Arc of Justice: A saga of race, civil rights, and murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle

I picked this book up for my woefully unfinished 999 Challenge. It won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2004, which is why it made it onto my list. (You can look at my whole list here. I think I've only read about 10% of them!) It also finishes off my New Author Challenge, which is exciting. Good thing that one doesn't take nearly as much work.
Arc of Justice is the story of Ossian Sweet and his family, and the murder trial they become involved in when the Sweet family attempts to move into a part of Detroit where they are not welcome. The Sweet family is black, and in 1920's Detroit, this means they cannot live where they choose, especially following the race-related violence of 1924 and 1925. When a mob gathers outside of their new home and begins throwing rocks and getting more and more violent, shots are fired, although by whom it is never fully clear. Dr. Sweet had filled his house with friends to help defend it from the violence he knew was coming. When one man in the mob dies after being shot from the house, the eleven people in the house, including Ossian's wife and two of his brothers, are taken into custody and eventually charged with murder.
This book is not just the story of the Sweet family and the trial, however. It is a story of race relations in the northern urban areas of America in the 1920's. Boyle does a tremendous job bringing all aspects of the story together to educate us on this issue. I am continually amazed by how little I know about the history of race relations in this country. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to know more about our recent past.

Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg

The story of Annie Cohen is a tragedy, a story of mental illness and physical disability, of family abandonment and secrets. Steve Luxenberg first discovered Annie's story when his mother mentioned having a sister to a doctor in her old age. Steve and his siblings grew up being told that their mother was an only child, so the casual mention of a sister, even one that was put in an institution at the age of two, was rather shocking. It wasn't until after his mother's death that Luxenberg discovered Annie's true identity - she had grown up with his mother, had not been institutionalized until the age of 21, when his mother was 23. But in the family history according to Beth Luxenberg, she did not exist.
Annie's Ghosts is Luxenberg's attempts to piece together Annie's history. He includes not only family details, but also details about the history of services to people with mental illness and mental and physical disabilities. Not only is Luxenberg trying to discover the truth about an aunt that he never knew, he is also searching to find the answer to why his mother would have kept such an enormous fact about her family a secret. He is not even sure that his father knew about Annie, or which of his mom's friends knew. Steve has to reconcile this part of his mother with the woman he knew and loved, and he begins to reconsider some family memories he himself holds.
This is a fascinating story of a single family's history, and all of the little details that tie into that history. Luxenberg reconnects with cousins he never knew, and discovers more about the tiny Eastern European village that his grandparents came from than his family had ever told him. Reading this book forces the reader to compare their own family to the Luxenbergs. Are there secrets that we know nothing about hiding in our history?

God Is an Englishman by RF Delderfield

I was not sure what to expect of this book, but when I received it and saw how large it was, I was certainly surprised. I was further surprised by how engrossing a book it actually was. Giving a plot outline really doesn't convey how good of a book this is, but I'll go ahead and try anyway.
God Is an Englishman tells the story of Adam Swann and his rise to prominence in London in the 1860's. His story begins when he makes the decision to end his career as a soldier and begin his life as a businessman, at the age of thirty-one. His chosen field of commerce is transportation, where he decides to fill the gap that the great trains of that era cannot. At the same time that he is establishing his business, he meets Henrietta, and from their first meeting he is captivated by her. Although she is much younger than him, she is a strong-willed woman, and circumstances conspire to create a situation in which he marries her after only knowing her for a few months. Thus begins the story of not only their life together, but the story of the newly formed Swann-on-Wheels transportation company.
The historical detail in this book is truly fascinating. Even when Delderfield is going through details that should be tedious - train schedules, shipping and transportation issues - he makes it interesting. Adam Swann is a fantastic character, one that you love to root for. And I loved following his marriage and family life, as he and Henrietta grow to know and truly love each other throughout the years. This is the first book in a trilogy, one I am going to have to follow through the rest of the series.

