In a Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware, read by Imogen Church

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Fiction Review, Starred Review, Suspense 0

In a Dark, Dark Wood

by Ruth Ware
read by Imogen Church

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2015. 9 hours, 35 minutes.
Review written July 27, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Okay, you can see I’m catching up on Ruth Ware thrillers. I discovered them during my year of reading for the Newbery committee — as we weren’t listening to audiobooks of eligible titles, and they are quite the opposite of children’s books. They’re also along the same lines as the romantic suspense books or Agatha Christie books I loved in high school – only in these, the girl doesn’t get saved by the romantic hero.

In this book the death doesn’t happen until halfway through the book, but here’s the set up: Our viewpoint character is Leonora Shaw, a young writer who lives alone and enjoys her solitude. Like most Ruth Ware main characters, Imogen Church makes her sound just a tiny bit neurotic, or at least afraid she’s neurotic. Leonora has been invited to a Hen Party for her best friend when she was at school, Claire, whom she hasn’t seen in ten years. (This seems to be the British name for a Bachelorette Party.)

Nora doesn’t know why Claire invited her to the Hen Party, but not to the wedding. But she makes a pact with another school friend, Nina, to go to the weekend together.

The weekend’s happening in a house with lots of huge windows down a long, rutted driveway in the middle of the dark, dark woods in winter. Nora, out for a run, sees Claire arriving and has a little time with her privately in the car – and learns that Claire is marrying James, Nora’s high school sweetheart, and the reason she hasn’t talked with Claire – or James – for ten years. Claire says she wanted to tell Nora face to face. Nora pretends to be nonchalant and happy for Claire, but she knows full well she hasn’t gotten over James – or the thing that happened to make her leave.

The other people at the party are the oddly intense Flo, Claire’s current best friend, Melanie, who’s left her six-month-old behind and is feeling anxious, especially when the phone goes dead in the snow, and Tom, a gay actor who’s friends with Claire because of her connections to theater.

Mind you, all of this set-up is interspersed with scenes of Nora in the hospital, with police by her door, trying to remember what happened and when things began to go so very wrong.

I was proud that I did figure out whodunit and why almost right away – I think I’m getting used to Ruth Ware’s style. But that didn’t spoil the fun as I knew Nora was going to get into a dangerous situation before she figured it out.

If you’re in the mood for a thriller, you can’t go wrong with these books. They generally involve a young woman getting into an incredibly intense situation and coming out the other side discovering she has more strength than she ever gave herself credit for.

ruthware.com

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Review of I’m Sorry You Got Mad, written by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Julie Kwon

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

I’m Sorry You Got Mad

written by Kyle Lukoff
illustrated by Julie Kwon

Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024. 32 pages.
Review written October 2, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

Want to teach young children about apologies? This is the book for you!

But at the same time, the brilliance of this picture book is that it’s not a how-to book; it’s an engaging story that will make you laugh and make you care about the kids involved.

And it’s a scenario that kids will feel deeply. Read this book to kids before they need to apologize, and it will be much, much easier for them to understand when it’s needed.

The book begins with an obviously furious Jack writing notes to Zoe and throwing them in the trash. We get to read the notes as they progress. One of the first ones says this:

DEAR ZOE,
I’M SORRY YOU GOT SO MAD!!!
JACK

Dear Jack,
Please try again.
Love,
Ms. Rice

The next one adds “But it wasn’t my fault!!!” and a note from Ms. Rice to check in with her.

Later letters build the situation: Zoe built a castle and it got knocked over by accident. And then we learn that Jack thought it was really cool, but Ben and Jeremy said castles were for girls so he couldn’t play with them. And he got mad and knocked it over. (It takes many letters for us to get that story.)

Somewhere in the middle, Ms. Rice tells Jack that an apology needs three things:

1) What I did
2) That I’m sorry
3) And I’ll help you fix it.

It takes Jack many tries, and you can see his heart getting softer. Finally, we see him giving a note to Zoe:

Dear Zoe,
I’m very sorry I knocked down your castle. I know I hurt your feelings. I want to help you build a new one, if that’s okay. But you don’t have to let me.
Your Friend,
Jack

The book isn’t finished until we see Zoe’s note in reply, acknowledging that she was mad but she feels better now. And the book wraps up with a picture of them building a castle together.

Mind you, along this whole book, the pictures tell stories, too. First of Jack furiously angry. Then watching other kids having fun. Slowly softening (with setbacks). And there are two other kids who are pictured at the end angry and writing letters – so you go back and see what happened with them.

It’s all brilliant on many levels, including the simple one of modeling a sincere apology and how difficult it is to get to that place, but also telling us a story and making us care about Jack and Zoe and the restoration of their friendship.

Come to think of it, I can think of many adults who could learn from reading this to their child. And I take it as a good reminder myself.

kylelukoff.com
juliekwonart.com

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Review of Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear, by Robin Wasley

Paranormal, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear

by Robin Wasley

Simon & Schuster, 2024. 405 pages.
Review written October 2, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

Given the title, I wasn’t surprised when this turned out to be a zombie book. I was, however, surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Sid Spencer is an adopted American teen girl who lives in a town on a fault line – but not an earthquake fault line so much as a magical fault line. It’s not the only such town in the world by any means, but tourists come from all over the world to see the magic seeping up from the cracks like rainbow mist. Among the townsfolk, eight people are Guardians, but no one knows who they are. Each Guardian has a magical power, but also a Key made of bone that secures a segment of the fault line.

And then, one segment of the fault line comes open – and besides earthquakes and a magical forest taking over, zombies come out of the fault, attracted to living people and able to kill them with their bare hands. When it hits, Sid is alone at home and manages to trap a zombie in the basement after she sees it kill a neighbor. When Brian, a friend of her brother’s, breaks into her house, Sid tasers him before she realizes who he is. He tells Sid that he’s a Guardian, and so is her brother Matty. And the reason the fault line came open was that one of the other Guardians is dead. The man who killed him stole that Guardian’s key, but he was able to pass his power to Matty before he died, so no one can use the key but Matty. Oh, and the dead Guardian also put a magical wall around the town, so everybody on the outside is safe (including the rest of Sid’s family), but no help is coming to save them.

So the mission is to somehow navigate the town full of zombies, get the key from the bad guy – who turns out to be invulnerable to magical or physical attacks – and get it to Matty, whom no one has seen since before the breach. This is not an easy mission, as besides his own magic powers, the bad guy has teams of thugs with guns doing his bidding. He knows who all the Guardians are, and he wants all their powers and all their keys.

Thus, a saga begins. The task is daunting. But along the way, magic is leaking out of the breach, and ordinary people are developing magical powers, with each one unique to them.

Sid’s magic power ends up involving connecting with people. And that’s also the power of the book. The magic for me was a little muddled and confusing in spots, and yes, there was plenty of death and gore, but the story of found family and connections and working together against all odds – was powerful and moving. There was also a theme about friendship and forgiveness – for the past months Sid had been estranged from her best friend and her boyfriend because of something that happened – but the disaster puts all that in perspective.

This isn’t a relaxing book to read. The zombies are scary and strong, but the human villains are even worse, and the task seems impossible at times. But joining in Sid’s adventure just felt so warm and human. She’s a flawed teenage girl trying to survive – but also to help the people she loves – and even new people she meets. It turns out that disaster makes her shine, and it felt like a privilege to witness that.

robinwasley.com

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Review of Plain Jane and the Mermaid, by Vera Brosgol

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Starred Review 0

Plain Jane and the Mermaid

by Vera Brosgol

First Second, 2024. 364 pages.
Review written September 30, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

I’ve appreciated Vera Brosgol’s graphic novels since reading her middle school memoir Be Prepared the year I was on the Newbery committee. And her picture book Leave Me Alone! has won Caldecott Honor. I like both her art and her stories, and she knows how to put them together well.

This graphic novel for kids deftly shows that some things are much more important than good looks. And as with all Vera Brosgol’s books, it delivers its message in a quirky and thought-provoking way.

