Book Review | SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Publication: December 31, 2019
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both. - Goodreads

Kiley Reid chronicled an absorbing story from the standpoint of two different women –different history, different status, different colors.

Alix Chamberlain has everything moving up for herself, except, she is no longer living among Manhattan’s finest, meaning there are no rich friends and no in-laws to rely on. Down in Philadelphia, she needs help taking care of her children if she wants to finish her debut book in time. So she was very fortunate to employ Emira Tucker as Briar Chamberlain’s part-time sitter. Meanwhile, Emira is grappling for resources, whose major concern at present is being twenty-five and soon-to-be kicked out of her parents’ health care. Beneficially, Briar is her “favorite little human” and happy as a pea to stay as her sitter for as long as possible. Then a much unforeseen, but not surprising, incident happened at a nearby grocery store, wherein Emira was stopped by a security guard and accused her of kidnapping Briar. A lot has span off since – news got around, people came and people went, privacy and consent were breached. Culpability may be the operative word here. This story shows that any good intention, no matter how noble, can be soiled by any hint of personal agenda.

SUCH A FUN AGE is a breezy story on the surface that it is easy to miss some minute details that Reid has meticulously incorporated. With a closer look, it has multiple layers, and peeling back reveals that only a keen observer can write a story like this one. Her use of English argots is rich and realistic, giving a partition to fully visualize the characters. In her debut, Reid provided distinctions and displays of insecurities, and incisively shows how they manifest generally in everyone. These pages are clearly a product of hard work and good research.

Start your year 2020 with this one!

About the Author:

Kiley Reid (born 1984) is an American novelist. She is a recent graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where she was the recipient of the Truman Capote Fellowship. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Such A Fun Age is her first novel.

*Thanks to GP Putnam's Sons and Edelweiss for the galley in exchange for this unbiased review.
*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg

  

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
Publication: November 21, 2017
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★

A beautiful, life-affirming novel about a remarkably loving man who creates for himself and others second chances at happiness.

A moving novel about three people who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow, meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. Maddy gives Arthur the name Truluv, for his loving and positive responses to every outrageous thing she says or does. With Arthur’s nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life’s most precious moments are sweeter when shared.-Goodreads

Elizabeth Berg put together [probably] the most unlikely people together in this story… and they turned out to be very charming.

Arthur is an octogenarian and a widower, whose everyday highlight is visiting his dead wife at the local cemetery. Meanwhile, Maddy is a bullied teenager, who lost her mother very early after she was born, leaving her to his distant and unaffectionate father. And Lucille is Arthur’s neighbor, who waited all her life for true love to happen.

At the center of this heartwarming story is a makeshift family. They’ve built a home abound with kindness and rooms for consideration. A simple structure, really, allowing them to forget the troubles and awful of the outside world, and focus on seeing the good in people. Unlikely people, yes, but home nonetheless.

I love Berg’s take on people. I love her characters, including their flaws. I’m glad she gave her characters another motivation in life. I’m glad to have met Arthur and wishing there’d be more like him in the world. I’m happy knowing that his kindness survived him and will continue effecting.

THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV is Book #1 of the Mason series.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Berg is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including We Are All Welcome Here, The Year of Pleasures, The Art of Mending, Say When, True to Form, Never Change, and Open House, which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection in 2000. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year, and Talk Before Sleep was short-listed for the ABBY Award in 1996. The winner of the 1997 New England Booksellers Award for her body of work, Elizabeth Berg is also the author of a nonfiction work, Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True. She lives in Chicago.

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THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS by John Connolly

   

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Publication: October 16, 2007
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★★

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

...

David was conquered by grief and jealousy due his father’s newly-found family (Rose and Georgie), and because of his mother’s untimely death. It proves that anguish and loneliness can sometimes poison even a child’s heart. Later, he can hear the books whisper to him, then soon, seizures began to attack him which baffled the doctors of its cause. But The Crooked Man can bring back everything he had lost… for a bargain.

. . . For a lifetime was but a moment in that place, and each man dreams his own heaven.
And in the darkness, David closed his eyes, as all that was lost was found again.”

