Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

This is review #2 for today.

Ms. Keefe is a retired school psychologist who spent much of her career here in West Haven.  She now splits her time between WH and FL.  This is her choice for the Teachers and Friends Book Club, and we will be meeting today to discuss. 

This is a modern interpretation of David Copperfield, which until recently was a standard in Literature courses (although not in West Haven for some time now).  

Demon is born to a single, addicted mother in Lee County, Virginia.  The novel tells his life story, through the lenses of the foster care system, American education, addiction, alcoholism, poverty, LGBTQ+ issues, all in the rural South.  

I have mixed feelings about it.  Heartbreaking to read about a child seemingly discarded from birth, a innocent victim of circumstances beyond his control, but also some anger that places I love were being portrayed as resistant to change and therefore it's their own fault.  Bristol is less than an hour away.

I am curious to hear what others have to say today.

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

Home Is Where The Eggs Are by Molly Yeh

I know I have been slacking on book reviews.  Things have been bonkers in these parts of late.  This will be review 1 of 2 today.

I LOVE Molly Yeh's cooking shows.  And Mr. Kent asked me to update some of our holdings to inspire our culinary students.  So this seemed like a no-brainer purchase I'll be donating today.  

Molly Yeh is Chinese American and Jewish.  She grew up in NYC.  Her husband is a Scandinavian farmer from the North Dakota-Minnesota border. That's quite a culture clash.  They have two toddlers and a flock of chickens all named Macaroni.  So meals must also be kid friendly.  

Each recipe begins with an introduction as to its inclusion.  Yeh states you can Google a recipe for just about anything now, so if she's going to include it in a book, there must be a reason.  I really enjoyed reading how she adjusted to life outside the city, to incorporating her and her husband's traditions in their daily lives, and to creating meaningful meals when ingredients widely available in NYC aren't in rural farmland.  I almost want to shelve this in memoir rather than cooking.

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

The Paper Daughters of Chinatown by Heather B. Moore

This is review 2 of 2; please read review 1 first.

This was recommended to me by Kym Powe of the CT State Library two years ago.  At the time, it was available as an ebook only.  I much prefer physical books, so when I saw this available as a hard cover from our vendor, I put it on our wish list for this school year.  

This is a fictionalized account of the life of Donaldina Cameron.  Cameron worked to save trafficked Chinese girls in late 19th century San Francisco.  Called "paper daughters" because their paperwork was falsified for entry into the United States, these girls were sold in servitude, often prostitution.  The novel is just a brief chunk of Cameron's life told through the lens of just one of the girls she saved.

This isn't an easy read.  It's history, and does not paint many in a good light.  But, it is a piece of history often left out of our textbooks and discussions.  

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

Born to Be Hanged by Keith Thomson

I know I have been terrible about keeping up with written reviews.  It has just been bonkers in these parts lately.  This will be review 1 of 2 today, both West Coast history. 

I really wanted to like this.  If you've followed this blog for a while, you know my obsession with pirates, especially New England and Canadian Maritime pirates.  I did not realize this was about PACIFIC pirates when I started it.  In fact I had no idea Captain Morgan, yes THAT Captain Morgan, left Jamaica to plunder the West Coast rather than the Caribbean.  

I decided to continue reading anyway.  I expected narrative non-fiction like The Murder of Helen Jewett or Conductor on the Underground Railroad, but this was wayyyyyy too wordy to hold my interest.  I gave up about midway through, and read Morgan's entry on Wikipedia instead. *shrugs 

I do hope someone out there finds this branch of pirate/West Coast history intriguing.  

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

We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

Today's review is the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for September.  It was chosen by city side employee Roberta and our discussion will be held at Solun next week.  

I have mixed feelings about the story.  I liked the premise.  Two young women who became friends in college meet up yearly to take a vacation in a remote spot--hiking, biking, boat rides, etc.  Last year in Cambodia, Emily was assaulted by a man they met in a bar, but was saved when Kristen burst into the room and attacked him. The man died from his injuries, but the women hid his body and were never charged. 

