The House on Oyster Creek

Finished The House on Oyster Creek by Heidi Jon Schmidt. This was one of my last buys from Borders before they closed forever. I don't know what took me so long to pick it up. It's a good, deep read with complex, original characters who really stick with you. It's also set on Cape Cod. An added bonus.

Charlotte is married to Henry, a much older, intellectual recluse, habitually holed up in their NYC apartment. He's grumpy, easily irritated, and so intensely immersed in his work that much of the stream of daily life passes by unnoticed by him. They have a four year old daughter who both confounds and charms Henry. Charlotte has grown used to their unconventional, lonely life together. When Henry's father dies and leaves him his house in Wellfleet, MA, Charlotte decides they should occupy the house and a new life, hopefully giving their daughter Fiona a more balanced childhood. In order to afford this new seaside existence they sell a portion of the land that comes with the house, unknowingly placing the local oystermen's livelihood in jeopardy. Most of the locals snub and ignore Charlotte as a transplant, a "washashore." Except for Daryl, an oysterman and builder who is trying to reconstruct his own life. Enter friendship, suspicion, sexual tension and a satisfyingly original plot. This was an excellent read.

The Dry Grass of August

Finished The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew. Jubie is thirteen years old in the summer of 1954. Her mother drives her, her three siblings, and their black maid Mary, from North Carolina to Florida for a family vacation. Jubie's mother takes them to visit her brother, Uncle Taylor. Uncle Taylor is warm, kind and caring. His home becomes a refuge for Jubie's mom, suffering from the heartbreak of her failed marriage, and for Jubie, suffering the literal scars from the latest beating she received from her father. Jubie's mother is distracted, distant and unsympathetic. It is Mary, their maid, who Jubie and her younger siblings turn to for comfort and reassurance.

As they travel through Georgia, Jubie immediately notices differences in the deep south, and not just in the landscape. The loud and blatant signs of segregation startle her. The tragic and violent events that take place when they are traveling only serve to reinforce her idea that adults are out of control and not to be trusted. Jubie takes matters into her own hands to do what she thinks is right. She is brave and valiant. Another pretty raw coming-of-age story. I couldn't put it down.

Helen Keller in Love

Finished Helen Keller in Love by Rosie Sultan. It's 1916 and Helen is in her mid-thirties, touring the Midwest with Annie Sullivan, her teacher and companion, speaking out against the possibility of the U.S. entering The Great War. Helen receives letters from mothers, wives and sisters of German soldiers blinded in the war, begging her for her help. Helen and Annie are always giving away their meager income to those in need, often leaving themselves destitute. The traveling has taken a toll on Annie, who is now ill with what is feared to be TB. Annie cables her estranged journalist husband asking him to send someone to them to act as secretary to Helen while Annie rests. He sends Peter Fagan. Peter knows how to finger spell and begins working for Helen immediately. The two become fast friends and eventually lovers. Annie and Helen's family see Peter as an opportunist, out to ride on the tails of Helen's fame, but Helen ignores their suspiscions. This is a sensitively imagined, unrecorded chapter in Keller's story. It reminded me a bit of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, filling in a personal gap in a much admired woman's life.

45 Pounds (more or less)

Finished 45 Pounds (more or less) by K. A. Barson. Ann is 16 years old and a size 17. Shopping with her skinny, fitness obsessed mother is a nightmare. She is honored her Aunt Jackie has asked her to be her bridesmaid, but she dreads having to find a dress. To remedy this, Ann decides to try to lose 45 pounds before the wedding. She starts with a gimicky, infomercial weightloss program, but soon learns to design her own plan for long term health. In the process she learns how family stress caused her to gain weight and how her and her mother's fixations on weight are negatively influencing her very young sister. This is a realistic portrayal of a young person's struggle with body image and self loathing. It is thoughtful and sensitive. I recommend it in general, but also for anyone who has ever wrestled with these issues themselves. An excellent book.

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

Finished The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani. After an undisclosed family tragedy, 15 year old Thea is sent away from her rural home in Florida, away from her twin brother Sam and her beloved pony Sasi, to The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls in North Carolina. It's the early 1930s and the Great Depression is evident even among the rich and privileged girls who attend the camp. More of a finishing school for equestrian minded girls, the camp is a year round operation. The girls live in cabins, use communal showers and eat together in a large dining hall. Math and science are conspicuously absent from the curriculum.

