The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

"There was a time long ago in Africa when the people could fly. They flew like blackbirds up above with their wings shining against the blue sky. When these people were captured into slavery they forgot that they could fly. They shed their wings on the long boats to America. As slaves the people lived in misery, they got sick on the waves of the sea and they no longer could breathe and smell the sweet scent of Africa."

                      -from the folk tale The People Could Fly

I fondly remember much of Virginia Hamilton's children's literature from my teaching days. As I read The Invention of Wings, I kept thinking of the book pictured here and quoted above. There were a number of references to blackbirds' wings and flying away to freedom, even in the title.

I LOVED the The Invention of Wings! It's a 5, for sure. Since historical fiction is my favorite genre it was bound to grab me. It is plain to see why it has been on the Bestseller List for quite a while now.

The setting spans from 1803 to 1838 mostly in Charleston, South Carolina, though some of the action moves North later in the story. Sarah Grimke is the white daughter of a judge and plantation owner who, as an eleventh birthday gift, is given a 10-year-old slave girl named Hetty, also called Handful. Sarah tries to free her at that time, unsuccessfully. This attempt foreshadows Sarah's rebelliousness and her future as an abolitionist and women's rights advocate. When Sarah's baby sister, Angelina, is born, Sarah becomes her godmother. Under Sarah's influence, Angelina, called Nina, adopts similar views on slavery and gender equality. In fact, after Nina becomes a notorious speaker, she is called "Devilina" by some who oppose her radical opinions.

I had heard of Angelina Grimke, one of few female abolitionists of historical note. Through the story, Sarah and Nina's crusade introduces them to William Lloyd Garrison, Lucretia Mott and Theodore Weld, who marries Angelina. The first two names were familiar to me but not the last.

Alternating between chapters of the Grimke sisters' story, is the fascinating but ugly saga of Handful. I was no stranger to the ill-treatment of slaves but by becoming involved with these characters, the cruelty seemed more intense. It was easy to recognize Handful's voice since she used such expressions as "It was April and half the heat from hell had already showed up in Charleston" and "the picture I had of [Mauma] was washed-out like the red on a quilt after it's boiled too many times." The author did not use dialect heavily, however.

In the Author's Note, Ms.Kidd tells how she came to write this story. She says she did not know about the Grimke sisters until recently, even though she was a Charlestonian.  She felt her ignorance was "a personal failing" and set out to share their amazing journey and their before-their-time feminism. She added the fictional Handful as a contrast and it works perfectly. I highly recommend this novel!
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At the time I could check out a set of copies of The Invention of Wings, I chose it for our book club selection. It was very well-liked by our members who gave it a 4.8 average rating out of 5. In fact it was very close to 4.9. My plan was to skim over the book and read my blog and the book jacket to remember the plot. However, when I started rereading I didn't want to stop! One of our Page Turners thought the Grimke sisters would be SO shocked and pleased that we have now had an African-American president and will possibly elect the first woman to that office. An interesting point!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

"The car goes where the eyes go."
                   -from the novel

Last month we read The Book Thief---over 500 pages and narrated by Death. This month's selection is just over 300 pages and narrated by a dog. Needless to say, quite a leap! This book was recommended by a member of our Page Turners group. I wasn't sure I was going to like it, not being a dog owner or a race fan but as it turned out, I found it quite good. I am rating it a 5.

The story is told by Enzo, a dog who aspires to be reincarnated as a man, and who is very frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of thumbs. He is quite the philosopher and I found many quotable thoughts but chose one that I thought touched on a prominent theme. At times Enzo seems more human than many humans! In fact he even says, "It's what's inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very human."

Denny Swift, Enzo's owner, is a mechanic and aspiring Formula One race car driver. The author was probably either a race car driver himself, a big fan or he did a lot of research for this book since there are a number of mentions of famous drivers and lots of racing rules and tips. Quite possibly I learned more about racing than I really wanted to know! But in realizing the title is an analogy for life, I could get over it and just be engaged by the story. Though Denny becomes an excellent driver, his personal life is falling apart. At times one might think if he didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all! With the resilience and persistence of a race car driver, and of course the loyal support of his faithful Enzo, he survives the "rain" in his life.

This book made me think of my middle brother, who not only is a dog owner, but also a huge racing fan. I would definitely recommend the book to him.

