Staff Choices

This movie directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame is based on the 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in New Zealand. It is the story of two friends, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme who form a strong bond. Pauline's relationship with her mother becomes increasingly strained and Pauline plots with Juliet to kill her. The girls plan a trip to Victoria park where the girls bludgeon Honora Parker to death. Kate Winslet is excellent as the affluent Juliet and it is  a well written and directed film. The girls were both arrested and spent time in jail. Juliet Hulme later moved to England and changed her name to Anne Perry, who became a successful author of murder mystery novels. A movie well worth watching.

Refugee High: Coming of Age in America chronicles a year in the life of staff and students at Chicago's Sullivan High School on the far northside of the city. Originally written in part as an article for Chicago Magazine, journalist Elly Fishman spent hundreds of hours at the school and in the community during 2017-2018, as anti immigration rhetoric continues following the recent presidential election.  Fishman focuses her reporting on four of Sullivan's immigrant students, whose families have all escaped violence in their home countries of Iraq, Myanmar, the Congo, and Guatemala. These young people must navigate a new country, language, and culture...in addition to surviving the normal hormonal teenage angst. The teens are often at odds with their parents, who still cling to the old beliefs of their homelands as their kids become "Americanized" by YouTube, rap music, Snapchat, and fast food. 

While Fishman shares some of the horrific and heartbreaking events that have forced these families to flee their native countries, she is clear to point out that Chicago also suffers from gun violence and gangs. These teens must take great caution to avoid the all to present danger that lurks right outside the school doors. The staff at Sullivan are truly heroic, especially Ms. Q, a no nonsense teacher who heads the ELL program on a shoestring budget that is always at risk of even further cutbacks. Despite the crumbling walls and broken furniture of the converted library that now houses the Newcomer program, it is a safe haven for these teens who are in desperate need of one, as well as a place where they can just hang out and be typical kids. 

This is an inspiring account of the modern immigrant experience in America. I was personally drawn to this book as I too am a graduate of Sullivan High School, which even decades earlier was a wonderful melting pot of different cultures and languages. 
 

1970's Bronzeville was in many ways like every other neighborhood during that time. Three young girls playing, gossiping and dreaming about their futures in this historic south side neighborhood, all third-generation daughters of the Great Migration, growing up in the shadows of Chicago's skyscrapers. One of them, the author, goes on to college, marriage, and a successful career as a journalist. These essays began during her time as a writer for the Chicago Tribune as a way to help her work through the heartbreak and despair she felt.

Her sister Kim and her best friend Dawn take divergent paths that sadly end in death for one, and prison time for the other. In writing about these experiences, Dawn Turner tries to understand the haunting question of what happened in between their innocent childhood, and the broken pieces of adulthood? This riveting memoir celebrates friendship and sisterhood as it delves into race, class, environment, addiction, resiliency and forgiveness.

Chapter One opens with a captivating sentence: "Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you."

Author Anthony Doerr has created a novel that is vastly different from his last major work. This one stands unique on its own. Reading this book required a time commitment; however, the narrative easily flowed along and pulled me into the stories of Konstance, Seymour, Zeno, Omeir, Anna and, of course, the book within a book, Cloud Cuckoo Land. From Constantinople to Idaho to Korea and to the future, Anthony Doerr's new novel is an invitation to "time travel", to connect the dots on how an ancient manuscript can play a role in so many lives. During the course of centuries, the main characters within the pages endure hardship, heartbreak, exploitation, disappointment, strife, war, love - basically, life. People who have endured these challenges inspired others around them to learn and to wonder and to crave understanding. I found this book to be intriguing and philosophical.

The author's note says that this novel is intended as a paean to books. This is the best kind of tribute.

For fans of Anthony Doerr and those who enjoy reading an uncommon novel.

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins has written various young adult fantasy and romance novels. She recently starting writing adult psychological thrillers as well. The Wife Upstairs is one of my favorite 2021 reads and I am looking forward to her upcoming novel Reckless Girls. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the witchy romcom I picked up by Erin Sterling was the pen name for Rachel Hawkins.

