Armadillos by P. K. Lynch
Legend Press: 4/1/16
eBook review copy; 288 pages
ISBN-13: 9781785079603
Armadillos by P. K. Lynch is a highly recommended story of a teenage survivor.
Fifteen year old Aggie has been told by her older sister JoJo that they
are "subs" in a "sub" family. It seems that what that means is that JoJo
and Aggie must accept the sexual abuse by their father and brother on a
weekly basis. On some deep level she knows the abuse is wrong, but
knows no other life and JoJo seems to think they need to just accept it.
One day something propels Aggie to walk away. She leaves the house and
just keeps walking, escaping the abuse as her mother and other brother
have done.
As a teenage runaway, Aggie engages in dangerous behavior, hitchhiking
and then extorting money from her rides. She makes her way to a city and
aligns herself with a group of misfits through Freak, another teen
runaway she met on the streets. Freak brings her home to a squat, a
house being inhabited by a group of misfits. This quasi-family of
bohemian squatters represents a safe place and become a sort of
dysfunctional family for Aggie. But Aggie keeps having disturbing dreams
and worries about what is happening to JoJo. She wants to find a way to
help her sister escape too.
Freak is not the friend that Aggie thinks she is, however. Things become
more complicated and Aggie suddenly finds herself involved in a
dangerous situation not of her making from which there is no good way to
escape.
In terms of content, Armadillos is not an easy novel to read. It
is heartbreaking - opening with a family where chronic, systematic
sexual abuse is the norm. Then Aggie walks away with nothing and no
plan... when what the world may offer her could be just as bad as what
she's leaving. I couldn't help but wish Aggie found a shelter for abused
women and children, that the information was available to her that
there are safe places she could go where she would be believed. And that
officials - law enforcement, hospitals, etc., don't represent the
enemy. I desperately wanted her to tell her story to someone who could
help her.
This is a very well written debut novel. Even though the content is
tragic, Lynch accurately describes the setting and captures dialect of
Texas. The plot flows well and the narrative is compelling. There are a
few plot points that felt too... convenient. While I took note of them, I
overlooked them because the writing is so good, expressive and lyrical.
Lynch's writing combined with the storyline created an urgency that
made it imperative to keep reading to find out what happened next.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy
of Legend Press for review
purposes.
The History of Great Things by Elizabeth Crane
HarperCollins:4/5/16
eBook review copy; 288 pages
ISBN-13: 9780062412676
The History of Great Things by Elizabeth Crane is a
quasi-autobiographical novel that features a dual narrative between a
mother and daughter. In this recommended novel a mother and daughter
narrate each other's lives using real stories or various alternate
stories. This would be a good choice for those who enjoy experimental
literature.
Lois Crane is the mother; Betsy (Elizabeth) Crane is the daughter. This
chronicles the strained and complicated relationship between mother and
daughter. As one tells the other's story, the two also
argue/editorialize what the writer of that part is doing or how it could
be done better. Some stories the mother and daughter share are real,
based on facts.
Others involve speculation and made up episodes as they reinvent each
other's lives to fill in blank spaces.
Lois Crane leaves her husband to pursue her career as an opera singer in
NYC (as did Elizabeth Crane's mother, Lois). She left young Betsy for
her father to raise until she divorced him and insisted that Betsy
needed to be with her mother, a decision she regretted almost
immediately. Betsy Crane stumbles after college, taking dead end jobs
and becoming an alcoholic. She does insist that she always wanted to be a
writer, and eventually sobers up and does so.
Crane does a good job in the narrative expression of her
character's inner voices - this is a daughter and her deceased mother
writing each other's life story, after all. She doesn't shy away from
the complications in a mother/daughter
relationship, and deals with grief and forgiveness. I found the
beginning of The History of Great Things interesting and it held
my attention, however, that interest started to wane as the novel
progressed. The voice of the mother and daughter are not always as
distinct as their individual stories, therefore occasional back tracking
is required to establish whose voice is whose during their
commentaries/inner dialogue. The ending becomes even more confusing with
several, alternate endings. While I
appreciate the creativity and the experimentation this novel
represents, in many ways it might have been better had Crane went with a
memoir.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy
of HarperCollins for review
purposes.
Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen
Random House: 4/5/16
eBook review copy; 272 pages
hardcover ISBN-13: 9780812996081
http://annaquindlen.net/
Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen is a highly recommended family drama.
Mimi (Mary Margaret) Miller tells the story of her family's life in
Miller's Valley in rural Pennsylvania. Her family has lived in the
valley for generations. She says of her hometown: "When I got older I
realized that the majority of people in Miller’s
Valley were the most discontented kind of Americans, working people
whose situations hadn’t risen or fallen over generations, but who still
carried a little bit of those streets-paved-with-gold illusions and so
were always annoyed that the streets were paved with tar. If they were
paved at all."
