"Dreadnought"

"Dreadnought" is the second book in Cheerie Priest's Clockwork Century steampunk series. I did read "Boneshaker" several years ago but don't remember it that well but recognized Cherie's name when I saw "Dreadnought" on our library's best picks. I would characterize this series as "history with a twist." "Dreadnought" introduces Mercy Lynch, a nurse working in a war hospital in Richmond, VA, during the Civil War. Shortly after she learns her husband (who was fighting on the side of the North) has died, she receives news that her father (who left her family when she was a small girl) is injured, living in Seattle, and wants to see her. This fantasy history tale takes Mercy on a long journey from Richmond to Seattle with many adventures along the way. When she arrives, she meets some individuals whose names I do recognize from the first book in this series.

The gruesome war injuries that Mercy experiences in the Richmond hospital were created by Priest using the letters Louisa May Alcott wrote home when she worked at a Washington, D.C., hospital during the Civil War.

I really enjoyed this book -- more than I thought I might. Let me know what you think....

pazt

"Learning To Swim"

I started Sara J. Henry's first novel, "Learning To Swim," yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning because I just couldn't put it down until I was too sleepy to keep my eyes open. When Troy Chance, a ferry boat passenger on Lake Champlain, sees something falling into the water from another ferry boat, she thinks it is a small child. Although the other ferry is too far away to tell for sure, she instinctively dives into the cold water and swims to the rescue of a small boy named, Paul, who only speaks French. When there are no frantic parents or anyone else looking for the boy, she decides it is time to take action herself leading her into an adventure that could prove deadly. Troy reminds me a little of Izzy Spellman in the Spellman private detective series -- both seem to act without thinking through to the possible consequences first. I cannot recommend this book enough!

There is a paragraph on page 163 of the hard cover copy that really resonated with me for some reason: "So if the host doesn't acknowledge the pink elephant in the room, the other guests can't either. I could see this being a useful standard -- not that any of my friends would ever follow it."

pazt

"The Sure Thing"

"The Sure Thing" is one of John Cusack's early movies (1985) and worth watching if you're a Cusack fan. He portrays a sexually anxious east coast college freshman on his way to California during a school break. His best friend in school in California has just the girl for him "the sure thing" -- portrayed by Nicollette Sheridan in an introductory role for her. First, however, he has to get to California and he finds himself ride-sharing with a female coed from one of his classes. She is driven to be successful, is hardworking, studious and on her way to visit her boyfriend in California. They didn't get along very well on campus but traveling together to California turns out to be an adventure that leads to some surprising discoveries for both of them about what is really important.

This is a DVD my spouse and I enjoyed watching together and discussing afterwords. Let me know what you think - pazt

"Tallgrass" by Sandra Dallas

My spouse and I are in a book group that meets monthly and our January selection was "Tallgrass" by Sandra Dallas. I had read this book before but didn't realize that I had never blogged about it. Our book club seems to be on a "theme" this year of books set in the era of WW II and/or around Japanese internment camps in the U.S.

This story is told from the perspective of Rennie Stroud who has just turned thirteen and her life is changing as a Japanese internment camp is set up near her Colorado home and her father hires men from the camp to help him work his beet fields. Her older brother goes off to fight and her older sister moves away to a larger city leaving Rennie at home with her father, her mother (who is suffering from heart problems) and a grandmother suffering from dementia. Since her mother needs household help, they hire Japanese women to come during the day and Rennie and her mother befriend these women. Rennie also helps with meal preparation for the farm workers and is privy to the kitchen conversations of the women, her mother, and her mother's quilting group - adult content.

Rennie's father is criticized for hiring men from the camp to work his fields and there is tension as the townspeople turn their anger about the war toward the residents of the internment camp.

Rennie is faced with loss -- loss of her siblings being at home and loss of a friend her age who is murdered -- as well as fear that a murderer is loose and hasn't been brought to justice yet. Rennie is privy to adult conversations and secrets which I believe speed her growing up years as well as aid in her maturity.

This novel is rich with not only historical information but details in the life of Rennie and the beet farm she is growing up on as well as the lives of townspeople she is most closely in contact with. The characters are well developed.

After reading this book twice in the past 2-3 years, I'm ready to check out some other books that Dallas has written. She has a web site that lists some of her new books that interest me: www.sandradallas.com

Let me know what you think if you decide to read this book or any of her other novels.

pazt

"Moonlight Mile"

I picked up "Moonlight Mile" by Dennis Lehane at my library on the best picks shelf. As those of you who have been reading my blog know, I like to read detective series in order. For some reason I missed the fact that this mystery is not the first one in a series featuring Investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro until I was halfway through the book and decided to read the inside cover. There were clues as previous cases were mentioned so maybe that's what prompted me to check out the flyleaf.

Although I'm upset with myself for not noticing this first, I probably will still go back to read the earlier novels because the writing is so delicious.

Twelve years ago these investigators took on the task of looking for four year old Amanda McCready and, when they found her living in a loving home, they returned her to her mother -- who didn't provide the most stable living situation for her. Now Amanda is 16 and, according to her aunt, has disappeared again although her mother is denying that she is missing. This case took its toll on Patrick and Angie's relationship twelve years ago -- what will it do now?

Their search for Amanda takes them to some seedy and dangerous places. Will they be able to rescue Amanda without losing their lives, too?

It's a good read and the writing is superb so I highly recommend the book and I'm definitely going to check out Lehane's other novels, too.

pazt

"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet"

"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" is Jamie Ford's first novel and has been a "Great Reads" selection in our area and tonight my book club discussed this book. The story alternates between WW II and the late 1980's and is a story of father/son relationships, romance, and nostalgia about what might have been. At the heart of the story is a childhood friendship between Henry Lee, a young Chinese boy, and Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese girl, and Seattle's Panama Hotel plays an important part in the unfolding of this story. Henry's father hates the Japanese because of their attacks on China and the cruelty they inflicted there and he can't see beyond that to look at individual Japanese-Americans.

A lot of our book club discussion centered around the Japanese internment camps (where Keiko's family ends up) and whether that was the right action for our government to have taken at that time. One perspective was that they actually might have been more protected there given the underlying anger at the Japanese after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. However, were only the Japanese targeted -- why not the Italian-Americans and German-Americans? Was it because the Japanese were visibly different from mainstream white America?

What would happen today if this type of action were contemplated? Would ordinary citizens stand by and let it happen again or would they speak up to protest? What do you think you would do?

If you decide to read this book, I'm sure you, too, will come up with lots of questions for discussion.

pazt

"Rebel Island"

It looks like Rick Riordan's Tres Navarre P.I. series has come to end as this last book in the series, "Rebel Island," was published in 2007. Since I've thoroughly enjoyed this series, I'm disappointed but "Rebel Island" does not disappoint. The story starts with Tres and his girlfriend, Maia, who is 8 1/2 months pregnant with their child, at their wedding. When a thunderstorm strikes moving the wedding indoors, it appears to be an omen of things to come. Navarre's brother, Garrett, convinces the newlyweds that they do need a honeymoon even though they hadn't planned one and he convinces them to take that honeymoon on Rebel Island at a hotel Garrett's friend owns so, naturally, Garrett tags along, too. Tres has given up his P.I. business in favor of a full-time English professorship at the university but a murder in the hotel sets him detecting again -- in the midst of a hurricane and power outages. The situation deteriorates from there with Tres in a race to find a killer before they all end up dead. As usual, this was a book I couldn't put down so I read it in about a day and highly recommend it.

pazt