Logan's Run

by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Hennepin County Library hardcover 148 pages

Published: 1967

Genre: Science Fiction

I had a vague notion of what this story was about since the movie premiered in 1976 and I remember seeing trailers for it. (I didn't go see it - I was only ten years old!) But my curiosity about it was piqued recently and I don't remember why, but I requested it from the library and read it.

I was not impressed. Some SciFi / dystopian fiction has a point to make and / or raises some deep questions. I remember the impending overpopulation crisis in my childhood, but this book just seemed like cheap thrills - sex and violence. Maybe I'm missing the point, but I watched a few YouTube clips last night and I definitely don't want to watch the movie. It looks worse than the book and most of the actors were over the age of 30!

In the book, you get a crystal implanted in your palm at birth. As it decays, it changes color. When you turn 21, it goes black and you need to "Sleep" (i.e. be put to death). If someone tries to avoid the mandated end of their life, they are called a "runner" and the DS tracks them and kills them. In the movie, the age limit is thirty, which is why I found it interesting that most of the principle actors (and mostly the men at that) were over that age.

The book caught my attention on page 70 with this description of Crazy Horse:

"And, with infinite slowness, the mammoth figure took its place against the Dakota sky: Tashunca-uitco. Crazy Horse. The ruthless Indian genius who directed the annihilation of Custer's Seventh on the Little Big Horn."

If I weren't so underwhelmed by this book, I'd include a picture of the entire page. I like the description of how Crazy Horse became a monument . . . started in 1948, it's still not done. The description of him as a "ruthless" genius who "directed the annihilation" of Custer is a far cry from Custer's Last Stand and what I've learned of Crazy Horse. Words have power . . .

 

This book was written in 1967 projecting the year 2116. From Wikipedia: "In the world of 2116, a person's maximum age is strictly legislated: 21 years, to the day. When people reach this Lastday they report to a Sleepshop in which they are willingly executed via a pleasure-inducing toxic gas."

 

The focus on pleasure and getting whatever you want until the end of your life at 21 just feels so incredibly empty and sad. My 2024 adult self kept saying, "the human brain isn't even fully developed until the mid-20s!" I also think it's interesting that the focus was pretty much just on America. Other cultures revere their elderly. You'd have a tough time trying to mandate killing everyone over the age of 21 across the entire globe.

 

I marked one other spot in the book. On pages 120-1, the authors write about the thirty-ninth amendment to the Constitution (Compulsory Birth Control Act). They also reference the year 2000 "as world population spiraled toward six billion" and "the Little War" which brought about this 21-year-old age restriction. SciFi is predicated upon what the author(s) think the future might bring. I understand that. But these specific pieces of info made me curious.

 

It's currently 2024. The Constitution has 27 amendments with the last being added in 1989. World population in 2000 was estimated at 6.1 billion (surpassing the authors' prediction a bit) and is currently estimated to be over eight billion.  

All in all, I just didn't like this book but now my curiosity is appeased!

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose (Enola Holmes #10)

by Nancy Springer

Libby audiobook 5 hours

Read by Tamaryn Payne

Published: 2023

Genre: YA historical fiction, detective mystery

 

I really do like these Enola Holmes mysteries. In this one, we encounter Rudyard Kipling, a rabid dog, and learn about rabies and the work Joseph Lister was doing in 1890 to find an inoculation for people who were bitten by rabid animals.  

Enola is lovely, smart, and action-oriented. I love her relationship to Sherlock and their bantering. I also like how Harold the driver is looking out for her. And Maude! What a kick-butt, no nonsense gal. 

 

I may need to figure out which ones I haven't read yet . . . Pink Fan? Cryptic Crinoline? (Below from Wikipedia.)

• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Missing Marquess (2006)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Left-Handed Lady (2007)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (2008)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan (2008)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Cryptic Crinoline (2009)
• Enola Holmes and the Case of the Gypsy Goodbye (2010) - Also known as Enola Holmes and the Case of the Disappearing Duchess
• Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (2021)
• Enola Holmes and the Boy in Buttons (2021)
• Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade (2022)
• Enola Holmes and the Mark of The Mongoose (2023)

Acting Can Be Murder

Como Lake Players Mystery book 1

by John Gaspard

Libby audiobook 5 hours

Read by Margaret Mikkelsen

Published: 2022

Genre: murder mystery

 

This was quirky and mostly enjoyable. I didn't love the reader's voice; she almost sounded bored. But I loved all the local references! Set in the Twin Cities, Leah Sexton has taken on management of a community theatre housed in an old church. She left NYC and her unfaithful (but gorgeous) boyfriend Dylan. While interviewing directors, an actual dead body is found in the window seat on the set of Arsenic and Old Lace.

 

Well. I played one of the old aunts in a production of Arsenic back in the 1980s! I love that show and my attention was grabbed. I did NOT figure out the murderer, though (until the murderer was actually unveiled). 

 

The dead body belonged to a very critical theatre critic. Then the actresses portraying Aunt Abby was pushed (or fell?) down the stairs, breaking several bones. Then Leah got death threats. 

 

The part that bugged me most was the notion of undercover police officers showing up to protect Leah due to the death threats. I wrote on a scratch pad in my car (where I listen to most of my audiobooks while I'm driving) "not likely."  Police officers are too busy to "cover" everyone who's been threatened and may be in trouble.

Ultimately, I found the story very interesting and plan to recommend it to my daughter-in-law who stage manages and directs local shows. I think she'll like it.

When in French: Love in a Second Language

by Lauren Collins

Libby eBook 

Published: 2016

Genre: nonfiction memoir

I borrowed this when I was contemplating refreshing my acquaintance with French. It has taken me a long time and a lot of renewals to finish, but it's a pretty incredible book for language lovers.

 

The author fell in love with Olivier in her early thirties while in London. The two end up married and living in Switzerland. She chronicles her journey of learning French culture as well as language with honesty, information, and a good sense of humor.

Part One / The Past Perfect: Le Plue-Que-Parfait

Olivier was careful of what he said to the point of parsimony; I spent my words like an oligarch with a terminal disease. My memory was all moods and tones, while he had a transcriptionist's recall for the details of our exchanges. Our household spats degenerated into linguistic warfare.

 

She is such a wonderful writer! I love how she expresses herself.

Part One / The Past Perfect: Le Plue-Que-Parfait

A flank steak, I would have assumed, is a flank steak, no matter how you say it. We think of words as having one-to-one correspondences to objects, as though they were mere labels transposed onto irreducible phenomena.

 

Some of her stories are hilarious but also sad. I can so relate to her frustration in asking for something in French and not being understood. The idea that all things have a single word to describe them is an easy fallacy to believe!

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait 

"Sonny LaMatina"

 

When she shared the "words" to Frére Jacques as her five year old self sang them, I laughed! I often mis-hear song lyrics and "Sonnez les matines" (ring the bells) does sound like a guy's name. Funny! I especially loved singing this song when I was little because I had a French uncle named John who was a Catholic priest! Father John . . .

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

While my bunkmates jotted cheery letters to their families, I whimpered into my pillow, an incipient hodophobe racked by some impossible mix of homesickness and wanderlust.

 

I noted this for two reasons. First of all, I had to look up "hodophobe" (dislike or fear of traveling) and I love books that push me intellectually. Secondly, I empathized with this little girl who wanted to travel and also wanted to be home. Collins is brutally honest about chronicling her weaknesses and mistakes.

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

He directed the ROTC, which was supposed to stand for Result of Torn Condom.

 

I know this is a crude joke, but it's a joke I've never heard before and it made me laugh. I have heard the organization called "rotsy" but forgot that it stood for Reserve Officers Training Corps.

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

In 1979 a presidential commission declared that "Americans' incompetence in foreign languages is nothing short of scandalous, and it is becoming worse." 

 

The history lesson here was so interesting. After Sputnik, the U.S. government wanted to fund more foreign language programs to help us be more globally competitive. The funding was short-lived, though, and we're back to being English only speakers for the most part.

 

Two / The Imperfect: L'Imparfait

" . . . And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is 'Merci beaucoup,' right?" President Obama said on the campaign trail in 2008, confessing his monolingualism as a source of personal shame (even if, for electoral purposes, it was likely an asset).

