Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

Molly is an 8th grader who is a "late bloomer"  but some of her friends have a more mature body type.  Molly gets angry when one of her friends, Olivia, is disciplined for breaking the dress code, and the 8th grade camp-out is canceled as a result.  Molly begins to notice that it is the more shapely girls who are always called to the office for dress code violation, while she can wear the same outfit and never be approached.  She starts a campaign to have the unfair dress code abolished, and in the process works through other issues both at home and at school.

I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it. It was a pretty typical "girl finding courage to use her voice" book, and it was realistic and sympathetic enough.  There were really two issues in the book, the dress code issue and a situation where Molly's older brother was vaping and selling pods to younger kids, and causing major friction at home.  I thought the part about the vaping brother was engaging and timely, but the thing about the dress code seemed a bit whiny to me.  Yes, the administration was enforcing the dress code unfairly by focusing on shapely girls, while ignoring boys and more juvenile looking girls , but the existence of a dress code is not, in my mind, necessarily a bad thing.  The author focused on body shaming, but ignored the fact that eventually kids need to learn to dress appropriately.  You can't go through life in shorts and tank tops. I have had job applicants show up in ripped jeans or sweat pants and it is a deal breaker with me as an employer.  So when do you start teaching kids to wear appropriate clothes?  I don't think Jr. High is too early. Just because I disagree with the author doesn't mean it is a bad book, and I will probably recommend it to kids who like the social crusading kinds of stories. (2020, 320 p.)

 

Camino Winds by John Grisham

Bruce Cable owns a popular book store on an island off the coast of Florida. It is a gathering place for a diverse collection of authors and Cable does what he can to support and promote their books.  One day, out of the blue, a hurricane hits the island. In the middle of the hurricane, one of the authors is murdered.  The police are so overwhelmed with the aftermath of the storm, that Cable and his friends realize that the crime will never be properly investigated unless they get involved. 

I haven't read much of John Grisham.  I was pleasantly surprised that it was cleaner and less gory than other "Men's" style action adventures.  I read one of Grisham's books written for children and found it a bit slow. I found this a bit slow as well, but I enjoyed it.  The description of the hurricane brought back memories of the two hurricanes I experienced when I lived in Florida.  I also liked the look into the life of a book seller who knows how to attract and engage top authors.  I wish I was better at that.  The plot and characters where interesting enough.  I liked seeing how Grisham depicted the different law enforcement agencies and how they approached the murder.  Overall, I can see why a lot of people read Grisham.  If his other books are like this one, they are a written to appeal to a pretty wide range of readers.  I guess this is actually the second in a series, but I was able to follow it alright having not read the first one.  Over all, not a bad choice for a rather tame action/mystery. (2020, 304 p)

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

Mrs. Emily Pollifax has been a widow for a number of years.  She late husband was a lawyer and left her with plenty of money to live on so she fills her time with charity work and gardening. She seems fine on the outside, but inside there is a deep loneliness and boredom. When suicidal thoughts start to enter her mind she visits a doctor who recommends that she do something that she always wanted to do.  As she analyzes her feelings she realizes she always wanted to be a spy for the CIA.  She therefore goes to Washington DC and visits the offices of the CIA to volunteer to be a spy.  By accident she gets assigned to go on a secret mission as a courier.  They fly her to Mexico City and she is supposed to act like a tourist until it is time to pick up "the package".  It is a simple assignment, low risk, until everything goes wrong.  Before she knows what has happened Mrs. Pollifax finds herself in the hands of dangerous men in a faraway land.  

After reading The Illness Lesson, I felt like I needed to brush my teeth and rinse with Listerine.  I immediately returned to Mrs. Pollifax and decided to read the first in the series.  This one was even better than the one I read before, full of humor and charm, with a more carefully charted plot.  I think I am hooked.  I imagine there are a lot more Mrs. Pollifax novels in my future, (that is if they don't go away when Overdrive takes over RBDigital in a couple of months.) (1966, 208 p)

The Illness Lesson by Clare Beams

Caroline has received an unusually sophisticated education for an 18th century female, because of her idealistic father.  What she has not received is any training on how to function in society as a woman because her mother died when she was young.  Caroline's father had once tried to start an intellectual commune, which failed, but now he is eager to use the property for the commune to start a school for girls to give them the same kind of education Caroline has received.  The school starts off with eight young teenage girls, and seems to be going well, but then one girl, the "queen bee", starts having strange fits and spells.  Soon the other girls also start to have strange symptoms.  In an attempt to save the school, Caroline's father brings in a well known doctor who says he understands the problem completely and knows the correct treatment.  The men who run the school trust the doctor, but Caroline questions whether the cure is much worse than the ailment.

