August started out with some great books, but went downhill. Very mixed reading this month. Here are the recaps:
The Great Reclamation - Rachel Heng - historical fiction - five stars - This was a great book. It's the story of Ah Boon, from a small fishing village in Singapore. His family struggles to survive until a hidden talent reveals itself. He has a gift. He's able to find hidden islands that bring abundant fishing, and he has a way with people too. He is able to put people at ease, build consensus. The story takes place just before WWII, goes through the Japanese occupation, and then the period after in which Singapore became a British colony. Ah Boon strives to make the right decisions to care for and protect his friends, family, and community, but in the political turmoil of the times, the consequences of his actions create conflict. I really enjoyed the characters and the difficulty of the times. The kind of fantastical part about the appearing and disappearing islands I thought you didn't really need, but overall a really fantastic book.
The One and Only Ruby (The One and Only Ivan #3) - Katherine Applegate - juvenile fiction - five stars - I'm a huge fan of Applegate and this was another great book. Ruby is the baby elephant that came to live with Ivan and Stella at the mall in the initial story. This book picks up Ruby's story. She's now part of a small herd of elephants who are good to her, but she doesn't quite feel part of the herd yet. We learn about her backstory, her family and how she was captured. And we watch as she grows to understand what family is. Another winner.
The Weaver and the Witch Queen - Genevieve Gornichec - fiction - five stars - This is another mythical retelling (although the story is actually semi-historical as well). I really enjoyed it, particularly because it's a story I wasn't familiar with because it's a Norse/Icelandic story. The book covers Gunnhild's early life as an unloved daughter. She runs away with sorceress to learn her trade, but keeps an eye her childhood friends and sworn sisters. When their farm is attacked, Gunnhild tries to intervene, she's able to save one sister, but the other is taken. She returns home, joining forces with a prince, whom she marries, in order to pursue her other friend. There is a lot going on this book, several different story strands and I really loved how things came together. Very well done.
The Quiet Tenant - Clemence Michallon - thriller - four stars - This was one I picked up off the new books shelf at the library on a whim. It's about Rachel, who has been held prisoner for many years in Aidan Thomas' shed. He kidnapped her and visits her almost nightly while his wife and child live in a house yards away. Rachel also knows that he has murdered several other women. Meanwhile Aidan is an upstanding, even beloved, community member. But when Aidan's wife dies, and his in-laws want to sell the home that he and his family have been living in, he needs to relocate. Rachel is able to convince Aidan to take her with him to their new home. Rachel is biding her time, trying to stay alive until she can find a way to escape. Meanwhile Aidan may have his sights set on another kill, and he is also dealing with a thirteen year old daughter who just lost her mother. Good solid read.
The Hurricanes of Weakerville - Chris Rylander - juvenile fiction - four stars - This is one of Carina's favorite authors, so we were excited to see that he finally had another book out. The Hurricanes of Weakerville are an independent league baseball team owned by Alex's grandfather. They are terrible, but he loves them and the game of baseball. When Alex's grandfather dies, he discovers that the team has only the rest of the season unless they can somehow make the playoffs. Also, Alex is now the manager of the team, it's up to him to save the team. This one was a bit of a slow start for me, but once it got going, I really enjoyed it. The characters were fun, and it was just a good story. Not as god as Rylander's other books, but still very good.
Queen of Exiles - Vanessa Riley - historical fiction - three stars - This one is probably slightly lower than three stars, but rounded up. In general a big disappointment as I think the story could really have been much more compelling. It's about Marie-Louise Christopher, the once queen of Haiti. After rebelling against the French, Marie-Louise's husband Henry consolidates power and they are crowned king/queen of Haiti in 1810. Their reign lasts just ten years. During that time, they had worked hard to form alliances in Europe and the U.S. When Henry is overthrown, Marie-Louise and her daughters flee to Britain. It's such an interesting story, but the writing was really terrible. When I looked into the author a little more, I learned that she also writes romance novels, and you could kind of see that in the story. The text was just too much in that vein I felt like and Marie-Louise's character just never resonated with me. She seemed weak, self-centered, melodramatic. Huge disappointment.
The Little Village of Book Lovers - Nina George - fiction - three stars - This was another disappointment. I really enjoyed George's The Little Paris Bookshop, and in some ways this is pre-cursor to that. In that book, the bookshop was created based on the proprietor reading a story about a woman with an amazing gift. Based on reader requests, George decided to write that book. It's the story of Marie-Jeanne who can see the marks of love on people - strings that connect them to their soulmates, etc. Marie-Jeanne uses this ability to bring people together. The premise is interesting, but the book was not. It was very plodding with all these little excursions to discuss other stories/things that weren't particularly relevant and served to break up and fragment the story. I feel like it would have been a great short story, but in trying to make it a book it lost focus. Another disappointment.
Favorite this month was The Weaver and the Witch Queen. Least favorite was probably Queen of Exiles. I'm currently reading The Bird Tattoo which is good, but disturbing, and I have a whole stack of books on tap including a couple from Ellie's 11th grade English class that I'm hoping to read alongside her. Please do share what you've been reading!
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