Summer Reading Celebration

This gem from the late 1950s tells the adventurous tale of William Prendergast, father of James who founded Jamestown, who led other Hudson Valley area colonists in revolt against the manorial system in place there. William was the leader of the “levelers” who believed that they had claim to the land they leased and about 1,700 farmers followed him. William was arrested for treason, and sentenced to be hung, drawn, and quartered. His wife, Mehitabel Wing Prendergast, appealed to the governor for a reprieve and pardon. The family moved to Tennessee, didn’t care for it, and came to Chautauqua Lake. This book was written for middle grades, and contains lots of swashbuckling adventure from the point of view of a boy of about 13 who is a nephew. It uses very dated descriptions of Native Americans and of women. But it is a rollicking piece of historical fiction that relates the family back story of Jamestown’s First Family.

Pirates of the Caribbean meets Chronicles of Narnia. Privateers, Navy, fauns, minotaurs, humans and elves with plenty of magic oh my! There were parts that were slow or dragged too much for my liking but, for the most part it was well placed. I did not like the MFC but she grew on me. Honor Renn, Navy blue mage, is left adrift until she is picked up by the notorious Ship of Spells. On-board is an eclectic crew of misfits amd a charismatic captain. There battles on land and sea, treachery, loathing, love and a ton of magic. Thoroughly enjoyed all of the tension on board the ship between Honor Renn, the crewand the enigmatic captain Thanavar!

This was a great book if you like historical fiction, particularly WWII history. I have read many different historical novels set around the arena of WWII, but this one had a unique perspective. It is seen through the eyes of a young woman who goes to London with a friend after losing her own accommodations in the country. A good friend of her deceased mother puts her up and helps her land a job in a bookstore run by a crotchety old man (think, crotchety people are that way for a reason...but that is secondary to the story). She becomes very successful at what she does even though she is not a reader at the start of the book. The story unfolds against the backdrop of Hitler's blitz on London and England. So you get a front row seat to that harrowing year. I always learn new things and perspectives about the war when I read these books. This was a charming and generally heartwarming read based on real events including the impact of literature during the war.

Wonderful journey through difficult relationships featuring love, forgiveness, understanding, betrayal and redemption. Kristin Hannah creates characters that seem to come alive right off the pages. She did a good job with creating Summer Island as well, so good that I have to Google it to see if these islands really exist off the Washington coast. This is a story of an estranged mother and daughter. Nora, the successful mom, hosts a radio call in show giving stellar advice and upheld as a model of morality. Her daughter, Ruby, thinks otherwise, and rightfully so. Ruby carries a huge chip on her shoulders and is unable to connect with others at any level of depth. She ends up having to spend a week caring for her mother at their childhood home on Summer Island. She is offered a huge sum to write a tell all story about her mom just before she makes the decision to go. What follows is the packed week, an old boyfriend and the untangling of many emotions, learned behaviors and walls.

Reading the Dragonslayers' Academy series with my grandson. He likes dragon stories, and this includes a lot of humor.

Great book. Very well presented.

ARC read. I love Tarah DeWitt. Love the content warnings, Loved everything. How beautiful and sad and unexpectedly spicy.

Everything about Henrietta Lacks and her family was heartbreaking. Henrietta was lost to history and not even a footnote in her own story. Her genes were used over, and over again. Her DNA was used in so many breakthroughs in science and not even a mention. What a harrowing life. Henrietta's story was tragic, dying young of cancer and so riddled with tumors that pain was her only companion. What was more tragic was her children's mistreatment, malnuroshment and torture at the hands of the people that should have protected and sheltered them in their time of grief. Circumstances were just not on the Lacks family side. Most of the children were dead or imcarcerated before the book was even published. The author, Rebecca Skloot did so much research and talked to the family extensively even when said family was very against even that for a long time. This book was good and very interesting but oh so devastating. Please read this story, if not to hear this family's story but to get the true behind the immortal genes and where they really came from.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huang, an author on the Autism spectrum herself, is a very sweet book about Stella and Michael. Stella has Asperger’s and struggles with relationships. She hires Michael to help her in that dept, and their working relationship evolves into more. I really enjoyed this one. It’s definitely spicier than I ever expected going into it.

This history of the influenza pandemic of 1918-1920 was written for young adults, but is informative and even engaging reading for adults as well. It captures the horror of the flu pandemic and the First World War, and puts it into context using photos, letters, songs, art, and even children’s games. Science didn’t have a clear understanding of the differences between bacteria and viruses at that time, and the book chronicles the research of the day as well. When the book was published in 2018, 100 years after the events it describes, the cover depicting a woman wearing a cloth mask was quite arresting. Even though the mask is commonplace now, I recommend this book as a must read for anyone wishing to learn more about pandemics and their effects on various aspects of society and culture, and how the current pandemic was expected any time, by epidemiologists.