All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis

All The Children Are Home by Patry Francis

Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 9780063045446

Trade paperback, $16.99, 384 pages

Sometimes you finish a book that touches your heart so that when you finish it, you want to immediately turn to the first page and begin reading it all over again; Patry Francis' novel, All The Children Are Home, is such a book.

Set in 1959 in a small town near Boston, Dahlia and her husband Louie Moscatelli have a home with three foster children- teenagers Jimmy and Zaidie, and Zaidie's younger brother Jon. They have a tightknit family. One day a social worker asks them to take in a eight year-old girl named Agnes on an temporary emergency placement.

Dahlia and Louie have agreed "no more emergencies", but Dahlia relents and accepts Agnes. Agnes is very small for her age, she suffered from a failure to thrive as an infant, and has come from a bad placement. One of the saddest things in her story is that she only learned her colors from the Jello she ate in the hospital.

Agnes is part Native American, and her previous foster father treated her cruelly because of that. When she arrived at Dahlia and Louie's, the other children were immediately protective of Agnes. Being allowed to eat at the table with the family was new to her, and the other children teach her everything she needs to know. Zaidie gives Agnes her shamrock barrettes, and Jimmy teaches her how to play baseball.

Dahlia is an agoraphobic, spending her days doing puzzles, watching soap operas, and reading Reader's Digest condensed books from the library. Louie works long hours as a mechanic, and although he is gruff, he is kind to the children, slipping them money to get candy at the store. Agnes says that Dahlia is "a shadow- always present, but less real than everything around her." We eventually discover the reason behind that.

The neighbors don't like the Moscatellis, frequently complaining about the children. Some of the kids at school are cruel to them as well, and Jimmy seems to suffer more than the others as he grows older. Zaidie is smart and organized, she has goals in life, even taping photos of her heroes- Eleanor Roosevelt among them- on her wall for inspiration.

All The Children Are Home is about what it means to be a family. This family is not perfect in the eyes of the world, but they are to each other. They face many challenges as the children grow older, and how this family loves and supports each other in the face of disdain from neighbors and harassment from schoolmates is heartwarming, heartbreaking and hopeful. I read this book in one day and I will be recommending it to everyone. With unforgettable characters, it is simply one of the best books I have read in a long time.

My review of Patry Francis' previous novel, The Orphans of Race Point,  is here.

Santa Monica by Cassidy Lucas

Santa Monica by Cassidy Lucas

Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 9780063018440

Trade paperback, $16.99, 448 pages

Fans of Liane Moriarty's books should make room on their shelves for Cassidy Lucas' debut novel, Santa Monica. Set in a wealthy enclave of Santa Monica, we have sex, adultery, secret relationships, immigration issues, an unexplained death and so much more in this propulsive page-turner.

Zack is the sexy trainer that all the ladies in his exercise classes pine after. When he is found dead by his half-sister Leticia, an undocumented worker from Mexico, the book grabs us and never lets us go until the very end.

The story moves back in time five months and we discover that Leticia cleans house for several wealthy families in Santa Monica, including Mel Goldberg, a Brooklyn transplant. Mel's husband Adam wrote a hot screenplay and now they have made the move to Hollywood.

Adam has settled into the Hollywood scene, but Mel misses her business, her friends, and pretty much everything about Brooklyn. She doesn't fit in with the thin, blonde, surgically enhanced women who spend a lot of time at the gym where Zack works. She's a little overweight, and openly speaks her mind on  everything, including her politics, which differ from many of the other women.

Her one friend Regina is an exercise addict, and convinces Mel to host an exercise class at her house. Zack is the instructor and he finds himself drawn to Mel, which enrages Regina, who has her eye on Zack. Regina has involved Zack in a shady financial scheme which she hopes will get her out of debt before her husband finds out.

Zack doesn't want anyone to know that Leticia is his half-sister. Leticia works several housecleaning jobs, babysitting jobs, dog walking jobs, anything she can to support herself and her young son, who is disabled after an accident. Zack feels guilty, and tries to help Leticia in any way he can, and he adores his nephew.

All of these stories circle each other until they collide. The juxtaposition of the wealthy Santa Monica residents and people like Zack and Leticia, who scramble everyday to keep their heads above water, is thought-provoking. Leticia's fear of being discovered by ICE agents, deported and having to leave her son gives the reader a window into the daily stress of living with that fear.

The characters here are multi-dimensional. We see their good sides and the bad decisions they make; we root for them to make good choices and cringe when when they don't. When a book gets me that me invested, I know it's good read. There are also some very steamy sex scenes here that will raise your pulse like you just took a strenuous class at the exercise studio. 

Santa Monica is a stellar debut, a satisfying mystery with incisive social commentary. I hope to read more from Cassidy Lucas and I can see this as an HBO miniseries, ala Big Little Lies. I recommend it, I read it in one day as I couldn't put it down. 

 

New in Paperback- The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 9780062220516
Trade paperback, $15.99, 352 pages

Jacqueline Winspear is best known for her series of Maisie Dobbs novels, about a female private investigator in London during WWI. I love all of the books, and I look forward to catching up every year with Maisie and the gang.

This year, Winspear has written a stand alone book, also set in WWI England. The Care and Management of Lies introduces us to Thea and Kezia, two young women who met at Camden School for girls and became best friends.

They both became teachers, and Kezia fell in love with Thea's younger brother Tom and married him. Kezia left teaching to become a farmer's wife, which was a big change from her life as a pastor's daughter.

Kezia didn't know anything about being a farmer's wife, but she impressed Tom with her hard work and diligence in learning her farm duties and how to cook for the farm workers and her husband. She studied Tom's mother's recipe books, and gradually gained enough confidence to experiment with herbs and new sauces.

