Wintergirls

WINTERGIRLS: Laurie Halse Anderson: Viking: Young Adult: 278 pgs.

Lia’s childhood friend Cassie died alone in a motel after calling Lia thirty-three times—calls Lia did not retrieve until after Cassie’s death. Now Lia’s parents fear that the death will trigger Lia’s anorexia, a well-founded fear as Lia is sabotaging her parents’ attempts to monitor her weight and holding conversations with Cassie that illuminate Lia’s emotional illness.

This is Anderson’s best work since she published her wonderful novel, Speak. Lia’s narrative is a heart-breaking chronicle of anorexia and the physical and emotional destruction it wreaks. Like Speak, the strength of Wintergirls is the accurate portrait and dead-on voice of the troubled teenage protagonist.

MBC

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

THE LOST CITY OF Z: A TALE OF DEADLY OBSESSION IN THE AMAZON: David Grann: Doubleday: Nonfiction: 339 pages.

In this true and bestselling adventure story, David Grann takes his out-of-shape, comfort-loving body into the Amazon jungle to see whether he (after 100 others had died trying, no exaggeration) could find out what happened to Percy Harrison Fawcett, an early 20th century explorer who disappeared while looking for an El Dorado-like city in South America. But before he goes (not until the latter chapters of the book), he shares Fawcett's remarkable story. The last of the great Victorian British explorers, Fawcett spent years mapping and exploring the Amazonian rain forest, his iron constitution and steely will carrying him through extremes of climate, danger, and disease that quickly felled lesser men, and everyone was lesser. Also fascinating is the paper and person trail Gramm follows to get a true bead on Fawcett's likely path, as Fawcett threw out red herrings galore in his public pronouncements so no one would beat him to the punch. What Gramm finally discovers through the expert offices of Michael Heckenberger, a University of Florida researcher, is evidence of what anthropologists have long thought not possible: a large civilization with moated, byrmed cities laid out on north-south/east-west quadrants with plazas, roads, bridges, causeways and sophisticated art. A staffer for the New Yorker, Grann is a fine writer, creating atmosphere and conveying information in a readable, unobtrusive style.

LW

Waiting

WAITING:Ha Jin: Pantheon: Fiction: 308 pgs.

Ha Jin was born in Northern China in 1956. At age 14 he joined the People’s Liberation Army, a background that perfectly suits him to understand the dilemmas and the sufferings of the Chinese people. Waiting is a quiet novel that portrays Lin Kong, an army medical doctor in China during the Cultural Revolution, who is trapped in multiple dilemmas. As an army officer he must abide by the regulations of the army and party leaders, yet he surreptitiously maintains a private library of forbidden books. Trapped in a loveless arranged marriage with a woman from his home village, he finds a measure of freedom in his life at an army medical facility. There he meets a nurse and falls in love, but such relationships are strictly forbidden by Communist Party rules and by ancient ties of tradition. Year after year he returns to his home village to obtain a divorce and year after year his wife agrees and then changes her mind once they are before the village judge. For 18 years, Lin’s love is kept waiting.

The final chapters are full of irony, does what men wait for ever truly satisfy? This is a powerful work of fiction that won the National Book Award in 1999. Since an unhappy marriage and a frustrated love relationship are the main plot elements, the reader should expect that there will be sexual content.

SH

Home of the Brave

HOME OF THE BRAVE: Katherine Applegate: Feiwel & Friends: Young Adult: 249 pgs.

Fifth-grader Kek, a Sudanese refugee, has just joined his aunt and cousin in Minnesota, while he waits for news of the mother he left behind in a camp. Lonely and bewildered by things such as snow and washing machines, Kek finds solace in caring for a cow that reminds him of home and the friendship of a neighbor girl.

Written in free verse, this is a touching book with a sweet narrator who makes the crisis in Sudan accessible and human.

MBC

Handle With Care

HANDLE WITH CARE: Jodi Picoult: Atria: Fiction: 477 pgs.

Sean and Charlotte O’Keefe’s daughter, Willow, suffers from a brittle bone disease, a condition that has left her susceptible to painful breaks since before her birth, demands more time and money than her parents can afford, and leads her teenage half-sister to desperate attempts for attention. When an attorney suggests that the O’Keefes sue the doctor who provided Charlotte’s prenatal care, Charlotte agrees, although the doctor is her best friend and the case is a “wrongful birth” suit predicated on the idea that if the O’Keefes had been informed of Willow’s condition earlier, they would have terminated the pregnancy.

