Review: The Last Ballad

The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating look into the history of a place I knew well a few years ago. I lived in Gastonia for a few years, and you can't live there without learning something of the Loray Mill. But, once again, Cash takes something that seems cut and dried and makes it into a story, complete with people both moral and flawed.

Ella May Wiggins hadn't planned to be a poster child for anyone or anything. It was all she could do feed her kids on the $9 per 6 day work week she made at a textile mill in 1920's Gaston County, NC. But when members of a labor union convince her that they can force the mill owners to provide better working conditions, she's drawn into a situation that quickly gets out of control. Everyone has their own interests and their own beliefs about what's right, but Ella had no idea that hers might light the initial spark in a fire for social justice.

Ella was a real person, and the Loray Mill strike was a true turning point in the history of the labor movement. I had no idea that the movement was thought to be so closely associated with communism and a desire to destroy the success experienced in the south after WWI. By describing Ella's contribution in a novel, Cash has made the event more personal than it was even when I lived in the town in which it happened 90 years ago. The answers aren't as easy as it might seem. Cash offers perspectives from a variety of the people surrounding Ella to demonstrate that even what seems obvious isn't always simple.

This is not a story of worker's rights, or women's rights, or racial or southern rights, but basic human rights.

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Review: Razor Girl

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Hiaasen , but this might be my favorite in a while. He's in tip top shape, funny as ever. Characters seem totally unrealistic at first until you think about it and realize they're THIS close to actually existing somewhere. Clearly that would be Florida. My favorite line:
Buck stared incredulously. "This is the first time you ever fired a gun? And you live in Florida?
If you want, you can read it at a deep level in which Hiaasen addresses environmental and political issues. A subplot involving huge Gambian rats showing up all over the Florida keys comments on animals in their natural habitats and what happens whey they are removed from said home sweet homes. Or you could just fall over laughing at the image of these two huge rats letting themselves out of their cage and making themselves at home in Yancey's house. Either way, Hiaasen has another hit. You want so badly to think all these scenarios (a girl who runs a scam in which she bumps into cars and claims she caused the accident because she was busy shaving her bikini line while driving?) couldn't possibly happen in real life, but they're all just a little too close to the truth to not keep reading. Can any one say "get off your cell phone and drive?!"

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Review: Lily and the Octopus

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5. Anyone who knows me knows that, when I read a book, you can kill off any person you want, but touch an animal, and I'm putting the book down. So when I first starting hearing about this, I said, "Oh, I can't do that. I'll cry through the whole thing." The author himself responded in a tweet, "It's okay. I promise. You'll love it." And eventually, I trusted, held my breath, bit my lip, pet my cats, downloaded the audio...and fell in love. The tone of the whole thing is funny and sweet and is a bit of a love letter to all of us out there owned by pets. I mean, seriously folks, the dog talks. And I love that the narrator, the person who loves Lily to the point where she is truly the love of his life, is a man, only one of the stereotypes being busted in this story. Let's not forget that the audio is narrated by the marvelous Michael Urie, who could not have been more perfect as a reader. Yes, there were tears--there's an emotional ride going on here--but there was a smile behind them. I'm only sorry I waited so long to read it.

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Review: A Season of Daring Greatly

A Season of Daring Greatly by Ellen Emerson White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first have to explain that I'm a long time Ellen Emerson White fan. Some of my favorite books ever are the first novels she wrote when I was a teenager, Life Without Friends and the President's Daughter series. She writes in a tone that I still don't think I've seen repeated anywhere. Her writing is sharp, funny, smart, and very fast paced, sort of like the print version of The West Wing or The Gilmore Girls. The humor is droll, the dialogue snappy, and while you can probably describe the writing of other authors this way, there's something really unique about how White carries all this off.

Since those early novels, White has written mostly non-fiction, including several biographies, and I will admit to not having read those. I just think she's just a master at fiction.

So I was thrilled to see she's got new fiction coming. Immediately, by the second page, I was happily immersed in another of White's worlds, feeling like someone was writing the rare novel for teens that treats them as smart, intelligent people. Under most circumstances, I probably wouldn't be interested in a story revolving around a sport, but I do know something about baseball--I was a HUGE Braves fan for a while--and really, White is exploring things that could be happening in a number of settings. On a basic level, she follows an 18 year old young woman, Jill, who finds herself as the first female in professional baseball and what it's like to be a girl surrounded by all those guys. Beyond that, she asks the reader to consider whether or not if even matters, or should matter, if a baseball player is male or female. Does it make a difference, despite the reactions of those who think Jill doesn't belong playing with men? And you can follow a theme of teamwork, and what makes a team, especially one put together by other people. Plus also, Jill's alternate plan was to go to college, and she's not completely convinced that college wouldn't have been the better choice. But is she a symbol to all women everywhere when she accepts this opportunity, even if it turns out not to be what she wants? She loves baseball and has been playing most of her life, but that's a huge weight to carry. Would she let down all those little girls who come just to see someone like them play baseball? I think this is probably the most interesting question White asks, especially during this period of watching little girls realize they could be president if they wanted to. Can women really do anything? And should they have to?

