Oil and Marble

Author: Stephanie Storey
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Arcade Publishing, 2018
Pages: 320
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: In her brilliant debut, Storey brings early 16th-centure Florence alive, entering with extraordinary empathy into the minds and souls of two Renaissance masters, create a stunning art history thriller.

From 1501-1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarti both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming, handsome fifty year old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-twenties, desperate to make a name for himself. 

Michelangelo is a virtual unknown when he returns to Florence and wins the commission to carve what will become one of the most famous sculptures of all time: David. Even though his impoverished family shuns him for being an artist, he is desperate to support them. Living at the foot of his misshapen block of marble, Michelangelo struggles until the stone finally begins to speak. Working against an impossible deadline, he begins his feverish carving.

Meanwhile, Leonardo's life is falling apart: he loses the hoped-for David commission; he can'ta seem to finish any project; he is obssessed with his ungainly flying machine; he almost dies in war; his engineering designs disastrously fail; and he is haunted by a merchant's wife, whom he is finally commissioned to paint. Her name is Lisa, and she becomes his muse.

Leonardo despises Michelangelo for his youth and lack of sophistication. Michelangelo both loathes and worships Leonardo's genius.

Oil and Marble is the story of their nearly forgotten rivalry.

Review: I don't know why I chose this novel. I'm not an art fanatic, and the 16th century is well outside the time frames I usually choose in the historical fiction genre. I saw Michelangelo's Pieta, and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while visiting Rome in 2000. I don't recall seeing any of da Vinci's work in person.

At any rate, my plan was to read a chapter or two of this novel and if I wasn't drawn in, set it aside, perhaps to listen to later. I was surprised. I loved this novel. I didn't read it quickly or for hours at a time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now all I need to do is figure out when I'm going to Florence to see it for myself.

Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life

Author: Shelley Tougas
Genre: Kid Lit, Fiction
Publisher: Roaring Book Press, 2017
Pages: 304
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A life on the prairie is not all its cracked up to be for one girl whose mom takes her love of the Little House series just a bit too far.

Charlotte’s mom has just moved the family across the country to live in Walnut Grove, “childhood home of pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder.” Mom’s idea is that the spirit of Laura Ingalls will help her write a bestselling book. But Charlotte knows better: Walnut Grove is just another town where Mom can avoid responsibility. And this place is worse than everywhere else the family has lived—it’s freezing in the winter, it’s small with nothing to do, and the people talk about Laura Ingalls all the time. Charlotte’s convinced her family will not be able to make a life on the prairie—until the spirit of Laura Ingalls starts getting to her, too.

Review: I didn't realize when I requested Laura Ingalls is Ruining My Life that it's written for 9-12 year olds, but I decided to read it anyway. It's a cute story. 

I'm going to recommend it to my daughters, ages 9 and 11. Together, we read some of the Little House books this winter so they're familiar with her, but more than that, I think they'll enjoy the story.

The Woman in Cabin 10

Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press, 2017
Pages: 384
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

With surprising twists, spine-tingling turns, and a setting that proves as uncomfortably claustrophobic as it is eerily beautiful, Ruth Ware offers up another taut and intense read in The Woman in Cabin 10—one that will leave even the most sure-footed reader restlessly uneasy long after the last page is turned.

Review: Four words, or is it five, for the author, “don’t try so hard.” The beginning was just ridiculous, the middle of the middle pages were a fun, but cliche in some ways, the ending was entirely too far fetched. The last two pages wrapped it up, but weren’t surprising. As far as thrillers go. . .a real snooze.

It is possible that had I not read some better thrillers lately, The Wife Between Us and The Broken Girls, this would have received a higher rating. The Woman in Cabin 10 just didn't measure up.

Ruth Ware Novels
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The It Girl
The Lying Game - review coming soon
The Turn of the Key

The Day the World Came to Town

Author: Jim DeFede
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher, 2003
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill.

