Wild, Beautiful and Free by Sophronia Scott

"Take this rock from you papa's land. You hold on to it, never lose it. That rock comes from clear water, so your mind will be clear. Keep the land on your heart and on your mind. Maybe one day it'll help you find your way back. Your papa's always with you. Don't forget that, Jeanette. I'll be praying for you. Now go."

            -Dorinda, from the novel

Jeanette Béḃinn was born on the Catalpa Valley plantation in Louisiana, daughter of an enslaved woman and the white landowner. She was raised in the big house with her white half-sister to the chagrin of the mistress of the house. Jeanette and her father had a very close and loving relationship but when he died, the evil mistress sold her into slavery. She ended up on a Mississippi plantation, learning firsthand what slaves had to endure.

Passing for a white woman with her slave, Silas, she reached Philadelphia and later New York. She eventually made her way to Ohio where she wass hired as a teacher in a community established to give sanctuary to escaped slaves. She lived at Fortitude Mansion, which was owned by Chirstopher Robichaud Colchester, a white man who founded this community. They formed an emotional connection, but Jeanette was confused about what such a union would mean. She ran away and ended up a nurse with the Union army, while the Civil War was raging. In the meantime, Colchester has joined the Union war effort, as well.

My husband and I, for a few years, traveled to various Civil War battlefields. Jeanette ends up near the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg, sites we have visited. That was very interesting as I tried to remember some of what we had learned about those sites.

Will that rock given to Jeanette by Dorinda (see quote) see her back to Catalpa Valley? I'll never tell!

I rate the book a 3. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but parts of this novel seemed pretty difficult to believe.

Tampa Burn by Randy Wayne White

 

"In the human brain is a tiny region called the 'amygdala,' a section of cerebral matter so ancient that scientists refer to it as our 'lizard brain,' or 'reptilian core.' It's here, in this ancient, isolated cellular place, that the killer that is in us all resides. It is from here that a million years of genetic memory encodes us with a horror of spiders, snakes, and tight, black places that might rob the air from our land-breathing lungs. Rage resides in that dark area, as well."          

               -Doc Ford, from the novel

This is the February selection for our Page Turners book club. I have read Randy Wayne White before but not in a long time. As I expected it was a page turner! 

In this installment of Doc Ford's adventures, he must take the crime VERY seriously as it involves the kidnapping of his son, whom he barely knows, the result of an affair with a woman in Central America. The abductor is Práxedes Lourdes, the vilest sort of sadist who has earned the nickname "Incendiary" or Man Burner. Need I say more?

A huge ransom is demanded of the kid's mother, Pilar Fuentes, former lover of Marion "Doc" Ford. Doc and friend Tomlinson with some help from Pilar search out the place where Prax is holding Lake, Doc and Pilar's son. The hunt takes them from Miami all the way to Tampa, the home of Tampa General Hospital, famous for its burn center---not surprisingly pointing to the book title. Later in the novel a noted plastic surgeon is kidnapped from the hospital.

Secondary characters include a nasty female boat captain; Ransom, a Bahamian "cousin" of Doc's who seems very wise and likeable; Harris Lily, a (former?) naval intelligence officer; and a tattooed giant and a clairvoyant dwarf. And I mustn't forget Doc's girlfriend, Dewey Nye, who is furious at what she views as infidelity. Sound crazy? Yep, but MOST of it makes sense. Interesting that Dewey was a tennis pro at the South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island where my husband and I vacationed years ago.

The novel was definitely hard to put down toward the end, but I found the ending confusing. Maybe someone in our book club can clue me in. I'll rate the book a 3, liked it, didn't love it. We'll see what the others think soon.

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A very large group of Page Turners attended our meeting today. I predicted we would have a fiery discussion (pun intended) and, in a sense, it was! The average rating with 19 voting was 2.8----with NO 5's and 2 1's. Most people found Tampa Burn a page turner even though there were some who found elements of the plot unbelievable, and some were confused by many characters and an unsatisfying ending. We Floridians found the settings of South and Southwest Florida interesting because of having lived in or visited some of the places mentioned. Many appreciated White's writing while some members didn't like his overuse of raw language and/or what they felt was gratuitous violence. A few attendees didn't even finish the book. Perhaps not many will look for another novel by this author.

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

White fragility is "the tendency among members of the dominant white cultural group to have a defensive, wounded, angry, or dismissive response to evidence of racism."

               -Dictionary.com

"Though white fragility is triggered by discomfort and anxiety, it is born of superiority and entitlement. White fragility is not weakness per se. In fact, it is a powerful means of white racial control and the protection of white advantage."

                                                      -Robin DiAngelo, from the book

This title had long been on my must-read list and somehow it had been on my Kindle unbeknownst to me. I have been convinced for a while now that I live a life of white privilege. I also realize that although I try not to be, I am racist. DiAngelo, a white woman, admits that even though she is a tenured professor and diversity training consultant she still battles with degrees of racism. She feels all white people are racist and that does NOT equate to being bad. Racism does not just mean being full of hate and tending to violence. It is the inevitable result of growing up in a culture where white is deemed superior.

I think DiAngelo is saying that we white folks must admit to our racism and work at changing it. Since reading How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi, I have caught myself several times doing or saying something racist.

The reading of White Fragility convicted me to work harder at being anti-racist! I rated the book a 4, not exactly a page turner but very informative and worthwhile.

Windigo Island by William Kent Krueger

"Ogichidaa, he thought. To stand between evil and his people. This was what he was born for. If necessary, this would be the way of his death."

                 -Cork O'Connor's thoughts from the novel

I practically inhaled this one, number 14 in the Cork O'Connor series. They are all page turners, but I finished this one in record time and then, as with most really great reads, I was sorry it was done! A 5 rating, for sure. 

Cork O'Connor, former sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota, and current private investigator, is asked to help find a missing teenage Ojibwe girl after her friend is found dead under very suspicious circumstances. Daniel English, a relative of the missing girl, and her mother Louise feel Cork may be their last resort. Cork's adult daughter Jenny is at first curious but as she learns more about this young woman, Mariah, she gets involved in the search and becomes almost obsessed with finding her---alive, everyone hopes. 

The Windigo, a monster of Ojibwe lore, lends a mystical air and is mentioned in many of these novels. Here it gives its name to an island and turns out to be an alias of the super-bad guy. Henry Meloux, the aging sage and another relative of the missing girl, knows the Windigo well and helps in the search. He is one of my favorite characters, after Cork, and I cannot bear the thought of him dying in a future novel.

The Author's Note is first in the book and very interesting, relating problems among native women, espousing social justice and publicizing activist organizations.

I will soon look for Manitou Canyon, #15 in the series. It looks like there are 4 more after that. I hope another is being written, as I post this!