Hunger

Finished June 26

Hunger by Michael Grant

This is the second book in the Gone series for teens. I read the first one years ago, and own the third and fourth, so finally tackled the second so I could read these. This is a series that definitely builds on itself and needs to be read in order. This book is much darker than the first as food is becoming a real issue. Those in town have created a structure, and have organized a way to distribute food, but they know that they need to plan for other ways to provide food than what they have now. When they find crops in nearby agricultural areas, a new threat emerges. There is also a need to find a way to motivate everyone to work for their keep in some way so the onus doesn't end up on just a few. 

There is also a developing divide in town between regular kids and those who have developed special powers. Some of these powers are odd and the purpose of them is still being determined. Some of the regular kids are beginning to resent those with powers, particularly because many of them have taken on leadership roles. Some of those in leadership, like Sam, are feeling the stress of their responsibilities and are showing that stress.

The kids who have grouped at the former private boarding school are also developing a plot to regain power from those in town and their dark sides are a real threat to everyone.

The bigger threat we begin to see is the growing dark power of a mysterious underground presence who is focused only on its own needs, but has psychological powers that reach into the minds of anyone it has encountered or anyone who gets physically close to it. 

This is a dark novel, that seems even darker by the end, when the community has less resources than before, and more threats from both external and internal forces. 

This Poison Will Remain

Finished June 25

This Poison Will Remain by Fred Vargas, translated by Siân Reynolds

This is the 11th book in the Commissaire Adamsberg series. Here Adamsberg is summoned back from Iceland for a case and is soon missing his son who stayed on there. He is at first dealing the case that recalled him, a hit and run death of a woman that has some subtlety to it, but that is dealt with fairly quickly. During that case, he has become aware both through the attention one of his staff, Voisenet, to some deaths due to a spider, one that is not typically deadly. This captures his attention, and he begins to gather information on the deaths himself. 

He also begins to realize that one of his own men is actively working against him, and applies himself to that puzzle. 

The spider case is quite interesting, and one that takes him from Paris to the south of France, where the deaths have occurred. He looks for links between the victims, and finds an interesting name that links the spider to some of the victims. As he looks deeper, he discovers other deaths that seem suspect when the link between the victims is known. He soon realizes that the group of men who are potential victims is narrowing with each death, and he puts some effort into protecting those remaining. 

He encounters and begins to consult with an amateur spider specialist, and finds her to be very helpful as the case progresses. 

As usual with this series, the unusual mental connections that questions that Adamsberg comes up with really make the story and are key to the plot. The side stories here, from the initial case, to the attempted betrayal of one his men, to the crime against another staff member, and to his own buried childhood memories all link through a common theme. 

This is a book that I read in small pieces as Vargas always leads me to go down other rabbit holes from her use of connections, quotations, and analogies. 

I also liked the appearance of one of the characters from a different, although linked series, Mathias from The Three Evangelists and a new connection to a character I love from Adamsberg's team. 

Always an educational read, this was also an interesting set of puzzles. 

People Change

Finished June 21

People Change by Vivek Shraya

This short book looks at change from a human point of view. The author herself has undergone many changes in her life: professional changes and personal ones. Here she looks at what factors lead to change for us, based on her own experiences. Sometimes there are things that happen early in our lives, when we are still figuring ourselves out, and events or experiences can influence us in major ways. 

There is also a common fear of change, and that is covered here as well, sometimes trapping us in a place in our lives that we may not always recognize as a trap. 

This book encourages us to celebrate our changes, to be open to experiences that offer different ways of being, and new inspirations for our existence. 

Sometimes, this book feels 'stream of consciousness' in its flow, and other times it digs deeper into the motivations beneath those meandering thoughts. I read this book slowly, pausing to consider different ideas along the way. 

The Lost Ticket

Finished June 21

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

This charming novel begins with a scene from 1962 and an encounter on a London bus between Frank, a young man and an unnamed female art student. She gives him a phone number, written on her bus ticket, and he gives her the book he's been struggling to get into, and they agree to meet later that week. But when he gets home, he finds he's lost the ticket, and they never meet.

The story then jumps to the present, in spring 2022, with Libby Nichols, who has come to London to stay with her older married sister Rebecca getting on the 88 bus in London. She encounters an older man, Frank, who is struck by her red hair, and they have a conversation, where he encourages her to return to the art she used to love. 

Libby tells her story to Rebecca, and thus to us, that her boyfriend of eight years took her to a fancy restaurant to break up with her and take some time apart. Libby agreed to move out for a while to give him time to figure out what he wanted, and she's ended up here. Rebecca's nanny has had to go home suddenly to take care of a family member, and Libby agrees to look after Hector, her sister's son while she's staying there. 

