Americanah

Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I could probably take a few days to write this review. I could turn it into a full-on book report cum sociology conversation. But that's not what you are here for, so I'll curb those desires. A little.

This one took me a while to get into. I don't know if it was life circumstances or what, but I almost didn't renew after two weeks. I almost didn't finish this book. But I picked this book as a conscious effort to read more books by people of color, especially women. So, I kind of had to finish it. And, once I hit a certain point, one I can't really define, I didn't want to stop reading. Full confession, with just 20-ish pages left, I put my tablet on my bedside table and spent a sleepless night worrying that one of the characters might die. You might say I am invested in my stories.

Americanah is the story of Ifemelu, a Nigerian woman who moves to the United States, goes through some stuff, writes a blog and then ... well, I try not to give spoilers here. But the tale isn't that straightforward. It's a love story- chapters devoted to Ifem's boyfriend, Obinze, and the path his life takes. These two are school sweethearts who flit around each other like bugs around a lightbulb. They have very different experiences with immigration, but Adichie maintains a parallel storyline.

My freshman year at Indiana University, I took L141 like all my peers. The topic for this lit class was The Immigrant Experience. It wasn't my favorite class or topic. But now, years later, I wish I could track down that professor and talk about this book with her. There were things that I learned in that class that changed the way I read this book. I found myself mentally putting on Ifemelu's shoes to understand her story, not my interpretation of it. It was really quite interesting. I realized how many little things I take for granted daily that are unusual and even frightening to immigrants.

Another interesting thing about this book is that Ifem, as a Non-American Black, has a freedom to say things that American Blacks want to say (and do say) without being accused of reverse-racism or "playing the race card." It's almost as if she is this dispassionate outside observer, and so she can criticize Americans because she is detached. I highlighted many passages- a white woman who always refers to black women as beautiful but never as black, the "aggressive, unaffectionate interest" another woman has with Nigerians, accents, hair, tribalisms, the nationalism of liberal Americans, race as a social not biological construct, privilege, and Oprah. I would love to talk about each of these in depth, but I'll have to save that for face-to-face interactions.

I was a little disappointed when I looked up the Raceteenth blog and only found a couple of entries. This would have been a fantastic crossmojination(TM) of literature and the real world. But it doesn't seem that anyone working on the book was interested in that. Oh well.

I can't think of any reason not to recommend this book. It's love and travel and pop culture. It characters I truly care for. I don't own it, but will look for it in the used bookstore. Americanah earns 4 Marias.

Room

Room, Emma Donoghue

I started this one, put it down, came back to it. The concept is fascinating and I really wanted to love it. But I had to get through the first section before I could.

In an interview at the back of the book, Donoghue says that people will love the first part or the last part. Boy, she wasn't kidding! I liked the story of the first part- while Jack and Ma are still in captivity- but the storytelling made me want to do violent things to my copy (which, I promise I would never do).

The whole book is told by Jack, a five-year-old boy born and raised in a single room. His mother was kidnapped at 19. All he knows is Room. He gives titles to the objects in his room, much like the language of A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh series. And I love that! I have written a few essays about "proper verbs" and how this incorrect grammar actually represents ideas about language that children have but don't have words for. So that part was good and gave me hope for the rest of it. But it soon became difficult to believe Jack.

Given the headlines about children born in captivity- Jaycee Dugard (who was found after Room was written) or Elisabeth Fritzl- Jack's perspective is sadly believable. But what he knows and doesn't know is so unbelievable that I hated the first half of the book. He watches tv and listens to the radio, but doesn't know there is anything outside of Room. He watches cooking shows, but says Ma "hottens" food. At age five, he knows how to read and multiply but says if he touches the stove the red would spread to his clothes- even though he knows the word fire. It's this bizarre inconsistency that made the first half difficult to get into.

Then the break comes. Ma, who remembers Outside but has spent five years teaching Jack that there is only Room, wants out. She has to undo all the lies she has told and put her baby in the most extreme danger. Here's where it gets better.

