Soooo....

I got my first book list for Nutmeg.  There are 12 on this list!  I ordered them all from Amazon.  I am happy to say I will be donating all of the Nutmeg contenders at the end of my participation on the committee next May (2018).  My committee chair emailed us that our first face-to-face meeting will be mid-January.  As I mentioned before, I may not have a lot of free time to read "for pleasure" while I'm engaged in reading the Nutmegs.  That being said, I have a few books already on reserve at WHPL that I'll read and review for sure.  Annnndd, although I can't say anything about the books on the list, I CAN say one of the first 12 has already been reviewed here ;)

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS to see when I've posted a new review.  I promise to try!

 

Blood and Salt by Kim Liggett

I have no idea who put this book on the WHHS LMC wishlist via our online supplier.  When I threw a classic Mrs. W. tantrum and got a little money to buy books in October, it was added to the cart with the others.  It could've been my counterpart Mrs. Lynch or our amazing secretary Mrs. Taylor.  It could've been me and I just don't remember.  Either way, I'm glad it's part of our collection.

When it came out of the box, I saw the tagline "It's good to be afraid.  It means you still have something to live for."  The review snippets on the back sounded intriguing as well.  I thought, well, once it's ready to go on the shelf (after labels are stuck, it's stamped, and all that), I'll take it out.  And I did.

I read this in one Saturday afternoon while my husband washed the vehicles.  I couldn't stop turning the pages. 

A review on Amazon sums up the novel perfectly:
"Romeo and Juliet meets Children of the Corn"

Twins Ashlyn and Rhys Larkin are raised by a single non-working mother in New York City.  They attend a private high school.  Already you (if you are from the Northeast especially) are asking how does a single parent without a job hold an apartment in NYC and send her kids to a very elite prep school?

Nina, their mother, was raised on a commune in Kansas.  Yes, you read that right.  A commune in Kansas.  She apparently got pregnant at 17 and left.  We learn Ashlyn has visions, perhaps of a psychic nature, and that Nina believes in healing and protective tattoos.  She also has a patch of real grass growing in the middle of her room.

As the visions grow stronger, particularly of a dead girl who seems to be the victim of a hanging, Ashlyn returns home from school to find her mother gone and the apartment full of crows, which are a harbinger of death in pretty much all literature.  Ash and Rhys also find a suitcase full of gold, strangely adorned with the same symbols tattooed on the female twin.  Believing their mother has returned to the commune, they head for Kansas.

What follows is a tale of prophecy, destiny, choice, forbidden love, death, destruction, betrayal and redemption.  Ashlyn and Dane, her Romeo if you will, are beautifully tragic.  The ancient mythological tale of being granted immortality is tied into the Spanish conquistador Coronado and the Native American Indians of the Plains and the Southwest.

And of course, there is the the sinister, and I mean seriously sinister, cornfield of modern day horror.

Although I'm not usually big on cliffhangers, I hope there is a sequel.

Totally a recommend!

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

If you've been in the LMC lately, you've probably seen me on a cleaning spree.  My OCD couldn't handle the disorder any longer.  Last year I did a big cleaning during midterms in late January, but since we are not having those this year, it's good thing I started now!  I know it's awesome I have to clean so much, because it means y'all are taking out books!!

Anyway, in cleaning fiction, I pulled two copies of this novel out to be moved to the shelf to the left.  I was intrigued by the cover and figured, well, I've only got a bit of time before the reading for Nutmeg starts, so let me read what I can now!  I'm glad I did!  I even went in search of info on a movie adaptation (the rights have been purchased).

Celia is the 6 year old illegimate daughter of a traveling illusionist, known by the stage name of Prospero.  When her mother commits suicide, she leaves a note of how to find her "strange" child's father.  We learn Prospero is really able to do magic and uses it to do incredible "illusions".  Prospero sees Celia has the same gift and begins training her.  Soon after they are visited by a man in a gray suit, whom we are to call Alexander.  Alexander and Hector (Prospero) make a bet, but we are not privy to the details.  Alexander, also know as Mr. A.H., visits an orphanage seeking a strange child (we see echoes of He Who Must Not Be Named here).  He adopts Marco and trains him, to compete with Celia.

As time progresses, Celia and Marco's lives become increasingly intertwined through the Night Circus they have created.  It is the chess board of their game so to speak.  Eventually they realize they are competing against each other, but still do not know what they are competing for or what the end game is.  We, and they, realize they are in love.

I adored the characters in this novel.  Twin kid magicians Poppet and Widget very much remind me of the kitten twins on Thundercats (they even have kittens as pets).  I wanted to reach into the pages and punch Marco's first lover Isobel when truth is revealed.  There are several subplots that add to the story.  I cried, yes, in the karate studio, when Marco and Celia....well, I won't spoil it here.

I hope you'll check it out!

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Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I loved this book!  I read it in one afternoon while my husband and son visited Nana.

