Ask Again, Yes - Mary Beth Keane

Generational trauma is a heavy lift. Emotionally, the tendrils of the trauma wrap around each participant and create outcomes as different as the individuals effected. In Ask Again, Yes, Keane delves into the ripple effects of such trauma with themes of abuse, addiction, abandonment, and violence. 

Beginning with Frances and Bryan, who are trainees together for the NYPD and partners at their very first assignment. Frances, serious and cautious approaches his job with a professional air and thoughtful contemplation. Bryan appears more rash. Talks of the pregnant girlfriend he must marry and searches out ways to stop for a pint of beer while walking the beat. 

Fast forward to their children. Frances' youngest, Kate and Bryan's only, Peter grow up the best of friends. Living next door to each other, they never grow close because something is certainly off about Peter's mother. She's distant and abrasive. And it's clear to the reader that she has some elements of mental health crisis probably not helped by her clearly absentee or alcoholic husband. 

Bryan is only interested in an easy fix for his wife and his issues. So once a disturbing incident happens at the grocery store involving Anne, his wife, he's reassured she's on medication and it's business as usual. But of course it's not.

And everyone being willing to let these things slide in the acceptable and neighborly silence has bad consequences, of course. Violence erupts and both Kate and Peter's families are never the same. But their affection for each other, which was just beginning to blossom into young romance is left interrupted and unfulfilled. As they find their way to each other, they are willing to take whatever broken parts of themselves are left. 

I liked the way that Peter and Kate's relationship serves as a central hub in the book. I liked how smart and independent Kate was, and how unwilling she was to let anyone else dictate the course of her life's events. Maybe the book felt a little overlong, but otherwise it was a good read. 

3.75/5 Stars. 

One of Us Is Lying - Karen McManus

Seriously, the title of this book could be "All of Us Are Lying." Every single one of these kids had something to hide and was lying about something throughout the book. But, I actually grew to like them.

One of Us Is Lying follows five kids in detention - Bronwyn - The Brain, Addie - The Princess, Cooper - The Athlete, Nate - A Criminal and Simon - The Basketcase. By the end of detention, Simon is dead and everyone else is a suspect.

The narration skips between the "Bayview Four" and does a really great job slowly teasing out their hidden secrets. I really liked trying to figure out what they were hiding and how it made a difference in solving the mystery of who killed Simon. I also liked the way McManus shows the developing relationships between the four as they bond over their shared experience.

The book read true to teenage issues and the narrator's voices were genuine. Sometimes YA literature can go to the bad condescending place or be overly cerebral. My favorite character was Addie because I thought she grew the most out of all the characters and she ended up being a bit of a bad ass at the end.

I know there is a sequel, and I'm going to read it. But I'm not really sure where they can go from here.

3.75/5 Stars.

#IMomSoHard - Kristin Hensley & Jen Smedley

I first learned of Kristin and Jen in my heady days of Facebook (I'm currently in recovery - two years clean). I ran across one of their, I Mom So Hard videos shortly after the birth of my second child and laughed in the kind of sleep deprived delirium only a new baby can give you.

Last year me and my two Tennessee besties got to see these moms live and it was also a hilarious night, despite the fact I had to leave a little early to get back to relieve my teenage babysitter on a weeknight when my husband was out of town for work travel (I can attest that I really really needed that night out).

I was very tickled when my friend's husband lucked into a copy of this book through a work connection and decided to snag it for my (and your) enjoyment. I read it on the plane to and from California on a work trip. I laughed out loud. I nodded along in agreement. And mostly, I thanked heaven for honest women who aren't afraid to tell it like it is - with a side of humor (women ARE funny, just accept it).

From their devotion to each other, to their no topics barred approach to motherhood, Kristin and Jen are relate-able and reliable. So here's to all the moms out there momming so hard. I see you and I appreciate you. And you should read this book because you deserve a laugh and a moment to yourself (even if it is in the pantry alone where your kids can't find you).

3.75/5 Stars. 

Uncommon Type - Tom Hanks

Typically when you see a book with an famous non-author as the author, you are expecting a memoir or essays or something. Imagine my surprise to find out that Tom Hanks, in Uncommon Type, has put together a collection of short fiction. And he does a Yeoman's job of it. Each story includes some kind of typewriter that serves to tie all the stories together. 

