Pride and Protest

Finished August 7

Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne

This is a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a few changes to certain elements of the plot and characters. A great read that is well written with lots of humour and a serious undertone.

The issue at the center of the story here is affordable housing.

Liza Bennett recently moved back in with her mother, grandmother and siblings after a rent increase made her own apartment unaffordable. Along with her mom are her older sister Jayne, who has her own very interesting past and a strength that comes from dealing with adversity; her brother Maurice who is passionate about both black rights and poverty issues; and her teenage sister LeDeya who is very into fashion and does her own Tiktok videos giving fashion and beauty advice; and Granny who loves to garden and gives practical advice.

Granny is the Mr. Bennett of this story and Maurice is the Mary, both adapted and yet recognizably not only the same characterization, but a deeper one as well. 

Darcy here is a guy named Dorsey. He is the middle child in his family, but recently lost his older brother and his parents in a car accident, so now only has a younger sister, Gigi. Dorsey and his siblings were all adopted from different cultures. Dorsey is from the Philippines, and into his native culture, but also has been thrust unexpectedly into a leadership role in the company his parents ran, with his heart more interesting in his mother's philanthropic foundation. 

Liza is a strong, smart woman with a degree who works as a DJ at a Washington, D.C. radio station and has been fighting against developers gentrifying her neighbourhood and driving out the lower income people who live there now. Netherfield is a new development project there and Dorsey's company is behind it. They have done some community events to present a friendlier aspect to themselves, but it is mostly lip service and Liza is all too ready to call them on it. 

As Liza and her family get to know Dorsey, his organization, and his friends, we see a greater depth to this adaptation than even was in the original story. The characters have more complexity and the backstories are bigger. 

This also has so many things I like about modern relationship fiction, including dealing with serious real-life issues, great banter, and strong sibling relationships. 

This is a fantastic read.

We Are Not Like Them

Finished June 9

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

This novel is very interesting. Written by two women, black and white, about two women, black and white, who grew up as best friends, but now face a situation that threatens their friendship. 

The story is told in alternating voices by the two characters, beginning with Riley Wilson, a black television reporter in Philadelphia. Riley grew up in a supportive family, and is very close to her grandmother Gigi, who is now in hospital after a health incident. Riley often hears her grandmother's voice in her head, reminding her of things she's told her before, of live advice, of guidance in decisions that need to be made. Riley's story opens with one of these statements "You can't trust white people,' and yet we learn that Gigi was also close to Riley's best friend, Jen. Jen came into Riley's life when they were kids and Jen's mom Cookie dropped her at Sunshine Kids to get looked after while she was working. The two girls bonded quickly and have been there for each other when needed, although they've seen each other less as adults. 

Riley moved away to go to university and then for journalism jobs, but has recently moved back home and is hoping for a shot at the anchor position in the near future. 

Jen went straight into working after high school, mostly waitressing, but now works in a dental office. She married Kevin Wilson, who was in sales when she met and married him, but then decided to follow his father and brother into the police force. They've been trying to start a family for a while and Jen is well into her pregnancy this time. 

The act at the center of the story is told at the very beginning of the book, when fourteen-year-old, unarmed Justin Dwyer, a black kid, was shot by police officers, one of whom is Jen's husband Kevin. 

We see how each woman reacts to the story, how the community reacts and how Riley, Jen, Kevin, and others have choices to make along the way. 

This book is emotional and challenging, but it brings forward a lot of questions and issues that are ripe for discussion. Seeing how the two main characters navigate their way through this is enlightening. 

My copy included an interview with the authors that really added to the story, as well as discussion questions. This is definitely one that would be a great choice for book clubs. 

The Dutch House

Finished March 18 

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks

I started this book back in March 2020 when I was commuting to work and when the commute stopped, so did the reading. I recently started it up again to listen to while I did crafts and really enjoyed getting back into it. Tom Hanks does a great job of the reading, even breaking into song in one part. 

The story is of a place, a house that was bought by an ambitious young man, Cyril Conroy, for his family after it had been sitting empty for some time, empty of residents that is. 

