Blood Sisters

Finished June 18

Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie

This novel follows archeologist Syd Walker, who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Rhode Island. Syd, though white presenting, is of Cherokee heritage and was born and raised in Oklahoma, where her parents and sister still live. As the book opens, it is 2008 and Syd has just uncovered the remains of a young woman when doing a resource survey for new cables being run through the area. She has a representative from the local tribal office, who she's worked with before, and a coroner's representative attending. 

The real story of this novel though is back in Oklahoma, where a skull has been found with a link to Syd. Syd's boss flies her out to Oklahoma, where Syd is forced to face the demons of her past. When she was a teen, she and her sister Emma Lou were visiting a friend Luna, when two masked men barge in, separate them, make threats. Syd and Emma Lou survived, but Syd was able to shoot one of the men before their escape, which was followed by an explosion and a fire that destroyed the home. Syd has been haunted by the ghost of Luna, who has guided her and warned her of danger. 

Back in Oklahoma, Syd finds that Emma Lou has also disappeared, and the police seem reluctant to follow up on the disappearance. Syd goes in hot, following her instincts about old rivalries and motives to find her sister, but she finds so much more than she expected.

Lillie uses real history here, from the Trail of Tears, to the forced takeovers of Pawnee land, and the poisons resulting from mining in the area of Miami and Picher. She knows the area and the issues, since she is also Cherokee from Oklahoma. This book takes us into the lives of the people in Oklahoma, showing the reality of treaty breaking and loss of culture. It also contains elements of hope, of setting things right, and of renewing cultural traditions and language knowledge. 

This is an emotional and moving story of teenagers that went through trauma in different ways, and found ways to move forward with their lives, never forgetting their past. 

Out of the Dust

Finished August 26

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

This teen novel, a winner of the Newberry Award, is set in Oklahoma over the course of two years, 1934 and 1935. It is a story told in poetry, free verse, and grouped by season. Each poem in the seasonal sections also has a month noted to set it in time. 

Billie Jo Kelby lives with her parents on a farm outside of their small Oklahoma town, not far from the Texas border. Amarillo is only fifty miles south of them. Billie Jo has music in common with her mother. Her father's wedding gift to her mother was a piano, and although Billie Jo plays more modern music than her mother, she is a natural, often asked to perform in public. Another young musician that Bobbie Jo considers a rival is Mad Dog Craddock. He's been called by that name long enough that she doesn't even know what his real name is. 

As the book opens, Bobbie Jo has recently learned that her mother is pregnant and she hopes this baby will come for her parents, unlike many earlier ones. 

The drought has caused many to leave for the west, including her best friend Livie. They endure weeks without rain, and dust storms that can be fatal to those caught out in them. 

Luckily, Bobbie Jo's family has a good well, and her mother has grown apple trees that she takes great pride in. 

The poems that make up this book and tell the story of her life over the course of these two years, range in topic from the weather, to neighbours, to loss, to news events (like the Dionne quintuplets) to community events. But above all, they give us Bobbie Jo's inner life, her feelings about what is happening in her life, her struggles and her joys. 

A fantastic read. 

Queerly Beloved

Finished May 16

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond

This romance novel set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2013, centers around Amy. Amy's passion is baking, and she has hidden her lesbian identity in order to get a job at the best bakery in town, which is run by a Christian fundamentalist. Amy also has a second job, in the evenings at a gay dive bar, where she can be her real self. Most of Amy's family is also fundamentalist, and her relationships within her family became icy once she came out to them. Her mom, who raised her on her own, is a big support to her, as well as her mom's best friends, a gay couple who are like uncles to her. 

When she is outed at the bakery and then fired from that job, she is understandably upset. Amy has been single for a while and recently met a woman, Charley, who she is drawn to. They have a first date planned for the evening of the day Amy was fired, and she is torn about whether to go. She also has a family wedding around this time, to which she is invited, but placed at a perimeter table. The bride is a cousin that Amy practically grew up with, and the distancing adds to her negative feelings.

