The Bullet

by Mary Louise Kelly

Libby audiobook 12 hours

Read by Cassandra Campbell

Published: 2015 

Genre: murder mystery

Warning! I WILL include spoilers in this review. Stop after the first paragraph if you're curious to read it yourself.

Initially, I liked this book and was curious to see where it would go. Caroline is a thirty-something year old college professor and has been dealing with wrist pain for a year. Her doctor seems dismissive, but finally has her go in for an MRI. There's a bullet lodged in her neck!

My first thought was that the MRI would have caused the bullet to go toward the powerful magnet . . . but a few chapters later, they explain that the bullet is lead and so not magnetic.

Her parents are cagey when she asks them how it is possible that she has a bullet in her neck. She learns that they are her adoptive parents and she was shot as a three-year-old when her birth parents were murdered. This sets her off on a discovery research trip to Atlanta to find out about her own past.

The things I disliked most about this book:

1. The excessive use of the Lord's name as a swearword. (Ironic that I'm also reading The Awe of God right now . . . God is Holy, His Name is Holy, He is not a casual swearword.) Even more ironic is that the main character actually prays when she is in a place of need! What?!

2. Her physician, Will, seduces her then ghosts her! That whole thing was ick on a deeper level than I was ready for. I thought he had to be in cahoots with her parents' murderer. How else could he possibly make so many awful choices about his relationship with a patient?! (And then they get back together at the end of the story . . . yuk.)

3. When she killed Ethan Sinclair. Of all the ways this could have resolved, her becoming a murderer herself did not seem to be a very fitting way to get justice for her birth parents and her own lost childhood. Then her going on the run, buying burner phones, etc. . . . Jason Bourne she is not.

4. Finding out the identity of the actual killer. It was maddening that it was so apparent well before the lightbulb went on for Caroline. The ending was definitely anticlimatic.

Campbell's vocal work was fantastic. I love that the author translated the French words and phrases. (I knew many of them, but not all.) I liked the main character's brothers. They were probably my favorite characters!

Song for a Whale

 by Lynne Kelly

Scott County Library hardcover 299 pages

Published: 2019

Genre: YA realistic fiction

I read this two weeks ago and so the story has faded for me a bit. I remember enjoying it but not feeling super strong about it. I did put some post-it notes in it, though.

Page 6 - "She'd checked out a library book about it, so that made her an expert. Some people have the kind of confidence that lets them get away with being clueless."

The protagonists's classmate Nina tries using sign language to communicate with Iris, but Iris is just irritated with her poor attempts. I laughed at this "kind of confidence" because I am sometimes guilty of it!

Page 26 - "I took out my phone to text Grandpa. It was the kind of thing he'd pick up for me before someone else grabbed it. I typed a few words before I caught myself. Sometimes I'd think of something to tell him, before remembering he wasn't there to answer me. Then I felt bad for forgetting. Shouldn't I always feel it? Missing him?"

Ah, yes. Grief. Wanting to call, text, or see someone who isn't there anymore. I love the relationships between Iris and her deaf grandparents. So sweet.

Page 225 - "Time and distance smooth out the memory of what was lost."

First of all, I love the sign language word game that Iris had played with her grandpa. Second, I love that her grandma was willing to play the game with her on the cruise. Third, I love that grandma is finding some healing from her own grief. Beautiful.

Page 262 - "At least I'd brought Grandma to the sea, and it washed away the drizzly November in her soul."

Such beautiful language. This is a well-written book.

Page 283 - Grandma decides to live on a cruise ship full time! I marked this because it's one of the ideas swirling around in my head about what retirement could look like. It's not one that I'm seriously considering, but it made me laugh when it came up in the book.

Page 289 - This is the start of the author's note. She writes about whale communication and the 52-Hertz Whale. Super interesting!

Page 295 - The author writes about deafness. "The Deaf community is a strong one, and despite the isolation and frustration its members experience because of the language barrier, most wouldn't want to change their deafness, any more than the rest of us would be willing to give up our friends, language, and culture. Like everyone, Iris does wish to feel heard, and for a place she belongs."

Overall, an enjoyable book. Iris is an interesting character. Her older brother and her friend Wendell add to her "story." But my favorite part was her connection to her grandparents. Fixing radios and wanting to communicate with a lonely whale were also neat.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

by Jacqueline Kelly
Hennepin County Library audiobook 8 discs
read by Natalie Ross
genre: YA historical fiction

I "read" this a few weeks ago, so these are just random notes and memories of the book.

• set in 1899 . . . hard for most of my students to relate to
• Origin of Species / library - oh! I hate it when the librarians are nasty. I understand that there are people like that (especially more than one hundred years ago, but still - yuk!) I agree with Callie's comment "Some people aren't fit to be librarians!"
•  "wind machine" - a kerosene powered fan! Crazy - I never knew such a thing existed!
• "princely pecans" - I like that! (And I love pecan pies . . . )
• I had to re-listen to the CD a few times to get this down: ". . . a carved whale's tooth etched with a bosomy lady not exactly contained by her corset." (One of Callie's observations when she's allowed into Grandfather's library.)
• Grandpa telling her about the Civil War - powerful
• LOL on alcohol test!!! I love grandpa!
• mom's attitude toward living in same house with father-in-law . . . yeah. I can relate.
• grandpa - importance of "husbanding" one's time and spending it on worthy pursuits. Didn't learn this until he was age 50 . . . wisdom comes with age . . . again, I can relate. I want to spend my time on worthwhile pursuits also.
• Kids - Harry (17), Sam Houston (15?), Lamar (13?), Calpurnia (12), Travis (10, tender-hearted, has cats), Saul Ross (8), Jim Bowie (5, "JB")
• Her moment of revelation when talking to Lula - "I want to go to the university." Powerful! (Much different than her parents giving her "The Science of Housewifery" as a Christmas gift.) A feminist 12-year-old in 1899 . . . interesting!
• *loved* when Callie Vee truly realized Viola's meaning in her life! "Viola never lied to me." / Hugged her "tiny bird bones" - "It was interesting that such a slight frame could contain so large a person."

I ended up really enjoying this book! I'm glad I read it, but I remember some of the comments when it won the Newbery in 2010 - the unappealing cover and being set in 1899 make this a book not many kiddos will pick up. Smart elementary and early middle schoolers will love it! (Mostly girls, I'm guessing.) I want to recommend it to Nina! (a science teacher at my school) I think she would like it as well.

Melonhead

by Katy Kelly
Carver County book-club-in-a-kit paperback 210 pages
genre: children's humor

It will be interesting to hear the kids' opinions (6th grade book club). I thought it was too "young" and not terribly funny. I liked how very "boy" Melonhead was - not really thinking about the consequences of his actions. I also liked that he and his friends weren't malicious (or even mischievous in a Dennis the Menace sense) but they were definitely getting into a lot of trouble. I marked a few spots to bring up at our discussion. Their rhyming name game was also kind of cute.

Finn's Going

by Tom Kelly
CMSW, hardcover, 278 pages

This was a very challenging read. Not sure I can recommend it to my students. Even though the protagonist is only ten, the writer's style is very stream-of-consciousness. The British terms and expressions are beyond those I've ever encountered. It took me a while to understand some of them. Honestly, I still don't know which brother is which. It's obvious from the start that something tragic happened to one of the twins, but it takes to the very end of the story for the explanation to come out. In the meantime, the reader wonders what the deal is with otters. And is this Danny or Finn who's sharing his grief with us? He tells Airplane Kev that he's Danny. But then he responds to his dad's "Hello, Finn" at the end with an affirmative. The title also plays into this ambiguity. Is "Finn's Going" in reference to the boy who died? Or does it refer to the remaining brother's going through his grief? All in all, not terribly accessible for most of my readers.