Dead Certain A Novel by Adam Mitzner

"I'm a cautionary tale...I went to the high school for the performing arts here in New York City. You know, the one that the movie 'Fame' was based on. College at Columbia, majoring in theater, with every intention of becoming a singer after graduation. Then my mother died the fall of my junior hear, and...I guess it made me feel like I needed to do something more grown-up. I suppose a shrink might also surmise that I wanted to curry favor with my father. Anyway, I went off to law school. Fast-forward fifteen, sixteen years, and here I am, wishing I had made vastly different life choices.":
              -Ella Broden, from the novel

Due to an odd circumstance, I reread this novel. I was on a cruise and thought I had plenty of books loaded on my Kindle but when I finished one, I found I needed WIFI to download a couple of novels that were only queued. I began reading this one and quickly realized by the highlighting I had read it previously. I really didn't remember how it ended so I stuck with it to the end. I found it interesting for a 2nd time. I rated it 4 the first time and I will leave it at that. To read more, see my post of this title from July 3, 2017. I don't think I could review it much better than I did then. I do know I will NOT read it a third time!

The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire

"Now some people would say that this is nothing more than coincidence. Happenstance....But there are others who believe there is no such thing as coincidence...They believe everything is connected and that these connections---what we call coincidences---are meaningful signals from the universe."
                              -Father Gervase, from the novel

At first I found this novel depressing, then intriguing, thinking it might rate a 5. The ending confused me a bit knocking it down to a 4. There WAS a lot to like, however.

Accomplished portrait artist Will Light has been suffering the agonizing loss of his only daughter, 15-year-old Lucy, to a brutal murder. Because he is so bitter and vengeful, his marriage to wife Sophie is in jeopardy. This seemed realistic to me as I've heard of marriages torn apart by the death of a child. Will's story is interrupted occasionally by narratives of Rain La Brea, Lucy's best friend, and that of Father Gervase, the parish priest, who at the bequest of the Cardinal, asks Will to paint portraits of saints for a new cathedral.

My favorite characters were Father Gervase and Dr. Mallory, the psychiatrist who sees Rain, a very troubled teen. Both of them are very wise, as well as kind and patient. Of course, their profound thoughts have to be credited to the writer. LeClaire's style is very readable and I will look for other novels she has written.

Let the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor

" We arose in the early-morning darkness, greeting each other with Christmas wishes, but the words were hollow, without feeling, and before we tended to anything else, we gathered before the fire in a circle as we did each Christmas morning and sang "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" It was a song of family of love, of loss; we all felt it deeply. Then we fell to our knees, hands still clasped, and prayed, each of us in our turn, for Stacey and Moe's safe return."
                       -from the novel

I am not sure how many times I've read this novel---not as many as Song of the Trees and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, others in the series by Taylor, that's for sure. I was inspired to reread it by the Country Music TV documentary series by Ken Burns which aired recently. The gospel hymn, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" was prominently featured.

I enjoy Ms. Taylor's writing so much and feel as if I know her fictional Logan family, some characters apparently based on the author's own family members. I especially love Cassie Logan, the feisty little narrator, about 11 years old in this sequel. Mama and Papa Logan are very special, too, seemingly near-perfect parents.

Of course the Logans are protagonists in this novel but the new characters added include union organizers, an elderly neighbor who is determined to register to vote and a cousin of Mama's who shows up with a biracial daughter. (He had married a white woman while living up north.) Of course many of the same antagonists show their ugly racist faces, along with a few new ones.

When oldest son, Stacey, runs away to work in the cane fields in Louisiana, the family is frantic. Many side plots make a compelling story in Let the Circle Be Unbroken. Once again I rate it a 5 and will, no doubt, reread The Road to Memphis soon!

[To see more of my thoughts look for my post of the same title on 12/13/16.]

Glass Houses by Louise Penny

"It was hard to know, at that moment, what to believe. It seemed not only extra-ordinary but, frankly, incredible. That some sort of ancient Spanish debt collector had appeared in a small village in Quebec. And I wouldn't have believed it, had I not seen it for myself. The photograph and the real thing."
                   -Chief Superintendent Armand Gamache

I cannot remember how this book was selected for our Page Turners. Most likely someone recommended it. I believe more than one member of the group has mentioned enjoying mysteries by this author. Also we needed something with less emotional intensity than our last two: Where the Crawdads Sing and Educated!

It took several chapters for me to get into this novel. I suspect folks who had read others in this series, already knew many of the characters and were familiar with the author's style, enjoyed it right away. I really didn't like the book at first and had to force myself to keep going. (Since I am the leader of our book club, I don't give myself permission to quit.) Fortunately the plot did become a bit clearer and gradually pulled me in. I must admit to being confused much of the time in my reading, as evidenced  by a quiz I took at bookrags.com. I scored 16/25 for 64%, a D! How embarrassing!

In the novel, protagonist Armand Gamache, the Surete's Chief Superintendent has multiple problems in the small Canadian town of Three Pines. Law enforcement is being beaten by the drug cartels, a mysterious black-robed figure appears on the village green and a young woman is found beaten to death in a church basement. It is learned that the figure in black is a "cobrador," something like a conscience of Spanish lore and about the time IT disappears, the dead woman is found wearing the same black costume. These stories are told alternating with scenes from the murder trial. How are all these situations related?  It's an intricate plot, to be sure, and obviously, too intricate for me!

It was interesting that the book references an historical event that I didn't remember:  that Cortez, after arriving in Mexico, had his generals burn the ships to prevent his men returning to Spain. Coincidentally, the day after I finished the book there was an article in the newspaper about the musical duo For King and Country who have a recent album called "Burn the Ships." Apparently this is a phrase akin to burning bridges, in other words, forging ahead without looking back or letting the past define you.

I am rating Glass Houses a 3. I liked it enough, I may read another of Penny's novels soon. At least I will be familiar with some of the characters and the setting next time.

I will not make the meeting this month but perhaps I can, at least, add a group rating later.
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Paraphrased notes from the group leader post-meeting:

I thought the conversation went well. Several of us, at least three, are Louise Penny fans and by the end of the discussion several said they thought they would try more of her books.  One participant is from Quebec near the Vermont border and could give a feel for the place. Also she knows some people who know Louise Penny and could give us insights into her background.

The book was not one of the better liked.  People found the plots hard to follow and the distractions distracting, not in a good way. The average rating was right at 3.

The Orphan Mother by Robert Hicks

"She would talk about the death of her son with that woman who had also lost children. In this there was no distinction between them. Carrie described herself as a widow, but Mariah thought of herself as orphaned: orphaned from both her elders and her own child, alone, the last possible orphan in her line. The orphan mother."
                -from the novel

Some years ago I read The Widow of the South by this author and liked it very much. When this one, something of a sequel with a different protagonist, was available as a "book bundle" from the library, I was pleased to request it for our Page Turners. It was a disappointing, at best.

Mariah Reddick, a former slave has become a mid-wife, respected and valued in the town of Franklin, Tennessee. When her only son Theopolis, an aspiring politician, is killed in the midst of a riot, Mariah bravely sets out to investigate. Mariah's story is woven into that of George Tole, an
ex-soldier who has become a hit-man.

I rated the novel a 3. I thought the writing was good but the plot failed to reel me in. As a rule, I love historical fiction but this one was neither satisfying nor entertaining. The book was made more interesting for me because my husband and I visited the Civil War sites in and around Franklin years ago. I remember going to Carnton Plantation which is where Mariah was slave to Carrie McGavock, known as the 'Widow of the South" and a hero to many.

The average rating of our group was 2.9, with many 3's noted, but also votes for '2' and even a '1.' A very rare thing! One participant did not think the dialect was true to the setting and another said it was difficult to "suspend disbelief." A few members said they started the book, put it down and restarted a few times before getting perhaps 3/4 through and finally wanting to finish. A couple of folks said they fell asleep while reading the earliest chapters.

Carnton Plantation House

The Orphan Mother was apparently based on a true historic happening. One group member thought the author took an exciting actual event and turned it into a boring novel!

Mariah Reddick

Carrie McGavock

Invasion of Privacy The Cross Creek Trial of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings by Patricia Nassif Acton

"To me, Cross Creek is a love story. It is a story of my love for the land, and for that particular portion of the land where I have felt I belonged, which is Cross Creek. And when you love a person or a place, then their faults and peculiarities----that does not interfere with your love for them at all."
               -from the trial testimony of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I suppose this nonfiction would not be for just anybody but to this long-time fan and student of Marjorie Rawlings, it was fascinating! I purchased the book several months ago at a Marjorie Rawlings Society conference. I had saved it to read before I taught my next "Florida's Three Marjories" class. I knew I would learn a great deal about this trial that took place in the 1940's but I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I thought it would be factual and pretty dry. Factual, it was, but definitely not dry! There was actually quite a lot of humor.

I had not noticed when I purchased the book that it was illustrated by J.T. Glisson, a multi-talented writer and artist whom I have met in person. I have read his books and three of his autographed prints hang in our home. His book, The Creek (I would call it a memoir), recounts many entertaining and downright funny stories of his growing up in North Central Florida as a neighbor of Marjorie Rawlings. His drawings in Invasion of Privacy were a wonderful surprise and made the reading even more special. My rating is 5 but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're really into Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

"This is why I wanted to write this book, to tell about a place I love that doesn't belong to me but feels like it is mine, and how that feels marvelous and exceptional. All the things that are wrong in the world seem conquered by a library's simple unspoken promise: Here I am, please tell me your story; here is my story, please listen."
              -from the author

Recently a friend asked me what I was reading and I responded, "The Library Book." She asked, "Which one?" Rather humorous. Another friend had recommended it a while back and I was planning it for our November Page Turners selection. I ordered the eBook from the library too soon, I guess, and when it became available I had to read it. Hope I remember at least some of it in November!

This nonfiction is very unique, to say the least! Ms. Orlean, a staff writer for The New Yorker, is obviously passionate about books and libraries. She became fascinated with the devastating fire of 1986 in the Central Library of Los Angeles, "the single biggest library fire in the history of the United States," and has researched it thoroughly for this book. Her cast of characters are mostly the librarians who ran the library one after another from its beginning in 1926 along with the primary suspect in the possible arson, aspiring actor Harry Peak.

The author manages to even work in some history of libraries and describes the role they have played and continue to play in our culture. Her description of recent developments was quite interesting. She wrote of bookmobiles which I remembered fondly from my youth. She described the founding of OverDrive which handles e-book loans for many libraries around the country. As a matter of fact, that was where the copy I was reading originated. Ms. Orlean  goes on to discuss the recent phenomenon of The Little Free Library of which I have seen "branches" in our neighborhood and at our church.

The only negative I would mention would be the chronology. At times I was confused as to pre-fire and post-fire events. I rate the book a 4. It was a compelling story though not really a page-turner. The amount of research and passion that went into the writing deserves much admiration!
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When our group met to discuss The Library Book, we used questions issued by the publisher as jumping off points. We especially enjoyed hearing each other's personal experiences with libraries. Some of us remembered actual library buildings and others recalled enjoying bookmobiles or school libraries. A few participants found the book disjointed but someone made the point it was something like a library in itself, with a mixture of facts and story. Some thought the author purposely went back and forth from description and fact to narrative to keep the reader's interest. The group's average rating was 3.6.