Shed a Little Light

“Each year I look forward to whom Marie Benedict will spotlight in her stories of strong women in history.”    —TarHeel Reader’s Review

Me too TarHeel, me too. Historical fiction fans will not be disappointed with Marie Benedict's latest offering. As one who has read many of her "I-am-woman-hear-me-roar" stories, this is definitely one of her best. Hedy Lamarr’s chronicle remains my personal favorite. (Her story is hard to beat). But Rosalind Franklin is a gem in her own right.

Rosalind was years ahead of her time (and her male colleagues). In the aftermath of WWII, she was exceptional in every area of science—she dedicated her life’s work to the relentless pursuit of DNA research.  Like Benjamin and Aretha, Rosalind changed the world. Shamefully, three men took credit for her ground-breaking discovery. I’m with this savvy reviewer: "Marie Benedict's powerful new novel shines a light on a woman who sacrificed her life to discover the nature of our very DNA, a woman whose world-changing contributions were hidden by the men around her but whose relentless drive advanced our understanding of humankind." 

A shiny 4.5 stars from this historical fiction lover.  Anyone who can put their life on the line in a male-dominated world and succeed deserves nothing less.  

Posted by Sharee

Crazy 4U

“Lying was like taking a breath to Shelly. Sami could never grasp why her mother felt compelled to lie when saying nothing at all would be a smarter course.”

I cannot tell a lie—I love a good true crime! My children mock me on a weekly basis when I run to the couch on Friday nights to gawk at Dateline. Was crime busting my first love? Quite possibly. At a young age, I watched Murder She Wrote with my grandma. Most of those episodes were predictable (and maybe even a lil’ bit corny), but Grandma Smith loved them. And I got hooked. When I came across If You Tell, even my mystery-solvin’ heart wasn’t ready for the story that was about to hit me.  

I imagine the most devout true crime fans may have trouble stomaching the horrors that took place behind the closed doors of Shelly Knotek’s farmhouse in the Grays Harbor, Washington. The torture and abuse Shelly’s daughters experienced, along with a number of “friends” that were lured into her web of deceit, will leave your head spinning. I’m still in shock. If You Tell is a fascinating eyewitness into the actions of a sadistic psychopath and the dark secrets that can bond siblings together for life, despite the decimation of family by the one who should love you the most.

Here’s a warning for all readers: If You Tell is not for the faint of heart. This is, in no way, a recommendation for your valentine. It’s hardly a gift for the one you love. Shelley’s story is dark and disturbing. I told my daughter about halfway through the book, “this has to be one of the most deranged stories I’ve ever read.” But I couldn’t put it down. I had to see how it ended! Just a few weeks later, she called me and told me the same thing as she was reading it. Both haunting and troubling, the story is guaranteed to make an impact. How many stories can say that? Just wish this wasn’t a true one.

Posted by Sharee

A Tale of Two Sisters

“In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.”

I love historical fiction because it blends history with good storytelling. Is it me or do we find more writers challenging the border between fiction and nonfiction these days? I just love it! As far as stories go, Antoinette’s Sister has it all—political unrest, royalty, the bond of sisterhood, love—this brand-new novel masterfully weaves all of the above into a hugely captivating story.

While most of us are familiar with the tragic story of Marie Antoinette, few will have heard of Antoinette’s sister Maria Carolina Charlotte or “Charlotte” as she boldly proclaimed herself in her teenage years. Charlotte and Antoinette are best friends. Both Habsburg archduchesses are obligated to leave home (and one another) to marry royalty from neighboring nations to secure Austria’s position in Europe. Sadly, Antoinette is given to the future King of France at 14 years of age and Charlotte must marry the weak and immature King Ferdinand IV of Naples.

Charlotte is a strong intelligent woman. She quickly realizes she must secure her position as Queen and Ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. When the French Revolution begins and Antoinette is imprisoned, it’s Charlotte who works tirelessly to bring the Queen of France back to Austria before it’s too late. Way to go, sista. Way to go!