Libby tries doing art on the bus, and finds herself angrily accosted by her chosen subject, and when she meets Frank again, she finds out about the girl he's been searching for for years, and how she changed his life. Libby decides to help him try to find this woman, and begins a social media and flyer campaign to put the story out. As she does, she finds herself making new friends, and thinking harder about what she wants in her life. But she also discovers that some things can't be planned and have to be dealt with as they happen. 

This is a feel-good novel of relationships, families, and chance encounters that are life-changing. A great read. 

The Party

Finished June 19

The Party by Lisa Hall

This dark mystery begins on New Year's Day as Rachel wakes up. She is in a strange bed and some of her clothes are missing. Her body has bruises and she suspects that she's had sex. She is in the spare room at a neighbour's house and remembers arriving at the party with her husband Gareth, but can't remember anything after that. She doesn't know if she's had an argument with her husband (they'd been having some issues, but had been working on improving their relationship). She doesn't know who else was at the party. 

Her husband had been distant recently, pushing her away and deflecting her questions. There have been some unsettling encounters with a man who worked with her husband, as well. As Rachel first returns home, then is convinced to go to the police, she talks to her friends and neighbours, gradually piecing together what happened that night. Many people have secrets of their own that makes them less than forthcoming about what happened and what they saw. 

The novel jumps back to earlier in the year at times, and this gives more insight into Rachel's relationships and the possibilities of the night in question. 

This is a fast-moving novel, with a narrator that has a lot going on in her life, and is now fuelled by anger. An unexpected and clever ending that will leave you with many questions. 

Good Night, Irene

Finished June 17

Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea

This novel focuses on a little known group of women who worked for the Red Cross attached to the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. They were set up in teams of three to man Clubmobiles that supported the troops for morale. The large buses were similar to today's food trucks. They served coffee, tea, and donuts, and were equipped with record players and a speaker system to broadcast the music to those waiting for service. These mobile units travelled to airbases, troop stations, and to troops near the front. 

In particular, it focuses on Irene Woodward, a young woman from a well-to-do family in New York City. She is fleeing an abusive relationship, and hopes to do her part for the troops. She goes to Washington, D.C. for training along with a number of other young women, and they get trained to drive the truck they will be operating, and to make donuts and coffee. During training she made friends with Dorothy Dunford, a young woman from the Midwest who has sold her family farm after the death of her parents and the loss of her brother in the war. She is a take-no-nonsense woman with driving skills and gumption. The third girl in the bus is Ellie, a woman from Chicago. 

After training, the women travel by ship in a convoy to England, where they use a British truck until their new wheels are ready. Besides serving at their mobile unit, they go to various troop stations and officers' clubs to do similar work. 

Soon after D-Day, the women take their bus over to France, where they move east along with the troops, finding themselves in some tricky situations and experiencing war firsthand. Although not looking for love, Irene finds herself drawn to a fighter pilot named Hans who pursues her in a way that gains her trust. As Irene finds friendship and love, she also experiences the worst trauma of her life, witnessing situations she never imagined. 

This novel has real emotion and the characters feel very real. There is humour and grief, love and loss, and I was intrigued to see that Urrea found the inspiration for this book in his own mother's experiences as a Red Cross Clubmobile worker. 

An amazing read. 

The Sibyl in Her Grave

Finished June 17

The Sibyl in Her Grave by Sarah Caudwell (Hilary Tamar, #4)

This mystery is definitely on the odd side. Intellectual and with paranormal elements, it is set around a law professor (Hilary Tamar), lawyers they are friends with in London, and the aunt of one of the lawyers who lives in a small village in England. 

The aunt's story is told mostly through letters to her lawyer niece asking for advice on different legal issues that have arisen in her life, starting with one to do with taxes from investment income. It moves on to what may be murder, a sudden death of an unlikable woman who ran a fortune-telling business, to matters of inheritance, and more. 

There is a side-story of renovation work being done at one of the law firms, and the retirement decisions around an important client at that same firm. 

There is also a mysterious man who appears in the village, that may be a key clue in mysterious death. 

I enjoyed this mystery, with its explanations of legal issues, and the somewhat mysterious professor, who seems to have many contacts with former students. 

It is also interesting that we never know the gender of this professor, with their androgynous name and no other defining information beyond the university they teach at.  

The home of the fortuneteller is a very odd one, with the birds a particularly unsettling element. 

I would definitely be interested in reading more of this series.