Book review: Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

Within the entirety of his life and among other presidents, James Garfield is not remembered as a significant president. But, maybe if he had lived longer that would have been different. Millard strives to make this point with her well-researched book.

In his life, he had seen war and the tragedy of it. His administration was a time of peace, as well as advances in science from notable men such as Alexander Graham Bell and Lister. Lurking in this same period, we find another more serious and sinister person. One who targets Garfield at a time when presidents were not closely guarded by security. Garfield ascended to the position of president, a job which he didn’t aspire.

Millard weaves important scientific discoveries within the story of Garfield’s ascension to the presidency. We learn about his close family life. A well written book about a president who is largely forgotten.

“Tonight, I am a private citizen. To-morrow I shall be called to assume new responsibilities, and on the day after, the broadside of the world’s wrath will strike. It will strike hard. I know it, and you will know it.”

Candice Millard, Destiny of the Republic

Book Review: The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice

Rice’s The Shadow Box is a thriller and a fast-paced page turner. I’ve never read one of her novels, only reading this one for a book club and it was worth it.

Claire, an artist, is married to dashing attorney Griffin who is also running for governor. They are a beautiful couple but their are cracks in the relationship. His fabulous lifestyle hides a dark secret. In order to confront him, she plans to reveal her knowledge through an art piece which will be exhibited at her new show. But, will that ever happen?

As the book opens, she is being attack. But, she and the reader don’t know who attacked her. In her search to find out who wants to kill her, she finds a web of others who are connected to a plot to save Griffin’s secret.

“Protection came in many forms. My love of nature and my father, and their love for me, had made me strong and brave, and I had survived.”

Luanne Rice, The Shadow Box

Book Review: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

In this social document of women in Victorian England, Rubenhold attempts a demystification of Jack the Ripper’s five victims. Because of their circumstance, their lives have disappeared into the all too sad fascination with the actual murderer.

These women were not prostitutes, only one was reported as a prostitute. They were young women who faced the challenges all women face. But, they lived during a time that women had very few options. They were objects meant to remain as the lowest of society.

Rubenhold’s meticulous research revealed these women as forgotten or cast out by their families, friends, society. She breathed new life into the hopelessness of their lives and revealed their strength.

“The victims of Jack the Ripper were never ‘just prostitutes’; they were daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and lovers. They were women. They were human beings, and surely that, in itself, is enough.”

Hallie Rubenhold, The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

Book review: The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

All families have drama, but not all families have a murderer in their midst.

Diana, the mother-in-law, is strong, independent and married to kind and generous Tom. As the story unfolds, the reader learns she became pregnant at a young age. Her parents disowned her for having a child out of wedlock, so she learned to survive on her own terms. Diana’s daughter, Hetty, wants a baby and hopes her mother will give her money for in vitro fertilization. Her mother does not agree; she see Netty as needy and desperate and also has reason to believe her son-in-law is having affairs. So Netty eventually asks her sister-in-law Lucy to be a surrogate.

Lucy is a stay at home mom and has an equally fraught relationship with her mother-in-law. But she begins to understand Her frosty relationship with Diana. She and her husband have a new business which is in financial trouble. When he learns of his mother’s death, he hopes to use the money to pay off those debts. All the kids hope for an inheritance. Diana dies, presumably of suicide, but where did all the money go? She left a note but it’s hidden, not left in the open.

If you’re looking for a page turner with fairly predictable characters, this novel is a win for you. You may be surprised by the actions of such predictable characters.

“Some people jumped in and tried to save someone who was in trouble; others did anything they could to save themselves.”

Sally Hepworth, The Mother-in-Law

Book Review: The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Nella, a young editorial assistant, loves her job but feels isolated as the only Black person in her department. She actively works to promote and educate her company about diversity. But, things don’t change very quickly until Hazel is hired.

Hazel is a dynamic young woman who quickly embeds herself into the office culture. She also befriends Nella by promoting a hair product that she says really works. What so special about this product? Just wait. She manages to make friends and create allies among co-workers that Nella couldn’t crack. What does she do? How has she assimilated into the office so easily?

In what starts off as a long-winded narrative of office politics, the narrative slowly maneuvers into a potboiler. Hazel invites Nella to Curl Central. Who are all these people? Will this friendship be healthy or toxic? It’s anybody’s guess until the last paragraph.

