Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Tova has been content in her position as the evening cleaner in her seaside town’s aquarium. She takes pride in her work, using her own formula of lemon and vinegar rather than the irritating industrial products provided by the aquarium, cotton instead of polyester to ensure no streaks on the sides of the glass tanks. And it keeps her busy and distracted from her grief, from the losses she’s endured in her life. For while she does have her friends – the Knit Wits as they call themselves – who’ve seen her through her many years, she still has her lonely moments. As she sees her friends moving on and planning for their futures as they age, she starts to try to envision what her future might look like, given she does not have a family who might look after her. She thinks she has a solid plan – that is, until she befriends the giant Pacific octopus who is looking out for her in ways she cannot even imagine.

This is also the story of Cameron, whose life narrative has been about failure in spite of his natural grace and intelligence. He is unable to overcome his low self-esteem because of his family situation and feels he is destined to continue on the path he’s been on his whole life. While he can quote Shakespeare and remember minutia about everything, he cannot remember to get to work on time or to complete paperwork when it matters, and sabotages his own ambitions. How many of us fall into that cycle, in both larger and smaller ways? How many of us get stuck, as it were, in patterns of self-destruction? Are we open to others’ suggestions? Are we open to change? This is an important theme here; one that we can all take a lesson from.

While there is a bit of an element of predictability here, this is a very sweet story that makes for a wonderful summer read. Tova, our protagonist is kind, quiet, and a bit of a perfectionist – but also a good listener and a good friend to those around her. She develops a beautiful bond with the octopus in her care, which evidently can actually happen. (These creatures are apparently able to recognize individual humans and distinguish between those they like and those they do not like and treat them accordingly. While they may not be as remarkably bright as the author has depicted the one here, they are brighter than I had ever imagined. ) When Cameron, comes to town to fill in for her when she’s been injured, she forms a very unlikely but also very endearing bond with him also. Their interactions will inevitably make you smile.

This is a lovely read -enjoyable to the end. Highly recommend it!

 

The House Party by Rita Cameron

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Aah, the year is finally winding down for the students at New Falls High School and they are ready to party.  Will and his older brother Trip are definitely on board, but when they arrive with the beer, they are a bit surprised to find that this one is taking place at the fancy new house being built on the river. Well, Will deserves to party just like the rest of them, doesn’t he? He’s worked so hard to get to where he is – a senior, with a well-deserved acceptance to Princeton and a scholarship from the town’s board. Little does he know how out of control this particular party would get – and how it would impact the course of his life, his family’s, and the lives of the couple building this new home.

This novel, set in a small suburb of Philadelphia just prior to the economic crash of 2008, is a well-crafted indictment of the “lawnmower parent,” the parent who smooths the way for their child at all cost. (Usually wealthy and/or privileged, these parents don’t allow their children to suffer any consequences of their actions; hence these children do not learn that they are to be held accountable for what they do.) We hear the story from the perspective of the teenagers – who are mostly of age (18 or older) – but we also hear it from the perspective of the homeowners who are building their dream house – which, of course, gets demolished. We feel for the children who, yes, have made a mistake and their futures are at risk. But we also understand that they need to be held accountable and restitution made for the damage they’ve created.

We also feel for those who are more vulnerable, those with less means. Even in a town that prides itself on the peaceful blending of the working class and the “newer money” families at the high school, there is a clear division between who the DA’s office deems disposable and who is protected, who can be targeted and whose reputation must be preserved. Meanwhile, we see how quickly this status can change, with the onset of the troubles of the couple who are building the home. No one is immune to this possibility.

This is such an engaging read with a social commentary so important, I believe, that I would consider this a MUST READ. I’d be curious to hear what others think!

 

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

In the midst of the Gilded Age, when most young women are focused on ballrooms and bridal gowns, Olive is focused on revenge. It is clear to her that her father had been wronged, cheated out of his rightful earnings from his hard work as the architect of the magnificent Pratt mansion and she is determined to expose this travesty.

