West With Giraffes

 West With Giraffes written  by  Lynda Rutledge..this is one of those books that I would probably not have picked up if not for the assignment to read it for a book discussion group.  Of course I am so glad I did.I will talking about this book and recommending it for a while.  

This is an historical novel that has so many different amazing historical references that interconnect and give the reader aa real sense of what life was like in the Unites States in 1938.  Our west in Oklahoma and the Texas pan handle we were suffering from the worst weather situation to hit the country, the Dust Bowl. Farmers could not grow their crops, their animals were dying and there was no money and if you did not pick up and move further west, you and your family would eventually die also from lack of water and food.  Then there was the Hurricane of '38 in New England which also killed hundreds of people.

Our protagonist, Woodrow Wilson Nickel, is writing this story from his nursing home room.  It is 2025 and he is 105 years old.  He is looking back, wanting to record his life story before the end.  He especially wants to leave a record of the time he drove giraffes across the country.  This is also a true story that two giraffes survive on a ship from Africa that arrive in New York during the hurricane.  They are transported to San Diego, California to the new zoo that is being established.

This story is so enjoyable to read and at the same time so full of many issues people deal with on an everyday basis.  Looking at the role of women, people of color and poverty through the lens of this time period.  Along with the issues in the US there is also a war brewing in Europe, that we learn about through newspaper headlines as the travelers are driving cross country with the giraffes.  

A story of growing up, strength, caring and love.  

Trust No One

 Trust No One , this seems to be a popular title so make sure you get the novel is written by Paul  Cleave.

A unusual thriller novel.   As the protagonist begins to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, he is becoming more and more confused and losing memories.  Jerry Gray is a mystery writer, who uses an alias Henry Cutter to write his mystery series.  As we read about his slow dive into the abyss he cannot tell the difference between what he has done or what he has written his mystery novel characters doing. The wall between real life and the world of writing become more entangled as he loses life as he knew it. 

I do not want to give too much of the plot away... Jerry Gray is telling his story, but then sometimes hands the story telling over to Henry Cutter, who writes in a different style.  We are hearing both from Jerry before he sinks into Alzheimer's and later Jerry after he is confused and mixing his mystery plots with the real life happening around him.

But don't trust me...read it yourself.

The Personal Librarian

 I do not think there is a book written by author Marie Benedict that I do not love.  Her newest             book, The Personal Librarian is no exception.  This is a novel about the history of our country, the mind set of people in America. It is the story of a woman who grew up in a home with a mother who wanted something different for herself and her children.   A wonderful story of perseverance and strength in the face of prejudice and racism in America.

This time Benedict has worked with co-author, Victoria Christopher Murray.   The match has created a book of timeless historical perspective along with the imagined feelings of the people who were there.

What a wonderful storyline, how a young woman grew up with a mother who sacrificed so much to see her daughter succeed in a prejudice world.  Her mother's fanatic support led  Belle da Costa Greene, to become the personal librarian to J.P. Morgan, who was one of the early 20th century's wealthiest and most powerful men.

Belle grows up away from her relatives and her father because her mother realized that she and her children could pass at a time in American history when being black made it difficult  to succeed in business.  Though her father, Richard Greener,  was the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. His decision to fight for equality for people of color leads Belle's mother to choose a different path for herself and her children.  

Explaining away her darker skin tone as being of Portuguese heritage she becomes the assistant to J.P. Morgan.  He trusts her to curate his collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork.  He is building the Pierpont Morgan Library which will house the most sort after art and artifacts.  Belle has incredible taste and is a quick study of what his collection should and how to negotiate for the most important pieces. She develops a shrewd style of winning away the pieces Morgan wants at auction before anyone else can even put in a bid.  

Told in such a humanistic and warm way, this is a story of their relationship, her relationship with J. P. Morgan's children and his colleagues .  The fear Belle lived with on a daily basis as she moved in these wealthy aristocratic world always afraid something would give her away, is so realistic.

The Last Rose of Shanghai

 Written by Weina Dai Randel, The Last Rose of Shanghai  is a beautiful love story and an excellent historical representation of what happened in Shanghai, China during the war years of the 1940s.  While Europe was fighting Hitler and the Nazi war machine, China and Japan were also at war between themselves. 

German Jews were able to escape to Shanghai looking for freedom, but found instead a country at war and a different kind of prejudice.  Japan had invaded and was trying to take over rule of China.  Though the Japanese or Chinese were not anti Jewish and many were not aware of the anti-Semitism in Europe. But then Japan forms an alliance with Germany and the Britons in Shanghai's International Settlement  become the enemy, then restrictions finally tighten against Jews. 

Ernest Reismann comes to Shanghai penniless as a Jewish refugee looking for a job to support himself and his sister, Miriam.  As they wait for word of their parents fate back in Germany, Ernest finds work as a piano player in Aiyi Shao's glamorous nightclub.  Aiyi is a young woman going against the mandate of her social community, to marry and have a family.  She wants so much more, freedom, a career.  Aiyi runs the successful nightclub and works hard to keep it profitable.  This will lead to trouble for all those who surround her.  Aiyi has been promised in marriage as is the custom.  She is not sure that is the life she envisions for herself.  Aiyi will have face many obstacles as she learns how to navigate her business and social life.

