Historical Fiction

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge
If you're looking for a sweet and pleasant story to read, West with Giraffes might be the way to go. Set in the Dust Bowl years, it centers on Woody Nickel, an orphaned teen who escapes the Texas panhandle after his last family member dies, and heads to New York. There, he finds the adventure of a lifetime when he somehow gets involved with transporting the San Diego Zoo's first pair of giraffes cross-country on a bumpy journey to their new home.
Some of the characters are based on real people, but the best story centers around the fictional Woody, a female photographer named Augusta, and the beautiful giraffes. To learn more about the actual giraffes this story is based on, Zoo Walks Through History.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Ariel Lawhon brings us the perfect blend of history, mystery, and Maine locale in The Frozen River. Martha Ballard is a midwife in Hallowell, Maine in the late 1700s, and in her role as medical professional, she gets drawn into two separate, ghastly crimes. An intelligent woman, she knows if she can put all the pieces together, justice might be done. But to just let it lie? A dangerous situation when one of the accused is a local judge who seems to be involved in shady enterprises on more than one front. A true bonus of reading this book in winter while living in Maine is that you can look out your window and easily imagine the unfolding drama that takes place over one very long, very cold season on the Kennebec River. Definitely worth 5 stars, and do be sure to read the Acknowledgements, they're brimming with interesting factoids about Martha, the real midwife whom this character is based on.

James by Percival Everett
I usually don't care for adaptations of classical novels, it feels like cheating and rarely does the second author come close to touching on the genius that made the first author a classical writer in the first place. But Percival Everett's retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the slave Jim's point of view is nothing short of brilliant. In fact, reading both novels together would enhance the humor and dark injustice in both tales.
In Everett's version, Jim puts up a front to reassure the whites that he is harmless and simple minded, such as all slaves must do. His interior dialogue shows him to be erudite and well-read, a dignified man who identifies as James. When he runs away to avoid being sold, he links up with Huck Finn and the adventures begin. While the ensuing shenanigans mirror the action in Twain's book, James's perspective casts a pure light on what life in Mississippi must have really been like at that time. This book could revolutionize teaching American Literature!

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Considered ground-breaking at the time, Solzhenitsyn's fictionalized account of the daily horrors of life in the Soviet gulag opened the world's eyes to what was happening to the Russian people at the hands of their own government. (Solzhenitsyn, himself, was sentenced to 8 years in the gulag for writing a criticism of Stalin in a letter -this after serving with honors during WWII in the Soviet army!) In this novel, we meet Ivan Denisovich on a typical day during an endless sentence at a Siberian prison camp. His matter-of-fact delivery of injustices and depravations is a marvel of human endurance and a testimony to the vigors of the human spirit. Also, though, it's startling to read about the callousness and cruelty that people will dish out to each other -how many times do we need to see this illustrated for us, across the spectrum of human cultures, to understand that we are part of a very flawed race? To learn more about Solzhenistyn, his battle with cancer, his exile, his conversion to Christianity, his awesome 1978 commencement speech at Harvard, and his Nobel prize: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Center

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian
There's something to be said for maintaining a sense of suspense throughout an entire book. One good way to do it is to be ruthless with your characters -but that rarely happens. I get it. If you go to the trouble of conjuring up this fascinating ensemble of folks to people the pages of your novel, you'd probably feel pretty protective of them. However, Bohjalian suffers no such compunction, which is what elevates this story.
When Katie Barstow, her new husband David, and a host of friends and family decide to go on photographic safari in Africa, it seems exciting, yet safe. The year is 1964, Katie is a wealthy actress, and no expense is spared on hiring the best guides available for the trip of a lifetime. However, when kidnappers descend on the party, there's no limit to how badly things can and do go wrong. And that plethora of challenges -scorching heat, predators, cold-blooded criminals-leave the reader biting their nails as you wonder if anyone will be left alive. And that's not even including a few deadly secrets that some of the members of their party are hiding... A mesmerizing read!

The Snow Hare by Paula Lichtarowicz
I wasn't sure about this being a 5 star book at first, but the story deepened in emotion and meaning as it progressed, until it totally captured my heart. Lena is a Polish girl who only wants to be a doctor, but with the advent of WWII and a series of other tragic events, her dreams go unfulfilled. Misery seems to beget misery, culminating in her family's exile to the harshness of a Siberian workcamp.
But throughout the story, Lichtarowicz has juxtaposed small chapters of Lena's future life, hints about what she has endured and what happiness is yet to come. The pastiche of memories holds the threads of a fairy tale ending, in that through the pain and desolation, there is always something or someone to rejoice about. The Snow Hare gives us a piece of history that is rarely written about, and shows us the importance of tenderness and memory amidst the harshness of life circumstances, and the incredible power of forgiveness and grace.