“With heightened awareness of cultural sensitivity comes great responsibility. If we’re not careful, ‘diversity’ might become an item people start checking off a list and nothing more—a shallow, shadowy thing with but one dimension.”

Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl

Book Review: Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino

New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino penned intricate and well researched essays about our culture and the ways women navigate it. Her voice is clear, capable and thoroughly forthright about the ways women compensate with versions of our self as well as the way society sees us.

I listened to the audiobook which was read by the author. I’d also recommend getting the hardback. These essays take time to permeate, so read them slowly. The research itself is worth checking into.

“It’s very easy, under conditions of artificial but continually escalating obligation, to find yourself organizing your life around practices you find ridiculous and possibly indefensible. Women have known this intimately for a long time.”

Jia Tolentino, Trick Mirror

Book Review: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

At age 11, Sarah Grimke is gifted a slave girl, named Hetty. At the time, this was a tradition. Sarah is angry about this tradition and doesn’t agree with slavery. But, as a child she is helpless to change this course. She dreams of leaving Charleston when a younger sister dream. She and this sister become abolitionist and then eventually suffragettes.

Hetty also dreams of being free, of growing wings, like the story her mother tells her. Hetty’s mother is clever and strong. She’s a seamstress who realizes she can make extra money by outsourcing her skills. She saves this money for the day she decides to leave but instead is kidnapped.

Will Hetty ever see her mother again? Is she dead or alive? And will Sarah find her independence and happiness? For historical fiction fans, Monk Kidd, tells the story of Sarah Grimke, Hetty, and their flight to independence.

To remain silent in the face of evil is itself a form of evil.”

-Sue Monk Kidd, The Invention of Wings

Book Review: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

After reading reviews and social media posts, I immediately grabbed this book. Epic in its scale and timeline, it follows characters who are descendants of two women, sisters from the Gold Coast. One is married to a white man and slave trader. The other sister becomes part of the slave trade.

At times it was difficult to follow the stories. The narrative is separated by stories of descendants from different time periods. though that does not lessen the power of these characters’ stories. Gyasi questions West Africa’s participation in the slave trade. In doing so, she takes the reader on a powerful and emotionally wrought ride.

“This is the problem of history. We cannot know that which we were not there to see and hear and experience for ourselves. We must rely upon the words of others.”

Yaa Gyasi, Homecoming

Book Review: In the Woods by Tana French

A young detective, Adam Ryan, relives his horrific past when a young girl is found in the woods. Years before, Ryan was part of a group involved in another horrible crime.

This book, volume one, features Ryan and co-investigator Cassie Maddox. When the young girl is found murdered in the same place as his friends’ disappearance, he confides in Cassie. She is the only one who knows he was part of the 1984 incident, the only one to survive.

French creates a fine debut thriller. Set in a suburb of Dublin, the reader gets a sense of the dreary and macabre scene that left a young girl dead and the events that still haunt Adam.

“Human beings, as I know better than most, can get used to anything. Over time, even the unthinkable gradually wears a little niche for itself in your mind and becomes just something that happened.”

― Tana French, In the Woods

Book Review: The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

A graphic novelist, Leia, meets a man at a Comic-Con. After a night of fun and drinking, she becomes pregnant. Not certain whether to contact the father of the baby, she learns her grandmother needs her. Consequently, she returns to Alabama from Atlanta to visit her grandmother who needs help sorting out her estate. Her grandmother, a once dignified and independent woman, has become ill with dementia. She now relies on her close friend, Wattie, to help her with daily tasks. While cleaning out the attic, they uncover a box containing bones. What is the story? Could this be the body of a relative?

Her grandmother’s secret will change the course of Leia’s life and all that she has known about her grandmother. Meanwhile her perfect step-sister’s marriage is falling apart. And Leia needs to tell everyone that her baby will be biracial. How will they react to the news?

Filled with delightful characters, this book is a fun romp for a long weekend or beach read. As a plus, the audiobook is read by the author who is outstanding.

“Things feel hard now, but it will pass. Everything passes, and something new comes along to fill the space.”

The Almost Sisters, Joshilyn Jackson