All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker

Olympia lives in SoHo New York in the 1980's.  Her mom is an artist and her dad, an art conservator, and Olympia carries a sketch pad wherever she goes.  One day her dad disappears, and her mom, who has struggled with depression in the past, goes to bed and refuses to get up.  Olympia tries to go on, as if her life isn't falling apart at home, but as time goes on, her father doesn't return, and her mother doesn't rally, it becomes harder to maintain appearances. Her best friends Richard and Alex sense what is happening, but Olympia swears them to secrecy. The secret stretched their friendship to the breaking point until the three pre-teens don't know what to do or where to turn.

This is a book about both art, loyalty, and mental illness. Tucker does a good job of portraying the isolation and conflict of living with a person with severe depression. Olympia's reaction to her mother's withdrawl is believable and sympathetic. As an amature artist I was interested in the discussion of color, drawing and art history the character, Apollo shares.  I also enjoyed the setting.  SoHo in the 80's was just on the cusp of becoming the artistic center of Manhatten it is today.  I don't see this book as having universal appeal, but it would be good to recommend to either young artists, or kids dealing with family members with mental illness at home. (320 p. 2019)

A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine

Paloma lives with her family in Spain in the 1480's.  Her father and grandfather are wealthy Jewish tax collectors who fight to keep Jews safe and in favor with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. When Paloma's grandfather discovers that Paloma has a quick mind and a skill with numbers, he trains her to be his traveling companion in his diplomatic missions.  Paloma meets traiders, cardinals and the King, himself, but what she really wants to do is to go home, get married, and have children.  She also worries about the future as the Christian rulers of her country ask more and more of the Jews, even as they become less tollerant of their religious practice. As Paloma watchs her younger siblings come of age and get betrothed, her loyalty to her grandfather and her people battles with the deepest desires of her heart. 

Gail Carson Levine is most famous as the author of Ella Enchanted which won a Newbery Honor and was made into a movie.  Most of her books are fantasy, but she has written a different historical fiction, Dave at Night, which is one of my favorites of her books.  This one was interesting, and I was fascinated by the historical and cultural aspects of the story, but I thought, overall, it lacked the sparkle of her earlier books.  It seemed more plot driven rather than character driven.  That is the challenge in Historical fiction.  You have to fit your characters into the story, instead of letting the characters create the story.  Still, I enjoyed the book and I am glad I read it because I learned a lot about a period of history I didn't know about before.  (2020, 400 p)

The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner

Brendon Prescott was a foundling raised in the household of the Dudley family in Tudor England.  Brendon knows that his appointment to be the squire of Robert Dudley is an honor, but it is one he doesn't relish because he has been the butt of the Dudley brother's cruelty his whole life.  Once he get to court Robert sends Brendon to the young Princess Elizabeth with a secret message.  In the process of delivering it Brendon is recruited to be a spy on Elizabeth's behalf. Meanwhile, Robert's family are plotting to marry off a different son to Jane Grey who is a neice of Henry VIII, and then put them on the thrown in place of the catholic heir, Mary Tudor.  As Brendon is led deeper into the dark underside of political rivalry, he begins to undersand he needs to be more than a just a pawn in the hands of the conspirators.

My sister-in-law recommended this one to me and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It is based on historical events, but with fictional elements and characters.  I thought Gortner did a good job fleshing out the characters of Elizabeth and Mary, and was also good at clearly conveying a lot of complicated political machinations of the time period. It wasn't as squeeky clean as the Christian historical novels I usually read, but it wasn't too bad and I only had to skip to the end of a chapter once. This book is the first in the series and I would be open to reading more in the future.  (2011, 352 p)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

 Minli lives in a poor village at the base of Fruitless Mountain. She feels badly that her parents have to work so hard just to put rice on the table, and that her mother fills each day with disappointed sighs.  Minli loves her father's stories about The Old Man in the Moon and one day decides to find him and ask him how to improve the fortunes of her family.  On the way Minli meets a dragon and other characters from Chinese mythology who each give Minli a piece of the puzzle of her destiny.  

I have read this before and read it again in preparation for the July Parent/Child Bookclub.  I was surprised to find that I hadn't blogged about it before, though I have written about the subsequent books in the series. Grace Lin is a lyrical writer with a wonderful way of blending the real with the fastastic. I love how the stories Minli hears from her father and others foreshadow later events so that in the end everything comes together in a single complete whole. I look forward to discussing this book with the young families who come to my book club. The only difficulty will be deciding which of all the rich topics presented in the book to discuss. (278p, 2009)

The Widows by Jess Montgomery

 Lily Ross's life starts to fall apart when she hears that her husband, Sheriff Dan Ross, has been killed while transporting a prisoner from a nearby town to the county jail.  In another town, Marvena Whitcomb worries about her wayward daughter who hasn't come home for Sunday dinner in a month, and heads out on foot to ask Sheriff Ross what he has discovered about her disappearance.  She happens to show up in Kinship, Ohio on the day of Sheriff Ross's funeral.  When Lily meets Marvena, she begins to discover that there was a lot about her husband she didn't know. As the two women are driven to discover what has happened to their loved ones, they form an unusal friendship, and then a partnership in the pursuit to rid their communities of the forces of greed and corruption that have made more widows than even the infamous Widow-maker Mine.

This is a well-written, strong-woman story that delves into the evil practices of mining companies in the 1920's. It starts out very emotionally heavy, so much so I almost didn't continue after the first couple of chapters.  I was thinking, "All I nead now is another book that is going to pull down my emotions for the next week."  But several of the ladies at work recommended it, so I switched the playback speed to 1.25 and pressed on. I am glad I read it.  It reminds the reader that people can accomplish great things if they perservier in the pursuit of justice and right. Both Lily and Marvena and deeply wounded, but they keep going, lending each other strength, until things really do get better. Montgomery is a great writer, giving just enough detail to paint the scene and characters, but leaving enough unsaid that the reader is challenged to bring part of themself to the world that book creates. People who liked The Giver of Stars will like this one. (2019, 336 p)

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

In this second Maisie Dobbs mystery, Miss Dobbs is all set up as a private investigator in her new office, with the use of a motor car and living in her patroness's summer home.  She is ready for another case, and when a weathly father asks her to find his run-a-way daughter, Maisie jumps in with gusto.  She soon begins to suspect that the girl's disappearance is not jut a case of youthful rebellion against an overbearing parent.  Three of the girl's college chums have turned up murdered, and Maisie is afraid the missing heiress will be next.

I checked this out in a hurry when I realized I hadn't downloaded an e-book to read on my flight to Washington DC.  I enjoyed the first Maisie Dobbs so I thought the second was a safe bet.  I was right. Winspear creates a whole cast of interesting characters, each dealing with wounds from the past, and weaves them together in engaging and well crafted mystery plots. These are not really light-hearted, but they are warm-hearted and the reader, dispite the struggles of the characters, feels uplifted in the end. The interesting interbellum setting is just an added bonus. (2014, 320 p)

Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck

Susanna Truit is an ordinary Georgia girl, trained as a landscape architect, but working in a family owned barbecue shack while waiting for her long time soldier boyfriend to finally commit to making her his bride. When he, instead, breaks up with her, her life seems to fall apart. Cue Nate, a charming tourist from the small European country of Hessenberg, who keeps showing up when Susanna needs him most.  Their romance proceeds quickly until Susanna discovers Nate is really a the crown prince of Hessenberg traveling incognito.  His country is in political turmoil, and marrying an American is not a possibility...or is it?

After reading American Dirt I really needed something light and cheerful.  This is the first in a series of Christian romances, all of which involve people either marrying a royal, or discovering they are royal, but never knew it.  They also have a fairly heavy handed Christian element, and this one is loosely based on Cinderella. So, silly? improbable? kind of ridiculous? Well, yes.  But fun to read? Also yes.  I didn't like these as well as the Roseanna White series I read, but it fit the bill for this week and I will probably be tempted to read another when I find myself in the mood for feel-good fluff. Also, I just discovered it was made into a Halmark movie in 2018.
(2014, 352 p.)