I love the poetic tone of the story. It pulled me in and kept me reading despite the sad things happening along the way. It's interesting when twists were added to fairytales we grew up with. This is a dark tale of one boy's inner turmoil and descent to despondency. Also, a message of how powerful stories can be in children's lives. I adore John Connolly for this brilliant book!

About the Author:

John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. (A dogsbody, for our North American friends, is a 'go-fer'.) He studied English at Trinity College, Dublin, and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. He divides his time between Dublin and Portland, Maine; makes regular donations to the wine industry; and keeps several dogs in a remarkable degree of comfort.

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15 BOOK SERIES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY (OTHER THAN HP)

My spawn at 12.

My family has a standing Yuletide tradition to [either] listen to the Harry Potter audiobooks, or watch the movies, each day leading to New Year’s Eve. However, there are also other books we shared together over the years since my daughter started reading at three. It was always tricky choosing because it involved plenty of compromise and message consideration, due to her age. It took some preparations too since we want to anticipate her many questions during the actual reading.

Here, I compiled only the book series we mostly adored. Some of these were books my husband and I read when we were young and shared with our daughter, others, we chose together.

(1) Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (Illustrator: Ernest Howard Shepard)

Pooh is described as “the bear of very little brain” or “the best bear in all the world”. I believe we all prefer the latter. This little old bear really knows how to worm into everyone’s heart. The diversity of the characters from the 100-Acre Wood is reflective enough to transcend heartening lessons every time. Parents like me are able to explain plainly to a three-year-old child because of Milne’s use of naivety and simple child-like language and logic to push the message across.

(2) Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park (Illustrator: Denise Brunkus)

The first book is Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, detailing Junie’s first school bus ride to school, which we chose purposely to encourage our little girl (then) to go to kindergarten. This series is goofy-fun and filled with common childish behaviors. Very young readers can easily learn golden lessons behind Junie’s mishaps and misbehaviors.

(3) Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne (Illustrators: Salvatore Murdocca; Okama)

Siblings Annie and Jack discovered that a treehouse in the woods near their house can transport them to historical places and times. We simply love these siblings -their constant encouragements, on being brave, accountability for each other and for their choices. Replete with historical details, scientific facts, and life lessons, children will undoubtedly learn cool stuff from this series. My daughter still collects them up until now.

(4) Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey 

“Who would let their child read a banned book?” I WOULD! Or Did. George and Harold are rebellious enough to pull pranks on anyone in the school including their very own strict principal. This series is banned from school libraries because adults believe that it encourages kids to be rebels, to question authority. Parents need to know that behind all the potty humor it also encourages them to be critical thinkers. We usually asked our daughter what she thought about the book aside from being funny and identify which she thought was wrong. What we learned was that every kid needs a hero, even the most recalcitrant and unrepentant ones. Parents can both leave their kids with their own choices and create their own hero or parents can help them find an ideal one. These series may not be a model blueprint but they’ll know which kind they are supposed to stay away from.

(5) Jigsaw Jones Mysteries by James Preller (Illustrator: R.W. Alley). 

Very much like our beloved HP books, this series is about friendship, family, school, inclusion, and mystery. The books are noir-esque, witty and exciting to read. By the time we get to the middle page, we each have our own inferences and dispute behind it. It really heightens the reading experience exponentially and enhances the kid’s deduction skills, too.

(6) The Magic School Bus by Joanna Cole (Illustrator: Bruce Degen). 

This series is a great way for early readers to learn more about scientific stuff. Ms. Frizzle takes her students to incredible field trips, learning from inside a magical bus that can pretty much do anything. This is a good series to hook kids and love science.  The series is not exactly for read-aloud. It is more advisable that parents and kids read the books separately and discuss or compare notes later.

(7) Wayside School by Louis Sachar (Illustrator: Adam McCauley). 

We love all the zany, odd people in this series. The school is 30-floors high, each classroom built on top of each other, and a lot more crazies happen on the 13th floor. These books are attention-grabbers, so be absolutely prepared for longer reading sessions, rereads, and terrible giggling even after lights out. And these are the only books I know where the author wrote himself into his own books and shared with all the wackiness.

(8) Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle

These books were written several decades apart. Most people know about the movies, but hardly know that there are four more books after A Wrinkle in Time. I found a copy of A Wrinkle in Time in my old grade school library, a long way back. And like the first few books I had, I had my elder brother scout for the rest of the books from Recto, a street in Manila where you can find all kinds of second-hand books. The quintet is classified under coming-of-age fiction, which means children come to certain awakenings, and may need closer attention when they raise some questions or concerns. It does not only give children perspectives but also questions them and challenges them to make tough choices.

(9) The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis 

My husband and I discovered the first book in different fashions. His was more interesting, I admit. Way back in grade school, he needed to make his first book report (a book of his own choice) and found an old Puffin copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in the church library. I’ve always argued that this series should be classified under Christian fantasy, and it’s good to know, that a long time ago, an old church librarian thought the same too. By this time, we know how magical these stories are and the virtues they possess. We all know how four ordinary kids had the journey of a lifetime -filled with secrets, valiance, betrayal, unconditional love- and lived to tell all about it. Exactly the kind of journey parents would like to share with their kid/s.

(10) The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

This is my all-time favorite children's fantasy. It has everything a child can conceive in a series –myths, Arthurian, old magic, time travel, and the Holy Grail. I have no qualms recommending this to any parent with middle-grade kids. The language alone employed by Cooper is a good foothold and unsoiled; it is very savory for any age. This is replete of life lessons –accountability, priorities, sacrifices, and conquering challenges- that parents can discuss in detail with their kids and exercise their problem-solving skills. We took turns reading chapters every night. Those were absolutely wonderful nights.

(11) Inkworld by Cornelia Funke (Translator: Anthea Bell)

This is also a very rich fantasy series, wherein book characters can come to life and real people are sucked into books. Familial love resonates throughout the series and it’s very compelling. My daughter was about ten-years-old when we started reading this series. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone younger because there are some graphic details of violence and disagreeable language. However, this series is an agreeable challenge for pre-teens. Some more delicate readers/parents might disagree with me though.

(12) A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Illustrator: Brett Helquist)

These are the thirteen unpleasant tales of the unlucky Baudelaire orphans. Certainly, there is violence here, as there is a sinister villain vent on harming the kids and their protectors. However, Daniel Handler is a master story-teller and can blow over such events with good humor. And with his fine writing, he has a clever way of explaining words in context. This is altogether mysterious, adventurous, and grimly engaging. Parents might want to give their kids a taste of The Bad Beginning first, and then ask them how they feel about dark humor before introducing the next book.

(13) Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch (Illustrator: Gilbert Ford)

The key element to these books is the mystery. Parents with mystery-hungry kids will enjoy secret codes and anagrams. We love the family set-ups the author cleverly introduced here. It gives children an opportunity to learn and appreciate different family structures. And, if both parents and kids are [just] a bit curious about Synesthesia, they definitely need to meet Max-Ernest. Or, if in need of first-hand knowledge on survival skills, well then, Cass could be their next best friend. OR, if kids just need some silly reads to blow off some steam, this series is a clear choice.

(14) The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

This is such a fun, fun read. Talk about not-so-little geniuses on adventures. It is smart, mysterious, and adventurous. All the characters are amusingly odd and very engaging. Kids will love the puzzle-solving parts of the stories, including all the twists and turns. By the time we read this, our daughter is already twelve-years of age. So we read the books separately, and then greedily discussed them right after.

(15) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

When our daughter asked us if she could read the series, we approved but with some apprehensions. We were preparing ourselves for probable questions about Christianity and the human soul, actually. After reading The Amber Glass, she broke into our room crying, accusing us of not warning her about the ending, which was bittersweet, if not heartbreaking. Not every book has an “and-they-lived-happily-ever-after” kind of ending. It involved some really tough lessons and my husband and I agreed that she’s ready enough to learn about them. Parents who want some level-up challenges for their pre-teens can definitely recommend this one. It is an engaging alternative world fantasy with gripping adventures and mystical elements that will allow kids’ imagination to soar high.

