bookchickdi: Kristin Fields

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Friday, November 13, 2020

Friday 5ive- November 13, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. Happy Friday the 13th, just what we needed in 2020, a Friday the 13th.

1) Last Friday night, my husband and I had date night- at home version. Every week I get an email from GetTaste, which gives me the opportunity to purchase a four course set meal from a Michelin-starred restaurant. Last week, the choice was from 4 Charles Prime Rib, and they had a five course meal- Little Gem Salad, Baked Crab Cake appetizer, Chicago Cut of Prime Rib, Creamed Spinach, and Chocolate Cream Pie for dessert. The price for two people was a (NYC) reasonable $154, and we added on a bottle of Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The meal arrived hot and well packaged, and it was delicious. The crab cake and creamed spinach were the best we have ever tasted. The beef was good, my only complaint was that it was a small portion for two people. We started with a Happy Hour cocktail of Chocolate Martini and Chocolate Espresso Martini. It was a wonderful way to end the week.

2) On Saturday, I decided to try Anita La Mamma del Gelato, a new gelato place in the neighborhood. I'd heard that the Milk Chocolate Pretzel was a winner, so I gave it a try and the people were not wrong. It was creamy, crunchy, and very tasty. I will be making a return trip to try more flavors.

So many choices!

3) Today I took part in BookReporter.com's "9 1/2 Annual Book Group Speed Dating" presentation. Every year at the Book Expo at the Javits Center, my favorite activity is Speed Dating with Publishers. The attendees sit at tables and publishers go from table to table sharing upcoming books they are excited about. Since there was no Book Expo this year, Book Reporter held Speed Dating virtually for the second time this year, which is good in that you get to hear from every publisher instead of just a few, but I do miss the personal contact with the publicists and the books that we get to bring home. We do get access to egalleys, so there is that. It's a well-done, professional production, and I'm grateful that Carol and Austin from Book Reporter share this with us. Visit their website for all kinds of great bookish content.

4) We started watching season two of The Good Fight on CBS All Access. The casting is fabulous- Christine Baranski, Delroy Lindo, Audra McDonald, Sarah Steele, Cush Jumbo- many great Broadway performers and guest stars. I can see why so many people call it the best drama on TV.

5) It's Nonfiction November so I'm trying to read one nonfiction book per week. This week I'm in the middle of Guy Raz's How I Built This, stories of entrpreneurs and how they made it. The founders of Away luggage, AirB&B, and AllBirds shoes are among the many people profiled in this interesting book, which came out of Raz's podcast of the same name. It would make a good holiday gift.

I also read two novels. The first- Kristin Fields' A Frenzy of Sparks- set in 1965 Howard Beach, is about thirteen year-old Gia and her family dealing with a changing country and drugs coming into their neighborhood. Gia is interested in nature and science, so fans of Where the Crawdads Sing may like this intense family story. It's an emotionally powerful look at addiction. My full review is here.

Hazel Gaynor's historical novel, When We Were Young & Brave is about a group of teachers and Western students in China who end up living for years in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. It's a fascinating story, based in truth, and while I had heard about nurses living in internment camps during the war, I had never heard about teachers and students. If you liked Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, pick this one up. It's stunning.

Have a great week all- stay safe, socially distant, wear a mask and wash your hands. It's more important than ever.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

A Frenzy of Sparks by Kristin Fields

A Frenzy of Sparks by Kristin Fields

Published by Lake Union Publishing ISBN 9781542022446

Trade paperback, $14.95, 272 pages (The ebook is free if you have Kindle Unlimited)

Sometimes a book grabs you right away, and at other times your interest builds more slowly until you realize how consumed you have become by the story and you can't put it down. Kristin Fields' new novel, A Frenzy of Sparks, fell into the latter category for me.

In 1965 Gia is thirteen years old living in Howard Beach near a marsh with her older brother Leo and their parents. Her dad Eddie is an NYPD police officer, mom Agnes works outside the home as well. Much of Gia's family- aunts, uncles, cousins- live in the same neighborhood and they spend all their free time together.

Gia is interested in nature and science, and concerned about the chemicals ever present in the food and environment. Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is her bible. She loves to go out on her dad's boat on the canal behind her house, and begs her dad to let her take the boat out by herself. Agnes would prefer now that Gia is getting older, that she should be more interested in traditional female pursuits, like Gia's cousin Lorraine.

It's a time of change in the country, and Gia's older cousin Ray has been experimenting with drugs, and selling them as well. He gets involved with some shady characters, and that will cause problems for more than just himself.

"People were sick of being told what to do", according to Gia. Black kids couldn't sit on a stoop without someone causing problems for them. Women were "trapped under their bell jars", like Lorraine who studied to be a nurse but wanted to become a doctor, and her mother Diane who worked in the navy yard during WWII, only to be sent home once the men returned from war.

The second half of the book deals with the fallout of having a drug addict living in your home. They lie, steal from family members, destroy trust, and break down the family unit. There are some very intense scenes revolving around the drug addict, and the frightening ways addiction spirals downward for all.

Several times reading this powerful novel I found myself closing my eyes and saying "oh, no" out loud. Fields puts the reader right inside this family, and your heart alternately pounds and breaks as they fight to save the life of their loved one and their family unit.

Fans of Delia Owens' blockbuster Where the Crawdads Sing should make A Frenzy of Sparks their next read. It has the similiar elements of a nature-loving girl facing danger that keeps the reader turning the pages. I highly recommend it.