If you're looking for edgy subjects and delivery, you probably forgot Tom Hanks wrote these. But they are definitely entertaining. One set of recurring stories follows four friends, the narrator, who's name I don't remember, an energetic driven woman, Anna, and two Home Depot employees MDash, who's just become an American citizen, and Steve Wong, possibly the best bowler on the face of the planet. These were possibly my favorite stories in the collection and I loved that two more stories turned up after the first I enjoyed so much. 

I also enjoyed, "Go see Costas" a story of an immigrant from war-torn Bulgaria making his way to America on a Greek ship and trying to absorb into the backdrop of New York City. There was also an amusing story of an eccentric billionaire venturing to the backroads and finding a motel with a lot of vacancy but two very funny managers. 

Technically sound, these stories come from someone who probably thinks about stories all day long and has had a huge part in making characters come to life. That he was able to do so in this collection is no real surprise after you get over the initial shock that he spent his time doing it.

3.57/5 Stars. 

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis - J.D. Vance

"There's something powerful about realizing that you've undersold yourself. That somehow your mind confused effort for a lack of ability." - JD Vance, Hillbilly Elegy

Now compare that with this:

"Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result. It's vulnerability that breeds with self-doubt and then is escalated, often deliberately, by fear." - Michelle Obama, Becoming

It's not lost on me that I was reading both of these books at the same time and finding raw similarities with the struggles and experiences of Michelle Obama and JD Vance. It's interesting actually, how much in common poor white working class neighborhoods have in common with poor minority urban neighborhoods. This is something that was not lost on Vance, who says while he was in high school and college, would read books and studies on the problems of people living below the poverty line. And even though the books and studies focused on urban areas and struggles, he recognized and identified those issues even in his own life and community. That these two people, JD Vance and Michelle Obama, could grow up in under served and underrepresented neighborhoods, advance to Ivy League law schools (Yale and Harvard respectively) and come out with such divergent politics to solve the problems they identified in their communities is an interesting look at American politics and likely the role of race in modern America.

I was really intrigued reading Hillbilly Elegy. Let's not make a mistake in thinking that JD Vance is writing a book aimed at analyzing or solving the problems of white working class America. This is first and foremost a memoir. It seeks firstly to tell the story of JD Vance and his family. The struggles they endured and the legacy issues passed down for generations in his family. He struggled, he survived, he got out, and he was lucky. And he knows it. And there's something satisfying about that because he did work hard but he only knew what he knew. 

Unable to wade through the confusing and never ending trail of paperwork required to receive tuition assistance, Vance joined the Marine Corps and came out four years later smarter and more equipped to tackle the enrollment challenges of a four-year college. He also came out with a wider network of experience through support from his Marine Corps family. It really cannot be stressed enough that we don't know what we don't know and sometimes those barriers are the most important ones for people trying to rise up out of a terrible situation and cycle of poverty. 

Vance says, "Social capital isn't manifest only in someone connecting you to a friend or passing a resume on to an old boss. It is also, or perhaps primarily, a measure of how much we learn from our friends, colleagues, and mentors." The raw truth is that people who live in communities stuck in cycles of poverty, violence, drug abuse, etc. have very little social capital to make a change for themselves. And then are blamed for not taking advantage of opportunities they couldn't even begin to comprehend existed for them. 

I grew up only 18 miles from JD Vance's childhood hometown of Middletown, Ohio. I too referred to it as Middle-tucky. A derogatory term meant to express the lack of education or "sophistication" of the inhabitants. (What can I say, kids are assholes). And I know precisely the kind of lethargy surrounding communities that see no possibility of getting ahead, and so just stop trying. I don't have the answers on how to fix that, and neither does Vance. He's not a sociologist, psychologist, urban planner, community organizer, or any of those things. He's a guy with a story.

Downtown Middletown Ohio via drone. via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qAzcuEZGOc

I can see why the media took this story and tried to make it out to be some kind of insight to the Trump Train mentality. I get it. I see the people he describes as left behind. He talks explicitly at having sympathy for them, but also does not excuse their own behavior which contributes to their plight. But this book is not an explanation of the Trump phenomenon. It can't be. It's one man's story of his childhood trauma and struggles. And he makes no attempt to make that broader leap. 

That Vance was criticized by the both right and left for some of the things said in his story is not surprising there's plenty for both here to get dug in about. But I prefer to just look at this as one man's story. And I prefer to just take that as it is and offer him the simple respect of accepting his truth as he tells it. He's the one that lived it in any case. I owe him that much. That's as much as we owe each other at least.

