Shadows of Pecan Hollow

Author: Caroline Frost
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2022
Pages: 416
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: It was 1970 when thirteen-year-old runaway Kit Walker was abducted by Manny Romero, a smooth-talking low-level criminal, who first coddled her and then groomed her into his partner-in-crime. Before long, Kit and Manny were infamous for their string of gas station robberies throughout Texas, making a name for themselves as the Texas Twosome.

Twenty years after they meet, Kit has scraped together a life for herself and her daughter amongst the pecan trees and muddy creeks of the town of Pecan Hollow, far from Manny. But when he shows up at her doorstep a new man, fresh out of prison, Kit is forced to reckon with the shadows of her past, and her community is sent into a tailspin.

Review: First, let's talk about Shadows of Pecan Hollow. I enjoyed the story. It was fastpaced and complex enough to keep me interested. A certain level of suspension of belief is required, but it is fiction and not that outrageous so I think that's okay.

Now let's talk about how it in relation to another book in this coming-of-age genre. Shadows of Pecan Hollow has been compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, which I reviewed here. I enjoyed SoPH more. The language is less flowery and far less descriptive. If that's what you loved about Crawdads, I think you'll still enjoy this story, but you'll find Crawdads to be the better novel.

Olga Dies Dreaming

Author: Xochitl Gonzalez
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro "Prieto" Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan's power brokers.

Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1 percent but she can't seem to find her own. . .until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.

Olga and Peitro's mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.

Review: I enjoyed this book right out of the gate. It was fast-paced and the characters were entertaining. Toward the end Olga's brother becomes the main character and Olga takes a back seat, which I found odd, and the reason I didn't give this a highly recommend rating.

The World Played Chess

Author: Robert Dugoni
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2021
Pages: 400
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: In 1970, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer - Vincent's last taste of innocence and first taste of real life - dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one's own destiny.

Review: I don't read male authors often, and even more rarely do I read war novels. However, I loved The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell so much that of course I was going to read The World Played Chess. What a novel! I will read everything Dugoni writes now.

There are three timelines to follow in this book, and alternating between them is masterfully done. There isn't a thing I would change about this novel.