The Memory Stones

Finished February 18

The Memory Stones by Caroline Brothers

This book begins in Argentina in 1976, as one family enjoys its summer holidays in Tigre. Osvaldo Ferrero is a doctor, his wife Yolanda a teacher. Their oldest daughter, Julieta lives with her husband and children in Miami, and their younger daughter Graciela, is nineteen, in college, and in love with her boyfriend Jose. Shortly after this, the military stages a coup. People begin to disappear. When Osvaldo miscalculates a cartoon he draws for an entertainment weekly, he finds himself a target and must make a sudden and difficult decision. Soon after this Jose is kidnapped, and Graciela goes into hiding. They were both involved in literacy projects for the poor. Then Graciela goes missing as well. 

Yolanda is beside herself. As she discovers the Grandmothers, she is drawn to them, especially when information leads to the idea that Graciela may have been pregnant when she disappeared. 

As Oswaldo and Yolanda search for information about their daughter, they face more tragedies, and struggles. 

This is a story centred on one family among many in Argentina that had family members that disappeared under the Junta. It brings to life the emotions, the desperation, and the grief surrounding this difficult period of Argentinian history that makes it relatable to all readers.

The characters of Yolanda and Oswaldo in particular are drawn with depth and complexity, and the changing viewpoints give us access to the different lives people led during this time. 

Taking us beyond the borders of Argentina to Europe and Mexico, and beyond the time of the Junta to the present day, we see the broad and long term effects on this family. 

A definite winner that would also be a great book club read. 

See It, Dream It, Do It

Finished February 17

See It, Dream It, Do It: How 25 People Just Like You Found Their Dream Jobs by Colleen Nelson and Kathie MacIsaac with illustrations by Scot Rictchie

This book is similar to their previous career information book, If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It. The careers covered here are:

* Fitness Trainer / Coach

* Skydiving Instructor

* Ranch Owner / Equine Therapist

* Architect

* Teacher / Basketball Coach

* Palaeontologist

* Radio Host / Multimedia Journalist

* Cave Microbiologist

* Forensic Artist

* Ambassador of Canada to Iceland

* Private Investigator

* Park Ranger

* Heavy Equipment Technician

* Stand-Up Comedian / Actor

* Pilot

* Travel Company Owner

* Psychologist

* Charter Captain

* Community Advocate / Mentor & Coodinator

* Midwife

* YouTube Content Creator / Former LEGO Designer

* Cybersecurity Analyst

* Electrical Engineer

* Funeral Director

* Ballet Dancer

Most of the people profiled have some connection with Canada, which is helpful. Looking to our own country for inspiration in terms of jobs is a way to see yourself within your own community. 

As in their other book, they also list some jobs that are related, and briefly feature another person who is successful in a related job. 

Exposure to such a variety of possibilities opens children's eyes to the wide range of things they can consider for their future. 

The Cemetery of Untold Stories

Finished February 17

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

This novel is set mostly in the Dominican Republic. Alva Cruz emigrated to the United States as a child with her parents and three sisters, but often visited her home country. She is a well-known author and has been having a writer's block recently. When her father passes away, she and her sisters divide up the properties he owned with Alma agreeing to a large property beside a dump. She intends to use it as a graveyard for her unfinished works. After organizing them, she engages with a local sculptor to create sculptures for each work that will sit above their resting place. 

Alva finds that she can still hear her stories, even as they revise themselves, as well as hearing other stories. 

The construction of her fenced cemetery and sculpture garden attracts local interest, and Alva ends up hiring one of the locals, Filomena, to be the groundskeeper. She also asks her to spend time at each burial site and listen. 

Filomena can also hear the stories, and she spends most of her time at two of the graves. One has the story of Bienvenida Trujillo, the second wife of the dictator El Jefe. Another is the story of a Dominican doctor named Manuel Cruz, who fought with partisans and emigrated to the United States. 

As we learn these stories, we also learn the stories of Alma, and of Filomena and her sister Perla. 

This is a novel that flows beautifully, with stories weaving themselves into each other and giving us a sense of the country and its people. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Finished February 11

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

This is the first in a series of cosy mysteries set in a small town in Minnesota called Lake Eden. Hannah Swensen has moved back home after her father's death, and started a shop called the Cookie Jar, where she sells all types of cookies and squares as well as beverages. She also has a young employee, Lisa, who stayed after high school to look after her father who has Alzheimer's. 

Hannah's mother keeps setting her up with any possible eligible man, which Hannah deals with kindly. She's not really interested in any companion other than her cat Moishe. The latest man offered up is Norman Rhodes, who has recently moved back to town after his father's death and taken over his father's dentistry practice. He seems nice, if a little boring. 

As the book begins, Hannah is off to work, passing a few regulars on her way, including her neighbour Phil, who works at a local manufacturing company; Ron, the dairy delivery driver on the route that comes to her store; and Claire, owner of the fashion boutique next door to the Cookie Jar. 

As we begin to get to know the townspeople including Hannah's sister Andrea, and her husband Bill, a police officer, we see how everyone is connected in a variety of ways.

