Family

 I am an only child, but I didn't grow up without chosen siblings. I was lucky enough to have two wonderful cousins who, although I didn't see them as much as I wanted, it felt like we were as close as a sister. Of my cousins Cynthia and Charlotte (Cynthia always came first, although of the two she was the younger) I was closest to Cynthia because she and I were only five months apart in age. I so fondly remember our time at our Granny and PaPa's home on the coast of Texas. We were always running and playing. We loved to go to the beach and play in the treehouse our PaPa made for us. We could watch the Purple Martins fly to the houses he built for them.

I believe it was the summer of 2005 I got a call from Cynthia. She told me she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In my heart, I knew she could be cured or would go into remission, but that didn't happen. On August 8, 2007, as our family stood at her side and prayed, our Lord called her home. 

I cried and cried. I lost my cousin, my chosen sister. Charlotte and I held each other and cried together. We held each other during her funeral and grew closer as we went through this time of losing our Cynthia. However, true grief hit me hardest on October 19, 2008. I turned 38 years old. Of the three of us, I was ALWAYS the baby. On that day, I was no longer the baby. Cynthia would remain 37 in my eyes.

I was reminded of this time of loss and grief reading The Switch by Beth O'Leary. This book is not sad, it is a book of discovery. Leena, the main character, is forced to take a two-month sabbatical when she has a panic attack during a business presentation. She leaves London and goes back home to a small village to visit her grandmother, Eileen. Her mother also lives in this community, but she and Leena are somewhat estranged following her sister, Carla's death the prior year. While Leena and her grandmother are together they decide to switch lives. Leena stays in the small village and takes on all of the responsibilities of her grandmother and Eileen travels to London. While "living" each other's lives (Eileen only lives with Leena's flatmates. During this time, Eileen has romantic encounters, while Leena befriends her grandmother's friends and other members of the community. Leena begins to reconnect with her mother, but because of the events prior to and following Carla's death (from cancer), it is difficult. 

I enjoyed learning about the lives of Leena and Eileen. Their characters are well developed. The experiences and obstacles each have during their switch shows the vast difference between the generations. Beth O'Leary has been compared to Jojo Moyes, however, I have never read any of their books. Another book by O'Leary is The Flatshare (2019) and the anticipated The Roadtrip (2021). 

The audiobook is delightfully narrated by Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones. The two voices help the listener identify between the two main characters which are not always in the case of an audiobook. So many times one narrator is asked to alter their voice in order to show the distinction between characters.

I highly recommend The Switch. It is one of those books you will want to curl up with on a cold winter day and read through to the end. You will be involved in the lives of characters and will most likely relate to at least one no matter how small their part of the story. 

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Macmillan Audio has provided a complimentary copy of The Switch. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Macmillan Audio has provided me with a complimentary copy of The Switch. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

Catching Up

I have read a few books since I last posted. I want to share with you three of them today.

• Athena's Choice by Adam Boomstrom
• Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith
• Leave the World Behind by Rumaan, Alam

Although when looking at the titles and reading the blurbs one would think these books have nothing in common, especially when you consider the Tomorrow Will Be Better (by the same author as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) was first published in 1948. This new edition was released in early May by Harper Perennial Modern Classics. However, after thinking about the three titles to review here, I realized they all are truly coming of age books but in very different manners and circumstances.

Tomorrow Will Be Better tells the story of Margy Shannon, a young woman growing up in Brooklyn in the 1920s. We learn of her early years in a small cramped apartment the only child of a hard-working yet stoic father and a mother, his complete opposite. Margy has found new friendships in a recently acquired job she enjoys and yearns for a husband and children of her own. The book begins with a young woman striving for independence and ends with a woman who has found everything she was ever wanted, but realizes it is not what she anticipated. 

I hate to admit it, but I have never read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1943), but the descriptions I have read seem very similar to Margy's story. I truly enjoyed seeing the development of Margy from a young child playing with a clothespin in the corner of the cramped kitchen, to the good wife she desperately wants to be to her Franky. The setting, New York - specifically the Williamsburg and Bushwich sections of Brooklyn, in the 1920s, provides the reader historical context for which most readers will not have an understanding of the time frame or the area.

