Book Review: "Evil Genius" by Claire Oshetsky

What an odd yet compelling book this was! I really wasn’t quite sure what to expect and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, but I’m glad I read it.

“That’s the way it is sometimes. We can take forever to arrive at the most obvious truths about ourselves, because the will to conform is mighty in us, and the fear of somebody finding out we’re not normal is a mighty fear.”

Celia is 19 years old in 1974. She works at the phone company in San Francisco, where she deals with people who haven’t paid their phone bills. She tries to be empathetic but sometimes her customers anger her and she disconnects their service.

She is strangely fascinated when one of her colleagues gets caught in a love triangle. He was apparently sleeping with an executive for the phone company and they were discovered by the woman’s jealous husband, who killed her. Celia is energized by the thought of a crime of passion.

Celia is in an abusive marriage with a man she calls “her Drew.” Little by little, she starts dreaming of killing him, stabbing him with a little knife she bought. One night, Celia disobeys her Drew and stays out late. Her actions set her and Drew on a deadly path, one that ultimately will lead to self-discovery, among other things.

The tone of the book was quite satirical at times but also pretty troubling. Celia is a meek character with streaks of feistiness, and a lot of the story is written as her telling her life story when she was an old woman. Ultimately, I guess the message was one of finding your true self, but it meandered quite a bit.

Book Review: "Darling Girls" by Sally Hepworth

When I’m looking for a book to grab me from the start and keep me turning pages until I’m finished (no matter how late it gets), Sally Hepworth is definitely an author I can count on. Her books are always filled with tension, mystery, and domestic drama.

Jessica, Norah, and Alicia were raised together in a foster home, and now, as adults, they remain as close as ever. But while they were lucky to have each other while growing up, that was the only fortunate thing about their childhood.

The girls were raised on an estate called Wild Meadows by their foster mother, Miss Fairchild. While she opened her home to the girls one by one, it wasn’t done out of the goodness of her heart, but rather out of selfishness and a need for control. Miss Fairchild had strict rules and an unpredictable temper that manifested itself in many cruel and damaging ways.

The girls were able to get away from Miss Fairchild, but years later, each still bears the scars of growing up. And when a skeleton is found under the remains of Wild Meadows, the investigation summons them back to the town where their nightmares occurred. Whose body was found, and how did it get under the house? Could Jessica, Norah, or Alicia have been responsible?

This is definitely one of Hepworth’s darkest books, and the scenes of physical and emotional abuse may be triggering. And while I think this book is being marketed as a thriller, it’s definitely more of a combination of mystery and domestic drama.

I really loved Jessica, Norah, and Alicia’s characters, as well as the intense bond they shared. It definitely helped lighten the heaviness of the book’s subject matter.

Book Review: "Cinderella is Dead" by Kalynn Bayron

Cinderella is Dead is a unique and empowering retelling of the classic fairytale.

The kingdom of Lille was where Cinderella met her prince more than 200 years ago. And although true love ignited the flame back then, the kingdom is now ruled by evil, fear, and violence, especially toward women. All teenage girls are expected to go to the annual ball, where they hope a suitor will choose them. If they are not picked by a man at three successive balls, they are given up by their families, sold as slaves, or even killed.

While there seems to be no choice for her, Sophia is fighting it all the way. She’s never dreamed of being Cinderella—she’d much rather marry a princess, anyway. But her heart is set on her best friend Erin, even though that would never be allowed in Lille or by their families, and there really is no way to escape the clutches of the king.

The night of the ball, when things go awry, she escapes, and the king demands she be found. He enacts cruelty after cruelty to try and flush her out. When hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum one night, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her stepsisters. Constance is desperate to learn the real story of her family.

Together, Sophia and Constance vow to destroy the king and make him pay for his treatment of women. But along the way they learn the truth behind Cinderella’s story—and some truths about themselves as well.

