Be Brave

Remember writing book reports during high school?

Oh, how I dreaded book reports. Other than Speech class and a consistently heckling tormentor, book reports were the absolute worst part of high school.

Here, I’ll be brave, though, to be more accurate, these are book reviews. I’ll tell you a little something about the things I’ve read and enjoyed so far this year. (In future pieces, keep an eye out for TV series and movies I’ve been watching this year.)

Hannah, Kristin. The Women.

Ms. Hannah writes women’s fiction, stories about powerful, capable women, in harrowing circumstances. The Women has summited a lot of lists, and for good reason. My wife and I usually read very different literature. Ms. Hannah’s work is something we both enjoy. We’ve read The Great Alone, The Four Winds, The Nightingale, and others.

Shortened synopsis: In 1965, nursing student Frankie McGrath defies her upbringing and joins the Army Nurse Corps to serve in Vietnam, facing the chaos and destruction of war and confronting the challenges of coming home to a changed and divided America. This powerful novel follows Frankie and her veteran friends as they navigate the battlefield and the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, 54,000 American lives were lost. An entire generation has suffered that loss, the cost of untreated or under-treated PTSD, and the national divide created by that conflict’s unclear purpose. Ms. Hannah’s literary prowess, exemplary storytelling, and extraordinary research into the Vietnam War and the women involved in that conflict shine in this must-read novel.

King, Stephen. Holly.

I’m not a fan of the horror genre, but King is an extraordinary writer and storyteller. No surprise, there.

Shortened synopsis: When Penny Dahl enlists the help of the Finders Keepers detective agency to locate her missing daughter, Bonnie, reluctant investigator Holly is drawn into the case despite personal hardships. The trail leads to Professors Rodney and Emily Harris, seemingly respectable but harboring a dark secret in their home, making it difficult for Holly to outwit them in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

My current work-in-progress contains two timelines. One takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic. A writer friend, a trad-published author who I have tons of respect for, suggested I read King’s Holly to see how the master had handled that horrid period of recent world history and multiple timelines.

So, I read the novel. And loved it. The plot (no spoilers) is horrific and still gives me chills to think about. As I hoped, though, I learned a lot about how to twine timelines, remain chronological throughout the story, and deal with the pandemic, which is still a sore subject for us to traipse through.

Smale, Holly. Cassandra in Reverse.

This unique novel was recommended by a friend in our local book club and was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.

Though the storytelling is far from a normal, linear progression, I found it easy to step into the plot starting on page one.

Tagline: “If you had the power to change the past…where would you start?”

Shortened synopsis: Cassandra Penelope Dankworth, a creature of habit, finds her life upended when she is suddenly dumped, fired, and faced with the small inconvenience of her favorite café running out of banana muffins. However, her world takes a truly unexpected turn when she discovers she can go back and change the past. As she attempts to fix the life she inadvertently destroyed, Cassie soon realizes that she may be focusing on the wrong things. This delightful and poignant story delves into the complexities of second chances and the unexpected twists of fate.

Cassandra in Reverse is a good read. It’s engaging, funny, and often poignant. The tale is like the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, in the end, our main character has grown. Maybe we, the readers, have too.

McCarthy, Cormac. All The Pretty Horses.

(If you are a devout McCarthy fan, please stop right here.)

This American treasure of an author can paint a picture with his words like no one else can. I loved the prose in this novel, one set in Texas and Northern Mexico during the 1940s, enjoyed the vivid imagery from a time we have forgotten, and admired McCarthy’s building of relatable characters.

However (I warned you), in the end, I was asking what was the story all about. I felt the main character, John Grady Cole, had lived through some harrowing times but hadn’t grown a lick. Sure, on poetic merit alone, or as literary fiction, All The Pretty Horses is worth the read. But what did Cole want? What did he accomplish? Would he ever evolve?

Shortened synopsis: All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood.

Verghese, Abraham. The Covenant of Water.

Mr. Verghese is an overachiever—in the extreme. As well as an award-winning author of four books, he is Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine and Vice Chair of Education at Stanford University Medical School, was elected to be a member of the Institute of Medicine, has received the National Humanities Medal, and, in his spare time, co-hosts a medical podcast.

Published in 2023, The Covenant of Water was an Oprah’s Book Club pick.

From Wikipedia: “The novel tells the story of an Indian Malayali family living in southwest India, in the Kerala state, with the narrative spanning three generations, from 1900 to the 1970s.”

What made this novel special to me was how, even though this story takes place decades in the past and in an environment foreign to me, the conflicts within family dynamics, health concerns, phobias, their roots, and battles with Mother Nature are very relatable. The beauty of Verghese’s prose and the strength of his storytelling immerse the reader in a place and time outside of our own but with such style, you won’t want to put this novel down.

Grann, David. The Wager.

This non-fiction masterpiece was another of our book club’s picks. It was recommended by one of our members who loves—and remembers a lot about—history. The full title is The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. The Wager was also published in 2023.

"[Grann is] one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine

Mr. Grann is well known for his exemplary research and descriptive writing style. He is also the author of Killers of the Flower Moon (a horrific piece of America’s often ugly history), The Lost City of Z, and The Devil & Sherlock Holmes.

Shortened synopsis: In 1742, a group of thirty emaciated men washed up on the coast of Brazil, survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager. They told a harrowing tale of being marooned on a desolate island after their ship wrecked while chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon. Initially hailed as heroes, their story took a dark turn when another group of castaways landed on the coast of Chile, claiming the first group were actually mutineers. Accusations of treachery and murder led to a court martial to determine the truth, with the potential penalty being death for those found guilty. This gripping true story delves into the complexities of human survival and morality in the face of extreme adversity.

Quinn, Kate. The Diamond Eye and The Huntress.

A good friend and fellow member of our book club suggested this author to me. In The Diamond Eye and The Huntress, both of which I have read, strong female protagonists from erstwhile “enemy states” burst onto the scene and kick ass. Quinn’s engaging historical fiction draws us in and keeps us up reading her novels well into the night.

Amazon: “Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.”

And for The Huntress, this tagline: “In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…”

The Huntress, a female Russian bomber pilot who battled invading nazis during WWII, finds herself in post-war Boston. When she is pitted against our protagonist, seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride, that’s when the shit hits the fan. Ms. Quinn scripts a tale that the reader must grip tightly, as this novel is one where you want to keep track of who’s who—in their various personas and conflicts.

Sensibilities (as an author)

As a means of calibrating to the ever-changing contemporary “Young Adult” category of novels and their content, I’ve been reading YA novels by John Green. In a search of popular YA novels, Green’s name popped up several times. And though I’m sure I could write while using “bad” words—because I do know them—and might envisage the “adult” parts of a story like Mr. Green has, I’m quite certain I will never write such stories. For me, it’s about sensibilities.

I don’t write to the Christian market—where it’s not what’s included in a story but what is not—but I’m not cut out to write such language and scenes as Mr. Green and other such authors. I like it when my seventeen-year-old granddaughter reads one of my stories. And, with her in mind, I have to live with what I have written.

Currently, I’m reading Beastly Beauty by Jennifer Donnelly.

I enjoyed her historical fiction A Northern Light. I even emailed her about that novel and how I was studying it and her style to improve as a writer. Ms. Donnelly replied to my email, providing a sweet missive with many encouraging words.

Tagline: “The only way to tame the beast is to set her free.”

Shortened synopsis: Arabella, facing the pressure to be sweet and compliant in society, is cursed and trapped in a castle with everyone she cares about. Abandoning hope, she believes the curse is her fault and she is impossible to love. When a handsome thief named Beau enters the castle, the captive servants hope he can break the curse, but he only wants to escape. To break the curse, Arabella and Beau must learn to trust their wounded hearts and realize that the cruelest prisons are the ones we build for ourselves. This captivating story delves into the complexities of love, self-perception, and breaking free from internal prisons.

So, there you have my book reports reviews (my teachers would cringe).

What are you enjoying these days?