After a milder escape and rescue than one might imagine, Ma and Jack move out of Room and into a psychiatric clinic. Ma is relieved to be out of captivity; Jack wants to return to the only world he's ever known. Together, they have to navigate a new life. The second half if painful and joyful, endearing and heart-wrenching. And makes the whole novel readable.

I don't know how they are making a movie with so much exposition from a five-year-old, but I hope the film version manages to be as realistic as the book and doesn't sensationalize an already outrageous story.

Room gets off to a rough start, but earns 3 Marias overall.

Another Flavia Tale

The Week That Strings the Hangman's Bag, Alan Bradley

Poor, Flave. Once again she's witness to a murder. At least this time she's not alone, though.

Charming and precocious Flavia deLuce is back in another murder mystery. This time, a puppeteer meets his untimely demise in front of half the town, in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk. Our favorite, pint-sized sleuth uses her strengths- wit, keen observation, and unquenchable curiosity- and her weaknesses to solve the puzzle.

It's an odd mystery that makes it almost halfway through before the murder occurs. A good bit of the character development of the less-than-angelic Mr. Porson takes place before he dies. Like preparing a good meal, Bradley seasons and salts the character after death.

Alas, the story itself is just not as good as the first. Usually I find that an author gets better within a series, but this is decidedly worse than The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. As much as I looked forward to continuing the series, this one left me unimpressed. Flavia's connection to the story is weird and shallow. The mystery arc itself might have been good, but it doesn't relate to Flavia in even a suspension of disbelief-believable way.

Hangman only earns 2.5 Marias. Maybe I'll try another later.

A Piece of Fanfiction

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two

Where, oh, where do I begin? Since my thoughts on this book are so scattered, I'm going to try to put them down in an orderly, start-to-finish fashion. Let's hope I don't get sidetracked.

Ok, first. THIS BOOK IS NOT WRITTEN BY JOANNE NO-MIDDLE-NAME-BUT-THE- EDITORS-DIDN'T-THINK-BOYS-WOULD-READ-A-WOMAN'S-WRITING ROWLING. That's not entirely true. The people who wrote this lifted entire scenes from the real Harry Potter series, so that dialogue is consistent with the characters we know and love. The rest of the story- not even close. It's like they took the original stereotypes we had about them all, added 20 years, and never bothered to let them grow beyond Year One. Except Harry, who has turned into The Man, not the one you buy shots for- the one who keeps you down.

Back to that middle name thing- how in the world, did someone at a publisher, probably several someones, read The Philosopher's Stone, realize that it had great potential and not realize that it had Universal Appeal? I realize that boys are not encouraged to read about girls while girls are expected to read about boys and girls, but really? The first is filled with female characters that girls should get closer to- Macgonagall, Molly, HERMIONE. The whole idea that Rowling was forced to cloak her identity to protect poor little boys who might accidentally enjoy fiction by a woman just sets my feminism bone a-buzzin'.

Parts One and Two- this is not only unnecessary, it's false. I hate to be the Dwight Shrute here, but one could not read just Part One and have a complete story. They are dependent on each other to tell a whole story arc. There's a semicolon at the end of Part One, not a full stop. Also, none of the children are actually cursed, so the title is inconsistent with the rest of the stories.

Now into the actual pages. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how this is a stage production. The scenes are so short and shift setting so often, you'd have to have the best set people in the world, possibly a rotating stage or a huge one. The huge one is probably how it happened because the characters don't move around while they are together or talking. So one huge background, lit the right, very focused way, could bounce around all over the magical world. I imagine it a very complicated production. In addition to the logistical nightmare, most of the scenes are so short there would have to be a lot of scrambling about on stage. One scene is a single page and doesn't contain a word of dialogue. And don't get me started on the actual magic that would have to occur. On stage. There's polyjuice, people.

