Tag: fiction

Review: My True Love Gave to Me

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My True Love Gave to MeStephanie Perkins, ed., My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories

This anthology of holiday romances contains stories from some of the biggest names in YA right now, including Rainbow Rowell, Kelly Link, Jenny Han, David Levithan, and editrix Stephanie Perkins. All twelve stories involve a romance and a winter holiday, but each one is different. There are Christmas stories and Chanukah stories, real-life settings and fantasy worlds, characters who find love and characters who find themselves. Rainbow Rowell’s “Midnights” tracks the friendship of Mags and Noel over the course of several New Year’s Eves, until the night their relationship changes forever. Jenny Han’s “Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me” is narrated by the only human who lives at the North Pole. Myra McEntire’s “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” involves a bad boy, a preacher’s daughter, and a Christmas pageant gone horribly awry. The variety of stories in this collection guarantees that any lover of the winter holidays will find something in it to enjoy.

Short story collections are usually hit-or-miss for me, but because of the impressive list of contributors to this book, I was hoping for more “hits” than I got. I would say I quite liked about half the stories, with Rowell’s “Midnights” being my favorite by far. By spreading the story over several years, I really got a sense of the depth of Mags and Noel’s relationship, and the climactic scene was pitch-perfect. By contrast, I felt like a lot of the stories actually needed to be full novels in order to make a real impact. For example, “The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer” by Laini Taylor had lovely writing and an interesting world, but because the story is so short, there wasn’t really enough room to develop that world. I was also underwhelmed by Stephanie Perkins’ story, which surprised me because I love her novels! But again, I think the issue is that she didn’t really have enough space to develop her characters and make me care about them. As I said, I did like about half the stories, and I’ll be checking out more work by some of these authors (Kelly Link and Kiersten White in particular), but this is not a must-read collection.

Review: All the Light We Cannot See

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All the Light We Cannot SeeAnthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See

This sprawling novel tells the stories of two children growing up on opposite sides of World War II. Marie-Laure lives in Paris with her father, who is a locksmith working for the Museum of Natural History. She has been blind since the age of six, so her father has built a tiny replica of the city for her to memorize. But Marie-Laure is uprooted from these familiar surroundings when the Germans invade Paris and she has to flee to her great-uncle’s house on Saint-Malo. Meanwhile, Werner is a German orphan whose knack for fixing radios changes the course of his life. Instead of being doomed to a life of coal mining, he is chosen to attend a school where he will be trained as a Hitler Youth. Werner soon learns that the school is grueling and brutal, a place where weakness is mercilessly punished. But his desire to become a scientist, combined with fear for his own safety, keeps him silent. Werner’s story eventually converges with Marie-Laure’s in 1944, when the Germans are trying to hold Saint-Malo against an Allied invasion.

I was eager to read this novel after seeing several rave reviews, but unfortunately I have mixed feelings about it. I didn’t particularly like the novel’s structure, which constantly moves between Werner’s story and Marie-Laure’s, as well as jumping back and forth in time. Every time I got invested in one storyline, the book would jump to something else, which was frustrating. Also, there’s not a whole lot of plot in the book; it’s more a very detailed depiction of everyday life on both sides of WWII. That’s interesting in its own right, but I often became impatient with the meticulous descriptive language, especially when it came at the expense of the story. On the other hand, I’m very impressed with the character of Werner in this book. It’s easy (and justifiably so) to paint the Nazis as pure villains, but Werner manages to be a complex character whose motives are usually better than his actions. It helps that both he and Marie-Laure are children throughout most of the book, which makes them more sympathetic. Overall, I do think the novel is worth reading, but I’m glad I got it from the library rather than buying it.

Review: The Rosie Project

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Rosie Project, TheGraeme Simsion, The Rosie Project

Professor Don Tillman is a brilliant geneticist, but his professional success is offset by his lack of luck in the romance department. Attacking this problem with all the force of his logical brain, Don comes up with the Wife Project: a questionnaire for prospective mates designed to weed out undesirable or incompatible qualities. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this does not go well…but then Don meets Rosie. Rosie is the exact opposite of the woman described by the questionnaire: she’s disorganized, spontaneous, and perpetually late. She also needs Don’s help to find her biological father, whom she has never met. Interested in her problem, Don agrees to participate in the Rosie Project. But the more time he spends with her, the more he begins to rethink his list of strict requirements for the ideal woman. He also re-examines his own life and discovers some surprising things about himself — including the fact that he just might have a chance at love after all.