Lucy is also connected to the Pratt mansion, living there when it becomes a boarding house for “respectable ladies” in the 1920’s. She, too, is on a personal mission – to see where her mother’s heart has always been during her lifetime, because it has been apparent to Lucy that it has not fully been with Lucy and her father. In fact, Lucy wonders if the man she knows to be her father is actually, in fact, her true father.

Finally, there is Kate, a doctor during the second World War, linked also to the Pratt mansion when it is again adapted to function as a hospital for wounded soldiers. When a stunning soldier is brought in on a stormy night with a leg infected so severely it may require amputation, she is startled by the way he seems to recognize her and how he feels familiar to her as well.

As the story unfolds, we learn how these three women are connected, how their lives and their loves have been thwarted, and how the Pratt family fortune and misfortune has impacted so many others.

While I am not familiar with the other two authors, I love anything by Beatriz Williams, and this novel is no exception. Each segment of the narrative is captivating as a stand-alone story, with each of these strong, independent women capturing our hearts with their missions, their wills, and their defiance. But to weave the story together with the three of them is quite the ingenious feat – and it is done both smoothly and powerfully.

I highly recommend this book – it has romance, intrigue, and is just beautifully written. Not only a great summer read, but a just a great read.

 

Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Believing strongly in fate, Arlyn takes it as a sign that the lost young man who arrives at her door, on the night of her father’s funeral, is the one she is destined to be with. She believes this so strongly that she follows him back to his dorm room at Yale, convincing him that they are to be together. And while part of him is captivated by her long, blood-red hair and pale white skin, his more rational side feels trapped by her vehemence that they are each other’s destiny. Is it true that they are meant to be together? The way in which this impacts their lives carries forward for generations.

What I found most striking about this book was how disappointed I was in the quality of the writing. Usually a fan of Hoffman’s writing, I found this to be written in a flat, pedestrian tone, using repetitive sentence structure, and with little in the way of variation in description. While some of the imagery was unique, it was droned again and again. The dialogue verged on vacuous.

The characters constructed here are all sad, ensuring that the overall tone remains depressing as well. The most tragic character is Sam, Arlyn’s oldest child, who is brilliant, sensitive, and unique. Because his father has distanced himself from Sam, and Sam is acutely aware of this, Sam has a deeply embedded bitterness. When he loses his mother – the only one who truly sees him and truly loves him – at an early age, it devastates him. He is a lost soul and his only recourse is to numb himself with any substance that will do so. We understand this and pity him for this, even as we see him destroy himself.

Clearly this was not a favorite – I did complete it, but it was hard to do so. Hopefully the next one will be better!

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

As the women (or “mothers”) of the Upper Room, a church at the heart of the Black community in Oceanside, CA look on, Nadia Turner, reeling from the recent death of her mother, drifts from the school where she’s previously been so successful, into the arms of Luke Sheppard, the preacher’s son. They watch as she devolves into a lost soul, wrangling with her grief, unraveling the ties with her friends and even with her father with whom she’d been close. When a crisis arises between Luke and herself, it seems to create a hole in her heart that she spends the next years of her life seeking to fill – and burning bridges and breaking hearts in her wake.

What is most unique about this book is the voice created by “The Women.” We are told this story by the community of women who have been watching Nadia and Luke since they were young, as so often occurs in tightly-knit communities, where everyone knows everyone else’s business – or at least believe they do. The tone is, in this way, kept lighter, and at the same time more familiar. I believe no matter your heritage, we can all relate to that sisterhood of women in some segment of our lives who maintain a running commentary about us: who we’re becoming and what we are thought to be doing – and judging us without trying to appear as though they are doing so. I could not help smiling throughout these sections.