Athena's Choice by Adam Boostrom is a stark contrast. This dystopian novel takes place in 2099. All men have been eradicated from society by a virus known as the Y-Factor. The women in the current civilization are divided. One group strongly opposes the return of men because they believe the world to be more civilized without them, and the other (the Lonely Hearts) who are want to have men returned. The book centers around the stolen Lazarus Genome which will save the male species. Athena Vosh, a 19-year old living in the Algonquin Forest Zone of the North American Union, has been summoned to Chicago by the Public Safety Headquarters to assist in the investigation.

I was so intrigued by the manner in which Boostrom shared the history of the Union through Wikipedia entries. It was a very clever way to convey the timeline of the story. I also loved the many innovations he developed in the book. Those who love fashion will want to have the ability to choose the clothing for the next day and it will be designed specifically for them and ready to wear the next day. It can also be recycled so new outfits can be worn every day. Foodies will enjoy the food printer allowing you to select and print the food you want to eat. Although in order to have higher in foods, you must purchase a more expensive model.

I am usually not a fan of dystopian novels, but this one caught my attention and I simply could not wait to find out the ending. The coming of age part of this novel is about Athena and the choices she makes throughout the book which shows her growth from a free-spirited teenager to a young woman who must put her life on the line.

In a previous review of this book, I wrote that this is one of those books that makes you want to go "hmmmm". I am definitely stretching the theme of coming of age for this book, but I think once you finish reading, you will also see the growth, actually of more than one character. This book moves along very innocently and then it takes a very sharp turn and you are on a downhill rollercoaster you might not find stopping any time soon. I felt like I was watching (or listening to) an M. Night Shymalan movie. The characters are well developed and the plot very intriguing. Clay, Amanda, and their children experience the same isolation of those who are facing quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet they are far outside of the city with no contact with the outside world.

All three of these books are VERY different but seem to have an underlying sense of a coming of age story. Again, like I said before, I might be stretching it a little, but I can see a small connection.

I highly recommend all three of these titles. They might not be for all readers, but for those who are open to different times, places, and incidents, I think you will enjoy them just as much. 

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, HarperCollins Publishing provided me with a complimentary copy of the Tomorrow Will Be Better ebook. Thinker Books provided me with a complimentary copy of the ebook and the audiobook of Athena's Choice. Harper Audio provided me complimentary copies of the audiobooks of Tomorrow Will  Be Better and Leave the World Behind. These reviews are my opinion and are in no way influenced by the authors or publishers.

When No One is Watching

Over the past few months, I have read a lot about racism and anti-racism (Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones, and White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism). I began to realize something I have had my entire life, but didn't actually know I possessed...white privilege. 

Peggy McIntosh says, "I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was 'meant' to remain oblivious," in a 1988 paper entitled White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women's Studies". I have seen posts from black male and female friends on Facebook who have posted about teaching their sons how to interact with a police officer if pulled over while driving. My husband and I have never been concerned about our son's actions if he were to be pulled over, let alone how to speak or act during a traffice stop. I have never felt I was being watched as I shopped, or had someone cross the street as I walked down the sidewalk. This is white privilege. 

Some believe this privilege means affluent, however, it is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group".

Alyssa Cole's new book When No One is Watching portrays a very believable scenario in this psychological thriller. The first half of the book describes a Brooklyn neighborhood where the main character and one of the narrators, Sydney, has spent most of her life. Her neighbors are like her family, there to help each other at all times and at all cost. Now, as Sydney looks around her neighborhood, those "family" members are beginning to disappear. In the blink of an eye, it seems one neighbor after another is leaving the community.

New white neighbors are starting to take over the historic homes one by one. She begins to hear terms like "them" and "us", and she no longer feels a part of the community in which she grew up. Theo, one of Sydney's new neighbors and the second narrator, does not hold the same prejudice as the other recently relocated families. Together they discover how and why gentrification has come to this area of town. 

Theo does not understand why Sydney reacts the way she does to certain events in which they are both involved. He does not see his white privilege because it "tends to be unintentional, unconscious...but easy to take for granted," according to Christine Emba in an article published in The Washington Post (January 16, 2016). Theo sees Sydney as an equal, and not as one of "them". As they research the community's history they begin to wonder if they are being paranoid or is their community being taken over in order to conform to the "us" mentality.