In our experience, shared reading is a good bonding motivation for parents and kids. It encourages discussion, allowing everyone to openly share their feelings and thoughts. Problems are easily resolved and secrets don’t hang back because kids are accustomed to discussing them with their parents. Reading with parents also builds their confidence. So next time you read with your kids, make sure it’s not just to lull them to sleep, take it as an opportunity to engage.

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Wednesday Spotlight | HAMARTIA by Raquel Rich

August 15, 2018
Words Matter Publishing

About the Book:

Grace’s nine-year-old son, Jordan, is dying. First, the Metagenesis disease will tear his soul from his body, and then it will kill him. Desperate for a cure, Grace agrees to take part in an illegal clinical trial cloning souls. Supported by her best friend Kay, the two embark on the ultimate “Vegas Vacation” to the past in search of the right soul to clone, racing against time to save Jordan’s life. But someone is trying to stop them and when they discover why, Grace must make a choice: let her son die or kill her husband. If she kills her husband she triggers widespread Metagenesis, sealing the fate of the human race with a new plague. Humanity is counting on Grace choosing to let her son die.

“Rich spins an ambitious and imaginative concept into a plot that’s full of fantastically complicated twists. . . . Throughout, the narrative raises and resolves questions at a brisk pace, making for a compelling page-turner.” – Kirkus Reviews 

“Hamartia is a huge success on all levels, including the unpredictable plot, the strong characters, and skillful handling of the themes of life and death and an imminent plague.” – Readers Favorite (five star review)

About the Author:

Raquel Rich is a sci-fi author and occasional blogger. She loves to travel, suntan, walk her dog, and is obsessed with all things Beauty & the Beast. She despises cold weather, balloons, and writing about herself in the third person but noticed all the real authors do that. Born and raised in Canada to Brazilian parents, she lives in the Toronto area with her family. She's married to the guy she’s been with since she was fifteen (her baby daddy), and her superpowers include being a mom to their two awesome grown-ass boys and one fur baby.

Raquel Rich is a proud member of Broad Universe: an international, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, encouraging, honoring, and celebrating women writers and editors in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative genres.

*Content sent by the author for this blog's publication. This is a free ad.

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Wednesday Spotlight | THE ORANYN by Xavi Lang

January 27, 2019

About the book:

DEATH GOT TO HER BUT FATE HAS OTHER PLANS…

As the last Oranyn, Elia Egerton was smuggled from another world to be hidden on Earth from those who would have her dead. She is the only one who can bring the cores together and awaken the Seven Elysares, the only one who can stop Astrofyr’s sun from collapsing.

Living on Earth for the past decade, Elia has put that all behind her. She has found a family she cares about and a place she can belong to, but all that is about to change. When a creature of the Avisadis attacks, Elia is left for dead.

Now, together with an insistent healer, a forgotten ruler, and a mysterious map-keeper, Elia must return to her ancestral home and embark on a journey of terrible ordeals to end a brewing war that threatens the ones she loves.

About the Author:

Xavi Lang was born in Zamboanga City, Philippines and grew up in Mandaluyong City. Reading classic novels, middle-grade fiction series and comic books at an early age strengthened her love for books and for writing poems and stories. She graduated with B.S. Nursing from Jose Rizal University and passed her board exam in 2009. Aside from being a registered nurse, Xavi was also a commercial and magazine model, a Miss Mandaluyong winner, an indie-film actress, and a copywriter for a BPO company. She immigrated to Canada in 2012 and currently works as a nurse educator but becoming a fantasy author is her ultimate dream job. With no formal training in creative writing, Xavi attended writing workshops across the Greater Toronto Area and worked on her first fantasy novel, The Oranyn. She now resides in Toronto, Canada with her husband and their son.

*Content sent by the author for this blog's publication. This is a free ad.