The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep by Allan Wolf
Allan Wolf is a great historical fiction author, and certainly the story of the Donner Party is compelling, but....BUT. I had to drag myself through the book because putting a humanized face on this cannibalistic tragedy made for a very difficult read. Most particularly, because Wolf used alternating narrators, and many of the voices were children. So. Well written but hard to categorize as 'enjoyable'.

 

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towle
Amor Towles' way of turning a phrase make his books true rare pleasures.  
"Time is that which God uses to separate the idle from the industrious. For time is a mountain and upon seeing its steep incline, the idle will lie down among the lilies of the field and hope that someone passes by with a pitcher of lemonade. What the worthy endeavor requires is planning, effort, attentiveness, and the willingness to clean up."
This story of two brothers (one recently out of juvenile lockup, one only 8 years old) undertaking an arduous trip to find their mother after their father has passed away is certainly on par with all the heroic journeys from antiquity -perils, betrayal, yearning, derring-do.  And like Greek myths of old, the story is less about the destination than it is about all the steps it takes to get there.  Also, as you get to know Emmett, Billy, and their assortment of friends and acquaintances (Woolly, Duchess, Sally, Ulysses, etc), the underlying theme that it's all just about living life resounds in their words and actions.
I would read anything by Towle because I enjoyed this novel and A Gentleman in Moscow so very much.

 

Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby
Although the narration of this story, undertaken by a ghost who haunts an orphanage, takes a bit of getting used to, the unfolding drama of Frankie Mazza's life from 1941-1946 is worth the extra effort. Frankie and her two siblings are sent to an orphanage after the death of their mother because their father isn't able to care for them. It's a rough life which grows lonelier when their father remarries and moves away, taking his son but leaving his daughters in the institution. Pearl, the aforementioned ghost, has quite a story of her own to recount as she tries to figure out why she hasn't passed on to the other side yet. Both tales are replete with courage, betrayal, grief, love, and friendship. Best line in the book, "Why does the world want girls to be beautiful, only to punish them for it?'

Lovely War by Julie Berry
If a tale that involves unrequited love, war, death, injury, infidelity, and racism could be called sweet and poignant, than this is the one. In 1942, Hephaestus catches his wife, Aphrodite (goddess of love) cheating with his brother, Ares (god of war) and decides to put them on trial to see what they have to say for themselves. Speaking in her own defense, Aphrodite weaves the story of Hazel and James, a pianist and a soon-to-be soldier who meet in 1917 only two days before he is shipped out to fight in the Great War to show that love and war are often intrinsically linked.
Shifting perspectives between the gods and the very human lives that they are impacting, the reader becomes captivated with the young lovers and some friends they meet along the way. Hazel goes to France to volunteer and meets a young Belgian girl, Colette, who has lost her whole family and village to the Germans. Aubrey is a member of the 369th, an American unit of all Black soldiers who also have the finest military band, led by one of the finest conductors in the U.S. Although all four of them encounter hardships, there is hope and joy in their stories. The trial of Aphrodite and Ares also brings some surprises of its own. I can see why Lovely War was listed in the Teens' Top Ten for 2020!

Deacon King Kong by James McBride
I love James McBride because he always writes about those things that bring us together instead of what separates us. This story, about love, intrigue, crime and passion in a NYC neighborhood circa 1969 is uplifting as well as funny. As President Obama said about the quality and worth of McBride's writing, he "humaniz(es) the complexities of discussing race in America.” 

The titular deacon is a handyman at an apartment complex in a NYC neighborhood, as well as a gardener for a mobster's aging mother, a baseball coach for the kids in the complex (an ex-player whom has chosen to deal drugs), and a pretty ardent drunk. One day, the deacon strolls up to (or drunkenly staggers up to) the dealer and shoots him for wasting his God given baseball talent, a chain of events is set off that involves organized crime, drug pipelines, revenge, and a hidden treasure secreted somewhere in the neighborhood.  The church and its congregation play a pivotal role in this disparate cast, and lots of humor is discovered in what could be a morbid and depressing situation.  Of course, unguessable outcomes are the best, and the twinklings of love that unexpectedly come to pass lend this story heart.