I read this book because one of our faithful patrons at the library read it and was appalled by it. It is a new book and got lots of attention and good reviews.  I found the book disturbing and heavy handed. There is a lot of imagery around the color red, referring clearly to female physiology and cycles, and Beams always portrays it was menacing and evil.  Caroline sees herself as defective because she has never been able to marry. (spoiler) The "cure" the men impose on the girls in the end involves stimulating them to orgasm, to "release their built up tensions."  The scenes where they are applying this treatment are terrible to read, and left me feeling violated myself.  I am sure that was what the author was going for.  She was clearly wanting the highest impact to get across her message.  It felt emotionally manipulative.

That said, I actually can see why it got some good reviews.  It is artistically written and very thought provoking.  It seemed that the author was trying to say something about how modern society has forced women to abandon traditional rolls, and as a result women have gone a little crazy.  What a novel and bold view to take.  Philosophical feminist types could go back and forth about this book for hours, debating what it means.  

The patron that complained about the book has not yet filed a formal complaint.   I have decided to keep the book in my library, but  I did give the patron the concession of taking it off the "New Books" display so now nobody is likely to find it unless they are looking for it. (2020, 288 p)

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Robert Langdon is invited, last minute, to give a lecture at our nation's capital.  When he arrives, instead of finding a waiting audience, he finds the severed hand of one of his dearest friends.  The whole thing is tied up with Masonry, and the CIA wants Langdon to interpret some curious symbols found in relation to the case.  Langdon worries that the CIA agent assigned to the investigation is somehow hiding ulterior motives.  He decides to follow the symbolic clues without the interference of the CIA, but with the help of some powerful Masons, and his friend's sister, a famous Noetic Scientist.

This is now the 4th Robert Langdon book I have read and it is very much like the others.  All the action,  takes place in one 48 hour period. There is an attractive woman who is along for the ride, the reader doesn't know quite who are the good guys and who are the bad.  One fun thing about this book is that I visited several of the places he describes during my two trips to Washington DC last year.  Another interesting element was that the "big scandalous truth" that is revealed through the course of the adventure, is something my religion believes as part of their core doctrine. I think it was supposed to be shocking to readers, but, to me, not so much.  I read this aloud with my husband and he seemed to enjoy it too, though it took a couple of months for us to get through it since we were only reading a chapter or two each evening. (2009, 509 p)

Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by Dorothy Gilman

Mrs. Pollifax is a charming older woman who happens to be a CIA agent.  There are many books highlighting her adventures, but in this one she is sent to China. Her mission is to help another agent who is trying to free a man from a work camp who has information crucial to American interests in the area.  Mrs. Pollifax's job is to obtain information about the whereabouts of the work camp from a former inmate.  Of course, nothing goes quite as planned and Mrs. Pollifax is called upon to use her best secret weapon, her innocent and trustworthy appearance, to get the job done. 

This is another older mystery series.  The first in the series (which I haven't read, but should) was published in 1966.  This one came two decades later, and the last in the series was published in 2000.  It is kind of like what would happen if Miss Marple was a spy instead of an amateur detective. Mrs. Pollifax is super nice, but a shrew judge of character.  She has internal struggles to find her courage, and justify certain actions, but manages to get results.  She is thoroughly endearing, and Gilman surrounds her with other interesting personalities as well.  I will probably go back and read more of this series next time I need an emotional break.  

I read this one and the Rabbi Small one as fillers as I was waiting for something else that was on hold.  I think if I were not a library director with the need to keep up on the latest things, I would read more of this older, quaint, clean, literature. (1983, 184 p)

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman

Rabbi Small is a new young rabbi of a conservative temple in Massachusetts the 1960's.  He is a scholar of the Talmud, and very smart, but a little distracted and doesn't necessarily understand PR. Right before his contract with the temple is up for renewal, the body of a young woman is found on the temple grounds and her purse is found in the Rabbi's car.  The Rabbi uses his Talmudic skills of reasoning and deduction to try to discover who the murderer was, and to clear any of his community, including himself, of suspicion.  

This is not a new series.  In fact, this book, the first in the series, was published the year I was born.  I found listening to this completely delightful.  Not only is the mystery well crafted, but the characterizations of the Rabbi and the police investigator are charming.  It also provides a look into the workings of a Jewish faith community of that time period.  I will probably read more Rabbi Small mysteries in the future. (208 p.)

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

Rose is the daughter of a poor woodcutter but has had the fortune to be named the healer's apprentice.  When Lord Hamlin, the oldest son of Duke Wilhelm, is gored by a bore during a hunting trip, Rose happens to be minding the shop when he arrives to be stitched up.  Lord Hamlin and the beautiful Rose connect instantly, but both know they have to fight their mutual attraction because Lord Hamlin is betrothed to a princess from another kingdom.  When Lord Rupert, Hamlin's less reputable younger brother, starts courting Rose, Lord Hamlin reluctantly gives his blessing and goes in search of the evil sorcerer who has been threatening the betrothed princess he has never met.  Rose allows Rupert's attention, but never lets go of her hope that somehow God can help her and Lord Hamlin find a way to be together. 

