Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

 

There There, Orange’s 2018 debut novel, set a pretty high bar. We were introduced to unforgettable characters, unforgettable circumstances and brought face to face with the plight of the Native American tribes as removal and assimilation were forced upon them by the non-native powers. Wandering Stars gives us more context, by reminding, or teaching, us about the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado. We jump decades, and perspective characters, to revisit the heirs of the survivors, and the continuing issues that Indigenous people continue to struggle with, including the isolating compartmentalization non-indigenous people seem most comfortable with. They are complex issues, complex people, served well by this complex novel. It is not an “easy read,” but meets the challenge of  There There. The book releases on February 27, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for a chance to read and review.

The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

 

The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

This is a tale of the deep south, in times of slavery, in the years prior to and during the Civil War of the United States. It is the story of Ady, a young black girl born to slavery. her mother, Sanite, both with spirit and a dream of freedom. In many ways, it retells the story of exploitation and abuse of the era and geography, the facts of which are well known. But this version is told by a young girl who has courage, and comrades among the black women, both free and enslaved. The journey she takes is riveting and I found myself cheering each of the brave and feisty women she encounters.

What is unique about this book is the framing of the text, and occasional inserts, that cause the reader to look back from a focal point in the distant future, when books are no longer made of paper and ink, and historical artifacts are authenticated through scientific methods not easily understood. In that, it becomes not only an accounting of the past, but also a bit of science fiction. (Though fiction is something those future scientists have no time for.). It’s a splendid book, recalling the foundations of where the United States is today, and offering hope for continual progress where race and gender discrimination are concerned. Thanks to NetGalley and Random house for the advanced readers copy. The book was released today, February 27, 2024.

 

 

The first thing we are told is that thirty seven year old Annie has died, in a tragic and unexpected manner.  The novel then brings her to life through her relationships with her husband, children, and friends.  The grief process each goes through feels unique and heartbreaking, but hopeful just the same.

The characters are wonderfully fleshed out, and authentic.  The prose is beautiful and even though we know the “main” character has died, the book is un-put-downable.

Recommend to everyone, because eventually, we all experience grief.  Thanks to NetGalley and

 Random House for putting this on my radar. The novel releases today, February 27, 2024.

How to Win Friend and Influence Fungi by Dr. Christopher Balakrishnan and Matt Wasowski

 

This was a diversion from my usual novel reading, and I admit it to be a good one. If you've ever enjoyed the miraculous and strange in the physical or natural world, this book will amaze you in the same way as sideshows and circuses and Ripley's Believe it or not. 

 Taken from episodes in over 21 years of "Nerd Nite" across the country, the essays in this book cover oddities in science, history, math, the arts, pop culture, and just about any rabbit hole you can go down on the internet or otherwise, the book gives new perspective on what is "nerdy" or "weird." Concluding with conversations on careers most of us wouldn't have had with our guidance counselors.

 As such, it makes a great gift book, both to the scientists and others who are interested in just about everything, and to that high school grad who doesn't quite seem to fit in. Full of fascinating facts and puns, it is easy "hard" reading (and I don't pretend to understand it all.)  

How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi (thing "fun guy") will be released on February 20, 2024. Thanks To St. Martin's and NetGalley for expanding horizons!

 

Redwood Court By DeLana R. A. Dameron

 

This story orbits around a black family in the second half of the twentieth century. Their home is in suburban Columbia, South Carolina in a black neighborhood called Redwood Court. 

Dameron populates this novel with wonderful, complex characters who make up this proud, hardworking, and caring family. Together we travel through the postwar American dream, the turbulent sixties, the horrors of war for both the men who fight and their families at home. The families of Redwood Court are social, churchgoing people, and the don't seem to care about privacy. Weesie, the matriarch, can most often be found on the phone, checking in with her neighbors. Her spirit of community is what carries this novel, usually told through the eyes of Mika, her granddaughter.

There are many characters in this book--so many that it begins with not only a family tree, but placement and descriptions of all the neighbors, as each person plays a role in rounding out Redwood Court. Through most of the book, we get insight into this close-knit family, and what it is like to live in such a neighborhood.

The book is well written with smooth, albeit dense prose. Dialect slows the flow of the story into a melodious pace, not unlike the warm syrup of Southern summers.  There are joyful parts, and painful parts, and an unforgettable sense of time and character. 

This is a book told exclusively from the black point of view. The independent memories of this author sometimes clouded the rendition as told by Mika. We remember slavery, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights movement, segregation, integration, and remember that the world painted did not exist in a vacuum. I applaud Dameron’s work at presenting a time in the history of the USA that should be called out, but I wonder if the calling would be more authentic if all non-Black references didn't feel stereotypical.

The book will release on February 6, 2024. Thanks to the Dial Press, Random House, and NetGalley for this advanced reader’s copy.