The Broken Girls is a good read if you're in the mood for something spooky. I first discovered Simone St. James last year and read her book, The Haunting of Maddy Clare on Overdrive, our e-book service.
The Broken Girls revolves around Idlewild Hall, a school for troubled young women in Vermont, which is now in ruins. In 1950 four roommates, Katie, Ce-Ce, Roberta, and Sonia, have found a kind of family in one another. One weekend, Sonia leaves to visit some distant relatives and never returns. The other three girls are convinced that she has been murdered, but cannot get any authorities to listen.
In 2014, Fiona is a journalist. Her sister Deb was found murdered on the old sports grounds of Idlewild Hall twenty years before. While Deb's boyfriend was tried and convicted of her murder, Fiona feels like there's more to the story. When the hall is purchased and the new owner begins remodeling it, Fiona begins researching the old school in earnest.
Overarching both stories is a third and much older murder. Mary Hand was killed when her parents shut her out of the house on a frigid night and she froze to death. Mary never left her old home, though, and everyone who lived at Idlewild Hall or visits there now, will have an encounter with her.
I enjoyed this book. Ms. St. James is very good at creating a foreboding, spooky atmosphere. I like the two different time periods and the different points of view the story is told from. I am going to try and find more of her books to read.
The Broken Girls is available to check out at FCL.
The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah
I have read some of Kristin Hannah's earlier books and enjoyed them. I particularly remember The Nightingale and Winter Garden.
The Great Alone generated a lot of buzz when it was published in February. Set in remote Alaska, it follows the Allbright family. Father Ernt, mother Cora, and 13 year old Leni, are unprepared for the realities of an Alaskan winter when they arrive to live on land inherited from one of Ernt's Vietnam War buddies. Their new neighbors rally around them to help them prepare to survive their first harsh winter. However, their biggest problem isn't the Alaska cold, it is the darkness in Ernt's mind. As the days get shorter and the weather worsens, Ernt turns more and more to drink to drown out his demons. Unfortunately, drink makes Ernt mean, and he takes out his anger on Cora. His new friendship with survivalist, Mad Earl, doesn't help. Cora wants to believe in Ernt even as he gets meaner and meaner, which leaves Leni trying to survive not only the Alaskan winter, but the danger in her own home as well.
I thought The Great Alone was very well written. I'm fascinated by stories about Alaska as visiting it is on my bucket list! I enjoy remote places, but I think I would find the winter darkness very difficult.
The Great Alone is available to check out at FCL and on Overdrive.
Warcross, by Marie Lu
Warcross is a youth book and the first book in a new series by Marie Lu. Lu is the author of the popular Legend series, which is very popular at FCL, but which I have never read.
Emika Chen is struggling to survive after the death of her father. She takes small jobs, and works as a hacker/bounty hunter. In this near-future world, the virtual reality game Warcross is an obsession with most people and Emika hunts for people who illegally bet on the game. With rent due and no money in site, Emika takes a risk, and ends up accidentally hacking herself into the Warcross championships. Terrified that she's going to be arrested, Emika is stunned when the creator of Warcross instead invites her to be his guest at his headquarters in Tokyo. He offers to hire her as a spy within the game to find a security breach. Emika quickly begins to thrive in the world of the game, but she also finds danger in her search for the person behind the security problems. Emika learns that not all is as it seems at Warcross and that powerful people often have hidden motives.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought the world building was wonderful. The story deals well with questions of technology and its uses. It shows the dangers of becoming totally dependent on technology and questions the motives of those who advocate for more and more technology in our lives. I'm interested in where the series will go next.
Warcross is available for checkout at FCL and on Overdrive.
The Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline
I remember hearing all the buzz about The Orphan Train when it was first released in 2012, but for whatever reason, I didn't get to it until recently.
Another story that encompasses two different women in two different times, The Orphan Train follows Molly and Vivian. Molly is 17 and living in foster care. After stealing a book from her school library, she is left with two choices - community service or juvenile detention. She ends up working for Vivian, an elderly woman whose goal is supposedly to clean out her attic. Molly finds though, that Vivian doesn't really want to get rid of anything, just to look through her things and reminisce. Vivian was one of thousands of children who road an orphan train from New York City to the Mid-west looking for a new home and identity. Molly and Vivian find that they have much in common - both consider themselves orphans although in truth each had one parent living who was not able to care for them. Molly begins to try and help Vivian solve some of them mysteries of her past and Vivian helps Molly find a true home for the first time in her life.
I was more interested in Vivian's story than Molly's. I have read about the orphan trains before, but this book was a less romanticized version. It brought to life the difficulties the children faced, the uncertainty of being adopted - especially for older children, and the life long struggle with a feeling of not belonging. I enjoyed the book and have checked out Ms. Kline's more recent book, A Piece of the World, but I haven't gotten to it yet.
The Orphan Train is available for checkout at FCL and on Overdrive.
Wonder, by R.J. Palacio
Another book that I missed when it was first published is Wonder. It was made into a movie last year, and I finally read it after my mother recommended it to me.
Auggie was born with severe facial deformities. He is entering public school for the first time as a fifth grader, and is frightened of the reception he will get from his classmates. As his first few weeks pass, he finds that many of the kids avoid him and in fact are playing a game in which touching him is taboo. He does make a few true friends, though. The book switches viewpoints often, letting us see Auggie's life through the eyes of his classmates, his sister, and others. I particularly enjoyed his sister's point of view. She was struggling to navigate high school and wanted to be seen as normal, not as the girl with the brother with the messed up face. She also struggled with the dynamics of her family where everything, by necessity, has revolved around Auggie for his whole life.
This was an interesting book. It wasn't just a typical book about bullying. It let us see the struggles and reasons behind the choices that the people around Auggie made. I thought the author did a wonderful job of capturing the voices of the different characters. The fifth graders sounded like fifth graders, and the adults and teenagers sounded accurate as well.
Wonder is available for checkout at FCL and on Overdrive.
No comments:
Post a Comment