As the passengers stepped from the airplanes, exhausted, hungry and distraught after being held on board for nearly 24 hours while security checked all of the baggage, they were greeted with a feast prepared by the townspeople. Local bus drivers who had been on strike came off the picket lines to transport the passengers to the various shelters set up in local schools and churches. Linens and toiletries were bought and donated. A middle school provided showers, as well as access to computers, email, and televisions, allowing the passengers to stay in touch with family and follow the news.

Over the course of those four days, many of the passengers developed friendships with Gander residents that they expect to last a lifetime. As a show of thanks, scholarship funds for the children of Gander have been formed and donations have been made to provide new computers for the schools. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill.

Review: This is such a feel-good, warm read. I loved it. Where I think it's lacking is in the organization/structuring. Some of the stories/experiences could have been fleshed out more, and I wanted more "afters" and "follow-ups."

This is well worth reading.

The Couple Next Door

Author: Shari Lapena
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2017
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: It all started at a dinner party. . .

A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, roller coaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night, when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately lands on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years. 

What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of  deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.

Review: Better than 3 stars, not quite 4. This is a page-turner, but it's also rather predictable. I guessed the "punchline" by page 140, and then just watched it unfold for the remainder of the book. The novel concluded with an unnecessary twice, but it leave the door open for sequel, which I probably wouldn't read. Thrillers are one of my favorite genres, and this was just a hair too far-fetched to be considered brilliant or particularly delicious.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Author: Helen Simonson
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House Audio Publishing Group, 2010
Pages: 384, 11 discs
Rating: Do Not Recommend


Synopsis: In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson’s wondrous debut. 

Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. 

But then his brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?

Review: Here is another novel that took up almost permanent residence on my to be read stack. 

For several discs, the Major was hung up on his Churchill guns. Then, the theme shifts to the cultural differences and bias between him and a Pakistani woman whom he befriends. With a brief mention here or there, the guns are nearly forgotten. I was expecting something more cohesive.

I loved The Summer Before the War, and had I read Major Pettigrew first, I likely wouldn't have read it. Major Pettigrew is cute, but it also felt frustratingly slow at times. Overall I enjoyed this story, but there are better novels out there so for that reason, Do Not Recommend.

Beneath the Surface

Author: John Hargrove
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2016
Pages: 288
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Over the course of two decades, John Hargrove worked with 20 different whales on two continents and at two of SeaWorld's U.S. facilities. For Hargrove, becoming an orca trainer fulfilled a childhood dream. However, as his experience with the whales deepened, Hargrove came to doubt that their needs could ever be met in captivity. When two fellow trainers were killed by orcas in marine parks, Hargrove decided that SeaWorld's wildly popular programs were both detrimental to the whales and ultimately unsafe for trainers.

After leaving SeaWorld, Hargrove became one of the stars of the controversial documentary Blackfish. The outcry over the treatment of SeaWorld's orca has now expanded beyond the outlines sketched by the award-winning documentary, with Hargrove contributing his expertise to an advocacy movement that is convincing both federal and state governments to act.

In Beneath the Surface, Hargrove paints a compelling portrait of these highly intelligent and social creatures, including his favorite whales Takara and her mother Kasatka, two of the most dominant orcas in SeaWorld. And he includes vibrant descriptions of the lives of orcas in the wild, contrasting their freedom in the ocean with their lives in SeaWorld.

Hargrove's journey is one that humanity has just begun to take-toward the realization that the relationship between the human and animal worlds must be radically rethought.

Review: I visited SeaWorld several times as a child, and it always left such an impression. At one point, I wanted to study marine biology. Not because I wanted to be a trainer, but I just found the animals fascinating. I would go back and forth between the same shows all day long. 

We have plans to visit Sea World the next time we take a family vacation to Orlando, but my children will never get to see the shows the way I had experienced them. Trainers are no longer in the water with the whales, as an example. Of course, I understand why, but it was a magical experience through my childlike eyes and understanding of the world. 

Hargrove's line, "Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer," resonated with me and I kept that in the back of my mind while I was reading.

This read like fiction and I found it fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. 

The Broken Girls

Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2018
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . . 

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. . . . 

Review: Didn't want it to end, couldn't stop turning pages.

The Broken Girls is the right amount of creepy and thriller with twists in the most unexpected places. I loved it.