The Stars Beneath Our Feet

by David Barclay Moore

NPMS paperback 288 pages plus author's note

Published: 2017

Genre: YA realistic fiction

 

I picked this up because I was substitute teaching and finished the book I had brought with me. (It was a quieter day than usual.) Although I didn't find it as powerful as other urban books I've read, it was worth reading! 

 

Faves: the moments I tagged and blogged below . . . but overall, I'd say the characters and their arcs. I also liked that there were surprises for me as a reader.

 

Least Faves: the grammar! Even though the author purposely is using authentic "Black English," it's so hard for me to read things like "a apple" instead of "an apple." I'm kind of a dinosaur about this . . . 

 

Quick synopsis from the back cover:  "It all started with two garbage bags full of Legos. Or maybe it was Jermaine dying. Or that fight they had before 'Maine got shot. Lolly's having a hard time knowing how to be without his older brother around. Seems like he's either sad or mad. The thing that helps most is building. His mom's girlfriend gave him two huge bags of Legos, and Lolly's working on a project so big it outgrows his apartment. But there are dangers outside. Older guys who harass Lolly and jump him and his friend Vega. What would Jermaine want him to do? Get with a crew and take revenge? Or build a different kind of world for himself? Lolly's going to have to figure this one out on his own."

 

Page 46 - "I used to be angry like that. You gotta deal with anger, or anger will deal with you."

Social worker Mr. Ali brings Lolly in for "talks" that Lolly doesn't want. He stuffs his feelings instead of dealing with them. Mr. Ali's wisdom comes from experience. I like how Lolly pulls Mr. Ali's story out of him as their conversations continue and Lolly starts opening up.

Page 54 - "I didn't tell him the mouse had come with my new tablet. Afterward, I felt a little funny. I had been doing more and more stuff like this - mean stuff. It was getting easier and easier."

I thought it was kind of funny when Lolly freaked out his dad's newest girlfriend by pointing and saying he had seen a mouse. But when he talks about it being easier to be mean, I felt sad for kids who channel their emotions this way.

Page 60 - "'Be open,' he said. I'd rather keep closed. Nobody got me. Nobody cared. I felt sick and hot."

Even more than forty years later, I remember this feeling. As an adult, I know that it isn't true, yet it's what so many young people feel and believe. They're alone and no one understands what they're dealing with.

Page 65 - "Tonight I was so high up. A big blast could take me right over this edge. I wondered what it would feel like to fall. Bad thoughts. Bad memories."

This is another thing I remember - contemplating suicide. I don't think I was ever actually suicidal as a teenager, but I thought about how it would be if I died and how others would miss me or regret being unkind. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it, but I remember having these thoughts as Lolly did at the top of his building, looking down.

Page 91 - "Smoking cigarettes was like sucking on the exhaust pipe of a car with a running motor. I could hear everybody laughing. I felt so queasy. Why did people smoke, anyhow?"

Yes! It's so gross. I'm really glad it never appealed to me (and my friends didn't "make me" try it like Lolly's did).

Page 162 - "In the city room Vega sat on a upside-down pickle bucket playing his violin while he watched me and Rose build. He was still mad. And playing a sad song. In fact, Vega's music was making me sad even though I had been feeling all right before. It's funny how music can do that to you. I guess all art is like that. Making art, you can sure change people. Make them feel a certain way or think a certain way."

Great statement on the power of art! Music has often impacted my mood.

Page 213 - "I was surprised by how fast it fell. The construction had taken so long. The destruction didn't last any time at all. I guess it's quicker to tear down something than to build it up."

I've experienced this. You spend a lot of time building something (like a Lego tower or a sand castle) and it can be quickly destroyed! I also love the parallel with humans and relationships. That last line has a lot of wisdom in it.

Page 228 - "I wondered how different I would be if I'd grown up like that, surrounded by art all the time instead of Ma's Pez holders."

Nature and nurture! Those of us who were able to go to museums, parks, theatres, etc. as children have a definite advantage over those who don't have those opportunities.

Page 270 - "Breathing was about the only thing regular about how we lived."

Lolly and Vega are on a wall by the Harlem River. It's a pivotal scene and I don't want to give anything away. This is where my eyes are really opened to what it might be like for a young black male in an urban setting to try to figure out life . . . 

Page 287 - "It had to do with who he had started to roll with, I thought. The folks you hang out with can raise you up or bring you low. Over time, they can make you think a certain way - change who you really are. Jermaine didn't realize that, I guess."