Jodi Picoult once again examines the tricky gray areas of medicine, law, and family life. As always, her characters are well-developed and multi-faceted, grappling with complicated ethical issues that are not presented as straight-forward right and wrong choices. This title has a plot and feeling similar to the author’s earlier book, My Sister’s Keeper.

MBC

Mr. White's Confession

Mr. White's Confession
By Robert Clark
Picador, 1998. 341 pgs. Mystery

Murder mysteries can be disturbing due to the murder in the story. This murder mystery is disturbing because of the travesty of justice subsequent to the murder. The story is set in 1939 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. White is an innocuous man in his 30s who has a hobby of taking pictures of pretty dance hall girls. When one and then two of these dance hall girls are murdered circumstantial evidence leads to Mr. White's arrest, confession, conviction, and imprisonment. Now Mr. White suffers from a mental condition where he cannot remember anything except the most recent events and the one's most distant in his past. To compensate for this he keeps a meticulous record of his daily activities and scrapbooks of newspaper clippings of important world events. Mr. White's "confession" is, of course, coerced.

A second story line follows Wesley Horner, the arresting officer, who comes to realize and regret that a mistake has been made. An interesting and unusual exploration of the relationships between past and memory.

SML

Among the Mad

AMONG THE MAD: Jacqueline Winspear: Henry Holt & Co.: Mystery: 306 pgs.

Maisie Dobbs, psychological private investigator, finds herself questioned by Scotland Yard after an anonymous letter they receive mentions her. The writer also threatens the life of Londoners if the government doesn’t comply with his demands for weary and shell-shocked WWI veterans in early 1930s England. After clearing her of any involvement with the writer, the Yard asks for Maisie’s help in their investigation. This leads Maisie to mental institutions and a top-secret government chemical lab in her search of the man who begins poisoning animals and then a junior minister in his quest to help the soldiers. Maisie must also focus her attentions on her assistant’s mentally fragile wife and her good friend, Priscilla, who drowns her worries about the future in alcohol.

I have enjoyed this series (this is the sixth) from the beginning, but am becoming tired of practically perfect Maisie and her somewhat bland personality. I am also weary of the constant preaching Winspear, through Maisie’s voice, does regarding the treatment of returning soldiers after the war. I understand they should have been better treated, but am tired of reading about it on every page (a slight exaggeration, but only just).

MN

The Lost Duke of Wyndham

THE LOST DUKE OF WYNDHAM: Julia Quinn: Avon Books: Romance: 371 pgs.

Grace Eversleigh has a comfortable life serving as the companion to the dowager Duchess of Wyndham. This position provides Grace with stability and a place to live, but it is lonely and the dowager is a crotchety old woman. Grace doesn’t have any reason to doubt her circumstances will change when the dowager’s carriage is stopped by a highwayman. Grace falls for Jack Audley, the handsome highwayman, the moment he holds her at gunpoint. Recognizing the highwayman as her long lost grandson, the dowager later kidnaps him, with Grace’s unwilling assistance, and brings him back to Wyndham. Jack also finds himself increasingly attracted to Grace the more time he spends with her.

Complications arise though when they all realize that if proven legitimate, Jack would be the rightful Duke of Wyndham. Grace tries to stop her growing attraction to Jack, as she would not be a suitable match for him if he became the duke. Jack wants Grace just as much, but worries about the impending trip to Ireland to prove his parents’ marriage was valid and the unwelcome idea of being the real duke.

I put off reading this for a long time, but found myself mildly entertained by it. The story wasn’t too bad and some descriptions (all the footmen in the dowager’s employ had to be 5 foot 11 inches) and conversations made me laugh. All in all, this was a relatively enjoyable (and not too graphic) entry into the romance world for me.


MN

Plum Spooky

PLUM SPOOKY: Janet Evanovich: St. Martin’s Press: Mystery: 309 pgs.

This is a “Between the Numbers” Stephanie Plum mystery for those of us Evanovich fans that do not like to wait a whole year before installments. Bounty hunter Stephanie is after a little twerp of a guy and find herself partnering with Diesel, a mysterious man who pops in and out of her life and who is always accompanied by strange occurances and an unexplainable abundance of green traffic lights. This adventure also includes the usual mix of endearing characters plus a bunch of monkeys.

Usually these unofficial Stephanie Plum installments are really short and a little disappointing, but not this one! I felt it held up really well against her regular, numbered books and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you didn’t pick it up because Plum Lucky was such a dud…rethink that decision.

CZ

Mr. Darcy's Dream

MR. DARCY’S DREAM: Elizabeth Aston: Simon & Schuster: Fiction: 284 pgs.

Two nieces of Mr.& Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy are sent to Pemberley to escape the London season. Phoebe (daughter of the former Georgiana Darcy) has recently experienced a heartbreaking romantic disappointment and Louisa (daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Bingley) is tired of the constant pressure to find a husband among men who do little to arouse her interest. However, proving a point I have long held (that you can find love anywhere, even in the British countryside), both girls find themselves faced with the exact thing they were looking to escape.

I think Aston does a good job in mimicking Jane Austen’s style, even when it may not serve her well. I love Austen as much as the next girl, but sometimes I would like a little more intrigue and a little less boring sitting room chat concerning hats and ribbons. I was disappointed that the romance in the story takes place before the first chapter. Part of the appeal of a romantic story is the development of the relationship and I felt this book seriously lacked any of that. I would still recommend most of Elizabeth Aston’s Pride and Prejudice spin-offs, but I think this was my least favorite of the six published to date.

CZ

Gods of Newport

THE GODS OF NEWPORT: John Jakes: Dutton: Fiction: 383 pgs.

Sam Driver is a railroad mogul who has earned his enormous wealth through years of shady dealings and morally questionable financial scheming. Now in his later years, he is determined to place his daughter Jenny in the highest strata of social elitism. He chooses Newport as his avenue to the respectable society he aspires to join. His years of living an ethically deficient lifestyle makes this journey a hard one in a place where an abundance of money is only the first obstacle to acceptance.

I consider myself a fan of the historical novel, but I admit to not loving this book. I decided I like my historical facts and description to be seamlessly sewn into the story, but found that Jakes’ writing style seemed to add these descriptive details for their own sakes, without a clear link to the story line or characters. A decent read, but not one I would highly recommend.

CZ

Warrior Princess

WARRIOR PRINCESS; Frewin Jones; NY: Eos, 2009; Young Adult: 346 p.

A tale of battles, adventure, and coming of age, Warrior Princess introduces Princess Branwen in her fifteenth year of life. Tragically, her beloved brother is also murdered before her eyes that very year by dreaded Saxons. This incident fuels a series of events beginning with Branwen being sent away to a nearby stronghold where her life is forever changed.

This book was interesting enough for me to finish it, but I didn't find it particularly enthralling or at all original. Jones didn't freshen up the weary story of royal warriors enough for this tale to truly stand out from the crowd and his heroine wasn't very engaging. However, it was very readable with uncomplicated language and may be a good choice for readers who love all things medieval or adventurous. As a warning, there is a fair amount of violence and gore in this story, so those who are squeamish may want to avoid this particular book.

CW

The Apothecary's Daughter

THE APOTHECARY'S DAUGHTER: Julie Klassen: Bethany House Publications: Romance: 416 pgs.

I cringe at the thought of having to read a romance novel BUT if you are looking for a squeaky clean romance by all means read “The Apothecary’s Daughter. Delightfully set in Regency England when society’s rules allowed women little advancement of the mind or spirit, Lilly Haswell tries to balance two worlds. Lilly is a sensible, strong willed young woman who has had much responsibility set on her shoulders watching over her mentally challenged little brother and assisting her father run his apothecary after her mother walked out of their lives. Her wealthy aunt and uncle offer her “a dream come true” when they invite her to come live with them in London for a season or two in hopes she will find a “suitable” husband. Her life there is grand but still not quite what she envisioned, society demanding that she keep her place while her sensible self pushes the limits. She is suddenly called home when she receives word her father is very ill. She arrives to find her home, family and soon her life in array. Julie Klassen’s attention to detail describing the life and customs of the time and the apothecary’s world, along with the strong characters and great plot, make this an easy worthwhile read for anyone enjoying historical fiction or historical romance. There are even questions in the back of the book for a discussion. Wondering about the ROMANCE? No clues from me… READ and be surprised!!!!

mpb

Playing James

PLAYING JAMES: Sarah Mason: Ballantine Books: Romance: 319 pgs.

