liked the characters and the story, and how Lillian and the kids bonded, but again, the whole spontaneous combustion element was just weird, and I feel like I might have liked it just as much if there was something more normal wrong with the kids.  Still a good and quick read.

The Doldrums (The Doldrums #1) - Nicholas Gannon - juvenile fiction - four stars - Both girls read this one and really enjoyed it, so I thought I would read it too.  It's the story of Archer Helmsley, who is completely under the thumb of his mother, and who wishes he could be like his famous adventuring grandparents who were lost on a glacier and presumed dead.  Archer believes they are still alive and decides he needs to find them.  He's helped along by his two best friends.  I liked this story, but I felt it was a little weak and dragged on a bit. But it's quirky and different and I loved the illustrations.  There's a sequel, which I'm hoping to get done next month.  Didn't necessarily love it, but definitely liked it.

The Blackbird Girls - Anne Blankman - juvenile historical fiction - five stars - I borrowed this book for Ellie, but read it too and we both loved it.  It's the story of Valentina and Oksana, two girls who live in Pripyat, Ukraine, whose fathers both work at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.  The girls are not friends at the beginning of the story but circumstances throw them together and they become best friends by the end.  The book also weaves in the story of Valentina's grandmother during WWII.  I thought the descriptions of the initial reaction to the disaster were fascinating, and also loved how the girls relationship developed.  The book deals with difficult issues of race/anti-Semitism/Holocaust as well as child abuse, but not in a way that's appropriate for tween readers.  Highly recommend.

The Mountains Sing - Phan Nguyễn - historical fiction - five stars - I devoured this book, it's the story of a Vietnamese family and their survival from pre-WWII to post Vietnam.  The story focuses on Huong and her grandmother.  At the beginning of the book, Huong and her grandmother are trying to survive in Hanoi during the Vietnam war. Her parents and uncle have all gone to fight in the war, and they flee Hanoi to go to the countryside.  When they return, Hanoi is shell, their home is gone, and they need to rebuild.  Her grandmother, a teacher, quits her job because he doesn't want to teach propaganda, and becomes a black market trader, and they rebuild as they wait for family members to return.  During this time, Huong's grandmother relates her story, how her family was once prosperous, how they survived famine, and land reform, fleeing to Hanoi, and the sacrifices she had to make to escape.  The book was heartbreaking, while I was familiar with the Vietnam War, I learned much more about the history of Vietnam, how the people were oppressed by the French, then the Japanese, then the Communists, and how families were broken up between north and south, fighting one another, much like the Civil War.  A must read.

The Night Watchman - Louise Erdrich - historical fiction - five stars - Another great read to finish off the month.  In 1953, a bill is introduced into Congress that proposes the 'emancipation' of the Native Americans.  The U.S. government would essentially fully abandon their treaties with the Native Americans, disbanding tribes, selling off their land, and resettling them into cities.  The announcement called for ultimate termination of all tribes, but immediate termination of five, including the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa.  The book follows Thomas Wazhashk, a night watchman who is also a Chippewa council member as he learns about the bill, works to understand it, and then builds up support against it.  Ultimately he and a delegation go to Washington to take testify in a hearing about the bill which does not get signed.  The book also tells the stories of several other Turtle Mountain Chippewa, in particular Pixie Paranteau, who works in the jewel bearing plant.  This was such a deep, rich story.  I love how it really fleshed out the characters, in a way reminding me of Fredrick Backman.  Another must read.

I just started Africaville, and then I'm not quite sure what I'll read next.  Our library reopened this month, but only for hold pick-ups.  Those aren't coming in that quickly, so who knows what I'll get next.  I also have a few more books from the girls that I need to read, so there'll probably be a fair amount of their recommendations sprinkled in.  Would love to know what you guys have been reading and loving!