It’s been a long while since I’ve read fantasy, but this hooked me pretty quickly. While not a lot of attention is paid to world-building, the characters and the story are very vivid, and I could see it unfolding in my mind’s eye. I liked the twist of a Black teenage lesbian challenging the myth of Cinderella.

But while the story is creative and I loved the message, there was a bit more telling than showing. I’ve always talked about hating the part in superhero movies where the villain details their master plan and why they seek vengeance. There was a little of that here, too. But still, Cinderella is Dead is unique and enjoyable and I was hooked.

Book Review: "The Prophets" by Robert Jones, Jr.

The Prophets, a debut novel by Robert Jones, Jr., is haunting, affecting, gorgeously written. This will remain in my mind for a long time.

“I ain’t a animal, but I know. I know that when you trapped in a small space, you start getting used to being small. And people, they know, too, and they start treating you like a small thing. Even if you big like you are, Sam. They still treat you like something small.”

Samuel and Isaiah are slaves on Empty, the Deep South estate of the Halifaxes. They are in love with each other, and their relationship is often the only thing that can bring them salvation amidst the cruelty and violence and fear they experience on a daily basis.

But as with any environment in which people are treated with cruelty, even those in the same plight turn on one another, and when Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship is exposed, it sets off a brutal chain of events. And while their relationship is at the crux of The Prophets, the book also focuses on some of the other slaves, the Halifax family, and a chorus of seemingly otherworldly voices.

This is a difficult, emotional book to read at times, and at times the lyricism of Jones’ storytelling and the multiple narrations required slightly more concentration than I'm used to giving while reading. But the power, the beauty, the cruelty of these stories demand to be told, to be read, to be understood, if still not fully comprehended by all.

I’m grateful to have read this as a buddy read with my friend, Louis. As always, his perspectives helped round out the experience of reading this, and his friendship and his humor are exceptional.

When the “best-of” accolades at the end of 2021 start to get assembled, there’s little doubt that The Prophets won’t be on that list.

Book Review: “The Girl with the Louding Voice” by Abi Daré

Abi Daré's The Girl with the Louding Voice lives up to all the hype and praise, and then some!!

Adunni is a 14-year-old girl growing up poor in Nigeria. Her mother recognized Adunni’s intelligence and fought for her to get an education, but that ended when she died. Regardless of what she wants from her future, because of their poverty, her father sells her into marriage as the third wife of an old man desperate for male children.

“My mama say education will give me a voice. I want more than just a voice, Ms. Tia. I want a louding voice. I want to enter a room and people will hear me even before I open my mouth to be speaking. I want to live in this life and help many people so that when I grow old and die, I will still be living through the people I am helping."

Marriage, the demands of a husband, and the cruelty of one of his other wives are almost too much for Adunni to bear. And when tragedy strikes in her new home, she must flee, although she knows as a young woman most view her as nothing but property.

She winds up being taken to Lagos and is sold into servitude to a rich, cruel woman. She is treated horribly aand beaten routinely, but she tries not to let this woman or her philandering husband steal her dreams or make her believe she is nothing. It takes two people—the household chef and a woman in the same social group as her employer—to help try and save Adunni, but will it be too late?

What a book this was. It was brutal and emotional and utterly beautiful, but Adunni’s spirit is a shining light. She is honestly one of the most memorable characters I’ve ever read about. At times this is difficult to read and at times her broken English is distracting, but as she works to better herself it becomes easier to understand her.

Daré has created a masterpiece. The Girl with the Louding Voice is truly one of the best books I've read this year.

Book Review: "The Dutch House" by Ann Patchett

"But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we're not seeing it as the people we were, we're seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered."

Siblings Danny and Maeve Conroy grew up in The Dutch House, a lavish home in the Philadelphia suburbs. Once the home of a Dutch family that owned most of the area, their artwork and interior decorating still remain throughout the infamous estate. While their real-estate-investor father loves the house and sees it as a jewel in his empire, their mother was repulsed by all the infamous home represented, and she left when Danny was very young.

