Rutabaga's Reads 2022: Part 10

Hello, first adult fiction compilation of 2022. While I branch into adult fiction a very slim margin more than nonfiction, it remains a book group that I don’t often read. Update: My reading from this genre has improved somewhat since working in a library.

The Archive of the Forgotten (Oct. 6, 2020) by A.J. Hackwith.

*This is the middle novel in a trilogy.*

While Hell’s Library of the Unwritten has been saved from total devastation, the loss of books still number in the hundreds. When the remnants of those destroyed books manifest a pool of ink in the Arcane Wing, Claire and Brevity make their own decisions on how to deal with the ink. Their relationship is currently rocky. Claire is no longer Brevity’s boss, now that Brevity is the Librarian and Claire the Arcanist. Tensions rise when Claire’s actions in the damsel suite come across as an attack (her relationship with the Unwritten Wing’s books was fraught at best) and, essentially, get her kicked out of the place she used to be Librarian. Meanwhile, Brevity has accepted assistance from the Muses Corps, especially since the representative present is Probity, once a young muse that Brevity took under her hypothetical wing. Probity says Brev is the rightful Librarian, but with the choices she makes with Probity’s ulterior encouragement, rightful is a shaky adjective. There are also their companions Hero, who’s made from a book, and Ramiel (Rami), a fallen angel. Hero is acting as the Apprentice Librarian, while Rami assists in the Arcane Wing since he couldn’t return to his Watcher duties in Heaven. Together, Hero and Rami embark on their own quest, visiting other realms to search out clues to the mythical origins of the unwritten books. They must discover what lies at the heart of each story or the ink will “bury her under its own existence.”

            I maintain that I still want to visit Hell’s Library; location is inconsequential, for, if I could visit this one, I’d also be able to visit the library at Valhalla or the Unsaid Wing in Elysium. As with the first story, I was swept up in the story from the first page. It is a fantasy adventure novel imbued with powerful storytelling, thanks to the friction of two of the main characters, the author’s brilliant world-building and exquisite plotting across library wings and realms. Hackwith’s imagination is dazzlingly creative and undeniably phenomenal. She really gets to the soul of what it is to tell an intricate story!

            Book One in the Hell’s Library trilogy: The Library of the Unwritten

The Return (Sept. 29, 2020) by Nicholas Sparks.

*This is a standalone novel.*

Returning to New Bern, North Carolina, wasn’t expected, but it comes at an in-between time for Trevor Benson. A Johns Hopkins-trained orthopedic surgeon, he was on active duty in Kandahar when a mortar explosion sent him back to the States with devastating injuries, and the Navy let him go for disability reasons. Because of the injuries he sustained, returning to work as a surgeon is out of the question, so he’s soon to start a five-year psychiatry residency back at Johns Hopkins. He’s in New Bern, because his maternal grandfather, Carl Haverson, unexpectedly passed away, and he’s staying at his grandpa’s place. It needs fixing up, though he doesn’t think he’ll sell it, but he does want to make sure all is well with the bees and honey production. He meets Natalie Masterson, a local deputy sheriff, and is immediately taken in by her physical attractiveness. While his attraction to her is immediate, hers may be reciprocated, but at a distance, though Trevor does not understand why. He knows he’s fallen in love with her and would re-consider his new residency to stay in New Bern permanently, if it weren’t for whatever is causing Natalie’s hesitancy to move the relationship forward. Further complicating his stay is Callie, a teenage girl who lives in the trailer park down the road from him. She’s sullen and mistrustful and says she’s 19 years old when she doesn’t look older than 16. He mostly leaves her alone until a medical crisis prompts him to figure out Callie’s true past. Her life may depend on it. Trevor will struggle to understand what holds Natalie back, to discover Callie’s history and to piece together his grandfather’s last words to him. Some of it he can hash out with his therapist, Dr. Eric Bowen, but he’ll have to figure out plenty himself. Like what it is to love and understand how complicated it can be. And what it is to forgive oneself despite tragedy. And even, what it is to return to a place so that you can move forward.

