The Ride by Kostya Kennedy

THE RIDE by Kostya Kennedy is subtitled “Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America,” but this book encompasses so much more. Kennedy, an award-winning author, writes about the others (William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, possibly Sybil Ludington) who rode that night and about the other rides which Revere undertook on behalf of the Sons of Liberty. This text is full of fascinating facts and additional insight into Revere’s character and motivation. For example, he describes Revere’s life as an adolescent and the friendships formed then (one of Revere’s sons is named for fellow Patriot Joseph Warren). Another interesting tangent is the discussion of the portrait by John Singleton Copley, saying “You step away from the portrait and you come back to it, and you recognize something of the irreverent. You get the strong feeling that Paul Revere is up to something.”. THE RIDE (which includes an extensive bibliography) received a starred review from Booklist and praise from other reviews like Library Journal (“An important book for readers seeking a deeper understanding of a crucial moment in American history. It will captivate history scholars, students, and enthusiasts from start to finish”). Definitely worth a read and reflection on America’s founding values.

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

GOOD DIRT by Charmaine Wilkerson (Black Cake) is the story of the Freeman family over 100s of years, beginning in Africa, through their slavery in America, transitioning to sailors and tradesmen, and, later, professionals. In the present day, the main characters are parents Ed and Soh and their children Ebby and Baz. Tragically, Baz is killed during a burglary and Ebby witnesses it as a ten-year-old. Wilkerson writes movingly of the impact: “They went through the motions, based on memory. And this rote behavior had its value. Sometimes, all a person had was a routine, or a series of rituals, to hold things together. … Before Baz was killed, the four of them together had formed a unit, each one linked to the others. Without the fourth section, without Baz, they no longer knew the shape of themselves.” Gradually, Ebby and her parents learn to ignore the media coverage, change houses, and struggle to rebuild their lives, keeping the hurt and secrets from each other. It is another blow, when Ebby’s groom, a white man named Henry, runs off before their wedding. Ebby flees to France where no one knows her and Wilkerson employs multiple flashbacks to fill in the family story, including the work with clay (good dirt) as potters on the plantation in the 1800s. Mirroring current debates, Ed Freeman points out that “History is a collective phenomenon. It can only be told through a chorus of voices. And that chorus must make room for new voices over time.” Wilkerson employs multiple narrators and perspectives which, with the time shifts, contribute to some confusion. But resilience in the face of trauma is a recurring theme that will comfort readers: “So much of life must go forward on faith…” GOOD DIRT is the top pick for January 2025 LibraryReads.

Rental House by Weike Wang

RENTAL HOUSE by Weike Wang (Chemistry and Joan is Okay) is another introspective and reflective look at the experiences of a young woman, Keru who generally felt, “these were her duties. To assimilate, work nonstop, make money, and provide.” She and her husband, Nate who is an academic, offer separate times at their Cape Cod rental house to their parents and that proves an instructive contrast between their families and even their worldviews; for example: “Expats left wealthy nations to humble themselves at the altar of the world, immigrants escaped poorer nations to be the work force of the rich. For Nate, the word immigrant sat closer to migrant or refugee, and though an expat did move overseas for work opportunities, much like immigrants, the term also seemed to imply vacation and adventure…” The couple clearly struggles to meet the expectations of their own parents and to form connections with their in-laws in the first part of the book. In the second, they are more established in their own careers and patterns, but something is still lacking as evidenced by the uncomfortable relationship with neighbors at a second vacation home in the Catskills. “They were co-dependent, she and Nate. Without her, he lost grounding, but without him, she could be relentless and too focused.” Despite the affection they show for their dog, Mantou, neither is prepared to have children, another aspect that feeds feelings of inadequacy.  Like Wang’s other novels, book groups would have much to discuss, including gender roles, white privilege, misogyny, and xenophobia. RENTAL HOUSE received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly as well as praise from book reviewers at The New York Times (perceptively noting, “Even as you flee a family, you carry it along with you, in memories of how and who you learned to be in the past.”) and The Washington Post (“As in any good novel, the answers are few, but the questions multiply.”).