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The Page Turners met to discuss The Art of Racing in the Rain on a rainy Thursday morning. Fourteen people were present, a testament to the appeal of the book. The groups' ratings averaged a 4. The discussion was very animated with many members relating personal stories of the intelligence and/or sixth sense and the compassion of both dogs and cats. Some of us agreed that with the dog narrating, we could get very different insights of human behavior. Many of us started the book with doubts but were able to suspend our disbelief enough to enjoy the story.

A large percentage of members are or have been dog owners and said they might be seeing their own pets differently after reading this novel. One person shared that she was seeing her baby's stuffed zebra differently! (You will have to read the book, to get the humor there!) We all agreed we would recommend this book to dog lovers!

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

"Grisham is a marvelous storyteller who works readers the way a good trial lawyer works a jury."
                                              -The Philadelphia Inquirer

Wow! This one is a 5 for sure! I could hardly put it down. I was pretty sure that would be the case since most of Grisham's novels have grabbed me that way.

Attorney Jake Brigance, the main character from A Time to Kill, reappears in this novel to defend the hand-written will of Seth Hubbard, a man who has committed suicide. The will is shocking for this Mississippi town in the size of the estate, its disregard of family and the person selected to receive most of the assets. In a letter to Jake, Seth charges him with defending the will to the letter, knowing his son and daughter will surely contest it. There are reverberations of Mississippi's past (and present) racial tensions and especially references to Jake's successful defense of Carl Lee Hailey three years prior to this story. It is helpful if one has read A Time to Kill or seen the movie since Grisham refers to the Hailey trial a number of times.

The plot is primarily centered around the question of WHY Seth Hubbard changed his will the way he did. Some of the answer to that question reminded me of Mildred Taylor's series of YA fiction, particularly Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, one of my favorite novels ever, in which the black Logan family has to fight to hold on to the land they own in Mississippi.  Also the author keeps the reader wondering about the title for quite a while; no revelation until the final chapters.

Several of Grisham's legal thrillers have been adapted to movies. I surely hope this one will be! I wonder if Michael McConaughey is too old to reprise his role of Jake!

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

"He had the strange feeling that in the future, whenever he thought about her, this would be the image he recalled. She was too beautiful, too refined and exotic, for this country setting, but when she broke into that wide, friendly smile, he felt something clear inside, like the sun breaking through the mist."
                                                               -Luke's thoughts, from the novel

You can count on Nicholas Sparks for a great love story! Of the 17 titles listed of his other works, I have read at least 10, but probably more. Most involve very touching love stories with a number of tear-jerkers among them---what a male member of our Page Turners group would call "chick lit"!

I have to admit this one was a little different with two love stories alternating for most of the book. To begin with, Ira Levinson is an old man, injured and trapped in his wrecked car which is being blanketed in snow, while waiting and hoping for rescue. He begins to hallucinate the presence of his dead wife, Ruth, and the two of them reminisce about their history. I had a personal reaction to the revelation that Ruth had been a third grade teacher who went far beyond the classroom in positively affecting her students. As a retired teacher, I hope that some of my former students remember me that way! In chapter 2 the reader meets Sophia, a college art history student, and Luke, a handsome bull-riding cowboy who rescues her from a troublesome situation. As expected they become an unlikely twosome. The way in which these two love stories finally intersect is both touching and somewhat surprising.

I enjoyed this one; I will rate it a 4. The book jacket says that Sparks has had 8 of his novels adapted as movies and I predict this will be the 9th. I can imagine a country music soundtrack and maybe Carrie Underwood as Sophia. North Carolina, Sparks' home state and the setting of many of his books, will make for a beautiful movie location. If you enjoy a good love story without the gratuitous sex, try this one!

A Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay

"I try to comfort my son. Am I any good at this? When I was his age, my mother had died and no one had comforted me. Was that why I was useless at reaching out, offering tenderness and support? Are we not forever shaped by our childhood, its scars, its secrets, its hidden pain?"
                                             -Antoine, from the novel

Well, I must say I was excited to read A Secret Kept because I had loved Sarah's Key by the same author. But this novel was certainly not the same caliber! I would rate it 3.5. (I don't allow our group to use decimals but hey, this isn't a group book.)