Jane is a very plain looking girl from a wealthy family, but as the book opens, a lawyer tells her that since her parents died and her little brother is dead, their stately home is going to pass to her cousin. Her cousin proves to be an odious and greedy man. Jane, still a teen, will have to move along to “wherever women go.” They give her a week to move out, but the lawyer tells her that if she were to marry, she’ll get a dowry, enough to live on quite comfortably.

So there’s nothing else to do. Jane goes down to the harbor, where the fisherman’s son whom she’s long had a crush on works – or rather pretends to work while he spends his time looking beautiful. Jane reasons that he might be willing to marry her if it means he can quit working, and he seems quite agreeable to that idea. But before they can seal the deal, a mermaid comes up out of the water and pulls the boy into the sea, the mermaid also being taken with his good looks.

Jane vows to save him, and she finds a crone in a shop by the sea who gives her magical items to help her on her way. But still, Jane’s quest is dangerous and difficult. She gains further help along the way, and before she arrives, the boy learns that the mermaid’s planning to marry him and then eat him in order to stay beautiful. But it’s not going to be easy to get him out of her clutches.

The fun thing about this tale is that by the time it’s done, we see that there are wonderful things that go much deeper than beauty. There’s a satisfying ending as Jane herself sees that love can be based on more than looks. I love the fairy tale elements (three magical objects to help – though there’s a twist in how Jane uses them) that are presented in Vera Brosgol’s unique way to give us a modern story with a classic fairy tale feeling.

firstsecondbooks.com

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Review of The Truths We Hold, by Kamala Harris

Audiobooks, Current Issues, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

The Truths We Hold

My American Journey

by Kamala Harris
read by the Author

Penguin Audio, January 2019. 9 hours, 26 minutes.
Review written October 1, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I have a history of becoming a fan of female politicians after I read their books. It worked for Elizabeth Warren and Katie Porter, and now for Kamala Harris. In all three cases, their writing reveals a heart for public service that can’t be faked. Instead of contempt and disdain for those who get left behind in America, for whatever reason, these leaders ooze empathy and understanding – and a determination to call to account the powerful forces that messed up the lives of ordinary Americans.

In Kamala Harris’s case, her fight against the big banks was especially impressive. Yes, I’d heard about that as a political line. But getting the full story – how all fifty state attorneys general were meeting just after she’d been elected to that office in California, and they were prepared to settle for $2 billion and immunity for the banks against further prosecution – was truly impressive. She initiated a full investigation, met with actual people who’d been defrauded and lost their homes, and eventually got a settlement ten times bigger that went much further toward helping the people who’d been harmed.

Her life story helps the reader understand all that empathy. She was brought up by a single mother who was a cancer researcher but eventually died of cancer. Her mother purchased a home when Kamala was in high school, and was tremendously proud of that achievement, which gave Kamala all the more compassion for the folks who lost their homes during the recession.

This book was written in 2018 in the middle of Donald Trump’s presidency, so it was a politically different world than what’s out there now, but I did especially like the ending of the book, all about policy changes we need to have happen — and all of that grounded in compassion and empathy for ordinary Americans.

I haven’t heard her lately saying anything about Universal Basic Income and Medicare for All, but I love that those things are on her radar. (She mentions a pilot program happening with UBI, and there’s much discussion about how the healthcare system is broken, but we mustn’t go back to a time when people could be denied healthcare for having preexisting conditions.) Actually I appreciate that she’s politically savvy enough to go for changes that are politically possible, but will still help ordinary Americans.

I put this audiobook on hold as soon as Harris got the nomination, and my hold finally came in. Even though it was written six years ago, it showed me the heart of this smart and dynamic politician and made me trust that she truly is working to make lives better for ordinary Americans and to bring those who would harm them to account.

kamalaharris.com

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Review of This Golden State, by Marit Weisenberg

Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

This Golden State

by Marit Weisenberg

Flatiron Books, 2022. 384 pages.
Review written September 17, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

The prologue of this book shows Poppy, almost eighteen years old, putting a DNA test in the mail. Then Chapter One begins one month earlier and as the book unfolds, we find out why she’d want to find out about her own ancestry.