            For fans of Nicholas Sparks, this novel is signature. It’s a love story featuring a charming town with beautiful sunsets, trips on a very unique boat, busy bees and even a farmers’ market. Multiple characters, not only Trevor, wrestle with personal demons, and so it’s a drama as well as a romance. It has secrets and a puzzle to piece together that will help another cog in the story, making it part mystery. It should make for an ideal beach read as well as a winter story and for many, it probably is, but for me, the story fell flat because of Trevor. I was impressed with Sparks’ inclusion of Trevor’s struggle with PTSD and the use of CBT and DBT (both are types of behavioral therapies) to help control/manage his symptoms associated with PTSD. Where the story fell flat for me was his instantaneous attraction to Natalie. I’m not saying that it’s weird for someone to look at someone and right away find that person attractive, but the way he fixates on her – wants her to text back right away or go out to eat with him that same week, want to run his fingers through her hair and sleep with her – is creepy. Is this fixation exacerbated by his continued struggle with PTSD? I don’t know. But it didn’t warm my heart; it creeped me out.

The School for Good Mothers (Jan. 4, 2022) by Jessamine Chan.

*This is a standalone novel.*

On Frida Liu’s one very bad day, “she needed to get out of the house of her mind, trapped in the house of her body, trapped in the house where Harriet sat in her ExerSaucer with a dish of animal crackers.” That one very bad day may cost Frida her parental rights. This will be determined by spending a year in a secret pilot program where bad mothers (bad fathers are at a different site) will participate at an institution that will measure their successes and failures. Is her motherese convincing? Did she give the correct hug, the one for soothing fear versus the one for allaying aggression? Is she displaying enough empathy or is her anger showing? The scans will show, the cameras will tell. This includes the video capture within Emmanuelle, her toddler doll. She will learn as Frida teaches her, though the dolls can also be programmed in various ways for training. They require maintenance, and they do not have to tuck them into bed each night. The dolls are stored in the equipment room. Frida yearns to have her daughter returned to her, and it’s her love for Harriet that carries her through the year. “I am a bad mother, but I am learning to be good.”

            Marketed as an adult, dystopian fiction novel, the story is all the more disturbing because it seems so close to present-day. Social media like Instagram and Twitter still exist and entities such as Child Protective Services are active, excessively active. I am as awed by this novel as I am disturbed. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. The story is explosive and astonishing, frustrating and heartbreaking, punishing and infuriating. It’s remarkable. Chan’s plot is complicated, emotive and deep; Frida is tender yet angry, intricate as most humans are. Chan’s tale is imaginative, but it’s her potential real-world flourishes that chill a reader: stereotypes about mothers, stereotypes about parents of color, dealing with the state. The level of mass surveillance, the data and technology are also at an all-time creepy level. This novel is daring and complex, perfect for book club discussions.

            I want to add that I had wondered if I’d connect with this story, as I do not have human children. Chan’s writing is brilliant, and I had no trouble finding empathy. I am; however, immensely interested in discussing this story with others who have human children. How are our perspectives different? How might they be similar?

Rutabaga's Reads 2022: Part 9

If you know me, you know that when a YA compilation post has been recently published to my blog, there will be an inspirational (a.k.a. Christian) fiction post not too far behind. Here is the first post for 2022, even though I read these three books in early 2021 (and therefore should’ve posted this well before now).

A Blessing to Cherish (July 21, 2020) by Lauraine Snelling.

*From the author: This closes out the Red River of the North series*

Family, faith and hard work have been the cornerstones of Ingeborg Bjorklund’s life in Blessing, North Dakota. She is decades removed from the 20-year-old she was in Norway in 1878. It is now 1913. She’s had many years of widowhood, but contentment and fulfillment fills her life. Blessing continues to grow and thrive, expanded upon the foundation that Ingeborg and her family helped start. She has found a dear friend in David Gould, a wealthy, high-society businessman from New York City who seems to flourish in Blessing’s agrarian culture despite his big-city upbringing. David is also interested in Ingeborg as more than a friend. She cares for him dearly, but she worries that marrying him will deny her own children any of her inheritance (she has her own humble wealth, too). As for David’s children, “They had so much affluence and so little sense. They were useful for nothing; they could not put food on the table or love in the heart.”

            Ingeborg’s son, Thorliff, has been a widower and single father of two since his beloved Elizabeth passed away. Love for another hasn’t stirred in his heart until the arrival of the new schoolteacher, Louisa Gutenberg. But Louisa has a deep secret, and to share it would cost her the very job she loves. No matter that she’s charmed by the entire Bjorklund family and their extended relatives in the area, she doesn’t feel worthy of their love and support.

