Ivory and Bone

I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Julie Eshbaugh's masterful debut. This is a book I've wanted to read since I first heard about it--a YA novel set in pre-historic era is unlike anything else I can think of in the market right now. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going in, but that didn't seem to matter--Eshbaugh drew me in almost at once with her sharp prose and interesting characters (and she manages to pull off a second-person narration, which can be extremely hard to do).

Ivory and Bone follows Kol and his family, a pre-historic clan living on the fringes of the great ice, where they hunt mammoth and other animals for meat and furs. The world Eshbaugh describes is one of incredible beauty and incredible danger, and that tension undergirds Kol's story, as his family--already worried about the future of a clan in which there are no young women for Kol and his brothers to marry--celebrates the arrival of Mya, her sister and her brother, members of a thriving clan to the south. This arrival promises welcome alliances and friendship between the clans, but almost at once, Kol and Mya find themselves wary of one another--a hesitation that's only complicated by the arrival of still a third clan and the slow unveiling of deep-held secrets that might destroy them all.

Eshbaugh does a wonderful job of fleshing out an unusual world. Though my life is nothing like Kol's, I could understand and relate to his worries--his fears for the future and his more immediate fears of being stalked by a saber-tooth tiger--and the pleasure he takes in hunting for honey. The relationships she draws were moving and believable, and I loved the slow unfolding of Kol's friendship with Mya. As the action climaxed, I couldn't put the book down. Definitely one to read in 2016!

The Sound of Life and Everything

I might be prejudiced toward this lovely middle grade book because I've met the author (and my sister is one of the lucky early readers mentioned in the acknowledgments)--but I don't that matters much. The story is a powerful, heart-warming exploration of prejudice, love, and family in post WWII California.

Ella Mae Higbee's crazy aunt has found a scientist who thinks he can resurrect her cousin Robbie, killed at Iwo Jima, from some blood on his dog tags. But when Ella Mae, her mother, and aunt show up at the laboratory, it's to find a young Japanese soldier waiting for them instead of Robbie. While their aunt repulses the boy, it's up to Ella Mae and her mother to take him in, and find their lives transformed in exchange.

Although the science in the book is a little far-fetched and the premise might lead you to expect a more science-fictiony adventure story, the story is a touching look at friendship, as the boy (Takuma) becomes Ella Mae's best friend, and Ella Mae struggles to understand how his presence can unleash so much turmoil and hatred in her small town, even in her family. But I loved how fiercely Ella Mae and her mother fought for him, and for doing the right thing. A terrific look at a historical era and a great jumping point for discussions about prejudice and friendship.

Forbidden

 Kimberley Griffiths Little's newest novel, Forbidden, is an unusual, evocative historical YA novel. Set in ancient Mesopotamia, the story follows 16-year-old Jayden as her family attempts to cross the desert to their winter oasis after a family tragedy. Still reeling from her loss and  anxious about the dangers of the crossing (particularly as they've been separated from the rest of their tribe), Jayden meets an unusual stranger who needs her family's help. Of course, Jayden is intrigued by the newcomer.

There's just one problem. Jayden is already betrothed. To Horeb, set to become their tribe's leader after his father's death. But Jayden doesn't like or trust Horeb, who has become increasingly shifty and cruel. Adding to this complication is her sister's growing fascination with the goddess temple to Ashtoreth, which goes against everything Jayden's mother and grandmother have taught them. As the novel progresses, Jayden has to figure out what truths are most important to her--and what she will have to sacrifice to stay true to herself.

For me, the setting (cultural and physical) of the novel was one of my favorite parts. I loved The Red Tent back when it came out, and I enjoyed revisiting a world where the women of a tribe had such a lovely, close-knit bond. Looking at some of the history behind belly dancing was also fascinating to me. Little does a nice job evoking the setting--at once harsh and beautiful. I liked, too, that Jayden's issues with her sister were realistic and complicated, how Jayden both loves her sister but struggles to understand her choices. There were a few places in the last half of the novel where the plot swirled quite quickly, and sometimes I struggled to keep pace with the twists, but I'm not sure that is a bad thing! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how Jayden's story resolves in the rest of the series.

The Invention of Wings

 I read quite a bit about the Grimke sisters in graduate school while studying nineteenth-century women's rhetoric (including both Sarah's treatise on the equality of the sexes and Angelina's letter to the Christian ministers of the South), so I was fascinated to find that Kidd had built her latest novel around their lives.