This year, they are going to Chile. Unfortunately, the same scenario plays out, this time Kristen is attacked.  She fights off the man, and hits him with a lamp.  They repeat their hide the body and leave the country plan.  But this man is not a local.  He's the son of a wealthy American also on vacation, and his parents are not going to let the crime go unsolved.

As the investigation continues, Emily learns more and more disturbing things about Kristen's past.

This is where I am going to stop with plot as it's a murder mystery.  That being said, the last paragraph of the book completely threw me (and Ms. Corrado...) for a loop.  I look forward to discussing it. 

I did find Emily and Kristen's dialogue a tad annoying.  They both seemed to have valley-girl esque voices in my head, despite being from Wisconsin.  Kristen reminded me of Debbie from The Addams Family movie too.  And Emily was so whiny.  I wish they were stronger female leads, but I guess that would have changed the plot significantly. 

I'll be adding this to the collection, but it will be on hold for other members until our meeting.

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

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

It's hard to believe, but this week teachers go back to school!  As such, this is my last review under my summer horror theme.  My sister was sure I would like it and loaned it to me.

I loved it!  So much so I'm putting it on our new wish list as soon as I get done writing this review. 

The story is told in alternating viewpoints of Vivian in 1982 and her niece Carly in 2017.  Vivian, the troublemaker daughter of her mother's two, takes off from Illinois for New York City to become an actress, but hitchhiking gets her to upstate NY instead.  She takes a night shift desk job at a run down motel.  In November of 1982, she vanishes without a trace, leaving her purse and car behind.  The small police force does a compulsory brief search, but it fizzles and Vivian is forgotten by the locals.  

In 2017, Vivian's sister dies of cancer.  Carly decides to take a break from college and see if she can find out anything about what happened to her aunt Viv, who no one wants to talk about.  She drives to Fell, NY and finds the land that time forgot, including the barely standing but still open motel, now owned by the original owner's son.  

OK, so this is definitely sounding like the set up for a Nancy Drew style whodunit, and it totally is, but the Sun Down Motel is haunted, and not by Viv.  Assorted ghosts of those who have died in the sketchy motel make their displeasure and unrest known.

I don't want to spoil any more!  This was a great read, that held my interest to stay up and finish it!  Hopefully I can get this on an order in the near future!

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

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

This was the Teachers and Friends Book Club selection for July.  If you've read any of my reviews for Book Club choices, you know we try to match characters/settings to our meeting location.  Originally the plan was to do a "beachy read" and meet on the beach.  But, that week turned out to be oppressively hot and humid, so others asked we postpone.  Our meeting is tonight at Oak Beach Grill, so at least we got the "beach" part in even though it's raining.  

I'll be the first to admit, when this came I kinda eye rolled.  I just knew this wasn't going to be my cup of tea.  It looked romancey and "girl reinvents herself"ish.  However, the cover flap blurb said one of our main characters is the hotel's resident ghost, so I figured I'd try to get through it.

I was so very wrong.  I loved this book.

The titular hotel has been in disrepair for some time. Once a grand vacation spot, a fire in the 1920s left it damaged and supposedly (actually) haunted.  A series of owners, less invested than the last, have left the property in ruins.  Until a British billionaire decides to make it his pet project.  He hires a local woman, most recently a restaurant manager fresh off a bad breakup, to manage with the goal of an elusive 5 star review from a social media influencer.  

This was both funny and heartwarming (especially as Grace the ghost learns modern colloquialisms).  From a giant pitbull to a child chess prodigy to a rich kid turned maid to a show tune signing gay bellman, I smiled way more than I thought I would, and did not roll my eyes once. This was Fawlty Towers meets The Birdcage meets Clue. 

I'll be adding this to our collection when we return!

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