 

I think this is true of most Americans. It's kind of sad. I wish I had become bilingual and used two languages regularly! At this point, I don't think it's going to happen.

Three / The Past: Le Passé Composé

In college I fell in love with a tall Tennessean who directed his considerable intellectual gifts largely toward gambling on sports. The son of a southern lawyer and a serious-minded northern mother, he was so much like me: a partier and a reader, as introverted as he was sociable, stuck between two parts of himself whose ambitions and desires often seemed to be in direct opposition.

 

I just like her words and the juxtapositions of concepts.

Three / The Past: Le Passé Composé

The problem of translation is perhaps most acute in literature, to which renderings must be true in spirit as well as letter. Even the most diligent and creative translators find themselves hard-pressed to replicate such techniques as rhythm, assonance, alliteration, idiom, onomatopoeia, and double meaning. (Dr. Seuss books, with their oddball rhymes and invented words, are said to be the Nikita Khrushchevs of the written word.)

 

This tickled my funny bone, but also made me think about the challenges inherent in translating a work of literature.

 

Four / The Present: Le Présent

The Académie Française - the world's first national body dedicated to the stewardship of a language - was established in 1635, "to give certain rules to our language and to render it pure, eloquent, and capable of treating the arts and sciences."

 

Wow! I was vaguely aware of this organization, but hearing about it in the other French language audiobook I read and then in "print" in this book made me do some online reading. The French are incredibly serious about their language!

Four / The Present: Le Présent

 Despite its pretensions to clarity, French can be trying. Vert (green), verre (glass), ver (worm) vers (toward), and vair (squirrel fur) constitute a quintuple homonym, not even counting verts, verres, and vers (you don't pronounce the final s in French). 

We often hear about how difficult English is to learn, but this example is one of the reasons that I prefer to read and write French rather than listen and speak it! She goes on to talk about Cinderella's "pantoufle en verre" (glass slipper) which might have been a misheard "pantoufle en vair" (fur shoe).

 

Four / The Present: Le Présent

I often tease Olivier about the way he says "can't remember" - "can tree member," as though he were describing a still life of soup, oak, and penis.

 

This made me think of my mom and dad and language pronunciations! My dad used to say that my mother taught "turd" grade because he couldn't pronounce "third" correctly. Oh, we were not nice about that.

Five / The Conditional: Le Conditionnel

One French newspaper had a column that recapitulated the best tweets of the week in more characters than they took to write. 

 

 

Again, this just tickled my funny bone! All that verbiage to express "turducken." Too funny! (And yes, I was too lazy to type all that AND add in the correct accents.)

Six / The Subjunctive: Le Subjonctif

"They're going to go bananas over you, go berserk," she said, overlooking the fact that her paraphrase would probably have been incomprehensible to anyone under twenty-five, regardless of his native language.

This is Lauren's mom "explaining" what she meant by calling Olivier's brother(?) a "huge ladies' man." His confusion over that expression was NOT clarified by the bananas and berserk explanation. Language can be so tricky without idioms, slang, etc. And then the age differences. I still remember my dad trying to use "hip" phrases in the 70s and we disdained his lack of understanding. I often don't understand youngsters' words nowadays!

Seven / The Future: Le Futur

Besides, I was a fiend for birth announcements, wedding announcements, and obituaries, the "hatch, match, and dispatch" trinity that once comprised the only three times a respectable woman's name should appear in print."

I'd not heard that expression "hatch, match, and dispatch" for those announcements, though I have heard about respectable women not being in the paper other than those occasions. That's pretty antiquated, though! 

Seven / The Future: Le Futur

Our insurance policy provided for five days at the clinic, a standard stay in Switzerland.

 

She did indeed have the right room, she explained, and I did have an appointment - each new mother was entitled to a soin postnatal, just a little pick-me-up to help her feel more like herself. 

 

As she describes her experience of giving birth, with the five day stay, the food options, the offer to have a manicure, pedicure, massage, or having her hair done, . . . I wished I were European. American health care is incredibly expensive and minimalistic. It makes me both sad and mad.

