Bee Season

Bee Season, written by Myla Goldberg, is a novel about the unraveling of a Jewish family. We learn about the family mostly through the eyes of Eliza, the youngest child. She has an older brother, Aaron, with whom she used to pal around with but doesn't anymore. Her father is a rabbi who used to spend time playing guitar with Aaron in his office in the evenings. Once Eliza wins the school spelling bee and the school district spelling bee, the father spends his evening helping her study spelling. Aaron feels left out and starts looking for spiritual fulfillment outside of the synagogue. Their mother, a lawyer, works long hours and is disengaged from the family. This is an interesting story about a couple of people who maybe should have gotten their heads on straight before having children.  

 

 

Hello Beautiful

Hello Beautiful is a highly acclaimed family novel published in 2023 by Ann Napolitano. The story starts out with William who grew up on the east coast. He was an only child and lonely. His parents gave him no attention. They didn't go to his school conferences. They didn't attend his basketball games. Once he left for college in Chicago that was the end of his relationship with them. In college he met a lively, assertive girl named Julia. Julia said she would attend his basketball game. She comes to the game bringing her three sisters, Sylvia, Emmeline, and Cecelia. The sisters are a tight family. William's life is forever changed. His life is not a straight trajectory. He has changes and adjustments but he is happy to be part of a family. 

 

 

Beautiful Boy

 David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction. His son, Nic, became addicted to methamphetamine. Starting in high school he started to steal from his family to buy drugs. The author feels responsible for his son's mistakes. He goes to therapy. He goes to Al-Anon groups every week. When Nic is in rehab the author attends family therapy sessions. The author finds that his life and state of mind is taken over with worry for his son. He is told the three C's. He didn't cause this addiction problem. He can't control it. He can't cure it. The tale is heart breaking but worth reading. 

 

 

The Doll House

 The Barbizon is a famous building in New York that, starting in the 1920's, housed females. The building had a rooftop terrace. The basement had a swimming pool. Second floor held a cafeteria. Now it is mostly condos with a few apartments. Both men and women can reside there. This is where Fiona Davis decided to write her novel called The Doll House. The story starts out in 1952. Each floor has a different employer. One floor is for a secretarial school. One floor is for a modeling agency. One floor is for musicians. When Darby arrives from rural Ohio, she is assigned a room with the models even though she is headed for secretarial school. The models convince her to go to a theater show. They leave her with one of the young men that they know is a predatory jerkwad. She comes back upset with her clothes torn and her knees bloodied.  One of the maids in the Barbizon helps her out. Esme is Puerto Rican. Esme explains to Darby how the pecking order works in this complex. They become friends and confidants. Darby adjusts to life in New York City. She is not enjoying secretarial school. Secretarial school was her mother's idea. Esme talks her into attending a jazz club where she moonlights as a hat check girl. Esme even talks Darby to perform with her on stage as a back up singer. This is one story line in the book. The other story line is in modern times. A journalist, Rose, lives in the Barbizon with her fiancee. Rose hears stories about the old days in this historic hotel so she goes digging for information. This fascinating story is told, chapter by chapter, one timeline at a time.

 

 

All The Colors Of The Dark

Chris Witacker is the author of All The Colors In The Dark. This is a literary crime drama set mostly in a small town in Missouri. Patch and Saint are the main characters. Patch is a teen aged boy with only one eye. He is also an artist. Saint lives next door with her grandmother and raises bees. One weekend morning Patch saves a girl named Misty from being abducted by an older man. Misty is the teen aged daughter of the wealthiest family in town. What follows from that is a series of child abductions. Circumstances completely change the trajectories of Patch's and Saint's lives. The story starts in 1975 and spans decades. This book had 261 chapters. Some were very short. I thought the characters were well portrayed.

 

  

Regal Fritillary

 On Friday 7 of us gathered at the Weaver Dunes Nature Conservancy location to collect wild flower seeds. We had to drive to another spot. The four women rode in the conservancy's Ford F150. Dang, it is hard for me to get into the back seat of a Ford F150 but I managed. I collected thimble weed seeds in a milk jug attached to my carabiner. When we were coming close to the end of our 3 hour shift the seeds were close to the top of the milk jug. Every time I opened the jug to put more seeds in the prairie wind would take an equal amount out. I saw half a dozen regal fritillary butterflies. These orange and black butterflies are scarce and threatened but they are plentiful on this prairie.

 

 

The Twenty-Ninth Day

Alex Messenger is the author of The Twenty-Ninth Day. This is a coming of age story about a 17 year old young man. Alex is an adventurous who embarks on a canoe trip with 5 other young men through the Canadian wilderness. They take three canoes and three bear barrels of food. They paddle through rivers with harrowing rapids and large lakes. The scenery was gorgeous. Along they way they catch trout and grayling and fry them up for meals. Some of the meals sounded delicious. On the 29th day of their adventure, while alone exploring an ancient indigenous site, Alex is attacked by a grizzly. He has a severe puncture wound to his right groin. He has scratches on his back, his ear. Two of the tips of his toes are missing. Over the next six days his friends take care of him. They have a first aid kit with limited supplies. They have a satellite phone where they get medical advice. This book was riveting and exciting to read.