Because one month earlier, Poppy was called Katie. Her friends were urging her to complete her application for the science fair with the project they’d worked on together. But instead, after school, her family picked her up in a minivan and they destroyed her SIM card and drove away without saying goodbye.

They drive to California, as the title suggests. And things are different from all the other safe houses where they’ve lived during Poppy’s life. Poppy realizes her mother has lived in this neighborhood before. Her father is uptight. And her little sister is pouting about not getting to have real friends.

Poppy doesn’t know what her parents are running from, but she knows that they are hiding from someone. All her life, her priority has been her family, but will things change now that she’s coming up on her eighteenth birthday?

Because they want Poppy to have a normal life, her parents sign her up for a summer class in advanced math, taught by a Stanford professor. She sits near a guy who’s obviously a big deal, and later she sees him at the country club pool where she gets an under-the-table babysitting job. But doing well in the class puts some interest on her. Seeing more of this guy means she starts keeping secrets from her parents. And then she gets tired of all the secrets they’re keeping from her. So she submits that DNA test. And she’s not quite ready for what she finds out when she does.

This book had me reading avidly, wanting to find out what the big secret was, as well as what would happen next. I went out on my balcony to read it for a half-hour, and instead decided to spend my afternoon that way. A thoroughly enjoyable book!

maritweisenberg.com

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Review of The History of the Computer, by Rachel Ignotofsky

Children's Nonfiction Review, History, Science, Starred Review 0

The History of the Computer

People, Inventions, and Technology That Changed Our World

by Rachel Ignotofsky

Ten Speed Press, 2022. 128 pages.
Review written September 24, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

This is the second one of Rachel Ignotofsky’s books I’ve read, and I’m a fan. Both are compilations of a large amount of information in a visual way that doesn’t overwhelm you.

The spreads in this book are packed, but the information is compacted into panel-like segments. The book is not a graphic novel, but it borrows some graphic elements, sometimes sidebars, sometimmes diagrams, plenty of pictures, and even some speech bubbles. Even large paragraphs are given segments with headings, so you can read one section at a time.

The only problem with the graphic-novel-like format was that my first impression was that I could read it quickly. No, this book is packed with information, and it takes lots of time to absorb it. The advantage to the format, though, is that you can read a section or a spread at a time and easily pick it up later. I ended up picking this book up for multiple short stretches – and that was the perfect way to read it, with my interest captured every time.

And the information was so interesting. I worked as a computer programmer for my university as a college student in the 1980s, and my family was one of the first I knew of to have a home computer, a TRS-80. Oh, and my Dad brought home an old-fashioned modem in the 1970s. So – I’ve lived through a lot of the history of the computer, and it was very interesting to read about the bigger picture and many of the people behind different innovations – going far beyond Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Besides a straightforward history, the book also describes what’s inside a computer and goes back and looks at ancient counting systems and inventions like the abacus. The more modern chapters went from “Computers as Creative Tool, 1980-1989” to “The World Wide Web, 1990-2005” to “The All-in-One Device, 2006-Now.”

My only hope for this book is that it will get many updates. Although the part on “the future” only takes up a few pages, already in 2024 it feels like the prevalence of virtual meetings should be mentioned, as well as Chat GPT. But everything historical is very thorough, and presented in a fascinating way.

rachelignotofskydesign.com
tenspeed.com

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Review of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 5, by Beth Brower

Fiction Review, Historical, Starred Review 0

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion

Volume 5

by Beth Brower

Rhydon Press, 2021. 251 pages.
Review written August 1, 2024, from my own copy, purchased via amazon.com.
Starred Review

With each volume of these “Unselected Journals” I read, I get more and more obsessed. When I finished volume 5, I was sad that I only currently own two more volumes. (She’s writing more, though!)

This is historical fiction about a young woman in London in 1883, in this volume from November to December. She’s on the periphery of society, an orphan who’s going to come into her inheritance next month, but who still is supposed to act like a proper young lady – something she gets away with fudging.