This was the first of Dickerson's Christian romance reworkings of fairy tales, and she doesn't really have her feet under her yet.  She is trying to make the stories feel like historical fiction, rather than fantasy, but (spoiler alert) then she throws in this evil sorcerer who tries to curse Rose with demonic possession.  If she had left out the evil sorcerer and the demons, the story would have worked just fine and could still have resembled the Sleeping Beauty story.  Sigh.  Really, the book was fine, it just could have been better. 

(261 p, 2010)  

An Hour Unspent by Roseanna M White

Evelina Manning is the daughter of a master clock-maker and a frustrated society lady.  Evelina feels passionately about women's rights, but longs to be happily settled with her aristocratic fiance.  All her plans tumble apart when WWI starts and Evelina's fiance decides to enlist rather than marry her.  In walks Barclay Pearce, a scrappy ex-thief who finesses his way into Evelina's father's good graces and Evelina's life.  As WWI heats up can Evelina look past Barclay's past and trust him when she needs him most?

This is a better-than-average religious historical romance.  It has the slightly sappy undertone one would expect, but it is less cloying than in many Christian romances.  The setting is interesting and there is a decently engaging background plot involving spies steeling plans to a secret weapon.  It is listed as the third in a series, but the first two books feature other characters, so this one stand alone just fine.  It was just the kind of book I needed after reading the heavier, When Breath Becomes Air, like vanilla ice cream with strawberries after a nice hearty dinner.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Paul Kalanithi was mostly through his residency as a neural surgeon when he discovered that he had late stage lung cancer.  His diagnosis made him look closely at his life and try to decide how to go forward and what was most important to him knowing that his life span would be much shorter than he had originally thought.  

I remember when this was published in 2016, that it received a lot of attention and a lot of play in the book club circles.  All of the awards and accolades are well deserved. Even though this book was written in the last 18 months of Kalanithi's life, after he had become too sick to work anymore, it is still very inspirational and full of hope.  Kalanithi talks about how he as always been fascinated a with the question of what makes life have meaning and what is the role of death in life.  The book talks about the struggles a surgeon has when he basically takes another person's life in his hands each time he operates.  He talks about the heart break when you lose a patient, and how easy it is to wonder if you could have done more.  He also talks about all the difficult questions he had to wrestle with when he switched from being the doctor to being the patient. It was a very honest, yet hope filled read that I will be recommending to people all the time going forward.  (228 p.)

Memory Man by David Baldacci

Amos Decker is a detective at the local police station when his wife and daughter are brutally murdered.  Since their deaths, his live slips drastically until he loses his job and ends up living on the street.  He is drawn back into detective work when there is a tragic mass shooting at the high school where he was once a star quarterback.  As he helps his old partner investigate the murders, he gradually finds his way out of the emotional pit he has lived in for five years.

David Baldacci is, of course, a huge name in modern thriller fiction, and this is the first in one of his most popular series.  It's fame is well deserved.  The plot is intricately crafted, and Decker, with his perfect photographic memory, and his wounded soul, is an interesting and sympathetic character.  The book doesn't have some of the more offensive elements of "men's" murder mystery literature, like description of aberrant sex or rivers of gore (though there was a bit of gore, it is less than in some of the other "men's" mysteries I have read).  The thing that clearly marked it as a man's mystery instead of a cozy mystery was the ending (don't worry, no spoiler).  I think the ending Baldacci chose will make more sense and feel more right to men than women.  I am glad I read it, and now have another book I can recommend to male patrons who like this genre. (405 p. 2017)

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

Khemri has been raised in a cloistered monastery his whole like and trained to be a prince.  He has also been given biotech to enhance his physical body, and trained in psi-tech so that he could control the many devices he hopes to acquire once he reaches age and leaves the monastery to fulfill his destiny as one of the over one million princes in the galaxy.  When he does leave the monastery, he soon learns that there are things about the outside world for which his training hadn't prepared him.  As he tries to avoid being assassinated by other ambitious princes, and gets to know non-prince humanoids, his world view tilts and  he begins to wonder if his princely "destiny" is all it is cracked up to be.

It has been a long time since I read a straight up sci-fi.  I mostly picked it because I was ready for something different, and I have enjoyed things by Garth Nix before.  This book was not my favorite Nix, but I enjoyed it alright.  The world building was interesting and original, and Khemri is a likable character.  The book is squarely teen level or above because it discusses the princes' propensity to keep mind-controlled courtesans, though it does not describe there interactions at all.  This is not a bad choice for a teen who has read all the more well known sci-fi and wants something new. (337 p, 2012)