Looking for a Sign

Finished June 25

Looking for a Sign by Susie Dumond

Gray, the main character has recently moved to New Orleans after a break-up from her long-term girlfriend. She has moved in with her best friend Cherry, Cherry's husband Robbie, and their toddler son River. She helps out with River, and takes time to get herself familiar with the city before finding a place of her own. 

Cherry convinces her to go to an astrologer, Madame Nouvelle Lune, to get her palm read. Following this visit, the two decide that since Gray, at nearly twenty-nine is reaching a turning point in her life astrologically, she should date people from every sign to determine which she was most compatible with. A deadline of her upcoming birthday in six weeks is agreed upon. 

Gray's new job is doing PR and marketing for a local private school system. She ends up late for an first meeting with one of the school system's new principals, Victoria. But she begs for a second chance and works hard to put together a number of ideas to help the principal in her drive to make the school more diverse and bring new material to their curriculum. 

The two meet outside of work when they go to the same park, Gray with River, and Victoria with her son, and this begins a new friendship for her. 

As Gray works her way, in order, through the star signs, starting with her own sign Aries, she makes other friends, and has a few sexual experiences. 

The idea of the storyline is interesting, but Gray felt a little naive for her age on the personal level, unlike her professional persona. I also felt a lack of depth in the characters, and some generalizations and depictions that made me a little uncomfortable, particularly in terms of sexual identity. I feel like the book could have used some sensitivity readers to address this. 

The novel had some great passages, but overall it failed to really grab me. The ending saved it a bit, and the extra material was novel and interesting. 

The Iron Flower

Finished June 22

The Iron Flower by Laurie Forest

This is the second book in The Black Witch Chronicles series. Elloren Gardner has come a long way in the short time she's been at the University in Verpacia. As the granddaughter and lookalike of one of her country, Gardenia's, heroines, she has a lot of preconceived ideas about her to overcome, from both friends and enemies. 

After having many of her own prejudices changed, she has found herself working with her new friends to right wrongs as she encounters them. However, now that her country has shown itself to be the current aggressor in their world, she finds herself part of a much larger struggle. As Gardneria and its leaders force other races into slavery, submission, or death, she fights against her use as a pawn in the battle. 

In this second book, she travels to some neighbouring realms, and finds herself tied to one man while trying to suppress her feelings for another. She also fights against the family legacy, and finds her siblings fighting along with her. I found this novel full of action and emotion, as Elloren realizes what is at stake, and grieves those she has known and cared for as she finds herself aligned with new powers. 

A satisfying read. 

The Kind Worth Killing

Finished June 20

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

This suspenseful novel had me caught up in the story, about a seemingly random encounter that has far-reaching consequences. The jacket says it is a modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith's classic Strangers on a Train, a book that I haven't read. 

It begins at Heathrow, where Ted Severson, a wealthy businessman, is waiting in a bar for his plane to leave. Arriving to sit next to him is Lily Kintner, a woman travelling back to her home in the U.S. after visiting her elderly father. They begin talking, and continue the conversation on the plane, the sort of conversation one occasionally has with someone that you don't expect to meet again. The two only know each other's first name, but they share things that they haven't shared with other people. 

Ted talks about the recent discovery that his wife was cheating on him. and how he isn't sure what to do next, joking that he feels the urge to kill her for her betrayal. When Lily offers to help, the conversation takes a previous turn. 

Back home in the Boston area, the two meet again, and talk about possibilities. Ted is intrigued by Lily, and her beauty and intelligence, quite different from that of his wife. Ted's wife Miranda has been the primary contact for a new house they are building on the coast, in a spot they discovered on a romantic holiday. She's been staying in a hotel near the building site, and has been very involved in the building process, and with their general contractor. Ted, as he considers the possibilities in his future, is having thoughts about other, more traditional, responses to his marital issues. 

Lily, however, has a darker past than first seen, and as we gradually learn her story, we see a pattern of behaviour that is disturbing. 

There were many surprises along the way in this novel, and my sympathies changed a few times over the course of the book. 

My European Family

Finished June 19

My European Family: The First 54,000 Years by Karen Bojs, translated by Fiona Graham

This is a fascinating look at the origins of Europeans, made more approachable by the focus on the author's own family. She looks at where and how the first humans came to Europe, how they migrated across the continent in different waves, from different areas, and how they intermingled. 

The book's introduction talks about the author's mother's funeral and how she spoke there about the earlier parts of her mother's life to round out for her grandchildren the person that they knew in her later years. She talks also about what drew her to wonder about her family origins, and how her work as a science journalist led her to looks at scientific discoveries and techniques to learn more. 

The book is organized into three main sections: The Hunters, The Farmers, and The Indo-Europeans. 

The Hunters covers the history from the first interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans, which happened about 54,000 years ago in the area of Galilee, where contemporaneous remains from both groups have been found to the arrival of farming about 10,000 years ago. This includes aspects of civilization such as music, the domestication of dogs, and the creation of pottery. It covers the Cro-Magnon discoveries, the disappearance of a land area now known as Doggerland, and the end of the Ice Age. 

The Farmers covers the farmers westward migration from Syria, including discoveries on Cyprus, Germany, and Scandinavia. It includes discussion of changes in diet, including the first known beer. I learned about what scientists have discovered from buried graves, the iceman found in the Alps, and clashes between groups. 

The Indo-European includes discussions around the domestication of horses, the creation of battleaxes, and the use of iron. It looks at religious and scientific activities of humans, including the WWII beliefs around Aryans. We see the effect of plagues, the introduction of written records, and changes in burial inclusions. 

Throughout, she takes us through what has been learned from DNA, discussing mitochondrial DNA which is passed down from mothers to children; nuclear DNA which gives much more information on physical attributes; Y chromosomes, a part of nuclear DNA passed by men to their sons; X chromosomes, a part of nuclear DNA which both men and women inherit from their mothers, and women also inherit from their fathers; and autosomal DNA, which is DNA from the cell nucleus that we all inherit from both parents, which is randomly mixed each generation, and which can provide information about familial relationships up to seven degrees of kinship. All of this information and more is thoroughly explained in a Q and A section after the main text. 

The author also includes a bibliography for each chapter, giving the reader citations for additional reading on that chapter's information. 

This was a fascinating read that made me understand the nature of DNA inheritance more thoroughly, and made me curious about my own origins, which are also European. 

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. 

Happy

Finished June 14

Happy by Mies van Hout

This is the shorter, board book version of the picture book by the same name. Like the longer version, the pictures are vibrant and eye-catching and the colours for each fish and corresponding emotion relate to that emotion nicely. With the simple, single word text on each set of pages, this book will appeal to both children and those using the book to engage with those children. 

Recommended for ages 1-3, this book is a welcome addition to introduce children to the concept of emotions at a young age. 

Snatched

Finished June 14

Snatched by Karin Slaughter

This novella is part of the Will Trent series and begins with Will assigned one of those routine jobs that no one wants to do. He is assigned to the men's washroom at the Atlanta airport looking for those using the washroom as a sexual rendezvous location. He is about to call it a day when a man and a child enter the stall next to his, and the girl complains that she just wants to go home. 

He is waiting by the sinks when they exit, but he has no concrete reason to detain them, so decides to follow them. He is particularly struck by the anguished, yet hopeful look the young girl gives him. 

The story has elements of fast-paced action as he follows them, and slower sections as the legal sections have you in suspense. It has points of hope and points where you feel Will's second guessing of his instincts. 

A short, yet satisfying story in this series that I read in one sitting.