But these books are way more than a simple romance novel. I love the deep friendships she is building with no less than three young single gentlemen. In this volume, Emma is dealing with having finally attended the burial of the man she’d loved, who died three years ago in Afghanistan. She read his good-by letter, and it’s hard to move on. All her friends – including those three men – are extra kind and compassionate toward her in this book.

And with that serious note, the book also has all sorts of humorous and quirky bits throughout. Emma is trying to track the Roman ghost that frequents her neighborhood – and gets reactions from everyone who knows about it. She delivers the second favor she owes to the scoundrel Jack, and it’s surprising. Her friend the artist comes back from Italy, and her friend Mary has more adventures in London – so it’s not like Emma hangs around only with young men. I also love Agnes, Emma’s cook and housekeeper, who in this volume wants to get into the St. Crispian’s Society for Senior Servants. And then there’s the marvelous Mrs. Penury, who has decided that she’s got nothing more to say, and keeps delightful company with people in complete silence.

The fact that these are presented as journals makes the episodic bits completely believable and fun. I’ve always loved a slow-burn romance. But watching Emma’s friendships grow and deepen with three different young men over time takes this to the next level. My only trouble at this point is I don’t want any of them to get their hearts broken. But I’m for sure looking forward to watching things continue.

I’m going to try to read another book before I eagerly pick up the next volume, but I’m making no promises.

bethbrower.com

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Review of Brown Girls Do Ballet, by TaKiyah Wallace-McMillian, words by JaNay Brown-Wood

Contemporary, Photography, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Brown Girls Do Ballet

Celebrating Diverse Girls Taking Center Stage

by TaKiyah Wallace-McMillan
words by JaNay Brown-Wood

Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2024. 40 pages.
Review written September 26, 2024, from a library book
Starred Review

This picture book is about the photographs, and that is reflected in the cover, where the photographer is listed first and as the main creator.

And the photographs are pictures of brown girls doing ballet, exactly as the title says. And they are stunning! We’ve got big girls and small girls, lighter-skinned and darker-skinned girls, beginners and proficient ballerinas, even a disabled girl in and out of her wheelchair. Some of the girls are actively dancing, others are hanging out with friends in their dance gear.

The text that goes along with the photographs is affirming, and specifically addressed to Brown Girls.

Here’s a sample:

Brown Girl, b e n d —
your knees, elbows, neck – and send
awe through each of them so blessed
to witness you in motion,

the vibrance of your beauty
as it glows and grows and flows

from the top of your poised crown to
the tip of pointed toe.

Do you even know the power
that you hold?

So I enjoy this book because of looking at the pictures of beautiful girls, joyful and dancing. I’ve read more than one testimony of a brown ballerina that they began dreaming of dance when they saw a dancer who looked like them. This book brings that experience to many more girls and strongly affirms that they belong. And it’s beautiful to see.

browngirlsdoballet.com
blackdogandleventhal.com

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Review of Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood, by Robert Beatty

Children's Fiction Review, Science Fiction, Starred Review 0

Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood

by Robert Beatty

Disney Hyperion, October 8, 2024. 314 pages.
Review written June 26, 2024, from an Advance Reader Copy sent by the publisher.
Starred Review

Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood is about a girl who’s grown up in an institution that insists it’s not an orphanage. Kids are supposed to get placed in homes, but every time Sylvia gets placed somewhere, she runs away to come back. She loves the horses there and helps the stable manager care for them.

And when a 100-year flood hits – the horses need help getting to the higher pasture. Sylvia and her own horse Kitty Hawk work heroically to save them. But along the way, Sylvia also saves a boy – a boy who says strange things. And they see impossible animals coming down the river – like a jaguar mother with her cub.

It becomes an adventure of figuring out what’s going on with the river, where these out-of-place people and things are coming from, and how to make things right – including with Sylvia herself.

It’s all told in an engaging way, with characters it’s a delight to spend time with. I loved Sylvia’s love for the natural world and the pictures from her notebook as she draws the animals she sees, even the ones that are out of place. This is an adventure story firmly set in the natural world – with a speculative fiction twist.

RobertBeattyBooks.com
DisneyBooks.com

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