November 2020 in Books

Hi all!  I'm a little late with this month's recap. Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating got in the way a bit, but better late than never.  This month's list is shorter than the last few...it's a bit skewed by the fact that well over half of the ones listed are kids books (still trying, and failing, to keep up with the girls) and one (The Henna Artist) was actually read last month, but I forgot to record it.  The 'adult' books this month were very good, but ones that required me to slow down a little, not a bad thing.  Here's the rundown:

Squirm - Carl Hiaasen - juvenile fiction - five stars - We're continuing to read through all Hiassen's kids animal themed books.  This story is about Billy Dickens.  His parents are divorced and he hasn't seen his dad since he was four, or heard from him at all.  His family moves frequently, always near a bald eagle's nest (his mother has a thing for eagles).  He happens across his dad's address in Montana, a nd decides it's time for them to meet again, so he embarks on a trip (he neglects to tell his mom that his dad doesn't know he's coming) and adventures ensue.  The plotline was a little more unbelievable than Hiassen's other books, but it's not terribly so, and you really like the characters.  Another winner.

The Last Palace: Europe's Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House - Norman Eisen - non-fiction - four stars - I thought this was a really fascinating book.  It's a little dry and gets into the weeds early on, but definitely worth reading.  It's the story of a house built by a wealthy Jew named Otto Petschek after WWI.  It was his obsession, he spent years building it because he would change his mind, tear things down, build them back differently, change his mind again, etc.  It nearly ruined him financially, but he got it done, only to die a few years later.  Shortly after that, the family fled the country.  The book tracks the residents of the home, beginning with Petschek, including the German general assigned to Prague during WWII, and then U.S. ambassador Laurence Steinhardt following WWII.  Each of those individuals valued the building and did their best to preserve it during war, and to secure it, negotiating the purchase of the building following the war as the U.S. embassy.  Those machinations were fascinating, as was the later story of Shirley Temple Black who was ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989-1992, when she was on hand to witness the key events as the country turned away from communism.  Highly recommend if you love history. 

Medicine Walk - Richard Wagamese - fiction - five stars - This is one of those books I was talking about that made me slow down and really take in all the words.  I had previously read Indian Horse by this author and loved it and wanted to read some more of his work.  I was not disappointed.  Wagamese was a Native Canadian author and his books are so well written.  I love the way Wagamese writes, each word is chosen carefully and you really get absorbed into the writing.  This is the story of Franklin Starlight. He's been raised by an old man, and the man who is his father appears from time to time, never staying very long and usually hurting him in some way.  At the beginning of the book his father has asked him to come and see him.  He is dying, and he wants Franklin to take him to a particular spot to die.  Though torn, Franklin agrees, and as they travel, his father tells him the story of his life, how he got to be the way he is.  So well written, makes me want to read even more from Wagamese.

Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis - juvenile historical fiction - four stars - This was another book that Ellie and I both read.  Bud lives in an orphanage in Flint, Michigan during the Depression.  He's sent to live with a family, but this doesn't work out, so he runs away, and decides to go looking for his father.  He has some clues as to his father's identity left from his mother.  I thought that the plot came together a little too easily, but I thought the book did a really good job of describing what things were like during the depression in a way that was understandable for kids.  

Property of the Rebel Librarian - Allison Varnes - juvenile fiction - two stars - I borrowed this book from Ellie because it sounded really interesting, but I was so annoyed by the ridiculous of it.  June is a middle schooler who loves books, she helps out in the library, the librarian is one of her favorite teachers at school.  Her parents discover her with a book they feel is inappropriate.  The result is they take all her books so that they can read them/determine if she can have them back, and they, with other parents in the school, do the same to the school library, gutting it and forcing the librarian out.  June is starved for books and sees a Free Little Library on her way to school which inspires her to create something similar at school in an old unused locker.  Meanwhile things at school get weirder as parents get more involved, cracking down on things. The premise of the book was interesting and I thought it would lead to some good conversation with Ellie, but it was so overblown and unbelievable.  Don't bother with this one.

Ungifted (Ungifted, #1) - Gordon Korman - juvenile fiction  - five stars - Another book for Ellie that we both really enjoyed.  Donovan Curtis is a bit of a prankster in middle school and when he inadvertently causes a huge accident at school, he knows he's in deep trouble.  But, due to a clerical error, instead of being punished he is enrolled in the school district's gifted academy.  He is totally out of his depth educationally, but he manages to endear himself with the kids in his homeroom becoming a real part of the team.  The story skips between the perspective of each of the individuals in the book, and I love how their perspective changes over time, how the addition of Donovan makes everyone better, including himself, when normally these kids would never interact at all.  Great book.

Guernica - Dave Boling - historical fiction - five stars - This is another of those books that I needed to slow down to read.  I loved learning about the history and the culture of the Basque people.  The book follows the Navarro family, tracing the history of the family, but really picking up just before the Spanish revolution, and how that affected the Basque.  Of course the bombing of the city by the Germans is covered as well as the aftermath.  I love these sweeping saga type books and reading about families from  generation to generation.  There were some really unexpected twists, and I loved how things ended.  Highly recommend.

The Bridge Home - Padma Venkatraman - juvenile fiction - five stars - Another Ellie book.  This was a really good, but sad book.  Viji and her sister Rukku, who has some kind of developmental disorder, live in India.  Over the years their father has regularly beaten their mother, but one day he takes his anger out on the girls and Viji decides they must run.  They go to Chennai, where they find that life is not so easy, but make friends with some other homeless kids and survive on the kindness of strangers, as well as their new friends who help them navigate the perils of the big city.  There is a lot of sorrow, but also hope, and a good look at what life is like for many in another country. 

The Mighty Miss Malone - Christopher Paul Curtis - juvenile historical fiction - five stars - This book is tangentially related to Bud, Not Buddy.  Deza Malone appears briefly in that story, and this book focuses on her.  She and her family live in Gary, Indiana and are just scraping by, but after a few difficulties, they are out on the street.  Deza's father sets out to find work, and she and her brother and mother end up in a Hooverville outside Flint.  Eventually her brother heads out too, and it is just Deza and her mother.  I thought the book did a good job showing how Hoovervilles functioned and how difficult it was to get out of that situation.  Ellie said she liked Bud, Not Buddy better, but this was my favorite of the two books.

The Canyon's Edge - Dusti Bowling - juvenile fiction/poetry - five stars - Another Ellie book.  It's about a girl named Nora.  She lost her mother to a shooting a year ago and since then her father has been overprotective.  She no longer goes to school, many things they used to do are deemed too dangerous, but her family loves the outdoors, hiking and rock climbing.  So on the anniversary of her mother's death, Nora's father takes her to a slot canyon to get away and do what they love best.  While there a flash flood separates them.  Nora is lost, alone, and needs to find her father.  She struggles with the dreams that have been haunting her all year as she searches and tries to survive.  The majority of the book is written as poetry, with the first and last few chapters as regular prose.  It's a quick and meaningful read. 

The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi - fiction - five stars - At 17, Lakshmi escaped from her abusive arranged marriage, she ends up in Jaipur, after having becoming a henna artist as well as a woman who provides other services - remedies to prevent or promote pregnancy, hair treatments, etc. etc.  She is doing well for herself and has earned enough to send for her parents, who she disgraced when she left home.  Little does she know, but her parents have died and the only one who remains is a sister born after her departure that she didn't even know existed.  Her sister comes to find her in Jaipur and begins to learn the trade as well.  I really liked this book.  I liked reading about Lakshmi's trade, part skill, part intuition, part confidante.  I liked how Lakshmi navigated all the difficulties of life in a caste system, and all the intrigue of the women she served.  Highly recommend.

Surviving the Forgotten Genocide: An Armenian Memoir - John Minassian - memoir - four stars - I've read several books on the Armenian genocide, and this one was another excellent book.  The author eventually emigrated to the U.S., and it's written in English.  Minassian talks about his family history and life before the genocide, there were always danger and unrest for the Armenians, but there had been an extended period of piece prior to the genocide.  He covers the complicity of the Germans in the genocide.  He was able teo escape to Aleppo where he helped many other Armenian refugees as they tried to avoid deportation.  Later, he left Aleppo and worked on the railroad during the war, ironically, under the protection of the Germans, many Armenians survived the war as railroad workers/laborers.  This was another slower read but an amazing story, and you just really came out impressed with the person Minassian was.

Miss Benson's Beetle - Rachel Joyce - historical fiction - five stars - In 1950 London, still trying to recover from WWII, Margery Benson, a home economic teacher/spinster experiences a mid-life crisis.  Life hasn't been good to her and she finally snaps, quits her job, and decides to pursue her life long dream, finding the golden beetle of New Caledonia which may be just a myth.  Margery who has never done anything remotely risky or strenuous embarks upon an expedition to New Caledonia with Ms. Enid Pretty, a woman she has never met who she hires as her assistant.  Enid is Margery's total opposite, but they become more than friends as the tackle each obstacle in front of them.  Throw in a shady background for Enid as well as a stalker for Margery.  There was a lot of unexpected in this book, much humor, but also a fair amount of sadness and tragedy.  Really well done book.

Anxious People - Fredrik Backman - fiction - five stars - I love everything that Backman writes, so I was really excited to see that he had a new book out.  The premise of this book is a bank robbery gone wrong.  A bank robber tries to rob a cashless bank, upon discovering there is no cash the bank robber leaves, fleeing the police, running into the nearest building and into a viewing for a condo, thereby providing the bank robber with a number of hostages.  And then we get into character development which I think is one of Backman's strengths.  He slowly lays out the background of each of the hostages, the bank robber, as well as the policemen who are working to resolve the hostage situation.  I thought the writing was a bit more circuitous than in Backman's other books, but not necessarily in a bad way.  It was a little train of thought, but helped you to get to know the people a bit better.  Really loved how the story hung together and was resolved in the end.

Spy School Revolution - Stuart Gibbs - juvenile fiction - fives stars - Our family loves the Spy School series, and has been waiting anxiously for this new book.  The book opens with Ben learning that because his family has been compromised, they need to go into the Witness Protection Program.  While meeting with his parents and breaking the news to them at CIA Headquarters, they ar attacked, by Erica Hale.  Ben then needs to determine why Erica would be attacking him, he believes some group must be forcing her to do so.  It turns out a shadowy group called Croatoan is indeed blackmailing Erica.  It's up to Ben, Mike, a nd Erica's mom Catherine to determine who Croatoan is and how to stop them.  Another great book, I really enjoyed the clever takes on history that Gibbs used as the basis for this one.

Lots of good reading this month.  My favorites were Medicine Walk and Guernica.  I'm currently reading The Paper Daughters of Chinatown which is really good, and next up is Bel Canto.  And I still have lots of the girls books to sprinkle into December also.  Please share what you have been reading!