Thea lived in London where she taught at a private school. She became politically active in the suffragette movement, and when it looked like England was going to get involved in the war in Europe, Thea became involved in the peace movement.

She handed out fliers and attended rallies. But pacifism was not a popular approach in a country that was becoming more patriotic about supporting the war cause. When Kezia visited Thea, she began to fear her sister-in-law's new strident views. Thea saw her friend as becoming too complacent.

Soon it became clear that Tom would have to volunteer to join the army, and so he left Kezia and few of his workers to run the farm. Tom ran afoul of a sergeant whose strategy was to pick on one soldier and make everyone in the unit turn against the soldier as a way to build troop loyalty. Tom became that soldier, and things became very difficult for him.

His saving grace were the letters Kezia wrote him, describing in great detail the meals that she made for Tom. She made it seem as if Tom were right there, and soon the entire unit begged Tom to read the letters aloud.

Kezia didn't tell Tom all that was happening at the farm; she didn't want Tom to worry. And Tom's letters to Kezia didn't mention the horrifying conditions in France- the rats (which are described in terribly vivid and awful detail), the bad food, the fighting and losing so many men.

If you enjoy reading about food, this book is for you. Reading about Kezia's cooking is a fascinating look at the evolution of a cook at that time; the foods they ate, and the inventive recipes that Kezia created are so vivid, you can almost taste them.

I wasn't sure that I would like this book without Maisie, and while it took me awhile to become involved, I fell in love with these characters. Kezia is such a strong woman, I admired her ability to grow and take on new responsibilities. Tom is an honorable man, and when he gets into a jam, the scene where it is resolved is as tense as any great thriller novel. I was biting my nails.

Thea grew as well, taking what could have been a bad situation and owning it, making the lives of those around her better. All of these characters face great upheaval in their lives, and they deal with that with grit and grace, I wonder if modern day characters would fare as well.

Fans of the Maisie Dobbs series will enjoy these new characters in a familiar setting, and it's depiction of strong women is inspirational. Winspear has done it again.

rating 4 of 5
Jacqueline Winspear's website is here.

BEA 15- Harper Bloggers Fall Preview

One of my favorite events every year at the Book Expo of America, the annual publishing conference held at the Javits Center, is HarperCollins Blogger Fall Preview. Publicists and marketing directors from the many HarperCollins imprints share the upcoming books that they are most excited about, and I enjoy this event because we get to talk to the Harper folks outside of the BEA craziness and we get to see our blogger friends whom we usually only see once a year.

 Harper started off the presentation, and they had lots of books that I can't wait to read. The big one, of course, is Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman, her sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, which Lee actually wrote before Mockingbird. I don't know of one person who cannot wait to read this one.

Author Meg Waite Clayton is going in a new direction with her next book, The Race for Paris, the story of two women, one a reporter and the other a photographer, who are trying to make it to Paris to cover the end of WWII. This one is aimed at fans of books like Paula McClain's The Paris Wife. 

Mary Karr's last memoir Lit, is one of my all-time favorite books, and her newest is The Art of Memoir. She shares insights into the struggles and triumphs in the craft of writing, and finding yourself and your voice in the process.

I always look forward to Adriana Trigiani's books, and her new one is All The Stars in The Heavens, which goes back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, basing her her book on a true story. If you love old movies, this is for you.

Harper Perennial shared some books that intrigued me as well. Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor have the #1 podcast on Itunes called Welcome to Night Vale, which has been described as "Lake Wobegon meets Stephen King", and is a hit with 20-somethings. They had a huge signing line at BEA, and this book is sure to be big.

 Rachel B. Glaser's debut novel, Paulina and Fran, is about two art school students. This is a sexy, funny, fast read with YA crossover appeal, and the cover art is very eye-catching and 1970s retro.

Melissa DeCarlo's debut novel, The Art of Crash Landing is one for fans of Lianne Moriarty and Jojo Moyes. It was described as "smart, sweet, hilarious and difficult not to fall in love with."

Harper 360 showed a video made by spoken word poet Steven Camden (whose stage name is Polar Bear) talking about his novel It's About Love. Luke is young man living in the shadow of his brother who goes away to school to follow his passion and find a fresh start. He meets a young woman named Leia and it's all about love. This video really intrigued me and made me want to read this book.

Goddess is Kelly Gardiner's novel based on real 17th century woman, Julie d'Aubigny, who is described as "a cross between Kate Middleton and Lady Gaga". This one is for fans of Sarah Waters and Hilary Mantel, and again, the cover art is mesmerizing.

Morrow Paperbacks had lots of great stuff, especially for book clubs. Kim van Alkemade's debut novel Orphan #8 tells the story of a young orphan girl in 1919 New York City who is sent to a home for orphans where a doctor performs medical experiments on her that disfigure her. Years later she grows up, becomes a nurse and ends up working at the same place the doctor is now practicing. Does she forgive or seek vengeance? This one is tops on my TBR list.

The Sparrow Sisters by former publicist Ellen Herrick is mystical love story along the lines of Practical Magic and Saving Cee Cee Hunnicutt, and lots of us were interested in this one.

Lisa Ballantyne's Everything She Forgot is suspense mystery about a woman who gets into a car accident and is rescued by a stranger who then disappears. In the aftermath, childhood memories come to her and a family mystery is revealed.

From William Morrow, Stephen P. Kiernan's The Hummingbird tells the story of a hospice nurse dealing with two men- her husband, a veteran who has PTSD and a patient of hers, an elderly old curmudgeonly professor. It's a lovely story about relationships, marriage, friendship and human dignity.

