Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

 As Khosrou struggles to find a place for himself in Oklahoma, he remembers stories from Iran: his own story, stories of his family, and Iranian legends.  As he shares his stories with his class, they don't know what to believe and what not to believe.  His own life seems as fantastic, amazing, and cruel as the folktales of his culture.  Nor are his struggles over.  His stepfather is sometimes violent, and so are some of the bullies at his school. Although his mother was a doctor in Iran, they now struggle to get enough food and to meet basic needs.  He keeps a notebook where he writes ways that he has learned to cope, and clever things to say to the girl he likes, who thinks he is scum.  Through it all, thoughts of his heroic mother, his affectionate grandfather, and his absentee father help him make it though, one day at a time.

I didn't realize when I checked out this book that it was the winner of the Printze award for outstanding teen literature the year that it came out. The book is formulated kind of like the tales of Scheherazade.  The author jumps from the past to the present, from folklore to reality with the turn of the page.  As I read, I wondered how much of the story was based on Nayeri's own experience. An afterword explains that it all was.  He admits that his memory might have been inaccurate, but every cruel thing that happens to Khosrou is something he experienced. The reader should be warned that this is a hard tale to hear, though Nayeri does a good job of sticking in a funny story after a heavy one to the the book is much less depressing than it could have been.  It is the kind of book that sheltered white kids should read so that they can get a perspective on what it is like to be a refugee from a different culture in America. I could see a kid being assigned to read the book, expecting to hate it, but ending up really liking it. Hopefully they would become a better person from the experience. (368 p. 2020)

Pecan Pies and Homicides by Ellery Adams

 Ella Mae is in a funk ever since her mother became the Lady of the Grove. Her bad mood has rubbed off on her customers and her pie shop is struggling. When a magic grove in another small community is burned down, magical refugees start showing up in Havenwood, and helping them find work and a place to live brings purpose back into Ella Mae's life. Her business starts to boom and her relationship with Hugh Dillan, that had started to go cold, heats up once more.  Then tragedy strikes and one of the refugees is found frozen to death just outside the Havenwood grove. As Ella Mae and her aunts start to look into the murder, people who seems so harmless suddenly feel menacing, even those closest to Ella Mae. Can Ella Mae protect her people, her magic grove, and most importantly, her mother?

After reading Theo of Golden, I knew I had to read something in a totally different genre. This one fit the bill and I enjoyed it well enough.  Adam's magic system is pretty good and her characters are well drawn and have interesting and complicated interrelationships. In this episode Ella Mae's and Hugh's relationship switches from PG to PG13, but all related "activity" occurs off stage. One thing I like about the series is that the narrator, C.S.E Cooney, does a good job of making the large cast of characters sound distinct. I will probably listen to the next one sometime when I am in the mood for a light fantasy mystery. (2014, 304 p)

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

 An old man shows up in a small southern town. He calls himself Theo and has a charming Portuguese accent.  He finds a coffee shop and notices some beautiful portraits, done in pencil and charcoal on the walls of the shop. Intrigued, he discovers that they were drawn by a local artist and depict local residents.  Impressed by the emotional depth of the art, he decides to purchase the portraits one by one and give them to the people they depict. Thus begins a magical year during which Theo's gentle charm and big heart blesses the people of Golden, and helps unite them as a community. 

It is ironic that the last book I listen to in 2025 might be my favorite of the whole year.  This is the most charming and heartwarming book I have listened to in a long time.  Theo is an amazingly likeable character, as are almost all the characters the reader comes to know in the small town of Golden.  Even though Theo is amazing, the author wisely doesn't make him flawless. We see him get angry, tired and impatient some times.  Throughout the book we get to hear stories of the errors of his youth. All the main characters have checkered backgrounds, which is maybe why the book feels so hopeful.  They all receive a little bit of redemption by seeing themselves through Theo's kind eyes.  I can imagine that some readers might think the story slow or boring, but I loved it and savored it like rich chocolate ganache. If you want to listen to a book that will set your feet on the right path for the new year, this is the one for you. (2023, 399 p.)
 

