CBR 13 # 17 In A Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

It's one of those books where the "mysterious events of the past" are mysterious only because the narrator isn't telling you about it.  

Leonora, 26 years old is a crime author and lives a solitary and lonely life.  Then, she receives an email from a woman she does not know, inviting her to a "hen party" for a friend she has not spoken to for a long time.  But she goes.  This hen party is for the wedding of Leonora's childhood friend Clare.  A wedding which she was not invited to.  It's held in a modern glass house in the middle on the woods with four other of the bride-to-be's friends.  Of course, there are mysterious happenings, secrets unravelled, and maybe a little murder?  Okay, you know there's a murder since the book opens in the present time then Leonora is in the hospital with injuries and the police have told her that somebody has died.  But she does not remember what happened.  So it goes back and forth between the present time and flashbacks to the hen party events.

You have to suspend a lot of disbelief with these random thrillers/ psychological mysteries with big twists.  But the way the characters act are so far from how a normal person would act that I just can't.  The heroine is, to put it bluntly, a bit pathetic.  She is hung up on the first and only boyfriend that she had when she was 16.  And the main incident that led to her sad life could have been avoided by a single text.  And that's also the incident that led to the whole series of events years later.  And the motivations are so questionable.  She's just not a very compelling lead character to me.

Par for course in these kinds of books, it is thankfully short and quick.  Of course you want to hurry up and find then end to the mystery.  But you know what?  I didn't even care enough to take guesses and try to figure stuff out like I usually do when reading these kinds of books.  It was a bit boring.  I didn't like it.  Oh, and contrary to marketing, it was not scary at all and the woods weren't really a huge part of the story.  Just for a little bit of atmosphere.  It could have happened at a remote farmhouse or something like that.

CBR 13 # 16 Dune by Frank Herbert

Gun to head, if I had to choose a genre of books, it would be epic fantasy or science fiction.  I love the detailed mythologies and extensive worldbuilding that these genres provide.  I also like that most grapple with philosophical and sweeping questions about humanity and good and evil. I guess I've read a lot of the classics of both genres but somehow, I had neglected to read Dune.  Maybe because nobody really introduced me to the genre.  My Aunt and my Dad instilled a love of reading, but these were not the kinds of books they read.  I guess I just started to read sci-fi/fantasy when I somehow picked up Foundation (Asimov) at the used book store.  I finally decided to read the book because of the upcoming adaptation that I am desperate to see on the first day, but will never watch until I've read the book.

In the far off future(?), mankind has spread out to different planets and there is feudalist society where noble families control various fiefdoms under the rule of the Emperor.  There is no advanced calculating technology (computers, A.I.), instead, humans are especially trained to fulfill those functions, in a sort of mystical way.  In this backdrop, Duke Leto Atreides, together with his son Paul and companion Jessica, are assigned by the Emperor to rule of over the planet Arrakis.  Arrakis is a hard and barren place with nothing but endless desert.  But it is also the sole producer of the spice melange --- which seems to be more than a yummy additive to food.  There is of course, a rival House Harkonnen led by the Baron and a mysterious tribe native to Arrakis, the Fremen, who have somehow adapted to the hostile climate of the planet.  There are visions and prophecies, betrayals and death as the story of how Paul Atreides comes to lead the Fremen is told throughout the book.

On a pure appreciation for epic sci fi and/or fantasy level, I was spellbound by the lore and the world that was created by the author.  I wanted to know more about every corner of the world, especially since some features are alluded to and, in fact are pretty important parts of the plot (like the Bene Gesserit) but are not thoroughly explained .  I mean, there are no chapter long digression explaining the history of this place or organization or whatever.  Which, I don't know, is it nerdy of me to want?  But I heard that some parts get more fleshed out on the succeeding books so I'm looking forward to that.

As to the plot, it doesn't take a genius to see there there are some parallels to Arrakis and the Spice to the Middle East and oil.  There are pretty obvious Islamic references.  To my modern sensibilities there is a little bit of discomfort on seeing the white Paul ultimately being elevated to God like status by a Middle Eastern tribe analogue.  I'm not sure I can articulate my discomfort any further than that or if it is warranted or not.  Maybe I'll read more on it to help me crystallize my opinion but that is just my initial reading and unfiltered feeling. Also, it was a bit disturbing how God-like he was and how fanatical his followers were in the end.  I WAS a glad to know that this is precisely the main theme of the next book so I will go on reading.

All in all, this is precisely the kind of book that is catnip to me.  I love the specificity of the world, not just Arrakis, but the culture, society and universe and I am excited to read more.  Also, I am so exited for Timotheeee Chalameeet!  And Zendayaaaa (is Chani)!