The Treasures of Venice by Loucinda McGary

Samantha Lewis is in Venice, taking a tour by herself that was supposed to have been her honeymoon. When she is approached by a handsome stranger who pretends to be meeting her at a cafe, she decides to play along. His name is Kiernan Fitzgerald, and he is definitely more than he seems. Sam is instantly drawn to him, but she feels crazy for getting so attached after just an hour or two. When he reappears in her hotel room later that night, injured and needing her help, she is immediately drawn into his troubles.
Kiernan is looking for the Jewels of the Madonna. His sister was also searching for the Jewels, until she was kidnapped. Now the only way for Kiernan to save her is to find them himself and turn them over to the kidnappers. He doesn't want to get anyone else involved, but he can't seem to stay away from Sam. They are drawn to each other in a way neither can explain, and so they stop trying to fight it, and start trying to save Kiernan's sister, before it's too late.
Besides being a story told in the present time, The Treasures of Venice is also told in flashbacks to fifteenth century Venice, where the reader learns the story behind the Jewels that Kiernan seeks. The lovers in that story have some striking similarities to Kiernan and Sam - coincidence? As Sam and Kiernan get closer to the Jewels, and to each other, they both begin to wonder if they have some sort of deeper connection that goes beyond the present time. This element of past lives adds another dimension to the story and the mystery, making for a more interesting read. I liked the parallels between the two stories. This is an exciting, romantic adventure book that any readers of romance will enjoy.

Highland Rebel Judith James

The fiery Catherine Drummond is the Highland rebel of the title - a willful woman who was raised by her father to lead her clan, but now that her father's gone, her worth is still measured by what kind of marriage she can make. Captured in battle, she knows her fate will not be pleasant, until she is rescued by Jamie Sinclair, a man who has no loyalties except to himself. For some reason, unknown to both of them, Jamie decides to save her by marrying her on the spot. His ploy works, until she escapes. Now he must find his inconvenient wife, while trying to keep himself from getting killed by her family. And Catherine must decide if being married in name to an Englishman is really a very bad thing, especially when he's not around to actually be her husband.
This was a very entertaining read, and the historical details are truly excellent. The story definitely feels set in its time, and James even goes so far to add some interesting author's notes at the end of the book. For the historical fiction aspect, this book is a great read. The romance is also good, although Cat and Jamie do a tremendous amount of jumping around in their feelings for each other. And they simply can't seem to figure out how to communicate without ruining their relationship, in whatever stage it's in. However, the romance is very satisfying, nonetheless, just a bit frustrating to read through. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good amount of historical detail in their romance.

To Tempt the Wolf by Terry Spear

Tessa Anderson has always been drawn to wolves, as has her brother Michael, though neither of them can explain why. But when Michael is convicted of a murder he did not commit, Tessa is left alone in their cabin in the woods, and discovers that she is being stalked. When she finds a gorgeous naked man on her beach, her life just gets more complicated. The man is Hunter - he knows that he is a werewolf, and he remembers his first name, but other than that things are a little bit foggy for him. He commits to helping Tessa, both with her stalker, and with her brother's false conviction. But the more he becomes a part of Tessa's life, the more complicated things get.
I enjoyed the werewolf lore that Spear has created for her books. I know that this is not the only one, although I haven't read the others. Her werewolves live in packs, oftentimes related by family, but not always, and the alpha male (Hunter, for example) rules absolutely, along with his mate, if he has one. As with other werewolf romances the werewolves mate for life, which I always find a nice change from many other romances. It was actually kind of amusing how many werewolves kept popping up in this book - not just the main good guys and bad guys, but also nurses at the hospital, cops, judges, you name it. They're everywhere. The romance was good, and overall the book was a good read. The murder mystery was a bit weak, but as that was not the main focus of the story, it didn't necessarily have to be watertight. To Tempt the Wolf was a good introduction to Spear's world of werewolf romance - I'd be interested to see how it works in her other books.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