And thank goodness for these sections because the main thread of the story is quite sad. Nadia’s journey is tragic, her life having been pierced by so many losses which she was unable to process with anyone who could be helpful to her. Because her father was so deeply entrenched in his own grief, muddling his way through, he was unavailable to her, leaving her to cope in the only way she could – looking for love and affection from whomever she could find it. She continued to be a lonely figure, unable to fully give of herself because her “self” had become so deeply wounded.

This is an important story, told in a uniquely creative way – an absolutely worthy read!

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Although he’d found many former Nazi criminals already, Ian was not yet satisfied. No, the Huntress, as he’d come to refer to her, was unique and the quest for finding her burned inside him like none other. So when Nina reappeared before him and his unsuspecting business partner Tony, with her own yearning for revenge against the Huntress, it felt as if they had no choice but to pursue her no matter where it would lead them.

And meanwhile, on the other side of the “pond,” Jordan, a young woman trying to pursue a career in photography but caught up in both her father’s antique business and his personal life, was developing her own concerns. While she was happy and trying to be open-minded about her father’s newfound love, there was something just a bit off about her father’s new lady friend that Jordan could not quite put her finger on. With her camera always at the ready, Jordan followed her instincts and did what she had to do to protect herself and what became her family.

Kate Quinn is an absolute master of combining significant historical fiction with hair-twisting suspense. The characters she creates are ones whom we get to understand almost better than ourselves, and we love them for their failures, their vulnerabilities and their grit. Nina is one such character, who is tough, brusk, even rude – but we understand her because of her history which we gradually become privy to. And because we develop this attachment to her, we cannot bear to see her hurt again. It is because we care so much about each of the characters that the suspense is that much more heightened. And the construction of the plot is woven around these gorgeous characters so well – it just becomes impossible to put this book down.

While this may not necessarily be a MUST READ, it is certainly close – and I’d highly recommend it as a should definitely read if you like suspense, historical fiction – or just want to enjoy a completely engrossing and addicting novel!

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

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Olivia has done what she can to protect her son, Asher. Raising him as a single mom, providing him a safe home even when money was tight – she has given him all that she could. And he has seemed to flourish, excelling privately in art and more outwardly both socially and in hockey, a sport quite popular among his peers in his New Hampshire high school. When attractive, somewhat shy, newcomer to the school, Lily, arrived, he was in the right place at the right time, introduced to her by his closest, oldest friend and they immediately hit it off. Little did anyone know how it would lead to a fatal incident and a court case that would upend all of their lives.

Out of a literal dream of Boylan’s, grew the coming together of two talents to compose a powerful and insightful work of literature. In this novel, we find every important element: complex character development, the spinning of a suspenseful plot that is constructed both backwards and forwards – and actually works! – and an opportunity to learn. We learn about beekeeping – which is interesting at times but does get perhaps a bit too detailed at other times, in my opinion – and we learn about the experience of being trans, which is, also in my opinion, invaluable.

I find it fascinating how two authors can come together and write a novel that reads so seamlessly. It demonstrates collaboration at its finest. Clearly they have each edited each other’s work such that there is a united style that is woven throughout and it gives the novel a single tone and clear voice.

I also deeply appreciate what we learn from the perspective of the trans voice. While I have personally worked some in this area, I feel I always have more to learn and I always appreciate when I am helped by those who are generous enough to share their experience with those of us cis folks who have had the privilege to have not struggled with these issues. It is not their responsibility to do the work for me, and at the same time, I am grateful to be able to benefit from their thoughts and experience so that I may become better.

This is an important story in so many ways, not the least of which is that it’s a gripping, powerful, and enlightening read. Highly recommend this one!!

No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

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When Celia focuses her attractive, intelligent gaze on a target, she essentially uses whatever means necessary to achieve it. So when she falls heavily in love for Oliver Lytton, even though he does not meet her parents’ ideal of whom she is to marry, she manages an underhanded way to force their approval. And when Oliver does not envision his wife as a working woman, she likewise convinces him that she is in fact essential to his publishing family business. As we follow Celia and Oliver through the first World War and see how it impacts their family and their business, we learn about life, about class, and about how compromise and understanding can heal a multitude of ills.

