The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward

 This novel weaves the story of Carla, an 11 year old girl in Honduras, with Alice, a 40 something woman in Houston, Tx. Carla works collecting recyclables in the dump upon which she lives with her grandmother and younger brother. Their mother fled to Texas years ago, promising to save money and send for them. While she occasionally sends money to help out, the promised trip to Texas never arrives. When Carla's grandmother dies and Carla realizes that her 6 year old brother is huffing chemicals, she decides they need to take their chances on running to America.
At the same time we are learning that Alice and her husband have had to return a child they were in the process of adopting. She is heart-broken. You realize that these two lives are moving toward an intersection, and you cheer Carla to be able to keep going in her arduous journey along the illegal route to the USA.
After last summer's overwhelming in-flux of children pouring across the southern border, this is a timely, harrowing story. This is an important novel for it's social commentary, and it is an exciting read. I give it 4 stars. I am not a big fan of jumping back and forth between characters in telling a story.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley

 Banishment to Canada feels awful to Flavia de Luc, as if she is being punished for discovering the fate of her mother, and, being the youngest in the family. At Miss Bodycote's Female Academy, Flavia discovers that her mother was a renowned former student. The first night at the school, Flavia discovers a mumified corpse when it falls from the chimney. This begins a quest to find out why she has been sent here, how the body came to be in the chimney, and what type of training her mother actually received at the scvhool.
Flavia is a 12 year old chemistry prodogy and inveterate snoop. Miss Bodycote offers rumors of ghosts, disappearing students and a teacher who is a convicted murderer. All this is making Miss Bodycote's a much more interesting place than Flavia first assumed.
I had feared the series had ended with the previous entry, The Dead in their Vaulted Arches. I am so grateful the series continues. While each book can stand alone, the force of Flavia is best experienced by starting at the beginning and reading the entire series. I give this 5 stars!

The Work by Wes Moore

The Work by Wes Moore

I am not a big fan of reading non-fiction as leisure reading. But I chose to read and review this book because the premise of finding meaning in life through service is near and dear to my heart.
Wes Moore is an intelligent, gifted person and an inspiring writer. The Job traces his rise from a turbulent childhood in the Bronx and Baltimore, through his service in Afghanistan, his work in the White House and as a banker on Wall Street. In each setting, he gathered the wisdom and foolishness of each setting as he kept asking what he needed to be happy and content in life.
Mr Moore interweaves stories of heroes and everyday people he has met and from whom he has learned during his journey. Mr Moore's strength and openness shines through and I felt uplifted by the many stories woven through the book. This is a feel-good inspiration to find a meaningful life. I highly recommend, and, hope that Wes Moore keeps writing and inspiring others.

The Job

The Job

The Job is the fourth book in a series about FBI agent Kate O'Hare, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldburg. I have not had a chance to read the first three books in the series, but was able to fully understand and enjoy this novel.

Special Agent Kate O'Hare is teamed up with a charming con-man, Nicholas Fox, to find and then bring down a drug king-pin who is reclusive and impossible to find. O'Hare and Fox enroll some interesting folks to help them design and carry out a complicated sting that puts all their lives in jeopardy.

This is a heart-pounding story that covers 3 countries on two continents. It is infused with whit and humor, but never stops rushing ahead until the conclusion. I intend to back-track and start the series at the beginning.

In Vertigo of Silence

In Vertigo of Silence
This debut novel by Miriam Polli is a multi-generational exploration of the effects of secrets and fear on 3 generations of women. This saga addresses important issues of alcoholism, abuse, adultery, mental illness and death. It follows a young woman, her mother, aunts and grandmother. It shows the effects of long-held secrets and makes you examine your own values and beliefs.
For a debut novel, this is a well-written crafted work, worthy of a much more experienced writer. If you enjoy character exploration, you will love In Vertigo of Silence.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

The Blanche White Series: Two Books (and counting) of Excellent Intrigue

 Blanche on the Lamb is the beginning of a sassy new series. Blanche White is an intelligent, middle-aged, African-American domestic worker in North Carolina. She is The Help in current time, with attitude. In this book, one of her employers stiffs her with a bad check which cause her checks to bounce, so she lays low by working for a rich family at their country estate. The only member of the family who seems humane and caring is the family's slightly mentally challenged Cousin Mumford. None of the others are worth the air they breathe.  The murder and subsequent antics of the family seem silly and at times comedic, against Blanche's commentary on race relations in Southern America. If you enjoy southern Gothic with attitude, you will love Blanche.


 Blanche Among the Talented Tenth tackles the ugly truth of discrimination among people of color. Her children are attending an elite private school in Boston, and are beginning to bring home uppity attitudes that Blanche does not like one bit. when the kids are invited to an exclusive Maine resort for wealthy blacks, Blanche decides to allow this romp through exclusive, black America. When one guest commits suicide, and another death leads to complicated questions, Blanche is dragged into finding the truth. This idyllic resort is littered with deceit, snobbery and generations of history, along with a bit of romance.
     Blanche is her usual sassy self, with wit and insight that uncovers secrets and a long history of racial discrimination. I cheer for Blanche once again, and for her integrity and her courage to face heart-wrenching decisions. I can't wait until the next volume is published!

Vanessa and Her Sister

 The story of Vanessa Stephen Bell and her sister Virginia Stephen Woolf is a story of love and madness, talent and privilege, young people breaking convention and plagued by guilt. The story is told through journal entries, and postcards and letters. 
     The novel is compelling and kept drawing me in, even though I don't like the format of journal entries, etc. If you are a fan of Vanessa's art and Virginia's writing, this is an intriguing look at their very private lives. I disliked Virginia and felt she was a spoiled, manipulative brat. But my view is from the 21st Century where mental health support is much more enlightened and treatment more successful than ever imagined in 1905.
     The lives of Vanessa and Virginia are intertwined with their brothers and friends who loosely form a bohemian and intellectual group that meet regularly to discuss the art scene in London and Paris. All these young people go on to fame as their careers mature.
     This novel is an intriguing look at 1905 privilege and creative young talent. If you enjoy art, writing and historical insights, you will enjoy Vanessa and Her Sister.