3 3/4 Stars.

The Heist - Daniel Silva

These Gabriel Allon books continue to deliver. The Heist was a bit slower than the last installment as I thought the two distinct story lines were a bit too far apart, but I really love Silva's ability to weave together history, art, and current events. 

The Heist begins with Gabriel in a church restoring an altarpiece. It's a wonderful shake back to those first Allon novels which found him doing the same thing. He's living in Venice, now with a pregnant Chiara and you can feel like, although he's back in this space, it's more of a last goodbye as he contemplates becoming Chief of The Office. 

But it seems his friends just can't stay out of trouble. His friend Julian Isherwood has stumbled on a dead body and of course Gabriel is asked by his friend in the Art Squad to take a look on behalf of the Italian Carabinieri. Gabriel discovers that the dead man was actually a stolen art dealer. Gabriel is asked to follow the trail of stolen art to find a missing Caravaggio, the Art Squad's number one target. 

What Gabriel discovers is that Bashar Al-Asad, the Syrian president, has been commissioning art thefts in order to create portable wealth should his regime topple. Not satisfied with a few recovered paintings, Gabriel uncovers a vast network of wealth tied to "Evil Incorporated." To infiltrate the network, Gabriel must call upon a female bank manager - a child of Syria and herself a victim of the regime. 

And of course he needs his team and some things don't go according to plan. The stakes don't seem too high for Gabriel in this one, we're not ever worried for his personal safety, but it is interesting seeing him undertake an operation with the understanding that the entire show will soon be his responsibility. He's going to be a father soon after all.

3.75/5 Stars. 

A German Requiem - Philip Kerr

It's 1948. The War is over, and at first, we're not really sure what Bernie has been up to that whole time. We do know that he has a wife, but it doesn't seem to make him as happy as he thought he could be during the last book where he felt his own biological clock ticking.

What is clear, is that post-WWII Berlin of A German Requiem is not a good place to be even BEFORE the blockade. Bernie has to navigate the various occupied zones and life again as a private detective and he's not doing that great of a job at any of it. Meanwhile, his wife Kirsten is waiting tables at an American bar and coming home with unexplained gifts.

Bernie is approached by a Russian colonel with a proposition, go to Vienna and clear the name of his former police colleague Emile Becker who stands accused of murdering an American officer. The money and his home life lead Bernie to agree and so we get to see Bernie a little of his normal game, in a new city full of more uncertainty. And as the story progresses we learn that he was drafted from the police squad into an SS regiment, requested a transfer as the mass-murdering of civilians was not his style, and fought on the Russian front until captured and held in a Gulag. On the way to his execution by the Russian government, he escapes and makes his way back to Berlin.

But it seems the war, and the SS just can't leave Bernie be. He's entirely too moral and this makes him an unknown player in post-war espionage. The book is very well done and I always appreciate the final twists and turns that I don't really see coming. I also really liked the book's treatment of collective guilt and the shades of truth that exist in that examination. Women again don't fair very well in this story, even where they do try to have some agency of their own.

The audio version continues to amuse me as Christopher Lee narrates Bernie with such a cynical British accent, but the Russian and American characters got accents all their own. Poor British sounding German Bernie.


3.75/5 Stars.

The Nest - Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

The Plumb family has a problem and it's not the problem that initially appears in the pages. The four siblings, Leo, Beatrice, Jack and Melody are all middle-aged and impatiently awaiting the birthday of Melody, the youngest sibling, as that will usher in payments from a trust their father set up many years ago to provide them with a small estate gift. (The Nest - as they all annoyingly refer to it). However, oldest sibling Leo is a selfish a-hole who nearly kills a waitress in a car accident necessitating the almost liquidation of the nest in order to reach a settlement with the family.

Leo, a charismatic, early success has become a used up former addict with none of the shine left on his apple. So as the siblings squabble with him and amongst themselves for their lack of funds, we are also shown the startlingly flawed characters of the other siblings, who have made serious financial mistakes.

D'Aprix does a fantastic job weaving together the various plot points. While some of the dialogue seems a bit too contrived, overall the story and the characters work well together to produce a readable and entertaining story with just a little bit of heart. In the end, the siblings become actual humans instead of caricatures of themselves and grow more likeable as the story develops.

3.75/5 Stars.

