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Willow has no prospects in her small village in Korea so she travels to Hawaii to marry a man she has only knows through a photo. She is told gold lines the streets, everyone is rich and her husband to be owns a plantation. After a grueling sea journey she finds this to be a gross exaggeration. Her husband is better off than most but he is marrying her against his will to please his dying father. Willow hopes for love, works hard to learn this new culture, language and life in Hawaii. Even though the Koreans living in Hawaii have much more freedom than their homeland does under Japanese rule there is a push to help Korea become a free country. Like other stories of immigration to this country Willow's story has huge ups and downs - she works hard without complaint. With an iron will she will raise her family and help the other picture brides preserving the old culture while embracing the new. For fans of PACHINKO, Lisa See and readers of the multilayered cultures of Hawaii. 4 stars 
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It is always the quiet ones that get me. Gil is a loner and ok with that until be becomes a big part of the family in the glass house next door. A family of four with the mom home more than the dad and two kids a young boy and older girl. As Gil befriends the lonely boy next door it leads him to become enveloped by the family and slowly he is drawn out. Dinosaurs refers not to the beasts that once roamed the earth but more of their descendants, specifically birds of the desert and also to the way Gil sees himself. This slim book is a love letter to Arizona and the natural beauty of the dessert. It is also the transformation of a solitary man committed to doing good for a larger group. Lydia Millet shows us with humor, grace and unflinching truth how hard it is to be a good person since as humans we are wired to disappoint. Readers of family dramas and those with deep quiet characters like the books of Elizabeth Strout will find much to love here. 4 stars  A charming and multi layered tale of a young girl who feels invisible until she finds the body of a washed up whale and incorporates the bones into a community theatre. Cristabel and her siblings learn about life through the eyes and drunken musings of her step mother and the eclectic group of artist houseguests. She and her brother Digby take this knowledge and put it to good use as British spies during WWII. An imaginative tale that pays tribute to and condemns the lack of the usual British upper class upbringing. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy. 4 stars  A dystopian society that is always watching those who don't follow the norm and punishing those who don't look like those in power (in this case those of Asian descent) or act like they do. Bird has lost his mother who was targeted as a radical poet. Now that the government is taking children away from parents they feel are not following the party line and relocating them, Bird's dad is hiding them in the shadows. Bird yearns for answers as to why his mother left and where she has gone but he can't get them from his dad who is a shell of his former self and searching for any trace of her will alert the authorities. When a drawing comes he knows it is from his mom and goes off in search of her. This is a beautiful coming of age story that dives deep into the relationship between parent and child quietly picking at your loose heart strings until you unravel completely. Intricately formed and quietly militant this story will stay with you well after the last page. An added bonus is the awesome underground librarian network at play. Fans of 1984, THE HANDMAIDS TALE and cautionary tales of extreme nationalism will find much to love. 4 1/2 stars  Part memoir, part travelogue of London and part thoughts about what it means to write, this book is all about the delightful charm and wisdom of Elizabeth McCracken. After her mother's death she goes to London alone to escape and finds herself remembering her mother walk by walk. We are all pieces of our mothers even though we try to deny it and as you read you find yourself remembering similar stories or just happily chuckling along with the author's priceless wit. It is easy to see the love she had for her mom and the hole in her heart at her passing. The stories and the pages fly by and you find yourself unable to find a good stopping place. Lucky for you dear reader it is a slim book, so settle in. Fans of other priceless female truth sayers such as Ann Pratchett, Mary Roach and even Erma Bombeck will feel right at home. 5 stars  A Hollywood survivor "Bear Grylis" style show is shooting on a remote South Pacific island. It seems that a teenage boy and his dog are the only locals who are willing to go on the island or deal with the intruders. Many of the Hollywood crew have hidden agendas and soon the island begins to act out. This is an interesting spin on how Westerners think money talks and that gives them carte blanche as far as destruction, treasure hunting and generally allows them to do whatever they want. There is an interesting side romance between a lonely producer's son and the islander that allows a bright spot in the onslaught of horror. For young adults but horror seeking adults will like it too. 3 1/2 stars  A charming and multi layered tale of a young girl who feels invisible until she finds the body of a washed up whale and incorporates the bones into a community theatre. Cristabel and her siblings learn about life through the eyes and drunken musings of her step mother and the eclectic group of artist houseguests. She and her brother Digby take this knowledge and put it to good use as British spies during WWII. An imaginative tale that pays tribute to and condemns the lack of the usual British upper class upbringing. 4 stars  It is amazing to me the high limits we have for human cruelty and racial/ethnic injustice. At a low period in our history during WWI and years after we stopped welcoming the world's downtrodden and shut the flow of immigrants we had welcomed with open arms. At the same time a world at war and mob mentality made us suspect our European neighbors(especially German) and Black Americans with renewed fervor. Workers looking for a better life who spoke out were tortured or worse and mobs treated any organized meetings with violence. It is also the story of a young J. Edgar Hoover and his collection of spies and informers creating fear to control the masses. The pace is good and considering how much information is shared, it is very readable. Historians as well as political aficionados will appreciate how similar this is to current day. 4 stars
When a young black woman returns to the hometown she thought she would never see again she does so for a wedding but what should be a happy occasion ends in a nightmare. Her friend's daughter goes missing and Liz begins to hear rumors that it has happened before over the years with several girls missing. These other girls have all been found carved up and missing their heart. Liz starts digging too close to some and suddenly she is suspect. Since these other girls were black the police were not as interested in solving the cases. Is the boogyman hiding in the woods or is the monster hiding in plain sight. An intense thriller with a hint of the macabre and one wild debut. 4 stars  What is it about islands that always seem to make the scariest stories? Ancient traditions are strictly observed on the Isle of Lute and the new Lady Treadway doesn't know what to expect as "the Day" approaches. She soon learns that the Island takes seven sacrifices once every seven years and in return the islanders have seven years of prosperity with no lives lost. Nina is not a believer but that soon changes and now she is worried that her family will not be spared. Old world magic and legends meets scary death at the hands of the unseen. There is no way off and the island always gets what it wants. 3 1/2 stars  |
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