I have to begin this post by saying that I absolutely loved this book. So this is going to be a rather gushy review, because I really just adored it. Even the cover is perfect. The only thing I really didn't like about it is the title, because I found it off-putting. To me it sounds frivolous, like a cheesy teen romance, but that is nothing like what it is. You'll see.
Anna and Frankie are best friends, and have been forever. They were always joined by Frankie's older brother Matt, an inseparable threesome, until Matt's tragic death the year before. Now it's summer again, and Frankie's family are trying to pull the pieces back together, deciding that the annual family trip to Zanzibar Bay will be the best thing for them. But instead of Matt, this year they will bring Anna. They will be there for 20 days, and Frankie decides that she and Anna will meet 20 boys, and just see what happens. Anna goes along with this, as she has gone along with every wild thing that Frankie has done over the past year. Because she has a secret, one that she is afraid will destroy her friendship.
Anna accidentally fell in love with Matt when she was 10 and he was 12. Last year, on Anna's fifteenth birthday, Matt kissed her for the first time. This began a sweet, and secret, love affair between the two of them. Matt wanted to be the one to tell Frankie, but he wasn't sure how to. He was leaving for college at the end of the summer, and he wanted to make sure he didn't leave on a bad note. He decided that their trip to Zanzibar would be the best time to tell her, and he made Anna promise she wouldn't tell first. But he died the day before they were to leave.
The love story between Anna and Matt is so sweet, and the way that Anna deals with her feelings for Matt, and the new feelings she has for Sam, a boy she meets in Zanzibar, is very well told. All of the things she goes through feel authentic. This really is an excellent book, for teens, but also for adults who enjoy authentic, heartfelt stories. I loved the characters, and the way they grow during these 20 days will change them forever, but for the better.
This book qualifies for many challenges, I'll just list them here: RYOB 2009, The New Author Challenge, The Pub 2009 Challenge, and the A-Z Reading Challenge.

The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer

I have seen Georgette Heyer's books so often, I decided to take advantage when I got a chance to review a handful. This was the first one I read by her. It was written in 1934, and takes place during the Georgian Era.
The Convenient Marriage is the story of Horatia Winwood (known as Horry), and her marriage to the Earl of Rule. She marries the Earl after he has proposes to her sister, because she knows that her sister is in love with someone else. But Horry also knows that it is necessary for someone to marry him, as that is the only way to keep her family out of debt. The Earl goes along with this change, because he merely proposed due to the fact that he has come to believe that he needs to settle down. And although she is young, and not very pretty, and has a stutter, Horatia enchants him. They agree to "stay out of each other's way" but Horry seems determined to be outrageous. She gets into a few "scrapes" and tries to keep these a secret from the Earl, but he is determined to win her over and show that he loves her, and she can keep nothing from him.
I found this story rather entertaining, and a fairly quick read. The details that Heyer gives of the time period are very interesting, and show that she knows quite a bit about it. I did not like it as much as I had thought I might, however. Horatia simply annoyed me, and while she started out fine, she seemed to get worse as the book went on. I think I was supposed to find her amusing, but she really just began to wear on me. I liked the Earl of Rule better, but not by much. I think that may have been my main problem with the book - I simply was not really fond of any of the characters. It was funny, and the romance sort of sweet, but I honestly did not really care what happened to the characters as the story went on. I have enjoyed the other Heyer books I have read since then more.
This is my final read for the Romance Reading Challenge. Funny how I managed to finish this one way early - I guess it's a good idea to sign up for year long challenges! I will have a wrap-up post up one of these days. It also qualifies for the New Author Challenge and RYOB 2009.

Royal Blood by Rona Sharon

I am really behind on my reviews right now - I just don't seem to have time to post! So I'm focusing on ARCs for the next couple of reviews, just to make sure I get those done. I may create another sidebar post for books I've read but haven't yet reviewed, like I did last summer. It seems that I slow down the pace of reviewing in the summer, even though I'm not reading any less.
Royal Blood is the story of Michael Devereaux, a young man who is the heir presumptive of the Earl of Tyrone, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The story takes place at the court of Henry VIII, where Michael hopes to make a name for himself, and make his benefactor proud. There he meets Princess Renee, sister to the Queen of France, and daughter of the previous King. She is at the court on a mission of her own, one that is slowly revealed to the reader over time. There is romantic tension between these two main characters, but neither can let their guard down, not while assassins and even vampires are roaming the court. As they each attempt to reach their own goals, they also test each other, never knowing who they can trust.
It took me a while to get into this book, though I can't really say why. There was a lot of story set-up, and I found myself not caring much about the main characters. However, it did pick up around the middle, when the first vampire attack happens, and from there the story was more compelling. I was surprised by the continued revelations - either I was not paying very close attention, or some of the twists really did come out of the blue (I suspect the former). There was a tremendous amount of historical detail, almost too much, as I sometimes did not even know what it was the author was describing to me. Overall, this book would be enjoyable for readers of historical fiction or historical romance, who like a thriller twist.
This book covers a whole bunch of my challenges, so I'll just briefly mention them. For obvious reasons it qualifies for RYOB 2009, the New Author Challenge, and the Pub 2009 Challenge. It also qualifies for the Suspense & Thriller Reading Challenge, as it is a Romantic Thriller. And as a romance, I also read it for my fourth book in the Romance Reading Challenge.

Hominids by Robert J Sawyer

Hominids won the Hugo Award in 2003, which led me to pick it up to bring me a smidgen closer to completing my 999 Challenge. (My book list for the challenge is here.) I think that I have liked this one the best of the Hugo Award winners that I have read so far. I even wanted to continue reading the series that this book begins, but due to some unfortunate circumstances, neither of the two copies of the second book in my library system are available. But I suppose it will stay on my reading list, and maybe one day I'll finish the series.
Hominids is an excellent example of speculative science fiction. What if parallel worlds exist? What if there was some way to bridge the gap between worlds? What might we find? In Hominids, it is not the human race on the world as we know it that manages to bridge this gap. We are simply the recipients. It is a Neanderthal named Ponter Bodditt, a quantum physicist in his own world, who comes to our dimension. In his world Neanderthals were the surviving species, while Homo Sapiens died out. While in our world, Ponter must figure out how to communicate and survive (he is helped tremendously by an advanced piece of A-I technology that learns languages and can communicate for him), while the people he meets have to figure out what this means for our world. And back in Ponter's world, his best friend and business partner must fight off unexpected accusations of murder, stemming from Ponter's disappearence.
This really was an incredibly fascinating, enjoyable read. I loved reading about the Neanderthal's world, as created by Sawyer. He does an excellent job of giving the reader a glimpse of that world through the trial against Ponter's partner, Adikor. And reexamining the human race through the eyes of someone close to us, but not the same, brings up some really interesting questions. The story itself is fast-moving and very satisfying, all leading me to want to continue the series! Ah well, I'll just have to keep this one in mind.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party by MT Anderson