All that sounds very serious, but Jill's story is told in a way that will amuse readers as they smile and nod. I have to add a bit of a caveat to my review, the reason I only gave it four stars. I will say that I would have liked some better resolution at the end of the novel. I actually had to check a couple of times to make sure I'd reached the end, because I didn't feel like we'd reached any conclusions for Jill or these issues. But then, they haven't reached conclusions in real life, so maybe that's okay. There's not a lot of action, other than perhaps a touch too much description of baseball plays, and a little more of a plot would have appealed. I was really counting on a more decisive ending. I haven't seen a sign of a sequel, or that this is beginning a series, but the somewhat abrupt ending makes me wonder.

Teens, and adults, who are smart and sharp and want their novels the same will love A Season of Daring Greatly, whether they like baseball or not.

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Review: Magpie Murders

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So good I don't even have words.
********************
Okay, I found some words.

As made clear by others, and even the publisher's description, this clever book is really a novel within a novel, and it all pays homage to the great mystery writers--Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The intricate, complex plotting, and the ways in which everything comes together, is amazing.

I had the privilege of meeting Anthony Horowitz ("only my son calls me Tony") at a dinner (thank you Harper Collins!) recently, and I admit that the experience added to my love of the book. I really only knew him by reputation, and I had only just started the book at the time (although it really grabs you from page one). He's incredibly sharp, super-smart, and wonderfully knowledgeable about books and writing. It turns out, he had the idea for Magpie Murders years ago. Horo witz developed several British mystery series like Foyle's War and Midsomer Murders, and he shared that in the second episode of Midsomer Murders, way back, you can see a character reading Magpie Murders. He was not a reader early on but came to reading as something of an escape, and I love that he now has a huge interest in getting kids to read. And, he told us that the answer is on the first page. Figure that out.

Having the opportunity to meet the author definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book, but I would have loved it anyway. It's gentle but smart, easy to understand (once you get the concept of the novel in a novel and a few characters straight) yet intricately plotted, displays depth to the characters without distracting from motivations. I was right there, in a small, English town, meeting quirky people who all had something to hide.

Agatha Christie would have been proud.

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Review: The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life

The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was fascinating, and whether someone agrees or disagrees, it gives the reader a lot to think about.

Partanen did her research and backs up her unique perspective, having lived in both Finland and the U.S., with data. She believes the U.S. does a lot of things as the Nordic countries did years ago, and that we haven't advanced our policies to match current needs in society. As a result of deliberate policy decisions in Finland and other Nordic countries, the people are taken care of, and despite the opinion of those who call them "socialist nanny states," it is actually citizens of Nordic countries that are less reliant and more independent than those in the U.S. Their taxes and other shared contributions provide health care, education, day care, end of life care, none of which is dependent on your job or income. In Partanen's opinion, that gives them the freedom to pursue what makes them happy without worrying that they won't have funds for retirement or can't go home at night to have dinner with their children. They've designed things so that children are a priority and will always receiving schooling and health care. She contrasts this with life in the U.S., where it was hard to wrap her mind around paying her taxes, or where she had to do hours of research to choose an insurance plan. A Finnish student she knew was applying to college in the U.S. couldn't understand why he kept being asked about his parents income since, in Finland, his parents would have nothing to do with where or how he goes to college.

Certainly Partanen makes an excellent case for why the U.S. should consider moving towards some of the policies being used in Nordic countries. I would have liked to have seen a bit more objectivity and acknowledgement of the qualities that have made the U.S. a world power, producing some of the world's most educated, creative, inventive, compassionate, and forward-thinking people. And I think it would have been fair to examine some of the difficulties of like in Finland and other Nordic countries (she says taxes really aren't very high, but I suspect there's more to that). They tend to have depression and alcoholism problems (probably due to the environment), they learn to be so self-sufficient that they can be a bit cold and detached from those around them, their population is aging, and society teaches them to treat everyone the same way so much that they have difficulty seeing anyone (including themselves) as being special in any way.

But she made her point, and I learned a lot of things that have me thinking. This could be a great book club book for those who enjoy non-fiction (or a Scandanavian mystery book club that wants to put some background to their suspense!). You can't read this and not come away thinking more critically about you personally believe these issues should be addresssed.

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