European Reading Challenge Wrap-Up 2017

Well, I did far less European countries than I have in the past. Only the five necessary to complete this challenge.

Hosted by Rose City Reader, this challenge is one I like to do every year. It gets me reading books from or set in other countries and fulfills part of my love of travel in a vicarious way.

Here is the link for the challenge. I will be doing the Five Star challenge again, which requires me to read books from 5 European countries. The challenge host has the details for the challenge requirements.
Here is the link to my sign-up for it.

My books:
1. Malice of Fortune by Michael Ennis. Finished February 13 (Italy)
2. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Finished March 15 (France)
3. The White Princess by Philippa Gregory. Finished March 27 (England)
4. A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle. Finished July 14 (Ireland)
5. To the Back of Beyond by Peter Stamm. Finished September 18 (Switzerland)

Saving Montgomery Sole

Finished December 31
Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

This young adult novel has 16-year-old Montgomery Sole at the center. Monty, as she is known to her friends, lives in a small town in coastal California with her two moms, Jo and Kate and her little sister Tesla. Coming from Canada, Monty feels like a misfit in her school, that is until Thomas arrived. Thomas is a year older and a grade above her, but also a bit of a misfit. He is gay, and a thinker and drama enthusiast. The two formed a Mystery Club, which is not about mystery books, but about discussing things they don't understand, or that are mysterious. When new girl Naoki, also part Canadian arrives, she migrates to their group for all the right reasons and as the book opens, the three are fast friends.
There is the usual bullying behaviour by some of the cool guys and gals at school, led by Matt, for the guys, and Madison for the gals. Monty has a bit of a history with Matt, and the betrayal by him makes his actions more personal for her. When another new kid arrives, and Monty finds that his father is the infamous Reverend White, who preaches against the sins of homosexuality, she immediately takes against him.
Monty sees an ad on the internet for something called the Eye of Know and, since it is cheap, decides to order it. When it comes, it isn't what she expected, and she isn't really sure how to use it, but when she tries, it seems to have violent effects.
This is a story of friendship, of families, of the power of belief, and of things and people not always being what they seem.
I loved it.

NewsPrints

Finished December 31
NewsPrints by Ru Xu

This teen graphic novel features a girl, Lavender Blue, who dresses as a boy to work as a newsboy and live at the newspaper's orphanage run by the mayor of Nautilene and his wife. The country they live in, Goswing, is in the tenth year of war against Grimmaea, and many men are away at war. Many others will never return.
As the book begins, Blue is running from a rival group of new deliverers, having trespassed on their turf. She gets away by climbing a fire escape and getting into an abandoned industrial building. There she meets a man who goes by the name of Jack and who seems to be a no-very-successful inventor working on some sort of device to attract birds. She becomes his apprentice, running errands and helping out wherever she can.
On a trip to the shipyards where he plans to meet the admiral in charge, Blue meets the admiral's daughter who has been working as a secretary, and also finds a boy who seems to be living on the edge, a boy who calls himself Crow. As Blue and Crow become friends, and she gradually gains his trust, she increasingly finds herself wanting to be her true self, and reveal her female identity.
This is an interesting story of sexual bias, set in a wartime situation. A story of having the freedom to be who one truly is, without having to hide parts of that, or do what others believe is right for us.

One Day It Happens

Finished December 31
One Day It Happens: Stories by Mary Lou Dickinson

I loved this collection of short stories. Some of the characters appear in more than one story, which is nice. I liked the range of stories here as well. There are stories showing compassion for others, compassion for oneself, and struggles with mental illness.
There are stories of illness and of menace, stories of celebration and of worry. The author gets inside her characters heads in a meaningful way, showing us thought processes, struggles for what to do next in their lives. Their are stories of friendships, of marriages breaking down, of lives starting anew.
I enjoyed all of them. Dickinson is a wonderful writer.

