second war, same as before

American War by Omar El Akkad
Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: science fiction
Read 20 in 2020 Challenge Category: sci fi
Review: By the 2050s, climate change has caused ocean levels to rise to such a degree that Florida is underwater, as is most of the eastern seaboard.  The Mississippi River has become an inland sea, wiping out New Orleans, and continues to grow.  The Inland Migration has taken over the midwest, and the US capitol has been moved to Columbus, from which the use of fossil fuels is banned.  Southerners are so outraged by this that Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia secede in 2074, kicking off the 2nd American Civil War.  Somehow, the southwest becomes a Mexican Protectorate, but that's incidental to the story and the details are unclear.

Beyond the changed geography, climate change doesn't get much discussion.  The focus is on Sarat Chestnut, born in Louisiana by the shores of the Mississippi Sea.  Her father is killed in a homicide bombing when she is six, and she and her mother, brother, and twin sister are forced to move to Camp Patience near the border of the Free Southern State in Mississippi.  It is there that she learns what it means to be a "Southerner" and her insurrectionist tendencies are honed.

The bulk of the book is the story of what Sarat does, and what happens to her.  It's not a light read.  It is very creatively written, though, in that the tone echoes very closely books about the actual American Civil War.  Here, the South's desire for independence shows itself through their defiance of the ban on fossil fuels, but it feels just exactly like it might in a work of historical fiction.  Kudos to the author for being able to pull that off, even as he weaves in modern and advanced technology.

will they won't they

Meet Me in Monaco: A Novel of Grace Kelly's Royal Wedding by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: historical fiction
Review: Grace Kelly is, at best, a secondary character in this book, so if you're looking for something about her and her romance with Prince Rainier, look elsewhere.  But if you're looking for a sweet story about two people brought together by Grace Kelly, this is the place to go.  Sophie Duval is a parfumer struggling to follow in her father's footsteps and keep the family parfumerie afloat.  Jim Hutchinson is member of the paparazzi, trying to get a picture of Grace Kelly at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.  Grace ducks into Sophie's shop to try to elude him, bringing the two together.

The rest of the book is a classic will-they-won't-they.  Will they be able to be together?  Will either of them be able to make professional progress?  It's a sweet book, with an unexpected, but satisfying ending.  But both characters perserverate a bit too much for my taste, making it a bit of a chore to read.  For fans of sweet romances, though, this atmospheric book, with a a taste of Provence and royal weddings will be just the thing.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

a Knight of Miamas

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Read 20 in 2020 Challenge category: book with an animal on the cover
Review: Elsa is a very (very!) precocious almost-eight-year-old, with a very (very) strong attachment to her Granny. Because Elsa doesn't fit in at school, she and Granny spend a lot of time together, often in the Land-of-Almost-Awake, a fairy-tale realm that Granny has created and that Elsa knows inside and out. In the Land-of-Almost-Awake, everyone is different, and no-one needs to think about being "normal". Elsa is a Knight in Miamas, one of the kingdoms in the Land-of-Almost-Awake, and Granny knows that Elsa will soon need to use all of the bravery that a Knight carries within.

For Granny has cancer, although Elsa never hears her use that word out loud, and when Granny dies, Elsa is left bereft, and more than a little bit angry as she realizes that Granny kept lots of secrets from her. Elsa's about to find out a lot more about who Granny was before she was "Granny" though, as she undertakes the quest Granny has set out for her. She is to deliver a series of letters to the other residents of their building, in which Granny asks forgiveness for her various failings. As Elsa completes her quest, she comes to see the connections among her neighbors and between each one and her grandmother, and begins to see the origins of Granny's tales of the Land-of-Almost-Awake.

Elsa's journey is both heartbreaking and heartwarming as she struggles toward a fuller picture of the world around her. Although nothing actually fantastical happens, this story has, in some ways, the dreamy quality of a fairy tale, although in others, it is bitingly real. I wanted to be Elsa's companion on her treasure hunt, to help her and protect her, and to experience the journey for myself! Fortunately, Elsa had protectors, and Backman's writing is so vivid that I did sometimes feel as though I were there.

Some reviewers have said, and I can't say I disagree altogether, that Elsa was somewhat too precocious. Perhaps, although it's also been pointed out that, because Elsa was shunned at school, all of her interactions were with adults, with does have a certain effect on a smart child. I would also agree with those who point out that this book requires some suspension of disbelief for more than one thing (that dog eats an awful lot of chocolate...), but that it's all more than worth it to be able to come along for Elsa's journey.

Read 20 in 2020!

I'm doing the Read 20 in 2020 Challenge!  Check back to this post to see what I read for each category.

1. Science fiction - American War by Omal El Akkad
2. Pulitzer Prize/National Book Award winner - All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
3. History - Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
4. Biography/Memoir - What You Have Heard is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forché
5. Book by an author from Long Island - Shirley by Susan Scarf Merrell
6. Graphic Novel/Non-Fiction - Moonbound: Apollo 11 and the Dream of Spaceflight by Jonathan Fetter Vorn
7. Mystery/True Crime - The King's Justice by Susan Elia MacNeal
8. Young Adult - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snake by Suzanne Collins
9. Book with a color in the title - Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
10. Book about or taking place during a holiday - The Dinner Party by Brenda Janowitz
11. Learn something new - Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina
12. Audiobook - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
13. Book by an author from Asia, Africa, or Oceania - Supernova Era by Cixin Liu
14. Book with an animal on the cover - My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
15. Book that was published in 2000 - Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas
16. Your choice - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
17. Your choice - The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
18. Your choice - The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
19. Your choice - The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller
20. Your choice - City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Want to join?  Visit https://westhamptonlibrary.net/read20in2020/ to sign up and submit your books.  One local winner will get a $100 gift card to a local merchant of their choice, and a non-local winner will get a $50 Amazon gift card.
#read20in2020wfl

Miri

Supernova Era by Cixin Liu, translated by Joel Martinsen
Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)
Genre: science fiction
Read 20 in 2020 Challenge category: book by an author from Africa, Asia, or Oceania
Review: The premise behind this book is really interesting.  Essentially, it posits that a supernova gives everyone over the age of 13 radiation poisoning, and they all die.  Only children 13 and under are left in the world.  It's like Miri, a Star Trek episode from 1966, except on a global scale, and with a full-length novel to flesh out the idea.  Unfortunately, the execution doesn't fulfill the promise of the idea.  We can argue whether a children's world would really turn into a "Candytown" free-for-all, or if children would really start massive war games over Antarctica, with actual casualties.  I didn't find either very likely, but I respect the imaginative process that went into creating those scenarios.  My problem was that the writing/translation is very clunky, making the children's world hard to read about, even if I could get behind the ideas.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.