Stay True: A Memoir / Disorientation: Contemporary Fiction

 Reviewed:

Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publication: September 27, 2022; Doubleday

My review:

  

This memoir is written by the author to remember and honor a college friend, Ken, who died in a mugging and senseless kidnapping while in his third year at UCLA. Hua thinks of the What Ifs that could have saved Ken from that death - what if he had gone swing dancing as Ken had wanted that night, what if he had gone back to Ken's party in the early morning so Ken would not have been alone during that mugging.

The book focuses on the many reasons Hua and Ken became friends even though they were such different personalities. Both Asian Americans, yet one was Taiwanese American and a new immigrant, the other a Japanese American with deep roots established in the U.S. Their love of different kinds of music and movies, and their interest in analyzing everything for fun and intellectual sharing are only some of the aspects of this college friendship.

Deeply moving in parts, Stay True, the memoir, delves into the minds and hearts of a group of young university people in search of meaning and identity.

Library Find:  

Disorientation

by 

Elaine Hsieh Chou

Published March 22, 2022; Penguin Press

Genre: Asian American fiction, contemporary novel, academia

About: 

A Taiwanese American woman’s coming of consciousness ignites eye-opening revelations and chaos on a college campus.

An uproarious and bighearted satire, alive with sharp edges, immense warmth, and a cast of unforgettable characters, Disorientation is both a blistering send-up of white supremacy in academia, and a profound reckoning of a Taiwanese American woman’s complicity and unspoken rage. 

Chou asks who gets to tell our stories—and how the story changes when we finally tell it ourselves (publisher)

View all my reviews

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: Crime Solving and Romance

 Book Club Pick: 

The Thursday Murder Club

(Thursday Murder Club #1)

by 

Richard Osman, published 2021 by Penguin Books

Genre: mystery, humorous crime fiction, contemporary fiction

We had so much to discuss with this murder mystery book at our book club this week. We loved the main characters, all eccentric in their own way, but very likeable characters. We enjoyed the complexity of the plot and the red herrings, plot switches in the novel, and the humor in the telling of the story.

We did agree however, that there are so many characters, about 27 in all, that we had trouble remembering who did what and to whom, and some of us had to make cheat sheets to keep track of the murders and who the final culprits turned out to be.

Nevertheless, we were enthusiastic about the book, the first of three in the series, and all wanted to read more about main characters, especially Elizabeth and Joyce, all senior pensioners in an upscale independent living complex in Kent, England, who are able to solve murders in their Thursday Murder Club before the police do. 

I just borrowed number 2 in the series from our library, The Man Who Died Twice, and am enjoying this one as well. 

Delightful Rom Com:

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao

Publication: January 7, 2023; Berkley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The novel is part Pygmalion and the story of Icarus, who fell from the sky after flying too close to the sun. At least this is how working class woman Kyla Zhao sees herself, especially when she pictures herself failing in her bold attempt to infiltrate the highest levels of elitist Singapore social circles.

This clever romantic comedy reveals Singapore's upper class behavior and aspirations. Kyla is shown as a daring young woman whose own aims are to become a writer and public relations person for the most prestigious society magazine in Singapore. But first she must show herself socially worthy to be part of the higher echelons of that exclusive group. Kyla enters a pact with two upper class friends to have her pass as a Singapore socialite. 

I liked reading about the ups and downs of a Cinderalla-like young woman chased from the ball by time and by deceitful individuals who may block her in her pursuit of her career goals. 

An enjoyable romantic comedy.

Just finished: 

 

Murder at the Porte de Versailles

(Aimee Leduc Investigations #20)

by 

Cara Black, published March 1, 2022, Soho Crime

Genre: mystery set in Paris

PI Aimee Leduc and her investigative group work to clear a friend, Boris, of a crime she knows he didn't commit - bombing a police laboratory in Paris. The bombing happened during a birthday party for Aimee's three-year-old daughter Chloe which Boris had just attended.

The complex world of international spies, world politics, and the aftermath of the 2001 World Trade Center bombing in NYC has everyone on edge, even in Paris. Aimee rushes in and through the city that she knows so well, finding clues and interviewing people who might know the reasons behind the deadly bombing at the Paris police lab.

Added to this is Aimee's personal, romantic life, which brings more intrigue and drama to the novel.

I enjoyed this 20th in the Paris mystery series, and through reading it, find Paris as enticing as ever, what with the detailed descriptions of history, place and people in the book.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean/Other Novels

Reviews and To Be Reviewed

Mika in Real Life 

by Emiko Jean, August 

2, 2022, William Morrow, NetGalley

Genre: contemporary fiction, YA, romance, women's fiction

My comments:

A heart-wrenching story of 36-year-old Mika who was encouraged by her mother sixteen years ago to give up her baby for adoption, and the story of the adoptee who finds her. 

Mika Suzuki of Portland, Oregon is gobsmacked by a surprise call from a 16-year-old Penny, who declares herself Mika's daughter. Penny wants to meet and Mika prepares herself for the encounter.

Penny and her adoptive father Thomas are almost too perfect to be believable at first. He is a caring parent, who with his now deceased wife, gave Penny all the love and affection a child could ever want.

However, Mika, the biological mother, is a 36-year-old unemployed woman now, who has a hard time making ends meet, and who decides she has to fake her life so as not to disappoint her daughter when they meet.

The angst of an adoptive child and a woman who gave her up at birth is well portrayed in this novel. It is moving and thought-provoking, and the characters and story line are excellently done. It is so well done, it moved me to tears in several instances. An enthusiastic five stars for  this contemporary novel of adoption.

Blown by the Same Wind by John Straley, December 2022, ARC courtesy of Soho Press

Genre: coming of age, mystery, Alaska crime fiction

About: Mysterious dreams of grizzly bears, a bumbling FBI agent, and a tense hostage negotiation have the town of Cold Storage, Alaska, turned upside down.

Inspired by assassination conspiracy theories, the life of Thomas Merton, and the changing tide of the ’60s, Blown by the Same Wind is a coming-of-age story for the town of Cold Storage as a whole. (publisher)

Addicted to You

by Krista and Becca Ritchie, Aug. 16, 2022, review copy courtesy of Berkley Books

Genre: romance, contemporary fiction

About: Lily is addicted to sex and her boyfriend Loren is addicted to alcohol. For three years, they have pretended to be in a relationship in order to hide their addictions from their families. How will this situation turn out? 

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Reviews of Two Novels of China During Two Wars, 1918 and 1937: Historical Fiction

The Porcelain Moon

by 

Janie Chang

Genre: historical novel, WWI novel

Expected publication: February 21st, 2023; William Morrow

The historical aspect of this novel is as important if not more important than the novel's basic plot of marriage and romance in the early 1900s during WWI. 

Pauline Deng and her cousin Theo are Chinese who have spent many years living in France working in Theo's father's antique shop. They are both reluctant to return to Shanghai for arranged marriages to people they have never met.

I was also fascinated by the little known, overlooked part of history, of over 140,000 Chinese laborers and peasants  brought over to help the WWI war effort in Europe, in non-combatant work such as clearing battlefields, loading goods and ammunition on trucks and trains, keeping the railroads running, and soul-destroying jobs such as handling decayed corpses in the trenches.

Pauline and Theo are a fascinating part of the novel, as they struggle to keep their freer life in France, in spite of the war.  There is danger for both of them, and possible death, as they try to find their way during wartime France.

An excellent read. 

The Library of Legends

by 

Janie Chang

Published May 12th 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre: historical fiction, magical realism, romance

Hu Lian and Shao, students at Minghua University in Nanking in war torn China of 1937, flee with their professors and other students into the countryside, taking for safe keeping the Library of Legends, precious books of Chinese literature. With the students is an immortal, a Star, posing as a humble servant girl. The magical elements of celestial beings, gods, guardian spirits, and other immortals pepper this novel, giving a fantastical flair to the novel that describes the drudgery and danger during this long and arduous trip.  Hu Lian and Shao later leave the group and travel to Shanghai to find their mothers, who are both in danger and ill. Their stories give a personal side to these historical events of universities moving to the Western provinces on foot, dodging the enemy planes and troops during the second Sino-Japanese War between China and the empire of Japan. The historical background, the mixture of the magical into the novel, the well developed characters, their romances, and their stories, and the legends made this book both informative and a delight to read. I had my fill of Chinese history from WWI and WWII eras, as I read the two books back to back and quickly wrote the reviews.  I was entralled by the lushness of the descriptive prose and the characters who were individualized and complex.  What are you reading this week?  Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Bleeding Heart and Lonely Hearts: Book Reviews

Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publication: November 15, 2022

Genre: mystery, crime fiction, NetGalley

I've enjoyed many of Elly Griffiths' novels, though this is the first in this series for me. I was pleased as expected, and loved the intricate plotting and it subtle twists, the characterizations, and the whodunnit suspense.

The murder mystery revolves around The Group, a set of high school students at Manor Park School, who were always together, even when one of them, David, falls to his death in front of a moving train. Now, twenty years later, the remaining members of The Group are at a school reunion, where another one of them is murdered. Suspicion falls on all of them.

I loved that the mystery plot is not predictable, nor is the culprit or the reasons behind the murders. Another excellent mystery by the author.

View all my reviews (Goodreads)

Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club by Roselle Lim

Publication: August 16, 2022; Berkley

Genre: rom com, romance, magical realism, NetGalley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sophie Go moves out of her demanding and demeaning parents' home, determined to make it on her own as a matchmaker in Toronto, even though she is not accredited by the matchmaking school. Her skills are challenged by the Old Ducks, a group of lonely 70-year-old Chinese Canadian men, who hire her to find them suitable wives or partners.

Sophie is a very sympathetic individual as she struggles to help support her parents as well as herself,  while trying to show she can do the job she has always dreamed of. She becomes close to the Old Ducks, the septuagenarians who are her clients, mostly likeable characters, each personality having his own foibles, quirks, and skill sets.

The character delineations as well as the clever plot make this novel. Sophie becomes close to the Old Ducks while trying to find them love partners, and you wonder if she will also find her own match along the way.

Magical realism makes this rom com unique. Sophie can see the "red threads" of people's hearts that flare to indicate their interest or willingness to meet a special someone.  The matchmaking society or association to which she belongs is a group of people with special magical insights and skills.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Book Review: The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: contemporary fiction, romance, women's fiction 

Publication: August 30, 2022, Berkley 

When Libby, newly arrived in London, decides to help elderly Frank find the girl he met and lost on the number 88 bus years ago, in 1962, she didn't realize her search would help not only Frank, but herself as well. Libby is estranged from her parents who disapprove of her wanting to be an artist, and she is on her own, but meets Frank and other people who enter her life for the better.

The relationship that develops between young Libby and the aged Frank is heartwarming, as is her determination to paste posters all over the city in order to find the girl Frank lost so many years ago when Frank misplaced her phone number written on that lost bus ticket.

The ending is not as we expected, but refreshing nevertheless, to finally have resolved the question of who the lost girl was and where life takes her. There is new meaning in life for Frank and new friends for Libby, as well as a new romance.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC.  


View all my reviews

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream by Jeannie Zusy: Sunday Salon

 

The Frederick Sisters Are Living the Dream: A Novel

by 

Jeannie Zusy

Publication, September 20, 2022, Atria Books

Description 

A very funny, occasionally romantic, and surprisingly moving novel about how one woman’s life is turned upside down when she becomes caregiver to her sister with special needs.

Every family has its fault lines, and when Maggie gets a call from the ER in Maryland where her older sister lives, the cracks start to appear. Ginny, her sugar-loving and diabetic older sister with intellectual disabilities, has overdosed on strawberry Jell-O.

Maggie knows Ginny really can’t live on her own, so she brings her sister and her occasionally vicious dog to live near her in upstate New York. Their other sister, Betsy, is against the idea but as a professional surfer, she is conveniently thousands of miles away.

Thus, Maggie’s life as a caretaker begins. It will take all of her dark humor and patience, already spread thin after a separation, raising two boys, freelancing, and starting a dating life, to deal with Ginny’s diapers, sugar addiction, porn habit, and refusal to cooperate. Add two devoted but feuding immigrant aides and a soon-to-be ex-husband who just won’t go away, and you’ve got a story that will leave you laughing through your tears as you wonder who is actually taking care of whom. (publisher)

My NetGalley/Goodreads review:

Bets, Ginny, and Maggie are the Frederick sisters whose relationships are featured in this novel. Maggie the third sister, becomes a caregiver for special needs middle sister Ginny, while the oldest, Bets, lives a life of California surfing.

Sisters and how they relate to one another, the sacrifices they make for one another, or sacrifices they don't make, are the themes. A surprising turn around at the end of the novel shows the sisters in a new light. 

The novel, however, takes too long to get to this point, frustrating the reader. The book could have been shorter and some of the middle events cut or omitted in order to get to the ending.

I enjoyed the first three-quarters of the book and wished the main points, though surprising and thought provoking, could have been reached earlier.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday