Funny Friday

All's Fair...

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson (Random House hardcover, 22 March 2016).

I was enchanted by this story, which takes place in Rye, East Sussex, a town near the coast of England.  

The first people we meet are Hugh Grange, a medical student visiting his his aunt and uncle for the summer, his cousin Daniel Bookham, an aspiring poet, and their Aunt Agatha Kent.  The two young men had spent summers with Agatha and her husband John, a senior official in the Foreign Office. 

They are at once alarmed and in denial about the news that John has just sent Agatha from London:  there will most likely be a war.  Agatha Kent is also on tenterhooks because Beatrice Nash, the young woman who she's recommended for a teaching position at the local school, is to arrive that afternoon.  

This is still a time when female schoolteachers we not so common, especially teachers of Latin.  Even though the Equal Franchise Act, granting women over 21 the right to vote, had been passed in 1928, women were still considered inferior creatures. 

Beatrice Nash's desire to remain unmarried and independent still raised eyebrows amongst the gentry, especially in a relatively unsophisticated town like Rye.  It's considered quite revolutionary that she will be the school's Latin instructor, and Agatha anticipates opposition from some of the stodgier citizens, even though Beatrice has already been hired.

We are astonished, as always, by the eagerness of young men to enlist, and empathize with those who know how little glamour is involved but are unable to prevent them.  

Simonson completely immerses the reader in English country life at the brink of the First World War; it's truly as though one were there.  But despite the wretched circumstances, there is something lovely about this story, and one feels a sense of hope at its conclusion.



FTC Full Disclosure:  My sincere thanks to Library Journal for sending me an Advance Reading Copy of this novel.  

YAThursday

First & Then by Emma Mills (Henry Holt hardcover, 13 October 2015).

Devon loves Jane Austen.  So much so that almost all her thoughts go through the  WWJD (What Would Jane Do?) filter.  Of course, she doesn't always act on it, especially in her everyday speech patterns.

But she does keep her crush on her best friend Cas to herself.  She's pretty sure he doesn't know about it, seeing as he treats her almost like one of the guys.

In her senior year, her fourteen-year-old cousin Foster comes to stay with them.  Foster doesn't like Cas, but Devon doesn't like Foster.  He's a skinny geek who belongs to the Future Science Revolutionaries Club, and is relentlessly cheerful despite the fact that his father recently died and he's been more or less abandoned by his addict mother.  

Because she hasn't taken her required year of PE yet, she's forced to be in a class with a bunch of freshmen, including Foster.  But one other senior is in the class:  obnoxious football star Ezra Lynley, who seems to think Devon is a lower life form.

But when Foster unexpectedly displays an incredible talent for kicking a football, Ezra takes him under his wing, and Devon is forced to learn more about Ezra than she ever wanted to.

Vlogger Emma Mills' debut novel is a charmer, with believable characters and a sly wit that channels Jane.  It has been described as Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights, and was recommended in John Green's 2015 Holiday Book Giving Guide.  Green's fans, as well as Janeites will love this book.




FTC Full Disclosure:  I borrowed this book from my local library.

Thriller Thursday

Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt (Berkley trade paperback, 7 July 2015).


What a riveting book!  Alexandra Burt's debut novel is a stunner.

When Estelle Paradise wakes up in hospital after her car crashes into the bottom of a ravine, and no memory of what happened, the first thing she remembers is Mia.

Mia is her seven-month-old daughter, who disappeared overnight while Estelle was asleep.  Not only did the baby disappear, but so did all her belongings -- diapers, bottles, clothes, and toys.  Since Mia's father, Jack, was travelling for work, Estelle has no one to support her.

As she recovers, and no more evidence appears, her story seems more and more questionable to the police, the media, and even Jack.

The story does have a lot of flashbacks and flash-forwards, which can be a bit confusing if the reader isn't paying strict attention, or happens to put the book down for a few hours (the latter may be necessary, because this is a very dramatic and affecting story.

And don't start it at bedtime, because it will definitely keep you awake.



FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher for the Advance Reading Copy.

Death in a Flash

To Dwell inDarkness (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James #15) by Deborah Crombie (HarperCollins hardcover, 23 September 2014).

As usual there’s a lot going on in the James/Kincaid household.

                                                                 

Duncan’s demotion-disguised-as-promotion is not going well.  His DI, Jasmine Sidana, had wanted the job that went to him, and as a result is resentful and overly polite to her new DCI.

Gemma’s new position, a promotion to DI that Duncan suspects is meant to keep him quiet about his own reassignment, has allowed her to keep working with her DS  Melody Talbot, but they are embroiled in an ugly case involving the murder of a 12-year-old girl, which causes Gemma extra anxiety about her own children.

Meanwhile, Duncan and Gemma’s two boys, Kit and Toby, have rescued a neglected cat with a litter of four kittens that they desperately want to keep.  Foster daughter Charlotte has an ongoing respiratory problem which is keeping Duncan and Gemma awake at night, resulting in bleary-eyed mornings at work and speculation on the part of Sidana about alcohol problems. 

Melody’s boyfriend Andy Monahan and his bandmate Poppy Jones have an afternoon performance at St. Pancras station, which is a huge break for the aspiring musicians.  Melody has promised to be there, but due to problems on the tube, the band is already playing when she arrives.  She sees some protesters nearby, and for a moment is worried that she’ll have to deal with them, but luckily a Transport officer takes over.  Just as the song ends, there is a whoosh and a flash; obviously a bomb of some kind has been set off.

The St. Pancras bombing case goes to DI Kincaid and his team, which does not include Melody.  However, she’s involved as an eyewitness, and finds herself helping Duncan’s investigation on an unofficial basis.

What’s wonderful about this series is the way that the lives of the detective couple are portrayed:  inclusive of  both career and family.  Duncan and Gemma have many of the same problems as any two-career couple, but they are fortunate to have a well-developed support system of friends and relatives.

I read this riveting novel in an afternoon, and felt sad when it ended.  It’s so enjoyable to be a part of this family.

FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for the e-galley.

Teen Thursday

Infinite Sky by C.J. Flood (Atheneum Books for Young Readers hardcover, 20 May 2014).

It was bad enough three months earlier, when Iris' mother left to find herself, but her absence is even more evident now that school is out.  Sure, she calls once a week, but neither Iris' dad nor her brother Sam want to talk to her.  The house is a mess, and there's never any food around.

When Dad isn't working, he's at the pub.  Sam's found a new group of friends with motorcycles and shaved heads.  And a family of Travelers set up camp in the paddock near the house.  Even though they're there illegally, the police don't want to move them along, because they'll just set up somewhere else they shouldn't.

Iris takes to watching them from her dad's bedroom window.  They have a boy who appears to be around her age, and eventually Iris meets him.  His name is Trick (short for Patrick) and they develop a friendship, walking and talking in the cornfield where they can't be seen.

The summer flows along.  Iris' father becomes more and more annoyed with the gypsies, and Sam is out till all hours, getting into trouble.  Something bad is bound to happen, but when it does, it's worse than she could possibly have imagined.

During just a few weeks, the lives of Iris and her family are completely changed in this engrossing and bittersweet story.   It's a quick read (more so because it's difficult to put down), but the feelings that ensue will remain for some time.



FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher for the Advance Reading Copy.

The Austen Project

The Austen Project is a major new series of six novels teaming up authors of global literary significance with Jane Austen's six complete works.*

Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope (HarperCollins hardcover, 29 October 2013).

Retellings and spinoffs of Jane Austen's small oeuvre abound.  From "chick-lit" such as Bridget Jones's Diary to mysteries where Jane is an amateur sleuth, but The Austen Project has a different aim.  On the website, Joanna Trollope describes the undertaking as "not an emulation, but a tribute".

Her Sense & Sensibility (note the ampersand) is a fine example.

Trollope has moved the Dashwood sisters to the 21st Century.  Poverty-stricken Henry Dashwood, his partner Isabella (Belle) and their three daughters are invited to live at Norland, the family estate, by his bachelor Uncle Henry.  They remain there happily for several years after the elder Henry's death, until his nephew is taken to hospital suffering from a severe asthma attack, which soon takes his life.

Norland is inherited by John Dashwood, the younger Henry's son from his first marriage.  Artistic, passionate Belle is emotionally distraught, as is middle daughter Marianne.  Practical Elinor, the eldest daughter, is forced to take charge and find the family a new place to live, since Margaret, the youngest, is only thirteen.  John and his wife Fanny are self-centred and begin to redecorate the house before the residents have even found a new place to live.

So far, it seems pretty close to the original, yes?

But Elinor has to give up working on a degree in architecture and find a job, Marianne plays guitar, and Belle and Henry were never officially married.

Although the basic plot is the same as  in Sense and Sensibility, but of course Trollope's tribute includes things like laptop computers, iPods (or their equivalent), and Marianne's love for the music of Taylor Swift.

And although everyone who's ever read Miss Austen's book knows the plot, the reader of S&S is still eager to learn just how it is that 21st Century Willoughby will humiliate Marianne, or how 21st Century Lucy will maneuver Edward into believing he has an obligation to her.

Jane-ites will likely either love the book or be disdainful of it.  (This reviewer falls into the first category.)

Two other books are scheduled in The Jane Austen Project thus far: Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid in March 2014, and Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld in the fall.



FTC Full Disclosure:  I borrowed this book from my local library.


*From the The Austen Project website.