Ling Fan faces a mountain of obstacles - her brother is dead, her father in prison and she is about to be married off to take care of the family. She decides to run instead pretending to be her brother and travels to America to take her brother's work contract building the railroad. Hiding the fact that she is a woman she makes a few friends but feels like she can't trust many people there. Soon it becomes clear that only by taking the dangerous jobs will she make enough to free her father. When accidents begin to happen and it is clear that the railroad company isn't afraid to let a few Chinamen die to finish first in the rail race, Ling Fan takes action. Terrific historical fiction that will appeal to older middle school readers, young adults and adults alike. This is yet another example of how immigrants were treated unfairly yet contributed greatly to this country. 4 stars
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I listened to the audiobook of this lush historical survival tale. Daiyu is cast to the sky and sea as her parents are imprisoned in China and she is sent by her grandmother far from her home. in the city she is kidnapped and sent to San Fransisco to work in a brothel. Almost broken she finds a way out and travels to Idaho until finally finding a bit of a home working for kindly Chinese grocers. Still disguised as a boy she learns to let her guard down a bit but continues to make enough to return home to China and find her family. Daiyu is haunted by trauma, by the ghost of her namesake who lives inside her and not being able to fully trust anyone. A cruel reminder of racial hatred and the atrocities inflicted on immigrants in this country in the 1800's and still today in some places. When being a Chinese man is a bit less dangerous than being a woman, Chinese or not it won't take much for Daiyu's luck to run out. Weaving Chinese folklore and language into gut wrenching human emotion with the correct pronunciation made listening to this a true delight. 4 stars from this Austin native!
Arlo is a devout Jehovah's Witness deafblind with little new experiences in his life thanks to his controlling uncle and longtime caregiver. When a new interpreter joins the team who happens to be gay and thinks Arlo should lead a more full life - the real fun begins. As Arlo starts taking a writing class at the community college memories of a boarding school for the deafblind and the love of his life that got away have him questioning if he really has been sinful and where the girl is today. With the help of Cyril and his best friend Arlo will find out that there is more to life than baloney sandwiches and bullies.
Warm hearted and full of quirky characters that will melt your heart this will do the trick for fans of NOTHING TO SEE HERE and HOW LUCKY. 3 1/2 stars Written in a style equally brilliant and confusing THE CANDY HOUSE picks up with some of the characters found in A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD. I did not read the first novel so that may account for some of my confusion. Simply put, this is a free flowing multi-character story with multiple timelines written in various narrative styles. The invention of "Own Your Own Unconscious" allows people to buy a cube that captures all of their memories from their unconscious that can be accessed at any time. The good is that you can now settle family squabbles about who won the family football pool at a Thanksgiving 15 years ago. The bad is that when you give free access to your unconscious that data is collected and you become a guinea pig for others to track. Depending on your perspective this can be a very useful tool or the end of all creative thought. Some of the chapters are presented in unusual ways - free flowing thought and text messages as well as one character who must be on the spectrum and every thought feels like a mathematical equation. One thing becomes clear - taking a bite from a candy house never comes without a price and you may end up as a witch's dinner. 3 stars
Five young Chinese-Americans are approached to pull off a massive art theft that will leave them with millions. The money alone is tempting but what really draws these idealistic thieves is the fact that the priceless art they are stealing from some of the world's nicest art museums was originally stolen from Ancient China. Dangerous, exciting and money that could help them jump start their future is great if they can pull it off but they will lose it all if caught. They are young, they are fearless and they are talented thieves. A bit of romance, a lot of intense car races and a brilliant cat and mouse game in the high stakes art world - this Oceans Eleven, Friends and It Takes A Thief thriller is one heck of a promising debut. 4 stars
The story of generations of a proud, tough Black Southern women. From the 1920's to the early 2000's the North women lived, loved and fought for simple dignity in a white world that threatened to take everything from them at every turn. A stunning debut of family - good, bad and ugly but one thing is certain about the North women - you can always come home and they will always set you right. It is also a love story of Memphis itself. Filled with wonderful warm characters whose voices ring true, this is reminiscent of THE COLOR PURPLE and books about strong families by Jacqueline Woodson and Toni Morrison. Tara M. Stringfellow writes with a deep soul and I can't wait for her next book. 4 stars
Ikenna has a blood gift that allows her body to heal herself and others. This gift becomes a curse because she must keep it secret and that is not easy when she is fighting for her life at every few pages of this fantasy. She is trying out for a very select group of fighters and losing at one of the games or challenges could mean her death or that of her friends. Her war decorated Grandfather's name was enough to get her a spot but as she is fighting for her life she is also looking for his killers.
This book does not take up a lot of pages building the world but instead is filled with gruesome battle scenes, a doomed from the start love interest and political pitfalls galore. This promising start to the series reminds me of the flight school of Brandon Sanderson's Skyward series and the political high jinks of Pierce Brown's Red Rising series. 4 stars Wendy Wise is considered one of the top advice column authors out there for women except to her own daughters. Older daughter Barb still is resentful that she was left to pretty much raise her younger sister Clementine and still feels like she is the one Clementine turns to and this crisis is no different. Clementine's husband has sunk all their money (and I do mean all of it) into starting his vegetable water business and is now missing on top of everything. She and their son will have to leave their home unless Clementine can come up with some money and a job quick. Wendy swoops in to save the day but not everyone is happy about it. A wonderful warm and honest look at the treacherous waters of mother/daughter relationships and moms that have a hard time following their own advice. 4 stars
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