 

This book took me a long time to read and a long time to blog! I finished it at least two weeks ago. I have three others that I've finished and need to blog!

 

 

 

The Persian Pickle Club

by Sandra Dallas

Hennepin County Library paperback 196 pages

Published: 1995

Genre: realistic fiction, historical (1930s)

I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I really enjoyed it. I liked it enough to look up the author - she's written a lot of books! The quilting in this story is probably how it came to my attention.

Queenie Bean is a young farm wife in 1930s Harveyville, Kansas. The Dust Bowl following the Great Depression is making life hard for everyone. But getting together with the other women of the Persian Pickle Club helps her stay positive.

Page 4: "I'd never met a woman who didn't sew. None of us had, and we stared at her again, until Ceres Root said with a nice smile, 'You modern women have so many interesting things to do. In this day and age, there's no good reason to make thirteen quilt tops before you marry, like I had to when I was a girl.'"

I love that it's one of the elderly women who breaks the silence when Rita, Tom's wife, admits that she didn't sew.

Page 4: "There wasn't a quilt top turned out by a member of the Persian Pickle Club that didn't have fabrics from all of us in it. That made us all a part of one another's quilts, just like we were part of one another's lives."

I love that they share fabric scraps the way they share their lives as they sew. Camaraderie!

 

Page 13: "She'd start coming to club after she found a husband. It was marrying that made women appreciate other women."

 

That made me laugh. Not every woman wants to get married or have friendships with other women.

 

Page 31: "I'm the same. I look across the land, and all I see are quilts. I carry my scrap bag in the car so's I can go to patching while Blue drives. If I didn't have my quilting, I'd have gone crazy with all this moving around."

I loved the scene where Queenie and her husband Grover meet with Blue and Zepha and little Sonny. This was one of my favorite aspects of the story!

Page 42: "When he went to town one day, she asked him to bring her back a piece of fabric she'd admired. Instead of a length, he brought her the whole bolt of cloth. It was Persian pickle, what some call paisley."

It's fun to find out where the title of the book originates. In this case, Ceres' husband made a purchase that gave the group their title.

Page 132: "When there's trouble, women just naturally think of food, although there was no need for it this time."

Food is one of my love languages! I love offering nourishment to people. It was wonderful how the women reached out to one another in times of trouble.

Page 141: "You can stay locked up here feeling sorry for yourself like Lizzy Olive would have done, or you can put the bad time behind you like Ella did and thing about all the good things the Lord gave you. And He'll keep on giving them to you if you'll let Him. But how can you take advantage of His opportunities if you're sitting behind the kitchen door with the hook on?"

Mrs. Judd was so bossy, but she made things happen!

Page 150: "'Oh,' I said, wondering why women like Velma and Rita, who didn't want children, got pregnant, while God denied me a baby even though I wanted one more than anything in the world. He even gave five at one time to that Dionne family in Canada. Was that fair?"

Those are the kinds of questions to turn over in prayer! It is painful to see people who do not value children at all having them and neglecting or abusing them, while also being aware of people who struggle with infertility.

Page 168: "I took the bundle from Grover and untied the string, putting it into my apron pocket to save."

This caught my attention because those frugal 1930s habits (like saving a piece of string) is what I grew up with! It's hard to not save every little thing when that's what you've known.

I am definitely interested in reading more of this author's work!

The Hurricane Girls

by Kimberly Willis Holt

Libby audiobook 6 hours

Read by: Aricka Parent

Published: 2023

Genre: YA coming-of-age "historical" fiction

When I initially got this book, it was because I like this author. I put hist fic in quotation marks because that was the designated genre I was searching for in Libby. The book, however, is set in 2017 which is twelve years after the 2005 storm Hurricane Katrina. That doesn't feel very historical to me!

The three girls Greer, Joya Mia (pronounced "hoy-ah mee-ah"), and Kiki (who didn't like the name Katrina) were all born "in the wake" of the hurricane. After doing a report on the hurricane in sixth grade, the three girls became fast friends. Now they are seventh graders and a lot has changed for them.