I recommend this book not only because it is has a great storyline, but because it helps to step into the life of a young woman caught in a situation in which she has little to no control. When No One is Watching is a book to awaken those who will have an open mind to begin to understand that "privilege isn't about what you've gone through; it's about what you haven't had to go through" (Janaya Khan, Vogue, "Janaya Future Khan's Guide to Understanding White Privilege", June 3, 2020). This is an extremely relevant novel based on current events in our country, but also because racial issues need to be discussed and not ignored just because it is a difficult and uncomfortable topic.

When No One is Watching was published on September 1, 2020 by HarperCollins Publishing. There is also an audiobook narrated by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng. 

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, HarperCollins Publishing provided me with complimentary copies of the ebook and the audiobook for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

All quotes are from Juneau Empire, "Opinion: Acknowledging an 'invisible package of unearned assets", June 22, 2020.

True Crime, My Guilty Pleasure

One of my guilty pleasures is watching true crime shows on television. Forensics Files is my favorite, closely followed by Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. I have seen so many true crime shows, my family is convinced someday I might just pull off the perfect crime.s I might go crazy one day and actually commit the perfect crime. Trust me, this will never happen. I am interested in the manner in which the cases are solved, putting the puzzle together and following the science. Watching Benedict Cumberbach as Sherlock Holmes was wonderful because he walked you through the crime step by step. When I was a kid, I enjoyed watching Unsolved Mysteries (which has recently been remade and can be seen on Netflix), but I didn't like the "unsolved" part. Like Phil Collins sings in the Disney Tarzan  movie, "I wanna know, can you show me." Don't leave me hanging!

I loved reading and listening to The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard. It was fascinating to me how two books were intertwined in this true crime thriller (all fiction says the disclaimer at the end of the book). 

The book opens with a department store security guard discovering a book titled, The Nothing Man, in a large display of out facing books. He immediately begins to panic upon reading the title. From here the readers is then moved to the book within the book. Eve Black, the author, is the sole survivor of a home invasion by the man later dubbed the Nothing Man. Her father, mother, and younger sister were all murdered outside Cork (City), Ireland, by a man who was never captured. Now, eighteen years later, Eve's story is released in her book The Nothing Man.

The voices move back and forth between the narrative of Jim, the security guard, and Eve. Listening to the audiobook, the move was easily recognizable because of the wonderful narration performed by Alana Kerr-Collins and John Keating. Their accents allowed the listener to feel they were in Ireland.

If you look closely at the book's cover, you can see how one book is transformed into two with the cover torn. Eve's name has been removed to reveal Howard's name at the bottom. You can also see the notes and tabs. This is an ingenious way of giving a snippet of what is inside.

I would highly recommend The Nothing Man which was published by Blackstone Publishing in June 2020.

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Blackstone Publishing provided complimentary digital copies of the eBook and audiobook for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

Villains All the Way

When I started reading (and listening to) Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots I would be writing my second blog post review with a comparison to Disney. I have always been a fan of the Disney villains. My favorite is Ursula the octopus, from The Little Mermaid. because she reminds me of myself. If you have not seen Button Poetry's video of Melissa May performing "Dear Ursula", it is very powerful (be aware of some foul language).

Hench is not a book I would typically choose to read, however, the description  (and my love of villains) swayed my decision. In this debut novel, Walschots creates a world of heroes and villains. When the main character, Anna, goes to a temp agency, she is sent to the Electrophorous Industries (part of the villainous world), where her talents working with data and spreadsheets turn into a life-changing event. Hench is the story of power, revenge, and relationships. It is the best combination of Disney villains and the Marvel superheroes. 

Alex McKenna pulls off great narration for the audiobook by successfully creating voices for all of the book characters and brings them to life. Full disclosure, I listened and read along with the eBook for the first half of the book. I then began to simply listen. I was engrossed in the narration and felt I was able to picture the action better in my mind. 

Even if you are not a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, or graphic novel-like books, you should give this book a chance. I never read comic books growing up (yes, I am old enough to call them comic books), but I did watch Batman on TV, and I absolutely love the Marvel movies (Deadpool is my favorite). This is a combination of the best parts of all of these. 

Hench is expected to be released on September 22, 2020. 

