Tag: Teen/Adult Fiction

City Spies

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

City Spies (March 2020)
by James Ponti

Sara Martinez has been in and out of foster homes her whole life.  But when she hacks the computer network for the juvenile justice system to prove her current “caretakers” are guilty of breaking the law and taking cruel advantage of the system, she catches the attention of a man named Mother.  He recruits her for his team of young secret agents based in Scotland.  There, Sara (now “Brooklyn”) meets her team – Sydney, Paris, Kat, and Rio.  She’s got a very short amount of time to prepare for her first very large mission.  The team will be attending an international youth summit in Paris, trying to protect lives, rig the contest, and solve the mystery of what’s really going on.

This book is like Mysterious Benedict Society meets Alias.  I don’t even remember how it ended up on my library list, but I’m so very grateful it did.  It’s definitely one that grabs you and keeps you reading past bedtime.  I am SOooo excited to see this is a trilogy, and I have the next one sitting on the library hold shelf with my name on it.  Here’s the thing–I’m a genuine wuss about books and movies that involve tense situations, death, murder, and all those things that usually come along with suspenseful, exciting stories like this.  I loved this book, because even though there were some of those elements, they didn’t overwhelm the plot.  It was like the action was there without the ucky parts getting in the way, if that makes sense.  But, I think it would also satisfy those readers who don’t shy away from things the same way I do.  Anyway, definitely a must-read.  If you want to get lost in a book or you have a reluctant reader, read this!

(Some very interesting plot points considering the timing of its release too…)

 

Update:

Read City Spies: Golden Gate (book 2) and it was also great!  Now patiently awaiting the release of Book 3….

Little Women

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Little Women (1868-9) by Louisa May Alcott

In my 20s, pre-husband and kids, I went through a phase of reading this book every winter.  It was one of my all-time favorites.  I loved that tradition too, but haven’t quite been able to get those 562 fine print pages into my life since mamahood.  I adored Greta Gerwig’s approach to the story, and I’ve loved reading about Alcott’s life–wow.  I’m really, REALLy hoping to visit Orchard House soon, but we’ll see.  Having not read through the book in over a decade, I feel ill-equipped to make too many remarks at the moment, only to say that if you’ve never visited this book, I highly recommend you do.  I recently read a modern, young reader take on the story, which I also loved, Littler Women.

Last year Orchard House was offering some virtual tours which helped support them through the shut-downs.  They were so fun to watch, and what a great place to support.

I just found these vintage paper dolls, which I also had to share.

 

You may also like:
Littler Women

What Alice Forgot

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

What Alice Forgot
by Liane Moriarty

When Alice comes to after falling and bumping her head at the gym, she’s worried about the baby in her belly.  Alice thinks she’s 29 and expecting her firstborn with her loving husband.  What she comes to find out, however, is that she’s lost her memory from the last ten years of her life.  Alice actually has three kids, is on the brink of divorce, and is about to celebrate her 40th birthday.  When this “younger” Alice starts piecing together her last ten years, she doesn’t like who she’s become.  She’s surprised to discover she has become distant from her sister, is too busy volunteering or exercising to really be there for her loved ones, and is in constant battle with the man she married.  It is only when Alice finally starts to get her memory back that she remembers how and why things are the way they are.

As I mentioned in other posts, I don’t read many novels for adults.  But, I’ve read this one twice now.  There’s “young” Alice with her optimism and naiveté, and there’s current Alice balancing motherhood, self-image, and a failing marriage. But it’s much more than Alice’s story.  We hear from Alice’s sister dealing with years of infertility and miscarriages.  Their mom, who has taken on a new, spunky zest for life.  And then there’s the adopted grandma who is cautiously letting love in after many, many years.

I think what I love about this book is the reflection on how we change over time and how our relationships shift.  How those changes can be viewed so differently by different people and even by ourselves.  I flew through this book both times, finding pockets of moments to read more and more.  I highly recommend it to adults.

 

P.S.  I found myself reflecting on this book again this evening, and I realized the (perhaps) obvious–which is that Alice “losing her memory” of the last 10 years is also very much a metaphor for what happens to many of us.  Whether it’s parenthood or a job or other all-encompassing life situations, sometimes people get caught up in the craziness and lose themselves or their awareness.  Not to say that there aren’t moments of clarity or joyfulness throughout, but I was definitely having one of those moments this evening.  A return to me.  A much-needed big deep breath while I realized that seven years of a lot of all-encompassing LIFE and love and chaos has happened.  What parent hasn’t suddenly looked up and, whether they’ve been present for it or not, asked, How did my baby grow up?  So, I was seeing that perhaps this, more than anything may have been the larger message of What Alice Forgot. Not simply about how we change over time, but how we sometimes get so swept up in things that we forget to look around and be present for what’s happening around us and within.

Austenland

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Austenland
by Shannon Hale

Thirty-something, Jane Hayes, has never had much luck in love.  While she claims to be disinterested, deep in her heart she knows she is secretly measuring each man against a very high standard–the one and only, Mr. Darcy.  Apart from her fascination with the Jane Austen books, she has also watched the BBC Pride and Prejudice mini-series more times than she’d care to admit.  When Jane is given an opportunity to spend three weeks immersing herself in Jane Austen’s world at an exclusive experience/stay called Austenland, Jane hopes this will be her chance to finally say good bye to her fantasy.  With all the outfits and dinners and twists and turns of an Austen novel, Jane finds herself wavering between finally living out her daydreams and realizing maybe, just maybe, reality, even with its disappointments, might be better.

As with so many books I’ve read and reread, I have the amazing gift of a forgetful memory.  And so, on the most recent reread of Austenland, I found myself staying up late each night to read just one more chapter to find out what happens.  Having also just rewatched the BBC Pride and Prejudice twice in the last few weeks (at the request of our six-year old), I found this book all the more fun.  Thank you again, Shannon Hale.

P.S.  Gotta love Ms. Hale’s letter to Colin Firth.

The Goose Girl

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

The Goose Girl (2003)
by Shannon Hale

I love Shannon Hale‘s books.  My first book of hers was The Princess Academy, and I remember the lovely way I felt after reading it and seeing there was this other Shannon Hale book out there called The Goose Girl.  And, for some reason, I resisted looking into it right away.  Unfamiliar with the fairy tale it’s based on, my mind started making up stories about what the book was about before even cracking the cover.  The Goose Girl is an incredible book (of course) and (lucky for the reader) the first of a series of four!

The Goose Girl is based on the Grimm’s fairy tale of the same title.  Doing my best to sum up the novel here– Anidori is a princess in Kildenree, but is arranged to marry a prince from a neighboring kingdom to avoid war.  On her three-month journey to Bayern, she is accompanied by many guards and her lady-in-waiting, Selia.  As they near Bayern, things start to shift.  Selia begins acting strange and a good majority of the soldiers seem to break off into Selia’s “group,” while a small number remain loyal to Princess Ani.  Selia’s plan is to show up in Bayern as the princess, instead of as the lady-in-waiting, since nobody there will know otherwise.  There is a mutiny in the forest, and Ani makes a close escape.  She spends months working as a goose girl in Bayern while she tries to figure out how to convince the king of the truth and stop an impending war based on false information from the false princess.

There is everything in this book–adventure, danger, humor, friendship, romance, courage, and so much more.  It definitely has some “darker” parts, so I’d be cautious of recommending it to too young a reader, but if you or your reader is ready for it, I can’t recommend The Goose Girl highly enough.  This last read of it was a re-read for me, and I could not stop turning pages.  I’m so excited to re-visit the rest of the Bayern books!