**Once again I must apologize - I have had an internet issue on my computer for the past few days - I have many books to review, now I just need to get the reviews up!!
Well that title certainly is a mouthful. I do enjoy the fact that Anderson is not afraid to give his book a long title, if that's the title it deserves. And Octavian certainly has an astonishing life. In this book, the story is mostly told through "testimony" that is written in first-person by Octavian himself. But there is a great middle section where the story is told in letters, and we see what happens to Octavian during that time period through someone else's eyes. Octavian was raised, along with his very young mother, by a group of scientist/philosophers who refer to themselves as the Novanglian College of Lucidity. All of the men there are known by numbers, rather than their names, whereas Octavian, and his mother, Cassiopeia, are not. It takes Octavian (and the reader) some time to realize that he and his mother are actually parts of some of the experiments that the men of the college are studying. He also eventually learns that they are slaves, and are owned by 03-01, or Mr. Gitney, the man who runs the place.
This book takes place right before the Revolutionary War, in Boston. War actually breaks out during the course of the book, and Octavian learns that freedom means different things depending on who you are talking to and where you come from.
This was a fascinating, very quick read, and I am looking forward to reading the second book. Anderson's descriptions, and his storytelling, both through Octavian and through the letters, are intriguing, and even more so often because he is one of those authors that leaves a lot for the reader to fill in for themselves. It's more immersive than I would have thought, and I wonder how it will end for Octavian.
I picked up this book because it was a winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. I am reading award winners for my 999 Challenge - you can see my whole list here. This book was also reviewed by Dewey, qualifying it for the Dewey's Books Reading Challenge. She pointed out that the language sometimes did not seem like something a teen would be interested in reading, and I think I would agree, at least for younger teens. But I think many older teens would find it interesting, and a challenge, something different than most other books out there. While we're at it, this book also qualifies for the New Author Challenge (I will definitely be reading more MT Anderson after this) and the A-Z Reading Challenge ("A" author).

The Midwife by Jennifer Worth

The Midwife is the memoir of Jennifer Worth, and it follows a year or so of her life when she was in her twenties. Worth trained as a midwife with a convent of nuns who served London's poor East End in the 1950's. This book chronicles her time with the nuns.
The stories that Worth tells alternate between uplifting, heartbreaking, charming, and hilarious, and her descriptions of the characters that she meets and interacts with are fascinating. As I am currently planning a family, and thinking quite a lot about pregnancy, I found this book even more compelling. Worth gives some interesting history about midwifery and obstetrics, and I found it illuminating that, at least for East End women, the midwife was the only medical attendant they expected to have at the birth. Going to the hospital meant bad, bad news, and a doctor's presence meant only slightly less danger. Yet the nuns provided excellent prenatal care, and obviously excellent service, so no woman wanted anything else. In addition to the stories of the births she attended, Worth tells us stories about the various people she meets in her day-to-day work. From the disturbed, elderly Mrs. Jenkins, to the family of Len and Conchita Warren, this book is full of fascinating people.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I don't think it was just because of the connection I currently feel to all pregnant women and stories of birth. Worth is a great story-teller, although at times the chapters did not flow very well from one to another. And the end of the book came on me rather abruptly. But I guess when you are telling stories about real life, that is what happens. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in stories about real people, and is not afraid of the descriptions of birth that of course come along with a book like this.

Lords of Corruption by Kyle Mills

Josh Hagarty has done everything he knows how to do to try and get out of his crappy life in Kentucky. But now that he has his MBA, his criminal past is still keeping him from getting a job, meaning his hopes of getting himself and his teenage sister out of their trailer home are for nothing. Then a charity called NewAfrica offers him a job. It seems too good to be true - not only do they offer to pay off his college debt, but they also promise to help him pay for his sister's upcoming college tuition as well. And he will be helping people, in Africa. Maybe this is the new beginning he needs.
But of course it is too good to be true. When Josh arrives at his first work location, it appears that no one knows what to do with him, and he has no tools or outside help to make the situation work. And his contacts back in America just keep reassuring him that things will be fine. As the tribal violence in the area gets worse, Josh realizes that his African contacts may not be interested in helping this venture at all. And soon he becomes aware that his predecessor in this position did not quit - he was brutally murdered. As Josh discovers more about NewAfrica that they don't want him to know, he must protect himself and the people he loves in order to get the truth out, before he becomes another casualty.
This was a fast-paced page-turner, for sure, although it's not really my kind of book. I do have to say that I had a hard time putting it down anyway. It really draws you in, the action is pretty much nonstop. As is the violence, but that is to be expected from such a book. The two main problems I had with the book were the characters and the setting. I honestly really did not like or care about any of the characters. At one point in the story, when it seemed like the entire cast might end up dead, I wasn't really that worried. I just did not care. But I kept reading. The other thing that really bothered me about the book was the picture it paints of Africa. There is not one redeeming factor shown about Africa here - it is all just tribal warfare, petty violence, environmental degradation, and lots of "the Africans need to help themselves". It was just depressing, and while it may be an accurate picture of some areas of the country, I felt that it was very one-sided. Overall, while this book wasn't really my type, it would be enjoyed by anyone who likes fast-paced political dramas and action thrillers.
This is the second book that I have read for the Suspense & Thriller Reading Challenge. This book falls within the genre of a Conspiracy thriller - "In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he/she recognizes". This book also qualifies for the New Author Challenge, The Pub 2009 Challenge, and RYOB 2009.