After the prologue, her narration begins when she is eleven. She sells
corn by the side of the road in the summer and eavesdrops via the heat
vent on her parent's discussions. Mimi knows that the government is
trying to buy up the farms in the
valley before declaring eminent domain in order to build the dam they
have been planning. She is a bright girl who is interested in science
and she knows that there is more going on than the scientists are
telling people. Her mother, a nurse, is a practical no-nonsense woman
who realizes that it is inevitable that they will eventually have to
leave while her father wants to stay on his family's land no matter
what. In the opening we know that Mimi's mother says about flooding the
valley, “Let them,” she said. “Let the water cover the whole damn
place.”
Miller's Valley is about the inevitability of eminent domain, but
primarily about Mimi's role in her family and her life. In the novel
she
is looking back at her life, family, and friends during the 1960's and
70's. Mimi's two older brothers are polar opposites. Edward, the oldest,
is a good student who leaves town, goes to college, and marries. Her
brother Tommy is a charming underachiever who is their mother's
favorite, but a decided prodigal. He enlists and returns a changed man.
Her Aunt Ruth, her mother's sister, is an agoraphobic who lives in a
nearby house on the property whose inability to leave the house raises
the constant ire of her mother. Mimi has a serious relationship with a
questionable boyfriend and
shoulders more than her fair share of responsibilities at a cost to
her.
The writing is insightful as Mimi observes the people around her. There
are family secrets, uneven friendships, and questionable loyalties as
Mimi navigates her way through to adulthood. At the end of the book Mimi
sums up her life to date, neatly covering decades, making Miller's Valley a sort of memoir about Mimi's coming of age during that time.
The writing is quite good and Quindlen has some keen insights into human
behavior as she negotiates Mimi recollections and actions during this
troubled time of maturation, turmoil, and questions. Not everything has a
resolution, much like life itself. but there is a sense of satisfaction
that the story has been told.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy
of Random House for review
purposes.
Hush, Little Bird by Nicole Trope
Allen & Unwin: 4/1/16
eBook review copy; 384 pages
paperback ISBN-13: 978-1760113728
Hush, Little Bird by Nicole Trope is a very highly recommended novel about two very different women who share a tragic connection.
Birdy has recently been transferred to the Farm, a minimum security
prison. Her nickname was Fliss, short for Felicity, but she was given
the nickname Birdy because she now cares for the finches at the Farm and
Birdy is the only name she likes now. She's has kept her anger a secret
for a long time, especially from the counselors, but she silently has
an agenda of what she will do to Rose once she is released. Birdy may
not have to wait because it looks like Rose is going to be coming to the
Farm and Birdy will be able to have her revenge sooner than she
expected.
Rose, the wife of a minor celebrity, has been convicted of a shocking
crime and has been sentence to serve her sentence at the Farm. Hopefully
a retrial will set her free. Her lawyer and daughters are sure of that.
Rose is struggling with the circumstances that have sent her to the
Farm and the truth of what really happened. Rose has kept some secrets
of her own
As Rose is assigned to work in the vegetable garden, Birdy is nearby, in
the aviary, and she is keeping an eye on Rose. Birdy recognizes Rose
immediately, but Rose doesn't recognize Birdy. Of course this could be
because Rose last saw her years ago, when Birdy was a still child. Rose
should have protected her then and kept her safe, just like Birdy keeps
her own daughter, Isabel, safe. Now Birdy's sister Lila cares for
Isabel. Birdy doesn't want her mom to see her.
These characters are fully realized and emotionally complex individuals.
The chapters alternate between the stories of Birdy and Rose. Trope
slowly reveals more and more facts as each woman tells her story. They
have very distinct voices. Birdy is an individual with special needs.
Her voice is literal and simple, but truthful. Rose is a fifty five year
old woman who came from meager means but has lived a life of privilege
for years. Her voice is mature, but emotionally fragile and insecure. It
becomes clear in her account that she has been deceiving herself and
turning a blind eye to the truth for years.
This is a heartbreaking novel. The writing is incredible and the
alternating stories are perfectly conceived, paced, and composed. There
is anguish and an overwhelming compassion for the characters once their
back stories are fully realized. Adults do sometimes fail to protect
children. Monsters do hide in plain sight. It is wretched that sometimes
we deceive ourselves and fail to see the truth in front of our faces.
Trope covers a difficult subject with compassion and sensitivity in Hush, Little Bird.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy
of Allen & Unwin for review
purposes.
The Crooked Heart of Mercy by Billie Livingston
HarperCollins: 3/8/16
review copy; 272 pages
trade paperback ISBN-13: 9780062413772
www.billielivingston.com
The Crooked Heart of Mercy by Billie Livingston is a very highly
recommended novel about broken, disenfranchised people trying to
recover. I'm not saying this gem is an easy book to read. It's not. The
characters are heartbroken, suffering, grieving, depressed, and fragile
working class people who must find a way back from an unthinkable
accident. The Crooked Heart of Mercy is a great title for an unforgettable book.
Ben and Maggie were happily married, toiling away at their jobs to make
ends meet and take care of their two year old son, Frankie. Maggie
cleaned houses and ran errands for elderly women. Ben drove a limousine
at night for wealthy tourists. When the unimaginable happens and
Frankie dies by accident, they are left to cope with their brokenness
and grief. Understandably, this puts a strain on their marriage and the
two separate while trying to find a way to mourn Frankie through their
grief and depression. To add to their individual stress, they both have
siblings who need help from them and Ben has a father in failing health
who needs assistance.
