Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing by Allison Winn Scotch

"Cleo McDougal is not a good person. She does good, yes, but doing good and being good aren't the same thing, now are they? In fact, her whole life, Cleo McDougal has been a cheater. She cheated in high school, on the debate team, on the school paper, for a summer internship, and from there it only got worse."
      -MaryAnne Newman, former best friend of Cleo, in a Seattle newspaper op-ed

Cleo McDougal is the proverbial over-achiever. Orphaned as a teenager, she manages to finish college, and as an unwed single mother, makes a name for herself in law school. She has been elected to the U.S. Senate from New York and is seriously considering a run for president. Out of the blue someone from her past writes an extremely unflattering op-ed, excerpted above. And the piece goes viral on social media.

Campaign manager and trusted friend Gaby devises a way to try and salvage her reputation. It turns out Cleo has a list of regrets---233, to be exact. Even though their campaign slogan is Only Forward, Gaby decides Cleo will do well to show her desire to make up for past mistakes. Cleo agrees reluctantly and they begin with a recorded face-to-face apology to MaryAnne Newman for the way Cleo treated her in high school. This does NOT go well! A confrontation with a former professor has mixed results. And the final regret she must tackle is the hardest of all!

It was a bit ironic that as I was near the end of the book I saw a TV commercial for a nutritional supplement beverage and the actor says, "I don't hold on to regrets."

Cleo reminded me in a way of Bridget Jones, with a similar sassy sense of humor, but with super intelligence. The novel offers some insight into the D.C. political scene, probably more amusing than educational. Cleo's 14-year-old son provides some typical teenage techno-savvy and wit. I am rating Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing a 4; I found it very entertaining!

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny

"Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering,
There is a crack, a crack in everything.
That's how the light gets in."   
   -Leonard Cohen, excerpt from "Anthem"

There is an interesting story as to how I came to read this book, not too long I hope. Someone loaned me the novel months ago---I don't remember who. That was after we read Glass Houses by this author in October, 2019. I didn't particularly enjoy Glass Houses so this one was gathering dust on a shelf for a while. Only a few months ago I heard a portion of Leonard Cohen's "Anthem" used as a TV commercial and became intrigued enough to look up the lyrics. I liked it so much I posted it to Facebook. When I rediscovered How the Light Gets In on the bookshelf, I was quite curious as to how the author chose her title. Plus over a period of time, several of my book-loving friends have mentioned Louise Penny as a favorite author. So there you go...That's the story.

At first I wasn't sure I was going to like this novel any more than the first I read by Penny. She apparently has written 9 or more in the series involving Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec. Obviously folks who have read several would be much more familiar with the fictional Canadian small town of Three Pines and the many characters who populate it. So I was often confused but also became intrigued by the unfolding mystery (ies).

There are at least 3 plots interwoven to make a complex story. First, the investigation of a murder of the last of the world-famous Ouellet Quints (the idea borrowed by the author from the actual celebrated Dionne quintuplets born in Ontario in 1934). Secondly, people in the Surete du Quebec are seemingly out to get Gamache. And underlying the plot against Gamache some very serious, even dangerous,  government corruption is discovered. A lot going on here, you might say, and quite a few secondary characters to keep track of.

I will rate it a 4; I liked it well enough to give Penny another chance. If I come to be a fan, I won't run out of her novels any time soon!

Honolulu by Alan Brennert

"I have traveled far from the land of my birth, and even farther from who I was then. More than forty years and four thousand miles separate us: the girl of sixteen who took that first unwitting step forward, and the woman in her sixtieth year who now, in sight of the vast Pacific, presumes to memorialize this journey in mere words. It is a journey measured not in time or distance, but in the breadth of one's soul and the struggle of becoming.
                  -Jin, from the novel

I think I must be in my Hawaii phase of reading---3 books by Alan Brennert set primarily in the islands in the last 2 months. This is my favorite; I'll give it a 5.

The story is narrated by Regrettable, who changes her name to Jin or Gem during the course of the story. The quote above gives hints of both setting and theme. As a young lady in Korea, who because of cultural restraints cannot go to school or aspire to much beyond the walls of her home, she feels little hope for her future. But then, along with some friends, she becomes a "picture bride" to a man in Hawaii and emigrates with great expectations of a new and better life. I had heard of "mail-order brides" during the Westward Expansion of America but never "picture brides." This referred specifically to Asian women being recruited to marry lonely Korean men in Hawaii.

As Jin was learning American/Hawaiian culture, she was teaching me Korean culture of which I knew practically nothing. At times this was quite humorous, especially when she became friends with May Thompson, a tough-talking prostitute in Honolulu. Though I have little in common with Jin, it was easy to empathize with her. It is somewhat surprising how well Brennert tells a woman's story. He is quite adept in his development of other characters, too. His research is amazingly thorough as evidenced in the Author's Note. It was fascinating to read which characters were based on actual people.

After reading James Michener's Hawaii a few years ago, I knew a good bit of Hawaiian history but I learned more in this fiction piece. I knew Hawaii was quite a melting pot but I didn't realize how many nations were represented in the working population. I was surprised that there were historic events a little too reminiscent of current troubles: the Spanish flu in 1920---compare to COVID 19---and racial injustice---Black Lives Matter. The racial turmoil sadly affected someone close to Jin. The situation reminded me of the false arrest and horrid mistreatment of the "Groveland Boys" of Lake County, Florida. (See Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King)

Honolulu was a page-turner for me. I found it both educational and entertaining.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

"There are two kinds of flowers when it comes to women. The kind that sit safe in a beautiful vase, or the kind that survive in any conditions...even in evil...Which are you?"

              -Eve to Charlie, from the novel

This is the third novel about the French resistance that I have read in a few months but they have all been different enough to keep my interest. This one was more related to WWI than the other two. I found it very engaging----quite the page-turner especially toward the end. My rating is a 4.

Nineteen-year-old Charlotte "Charlie" St. Claire, with her mother accompanying her, is on her way to Switzerland to have an abortion in 1947.  While they are in Southampton, England awaiting passage to France, Charlie who has been obsessed with finding her missing French cousin, Rose, takes off to London to find a woman named Evelyn Gardiner, who may know something of how Rose disappeared during WWII. This begins a huge adventure as Charlie takes off with the drunken, crotchety ex-spy Evelyn, called Eve, and her driver, Finn, a hot-tempered but charming ex-convict Scotsman, to parts of France searching for Rose. Eventually their quest would include hunting down a cruel man named Rene from Eve's past on whom she has long-dreamed of taking revenge.

In this dual timeline novel, one learns of the Alice Network, a spy-ring of mostly women who worked against the Germans when they occupied northwestern France in WWI (1915-19) including Eve's part in that mission. In the Author's Note, Ms. Quinn tells of the actual women who were a part of the network, like heroine Louise de Bettignies, and distinguishes historical characters from the ones she invented. The second timeline, of course, is a couple of months in 1947, telling Charlie's story. 

I felt the characters were very well-drawn to the point where I could really like them (like Charlie) or purely hate them (like Rene)! All the main characters---Eve, Charlie and Finn---all undergo some personality changes in the course of those two months. The Epilogue then extends the story. 

I got very curious about the car Finn was driving on the road trip, a Lagonda LG6, a British made vehicle I had never heard of. I am attaching a picture. Hopefully the one Charlie, Eve and Finn were riding in was NOT a 2-seater!

This novel is our July selection for Page Turners. We will meet in a couple of weeks to discuss it. More then....

When our group met via Zoom, we had a great discussion. Several of our deeper-thinking members had surprising insights into the events and characters in the story. The discussion varied from emotional damages of war to changes in the roles of women. Most of us had not heard of the massacre at Oradours-sur-Glane. No one disliked the book with ratings of 3-5---an average 4.0. Most agreed the book was very well-written and some said it was hard to put it down. We could agree there were a number of coincidences but found we could "suspend our disbelief" and engage in the plot. It seemed we liked the protagonists but thought Rene Bordelon pretty much got what he deserved, although maybe should have suffered more!

We appreciated the Author's Note where she surprised us with the identity of a few actual historical figures mixed in with her fictional ones. I believe a few of us will look for other novels by this author.

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

"...Sunday morning sneaks up on us---like dawn, like resurrection, like the sun that rises a ribbon at a time. We expect triumphant entry, but as always, God surprises us by showing up in ordinary things: in bread, in wine, in water, in words, in sickness, in healing, in death, in a manger of hay, in a mother's womb, in an empty tomb. Church isn't some community you join or some place you arrive. Church is what happens when someone taps you on the shoulder and whispers in your ear, Pay attention, this is holy ground; God is here."
                    -from Searching for Sunday, the Epilogue

What a delightful and inspiring book! A 5, for sure! I read another by Rachel Held Evans a few years ago, A Year of Biblical Womanhood which was humorous and thought-provoking and very entertaining. I was reminded of her when she was mentioned in our Sunday school text along with the title of this book. It said Evans has been called a "prophet, a saint and a holy troublemaker" because of her daring to exhibit her doubts and questioning throughout her Christian faith journey. Some have compared her to Woman Wisdom in the book of Proverbs.

Evans shared so many profound ideas and striking thoughts, I had a difficult time deciding on a quote to feature. Although she eventually found herself in the Episcopal Church and I am Presbyterian, I often agreed with her liberal thoughts. I could NOT agree with her enthusiasm for University of Alabama football, however! 😃 (I am an Auburn fan!)

Sadly, Rachel Held Evans died when she was only 37. I can only imagine how much more beautiful writing she could have done and how many more lives she could have affected had she lived to an old age!  She was a blogger and public speaker as well as an author. I will be searching for any of her work for future reading and maybe I can even find YouTube talks, if I am lucky.