153. A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens. 1843. 96 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: MARLEY WAS DEAD, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.

Premise/plot:  Who isn't familiar with the story of Scrooge?! Still, I suppose *something* must be said. Scrooge HATES Christmas. Hate is too soft a word really for the rage he feels when he thinks about the holiday. For Scrooge hating comes as naturally as breathing. He loves no one or no thing--nothing except money and making a profit. But what is driving his obsession with money? what is driving him to live as he does--to make the choices he does? Could there be a secret or two in his past that holds the answers to these questions? Can Scrooge be saved from his own worst enemy--himself?

If Scrooge is to be saved--can he be saved?!--it will take some supernatural intervention. For Scrooge won't be saving himself. For one thing, Scrooge does not see his own need to be saved. Saved from what exactly?!?! Saved from success?! As far as Scrooge is concerned, everything in his life is just as it should be. He in need of help? he in need of saving? Don't be ridiculous.

He will be visited by four ghosts--the first ghost being Marley, his dead business partner of old. The other three ghosts being Christmas spirits past, present, and future. Can these spirits open Scrooge's eyes? Will he start to see--will he start to judge--life differently?

My thoughts: A Christmas Carol is a familiar story--much like the gospels. Is it too familiar a story to pack a punch or two? It doesn't have to be. The truth is--like it or not--we are more like Scrooge than we want to admit. We may not hate Christmas. We may not be super-obsessed with money. We may even consider ourselves good, charitable people. But the truth is that we are all sinners; perhaps I should amend that to we are sinners one and all. At best we can say our pet sins differ from his. All of us need a ghostly encounter to reconcile us with ourselves, the world, and God. I would point out, however, that we need a Holy Ghost encounter, and not one from Marley and the three ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

In the first stave, readers are introduced to Scrooge's world. We see him at work and at home. We are witnesses to Scrooge's interactions. Dickens does plenty of telling, but he also does plenty of showing. At the close of Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his business partner, Marley. Scrooge is warned of his future fate and promised three spiritual visitors. In the second stave, Scrooge is visited by the first spirit, that of Christmas past. In the third stave, Scrooge is visited by the second spirit, that of Christmas present. In the fourth stave, Scrooge is visited by the third spirit, that of Christmas future. In the fifth stave, it is Christmas morning. Readers are reintroduced to Scrooge; once again, we see him going about his business. Has his outlook on life changed? Is Scrooge a new man?

When I first read A Christmas Carol, I was less than impressed with this "Christ-less" Christmas story. I still loved the Muppet Christmas Carol; I still loved the idea of loving this one. But I found grace to be missing; here was Scrooge a brand new man with a brand new outlook, but no profession or confession of belief or trust in the one true God. The message was not Jesus paid it all; all to him I owe. The emphasis was not that Christ was sufficient--that Scrooge's only hope in life or death was Christ alone. The emphasis seemed to be on outward change, on works. On reflection this time around, I see A Christmas Carol more like the letter of James than any of the four gospels. In spiritual terms, what we're dealing with is not justification--how to be made right with God, how to be saved--but sanctification--how to live life rightly.

My tip for reading A Christmas Carol: try to read it as if for the first time.

 Favorite quotes:

• Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for.
• There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlet’s father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot—say Saint Paul’s Churchyard for instance—literally to astonish his son’s weak mind.
• Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire, secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.
• He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.
• No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often “came down” handsomely, and Scrooge never did.
• Even the blind men’s dogs appeared to know him; and, when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways, and up courts, and then would wag their tails as though they said, “No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!”
• Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house.
• Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn’t replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part.
• “I do,” said Scrooge. “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.” “Come, then,” returned the nephew gaily. “What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”
• “Nephew!” returned the uncle sternly, “keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.” “Keep it!” repeated Scrooge’s nephew. “But you don’t keep it.” “Let me leave it alone, then,” said Scrooge. “Much good may it do you! Much good it has ever done you!”
• “It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”
• Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.
• “At this time of the rolling year,” the specter said, “I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?”
• The more he thought, the more perplexed he was; and the more he endeavored not to think, the more he thought.
• The curtains of his bed were drawn aside, I tell you, by a hand. Not the curtains at his feet, nor the curtains at his back, but those to which his face was addressed. The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent attitude, found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them: as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow.
• “I am the Ghost of Christmas Past.” “Long Past?” inquired Scrooge, observant of its dwarfish stature. “No. Your past.”
• “The school is not quite deserted,” said the Ghost. “A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still.” Scrooge said he knew it. And he sobbed.
• Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing;
• it is always the person not in the predicament who knows what ought to have been done in it, and would unquestionably have done it too.
• “Forgive me if I am wrong. It has been done in your name, or at least in that of your family,” said Scrooge. “There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us, and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”
• It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that, while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.
• “Ghost of the Future!” he exclaimed. “I fear you more than any specter I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?”
• “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future.
• YES! AND THE bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the Time before him was his own, to make amends in! “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. O Jacob Marley! Heaven and the Christmas-time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!”
• Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world. 
• May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! THE END                       

 

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

152. A Taste for Love

A Taste for Love. Jennifer Yen. 2021. 322 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of great wisdom, must be in want--nay, in need--of a daughter who will listen.

