274 (2012 #19). Sonoma Rose

by Jennifer Chiaverini

This is #19 in the Elm Creek Quilts series, but you really don't have to have read any of the previous books to enjoy this one, since it's historical fiction.  The main character here, Rosa Diaz Barclay, was introduced in The Quilter's Homecoming, and this book is also set in California in the late 1920s, in the midst of Prohibition.

Rosa married John, a Southern California rye farmer and postmaster, a man she didn't love, to legitimize her true love's baby.  Eight children later (with yet another by her lover), Rosa is miserable - half of her children are dead of a mysterious wasting disease, and her husband has become abusive and won't let Rosa take the surviving sick children (who are the two who are his) to specialists in the big city.

In a jealous rage, John beats Rosa and threatens to kill her lover, Lars Jorgensen, who Rosa did not marry all those years ago due to her family's prejudices and Lars' drinking problem.  This time, though, Lars and Rosa run away with the children to San Francisco.  Rosa finds John's stash of cash from bootlegging and takes most of it with her.  John, meanwhile, is imprisoned for bootlegging and initially thinks Rosa and the children perished in a flash flood in a nearby canyon.

Rosa and Lars, posing as Rose and Nils Otteson, ultimately find work in a family vineyard in Sonoma County.  The sick children are diagnosed with celiac disease, and a diet of bananas (with no wheat products) improves their health.  Rosa/Rose and Lars/Nils face other problems though, with more bootleggers (including their employers), dirty Prohibition agents, and the fear that John (or the police or gangsters) will find them.

There's not a lot about quilts or quilting in this book, but I learned a lot about wine making and the sufferings of family vintners during the Prohibition years.  It was also very interesting to read about the early treatment of celiac disease, as I have a number of relatives with this illness.  Chiaverini provides her research sources in acknowledgments at the end of the book.

Rosa isn't always likable, but she is a strong heroine.  There's a lot of sadness and darkness in this book - illness, regret, loneliness, isolation, abuse, rape, alcoholism, adultery, lying, law-breaking - but that, and intriguing supporting characters, are what makes the story.  Ultimately, it's nice to see Rosa find happiness with the man she loves and her growing, healthy children.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

273 (2012 #18). Operation Broken Reed

by Lt. Col. Arthur L. Boyd (Ret)

The subtitle of this book is "Truman's Secret North Korean Spy Mission that Averted World War III," and that's exactly what it's about.  Back in August 1951, 22-year-old Army lieutenant Boyd, a gifted cryptographer and high-speed international Morse code specialist, was chosen to be part of a 10-person team of Army Rangers, Navy Frogmen, Air Force officers, and CIA agents who posed as prisoners from a downed bomber that were being transported across North Korea by Nationalist Chinese posing as Communists.  Along the way, they met various operatives and transmitted messages back to headquarters on Chinese and North Korean troop strength, positions, and weapons.

Boyd is apparently the only survivor of this mostly-successful "black ops" mission in January 1952, that had to remain classified for 48 years.  He and all of his teammates used aliases, so he's not sure if anyone else survived, but no one else has come forward since the mission was declassified in 1998. That was heartbreaking.

The story is compelling.  My dad (a Korean War vet) read the book and passed it on to me, and my husband has also read it.  He has some experience in these matters and feels it is true.  It certainly rang true to me.  Boyd (who was assisted by a ghostwriter) uses some devices, such as conversations during the long convoy rides across North Korea, to convey historical background.  The conversations feel artificial, but the reader understands why this device is used.  The action, though, is thrilling and suspenseful.

I am glad Lt. Col. Boyd shared his story and brought some long-overdue recognition to himself and the men he served with.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my father.]

272 (2012 #17). The Wedding Quilt

by Jennifer Chiaverini,
read by Christina Moore

This book, the 18th in the Elm Creek Quilts series, feels like the last.  Technically, it's not, because #19 just came out, but that one is historical fiction.  This one does appear to be the last of the stories of the contemporary "Elm Creek Quilters."

The book is set in the future, 2028 to be exact.  Matt and Sarah McClure's twins, yet to be born in one of the last books I read in this series (The Aloha Quilt), are now 25, and the daughter, Caroline, is getting married.  Almost all of the Elm Creek Quilters (that are still alive) come back for the wedding, so it's the perfect opportunity to reminisce.

