Weekly Mews: What a Year It Has Been So Far!

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I had planned to post an update last weekend (and the weekend before), but words failed me. These days it feels like writing about the books I read is trivial when the world outside my door is in such upheaval. I have likened current events in this country to that of Hitler and the Nazis and the terror, propaganda, and the hate they spread. But it goes further back than that, doesn't it? Recent events remind me of one of my favorite reads last year, The Reformatory by Tananarive. There's a scene in the novel in which the local white men terrorize their Black neighbors, claiming they are seeking justice, when really it is more about sowing fear and intimidation. It's an all too familiar scene that has occurred throughout this country's history and today--and worse.

I also find myself thinking about another book I read last year, this one for my Historical Book Club, called American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin. The tactics of the slave catchers of the time are reminiscent of what is happening in Minnesota and other cities across the nation. Papers, be damned. We're told it is to get the worst of the criminals off the street and yet there is a lawlessness in the way these so called arrests are happening. No proper warrants, no due process, Constitution ignored, and random people, mostly of color, legal or otherwise, being carted away and locked up in inhumane conditions. They are beating and murdering people inside their jails and on the streets without any remorse. Journalists are being arrested for doing their jobs. As the people were told in the past, they tell us it is for our own good, to keep streets safe and clean; these enforcers are not able to see that it is really their own inhumanity that sullies this country. 

And that is just a part of the turmoil the country is facing right now. Don't even get me started on the Epstein Files . . . 

But not everyone buys the propaganda they are trying to force feed us, thankfully. People have taken to the streets, are writing and calling their representatives, providing shelter, and support to their neighbors and strangers; there are those who are speaking out, doing whatever they are able, in big and small ways. The challenge isn't just in fighting for our freedom now, but also in fighting against a past of wrongs imbedded in our society. Not all hope is lost. We have not all lost our sense of decency--our humanity.

How are you holding up? 

My poor print book has not gotten as much attention as my e-books in January, unfortunately, and so I have not yet finished The Phone Booth At the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina. While sad, I find the novel hopeful too, and I find myself wanting to take my time with it, rather than rush through it. So there is that too. 

Still recovering after the weighty Women of a Promiscuous Nature, I was still craving something light-hearted and decided Alechia Dow's Until the Clock Strikes Midnight, a Cinderella re-imagining, sounded like it would do the trick. After the first chapter I worried it might be too saccharine for my tastes, but it is proving to be just the right amount. 

What are you reading right now? Is it something you would recommend?

My recent reads:

Siblings return to the house they fled eighteen years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request to come home. [from the publisher]

I was in the mood for a ghost story and figured I could not go wrong with A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James (Berkley, 2026; Mystery/Thriller/Horror, 344 pgs). I did not realize going into this one that it is set in the same town as The Sun Down Motel, which I have yet to read. But rest assured, A Box Full of Darkness is a stand alone novel.

The Esmie siblings hoped to never return to their childhood home, but they have long been haunted by the disappearance of their six year-year-old brother Ben. 

While not a fast-paced book, I did find myself completely immersed in A Box Full of Darkness. All three of the siblings live relatively isolated lives, not letting anyone get close to them. They aren't particularly close themselves, barely in touch until they reunite at the house with the common goal of finding out what happened to Ben. Dodie, of the three seems to be the most successful in terms of career; she is a well sought after hand and hair model. She only does first dates, not seconds, and lives in a tiny apartment. Vail has spent his entire life trying to understand what happened to his brother. He avoids relationships and earns his living as a UFO investigator, without real roots anywhere. Violet cleans the houses of the recently deceased for a living, a job she takes comfort in because she does not have to interact too much with other people. On the downside, she sometimes see ghosts. It was her ability to see ghosts that landed her in a psychiatric ward for a time and ruined her marriage. Her daughter wants little to do with her, and she doesn't blame her. 

With alternating chapters told from the perspective of each sibling, the reader gets a first hand account of the grief, pain and self-blame the characters are experiencing. Vail, Dodie, and Violet are not the easiest people to get along with, I imagine, but I found it easy to care about them and want them to find sort of peace. Their childhood was a difficult one, their brother's disappearance notwithstanding. Their parents were neglectful and they were often left to their own devices. They never talked about the nightmares they each suffered with each other growing up, the ones that seemed all too real. As the Esmie siblings put their heads together and start to dig into the history of their childhood home and the surrounding neighborhood in hopes of finding some link to their brother's disappearance, they find themselves up against a malevolent force that is out to get them.

