A Splendid Ruin by Megan Chance

"You don't belong here, Miss Kimble. You're completely in over your head. Learn to swim, or drown. Those are your only choices when it comes to the Sullivans."

                     -Stephen Oelrichs, from the novel

After the death of her mother, May Kimble receives a letter from an aunt she didn't know she had inviting her to come to San Francisco to live with her, her husband and daughter. May leaves her home in Brooklyn to join the Sullivan family and is welcomed with open arms. It is difficult enough for impoverished May to become accustomed to a new city, an elaborate mansion and seemingly unlimited funds, when she begins to get subtle warnings from a Chinese maid and others, including Stephen Oelrichs, quoted above. 

Dark family secrets are revealed bit by bit and frequent foreshadowing make this a true page-turner. A Splendid Ruin is a captivating story of betrayal and desire for revenge. Can the extremely destructive San Francisco earthquake of 1906 also be a positive force or even a means of rescue for May? Apparently, yes!

I enjoyed this novel, rating it a 4.

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

 "As he read on, he decided that according to the book, he was definitely a medium-sized, redheaded, nonbreeding accidental. At last he knew what he was, and it amused him no end. He was a rare bird, after all."             -Oswald Campbell, after perusing Birds of Alabama

I am quite a fan of Fannie Flagg. I find her novels easy to read with interesting characters and very  engaging plots. I discovered this one on the library site while looking for her most recent, The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop.  A Redbird Christmas dates back to 2004 but I had not heard of it. It is only 206 pages, making it a pretty quick read. As Christmas was approaching, it seemed like the perfect choice. I wasn't wrong.

This is a delightful story of Oswald Campbell who, after getting an extremely unsettling diagnosis from his doctor in Chicago, decides to move to South Alabama where a warmer climate might extend his life. He ends up in Lost River, a small town on the Gulf Coast. Oswald, a recovering alcoholic, doesn't have much going for him and is rather a sad, lonely character when he meets the warm and welcoming people of his new home. They include Frances Cleverdon and her sister Mildred and Roy Grimmitt, proprietor of the general store. Early in the story Roy rescues and adopts an injured redbird called Jack. From the title you can tell the bird will be central to the tale.

Another important character is Patsy, a pitiful, crippled girl who is neglected and seemingly unwanted by anyone in her family. Patsy becomes very friendly with Jack, the cardinal. It is endearing how the townspeople of Lost River come to love Patsy and find ways to help her, including getting her the surgery she needs for her affliction. 

This a sweet story, full of love and hope, ending with a Christmas miracle. My rating is 5.

And by the way, there are recipes at the end. I will copy a few before returning the book to the library!

Songteller by Dolly Parton

 "I am a singer, an entertainer, and a businesswoman. But if I had to choose just one thing to be, I would choose to be a songwriter. I could happily just sit in my house forever, enjoy life, and write songs. The songs lead to everything else. Everything that I am starts with that song. No matter who you are as an artist, if you don't have a great song, you're not going anywhere. I decided to call my book Songteller because that pretty much sums me up. I love songs. I love to tell stories, and most of all, I just love to write. It's just who I am. I am a 'song teller.'

           -Dolly Parton, from the Introduction 

I have long been a fan of Dolly Parton and when I recently read an article about her in Parade magazine, I noted she had released a new book. I ordered it from the library having no idea what it would look (or feel) like. It is a tome, about 9"x 12" and weighing almost 5 pounds! The subtitle is My Life in Lyrics which is appropriate since 175 song lyrics are included of almost 3000 she has written. Some of the songs were favorites of mine: "Coat of Many Colors," "Jolene," "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You," a blockbuster hit recorded by many including Whitney Houston. Of course there were many songs I was unfamiliar with, although if I heard her sing them, I would maybe recognize them. Oddly I have only two CDs of Dolly's music, one I purchased at a Cracker Barrel and the other at Target a few weeks ago, "Holly Dolly Christmas." A favorite duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream" was not in the book and when I looked it up, I found it was written by the Bee Gees, one of my favorite groups.

I have a few things in common with Dolly. I was born in East Tennessee, just under two months after Dolly. I have great memories of summer days in the Smoky Mountains in my youth. My husband went to college in the area and I have relatives there so we have visited the Smokies a number of times and feel an emotional connection. We have been to Dollywood more than once and loved it. I have enjoyed country music for many years, even though I grew up on Rock and Roll. 

As a retired elementary school teacher I can fully appreciate Dolly's Imagination Library which she began in 1995. Over 150 million books have been given to children. She says the first book was The Little Engine That Could. I remember a very special principal who used that book as a theme one school year. It has such an inspiring message. Dolly says her proudest accomplishments are her songwriting and her Imagination Library.

I loved reading about Dolly's early history. Her mother was a singer and Dolly says she has "Smoky Mountain DNA." It seems as if most of her family was musical, many of her 11 siblings and extended family, too. She "wrote" her first song at age 6, debuted on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, moved to Nashville at 18 years and became known for her part on The Porter Wagoner Show before going on to a stellar solo career. She has earned the nickname "Iron Butterfly" for her many lucrative business interests and has won innumerable awards over the years!

There are beautiful photos in the book, some full-page. And Dolly's commentary is so much her "voice" and quite endearing. I will rate Songteller a 4. I enjoyed it but I wish it had not been so HEAVY, literally! 

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

 "Also part of these Coffin Texts was the Book of Two Ways, the first known map of the afterlife. It was found only in certain coffins in Middle Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, usually painted on the bottom. It showed two roads snaking through Osiris's realm of the dead: a land route, black, and a water route, blue, which are separated by a lake of fire. If you follow the map, it's like choosing between taking the ferry or driving around---both ways wind up in the same place: the  Field of Offerings, where the deceased can feast with Osiris for eternity."

                                      -from the novel

I have read several of Jodi Picoult's novels and, although I am still a fan, I can't say this is one of my favorites. I almost gave up on it before 50 pages had been turned. This was a far cry from the last couple of books I have read---longer, much more intense and centered around Egyptology, a subject about which I knew precious little. As often happens, the more I read, the more invested I was in seeing it through. 

Dawn Edelstein is a death doula, which is a career completely new to me. In this role she helps people to die with dignity, guiding the terminal person and their family through many end-of-life concerns. Dawn describes herself as a "general contractor of death." She takes on a new patient, Win, who has a last wish, involving her past which feeds into some regrets Dawn, herself, has tried to stifle. 

Fifteen years prior, Dawn was a grad student involved with an archaeology project in Egypt with Wyatt Armstrong who became more than a coworker, if you know what I mean. Although she is now living in Boston with her husband Brian and teenaged daughter Meret, she has never really stopped thinking of Wyatt, her first love. When she decides to return to Egypt to try to finish some of the work she had left behind, she and Wyatt are reunited and one can guess that things will get complicated.

I certainly learned a lot of Egyptian history and mythology---almost TMI! Words like hieratic, dipinto, and nomarch left me scratching my head. Picoult's story goes back and forth in time and between Land/Egypt and Water/Boston, leaving me confused at times. The title seems doubly appropriate in that Dawn is faced with "two ways" into her future.

Ms. Picoult is a masterful storyteller and so adept at eliciting emotions. I am glad I finished the book. I give it a 4.