A solid 4 out of 5 stars with a caveat for my friends. I enjoyed learning about the “other sister”; historical family dynamics are always interesting to study. However, I can’t say I liked the author’s portrayal of Charlotte—I couldn’t quite get in her corner. I felt like the author didn’t blend the history and fiction as seamlessly as our friend Marie Benedict. But as one who dearly loves her sisters, I have to admire Charlotte’s tenacity.

Posted by Sharee

Nobody Out-Cleans the Maid

“I’ll never understand it—why people find the truth more shocking than lies.”

And I’ll never understand how a newbie publishes a book at the beginning of the month and has an option from Universal Studios (with Florence Pugh as the lead no less) before it’s time to turn the calendar’s page. Crazy stuff. Nita Prose’s debut thriller is hot of the press, so grab the NyQuil Rae and pull up your pillow. You’re about to encounter Molly. She’s a maid at a five-star luxury hotel, who’s obsessed with order and cleanliness (probably a natural by-product of being on the spectrum, just my opinion). Molly loves her job. Who doesn’t have mad respect for a woman who loves to religiously scrub, right? Life gets messy fast when Molly becomes the prime suspect in a scandalous murder investigation. After all, she discovered the body.

On her own since Gran died a few months earlier, Molly’s life is pretty well isolated. She discovers, like Eleanor Oliphant, that friends stand by her side to help her uncover the truth. We experience the story through Molly’s eyes. While some of the events in the book seem obvious to the reader, they aren’t to Molly, which makes her all the more endearing. The Maid is a heartwarming story that helps us realize that “different” is okay.

Long-time editor Nita Prose (do we really believe that’s her name; how could she not have a successful book career?) ends The Maid with an unexpected twist. A surprise culprit and feel-good vibes, I have to give it 4.5 stars. This Good Morning America Book Club pick and New York Times Editors’ Choice lived up to its billing: “a twist-and-turn whodunit…The Maid satisfies on every level—from place to plot to protagonist…Think Clue. Think page-turner.”

Posted by Sharee

It's Miller Time

“Circe, he says, it will be all right. It is the saying of an oracle or a prophet….He does not mean that it does not hurt. He does not mean that we are not frightened. Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what is means to be alive.”

I wore out my audible rewind when I listened to those soothing lines.  So often good books deliver important messages straight to my heart. And I’m a huge sucker for life in perspective. Thankfully, Madeline Miller’s got one ton of wisdom, and she’s not afraid to share it. Sapience bubbles up and overflows in her protagonists. To quote Depeche Mode, “I just can’t get enough. I just can’t get enough.”

In case my December post wasn’t effusive enough, let me reiterate once more: I L-O-V-E-D The Song of Achilles—as in big Aphrodite platonic love. So I downloaded Circe with wicked speed.  In college, because I totally dig the humanities, I took not one but two Greek and Roman mythology classes. Years later, I’m well aware that Circe is a minor goddess. (Nymphs aren’t front and center stuff.) Like Harry Potter, she’s good with a magic wand and she’s not afraid to turn men into pigs. Other than that, she was hardly on my radar. Miller gave Circe dimensions. Beautiful dimensions. That’s not all, “this first-person account is a kind of greatest hits of the ancient Greek world: Prometheus and his endless punishment, Scylla and Charybdis, Hermes, Apollo, Athena, Daedalus and his son Icarus, Ariadne and the Minotaur (who is Circe’s nephew), Jason and the Golden Fleece—and Odysseus, of course.” I’m with reviewer Aida Edemariam when she observes, Miller goes beyond mere magic realism where anything can happen—where changes occur willy-nilly and leave audiences divested. “The real power doesn’t lie in the ostensible facts of the narrative, but in its psychology. And that is where Miller anchors her story—in the emotional life of a woman.” A woman who I now find relatable and relevant. A woman who has me thinking about what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch my feet. Who’s got me thinking about what it means to be present. 

Posted by Tracy

Mrs. Brightside

“Once you’ve fallen in love with books, their presence can make you feel at home anywhere, even in places where you shouldn’t belong.”

Happy January 2022! I’m headed into the new year like a washed-out sloth. I wish I were being dramatic. I promise, I’m not. I guess I’m kind of like Bob Wiley right now: “I’m doing the work, I’m baby-stepping, I’m not a slacker! Just look, I’m in really bad shape!” On the bright side, I’ve been reading awesome books. I’ve felt at home in places I shouldn’t—on the island of Aiaia, in the American Old West, a small mountain town near the Swiss border and war-torn Paris. Books have a way of making everything feel better. I’m so glad about that.

Even books that document a horrifying world war can inspire feelings like hope, amazement and awe. Kristin Harmel’s The Book of Lost Names promoted all of the above. This historical fiction revolves around a smart young grad student named Ava Traube Abrams. After her father is seized by the Wehrmacht, Ava and her mother devise an escape route through Nazi-occupied France. Ava is a talented artist. To her surprise and her mother’s complete dismay, she finds a way to use her art to outwit the Nazis in order to rescue Jewish children from Hitler’s vicious reach. I’ve read plenty of WW II novels, this we know. How did I not know more about the brave men and women who forged identity documents? Ava’s story is inspired by a true one. It was fascinating to learn about the saving grace (and art) of forgery. While there were predictable moments amid hiding, false papers, escapes, and arrests, this story was quite intriguing overall. The Book of Lost Names underscores the fact that love requires real courage. It reminds me that the sun never really rises—the earth rotates to face the sun—and we have to turn our eyes to brighter things.

Posted by Tracy

Passing Out Stars

The Christmas countdown is on—are we feelin’ the heat? Or are the presents wrapped under the tree while warm citrus spices mull deliciously on the stove? Regardless, we always have time to talk books. I haven’t read Louis Erdich’s Pulitzer Prize The Night Watchman, but I decided to give her latest a try. Lots of talk about The Sentence lately. A small independent bookstore, a ghost, and a main character haunted by her own strange past set the stage in this November release.

The story takes place in Minneapolis during an unprecedented year of worldwide pandemic and tumultuous racial and political unrest. Tookie, bookstore employee and former inmate who survived years of prison by consuming literature as if it were essential to sustain life, is haunted by the ghost of the store’s most annoying customer. Flora dies in 2019 on All Souls’ Day and refuses to leave the bookstore that she visited daily. Tookie must solve the mystery of the haunting to free her from the spirit that greets her each day. 

If I’m passin’ out stars…I’d hand over 4 for this one. Are there other books I’ve read this year that I’ve enjoyed more? Yes. Four Winds and The Last Thing He Told Me harnessed more admiration in this girl’s mind. USA Today offered The Sentence a solid four stars with this praise, “Dazzling…A hard-won love letter to readers and to booksellers, as well as a compelling story about how we cope with pain, fear, injustice and illness. One good way is to press a beloved book into another’s hand. Read The Sentence and then do just that.”

Posted by Sharee

Better than Eggnog

“He is half of my soul, as the poets say.”

Friday just called—she’ll be here tomorrow and she’s bringing the Coke Zero with limes. Thank Heavens!! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m up to my eyeballs in pressing stuff and I’m suspiciously devoid of the Christmas spirit at the moment. I’m sure if I turn on a few Christmas tunes and peruse the Holiday gift guide I’ll feel better.

Listening to The Song of Achilles felt a whole lot like holiday cheer. (Granted the Greeks are all about the tragedies, but it was such a good listen.) I had no idea Circe’s brainchild created, “a thrilling, profoundly moving and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War” years ago. How’d I miss this? Thank the Heavens again for my savvy niece who clued me in on the Orange Prize winner. Even if you’re not a huge fan of Homer, you’ll love Miller’s backstory. Hers is a quiet love story that is both inspiring and heartbreaking. You’ll be hard-pressed to feel anything but admiration for the ardent devotion between Achilles and Patroclus. The first-time novelist by night, Latin/Greek teacher by day grabbed me from the very beginning and never let me down. If you find spare minutes this holiday season, grab a book by Madeline Miller—it might be better than eggnog, peppermint bark, and all the Christmas trimmings (minus Rachel’s ginger snaps, of course).

Posted by Tracy