            As with the other stories I’ve read from Snelling, she writes charming, inspirational, historical fiction novels. The charlatan she throws in adds some spice to an otherwise gentle-flowing story. She also writes so realistically that a reader like me could easily think she needs to add more wood to the cook stove … except I don’t, because I have electricity. What I didn’t realize going into this story is that, while not marketed as such, this novel rounds out the Red River of the North series. It is extensive, because there are many Blessing books. The only series I’d read of Snelling’s prior to this single book was the Under Northern Skies series, and they take place in Minnesota (which is why I initially chose the first book). So, I did feel like I was missing a lot of backstories. A very likable novel, even if I did sometimes think David’s love for Ingeborg got a little pushy, but I wouldn’t tackle the Blessing books unless you’re ready to start at the very beginning.

A Portrait of Loyalty (Sept. 8, 2020) by Roseanna M. White.

*This is the final novel in a trilogy.*

One makes sense of what others may see as hodgepodge, the other can find simple beauty through the lens of a camera. 30-year-old Zivon Marin was one of Russia’s top cryptographers (and not a linguist, though he is that, too), but was forced to flee to save the life of him and his brother, Evgeni. They were separated after their train derailed. With no word at their decided-upon safe spot in Paris, Zivon concludes that Evgeni is dead. Zivon takes a job in Room 40 with the British Admiralty under Admiral Reginald (Blinker) Hall (the DID or Director of the Intelligence Division). He hesitates to seek any friendships, but finds allies with his Room 40 team (Margot de Wilde and Phillip Camden, for example), Lieutenant Theo Clarke and Captain Blackwell. Captain Blackwell’s family, especially 23-year-old daughter Lilian (Lily), take to Zivon. Lily works with the intelligence division without her mother’s knowledge of it. As far as Mrs. Blackwell is aware, Lily only works in the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment), but Lily’s real knack is in retouching and re-creating seamless photographs. Her mother would disapprove, seeing it as propaganda and an unseemly way to distribute art. When photographs are sent to the Admiralty that call into question Zivon’s loyalties, Lily is determined to help clear his name. Will a devastating loss stop Lily in her tracks and thus prevent her from being a portrait of loyalty?

            While all of the stories in The Codebreakers trilogy are historical fiction, they make fiction come alive and encourage interest in history. There’s so much going on in this tale alone: World War I is in its final year, the Russian Revolution is in its earlier stages, and the Spanish flu pandemic has begun. History was never my best subject, and honestly, it’s mostly because the teachers didn’t make it interesting, but White’s fictional account prompts me to want to know more. I am always impressed with her writing; her narratives are as seamless as Lily’s doctored photographs with themes that resonate with her readers. Her female characters are strong and independent, even when they appear to perpetuate societal norms of the time. There is a lot of upheaval in this story (rather like there is in our country today), but White’s writing is so deft that the plot never feels choppy and the outpouring of faith is steadfast but not overpowering like too much perfume. What a wonderful conclusion to another winning trilogy!

            Book One: The Number of Love

            Book Two: On Wings of Devotion

Storing Up Trouble (May 5, 2020) by Jen Turano.

*This is the final novel in a trilogy.*

It is September 1886 and progressive thinking is on the rise. The suffrage movement has been ongoing, and due to a couple incidents, Miss Beatrix Waterbury has been packed off for a stay with her Chicago aunt (Beatrix’s mother’s older sister), Miss Gladys Huttleston, who’s known about the city to be eccentric, though exceedingly wealthy. Although Beatrix is a member of the New York Four Hundred, her father of the Knickerbocker set, she hasn’t shared this with Chicago society, especially after Aunt Gladys tells her she’ll be working as a salesgirl at Marshall Field & Company. (Gladys believes it will bring more meaning to Beatrix’s involvement in the suffrage movement and that she’ll better understand the importance of the movement and not joining a cause for the sake of joining a cause.) Beatrix means to tell Mr. Norman Nesbit, a brilliant and unique gentleman devoted to his work in science, but then never does. And as for Norman, not only does he not have time for the feminine set, he also doesn’t seem to have time for his own relatives. Beatrix and Norman meet when a robber is trying to divest her of her belongings. The real target is Norman and his breakthrough research on electrical currents (which he will pontificate on, if given the chance, and not even realize it until Beatrix points it out). Unsurprisingly, Beatrix finds that her heart beats faster when Norman’s around, and Norman is surprised by how often Beatrix is on his mind. How will they form a romantic attachment with people of the criminal set disrupting their lives? And what will happen when Beatrix’s true financial status becomes known?