Premise/plot: A Taste for Love is a YA romance that puts a contemporary twist on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Liza Yang, our heroine, is tired of her mother trying to set her up on dates and find her the perfect (according to her Mom's standards, not hers) Asian boyfriend. Her love life--or lack thereof--is on her. There's definitely tension between Liza and her mother. However, that's not the only relationship with some tension...

So her mom (who owns Yin and Yang bakery) has had a baking contest for five years...this year Liza is involved as the technical judge. Her mom *may* have selected the participants solely to "help" Liza find a boyfriend. Once Liza realizes that she has been set up...well...she's not pleased! But two new friends step up and apply--Ben and James. Ben and James are cousins, best friends, near brothers. Ben is dating Liza's best friend... James is...many, many, many things. But is he a baker too?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I did. It was a light Austen retelling. (Which may just be the right way to approach it.) It is set in Texas. Most of the characters are either beginning or ending their senior year of high school. There is some talk of choosing colleges and planning for future careers. I like the focus on baking. The contest definitely reminds me of Great British Baking Show...if it was done for a local cable channel. Still, it was fun to see that as a hobby and interest. 

I liked seeing Liza with her friends. I wasn't crazy about Liza's older sister. If Jeannie--the sister--is supposed to be anything at all like Jane, it's a total failure. But I don't think that was the intention at all. I don't. I think they gave the role of Jane to one of Liza's friends--the one dating Ben. The thing that bothered me about Jeannie was her reluctance to believe Liza (and her friend whom she would have known for years) over her current "boyfriend." Still I guess the book needed a bad guy??? I don't know.

 

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

151. All He Knew

All He Knew. Helen Frost. 2020. [August] 272 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Henry comes here on a Greyhound bus.
Slow, along the bumpy road, his mother
in the seat beside him, sitting straight
and tall, her nostrils pinched, her words
held deep inside. She understands by now
that Henry cannot hear them.

Premise/plot: All He Knew is Helen Frost's newest verse novel. It is inspired by her own family history. (Though the book is fictional.) Henry, our hero, has been deaf since an illness when he was a toddler. He is able to talk--though he often chooses NOT to talk--but he is unable to hear. The novel chronicles his time at a home for the "feeble-minded." Henry is NOT "feeble-minded" but he's been deemed "unteachable" by the powers that be. His family hands him over to an institution. 

All He Knew is set in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Most of the novel is set at the institution--Riverview. Over half the novel is told through Henry's perspective. (He's very observant and kind despite being treated cruelly for years.) But part of the novel is told through the perspective of Victor a new attendant who is a conscientious objector to the war. As the war progresses, more and more attendants are replaced. The residents--including Billy and his friends--are treated with more respect, dignity, and care.

Will Henry--who still thinks of his family and his home--ever get to leave Riverview?

My thoughts: I would give this one a million stars (out of five). It was an incredibly compelling read. I loved, loved, loved Henry. I loved his sister, Molly. I loved Victor. I loved the smidgen of a hint that a romance may, may, may develop between the two--when the time is right. I thought the characterization was excellent and the poetry well crafted.

I would definitely recommend this one.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

150. Scrooge #worstgiftever

Scrooge #worstgiftever. Adapted by Brett Wright. 2016. 112 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Jacob Marley is dead.

Premise/plot: The Christmas Carol adapted and told through text messages with plenty of emojis to spare. 

My thoughts: The book's biggest strength is that it is an absolute breeze to get through. It won't take much of your time as a reader. Of course, that could be because there isn't much substance. To be fair, there are plenty of adaptations of A Christmas Carol--on film especially. The shortest I've seen is under ten minutes. The story lends itself well to adaptation.

The book is essentially a hundred plus pages of gimmick. It is a novelty book cover to cover. If you find the idea of Scrooge and the four visiting ghosts texting hilarious to amusing, then this one might amuse you for most of the book. I personally was over the gimmick relatively early.

Because it has been adapted so many times in so many different ways, people might assume that there isn't all that much there to Dickens' characters. Some adaptations are amazing at depth of character--in particular Scrooge. But some are not--some are barely caricature. For the story to have the ability to MOVE the reader--to resonate with the reader--Scrooge must be fully fleshed out or made human. This "book" lacks ALL characterization. 

Also it is marketed as a children's book--published by Random House's children's division--yet it contains adult-ish abbreviations that aren't quite kid-appropriate (in my opinion). So I wouldn't personally recommend it for kids.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

149. Born Behind Bars

Born Behind Bars. Padma Venkatraman. 2021. [September] 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Beyond the bars, framed by the high, square window, slides a small patch of sky. For months, it's been as gray as the faded paint flaking off the walls, but today it's blue and gold. Bright as a happy song. My thoughts, always eager to escape, shoot out and try to picture the whole sky--even the whole huge world. But my imagination has many missing pieces, like the jigsaw puzzle in the schoolroom. All I've learned here in nine years from my mother and my teachers is not enough to fill the gaps.