The people you spend time with can raise you up or bring you low . . . no matter your age, race, or gender. I appreciate my friends!

Page 289 (Author's note) - "If you want to be a storyteller, it's important to understand other people's points of view. We often feel that we must say what we must say. It's also crucial, however, to listen to other voices. Listening, I think, is the best way to learn about those who differ from you. Reading is a form of listening."

Amen!

The Winter Rose

by Melanie Dobson

Friend's copy paperback 346 pages plus author's note (and preview of Curator's Daughter)

Published: 2022

Genre: Christian historical fiction

 

Grace and Roland are Quakers helping to rescue Jewish children from France during WWII. Several decades later, Abby is trying to find a bone marrow match for Charlie, her "adoptive" father / grandfather figure. These two story lines are clearly going to merge, but the reader needs to patiently follow each story until the pieces click into place. Book club is discussing this tonight!

 

Page 19 - "She closed her eyes, praying for Elias and Suzel and each child by name. Praying that someone would rescue them like God had rescued her. That they would each experience His boundless love."

 

It's hard for me to think about the many adults who either turned a blind eye to what the Nazis were doing or even actually helped turn in Jewish children. I get that fear is powerful, but I love the people who did what they could to serve and save.

Page 58 - ". . . her mother never allowed her to step into a church to find out. Her mother was one of the most devout believers in God she'd ever known. Except God, she'd decided, was the enemy."

The wording really caught my attention! It made me think about the Scripture that says that even devils believe in God (James 2:19). It also made me think about people who grow up not going to church, not hearing or reading Scripture, and not knowing that God loves them. Addie was able to get a chance to change that experience by going to the home Charlie and Emma had started for troubled girls.

Page 75 - "It would take months, years even, for these children to recover body, mind, and soul." 

Even though this is referring to the effects of the war horrors, it makes me think of children experiencing other kinds of trauma. And some people seem to be more deeply affected by experiences while others seem to be more naturally resilient.

Page 83 - "Addie understood well why the family wouldn't want to speak with a reporter about the loss of a loved one. Today it was difficult to suppress such news, but then, it seemed, people were more respectful of privacy. Audiences didn't lay claim to knowing all the details about their favorite celebrities."

Yes! Even before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars recently, I would skip over headlines with his name. I like his acting, but I do NOT need or want to know about his sex life, marital details, etc. It's hard to ignore things that are splashed across the news. And Princess Diana's death - so unnecessary and so awful. Paparazzi horrify me.

Page 132 - "'A winter rose,' Grace said. Like the ones her grandmother had cultivated at home. Hearty, that's what Grams called them. Simple and strong and radiating beauty long after the other flowers had succumbed to the winter months."

 

I enjoy seeing where the book's title comes from. I think the winter rose refers to both Grace and Addie. The children see the rose as they're crossing the mountains from France to Spain.

 

Page 189-190 - Charlie brings Addie a gift. It's a bag of stones. She wonders if he's mocking her. He calls it a "bag of wrongs." / "We can collect them . . . and carry them around for the rest of our lives. With the weight of this, we wouldn't be able to go far in life, but whenever we'd like, we can take out a wrong and mull over it until we're ready for a fight."

This whole scene is referenced a few times throughout the book. After heaving a bunch of rocks into the river, Addie feels lighter, freer. I love this scene!

Page 293 - "The shapes and swirls in Marguerite's head, all the emotion stored inside her, spilled out in her rivers and gardens and the children who reminded her of all those who'd been lost during the war."

The descriptions of Marguerite's painting made me wish I could actually see them! Her synesthesia made it seem even more incredible.

Page 301 - "'Living, I think, defies the loss. Loving well defies it too.'"

Addie asks elderly Marguerite how she manages to live with the loss. I wish we knew even more of Addie's back story before she ever met Charlie and Emma.

Page 302 - "The Camino de Santiago?"

Yay! Another reference to the Way of St. James! One day, maybe I'll walk that trail . . . 

Page 310 - ". . . while Charlie may have saved your life, he can't save your soul."

Caleb and Addie are having a deep heart to heart conversation. I love this whole scene. None of us are in the position of needing / being able to save another's soul. That's God's job.

Page 315 - "Freedom was what he'd always wanted. Freedom, now, from this failing body. Freedom to be with Christ. Freedom to live forever without guilt or shame."

Charlie in a hospital bed, failing . . . learning that his sister is still alive. This was another powerful scene and made me think of people on their death bed, wanting to be free on many levels.