It was bought full of the art, furniture, and other possessions of the Dutch family that built it. From crystal chandeliers to family portraits, Dutch language books in the bookcase and finely upholstered furniture the house was ready to live in. But Cyril and his wife Elna had come from the inner city. He'd made a career in real estate, but Elna had trouble adjusting to life in such a house, especially with servants who did the work she'd be used to doing. They had two young children, Maeve and Danny, and soon Cyril's wife left, at first for India to work with the poor there. For much of the book we don't learn her story, but she does return to it near the end. 

Meave and Danny were raised mostly by the two women working in the house, sisters Jocelyn and Sandy, who loved them as if they were their own. Danny started going with his father on the weekends to visit the buildings that he owned, help him collect the rents and learn about the business. Right down to the nuts and bolts of maintenance. But a single man of that kind of wealth attracts some attention and a woman had set her sights on Cyril. By this time, Maeve was in college and Danny in high school, and by the time the young single mother Andrea married Cyril and moved in with her two daughters Norma and Bright, Cyril was in her hands. Thus, when Cyril died young, the first thing Andrea did was kick Danny out of the house. Maeve and Danny soon discovered that she had maneuvered things so that she was the sole heir of the estate and the only thing Danny had access to was an educational trust fund. 

As the book begins, Danny and Maeve are sitting in a car on the street looking at the house and wishing they still lived there, so their circumstances are pretty clear from the beginning and how they got there soon gets told. 

The rest of the book tells of their growing up, starting lives of their own, but never able to let go of this house that had been their home. The story is told from Danny's viewpoint and Hanks brings him to life. We see his relationship to his sister, his happenstance meeting of his future wife and how his sister played a role in getting them together, how his history led to his career decisions and some of his personal ones. We also see how Maeve made Danny her project, giving up her own goals to ensure that he became a success despite Andrea's manipulations. 

Andrea is the stereotypical evil stepmother, a caricature of a person. The other characters are more complex, and the story makes some lovely turns bringing it to a quite unexpected ending that seems perfect. 

My Husband's Sweethearts

Finished June 20
My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher

Six months ago, Lucy discovered her husband Artie was cheating on her. When she confronted him about it, he confessed to other infidelities, one's she hadn't known about. Lucy left, throwing herself into her work as an auditor. Lucy's mom thinks that she's made a mistake, and she's been trying to get Lucy to come home. The latest news is that Artie is very ill, and dying. Lucy doesn't really believe this is true, after all Artie is older than her, but not that old, only in his fifties, and he's been sending her love notes and flowers no matter where she travels. But she decides to go home and see.
And she finds that it is true. Artie is dying. And she isn't sure what to do. Artie throws a challenge to her, one she thinks he doesn't believe she'll take on, but she does. She starts to call up the women he's been involved with, both before her and during their marriage, and invites them to visit.
But Artie has been keeping other secrets. They've always kept their money separate, and so Lucy is even more taken aback to find that Artie has been sending money to a woman for decades, to pay for a son that he supposedly fathered.
As Lucy connects with the people who've been in Artie's life, she finds a surprising mix of people, and some of them she connects with in interesting ways. A core group develops that includes two women that Artie has been involved with, along with Lucy's mom, and they work toward bringing Artie to an understanding of the effect that he's had on the lives of others.
This is a story of betrayal, of love, of the connections that people have. It is a story of loss, and of new beginnings. I enjoyed it.

One Perfect Lie

Finished May 24
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline, read by George Newbern

This suspense novel takes some time to let the reader into what is truly going on. It starts as Chris Brennan is starting as a teacher and coach at a high school in small town Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia. We know that Chris is not who or what he says he is, but we don't know what his real identity is, and we don't find out for a while.
He is interested in a particular group of high school boys, those on the baseball team. He is looking for one that he can get close to, and influence in some way. He has his eye on three particular boys, and those three boys we learn more about, primarily through their mothers.
Raz is the son of Susan Sematov, an executive at the nearby outlet mall. Raz's father died recently and it has affected his normally easygoing and outgoing personality. Susan is worried about him, and his future. They were all hoping that he's be drafted by a good college for his pitching expertise.
Jordan has just made the varsity baseball team after working hard over the summer to improve his skills. His mother Heather Larkin has raised him on her own, working hard at the local country club. But the new ownership is changing the way she feels about her job, and she regrets not being able to go to any of Jordan's games. She worries about the effect some of his friends have, especially those that come from wealthy backgrounds. Evan is one of those kids. His dad bought him a new BMW that cost more than Heather made in the last year, and he seems to throw around his money recklessly. He's always on his phone, and is a boy that likes to party. His mother Mindy Kostis is worried about him and about her marriage. She'd caught her husband cheating before and they'd started fresh after therapy, but he's acting odd again, and she's scared it's starting again. She's afraid that Evan has grown secretive too, and she wonders what he's up to. She's determined not to use alcohol as a coping mechanism like she did during her earlier marital crisis.
As a reader, I wondered what effect Chris would have on these boys, and I didn't like some of his methods to find out more about them.
This is a novel of secrets, of people pretending to be something they aren't, and about families and their ways of communicating with each other. It's about learning to look for the good in people and doing the right thing regardless of what others might want you to do.
I enjoyed it.

The Doctor Rocks the Boat

Finished December 27
The Doctor Rocks the Boat by Robin Hathaway

This is part of the series featuring Doctor Fenimore. Fenimore is a cardiologist in Philadelphia, and one day passing the Schuylkill River, he sees a rower out and remembers how he found rowing to be a great destressor when he was an intern. He decides to take it up again. When he goes to Windsor Club boathouse to rejoin, he finds his old classmate Charlie Ashburn there. Charlie has to quit rowing years ago because of a heart defect, but now is son is vying to compete at Henley and Charlie is his biggest supporter. Fenimore can't help but wonder if Charlie's son Chuck was checked to see if he inherited the defect or not after he sees how drained Chuck is after rowing.
Easing into his return to rowing, Fenimore finds it difficult to find the time to row during hours when he knows others will be around. Talking to others, he finds the Victorian boathouses are under threat from developers who want to build a marina in their place. The Historic Commission has a proposal in the works to register Boathouse Row as an historic landmark, but it may not get through the process before the decision to develop takes place.
Fenimore's young office assistant has taken a fall on his skateboard and broken his leg, but also seems to be hiding something. Has he started hanging out with a bad crowd again?
All these things worry Fenimore and he gets involved in both professional and personal ways.
The setting was interesting with the information provided on rowing and the lovely natural setting and historic buildings. The different storylines offered many different possible plots behind attacks on Fenimore and others, I liked the characters and found the mystery a good one.

Save Me

Finished March 12
Save Me by Lisa Scottoline, read by Cynthia Nixon
Another great thriller from Scottline, and nice to have finished it on the drive down to Philadelphia for PLA Conference. Rose McKenna is a young mother who has volunteered at her daughter's school as a lunch mom because she is worried about reported teasing by other kid's. Her daughter, Melly, is in third grade and has a large birthmark on her cheek. Melly is self-conscious about it, and Rose is aware of that and worries about her fitting in. When Rose sees some other girls teasing Melly, she approaches them and reminds them of the school's anti-bullying policy.
Unexpectedly there is an explosion and subsequent fire and Rose has to decide whether to help the girls she is talking to, or go look for Melly who has run to the washroom. Even after Rose makes her move, she keeps questioning her decision and feels the need to find out all aspects of what happened that day. Despite her husband's advice, Rose keeps digging and her actions put her into another life-threatening situation.
With lots of twists and turns, interesting characters, and a good plot, Scottoline pulls off another great read. Looking forward to hearing her speak Thursday evening.

Look Again

Finished July 4
Look Again by Lisa Scottoline, read by Mary Stuart Masterson
One again Scottoline writes a winning story. Here the main character is Ellen Gleeson, a reporter for a Philadelphia newspaper. A couple of years back, while writing a story, she came upon a very sick young boy in a hospital. Something about him drew her to him and she made enquiries. She ended up adopting him, and Will is now the center of her life.
There are cuts at the newspaper and Ellen is worried about her job. When she arrives home one day, she notes a white card with a photo of a missing child as part of her mail. She is struck by how much it looks like Will. She is continually drawn to the fact of this resemblance. She knows her adoption was legal, but still begins to ask questions. "What if" keeps going through her head, along with the question of what she should do.
Scottoline brings the thought processes and emotions involved into view and we feel Ellen's struggles and worries. This book will get you thinking about what you would do in that position and face the worst fears a parent can have.
A winner.