Although there were places where the pacing dragged a little for me, I thought Kidd did a nice job of presenting two distinct experiences with slavery: Sarah Grimke, who grew up benefiting from the practice but who resisted it (though she spends a long time trying to figure out how to shape that resistance), and Handful, one of her family's slaves. I liked that Handful never let slavery define her, and she did what she could to resist it (though her actual involvement with Denmark Vesey seemed a bit of a stretch--she also seemed to have an unusual amount of freedom to visit Charleston).

But I was more drawn to Sarah, mostly because I could relate to her struggle with knowing something is wrong but trying to figure out how to resist it. Sarah was a slow-blossoming character who didn't come into her own until her thirties--and I felt like that was a much more realistic approach than what I sometimes see, which is characters who immediately see injustice and know instinctively how to respond to it. I appreciated that Kidd focused her attention on the lesser-known of the two sisters, because I think Sarah has an equally interesting story (if not as flamboyant--if you haven't read Angelina's speech at Pennsylvania Hall, you should).

Where the River once Flowed

(Whitney finalist, historical)

I really wanted to love this book, because I don't think enough historical historical about the American West delve into the rich Hispanic culture that flourished there in the 18th and 19th centuries. And to her credit, Hansen's story does nod to the complicated (and often unfair) politics that affected the region when American settlers flooded west and began claiming lands, often indifferent to the pre-existing claims of the dons and their haciendas. Don Sebastian has only one granddaughter, Iliana, to inherit his extensive lands, and he worries that she will not be strong enough to maintain the ranch against the greedy Purdy family who have already taken over her mother's neighboring family ranch. So he arranges a marriage for her with a kind American, Ross Adams, on the condition that the land be held in trust for her sons.

All seems well enough for a few years, though Iliana's son Gabe is small and weak. But then Ben Purdy take over the ranch after his father's death in a winter blizzard, and his tactics to acquire the ranch become aggressive. When Iliana's husband dies, Iliana turns to Travis Telford, a young American who was friends with her husband, for help.

The story had lots of good elements, but at times it verged a little on melodrama for my taste (particularly the villain). I had a lot of sympathy for Iliana and wanted the best for her, but was often frustrated with how passive she had to be in her own story. I also wanted more backstory at the beginning--it seems like there was a lot of dramatic possibility in the unfolding relationship between Iliana and her husband, Ross, but the novel skips from their rather reserved courtship to a year after their marriage (maybe this is so we're not too attached to Ross and thus have room to be swayed by the inevitable later romance?) I also really disliked the storyline about Iliana's young son, but won't say more to avoid spoilers! That said, this is a clean (if at times a little violent) historical romance set in an interesting era of the American West.

If you're really interested in novels about the interplay between Hispanic and Anglo culture, check out Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton's historical novels (she was one of the first Hispanic writers to publish novels in English), like The Squatter and the Don.

Belonging to Heaven

(Whitney Finalist, historical)

The first chapter of Gale Sears' Belonging to Heaven sucked me in immediately--I loved the detailed historical perspective on 19th century Hawaiian culture. After that, however, the book began to slow for me a little. The story follows roughly Jonathan Napela's conversion to the Mormon church and George Q. Cannon's early missionary efforts on the island. Both stories are interesting and deserve telling--but sometimes I felt that Sears told *too* much. I didn't need detailed conversations about every event in the story. As interesting as the historical element was, the book felt long and at times I was tempted to skim. The last portion of the book is one of the most interesting, as it describes Jonathan's retreat to a leper colony to be with his wife (his refusal to leave her is especially touching).

Diamonds and Deceit

Leila Rasheed's Diamonds and Deceit is the sequel to Cinders and Sapphires and is every bit as frothy, drama-laden, and fun as its predecessor (and yes, reminiscent of its Downton Abbey comparisons).

In this book, the season is in full swing. Ada struggles to contain her misgivings about her engagement to the seemingly perfect Lord Fintan--who has promised her an Oxford education as part of their marriage deal. And yet, Ada doesn't feel anything for him like she did for her first love. There's also the not-insignificant detail that Ada's new stepsister Charlotte is in love with Lord Fintan.

Rose, the former housemaid elevated to lady, struggles with the backbiting and unkindness of other debutantes, even as she manages to snare the interest of one of the season's most eligible--if unpredictable--bachelors, Lord Alexander Ross.

And back home at Somerton, the putative heir William is going through money at an astounding rate while also harassing his young son's nurse, Priya. And Ada's stepbrother Sebastian grieves that his former valet/lover Oliver is in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

So--lots of drama, no? Very Downtonesque. Throw in pretty girls, parties, lovely dress descriptions and you have this novel. It's reasonably well-written and fast-paced and a fun brain-candy read. There are a lot of side stories and I wasn't equally invested in all of them--and I felt like the ending wrapped things up a bit too neatly. (Though I'm sure if there's a sequel I will read that too . . .)