when the ice melts

Laurentian Divide by Sarah Stonich
Genre: fiction
Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Review: Every story needs a hook, and for Laurentian Divide it's the question of what happened to Rauri Paar, the odd man who winters alone on his island.  His appearance heralds the true return of spring to the residents of Hatchet Inlet.  But the answer to that question is not nearly as interesting as the stories of the people who are asking it.  There's: the widower who's about to marry the woman nearly 20 years his junior (they're deeply in love); his son, the veterinarian who's also a recovering alcoholic; and his fiancee, who's dealing with a mother with major dementia and reeling from the loss of her neice, who was killed in a drunk driving accident.  These are the people who tell the story, of their past and their present, that color the book in shades of ice blue and the green of new buds.

Unlike other books small-town books, I never got a sense of the town itself, although the larger scenery of Minnesota on the Canadian border comes through vividly (it may have helped that I was there not long ago).  As for what happened to Rauri Paar, the answer is appropriately anticlimactic, serving to satisfy the the curiosity of both reader and town, without overshadowing the characters the reader has come to identify with.  The revelation also allows the book to come to a graceful, natural ending.  I was pleased to learn that this is the second book in a planned trilogy, although it can be read alone; I'll almost certainly pick up the first one, and I'll be looking for the third when it comes out.

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

the magic of Oz

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5)
Review: When The Wizard of Oz was being made into a movie, L. Frank Baum's widow Maud took it upon herself to make sure that the movie honored her late husband's vision in the book - that the "heart" of Oz was present in the movie.  I think most of us who have grown up watching the movie would agree that her efforts were successful.  In writing about Maud Baum, Elizabeth Letts allows us to find the magic of Oz anew.

In writing about Frank and Maud's life together, Letts let's us see the magic that they, particularly Frank saw in their every day life, and shows us the many inspirations that came together to become Oz. In her Author's Note, Letts explains that many of the origins of Oz are well-documented, and her skill as a writer brings those scenes alive and allows her readers to experience the magic that Frank felt.

This backstory is told as Maud finagles her way onto the set of The Wizard of Oz at MGM studios.  She's particularly concerned with the character of Dorothy, and her time with Judy Garland reassures her that the singer can bring the right blend of innocence and longing to the part.  She must also confront the rampant sexism on the movie set, as Judy and other actresses are subject to sexual harassment.  Here Letts allows Maud to recall her early life as the daughter of a prominent sufragette and her lifelong committment to women's equality, of which Frank was an ardent supporter.  Feminism, suffrage, and Maud's inherent practicality married to Frank's sense of wonder all went into making Oz the magical place that it is in books, on stage and screen, and in our hearts.  In bringing that alive, Letts has given fans of Oz a great gift.

FTC Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for this review.

a metaphor for... something

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: This story is a metaphor for... something.  The inherent violence we all harbor inside us?  The idea that relations between men and women can never be peaceful?  I honestly don't know.  The writing is lovely, lyrical and haunting but too veiled for me.  Are men really a threat to women in the outside world, or is the sickness a metaphor?  Or is it just that Grace, Lia, and Sky's parents are incredibly manipulative and abusive (physicallyand psychologically)?  Although some things become clear(er) by the end of the book, much is left in obscurity.

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

How Feminist Dystopian Fiction Is Channeling Women’s Anger and Anxiety

NYTimes 10/8/18: How Feminist Dystopian Fiction is Channeling Women's Anger and Anxiety by Alexandra Alter

how not to be popular

Confessions of a Teenage Leper by Ashley Little
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction, YA
Review: What happens when the presumptive prom queen finds out she has Hansen's Disease?  You get some really great moral lessons about the difference between being beautiful on the outside and on the inside.  Fortunately, Little inhabits her character so well that the talk of inner beauty goes down smoothly and the focus remains on Abby and her struggle to be healthy and to find a new path for her life.  Abby's voice is so vivid that the pages of the book seem to turn themselves as she goes from mis-diagnosis to mis-diagnosis to treatment to beginning to heal.

For all the cliches about inner beauty, there's a lot packed into this book. Abby has to deal with all the usual high school angst around parties, sex, friends, and her brother.  As a result, she's a very relatable character, neither saint nor sinner, but just a flawed teenager who you can't help rooting for.

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

the end of the world

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
Genre: science fiction
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Review: Harry August is a kalachakra, a term which refers to the Buddhist idea of the Wheel of Time. Kalachakras are people who are born again and again into the same life, with full memory of what they have done previously. Harry is born on January 1, 1919, the illegitimate son of a wealthy British landowner. His mother dies in childbirth, and he is adopted by a childless couple living on the estate. So much is the same, over and over again.

Naturally, there is a society of kalachakras, which, while the individual members are only loosely connected, has very strict rules about changing the timeline. After all, when you’re reborn knowing what will happen throughout your lifespan, there’s lots of potential to wreak havoc. The Chronus Club also has mechanisms for communicating into the past or future, which is how Harry learns that the world is ending. As he is dying for the 11th time, in 1996, he is told that the world ends in a thousand years and that future generations are powerless to stop it.

Armed with this knowledge, Harry enters his next cycle and passes this information on to other members of the Chronus Club, which embarks on a long term plan (think, several lifetimes) to figure what’s causing the end of the world and how to stop it. In the course of this mission, Harry tells us a great deal about how he’s lived his previous lives, and it’s very interesting to meditate on how one small change can have large effects. The bulk of the dramatic drive of the book, though, comes from the question of whether Harry will be able to solve the mystery of the end of the world, before he himself is destroyed.

master of her craft

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Review: Once again, Jodi Picoult has written a thoroughly compelling story that tackles a hot-button controversial social topic.  This time it's abortion, and told through multiple perspectives on both sides of the issue.  In contrast to many of her other books, I wasn't able to develop any sympathy or much empathy for those on the "other side" of my personal beliefs, despite the very well-developed characters.

Picoult also makes the very interesting choice to tell this story backward, beginning mere moments before the end of a hostage situation and rolling time back hour by hour to the morning of that day.  This technique both works and doesn't work for her.  The tension definitely rises as you find out more and more of what happened, but at the same time, because lives were left hanging in the balance at the end of the day, I reached a point where I just wanted to know who lived and who didn't, and stopped caring about all the backstories.

While not everything in this book worked for me, Jodi Picoult is a master of her craft, and has gifted readers again with a deftly told story.

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