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MY TOP 7 AUDIOBOOK NARRATORS

Hi there. If you are like me, who loves reading along with an audio version, then there is a good chance that you are also keeping a good watch on some favorite narrators. If not, hopefully, this post will change your views on audiobooks. I have a list, which I narrowed down to seven, because (truthfully) I think it’s ridiculous to write more than 5,000 words in a single blog post.

(7) Kirby Heyborne is the reason I got through Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After, Chapter 6 of Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, satisfied. It was really a difficult chapter given how it was written in a corrupted form of English. So, when I started rereading sentences three times before grasping, I decided to switch to the audio version of the book. Heyborne did such a good job I was able to finish the rest of the 528 pages without any back reading and loved it.

Kirby Heyborne is an actor, musician, singer-songwriter, and comedian. He is also known for narrating Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs,  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.

(6) Susan Duerden was someone I had to hunt for. Allow me to elaborate.

A good friend of mine and co-TFG member (also an author), Tina Matanguihan, recommended the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. Most people believe that it’s a hard series to dive into because aside from the fact that it is under alternative history fiction, it literally involves diving inside books. Well, they aren’t wrong, there is plenty to take in –Jurisfiction, grammasites, Chronoguards, etc. There are various audio versions; hence, I hunted through Audible for someone I can relax with. It was Susan Duerden who made everything easy for me and turned this series into one of my favorites.

Susan Duerden likewise narrated the Maggie Hope Mysteries by Susan Elia Macneal, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, and co-narrated the 2012 Audible edition of Dracula with other narrators, including Alan Cumming.

(5) Wil Wheaton is well known for his role as Wesley Crusher for Star Trek: The Next Generation. But I think I like him better playing as himself in The Big Bang Theory. And I like him best in narrating Ready Player One and Armada. I am not a gamer and the jargon Ernest Cline employed took some time to get used to. Wheaton made these books alive and exciting for me. I saw what he saw and believed it.

Wil Wheaton also narrated books by John Scalzi, David Kushner, and Cory Doctorow among others.

(4) Neil Gaiman reading his own books is always a treat. He is obviously one of my favorite authors. The first time I heard him read Instructions and The Day The Saucers Came I knew I want more of that as much as I want to collect all of his books.

I recently read Gaiman’s Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. My favorite was Black Dog because he really channeled Shadow Moon superbly.

(3) Stephen Fry is my preferred reader of the Harry Potter books, which sounded pretty biased, and I am. I love how more lifelike and mysterious Fry’s narrations are. Not only does he inhabit the main characters vividly well, but so with the secondary characters. And I think I hated Voldemort all the more because of him.

I know I’m going to get a lot of hot daggers from American readers out there for saying all these, (erhm) which is definitely reasonable.

Stephen Fry is also a brilliant actor and writer. He likewise read Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, released in 2017.

(2) Juliet Stevenson, for me, is the goddess of all audiobook narration. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is not exactly my cup of tea, but I read somewhere that the reader should savor the language to enjoy it. And so I had my friend Angus Miranda lend me an audiobook copy. I fell in love with Stevenson instantly. She was articulate and mesmerizing. Her soft compassionate voice lifted Woolf’s writing on a different level and saw it for what it truly is – an exemplary work of art.

Juliet Stevenson, CBE is an award-winning actor, both on stage and screen. She was best known for her leading role in Truly, Madly, Deeply. Aside from Virginia Woolf’s books, she read other classics written by George Elliot, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, etc.

(1) Lenny Henry is Anansi. For me, there is no other. His narration of Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman is right up there, and nothing is topping it thus far. He is one of the most distinct narrating voices in the field and he gave Anansi the perfect Caribbean voice and shadowy character required for the part. Henry’s was an unquestionably first-rate performance, one that made a great book even better.

Lenny Henry also narrated White Teeth by Zadie Smith and My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal.

Try reading along with an audiobook, or, listen while waiting for your bus, or, on your long drive home. For some it can be an acquired taste, for others, it’s an instant addiction. Make your own list of favorite narrators too, let me know.

Update: If you find yourself struggling with audiobooks, Lovely Audiobooks shared some advice.

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