When Ron is late and Hannah checks the alley to see if he's close, she finds his truck, and him dead in it. As she helps Bill follow the clues, often a step ahead of him, we find ourselves caring about the different characters whose lives are affected by this death. When another body is found, things get more tense in town. 

I enjoyed getting to know the characters, which I'm sure will reappear and get more depth as the series continues. The introduction of a new detective to the force brings anticipation for future books, on both the mystery and romance fronts. 

And as with most food based cosy mysteries, there are lots of recipes included here.

The Sweetness of Water

Finished February 10

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris

This historical fiction novel is set just after the end of the United States Civil War. George Walker and his wife Isabelle have a farm a little way outside of a small southern town called Old Ox. George often walks his land and the forest that is part of it, partly searching for a creature his father told him of, and partly to think. Towards the end of the day, one he spent wandering, he comes across two middle-aged black men. Their names are Prentiss and Landry and they were recently owned by Ted Morton, George's neighbour. The two men decided to leave once they were emancipated, but haven't got any idea of the outside world or where to head. George has a burden of sadness on him, one that he soon shares with Isabelle, and the two reconsider their future plans. George determines to clear and farm some of his land, and he approaches the two black men to offer them work helping him. When George offers them work, they are grateful to be able to earn some to take them away and into a new life. But George's actions cause issues with others that resent the loss of their traditional social order. 

Trust grows between George, Prentiss, Landry, and soon Isabelle as well, and another family member who has seen things in the war that changed him. 

When a tragedy happens to this group, it becomes a larger issue, one that both destroys friendships and creates new ones. The trust between them becomes something more, and while there is hope, more tragedies happen in the town and this household. 

I found this novel moving and thought-provoking. Crimes lead to insults, and insults become crimes. An engaging debut novel that won attention from celebrity book clubs and was longlisted for the Booker. 

Friday Black

Finished February 10

Friday Black: Stories by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

This dark collection of stories had me both wanting more and needing to take breaks from reading. This is the debut collection for the author, and draws on his own experiences as a black man in the United States for some of his themes. The collection contains twelve stories, with some characters reappearing in other tales. 

The first story, The Finkelstein 5, draws on racism, white privilege, miscarriage of justice, and frustration at all these societal flaws. The second tale, Things My Mother Said, touches on poverty and religion. The third, The Era takes us further into dystopia with revisionist history, genetic selection, and bullying. Lark Street deals with abortion, relationships, and the onus on women. The Hospital Where has elements of pain and wonder set around healthcare and the things we do for our dreams. Zimmerland makes racism and violence a form of entertainment where there are no consequences. Friday Black takes us to a surreal dystopian version of Black Friday sales, where bodies are swept to the sides as sales take precedence. The Lion & The Spider takes African folklore, family responsibility, and takes us to the backroom of retail. Light Spitter has elements on incel culture, school shootings, and trying to change outcomes. How to Sell a Jacket As Told by Iceking brings us back to the characters and world of Friday Black on a less dark day. The following story, In Retail, is in the same world, but from a different point of view. The final story, Through the Flash, is set in a world where the days reset over and over, death and violence are ever present, and the characters are aware of it, and hope for a glitch in the system. 

These are dark stories, offering little hope for the future, but also stories that are gripping and captivating. Many of them relate to the world even more today than when they were written. 

Say You'll Be Mine

Finished February 9

Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

This romance is very engaging. The narration does vary between the two main characters. The main female character, Meghna Raman, is a Dallas-area middle grade English teacher who has long aspired to write plays, and is working with her students to do the school's first production, My Fair Lady. Her parents and brother are all engineers and, in the eyes of her mother, engineering is the only profession worth doing. Meghna has received the speech on this many times, but her mother launches a new one now, convincing her to marry an engineer. Meghna's parents are a love match, and they've never proposed any introduction before, but she finds herself faced with an arranged marriage proposal, a rishta, now. Perhaps it is because she is nearing thirty without a serious relationship. 

Karthik is a mechanical engineer working in New York City for a large engineering firm. He likes his work, but has pushed off serious relationships and any discussion of them for years. He has finally made a deal with his mother to meet marriage possibilities for a certain time period on condition that if he doesn't find someone she won't bring it up again. And Karthik has no intention of finding someone. He has seen his parents' marriage and has no desire for anything like theirs in terms of a relationship. He has been trying to be as little like his father for most of his life. That's partially why he chose engineering instead of medicine, with his father teaching at NYCU medical school. 

The meeting, at Meghna's parents' house goes well, except for Karthik telling her that he has no intention of marrying anyone when the two of them have their one-on-one. Yet he finds himself telling his mother he needs time to think about her as a potential wife instead of just saying no. And then he digs himself in deeper yet. 

So when he contacts Meghna with a proposal to move ahead with a fake relationship, he has to find something that they both get out of it. And Meghna has a secret that only her best friend Ankita knows that might be the motivation she needs. 

As their story unfolds, it seems that there are more secrets, from Karthik, Ankita, and parents on both sides. 

I liked learning more about some aspects of Indian culture as well as seeing this plot unfold. The characters of Meghna and Karthik are ones with some depth, and we see their vulnerabilities as well as their strengths. I also liked the character of Paul, an intern at Karthik's company. 

I had trouble putting the book down as I needed to see how things worked out.