The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

**An apology for not blogging for so long - I've been sick, and it's difficult to sit at the computer when you don't feel well! At least I managed to finished several books, so I have something to blog about!**
The Ten Year Nap follows several months in the lives of a handful of women. What these women have in common is the fact that they are mothers. For the few that are central to the story, they are mothers that quit their jobs when they had children, and have not gone back to work even though it has been ten years. They each contemplate going back to work, for various reasons, but so far they never have. For Amy, the reasons are not fully formed - she's thought about it, but deep down she's afraid that she won't be able to keep up with the changes that have happened in the legal field since she left. Her mother is a strong feminist who worked as a novelist while raising her children, and she is constantly pushing Amy to go back to work. For the other central characters, life is just as complicated, and offers no easy answers about whether or not you can be a good mother and have a career.
This was a very interesting read, and meaningful to me, as I plan on quitting my job once I am pregnant - and I do not plan on going back once my child is born. Most women have an opinion on this subject, but that sometimes changes once they have children of their own. For the women of this book, many of them thought they would go back to work, and then just never did. There are some characters that act as foils for these women - mothers who work, whose children go to school with theirs. They work because they love their jobs, their career is important to them. But what kind of mothers are they? Are Amy and Jill better mothers because they do not work? The book does not answer this question, leaving it up to the reader to ponder.
One of the things that I really liked about the way this book was written is the way it went from character to character, telling us details about these women's lives. Then there would be a chapter about the mother of the woman of the preceding chapter, giving us a glimpse into her world. It made the characterization very deep and interesting. This book is an excellent look at the modern family woman, and was a very intriguing read.

Wild Highland Magic by Kendra Leigh Castle

Bastian an Morgaine is the last in a line of sorcerers who have been plagued by a curse for the last five generations. Bastian had hoped to be able to rid himself of it, and even though he takes steps to fight the curse, he truly does not have much hope. When he meets Cat, MacInnes werewolf, his life completely changes. Bastian is from the parallel world of Coracin, and Cat is from Earth. Bastian has fled to the MacInnes home in Scotland to recuperate and plan his next move, but his timing is terrible. He is there when all of the far-flung family converges for a reunion, which is what brings Cat, along with her two younger sisters, Poppy and Skye, and her estranged father. Events come to a head as old rivalries are brought up and new dangers surface. And of course there is a good amount of love at first sight (or bite, in this case).
I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to - I tend to occasionally judge books by their covers, and this one just seemed too typical. Thankfully though, the story was anything but. I also discovered that it is the third book set in the world the author has created. (The covers for the other two books are disturbingly similar to this one.) While reading this book I did not feel like I missed anything, as Castle does a good job of giving background information, but it was obvious that there was more history to the story. The other characters were clearly important to the author, as were their stories, even though they weren't the main protagonists of this book. The romance was lovely - and it's not just Cat and Bastian that get to fall in love, which was nice. The world as Castle has created it works very well, and I look forward to catching up and reading the other two books in this series now.
This book is great for several challenges, but the two important ones are the Romance Reading Challenge and the Love Bites Reading Challenge. The Romance Reading Challenge is pretty self-explanatory. The Love Bites Reading Challenge is similar, but involves paranormal romance. After reading this book, I decided that for the rest of the challenge I am going to read the previous two books in this series. Because this book will be released in May of this year, it is part of the Pub 2009 Challenge. And I am also using it for RYOB 2009 and the New Author Challenge.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2008, which is why it was in my pile of books to read. I also went to a book club discussion about it.
The book is really difficult for me to describe. It is basically the story of Oscar, a hugely obese "Dominican ghetto-nerd" who is a character you love to root for, but at the same time he is incredibly pathetic and hopeless (and thus frustrating!). Oscar's family is from the Dominican Republic, although he and his sister Lola mostly grow up in New Jersey. Their mother's family did not survive the Trujillo dictatorship, and she herself fled to the United States as a teenager. Most of the story, including the history of the family, is told by Yunior, a sometime-boyfriend of Lola's who tries to help Oscar out of his depression in college. Two of the sections are told by Lola, but she only speaks of her own view of the situation, and she seems to be writing to Yunior, though it is difficult to tell.
What I liked best about this book was the writing - it was so much fun to read, even if it was hard to follow at times. Yunior throws in a ton of Spanish, as well as a tremendous amount of nerd-slang that I found really amusing. Most of it you can figure out from context, because it is certainly not explained for you at all. Yunior's voice is entrancing, in a way that I would not have expected.
As one of the 12 Mini-Challenges that I am doing this year, I went to a book discussion (#10). It was really interesting to discuss this particular book, because it is difficult, and sometimes inaccesible. There were seven of us at the meeting, I think three of whom had not finished the book. We brought up some topics that we thought were interesting, though we did not delve very deeply into any of them. It was more of a sharing of our thoughts, rather than really digging into the book. One thing that we didn't talk about much was the mysticism in the book, the presence of the golden Mongoose and the Man Without a Face. But it was otherwise a good book chat. I also read the book for my 999 Challenge, for which I am reading all prize winners (my list for this one is here). And, not to leave out anything, I am also reading this for the New Author Challenge and the A-Z Challenge.

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

Spin follows the lives of three friends, beginning when they are twelve and thirteen. The story is told by Tyler Dupree, and we follow what is happening to him in his "present" time, at the same time as he is telling us about his past. It makes for some very suspenseful reading.
Tyler's story of his past begins with the night the stars disappear. He is spending the evening with his two closest friends, the twins Jason and Diane. That October night begins what will later be referred to as the Spin. As the human race deals with this strange phenomenon, they make unsettling discoveries about what it means for Earth and its relationship with the rest of the universe. Because they discover that the Spin membrane (as it comes to be called) not only surrounds the Earth and blocks its view of the rest of the universe - it also effectively stops time for Earth. Each year on Earth is now equivalent to something like 100 million years in the universe, meaning that the sun is aging much faster relative to Earth, and within a few decades will destroy the Earth.
The glimpses we are given of the present, while hearing the history of the Spin from Tyler, make certain things in the story clear. But it leaves you wondering so much, so that you can't wait to get to that part of Tyler's history and find out what happened. I really was drawn into this book, and enjoyed it tremendously. Robert Charles Wilson will definitely be an author that I look for from now on.
I read this book for my 999 Challenge, because it won a Hugo Award in 2006. My full list of books to read for the challenge is here. Robert Charles Wilson is also a new author for me, so this is another one for the New Author Challenge. Oh, and this is my second "S" for the Read Your Name Challenge (just J and I to go!).

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

The Worst Hard Time: The Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl was everything that I'd hoped for in a non-fiction title. Egan begins his tale by introducing us to many of the characters who will populate his history: real people who lived through the Dust Bowl in the No-Man's Land of the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and the southeastern corner of Colorado, with some stories of northeast New Mexico and southern Kansas thrown in as well. The Dust Bowl is not a respecter of state lines.
The chronological story begins with the wheat boom that brought settlers to the plains. Egan tells us how they were lied to to get them to stay, and how they convinced themselves that agriculture could work on the land. It is tremendously sad, reading how the buffalo were destroyed and the Native Americans removed from their lands. Egan then goes on to describe the first changes, the beginning of the drought, when people did not yet know that disaster was coming. This is a profoundly moving book, as we get to know each of the families - you see how they suffer, how they stick through the worst times, or leave in order to save their lives. It's hard to imagine living through something so terrible, but I suppose that we always want to believe that it can't get any worse. This book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading about history.
I picked this book up because it won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2006. I am reading award winners for my 999 Challenge. You can see my whole list here. Timothy Egan is a new author for me, so here's another one for the New Author Challenge.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart

Frankie is a sophomore at an expensive New England boarding school called Alabaster. Her father is an Alabaster alum, and he has many happy memories of his times there; in fact all of his closest friends are from high school. So he sends his daughters off to Alabaster, even if in many other ways he is no longer a part of their lives. Frankie's freshman year at Alabaster is spent in relative obscurity, following her older sister who graduates, leaving Frankie on her own for sophomore year. Frankie has changed over the summer however, and now people (mainly senior boys) who never would have noticed her before begin to see her in a new light.
When Frankie starts going out with Matthew, she thinks she couldn't be happier. But Matthew has a secret - he is a member of the secret society, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. Frankie knows about the Loyal Order because her father can't help bragging about his time with them. She desperately wants Matthew to share with her, but he continues to keep it a secret. And Frankie begins to realize that Matthew does not take her seriously, simply finds her adorable. She is back to being Bunny Rabbit, the hated nickname given to her by her family. Frankie is tired of feeling powerless when she knows she is not. If Matthew won't tell her about the Loyal Order, she'll just take matters into her own hands.
I really don't think that I can explain this book well enough to really get through how terrific it is. I absolutely loved it. It is definitely my favorite teen book, and I would recommend it without reservation to just about anyone, especially teen girls. Frankie never accepts the role that society has laid out for her, although she does think about it. She thinks about how lovely it is to be Matthew's girlfriend, and she wishes that she could just be sweet and simple and not complicate things. But she is not sweet, and she is certainly not simple. Frankie is a fantastic character, and I loved her conflicted-ness. But she still stands up for herself, in a way that shows how smart she is. Lockhart does a good job of not making her the hero of the school, however. Most of the students still don't understand the point behind the pranks, whereas Frankie had hoped to open minds and make change. Most students just find the pranks funny or weird or at least an interesting diversion in their day. For Frankie, it proves to her what she is capable of, and forces others to acknowledge that as well.

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

The Complete Maus consists of both Maus I and II, bound together in a hardcover volume. I wanted to read them both together, to get the full story, and I am very glad I did. Maus is the story of Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, and how he survived the holocaust. In the graphic novel, Jews are drawn as mice, Germans are cats, Poles are pigs, French are frogs, and Americans are dogs. The drawings make the material more unrealistic and yet they also draw us in more to the fact that though it seems unreal, this really happened.
Vladek survived the holocaust mainly through luck, but also by taking advantage of the situations he finds himself in. His wife, Art's mother, also survives, but ends up committing suicide more than 20 years later. The novel is not just about the holocaust, but it also documents Art's efforts to get his father's story. He does not have a very good relationship with his cantakerous father, and the novel shows how he has a difficult time being fair to his story. It gives the work more depth, and makes it that much more real to the reader. So much has already been said about this book, but I had never gotten around to reading it. I am so glad I did, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who has ever considered picking it up.
This book is my first read for the second quarter of the 2009 Martel-Harper Challenge. As I have described in previous posts, this challenge follows the list of books that Canadian author Yann Martel sends to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In his letter to Harper about this choice, Martel says that we sometimes need to be ripped apart in order to find our own stillness. The story of the holocaust certainly does that, and Maus is an incredible way of telling that story. I am also trying to read some of the books that another book blogger, Dewey, read throughout her book blogging years. This is for the Dewey's Books Challenge. She reviewed Maus back in January of 2006. And of course as a graphic novel it counts for the Graphic Novels Challenge - also the New Author Challenge, as I have never read Art Spiegelman before.