This book was a huge hit when it came out last year, and I can absolutely see why! It’s a charming romantic comedy about two people who couldn’t be more wrong for each other — except, of course, they’re exactly right. Don is a great protagonist and narrator, and he’s unique for a romantic hero in that he has Asperger syndrome. I can’t speak to whether the author’s portrayal of a person with Asperger’s is authentic, but it rang true to me. I like that the book shows both the benefits and drawbacks to having a brain that works differently from most people’s. Don approaches the world in a very logical, structured fashion, which makes him a great scientist. But by the same token, he doesn’t always pick up on social cues or body language, which makes his courtship of Rosie difficult. Rosie herself didn’t make as much of an impression on me; she’s a quirky free spirit who doesn’t really rise above stereotype. But I loved the book for Don’s unique voice and for the sheer sweetness and humor of the love story. This is definitely one of my top reads of the year!

Review: The Brontës Went to Woolworths

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Brontes Went to Woolworths, TheRachel Ferguson, The Brontës Went to Woolworths

This book follows the fortunes of three sisters: Katrine is an actress, Deirdre is a journalist, and Sheil is still in the schoolroom. All three girls have very rich imaginations, and they have populated their world with a host of ficitonal friends, some of whom are based on real people. When the girls’ mother acts as a juror in the courtroom of Judge Toddington, the sisters immediately adopt him and his wife into their circle of imaginary friends. They affectionately nickname him “Toddy” and concoct a wealth of details about his life, from the state of his marriage to his favorite foods. But their world of make-believe collides with reality when Deirdre actually meets Judge Toddington’s wife at a charity event. As she and her sisters get to know Toddy in real life, will they be able to cope with the shattering of their illusions? Are they bound to be disappointed by the flesh-and-blood Toddingtons? And what would Toddy and his wife say if they knew the truth?

This is a strange little book, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, Deirdre and her sisters are a lot of fun, and their flights of fancy are as entertaining as they are ridiculous. I often got confused about what was actually fantasy versus reality — but then again, I think that’s the point. I also loved the actual characters of Judge Toddington and his wife, as distinct from the girls’ fictional narrative about them. They are both very kind people who actually want to become friends with the girls, and when they realize that they are stepping into a pre-existing narrative, they do their best not to disturb the girls’ fun. On the other hand, I couldn’t help being a little put off by the girls themselves. The reader is clearly supposed to sympathize with their flights of fancy, but I couldn’t help identifying a little bit with Sheil’s governess, who is shocked by the magnitude of their fantasy world. These girls are not practical, and they live a wildly sheltered life; I found them quite irritating at times. Still, the book is very charming overall, and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes the premise.

Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

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Blue Lily, Lily BlueMaggie Stiefvater, Blue Lily, Lily Blue

***Warning: SPOILERS for previous books in the series!***

Blue Sargent and the Raven Boys are approaching the end of their quest to find the long-lost Welsh king Owen Glendower. But as always, there are complications. First of all, Blue’s mother is missing, and the cryptic note she left behind says only that she is “underground.” Is she one step ahead of them in the search for Glendower, or has she gotten involved in something more sinister? Then there’s the fact that Colin Greenmantle, the person who hired the Gray Man to kidnap Ronan in The Dream Thieves, is in town — and he’s the boys’ new Latin teacher. Worst of all, when Blue and the boys finally locate the cave where Glendower rests, they realize that their troubles are only just beginning. For there is more than one entity dwelling in this cave, and some things are better left asleep…

As a fan of the previous books in the Raven Cycle, I pretty much devoured this installment. I think it might be my favorite book yet in the series, because it’s finally starting to pull together the various plot threads and character relationships that have been simmering since the first book. More secrets are revealed, the plot continues to twist and turn, and various characters’ motivations are slowly uncovered. I really like the fact that Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah have become this inseparable unit now. In the first two books, there was a lot of tension between various members of the group, with everyone trying to figure out whom to trust. But in this book, they have finally accepted each other and decided to work together. I also love how certain characters (Blue and Adam in particular) are thinking about their futures: Even if they do manage to find Glendower, what happens then? So I’m very excited to see how things will turn out, and I can’t wait for the release of the fourth and final book next year!

Review: The Beauty Chorus

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Beauty Chorus, TheKate Lord Brown, The Beauty Chorus

This novel centers around three female pilots who join the Air Transport Auxiliary, ferrying planes back and forth between Allied bases during World War II. Evie Chase is a headstrong young debutante who enjoys her life of privilege but wants to “do her bit” for the war effort — and escape from her odious stepmother. Stella Grainger is struggling with being separated from her baby boy, whom she’s sent to her husband’s parents in Ireland. And Megan Jones, a 17-year-old Welsh girl, wants nothing more than to keep her family’s farm running and to marry her sweetheart, Bill. These three young women couldn’t be more different, but when they join the ATA and become roommates, they form an extremely close bond. Together they deal with the challenges of flying different aircraft, the discrimination they face for being women in a man’s world, and the joys and sorrows of wartime love affairs. But despite their strength and determination, they can never quite escape the brutal realities of war.

This is a book I really wanted to love. The story has so much going for it — WWII, female pilots, romance, and even a little espionage! — but unfortunately, I was disappointed. The biggest problem for me was the clunky writing style; for example, on one occasion, the author drops a character name into the story before introducing that character. I had to flip backward to make sure I hadn’t somehow missed his entrance, but in fact, it was just a confusing way to introduce the new character. There’s also a lot of head-hopping in the book; not only does the point of view shift between the three girls (which would be understandable), but there are random paragraphs from the perspectives of their suitors and various other minor characters. Finally, while I liked the main characters in theory, they never really rose above clichés. For example, Evie is a typical HF heroine: incredibly beautiful, naturally talented as a flyer, and implausibly far ahead of her time. Overall, while the book certainly wasn’t a slog, I can’t say I’d recommend it either.

Review: Bellman & Black

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Bellman & BlackDiane Setterfield, Bellman & Black

This atmospheric novel tells the story of William Bellman, who makes one decision in childhood that will alter the entire course of his life. When he is ten years old, he and a few friends are playing in the field near their village, and they see a rook on a far-off tree branch. Will bets his friends that he can hit the bird with his slingshot, and to everyone’s astonishment, he actually does it. Will and his friends soon forget the incident, but from then on, rooks become a touchstone and a bad omen for William Bellman. As he gets older, he becomes more and more successful: first he get a job at his uncle’s mill, then rises through the ranks until he eventually runs it. He marries and has children, and he begins to make a very comfortable living. But when an illness sweeps through the village and takes most of William’s family, he will do anything to save his remaining daughter — including making a desperate deal with the mysterious Mr. Black. William’s encounter with Black leads him to an entirely different business venture, one that eventually threatens to consume him.

I absolutely loved Diane Setterfield’s debut novel, The Thirteenth Tale, so I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, I’m coming away from it with mixed feelings. The writing style is just as rich and gorgeous as I remember, and I found myself reading very quickly despite the slow-moving plot. I also admire the novel’s atmosphere of suspense; it has a wonderfully autumnal, sinister quality, despite the fact that not a lot of scary stuff actually happens. In fact, that may be my biggest problem with the book: there’s this great buildup of tension throughout the novel, but in the end there’s no payoff. The interludes about rooks — and William’s encounters with them throughout the book — are meant to heighten the suspense, I think, but I didn’t really understand their role in the story. Frankly, I was a bit confused about the story as a whole; I was expecting a Faustian narrative in which William essentially sells his soul for success, but that’s not really what happens. In short, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be taking away from this book — but I’m definitely not giving up on Setterfield yet!

Review: The Lady Vanishes

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Lady Vanishes, TheEthel Lina White, The Lady Vanishes

Iris Carr is a privileged young Englishwoman enjoying a holiday somewhere in Europe with a large group of friends. But when her crowd is ready to leave, Iris decides to stay an extra day and enjoy the beauties of the mountains by herself. When she boards the train to go home, she is immediately isolated from the other passengers because she doesn’t speak the native language. So when a talkative English spinster named Miss Froy introduces herself, Iris is glad to have the company, even though Miss Froy is rather a bore. After a long chat, Iris takes a nap in her compartment; but when she wakes up, Miss Froy is gone! Eventually she begins to worry, so she finds a young Englisman to act as interpreter and ask the other passengers where Miss Froy went. To Iris’ shock, they all claim not to remember Miss Froy and say Iris must be imagining things. Iris knows she didn’t imagine Miss Froy, but without any evidence to the contrary, how can she be sure? And if the lady does exist, why won’t anyone admit to seeing her?

Recently I watched Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” and really enjoyed it, but I had no idea it was based on a book! I’m glad I discovered the novel, though, because with all due deference to Hitchcock, the book is better. While the movie is a somewhat straightforward thriller, the book has more psychological tension because it keeps you in the dark about Iris’ mental state for much longer. Are the other passengers involved in some sort of unlikely but sinister conspiracy, meaning that she and Miss Froy are both in danger? Or, perhaps even worse, is Iris having a mental breakdown and imagining the whole thing? Either way, she’s trapped in a nightmarish situation, and the book does an excellent job of heightening this tension. I also think the book’s ending is better than the movie’s; while the film ends with a dramatic shootout, the novel has a much more subtle conclusion. So I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who likes psychological thrillers, especially if you’ve seen or plan to see the movie!

Review: In Your Dreams

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In Your DreamsKristan Higgins, In Your Dreams

Emmaline Neal is one of three police officers in the tiny town of Manningsport, New York. She’s a tough, no-nonsense woman who knows her way around a Taser, but she’s also dealing with the fallout of a broken heart. Her first love is about to marry the shrew he dumped Emmaline for — and even worse, he’s invited her to the wedding! Emmaline knows she can’t go alone, so she reluctantly asks Jack Holland to be her date. Jack is friendly, popular, and drop-dead gorgeous, and he can’t say no to a damsel in distress. Em is aware that she’s definitely not Jack’s type, so she’s determined to keep her distance. But after a little wedding-related humiliation and a few glasses of wine, her practical resolutions fly out the window. After one amazing night together, Em tries to fight her growing feelings for Jack — even though he actually seems to be interested in her, too. But Jack is dealing with his own problems, including the sudden reappearance of his dainty ex-wife, who is not-so-subtly trying to get him back. Will Jack and Em be able to overcome their respective pasts and finally find happiness together?

As a Kristan Higgins fan, I’ve been reading and enjoying each new book that comes out, but I have to say that this is definitely my favorite of her recent books! Jack and Em both feel like real people to me, and they each have very specific baggage that prevents them from immediately falling into each other’s arms. I also — contrary to my expectation! — really liked the presence of the Evil Ex in this book. Having an ex-lover resurface is often a tedious, contrived obstacle to keep the hero and heroine apart; but in this book, the presence of Jack’s ex illuminates certain aspects of his character that show why he works with Emmaline. Here, the Evil Ex isn’t actually evil, but she is very needy and can be selfish. By contrast, Jack and Em are both giving people who are willing to sacrifice a lot for the people they love. I do have a few issues with the ending of the book, though; everything seems to work out a little too perfectly. For example, even Emmaline’s ex is redeemed in the end, which I don’t think was necessary. But even despite the magically perfect ending, I’d definitely recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance!

Review: The Neruda Case

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Neruda Case, TheRoberto Ampuero, The Neruda Case (trans. Carolina De Robertis)

Cayetano Brulé, one of the most respected private investigators in Valparaíso, is on his way to meet a prospective client when he stops at a restaurant for lunch. When he opens the menu, he sees a photograph of Pablo Neruda and immediately recalls his first case as a detective, in which his client was the Nobel laureate himself. Suddenly it’s 1973, and Cayetano (a Cuban by birth) is somewhat adrift in his adopted homeland of Chile. At a political party with his wife, Cayetano meets Neruda for the first time, and they soon strike up a conversation. Later, Neruda invites Cayetano to his home and makes a surprising request: he wants Cayetano to find a missing person, a doctor whom Neruda knew many years ago. Cayetano’s search takes him to Mexico City, Havana, and even East Berlin, and he eventually learns that Neruda’s desire to find the doctor is not as straightforward as it seems. Meanwhile, Chile is also experiencing a period of upheaval, as Salvador Allende’s Marxist government is succeeded by the dictatorship of Pinochet.

This novel attempts to do many different things, with mixed results. As a mystery, I think it falls flat; there is no real urgency to Cayetano’s search, and the results of his investigation ultimately don’t matter very much to the story. The book is more successful at painting a portrait of Pablo Neruda at the end of his life. I feel like I got a sense of his personality and his importance to Chile as a political figure. Best of all, this book does a wonderful job of depicting the political situation in Chile at the time and relating it to the wider issue of global politics. It’s no coincidence that Cayetano mostly visits Communist countries, in an era dominated by the Cold War and the ideological conflicts between socialism and capitalism. The novel is definitely not neutral on this subject; both Cayetano and Neruda favor Allende’s government, while Cayetano condemns his wife’s more radical Communism. Overall, I was fascinated by the setting much more than I was by the story. So I’m glad I read this book, but I won’t be seeking out any more installments of the series.