Covent Garden's costermongers have come to Maisie Dobbs with the news of a suspicious death - beloved Eddit Pettit, a mentally impaired man whose tale...moreCovent Garden's costermongers have come to Maisie Dobbs with the news of a suspicious death - beloved Eddit Pettit, a mentally impaired man whose talent with horses and picture-perfect memory made him a valued part of the community, has died in an apparent accident. But the costermongers feel that there was something more at play, and they offer a collection to Maisie to solve the case. Having known Eddie as a child, Maisie has a personal connection to this case, and is surprised when the investigation takes turns towards the other important people in her life. Her dear friend Priscilla Partridge's husband seems to be part of this tangled web, as do other writers and publishers - and in the volatile spring of 1933, motives are not always what they seem to be.
Winspear has plumbed much of the depths of WWI for her readers, and this book will not disappoint. Maisie and her crew are being brought to the brink of WWII in subtle and revealing ways that give the reader a better idea of the politics surrounding Hitler's rise to power, and the political jockeying that occurred in context. Where textbooks paint this struggle in broad strokes of black and white, Maisie quietly lifts the curtains on all the shades of gray that her contemporaries encountered as they strategically sought to prevent the horrors that they experienced only fifteen years or so earlier. The series is picking up steam and urgency again, and is enhanced by the subplot of Maisie's love life taking another turn for the worse - with her upbringing and background overshadowing the liaison with the son of her former employer. While WWII is a foregone conclusion for readers, Maisie's personal life is much less assured, and will keep people reading avidly for volumes to come. (less)
When Lucy the bear brings Squeaker the little boy home from her jaunt in the forest, Mama Bear tells Lucy that "children make terrible pets!"...moreWhen Lucy the bear brings Squeaker the little boy home from her jaunt in the forest, Mama Bear tells Lucy that "children make terrible pets!" And although Lucy and Squeaker have fun frolicking together, she discovers that Mama just may have been right. Lucy learns the age-old lesson that wild creatures belong with others of their kind, as when Squeaker disappears only to find his way back to his family of humans (who all squeak too! So that's how we sound to bears). Peter Brown's cut paper and pencil illustrations are a nice complement to this rustic little story about a girl (bear) and her boy. An example of the broadly over-the-top humor is an illustration of a failed attempt to toilet train the red-faced Squeaker in a cat box. Kids will howl and maybe even recognize themselves in the exuberant bear Lucy, who finds a new potential best friend in the end. Pair this with other humorous pet books like Palatini's The Perfect Pet or Shannon's Good Boy, Fergus for a storytime that is sure to please. (less)
Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher prove to be as formidable as a team as they are writing solo. In The Future of Us, former best friends and neighbors Em...moreCarolyn Mackler and Jay Asher prove to be as formidable as a team as they are writing solo. In The Future of Us, former best friends and neighbors Emma and Josh are high schoolers in 1996, doing the sorts of things that teens of the nineties did: listen to Oasis & Dave Matthews on a Discman, crush on their classmates, and discover the Internet. Emma's new computer is a guilt gift from her dad, and Josh doesn't have a computer to use the new America Online CD that came in the mail. As the two reconnect, they discover a strange little place on the web called Facebook... fifteen years in the future. At first, they believe that the website isn't real and that someone is pranking them. Yet, as Josh and Emma discover their adult selves, Emma is the one who becomes tempted to see if the future can have a different outcome based on her actions in the present. Josh senses that this is a dangerous game, especially since his future has so much at stake - married to Sydney Mills, the most popular girl from school, he doesn't want to lose the family and happiness he sees in his future Facebook profile. Emma's future is not so glossy, and it seems every desperate attempt she makes in the present to change her future unhappiness is doomed to failure. Josh and Emma have a lot more at stake to lose than their current, fragile friendship -- their whole lives are revealed for anyone to see in this strange virtual place called Facebook.
The characters are well-drawn, and their reaction to people's minutae recorded on the Facebook of the future is very believable. For today's teens, it may seem unbelievable to think there was a time when someone wouldn't be busy crafting a public persona online - and the revealing statements that Future Emma makes online shock 90s Emma in a way that illuminates an idea of privacy that may be new to contemporary readers. Using today's social networks as a conceit to develop the timeless theme of divining the future is a solid pairing, and would provoke good conversation in book clubs.(less)
**spoiler alert** I was looking for another Scandinavian thriller to recommend to people ready for something beyond Stieg Larsson. But... this book m...more**spoiler alert** I was looking for another Scandinavian thriller to recommend to people ready for something beyond Stieg Larsson. But... this book made me turn back to old standbys like Peter Høeg and Henning Mankell. The premise: cantankerous old detective Carl Mørck finds himself removed from his place on the force due to erratic behavior following a shooting he couldn't prevent. Instead of being demoted, he's promoted to the head of an obscure department (population: 1) intended to solve cold cases. The cold case Mørck is meant to solve is the disappearance of Merete, an icy-cold politician hiding a big secret from her public... a brother rendered mentally incapable due to a car wreck in their childhood.
HERE BE SPOILERS...
Two major problems that I had with this book were the stock characters and plot contrivances. Somehow we're meant to believe that the kidnapper saw enough of Merete in the flash second that their cars passed that he could POSSIBLY blame the accident on her? And then track her down later in life to imprison and torture her for this supposed crime, committed when she was a young girl? It's all a bit much to be believed. Pair that with the Syrian with a secret past, the highly attractive politician with a secret brother, the secret madman with a very convenient torture chamber, and a sprinkling of other folks straight out of Scandinavia's Official Typecasting Department. I couldn't find logic nor a character charismatic enough to root for.
Sure, you'll love this if you can't get enough of the setting, and I have no doubt that this series has many dedicated fans... but I won't be reading beyond the first entry here. (Maybe I've got a bit of Mørck's curmudgeonly nature myself.)(less)
Before picking this one up, I realized that not everyone was giving it 5-star reviews. I'll agree - the prose is disjointed, the narrative skips arou...moreBefore picking this one up, I realized that not everyone was giving it 5-star reviews. I'll agree - the prose is disjointed, the narrative skips around in time dramatically, and it's pretty simplistic. But coming from a woman who was kidnapped at age 11, brainwashed, made to bear two of her captor's children, and lived to survive, this is a pretty good book. I'm glad she was able to share her story and hope it was therapeutic to get some of that experience down on paper. I also hope that she will make a mint off of the movie rights or whatever comes next in the Dugard franchising opportunities.
Teens will gravitate towards this because of the true-life aspects - if you've got someone who's made it through books like A Child Called It, Living Dead Girl, and Go Ask Alice - here's a new one to hand them. (less)