The characters- what have they done to the characters we know? Macgonagall has lost her soft spot for Harry and the Gang. Headmistress must be a tough job if it crushes her spirit. Remember, she was a strict teacher, but she had a quiet, impish fire inside her. How did the woman who gave Harry his Nimbus 2000 come to merely tolerate him now that he's Head of Magical Law Enforcement? Was Ron lobotomized? Why doesn't Neville ever show up on stage? What has become of Teddy? WHERE IS HAGRID?

One of my favorite things to ponder is how the original stories would be different if Harry had accepted Draco's offer of friendship on the Hogwart's Express. Would Harry have become a Slytherin? (oh my goodness! it looks like this might be about that. Oh, wait, no.) What different path would he have taken to defeat Voldemort? Would the prophecy been about Neville instead? Would Ron and Hermione gotten together? Oh, the possibilities are endless! I got excited at the beginning of this book thinking that someone else had put pen to paper and drawn up one possible scenario, just one generation off. It starts with that premise a little bit- Albus is a Slytherin and friends with Scorpius, son of Draco- but that's about as far as that goes.

The story is unbelievable even when you suspend disbelief enough to accept magic. There are gaping holes. Is The Augury a bird, a child, or a place where they roast muggles? It is never referenced in the original novels, just in video games and later companion books. Now that Draco is out from under his father's thumb, why is he still a dickweed? Did he and Harry really not figure a way to be friendly in the twenty years since The Battle of Hogwarts? I could've sworn that a major theme of the series was redemption and forgiveness, I expect the hero to apply that to others, too. Why was Cedric's death so much more influential than any other person who died for The Cause? Did the writers fancy RPatz and wish him to not be sparkly?  And why hasn't Harry's scar been bothering him this whole time Voldemort's Child has been alive? Because it hurt him from the moment Moldy Voldy started sucking on unicorn blood in the first one. It wasn't that he was taking power and making efforts to destroy anyone, his mere existence was enough.

So despite all these complaints, I still liked the book. I was, once again, whisked away to a fantastic world where anything is possible, where good will triumph over evil, where people drink butterbeer. I think the writers, publishers, and producers were banking on that nostalgia to sell a truckload of books. We Potterheads will buy anything remotely related to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We're still talking about the stories nine years after the last one was published. They are enchanting and magical themselves. After all these years? Always.

Being connected to the originals is enough to earn this one three Marias. I know many will argue I'm being sentimental, and I'm ok with that.

A Book That Makes No Sense

Orchids and Stone, Lisa Preston

I'm just making up categories now, so I figure I should try to make them entertaining. Unfortunately, entertaining is not how I would describe this book. It's pretty much the reason I cancelled my Kindle Unlimited membership. If this is the kind of drivel they are going to offer me for $10/month, I'd rather put that money towards stuff I can find at the used bookstore. Heck, I'll cut back on my Hardee's All Natural Low Carb intake and buy new releases to avoid crap like this if that's what it takes.

First, the title. Neither orchids nor stone play a vital role in the novel. Not only that, but they are never tied together. Of all the possibilities for titles (I suggest- Three Unrelated Stories, What's the Deal with Grandpa?, or maybe just What the F#$&), this one only makes sense because, like the different threads in the novel, they never connect enough to create one cohesive story.

The first thread is that this woman dropped out of college and became a roofer. She's pretty good at her job. Some dude on her first day wasn't thrilled that she could handle it. Spoiler alert- roofing is the only thing this woman seems capable of doing. She's a static character that never applies the life lessons thrown at her to actual life.

Then there's the thread of her murdered sister and her father's subsequent suicide. Talk about an anti-climactic resolution. Weak, weak, weak. I'll save you the trouble- the guy is dead.

There's also a thread about her relationship with her boyfriend and his two children. There are glimpses into the complications of blending families, but the children's behaviors go largely unexplained (and are somewhat inexplicable). Boyfriend's dad is also in a nursing home, which is probably supposed to help build tension but fails.

