Challenge Complete - What's In a Name 5

This is one of my favorite challenges of all time. This was my third year of participation, and I love it just as much today as I did when I first found this challenge. Beth Fish Reads, aka Candace, does a amazing job of creating unique and yet surprisingly difficult categories. I love scanning the categories and my books to see what I could read and then looking back to see what I end up reading for each. I definitely struggled to find something that fit a few of these categories, but it did allow me to read books that had been languishing on my shelves. Thanks to Candace for another great year!

1. A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title - Bending the Boyne by J. S. Dunn
   
2. A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title - The Night Eternal by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan; Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
   
3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title - The Marbled Swarm by Dennis Cooper
   
4. A book with a type of house in the title - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
   
5. A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title - The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern, The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch
   
6. A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title - The Good Father by Noah Hawley

Review - The Thirteen by Susie Moloney

Title: The Thirteen
Author: Susie Moloney
ISBN: 9780062117663
No. of Pages: 336
Genre: Horror
Synopsis:

"Haven Woods is suburban heaven, a great place to raise a family. It's close to the city, quiet, with great schools and its own hospital right up the road. Property values are climbing, and the crime rate is practically nonexistent.

Paula Wittmore hasn't been back to Haven Woods since she left as a disgraced teenager. Now she's returning to care for her suddenly ailing mother, and she's bringing her daughter and a pile of emotional baggage. She's also bringing, unknowingly, the last chance for her mother's closest frenemies . . . twelve women bound together by a powerful secret that requires the sacrifice of a thirteenth."

Thoughts: Just how far are you willing to go to secure your family's happiness, health, and prosperity? Would you go as far as selling your soul to achieve your heart's desire? This is just one aspect of Susie Moloney's latest, The Thirteen. Not only does she explore the lengths to which a woman will go to achieve her dreams, she explores its aftermath as well. Just how low will a person crawl in order to maintain the status quo and avoid losing everything? Therein lies the mystery and the drama.

The biggest issue with the The Thirteen is that no one character is particularly fresh. Each of the characters appears more as an archetype rather than a uniquely new character. There are the guilt-ridden friends who are torn between doing their duty versus doing what is right. There are the clueless ones, the shallow blind followers, the ruthless do-anything-necessary types, the charming and attractive love interest/savior, the strong rebellious daughter, and everything else readers would expect in such a novel.

At the same time, the plot follows a similar story arc as The Craft or even Witches of Eastwick. However, the differences from these stories are where The Thirteen shines. The Thirteen is not about beginnings but about endings. Rather than showcasing a new group of witches and how they let their power go to their heads, the group in Haven Woods have been comfortably using their power for two decades. It is their need/desire to maintain their power source that is the cause of all the mystery. The resulting drama is fresh and interesting. Unfortunately, even the look towards the future is not enough to prevent the story from being overly predictable.

That being said, Ms. Moloney's writing is what saves The Thirteen from becoming just another copycat novel about witches. She is able to take these very familiar elements and combine them in such a way that makes them just as exciting and nerve-wracking as they were the first time. She captures the reader's interest with the first hint of something insidious within the confines of Haven Woods. In addition, Paula's plight keeps readers turning the pages, as they anxiously await to uncover whether she is going to figure out the mystery in time even as they can already surmise the answer. The tension built throughout the novel is formidable and extremely enjoyable.

The Thirteen presents the idea of a mother's willingness to do anything for her family's happiness taken to the extreme. Izzy is deliciously complicated, garnering a reader's combined wrath and empathy, while Paula is the heroine to which every (female) reader will relate with her desire to seek a better future for her daughter while trying to help her ailing mother. The ending is a touch bit too predictable but satisfying all the same. The Thirteen is a fun, thrilling, and quick read - perfect for those stormy summer nights.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to William Morrow for my review copy!

Review - All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

Title: All These Lives
Author: Sarah Wylie
ISBN: 9780374302085
No. of Pages: 256
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Synopsis:

"Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani's twin, Jena, isn't so lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani's father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything's normal. And Jena is wasting away. To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they'll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she's faced with a startling realization. Maybe she doesn't have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had one."

Thoughts: How would you react if you found out a loved one was facing a battle against cancer? Would you deny the possible and pretend nothing has changed? Would you immerse yourself into the physician's recommended regime to optimize the impact of the medicines? Would you distance yourself against the inevitable? When faced with the potential death of a loved one, everyone reacts differently. All These Lives is a poignant and amazing look into one family's struggle with the news that every family hopes never to hear.

Dani is one heroine with whom all readers will empathize. Her pain is physically palpable. Incredibly, Ms. Wylie uses a dearth of words to create this effect, but she does so with tremendous success. Dani is so convinced that she has nine lives that a reader is never completely sure whether it is a figment of her imagination or not. To say that All These Lives packs an emotional powerhouse is an understatement of the highest magnitude.

All These Lives is a gut-wrenching look at sisterhood and family and the impact of terminal illness on these relationships. Ms. Wylie captures the trauma involved and the various coping mechanisms with perfection. As a result, the reader is taken on an emotional roller coaster as they navigate through Dani's  multiple and conflicting emotions at the possible loss of her sister. It is an amazingly powerful story that lingers with the reader well after the last page.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for my e-galley!

It's Monday, May 28th! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by Sheila from Book Journey, this is a weekly event to share what we've read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.

Finished Last Week:



Currently Reading:




Currently Listening:



With a one-way 40-minute commute this week, I have plenty of time to listen to audiobooks again. I figure it is best to start with a review copy, and I have heard wonderful things about Ms. Trigiani's latest.

Up Next:



What are you reading this week?

The Sunday Salon - May 27th Edition

Guten Abend, meine Freunden! I apologize for the lateness of this post. The family and I were busy looking at houses in Wisconsin in an effort to find our next house. Twelve houses and five hours later, I think we found it. We will put in an offer tomorrow and hope for the best!

Last week, it seems that my comments regarding the family's future living situation caused confusion among my readers, for which I apologize. Please let me clarify. On Friday, Holly, Connor, and I officially left Ohio for the last time. My parents, who live in Illinois, are graciously taking care of the kids (and the dogs) until we can move into our next house. Jim will be commuting back and forth, as he is still needed at his old job in Cincinnati until October. He will be closing down the Ohio house, supervising the movers, canceling utilities and the like, eventually moving into a hotel, on the company's dime of course. In the meantime, I start my new job on Tuesday. I will be living in a hotel in Wisconsin, on my own dime, checking out each Friday and heading to Illinois each weekend to see the kids and take a break from hotel living. Jim will also be driving to Illinois each weekend for mini-reunions. It is not an ideal situation, but we know it is temporary. What sucks the most is that we will be apart for our fifteenth wedding anniversary next month, and our decades-long plan of seeing Ireland for our anniversary present is shot to hell because of all this.  We have handled much longer separations in very different circumstances, so the next month will be just a small blip on the radar soon enough.

Reviewed last week:

• These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen
• The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross
• The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits

I apologize for the brevity of this post, but my brain is absolute mush after seeing so many houses and weighing the pros and cons of each of them. I think a cold beer, or three, are definitely what the doctor ordered. Have a great remaining Sunday and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Happy reading!

Fabulous Friday - May 25th

That's right. Today, the kids and I leave Ohio for the last time. The kids will be staying with my parents in Illinois. I will be taking up residence in various hotels in Wisconsin for the unknown future. Jim will be commuting back and forth between Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin. This will be our future until we a) sell our house and b) find and buy something in Wisconsin.

It really is not as bad as it may appear. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and this just puts us one step closer to that end. After seven years, things were getting stagnant and in some cases untenable. It is time for a change, and this is just the adventure we need.

What makes this a Fabulous Friday for you?

Review - The Vanishers by Heidi Julavits

Title: The Vanishers
Author: Heidi Julavits
ISBN: 9780385523813
No. of Pages: 275
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis:

"Is the bond between mother and daughter unbreakable, even by death?

Julia Severn is a student at an elite institute for psychics. Her mentor, the legendary Madame Ackermann, afflicted by jealousy, refuses to pass the torch to her young disciple. Instead, she subjects Julia to the humiliation of reliving her mother's suicide when Julia was an infant. As the two lock horns, and Julia gains power, Madame Ackermann launches a desperate psychic attack that leaves Julia the victim of a crippling ailment.

Julia retreats to a faceless job in Manhattan. But others have noted Julia's emerging gifts, and soon she's recruited to track down an elusive missing person—a controversial artist who might have a connection to her mother. As Julia sifts through ghosts and astral clues, everything she thought she knew of her mother is called into question, and she discovers that her ability to know the minds of others—including her own—goes far deeper than she ever imagined."

Thoughts: Imagine a world where psychic behavior is not only believed but admired and encouraged. There is formal training for those who show the aptitude, and those with the most talent are considered the rock stars of the industry. This is the world in which the curtains first open on to Julia Severn's life in Heidi Julavits' The Vanishers. Readers must quickly adapt to a story where everything is not as it appears on the surface. It can be confusing, difficult, horrifying, and at the same time intriguing.

Julia struggles to find her place in this world of psychics. She is a student of immense talent but afraid to let her talents outshine those of her mentor, Madame Ackermann. Once Madame Ackermann discovers the truth, the psychic attacks begin, and they are not pretty. Ms. Julavits spares no description of the physical ailments from which Julia suffers. It can be a bit much for the more squeamish readers.

The physical afflictions are an interesting counterpart to the mental investigations Julia eventually undertakes. Much of the novel occurs in Julia's mind, as she attempts to uncover the truth about her mother and what lead to her suicide as well as the mystery behind Dominique Varga. It is just as convoluted as one would imagine. Ghosts, astral clues, and other mystical mind games become a bit too much at times, as a reader searches for answers among the abstract. The truth, when it is finally uncovered, requires a reader's patience and a better part of one's imagination to understand and accept.

The Vanishers is a book that most readers will not enjoy, and through which even the most advanced readers will struggle to fully comprehend. It is not the cheeriest of novels and definitely redefines the traditional mother/daughter relationship. At the same time, there is something about it that keeps a reader's interest in spite of the need to suspend belief. Ms. Julavits must be commended for taking a chance on her subject matter, even if it will not be appreciated by popular culture.

Acknowledgments: Mine. All mine.

Review - The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar
Author: Kady Cross
ISBN: 9780373210534
No. of Pages: 411
Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk
Synopsis:

"Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade—the dangerous device Jasper stole from him…for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens.

From the rough streets of lower Manhattan to elegant Fifth Avenue, the motley crew of teens with supernatural abilities is on Jasper's elusive trail. And they're about to discover how far they'll go for friendship.

More than ever, Finley Jayne will rely on powerful English duke Griffin King to balance her dark magic with her good side. Yet Griffin is at war with himself over his secret attraction to Finley…and will risk his life and reputation to save her. Sam, more machine than man, finds his moody heart tested by Irish lass Emily—whose own special abilities are no match for the darkness she discovers on the streets.

Now, to help those she's come to care for so deeply, Finley Jayne must infiltrate a criminal gang. Only problem is, she might like the dark side a little too much…."

Thoughts: Finley Jayne is back and better than ever. This time around, she finds herself matching wits with Jasper's former friend, someone who makes Jack Dandy look downright angelic. The Girl in the Clockwork Collar thrusts Finley into the shady underworld of New York City as they attempt to rescue Jasper and Mei from Dalton's nefarious plotting. While touching on Griffin's and Finley's burgeoning relationship, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is really Jasper's story, rounding out a reader's knowledge of this "band of mysfits".

Just as in the first novel in the series, Finley remains an admirable heroine. She kicks some serious booty while managing to learn from her mistakes. In fact, readers will rejoice at the maturing that Finley shows from The Girl in the Steel Corset to The Girl in the Clockwork Collar. Finley relies less on her fists and more on her brain. Better yet, she avoids more of the awkward non-dialogue with Griffin that can become so tedious in young adult novels. It is a step in the right direction towards something more adult and definitely sets the stage for romantic sparks in future novels.

There is something to be said about a series where the women are just as strong, if not just stronger, than the men. Finley, Emily, and even Mei prove more than capable of holding their own among Griffin, Jasper, and Sam. It is as refreshing as it is fun and sets a different tone from some of the other popular young adult series out there.

Unfortunately, what is an attempt to be mysterious and crafty ends up being entirely too predictable. Everything from Mei's relationship to Jasper to the mysterious evil force at work in the Aether is easily discernible to a careful reader. There is always some element of predictability among novels of this genre, but in this instance it was particularly bothersome as there was no element of the story that one could not hazard an accurate guess. Still, to be fair, most readers are not selecting The Girl in the Clockwork Collar for its surprises.

Another curious aspect of The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is the fact that there was decidedly less steampunk this time. This was very much a character-driven plot without the ingenuity of the steam-run machines that makes this genre so fun. Between the predictability and the missing steampunk elements, the entire story suffered from the standard "middle novel in a series" issues.

In spite of its more negative aspects, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar remains an easy-to-read, enjoyable story. Finley is one heroine that remains a joy to observe as her powers progress. The story is exactly what fans of the series have come to expect, with enough unresolved mysterious events to create anticipation for future stories. It will be especially interesting to see what the next girl is wearing!

Acknowledgments: Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Teen for my e-galley!

Review - These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen

Title: These Girls
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
ISBN: 9781451612547
No. of Pages: 325
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis:

"Cate, Renee, and Abby have come to New York for very different reasons, and in a bustling city of millions, they are linked together through circumstance and chance.

Cate has just been named the features editor of Gloss, a high-end lifestyle magazine. It's a professional coup, but her new job comes with more complications than Cate ever anticipated.

Her roommate Renee will do anything to nab the plum job of beauty editor at Gloss. But snide comments about Renee's weight send her into an emotional tailspin. Soon she is taking black market diet pills - despite the racing heartbeat and trembling hands that signal she's heading for real danger.

Then there's Abby, whom they take in as a third roommate. Once a joyful graduate student working as a nanny part time, she abruptly fled a seemingly happy life in the D.C. suburbs. No one knows what shattered Abby - or why she left everything she once loved behind."

Thoughts: Cate and Renee each have amazing jobs at a high-end magazine but face stepping blocks to truly achieving individual happiness. Abby's demons bring them together, and together they are able to accomplish even more than they dreamed. Sarah Pekkenan's latest, These Girls, showcases each girl's struggles to find success, happiness, and self-satisfaction among the everyday stressors and captures the true meaning of friendship.

The one thing that sets Ms. Pekkanen's novels apart from other so-called "chick lit" is how well she relays the female mind, complete with all of its twisted, emotional logic. Readers will relate to Cate's struggles to navigate the tricky world of management in a male-dominated business world. Who has not felt inadequate or unworthy of a promotion as well as that desperate need to prove oneself at all costs? As for Renee's struggles to lose weight, it is the quintessential struggle of most women. Again, any reader can relate to the warring desires to nosh on the office cupcakes versus fitting into a smaller size. Abby's issues are a little more esoteric but sometimes what the heart wants cannot be explained or perfectly fit into societal norms. Either way, readers of any age and background can and will be able to empathize with any one, if not all, of the girls.

Ms. Pekkanen is a master at capturing female relationships and the tensions that occur within them. She understands the jealousies, the uncertainty, and the utter devotion that can only be experienced through friendships with other women. It is enough to make those female readers who may not have experienced such close friendships green with envy. For those who already have such close friendships, reading These Girls will cause you to immediately call up the girls for a weekend together.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen for my review copy!

It's Monday, May 21st! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by Sheila from Book Journey, this is a weekly event to share what we've read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.

Finished Last Week:



Currently Reading:



Currently Listening:

I still have no idea what I want to "read" next. With no work and no major trips planned for the next week or so, I suspect this space will remain blank for a while.

Up Next:



What are you reading this week?

The Sunday Salon - May 20th Edition

Guten Morgen, meine Liebchen! I'm coming to you today live from Illinois. We came up to help my parents. Since they are graciously watching our dogs for us while the house is (still) for sale, the least we could do is help them out when they need it, which means house/dog sitting for them as they head out of town to celebrate my uncle's retirement. We also took advantage of being relatively close to our desired location and saw about eight different houses. Since our house does not seem to be moving off the real estate market any time soon, there is no immediate rush, but we wanted to physically see some of the houses we have been stalking online for several months now. We did not find The One yet, but we were at least able to narrow down the list. Now, if someone would PLEASE buy our house!

This past week was not as relaxing as I had hoped it would be. Don't get me wrong; it was a little slice of heaven not to have to get up at the butt crack of dawn and head into any type of office. However, I made the mistake of creating a to-do list and then felt obligated to cross everything off of the list. I haven't even read as much as I expected I would. I am definitely not going to make that same mistake this upcoming week. I want to make sure I get in as much relaxation time as possible before I become a working woman again.

Speaking of working, this will be my last TSS where my mailing address is still in Ohio. This pending Friday, I will be leaving Ohio for what will most likely be the last time and heading back to Illinois. (My parents' house seems to be the staging point for this move.) I have to sign my short-term lease to a fully-furnished apartment in Janesville, Wisconsin on Saturday and will say good-bye to the kids and husband on Memorial Day. The plan is to meet each weekend at my parents' house, so at least the family is together for a few days each month. I was lucky enough to find a short-term lease (three months) for a furnished apartment that was relatively affordable (it is still the cost of another mortgage payment each month), but I would love to be able to break the lease in a few weeks' time. It will be worth the loss of money to be done with this entire moving scenario and get the family situated in one location again.

Reviewed this week:

• Bright and Distant Shores by Dominic Smith
• Gilt by Katherine Longshore
• The Ghoul Next Door by Lisi Harrison

That's about it for me. The dogs are getting feisty, and the kids are dragging their feet about packing up their stuff to head back home for one last week of school. Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday. Happy reading!

Fabulous Friday - May 11th

Life has been stressful, as you all know. Now that I've learned not to stress-eat, I've discovered another outlet to relieve stress is shopping. And I've discovered the PERFECT online store to ease any stress and help you have fun with your clothes again.

Hello MODCLOTH!

That is just as sampling of what they have to offer. All of their clothes are designed to be slightly retro in appearance with a modern functionality. I am seriously in love with this store. I have spent could spend hours drooling over the clothes. I felt better immediately after ordering the purple dress above and cannot wait to wear it to work. So pretty and so much fun! 

What makes this a fabulous Friday for you?

Review - The Ghoul Next Door by Lisi Harrison

Title: Monster High #02: The Ghoul Next Door
Author: Lisi Harrison
ISBN: 9780316186667
No. of Pages: 241
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Synopsis:

"Cleopatra de Nile

- New pet snake

- Has Deuce--the hottest guy in school--all wrapped up

- Herve Leger bandage dress, strappy gold platforms

Cleo was the queen bee of the RADs, the normies, and everyone in between at Merston High. But now it's Frankie this and Melody that . . . these new girls sure know how to get her lashes in a tangle. When Cleo lands a golden Teen Vogue photo op for her friends, everything seems to be back on track . . . until they bail to be in some film . . . Frankie and Melody's film Can't a royal get some loyal?

Frankie Stein

Frankie lost her head over Brett once and vows never to do it again. Not that she has a choice: Bekka is clinging to her guy like plastic wrap. But when Brett comes up with a plan that could help the RADs live free, sparks fly, and Bekka will stop at nothing to put out the flames . . . even if it means destroying the entire monster community.

Melody Carver

The clock is tick-tick-ticking. Melody has a serious deadline to save her boyfriend, Jackson, from being exposed by the vengeance-seeking Bekka. But Cleo is making it royally difficult for the normie while threatening her acceptance into the RADs' exclusive group . . . a group that Melody suspects she has more in common with than she ever thought.

Fitting in is out."

Thoughts: Frankie and Melody are back and better than ever, as are Cleo, Clawdeen, and Lala and the rest of the RADs. The Ghoul Next Door picks up a day or two after the big dance at Merston High. The community of Merston is reeling with the possibility of monsters roaming their streets and the RADs are forced back underground until the furor diminishes. However, Bekka is more than willing to use the insanity for her own gains, namely to get back at those who stole her boyfriend. Melody and Frankie are not willing to let their previous efforts go without a fight. To add to the tension, Cleo struggles with the fading attention that usually showers her every moment. Silly? Yes. Fun? Absolutely.

This series is an absolute blast. With its constant mention of fashion, it is reminiscent of Carrie Bradshaw for the teen/undead crowd with a hefty dose of Mean Girls thrown in for good measure. This is one series that I can enjoy with my daughter. There is nothing risque that would cause concern or would be above her reading level. In fact, as she has officially reached the age where personal hygiene may not be her biggest concern, she is at least learning that it is important. Best of all, she can look to Frankie and Melody as strong women willing to risk everything for their beliefs and are not afraid to be themselves. To me, this is the best lesson of all.

Acknowledgments: Mine. All mine.

Review - Gilt by Katherine Longshore

Title: Gilt
Author: Katherine Longshore
ISBN: 9780670013999
No. of Pages: 416
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Synopsis:

"When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head."

Thoughts: Gilt will be very familiar to fans of Philippa Gregory. The subject matter is what brought Ms. Gregory her fame, and even Katherine Longshore's writing style is eerily similar. However, Gilt is not just another copycat novel geared towards young adults. There is a brash, in-your-face quality to the entire story that accentuates just how dangerous this era was for anyone caught up in the machinations of the Tudor court. Ms. Longshore does an admirable job of explaining the notoriously complicated politics well enough that even the most ignorant reader will understand the dangers facing Catherine Howard and Kitty.

In spite of the twistings and turnings of the politics involved with Court life, Gilt remains true to the world of young adult fiction by remaining steadfast to the themes that permeate this genre. Kitty must discover the true meaning of friendship as well as determine her own path towards happiness. Cat learns to rue her actions through the ultimate penalty. It is a coming-of-age story with fatal consequences if the lessons are not fully learned.

As in most Tudor fiction, Catherine Howard gets a bad rap, and Gilt is no different. Cat is awful - selfish and vain-glorious. She lives to serve herself, and one does not have to know Tudor history to know in advance that her marriage to King Henry VIII is not going to end well. A reader will not be able to determine whether Kitty's steadfastness to Cat in spite of everything she is put through on Cat's behalf is due to her naivete, ignorance, or generous heart. Still, one cannot help but sympathize with this young woman torn between friendship and faithfulness, the glitter and glamour of the Court, and a future filled with the unfamiliar.

Ms. Longshore does an admirable job of taking an unknown historical figure and bringing her life. The fictional aspects Gilt blend seamlessly with the historical portions, rounding out a reader's mental image of the cast of characters as well as the environs in which they find themselves. The descriptions are robust, allowing readers to easily imagine the scenes, the scents, and the sounds. By using someone who would have had intimate knowledge of the Queen's comings and goings, more than her ladies-in-waiting ever would, readers get an even more insider view of life as the Queen of England as well as regular life during this era. It is a fabulous behind-the-scenes view of a not-so-fabulous period in history.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to NetGalley and to Penguin Young Readers Group for my e-galley.

Review - Bright and Distant Shores by Dominic Smith

Title: Bright and Distant Shores
Author: Dominic Smith
ISBN: 9781439198865
No. of Pages: 470
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis:

"In the waning years of the nineteenth century there was a hunger for tribal artifacts, spawning collecting voyages from museums and collectors around the globe. In 1897, one such collector, a Chicago insurance magnate, sponsors an expedition into the South Seas to commemorate the completion of his company’s new skyscraper - the world’s tallest building. The ship is to bring back an array of Melanesian weaponry and handicrafts, but also several natives related by blood.

Caught up in this scheme are two orphans - Owen Graves, an itinerant trader from Chicago’s South Side who has recently proposed to the girl he must leave behind, and Argus Niu, a mission houseboy in the New Hebrides who longs to be reunited with his sister. At the cusp of the twentieth century, the expedition forces a collision course between the tribal and the civilized, between two young men plagued by their respective and haunting pasts."

Thoughts: "Greed is good." Even though this famous phrase was first vocalized in a movie made in the 1980s, this phrase has dictated the American business model for generations. The only difference is that this greed that greases the wheels of the economy takes different forms as one progresses through history. At the turn of the century, greed took the form of height and artifacts. Dominic Smith's Bright and Distant Shores discusses at length the greed for each that gripped the country and specifically Chicago in the late 1890s. It provides a prosaic and sound warning against the greed which causes people to disregard the safety and health of others in order to be ranked among the upper echelons of society and within a global economy.

This is not a story where the good guy wins everything and lives happily ever after. One really could describe Bright and Distant Shores as the antithesis of or, more accurately, the reality behind the much-adored American dream. In true American dream fashion, Owen Graves and Argus Niu are poor and downtrodden. Graves has been forced to make ends meet since the untimely death of his father. He wants to win the girl but needs money to do so. Niu is maligned by whites because he is a native and by his tribesmen for ingratiating himself with the whites; it is the ultimate no-win situation. By ignoring their individual upbringings, those cherished lessons taught to them by their fathers, each manages to eke out some facsimile of success. That success, however, comes with a price and more importantly does not guarantee happiness.

Bright and Distant Shores is also a tale of two stories. On the one hand, the reader gets an in-depth look at trading during the turn of the century. On the other hand, the reader gets an in-depth look at Chicago and life among the fabulously wealthy and powerful as well as the working echelons of the city. Unfortunately, the city imagery and narrative cannot compare to the wealth of detail and exotic descriptions provided in the trading sections of the novel. There is a definite pall over the entire story whenever the action occurs in Chicago. The characters in each section are just as disparate. While Graves and Niu dominate both sections, the scenes held in Chicago while both men are still at sea are flat and insipid in comparison to the colorful scenery and larger-than-life cast of characters on the ship. Once everyone is back in Chicago, gone is the sense of danger and mystery, and the reader is no longer afraid that either hero will find himself in mortal danger. The story simply loses steam.

Historically, Bright and Distant Shores is a fascinating glimpse into the turmoil occurring in city landscapes at the turn of the century and the insane obsession with and fierce competition for native goods. Narratively, the story struggles between the adventures of island artifact hunting and the more mundane aspects of life in Chicago. While Mr. Smith has attempted to create an exploration novel in the more traditional grandiose fashion,  Bright and Distant Shores falls flat once the narrative reaches land-locked Chicago. From a historical perspective, the shining star of the narrative is the fabulous array of details that allows the reader to easily imagine life in the South Seas, aboard ship, or behind closed doors of those who built and controlled the first modern-day skyscrapers. Mr. Smith's research is thoroughly and meticulously relayed throughout the story and strengthening the air of realism that already exists in this historical coming-of-age story.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to Atria Books for my review copy!

It's Monday, May 14th! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by Sheila from Book Journey, this is a weekly event to share what we've read in the past week and what we hope to read, plus whatever else comes to mind.

Finished Last Week:



Currently Reading:



Currently Listening:

I still have no idea what I want to "read" next. With no work and no major trips planned for the next week or so, I suspect this space will remain blank for a while.

Up Next:



What are you reading this week?