The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
This is a really good piece of historical fiction about a man named Hiram, who is a slave in Virginia in the mid 1800s. Hiram has a photographic memory, but despite this he has managed to block out the last day he saw his mother. This is significant, because the day his mother was sold (when Hi was only 9), left him without family -except for his father, the plantation owner, and his brother, also White. Hi is buffeted by forces much more powerful than himself: a culture of slavery and White superiority/Black subjugation, a robust Underground that he is destined to cross paths with, and the mysterious power of Conduction that lies within him undiscovered.
Coates does an excellent job at tapping the emotions Hiram struggles with, as well as delicately conveying the horribleness that surrounded the practice of slavery. Moreover, he addresses the complications that arise when a slave owner takes advantage of a female slave, resulting in a child. How could anyone look at their son or daughter and consider them property, something from which they could glean financial gain? What kind of relationship could one possibly expect from such beginnings? Well done.


A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Truly one of the best books I've read in a while, a lyrical chronicle of the life of Count Alexander Rostov after he is sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol Hotel by the new Soviet government following the Revolution of 1917.
Erudite and gentlemanly, Count Rostov "masters his circumstances so that they don't master him", showing an elegant adaptability that saves his life as well as his soul. Alexander is reprieved from a death sentence by a pro-Revolution poem he had published in his youth, but he is declared a non-person and is never again to leave the doors of the Metropol, a hotel that has always catered to the rich, powerful, and aristocratic. In his new situation, Rostov lives in the attic and leaves behind the perks of his earlier life, while retaining his decency, charm, and joie de vive. A wonderful and uplifting example of how to survive and even thrive under terrible circumstances, and also a beautiful story of how the love we share with others in any iteration-romantic, paternal, fraternal,etc-is our saving grace.

 The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker
Oaths and blood feuds, shield walls and raiding, this 12th century depiction of a fledgling Norway is so adventurous and exciting, you'll wonder how anyone survived to tell tales of the Vikings. Ragnvald is a young sailor/raider who barely escapes a murder attempt by his captain, only to find he must fight to regain his lands from his treacherous stepfather, all while the legendary Harold struggles to become the first king of a united Norway. Alliances shift on a dime, and the plight of being a woman is sharply brought into focus by Ragnvald's sister, Svanhild, who refuses to be tucked away safely and ends up in the clutches of Ragnvald's archenemy. A compelling read that reminds me of the excellent show The Last Kingdom about the Dane invasion of the British Isles and Alfred the Great's rise to power.

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
The juxtaposition of two Palestinian-Americans, a mother and daughter, who are both caught between the old world devaluation of women and their desire for freedom and happiness. In 1990, 17 year old Isra is given in marriage to Adam and finds herself relocating to Brooklyn from Palestine, dispossessed of all that she knows -except for the devout Muslim view that she is to quietly stay at home, serve the men and her mother-in-law, and have (hopefully) male babies. There is no room in Isra's life for love, desire, dreams, or joy.
Moving forward to 2008, Deya at 18 is the oldest of Isra's four girls. Untenably, she is also expected to conform to an arranged marriage, with no possibility of college, career, or romance. Both Adam and Isra died when Deya was only seven, so she is denied the understanding and compassion that her mother would surely have given her. However, Deya is determined to rebel, and thus finds that there is a secret shrouding the circumstances of her parents' deaths.
The lifestyle that Isra and Deya experience would be anathema to most American women; codes of silence and shame, subservience and honor. The missing component is love, which isn't to say that all women in their circumstances are deprived of it; this family is a tangled up knot of obligation and anger. A novel that gives a voice to those who desperately need to be heard.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
In ancient Greece, women were portrayed by male voices as either beautiful prizes or evil witches, or simply and anonymously as slaves and drudges.  In this retelling of the siege of Troy, the story is flipped to focus strictly on the story through the eyes of a woman -Queen Briseis, who is enslaved to Achilles after her city is overtaken by the Greeks.  The manly heroes might shine gloriously on the battlefield, but as witnessed by the women in the camps, they are beastly, demanding, and self-obsessed.  Many are rapists, and a scant few are worthy of love. Briseis is obedient to Achilles, and even finds some things to admire about him, but refuses to soften to the man who killed her brothers and father.
Achilles does value Briseis, though, and when Agememnon demands her 'company', Achilles refuses to go to battle -with dire consequences.  Though Briseis is a pawn in a man's game, her voice comes through strongly as she struggles to survive.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Imagine a world so cruel that people are arbitrarily forced into labor and tortured, raped, and murdered if they don't comply. That part is (unfortunately) a matter of historical truth. Colson Whitehead intriguingly melds fact with fiction as he explores the pre-Civil War South through the eyes of Cora, a slave escaping from the Georgia plantation where she is in imminent peril from her new master. Where he chooses to weave new fictional details into this terrible time is an underground railroad that is actually underground -hidden tunnels squirreled away and managed by conductors who assist runaways to freedom. The railroad is a saving grace for Cora more than once, as a dogged slave catcher named Ridgeway is obsessed with seizing her and bringing her back to captivity. What he doesn't count on is her truly indomitable spirit -Cora is an epic heroine who bears the souls, hopes, and dreams of many as she makes her way, inch by inch, toward freedom.
(Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2017, National Book Award 2016)

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson
In 1849, Leah Westfall and her gold miner parents reside in a panned-out Georgia when the news comes: prospectors are getting lucky out in California, and a new Gold Rush is about to commence.  Leah possesses a secret ability: she can 'sense' when gold is near.  Before she and her parents can consider what this means for them, tragedy strikes and Leah is on her own.  Forced to flee malevolent forces, Leah becomes Lee and decides to travel out West alone, disguised as a boy, hoping to meet up with her best friend, Jefferson.
At first I was a little put off by the 'girl disguised as boy' trope, and the magical gold-sensing ability.  But this is actually a very well-written and plausible book that captures the pioneering spirit of the mid-1800s.  Leah is a sensible girl who is more likely to rescue someone else than be in need of rescuing. The trek to California is full of pitfalls and threatening situations, especially for a teen-aged girl, which makes for an engrossing read. (Longlisted for the National Book Award)

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
This is a tricky book to describe, but let me start with 'bardo'.  The bardo is a Tibetan Buddhist term for the state the soul enters after death, before rebirth. In Western cultures we might be more familiar with the idea of 'purgatory'.  The death in question is that of Willie Lincoln, who tragically died of Typhoid Fever when he was 11 and his father was President of the United States. There are a plenitude of stories that talk about Lincoln's presidency, and others that touch on the effect his child's untimely death had on him -this is not one of those stories (not exactly).  First we are introduced to the souls currently residing at the cemetery where Willie is laid to rest -conflicted beings who don't understand that they are, in fact, dead.  Their stories are interspersed with chapters that contain snippets from books and historical documents -some of which are real, some of which were concocted by the author.  Put everything together and you get a multiverse of the events surrounding Willie's death: his bewilderment at his new situation, his father's grief, the purgatorial remnants who try to assist Willie on his journey, and a nation caught in a bloodbath of a war that is sure to fill the bardo to the brim.  This story reminded me of The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, another intriguing look at life after death. George Saunders has a unique voice, humorous and kind to his characters, even when they are very flawed. An intriguing look at how Lincoln might have been influenced in some of the choices he made. (Winner of the Man Booker prize)

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Werner is an orphan growing up in German mining country in the '40s. Despite an impressive aptitude for science (radios in particular), his outlook is bleak until he catches the eye of a Nazi officer. Marie-Laure is a girl in France, living with her beloved father, who is the locksmith and key maker for the National Museum of Natural History. Despite going blind at 6, Marie-Laure has a rich life and her father devises ways to circumvent her disability. Primarily, he constructs a miniature version of Paris so that Marie-Laure can feel her way around the model city, learning the routes before venturing out to into the real world. As Werner and Marie-Laure grow into young adulthood, their paths will collide in wholly unexpected ways. 
This book reminded me of "The Book Thief" (another excellent read) in that these children growing up in war-torn Europe are warmly and richly brought to life. Doerr paints so vividly with words that the reader feels as if they themselves have fled to St. Malo, as if they are being conscripted by the Hitler Youth, as if they are charged with saving a 133 carat diamond from the greedy hands of the Nazis. When Marie-Laure cups a shell in her hands, you will feel the cool, smooth curves for yourself. Truly deserving of the Pulitzer.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I didn't realize until after I had finished this that the two main characters, Sarah and Angelina Grimke, were actual historical figures. The Grimke sisters were outspoken abolitionists in the 1820s and 30s whose impassioned pleas to end slavery came from the dark reality that they grew up in a prominent South Carolinian home with slaves and were both strongly affected by the cruelty and injustice of the 'peculiar institution'.
In this fictionalized account, the story switches between Sarah's voice and that of a slave, Handful, who is gifted to Sarah on her 11th birthday by her rather coldhearted mother. Sarah rejects the idea of owning another human, but she is told that she will and she'd better accept the situation. Sarah counters by secretly teaching Handful how to read (in real life, Sarah actually did teach her handmaid reading and writing), an unlawful act that brings dreadful retribution on both of them when it is discovered. Sarah never does accept her place in Charleston society, but finds her calling as a Quaker in Philadelphia, and eventually as a voice crying out for freedom.
Although Handful is purely fictional, her unflinching character is brought wholly to life by Ms. Kidd, and it is her story that really touched my heart. Handful endures so much loss, humiliation, pain, and yet she never gives up and never accepts that she is lesser than the whites merely because of the color of her skin. Her devotion to her family and her intelligence highlight the absurdity, the hubris of anyone daring to claim another human being as their property.
I would highly recommend this novel, followed by reading the actual pamphlet Angelina Grimke wrote as a plea to the women of the South to end slavery: An Appeal to Christian Women of the South

Fantasy

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman is a very successful writer (The Magicians), and it's easy to see why with the compelling The Bright Sword. Add this to the pantheon of works about King Arthur and the Round Table, but with a few twists: right from the onset, we learn that the battle for the Holy Grail has failed, and King Arthur is dead. When Collum, a young man from the northern outskirts of the kingdom journeys to Camelot in the hopes of glory, he finds that the knights who remain are strictly second string. Nevertheless, he joins their ranks as they take up their weapons in a valiant effort to restore Camelot to its former luster and retain the kingdom of Britannia.
Very compelling back stories for all the knights are woven in -unfortunately, Grossman couldn't resist adding some 21st century elements and they don't ring true. But I guess that's on par with all other Arthurian authors, who have added their unique flourishes over the years. If you didn't know, the legend of Arthur emerged in the 6th century, long before armor or knights or jousting, but most of what we call Arthurian legend descends from Le Morte D'Arthur, published in the late 13th century. In any case, if you like: fantasy, magic, knights, fairies, etc, you will absolutely enjoy the immersive experience of The Bright Sword!

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne
This Norse-like saga is one of the best fantasy series I've read, and I anxiously await book 3 in October!! A northern kingdom lies fractured by petty jarldoms and in-fighting. Although there were a plethora of gods, they ended up all dying hundreds of years ago in a battle called the Gudsfalla. Anyone 'tainted' by god blood is enthralled as slave labor. Each of the Tainted carries certain characteristics of their ancestor's power. For example, Ulfrir is the wolf god, and his tainted descendents look human, but have wolf senses and teeth that are let loose on the field of battle.
The story is dominated by three bands of warriors: the Bloodsworn, the Battle-Grim, and the Raven-Feeders. One of these bands is cruel and evil, and will stop at nothing to gain power -including resurrecting Lik-Rifa, the dragon god.
The action and adventure compel the story forward, but the characters and their relationships are also well drawn out. And as the author, John Gwynne, is a Viking re-enactor, expect very realistic descriptions of weapons (and their impact on the human body), ships, battles, and even every day life.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
Garth Nix cleverly takes us back to London, circa 1983, and allows us to focus on magic, mystery, and flirtatious romance without even a hint of technology. Susan is newly 18 and spending the few months before she starts art school on a quest to find her father -whoever he might be.
Vivien and Merlin are siblings, booksellers, and imbued with different gifts as one is a right-handed bookseller (the intellectual type) and one is a left-handed bookseller (the fighting type). Susan will need both of them, as malevolent forces try to keep her from discovering her heritage, and she will need all the help she can get just to stay alive and in one piece. Great story!

If you pick this up, be sure to enjoy the poems that head every chapter, they are relevant to the story and interesting in their own right. From chapter 13:
A shadow creeps along the wall
More shadows sweep across the hall
Many shadows leap and dance and fall
But shadows need both dark and light
No shadows crawl in blackest night

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
I don't understand what Gailey was thinking of when they wrote this book. It starts with an excellent premise: Vera is the grown daughter of a serial killer and an icy, abusive mother, and she's come home for the first time in 17 years (at her dying mother's request) to clean up and empty the house, and make her peace with the past. Myriad obstacles stand in Vera's way, including the creepy entitled artist who is staying in the garden shed so he can capture some of the bad vibes of the house in his paintings.
All these potential villains, and she goes in another (slightly silly) direction altogether. So I sped right through the first 3/4 of the book, anticipating all the threads of malevolence to come together, and then the last 1/4 was underwhelming and had me rolling my eyes. Not even well-thought out enought to be considered metaphorical.

All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody
Combine the dark love story of Twilight, the magic of Harry Potter, and the battle to the death of Hunger Games and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect with All of Us Villains. This isn't a rehash, though, but a clever blending of trending themes in YA lit and the authors have done themselves proud. Seven families have maintained a hold on access to a source of powerful magic for a thousand years. The caveat is that each new generation must put forth a champion from each family, and the last one alive grants their family exclusive use of the magic for 20 years. There is no opting out as a powerful curse dictates that every family produce a champion, and that every champion participates or automatically forfeits their life. For these seven diverse young adults, they will come to the realization that there is nothing heroic in what they are about to do -the question is: how villanous are they each prepared to be? Can't wait for the sequel to come out next summer!

D: A Tale of Two Worlds by Michel Faber
This delightful book is somewhat reminiscent of the Oz tales by L. Frank Baum (I'm thinking in particular of Ozma of Oz), with a plucky heroine named Dhikila whose adventures rival Dorothy's. Dhikila is a British schoolgirl who notices one day that the letter D is starting to go missing-from speech, from signs, and indeed, even objects that begin with D are starting to isappear.
With help arriving from unusual sources, Dhikila plunges in to save the world, even as no one else seems to notice there's a problem. A fun read that should hold up over time!


The Last Pow-Wow by That Native Thomas
Fantasy that only an indigenous writer could produce, an intriguing confluence of Indian spiritual figures (Deer Woman, Coyote the Trickster), Christian figures (Lucifer becomes Son of the Morning Star), and what it means to be Indian. Is it the color of the skin, the blood quantum, or is it the shape of the spirit?
I would have given this 4 stars, but there were so many characters that sometimes they were ill-defined, or disappeared for a hundred pages, only to become central to the storyline. Thomas could have written entire novels about several of his characters (the girl who talks ghost butterflies, for example).

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
This is about a man, whose name is not Piranesi, but that's what he answers to. This is about the world, entirely comprised of the House (which stretches out almost infinitely), the Tides (which periodically fill the vestibules and hallways of the House), thousands upon thousands of statues, and Piranesi. There are 15 people in the world: Piranesi, the Other, 12 sets of enigmatic skeletal remains, and You. This might be fantasy, and it might be science fiction, or maybe it's realistic and the world is more magical than we know.
This is about something terrible that happens to the man. Or, this book is about something miraculous that happens to the man. Only You can decide as the story unfolds. Real genius from Susanna Clarke; I'm definitely putting Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell on my reread list after this!

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
This is a book I liked despite the fact it was horror, a genre which I really abhore. If that's not a testament to Stephen Graham Jones' superior writing, I don't know what is. Brace for maybe 4-5 pages of explicit gore and the sense of dread that will permeate your entire being and pulse like a heartbeat every time you turn a page. This is a compelling story of guilt and retribution for an unlikely reason, a young elk that was slain unjustly (out of season, too young, pregnant -so off limits) and is written as only an Indigenous storyteller could.
Four friends from the Blackfeet reservation indulge in some elk poaching and figure they've paid the price for their crime when the game warden catches them and they lose their hunting privileges for ten years. But as the decade comes to a close....well. There are a few lessons you'll learn if you read stories that spring from Indian culture: memories die hard, the world contains so much more than mankind, and respect for tradition must be paid. In this particular case, the young men's carelessness manifests as something older and more powerful than they can imagine. Beware Po'noka, and read this book with the lights on.

 The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham
I picked this up because Daniel Abraham is one half of the writing team of J.A. Corey, authors of the incomparable series "The Expanse", so of course it didn't disappoint. Although I wouldn't call it as incandescent as Expanse, Abraham chooses to focus on solid plot development and non-trope characters rather than unnecessary titillation and brutality, which seems to be the rule of the day (a la "Game of Thrones"). He also introduces thirteen different races of humanity, which is a little hard to keep track of, but a fascinating concept and intrinsic to the story line. Great first novel in a fantasy series, and definitely feels like it's building up to something great in the second book.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
I was really looking forward to reading this book because of its intriguing premise -a young woman named January finds that there are hidden doors tucked away in every corner of the earth and, should you find one, you can enter into another world full of curiosities and possibly danger. In fact, these portals have brought myriad magical things into our world that are the basis for myths, fairy tales, and legends. Although the author alludes to many mysterious and wonderful things, she doesn't take the time to describe them as she focuses on the foibles and trials of January. In fact, most of the book is caught up with a lot of mundanity (how many times do we need to read that she loves her dog? How many times will the dog leap to her aid and bite someone?), and when January finally explores another world, it's pretty tame. Ultimately, not as satisfying a read as some, but of course the bar has been set very high for young heroines in the past -see Sara Crewe, Jane Eyre, Alice, Dorothy, etc. The difference is, I think, the quality of writing.

 We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
This was a fantasy with a different twist for the Western world as it takes place in ancient Arabia, which means a story filled with slightly familiar yet exotic details about clothing, vocabulary, food, and magical beings. I loved that!
Zafira is a girl (masquerading as a man) who hunts in a forbidden, cursed forest to get enough food for the starving people in her village. In her caliphate, women are not allowed such flagrant behavior and so she must take care not to be discovered. But she is the only one who can exit the forest alive as the entire kingdom has fallen under an evil spell that is only getting worse.
Nasir is the Sultan's son, the crown prince of the kingdom. Yet, none of that matters as the king despises him and forces him to work as an Hashashin (that's 'assassin' in English. Did you even know assassins originated in Arabia?) The tender hearted girl and the cold-blooded murderer are about to cross paths because they have both been recruited by a mysterious Silver Witch who is either very good or very bad -who can say-to end the curse.
This is the first book in a duology, and it's sweet and compelling. I can definitely tell that Hafsah is a fan of LOTR, but then so am I, so it's fine. And here's something you don't always get in fantasy novels: some pretty steamy interactions between a few of the characters that are tasteful but sure do leave a lot to the imagination.


 Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
When Maggie Stiefvater writes, the story is almost secondary to the robust characters she creates and the cheeky turn of phrase that she employs, "Everything about (Ronan Lynch) suggested he might take your wallet or drop your baby. He was proud of the family name, and it suited him. His mouth was always shaped like he'd just finished saying it. The Lynch brothers had many secrets." So, if you've ever read one of her books before, rush to grab this one, the first in her new The Dreamers Trilogy. If you've never read her, what are you waiting for? This is young adult fantasy at its best, featuring 3 mysterious brothers, one of whom can dream things into being, one of whom is the protector of the family secrets, and the youngest one who is enchanting and possibly enchanted. Oh, and the world is about to end. Can't wait to read book #2!

 The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
I don't usually go for horror, but the first few pages of this book were so captivating and funny, I couldn't put it down. The humor fades fairly quickly, replaced by a gruesome tableau of wayward children, inattentive husbands, and predation. Picture a book group of southern women in the late 1980s. They're fairly prim and proper but when it comes right down to it, they crave something more exciting than the classics -true crime. Patricia, our main gal, is horribly attacked by an elderly neighbor one night after book club, but she fails to see the sign for what it is: a harbinger of evil in their bucolic town.
Fortunately, when you read true crime you know that nobody ever expects anything until it's too late, and this finally jars Patricia into action. Though not as graphic as some horror novels, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is highly unsettling and very original from start to bloody, bloody finish.


A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
A compelling story of parallel worlds with varying degrees of magic, from Grey to White to Red to Black. Our world is Grey London, drab because it's devoid of magic. Black London is closed to the other worlds forever -the magic has taken a malignant turn and overpowered everyone and everything there -a very dangerous place. White London is forever in the throes of a coup. Magic is viewed as the ultimate power and many will stop at nothing to get their hands on more, more, more. We only find true balance in Red London, where the air is redolent of flowers and magic is used to make life a more pleasurable experience. Red London is also where Kel hails from. He is one of the last of his kind, those who can travel between the worlds. At first this makes him an invaluable ambassador, but when he inadvertently blurs the lines between worlds, chaos and destruction erupt. A great first novel in the Shades of Magic trilogy! 

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

This retelling of Beauty and the Beast contains a few brilliant twists. First of all, this Beauty is from Washington, D.C. (a parallel universe), and secondly, her bravery and compassion are more important than the fact that she has cerebral palsy. Also, Beauty has family problems of her own that she needs to attend to -and fast. The Beast is, indeed, a cursed prince, but the magic under which he is held captive is complex. Added to that, his kingdom is under siege, and he only has one guardsman left -a very competent, very powerful, very lonely man named Grey. The door is open for a sequel here, and I'm really hoping to read more about the intertwined lives of Harper, Rhen, and Grey!



Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
This is a tricky book to describe, but let me start with bardo. The bardo is a Tibetan Buddhist term for the state the soul enters after death, before rebirth. In Western cultures we might be more familiar with the idea of 'purgatory'. The death in question is that of Willie Lincoln, who tragically died of Typhoid Fever when he was 11 and his father was President of the United States. There are a plenitude of stories that talk about Lincoln's presidency, and others that touch on the effect his child's untimely death had on him -this is not one of those stories (not exactly). First we are introduced to the souls currently residing at the cemetery where Willie is laid to rest -conflicted beings who don't understand that they are, in fact, dead. Their stories are interspersed with chapters that contain snippets from books and historical documents -some of which are real, some of which were concocted by the author. Put everything together and you get a multiverse of the events surrounding Willie's death: his bewilderment at his new situation, his father's grief, the purgatorial remnants who try to assist Willie on his journey, and a nation caught in a bloodbath of a war that is sure to fill the bardo to the brim. This story reminded me of The Great Divorce. George Saunders has a unique voice, humorous and kind to his characters, even when they are very flawed. An intriguing look at how Lincoln might have been influenced in some of the choices he made. 


Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere is about a man named Richard Mayhew, who lives in the London we know -London Above. As it turns out, there is another London, London Below, that Richard gains unwanted admission to through an act of compassion. Curiously, it doesn't seem like a particularly palatable place, so why would he end up there after his kindness? Criss-crossed with sewers (and the accompanying malodorousness), filled with dark hidey-holes and the slithery, malevolent characters who are attracted to such settings, Richard finds himself tagging along with a girl on a life or death mission. Will he be an impediment, or will Richard end up being the person we all wish that we could be?
Neil Gaiman excels at world building, but he also has a talent for making us wish we were the protagonist in his novels. The trials that his characters go through, the moral dilemmas that can seem black and white, but are actually quite convoluted (ah, like real life!) can make even a dank tunnel seem like a desirable place to be. If you enjoy this book, be sure to pick up "The Ocean at the End of the Lane". 


Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
This exceptional young adult novel gives us a 1956 in which Hitler and Hirohito won World War II (a war that America declined to participate in), and have divided up Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa.  Most of the world's population is living under draconian law. Yael is a girl who was experimented on as a Jewish child in a concentration camp, with drastic results -she's a shape shifter and can take on the visage of any other woman. The resistance has found a unique way to use her talents to kill Hitler, who, after 49 assassination attempts, is very difficult to get close to.  Yael enters the Axis Tour, an intercontinental motorcycle race, by impersonating Adele Wolfe, the winner of the last race.  The assignment is much trickier than Yael anticipated, and she will have to keep her eyes on the prize if she hopes to accomplish her mission. An intriguing look at what might have been by a fantastic author.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
I'm not sure what to call the genre that Neil Gaiman often writes in -fairy tales for adults?  Magical realism with a twist? Graphic novels without the graphics (although his graphic novels are pretty spectacular, too)?  All I know is, he touches on something deep within any reader, which is the desire to believe that there are still things in this world that are beyond our understanding, and they thrill us, horrify us, and give us hope that we might someday fall down a rabbit hole and connect with the magic.
In "The Ocean at the End of the Lane", Gaiman tells the story of a small, odd boy, whose life can be summed up with, "I was not happy as a child, although from time to time I was content.  I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else."  Me, too. Neil's style of writing is very intimate, and the reader is drawn into the beautiful English countryside where this boy lives an idyllic existence -except for the deaths, malevolent otherworldly beings, loneliness, evolving distrust in the infallibility of his parents, and the improbable ocean at the end of the lane.

After an unfortunate event strikes the boy's household, he is comforted by the mysterious Hempstock family at the end of the lane.  Eleven year old Lettie incongruously claims that the pond behind their farm is an entire ocean, and she freely discusses things that just cannot be.  When she takes the boy with her to calm a disturbance, they unwittingly open the door for a supernatural being to enter the world.  Is it evil to only give people what they want?  Read the book and see if you don't answer that question differently at the end.

"The Ocean at the End of the Lane" gives us a story in which strength of character is not dependent on age or life circumstances, it is the thing inside us that remains when we are beaten down and without hope.  It is about the 7 year old inside each of us, and how that part of us reconciles the adult, outside world with our hopes, dreams, and nightmares.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
It's so difficult to find a fantasy novel that's not derivative of some other, more fantastic novel that's come before it (most especially, Lord of the Rings, and now, the Harry Potter series). With the Kingkiller series, you can feel the careful consideration Rothfuss invests in every character, every creature, every place and event. So, it was with some delight that I sank into The Name of the Wind, buoyed by knowing I wouldn't be able to foresee what was going to happen.
This is the story about Kvothe, an innkeeper hidden away in the North Country, who tells an incredible story about an intelligent, quick-witted boy who overcomes hard times to study at the Arcanum, a special place at University devoted to knowledge that drifts dangerously close to magic and dark arts. The boy does this in a desperate bid to defeat the things that killed his parents. (This sounds like Harry Potter, but it is not.) Kvothe is actually recounting his own story, but it seems as if he gave up before he won the fight. Now, the dark forces are back -will Kvothe, who possesses the raw material to become a hero, rise to the challenge? Rothfuss shows that the very best protagonist is someone who is rather like ourselves, but does great things anyway.