Thea's arrival at the camp is a bit of a shock to her system. She and her family have lived in their secluded Florida home her whole life. She's never had a friend, other than her cousin Georgie, and never a girl friend. She is used to having the run of their ranch riding, playing, spending most of the day out of doors. She and her brother Sam were schooled at home by their father. She's never been to a school at all before. The sudden change in landscape, climate and girl filled atmosphere takes a bit of getting used to. Thea believes she has been sent here as a punishment for the bad thing she did. Much of the book is told in flashback, leading up to this bad thing. Thea learns to love her life at Yonahlossee and makes her first true friend. She learns to live a life away from her home, her parents and especially her twin, Sam, who she has been so close to up until this time.

This is the most raw coming-of-age book I have read. There were moments when it reminded me of An American Tragedy, not so much in plot, but in the inevitability of youthful mistakes. It was an engrossing read.

VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good

Finished VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good by Mark Bittman. Bittman has been talking about the vegan before 6:00 pm lifestyle for several years now. He lives it himself, even though he is so intrenched in the food and restaurant world. Mid-life health issues such as extra weight, high cholesterol, knee problems, sleep apnea and pre-diabetes, that his doctor diagnosed him with in the past have resolved themselves. This is not a diet, but a lifestyle change and it's not that difficult. Simply eat plant based foods until 6:00 pm, then enjoy meat and cheese, etc., at dinnertime. Dinner is not an invitation to overindulge. The book still has you planning your evening meals with plant foods as the stars and meat in a smaller supporting roll. I have been living VB6 for two weeks now and feel good. I feel lighter (I have banned the scale for the next month) and have more energy. I even went for a little run yesterday.

The text of the book is very accessible, friendly, even humorous at times, like Bittman seems himself. He does not burden you with too much science and there is no counting of points or calories. He explains the benefits of the VB6 lifestyle for you as an individual and for the environment as a whole. There are recipes for vegan breakfast, lunch and snack items and then dinner recipes that feature meat, but on the lighter side. For me, imagining vegan meals was a challenge at first, but once I started thinking in terms of items (eat a banana, half an avocado with salt and pepper, a tomato sliced with dijon mustard) it became incredible simple. The book is filled with real food suggestions, which is what I expected from Bittman. I tried to read Skinny Bitch a few years ago and found it not only caustic, but revolting. They had you using all sorts of processed vegan meat substitute items. It was disgusting for me. This book is so much more healthy and sensible. Thank you Mark.

Rabbit HIll

Finished Rabbit Hill written and illustrated by Robert Lawson. It won the Newbery Medal in 1945. All the animals living adjacent to an empty house are anticipating the arrival of new owners. Will they revive the large vegetable gardens? Will they share their bounty with their animal neighbors? Or will they set traps and put out poison instead? This micro-society has the usual types of characters, the leader, the daredevil, the naysayer. The "New Folks" turn out to be wonderfully benevolent. It almost seems as if they plant their vegetables specifically for the animals to consume. The story is a bit facile, but the illustrations are richly drawn. I couldn't help think of Richard Adams' masterpiece Watership Down which I so enjoyed just a year ago.

Before Ever After

Finished Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto. This book is intricate, exciting and hard to explain without giving away too much. It involves travel, romance, and rich story telling from ancient Europe. There were moments when it reminded me of The Time Traveler's Wife, although this is not a time travel novel. It's smart and funny and difficult to put down. That's all I'm going to tell you. Go read it for yourself.

Rilla of Ingleside

Finished Rilla of Ingleside, the eighth book in L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series, published in 1921. Rilla is Anne and Gilbert's youngest child. She is 15 when the book begins on the ever of World War I and 19 at the end of the book. Rilla grows tremendously during this time in terms of maturity and personal strength. Loss and longing become mainstays in her young life, but she is buoyed by taking on the responsibility of a newborn infant whose mother has died in childbirth and whose father is at the front. In many ways Rilla misses out on what would have been the happiest and most exciting years of her girlhood, but she would not have ripened into the woman she ultimately becomes if not for the war.

As always there is a wealth of quirky and humorous characters and happenings in the book, but they are of course shadowed by sadness and loss. I don't want to mention any spoilers. This is by far the most compelling book in the series. I couldn't put it down.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Finished The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is the fifth book in his Sherlock Holmes series. While I've seen many dramatizations of this novel (some of the truly dreadful), I did not know the true ending. The line between legend and reality was often blurred, making the story very suspenseful. Some of the plot was easy to guess at, but the secret that made the hound look so demonic was a big surprise to me. This was a fun and exciting read.