There's also the elderly woman in the park begging for help. Here's where the story really goes off the rails. It's kind of the main story except the narrator keeps coming back to these other, unrelated distractions. It's also ridiculously unrealistic. And the resolution to this conflict sucks just as bad as all the others. There is an attempt to link it to the murdered sister because Daphne (I finally looked it up for you) feels compelled to help the stranger and wishes someone would have done the same for her sister.

I think the biggest problem this book faces is trying to tackle too much with one book. There isn't enough to tie the different tales together (the only thing that does is Daphne, and I didn't really like her anyway). If Preston had focused on just one of the main themes- compassion/antipathy, surviving sibling of murder, family dynamics, workplace mysogyny- she could have come up with something readable with the right editor. Instead, we're stuck with a novel so bad that even the fact that it's "free" doesn't redeem it.

In short, don't waste your time. This book was a huge disappointment. One Maria.

  

Reading Aloud

I recently attended a webinar by Andrew Pudewa, founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, also known as "the funny man with the wonderful words." Mr. Pudewa is indeed a funny man who presents an engaging approach to teaching language arts at home and in the classroom. We are about to start our second year of IEW, but I'm not here to talk about homeschooling exactly.

The webinar was about how to develop a broad vocabulary in children, and one of the best ways to do this is to read aloud. Now, as a busy mom, I had kind of gotten to the point where reading aloud was losing priority because our oldest can read- he finished the Harry Potter series in a matter of days. Surely that is improving his vocabulary, right? Well, it turns out, just reading is not as magical as I would have thought. So, after about an hour with Mr. Pudewa (or just Pudewa as he is known around our house), I realized I needed to be reading aloud to all my children. And not just Go, Dog, Go for the zillionth time.

Next I was faced with the task of picking the best titles to read to three children, ranging from 3 to 8 years old, with a variety of interests. The oldest loves magical adventure stories, while the middle is easily frightened. The younger two don't flinch at death, while the oldest is compassionate. I wanted to include strong female characters, too. So from the bookshelf, I selected our first (even though we've done this before) Read Aloud:

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis

Before I started reading, I explained to my daughter that this is one of my favorite childhood books. I told her that sometimes she reminds me of Lucy. I left out the part about pretending to be Lucy when I was a child, but it's true.

The story is not overly complicated. Four children stumble upon a magical kingdom where the White Witch has cast a spell that makes it always winter and never Christmas. The children meet talking animals and magical creatures on an adventure that lasts a lifetime or only a few seconds.

Girl-child is the only one who sat through the entire reading, but something I caught Oldest-boy standing in the hall listening in. Everyone followed the story well enough, even the 3-year-old. There were plenty of new words to absorb; I was occasionally stopped to define one. But overall, it was understood enough to make a story. There are, of course, subtleties in the writing (Spare Oom, for example) that the children will not appreciate until they read this one on their own. But we had fun reading it together- summarizing, making predictions, and imagining how we might find our way to Narnia.

As I mentioned before, this is one of my favorite childhood books, so it earns a permanent place on the bookshelf with (surprise) five Marias. But in addition to the rating, I want to encourage parents and teachers to read aloud, even to children who can read. It has made a subtle, positive impact on our days and is now one of the things I look forward to the most.

Chapter 41: A Book With Bad Reviews

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

This is just a silly category. Every book has someone out there saying they hated it. I mean, just scroll through some of my previous posts and you can see that. But I'm crossing it off the list today.

It's already well documented that I love a precocious, intelligent girl protagonist. To say that I'm charmed by Miss Flavia deLuce would be an understatement. A ten year old who says, "I might be considered a very dangerous person," and means it is simultaneously frightening and delightful.

Flave is the youngest of three sisters living at Buckshaw, a once-regal country estate that has passed its prime. She's fascinated by chemistry, especially poisons, and never wastes an opportunity to stick her nose into trouble. When she stumbles upon a dying man in the cucumber patch, her imagination and wit take her on an adventure of intrigue, danger, and stamps.

One of the frequent complaints of this book on Goodreads is that Flavia is unbelievable. Clearly these people do not remember what it's like to be a smart, 10-year old girl. These readers underestimate the abilities of the girl, much the same way the older sisters and constables do in the book.