Left with a father generally incapable of doing more than providing the material comforts for his children, Maeve helped raise Danny, with the help of the family's two housekeepers. The two siblings, despite their age difference, formed an unshakable bond, one which became even more crucial when their father married again, this time a younger woman with two young daughters of her own. Their stepmother's dislike of them was apparent to them from the very start, although their father seemed oblivious and/or disinterested in her treatment of them, as he was more interested in keeping the peace in his household than anything else.

When their stepmother gets the opportunity, she exiles Danny and Maeve from the house—and cuts off their access to any of the money that should be theirs. Left with nothing, they are forced to fend for themselves and have only each other to survive. And while they cannot seem to get The Dutch House out of their minds, given that it was such an enormous part of their lives, they want more than anything to understand the actions of their parents, which led them to where they are now.

While this isn't a suspenseful book, there are a few surprises that are better to unfold as you read it rather than have them revealed. This is a book that was paced a lot slower than I like, but there is a lot of richness to behold, including emotion, nostalgia, family dynamics, and even a little humor. What fascinated me even more is what a major character the house itself played, much like in Howards End or Rebecca.

I've been a big fan of Ann Patchett's since reading Bel Canto a number of years ago. I love the way she tells a story. (Her nonfiction is excellent, too—check out Truth and Beauty or This is the Story of a Happy Marriage.) I have enjoyed some of her other books more than this one, but it's still worth a read, and I believe both Patchett fans and those who've never read her work will enjoy this, especially those who like stories of family relationships gone awry.

Book Review: "We Love Anderson Cooper: Short Stories" by R.L. Maizes

I'm a big fan of short stories, but it doesn't seem like there have been many collections this year that have caught my eye. I'll need to remedy that, because every time I read a collection of stories I'm reminded of how much I like this format, and how incredibly writers can create compelling scenarios in just a small number of pages.

I was drawn to R.L. Maizes' debut collection, We Love Anderson Cooper, because of the title, first and foremost. (I do love him, honestly.) But I stayed for the stories. While not all of the 11 stories clicked for me—and one was so short that it seemed like I was missing something—I was so impressed by Maizes' writing, her imagery, and her creativity.

My favorites in the collection included: "Tattoo," about a talented yet struggling artist who turns to tattooing and begins to create designs which become reality; "Couch," which tells of a therapist whose practice—and life—are upended by the purchase of a new couch for her office; "The Infidelity of Judah Macabee," where a man feels betrayed by his cat; "Collections," about an older woman left behind when her companion, whom she cared for, left her with nothing even though she thought of him as her husband; and the title story, which tells of a young man planning to out himself at his bar mitzvah, but isn't sure of the consequences.

Some of the characters in these stories are memorable, some of them are very twisted and even cruel. There are a few stories which might trigger those uncomfortable with animal cruelty, descriptions of animals dying (accidentally and on purpose), murder, and blood. (It's funny, I didn't realize how crazy some of the stories were until I started writing this list!)

The stories I loved in this collection will definitely linger on in my mind. There's no doubt that Maizes is a talented writer with a very bright future, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for her. For those of you who enjoy short stories, you might want to check this collection out!

Book Review: "Dead Man Running" by Steve Hamilton

One of the last things a man did before he and his wife went on a Mediterranean cruise was set up a security camera at their house. Maybe it seemed a little paranoid, but better safe than sorry, right?

When he's finally able to log on for the first time, his fears are unfounded—wait, why does the living room seem brighter than when they left? Did the front door just open? He watches, aghast, as an intruder enters their house and heads up to their bedroom. While he readies for the intruder to steal his wife's diamonds (which he didn't let her bring on the cruise), he is utterly unprepared for the woman's body on their bed. Not to mention what the intruder does to the body...

The intruder turns out to be Martin Livermore, a gifted scientist who is the suspect in the abduction and murder of at least five other women. The FBI has been hunting him for a while, but he's never been this sloppy before. When he is apprehended returning to the vacationers' home for another encounter with his latest victim, the feds feel victorious, but they can't help but wonder why it seems as if he was trying to get caught this time.