Premise/plot: Padma Venkatraman's newest middle grade novel opens in a prison (in Chennai, India). Kabir, our young hero, has spent his whole life--all nine years--in prison with his Amma (mom). He's friends with the other cellmates, his 'aunties,' and he loves, loves, loves his teacher. But though he's physically small for his age, he is past the age--technically speaking--of when he'd be allowed to stay with his mom in prison. So he's being released--without his mom--into the world. He's upset, anxious, and a tiny bit excited. What is the WORLD like? And where does he belong in it?

He looks at the world with WONDER and hope. He's heard stories, tales, even legends...but he's never lived "in the real world."

Born Behind the Bars mainly chronicles his time OUTSIDE bars. Readers join Kabir on his quest to find his paternal side of the family. (His mom was Hindu; his dad was Muslim). Can he find his dad? or his dad's family? Will he be welcomed into the family? Is there ANY way for him to 'save' his mom?

My thoughts: I would not want to read this story in the hands of any other author. But Venkatraman manages to tell this heavy story with hope and wonder. It's not that she scrubs out or erases the injustice and cruelty. It's that she's given Kabir the ability to see the world--in all its shades and colors--with hope. Yet at least to me Kabir does not come across as irritatingly naive like David Copperfield or Pinocchio.

I read this book in one sitting. I loved the short chapters. I breezed my way through this book with all the feels.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

148. A Surprise for Christmas

A Surprise for Christmas And Other Seasonal Mysteries. Martin Edwards, Editor. 2021 (US) 2020 (UK). 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Love mysteries and suspense? Enjoy holiday/winter themed short stories? I recommend Martin Edwards' newest collection for the British Library Crime series. The series includes novels and short story collections. (I have read several in this series, but not all by any means!)

The stories included in this collection are as follows:

The Black Bag Left On a Doorstep by Catharine Louisa Pirkis
The Hole in the Wall by G.K. Chesterton
Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh
Persons or Things Unknown by Carter Dickson
Dead Man's Hand by E.R. Punshon
The Christmas Eve Ghost by Ernest Dudley
Dick Whittington's Cat by Victor Canning
A Surprise for Christmas by Cyril Hare
On Christmas Day in the Morning by Margery Allingham
Give Me a Ring by Gilbert Lucy Malleson
Father Christmas Comes to Orbins by Julian Symons
The Turn-Again Bell by Barry Perowne

I found the collection to be a blend of familiar authors and new-to-me authors. Most of the stories stayed within the mystery/suspense genre. A couple, however, flirted with other genres or sub-genres. For example, stories that focused on crimes from the criminal point of view. One story is definitely ALL thriller. (Give Me a Ring was a LONG thriller-esque story that kept me turning pages.)

I enjoyed almost all of the stories within this collection. (Perhaps with the exception of Father Christmas Comes to Orbins. I don't know WHERE I've read the story before. Perhaps in another Christmas-themed collection. But I didn't enjoy it the first time around. A few paragraphs in, I was THAT STORY AGAIN??? 

Still for the most part I can wholeheartedly recommend this collection for those that enjoy this genre. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

147. The Last Daughter of York

The Last Daughter of York. Nicola Cornick. 2021. [November] 368 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence (of the prologue): Snow spattered the windows of the old hall, carried on the sharp north wind that spun it into fierce spirals before battering it against the diamond mullions.

First sentence (of chapter one): Serena stretched out on the sun lounger, relishing the sensation of the last heat of the day against her skin. 

Premise/plot: The Last Daughter of York is a time slip novel. It is set in the present day (presumably) and during the 'War of the Roses.' Serena Warren, our modern day heroine, is still traumatized by her [twin] sister's disappearance. It's been YEARS--over a decade--since that night. But her memories are just as elusive as ever. So when Caitlin's body is found in a grave that seemingly has not been disturbed since 1708, well, it's shocking, disturbing, intriguing. It doesn't change things--dead is dead is dead. But HOW did her sister's body travel back through time? For that is indeed what it looks like--there is a diary entry from the period that describes in detail the finding of a dead body and giving it a proper burial in a proper grave. Anne Lovell, our historical heroine, is married to Francis Lovell who has sworn allegiance to Richard III. (Long before Richard III assumed the crown. Lovell served Edward as well. Despite some of Anne's own family playing around with treason. (Anne is related to the Nevilles, to the Kingmaker himself.) This story involves Anne's determination to do ANYTHING and everything she can to protect the young Prince Richard. Of course, there's some 'magic' involved--a lodestar that connects the stories.