The story itself is a typical whodunit. The reader makes connections quicker than the hero. The bad guy gets caught. The unlikely detective gets a token of gratitude or praise. Somehow, told through Flavia's eye, even a mystery about stamps (stamps! sorry, philatelists, but you've got to expect them to seem boring outside collector circles) is engaging, funny, and interesting.

Sweetness earns 4 Marias. I plan to read more of the series just too find out what Flavia is up to next.

Chapter 40: A Play

A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
No Fear Shakespeare Edition

I have never used Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, etc. Ever. Because when I was in school, they were seen as an excuse to know enough to pass a test without reading a book instead of as a study guide. But this was the only version of MSND that was available at my library, so I checked it out.

We've been doing this thing in our homeschool where we spend some time in the mornings doing something with the arts. We've memorized Jabberwocky and watched OK Go videos. Soon we will begin reading some Shakespeare. Before I try to teach my kids something, I probably should have a grasp for it. So this kills two birds with one stone.

I'm not going to go much into the actual play. It's Shakespeare. He's great. It's great. Blah, blah, blah. But I would like to talk about this side-by-side edition. I think it's a great way to make complicated language accessible to more people. I still read the original text, but it was easy to find a modern translation if I was unsure of my own. For the most part, I got it. But there were times that a minor change affected the story. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I caught all the subtleties of the Bard's writing- far from it. But having the translation *right there* gave me more confidence as I read the lines. It took a lot of the intimidation out- which is just awesome. If I worry and struggle- and we all know how much I love to read- then imagine someone who doesn't. Imagine a student whose family speaks another language at home. Imagine a person who thinks very logically and has difficulty understanding flowery or figurative language. This little book could make a world of difference for them. How cool is that?!?

When I was in high school, I had an English teacher who loved to teach Shakespeare. She was a very prim and proper woman, one might even accuse her of being dour. But she got a sparkle in her eye when talking about ol' Bill. She led a field trip to Canada every year so students could see multiple plays in a weekend. She had a gift for making Shakespeare relatable to many teenagers, including explaining the dirty jokes. This edition was like having Mrs. Burns reading beside me and telling me the secrets. I like to think she would approve of a study guide.

I'm not really sure how to rate this one. It's a different kind of review. I'll definitely use this series of guides to help my kids and myself with literature, but I wouldn't just recommend it to anyone looking for something to read. I'll leave Maria out of this one lest I sound like an advertisement.

Chapter 39: A Book with a Color in the Title

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell

I'm surprised I never read this one. I like historical fiction, and Island definitely belongs on several lists of books popular with tween girls, but maybe I was just too busy with Louisa May Alcott and the Babysitters Club series. Anyway, I picked it up for the Blue, not really knowing anything about it.

O'Dell took the true story of a woman who lived alone on an island for 18 years and turned it into an award-winning classic. Unlike other historical fiction I have enjoyed, like Phillipa Gregory's Tudor series, there is actually very little of The Lost Woman of San Nicolas that can be verified. Even the author's epilogue is disputed by some history buffs. So, with accounts given through pantomime and signing and the logs of a couple of captains, O'Dell crafted the tale of a woman's loneliness and survival. Regardless of how accurate it is, it belongs on children's shelves.

I'm not going to get into details of the plot, but I never thought details of fishing for a squid could be so compelling. Her relationship with the animals of the island makes me surprised Rontu isn't a more popular dog name.

There's no telling what "Karana" actually encountered and endured all those years, but I think O'Dell did a nice job of creating some conflict and resolution without turning it into an exhausting array of near-death experiences (something I grow weary of when reading the Outlander series). Karana is a realistic badass that I look forward to introducing my kids to. She earns 4 Marias for Island (and here is where we make a remark about white men getting things that natives/women worked for).