            The final in the American Heiresses trilogy is a delight. I am consistently charmed by Turano’s stories with her witty, oftentimes outspoken, females and the protagonist gentlemen that mean well and turn out to have very good hearts, even if they bumble around a bit. Reading all of Turano’s stories makes me happy with the occasional bursts of disdain for the criminals and the intermittent exasperations when the lead male says or does the wrong thing. This story also makes me laugh out loud. “Storing Up Trouble” is so utterly charming that I feel as though I should’ve read it on a sunny lawn under a large umbrella with an impressive mansion in the background, sipping daintily my drink while eating miniature sandwiches and petit fours. Delightful!

            Here’s what I find hard to believe, though … Beatrix and Norman meet for the first time, manage to fall in love and get married all in less than three months. Was this a thing back then? Because I find that hard to believe!

            Book One: Flights of Fancy

            Book Two: Diamond in the Rough

Rutabaga's Reads 2022: Part 8

We’re over halfway through 2022, yet this is my first YA compilation of the year. I’ve got a new-to-me author in this batch, and I have ILL (InterLibrary Loan) to thank for that book.

Cinder & Glass (Mar. 8, 2022) by Melissa de la Cruz.

*This is a standalone novel.*

In this twist on the beloved fairytale, Cendrillon de Louvois (age 15 at start and jumps to age 16) intends to follow in her beloved late mother’s footsteps and become a lady-in-waiting to royalty. Her father, the Marquis de Louvois, is a favorite advisor and dear friend of the king. She wants to see Versailles, but also worries about her lacking etiquette in a sea of courtiers and royals. She’s far more comfortable with her friends Elodie and Marius, employees of the Marquis, than she is amongst those her father and godmother, Lady Françoise, cavort with. She does find an unexpected ally in Auguste, Prince Louis’ illegitimate half-brother. Then her father dies unexpectedly soon after marrying Lady Catherine Monvoisin. The story jumps forward a year after Lady Catherine demotes Cendrillon from stepdaughter to a servant (but not one who’s paid) and in a year has become adept at cooking, washing, mending, etc. Catherine’s increasingly awful to Cendrillon, as is Severine. Alexandre does seem to have compassion toward Cendrillon and interest in Elodie. Cendrillon adopts the name Cinder after presenting herself at Prince Louis’ ball. He chooses 25 young women to vie for his heart, including Cinder and her stepsisters. As Cinder advances in the competition, she realizes she may have to choose between freedom (to get away from her horrid stepmother) or love (for Auguste, though he bears no title).

            While I wouldn't normally want to read another take on “Cinderella,” I do trust de la Cruz’s writing. The YA novel isn't fast out of the gate, but that’s easily overlooked with the cast of bold female characters. Even Lady Catherine, despicable as she is, is certainly ambitious (and greedy). The story is rich in historical detail and this historical twist with a The Bachelor-style competition makes for an entertaining and corset-fashionable take on a familiar fairytale. Likely true of the time, the characters do appear to read within a white default, but the author does include tender, budding romances, both straight and queer. It’s a strong story for lovers of YA and fairytales.

            P.S. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but look at it, it’s gorgeous!

Last Night at the Telegraph Club (Jan. 19, 2021) by Malinda Lo.

*This is a standalone novel, but a companion novel (not a sequel) is due out this fall.*

It is San Francisco in the mid-1950s. McCarthyism continues during this decade, and homosexuality is not only not culturally acceptable, it’s also believed to be linked with Communism. Lily Hu is 17 years old in the mid-1950s. She is Chinese-American, born in America to Chinese parents. Lily is “a good Chinese girl.” A good Chinese girl would never attend the Telegraph Club, a lesbian bar, to see Tommy Andrews, Male Impersonator. And even if she went once, she would never go there again and again with her classmate, Kathleen (Kath) Miller. She and Kath have been in the same advanced math classes for years, now the only female students in their math class senior year. Despite this, she’s never really noticed Kath. Lily is shocked to admit to herself that she has feelings for Kath and that they’re reciprocated is both freeing and shocking. But America in 1954 is not a safe time or place for two teenage girls to fall in love. Lily’s father’s hard-won citizenship is already hanging in the balance since his citizenship papers were taken away because he wouldn’t declare that a patient was Communist. But Lily won’t lie about her feelings for Kath, despite the challenges and emotional pain the truth brings. However, if the FBI finds out Lily is a lesbian, it’ll be seen as reflecting poorly on her father when he’s already facing the possibility of deportation. How will love shine in the bleakest of times?

            The YA novel I received through ILL (thank you, RWPL), it’s the first I’ve read by Malinda Lo, and I was blown away by it. This is a queer, historical fiction novel, complex in its history, beautifully sensitive, emotionally fraught and tender as a feather-light touch. I’ve not read much when it comes to LGBTQIA+ romance, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the gold standard. Lo writes in such a way that the reader can’t help but feel empathy toward Lily. I wanted to lift her up when things were falling apart and be the aunt figure who let her stay until she was firmly standing on her own two feet again. Emotions can be exhausting, but that only gives the novel more depth. It has the energy of youthful desire and shimmers with the light of first love. This story is Lily’s bildungsroman. It’s a coming-of-age story, a coming-out story. It’s a love story.

Steelstriker (Sept. 28, 2021) by Marie Lu.

*This is the concluding novel in a duology.*

*Any spoilers are also included on the book jacket.*

Six months after the fall of Mara to the Karensa Federation, the world is savage and broken, and Talin is no longer a Striker. Instead, she has become a nightmare of the Premier’s (Constantine Tyrus) making. She is one of the Federation’s best and most feared designs, a human war machine, a Skyhunter. She patrols the skies with her lethal strength and knife-sharp steel wings, and she protects the sickly Premier, who keeps her in check by holding her mom hostage; Talin is, herself, a hostage. How pleased or angry he is with Talin affects where her mom will go as each two-week mark comes by. Talin’s thoughts remain her own – for now – but she fears the connection she has to the Premier, especially when her intact connection to Red gets Aramin and Adena captured. Red and Jeran hitch a ride to Cardinia, the capital of the Federation, to save their friends and free Talin. But to free Talin, they must find and save her mother first. Talin feels so helpless, but murmurs of rebellion ignite a spark of hope and encourage action.

            The concluding novel in the Skyhunter duology is sophisticated. That may sound like an unlikely characteristic for a dystopian YA novel laden with thrills, suspense and action, but it really is sophisticated. Lu’s world-building in this duology has been stunning, the political landscape  realistically rocky in darkly sci-fi novel form, the protagonists are tough and impressive yet flawed, and the antagonists are villains fleshed out so well that they’re easy to despise. What really clinches the sophistication of the story is the way Lu pens the psychological battle between Talin and Constantine. This novel contains betrayal and subversion, but also love and sympathy. Sometimes even pity. This sequel is tumultuous and intense to its bitter-bright end.

            Book One: Skyhunter

Rutabaga's Reads 2022: Part 7

I have been on a middle-grade reading kick lately, and it’s not only due to my interest in the mythology stories in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint (though that does amount to a fair percentage). In this compilation, one is an author whose many novels (mostly YA) I’ve read and have met in-person twice, one author is new to me and one is semi familiar with it being the second story in a series. Surprisingly, none of the three are Rick Riordan Presents stories.

The Marvellers (May 3, 2022) by Dhonielle Clayton.

*This is the first book in a series.*

Welcome, all Marvellers, to the Arcanum Training Institute for Marvelous & Uncanny Endeavors. 11-year-old Ella Durand is full of magic (though her mom doesn’t like that word). She is a Conjuror, and this is significant in a world of Conjurors, Marvellers and Fewels (non-gifted folk), for Marvellers don’t trust Conjuror magic. Ella is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute up in the sky. She’s thrilled and has support there in her Aunt Sera Baptiste  – who’s teaching Conjure Arts for the first time – and Masterji Mitha Thakur, her elixirs teacher and mentor. She also finds friends in Jason Eugene, who’s great at communicating with other creatures, and Brigit Ebsen, her roommate who hates the school. Ella plans to be the best student and wants everyone to like her and conjure, but harassing starposts (like air mail, but cooler, and one needs a special starpost box) indicate that not all are open-minded. When the Ace of Anarchy, Gia Trivelino, escapes the Cards of Deadly Fate (a maximum high-security prison located in the Underworld)(Ella’s dad, His Excellency Sebastien Durand, is the Grand High Walker of the Underworld), Conjurors are blamed. Tensions are growing, Ella’s enrollment at the Arcanum is at risk, and Masterji Thakur mysteriously disappears. With the help of her friends, can Ella clear her name and track down her mentor before even more chaos ensues?