Once again, Penny Vincenzi has created a family, even a world, in which we are engrossed and enamored. Every one of the characters – and there are many with whom we become intimately familiar -is deeply rich, utterly imperfect, and so lovable that we care what happens to each and every one of them. These characters are taken through important moments in history during which they struggle and experience lasting impact. And there are moments of great tension, near-misses, and disappointments, when you cannot help but catch your breath or utter out loud.

There is also an important discussion of class here, that is raised sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. When little Berty, the daughter of a poor, working class family is taken into Celia and Oliver’s family to be raised alongside their children, we are brought into her experience of feeling at home in neither family. Feeling over-privileged among her actual siblings, but treated like a foundling among her adoptive siblings, she is caught between these two worlds and is forced to navigate this tension starting at a very early age. She learns to use her intelligence and her kindness, and to find her allies early – and this serves her well, but she does suffer plenty along the way.

As each of the characters and each of the story lines come together, they wind around to enthrall and engage the reader just as in a perfectly choreographed dance. You want to know what happens but you never want it to end…

The perfect summer read!

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Jean has been stuck in her dreary routine for longer than she cares to remember: caring for her mother, who complains at any deviation from their rigid schedule, and working as a reporter where she is treated like “one of the guys” because of her plain, middle-aged, single status. When a letter comes across her desk from a woman, Gretchen Tilbury, who is convinced that her daughter was born a virgin birth, it incites a curiosity in her that she must investigate. When Jean meets this family, she opens herself up to a whole new experience that changes her life forever.

Despite the attempts to integrate science into the discussion of the “virgin birth,” it was obvious to this cynical reader where the narrative would lead. In fact, while there were many attempts at realism, too much of the story was so unrealistic that it made the whole picture a bit hard to swallow. For example, Jean is tied to her mother and can’t get away during weekends, but why is her mother ok during weekdays? Why is her sister abroad and NEVER visits, ever – for years? Do folks really believe that this woman conceived by parthenogenesis (the development of an egg without fertilization)? 

Sadly, too, the dreariness of Jean’s life seeps into the narrative of the story and contaminates the story itself. There is a pall over the whole experience, and even the happier times feel a bit dulled because of her innate, reclusive, even negative countenance. While we certainly wish her well, we also can’t help being a bit resentful of her as well. Why has she not stood up for herself earlier? Why should it have taken this long for her to have come up with a plan to engineer time for herself? To carve out a life for herself, independent from her mother? 

With all this, I feel that with all the books in the world and with so little time that we all have to read, this should not be one to prioritize…  Spend time on my MUST READ’s instead! 🙂

 

 

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Bea has made a very full life for herself, with her plus-size fashion blog and the travel and networking that is required – or at least that is what she tells herself. That is, until she meets up with her long-term crush who utterly breaks her heart. After a public wise crack about a dating reality TV show where all the women have been impossibly thin, she attracts the attention of the producer, who invites Bea to be the newest “Main Squeeze.” Bea sees this as an opportunity to represent larger-bodied women, even as a business opportunity. But it may also be a chance for Bea herself to be convinced that she deserves love just as any other woman does…

If you’re looking for an easy, entertaining, but not entirely vacuous summer read – here it is! Written with great insight, warmth and sarcasm, the story carries us through Bea’s struggle and her growth. We learn about her difficulty with her size, how it has impacted her social interactions since her youth, and how a pivotal moment on her college study abroad has changed her course. The author occasionally intersperses comical internet conversations/texts/blog posts that comment on the plot, which add the social media dimension to the plot line and magnify the experience for us, just as it has been magnified for Bea herself. We live through Bea’s romantic ups and downs and feel deeply for her because we also love her – for her vulnerability, for her kindness, and for her gumption.

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did – I highly recommend it – it’s great fun (especially for all you reality TV fans out there!) and carries an impactful message.