Chapter 38: A Book with a One Word Title

Baggage, S.G. Redling

Another Kindle Unlimited title that I snagged to cross off an item on the list. I did not have high hopes for this book. The first 30-40% of it, I was sure the whole thing was going to be awful. Besides the single word title, I picked it because it reminded me of slam dancing with my sister at The Metro to this. So, I was surprised when the story (finally) caught my interest.

Anna Shuler Ray has had terrible things happen to people around her on February 17. Really, really terrible things. To two people, so it seems more like a coincidence than some sort of lifelong pattern. So while she is drinking herself into a stupor in an admittedly poor attempt to cope with the anniversary, someone on her campus is murdered. In the building where she works. Oh, and the guy is interested in her.

Cousin Jeannie is in town, as some sort of enabling support. I mean, sure, sometimes cranking up your favorite childhood pop hits, devouring junk food, and chugging bottles of wine SEEMS like a great idea. But, really? Is this helping someone you love? Someone you consider your sister? This falls firmly on my list of Bad Ideas.

So, ambitionless alcoholic narrator is similar to Girl on the Train, but unlike Rachel, Anna has zero interest in getting involved in another crime. She tries so hard to avoid any connection that she draws attention to herself. As the story progresses, the story arc I expected to unfold doesn't. Well, not exactly. I was right about the villain and the motive, but how we get to that point was not what I thought.

Even with a rough start, Anna's tale became more engrossing. The flashback chapters were clear and crucial to understanding how Anna has become some miserable. I found myself liking her more, in part because the third person flashbacks give her some tenderness and vulnerability that the first person narrative full of self-deprecating remarks dragged the beginning. By about halfway through, I wanted to read more- not so much for the revelation of The Big Secret, which was no surprise- but to see what kind of road Anna might move along next.

One of my favorite scenes is in the police station, when an officer has confronted Anna with a particularly painful piece of evidence that ties her to the campus murder(s). The rest of Anna's lines are simply "fuck you." Over and over. And it was great because I felt that complete loss of any reasonable response and her need to just stand her ground with her "phrase du jour." It was comedic, dramatic, and realistic. I loved it.

My biggest disappointment with the novel is that there is mention of a crime from the past that earned a name. You know the type- BTK, Westside Strangler, Columbine. Sensational murders that could be concentrated into a few little words that are universally recognized for their horror. So, after reading the book, I googled the name of the crime from Anna's past. No wikipedia entry. Nothing. And I just feel like making a couple of true crime-style webpages would be a great publicity for the book and just add an element to the overall style. I know this is a fictional crime, but having that to read after would have probably earned an extra half Maria.

Still, I enjoyed the book once it really got rolling and found myself interested in a pretty flat character. So Baggage earns 3.5 Marias for being surprisingly satisfying.

Chapter 37: A Book Set in the Future

The Giver, Lois Lowry

Newberry winner, turned into a movie, people name their child after one of the characters- maybe my expectations were high for this one. After that insomnia-destroying violin book, I thought this might be a tense enough story to keep me awake. Mostly it did, but was it worth it?

First, let me state for the record that Child #3 did not get his middle name because of this story. I won't ever pretend at some point in the future that it had any influence on the choice. But when I read the author's introduction in which she claims many fans have sent her letters saying they have named their child for one in the novel, well, I expected something original, thought-provoking, and amazing. What I got was ... meh.

The premise of the story has potential- after generations, a community has achieved sameness. Sameness is probably not even the right word, though. People have different abilities and interests, but almost every person has the same life-trajectory. Born > placed with a family unit until adulthood > productive member of society > retirement to the home for old persons > release. Anything other than that is an anomaly and people avoid discussing it because being polite is really, really important. Sounds like things could get pretty interesting, right? You'd think.

Enter Jonas. At Level 12, he gets skipped over in the ceremony that announces what his future job will be. After his peer group gets their assignments, Jonas is called to the center of the room and told he has been chosen for a high honor. He will be Receiver of Memory. His training begins the next day and we are assured it will be painful. Ok, let's see where this is going.

Oh, nevermind. There's snow and a sled and the Civil War and then boom! it's been a year and Jonas is almost done with his training. One of the special things he can do, that no one else can do because it isn't polite, is ask prying questions. Jonas learns what release really involves (I won't spoil it, but it's no surprise. At all.) and decides to run away with the collective memories from generations past. And he takes a baby with him.

Ah! So the journey is going to be a big part of the plot! We're going to see Jonas and Gabriel bond and experience new things now? Nope. It's going to take a single chapter to get through what is a very long journey (I assume). And that's the end. No revolution. No conflict wherein the Elders try to change Jonas' mind. No word at all of what becomes of the Community members Jonas once cared for- his parents, sister, and friends. Just ... The End.

I just can't believe with this much material, this is all we get. And that people love it so much. It's not terrible. It's written well enough. It just lacks so much- character development, continuity, conflict. I guess I could be generous and call it a Revolution of One, but without more information I can't even do that. This story is like a Slim Fast shake instead of one of those insane buffets in Vegas. Overall, I'm underwhelmed. I won't read it again or expect my kids to (but they can if they want). The Giver gets a disappointing 2.5 Marias.

Chapter 36: A Book Set in a Different Country

The Moonlit Garden, Corina Bomann

Boooooooorrrrrrrrrring! I didn't expect a book about a violin to be spine-tingling, but this was just awful. I put my head down and powered through 400+ pages of crap so you don't have to. I wish it could be blamed on poor translation, but the whole thing was just the perfect solution for my insomnia, which is why it took so long to review it.

Love story- no depth. Why are these people interested in each other?

Historic mystery- lame. Besides the fact that it has no significance to anyone, even the sleuth, the whole thing is contrived and unimaginative.

I did learn the word Sundanese, which is not clarified in the novel, so I thought it was the word for "people from Sumatra." According to wikipedia, though, it's not. Click on that link. What you'll find there is a million times more interesting than this snooze-fest.

I'll grugingly give Garden a Maria because it is, in fact, a whole book.

Chapter 35: A Book Set Somewhere You've Always Wanted to Visit

Trail of Broken Wings, Sejal Badani

I'm not sure if it's northern California that I want to visit, or India, but those are the two places this book takes place and I'd be happy to travel to either. Not why I picked this title, but, hey, I'll use whatever I can make work.

The title led me to believe that this would be a rich text full of evocative language. It's not. I'm beginning to think that I need to lower my literary standards. Again we have a book with so much potential that never is fulfilled. I hate that I am, once again, writing about an unimpressive book, but here goes.

Broken Wings is the tale of three women and their mother, as they reunite around the deathbed of their father, who has fallen into an inexplicable coma. The family immigrated to the States from India when the girls were still young, only one having memories of their life there. Instead of finding the American Dream, daddy flips a switch and becomes an abusive tyrant to his family, except the middle sister who remains adored.

So now daddy is unresponsive and the women are facing a very complicated situation. Do they want him to live? Do they want him to die? Should he suffer? Does he still have control over them? What role does each play in the family and can that ever change? All some really great questions. All of them pretty much ignored, too. I was so disappointed in the shallow treatment of so many complicated things.

First, there is much time taken repeating pseudo-poetic metaphors that bore me, but there is very little exploration of how being an Indian family in the United States gives this story any flavor. Make me feel the pain of being an outsider in your own home. Make me long for a life that is idealized by time and distance. Give me more insight into Indian culture and how it makes this story happen. Don't just keep serving chai and roti. There is so much more to your voice than an old sari and some naan. I'm getting frustrated all over again just thinking about it.

Next, give the characters some personality. There's the successful, driven executive who is a control freak. There's the pretty and loved one who does her duty to family. There's the rebel artist who pushes people away. It's so cliche. Give me some flawed humanity. Give me hidden anguish. Or, explain to me why these women are so one-dimensional and rigid. And don't tell me it's because their dad was an abuser. I kept wanting more, hoping for a breakthrough, and it never happened. This is probably why I couldn't pursue a career in phsychology- I would lose my temper on people who held back.