Last Lullaby

Finished December 26
Last Lullaby by Alice Walsh

A mystery set in a small town in Newfoundland, this novel features the main character of Lauren LaVallee, a lawyer who also teaches at the local college. Lauren is a single mom of a 4 year-old daughter, Bailey, having left Bailey's father when she became pregnant, knowing that a child didn't fit into his plans.
The college is widely known for its drama program, and attracts talent from outside the province. Lauren is friends with many of the other professors. One of them is Emma, head of the English department. Emma is also a single mom, with a daughter, Dylan, the same age as Bailey. Both women teach a young woman Jade, who seems to be struggling as a single mom. She hasn't been coming to class or meeting deadlines. They go together to have a talk with Jade. Jade's apartment seems a bit of a mess, but her daughter Cara seems well cared-for, and the two women offer support, but Jade seems too worried about her finances to pay attention.
Lauren is reminded of another friend of hers, Claire, who has recently had a baby, Ariel. Claire has been struggling with postpartum depression, and has delayed her return to work at the college, where she teaches in the drama department. Claire's husband Bram is a local doctor and busy with his practice. Claire's doctor Anya has been helpful, but Claire is still struggling. Lauren makes plans to go see Claire soon.
I liked the characters in the book. There is depth to them. Lauren has some things in her past she isn't proud of, and we gradually find that she isn't the only one with secrets.
Because it is a small town, people connect with each other in more than one way. A local police officer, Rebecca, is also a student in Lauren's legal class at college, and has a child in the same daycare as Bailey. A young man, Patrick, is doing a coop at the daycare, but also sometimes babysits for parents like Jade and Claire. He's nearly finished college and plans to start his own daycare. Two other college teachers, life partners, have just adopted a baby girl, but seem reluctant to have visitors or to bring the baby out for a baby shower. One of them also seems very friendly with Patrick.
When Claire wakes up one afternoon and discovers young Ariel dead, and the death seems to be homicide, Lauren takes the case, and believing in Claire's innocence, looks beyond the obvious, to the possible.
This was a very interesting mystery, and, while I guessed at some things, I didn't figure out others until the end.

One of Us Is Lying

Finished December 22
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

This teen novel begins with five high school students held for detention for having their phones in class. The odd thing is that all of them had the phones planted on them. Their own phones were in their lockers as they were supposed to be. When one of them collapses after drinking a glass of water, showing the symptoms of anaphylactic shock, the rest react in different ways. Some remain calm and some panic, not knowing what to do. The young man, Simon, dies as a result of the situation and many odd circumstances lead to a murder inquiry.
Simon had many enemies, mostly from his writing and publishing an online and print gossip newsletter. The history of the newsletter is that most of the gossip turns out to be true. There have been rumours that he was about to publish revealing stories about each of the four students in detention with him. And how is it that all of the Epi-Pens in the school nurse's office are missing?
As we get to know the four students, we find that they are all hiding something.
Bronwyn is an A student, with plans to follow in her parents' footsteps with a Yale education. She is very close to her younger sister, who has had health issues. Her drive to please her parents is strong, but would she compromise herself to succeed?
Addy is a popular girl, a winner of beauty pageants, and girlfriend of one of the most popular boys in school. Addy's mother is divorced and struggling to keep her much younger boyfriend. Her older sister's marriage is having issues, and Addy sometimes feels her life is not her own due to her controlling boyfriend. Does she ever rebel against this control?
Cooper is a star baseball player, whose game has improved significantly lately. There is lots of interest from scouts, and he is at a critical moment that will determine his future. What would he sacrifice to ensure that future?
Nate is a young offender. His father is a barely functioning alcoholic and his mother isn't in the picture. Nate must find money to keep his home and stay out of trouble with the law under his probation. But someone needs to pay for necessities and how can Nate do that?
Lots of motives, lots of secrets, lots of lies and misleading clues. A story that will keep you guessing.

Merry and Bright

Finished December 20
Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

This light romance set around Christmas follows other similar books by the author. Here we have college student Merry Knight who has taken a year off college to work for the money she needs to continue. She is working for a consulting company, Matterson Consulting, primarily on a big project that are working on for Boeing. This is an important project and its success could lead to more work with the company. She is nearly done her contract, which goes until the end of the year.
Merry lives at home with her parents and her younger brother Patrick, who has Down's syndrome. She has a good relationship with all her family, and her mom and Patrick decide to sign her up for a online dating site. They know that what's inside is what is important, so to fend off men attracted by her beauty, they use a picture of the family dog, a golden named Bogie.
Jayson Bright has had a difficult life up to now. Not in the financial sense, he has plenty of money, but in the caring and emotional sense. His parents divorced when he was young and took little interest in him. He is close to his cousin Cooper, and a visit from this cousin makes him realize he has been pouring all his time and energy into the project at his uncle's consulting firm, knowing that if he is successful, this will seal the deal for him to take over the company as his uncle retires. When he looks on the dating site his cousin used, he is surprised to see a local woman whose picture is a dog. It reminds him of his childhood dog Rocky, and on impulse he puts up a profile using Rocky's picture.
Jayson's worry over the project and driving energy have led him to be brusque in the office and he's had a couple of run-ins lately with a young woman in the data office. Of course she hasn't taken well to his attitude, but is a dedicated worker.
And thus the stage is set for a online romance between two people who know each superficially, but not really.