 

CBR 13 # 15 Tales of A Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

I read in the CBR update emails that Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was up for discussion in the next Zoom call and I jumped into rereading it not only because I was behind on my CBR reading (and this was a sure quick read), but because I love this book!  I was ultimately not able to join the discussion (time zones :( ) but I'm so glad I read it again.  

I loved Are Your There God? when I was in Grade school but I don't remember reading any other Judy Blume books until I read Tiger Eyes, Forever and Summer Sisters when i was in high school.  Then I gave birth to a boy.  Five years later, another one.  The eldest kid was a rule follower.  Logical and practical just like Peter.  Even before the new baby was born, I read a chapter or two at bedtime with the eldest kid, just to prepare him for what being an older brother might be like because being a single mother when I had him, he was a very adult kid and literally gave me no trouble.  When the second kid became a toddler he turned out, God help me, very Fudge-like.   The kuya (older brother in my native language)  was a bit mystified and at a total loss at what to do with the hurricane of mischief that he was living with.  I just reminded him about the book and it seemed to make him cope better.  He even reread the book and all the other sequels, by himself this time.

When the middle child was around 5 years old, eldest child told me, "Mama, you should read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to my younger brother."  So I did.  

I know this is not really a book review, but this book has such a special place in my family and I am thankful that it helped my kids to understand their life a bit better and approach it in a humorous way.  It is a fun, funny and touching book and most kids will relate to it, whatever part of the world they are from.

But our story is not yet over.  It turns out that it was a good thing I read the book to the second child because 3 years later, I had another boy.  By this time, the second child had matured and turned out to be very much like the eldest child.  And the baby, turned out to be even more Fudge like.  He even lost his two bottom teeth when he fell in the playground (it was also bloody).  Now the second child is the new Peter and we would always laugh about that when the baby was up to some mischief.  .  When the baby turned five years old just this month, the second child told me, "Ma, you should read  Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to the baby".

CBR 13 # 14 The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

Did I read The Woman in the Window because I wanted to watch an episode of Netflix's Queens Who Like to Watch (with Trixie and Katya) but I couldn't watch it because I hadn't seen the movie, and I couldn't watch the movie because I hadn't read the book?  I will neither confirm nor deny but, YES I DID.  All this just to watch a 10 minute video of my favorite queens.  Was it worth it?  Well, yes but only because Trixie and Katya are so funny and NOT because the book ( or the movie) was good.

Anna is a child therapist who has not been out of her house for 10 months.  In those months, the only people she sees are her therapist, her physical therapist and the guy who rents her basement, who also does errands for her.  She spends her days spying on her neighbors (sometimes with a camera zoom), helping people out on an online forum for agoraphobes, talking to her separated husband on the phone, and a whooolle lot of drinking.  Then a new family moves in next door and Anna makes a connection with Ethan, the teenage son and Jane, his mother.  But something seems wrong with the family, and one day, through her window, Anna sees Jane being stabbed in her house.  Or was she? 

So goes the usual psychological thriller in the vein of The Girl on the Train in which the readers are being led to wonder, is the nice lady drunk/crazy?  Did she really see a crime being committed?  Why not both? I thought this one was convoluted and just had twists for the sake of twists with no genuine emotional or character development.  Of course, the plot, and the twist is improbable, maybe even unbelievable, but I am very willing to suspend disbelief with these kinds of books if the writing, or the characters are good.  I guess Tana French would be the gold standard for me.  This one does not even get to bronze.

Quick read, did not like it.  Did not like the movie either but loved the Trixie and Katya reaction in Queens Who Like to Watch.  Maybe I should have watched that directly without going through all the hoops I went through.

CBR 13 # 13 - Crash by Jerry Spinelli

One night, having had some milk tea right before bed (wrong decision) and also reading The Underground Railroad past bedtime (a good decision), I could not sleep.  I'm not sure why, but my heart was beating too fast and I felt anxious.  Maybe it was the tea.  So I went to the kids' bookshelf and picked up a book I had not yet read to maybe distract me and calm me down.

John "Crash" Coogan is a typical boys' boy.  His parents are busy working and the only time his father notices him is when he succeeds in sports.  He is a bit of a dumb jock stereotype.  When Penn Webb moves in next door, he unfortunately turns into a dumb jock bully stereotype.  Penn and his family are a bit strange.  Then, Mike moves in next door and he is an even bigger dumb jock than Crash, and an even bigger bully.  Naturally, Mike becomes Crash's new best friend and Penn is ostracized and occasionally made fun off by the popular, sporty kids.  However, in Seventh Grade, certain circumstances and events cause Crash to re-examine not only his treatment of Penn, but life and his attitude, in general.

I enjoyed previous Spinelli books like Manic McGee and Stargirl and this is sort of the same, I guess.  There is an outsider who becomes an impetus for the protagonist (and sometimes the whole town) to change.  While the previous books have a magical realist feel, this one feels more down to earth, realistic and smaller,  Maybe that's because it's for a younger audience and is shorter.  

I found it interesting that the protagonist in this book is not necessarily the good guy.  Most kids books would have the outsider, the introverted, smart bookworm as the main character.  In another book, Penn Webb would be the main character.  Maybe it's a smart choice because most kids are not going to be the "weird" kid.  Most are just "regular" kids, some even meatheads.  And a main character like that, but showing that they can be all that, but still be able to change for the good to be a kinder person, is pretty great. However, I feel that this one is too much from Crash's perspective.  I am interested in knowing more about Penn and his internal life and not just the pushover good guy as he is seen from Crash's point of view.  

All in all, a pretty good children's' book and yes, I was sable to go to sleep after.

CBR 13 # 12 - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

"Look outside as you speed through, and you’ll find the true face of America."

I was hesitant to start this book since I had so much trouble with finishing (really, starting) Zone One (from the same author) but I was pleasantly surprised that this immediately got my attention and I found myself compulsively reading it.

 The story us about Cora, a slave in a plantation in Georgia.  Her mother had escaped when she was young and she is an outcast even from her fellow slaves.  The book follows her journey as she escapes from the plantation and rides the underground railroad on her way to freedom, with some stops along the way.

The novel is historical fiction, i guess, but I think it's more alternate history.  Most of the details of slave and plantation life are accurate, but the Underground Railroad is imagined as a real railroad with actual trains.  As an aside, I must admit, when I was a child, not being from the US and only hearing/reading about it in snippets, I DID think at first that the underground railroad was an actual railroad.  In the book, the an actual railroad and trains allows Cora to travel to different states.  In each of these states, she experiences or is witness to the various atrocities perpetuated on black people.  I do not think that in real life they happened during the time period the book is set in, but actual atrocities like the Tuskegee Syphilis studies and the Tulsa Massacre are transported and into the period and Cora made to experience them.  That makes the book pretty admirable as a concept.

Cora is a brave and strong protagonist.  She has a lot of luck, good and bad.  Meets people, loses them.  I really liked the book and I think maybe its am important one.  But I just think it ends abruptly or it leaves me wanting more?  Not just for the end but throughout the whole book.  Maybe that's a testament to how good the concept and the writing is, I keep wanting it to be this epic thousand page book but alas, there was no more to read.  WIll just wait for the release of the mini-series. 

CBR 13 #11 Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The book opens up from the perspective of a boy out on a party with a flighty, superficial and possibly spoiled socialite.  I think this was intentional on the part of the author.  A party girl is not what we expect to be a heroine of a story, much less a horror one.  Noemi Taboada is a lovely heroine. Unusual in that she is smart and strong (as most heroines are) but also flighty, stubborn and a socialite who enjoys going to parties and flirting with boys (which most heroines are not).

Noemi is living the good life in 1950s Mexico.  Sure, going to parties and enjoying life but also trying to find meaning and something that fulfills her, hence constantly shifting disciplines.  Her father convinces her (through a promise of higher education) to check on her close cousin Catalina's  who had been recently married.  Catalina had sent an unhinged letter and was thought to be sick

So she travels to the High Place, the grand mansion owned by the Doyle family, where Cataline lives with her English husband, Virgil and his family.  The family is just the patriarch, Howard Doyle, the aunt, Florence and the nephew Francis.  High Place is in a remote and mountainous region of  Mexico where there used to be silver mined by the Doyle family.  But various tragedies and sicknesses has stopped mine operations and there is now just a poor, sad town and the desolate and damp mansion.

Of course, things get weird.  Who are Noemi's allies?  What the hell is wrong with Catalina?  Why is Howard Doyle so gross?  Are things really happening or is Noemi going crazy?  At various times in the book I guessed that it was all hallucinations from mold, or that they were vampires, or that it was all a misunderstanding.  The real answer is hella weird but also satisfying.  It is not afraid to delve into the supernatural.

Throughout the book, there are themes of colonialism, eugenics and fetishization of dark bodies.  Noemi is a privileged young lady, no doubt being born rich., but to the white Englishman Howard Doyle, she was still brown and lesser.  It goes hand in hand with how women, even white women are treated as disposable and mere carriers of babies. I found it fascinating that the book shows how rot and stagnation manifests when old money and whiteness is maintained.  Speaking of rot, there is a some gross body horror, not too much but enough for me, thank you, so be warned.

So I really liked it.  The first part is a slow burn but I enjoy how we get to know Noemi.  Like I said, i loved her.  There is also a bit of a subdued love story which I found simultaneously sweet (because I love pale troubled boys) and also uncomfortable and foreboding, especially during the ending.