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Harper Collins and Harper Audio have provided digital complimentary copies of the eBook and audiobook for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

Disney World, No Cemeteries

When I was growing up, my family went on road trips each summer. We didn't drive off to visit Mickey at Disneyland or Disney World. We didn't drive off to go camping or a cruise. No, our family vacations all centered around cemeteries, courthouses, and libraries. We would go to the states in which my ancestors were buried, or where my dad could locate information about them. You see, my dad was "searching for his old dead grandfathers". He has been a genealogist for over 60 years.

I learned to read wills, deeds, birth and death certificates as a teenager, but I have to say books were actually my favorites. So, you see why I was drawn to S. C. Perkins's Ancestry Detective series, it brings those two together perfectly.

I was immediately drawn to Murder Once Removed (2019) by the cover when I was browsing the Pop Reads section of the Mary Couts Burnett Library at Texas Christian University - one of my favorite places to read. I sat down with this cozy mystery and read through half of the book before it was time to go home. I was intrigued by how this Texas girl (like me) could solve mysteries in the past and the present - with no time travel involved. Well, leave it to a genealogist to find out a family's deepest and darkest secrets, through research. Lucy Lancaster, the Ancestry Detective, helps her clients by solving their family mysteries. If she happens to solve a local mystery along the way, so much better for her Yelp review.

Murder Once Removed is centered around an Austin billionaire and the murder of his grandfather in 1849. With the discovery of an old daguerreotype and a journal, Lucy is able to narrow the killer down to two suspects. While working the case and trying to protect the evidence, another murder takes place. Lucy is tasked with trying to solve both murders simultaneously. Remember, Lucy is not a detective. She is a genealogist who was hired to research the family history of Gus Halloran. It is through her skills as a genealogist she is able to solve the murders.

Lineage Most Lethal has Lucy searching for the lineage of hotel heiress, Pippa Sutton. Again this book is set in Austin around Lady Bird Lake. I am not from Austin but have visited many times. I could picture a few of the places referenced in the book, but the Sutton Hotel is a fictional location. I won't give away any of the plots, but I will say, Lucy once again is involved in solving a murder.

I recommend these books for those who love cozy mysteries and those who enjoy searching for their family's story. You can only hope your story does not include a murder or two.

Lineage Most Lethal and Murder Once Removed are both now available for sale.

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Minotaur Books has provided a complimentary digital edition of Lineage Most Lethal for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

A Return to Whistle Stop

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I read an entire book (except picture or YA books) in one day.  Fannie Flagg's The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop is one of those books.

I remember seeing Fried Green Tomatoes in 1991. I was engrossed in the characters and storyline from the very beginning of the movie. I had no idea it was a book until the credits. I'm one of those people who have to read a book before seeing the movie because I want to have my own movie in my mind. After watching the movie, I had to find the book. I knew even as good as the movie was, the book had to be better. But because Flagg co-wrote the screenplay for the movie, she made sure it was as close as possible to the book. Jessica Tandy will always be Ninny, Mary Stuart Masterson will always be Idgie Threadgoode, and Kathy Bates will always be Evelyn Couch. How could you make any of these characters look any different in your mind?

For those who loved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (book-published in 1987), Fried Green Tomatoes (movie), or both, this is a MUST read! Fannie Flagg does not disappoint in her continuation of Buddy Threadgood, Ruth's son's life. You will fall back in love with the original characters and in love with the new ones.

As soon as I started reading The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop, I was immediately back in Whistle Stop. I knew the one-armed boy referenced in the first few pages. I could clearly hear Jessica Tandy's voice narrating the words as I read. Like the chapters in the previous book, these jump around in time (just like the movie).If you know the characters, you will easily be able to follow along with the storyline. Flagg picks up where the previous book ended  as if we never left.

I have seen reviews from readers who have not read the original book. For those readers, all I can say is you have to read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe to truly appreciate the return of these great characters.

Again, I will say, this return to Whistle Stop is a MUST read for lovers of Idgie and her family. I wonder what will happen next. Will there be another return? I can only hope.

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop is expected to be released on October 27, 2020, by Random House.

*To comply with guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission, Random House has provided a complimentary digital edition of The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop for review purposes. This review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.