The story, narrated by main character Antoine Rey, did hold my attention with a gradually unfolding mystery surrounding the death of his and sister Melanie's mother years before, as well as anonymous love letters that had me wondering who they were written by and to whom. Throw in some love---well, actually more like sex---and it is something of a page turner.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

"It's probably fair to say that in all the years of Hitler's reign, no person was able to serve the Fuhrer as loyally as me. A human doesn't have a heart like mine. The human heart is a line, whereas my own is a circle, and I have the endless ability to be in the right place at the right time. The consequence of this is that I'm always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both. Still, they have one thing I envy. Humans, if nothing else, have the good sense to die."
                                             -Death, from the novel

Wow! The Book Thief is a powerful story! Historical fiction, as my readers know, is my favorite genre and I have read quite a few set at the time of WWII in Europe. Most have centered on the Holocaust, which is fascinating to me---both the unbelievable horror inflicted on so many innocent people and the beautifully inspiring stories of rescue and survival. This novel hints at the Holocaust but centers on the daily life of German folk in a small town. The reader feels emotionally drawn to a number of characters, especially the "book thief" Liesel, her foster father, Hans, her friend and neighbor, Rudy and Max, a Jewish friend the family hides in their basement. Death is the omniscient narrator but does not seem scary or threatening. He foreshadows often, perhaps to prepare the reader for what is coming.

The author's style is very unique. He gives contents at the beginning of each part and interrupts the story at times to ask or answer questions, give definitions, descriptions or explanations. Zusak's writing is very poetic, appealing to the senses in very unusual ways. I always begin my entry with a quote and there were so many creative descriptions and thought-provoking passages, it was hard to choose just one.

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When the Page Turners Book Club met to discuss The Book Thief, we were furnished book-themed refreshments by two members: Jewish Apple Cake, pea soup, pretzels and apple cider to name a few. A lovely feast! The thirteen attendees had copies of discussion questions from the book publisher which were very wordy and complex. As it turned out we used some of the 12 questions as jumping-off points and spent the hour discussing whatever came to mind. Everyone liked the novel; our group rating was 4.7. There were 8 members who voted 5 and I was one of those. One of our members who is also a published author, recommended this book at our November sharing session. We are thankful for the suggestion! Now we just need to see if we can find the movie still showing somewhere or get the DVD when it is released. Perhaps we can view it as a group, probably with the expectation that it will not be as good as the book!

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

"House Rules:

1.  Clean up your own messes.
2.  Tell the truth.
3.  Brush you teeth twice a day.
4.  Don't be late for school.
5. Take care of your brother; he's the only one you've got."

                          -from the novel

This was another good book by Jodi Picoult, not as good as the last one I read, The Storyteller, but definitely a page-turner! I rate it a solid 4. The story involves Jacob, a high school senior with Asperger's. Jacob has many idiosyncrasies stemming from his disability, all rather eye-opening for me since I have no real experience with this syndrome. It was apparent that the author had researched extensively because the characterizations of Jacob and his mother and brother as they related to him were quite believable. One of Jacob's quirks was the singing of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" as a calming effect. He frequently quotes lines from movies and he is a stickler for following rules. Jacob is totally obsessed with criminal forensics and after he is accused of murdering his social skills tutor, this "hobby" points to his guilt. Jacob's brother, Theo,  has his own emotional problems which leaves one wondering through most of the book: Just what was his involvement in the death of this young woman, Jess? Jess's boyfriend is the early suspect, and not a very likeable sort himself.

This novel brings up the possible link between childhood vaccines and autism. I'm still not sure what to think about that controversy. I probably did learn a great deal about Asperger's, that it is a high-functioning level of autism and that individuals with this syndrome can be extremely intelligent, and in Jacob's case, even profound. For example, he says "It is hard for me to explain why it is so difficult to look into people's eyes. Imagine what it would be like if someone sliced your chest with a scalpel and rummaged around inside you, squeezing your heart and lungs and kidneys. That level of complete invasion is what it feels like when I make eye contact. The reason I choose not to look at people is that I don't think it's polite to rifle through someone's thoughts, and the eyes might as well be glass windows, they're that transparent."

The plot of House Rules moves quickly, being told by 5 characters alternating chapters. So 532 pages are read before you know it. The publisher includes discussion questions at the end of the novel and a conversation with the author which is very enlightening.