The Ex Hex is a lighthearted, quick read to get you in the holiday spirit. Think Sabrina the Teenage Witch, with a little bit Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic thrown in. The story centers on Vivi, who after a summer fling with Rhys ends badly, curses the man who broke her heart using a Bath and Body Works candle. Vivi moves on with her life until Rhys waltzes back into her life 9 years later and it just happens maybe Vivi's curse worked after all.

This second chance romance includes humorous banter and steamy chemistry. While the plot could be predictable at times, I still found this is a great read for getting into the spooky season, and perfect for anyone who needs a good light romcom.

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke is a book set very much in the present; in particular, with the methods that office employees now communicate with their coworkers via electronic apps and devices. It is reminiscent of epistolary fiction with a modern-day twist. Those who use these services will recognize and relate how a conversation thread can be derailed and its meaning quickly lost by multiple people responding in quick succession and in different channels. Add in some drama with one of the staff members being "drawn" into the app itself, one of their public relations firm's accounts files being diverted/deleted, working from home, text abbreviations, emojis and the humor begins. Enjoy the escapades and disjointed conversations of Gerald, Pradeep, Doug, Kerolyn, Tripp, Beverly, Lydia and Slackbot.

This is a quick read for those who enjoy topical humor and a sense of the absurd.

"Dear Friend" starts the first of 50 or so letters in this intimate and intriguing book. These letters are written by the author, Edmund De Waal, to the now deceased Comte Moïse de Camondo, a neighbor of the authors family. The Count, an avid collector of art and objects in France in the early part of the 20th Century, lived in a wealthy, fashionable area of Paris where he and others felt removed from rising anti-semitism in Europe at this time.

After his son dies in WWI he turns his spectacular home and collection into the Musée Nissim de Camondo. The opulent mansion is brimming with gilded 18th-century French furniture, Sèvres porcelain, rare wines and books. The author uses this epistolary book to lovingly describe the details of each room, and the meticulous care taken to preserve each piece.

Even with this magnificent gift to France, and his sons sacrifice, he felt the cultural disdain for his family from those who saw them as not "truly French". The Count died before the horrors of WWII ravaged his adopted country and his beloved family. The book tells his history in a way that honors the remarkable contributions the Count made to France, but also the memories and grief that cast long painful shadows. The Musée Nissim de Camondo is still in Paris, and stands as a testimonial of love from a father to his son. I loved reading about these remarkable families, and look forward to researching more history about them.

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Crosby is a moving, but brutally violent novel about revenge and redemption, as two ex-cons set out to get justice for their murdered sons. Ike is Black, a former gang member who now lives a respectable life; married and owning his own landscape business and home. Buddy Lee is a Cracker, self-proclaimed white trailer trash and barely functioning alcoholic, who nevertheless manages to have a charismatic sense of humor. The men officially meet after the joint funeral for their sons, Isaiah and Derek, who had married and had a young daughter, but were gunned down execution style on their anniversary.

The riveting plot takes second place to the evolving relationship between Ike and Buddy Lee, who must both come to grips with their mutual grief, magnified a thousand times over by the crippling guilt and regret of not accepting their sons while they were alive. The men must confront their shared homophobia, and Buddy Lee his inherent racism, just as the city of Richmond, VA slowly shifts from an old South town to a more modern city where two gay men can have an interracial marriage and raise a child together.

Each scene in the novel is so vividly drawn and described that it feels cinematic, and the dramatic tension carries through to the very end. I'd be very surprised if the movie rights haven't already been snapped up. Again, a warning that this novel is graphically violent (which is never my thing ). But the writing, emotional weight, and witty banter between the two men made it possible for me to push through the gore. 

Longtime friends, Cole, Bart, and Teddy are partners in a struggling business called True Triangle Construction. When a mysterious and intriguing woman comes into their lives seeking to hire them to build a house for her in a remote Wyoming location, they can't believe their good fortune. The catch is the unrealistic deadline. The trio is reluctant at first until her generous monetary bonus changes their minds. Once the project begins, unexpected challenges and delays cause pressures to escalate until a breaking point is reached causing a tragic turn.

Author Nickolas Butler has a way of writing about realistic, ordinary people facing obstacles in their lives. The book is about friendship and is also a study of how greed can take you down a dark road. A solid story.

If you have read any of the author's other books, you may also enjoy Godspeed; the word's definition is an expression of good wishes to a person starting a journey.