The Umbrella House

Finished October 5

The Umbrella House by Colleen Nelson

This children's book is not only entertaining, it also teaches a bit about American social history, a movement that I was not aware of previously. The Canadian author lived in New York City for a few years, and was interested in the real Umbrella House history and wove it into this story set in the present day. Umbrella House was an abandoned apartment building that the city took possession of, and tried to make unliveable for any squatters. The city filled the drain pipes with concrete, tore holes in the roof and created barricades to access. In 1988 people began living in the house regardless. They began fixing it up to be liveable, and at first used umbrellas to protect against the water coming in through the holes in the roof, giving the building its name. In 2010, they legalized the building as a low income coop. 

In this story, big developers threaten the building once again, and the book shows how housing has an impact on community. Many of the original tenants were artists and this book shows the impact of art as well.

I enjoyed the stories around the two middle grade kids at the center of this novel, both tenants of the building. Roxy lives with her grandmother, one of the original tenants, and her friend Scout lives with his two mothers, more recent tenants. They also run an e-newsletter about the community, with Roxy writing, and Scout doing graphic art. Part of their story is a competition involving a short video, and Scout has also had a teacher recommend a residential summer school to advance his art skills, which he can apply to for free attendance.

I liked the passion of both the kids and adults and the relatable story about affordable housing in urban areas, one I've seen friends and coworkers struggle with. 

A great read. 

Among the Ruins

Finished April 29
Among the Ruins by Ausma Zehanat Khan

This is the third book in the series featuring Esa Khattuk and Rachel Getty, of Canada's Community Policing department, based in Toronto. This one is a departure in terms of setting however, as it begins with the murder of an Iranian-Canadian international activist in Iran.
Khattuk is on leave, taking a personal trip to Iran, following the action in book two, recovering from the situation he found himself in at the end of that case. Getty is a bit at loose ends, wrapping up paperwork and worrying about him. When a woman approaches Khattuk to let him know of the murder, he is shocked and dismayed, but unsure of what he can do to assist the situation. As she convinces him to take action, and he becomes involved with a local group of young people advocating for change, he also finds that he must involve Rachel, asking her to talk to people back in Toronto that may know what the activist was doing and why she returned to Iran despite the obvious dangers.
Rachel becomes closer to Nate as she relies on his assistance during Khattuk's absence, and she is still working to reestablish her relationship with her brother Zack.
This book involves both old and new characters, and a situation that is out of their official jurisdiction. However, with human rights being very much a part of their casework, it speaks to both officers and makes them take risks they wouldn't have thought they'd do. It also works to bring Khattuk back to his old self.
I loved the descriptions of Iran, from architecture, to food, to art, to culture that this book digs deep into. This is an interesting direction for the series, as well.

The Unquiet Dead

Finished April 24
The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan

This mystery novel is the first book by this author and is an example of both very good writing and good research. With fifteen pages of endnotes, Khan shows that she takes the time and care give her characters and plots backgrounds based in reality.
Her characters are complex and develop through their experiences. The two main characters here are detective Rachel Getty, a police officer with a difficult past and her boss, Esa Khattak, a man who also has not had a smooth career with the Toronto police.
Rachel's father was a cop, but not a man she admires. He was an abusive father and a drinker. Yet, she still lives at home, for reasons that she can only partially explain. Esa has a strong sense of faith and makes no secret of his Muslim identity. His job is dealing with cases that have minority sensitivities, and he chose Rachel to be his partner. The case they tackle here is one that seems like accidental death at first glance, but as more comes to light, there are secrets reaching back to the 1995 massacre at  Srebrenica. Esa was a volunteer in the area during that time, and knows some of the details of events, but Rachel must do her research to get up to speed.
As she learns more about her partner and boss, she also uses her own experience to lead her to insights in the case.
This is a fascinating new series, and I look forward to reading the second book.

Infidel

Finished October 26
Infidel: My Life by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while, and finally chose it to read recently. Ayaan tells the story of her life from her birth to the time of this book's publication. Her story is open and unapologetic. She acknowledges her actions and her mindset at different points in her life.
Her story is a wonderful example of the power of education to enlighten. Ayaan was always eager to learn, from her early questions about Allah and the Quran, to her later appetite for history, philosophy, and political theory.
She was the oldest daughter of a second wife of a man powerful in his own clan and country, and was brought up with the knowledge and culture of clans at the center of her life. As she and her family moved around, the influence of religion in her life grew stronger, and her grandmother forced her and her younger sister to submit to one of the most heinous of cultural rites, female circumcision. Within her culture, this was seen as the correct way for females to be.
Because of her father's role in rebellion against the Somalian government, she and her family lived in a variety of countries, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, as well as her native Somalia, and she was exposed to ways of life other than those of her family.
The insistence by her father to have her submit to an arranged marriage against her will, to a man she didn't know brought her to Europe, and her own independent spirit led her to seize the opportunity to escape her planned life for one of her own choosing.
Her life in the Netherlands brought her the education she so desired, and that caused her to examine the ideas that she had been taught and look at them with reason rather than faith. Once acts of Muslim terrorism and the increase in extremist Islam grew, she also found the voice to speak out against the way Islam treated women, and the way the word of the Quran was taken without any acknowledge of the world's progress in terms of knowledge and human rights.
Ayaan is a woman who has come a long way from her roots, a woman who has taken the opportunities that life has given her and grabbed them, and who speaks reasonably and openly about the injustices that she sees in the world.
This is a very enlightening autobiography.

A Girl Called Fearless

Finished June 15
A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka

This teen novel is set in the present, but a different present that what we live now. It begins in California where Avie lives with her father in a gated community and goes to a school with other girls like herself. Ten years or so ago, women started getting cancer and dying at inexplicable rates. By the time they finally traced it to a hormone in beef it was too late and all women past puberty and before menopause who had eaten beef were dead or dying. At first, it was just dealing with the grief, but now women's lives are becoming more restricted and when Avie discovers that not only are U.S. colleges closed to women, but her own father has arranged a marriage contract for her that will save his business. Avie finds that she has been sold, and there is nothing she can do about it. Or can she?
Childhood friend Yates has become a student revolutionary and he is urging her to escape to Canada. Avie wants to listen to him, but is that just because she has stronger feelings for him than that of friendship?
There is a lot going on in this book. It draws from other dystopian novels with women losing rights, echoes of novels like The Handmaid's Tale show here. But it also speaks to the limited lives of real women in many countries now, where the men in their lives control what they can do and where they can go and what their futures hold. Avie has definite challenges, but she is luckier than many, having an education, connections, and training to make a real stand for herself.