This was as creepy and eerie as one would hope from a novel like this. The characters have suffered so much in their lifetimes. There were several side characters that play a part in the novel who play important roles in the novel, either actively involved or in supporting roles. One I admit I was suspicious of for a time. As much as I enjoyed this book, there were aspects of the story I felt were too convenient and others I wish had been explored more. Perhaps not my favorite of the author's work, but still a very satisfying read just the same. 

When the unimaginable happens, you make the best decisions you can, and you never know if they were the right ones. [excerpt from 70% of A Box Full of Darkness]

From the dragon-filled Temeraire series and the gothic, magical halls of the Scholomance trilogy to the fairy tale worlds of Spinning Silver and Uprooted, this stunning collection takes us from fairy tale to fantasy, myth to history, and mystery to science fiction as we travel through Naomi Novik's most beloved stories. [from the publisher]

My Fantasy/Science Fiction Book Club selection for the month of January was Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik (Random House Audio, 2024; Fantasy/Science Fiction, 12hrs 46min). I started out reading this anthology of short stories, but ended up listening to the audiobook because I was running out of time before the book club meeting. I have read and enjoyed a few Naomi Novik's books and was excited to dive into this collection of stories (especially because it meant another visit to Scholomance). 

Each of the stories is read by a different narrator, all of whom did an amazing job, with an introduction by the author herself, explaining a little bit of history about the individual stories. I like it when authors add that personal touch to short story collections. It often adds to my appreciation of the stories. 

Buried Deep and Other Stories started out with a bang for me. The first story, "Arminta, or, the Wreck of the Amphidrake", was one of my favorites. I loved Arminta! She's a woman who is her authentic self--high born but non-traditional, preferring a sword fight to wearing pretty dresses. This pirate story had me craving more stories like it. And can we please have more stories featuring Arminta? 

Another favorite (which won't surprise anyone) of mine was "After Hours", set in the Scholomance universe. This story takes place after the original trilogy, featuring a young witch named Beata, who is forced to room with Jayne, a privileged enclave girl. This story involves a curse, a dangerous, forbidden nighttime adventure, and a certain character from the trilogy who makes a very welcome appearance. 

But my absolute favorite of the collection was "Dragons and Decorum". This Pride and Prejudice re-telling set in the Temeraire universe was such a delightful read. Elizabeth is a captain in the the Aerial Dragon Corps and home on leave, attending a ball at her family's behest where she meets the less than charming Mr. Darcy. I was sad to see this one end. And may I just add that everyone needs a Wollstonecraft in their lives--a dragon who enjoys Gothic literature, no less!

Some other great stories included "Vici" set in the Temeraire universe (dragons!) and "Buried Deep," a Adriadne and Minotaur retelling (Greek Mythology for the win!). I also enjoyed "Spinning Silver" which inspired her full length novel with the same title (which I have yet to read) about a woman who gains the unwanted attention of a fae and must figure out a way to outwit him or be frozen. The story "Blessings" reminded me a bit of the "Sleeping Beauty" fairytale, at least the part in which the fairies bestow blessings on the princess at her christening. In Novik's story, several fairies are invited to the birthday of lesser nobleman's daughter. The fairies (who are all very drunk) are taken aback when the shadowed fairy among them gives the child the blessings of ugliness and strength. The ending of this one was so good! 

 

The anthology is made up of thirteen stories in all, a mix of fantasy and science fiction, and a great way to start off my Fantasy/Science Fiction Book Club year.

Accused of “promiscuity” in 1940s North Carolina, a young woman unjustly incarcerated and subjected to involuntary medical treatment at The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women decides to fight back in this powerful, shockingly timely novel based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, the government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half of the 20th century. [from the publisher]

I was having trouble choosing which e-book to read next and asked my daughter for help. I gave her the synopsis of three books, and she choose Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart (Kensington, 2026; Historical Fiction, 368 pgs). This book has received mostly good ratings as of the writing of this review. I wish I could say mine were among them, but I have come away from this book feeling it was just okay. 