My thoughts: I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this time slip novel or not. It is not--I repeat not--a traditional time travel story. The lodestar isn't so much a "time machine" as it is a complete and total mystery. History and mystery--two of my favorites. This book doesn't--to my recollection--seek to answer the question if Richard III ordered the deaths of the princes in the tower. So much as it provides a way of escape for one of them.

I found the story intriguing. However, I always wanted just a little more from it. Like, for example, WHAT it would have been like for Richard as a fifteenth century boy to SUDDENLY show up in the nineteenth century. We get glimpses of his story--and it sounds SO INTERESTING and amazing. But these are tiny, tiny glimpses of what his experience was like. The characters of the past, in my opinion, were definitely more fleshed out than the ones in the present. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

146. Escape from Chernobyl

Escape from Chernobyl. Andy Marino. 2021. [December] 176 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Yuri Fomichev picks a wooden splinter from his palm.

Premise/plot: For those who enjoy reading about historical disasters--and yes, 1986 is history--Andy Marino's newest book is Escape from Chernobyl. There are a handful of young narrators--Yuri, Alina and Lev, Sofiya--that provide an up close perspective of the disaster as it unfolds hour by hour. [Yuri is cousins with Alina and Lev. He is currently living with them. Sofiya is a neighbor in the same building. She and Yuri are crushing on each other.] All are living WAY too close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on the fateful day--April 26, 1986. 

My thoughts: One word: BLEAK. You might be saying WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING???? True, all true. I have no one but myself to blame. I checked it out from the library. I started reading. I got hooked and had to keep turning pages.

This one is fiction. Don't be fooled by the epilogue where one of the character is catching readers up to the modern day.

Earlier this year, I read Meltdown which was about another nuclear disaster. That one was nonfiction--and awesome. Part of me wishes I'd read a middle grade appropriate nonfiction title on the subject instead. Or perhaps I just wish that they'd been fewer narrators? I don't know. This one was definitely one that I had to finish after I started it. But honestly it's feeling more like an almost for me. 

But for readers--and there definitely are readers of all ages--who LOVE reading about disasters, this one is worth considering.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

145. The Legend of Auntie Po

The Legend of Auntie Po. Shing Yin Khor. 2021. 290 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: This is a story about stories. This is a story about gods and men.

Premise/plot: The Legend of Auntie Po is a coming-of-age graphic novel. It is set in the American West (Nevada, to be precise) circa 1885. Mei, our young heroine, helps her father who is the chief cook for the logging camp. Mei's specialty is making/baking pies. And her pies are quite beloved. But she isn't known just for making pies, no, she's also known (and beloved) for telling stories. Her stories center around a larger-than-life figure, Auntie Po, who knows more than a thing or two about the logging life. What is less clear for Mei, though less clear may not be the best way to describe it, is the future. She has hopes and dreams--for sure--and she knows exactly what she wants from life. But she isn't sure that her happily ever after is even remotely, remotely possible. It seems far-fetched. Like seeing Auntie Po in real life is WAY more likely than having her dreams actualized. But are all things possible?

Life is hard. It's hard for loggers in general--if by hard you mean physically exhausting and sometimes dangerous--but for the Chinese immigrants in particular it is made more difficult. Politics and racial tension. Even those with the best of intentions--who are making an effort to be good and kind and just--can stumble and fall. Like the log camp foreman. He comes into the story as a boss, true, but also as the father of Mei's best-best-best-best-best friend Bee (or Beatrice). Mei is totally head over heels in love with Bee. (Does Bee love her in that way too??? Is it unrequited???  Requited??? Definitely working mainly with non-verbal body language. Perhaps in part because it is a graphic novel. So much of the story is communicated through the illustrations.)

My thoughts: This was not a good fit for me. Reading is 100% subjective. That's why I did my best to stay completely objective in the summary. But graphic novels are so rarely my thing. This offers a blend of coming-of-age, first crushes (same-sex crush in this instance), fantasy, history, POLITICS and RACE. There are a couple of dramatic action scenes. But mainly readers are in Mei's head exploring her thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams. I don't know if I wanted a more central focus or what exactly it was that kept me from really enjoying this one. I don't know if a fresher acquaintance with Paul Bunyan would have helped or not.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

144. Out of My Heart

Out of My Heart. (Out of My Mind #2) Sharon Draper. 2021. [November] 352 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The firefly hovered over the back of my hand, then landed--slowly, effortlessly.

Premise/plot: Melody returns in Sharon Draper's Out of My Heart. In this sequel, Melody, our heroine, goes to camp. That's it. All of it. She. Goes. To. Camp. Three-hundred-and-fifty-two pages of Melody at camp. 

My thoughts: I remembered Out of My Mind fondly. I remember finding it super compelling. Melody was a great character I felt a connection with. I cared about her story--every minute of it. Never bored, always engaged. Not so with this [unnecessary] sequel. Out of My Heart reminded me of Race For Your Life Charlie Brown. I jest. Mostly. Those that know me know that is my code for BORING, boring, super-boring. Both are set at camp. Both are incredibly boring. It isn't that I am so opposed to the book having a sequel. It's just that I think that everything I loved about the first book was missing in the sequel. The book read like a brochure--maybe. I haven't read that many brochures about camp to be honest. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

143. The Slow March of Light

The Slow March of Light. Heather B. Moore. [2021] 368 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: The words from the hymn "We Are All Enlisted" echoed in Bob's mind as he drove through the gray afternoon that promised snow.

Premise/plot: The Slow March of a Light is a historical novel set during the Cold War. It is based--perhaps loosely based--on a true story. The protagonist, Bob Inama, is an American soldier who finds himself going undercover in West/East Berlin. He hopes that by posing as an economics student, Peter Jones, he can be hired as a teacher's assistant. (The teacher regularly lectures on economics in East Berlin.) His story as a spy--and a prisoner--is fascinating. And this is the "true" part of the novel. However, the story adds a second protagonist, Luisa Voigt, a German nurse who finds herself becoming more and more sympathetic to the plight of the East Berliners. Her father is a police officer in West Berlin, she has plenty of reasons to stay away from an underground movement helping East Berliners escape into freedom. But she feels called to do everything to help no matter the personal risks. Her story is fictional; I'll clarify, there was no Luisa Voigt in Bob Inama's story. The book alternates between the two perspectives.

My thoughts: I think it is extremely important to set expectations. Do not pick up The Slow March of Light thinking it is a romance. It isn't. I don't know why they added this subtext of romance, this tension, between the two protagonists. Like these two could have been, would have been, might have been...if she hadn't been German, he hadn't been American...etc. Even how these two kept in touch via Christmas cards through the DECADES. I personally felt irritated to learn that Luisa was fictional to Bob's story. She just didn't belong to *his* story. I think his story was powerful enough, inspiring enough, compelling enough, that one didn't need any extras. My complaint isn't with the writing, not really. I think her story and his story were both well done. I think there was enough there for her to have her own book. And the same with Bob's story. I just felt that genre lines were blended a little too much.

I've told you what the story is NOT--a romance. I'll now focus on what it is. It is a faith story. The point of the story is Bob's faith and how his faith informed his imprisonment. His faith sustained and strengthened him day by day, night by night. No matter what happened in prison, Bob was rock steady in his faith and forever grateful. His gratitude-attitude didn't go unnoticed. He was able to be a witness with very few words. In case you were in doubt what the story was all about, the ending of the story sums it up--God put me in prison so that my guard could come to faith. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

142. The Nutcracker Comes To America

The Nutcracker Comes To America: How Three Ballet-Loving Brothers Created a Holiday Tradition. Chris Barton. Illustrated by Cathy Gendron. 2015. Millbrook Press. 36 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: When you think of the Nutcracker, you probably think of this. And this. And maybe even this. You probably don't think of this. One hundred years ago, hardly anyone in the United States had ever heard of this old Russian ballet. So how did it become a holiday tradition? Well, our story kicks off in a small Utah town in the early 1900s and it's three brothers doing the kicking.

Premise/plot: The Nutcracker Comes To America is a nonfiction picture book. It is almost a picture book biography--almost. It is the story of the Nutcracker ballet, and it's a story that focuses on three dancing brothers--William (Willam), Harold, and Lew Christensen. Not all three brothers were born loving to dance even though it was the family business, but, they all learned to love dancing and excelled at it. In fact, two of the brothers left their hometown and sought to become professional dancers, first doing Vaudeville and then later New York. The book focuses not just on dancing, but on the lives of the brothers, on their careers, their contributions to the dance world. Notably, their contribution was in popularizing THE NUTCRACKER ballet into a holiday tradition or sensation.

In 1934, one of the brother's has his ballet students perform a few selections from The Nutcracker. Ten years later, 1944, sees the FIRST full-length American production of The Nutcracker. (Note: Fantasia, a Disney film released in 1940, had used several songs from the Nutcracker. So perhaps a few people would have first heard these songs from watching that movie.) This first production is in San Francisco where two of the brothers, I believe, are working. Two more productions follow: one in 1949 and one in 1951. Many different productions began to follow in the 1950s, including, notably, Balanchine's New York City production in 1954. Also of note, to me at least, is that there was a live television broadcast of THE NUTCRACKER in 1957.

It includes plenty of details on the Christensen brothers, on ballet, and specifically on The Nutcracker. The story is worth sharing. This picture book is a great example of why nonfiction picture books can be SO GOOD AND SATISFYING.

I loved The Nutcracker Comes to America. I did. True, I don't think it comes as a big, big surprise to anyone who knows how much I love, love, love The Nutcracker. But still, I loved it.  I loved, loved, loved the illustrations by Cathy Gendron. They were just-right and complemented the text perfectly. I loved the end papers too! I loved everything about this one!!! 

ETA: I first read this one in November 2015. I reread it November 2021. I found it just as fascinating the second time through. I probably should check this one out from the library to read every year.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

141. Out Of My Mind

Out of My Mind. Sharon M. Draper. 2010. 295 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Words.
I'm surrounded by thousands of words. Maybe millions.
Cathedral. Mayonnaise. Pomegranate.
Mississippi. Neapolitan. Hippopotamus.
Silky. Terrifying. Iridescent.
Tickle. Sneeze. Wish. Worry.
Words have swirled around me like snowflakes--each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands.
Deep within me, words pile up in huge drifts. Mountains of phrases and sentences and connected ideas. Clever expressions. Jokes. Love songs.
From the time I was really little--maybe just a few months old--words were like sweet, liquid gifts, and I drank them like lemonade. I could almost taste them. They made my jumbled thoughts and feelings have substance. My parents have always blanketed me with conversation. They chattered and babbled. They verbalized and vocalized. My father sang to me. My mother whispered her strength into my ear.
Every word my parents spoke to me or about me I absorbed and kept and remembered. All of them.
I have no idea how I untangled the complicated process of words and thought, but it happened quickly and naturally. By the time I was two, all my memories had words, and all my words had meanings.
But only in my head.
I have never spoken one single word. I am almost eleven years old.

Melody has cerebral palsy. She lets us know from the start her limitations: "I can't talk. I can't walk. I can't feed myself or take myself to the bathroom." But she's a smart girl, a gifted one, a genius. And the memories she has stored away--almost unbelievable. But so few know it. Out Of My Mind is an intimate novel. Readers get such a close look at Melody and her world. A world that includes not only her immediate family but Mrs. V and Catherine too.

Out of My Mind hooked me from the beginning. Melody, our narrator, has such a story to tell. And with just a few pages, I had to know it. While it isn't all that unusual for me to connect with a character from a book, it doesn't always happen so quickly.

Out of My Mind is a beautiful but bittersweet novel. I'd definitely call it intense. Very emotional. Very haunting. I'd definitely recommend it. I thought the writing was incredible.

ETA: I first read Out of My Mind in April 2010. I reread Out of My Mind in November 2021. There is a sequel to Out of My Mind that released this year. I wanted to get reacquainted with Melody and her family before reading the new book. (I think that's almost always best, especially when it has been ELEVEN years since the first book). Melody's story is still haunting. I don't know that it is a story that every reader will love and adore. I think there is ONE SCENE that may be a little too much for some readers. A scene that is terrifying in some ways--many ways. I do feel it was a bit manipulative to readers--to do that to readers. Even though I knew the scene was coming up, it still shook me the second time around.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

140. Daughter of the Deep

Daughter of the Deep. Rick Riordan. 2021. 354 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Here's the thing about life-shattering days. They start just like any other. You don't realize your world is about to explode into a million smoking pieces of awfulness until it's too late.

Premise/plot: Daughter of the Deep is Rick Riordan's newest book. It is a premise-driven what if novel. What if Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was more nonfiction than fiction, more true than false. What if his legacy was passed down through his descendants? His DNA--their DNA--holding keys to great staggering technological wonders and achievements. Ana Dakkar, our heroine, is Captain Nemo's descendant...and the fate of the world may depend on her survival and her ability to connect (and ultimately command) with the Nautilus. 

Harding-Pencroft Academy is at war with the Land Institute. Ana--and most of the characters of the book--are students and faculty of Harding-Pencroft Academy. But the setting is not on land, but on sea, the deep sea. Ana--and most of the characters--are freshmen at the academy. 

My thoughts: If an intriguing premise is ALL you need from a book, then this may prove quite entertaining. I will give it to Riordan that the premise--on paper--sounds fantastic. A premise with great potential for action, adventure, character growth, world building, etc. All the best action-adventure books have strong friendships at their core.

But. Does Daughter of the Deep deliver more than an interesting/intriguing premise? My opinion is NO. I think the book spends so much time on the premise and world building, that very little--if any--time is spent on developing RELATIONSHIPS or even characterization. I haven't decided if a) the characters are meant to be developed but just come across as boring or bland or indistinguishable or b) he was so busy writing descriptions and plotting action/battle scenes that he forgot that characters matter. The truth is if a reader fails to care about the characters, then it doesn't matter how many battle scenes there are: the book will be BORING and lifeless. More time and attention is spent on describing the Nautilus than there is developing characters like Ana.

So if I feel this strongly about the book, why did I keep reading???? Well, at first I thought it was just setting up the world and that if I could get past the first chunk of info-dumping, then it would "get good." Sure, the start might be slow, but somewhere along the way it would all click into place and then BOOM it would be worth it. All the world-building will have been time well spent, the big picture will be seen, and it will be satisfying. About hundred pages left to go, and I was like...I don't think this book is going to get better. I don't think it will prove ultimately satisfying. Then it was just stubbornness pure and simple. I'm not going to get that close to the end only to give up on a book. 

