Book Review: "The Sunlight Pilgrims" by Jenni Fagan

People often comment that there are not many original ideas out there. While that seems true sometimes, at other times you find a book that is pretty unique in certain ways, and isn't at all what you expected. That was definitely the case with Jenni Fagan's The Sunlight Pilgrims. While not everything meshed the way I had hoped, this was a unique and surprising book, and it definitely has stayed in my mind.

It's 2020 and the world is in the grips of the coldest temperatures on record, hitting below zero every day. There's snow in places there never was, rivers are overflowing and then freezing, and a giant iceberg is making its way from Norway to the coast of Scotland. People are panicking, rioting in the streets, and wondering if this is the end of the world. Those who can are fleeing to warmer temperatures, not that there are many places where those can be found.

While he'd like to head to what he believes are warmer climes in Vietnam, Dylan MacRae is on a mission. Reeling from the losses of both his beloved grandmother and mother, and with his family's movie theater being foreclosed upon, he travels to the Scottish Highlands town of Clachan Fells, where his mother apparently bought a caravan (trailer) before her death. He hopes to eventually get to the Orkney Islands, where his grandmother was from, to scatter both of their ashes.

When he arrives in Clachan Fells, he finds a community of people trying to understand what is coming and fearing the worst, expecting that this endless, brutal, unprecedented winter will be deadly for so many. He meets Constance Fairbairn, a survivalist of sorts, and her 12-year-old daughter, Stella, both of whom intrigue him in different ways. Constance lives by her own set of rules and has been judged by her fellow residents for years, and doesn't seem to care—except where their judgment affects Stella.

"Before it was just poverty, pestilence, terrorists, pedophiles, drugs, eating disorders, online grooming, meteors skimming a bit too close for comfort. Now every single person...looks like they are terrified they're all about to become frozen corpses."

Dylan quickly gets enmeshed in Clachan Fells life, and becomes a vital part of Constance and Stella's lives. His presence is welcomed by some but not all, and he finds he is actually more connected to the community than he thought. Stella struggles with identity and self-esteem issues, and is torn between wanting the approval of others and not caring. Beyond worrying about their survival, Constance wants her daughter's life to be easier than hers has been.

This book was intriguing and had surprising emotional depth, as I expected the book to be more about surviving this somewhat-dystopian environment. The characters were tremendously compelling and I found myself rooting for them. I just felt at times the book didn't get fully enmeshed in its plot, and brought up points that it never resolved. My biggest pet peeve about this book, however, was that Fagan didn't use quotation marks when characters spoke, simply m-dashes, so you couldn't distinguish when different characters were talking to one another, or even who said what.

Still, this is more a story about finding yourself and tapping into your own strength than it is about surviving the elements. Jenni Fagan is a talented storyteller, and this book will remain in my mind for a while.

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

Book Review: "Come Twilight" by Tyler Dilts

"I'm only really good at two things—investigating homicides and denial."

While a bit of an oversimplification, that statement describes Long Beach homicide detective Danny Beckett fairly well. He's excellent at his job, but his life has been plagued by tragedies and misfortune, not to mention a serious injury which causes him a great deal of pain from time to time.

A new relationship has suddenly brightened his outlook on life a bit, making him realize he's not quite as bitter and resistant to change as he thought he was. He finds himself enjoying new restaurants in Long Beach's hipster neighborhood, keeping a spare suit in his girlfriend's apartment, and even he is surprised to discover he likes watching Downton Abbey. All of this is tremendously gratifying to those who care about Beckett, especially his longtime partner, Jen Tanaka.

One night Danny and Jen get a call for what appears to be a suicide. But some quick detective work on Danny's part reveals that this was actually a murder, and the pair must identify the perpetrator. And while they seem to be on the right track, everything is derailed when one night, a bomb hidden in Danny's car detonates while it sits in a mechanic's shop. Suddenly there must be an investigation on who tried to kill Danny as well, and whether the two cases are related.

This new development leaves Danny paralyzed by fear, and eventually sidelines him from the murder investigation. Holed up in Jen's house for protection, he is at once both fearful and frustrated, wanting to solve the murder case while desperately trying to understand who would want him dead. His need for independence puts him in further danger and threatens to jeopardize his relationship with his colleagues, particularly Jen. But what happens when he has to decide between breaking the rules and saving a life, a life which might lead to answers?

I've commented before that Tyler Dilts really should be a household name. He's an excellent crime writer, but what makes his work stand out above so many others in this genre is his rich characterization and attention to plot, in addition to weaving mysteries Danny and Jen must solve. Come Twilight is the fourth book featuring Danny and Jen, and each time I read one of Dilts' books it feels like reuniting with old friends. (This being said, you don't have to read the books in order, although they do briefly mention things that happened in earlier books.)

I really enjoyed this book, and like Dilts' previous ones, I found myself emotionally invested in the plot and interested in seeing where things would lead. And if one major plot point wasn't a surprise to me, it didn't affect my enjoyment—if anything, the mystery is secondary to the plot and characters themselves.

If you like crime novels with complex, well-drawn characters, pick up Come Twilight or any of Dilts' three earlier books. Like me, you'll wonder why more people don't know who Tyler Dilts is, and perhaps you can help me figure out how we can change that.

Book Review: "I Will Send Rain" by Rae Meadows

I love it when a book slowly takes you by surprise, as you realize what on the surface seemed like a fairly simple story dazzles you with emotion and beauty of its telling, when a story about a family tested by difficult times and tragedy reveals its richness, layer by layer. Rae Meadows' newest book, I Will Send Rain, is definitely one of those books.

The town of Mulehead, Oklahoma, as with many towns in the Great Plains region of the U.S. in the mid-1930s, cannot escape the drought. It's wrecking havoc on farming families everywhere, including Annie Bell and her husband, Samuel, who moved to Oklahoma as homesteaders and little by little, built a farm they were proud of, then a family. But now the Bells are suffering—their crops yield little, and the whole town is paralyzed by the economic and emotional effects the drought is having.

When the dust storms start hitting Mulehead, the Bells truly feel they're close to rock bottom. Samuel, who tries valiantly to keep his farm limping along, is suddenly plagued by dreams of severe rain that he cannot explain, nor can he explain what he is compelled to do as a result of those dreams. Their 15-year-old daughter, Birdie, is in the flush of young love and wants much more out of life than Mulehead can offer her, but doesn't think anyone can understand her hopes and dreams, even if she is risking her chance at freedom. The Bells' young son, Fred, a sensitive, old soul, is plagued by dust pneumonia, and Annie herself finds herself tempted by a new admirer for the first time in her life, and is unable to understand the fervor of her husband's actions.

"More and more, he saw the drought as a test of faith. More and more, she feared the drought would free this tight coil of restlessness in her, expose her as someone less than steadfast."

As conditions in Mulehead worsen, Annie is torn between the path she has taken her entire life and the chance for something new, something that might offer her a way out of the crushing devastation the community is experiencing. But can she risk everything she has, everything she knows, for the slim hope of a chance? Does she really want to? And as Annie tries to make sense of what is happening to her family, her home, and her faith, she knows that problems won't simply be solved with much-needed rain, but she has to decide whether to see things through or finally live life for herself.

I thought this book was truly lovely, full of tension, emotion, anguish, and hope. Meadows so perfectly captured the anxiety and fears of this terrible period in American history, how people were affected and how they coped. As I mentioned earlier, this seemingly simple story of a family dealing with adversity packed so much power, so much beauty, that even when you had a feeling how certain plot threads might resolve themselves, you felt the story and these characters in your heart.

I'll admit that at first I was hesitant to read I Will Send Rain because historical fiction doesn't always resonate with me. But this book was really just so good, and Meadows' storytelling ability shone through a book which takes place in such a drab time and setting. This is a book—and an author—worth taking into your heart.

Book Review: "The Grand Tour" by Adam O'Fallon Price

Richard Lazar was once a writer with promise. His first novel garnered some acclaim but his subsequent work never quite connected with the public, and quickly disappeared. After two failed marriages and a disastrous relationship with his daughter, Richard finds himself fat, old, and drunk, and living in a trailer in the middle of Arizona.

"The nice part about being young wasn't really being young; it was not being old."

It's as much a surprise to him that his memoir of his time as a soldier in Vietnam has received some of the best reviews of his career. People are suddenly paying attention to him for the first time in his life, and more than that, they want to hear him read. His publisher sends him out on a book tour, although given his penchant for indulging in more than a healthy dose of "liquid courage" before a reading or interview, often with less-than-stellar results.

At a college in Washington, Richard meets Vance Allerby, the awkward young president of the Richard Lazar fan club. (There's currently only one member, but that could change at any time.) Vance's admiration of Richard borders on hero worship, and he is hoping Richard will read the novel Vance has been writing and give him advice, possibly open a few doors for him, so he can stop living with his troubled mother, working a dead-end job, and wondering if he will ever amount to anything. But his meeting Richard, and Richard's behavior during and after his scheduled reading, not to mention the advice he gives Vance, couldn't be further than what Vance had hoped.

To make it up to him, Richard invites Vance to drive him to the rest of the West Coast stops on his book tour. Vance jumps at the chance to spend more time with someone he admires, but he has no idea what he's in for. He doesn't realize that driving Richard means caring for, practically babysitting, Richard, and watching his self-destructive behavior continue declining. Richard never seems to learn his lesson, despite the toll this self-abuse is taking on his health, his relationships, and his literary reputation. But it's possible, too, that Richard isn't the only one in need of rescue.

"In a general sense, Vance felt he'd spent his whole life around adults who acted like children, who needed constant tending to and worrying over, and a glance at the passenger seat didn't help to dispel the feeling that he might easily take on the same role with Richard."

The Grand Tour is an interesting look at two men who couldn't be more different and yet who are strangely the same in many ways. This is a book about coping with lifelong disappointment no matter how long your life has been, and how even when you know what path you need to take to change things, you're often unable or even unwilling to follow it. It's also a book about the relationship between parent and child, both biological and surrogate, and how easy it is to let down those who care about us the most.

Adam O'Fallon Price does a good job in creating these characters who are definitely more than meets the eye, although that doesn't mean they're particularly sympathetic. The book takes a while to build up steam, and in some places reminded me of many other literary or cinematic road trips. After a while, though, the book really becomes a bit of a downer, because the characters never seem to make headway, and you wonder just how much worse Price can make their situations.

While somewhat predictable, Price does throw in a surprise or two. He's a talented writer, and despite their faults, he keeps you interested in his characters, even if you're not sure whether it's an empathetic interest or a can't-look-away-from-the-trainwreck kind of interest.

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

Book Review: "The Dream Life of Astronauts: Stories" by Patrick Ryan

So let me make one thing clear before you make the decision whether or not to read this collection of short stories based on the title: despite taking place at or around Cape Canaveral (in some cases simply in the same Florida county), the majority of these stories have nothing to do with astronauts.

While a few have the space program as a narrative thread within them (or at least mention something space-related in passing), for the most part, these well-written stories are about people who find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. Some are emotional, some are thought-provoking, and at least one was laugh-out-loud funny, and a few are interconnected with others in the collection.

Among my favorites in the collection were: "Earth, Mostly," in which a woman who is raising her granddaughter finds herself assigned to a driver's ed class after a traffic accident and is attracted to the instructor; "Go Fever," which is about a man whose coworker is convinced his wife is poisoning him (but that's just the tip of the iceberg); "Miss America," in which an aspiring Miss America contestant is taken to an audition with a less-than-reputable talent scout, while she is dealing with upheaval in her own life and her mother's; "Fountain of Youth," about a man in witness protection from the Mafia now living in a retirement community and matching wits with the power-hungry head of the condo board; "The Way She Handles," which tells of a young boy whose parents' marriage hits a rough patch with the arrival of his carefree uncle; and the beautiful title story, in which a young man is drawn to a former astronaut and is unprepared for what comes next.

While one or two of the stories didn't resonate for me as much as the ones I mentioned above, Patrick Ryan is a tremendously talented writer, and he created some memorable characters and situations I really enjoyed reading about. Although I felt that a few of the stories could have taken place anywhere and the connection with Cape Canaveral almost felt like an afterthought, it is the foibles of the human heart and our interactions with lovers, colleagues, family members, children, and strangers that powered these stories and imbued them with impact.

I am continually amazed at the immense talent among those individuals writing short stories today, and Ryan definitely belongs in this community. If you like short stories, this is a collection worth reading, even if you're not a space enthusiast. I look forward to seeing what's next in his career.

Book Review: "You Will Know Me" by Megan Abbott

While the so-called "mystery" part of this book held about as much suspense as whether Ryan Lochte and his swimming compatriots were actually robbed at gunpoint in Rio, You Will Know Me further cemented Megan Abbott's talent as one of the best creators of mean girls (and adults, for that matter) that is currently writing.

"And so gymnastics became the center, the mighty spine of everything for them."

Katie and Eric Knox have given nearly everything in pursuit of their daughter Devon's dreams of becoming a gymnastics superstar. But while many parents would let their children's dreams override any semblance of a normal life for their family, Devon isn't just any aspiring gymnast—her coach believes she can make it all the way to the Olympics. So do the other parents whose children practice in the same gym Devon does—they know their children simply orbit around the planetary force Devon represents and hope that simply being in her presence and watching her might pay off.

Katie and Eric barely have a minute for their "real" lives outside of practices, coaching sessions, and meets. Fortunately their precocious young son Drew is content to watch his sister and occupy himself, so he doesn't appear to mind that he play second fiddle to his sister. And while Katie is the one who spends most of her time shuttling Devon back and forth, Eric has taken an increased role as head of the gym's booster club, and isn't afraid to use his handsome charm when necessary to get things he wants for the gym, especially when they could impact Devon's chances of success.

And then the sudden death of a member of their close-knit gym family throws them all for a loop, and threatens to disrupt Devon's progress toward the tournament for which she has been practicing, which in turn, causes ripples for the other girls and their families. Eric tries to take charge and do what's best for Devon and, by extension, the gym, but Katie starts to wonder if all of that effort, all of the hungry ambition is worth it. Is it worth turning these young girls into women while their bodies don't catch up? Is it worth all of the sacrifice, the hurt, the fears, the destruction of people's lives?

"That was what gymnastics did, though. It aged girls and kept them young forever at the same time."

The more rumors swirl around the gym community, the more Katie tries to figure out just what happened and what, if any role her husband played in the tragedy, while hoping not to discover the actual answers. But as she gets to see the full scope of Devon's ambitions, and all that people will do to ensure their star reaches the heights they believe she is destined for, Katie doesn't know whether to be repulsed or to root for her daughter with all of her might.

Especially in the midst of the 2016 Olympic Games, this book was definitely intriguing, and it's probably a lot more realistic than it might seem at first glance. Abbott created a particularly odious group of characters, most of whom had slightly noble intentions but lost them somewhere along the way. (Those who aren't utterly unlikable are pretty freaking clueless.) This is the third of Abbott's books I've read (after Dare Me and The Fever) which boasts such a motley, well-drawn crew of miscreants.

While this book is certainly entertaining, as I mentioned earlier, you can see the resolution of the "mystery" coming from a mile away. I guess if this book hadn't been peddled so hard as a mystery I might not have cared, but that was the one piece of the book that didn't work for me. This was a fairly fascinating and timely look at the single-minded pursuit of dreams and just how far people would go, but it didn't grab me as much as I hoped it would.

Still, this is a slightly creepy look at the group think of helicopter parents and people who live vicariously through their children's accomplishments. Perhaps you'll recognize someone you know in one of the characters—I certainly did!

Book Review: "A Tragic Kind of Wonderful" by Eric Lindstrom

Mental illness is something many people, including teenagers, live with every day. Yet all too often, these people force themselves to deal with their illness in secret, hiding the truth from loved ones and friends for fear they'll be treated differently, that people will expect less (or more) of them, and that they'll always be thought of as a person with a mental illness rather than simply a person. But of course, not letting those they care about see the truth means that they aren't willing to let themselves be truly known.

"I can't let anyone know what really happened, or what's wrong with me. I can't bear the thought of how they'd look at me, and treat me, if they knew how many pills I take every morning just to act more or less like everybody else."

For 16-year-old Mel Hannigan, life with bipolar disorder is a daily struggle, yet only her parents and her aunt, as well as one friend of her grandmother's, know what she is dealing with. During one particularly bleak period she stayed out of school and isolated herself from her closest friends, so they believed the lies of another friend, and ended their relationship with her. And although she's found new friends, she keeps them at arm's length, never letting them truly see the real Mel.

As Mel tries dealing with the re-emergence of emotions around her old friends, she meets someone new, someone she'd like to pursue a relationship with. But how can she let him in when she knows he won't like the real her, when if he knows the truth he'll treat her differently and always want to hover over her and wonder when her next cycle will be? As she tries to keep her emotions in check around relationships new and old, she also must come to terms with a tragedy from her past, and figure out exactly how she can live in its shadow.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is beautiful, heartbreaking, and so accurate in its portrayal of the many shades of bipolar disorder. Eric Lindstrom so perfectly captured Mel's voice through her ups and downs (the downs, which manifest them as ups, are eerie and so candidly portrayed), and how each person in her family deals with her condition. The book also captured the teenage attitude and dialogue without being overly precocious—you can hear these characters saying the things they do in the book without wondering if there really are 25-year-olds inside of them.

This is a book about realizing your problems are too big for only you to handle them, and the importance of trusting people and letting them in, but at the same time recognizes the value and necessity of self-protection. It's a book about letting ourselves feel, and not being afraid to admit how and when we're hurting. And this is an important book for those struggling to understand just what mental illness can do to a person.

I'm always loath to compare books to others, but I'll admit that this reminded me a bit of Jennifer Niven's fantastic All the Bright Places, but more for its honesty and its heart than anything else. They're two wholly different and equally superlative books. Read them both, because they're both tremendously exquisite.

NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!