Holly Colshannon is an accident prone journalist looking for her big break. Detective James Sabine is a no-nonsense police officer with an intense dislike for the media. When her editor and his chief concoct a plan to improve the department’s public relations while providing a local paper with the inside scoop on local law enforcement, these two opposites are forced to work together despite their constant clashing.

With the cover stating “You have the right to remain sexy…”, I expected more of a romance than a mystery, but I found it was mostly mystery. The real romance only includes the final couple of chapters. Holly and James completely ignore their growing friendship (and attraction) and then they suddenly recognize it and fall madly in love. The story was cute and the characters likable, but their relationship just falling into place on the last page was disappointing.

CZ

The Mental Floss History of the World

THE MENTAL FLOSS HISTORY OF THE WORLD: AN IRREVERENT ROMP THROUGH CIVILIZATION’S BEST BITS: Erik Sass and Steve Wiegand: Collins: Nonfiction: 416 pages

In just 400 pages, Sass and Wiegand gallop through 62,007 years of global history, highlighting major inventions, political shifts and wars, important figures, and bizarre facts. The sheer volume of information presented can be overwhelming, but the book is full of interesting information in a very digestible and well-organized format. The title is correct—it is often an irreverent romp through history, but also a highly entertaining way to get your facts straight.

MBC

A Knight in Shining Armor

A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR: Jude Deveraux: Pocket Books: Romance: 388 pgs.

Douglass Montgomery feels that she can never do anything right compared to her perfect family. She is excited when she finally finds a man she feels proud to take home to her parents but on their dream vacation to Europe he abandons her with no money and no passport to get back home. She is brokenhearted and all alone in an old English church when Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, appears. She had wanted a knight in shining armor to come save her but she didn't bargain for one that insisted he was from the sixteenth-century.

I really enjoyed this time travel romance. The characters were great. Douglass and Nicholas have a love stronger than time but it takes them a while to discover that. Be warned that there were some adult situations and because Nicholas had such a womanizing reputation, many references to what a scoundrel he was, but you still had to love him.

AL

Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life

ANGELS AND AGES: A SHORT BOOK ABOUT DARWIN, LINCOLN, AND MODERN LIFE; Adam Gopnik; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009; 204 pgs. Nonfiction.

Adam Gopnik celebrates the 200th birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin in a glittering new volume, “Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern
Life.” Taking his title from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton’s lament at Lincoln’s passing,
variously reported as “Now he belongs to the ages” and “Now he belongs to the angels,” Gopnik uses Lincoln and Darwin’s thought and expression to show the shift in worldview from a vertical sensibility (man looking upward to God/angels) to a horizontal one (man discovering his genesis in ancient ages past, and looking forward toward an unknown future). Along the way Gopnik shows us these twin titans in unusual ways: Lincoln’s exquisite, passionate rhetoric expressing in every circumstance, his trust in the safety of the law (“Let every American . . . swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others”). Darwin’s endless curiosity and tireless observations leading to new knowledge of the relationships among living things (“He looks as hard as he can . . . and this act of looking and organizing is for him the probity of intelligence”). There is great tenderness in these portraits as well. We see Lincoln, inconsolable over the death of his son Willie, and carrying simultaneously the burden of the deaths of thousands of young men whom he had sent into battle. Darwin delayed publication of “On the Origin of Species” because he wished not to offend his passionately religious wife Emma. Darwin also lost a child, his favorite Annie, who died of tuberculosis at age 10, leaving her father nearly overwhelmed with grief. “Angels and Ages . . . “ is one of the best books I have ever read, even though I completely disagree with Gopnik’s conclusion that evolutionary biology proves that life on earth came into being by accident and advanced by chance. “Angels and Ages . . . “ is a model of respectful discourse and, oddly enough, tends to affirm one’s own belief in the face of the extremely well-wrought expression of another’s disbelief. Although Adam Gopnik doesn't believe in angels,
he certainly writes like one.

LW

Defiance: The Bielski Partisans

DEFIANCE : Nachema Tec: Oxford University Press: Nonfiction: 374 pgs.

This is the inspiring story of the largest rescue operation for Jews by Jews. Led by Tuvia Bielski, an uneducated man from a farming community in Poland, this group of nearly 1,200 Jewish partisans survived for years while living in forest communities during World War II. Most partisan groups in Poland would only admit armed individuals able to fight, but Bielski’s group accepted anyone they found in need. They placed more importance on saving lives than avenging themselves against their German oppressors.