I thought the book was a little too middle school girl vibe for me. Well, duh. That's the target audience! But as the story went on, I was so impressed by the author's gifts in weaving so many themes without overwhelming the core story of their friendship.

Training for a marathon, being a loving sister, getting your period, not giving up, babysitting, modeling, saving for goals, Old Rusty (bicycle), grief, . . . there is a lot to this story. The audio was well done.

The Divine Proverb of Streusel

by Sara Brunsvold

Dakota County Library paperback 309 pages plus author's note and acknowledgements

Published: 2024

Genre: Christian realistic fiction

I love this author! We read her book The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip and I loved that one, too. 

 

From Amazon:

Shaken by her parents' divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle's farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She'll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.

Among her late grandmother's belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town's history, her ancestors--and her estranged father.

What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured--with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past.

 

It's surprising to me that a book filled with recipes didn't tempt me even once to think about cooking any of them. Weird, because I love food and many of the dishes sounded yummy. 

Page 10: "Tracy sank into the chair next to Nikki's desk - the same spot she claimed every Thursday morning before students arrived - for a "Gab and Grace session," as she called it. The life-giving thirty minutes of prayer and mentoring . . . "

This made me think of our weekly prayer time at PRMS - Megan, Cina, Bonnie, and me. What sustenance our prayer time gave us for working with middle schoolers! What a blessing to have prayer buddies.

Page 21: "No answer came, as if God trusted him to discern the way. He had faith sharpened by war, by witnessing the brightest good bloom among the sharpest thorns of depravation. But God should have known by then how dense Wes really was."

 

I love her language choices. Discernment is hard . . . I'm with Wes on thinking God knows I'm dense but willing.

Page 42: Rhubarb pie! This made me think of my husband with a smile. He loves rhubarb pie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On page 50, Wes is talking to his Aunt Emma about Nikki showing up on his doorstep. I kind of want to include their whole conversation here because I love it so much! But the part that I flagged was when he says "You have far too much confidence in me." Aunt Emma replies, "And for that I will never apologize."

Throughout the book, I was drawn to Aunt Emma so much! What a fun woman of God! She is a lot like Mrs. Kip. Both characters make a point of building others up. I love that quality! Part of me wants to own both of these Brunsvold books . . . I enjoyed them so much.

Page 73: "All the pieces of her life broke off bit by bit. Slipped through her fingers even as she had her palms to heaven in a plea for mercy. How had it all fallen apart so quickly? How had it gotten so completely out of her control? How would she ever get through it?

Her mom's reply to that very question floated back. It comprised the words from Grandma Ann herself. 'Do the next thing.'

'It's the only thing I can do,' her mom had said."

The phrase "Do the next thing" was repeated frequently throughout this book, but it felt powerful in its repetition, not redundant. Getting "stuck" in life happens, but having a way to move forward is much better than staying stuck! Do the next thing.

Page 82: "Don't tell our pastor. Of course, he'll probably find out anyway. We posted a few of those selfie photos on the social media. Too bad you're not on it. Old women with beers and insufficient knowledge of technology make for interesting results."

Again, Aunt Emma talking with Wes makes the best parts of the book! I love her spunk and the "old women" sentiment at the end. It truly made me laugh out loud.

Page 135: "Shame, that whole situation. But Chris has made his bed. He'll need to sleep in it a while yet. Hard as it is, we need to let him. The good news is God's not afraid of an attitude. That divine whack will come in due course - to all the skulls that need it."

Aunt Emma again. Nikki's dad Chris has left his family and married his affair partner. His choices have torn apart his ex-wife's life as well as impacting his daughters and brother. So very sad. But Aunt Emma knows no one can change his mind or his behavior. So true!

Page 147 - When Nikki and her sister Hannah are taking a last look at their childhood home, Nikki says, "Where are we going to go for Christmas? Or birthdays? Or any holiday?"

I know adults who have mourned the loss of their childhood home and this scene made me think of their sadness. I guess I was so happy to have my own home (plus my childhood home is still in the family) that I haven't dealt with this personally. It's interesting to contemplate the passage of time and the different seasons of life.

Page 172: "Maybe that would help break the ice. Plus, I'm champing at the bit to let my stories out. I'm old. I have to share while I'm lucid enough to remember them."