It didn't help that 98% of all reviews on Goodreads are WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE WE HAVE A COVER NOW. I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

139. The Red Horse

The Red Horse. (Billy Boyle #15) James R. Benn. 2020. 336 pages. [Source: Bought]

First sentence: Something was wrong. The wind bit at the back of my neck, and I hunched my shoulders as gray clouds scudded across the sky, outpacing me as I trudged along the gravel path. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, thankful for the warmth. Thankful I could hide the tremor in my right hand. Because they were watching. I couldn't let them see how bad it had gotten.

Premise/plot: So because the book is part of a LONG series and I am just not clever enough to summarize it keeping it spoiler free for all previous books, I'll just say Billy Boyle is an American soldier who specializes in solving murder cases for the Allies. Before becoming a soldier, he was a police detective--just getting started, but part of the police force. This fifteenth book takes place in 1944. 

My thoughts:  I consider the discover of the Billy Boyle historical mysteries series to be one of my all time happiest discoveries. But. The books HAVE to be read in order. They just have to. Yes, the mysteries--the cases, usually murder cases--are contained. But there is an unfolding story that carries over all the books. I think it would be confusing to read them out of order.

I can't believe the series is up to fifteen books!!! I never want the series to end. Not really.

The Red Horse was INTENSE and interesting. Plenty of murders to solve and plenty of history to explore. I found the author's note fascinating. Don't skip it. I know it might be tempting to think the book is over. But don't miss out on finding out what was true and what was fiction with the story.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

138. Friends Forever

Friends Forever. Shannon Hale. Illustrated by LeUyen Pham. 2021. [August] 304 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: And this year...I was an eighth grader.

Premise/plot: Friends Forever is the third book in Shannon Hale's autobiographical graphic novel series. (See also Real Friends and Best Friends.) These graphic novels chronicle her middle school (or junior high) years. This third volume is her recollections of being an eighth grader. The book is arranged somewhat thematically. Together the chapters tell the complete story of a young girl with BIG emotions that she didn't always know how to handle. And sometimes it wasn't just big emotions but BIG circumstances as well. 

My thoughts: I would love at some point to read all three books back to back. Enough time has gone by that I only remember loving the books in a general way. I don't remember the specifics or all the whys. I remember appreciating the honesty and vulnerability especially. I believe there were photos of her in the back of the book from that time period. That takes bravery.

So what did I think of this third book? Well. In some ways it made me uncomfortable. I'll try to explain. It made me uncomfortable in that it was so relatable. It was transporting me back emotionally--and I was going kicking and screaming. Any day where you can forget what it was like to live through your eighth grade year is a good day--as far as I'm concerned. I think there is something universal about this awkwardness and insecurity. The experiences included in the graphic novel feel authentic and raw. And overall, I think that's a good thing. While adults may relate by remembering their own experiences--and perhaps they are close(r) in age to Shannon Hale--the target audience isn't remembering. The target audience is currently living through these oh-so-tough years. And I think that's where the opportunity is. As adults we can want to shield kids from darker emotions and experiences. That doesn't make them go away. This book full on acknowledges those darker emotions--the insecurity, the fears, the stress, the worries, the frustration, anger, disappointment, loneliness, uncertainty, depression, despair--that come at home and school and everywhere in between. And the vulnerability on these pages--and the graphic novel does a great job of depicting the emotional angst and despair--is painful. Painfully valid. Painfully relatable.

 

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

137. Love and Lavender

Love and Lavender (Mayfield Family #4) Josi S. Kilpack. 2021. [November] 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Hazel had not slept well. Her crippled foot ached, despite it having been propped on a pillow all night to help manage the swelling induced by traveling.

Premise/plot: Hazel Stillman had all but given up on marriage and children. And she was fine with this--mostly. Still her uncle's offer of an incredibly generous dowry stung a bit. Not that he was singling out her--he made generous offers to ALL his nieces and nephews including his step-nephew, Duncan Penhale.

Duncan and Hazel meet in March 1822 on the day they are both offered special arrangements by their Uncle Elliott Mayfield. Duncan is an accountant, I believe, and she teaches advanced math at an all-girls school. They have a few things in common--like a love of puzzles and numbers. The two begin a strange but steady correspondence.

When circumstances change for the both of them--roughly around the same time--it seems a marriage of convenience may be the way to make the best of a bad situation. But will their uncle agree to them marrying each other solely to get their inheritance and meet his conditions?

My thoughts: Love and Lavender is a unique and original historical romance--a Regency. You might think, how could it possibly be original and unique when marriages of convenience are an established trope--something that you either love or hate. The answer is that Hazel and Duncan are well-developed, unique characters. Their story IS all theirs. Not one scene, not one line, could be cut and pasted into another romance novel. And not one scene from another romance novel could be cut and pasted into this one. The characters and story are memorable.