Madeline is 18 and has an autoimmune disease that requires a sterile environment.  She is homeschooled via Skype, has a visiting nurse, and is lucky to have a doctor for a mother.  Her father and brother were killed in a car accident when she was an infant.  Half-Japanese and half-African American, her only friends are online.  Until Olly moves in.

Olly and his family move in next door.  He seems to be a real-life Spiderman, scaling the houses with ease.  His father is clearly an alcoholic and his sister Kara is smoking in secret in the garden.  Kara and Olly attempt to befriend Madeline by bringing over a cake they admit their non-baker mother made.  Madeline's mother adamantly refuses them access to the home.  Olly and Madeline find a way to communicate: letters marked on windows, miming, and online chat.

Madeline convinces her nurse and friend Carla to decontaminate Olly and let him in.  They conspire to hide the truth about the increasing number of visits and the physical contact between them.  It all comes crashing down when Madeline sees Olly's drunk father about to hit him and runs outside, with her horrified mother chasing after her. 

Banned from the computer, Carla fired, Nurse Ratchet hired, Madeline decides the life she has is not worth living.  She convinces Olly to run away with her, even though she may die shortly after being exposed to the real world.  Madeline chooses Hawaii, as it is the last place her entire family vacationed before her brother and father were killed.

I'm going to stop the summary there.  What happens next is beautiful, heart wrenching, magical, and appalling all at the same time.

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Good news and bad news

First, the good news:
I was chosen to serve on the High School Nutmeg Book Award Committee for 2017.  I'm honored to represent West Haven in choosing the high school level nominees for the next award cycle.
That being said, it's a huge responsibility.  I'm expected to read 100 books over 9 months.  Which leads me to...
The bad news:
I cannot share any information about the 100 shortlisted books or the 10 eventual nominees.  That means I won't be able to review them here on the blog.  I am not sure how much extra reading time I'm going to have once this process starts.  I'll be sure to let you know when I'll be shutting down the review in advance.
Then, follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS to see when I start to post again.
<3 Mrs. W.

These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

This novel was recommended by Amazon and it did not disappoint.  Although on the long side, the main character, Josephine, is 17 and it is thus tagged YA.

I was worried at first that I was looking at a romance in the Victorian era.  If you want to read some fabulous books of the sort, check out those by my friend Christi Caldwell, a native Westie.  Instead, it was more of a murder-mystery with some light Romeo and Juliet-like love thrown in.

Josephine is the only child of wealthy "old money" parents.  She is away at boarding school when the news comes that her father has died in what is believed to be an accidental shooting.  The news is delivered by Bram, widely expected to propose to Jo in the very near future, and his sister, Jo's lifelong friend.

Jo does not believe her father shot himself accidentally.  He was extra careful with his firearms and would never clean a loaded weapon.  She instead thinks he may have committed suicide.  A trip to the newspaper, one her father actually owns, confirms her suspicions: everyone thinks it was a suicide covered up by Jo's uncle Philip.  En route, she meets Eddie, a cub reporter.  Eddie's best friend Oscar is the junior coroner.  Neither believes it a suicide; rather a murder.

The three form an unlikely partnership on a mission to uncover who killed Jo's father, each for their own reasons.  In the process, Jo breaks every societal rule about young women of her time.  Her father is more important than propriety.  Eddie and Jo share an infatuation, perhaps even puppy love, for each other.  It's endearing at first.  They don't, however, live happily ever after...

Read my newest post for info about the future of this blog!

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Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise Parker

Mixed review on this memoir.

Parker, who I know as the female lead in RED and RED 2, writes a series of letters to the men in her life (mostly in pseudonym).

Some are incredibly moving, for example to her grandfather and her son at the moment of his birth.  Some are funny, such as the one to the hippie stoner with a crush on her.  But others are just too free flowing "stream of consciousness" to follow where she is going.

Really not much more to say!

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We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

A nerd and a fashionista become step-siblings.  All the implied hilarity does occur, along with some incredibly heartwarming moments in learning what family really means.

Stewart is likely on the Spectrum, perhaps an Aspie.  He admits to be an intellectual genius but way below on social skills.  He's a list maker and a tinkerer.  Stewart and his Dad Len are on their own after the death of his mother from cancer.

Ashley is on the top of the social ladder.  She is Queen Bee at her local school.  Ashley and her mother Caroline are shocked when her father Phil comes out as gay.  To help him get on his feet, Caroline allows him to move into their laneway house (a smaller home on their property).  He has started dating.  Although she doesn't care, she is afraid a homophobic friend will discover the truth.

Caroline and Len had been long time friends when they find themselves single and alone.  One thing leads to another and suddenly Stewart finds himself moving in the Caroline and Ashley.  He's happy to have a sister.  Ashley doesn't feel the same way.

I have to admit I hated Ashley at first.  She was mean, cold hearted, and stuck up.  I know this is intentional on the author's part, making her a stereotypical airhead with a pissy attitude.  Her boyfriend Jared I hated even more.

There are multiple lessons within the story, about friendship, family, acceptance, and reputation.

I am happy to say it's on the wish list.

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS

Tweet what you're reading #whhs #read

Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum