The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

 "It means that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."

             -Aslan, from the novel

I read this book years ago when I was teaching school, but seeing my granddaughter play a role in a drama adaptation at her school inspired me to reread it. It was a quick and easy read but I did enjoy it, even knowing how it would end. I will rate it a 3.

At the time of WWII, four English children are sent to live in the country estate of a professor. While exploring the home the youngest, Lucy, discovers a magic wardrobe through which she is able to enter the fantasy land of Narnia. Eventually all the children enter this place "where it is always winter but never Christmas" because of a spell by the White Witch who calls herself Queen of Narnia.

The novel could be seen as an allegory with a Christian theme. Aslan, the lion, resembles Jesus Christ in his sacrificial death and resurrection. I have recently done a bit of study of Revelation and the final battle where evil is defeated is reminiscent of that book of the Bible. It seemed to me the breaking of winter into spring in Narnia could symbolize the arrival of a "new heaven and a new earth." (Revelation 21:1) I think the parallels with the Bible made this reading more fascinating for me.

Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger

 "Oh, the water is wide. I cannot cross o'er. And neither have I wings to fly. Give us a boat that will carry two. And both shall cross, Shiloh and I."

                 -a song Shiloh was taught by her mother, from the novel

This is the fourth book I have read by this author, the second in the Cork O'Conner series of mysteries. So far Ordinary Grace and This Tender Land are my favorites. I've enjoyed the mysteries but the other two were extraordinary. This one gets a 3 rating. Although I liked it overall, I found it confusing in parts. I surely never figured out the real "bad guy" until it was revealed.

The plot is set with the disappearance of Shiloh, a famous singer, into the Boundary Waters. A group of men, including Cork set out to find her when they suspect she is in trouble. The book becomes quite a page-turner when rescuers are being stalked and even murdered and Shiloh is caught by a mystery man. 

As with other books by Krueger, this one takes place in rural Minnesota and involves Native Americans. I have enjoyed learning a bit about the culture---religion, respect for nature, mythology and language---through his writing. 

There are many novels in this series and I plan to read all of them eventually. Purgatory Ridge is next up.

The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

 "The Secret River is in my mind.                            

I can go there anytime.

Everything Mother Albirtha says is true.

The sky is gold and the river is blue.

River, river, I love you."

                                                  -Calpurnia's poem

I am a long-time fan of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and had read this book so long ago I had the vaguest remembrance of the story. "The Secret River" is to be performed by Opera Orlando in December and we have tickets. I wanted to read the story again as a reference point. The book is the only one written by Marjorie Rawlings specifically as children's literature. The copy pictured above is illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon with beautiful artwork. Not really an opera fan, I was drawn to this one because of Rawlings and because the composer is a University of Central Florida professor of music and I am a two-degree graduate of UCF.

The story involves Calpurnia, an African American girl of a poor family in Florida. She visits Mother Albirtha, who is something of a forest guru, for advice in helping her father to turn his "hard times to soft times." As you can guess from the quote, she is an aspiring poet.

Being reminded of this lovely children's story, I am enthusiastically anticipating the opera version!

2021 Page Turners Book Rankings

 Page Turners Book Rankings for 2021

1.  American Dirt                                         Jeanine Cummins            4.4

     Ordinary Grace                                       William Kent Krueger     4.4

2.  Anxious People                                        Fredrik Backman            4.1

3.  We Are Not From Here                            Jenny Torres Sanchez     3.9

4.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks     Rebecca Skloot               3.8

5.  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd                Agatha Christie                3.7

     Pride and Prejudice                                  Jane Austen                     3.7

6.  The Night Watchman                                Louise Erdrich                3.5

7.  The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop            Fannie Flagg                    3.4

8.  The Mountains Echoed                            Khaled Hosseini               3.2

We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

August 3, 2020 Original Post

"We wait, all of us, for the beast to wake up again. We watch as it sleeps, unbothered, unhurried. It doesn't care that my heart is racing. That my mind feels dizzy from the heat and hunger. That my body is prickly with sweat and readiness. It doesn't care that we're dying, literally dying, to get as far away as possible from the places we love but that have turned on us."
               -Pequena, from the novel

I am very familiar with this author who writes for a young adult audience; I know her personally and have read 3 of her novels previously. This book, however, is SO timely and so intense, I think it would be an important read for everyone, from age 15 up to all adults. We read and hear of the plight of immigrants in our country and see images that make us wonder what happened to the America who invited "your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (from The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus)  Through the eyes of three Guatemalan teens, we are drawn into the struggles and emotions of these refugees.

These young people are living in fear of violent gangs that run rampant. Danger seems to be around every corner. Pulga, Chico, close enough to be his brother, and Pequena, Pulga's female cousin, have family who love them in Puerto Barrios but they decide they must run to save themselves. They set out on an extremely perilous journey through Guatemala and Mexico, mostly via La Bestia, the train called "the Beast" because of the number of people who have lost life or limbs to its ferocity. These muchachos must survive so much cruelty along the way but occasionally are met by compassionate people running shelters. It takes real desperation and determination to keep them going.

The author uses what I would call lyrical prose. Pulga and Pequena alternate telling their very emotional stories, expressing themselves in a powerful, sometimes poetic way. I became totally involved with the characters, almost wishing I could help them on their way somehow. Ms. Sanchez also uses magical realism, especially in Pequena's mind, to lift the narrative to another plane.

The novel, of course, is written in English but in a number of places there is Spanish dialogue. This was interesting because I could challenge my mediocre knowledge of Spanish in trying to translate. More often than not, the author helps out with the context.

This is a captivating story of survival, although it is difficult to read in parts---sad and scary, at times. Short chapters and great intensity made it a page-turner and I can easily rate it a 5.

Updated October, 2021

Our Page Turners finally met to discuss a selection we had planned for spring. It was postponed because of our reading of American Dirt. We felt the subject matter was too similar to read so soon after it.  Much of our discussion centered around a comparison to that other novel. We also talked about the appropriateness of this book for youth. (We thought it was and that young people would find it readable and engaging.) We agreed We Are Not From Here elicited intense emotions and that the author's use of figurative language is very compelling. Our leader even read an excerpt to illustrate the lyrical quality of the writing. 

The group's average rating was 3.9. 

The Passing Storm: A Novel by Christine Nolfi

 

"Secrets were corrosive, especially when they were bottled up for too long. Rae knew this from bitter experience---her own secrets had weakened her relationship with her late daughter and tested her father's love and his patience as he reluctantly learned to live with them."

       -from the novel

A novel I selected from  Amazon First Reads, The Passing Storm was quite good. There was enough mystery to keep me engaged and even a hint of romance toward the end. I rated it a 3.

Rae Langdon lives on a 40-acre farm in Ohio with her aging father. It is getting harder and harder to maintain the property, particularly when they are both grieving the loss of Rae's mother and teenage daughter, Lark. Both family members were victims of seemingly freak accidents. In fact, the reader does not know much detail about Lark's death for quite a while.

Quinn Galecki is a teenage boy, close friend of the deceased Lark, who has neglectful and abusive parents. He is offered refuge by the Langdons, much to the displeasure of his father when he finds out. 

As intimated by Rae in the quote above, the story is built around several corrosive secrets---her own and others, including Quinn. These are revealed gradually as the plot progresses.

A Conspiracy of Mothers by Colleen Van Niekerk

 ""A tremor had always run beneath the surface of their family. With all the ills they'd suffered, she had simply assumed it was the result of hardship. Instead, everything they were, everything she had become, rested upon a conspiracy of mothers."                 -Ingrid's thoughts, from the novel

I chose this title as my free book for September because the setting of South Africa was one I haven't experienced and I can certainly identify with mothers, since I am one. The plot sounded pretty interesting and the small number of ratings were good. I will be generous in rating it a 3 because I didn't enjoy it all that much. There were things to like about the novel but too much magic realism, a literary element I am easily confused by and don't really enjoy.

As I mentioned the setting is South Africa, 1994, with much of apartheid still rearing its ugly head and the first democratic election looming. The plot involves 3 mothers---Rachel, who is dying of cancer; Yolanda, her daughter and mother of Ingrid, quoted above; and Elsa, mother of Yolanda's former white lover, Stefan. Each of the mothers plus Ingrid and a hired hit man narrate alternating chapters, giving multiple perspectives to the story. 

Yolanda, an artist suffering from PTSD and living in Virginia, has been estranged from her family for years. In South Africa, Rachel has raised her granddaughter, Ingrid, who has long thought her parents were dead. Yolanda "hears" her mother calling and returns to her homeland, only to find both Rachel and Ingrid missing. The only conspiracy that I really understood was that of Elsa, going to extreme measures to protect her son, the unlawful father of Ingrid. (It was illegal for races to mix.) I must admit those efforts made for the more exciting parts of the book.