Falling in love with someone outside your religion or social community is dangerous.  Aiyi and Ernest are willing to risk everything for that love.  It will have implications on their families, friends and business partners.   The decisions they make in their own lives have repercussions on the lives of all the people around them. Deciding if the benefits outweigh the sadness and losses is what book discussion groups will analyze. 

The novel has many twists and turns in the plot. The descriptions of the sounds, smells and streets of Shanghai are so real you will feel like you  are there. The descriptions of danger in the streets of Shanghai  feel so real also, that you will cringe and hold your breath as you wait to make sure each character is ok as they face a dangerous experience.

Ernest and Aiyi's lives intertwine through the years, as we hear their story from each point of view in alternating chapters.  Aiyi is telling her story to a young documentary producer, whom she wants to make a documentary about Ernest's life and his talent as a musician.  Aiyi is at the end of her long and dramatic life.  It has been a life full of so many experiences; marriage, religious practices, race relations, sibling relationships, motherhood, hope, music, women's rights and love.

Weina Dai Randel was born and raised in China. Weina is the winner of the RWA RITA Award, the National Jewish Book Award finalist, the Goodreads Choice Award “Best Historical Fiction” semifinalist, and the RT Book Reviewers Choice “Best First Historical” nominee.  Weina came to the United States at twenty-four, when she switched from Chinese to English and began to speak, write and dream in English. After living in Texas for many years, she now resides in Massachusetts. readers. She is an adjunct professor and is also a member of the Historical Novel Society.

One for Sorrow

 One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn is fascinating historically based story.   This was a terrific historical ghost story., written for middle school and older teens..also perfect for an adult. Enjoyed the spooky ghost story aspect and the historical side of the plot also. The 1918 flu is so relevant to today and I was curious about that time period. This is the story of the people of a small community during the flu pandemic and also the story of young girls learning about friendship and hate. How to include friends and what can happen when you exclude one person from your circle.   

All based on true stories told to the author by her mother .  The plot line definitely holds your attention.

This is a YA book with a strong message of being kind to others even if they are different.  The story of a group of young girls who have decided they do not like the one girl who looks and dresses differently.  When Annie starts going to a new school the other girls ignore her.  But Elise who is also unpopular befriends Annie.  Annie soon realizes that Elise is not really nice to others.   Annie switches allegiance  and that is the beginning of her trouble with Elise.  

This is a spooky ghost story about the girls and the influenza epidemic but also a story about friendship, loss and love.  Annie sees that her parents really love and support her and that is very important.  You  cannot take your parents love for granted.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie the story of Junior's life growing up on the Spokane Indian reservation.  This YA fiction story is autobiographical of Alexie's life.

We meet Junior as he known to his family and friends but in his new school he is known as Arnold Spirit.  This is just one of the challenges our young Indian friend has to face as he tries to negotiate the world of differences between living on the rez and going to school in the neighboring white farm community.

Junior is a 14 year old boy who lives with his mom, dad and sister.   His parents grew up on the reservation and never left. This is a cold hard look at the hard life of the reservation.  So many adults are alcoholics.  They are uneducated and poor with no prospects of changing that trajectory.  A teacher tells Arnold that he is very  smart and he has a chance to escape the same fate.  So with his parents support and help Arnold travels 20 miles a day to the neighboring town to the white high school.  

It is a hard decision, his friends and fellow Indians are angry that he is trying to leave the reservation.  The white families in the town are prejudice against him for coming from the rez.

But slowly Arnold learns to be a part time Indian and to make a few friends in the white world.  This is his story.  It contains discussions of a 14 year old boy's thoughts about sex and the fights Junior gets into as he tries to balance between two worlds.  It is a true life lesson for many  of us about how people are all the same and we should look beneath the skin and clothes to see the person in front of us.

Two Nights in Lisbon

 Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone is another novel in the mystery thriller genre.

This time a newly married couple travels to Portugal to add a short vacation to the husband's business trip.  After a few days of touring around the husband gets up in the morning goes out to pick up coffee before his business meeting and never returns.  The wife, Ariel Pryce, panics immediately and goes to the police to report her missing husband.  When they do not seem to take her seriously she goes to the American Embassy to get them involved.

Once she has everyone's attention the explosive mystery is underway.  So many questions are explored in this novel; who can you trust?, how well do you know your spouse? and how do you get the assistance you need to rescue a kidnap victim in a foreign country?

The plot of this novel is intriguing. Written mostly from Ariel's point of view we hear her backstory reveal slowly as she is searching for her husband.  With the local police and the American Embassy looking into both her and her husband's backgrounds more clues are released along the way and then there is a reporter following the story looking for the story of his career uncovering facts as the story progresses. 

Also the writing style is unique and very entertaining.  Listening to the characters talk and think has a distinct rhythm to it. This writing style and the intriguing plot keeps the reader turning pages as quickly as possible to find out the ending.