Stay Dead by April Henry

I have commented over the years on suspenseful young adult reads by April Henry like Eyes of the Forest or The Girl I Used to Be and STAY DEAD is another gripping mystery from this prolific, talented author. Sixteen-year-old Milan (great name, right?) has just been expelled from her third boarding school after the death of her Dad, Senator and environmentalist, Jack Mayhew. She and her Mom, Heather, who is now the serving Senator, are with staff aboard a private plane when it crashes. As the only survivor, Milan must rely on quick thinking and her past hiking experiences to beat the cold, the snow, and an animal predator as she struggles to get to Portland, Oregon and the only person her Mom told her to trust. That hazardous journey is exciting enough, but Henry treats readers to added perspective from Lenny, the woman hired to kill Milan and her parents, plus details from Jane, a dairy farmer dealing with the consequences of allowing fracking to occur on her farmland. The pace is quick – and Milan needs to draw on inner resources, remembering a favorite quote of her Mom’s from Amelia Earhart: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” In her acknowledgments, Henry sounds super curious and adventuresome herself; she says, “as a writer, I've done many things for research, but probably the most intense was a three-day course called Urban Escape and Evasion. The final day of class you are kidnapped; hooded, cuffed, and mouth duct-taped.… You must use all your newly learned skills to escape...” Wow – that is serious research! And her adrenaline-charged writing reflects it. Enjoy! 

Also wanted to note this quote... from another character who reflects on his departed wife: “She just got to heaven a little sooner than me, … she always liked to be early to things.”

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez

THE GREAT DIVIDE by Cristina Henriquez is a LibraryReads selection for March and was chosen as a Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick. This title is historical fiction – centered around the building of the Panama Canal between 1904 and 1914 – but like her earlier work (The Book of Unknown Americans) tells the story through the actions and thoughts of multiple characters. My personal favorite was Ana, a young girl from Barbados who stowed away to travel to Panama to find work and support her ailing sister. There, she meets a young man, Omar, who works on the canal. Other characters include the Oswalds from Tennessee – he is fighting for the eradication of malaria and she is a botanist who is not allowed to establish a career. In fact, women are often thwarted and by necessity dependent on men in this text which, while historically realistic, added some frustration for this reader. In general, I thought Henriquez’ novel had a strong start and I was curious about the characters, but the limited choices and spiteful actions (Omar and his father do not speak to each other; there is a cruel overseer at the canal works) made reading the story increasingly more of a slog – perhaps that was meant to echo the drudgery of creating the canal? Although I found it difficult to stay engaged and finish the story, THE GREAT DIVIDE received starred reviews from Booklist (“dramatizing with tenderness, insight, and striking detail how ‘the great divide’ not only split the land but also communities, families, culture, and a sense of wholeness.”) and Publishers Weekly (“delves deeply into themes of colonialism and labor exploitation”). The beautiful cover is eye-catching – have a read and decide for yourself. 

What Wild Women Do by Karma Brown

WHAT WILD WOMEN DO by Karma Brown is an intriguing novel involving feminist philosophy, a treasure hunt, and two different time periods. One is the post-pandemic present day when screenwriter Rowan and her long-time boyfriend and YouTuber, Seth, decide that their creative efforts will benefit from time in the Adirondacks, closer to nature. The other time period is the mid-70s when socialite Eddie Callaway hosted empowering women’s retreats on a nearby property, sharing insights like Amelia Earhart’s: “Use your fear. It can take you to the place where you store your courage.” Rowan begins to learn about Eddie (who mysteriously disappeared) and is drawn closer to her insights on the importance of women taking care of themselves. The text effectively combines elements of mystery and a coming-of-age story. The characters are likeable and relatable, and the descriptions of nature are well-written. In fact, Brown says of her novel that it is “a love letter of sorts to my 1970s hippie childhood, and the forests of my youth…” 

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

WEST HEART KILL by Dann McDorman is a truly unusual mystery offering and an impressive debut. McDorman, an Emmy-nominated TV news producer, is clearly a talented and thoughtful writer. He speaks directly to the reader throughout the text and ultimately brings the reader into the story in order to investigate multiple murders. The setting in upstate New York is a remote hunting lodge which is under financial pressure. At the request of a member, a private investigator arrives, unearths some possible motives, and soon has a murder to solve. WEST HEART KILL is a LibraryReads selection for October and will appeal especially to fans of Horowitz’s The Word is Murder series. This is a novel that will have readers forming strong opinions – many, like me, will appreciate its inventiveness. Others, however, will find that it differs too much from the mystery “formula” and prefer a more conventional tale. Give it a try and see what you think.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise

THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF TANNER & LOUISE by Colleen Oakley (The Invisible Husband of Frick Island) is a LibraryReads selection for March and a very fun romp. The title characters are Tanner Quimby, a college student rehabbing from a leg injury who needs a job and place to live, and Louise Wilt, in her eighties who (according to her daughter) needs a live-in caregiver. Initially, the two do not mesh well at all, but gradually they do form a bond and then take off together on a road trip adventure, dodging the FBI and an organized crime gangster. There are plenty of humorous moments and several snide remarks about technology: “This is called conversation. It’s what we used to do before cell phones ruined it.” Plus, Oakley incorporates some serious reflection on the changing roles for women: “women didn’t have as many choices back then as they do now. Sometimes you had to do the wrong thing to do the right thing.”  Both Tanner and Louise are transformed as they depend more and more on each other, but Tanner especially learns to break rules and take some chances. Have fun reading about this appealing odd couple!