I picked up this book because of its movie tie-in starring Daniel Craig. The story fascinated me and I was anxious to learn the truth behind the legend portrayed in the trailer. I was not disappointed. I did find Tec’s writing to be a bit repetitive, but the book is so full of fascinating direct quotes from Bielski survivors that any style deficiency is made up for by intriguing content.

CZ

The Knife of Never Letting Go

THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO; Patrick Ness; Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2008;
Young Adult Fiction.

First you should know that this first book in the Chaos Walking series is a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers, equally as distressing as the movie serials I watched as a kid that left Batman at the bottom of the elevator shaft, or Pearl White clinging to a root on a sheer drop in The Perils of Pauline. Book 2 doesn't come out until September, so if you can't stand the heat until then, stay out of the kitchen. But I digress. When Todd Hewitt is a month away from turning 13 and becoming a man, in Prentisstown, on the planet New World, he discovers something unheard of (you will appreciate the irony directly). In New World, thoughts can be heard out loud; that is to say, men's thoughts can be heard out loud, women's cannot, and people can hear animals' thoughts and communicate with them telepathically. So when Todd and his dog ("The first things you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say.") go into the swamp looking for apples, they are astounded to find a pocket of silence--a place without Noise. From that moment, the action becomes breakneck and terrifying, as Todd's guardians (all the women in Prentisstown have mysteriously died) hustle him out the back door as soon as he comes home, giving him a little food and telling him to run as far and fast as he can.
Todd has only his mother's journal as a guide, and Ben's admonition to "warn them," but Todd can't read and he doesn't know whom to warn about what. With the wicked Mayor's minions and a crazy preacher in pursuit, Todd and Manchee run for their lives with death and destruction following, on the way meeting a girl who has survived the wreck of her scout ship, precursor to shiploads of new settlers. With the action, there is philosophy: how does one operate in a society where women's thoughts are secret and men's are not; where animals are known to be sentient beings. It is unclear why a people knowledgeable enough to build and operate spaceships start talking like hillbillies as soon as they reach a new world, or why living a simpler, cleaner life requires one to eschew formal education. These quibbles aside, this is a powerful, totally gripping read, the sequel very anxiously to be awaited.

LW

Evernight

EVERNIGHT: Claudia Gray: HarperTeen: 2008: Young Adult Fiction: 327 pages

Bianca has grudgingly moved with her teacher parents to the Gothic style Evernight Academy boarding school. There she is accepted but doesn’t feel like she fits in with the sleek, privileged rich kids. However, new to the school this year are a few scholarship students including handsome Lucas. Bianca is drawn to Lucas even though he doesn’t seem to want to make friends with anyone. Their friendship continues to develop, but is interrupted by dark secrets that forces Bianca to question everything she’s ever been taught.

If you’re looking for something similar to the Twilight books, then I would recommend reading this book. However, I found the story a little boring and the characters not all that likable.

AJ

Throne of Jade

THRONE OF JADE: Naomi Novik: Del Rey: 2006: Fantasy: 398 pages

In book one of the Temeraire series, His Majesty’s Dragon, Will Laurence, a British Naval Captain and his crew took over a French frigate returning from China with a rare Celestial dragon egg meant as a gift for Napoleon. The little dragon that hatched and bonded with Laurence is now fully grown and completely ensconced in the war effort against Napoleon. In book two, Throne of Jade, the Chinese empire has discovered their dragon egg did not make it to Napoleon and have sent an emissary to take Temeraire back to China. The only problem is that Temeraire refuses to go without Laurence.

Laurence, not wanting to part with Temeraire either, agrees to travel with him by transport ship to China. After an adventurous voyage, they arrive at the Chinese court where Laurence and his men see how the Chinese revere their dragons rather than treating them as beasts of burden as in England. Celestial dragons, the rarest of all, are companions to only the royal family and treated as princes themselves.

While trying to figure out how Laurence can remain a companion to Termeraire while lacking the proper royal bloodline, they get embroiled in a conspiracy that could harm the war efforts at home.

I would highly recommend reading this book. The characters are perfect. I find myself smiling every time Temeraire speaks. I also really enjoy the historical setting with just a touch of fantasy.

