BRRRRRR!

 

Creation Lake

 Rachel Kushner is the author of Creation Lake. The story is about a spy for hire. She is an American spying against the socialists in France. She takes up the identity of a woman named Sadie. Sadie is not a likeable character. All of her friendliness is a charade. She is a spy 24 hours a day and does not give a rip about the people she lives with. I don't think I have ever read a book about a less likeable character.

 

 

How The Penguins Saved Veronica

 I was walking around the library on the Navy base in Sasebo. I had about 45 minutes to spend. Unlike most libraries, this one had no newspapers to read. I picked up an interesting book called How The Penguins Saved Veronica written by Hazel Prior. I always enjoyed the book Mr. Popper's Penguins so I thought I would like this one too. At the end of the 45 minutes the book was checked out and put in the library book bag with the other book my grandchildren borrowed and I didn't see it for a week. Luckily we were going back to the library and I did have time to finish the book. This book has a sequel so I will look for that too. I enjoyed this story about a curmudgeonly grandmother named Veronica who visited the South Pole and impacted penguin research.

 

 

On My Head

Today, on my way back home after a funeral, I stopped by Como Park Observatory to breathe in some fragrant humid air and look at the plants. My first stop was in the tropical room. This is the room where you can see a sloth in a tree before the exit. I went in and walked over to the tank where three turtles were swimming. I looked up and saw three yellow birds in the tree above my head. Then I noticed the tiles below my feet were dotted with bird droppings. Before I could look up again I felt something wet land on my head. I looked at a young mother and her two year old daughter and asked, "Did I just get pooped on?" The mother couldn't see anything but when I pulled my hand through my hair I found some brown residue. Disgusting. I walked away from that exhibit and on to the next. Before I left I thought I would visit the statue at the center of the observatory and rest on a bench. As I got up to leave I recognized a woman standing at the next bench. I said hello. We used to work together 15 years ago. After that pleasant exchange I drove home to shampoo my hair. 

 

 

The Teller Of Small Fortunes

 Julie Leong is the author of The Teller Of Good Fortunes. This tale starts out with Tao who travels from city to city with her trusty mule. Tao only tells small fortunes such as it will rain next week or when the cow will calve. The book is set in the 17th century in an unnamed country. She meets a couple of men. One of them is an ex-mercenary and the other is a reformed thief. They wander together. Tao feels the need to move quickly after reading fortunes because the townsfolk might become angry with how their fortunes turned out or start demanding more important fortunes. Eventually they meet a baker and soon the four of them travel together. Tao finally has the family she has always longed for. This sweet tale was a delight to read.

 

 

Without Merit

Colleen Hoover is the author of Without Merit. This book is a coming-of-age story about Merit Voss. Merit lives in a former church with her father, step-mother, elder siblings, and six year old half brother. Her mother lives in the basement having developed agoraphobia after treatment for cancer. Merit decides to drop out of high school and no one seems to notice. She has an older (identical twin) sister who appears to have a preference to date boys who are terminally ill. She meets Sagan at a thrift store. He thinks she is Merit's older sister and he gives Merit a kiss. The plot line develops slowly at first but then takes off which makes this book a good read. 

 

 

Wayward Girls

 Wayward Girls, a novel written by Susan Wiggs and based in Buffalo, New York, is based on several true stories. The story is set in the 1960's and is about the life girls experienced at the Good Shepherd, an organization run by the Sisters Of Charity nuns. The story revolves around six teenage girls. Marin is sent to the Good Shepherd because her new step-father was going to molest her if she stayed home. Plus her mother attended an organization much like this when she was a teenager in Ireland. Angela was sent because she preferred girls over boys. Helen was the daughter of Chinese intellectuals who left her to stay there while they visited China. The Chinese government refused to let them return to pick her up. Odessa was sentenced to the Good Shepherd after a racial incident. Denise was sent for brawling in a foster home. Janice's back story was not revealed but she took great care over Kay who had an intellectual disability. This story about Good Shepherd is dark but I liked it because it emphasizes the resilience of young females.