 

Aunt Emma again! This is part of the reason why I did StoryWorth to tell some of my own stories while I can. I cannot ever again hear my parents talk about their childhoods and younger years. I can't ask them questions to find out their thoughts. Stories can be powerful and meaningful and we all have them.

 

Page 190: "Wes closed his bedroom door and sank onto the edge of his bed. Nikki had no idea how like her father she was. The German language may have faded between their family's generations, but the stubbornness held strong, as woven into the DNA as the brown eyes."

 

I tagged this because my husband and I both have German ancestry. Whenever we argue about stubbornness, I try to convince him that he's MORE stubborn because he's more German than I am. We laugh about it, but this paragraph made me think of it.

 

Page 219: "No doubt she does. Stories are the universal heart language. They bring together what is scattered."

 

Wisdom from Aunt Emma as she talks with Wes. He told her that Nikki appreciates her memories. This is her lovely response.

 

Page  223: "'The empty nest amplifies the gaps in a relationship,' her mom said. 'The gaps had become so much bigger than we realized. We had neglected too many things for too long. I tried to work on them, but it takes two.'"

I'm so very thankful that Louie and I get along well and have not struggled to adapt to our "empty nest." We're friends and partners. I'm so blessed!

Page 243: "The good news is father hurt can be covered by the Father's love, if you accept it. I'm being more direct with you than I have been. I love you too much to not speak the truth. Please hear it for what it is."

As much as I love Aunt Emma, Wes had so many characteristics that I share. He truly wanted to glorify God and make a difference in people's lives for God's kingdom, but he often felt awkward. In the letter he wrote to his brother, he wrote the truth in love. I loved this letter and how he tried so hard to be honest and encouraging. His subject line (must have been an email) was "I should have said it sooner."

Page 265: "'The other thing that needs to be said,' she added, 'is how wildly proud I am of you. You invest so much care and love in those around you, and it shows in how real your grief is for this boy. Never, ever stop doing good. Especially when it gets hard. Teach our niece to do the same. She's watching you more closely than ever. You understand?'"

Yes, Aunt Emma. The "boy" who died was Trennen, a young man who farmed Wes' land. 

Page 277: "I myself am a maligner, an abuser, an insulter, a neglecter, a shunner. Yet I am pure, covered in the love of a scourged and rejected Savior. I love because I am loved. I forgive because I am forgiven. I am a saint because he became my sin. I cannot charge a penny debt to someone else when I have had millions erased.

Okay, that's all the waxing I can do in a single email. I need a cold beverage now.

In all seriousness, darling niece, please consider what Ann taught me. It is my belief she came to this wisdom too late for certain relationships in her life. She wouldn't want that for you."

Aunt Emma's letter to Nikki also brought out my post-it notes. I love this character! I love her faith in the Lord and her exuberance for life.

Page 289-290: I just decided to show the letter from Nikki to her dad (Chris). Good stuff!

 

Page 292: "I'm happier than a dog with two tails!"

Aunt Emma's response to Wes telling her that he and Joyce are getting married. 

Page 296: "The makeshift bookmark turned out to be only the business card of the bookstore, but on the page it denoted, a light touch of a pencil underlined one passage: 'I shall be infinitely prouder of a lovable daughter with a talent for making life beautiful to herself and others.'"

The reconciliation between Nikki and her dad was perhaps the sweetest "love story" in this book. The fact that he chose to find a valuable edition of Little Women, read it, underline this line, and send it to her speaks volumes of love. 

This book was wonderful! I apologize if I've given away too much or spoiled it. It has taken me a long time to write all this!

The Case of the Smuggler's Curse

By Mark Dawson

Libby audiobook 4 hours

Read by Mark Peachey

Published: 2022

(After-school Detective Club, bk. 1)

Genre: children’s mystery

This was a lovely little story. Max, Lucy, Joe, and Charli (Charlotte) becoming friends is the real heart of this story. The mystery and ensuing heroics are in the vein of Scooby-Doo.  (There's even a dog named Sherlock!)