AJ

Neverwhere

NEVERWHERE: Neil Gaiman: Avon Books: 1997: Fantasy: 337 pages

Richard Mayhew is just a regular guy with a corporate job and a bossy fiancé until one day while on his way to dinner with Jess or Jessica as his fiancé prefers to called, he notices a vagabond young girl laying on the street covered in blood. Richard can’t just leave her there so he takes her back to his apartment. There, the Lady Door recovers quickly and soon leaves Richard. What Richard doesn’t know is that by helping Door, he has plunged himself into her world, the world of London Below. Now Richard no longer exists in London Above.

Richard manages to track down Lady Door to try to find out how to get his life back but soon finds himself enmeshed in helping Door discover who murdered her family and is trying to kill her. Along the way they enlist the help of the Marquis de Carabas, a trickster who agrees to help people in exchange for a favor at a later date, and Hunter, a mysterious lady who hunts very lethal game.

As with everything I have read by Neil Gaiman, I am reminded what an excellent story teller he is. This book has great characters and the world of London Below is so imaginative, like when you learn why they really tell you to “mind the gap” on the subway.

AJ

This Full House

THIS FULL HOUSE: Virginia Euwer Wolff: Bowen Press: Young Adult: 476 pgs.

In this highly anticipated (for me, anyway) conclusion to the Make Lemonade Trilogy, LaVaughn is in her senior year of high school. After informing her guidance counselor that she wants to apply to and attend the local university, he tells her about the WIMS (Women in Medical Science) program, an in-depth after-school class that teaches young women about the medical sciences. LaVaughn applies and is accepted into the program, adding to her already full days of working at the children’s hospital folding laundry, attending school, and babysitting Jilly and Jeremy, the children of teenage Jolly. After attending WIMS for some time, LaVaughn is struck by the similarities in characteristics and mannerisms of Dr. Moore, the program director, and Jolly. LaVaughn decides, while understanding it’s unethical, to do a DNA test to see if the two are related.

I have this tendency to be embarrassed for characters in books and movies and I cringed as I read about LaVaughn’s decision to perform the DNA test. I could see the far-reaching effects her actions might have and worried how they might hurt her. While LaVaughn does have to deal with the consequences of her actions, the book concluded on a hopeful note, bringing this well-written portrayal of a girl trying to escape the inner-city to an end.

MN

The Bracelet

THE BRACELET: Jennie Hansen: Covenant Communications: 2005: Romance: 296 p.

The Bracelet is the first volume of The Bracelet series. Set in England in the mid-1800’s, the book is a fast-paced read featuring a villain, a beautiful orphan, a dashing seaman, and many harrowing escapes from danger. Early in the book, some of the glass stones in a tawdry bracelet are secretly replaced by precious gems. The unexpected fate of the bracelet sets the stage for the sequels – Emerald, Ruby and Topaz. Jennie Hansen has been writing LDS fiction since about 1993. LDS romance readers looking for clean books can completely trust Jennie Hansen and also find an inspirational boost.

SH

A Girl to Love

A GIRL TO LOVE: Betty Neels: Harlequin Publishing: Romance: 217 pages.

British author Neels wrote this romance twenty-seven years ago. Perhaps because of that her leading lady is a throwback to "old fashioned" values. Neels is known for penning chaste romances. Although Sadie is twenty-something she's had little life experience outside her English village and even less experience with men. She proves just the antidote to the distrustful Oliver Trenthem, a television screen writer looking for quiet in the country. Gentle Sadie can not continue to occupy her small but beloved home when her grandmother dies. She has no secretarial or trade skills and no way to make a living. Oliver purchases her house as a writer's retreat and serendipitously hires on Sadie as housekeeper. Sadie soon gets to know the Oliver's domestic eccentricities and pampers him accordingly. Oliver begins to spend more time than he planned in the country and eventually reveals he has two small daughters. Sadie enthusiastically takes over the care of the daughters (after their incompetent nanny is written out of the story). Oliver, Sadie and the daughters revel in the domestic contentment provided by Sadie's excellent housekeeping and mothering talents.

I enjoyed this amiable romance even though plot and characterization are somewhat thin. Sadie is a surprisingly likable character. I found her a nice departure from the bumbling yet sassy material girls that take up so much space in today's chic lit and romance. That said I did wonder what Oliver and Sadie's eventual attachment would end up like. Sadie didn't bring much more to the relationship than her ability to make Oliver comfortable and provide him with a hot meal. My inner feminist bridled that Oliver didn't love Sadie for her sparking intellect and personality. But my inner pragmatist acknowledged that an older man like Oliver would appreciate such a girl as Sadie - calm, competent, and in charge of the domestic routine. My advice would be to not analyze too much and enjoy.