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU by Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers) is another impressive work of fiction from this very talented author. Makkai writes so well and here, she utilizes multiple flashbacks to tell the story of a 1995 murder at a New Hampshire prep school. The main character, Bodie Kane, was a senior when her roommate from junior year, Thalia Keith, died; when Bodie returns to the campus in 2018 she is still processing her “disquiet” over those events. Now a successful podcaster, Bodie is teaching film appreciation and podcasting for a two week “mini-mester.” One of her current students decides to investigate the death, believing that the wrong person has been imprisoned. This sets Bodie off and she obsesses about the murder. Combined with overindulgence in alcohol and #MeToo charges that Bodie’s separated husband, Jerome, has assaulted a woman in the past, the text turns fairly dark and chilling. At points, it is difficult to get through – perhaps like the fog and anger Bodie experiences: “hard to describe the dizzy headspace I was in, except to say I no longer had any sense of what was true … I couldn’t figure out who knew more about what happened to Thalia: me now, or me at barely eighteen.” I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU was a LibraryReads selection for February 2023 and received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. For a recent NPR interview with Rebecca Makkai, click here.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

HESTER by Laurie Lico Albanese offers a captivating hypothesis about the inspiration for Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne. This new novel is set primarily in 1829 in Salem, Massachusetts and while Hawthorne is one of the characters, the story mainly centers on Isobel MacAllister Gamble. She is a Scottish lass who has inherited synesthesia, the ability to see words and sounds as colors. She becomes a talented seamstress and her unusual (but misunderstood) abilities greatly enhance her needlework artistry which Albanese is so adept at describing. Being different is often a source of concern, though; Isobel and her ancestors (including Isobel Gowdie who lived in 1662 and was accused of being a witch) face potential ruin. The need for secrecy is key, yet Isobel struggles, asking, “But how can I live and be silent? How can I speak and be safe?” HESTER is historical fiction which confronts discrimination involving race, immigrant status, and gender. There definitely is a feminist message and the constraints which women encountered are shown especially when Isobel is betrayed by her husband and other cruel or weak men, further reflecting The Scarlet Letter. Learning to rely on herself and other women takes courage. At one point, Isobel muses, “I have begun to learn how a woman apportions and gathers what she needs to survive; what she sacrifices for beauty, sustenance, health, or children.” This novel was deservedly chosen as a LibraryReads selection for October. There is an extensive author’s note with many references. For those intrigued by the experience of synesthesia, look also for the middle-school novel A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Moss. 

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

IN THE WILD LIGHT by Jeff Zentner is the latest young adult novel from this award-winning author and I cannot say enough good things about the story-telling and writing that Zentner has done here. The narrator is named Cash Pruitt, a high school junior who lives in rural Sawyer, Tennessee with his grandparents, Papaw and Mamaw. That’s because Cash’s mom died from a drug overdose and his best friend, Delaney Doyle, is also coping with drug addiction in her family. Delaney has a photographic memory and is a treasure trove of “random factoids” (e.g., “Tears have the same salinity as seawater” or “Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes shook hands with John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy”). She is portrayed as a genius of sorts and her recent scientific discovery resulted in a scholarship - for her and Cash - to a private school, Middleford Academy, in New England. Leaving the only life they know, despite its many hardships and ghosts, is not an easy choice for Cash and Delaney. His great Aunt Betsy ultimately convinces Cash to take the risk, saying “You’ll never regret a decision more than the one you make out of fear. Fear tells you to make your life small. Fear tells you to think small. Fear tells you to be small-hearted. Fear seeks to preserve itself, and the bigger you let your life and perspective and heart get, the less air you give fear to survive.”

There is so much emotion in this book, including finding courage and self-acceptance, making new friends, dealing with homesickness and Papaw’s terminal illness. There is a great deal of sadness, but also some remarkable resilience. Throughout, Cash shares his feelings and his love of nature as he exquisitely describes the sights, sounds and smells of new experiences. A gifted teacher encourages him to write poetry and observing his growth in finding his voice is amazing. She tells Cash, “Being a poet takes bravery, Yes, the courage to bleed on a page. But also to bleed for the world we write poetry about. You have it.” Zentner, too, provides some foreshadowing when Cash muses early in the story: “I’ve always loved when the light finds the broken spots in the world and makes them beautiful.” IN THE WILD LIGHT is not to be missed – it received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Family Reunion by Nancy Thayer

FAMILY REUNION by Nancy Thayer is exactly what the peaceful cover implies – a relaxing story of affluent family times over one eventful summer. Best-selling author Thayer returns to the Nantucket Island setting where she explores relationships across three generations. Matriarch Eleanor Sunderland loves the family compound, but her children, Alicia and Cliff, prefer that she sell and share the proceeds. Granddaughter Ari has no such ulterior motives, but plenty of angst all her own. Ari, interested in early childhood education, is spending the summer with her grandmother in between a broken engagement and graduate school. There is plenty of privilege to go around in this novel, but, sadly, Ari was the least believable (and surprisingly clueless and selfish) of the characters. Still, the beautiful summer setting and hints of romance will appeal to fans of Nancy Thayer – she does not disappoint.