            Before this, I’d never read a story by Clayton, and I am in awe of this magical, marvelous, fantastical fantasy adventure. The creativity and imagination are astounding. This middle-grade novel is an exemplary example of diversity of cultures, skin colors, gender identities, etc. The tale is busy in the best way with its grand world-building, stellar cast, clever plot and vivid creatures/companions (starfolk have “kitten-like ears,  tiny pairs of spectacles, and furry skin the color of night” and Ella’s mom’s conjure companion, an alligator called Gumbo, means no harm; he’s “a big kitten”). There’s so much inclusivity, though the story isn’t without its micro-aggressions, discrimination, stereotyping and privilege. It isn’t all stellacity spheres and malyysvit (pronounced molly-sveet; they are world-eggs and each hatches a mini universe) and food carts with menu items like dancing dumplings and jumping rice, but it is full of charm and love and, well, marvels. This is a school I’d happily be a student at or, considering my age, a teacher. For anyone looking for their next magic school book, look no further than “The Marvellers!” All the light to you and yours! Good marvelling!

            Favorite line: “We’re all one awful day away from becoming the world’s worst nightmare.” --Gia to a character, moments before stealing the character’s marvel (p. 252)

            The five Paragons of Marvelling: Sound, Spirit, Taste, Touch and Vision

            The three Marvellian cities: Astradam, Betelmore, and Celestian City

Wretched Waterpark (June 7, 2022) by Kiersten White.

*This is the first book in a series.*

There’s something sinister going on, and it isn’t only because they’re Sinister on their mom’s side of the family. Together with their 16-year-old sister, Wilhelmina (Wil), 12-year-old twins Theodora (Theo) and Alexander (never Alex) Sinister-Winterbottom have been unexpectedly sent to live with their Aunt Saffronia Sinister “who, by all appearances, had never encountered an actual human child before” for the summer. Aunt Saffronia drops them off at Fathoms of Fun Waterpark, an unusually and remarkably grim place that has no churros on the menu of the water park’s one restaurant and features such delightful attraction names like the Cold, Unknowable Sea (a wave pool) and The River Styx (a lazy river). It’s owned by the dour Mrs. Widow in a “bruise-colored dress” and Mr. Widow, though the latter is missing and is in the process of being declared dead. Aunt Saffronia tells the youth to “find what was lost,” so the siblings take it upon themselves to find Mr. Widow. They meet an ally in Edgar - the Widows are his aunt and uncle - and Charlotte, who has, like, six identical sisters. There’s also Edgaren’t (clearly not his real name) and Jeremiah (the “turkey-vulture man”) who tells the twins no running, because “that’s how people disappear.” With parasols instead of sunscreen and mausoleums instead of cabanas (a.k.a. a cabasoleum), this strange, Victorian water park is fathoms of fun for all. Well, perhaps all is a bit of an exaggeration ...

            A middle-grade gothic caper, it is not as creepy as the book cover or title imply. It is actually a joy to read for anyone who appreciates droll humor, quirky characters, whip-smart dialogue, a fantastic plot and suspicious summer vacation plans. Far from wretched, this delightfully-detailed tale is oddly charming and wonderfully weird. It showcases the varied relationships amongst siblings. In the case of the Sinister-Winterbottoms, the twins share a close-knit understanding of each other, while Wil is obsessed with Rodrigo - that’s her phone - to the point that Theo or Alexander can say ridiculous things and Wil will be all, “Yeah, whatever” or not acknowledge that either twin spoke at all. I was hooked from the first line, and there isn’t long to wait for the next story in the Sinister Summer series, as it is set to publish the end of September!

            Favorite lines, only because I agree: “In an ideal world, nothing would have raisins, except maybe toddlers who didn’t know that raisins were grapes without souls. Anyone who put raisins into cookies or baked goods was just someone who hated joy.” --Theo Sinister-Winterbottom (pp. 63-64)

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow (Nov. 13, 2018) by Jessica Townsend.

*This is the second novel in a series.*

Although Morrigan Crow knows she isn’t actually a cursed child, her troubles are far from over. Morrigan is a Wundersmith, and the last known Wundersmith (Ezra Squall) is evil as all get out, so many of those who know of Morrigan’s knack (like a supernatural talent or skill) automatically mark her as evil, deadly and dangerous. Someone not to be trusted. But Morrigan is one of the nine newest members of Wunsoc (Wundrous Society) with her best friend Hawthorne Swift. They help make up Unit 919. Each of the members brings a different knack to the group, like Hawthorne and his dragon-riding, Cadence and her mesmerism and Lambeth and her oracular powers. They’re a motley group, and most seem to fear/abhor her, which is not what she was expecting of her “family.”

            During her year in Nevermoor, Morrigan is already a pro at telling the difference between a Wunimal Major and Wunimal Minor. Wunimals themselves are “sentient, self-aware, intelligent creatures capable of complexities such as language, invention, and artistic expression, just like humans.” Unnimals are not. (Fenestra, if you’re wondering, is neither Wunimal nor unnimal. And don’t ask her about it or she will replace all the feathers in your pillow with hair pulled from every shower drain of the Hotel Deucalion or something equally appalling.) But at Wunsoc’s Proudfoot House, where the others all have amazing schedules, she has one terrible class and, eventually, one class she’s good at. “History of Heinous Wundrous Acts” with Professor Hemingway Q. Onstald, a tortoise-wun, is awful. Onstald detests her from the first day. When she finally receives another class on her schedule, “Decoding Nevermoor: How to Successfully Navigate the Free State’s Most Dangerous and Ridiculous City,” with Henry Mildmay, she is thrilled. Mildmay is young and fun and doesn’t treat her like she’s the very worst. She also learns about Swindleroads, Tricksy Lanes, Shadowstreets and Ghostly Hours. Tricksy Lanes are purely Nevermoorian and they transform in some way, once you’re inside them. For example, the mild ones may give you nothing but an antigravity trick, but there was once one that flipped people inside out … so all of their muscles and organs were on the outside of their bodies. (Fortunately, that Tricksy Lane is gone. Bricked up. For good.) Unfortunately, denizens of both Wunsoc and Nevermoor are going missing, and fingers are pointing to the newest Wundersmith. Somehow, Morrigan’s friends – old and new – are going to need to work together to prove her innocence and save those that are missing.

            Clearly, I’ve found so much to enjoy in this story that my previous two paragraphs are verbose. This is Townsend’s sophomore story in the Nevermoor series, and it is zany and magical. Townsend’s Nevermoor is brilliantly immersive, the fantasy is fantastical, and the adventures never cease. I love that the cast of characters are eccentric, but also loyal and brave, smart and, at times, conflicted. It’s wonderful and grandiose, sometimes dark, but also charming and witty. I would happily visit Nevermoor and stay for an extended time. I’m not certain how I’d get to this place that I’m not supposed to know exists, but I’m using the Brolly Rail as soon as I do.

            Book One: Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

"Hide" by Kiersten White

Hide (May 24, 2022) by Kiersten White.

All Mackenzie (Mack) Black has to do is hide, and she is an expert at hiding. The prize for winning the hide-and-seek competition is $50,000, which is a lot of money, especially for Mack, who’s been living in a homeless shelter and can fit her life in one bag. After a family massacre committed by her father years back, Mack is alone, and endures much guilt over remaining alive. When she meets the 13 other competitors, she plans to stay invisible, because that’s what Mack is good at. They’re deposited at an abandoned amusement park (the Amazement Park). Nights are safe, but they must hide during daylight hours. They figure out that two players will be “out” each day, but discovering what it means to be out takes on new meaning soon enough. Mack is with an eclectic group that  includes the kindliest gas station attendant in Idaho, a lesbian veteran and a young man banished from his father’s religious sect, though all 14 are similar in their financial struggles. Who or what are they hiding from? What does Linda know? Is it coincidence that last names are shared with names found throughout the park like Callas, Nicely and Stratton?

            “Hide” is White’s first foray into adult fiction, and it positively pulses with dread. And death. In this paranormal horror novel, no one’s a teenager, but they all read somewhat younger, perhaps due to the emotional trauma each has experienced on some level or because the author has written many young-adult novels. The setting and the atmosphere of the book give the feeling that it’s a struggle to exist in a merciless world where thorns don’t only prick, they cause torrents of blood. Although classified as horror, I did not find it to be scary. That said, I wouldn’t recommend this story to younger YA readers, as there are occasional expletives that parents may not want in their children’s literature, nor would I recommend this to adults who want big-time horror feels. But the prose is simple, making for a quick read that is fast-paced. Life is not fair, and this story makes that abundantly clear. You’ve got those at the top and those that are treated as disposable. While the millennial horror is at a minimum in this story, it doesn’t stop the story from reeking of rotting things and death.

            Come out, come out, wherever you are …