Cinder and Scarlet: Books 1 and 2 of the Lunar Chronicles
Another my-students-made-me-read-it, but this time with good reason. I was hesitant because the covers, and even the author's name, remind me of Twilight and I have had it up.to.here with Twilight-esque fiction. That's just the marketing here, thank goodness. These books are a great departure from the norm, for the most part, of what I'm seeing in young adult/teen fiction. The author takes fairy tales (Cinderella and Red Riding Hood, and apparently I can look forward to Rapunzel in the third book) and plops them into a futuristic version of Earth, with powerful personalities and interesting forms (Cinderella is a cyborg--what? I had to look that up). I admit it wasn't love at first sight because of some clunky writing but after about a third of the first book I was hooked. Highly recommend for teens (boys and girls) and those who like archetypes turned on their heads. The only surprise that is becoming less surprising is some hot and heavy kissing in the second book. I think I'm going to have to talk to my daughter about this stuff way too soon based on the books she'll be reading. Does anyone else see this as a growing trend in YA books, or am I just more sensitive to it now that I have a tweenager?
Fiction by Kathleen Grissom
Has everyone read this book except me? It came out a few years ago, but suddenly I just started seeing the title everywhere. It's a first novel by this author and is stunningly written. However, I almost quit because it just seemed too hard. Not difficult to understand, but difficult to sleep at night after reading. A young Irish girl loses her parents to illness while crossing to America in the early 1800's and is taken on as an indentured servant by the southern, slave-owning captain. She grows up with the black slaves but is suddenly treated as a white woman when events take a turn. Everyone, and I mean everyone, suffers in this book. It is heart wrenching from start to finish. I loved the people, though, really loved them not as characters but as my sisters and grandmothers, so I kept reading. Just guard your heart as you read.
Fiction by Elisabeth Gifford
It just struck me that this title also ends in "house" and is also a debut novel. It's funny how titles comes in waves, like all of the "so and so's wife" books that I read last year (check it out here). I think if I had to pick a favorite vacation read, this would be it. I handed it off to my grandma (take that back to the library when you're done, please, GG) because she was out of books and I really enjoyed it. There's a parallel story of two occupants of the same house on a Scottish island; the lives of a minister in the 1800's and a young couple in the 1990's intertwine in surprising, mysterious, yet sweet ways. I love the idea of telling stories about the same house, which has been done in multiple books by Anita Shreve, one of which is The Pilot's Wife (oh, the trends). I also love stories about England, as you know. This book just kind of did it for me. I hope my grandma liked it, too.
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Fiction by Ann Patchett
Oh, but Ann Patchett is amazing. This is her first and I didn't know it existed. What a find. A young, pregnant, but married woman goes to a home for unwed mothers in Kentucky in 1969 and never leaves. The characters are rich, the story telling is simple but woven well, and the idea is just so interesting. I'm going to give this one directly to my mom, so I suppose I'd have to say it's my second favorite of the month. The only disappointment was the abrupt ending. You just KNOW there's more to the story. Does the daughter find out a secret she almost guesses? Does the mom...I can't say. Aarg. Read it! Comment!
I still have a few library books waiting to be read, plus some research books for my next manuscript (a history of adoption in Washington State, and a book on the Society of Friends Church aka Quakers). I'm working on my query letter to send my first manuscript out to agents AGAIN. There's always so much to read and write, and never enough time!
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