Livermore once again gets the upper hand, when he refuses to speak to anyone but Alex McKnight, a former police officer and private investigator from the small town of Paradise, Michigan. McKnight has no idea why Livermore has involved him, can't figure out any connection to this murderer whatsoever. But Livermore knows too much about him, and Alex is a crucial part of a tangled, dangerous plot that Livermore is about to put in motion.

With each action, Livermore ups the stakes, and as Alex races to figure out why the murderer has drawn him into his schemes, the danger continues to grow, and it threatens to affect him in places he'd never expect. How do you catch a criminal mastermind who has targeted you, who taunts you with his crimes, and knows your every step before you take it? Alex faces off with a relentless killer, and only one of them can survive.

In a veritable sea full of thriller writers, Steve Hamilton is the real deal. He's one of the rare breed of authors in this genre who can write pulse-pounding action scenes while creating characters with depth, characters you root for and care about. Every time I read another one of his books I say the same thing—I cannot understand why he isn't a household name, because his books are far superior (a little Michigan humor) to many more popular authors.

It was great to have Alex McKnight back again, but I definitely missed Paradise, and Vinnie, Jackie, and Leon. Still, it was good to see Alex have to leave his comfort zone and try and figure out his connection to Livermore. While I don't love villains who are always one step ahead of everyone else, and who can always outsmart law enforcement, Livermore was one creepy character who made me shudder. (His diversions were pretty dastardly.)

Dead Man Running is a prime example of a writer at his peak. If you've never read any of Hamilton's books, you don't know what you're missing. Whether you read his Alex McKnight series, his newer series featuring Nick Mason, or one of his standalone books, you'll see this is an author whose name you should see on books being read everywhere you look. Hopefully someday soon the world will catch on to what I've known for years—Hamilton is one of the best.

NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and First to Read provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Holding up the Universe" by Jennifer Niven

Don't go into reading Jennifer Niven's new novel, Holding Up the Universe, thinking this is going to be identical to the phenomenal All the Bright Places (which made my list of the best books I read last year), in tone or the emotional power of its subject matter. I don't say this to denigrate Niven's new book in any way—I think with this book she set out to tell a different and more personal story, yet one with slightly more universal themes.

"You know how it's easy to believe everything is about you, especially when something goes wrong? Why me? Why do I have the worst luck ever? Why is the universe so mean? Why does everyone hate me? My mom used to say sometimes it's actually about the other person and you just happen to be there. Like sometimes the other person needs to learn a lesson or go through an experience, good or bad, and you're just an accessory in some way, like a supporting actor in whatever their scene happens to be."

Libby Strout has already had a brush with notoriety. Once dubbed "America's Fattest Teen," when she weighed 653 pounds at her heaviest and had to be cut out of her childhood home while the media watched, she's spent the last two years being home schooled while she recovered. Now 302 pounds lighter, she's ready to go back to high school and be someone different, someone with tremendous possibilities, new friends, maybe even someone that a guy could fall in love with.

When Libby meets Jack Masselin for the first time, it's an encounter that winds up with both of them getting detention, having to go to counseling, and participate in community service for their school. Jack has always seemed like someone who has it all, and knows it—he's good-looking, a bit cocky, and tends to swagger through school. But this bravado hides a significant vulnerability: Jack has prosopagnosia, or the inability to recognize faces, even those of his family members or people he's known all his life. Each time he sees someone, he has to try and figure out who they are, and he's not always successful, which leads to more uncomfortable situations than he'd like.

In Jack, Libby sees someone who is hiding their true self, someone who understands what it's like to have secrets and sadness and emotional anguish, while in Libby, Jack sees fearlessness, even when she's being mistreated. But as much as he's drawn to Libby he has to wonder if the persona he needs to maintain in order to protect his secret would ever really give someone like Libby attention. And Libby has to decide whether pursuing everything she wants without worrying about the consequences is actually worthwhile, or if she should just do her best to hide in the background.

Holding Up the Universe is a story about finding courage when you feel you don't have any, and not letting anyone sway you from what you want. It's also a book about finding hope after loss and difficult times, and how to hang on to that hope in the face of adversity. But more than that, this is a book about letting people see who you really are, and admitting when you need help.

There were things I really loved about this book and things that bothered me. I liked some of the characters very much, and loved how Niven revealed their complexities little by little. This certainly was a unique story in many ways, but it didn't feel gimmicky in any way, and there was so much emotion and heart in this story, but it never felt emotionally manipulative.

What bothered me is just how cruel Libby's classmates were (even if I know this fact better than I'd like to admit, even all these years later), how unending that cruelty was, and how she really wasn't willing to tell anyone what was going on. There were a lot of things which remained unsaid in this book, and I found that frustrating. I also admit that I wondered whether someone like Jack would actually find himself falling for a girl who still weighed 350 pounds, and that distracted me a little bit.

I issued my warning at the start of my review because I'll admit I went in hoping for another All the Bright Places, so some of my disappointment was my own unrealistic expectations. But once I gave it a fair chance, I really enjoyed Holding Up the Universe. It's a book that deserves to be read on its own merit, and although it didn't touch my heart as much as Niven's last book, it still proved Niven's tremendous talent.

Book Review: "The Most Dangerous Place on Earth" by Lindsey Lee Johnson

This was a tremendously intriguing book, but not what I expected based on its description. At some point would it be possible for the marketing departments of publishers to spend more time understanding what its books are about, instead of comparing them to any other popular title?

I digress.

In Mill Valley, California, there's an eighth-grade boy who always seems to be the target of abuse and ridicule from his fellow students. He's desperate to feel understood, to belong, to find a friend. But his one bold gesture goes very, very wrong, causing him more humiliation at the hands of his peers. And then one incident changes everything.

Several years later, many of these same students are in high school. They've mastered all of the cruelty, disdain, and casual nonchalance that children raised among privilege often possess. Yet even as their lives move forward, the incident is always in the back of their minds, affecting them in different ways—pushing them to achieve more, motivating them to care less, sending them on a self-destructive path.

When young teacher Molly Nicoll begins work in Mill Valley, she hasn't lost her idealism, her faith that she's going to connect with her students, break through their shells, and inspire them with a love of learning and a love of reading that she found as a student. But what she finds are overachievers and underachievers, drug addicts and students who wish they were anywhere but in school, and yet want to make their mark on their fellow students. Molly thinks her students need her, though, so she finds herself crossing lines to win their trust, their faith, perhaps even their friendship.

The students she tries to reach are unique in their own ways, but share many of the same characteristics. There's Dave, pushed by his parents to be the best, to make something of himself, to not settle for anything but perfection (it doesn't really matter if he wants the same things); Elisabeth, the beautiful and seemingly untouchable one who actually just wants someone to notice her for who she is; Emma, the talented dancer and self-destructive party girl; Nick, who uses his intelligence only when it suits his purposes; and Cally, who changed her name to Calista after eighth grade, and spends most of her days high and daydreaming with her friends.

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth takes an unflinching look at the culture of privilege that many wealthy students grow up in, and how this privilege actually puts them at a disadvantage unless they're willing to take control of their own lives. Most of these students are unsympathetic, flawed characters, although you understand how they got that way. This is a book that leaves you wondering how true-to-life these behaviors are, and how many students really act this way—and how many teachers get caught up in the need to be part of their students' lives.

Lindsey Lee Johnson is a really talented storyteller. There's nothing particularly shocking, plot-wise, but you get engrossed in the story, even as you may feel at least a bit disgusted. This book reminded me of a bunch of other similar books, but in good ways. All I know is, if high school is really like this now, I'm glad I'm far away from it!!

NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Movie Review: "Whiplash"

Whiplash is an intense, fantastic film that asks the question, how far is too far to push someone to harness their talent?

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a freshman at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory of Music in New York City (standing in for Juilliard). He's a talented yet cocky drummer who dreams of being a true great in the jazz world. While practicing one day he is spotted by Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the black-clad hardass who rules the school, and handpicks those he believes to be talented to join his studio band.

But while Fletcher would love to find the next Charlie Parker or Buddy Rich, what he seems to be even better at is terrorizing his students, hurling slurs, curses, even furniture at those who provoke his wrath. (His philosophy is not knowing the answer can be worse than being wrong.) But does he do it because he likes to break these students down, or because he believes this is what separates the truly talented from the pretenders, those who truly want it from those who are lazy and squander their gifts?

Fletcher takes an interest in Andrew, but that interest is tremendously fickle. Andrew is determined to prove himself worthy of Fletcher's faith, even if that means practicing until his hands bleed all over his drums, and closing his emotions and his life to anything but his music. (The scene where Andrew explains to his girlfriend why they shouldn't see each other any longer reminded me a little of John Malkovich's breakup with Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons.) He doesn't have any friends, and his father (Paul Reiser) doesn't quite believe in him, but Andrew only wants to be great.

The road to greatness, however, is a tremendously difficult one, and Fletcher exposes every one of Andrew's vulnerabilities, pushing him to the breaking point. Andrew has to decide whether to try and see if he really is as talented as he believes he is, or if he should simply believe what Fletcher has been telling him, that he just doesn't have it. But what do you do when your single-handed pursuit of a dream doesn't end the way you hope it will?

I've been a huge fan of Miles Teller since he appeared in Rabbit Hole a few years ago, but it was his performance in The Spectacular Now, one of the best movies I saw last year, that truly demonstrated his acting prowess. He is terrific in this movie, simultaneously cocky and desperate for Fletcher's approval. His dogged determination to get the chance to play during a music festival was painful to watch yet utterly mesmerizing.

If all you know J.K. Simmons from are his comic role as the father in Juno or his Farmers' Insurance pitchman responsibilities, you will be utterly bowled over by his performance in this movie. He is a drill sergeant, a bully, a heartless bastard everyone is aching to deck, yet Simmons occasionally lets glimpses of the man's vulnerability break through his a--hole exterior. Simmons has complete command of nearly every scene he is in, even without saying a word. If there is any justice, he will be among the nominees for Best Supporting Actor at this year's Oscars—this is far from a lovable performance, but it is totally riveting.

Running less than two hours, Whiplash puts you through the ringer, but like Andrew and Fletcher's other students, you willingly take it all in. While the plot of the movie may not surprise you, the performances—and the heart—of this movie will wow you. See it.

Book Review: "Brutal Youth" by Anthony Breznican

Some say that the high school years are the best years of your life. Those who say that never attended St. Michael's school. Anthony Breznican's novel, Brutal Youth, essentially chronicles one year—1991—at this Catholic high school, which would make the principal from Lean On Me, the teacher from Dangerous Minds, and the students from Heathers or Mean Girls transfer as quickly as possible.

Peter Davidek has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, Charlie, which isn't a good thing, since Charlie is now persona non grata in their family. But since Charlie went to St. Michael's, their mother wants Peter to attend school there as well. But orientation day for visiting 8th graders is somewhat eventful, when a troubled student snaps, unleashing an attack on fellow students and teachers alike. It falls on Peter and another prospective student, Noah Stein, to rescue a student injured in the attack, even though it means disobeying—and making an enemy of—the school's guidance counselor.

When Peter and Noah begin their freshman year, they quickly realize this isn't just another school. On top of the fact that the school itself is falling apart, and the chapel has taken over the school's gymnasium since the original chapel burnt to the ground, freshmen are like raw meat to the older students. It's not just innocent pranks or teasing—it's all-out abuse, physical and emotional, every day. And the teachers are just as bad as the kids. It's all justified, you see, because when the upperclassmen were freshmen, they were abused, so it's kind of like the circle of life, you know?

Noah, who has been thrown out of schools before, is a take-no-prisoners kind of person, one who doesn't let anyone bother him, although that bravado hides some real emotional vulnerability. He and Peter become an unlikely team against their tormentors, along with fellow student Lorelei Paskal, who charms them both but isn't as successful making friends with her classmates. But as the school year progresses, their relationships with each other and their other classmates are tested by violence, misunderstandings, secrets, and a faculty more than willing to turn their backs on what is happening in the school.

"Everybody's pissed off and wants to f--king hit somebody, but this whole system has only one rule: You can't hurt anyone who can hurt you back."

This is a brutal book, one that truly lives up to its title. I have never seen students, teachers, and parents so relentlessly cruel, petty, and awful, even though Breznican gives you some idea how they got that way. While I loved Peter and Noah's characters, I just found every other character in the book so utterly unappealing and unsympathetic. I had a hard time believing that any school, any administration could be so bad, but then I remembered that the book is set in 1991, a time before Columbine and other incidents of school violence.

This book reminded me of some of my own issues with high school. I definitely wanted to see where Breznican would take the plot, to see if he could continue escalating the cruelty and all-around awfulness of his characters. But as much as this book troubled me and made me angry, I also would love to know what happened next, so I guess the characters stuck with me.

I've seen so many glowing reviews of this book, so if my description intrigues you, I'd encourage you to read it. I can't get the characters out of my head, in a good way. I guess in the end, I'm struck by this quote from the book:

"The things we surrender to when we're young, we keep surrendering to the rest of our lives."

Book Review: "Light of the World" by James Lee Burke

At one point during Light of the World, James Lee Burke's 20th novel featuring Louisiana sheriff's detective Dave Robicheaux, one of the characters says to Dave, "Do you people carry a fight with you every place you go?"

That seems an appropriate question for this book, which finds Dave, his wife, Molly, his adopted daughter, Alafair, and his best friend and partner-in-crime, private investigator and human wrecking ball Clete Purcell, vacationing in Montana at the home of a friend, a famed novelist and environmentalist. They've not been in Montana long when Alafair, out for a job, early one evening, is nearly shot by an arrow. At first, suspicions point to Wyatt Dixon, an emotionally disturbed rodeo cowboy, but then it appears that a far more dangerous nemesis is after Alafair—convicted serial killer and sadist Asa Surette, who became obsessed with her after she did a series of interviews with him for a book she was planning to write. The thing is, Surette was allegedly killed—in Kansas—when the van transporting him to another prison was involved in a massive car crash.

But having a deviously intelligent, dangerous, and megalomaniacal serial killer coming after his daughter isn't all Dave has to confront. When Clete's daughter, the deeply troubled former mob assassin-turned-documentary filmmaker (yeah, you read that right) Gretchen Horowitz, comes to Montana, it isn't long before she runs afoul of a corrupt police detective, who abuses her physically and mentally, among others who aren't happy that the subject of her next documentary is shale oil extraction. And when Clete gets involved with the wife of the heir to a wealthy oil magnate, it's just the icing on the cake.

Dave's need to try and do the right thing continuously clashes with his need to protect his family and his belief that people who do wrong should pay. He's never quite comfortable when dealing with corruption, either among those sworn to uphold the law or those who feel they're above it. As one character tells Dave, "But I think you have an agenda. You resent others for their wealth. Everywhere you look, you see plots and conspiracies at work, corporations destroying the planet, robbing the poor, that sort of thing, and you never realize these things you think you see are a reflection of your own failure."

I've been reading James Lee Burke's books since the late 1980s, and he is among my most favorite authors. I particularly love the poetry of his language, whether he's depicting the after-effects of violence (an all too common factor in his books), drawing out a fight, or especially, describing a setting. His words truly paint pictures in your mind. I met Burke at a reading a number of years ago, and I can't help but think that there's a piece of him in every character he writes.

That being said, I didn't enjoy Light of the World as much as I have many of Burke's previous books. For one, I felt as if every character had an enormous chip on their shoulder, and it grated on me after a while. And I just don't understand how so much evil can follow Dave and Clete wherever they go—it's not just one particular villain they run afoul of, but many. It got hard to keep track of which person was visiting which wrong on which character. I also felt like much of this book was a retread on familiar territory—Dave and Alafair fight over his protective nature and her refusal to listen to him, and Clete follows his libido into trouble despite better judgment. I think Gretchen is one of the most complex characters Burke has created and I'd love to see more of her in a future book, even separate from Dave, Clete, and the rest of the gang.

The other question I had is how old Dave and Clete are supposed to be at this point. One of the hallmarks of Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels is the way both Dave and Clete are haunted by their time fighting in Vietnam. But if the Vietnam War happened 40-50 years ago, I guess that these characters are now near 60 at their youngest and 70 at their oldest? If that's the case, I have trouble believing they're still capable of the lives they appear to be living. But I guess that's the beauty of fiction.

James Lee Burke usually writes one book a year, and I look forward to it with great anticipation. Despite not enjoying this book as much as some of his others, I am still tremendously enamored of the way he writes, and can't wait until his next book comes out, hopefully next summer. If you've never read him before, definitely pick up a Dave Robicheaux novel and hopefully you'll be captivated as much as I have been all these years.

People are cretins...

Don't know if you saw this story in the news earlier in the week, but I've been to busy to post this before.

Apparently the grandmother of Max, a 13-year-old boy with autism, received an anonymous letter at her home in Newcastle, Ontario, Canada. The letter, signed by "One pissed off mother," refers to Max as a neighborhood "nuisance," "retarded," and a "dreadful" noise polluter.

But worse than that, the letter says, "Personally, they should take whatever non retarded [sic] body parts he possesses and donate it to science. What the hell else good is he to anyone!!! Do the right thing and move or euthanize him!! Either way we are ALL better off!!!"

See for yourself:

There are no words for someone like this. If the author of this letter is actually a parent, I fear for this person's children. Canadian police are investigating.

Sometimes people just baffle me.

Book Review: "Reconstructing Amelia" by Kimberly McCreight

Wow, I thought this was pretty fantastic.

Kate Baron is a successful attorney and single mother of Amelia, a bright, witty, and talented sophomore at a prestigious New York private school. One day Kate is summoned out of a meeting and is asked to come to Amelia's school immediately—she has been caught cheating and faces significant academic penalties. This seems completely out of character for Amelia, but by the time Kate makes it to the school, things have gotten much worse. Amelia jumped from the roof of the school, an act of impulsive suicide motivated by her guilt.

Or at least that's what school officials and the police tell Kate. And while she tries to make sense of all that has happened, and relives recent interactions with Amelia to try and understand what motivated her actions, she is rocked by an anonymous text message:

Amelia didn't jump.

This text message sends Kate into a tailspin, desperate to believe her daughter didn't cheat or commit suicide, but she is afraid of what she'll find out. And the further she digs into Amelia's emails, Facebook and blog posts, text messages, and journal entries, she finds out all that Amelia was going through—and all of the people who might have had a hand in either driving her to suicide or causing her death.

This book is like a combination of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl crossed with an episode of Law and Order, but for the most part, it doesn't feel overly dramatic or false. The biggest tragedy about this book is that so many of the things that occurred could and probably do happen among teenagers in private and public schools. Kimberly McCreight is an excellent writer who keeps the twists and turns coming full speed ahead, but she knows when to throttle back and not take the plot down too melodramatic a path.

Reconstructing Amelia is a book about friendship, romance, love between parent and child, and forging your own identity. It's also a book about the dangers of keeping secrets and the need to feel you fit in. It hooked me from start to finish, and although I ultimately was sad, I really marveled at the power of McCreight's storytelling ability. Read this.