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| Not a bad view for reading |
December vacation
I'll start with a look back on what I read in December in St. John.
Whisper Network by Chandler Baker - I started this book before vacation, but read maybe half of it while I was away. A workplace thriller of sorts for the Me Too era, this novel is about a fictional company, where a group of women are simultaneously trying to protect a new hire from their creepy boss and wondering what to do about the rumors that said boss will be the new CEO. Interestingly the primary narrator is the “we” of the women of the office generally though most of the book zooms in on the thoughts of individual women. This book has definite similarities to “Big Little Lies,” as just as in that book the action unspools chronologically, but interspersed with transcripts from police interviews/depositions set further forward in time so that you know someone has died but you don’t know who or how. So slightly derivative in that sense, but still entertaining, plus interesting and thought provoking ideas on sexual harassment and the way women try to protect each other and themselves, and also tear down each other and themselves. 4 stars.
Winter in Paradise by Elin Hildebrand - Unlike Elin Hildebrand’s other books set on Nantucket, this one is set on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. When my friend Nina heard that I was going there on vacation she said I had to read it while I was there, which was a great suggestion! It was fun to read scenes set in different places we were actually going to while we were there. At the outset of the book, Irene is informed that her husband has died in a plane crash off of St. John - someplace she had no idea where he was! Travelling down there, she learns he had a whole other life she didn't know about. The book is told from the alternating perspectives of Irene, her two adult sons, and a few other characters who live on the island. Perfect vacation book with a mix of character stuff, a little romance, and a little mystery. 4 stars.
Frankly in Love by David Yoon - This young adult novel is told from the perspective of senior in high school Frank, who is juggling both his identity as the first generation American son of Korean immigrants, and trying to date. At first it felt both a little predictable and also trying a little too hard to be cool, but broke away from both as the book went on to become a sweet and entertaining read. 4 stars.
Head On by John Scalzi - Enjoyable sci-fi mystery set in a slightly future version of our world where a portion of the population ended up essentially paralyzed in their bodies but fully conscious due to a disease called Haden’s syndrome, but society has compensated through robots that people with Haden's can inhabit and an online virtual world as well. The main character is an FBI agent with Haden’s who along with his non-Haden partner investigates crimes involving people with Haden’s - in this book, the death of a professional athlete with Haden’s in a popular Haden-only game played with the robots, that only gets more tangled from there. It’s been 4 years since I read the first book in the series, but the book does a good job of reminding you of the background of the world and the main characters. The book combines an interesting fleshed out world, and an entertaining mystery as well. 4 stars.
The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane by Kelly Harms - I really enjoyed Kelly Harms' "The Overdue Life of Amy Byler" (which coincidentally was the one entire book I read during the previously mentioned London vacation), so I decided to catch up on her two older books as well. This one was not quite as charming, but I did enjoy it. At the start of this novel, a fictional tv show on a network not unlike HGTV announces a giveaway of a house in Maine to Janine Brown of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Only problem is there are two different people if that name. One, Janey, is a sad and pathologically shy woman whose Aunt Midge entered the contest on her behalf; the other, Neen, is a young woman who has had a tough life and is living with an abusive boyfriend. The book is told in alternating chapters from both of their perspectives as they both go to Maine to claim the house (along with Aunt Midge). It’s a little predictable but a cute and light read. 4 stars though just barely.
I know I usually update you on what my family read on vacation, but I have already forgotten what they read in December so you'll have to content yourself with hearing what they read on our February vacation instead!
February vacation
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky - At the outset, I have to tell you that though I only read 3 books on this February trip, that is in part because this book was as long as two books - a 600 page brick of a science fiction novel! Very good but very long sequel to “Children of Time,” a fascinating far future book about a planet of accidentally uplifted spiders and an ark ship of what's left of humanity. Part of this book takes place maybe 50-100 years after the first book ends on a space ship of humans and sentient spiders together; the other strand starts around the time the other book begins, but in a far away galaxy, involving both uplifted octopuses and the discovery of actual alien life, following what happens there over the centuries until the two strands converge. Even though the first book was just as long, this one felt longer - it was very interesting but yet also sometimes I wondered if it would ever end. If you are a science fiction fan I'd definitely recommend checking out this series, but start with the first book. 4 stars (the first book in the series was 4.5 stars for me).
What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hildebrand - Since I read "Winter in Paradise" on my December vacation as noted above, I figured I might as well read the sequel on this trip! The third book isn't out yet, but maybe it will be out in time for my winter vacation next year! 😉 Not as good as the first book - as the second in what seems like it will be at least a trilogy, it feels a little bit like a placeholder in that the plot didn’t move too far forwards - but still enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who liked the first book. 3.75 stars.
Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson - In this novel, a young woman who is a publishing assistant is sent to LA to assist a reclusive writer while she writes a long-awaited second book, and ends up mostly helping out with the writer’s son Frank, who is extremely quirky if not something well-beyond that. A quick and charming read. If you enjoyed Kevin Wilson’s recent book “Nothing to See Here” you might enjoy this as well - no spontaneous combustion, but a similar vibe of a young woman caring for someone else’s sad and quirky kid(s). 4 stars.
And, as promised, my family's reads! Dan read The Dreaming Stars by Tim Pratt, the second book in a science fiction trilogy I read also - Dan read the first book before I did, but then I beat him to the second and third books. He also started but did not quite finish a book I recommended to him, The Philosopher's Flight by Tom Miller, an alternate history/fantasy back set during the World War I era in a world like our own but where there is also a type of magic called Empirical Philosophy.
Allison read Denton Little's Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin, the sequel to a young adult novel we both enjoyed last year called "Denton Little's Death Date"; I haven't read this one yet but want to do so shortly. She also read some of my old books off of our living room bookshelf - Jennifer Government by Max Barry, I Love You Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle, and she started by didn't finish At Risk by Alice Hoffman.
Jonah was disappointed that he only read two books this trip, since he read a lot more on our December trip. He read Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (another book I haven't read but now want to), and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, which I think he enjoyed even more than "The Hunger Games" which was one of the books he read in December. Listening to him gasp out loud periodically while reading was pretty entertaining!
My brother-in-law Michael was on the trip with us too but I don't think he read anything even though he had asked me for recommendations before the trip - in fact, his chatty non-reading personality may be one of the reasons some of the rest of us read a little less than usual on this trip! 😜
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