Page 359 (Author's note) - "This story stirred inside me as I rode the tumultuous wave of 2020. Then it poured out near the end of the year as a prayer of sorts, a deep desire for the balm of God's redemption in our broken world."

The story read almost like a poured out prayer. I loved how Grace had Scriptures on her tongue and how encouragements and repeated phrases impacted characters.

This was a lovely book and I'm glad I got the chance to read it before discussion tonight!

A Study in Scarlet

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Libby audiobook 5 hours

read by David Timson

Published: 1887 (this version 2005)

Genre: murder mystery

Well! I thought for sure I had read this before! I knew it as the "origin" story for Sherlock Holmes and one of only four full-length novels about the detective. (Most Holmes stories are short stories.) But as I listened, I got super confused and realized I had not read this book!

The opening of the story is fun to see how Watson and Holmes end up sharing the residence at 221B Baker Street. It also presents as a fairly traditional murder mystery, with a body in a vacant house, plenty of clues and some great sleuth work. But then we're suddenly in the American West with a man and child dying in the desert before they're rescued by Mormons. What?!?! I had to look it up online (later when not driving) and see that yes indeed, this was the storyline. The flashback is to explain how the murderer came to commit the London murders twenty years later. It all wraps up very well. I would definitely re-read this one. Listening to the story means I invariably miss some of the details. 

Timson's vocal work is wonderful. Oh, and "RACHE" is German for revenge . . .

Midwinter Murder

By Agatha Christie

Libby audiobook 10 hours

Read by Fenella Woolgar

Published: ???

Genre: Murder mystery short stories

 

This was okay but the common threads were Christie and winter. Who knew it snowed so much in England?! (Many of the plot lines dealt with people being snowed in.) Sometimes they were Poirot or Marple stories and sometimes there were other "detectives." Since they were short stories, my head has a jumble of characters, clues, and plots. It kept my attention during many hours of driving!

I Must Betray You

by Ruta Sepetys

Scott County Library hardcover 310 pages with author note

Published: 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction

Sepetys is one of my favorite authors! She is simply amazing every time. Here are my personal rankings of her books:

Fountains of Silence

Out of the Easy

Between Shades of Gray

I Must Betray You

Salt to the Sea

Putting this title in fourth place is *not* indicative of a less fantastic novel, though. Quite the contrary! Her writing is so extraordinary that they are ALL amazing books! And I learn something with each one I read.

Betray is set in 1980s Romania. Right away, I thought about what I was doing in that time period and if I had any awareness of the geopolitical issues at that time. I was pretty wrapped up in myself, getting married, having my first baby, graduating from college . . . Inconceivable what my contemporaries in Romania were enduring as their "going about life." (I do remember Nadia Comaneci defecting . . . but had to Google it to see that it was in 1989 right before the revolution.)

Sepetys does a LOT of research (her bibliography is very impressive!) but she writes interesting stories with characters who draw you in and make you care. The pervasive spying and informing people lived with . . . who's watching, listening, telling? If you can get in trouble for any little infraction, how do you live life in the midst of suspicion and fear? Sepetys very effectively creates this reality.

Page 14 - "Night pooled with a scattering of clouds. The sky slung black and empty of light. Tall, ashen buildings towered together on each side of the street, lording over me. Living in Bucharest was like living inside a black-and-white photo. Life in cold monochrome. You knew that color existed somewhere beyond the city's palette of cement and charcoal, but you couldn't get there - beyond the gray. Even my guilt tasted gray, like I had swallowed a fistful of soot."

 

Although this description is of something so ugly, I love her evocative use of words!

 

Page 41 - "I often think about that moment, reliving its perfection in my head. Liliana. A real Coke. Banana shampoo. Sometimes we don't recognize life's perfect moments. Until it's too late."

 

So true! I try to take time to appreciate life's moments even when they're not momentous. An attitude of gratitude isn't just a platitude!

 

Page 57 - "Cici nodded slowly, suspicious. 'Just remember, Pui, good luck comes at a price. Bad luck is free.'"

 

Cici is our protagonist's older sister. Her pet name of "Pui" for Cristian Florescu means "little chick." The relationship between these two really drove a lot of the story line. I kept wanting him to confide in her! This is pretty wise advice . . . if you believe in luck.

 

Page 60 - "'You do realize what they're doing, don't you, Gabriel?' Bunu asked. 'Mistrust is a form of terror. The regime pits us against one another. We can't join together in solidarity because we never know whom we can trust or who might be an informer.'"

 

Bunu is Christian's grandfather and Gabriel is his dad (Bunu's son). Bunu was wise but too outspoken in his disagreement with the government. He was also a huge influence on his grandson!

 

Page 108 - "Ceaușescu and his family were free to travel to every continent and experience all the world had to offer, but he kept his people caged within the country's borders, working, full of fear, terrorized if they inquired about a passport. My parents longed to return to the Romanian seaside or to spend time in the mountains. But in recent years, Ceaușescu's work mandates and petrol rations made that difficult.

I wanted my mother to have a lighted stairwell.

I wanted my father to have a real vacation or a car.

I wanted Liliana to have the birds she missed."

 

When Christian goes to the American Library with Dan (son of a U.S. diplomat), there are many eye-opening things that he sees. But a picture of the Romanian first family at Disneyworld blows him away. The Romanian government has said that Disney is not really a place and that American prosperity is a lie. When Christian realizes that not only does Disneyworld exist but that the Ceaușescu family has been there, the injustice strikes him anew.

 

Page 268 - "It was my fault. Luca jumped up to reach for me, to save me. Because of that, he'd lost his arm. He'd lost his path to medicine. And now he could lose his life. Families and so much destroyed. What was the cost of freedom?"

 

That final question really struck me. What does my freedom cost? (My brain is singing the hymn, "Jesus paid it all . . . ")

 

Page 276  - "It was true. And they eventually broadcast it on TV. 'Wealth' didn't accurately describe it. Excess, extravagance, greed, and gluttony, those words were more accurate. Countless estates across the country, hundreds of millions salted away in foreign bank accounts. They broadcast a video tour of the homes, including their daughter's, which had a solid gold meat scale and packages of imported veal for her dog.

'I can't bear it,' said Liliana. 'We've been suffering for years, existing off scrawny chicken feet, with just one forty-watt light bulb per home. And they've been living like kings. Gourmet food, foreign goods, antiques, jewelry, fur coats, hundreds of pairs of shoes?'"

When I read about how much wealth the Ceaușescu family had and the way other dignitaries (including U.S. Presidents) received them while the people of their own country were suffering hunger and deprivations, it makes me sick. I thought of Imelda Marcos having tens of thousands of pairs of designer shoes while Filipinos were starving. I think of what God's Word says about the evils of greed and amassing wealth. I just don't understand leaders who do this.

 

Page 307 (Author's note) - "When I began researching I Must Betray You, my thoughts immediately turned to the Romanian children and students living under the Ceaușescu regime - innocent young people who felt deeply and passionately as they were coming of age but were powerless to direct the course of their life."

 

This is one of the things I love about Sepetys! She has such a heart for young people and writes about their struggles so well!

 

Page 309 (Author's Note) - "History is the gateway to our collective story and the story of humanity. Historical fiction allows us to explore underrepresented stories and illuminate countries on the map." 

She's a fantastic author. I highly recommend all her books! I love that this one included photographs at the end. Her research is impeccable!

Sleeping Murder

 by Agatha Christie

Libby audiobook 1 hour 

Read by: full cast

Published: depends on if you're referring to Christie's writing (1976 posthumous publication), the TV show (1987), or this audiobook version (2010)

Genre: murder mystery, Miss Marple

Gwenda is a bit freaked out by the house she has just purchased while preparing for her husband's return from New Zealand. Why does she see a dead woman in the hall? Why does she *know* how the small room used to be decorated when she's never been in England before? 

Miss Marple rocks this story! It was short and well-done. Miss Marple is the queen of asking the right questions and observing people around her.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

 by Arthur Conan Doyle

Libby audiobook 9 hours

read by Ralph Cosham

Published: 1892 (originally)

Genre: mystery short stories

From the app: Since Doyle created the immortal Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson, no other mystery writer has come close to eclipsing him as the standard bearer in crime fiction. A brilliant London-based "consulting detective," Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and renowned for his skillful use of astute observation, deductive reasoning, and inference to solve difficult cases. This collection includes twelve of Holmes' most famous cases:

1. A Scandal in Bohemia
2. The Red-Headed League
3. A Case of Identity
4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
5. The Five Orange Pips
6. The Man with the Twisted Lip
7. The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
8. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
9. The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb
10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

 

I enjoyed listening to these stories, but there were some that were more interesting and others that were irritating. (The beryl coronet - seriously?! You bring it HOME and TELL people about it?!?! No wonder it got stolen!) Cosham does the vocal work excellently. Love listening to him read these stories.