Previous books are recalled in the form of memories and flashbacks, and their storylines brought up-to-date.  Not surprisingly, some of the older members of the group have passed on, and children of other members have taken their places in the quilt camp staff and faculty.  Tying it all together are the typical wedding preparations in the week before a wedding, although in this case, with Elm Creek Manor also serving as a hotel of sorts for most of the wedding guests, preparations can involve a lot more characters.


Because much of this covered material I've already read in other books in the series, the storyline that was of most interest to me was the one about the saving of Union Hall (the building of which was described in The Union Quiliters).  I haven't read all of the books in the series, though, so perhaps that story was covered in a book I hadn't read.

Many reviewers are very upset that the contemporary stories in the series appear to have come to an end with this book.  I personally prefer the historical fiction books in the series anyway, so I'm not particularly upset.  Chiaverini certainly could go back and write a story that didn't get summarized in The Wedding Quilt using the contemporary characters.

Indeed, on her website, Chiaverini says, "Sonoma Rose [#19] is the last book of my current contract, but I have a verbal agreement with [publisher] Dutton for a new three-book deal. At the present time, it looks like a contemporary Elm Creek Quilts novel titled The Giving Quilt will be published in October 2012 as the first book of that contract."

Christina Moore once again does a fine job narrating the audiobook, with variations in voice for the different Elm Creek Quilters and other characters (although the men all mostly sound alike).  The photo at the top of this post is from the audiobook library edition, while that at the bottom is from the hardbound edition.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[The audiobook and a hardbound copy for reference were borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

271 (2012 #16). The Neighbors Are Watching

by Debra Ginsberg

This book is a soap-opera beach read, full of stereotypes like "Desperate Housewives."  You've got your bi-racial pregnant teen surprising her white dad and the resentful wife he compelled to have an abortion.  You've got your "pillars of the community" couple with the self-righteous husband and perfectionist wife, and their troubled teenage son.  You've got your lesbian couple and you've got the neighborhood slut. You've also got your foreign family that keeps to itself.

The background event is the 2007 San Diego wildfires, but I was disappointed that they actually mattered little in the plot.  None of the characters was really likable, except possibly Sam, one of the lesbians.

If I hadn't had to read this for book club, I probably would not have finished it

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[This book was borrowed and returned through interlibrary loan.]

270 (2012 #15). The Girl in the Garden

by Kamala Nair,
read by Anitha Gandhi

Kamala Nair's debut novel is as lush as the cover.  The Girl in the Garden begins with an adult Rahkee (pronounced "rocky") Singh leaving her engagement ring and a long letter to her fiance, explaining why she cannot yet marry him and must go back to India to deal with her past.

The reasons date back to a visit she made there in the summer when she was ten-going-on-eleven.. Her troubled mother, Chitra (whom Rahkee calls Amma, for mother) had been receiving letters from someone back home in Kerala, in the southern part of India, and she decides to take Rahkee with her on a visit.  Rahkee, born and bred in Minnesota, doesn't want to leave her father Vikram (whom she calls Aba, for father) behind, especially as her parents are now estranged and she fears a divorce, but she doesn't have any choice.

Rahkee meets her extended family and becomes friends with two cousins, Krishna and Meenu, who are near her age.  They've been told not to go beyond the low stone wall surrounding the family home, but Rahkee goes exploring one day and discovers a beautiful garden surrounded by a high wall with a locked gate - and a mysterious girl inside.  She also learns bits and pieces about other family mysteries as the summer goes on, ultimately exposing a number of long-kept secrets. Eventually Rahkee has to make a decision that will change the rest of her life - and leave a hole in her heart.

While the magical realism of the plot stretched credibility at times, Nair's vivid descriptions of the setting, culture, and customs, as well as her intriguing characters (both good and bad), kept me going.  I figured out pretty quickly part of the secret about the girl in the garden, but part of it was a surprise.  The garden itself reminded me a lot of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, and indeed, Nair has stated in interviews and on her website that it was a big influence.

Actress Anitha Gandhi made a wonderful reader of the audiobook.  Her voice was perfect for the youthful narrator Rahkee, and she also did an excellent job with the British India accents of Amma's family and friends in Kerala.  I also appreciated hearing the correct pronunciation of all the names and places.