As the youngest of three daughters, I would have loved to relate to the women as their relationships grew over time. But they didn't. They are all stuck in their ways and only make superficial growth throughout the pages. Ranee, the mom, is easily my favorite character because she does allow for changes. Her revelation was not a surprise for me, but was foreshadowed elegantly enough that I only knew what would happen, not how. That was one part of the writing that I felt was well-developed. Otherwise, it was mostly immature and heavy-handed writing.

Part of me hoped that this would connect me to the part of my family that came to the States from India. Though I haven't seen them in over a decade, there are some bonds that exist forever. They did not suffer the kind of torment as the family in the novel, but there are definitely some complicated relationships there.

I mentioned complicated grief earlier. This is a term a friend introduced me to while she was coping with her mother's death. I find the idea so fascinating and also comforting. It's a phrase I wish to give to many people I know who feel conflicted about the end of relationships or lives near to them. Maybe that will be a theme in something I write one day. Until then, I hope it at least gives people something to think about.

Trail of Broken Wings gets a disappointing two Marias. Wish me luck that the next one is worth recommending.

Chapter 34: A Book Based On a True Story

Booth's Sister, Jane Singer

What's it like being related to an infamous criminal? How do you juggle love of family with hate of their crimes? What lengths would you go to in order to protect your best friend?

A novelization of the real memoirs of Asia Booth, this book seeks to frame her story in the context of a bizarre childhood of theater and seclusion. At times magical, at others devastating, the Booths grew up in a peculiar family to say the least.

I typically enjoy historical fiction, but I've never read much about this era and nothing about John Wilkes Booth. Aside from his cry of "Sic Semper Tyrannis" I don't really know much about the man. Viewing his spiral to infamy through the eyes of his devoted yet jealous sister is intriguing. The disparity between what boys and girls can do, between each one's moral compass, and ultimately between their fates makes me wonder at the depth of love.

I don't want to give much away, because those who like historical fiction will also probably like this novel. Asia, as a woman and as a social outcast, can get away with some things that others would never attempt. In that way, she shapes the future of the entire nation- whether she's a willing participant or not.

I might refer back to this one as I attempt to portray sympathy for characters that are not always sympathetic. Singer portrays Asia Booth with humanity, neither elevating nor diminishing her. Booth's Sister gets 3.5 Marias.

Chapter 33: A Book By an Author You've Never Read Before

The Good Neighbor, A. J. Banner

This story has so much potential. The writing is well-paced to build tension and suspicion. But it all kind of falls apart in the end. Like, really falls apart.

It's been compared to Gone Girl, a book I have serious issues with. So, maybe I should have skipped it. But I wanted a thriller so I downloaded.

Sarah lives in a quiet neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest. Everything seems pretty normal until the next-door-neighbor's house burns to the ground and Sarah rescues the four year old daughter, but fails to save the parents.

Then the secrets start to be revealed. That's sort of the formula for this type of novel. Some are laid out for the reader to ponder, others are just hints and glimpses of potential terror. But the terror comes too little, too late. It's out of nowhere. The breadcrumbs leading to the villain must have been eaten by mice because the Big Reveal comes out of nowhere.

So, not only does the antagonist just snap and put people in danger, but the other storylines are not resolved. Ok, I get it. You plan to write more about these people, to develop them more. Then do that. I don't enjoy reading a series that does not allow the individual pieces to stand alone. Especially when there are no other installments! Make me fall in love with the characters and then let new conflicts arise. Don't leave me hanging with a runaway, a possibly cheating spouse, and whatever other nonsense you didn't bother wrapping up in the first.

It was entertaining until the last quarter of the book. But instead of being like an awesome illusion where you are left wondering how the magician pulled it off, you're just scratching you head wondering why he even bothered. I feel like I've been trapped in an Arrested Development gag. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nvxv2R01po

I won't read this one again. I won't recommend it to anyone I like. It wasn't a total waste of time, in part because I keep thinking of what I would do to make the ending more satisfying. Neighbor gets two Marias.