April 2019 Books

I absolutely loved this book. Divided into sections that address her childhood and education, meeting Barack and starting a family, and their time in the White House, it's well written and fascinating. She doesn't dwell on the negatives, but she doesn't shy away from them either. Mostly, this is an inspiring look at her as a person and what she tried to accomplish before and during her time in the spotlight. Wonderful! (And a great antidote to the daily news!)

I loved the writing in this novel about young George Washington Black (Wash), a slave who escapes from Barbados in the 1830s with Christopher Wilde (Titch), an explorer and scientist who's determined to create a flying vehicle. They end up crashing into a ship at sea, then making their way to the arctic to find Titch's father. At that point Wash is abandoned by Titch, and he makes his way to Nova Scotia, where he makes new friends who lead him to further adventures abroad.

This is the only book (so far) that I've read by Truman Capote. I enjoyed the prose in this short novella. It has some charming characters, (and some less that charming who exhibit the kind of casual racism and bigotry that was prevalent in the South mid-century). It tells the story of a teenage boy, Collin, taken in by his elderly aunts Verena and Dolly after the deaths of his parents. The aunts live together in relative harmony until a business proposition tears them apart, leading his Aunt Dolly, her friend Catherine, and Collin to move out to a tree house in the nearby forest, causing a scandal in their town. At only 124 pages, this is a fun and enjoyable read.

I have to admit that I didn't like this book very much when I first started it. The characters didn't seem believable, and the plot is ridiculous. I found the dialog unrealistic as well. But it grew on me, and although I can't say that I liked this book, it was at least interesting. I don't think it's up to the standard set by his earlier fiction and wonder if he rushed this book out to take advantage of the post-election anxiety so many of us feel.

This is an excellent exploration of the impact that humans have had on the flora and fauna on earth. Evidence shows that there is a catastrophic extinction event happening right now that is caused by a combination of human activity and climate change.

Based on a true story, this is a well-written mystery about the abduction and murder of two young children and the unfair prosecution of their mother.

This heavily illustrated short story is about a young man adjusting to life after his father dies of a heart attack. He creates a fantasy alter ego (the Savage) who carries out his fantasies and defends him from bullies. Great art, good story.

This is the story of Phaeton, told in novella form. Phaeton wanted to meet his father Apollo, to confirm that he was indeed his father. Apollo offered Phaeton a gift, anything he wanted in the world, and Phaeton asked to drive Apollo's chariot for one day. He loses control of the horses, and wreaks havoc across the world. It only ends when Jupiter kills him with a bolt of lightning, and Phaeton falls dying to the earth. As his mother and sisters mourn him on the banks of the river where he dies, they turn into linden trees. Written for children, this is an excellent retelling of a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses.