Later by Stephen King

Book #6 for Book a Day January! Have to be honest, today is my family Christmas (we never celebrate on the actual holiday) at Auntie Lissa's, so I'm not sure if with that plus my son's passport renewal appointment if I'll be able to finish Day 7's Book 7!

The Hard Case Crime series is a collection of shorter novels by famous authors in the style of the 40s and 50s crime novels.  Their best sellers have been by, you guessed it, Stephen King.  He has written 3.  I loved Joyland, which for some reason I didn't review here.  This is the newest.  It is similar in style to the Mr. Mercedes series, which is also cop-drama. 

Now, I really should NOT have read this so soon after Shutter, because the premise was way too similar.  And I'm kinda surprised to find myself saying I preferred Shutter!

Jamie is the son of a literary agent Tia.  Her clients are big bestsellers at the start of the book (2006ish) and they are living on Park in NYC.  Then the crash happens and books are the last thing people are buying.  They fall victim to a Ponzi scheme, Tia's brother needs assisted living, and her relationship with a police officer falls apart. 

Oh, and Jamie can see dead people.

Years later Liz, a really dirty copy dealing drugs, uses her nearly former stepson to solve a case.  Unfortunately said dead criminal is actually a...I guess demon would be the word.  He and the demon form a very Beetlejuice type relationship deal.

As this is a crime drama, I would discuss the plot further so not to spoil anything.  If I had to suggest one of these, it'd definitely be Joyland!

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

Chasing Me to My Grave by Winfred Rembert

Book #5!

This memoir was recommended by Mr. Winters for our collection.  You may remember one of our former security guards Mitch?  Winfred Rembert was his father (he has sadly passed on).  The book is unique in that it was an oral history--told to Erin Kelly of Tufts University.  I believe Kelly does Rembert's vernacular and accent well in the written version.  The story is interspersed with Rembert's art, telling his story in paintings, drawings, and leather work.  

This isn't an easy read, and I cried several times.  It begins with a foreword by Bryan Stevenson, of Just Mercy reviewed here previously, then an explanation from Rembert about his whys for finally telling what happened to him.  Rembert was born in rural Georgia, where music heavily influenced his informal education outside his work in cotton fields.  He met his lifelong wife Patsy, with whom he'd have several children, and after spending several years in prison during the Civil Rights movement, came to southern Connecticut.  He was incarcerated again for selling drugs, but an impassioned pleas to the Judge by Patsy saw him freed from both prison and the trade.  She influenced him to tell his story via artwork. 

I am so thankful Mr. Winters encouraged me to read this.  It is another book I wish our History classes could take a look at, or Art, or English--a Black man's life story lacking in our curricula, a local artist's work previously invisible, and the craft of memoir.   

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely Mrs. W.'s.   

Choctaw Confederates by Fay Yarbrough

Thank you again for so many wonderful birthday greetings!  I finished this late last night, after my husband and son took me out to dinner.  A little too late to write the review!

I honestly learned SOOOOOOO much in reading this.  I want our History classes to read it or at least excerpts.  

It is perhaps an assumption many make that Native American Indians were against slavery having suffered themselves at the hands of White policy.  However, some Southern tribes were staunchly in favor of States' rights and had enslaved people of African descent.  The Choctaw had written law and policy regarding slavery and support of the Southern cause.  Many of these reflected those of the Southern states: preventing the enslaved from learning to read or write, prohibiting interracial marriage with those of African descent, and banning the employment of free Blacks.  

What I found most fascinating were the personal quotes obtained through painstaking research.  This is as much a book about history and race as it is on research methods.  Primary source documents like military records, artwork, letters, journals, and oral traditions are just as important, if not more so, than a textbook. 

I am happy to say this book has already been checked out to its next reader...my son.  When he returns it, it will be a part of our Indigenous sub collection.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. 

   

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

I finished this late last night as book 3 in my quest for 31 books this month, but it was too late to write the review. 

Also, thank you for all the birthday wishes!

I was a little hesitant to read this after Nine Perfect Strangers.  I was worried I'd figure out the plot twist very early on.  But, a friend said I would really like this murder mystery.

And I really did!  The ending was definitely NOT where I thought the plot was going and whodunit was not who I thought.

Joy and Stan have been married 60 years, raised 4 children, and ran a successful tennis lesson school in Australia and are now retired.  Behind the facade though, things are not as rosy.  Each of their adult children is "failing at life"--3 ending marriages/engagements, lack of meaningful work, multiple mental health issues without treatment, etc.  Joy and Stan, used to go, go, go are bored stiff.  One day a woman in tattered clothing, bruised and bloody, shows up at their door.  Joy and Stan relish in having a new young woman to take care of, but their children are wary and jealous.

Then Joy disappears.  She sends a disjointed text to her children, then silence, her phone left behind.  

As one would expect, her husband is the prime suspect in her murder. 

I don't want to spoil too much of the plot, since their is a rather big plot twist!

I will be putting this on display with our new books shortly.

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.    

Let Me Fly by Sabra Waldfogel

This is Book #2 of Book a Day January

Let Me Fly is the sequel to Sister of Mine, which I reviewed last summer.  It is the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for January.  We all felt Sister of Mine ended with too big a thud to not read the sequel and find out what happens.

Adelaide, daughter of a Jewish slaveowner, and her half-sister/former slave Rachel share a plantation owned by Adelaide's absent husband/Rachel's former lover Henry along with their children, who are both half-siblings and cousins.  They run a school for children who are former slaves or the children of those who were, along with a few poor white children.  

I have the strong suspicion this is written with the sole intent of wanting to be picked up as a serial on something like Netflix or Disney+.  The first book just ENDS and felt like a telenovella or soap.  This one even more so.  

Henry moves to Atlanta and returns to clothing.  It is strongly hinted he might be gay, further complicating things.  Adelaide falls in love with Lewis Hart, a man charged with assisting former slaves get on their feet, despite efforts of white men in the area. Rachel is conflicted and one thinks she will end up with a young black lawyer Daniel Periera (we never find out because the book just ENDS).  Several of the former slaves' stories are woven in like Charlie's, even the women's father Mordecai makes an appearance. 

I don't know what to make of it.  I checked the author's site, and there is no book #3 listed.  But I don't see how you can just END a second book still without wrapping up the loose ends!

I do have 2 Book Club members who want to borrow my copy.  Once we've met (at Bear's, because GA = barbecue!), I will add it to our collection. 

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely mine. 

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

Happy New Year! This is Book #1 of 2023.

A few years ago, I did Book a Day January.  I have been in an absolute FUNK lately, and I've decided to dedicate some time daily to reading for me. I'm not sure I can actually meet that goal, but it's a goal nonetheless. The State of CT has implemented a new Native American Indian history component to U.S. History curricula.  As such, I've really been looking for materials to support my teachers in this endeavor.  I found a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card in my bag, and since it was a total surprise, I decided to spend it on my kids and the WHHS Library! Thus...

Rita is a forensic investigation photographer in Albuquerque.  She is the best in her field.  What her colleagues do not know is the reason she spots things others miss is because she can see the spirits of those who have died.  The victims of crimes often tell her where to find evidence, how they died, or where a murder weapon is stashed. Rita is part Navajo and spent much of her childhood in the care of her grandmother on the reservation.  Navajo do not speak of the dead, so her choice of career is seen as bizarre.  Rumors of her ability follow her whenever she returns home, despite her never charging or using her powers for anything but good; it leads to her being ostracized.  In addition, her location means a intersection of Navajo beliefs and Mexican-American Catholicism meets mysticism.  At work, her heritage is often fodder for "the old boys' club" so called "locker room" jokes, even though she has saved many of their cases.  

This is a whodunit/thriller mystery, so I don't want to spoil too much about the plot, but Rita stumbles onto a dirty cop and drug cartel killing anyone in their way.  

While I liked it, I did struggle sometimes to figure out if a living character or ghost was speaking.  There were definite similarities to Tigers, Not Daughters and movies like The Sixth Sense and Stir of Echoes.

I'll put this out on our new book display when we return to school.

A reminder all opinions expressed on this blog are solely mine.

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Hello!  I know it's been a super long time since I've done a review, but it has been bonkers here in these parts, as most of you know.  I've been hard pressed to find the time to actually get this review typed. And, well, we know the connectivity issues have been multiplying exponentially.  Unrelated, I've decided to stop video reviews due to low viewership numbers.  

This novel is the Teachers and Friends Book Club choice for our wreath-making party in early December, chosen by Mrs. Tirollo who is over at Mackrille.  I find it very intriguing that both of my recent choices, (Verity and Tigers Not Daughters), Amy wasn't a fan.  And now I disliked her book.  Strange since we're actually quite alike!  

Now, this was readable for sure, but I struggled with the premise.  I felt I had read the overarching plot point before in Denton Little's Death Date: everyone now knows when they're going to die.  Unlike Denton, this is super serious (a reminder of my review of Denton: I nearly peed myself laughing).  Instead of a notification of a date, everyone gets a string with their life expectancy time.  Longer lives to be older and shorter dies younger.   

This book examines panic and mass hysteria on a global scale, and prejudice against those who are different (should short-string people be allowed to serve in the military? Adopt children? Etc.). Familial relationships are tested, internalized victimhood is explored, and there is way too much "six degrees of separation"-esque neatly tying up of everyone's story in a bow at the end.  There were glaring plot holes that I was angry were not addressed, and I found most of the characters whiny.  

Would this be a great choice from a psychology or philosophy perspective? Yes. A good companion read to The Crucible? Definitely. Even a medical ethics course could find this useful for discussion (example, age to start testing for the BRCA gene).

While I didn't hate it, it's not something I'd recommend widely.

A reminder than any opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. Woychowski.