When Amy talks with the other guests at her table, she finds potential friends, as well as an odd invitation. She is invited to fill in as a bridesmaid for the couple at her table, who had a last minute situation with one of their bridesmaids unable to attend. 

Amy is a big romantic, a fan of Say Yes to the Dress, and a person who likes to see others happy. She agrees and soon considers taking on "bridesmaid for hire" as a way to earn some extra money. She finds that her skills are a good fit for this: her baking expertise, sewing expertise, and event management skills all prove to be helpful in different situations. But this job provides a new dilemma for Amy as she is still hiding her true self, not out to those who hire her, and sometimes put into very uncomfortable situations. 

This is what I would classify as a Women's Fiction novel, as the major story here is the growth of Amy. She has to struggle through her identify issues, think about what she wants in a life partner, deal with the situation at the time of lesser rights for LGBTQ people, and even about her interactions with family and friends. There is a romance plotline with her and Charley, but that isn't the core focus. We see, through her evening job and some friends, the range of identities and issues in the LGBTQ community and there are multiple views given of these that really help show the frustration that goes along with not having the same rights as cisgender people. 

A book with depth and thought-provoking situations, and an interesting character in Amy. 

The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club

Finished February 10
The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club by Lexi Eddings

Lacy Evans has returned to her home town from the big city with her life feeling broken. She made some bad judgements there, and she lost her business and her fiance. She also still has a huge debt hanging over her due to the betrayal of the man she thought she could trust.
She can't handle living with her parents, so she takes an apartment that comes with a resident cat, one that doesn't seem to like her much at first. But she finds old friends, and a job that she can enjoy, and begins to settle in. Coffee shop owner Jacob Tyler seems different from the charming but flirtatious boy she knew, maybe partly due to his military experiences. Her ex-boyfriend Daniel Scott seems friendly, but what is going on with his marriage?
Lacy begins to get to know these people from her childhood as an adult, and finds more beneath the surface than she thought. When one of the locals noticed a need and responded to it with an offer of assistance, a group was formed, the Warm Hearts Club. The members identify needs and work together to meet those needs, whether it is for the basics of life, a little respite for a tiring caregiver, or a new way forward for someone who's been stuck in a rut for far too long. Lacy joins this community and finds herself considering a future in town, but her past has a way of coming back after her, and she might be in more trouble than she realizes.
I liked how every chapter had a quote at the beginning from one of the characters in the book. It gave me more insight into some of the more minor characters in a charming way.
A nice read.

Make Me

Finished November 18
Make Me by Lee Child, read by Dick Hill

Classic Reacher here, wandering into a small town on a whim because of its name, finding something wrong, and, even though it would be easy to walk away, he doesn't. The town is called Mother's Rest, and it lies out in the middle of the prairie. To Reacher, it evokes images of a wagon train stopping for either a new mother to rest before carrying on, or for an older woman's passing. He decides he will stop for a day, look for the historical marker that will tell him the story, and move on. He arrives by train, with Mother's Rest the only stop on the route to Chicago. As he leaves the train station, he finds a woman obviously waiting for someone with a similar build to himself, but he has been the only passenger to alight from the train.
He finds the town odd, and after wandering through the streets and even a little ways out, finds no marker to answer his imaginative musing. But he does notice more and more odd things and when he compares notes with the woman, Chang, he begins to suspect something bad has happened. When the two are threatened and forced to leave town, he is sure, and the chase for information has begun in earnest.
With the two traveling from the Midwest, to L.A., Phoenix, Chicago, and San Francisco as they follow leads, they find the trail leads deep, deeper and darker than anything they imagined.
This book does mark a change in that Reacher shows vulnerability here, something I haven't really seen for him before. It adds to the suspense, and adds to the story in an interesting way. I didn't expect just how dark this plot would get until very near the end. Unputdownable, as expected.