At the beginning of The Crooked Heart of Mercy Ben wakes up in a
psychiatric hospital in a dissociative state after what appears to have
been a suicide attempt. He can't even say that he is Ben. Maggie knows
she needs to try and get some work again, but it is hard to not break
into tears over the littlest things that remind her of Frankie. If these
two can recover and salvage their marriage, they will have plenty of
scars to add to their already existing scars.
It could be easy to harshly judge these broken people, sitting from a
safe, secure, stable situation. From my perspective, and perhaps that is
based on age and life experiences, that critical judgement would be
unwise. Mercy is required. A measure of sympathy needs to be extended
as these people strive to come to terms with grief, mourning, and how
hard it is to forgive. Life can be fragile, accidents happen, people
make mistakes, and sometimes their mistakes appear foolish. But the
death of a child is a grief from which it is said you never really
recover.
Livingston does an excellent job telling this poignant story in the
alternating voices of Ben and Maggie, exploring both their present and
past. The characters of Ben and Maggie are both well developed. Ben's
voice, in the beginning, can be challenging to follow because he is in
the dissociative state and won't admit he is Ben or come to terms with
everything that has happened. His early chapters focus on his sessions
with his psychiatrist. Maggie's voice, while often heart breaking, is
also funny, resilient, and determined. Only the most merciless could
make it through Maggie's description of feeling Frankie in her lap
without shedding a tear and feeling great sympathy and compassion for
her.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of
this book from HarperCollins for review purposes.
TLC TOUR SCHEDULE
The Worthing Chronicle by Orson Scott Card
Endeavour Press: 2/26/16 (eBook)
eBook review copy; 272 pages
ISBN-13: 9780441918102
The Worthing Chronicle by Orson Scott Card is a recommended,
maybe highly, 3rd book in his original Worthing series. This title was
originally published in 1983 and is now available as an eBook.
Lared is a sixteen year old boy who was there, along with his family, to
experience the Day of Pain, the day everyone in his small village lost
the outside protection of what some called angels and now experience
pain. It is the day his grandmother, who had been dead and buried for a
year, was found dead again in her bed. There were three deaths that day,
a noteworthy occurrence anyway, but it is unbelievable that one was a
strong man and another was a child. They both should have had years to
live. Whatever happened that day, now people can experience anger, pain,
minor cuts, burns and major injuries. Whatever protected them has left.
The Scribe who was staying at their family's inn and kicked by his mule
is also dying. Before he dies, he gives his books to Lared, an amazing
event and one that is mocked by his mother. It is also the day that the
mysterious Jason and Justice arrived on the planet and approached Lared.
The visitors speak to Lared and his little sister in their minds. Only
Jason learns their language. As Jason works alongside Lared, he
instructs Lared that Justice will send him a story in Lared's dreams,
Jason's story, that Lared is to faithfully write down.
There are interesting ideas here that could be expounded upon to make a more complete novel, but The Worthing Chronicle
itself reads more like a collection of short stories that are amassed
to make a novel. It might make a difference if you were to read the
whole Worthing Saga rather than this third installment of the story.
Some of the stories in the second half are more engaging than others. A
solid 3.5 stars. It is interesting that those who know the Book of
Mormon can see a heavy influence from it on this novel.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy
of Endeavour Press via Netgalley for review
purposes.
Just Fall by Nina Sadowsky
Ballantine Books: 3/22/16
eBook review copy; 304 pages
ISBN-13: 9780553394856
http://www.ninarsadowsky.com/
Just Fall by Nina Sadowsky is a so-so debut thriller that
tells the story by jumping between "Then" and "Now" chapters.
The novel opens with our beautiful, desirable, blond newlywed,
Ellie, killing a man. Apparently she needed to kill him to save her
dashing but mysterious husband, Rob, who she loves more than is
prudent, or certainly beyond common sense, and decency. On their
wedding day, immediately after the ceremony, Rob told her that he is
a killer. Subsequently, some men showed up at the reception to beat
Rob up, take him hostage, and force Elle to kill a man if she wants
to see Rob again.
She is sent to St. Lucia to kill the man in the opening. In St.
Lucia there are also children who are going missing, which is
consuming the thoughts of a local policeman, Lucien, even as he is
sent to investigate the man Elle killed. And then more stuff
happens now and we learn more about the past of both Rob and Elle.
Elle and Rob are not very sympathetic or engaging characters. This
really isn't remedied when we learn more about their past in the
"Then" chapters. The character development that does take place
never brought me to the point where I cared what happened to these
people. In fact, I actually cared less about their well-being. They
lacked credibility as characters and were both annoying and
unbalanced. What I was curious about was more of Lucien's story and
what was happening to the missing boys.
This is a quick read, so you can quickly jump from one absurd plot
twist to another. Don't expect a resolution to all the plot elements
and be prepared for frequent changes in the points of view as
chapters flip back and forth without following any time sequence.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House via
Netgalley for review purposes.