I am going back to Pinners!

 I just found out this week that I will be presenting at the Pinner's Convention in St. George Utah in March!  In honor of my second Pinner's Convention I have started a new blog about book art.  I am starting with the book folding that I will be teaching at the convention, but plan to add other crafts you can do with old books. 

Here is a link to my new blog Dee Book Art.

Snow Angel Cove by RaeAnne Thayne

A young widow, Eliza, is hopeful for a new life for her and her five-year-old daughter with new job as a hotel manager a small town in Idaho. When she arrives she discovers that the hotel as burnt down. An unexpected accident brings her in contact with the town's most eligible bachelor, Aiden Caine.  He feels bad that she is stranded in an unfamiliar town just weeks before Christmas and offers her a job preparing his new lodge for his family's Christmas visit. Eliza is skeptical that the gorgeous tech mogul could actually be a nice person, but as she works in his home she can't deny the growing attraction between them. Can a homeless widow with a child really hope for a future with a man like Aiden?

Here is my last Christmas themed rom-com of the season.  It is a little bit over-the-top wish fulfillment, like the Richard Paul Evans books I don't like, but somehow this one is more palatable. One difference is that Aiden isn't showering Eliza with outrageous gifts during the whole book. Thayne does a good job making both characters seem vulnerable, and they have good chemistry. Their make-out scenes are maybe a little more spicy than in my normal fare, but they do stay out of the bedroom, so that's good. Overall, not a bad example of a Hallmark Christmas Special in print. (384, 2014)

Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer

 Enola Holmes is settles in the women's club and at peace with her two older brothers.  When an up-and-coming author, Rudyard Kipling, asks Enola's imaginary employer to find his missing friend, an American, Wolcott Balestier, Enola is happy to take on the case. Kipling, however, is not willing to let a mere woman assist him, and turns, instead to Sherlock for help. Head to head again, the two brilliant siblings dive into the mystery.  Sherlock suspects that international book pirates are behind the deed, but Enola begins to suspect the culprits are much more local, and deadly.

This is the most recent of the Enola Holmes series, though another is due to come out in 2026.  I have very much enjoyed reading through the whole series. This one is much like the others, though Springer included some interesting cameos in this one: Kipling and Balestier, and also Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister. None their actions in the story are very historically accurate, but they are all based on real people. Once again, the interaction between Sherlock and Enola is charming. I look forward for the release of the next in the series.  (2023, 304 p)

My Fair Gentleman by Nancy Campbell Allen

Jack was not happy to find that the grandfather who had disowned his father, had now named him as his heir.  When said grandfather passes away, Jack is taken from his career as a seaman and thrown into the restrictive expectations of the ton. To help him in the transition, Jack's grandmother's dear friend recruits her own granddaughter, Ivy Carlisle to teach the uncultured and reluctant Jack all he needs to know to smooth his and his mother and sister's way into London society. Jack has no desire to be a gentleman "man of leisure" but as he begins etiquette lessons with Ivy, he is fascinated by the way she meets all society's requirements for politeness, while at the same time putting down those who would disparage Jack and his family. Ivy bears the burden of a family scandal so had long since resigned herself to spinsterhood, but her unconventional student lights a new hope that, perhaps, she might one day marry for love. 

This is, as the title suggests, a gender swapped version of the Bernard Shaw play, Pygmalion, (better known in its Broadway form, as My Fair Lady).  It only follows that earlier play in the most basic sense. Allen makes no attempt to recreate any of the iconic scenes of the original, only the basic premise of transforming someone from a lower class to an upper class behavior. The characterization and dialog are as good as you might expect, and it was neither much better or much worse than all the other historical romances that I have read. I enjoyed it as light entertainment after reading the much heavier story of the CIA Book Club. I am fond of the story of My Fair Lady (especially in the original Pygmalion form) and found it an amusing adaptation. (2016, 256p.)