Ben McPherson's A Line of Blood is a thriller about a family- father, mother and son- who find their neighbor's dead body and when the police suspect them, the family crumbles. This is more of a domestic drama than psychological thriller.

Homer Hickam, who wrote a memoir October Sky, wrote a Depression-era novel titled Carrying Albert Home, about a couple who drive 1000 miles with their alligator in their car. Along the way they encounter John Steinbeck and bank robbers, among others. It's called a 'cross between Big Fish and The Notebook', and that sounds irresistible to me.

I've got a lot of reading ahead of me, I hope you've found something here that interests you as well.

BEA14- Speed Dating with Publishers

BookReporter.com has been hosting a Book Group Speed Dating session at BEA for the past few years, and each year it grows bigger and bigger. This year, over 200 participants heard from 21 publishers about their upcoming books that would be perfect for book clubs.

The participants, many of them librarians and bloggers, sit eight to a table and the publishers rotate from table to table talking about their books. It's very well organized and always a great, informative event.

At my table, we heard from Mary at Harper Perennial. She talked about these books:

• This Is The Water-by Yannick Murphy, about a murder on a girls' swim team and the parents who try to find the killer.
• We Are Water- by Wally Lamb that tells the story of a marriage, artistic expression and the secrets a family keeps that can harm for generations. This is coming out in paperback, and I read it in hardcover, it's another thought-provoking Wally Lamb novel. My review is here.
• What I Had Before I Had You- a debut novel from Sarah Cornwell is coming out in paperback in August as well. I read this one too, and it is heartbreaking look at how bi-polar disorder affects a family. My review is here. 
• Sea Creatures- by Susanna Daniel is described as a "beautifully written" domestic drama about a woman who has to choose between her husband and her son. This one intrigues me.
• The First Phone Call From Heaven- by Mitch Albom is coming out in paperback in October, and would be a good holiday book club read.
• This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage- by Ann Patchett is coming out in paperback in October as well. I loved this book of essays that tells the story of Ann's life, from childhood to a first marriage to finding her voice in writing to a successful second marriage and her new career as a bookstore owner. My review is here.

Carla and Hannah from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt shared their thoughts on these books:

• Wonderland by Stacey D'Erasmo is a stunning debut novel about a female rock star looking to "find the artist within."
• The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances- by Ellen Conley is a redemptive novel about a young woman who signs up to train dogs at a sanctuary, where she learns about friendship from the dogs.
• The Lion Seeker- by Kenneth Bonert is an immigrant saga, an "epic event" about a Jewish immigrant living in Johannesburg after WWII. This one is perfect for Jewish and male book groups.
• Florence Gordon- by Brian Morton has a New York City setting and is a novel about a 75-year-old "feisty feminist" who teaches her granddaughter about feminism, and unwillingly ends up in the middle of her family's catastrophes. This is one I really want to read.
• Fire Shut Up In My Bones- by Charles M. Blow, a New York Times columnist who writes about finding his voice after a painful childhood in Louisiana. It's also about the community he grew up in, as well as sexual politics, and has garnered great reviews.
• Falling From Horses- by Molly Gloss has also gotten great reviews and is called "good old-fashioned storytelling" about a cowboy who goes to Hollywood to become a stunt rider and meets a woman who wants to be movie star.
• The Jaguar's Children- by John Valliant is a novel that HMH is very high on. It's a page-turning thriller about a man hiding in the back of a truck trying to sneak into the US from Mexico. The truck stops and he only has a cell phone that has government secrets on it. 

Liveright, a new imprint to me from Norton, had some intriguing books.

• Epilogue: A Memoir by Will Boast has an awesome cover- a school photo of the young author. It's the true story of a young man who loses his family only to find a deeply hidden secret that changes everything.
• Internal Medicine: A Doctor's Stories- by Terrence Holt is another true story, a collection of stories written by an emergency room doctor about the cases and people he has met in his work. 
• The Last Days of California- by Mary Miller about a family who travels across country by car preparing for the Rapture. It was called "Carson McCullers meets Karen Thompson Walker" and Miller has an "incredibly strong voice." This would be a good YA pick too.

Norton shared three books.

• An Italian Wife- by Ann Hood is one I really want to read. It tells the story of a 15-year-old Italian girl arranged to marry a man who moves to the US. She follows ten years later, where she and her husband have seven children, one of whom belongs to the man she really loved. It is portrait of America from 1890s-1970s, with "lots of love and sex".
• Orfeo- by Richard Powers is a novel about science, music and love and is called Powers' most emotional book yet.
• The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol has received terrific reviews and will be out in paperback in October. It is about immigrants and families, changes from the Old World to the New World, and has been compared to Jhumpa Lahiri's The Intrepreter of Maladies.

I will cover the books presented by Soho, Simon & Schuster, Picador and Penguin in a post next week.

The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis

The Orphans of Race Point by Patry Francis
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0-06-228130-2
Trade paperback, $15.99, 544 pages

Almost exactly a year ago, I read an early copy of Anthony Marra's The Constellation of Vital Phenomena and was so knocked out by it, I told anyone who would listen (and even some who wouldn't) to read this book. I was so thrilled when it began to get great buzz and win many awards.

Reading Patry Francis' The Orphans of Race Point made me feel the same way. From the very first page, I fell in love with the story and the writing and the characters. Reading it, I was lost in the pages, and when people spoke to me, I did not hear them. I wanted to race through it, yet at the same time savor this incredible story and not have it ever end.

It begins in 1978, with nine-year-old Hallie Costa, whose mother died tragically in a drunk driving accident and whose father is the town's beloved doctor, willing to help anyone in anyway he can, whether medically or assisting them with a family situation.