You can imagine that this was not an easy read subject matter wise. While I was aware of some aspects of this part of American history, I was not familiar with the American Plan itself. Originally a government program said to have been created to protect the military and naval forces against venereal diseases, it became a way for men to further control women's lives than they already did. If a husband was unhappy with his wife, she might be a good candidate for reform. So might the single women living in a boarding house together, an unwed pregnant girl, or a just the random independent single woman seen out on a date. Mrs. Dorothy Baker believes women like that are the perfect candidates for the farm colony and is determined to put these women on the right path. Women of a Promiscuous Nature is broken into three alternating narratives, that of Mrs. Baker, the superintendent of the farm colony, and two of its residents, Ruth and Stella. 

Ruth is a confident and spirited woman. Her incarceration at the farm colony is clearly unjust. She had been seen on a date with a man, shared a kiss, and for that, was picked up on her way to work by a deputy, forced to have an invasive medical exam, and questionably diagnosed with a venereal disease, and taken straight to the farm colony with no chance to let her mother what had happened to her. 

It was impossible not to sympathize with Stella given her situation. She was neglected by her parents and abused by her father who gets her pregnant. Unlike Ruth who wants to be anywhere but at the farm colony, Stella will do anything she can to ingratiate herself to Mrs. Baker, earn her approval, something she never got from any of the other adults in her life. Unlike most of the other women at the farm colony, Stella hopes she never has to leave.

Dorothy Baker's backstory is full of rejection; she wants nothing more than to be respected and to reform the women she supervises into the type of women she thinks they should be. She believes her intentions are pure, but from the first chapter, it seems clear to me that she lets her own hurt and anger guide her actions, even many years later. I appreciated that the author offers us Mrs. Baker's point of view, but I would be lying if I said I saw her as anything other than one of the villains in the book. 

Of the side characters, Nurse Crawford was the most sympathetic among the staff of the farm colony. She seemed to care about the women although she was often complicit in what was done to them. Given her backstory though, it was easy to see why that might be. I was glad her character was fleshed out some because of the perspective her story had to offer. Of the residents, I would like to have gotten to know Frances Pratt more. She intrigued me and it was obvious there was more to her than met the eye. 

Women of a Promiscuous Nature is not an easy read. It touches on a dark and not so long ago history in the United States about the treatment of women. Medical experimentation and procedures were performed on women without their knowledge and consent, being forced to work in what were basically labor camps, enduring cruel and harsh punishments, and being incarcerated indefinitely without trial or due process. This was not a new concept for controlling many marginalized populations, unfortunately. What is scary is that there are people in powerful positions today who likely wouldn't mind putting such a system back in place, asserting yet more control over the autonomy of women. 

I had high hopes for this book. I would like to have seen Stella and especially Dorothy Baker grow as characters more. They might not have been in the same place they started physically, but on a psychological and self-awareness level, I was disappointed. I think I would have preferred to read a nonfiction book on this subject instead. Clearly, from the reviews, many people loved this book. So please don't take my word for it. This is a part of U.S. history that needs to be out in the open.

After reading Women of a Promiscuous Nature, I was in dire need of something the opposite of serious, and so I turned to Boyfriends. Volume Two by refrainbow (Webtoon Unscrolled, 2024; Romance, 306 pgs), a graphic novel. I read the first volume earlier in the month. This queer polyamorous graphic novel was even sweeter than the first. The four characters only known as Jock, Goth, Nerd, and Prep, are navigating their new relationship and college life among other things, and, in this edition, we also get to know the Girlfriends--who I hope will be around for future editions. I did not expect to enjoy this slice of life series as much as I do, but it makes for a nice escape for a short while. 

Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? If not, which ones appeal to you?

Following in the footsteps of Deb of Readerbuzz - With all the worries and stressors in life, 

I want to highlight some of the good, even the seemingly small stuff. 

1. Somehow my mother's plants are still alive. Mostly thanks to my husband who remembers to water them. 

2. My husband and I put up a couple of bird feeders today. I made sure I could see them from my desk on my work from home days. I hope the birds come!

3. The Christmas decorations are finally all put away and my house is somewhat back to normal. 

4. I love my new giraffe (and my mom's frog). 

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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