But the development of friendships really shines through.  Max is inventive but a bit lazy.  Lucy is athletic.  Joe is lonely; his dad is often away for work and his mom's a socialite.  Charli and Sherlock tend to be loners. (But together,  because her dog means the world to her. )

The bag guys are smuggling exotic animals.  They are truly awful and the kids are amazing. 

Though written for elementary to middle school aged kids,  I enjoyed listening to it.  I liked the dog best,  then the Captain. Mr. Creech was worse than Mr. De Havilland!

It's Okay to Not Finish . . .

I was listening to Kristin Hannah's The Four Winds and I wasn't enjoying it. Her writing is wonderful, but Elsa (Elsinore) as a spinster in 1921 just wasn't working for me. I felt sorry for her, but also frustrated. My one favorite quote before I quit listening was from her deceased grandfather. "Don't be afraid of dying. Be afraid of not living." The Walcotts and their social standing were off putting. I was curious about The Age of Innocence, but don't think I'll get it and read it. 

I just decided to move on even though I truly think Hannah is a talented author who crafts a strong story. The vocal work was fine; I just didn't like it.

#NoEscape

by Gretchen McNeil

"a #murdertrending novel" #3

Libby audiobook 10 hours

Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel

Published:  2020 (this version 2022)

Genre: YA murder mystery

There WILL be spoilers, so stop now if you plan to read this book. Persey (short for Persephone, but that's her middle name and she's really touchy about being called anything other than Persey) is a 17 year old who is freakishly good at figuring out puzzles. She solves the "unsolvable" library escape and wins a place in the national escape room championship. (First prize is $11 million  . . . )

What I liked:

• the escape room theme (Office, Loft, Collection, Cavethedral, Spike Pool, Classroom, Tea Room, . . . )
  
• interesting characters
  
• the curiosity about who was the killer and how the story would turn out
• the narrator's vocal work
  

 

What I didn't like:

• virtually everything else!
• there was no indication in audio of when we were experiencing a flashback to the protagonist's earlier story, so that was jarring. One moment, you're in an escape room trying frantically to solve a puzzle and the next you're in Persey's dining room having a shouting match with her dad.
• Persey's dad was beyond horrible. To constantly berate her and tear her down while idolizing his awful son . . . it was unimaginable. No wonder mom is a raging alcoholic.
• The scene in the Iron Maiden room . . . I was shouting "narrate what you see!" Because of course the people without the night vision goggles wanted information about what she was seeing and what all of them were facing. So frustrating!
• So many times, they were having stupid teen conversations instead of focusing on the task at hand. That was maddening.
• The deaths - Bryan smashed on the head, Arlo decapitated, Shawn drugged and frozen in place, Wes . . . well that was understandable. He has only himself to blame. Riot crushed to death, McKenzie shot by "Kevin," . . . Nila spared, Persey of course surviving.
• Kevin actually being Lincoln Brown, sadist and brother of Persey was almost the most disappointing part of the story. Persey going along with his plan was the worst!!!
• What an awful story. 

Mentor: The Kid & The CEO

subtitle: A Simple Story of Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Significance

by Tom Pace with Walter Jenkins

paperback 175 pages

Published: 2007

Genre: motivational

This was donated to a middle school I worked at over fifteen years ago. It sat in a pile at my house and so I decided to read it (finally). It isn't really middle school level . . . though I thought about which readers might benefit from it.

The basic premise is that a dumb entitled teen gets in trouble with the law and ends up in prison on a felony conviction. A motivational mentor offers a weekly class and the teen eventually goes just to get out of his cell. Over the weeks and months, his life is transformed.

Overall, this is a fairly cheesy simplistic book but it is definitely a positive and encouraging one. Two big themes from this mentor are to read and to run. It also touches on the reality of how hard life can be for ex-cons who are trying to turn their lives around after leaving prison. And of course, there is a huge emphasis on finding a mentor and / or being a mentor.

One thing I liked were the very faint phrases on the bottom of every page. "Dream big." "Share hope." "Be loyal." "Concentrate." I almost got out my highlighter to make them more prominent, but I knew I wasn't planning to keep this book. I'm trying to decide if I will drop it off at a Little Free Library, a jail, or a high school.