Hachette Audio, the producers of the audiobook, are also to be commended for including a PDF of the Varma family tree (near the front of the print book) on the final disc, as well as an interview of Nair by her editor.  I wish all audiobook producers would include PDF files of illustrations, maps, diagrams, graphs, charts, footnotes, bibliographies, and other important information from print books on their audiobooks.  However, the discs did not include helpful end-of-disc messages, which is a disadvantage.

I don't want to give away the conclusion of the book, but I will say that a letter from one character to Rahkee near the end made me cry.  I think this novel would be excellent for a book club discussion.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[The audiobook, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to my university library and my local public library respectively.]

268-269 (2012 #13-#14). Two Nonfiction Youth Award Winners

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is about its subtitle:  "The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade," immigrant Tony Sarg (1882-1942).  With her trademark 3D collages, gouache, and mixed media including period photographs, Sweet brings to life the little-known man behind the giant balloon puppets at the New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade beginning in 1927 (as well as Macy's famous "Wondertown" display windows).

This is a fun book with an author's note providing more information about Sarg at the end, as well as a bibliography and source list.  This book was also honored in 2012 with the Orbis Pictus Award "for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children" from the National Council of Teachers of English, and as a 2012 Zolotow Award Highly Commended Book, an award "given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year" by the Cooperative Children's Book Center.  This book has a fifth-grade reading level, so it is probably most appropriate as a read-aloud for younger children, but older kids will get a kick out of it as well.

I'm not too crazy about the cover of Caldecott Medalist (in 1994, with an Honor book in 1988) Allen's Say's partial autobiography in graphic novel form, Drawing from Memory.  It doesn't really invite one to explore the fabulous pictures and story inside. Say used watercolors, pen and ink, pencils, and photographs to tell the story of his unusual childhood, particularly his teen years in post-World War II Japan.  At the age of 12, Say was living independently and apprenticed himself to master cartoonist Noro Shinpei.  The book ends four years later, in the summer of 1953, when Say decides to take up his estranged father's offer and join his new family in the United States.

Say's life story after that point is also intriguing, and one would have to know it to appreciate the irony of a statement he makes on page 50, "I hated photography."  Say also hated his father, made clear in the book with only one drawing that includes him - back turned, hands on hips.  In contrast, the book is a tribute to Shinpei, who also served as a father figure to Say, and there is an extensive author's note at the end with many photographs of Shinpei and his family.

Say wrote an autobiographical novel in 1979, The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice, that covered much of  the same material, but this book is probably more accessible.  Its 63 pages and numerous illustrations, many in comic book format, combined with a reading level of about fourth grade, makes it appealing to reluctant readers, as the book would interest students up through high school.  This book was named a 2012 Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor Book.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[These books were borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

267 (2012 #12). The Year of Fog

by Michelle Richmond

Abby Mason is a photographer engaged to Jake Balfour.  One day in July, she takes Jake's six-year-old daughter down to a San Francisco beach on a foggy day.  She stops to take a picture of a seal pup, and when she looks up, Emma is gone.

The Year of Fog recounts the year Abby spends looking for Emma, beyond the time when others, including Jake, have given up.  Abby thinks Emma was kidnapped, not drowned, and wracks her memory trying to come up with some detail that will crack the case.  Through her search for Emma, Abby discovers a lot about herself and her family background.

Michelle Richmond's beautiful writing includes research and observations on the nature of memory and the art and techniques of photography. (I thought it was interesting that Abby also works with a Holga camera.)  I love a statement she makes through Abby on page 271 about photographing people:  "the image I've created...in my mind is not about the subject...so much as it is about the person I was when I knew him."

It's also obvious that Richmond knows San Francisco well, as the action in the book takes place all over the city and nearby areas.  She even has a Google Map on her site pinpointing locations in the book, with quotations from it.  At the Silicon Valley Reads 2011 program at the Palo Alto Arts Center on February 17, 2011, she said the book was written as a "love letter" to San Francisco and the Bay Area, a "story that could not take place anywhere else."

This story is suspenseful without being creepy.  This book had been in my TBR stacks for a while - I'm glad my book club chose to read it.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[I purchased a copy of this book at the local Friends of the Library book sale.]