Healing from Trauma: A Survivor's Guide to Understanding Your Symptoms and Reclaiming Your Life

Finished Healing from Trauma: A Survivor's Guide to Understanding Your Symptoms and Reclaiming Your Life by Jasmin Lee Cori. I found this book very helpful. Last year I was diagnosed with Complex PTSD as a result of years of dealing with an alcoholic spouse/ex. His disease had a tremendous effect on the health of my daughter as well. She also has PTSD. I will admit that it took me a long time to finish this book, but that was my own avoidance of the whole topic. There were days when I just didn't want to get into it, so I didn't read. The book is written by a therapist who is herself a trauma survivor, which gives both the clinical and the personal perspective on things. The book is very accessible and I saw a lot of my issues right there on the page, along with sound suggestions for coping with them. I think people tend to associate PTSD with combat fatigue. There are all sorts of combat in this life. This book acknowledges this. Someday I hope to stop fighting my war.

Slim for Life: My Insider Secrets to Simple, Fast, and Lasting Weight Loss

Finished Slim for Life: My Insider Secrets to Simple, Fast, and Lasting Weight Loss by Jillian Michaels. I chose to listen to an audiobook version read by Michaels. I listened to it while working out on the treadmill or eliptical, which seemed appropriate. I like Michaels. She has a kick ass can-do attitude and a good sense of humor. The book involves a point system for the tips she suggests. Because of this, I would recommend acquiring a hard copy of the book so that you can circle tips, make notes, add up your score easily, and return to the text as a reference. This is a bit tricky with an audiobook. She gives lots of good suggestions and she is realistic about what the average person can accomplish.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Finished Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, another great book by Gary D. Schmidt. It won the Newbery Honor Medal in 2005. Set in 1912, it's the story of Turner Buckminster, the son of Phippsburgh, Maine's new minister, Reverend Buckminster. Turner's father is stiff and strict. He home schools his son, teaching him Latin and the classics. As the new minister he is eager to please the deacons and other important citizens and often comes across as cold and distant.

Turner's life in the new town is anything but easy. As a minister's son he is held to a much higher standard than the other boys his age. These other boys plague and tease him to no end. He is lonely and friendless until the day he meets a girl named Lizzie Bright Griffin, digging clams along the shore. Lizzie is the first black person Turner has ever known. She is outspoken and determined and filled with fun. She takes Turner in her boat over to Malaga Island to meet her grandfather, also a minister. He meets Lizzie's neighbors and their children and has a marvelous time playing with them and emulating the gulls.

Malaga Island has been home to a black community ever since the end of The Civil War. The local big cheese, Mr. Stonecrop, wants to drive all the blacks off of Malaga Island and develop it into a tourist destination. The families on the island live in cobbled together structures. They keep to themselves and have their own church, school and cemetery. While not grand, their community has deep roots here.

So begins a battle between Stonecrop and his investors and Turner over the rights of the residents of Malaga Island to stay in the place they have always known as home. Some truly shocking things happen, which I will not give away. Schmidt sticks with a harsh reality when all along I expected a miracle. The events concerning Malaga Island are based in fact. Schmidt's novel is engaging, profound and deeply felt. I highly recommend it. He also won the Newbery Honor Medal in 2008 for The Wednesday Wars.

Silas Marner

Finished Silas Marner by George Eliot. Silas is a weaver. As a young man he is accused of stealing money from the church after being set up by his supposed best friend. When he is found guilty, his fiancee leaves him for this best friend and Silas leaves the community in search of a new life. He settles in a kindly rural village and lives a sad and reclusive life, weaving linen and hoarding the gold coins he earns at it. He becomes obsessed with the coins, taking them out each night to count them and make little piles of them. When his coins are stolen from his house he is devastated. Soon after a small child comes into his life. She is charming and trusting and has beautiful hair of gold. When her mother is found dead in a snowbank and the identity of her father is unknown, Silas adopts her and raises her as his own, seeing her as the replacement for his missing gold. He names her Hephziba, after the little sister he lost, calling her Eppie for short. Years later, when Eppie is eighteen the truth about the missing gold and Eppie's parentage comes to light and threatens to break apart Silas and Eppie's happy, humble home. This was an easy, comfortable read.

Next summer it's back to Hardy and Jude the Obscure.

The Soldier's Wife

Finished The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy. Set during the German Occupation of Guernsey, it's the story of Vivianne, a woman trying to maintain a reasonable life for her four and fourteen year old daughters, and her increasingly senile mother-in-law. Leroy's descriptions of the Guernsey landscape are luscious. This is continually thrown into contrast with the brutality and ugliness of the war.

A group of four German officers moves into the empty house next door and Vivianne learns more than she expected about boundaries and the nuances of war than she ever imagined she would. This is an exciting and compelling novel. I enjoyed it tremendously.