Food: A Love Story - Jim Gaffigan

I'll just say if you like Jim Gaffigan, you'll like this book. A lot of these jokes come from his most recent tour and of course since the book is about Food, the Hot Pockets jokes are told again. But there's something familiar and comforting about his comedy - like a grilled cheese. He's funny but not edgy funny. No biting sarcasm or deeper humor than self-deprecating jokes about his desire and ability to eat basically everything.

After all, "a cucumber is just a pickle before it started drinking."

Some of the jokes are interesting considering his wife just went through a close call with a brain tumor and I wonder how his comedy will change over the next year. I'm sure some of it will make for good material. A comic's brain likely never stops working that way.

I listened to the audio version of this book so it really was like listening to Jim's standup routines.

A star rating won't make much of a difference on this one but I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed myself so 4/5 Stars? 3/5 Stars?

Brooklyn - Colm Tóibín

I'd give this book a solid 3.75 stars. I liked Eilis (pronounced Eye-lish). I liked watching her "come of age" through the process of the book. I like how she makes decisions and isn't overly dramatic or needlessly whiny. She accepts her choices like an adult and makes the next step.

In this story, Eilis is the younger daughter to a widowed mother in Ireland. Smart, but slightly less beautiful than her older sister Rose, Eilis works hard at her studies trying to advance herself and her family's fortunes. When it becomes apparent that there is no work for Eilis in Ireland, her sister and mother make arrangements for Eilis to go to Brooklyn to work in a shop and hopefully take classes to become a book keeper. 

Eilis suffers through a rough crossing, but once in America, gets on well at her job and eventually makes friends. She begins a relationship with an Italian plumber named Tony and corresponds with her sister Rose in secret because she's not quite ready to tell her mother that she's moved on from Ireland. Part of the time Eilis seems like she's inhabiting someone else's life in America, as if she's going through the motions of her day without thinking of who she is becoming. But eventually she starts to make decisions of her own and use her intellect to excel at school. 

Following Rose's death, Eilis must decide if she will go back to Ireland to stay, or if she'll claim the new life she's made for herself in Brooklyn. In a very real question of whether you can go home again, Eilis is presented with what her alternative life would have been had she stayed in Ireland. And she has regrets on both sides of the decision. 

Understated, yet understandable, the story of Eilis is the story of us all, growing up, making decisions, living with the consequences and deciding our own futures. The only complaints were some fairly plodding points in the story that got a little boring, and the fact that nothing ever seems to really happen to Eilis. The lack of drama makes it realistic, but sometimes a bit tedious.

3.75/5 Stars.

Feed - Mira Grant

I'm really torn on giving this book three or four stars. I really enjoyed it. It was really well researched. Exhaustively researched. Exhaustive. Yeah sometimes I felt the details were exhaustive. The background research bogs down the story line sometimes and slows down the action.

Feed is an interesting offering in the zombie apocalypse genre. Following the combination of two miracle drugs each curing their own affliction but then combining to create a super-virus which, yep, reanimates dead people and causes them to hunger for others' flesh. Oops. Thanks science. The research into virology and epidemiology is so well done. It's amazing. But, it also reads a bit like a peer reviewed journal.

The thing that I love most about the book is that in the midst of the zombie outbreak, the country has recovered somewhat. The government is still functional. People still have jobs and live throughout the country, except Alaska (sorry Alaska). But it's sort of a life goes on and technology evolves rather than disappears angle that I really enjoyed.

The story follows Georgia and Sean Mason as they, in turn, follow the campaign of Senator Ryman as he runs for president. They become attached to the campaign as embedded media. Georgia, the "newsie" covers all the straight forward news for their combined blogging/news/multimedia site. Sean, the "irwin" is the part of the team that pokes zombies with sticks and films it for an adrenaline rush. Buffy, the fictional, writes poetry but also handles the team's technological needs.

The three team members each have their responsibilities covering the Senator's promising campaign. As they travel with him, they endure one zombie outbreak that starts to look a bit like sabotage and then uncover a plot to use the zombie virus as a weapon - terrorism in 2039. How much will their pursuit of the truth cost them? Well, it's not all hugs and puppies folks.

Still the inventiveness and thorough approach to the story deserve some well earned accolades for author Mira Grant. I imagine the next book in this trilogy (why is it always a trilogy!?) will likely flow faster since a lot of the background material is out of the way.

Let's call it 3.75 Stars because it's closer to 4 than 3.