Her father is called to a neighbor's home where a woman was murdered by her husband and their nine-year-old son Gus had been found catatonic in a closet. It was thought he witnessed the murder of his mother, but he was too traumatized to talk.

Hallie's dad Nick went to visit Gus, and after a five hour staring contest in which Nick "looked into Gus' sorrows and he looked into" Nick's, Gus spoke his first words in weeks- "I give." Hallie and her friend Neil, who was Gus' best friend, visited Gus every day, and Hallie came up with the idea of reading David Copperfield to him. She thought the story of an orphan who mades good might inspire Gus.

By the time they are in high school, Gus has become a football hero. He and Neil are still best friends, and Gus and Hallie have fallen in love. An incident happens at a beach party, and Gus' turbulent past plays a part in it, changing the three friends' lives forever.

Fast forward and Gus has become a priest, Neil is an actor and Hallie is a doctor like her dad. Father Gus is approached by a woman who has been beaten by her husband and asks for his help. Father Gus advises her to get away from her husband and offers to help her, but the situation escalates and Gus is convicted of a murder he did not commit.

This amazing story has so many compelling elements to it- there is the murder mystery, the love story and the true meaning of faith, friendship and family. The way it deals with faith and family also reminded me of Jennifer Haigh's gorgeous Faith, with its story of a priest mistakenly accused of a crime. The family that Hallie creates with people who are literal and figurative orphans is a beautiful one, and shows us that you don't need to be related to truly love someone deeply.

Like Constellation, Francis weaves her story elements together to a surprising conclusion. I did not see it coming in any way, and was as blindsided just as much as the characters were. The writing is lovely and the characters Francis creates are so real, I wanted to reach out to these lost souls. I don't know who I could call my favorite- Hallie _"dutiful on her dad's side, unruly on her mom's side", Gus, who cared deeply for his flock and yet led a tortured life, or "misfit princess" Mila, the murdered woman's daughter.

There are too many powerful scenes to choose a favorite- Hallie reading to young Gus, Mila visiting Gus in prison, Hallie ministering to her ill father, Nick's talk with Gus at the cottage- they all just touched my heart in a profoundly unforgettable way.

The Orphans of Race Point is the must-read book this year. It is big- over 500 pages- but you will find yourself lost in the lives of these loving, sometimes tragic, people. If you happen to see me anywhere, I warn you, I will tell you- READ THIS BOOK.

rating 5 of 5
My review of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena is here.
My review of Faith is here.
Patry Francis' website is here.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Patry Francis' tour. The rest of the tour is here.

Tuesday, May 6th: The Book Wheel

Wednesday, May 7th: Tutu’s Two Cents

Thursday, May 8th: bookchickdi

Friday, May 9th: Sweet Southern Home

Monday, May 12th: Book-alicious Mama

Wednesday, May 14th: 5 Minutes For Books

Tuesday, May 20th: All Things Girl

Wednesday, May 21st: Doing Dewey

Thursday, May 22nd: BoundbyWords

Tuesday, May 27th: My Book Retreat

The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker

The Golem and The Jinni by Helene Wecker
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0-06-211084-8
Trade paperback, $15.99, 484 pages

I had heard a lot of great things about Helene Wecker's debut novel, The Golem and The Jinni, but not being a big fan of fantasy, I didn't read it...until now. I tore through this 484-page novel, and loved being dropped into the Arabian desert of hundreds of years ago and turn of the 20th century New York City following the adventures of trapped jinni and lost golem.

We all know what a jinni is (1001 Nights  and TV's I Dream of Jeannie), but this jinni follows the folklore more than the fantasy of something that can grant three wishes. This jinni is freed from the copper flask where he has been trapped for hundreds of years and ends up working as a tinsmith in a shop in the Little Syria section of New York City in the early 1900s.

The Golem in the story reminded me of Frankenstein. She was created out of clay (and other things) to be a wife for a man who dies on a boat from Europe to New York City. The Golem ends up in New York City, all alone and unsure of what to do. A rabbi finds her, recognizes her for what she is and takes her in.

Along the way we find out how the jinni came to be trapped and who is stalking him. The evil person who created the golem comes looking for her when he discovers her master has died. A doctor who performed an exorcism that left him blind ends up in New York working in Little Syria as an impoverished ice cream vendor, and  ends up involved with the jinni.

The jinni, called Ahmad, and the golem, named Chava by the Rabbi, live their lives, but are truly strangers in a strange land. Ahmad works as a tinsmith by day and wanders the city by night. Chava works in a bakery and at night takes in work as a seamstress as she requires no sleep.

Ahmad and Chava eventually meet and wander the city at night together. I was entranced by their journeys through a New York City I recognized- from the Bowery to Madison Square Park to the mansions of Fifth Avenue and Central Park, which plays such an important role in this book.

Golems are able to hear the secret desires of their master and are made to protect their masters with superhuman strength. When Chava's master died, she could hear the thoughts and desires of everyone around her and it was too much for her to take. And when she or someone she cared about became threatened, she could not control her impulse to physically lash out, leading to bad situations.

The writing is exquisite, and Wecker knows how to turn a phrase. She says of a cemetery headstone that has the name and dates engraved on only one side, "The other was still blank, as though it hadn't yet heard the awful news."

As someone who rides the NYC subways, I appreciated this: "The more he rode the trolleys and trains of New York, the more they seemed to form a giant, malevolent bellows, inhaling defenseless passengers from platforms and street corners and blowing them out again elsewhere."

This is a rip-roaring, page-turning story that dares the reader to put it down. I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning finishing this book, barely breathing until this brilliant, totally engrossing novel was finished. Bravo, Ms. Wecker, I can't wait for your next creation.

rating 5 of 5
Helene Wecker's website is here. 

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on this tour. The rest of Helene Wecker's tour is here.

Helene’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 7th: Bookshelf Fantasies

Wednesday, January 8th: Book Hooked Blog

Thursday, January 9th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Monday, January 13th: 5 Minutes For Books

Tuesday, January 14th: My Shelf Confessions

Wednesday, January 15th: BoundbyWords

Monday, January 20th: Book-alicious Mama

Tuesday, January 21st: bookchickdi

Wednesday, January 22nd: My Bookshelf

Thursday, January 23rd: Books Without Any Pictures

Monday, January 27th: Reading Reality

Tuesday, January 28th: Ace and Hoser Blook

The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anya Blau

The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anya Blau
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0-06-219955-3
Trade paperback, $14.99,  260 pages

If Carl Hiaasen lived in California instead of Florida, he may have written a book like Jessica Anya Blau's The Wonder Bread Summer.

Set in 1983, when I was a few years older than the protagonist Allie Dodgson, the story takes place in Berkeley and Los Angeles. The story opens a bang, with 20 year-old Allie trapped in the back room of the clothing store she works in by the owner Jonas, who is trying to get Allie to snort some coke and take her clothes off. Yeah, it's that kind of book.

Jonas has not paid Allie the wages she is owed, and Allie needs the money or she will be thrown out of college, so Allie takes the Wonder Bread bag filled with coke and runs away. Maybe the coke she snorted altered her judgement, but she does not turn back. Her plan is to borrow her friend Beth's car, and sell enough coke to make the money Jonas owes her. Then she will return the rest of the coke to Jonas and all will be cool.

Well, that was the plan. She finds a surfer who wants to buy some of the coke, but she has no idea how much to sell it for. She goes home to her father's restaurant in LA, only to find it closed. Her mother is a groupie for a has-been rock band, and wants to share the coke with the band.

Allie goes on a double date with Beth and ends up almost overdosing her date- Roger, a paraplegic porn producer. Jonas has dispatched someone to kill Allie and get his coke back, but thank goodness Roger and his kindly minions are there to help her.

Oh yeah, and Allie meets 80s rocker Billy Idol and has a romantic sexual experience with him. (Blau's characterization of Idol is charming. He should sent her a nice gift basket as a thank you.)

There is a wacky premise, a chase across California, guns, drugs, sex, surfer dudes who want the coke, dysfunctional parenting, Allie's Chinese grandmother's wise sayings sprinkled in, and a very nice Hispanic family whom Allie contemplates moving in with permanently. If any of this sounds like something you find funny, then you will enjoy The Wonder Bread Summer.  It did remind me of Carl Hiaasen, with its cast of comic characters, some involved in criminal matters.

I laughed my way through this novel, and it's a great, quick beach read. I finished it in two days poolside. It's not a book for everyone, but if you are not easily offended, you'll laugh too. When you finish it, you'll want to listen to Billy Idol while craving some of Consuela's yummy pan de yema and hot chocolate.

rating 4 of 5

Jessica Anya Blau's website is here.

BEA 13- Speed Dating

Last year at BEA (Book Expo America), one of my favorite things was attending the Book Group Speed Dating, where publishers moved from table to table talking about books that would be perfect for  book clubs. It was hosted by Carol Fitzgerald of BookReporter.com, and it was a huge success.

I was so happy to hear that they were continuing with it this year and signed up right away. At my table, we had someone from Hachette Book Group, and their big upcoming book is Burial Rites, an historical novel about a woman in Iceland accused of murder in 1829. It is Hannah Kent's debut novel and has "great writing, great characters, and a great landscape." (September)

The other books from Hachette were:

• That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay- a novel that will appeal to people who liked The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie & Literary Society, One Day & The Bridges of Madison County. (February)
• Schroder by Amity Gaige- This one we were told "will cause passionate conversations". It is a based on the Clark Rockefeller story, about a man who assumes the identity of a man from a famous American family and kidnaps his young daughter when things fall apart. (October)
• The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent- an adventure novel set in the 19th century west coast that "connects well with readers." (September)
• Eloise by Judy Finnigan- the debut novel from the co-host of Britain's answer to Oprah, The Richard and Judy Show. (September)

Harper Perennial showcased four books, highlighted by National Book Award winner, The Round House, by Louise Erdich, featuring stunning new cover art by Erdich's daughter. (Paperback in September)

The hardcover cover

Also from  Harper Perennial:

• Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon- This also has a gorgeous new cover for paperback, and it is about a white man and black man who own a used record shop in Oakland. (September)
• The Cutting Season by Attica Locke- Set in present day on a New Orleans plantation where a murder has occurred and may be tied into a murder that happened over 100 years ago. (September)
• The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell- The story of two young sisters who try to keep the mysterious deaths of their parents a secret. (October)

Berkley's books all had beautiful cover art that would encourage bookstore browsers to look further inside. The one that interested me most was Dollface by Renee Rosen, set during the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago about a flapper who becomes a gun moll.  (November) After reading The Other Typist and seeing The Great Gatsby,  I'm obsessed by this 1920s time period.

Other Berkley books are:

• The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn- a historical romance "from a brilliant storyteller" set during the rise of the Borgias in Rome in the late 15th century. (August)
• Between a Mother and Her Child by Elizabeth Noble- For fans of Elizabeth Berg, this novel tells the story of family in the aftermath of a tragedy, but is "not depressing." (September)
• The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister- is "foodie fiction" set in Seattle, coming in trade paperback. (November)
• You Knew Me When by Emily Liebert- A debut novel set in New England where two best friends who had a falling out inherit a house together. For fans of Jane Green and Emily Giffin. (September)

Picador had four books to talk about, including one that was chosen for the Editor's Book Buzz panel, Amy Grace Loyd's The Affairs of Others, about a young widow who owns an apartment building and becomes involved in the lives of her tenants. It should appeal to women in their 20s and 30s. (August)

Other books from Picador are:

• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan- Sloan is a founder of Twitter, and this is the trade paperback version of the popular and quirky novel, also aimed at the younger reader. (September)
• The Good House by Ann Leary- is about remaking life in middle age, where the protagonist is a real estate agent who is in denial that she has become an alcoholic. (October)
• Havisham by Ronald Frame- tells the story of a young Miss Havisham from Dickens' Great Expectations  and how she ended up the way she did. (November)
• The Heart Broke In- by James Meek- is a "big, sprawling family novel about midlife crisis and marriage" set in present day London. (October)

For more information on these and all of the books presented by the 21 publishers, click on this link from Book Reporter.

New in Paperback- The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
Published by Harper Perennial  ISBN 978-0062188519
Trade paperback, $15.99, 448 pages

Sometimes you read a debut novel and you just know that you will hear great things from this author time and again. After reading Amanda Coplin's amazing The Orchardist, I know that she is in that category.

Her character of Talmadge is one I can't get out of my head. Talmadge lives on his family's orchard in the western United States at the turn of the 20th century, all alone since his teenage sister walked into the woods one day and never came back. Did she run away? Was she kidnapped or killed? The answer to that question burns a hole in Talmadge's heart.

He is a taciturn man, and he has little contact with other people, save for Caroline, who tends to the townspeople's medical care, and the native American men who bring their horses through each spring and camp nearby.

One day Talmadge finds two nearly feral teen girls hiding in the orchard. He tries to make contact with him, but they are afraid. He leaves them food and blankets, and soon he breaks through to talk with Jane and Della. They are both pregnant and scared to death. He convinces them to come live inside his home, and has Caroline check them out medically.

Slowly, Talmadge discovers where the girls came from and he goes there in an misguided attempt to find out what happened to them and why they left. The girls fled a bad man and a worse situation, and Talmadge's discovery of this leads to a tragic event.

In his mind Talmadge hopes that by taking care of these girls, he can make up for not taking good enough care of his sister. Her disappearance changed his life forever, and this is a chance to redeem himself and have a family of his own.

The book alternates telling Talmadge's and Della's stories, but to say more would be to reveal parts of the story that are best left discovered by the reader herself, and this is a beautifully written story you will want to discover for yourself.

Talmadge is one of the most indelible characters in recent memory. His story is one of loyalty, redemption and the importance of family, whether it's the one you are born into or one you create. Congratulations to Amanda Coplin who won the Barnes & Noble Discover Writers Award for Fiction last night in New York City. The story is here.

The Orchardist made many Best of 2012 list, including my Most Compelling Books of 2012, and if you haven't read it yet, it's now in paperback.

rating 5 of 5

Moranthology by Caitlin Moran

Moranthology by Caitlin Moran
Published by Harper Perennial, ISBN 978-0-06-225853-3
Trade paperback, $14.99, 237 pages

Caitlin Moran had a bestselling book, How To Be A Woman, a book that humorously and honestly celebrates being a woman and a feminist. That book's success led to another book, Moranthology, a compilation of Moran's columns from the Times of London.

I have not yet read How To Be A Woman, but it is on my TBR list. As someone who used to write a weekly column on food and family, (and a feminist), I was really looking forward to this new book.

Moran writes mostly about entertainment, and anyone who is a big fan of the British TV shows Dr. Who and Sherlock will surely enjoy her many columns on these iconic shows. She even gets a backstage visit to Dr. Who, and her analysis of this show has made me put the show in my NetFlix queue.

She is not such a fan of Downton Abbey, which has become an American sensation. She has however become friendly with Dan Stevens, who plays handsome heir Matthew Crawley on Downton, and tells a very funny story about being with him at a bar in New York City. (Stevens is appearing on Broadway in The Heiress, and he is wonderful in it; if you get a chance to see that show, I recommend it.)

My favorite entertainment story is her interview with Sir Paul McCartney. She missed her flight to his concert in Milan, but managed to salvage the interview. She thought she had asked him a brilliant question- "If you had a terrible accident and your face got all smashed up-heaven forbid, obviously- would you rebuild it to look like yourself, or would you change it, so you could finally be anonymous again?"

She thought it was good question, touching "on fame, beauty, identity, ego and the idea of living two lives in one lifetime." He thought it was a terrible question.

Moran shares some stories about her life, and the way she tortures her poor husband by waking him in the middle of the night to ask such questions as "what is the first thing you think of when you think of me?" is hilariously egotistical. One time he finally explodes at her, telling her that she is a slob (he is neat) and sharing a list of things that she has done to prove his point. (Some of them are kinda gross, I'll give him that.)

If you liked How To Be A Woman, you will enjoy reading more of Moran's writings in this book. She is a very good writer, and like any good columnist (she won Columnist of the Year from the British Press) she is is economic with her words, cutting to the chase whilst getting to the (often funny) point.

A quote from Marie Claire on the cover of the book compares her to "Tina Fey, Chelsea Handler, and Lena Dunham, all rolled into one", and I think that aptly describes Caitlin Moran. Humorous Anglophile feminists, this book is for you.

rating 4 of 5

New in Paperback: Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Elegy for Eddie:  A Maisie Dobbs Mystery by Jacqueline Winspear 

Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0062049582

Trade paperback $15.99, 368 pages 

The BBC's Downton Abbey caused quite a stir (I myself was late to the party, watching both seasons on two marathon weekends), and increased interest in the post-WWI world in Great Britain. But readers have for years been immersing themselves in the same era with author Jacqueline Winspear's fascinating Maisie Dobbs' novels, set in London at the same time.

Maisie was a young maid in Lord and Lady Compton's home (think Anna from Downton) who was caught by Lady Rowan in the library late at night reading. Lady Rowan realized Maisie's intelligence and potential and arranged for her to be schooled by Dr. Maurice Blanche, a well-renowned psychologist and private investigator.

Maurice became Maisie's mentor, and Maisie was able to rise above her station and eventually became a nurse serving in France during WWI. Maisie was severely wounded and returned home to recuperate, and eventually take over Maurice's private investigation business.

After Maurice died, he left his home and much of his fortune to Maisie. Overnight, she became a wealthy woman. She also fell in love with Lady Rowan's son and heir, James Compton. Maisie is a woman who owns her own business, has enough wealth to own a home and an apartment in London, and is able to financially help her friends and colleagues.

In the newest novel, Elegy For Eddie, Maisie is visited by men she knew as a child, fruit peddlers from Lambeth. They ask her to investigate the death of Eddie, a forty-six-year-old man with the mind of a child. Eddie had a job running errands for workers in a newspaper plant and was killed when a bolt of paper crushed him.

Maisie knew Eddie and the single mother who raised him. She took the case, and it brought forth many feelings to the surface for her. The class system in England was fairly rigid, and it was unusual for anyone, particularly a woman on her own, to move up. Maisie was living a life about which she felt increasingly uncomfortable.

When she stays at James' family estate, she doesn't like the staff waiting on her. Ringing a bell for the next course of dinner feels unnatural to her. While she loves James, she begins to feel that the life he leads is not one she wants.

Now that Maisie has money, she uses it to help her employees. She purchases a home in a good neighborhood and rents it to her loyal assistant Billy and his family after they lost a daughter to illness. She hired Sandra, who lost her husband, and let her move in with her. She also paid for Sandra to further her education.

When Billy is seriously injured investigating Eddie's death, Billy's wife blames Maisie for putting her husband in danger. Maisie feels guilty, arranges for Sandra to help care for Billy's children, and gets him the best medical care.

A doctor confronts Maisie about her 'helping' her employees. She asks Maisie to consider whether her help is "affecting their lives, making decisions on their behalf that they might not have made for themselves, or might come to at a different time." She suggest that Maisie may have been trying to get others conform to Maisie's view of the world.

Maisie's best friend Priscilla tells her that by coming to the rescue of everyone, she could be causing people to resent her, as Billy's wife does. She explains that people don't like being beholden to someone, and that Maisie is depriving her friends of the "opportunity for them to be proud of something they've achieved.''

This book in the series doesn't have much action, it is much more introspective. We see Maisie coming to a fork in the road of her life. She has to decide whether she wants to move forward with her relationship with James, and how to deal with her new station in life and her control issues.

Maisie is an independent woman living in a turbulent time. This story is set in 1933, and England, weary from the losses of so many men in WWI, is now facing the possibility of another war. Hitler is causing problems in Europe, and Eddie's death may be tied to a newspaper publisher who is using his power to drum up war propaganda to get the people of England ready for confrontation.

I love being immersed in Maisie's world. Winspear does meticulous research, which is available on her website.( If you want to know more about that time in history, click on the link.) Maisie is a strong woman, but she has her doubts about her abilities and where she is going in life. She feels so real and I think many women today can relate to her.

I always look forward to catching up with Maisie, and if you are a fan of Downton Abbey and are suffering from withdrawal, the Maisie Dobbs series are a wonderful way to immerse yourself in that time.

rating 4 of 5

I have reviewed all of the Maisie Dobbs books during last year's Mad for Maisie readalong on BookClubGirl.com;  the links are below:

Maisie Dobbs

Birds of a Feather

Pardonable Lies

Messenger of Truth

An Incomplete Revenge

Among the Mad

The Mapping of Love and Death

A Lesson In Secrets

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

State of Wonder  by Ann Patchett
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0062049810
Trade paperback, $15.99

Ann Patchett's novel Bel Canto made such an impression on me, I couldn't wait to read her latest novel, State of Wonder, out in paperback on May 8th.

Dr. Marina Singh is a researcher at a pharmaceutical company sent by her employer to the Amazon jungle after they receive a letter stating that their colleague has died there. He was sent to find out why Dr. Annick Swenson, another researcher, has stopped communication with her employer.

Dr. Swenson was Dr. Singh's mentor, and an incident in their past has caused Singh great concern about their meeting again. Swenson was sent to the Amazon to work on a drug that would allow women to remain fertile well into their later years. If it was true, this would make IVF treatments obsolete and the pharmaceutical company would make billions of dollars.

Reading this novel drops you right into the Amazonian jungle. You can almost feel the sweltering heat and you may find yourself swatting furiously at insects you imagine to be biting you. Just like in Bel Canto, the setting of the novel is conjured up full-blown in the reader's mind.

The characters are brilliantly realized, and I found myself wondering who could play 73-year-old Dr. Swenson in the movie version. (I heard Cherry Jones' voice in my head speaking Swenson's lines, but alas she is too young for the role.) Singh and Swenson don't meet up until nearly halfway through the novel, and their fascinating relationship drives the last half of the book.

Some people have called this a female version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but it reminded me of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible in the way that it handles the relationship between the American doctors and the native inhabitants, and the ethical questions raised. The Americans' presence in the jungle changes the environment, as much as Dr. Swenson would like to think she has adapted to the jungle.

The story has so many twist and turns, it is the kind of book you literally can feel your heart pounding during the exciting parts. It is a book you are torn about; you want to race through it to see how it ends, yet you want to savor the exquisite writing and story.

Simply put, if you like a brilliant story set in an exotic local, inhabited by complicated characters and written by a masterful storyteller, read State of Wonder.


rating 5 of 5

Win a Copy of The Heroine's Bookshelf!

The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0-08-195877-9
Trade paperback, $13.99

When I was a young girl, I would get lost in books. (OK, so I still get lost in books.) I would identify with the heroine of the story, wondering what it would be like to be her; would I make the same decisions she did?

I fell in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series when I was in third grade, devouring each book. I lived in a very cold, snowy climate, and I identified with Laura and her family being trapped in their home in an horrific snowstorm as the snow piled up in my yard.

So it was with great joy that I read Erin Blakemore's Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Blakemore writes of the important things she learned from great heroines in literature. Each chapter focuses on a different heroine, and Blakemore discusses not only the heroine herself, but the life of the fabulous female writer who created such memorable characters.

She starts with Lizzy Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, in which she examines the concept of "Self" through Jane Austen and Lizzy. Lizzy turning down both Darcy and Mr. Collins' proposals mirror Jane's decision to not marry, but Jane never married as Lizzy eventually did, believing that to be true to herself meant not marrying someone she didn't love just to conform to society's norms.

My all-time favorite heroine, Scarlett O'Hara from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize winning Gone With The Wind, epitomizes "Fight". I recently re-read the novel along with The Heroine's Bookshelf readalong, and found so many things that both bothered me (the racism) and reinforced my belief that Scarlett is the most fascinating, but seriously flawed, character in literature.

I enjoyed Blakemore's insights into Mitchell's life and her quest to write this book. Struggling to make it as journalist and married to a drunken, violent man, Mitchell had to fight to get her story written and sold. I also liked her analysis of why Melanie will never be as popular as Scarlett, though she is a much better person. I love that Scarlett will fight with everything she has to save herself and those she loves.

At the end of each chapter, Blakemore includes the best time to read (or reread) these books (In Gone With the Wind, one of the reasons is "when the mortgage is due"), as well as "Literary Sisters" to the heroine (Lily Bart from The House of Mirth is one of Scarlett's sisters).

From books that I have read, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, to books I'm ashamed to say I haven't read (but will now!), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Their Eyes Were Watching God, this is a book that will reconnect you with old friends and encourage you to make new ones.

My favorite line in the book is in the introduction:

"A moment with a book is basic self-care, the kind of skill you pass along to your children as you would a security blanket or a churchgoing habit."

I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment!

The Heroine's Bookshelf has given me a new perspective on these interesting characters and authors, and reading it I almost felt like I wanted to go to Facebook and 'friend' these authors and their creations. I felt like they were "my friends", and I want to know more about them.

This is a wonderful book to give as a Christmas gift to a woman or teenage girl in your life for whom reading is akin to breathing. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Erin Blakemore and Harper Perennial are generously giving me a copy to giveaway to readers of this blog. Leave a comment in the 'comments section' below, telling me who your favorite literary heroine is. A bonus entry for anyone who becomes a follower of this blog (or already is) and another bonus entry if you tweet this post! The winner will be chosen on December 21 at 5pm. 

rating 5 of 5

Guest post from Erin Blakemore

Author Erin Blakemore has written a book that speaks to the heart of every girl who sat on her porch lost in a good book. The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder is the perfect gift to give the woman who has been a life-long lover of books, and it would be great for teen girls as well.
I will have my review of the book, as well as a giveaway courtesy of Ms. Blakemore and Harper Perennial, tomorrow.


Today, Ms. Blakemore writes about some interesting things she learned during her research of the book.

From the Heroic Vaults

One of the most frustrating things about research is the knowledge that it can't all be used. Sure, it all goes somewhere, and there's nothing better than knowing your material, but it was downright painful for me to leave out some of my favorite letters, diary entries, and quotes from the women I got to know while writing The Heroine's Bookshelf. 

Here are a few moments I wish I could have shared: 

Colette's hair:  Somehow I ended up doing a lot of research on Colette's legendary hair. It came from a simple statement that when she married her icky first husband, Willy, she had braids that went to her ankles. Was this possible? I wanted to know! I found out that not only was it possible, but that she chopped it all off at his request a few years later. He was having an affair with an actress and thought Colette might look like her if she cut off her tresses. Ew. 

Louisa May Alcott's journals:  Louisa May Alcott's dad was a noted Transcendentalist and all-around unreliable guy, but he could be counted on to keep copious notes about his children (he was a pioneer in early child education). When Louisa wrote journals as a kid, he and his wife, Abba, left notes in the margins. What a weird, amazing record of a family.

Charlotte Brontë's letters:  I do quote from one important letter in the life of Charlotte Brontë, but I found myself fascinated by her other correspondence while writing the book. She didn't get out much, but when she did she made fast friendships that came to life on the page. Charlotte's letters are funny, sad, and incisive. I wonder what she would think about today's instantaneous communication. 

Erin Blakemore learned to drool over Darcy and cry over Little Women in suburban San Diego, California. These days, her inner heroine loves roller derby, running her own business, and hiking in her adopted hometown of Boulder, Colorado.  Erin’s debut book,The Heroine’s Bookshelf, won the Colorado Book Award for Nonfiction-General and is now in paperback from Harper Perennial. Learn more about the book at http://theheroinesbookshelf.com

--
erin blakemore | author of "the heroine's bookshelf" | theheroinesbookshelf.com