ALC

Girl, Hero

GIRL, HERO: Carrie Jones: Flux: Young Adult: 305 pages

Liliana looking for a real hero in her life to help her deal with starting high school, her mothers alcoholic live in boyfriend, a father who may be gay, and her sisters’ abusive husband turns to John Wayne for help. “Sure, he’s a dead movie cowboy, but at least the Duke knew about doing the right thing, about being a hero.”

This coming of age tale about a girl trying to find the hero in herself is written in conversational letter format to Mr. Wayne. For the subject matters it deals with, the language is pretty tame. I really enjoyed the authors writing style and using John Wayne as an imaginary mentor.

KK

Housekeeping vs. the Dirt

HOUSEKEEPING VS. THE DIRT: Nick Hornby: McSweeney’s: Nonfiction: 153 pages

In this second collection of “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” columns from The Believer magazine, novelist Nick Hornby reviews the books he’s read each month in the same conversational and witty style familiar to readers of Hornby’s nonfiction. Of the three “Stuff I’ve Been Reading” compilations, this may be my favorite, although they are each enjoyable, easy reads with reading recommendations from an entertaining and interesting narrator.

MBC

Olive Kitteridge

OLIVE KITTERIDGE: Elizabeth Strout: Random House: Fiction: 270 pages

Loosely connected stories of the inhabitants of a small Maine town collectively present a narrative of Olive Kitteridge and her family. The extraordinary accomplishment in this novel is the author’s ability to portray Olive as an incredibly complicated character through her interactions with her family and neighbors, although she is sometimes only briefly mentioned in a particular story. At her son’s wedding, Olive steals one loafer from her daughter-in-law’s closet out of spite, she often speaks sharply to her husband and demonstrates her explosive temper, but she also weeps for a young, anorexic girl, offers support to the students in her classes, and daily visits her husband in a nursing home after a stroke leaves him disabled and unresponsive. Most of the stories are heartbreaking—a bride is left at the altar, a husband cheats on his wife—but somehow the affection between characters and their continued attempts to find happiness ultimately inspire hope.

MBC

Little Bee

LITTLE BEE; Chris Cleave; New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009; 266 pgs. Fiction

One of amazon.com's Best New Books/February, Chris Cleave's Little Bee is a beautiful,
horrific story of a refugee Nigerian girl trying to find sanctuary and peace in England. Caught as a stowaway on a cargo ship, she is held in detention for two years and our story begins on the day she will be released, without documentation, to fend for herself. Most of the girls leaving detention have no place to go, but Little Bee has a contact--a husband and wife she met on the
beach in Nigeria. Succeeding chapters alternate between Little Bee's voice and the voice of
Sarah O'Rourke, the woman of the beach encounter. Little Bee arrives just in time for the husband's funeral, and becomes a surpisingly welcome but occasionally uneasy part of the household until events accelerate in an unexpected direction. The flyleaf at the beginning of the
book warns readers who wish to share the book not to tell what happens, and I won't, but Little Bee is a memorable character, the horrors of her experiences hinted at by the fact that in any new situation she immediately identifies ways to kill herself "in case the men come." With her beautiful voice and her wretched circumstances, Little Bee stands proxy in this book for the thousands of women whose lives are made bitter beyond belief by the coming of the men, lawless and inhuman.

LW

Your Scandalous Ways

YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS: Loretta Chase: Avon: 2008: Romance: 384 pages

James Cordier, a younger son of a British gentleman has spent a decade on the continent as a spy for King and Country. James is tired and just wants to return to England to marry a sweet, innocent young maiden. Before he can go home he must complete one last assignment. James must retrieve valuable letters that prove Lord Elphick, a candidate for Prime Minister, betrayed England. The problem is these letters are in the possession of Lord Elphick’s former wife, Francesca Bonnard who is now Europe’s most expensive and talented courtesan.

James tracks Francesca to Venice where after she is attacked in her gondola, he realizes that others are looking for the letters as well. Can James protect Francesca without revealing who he really is and convince her to hand the letters over to him?

Following the typical Romance formula James and Francesca want to hate each other, but they can’t help falling in love, and then once they finally admit to themselves that they are in love, the truth comes out.

I enjoyed this book well enough. There are a few detailed love scenes. If you are looking for a light read in the Romance genre then this book fits the bill.

AJ