I really loved, loved, loved, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. I did. I love Duncan Penhale. I do. I love Hazel too. They are perfect for one another. And not because either one is perfect...or "perfect." It was so WONDERFUL to read a romance novel with a hero and heroine like Duncan and Hazel. There was something so human about the story.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

136. The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart

The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart. Nancy Campbell Allen. 2021. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: My dear Miss Franklin, I can only imagine the despondency you must feel at your mother's insistence that you entertain Mr. B's suit. Of course you may continue writing to me for advice or commiseration! You and I know of your desire to marry for love, but your mother is clearly of the elder generation who prefer to err on the side of practicality. Perhaps you might consider a blunt approach, as the elderly often require direct speaking, whether due to hearing loss or lack of compassion brought on by age, one can only speculate...Letter from Miss A. Hampton

Premise/plot: Miss Amelie Hampton, our heroine, works for her aunt's paper, The Marriage Gazette. Detective Michael Baker is still haunted by the death of a young woman. He suspects her husband, Mr. Harold Radcliffe, of murder. But there wasn't enough evidence--at least without an autopsy--to continue the investigation let alone bring charges against him. But Detective Baker has his eyes on Mr. Radcliffe...which leads him directly to Miss Amelie Hampton.

Miss Hampton met Mr. Radcliffe at a book club. She's more than a little smitten with his dashing ways. But she had no idea he was "Mr. Dashing" (if memory serves) who has written into The Marriage Gazette looking for love. It is only when she is spying on Miss Franklin's first meeting with her new match (Mr. Dashing) that she recognizes him and realizes his true identity.

His date with Miss Franklin was a failure, but his interests soon turn to Amelie herself. But she's surrounded by doubters--including Detective Baker--who feel that here is a man with many, many secrets. Perhaps deadly secrets. As she grows closer to Mr. Radcliffe, she's also growing closer to Detective Baker. Soon she'll have to decide whom she trusts...

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this one! It's a blend of history, mystery, and romance. It's a straight forward story. There aren't many twists and turns; few--if any--red herrings. At least in terms of WHO is guilty of murder. There are a few surprises not related to the identity of the murderer.

I think what I enjoyed most about this one was that while the heroine was strong and feisty, she wasn't obnoxiously, over-the-top, intentionally stupid sort of strong and feisty. There were always reasons for the whys and hows of her dangerous situations. Her decisions lined up with her inner motivations and character. I did yell at her in a few places NO, DON'T DO IT. I suppose everything is relative. I've read so many books with heroines that annoy me to no end because they seem to go to all extremes to put themselves in danger. They seem incapable of making a logical, rational, common sense decision. They exist for the sole purpose of being saved by others. Amelie wasn't like that. 

 I also appreciated the unfolding of the romance.  

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

135. Don't Tell the Nazis

Don't Tell the Nazis. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2019. 226 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: I huddled close to my sister under the comforter and prayed that we'd live through the night. At any moment the door might burst open and we could be dragged from our beds.

Don't Tell the Nazis opens in June 1941 in Ukraine in the days leading up to the Soviet retreat and the Nazi occupation. The Ukrainians suffered at the hands of the Soviets--no doubt--but any hope is short-lived that treatment under the Nazi regime would improve. If anything, the situation worsens. The book follows a young girl, Krystia, and her family. She'll face more than any child--any human--should be made to endure.

Don't Tell the Nazis is not an easy book to summarize. What you should know is that it is intense, compelling, heartbreaking, disturbing, haunting. It's the kind of book that requires a freezer. It is inspired by a true story, but it has been fictionalized to a certain degree. I found the author's note fascinating.

 It is not the kind of book any reader "enjoys" reading. It is horrific and traumatic not because the author has a depraved, disturbed mind BUT because it is authentically capturing the horrifying and shocking truth of history. History that should never be denied, discounted, or dismissed. When history shocks and disturbs the answer is not to bury your head in the sand but to take notice, listen, and learn.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

134. While I Was Away

While I Was Away. Waka T. Brown. 2021. [January] 310 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: One wintry January afternoon, my mom said to me, "Waka, chotto sentaku tatande yo."

Premise/plot: While I Was Away is a memoir. The author recalls her sixth grade year--1984--in which she's sent abroad [for five months] to Japan to live with her grandmother and attend a [Japanese] school. Her parents want her to be able to speak, read, and write Japanese. She'll miss all of summer vacation, and the first few months of her seventh grade year. She'll know what she's missing out on in Kansas...but she has no idea what will await her in Tokyo.

My thoughts: I really loved this one. I thought it was a fascinating read. So much depth and substance. So much food for thought. It packs in a lot of emotions and feelings, and so many experiences. I think my favorite part was seeing the development of relationships. She's leaving her family and friends behind in Kansas. She's going to live with her strict grandmother. She'll be visiting aunts, uncles, and cousins. She'll be attending school and meeting a lot of people her own age. To see her build relationships--to struggle to build relationships--to make a life for herself and find her place to belong...it was just a beautiful thing to see. And one we don't often get in such great detail.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews