The Vanishing of Class 3B by Jackie Kabler

"Olivia casts one more despondent glance towards the school gate, hoping to see the minibus miraculously appearing, but it doesn't, of course, and clearly, she can't put this off any longer. She's going to have to tell the parents she currently has absolutely no idea where their children are, and this is not going to be fun. She takes a deep breath and heads for the door."          -from the novel

This title caught my attention probably because I am a retired teacher and I enjoy a good mystery from time to time. I had never read anything by this author, but this novel was definitely a page turner! 

A small class of 2nd and 3rd graders go on a field trip with 4 teachers and aides. When the minibus does not return and none of the chaperones are answering their phones, the head teacher, Olivia, quoted above, is very worried, not to mention the parents who are frantic. After some hours of waiting and searching, it is apparent there has been a kidnapping. When a ransom message finally arrives, it demands a huge amount of money and threatens to reveal a secret of one or more of the parents. And wouldn't you know there are several among them who have secrets!

After about the 2/3 point in the book, I could hardly put it down. I am rating it a 4 only because I found the climax disturbing for reasons I must not reveal.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

 "Now: I was pretty sure '24-hour bookstore' was a euphemism for something. It was on Broadway, in a euphemistic part of town. My help-wanted hike had taken me far from home...I pushed the bookstore's glass door. It made a bell tinkle brightly up above, and I stepped slowly through. I did not realize at the time what an important threshold I had just crossed."

       -from the novel

This novel was passed on to me by a friend. It took me a while to get around to reading it. I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I could have wrapped my head around it! 

The story is narrated by Clay Jannon who is looking for work in San Francisco when he comes upon the bookstore of the title. He says "imagine the shape and volume of a normal bookstore turned up on its side. This place was absurdly narrow and dizzyingly tall, and the shelves went all the way up---three stories of books, maybe more." His description aroused my curiosity. He goes on to tell of the organization of the place which included the Waybacklist, and about the strange customers and obscure book titles.

Mr. Penumbra, the owner, seems to be a rather charming old man but when he disappears, things get really crazy with the entry of a bibliophile cult called the Unbroken Spine, a secret underground library in New York City and mysterious figures of the past, Manutius and Gerritszoon, who have seemingly written in code the secrets of eternal life.

Clay meets Kat Potente who works for Google and gets her involved in efforts to decode manuscripts and figure out what the Unbroken Spine is all about. There is so much technology described that was over my head, that my enjoyment took a dive and I sort of made myself finish. I can only rate this a 2. I feel like readers in their late teens, twenties or thirties might like it much more.

Be Ready When the Luck Happened by Ina Garten

 

"One thing I learned, and continue to learn every day, is that the food we enjoy most connects to our deepest memories of when we felt happy, comfortable, nurtured. It could be something from childhood.... or a taste that somehow made us feel good, even if we didn't know why."           -from the memoir

I doubt I would have chosen to read this book on my own but because it was the May selection for Page Turners, I did read it. I found it interesting and somewhat inspiring but not really a page turner. I've rated it a 3.

I was familiar with Ina Garten from having seen a few airings of her "Barefoot Contessa" on TV. In the memoir I learned how this nickname came about when, feeling stymied in her government job, she spotted an ad for the sale of a "Catering, Gourmet Foods, and Cheese Shoppe" called Barefoot Contessa in Westhampton. It seems she found her niche and never really looked back.

After expanding her business, she wrote cookbooks, had a TV series on Food Network and even hosted a talk show. As a person who had a rather sad childhood with no encouragement and almost no affection, she rose to great heights in her chosen career. Plus, she and her husband Jeffrey have a lasting marriage which has supported them both.

In her memoir, Ms. Garten shares many things she has learned over the years including the importance of collaboration, being true to oneself and one's goals, not dwelling on the past and she writes "a barrier to me isn't a stop sign; it's a call to action."

Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

 

"Our goal with this book is to raise awareness of wrongful convictions and in some small way help to prevent more of them. It is an effort to shine light on some of the terrible and abusive tactics used by the authorities to convict innocent people."

       -John Grisham, from the Preface

I have read two nonfictions back-to-back, both very disturbing and, at times, maddening. I am certainly ready for something lighter! 

So, after reading They Came for the Schools which was so troubling to this former teacher, why would I want to read this book? First, I am a fan of John Grisham's legal thrillers and second, the title reminded me of Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy with the same theme, which was fascinating and unsettling at the same time.

This is the first time Grisham has used a co-author. He writes in his Acknowledgments that Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, is one of his heroes. Each of the two authors chose 5 true stories to present, stories of innocent people imprisoned for years with almost impossible odds of release and exoneration. They include shocking instances of false testimony, racism and corruption. It is so sad that what we call the justice system is an injustice system for many. The subtitle Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions is fitting and very revealing.

These are stories of abusive, even illegal, interrogation tactics, failure to reveal exculpatory evidence, a "guilty until proven innocent" attitude, bribing of inmates to solicit false confessions of guilt, and other atrocities in the interrogation, investigation, trial and appeals processes. And these stories come from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri and Pennsylvania to name a few. They are appalling failures in our country and have cost many innocent people years of freedom and even their very lives in capital cases. Thank goodness for nonprofit organizations like Centurion Ministries and the Innocence Project which try to right the wrongs done and help the falsely accused prove their innocence and even regain their freedom! More power to them!

I rated the book a 5; it was gripping though certainly not entertaining. It was well-researched and well-written and tells an important truth about our country.