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Children's & YAPicture Book

Girls explore the world

Feature by Jill Lorenzini

Books are stealthy: tucked into engaging adventures we often find lessons in bravery, kindness and perseverance. In the best books, we also find inspiration. Shining light on women endeavoring to create their own futures, Ernestine’s Milky Way and Born to Ride are two promising stories set against the backdrop of American history. These are two cheerful, thoughtful tributes to the many countless women who donned bloomers, kept their heads up when the path was thorny and forged ahead to the future.

In the midst of World War II, in a lush valley of the Great Smoky Mountains, Ernestine—a determined 5-year-old—sets off on a very important errand. With her dad away at war, all the chores fall to Ernestine and her mother. Life back then wasn’t easy or convenient. Their days were full of hard work, but also kindness, imagination and courage. Ernestine will need every one of these if she’s going to deliver milk to her neighbors a long walk away. Wrapped in the magic of adventure, Ernestine’s Milky Way is a lesson in determination.

Ernestine’s story rings with the sounds of life in the Smokies. Author Kerry Madden-Lunsford gracefully employs local dialect in order to give readers a sense of location and time. In addition, Madden-Lunsford makes resourceful use of animal sounds, descriptive language and poetic expressions to place us on the trail with Ernestine.

Illustrator Emily Sutton fills her pages with flora, fauna and lush, subdued color. Ernestine’s path takes her through brambles and berries and barbed-wire fences, which Sutton illustrates with fine detail and unrestricted enthusiasm. Sutton’s eager brush strokes convey a sense of wildness and awe, while chickens, fire-burning stoves, banjos, barrels and wagons plant the story firmly in its time.

Based on the recollections of the author’s friend, the real-life Ernestine, Ernestine’s Milky Way gives readers a snapshot of country life in the 1940s. Today, the idea of a five-year-old being sent on errands alone is foreign and even shocking, but that was the reality for many farm children who shouldered much of the work of this era.

Also shining light on an era of U.S. history, Born to Ride, by Larissa Theule, begins with the “cannots” of a late-19th century girl. But there is one cannot that young Louisa Belinda will not abide. Despite the rules, despite what the adults might think, even despite the threat of getting permanent “bicycle face,” Louisa Belinda is determined to learn to ride a bike. But as Louisa Belinda conquers the bike, a new era is being wheeled into her town, assisted by her mother—who has a few surprises of her own.

Illustrator Kelsey Garrity-Riley creates a small-town Rochester, New York, that is charming and cheerful. Garrity-Riley fills her pages with the trappings of 19th century; milkmen and pinafores, feathered hats and horse-drawn carriages. The suffragettes are calmly at work, making signs and planning a rally. Small details—rally buttons, a poster for Susan B. Anthony’s speech—lend historical authenticity. In this exciting environment, a young girl is bravely forging her own future.

Theule narrates in a youthful, conversational tone that invites discussion and questions. And young readers may have many: the idea of scandalous bloomers, no vote for women and the threat of bicycle face seems unbelievable and downright ridiculous to today’s girls. While Louisa Belinda’s own bike riding is met with little resistance, three concluding pages of historic photos and facts about “wheelwomen” and the suffragette movement help open the door to the genuine gritty struggles women faced. 

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read Larissa Theule’s fascinating essay on wheelwomen and bicycle face here.

Books are stealthy: tucked into engaging adventures we often find lessons in bravery, kindness and perseverance. In the best books, we also find inspiration. Shining light on women endeavoring to create their own futures, Ernestine’s Milky Way and Born to Ride are two promising stories set against the backdrop of American history. These are two cheerful, thoughtful tributes to the many countless women who donned bloomers, kept their heads up when the path was thorny and forged ahead to the future.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Tips for teachers: The legacy of librarians

Feature by Emmie Stuart

It’s been there for five years, on the corner of my circulation desk computer: a post-it note with Kate DiCamillo’s wise words, “Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell a story. Make some light.” For this librarian, these sentences are equal parts frightening and invigorating. They remind me that it’s my responsibility to love my students by delivering light through the sharing of stories, which is a truth that humbles me daily. The following three books tell the stories of dedicated librarians and the ways in which they change individual lives and entire communities through the power of reading.

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise and Paola Escobar

In 1921, Pura Belpré leaves her home in Puerto Rico and travels to New York City for her sister’s wedding. Intrigued by the hustle of the city, she decides to stay and accepts a job as a bilingual assistant at a neighborhood library branch. It’s not long before Belpré sees a need in the diverse community and begins to act. She starts bilingual storytime events complete with puppets derived from Puerto Rican folklore and then proceeds to turn these shows into the first mainstream American-Latinx storybooks. Traveling “from branch to branch, classroom to classroom, to churches and community centers,” Belpré’s dedication, energy, storytelling and love for the Spanish-speaking community transform the New York libraries, making them a joyful haven for children and families. My students—who were already familiar with the Pura Belpré Award—loved learning about its eponym.

• Read Global Folktales and Stories—When she begins working at the NYPL, Belpré is disappointed to discover that, “Not one folktale from Puerto Rico is on the shelves.” Ask students to interview a family member to find out which countries and cultures that are part of their family heritage. Then let students research folktales from their family’s origin country. The International Children’s Book Database has over 4,000 books from 59 countries available to read online. If possible, borrow books published in other countries from the public library and let children spend time reading or looking at them.

• Folktale Writing—After a week or so of reading folktales from around the world, let students emulate Belpré by writing their own folktales. Discuss the components of a folktale and provide a rubric with clear expectations for the final product. Belpré’s folktales have animal characters and settings that reflect her Puerto Rican heritage. Encourage children to create character and settings reflecting their chosen country or culture. A few of my students used folktale books published in a different language and wrote own story to go along with the illustrations. After their folktales are complete, give children time to illustrate them.

• Plan and Perform a Puppet Show—Belpré learns to make puppets and soon her stories are dancing across the stage. Give students the opportunity to turn familiar stories into puppet shows. Model the process of turning a narrative into a drama and then provide your class with fairy/folk tale collections or familiar picture books that have a simple plot and limited characters. Divide children into pairs or small groups. Offer guidance as they work together to turn story into a short script. After they have completed writing the drama let students create puppets out of various materials (encourage them to bring materials from home). After the puppets and practice are complete, throw a class puppet show party allowing time for the groups to perform for their classmates.

Library on Wheels: Mary Lemist Titcomb and America’s First Bookmobile by Sharlee Glenn

Mary Lemist Titcomb grew up poor in rural New Hampshire. Through hard work and determination, she completed seminary school and then fell into her life’s calling after she read a newspaper article about librarianship. When she became head of a large library system in Maryland, she remembered her childhood and decided to act. The library was for everyone—not just the wealthy families who lived in town. Ignoring obstacles (there were many), she worked tirelessly in her mission to bring the library to all people. Her rural book deposits were successful, but in 1905, she had her most revolutionary idea—a horse-drawn “book wagon.” Thus, the very first library bookmobile. Filled with photographs, postcards, old book covers, archival letters and other ephemera, Library on Wheels has the feel of an old-fashioned scrapbook and is excellent for older students.

• Curate a School Bookmobile or Little Library—Discuss how room on a bookmobile is limited and how the bookmobile librarian must choose books carefully. Help your students make a list of the things that must be considered with deciding which titles to put on the bookmobile (age, education level, interests). Give students this challenge: “You are the school bookmobile librarian. It is your job to choose 50 titles (3 copies of each title, for a total of 150 books) that will be purchased for the bookmobile. Which books are you going to buy and why? Be sure to consider the needs of the entire school when you are choosing your titles.” My students loved this simple project and became very invested in researching and selecting their titles.

• A World of Libraries Project—Titcomb worked tirelessly to ensure that everyone in her county had access to books. Read aloud more picture books (here’s a list of my 10 favorites) about individuals who created innovative ways to make books available for everyone. Compare and contrast these stories with Titcomb’s story or let students choose one of the books and complete the printable A World of Reading response organizer.

• Create a Class Book—Provide students with a piece of blank letter paper. Invite students to create/sketch/plan an artistic representation of the library/bookmobile they researched or to design one that meets another need. Provide many different types of mediums (pastels, collage paper, watercolor, colored pencils, etc.) and encourage children to push their creative boundaries. After they are satisfied with their creation or design, give them cardstock for their final creation. Require older students to write a paragraph about their creation and its origin. Bind the students’ art together to create a class book.

Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

When author and illustrator Yuyi Morales and her infant son migrate to the United States “thirsty, in awe,” they are met with “words unlike those of our ancestors.” Unable to read signs or understand the English language, they are afraid to speak and make “lots of mistakes” as they navigate the challenges that accompany life in a new country and culture. And then they find the local library. At first “suspicious” and “improbable,” they soon discover that it holds the most unimaginable treasure. The library becomes their second home, “a place we didn’t need to speak, we only needed to trust,” as librarians and fellow patrons give them the tools they need to speak, write and make their voices heard. Dreamers is a book with words and illustrations so rich that it demands to be savored, shared and then read again and again.

• “Books that Inspired Me” List/Timeline—My students loved identifying the familiar picture books that Morales includes in her illustrations. In the back of the book, she includes a list of “Books That Inspired Me (and Still Do).” Prior to the lesson, gather the books that have influenced your life. Hold each one up and explain why and how it influenced/es your life. Challenge students to make a similar list. Give them a few days to think about their books. My students and I created life timelines, drawing and labeling our books at the specific points when they first influenced us.

• Guest Speaker—If you have students who were born in other countries in your class, privately ask them if they (or their parents) are interested in sharing the challenges and victories they experienced upon first arriving in the U.S. Reach out to the school and local community as well. Before the guest(s) visits your classroom, guide students in creating a list of questions and teach them formal interview etiquette.

• Personal Art Challenge—In the back matter, Morales lists the variety of items (a brick from her home, her childhood drawings, an old woven blouse) that she scanned or photographed and then incorporated into her illustrations. After sharing this list with your students, reread the book and look for the ways Morales incorporates the items into her illustrations. Ask students to think about items or surfaces that are a part of their life story. Invite them to bring them to school for sharing. If possible, collaborate with your school’s technology teacher and let students photograph or scan the items and then incorporate them into a piece of personal art.

• Public Library Extra Credit—The majority of public libraries offer resources for immigrants who are learning how to navigate the U.S. Encourage students to visit their local branch and to inquire about what resources are offered. Offer extra credit for students who follow through and can share the services offered. Opportunities to initiate conversations with adults in the community helps nurture students’ communication skills.

Three books tell the stories of dedicated librarians and the ways in which they change individual lives and entire communities through the power of reading.

Romances to read based on your fave rom-com

Feature by Savanna Walker

Ah, February. Otherwise known as my month-long bacchanal of overpriced chocolate, books with kissing in them and movies with kissing in them. With the steadily increasing popularity of the romance genre, I bet a lot of people will be either picking up their first romance this month or exclusively reading books that end with an HEA (that’s Happily Ever After for you newbies). Therefore, I am here to help you coordinate your reading and watching efforts with this list of recommendations based on beloved romantic comedies!

For fans of . . . The Princess Bride (1987)

The Henchmen of Zenda is KJ Charles’ recent queer take on the 1894 adventure novel The Prisoner of Zenda, which is absolutely the type of story The Princess Bride was both telling and spoofing. Full of derring-do and witty repartee, The Prisoner of Zenda is also regrettably quite sexist and, if you dig just a little bit beneath its spunky surface, basically a British superiority fantasy. Leave it to Charles to turn that tale on its head and write a romance between two of Prisoner’s villains that takes shots at the pitfalls of the original while still lovingly co-opting its adventurous verve. In Charles’ retelling, dastardly henchman Jasper has to deal with his attraction to the charming, self-centered Rupert of Hentzau. Rupert is one of the most appealing antagonists ever written, and Charles clearly had an absolute ball bringing her joyously amoral version to life. The Henchmen of Zenda has snark aplenty, white-hot sex and biting feminist commentary, and I loved every page of it.

For fans of . . . You’ve Got Mail (1998)

This was an easy one—My Favorite Half-Night Stand is the latest take on the secret pen pals trope that began way back in the 1940s with the film The Shop Around the Corner and reached its adorable ’90s height in You’ve Got Mail. Christina Lauren—the rom-com dream team made up of authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings—gives this plot a friends-to-lovers twist with the tale of Millie Morris and Reid Campbell. Since they’re both professors in the same close-knit group of friends, Reid and Millie decide not to pursue a relationship after unexpectedly hooking up. But soon after, both of them join the same dating app, and Millie inadvertently starts a digital relationship with Reid as “Catherine.”

For fans of . . . Moonstruck (1987):

This movie and book matchup was a bit difficult: While romance has absolutely improved in a lot of areas, representation of older couples is not one of them. And yes, even heroines as young as Moonstruck’s 37-year-old Loretta Castorini are few and far between. I was at a loss until I remembered Mary Balogh’s Westcott series, which not only features two older heroines but also has similarly close-knit family dynamics (and ensuing drama). Someone to Care’s Viola Kingsley is a somewhat disgraced 40-year-old widow who’s experiencing the joys of full intimacy and romantic love for the first time, and Someone to Trust’s Elizabeth Overfield defies convention to be with the younger man who adores her, overcoming her own fears from a previous abusive marriage in the process.

For fans of . . . Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001):

Bridget Jones’ Diary is one of my favorite rom-coms of all time because its titular character is a legitimate mess, not a studio-mandated concoction of a woman whose only flaw is that she topples over sometimes (but in a cute way). Bridget drinks and smokes a bit too much, her career is going nowhere, she jumps to conclusions about people and she has a chronic lack of self-confidence, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve love and happiness. Alyssa Cole’s A Duke by Default has probably the best hot mess heroine I’ve read in a while, and like Bridget Jones, her relationship with herself is just as important as her eventual HEA.

For fans of . . . (500) Days of Summer (2009):

If you mention the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, this movie is sure to pop up in most people’s minds as a key example, perhaps the high point of that trope. But it’s also a deconstruction of it, given that one of the key problems in Tom and Summer’s relationship is his inability to see her as a complex person, rather than a collection of sexy quirks. Hazel Bradford of Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is impulsive and kooky, and she knows that most men either see her as a fun fling or will eventually tire of her personality. The romance between Hazel and her good friend Josh is a deeper, more complicated version of the “free-spirited woman meets buttoned-up straight man” trope, livened up by author Christina Lauren’s aces banter and simmering sexual tension.

For fans of . . . Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961):

I love a party girl (or boy) with a heart of gold and unforeseen depths, what can I say? But my tolerance (and ability to fast-forward) waxes and wanes for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is fatally marred by a truly lazy, racist caricature of a performance by Mickey Rooney. The scandalous Lord Courtenay in Cat Sebastian’s The Ruin of a Rake is a very Holly Golightly-esque character who finds himself turning to the prim and proper Julian Medlock when his bad reputation threatens his relationship with his beloved nephew. Like the best parts of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, this is a romance between two lonely souls who don’t realize how lonely they are until they fall for each other.

For fans of . . . Much Ado About Nothing (1993):

Much Ado basically invented the enemies-to-lovers trope, and Born to be Wilde by Eloisa James has a superb sparring pair—Lavinia Grey has been making fun of business-minded Parth Sterling for years, and he doesn’t make a secret of how frivolous and shallow he finds her. Of course, they’re also both wildly attracted to each other and have very good reasons for their behaviors. As Lavinia proves, there’s nothing wrong with loving fashion, especially if it’s your only way to make a mark on society. And Anglo-Indian Parth has to be serious because the consequences for failure are so much steeper for him. James, who is a Shakespeare professor by day, has a particularly Bard-like touch when it comes to wordplay.

For fans of . . . It Happened One Night (1934):

The road trip is a time-honored rom-com trope, and it all started with Frank Capra’s gold standard, Depression-era masterpiece (which I have elected to let stand for all road-trip rom-coms because I like looking at Clark Gable’s face). Jenny Holiday’s Three Little Words is a fantastic modern take on the road trip plot with food porn galore and a wonderfully paced evolution from enemies-to-lovers. If you’re wanting something a little more fantastical, Mackenzie Lee’s YA romance The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is both an absolute blast and a sensitive, emotional portrayal of gay love in the 18th century.

For fans of . . . The Philadelphia Story (1940):

It’s harder than it looks to make something like The Philadelphia Story, a fluttery comedy with razor-sharp wit, complicated characters and a dazzling, decadent setting. Striking a perfect balance between escapism and emotion is a very difficult thing to do, and if you do it perfectly, the audience doesn’t even realize how hard it was. Elizabeth Kingston’s House of Cads is a champagne-fueled romp with two empathetically constructed, vulnerable characters at its center, both of whom are refreshingly adult about their attraction to one another. And Lady Gone Wicked by Elizabeth Bright is a very emotional second-chance romance wrapped in a pretty, witty package. Despite the catastrophic end of their previous relationship, Nicholas Eastwood and Adelaide Bursnell still adore each other and don’t know how to express it, leading to both sarcastic repartee and sweet gestures of care. Also, there’s an incredibly hot love scene where the heroine is covered in cake. (There was a cake fight. Don’t worry about it.) It is decadent, sexy and funny but also meaningful, and if that isn’t The Philadelphia Story to a tee, I don’t know what is.

For fans of . . . Pretty Woman (1990):

This is another fairly obvious one—if you liked Pretty Woman, you’ll probably love The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. But I will also say that if you, like me, do not like Pretty Woman, you will also probably love The Kiss Quotient. And this is because Hoang’s debut has a lot of the things that are fun about that classic rom-com, and improves on a lot of the things that are incredibly uncomfortable about it. Do you wish the main couple had a bit more personality beyond being played by Richard Gere and Julia Roberts? Both Michael and Stella have complicated lives and other problems beyond their relationship with each other. Queasy about how even the best rom-coms can fail in terms of sexual consent? The Kiss Quotient is so good in that area that it should be taught in schools. Not delighted about the incredible economic disparity between the two leads? Michael and Stella talk all about that, as it’s a key engine for the drama going forward and she’s the rich one, not him.

Magic Mike, but you turn it off before it gets depressing (2012):

Want all the fun of the first half of Channing Tatum’s iconic (yes, I said it) film, plus a more central romance? Stripped is here for you. Zoey Castile’s delightful debut is also about a super hot male stripper, and just like Magic Mike, it doesn’t treat his job like either an exotic fantasy or a moral failing. He’s a stripper, he’s very good at it and he’s a person just like anyone else.

For fans of . . . The Lady Eve (1941):

My name is Savanna, and I love romances where one character is trying to con the other character. I will not be taking questions about what this implies about me at this time. The Lady Eve is one of the all-time great examples of this trope, excelling at both sex appeal (not hard when you cast Barbara Stanwyck) and sweetness (not hard when you cast Henry Fonda). Cat Sebastian’s The Lawrence Browne Affair takes that formula and adds a dash of Jane Eyre. Georgie Turner’s latest mark is the reclusive, brilliant Earl of Radnor, an inventor who is convinced he’s going mad. Some very hot manor house encounters ensue . . .

For fans of . . . Clueless (1995):

First of all, I am fully aware that the first book in Maya Rodale’s Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series, Lady Bridget’s Diary, is based on Bridget Jones’ Diary. However, Rodale’s adorable book and its sequels take place in a much kinder, lighter world than its filmic inspiration, which is haunted by the fear of midlife mediocrity under all its delicious shenanigans. The other three books in the series are based on Roman Holiday (Chasing Lady Amelia), She’s All That (Lady Claire Is All That) and The Princess Diaries with some “Grey’s Anatomy” thrown in (It’s Hard Out Here for a Duke). With its giddily meta spin on historical romance, perfect blend of snarky and silly humor, and just general good-hearted aura, the Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series is a perfect match for director Amy Heckerling’s masterpiece.

Ah, February. Otherwise known as my month-long bacchanal of overpriced chocolate, books with kissing in them and movies with kissing in them. With the steadily increasing popularity of the romance genre, I bet a lot of people will be either picking up their first romance this month or exclusively reading books that end with an HEA (that’s Happily Ever After for you newbies). Therefore, I am here to help you coordinate your reading and watching efforts with this list of recommendations based on beloved romantic comedies!

Children's & YAPicture Book

Inspiring confidence and bravery in young readers

Feature by Lori K. Joyce

When developing risk-taking, self-confident children, parents know that showing children examples of bravery is more effective than talking about this rather intangible word. Two new picture books about bravery in action will leave children chuckling with delight and feeling strong and confident.

Lindsay Leslie’s This Book is Spineless has the most imaginative approach to overcoming fears. The book itself is scared of what lies ahead as the pages turn, and the book asks readers to help it be brave and face its fears. With book puns such as “being spineless” or “growing a spine,” this story is sure to be a delight to children and the adults who read to them.

Leslie’s sensory language will almost allow young readers to hear the ghosts, see the mysterious strangers and feel a rocket’s propulsion during their adventure with the book. At the end, the book also realizes that while it needed a little push from the reader, it quite liked the journey and was proud of preserving to the end of the tale and surviving spooky events that frightened it.

Illustrator Alice Brereton creates scary mirror-image prints in blacks and grays. Once the book plucks up enough courage to advance beyond these illustrations, the book becomes even braver and takes many risks to finish the story. Bright colors create an explosion of joy and confidence at the end.

When You Are Brave also focuses on rising to and successfully navigating life’s challenges. Author Pat Zietlow Miller (Sophie’s Squash) creates an inspirational story that is quietly profound with positive messages of looking inside oneself to find a tiny seed of courage which will grow with use.

A young girl is faced with moving somewhere brand new and far away. But soon the girl realizes she has to be as brave as a caterpillar that goes to sleep, not knowing when it will wake up; or like the lost dog who searches for miles for his welcoming backyard light; or a baby bird, launching from the nest for the first time. Even when things might not work out, having had the courage to try is a mighty life lesson.

Illustrator, Eliza Wheeler, (Doll Bones and Miss Maple’s Seeds), creates richly detailed gray, dark scenes when the girl is scared. Once she reaches deep inside to find her courage, Wheeler depicts the tiny fire starts to glow from within her, which soon grows into a magical, shimmering set of wings. The connection between the girls’ growing courage and the growing light is a beautiful inspiration for young readers.

When developing risk-taking, self-confident children, parents know that showing children examples of bravery is more effective than talking about this rather intangible word. Two new picture books about bravery in action will leave children chuckling with delight and feeling strong and confident.

Mystery

Three terrifying serial killers

Feature by Heather Seggel

Three new serial killer thrillers approach their murderous subjects in vastly different ways. One is a game of cat and mouse, another probes the psychological makeup of a killer, and a third is disarmingly funny.

Peter Swanson sets Before She Knew Him in a charming Massachusetts neighborhood. Two young couples live next door to one another, and at a casual dinner they hope will lead to friendship, Hen notices something in her neighbor’s studio that alarms her. It appears to be evidence in an unsolved murder. Worse yet, she can tell her neighbor, Matthew, saw her react. She fudges a reason to go back and double-check, and suddenly the item has disappeared. What now?

Hen must act with caution—she has a history of mental illness that led her to fixate on the very case she suspects Matthew of being connected to, and her husband, Lloyd, is adamant that she not pursue the matter further. But it’s not long before she’s an eyewitness to something horrible, and now both she and Lloyd are at risk.

Swanson artfully plays the tension in this story. The details of Hen’s job as an illustrator and printmaker are fascinating, and the dynamic between both couples who can’t quite get along lull the reader into forgetting that one of the four might be a murderer. There’s a neat twist at the end, but the real surprise is the way characters are allowed to grieve their losses, a luxury not always allowed in stories of this type. For a fast-paced thriller, Before She Knew Him achieves an impressive significance in its pauses.

The Devil Aspect is Scottish author Craig Russell’s American debut, and it’s a knockout. Set in Czechoslovakia in 1935, it tells parallel stories that converge in an explosive conclusion. Viktor Kosárek, a psychiatrist, has come to work at an asylum for the criminally insane that is housed in a castle and contains just six patients, the most dangerous killers in the country. In Prague, police are trailing a serial killer who seems to be imitating Jack the Ripper. And over the border in Germany, Nazism is on the rise. Welcome to the pressure cooker.

Kosárek is interviewing the asylum’s inmates to try and identify the “devil aspect” that leads them to kill, and their stories are terrifying and extravagantly gory. Prague police eventually appeal to the doctors at the asylum for help with their own case—catching the murderer they’ve nicknamed “Leather Apron.” The combination of research and investigation takes place while people gradually take sides in the new political climate, adding up to an edge-of-the-seat suspense tale and Gothic tragedy in one.

The fine details of the investigation (part of it hinges on a single glass bead), and a romance between the doctor and a Jewish hospital administrator who is thus on constant guard, are given space to breathe and described in lush detail. Even characters that appear only briefly are memorable and realistic. Russell sets up these converging stories, then adds a twist that could give a reader whiplash. It’s no wonder the film rights have already been snapped up. Read it now, though, before the spoilers get out. The Devil Aspect is the best of its kind.

A serial killer is targeting pairs of best friends in Sophie Hannah’s latest, The Next to Die. Police can’t nail him down, though they’ve helpfully given him the nickname “Billy Dead Mates.” A radical feminist columnist is using the killings to highlight misogynist violence while pointedly ignoring that one of the victims was male. And comedian Kim Tribbeck would find this all hilarious—that is her job, after all—but for the fact that she might be next on the killer’s list. The killer’s calling card is a tiny white handmade book with a bit of verse inside. Kim received one but has no best friend or desire for one. Police are left to wonder if it was a mistake, or if the killer might be moving on to solo targets.

Woven into the investigation is a subplot particular to two of the detectives on the case who are married, which Kim inadvertently gets involved in, and which adds to the story’s extended meditation on relationships, be they friendly, familial or maybe just a thing on the side.

Told in a mix of memoir excerpts, newspaper columns and narration from varied points of view, The Next to Die will keep you guessing and also, perhaps unexpectedly, laughing. Hannah lets the line slacken then pulls it back in with a jolt as needed. The shifts in narration demand close attention and add to the suspense, though the police seem to take the most roundabout path possible to finally solving the case, including a road trip to Kim’s prior performance venues to find the one where she was given the book. Playing freely with the conventions of the genre, The Next to Die is a funny, philosophical, reflective and taut whodunit.

Three new serial killer thrillers approach their murderous subjects in vastly different ways. One is a game of cat and mouse, another probes the psychological makeup of a killer, and a third is disarmingly funny.

Romance

You absolutely do not want the Final Rose

Feature by Kara Isaac

In Kara Isaac’s One Thing I Know, Rachel Somers is a clandestine relationship guru, ghostwriting bestselling books of advice for her Aunt Donna. When we found out that Isaac is a super fan of the Bachelor franchise, we asked if she would be interested in paying homage to her latest heroine by giving some advice of her own—how to survive as a contestant on “The Bachelor.”

First, let me lay a few cards on “The Bachelor”-watching table. I was and still am #TeamBlake. Having said that, Colton is doing better than I anticipated. Though on a scale of Juan Pablo to Sean Lowe my expectations were set somewhere around Dr. Travis from season eight (Who, I hear you ask? Exactly.), so it wasn’t exactly a high bar to beat.

Second, “expert” is a generous term. You see, I tapped out of “The Bachelor” for about a decade in my 20s. Google informs me I missed a “prince,” another doctor, a fireman, a fisherman (???), a football player and a host of others with hazy titles like “entrepreneur,” none of whom managed to make their Bachelor relationships last, on average, longer than a baseball season.

I tapped back in for Ben Flajnik in 2012, and the reason for this is attributable to one word: babies. In the middle of the sleep deprivation and stretch marks and finding new uses for bags of peas (I’ll stop there, for those of you who still associate peas with dinner), my sister and I watched “The Bachelor” and messaged each other from different continents to help rescue us from conversations about our babies’ bowel movements or our progeny’s propensity to yell things like “DON’T TOUCH MY PENIS” in public places.

Third, this season may be my last viewing given that Demi, with her infinite wisdom and insight, has designated someone five years my junior as a “cougar,” which obviously makes me someone with all the sex appeal of one of the mummified raisins my toddler likes to stash down the back of the couch. Clearly, I should be spending my “Bachelor” watching window playing bridge or knitting or whatever it is that Demi thinks women of a “certain age” do. But then, Demi also likes to stroke the men she’s dating with amputated mannequin limbs so maybe I won’t lean into her for #lifeadvice.

Anyway, my sister and I are both #TeamCassie and because we are #TeamCassie we don’t want her to “win.” This is because all of the best “Bachelor” contestants should . . .

Aim for first or second runner-up
There have been 22 seasons of “The Bachelor” and only one couple—the much beloved Sean and Catherine—are still together. This is otherwise known as a 4.5 percent success rate. Or, put another way, if you are the last lady standing at the end with a man on one knee offering you a Neil Lane ring that could maim a small child with a thoughtless gesture, there’s a 95.5 percent chance of it ending poorly.

Let’s be honest. Bachelors do not have a history of making until-death-do-us-part choices after 10 weeks of dating a harem of women. In fact, there are more Bachelors who have ended up swapping out their chosen woman for the runner-up than there are ones who have made it work with the women they proposed to.

You do not want to be that woman. All power to Molly and Lauren, who waded through the public humiliation and general internet meltdown that came with their now-husbands swapping out women like they were pawns in a chess game, but it’s hardly the route that fairy tales are made of. Hence why Cinderella does not feature the prince choosing one of the stepsisters before realizing he (ooooops) really loves Cinderella and was just blinded by fear/insecurity/pressure/a visit from an ex-girlfriend into choosing the wrong woman.

No, the goal is to play your cards right so you can become . . .

“The Bachelorette”
Bachelorettes have a much better track record of success. There are six couples still together out of 14 seasons—also known as a 43 percent success rate. That’s 10 times the Bachelor success rate.

I have many a theory on this, the main one being that the Bachelorettes are infinitely superior to the Bachelors at thinking beyond what’s right in front of them. Rachel Lindsay apparently asked her final three in the fantasy suite about their religious beliefs, thoughts on having children, schooling preferences, financial situations and credit scores. Do we think that any Bachelor in the history of Bachelordom has ever asked a single woman in the fantasy suite about her credit score?

You also get to travel the world in business class, courtesy of ABC. The downside is that the internet will be all in your business for the next decade (at least), you won’t be able to eat carbs for the next six months in preparation of the endless gratuitous bikini shots, you will have to talk about your feelings with Chris Harrison, and it may not work out. But the odds are at least better than Tinder.

And for the 27 of you from night one who won’t make serious Bachelorette contention, this is my advice for you . . .

Own leaving
If you decide to leave, own it. Don’t second-guess yourself. Don’t be all fierce and determined and then show up on camera wallowing in a puddle of self-regret (this one is particularly fresh since the last thing I saw before heading on vacation was Elise doing exactly this).

Be like the two women in Juan Pablo’s season who did the “thanks, but no thanks” in episode two (let’s be honest, I’m not 100 percent certain it was his season, because they all start merging together, but I like to think it was his season and these two women nailed his chauvinistic narcissistic self about three episodes before the rest of us).

If the Bachelor withholds his rose, no crying is allowed until the final five. Nope. Just nope. Before that, you have spent maybe one one-on-one date and a few group dates together. You have not even been dating exclusively. He has, not to put too fine a point on it, been making out with at least 90 percent of your roommates. Be gracious, walk out with your head held high and feel sorry for the compatriots that you are leaving behind in the trenches.

Think of Chantal O’Brien from Brad Womack’s (second) season, who showed up at the “After the Final Rose” special blissfully in love with someone else while Brad squirmed uncomfortably and wished her the best with the expression of a man suffering from severe constipation.

Stay classy.

Eat
Corinne from Nick Viall’s season is known for many things—being in her 20s and still having a nanny, her love of naps, her complete inability to make friends with other women—but the best thing about Corinne was that she ate.

Those of you who watch “The Bachelor” know exactly what I’m talking about. Apparently, in reality-TV nation, women don’t eat. Or if they do, they certainly don’t do it in front of a man whom they fancy—unless it’s chocolate-dipped strawberries that have been scripted to be fed to each other in the most contrived and awkward way possible.

Not Corinne. Nope, Corinne went on a group date and actually ate the food. And we’re not talking daintily nibbled on a carrot stick ate. She chowed down on a platter of fried food like it was her last meal.

Make Friends
Yes, yes, I know that you’re not here to “make friends.” But if there’s a 3.33 percent chance of you being the final one, and then a 4.5 percent chance of it working out if you are, then you had might as well do something with that time you’ve taken off work, the money you’ve spent on dresses you’ll never wear again and all the chocolate you haven’t eaten in preparation for your cocktail dress/bikini body being screened across the world.

Say you leave at the final five. You will have had maybe two one-on-one dates with the Bachelor. You will have spent weeks living and traveling with a bunch of women. Once you get rid of the ones who have been clearly planted to create dramatic television, there will be at least a dozen awesome women in the mix. Be the Bekah M., Sienne, Caroline, Tia and Kendall from he-who-shall-not-be-named’s season (yes, I’m still holding a grudge). That sisterhood is going to last, if not forever, certainly longer than a production-mandated engagement.

 

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our review of One Thing I Know.

Author photo by Jenny Siaosi.

Romance author and Bachelor-super fan Kara Isaac presents the definitive guide to surviving as a contestant on the franchise.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Celebrate birthday fun with little ones

Feature by Jill Lorenzini

The decorations and treats may differ, but two things are vital for a proper birthday celebration: good friends and the perfect birthday wish. With the-more-the-merrier themes, Hoo Hoo Who? and Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish are original and clever tales that leave everyone feeling invited.

Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish by author Beth Ferry and illustrator Tom Lichtenheld offers resourceful birthday tips and tricks for nailing the perfect celebration, no matter who you are. Both sincere and hilarious, the rules encompass everything from when to celebrate (short-lived insects should party straightaway), to how to blow out a candle (spit-prone camels should seek assistance). Clever asides, such as a tongue-in-cheek “pin-the-stinger-on-the-human” game, keeps readers engaged and scanning the page for laughs. Several party fails provide hilarious exceptions to the rules (i.e. spiny animals vs. balloons).

From page one, Ferry and Lichtenheld capture their audience by encouraging young readers to count along. Boldly and cheerfully illustrated, every page is visually appealing with soft colors. Text alternatively pops and shrinks, keeping readers engaged and looking for the occasional tiny footnote and aside. A conversational, confident tone makes for an easy and amusing read aloud. Inviting and funny, Ten Rules for the Birthday Wish doesn’t take itself too seriously. But despite the mirth, one cannot deny that every page carries an underlying and earnest wish for your birthday joy.

Hoo Hoo Who? begins with a surprise party, thrown by Owl, that is in full swing. But since the farsighted Owl has broken his glasses, he may need help welcoming his party guests. Aimed at a slightly younger audience, author-illustrator Mary Maier and author Lauren Horton’s picture book encourages little readers to predict which animal is next on Owl’s guest list. With detailed clues about the guests’ physical appearances and movements, even the youngest listeners can join in the guessing. Before the last guest arrives, however, there is one more surprise for the blurry-eyed Owl.

Maier’s text has a rhythm that lends itself to read-alouds and inspires participation with owl hoots and other animal sounds. And here’s a preschool party tip: have your little party-goers pretend to be each animal as they arrive. Educators will enjoy that Horton, who is also a speech pathologist, includes links for incorporating this book into educational settings.

Maier illustrates with bold lines, quick dashes and spatters of paint, which echo the excitement—and slight frenzy—of a surprise party. (Or perhaps someone looking through broken glasses?) With large, vibrant illustrations and extreme animal close-ups, Hoo Hoo Who? is friendly and energetic. Seeing “you” written on the guest list brings this party even closer to the reader.

Clever and amusing departures from more solemn birthday gift books, Hoo Hoo Who? and Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish charmingly leave no birthday boy, girl, animal, bird or bug behind.

Clever and amusing departures from more solemn birthday gift books, Hoo Hoo Who? and Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish charmingly leave no birthday boy, girl, animal, bird or bug behind.

Nonfiction

Well Read: March 2019

Feature by Robert Weibezahl

If you attend author readings, you know that some of the most frequently asked questions involve a writer’s methods: Do you write every day? Longhand or computer? Morning, noon or night? This fascination with writerly habits is really an attempt to understand the slippery mystery of creativity rather than its bare mechanics, and it provided the impetus for Mason Currey’s immensely popular Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (2013). Currey took some flack because he only included 27 women in that book, so as a corrective he has put together a follow-up volume, Daily Rituals: Women at Work.

Of the 143 artists profiled, 63 are writers (a handful of others count writing among their multifaceted accomplishments). The rest run the gamut—visual artists, filmmakers, dancers, choreographers, actors, performance artists, composers, costume designers, one scientist (Marie Curie) and a few who share that peculiarly French occupation, the salonniére, or a host of literary salons. Most are Western, and the majority are white (a fact that may open up Currey for further censure), but the selection is broad enough in disciplines and chronology to offer an interesting cross section of daily approaches to art. We learn that Edith Wharton wrote in bed each morning, avoiding houseguests until noon. At the opposite end of the economic spectrum, Harriet Jacobs wrote “at irregular intervals, whenever I could snatch an hour from household duties.” Alice Walker wrote The Color Purple in the brief hours when her daughter was at school, while Katherine Anne Porter, whom Marianne Moore called the world’s worst procrastinator, wrote in fits and starts, producing only one novel and 27 stories despite living to 90.

Many of these profiles underscore the struggle to carve out creative time amid wifely or motherly duties, as well as other constricting expectations placed on women. Painter Stella Bowen ceded to the needs of her husband, Ford Madox Ford, lamenting, “Pursuing art is not just a matter of finding the time—it is a matter of having a free spirit to bring to it.” Others, such as painter Lee Krasner and actress Lynn Fontanne, cherished the symbiosis they shared with their equally accomplished husbands. Workaholics like Coco Chanel, Edith Head and Martha Graham subsisted on very little sleep, while Tallulah Bankhead admitted, “I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone.” 

There are many pearls of creative wisdom strung throughout Daily Rituals. Still, the overriding lesson one takes away from this charming book is that the path to achievement is as specific to each artist as her art is unique to her vision. We cannot replicate genius by copying another’s idiosyncrasies—we need to cultivate our own.

A second volume from Mason Currey explores the idiosyncratic daily rituals and survival strategies of women in the arts—and beyond.

RomanceWestern Romance

Riches to rags

Feature by Elizabeth Mazer

Every girl dreams of being Cinderella, swept away from drudgery into a life of luxury and comfort. How delightful it is to see stories that take the opposite tack, yanking heroines from their safe, secure bubbles and throwing them out into the real world to see if they’re able to survive—and maybe even thrive. There’s a strange sort of freedom in leaving behind everything you’ve known and finding a fresh start, and that’s exactly what makes these heroines and their delightful stories so compelling.

A LONDON SANCTUARY
Delilah, the utterly charming heroine of Julie Anne Long’s Lady Derring Takes a Lover, lost everything with the death of her husband—her belongings (repossessed by the creditors of her spendthrift husband); her home (entailed to a distant relative); her staff (poached by other society matrons); and her last shred of interest in behaving like a proper lady. Instead of seeking to marry again, or throwing herself on the mercy of relatives, Delilah takes the one piece of property her husband actually owned outright and, with the help of her late husband’s mistress who becomes her new best friend, she turns it into a boardinghouse: The Grand Palace on the Thames. Yes, it’s in the middle of a wretched neighborhood. Yes, they have no idea how to run a business. Yes, they get strange looks when they insist on running the place along very particular terms (including a strict curfew and a swear jar in the sitting room), but it’s still everything Delilah ever wanted. It’s hers. It’s a place where she feels safe. And it offers her a life where she’ll never have to depend on a man again.

But then Captain Tristan Hardy arrives.

After clawing his way out of the London slums and into a position of honor and esteem in His Majesty’s Navy, Tristan has learned to put nothing and no one ahead of duty. When his investigation into a smuggling ring leads him to the boardinghouse, he intends to keep his eyes open and his emotions detached. But who could be detached in the face of The Grand Palace’s cozy furnishings, quirky guests and beautiful hostesses? The interludes of sensuality and passion between Delilah and Tristan are rich and vivid, but no less engaging is the sheer pleasure they take in learning about each other—and surprising each other. Long’s wit is sharp, clever and hilariously effective, but it’s the warmth and gentleness of Lady Derring that make every page of the story a lovely place to visit—precisely the sort of safe haven Delilah would have wanted.

HOME ON THE RANGE
By contrast, Amy Sandas’s heroine in The Cowboy’s Honor, Boston heiress Courtney Adams, leaves her safe, secure life behind in a full-blown run when she heads out west. When she accidentally receives a letter proving that her fiancé has been unfaithful, Courtney realizes that her meticulously arranged marriage is a mistake. She makes a wild bid for freedom by trading her bridal jewelry for a ticket and fleeing—still in her wedding gown—to the Montana Territory. She couldn’t have known that her sudden arrival and excessively bridal attire would send the wrong message to gruff rancher Dean Lawton, whose brother has been threatening to acquire him a mail-order bride.

Misunderstandings accidentally lead to matrimony and the situation only worsens when the local judge refuses to grant an annulment until they’ve given the marriage one month’s “fair trial.” One minute seems to be longer than they can spend together before barbs start flying, but the heat they generate turns just as quickly to desire. They rub each other the wrong way . . . and the right way . . . and pretty much every imaginable way as they stumble together in spite of themselves. Gradually, Dean comes to appreciate Courtney’s relentless optimism, her refusal to back down from a challenge and her delight in learning or discovering something new. And Courtney comes to value Dean’s dedication, integrity and strength. It’s lovely to see them grow together as they move forward into the people they were always meant to be—and discover that their mistaken marriage was a perfect match after all.

Every girl dreams of being Cinderella, swept away from drudgery into a life of luxury and comfort. But how very interesting it is to see stories that take the opposite tack, yanking heroines from their safe, secure bubbles and throwing them out into the real world to see if they’re able to survive—and maybe even thrive. There’s a strange sort of freedom in leaving behind everything you’ve known and finding a fresh start, and that’s exactly what makes these heroines and their delightful stories so compelling.

Fiction

We remember

Feature by bookpagedev

Four historical fiction authors explore and celebrate American womanhood.

Elizabeth Letts, author of Finding Dorothy

In writing Finding Dorothy, I had to imagine what would it have been like to meet Judy Garland in person, as my heroine, Maud Baum, did on the set of The Wizard of Oz in 1939. To write about someone so beloved, so well-known, at first seemed a bit daunting. Luckily, I had a secret source.  As it happens, my mother met Judy Garland—not just once, but twice. As a little girl, she visited MGM, and watched up close as Judy Garland rehearsed scenes from The Harvey Girls. Years later, working as a waitress on Nantucket, she encountered Judy again. Every night for a week, Judy and her glamorous entourage came in for lobster dinners while my mom, totally star-struck, carried plates and refilled drinks. On the last night, Judy took note of the shy waitress and beckoned her over, offering her autograph, scribbled on a cocktail napkin. 

My mother never forgot those two encounters. She described a Judy Garland who in person was lovely, gracious and fully larger than life. We now understand the high emotional price female movie stars often paid to succeed in a man’s world, and with Judy Garland it’s hard to untangle her incredible legacy from her often tragic life. But in writing Judy, I kept in mind the real flesh-and-blood person my mother encountered. This is the young woman I’ve portrayed in Finding Dorothy—courageous and tough, young and vulnerable, and of course, utterly dazzling.

Margaret Verble, author of Cherokee America

A woman named Cherokee America Rogers inspired my novel, Cherokee America. I’ve been able to locate only one picture of her. In it, her eyes look worried. Her lips are full, but not smiling. Her hair is pulled back into an untidy bun, and her jacket is buttoned up over a blouse and secured at the collar by a large cameo. She’s not looking at the camera, but her hands are folded in front of her. If she sat for this picture as a portrait to last through the ages, she should’ve had a better photographer.  

Or maybe not. She was an Indian who dressed as a Victorian. That alone makes her interesting. She was also the widowed mother of several children and ran a large farm. I bet she was uneasy every day, and far too busy to be neat. While researching, I discovered her male relatives—a chief, a governor, generations of warriors and soldier—made it into several history books. But the only words about her were less than a page accompanying that picture. The writer, “Dub” West, describes her as “a small woman . . . who could take care of herself in any matter,” “shrewd,” “legendary” and “a dominant figure.” He also says that because she was “ever going about taking care of the sick” with “almost magic results,” she was universally affectionately called “Aunt Check.” Who would want a woman like that lost to history? Not me.

Stephanie Marie Thornton, author of American Princess

As a history teacher, it boggles my mind to think that Alice Roosevelt, the eldest daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, lived a whopping 96 years and witnessed the administrations of 18 presidents ranging from mustachioed Chester Arthur all the way to peanut-farmer Jimmy Carter. Coming of age at the turn of the 20th century, Alice hosted her debut ball at the White House during her father’s presidency, influenced events like the veto of the League of Nations and enjoyed an open invitation to the executive mansion even after JFK’s administration. She rubbed elbows with Eleanor Roosevelt, Richard Nixon and even Jackie Kennedy! A woman with this sort of Washington insider access is a novelist’s dream, but even more appealing to me was Alice’s rapier wit, which kept everyone in the Capitol on their toes. 

Alice, a self-proclaimed hedonist, made me laugh out loud to discover that she kept a needlepoint pillow that read, “If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.” I adored bringing her colorful character to life in scenes of American Princess, especially her early days when she shocked everyone—including her father—by bringing a snake to parties in her handbag. However, older Alice is exactly the tough sort of woman I hope to be 30 years from now—willing to speak her mind and take no prisoners!

Alan Brennert, author of Daughter of Moloka'i

Why do I write historical novels from a woman’s perspective? It’s often the history itself that dictates what voice to use to tell a particular story. Early in my research for Moloka'i (2003), I learned that those with leprosy weren’t just taken from their homes and exiled to Moloka'i—their newborn babies were taken away, too, to prevent them from becoming infected. Many parents never saw their children again. I knew that my protagonist had to be a girl, taken from her family, who would grow up, marry and have her baby taken away. There seemed no more compelling way to frame the whole tragic story, which continues in Daughter of Moloka'i.

Honolulu (2009) sprang from my desire to write about the so-called “glamour days” of Honolulu, the 1920s, but told against the backdrop of the hardscrabble lives of immigrants that made up Hawai'i’s workforce. Then I read about the “Hotel of Sorrows,” from which neighbors could hear the sobbing of women. These were Asian picture brides who were shown photographs of “rich young men in Hawai'i” seeking wives—but after crossing an ocean, discovered that their husbands-to-be were decades older and poor laborers on plantations. These women’s lives formed the sad but perfect prism through which to view Hawai'i’s glamour days.

In my books, I try to tell the truth of these often unexamined lives. But I can’t say I choose these women; more like they choose me.

Four historical fiction authors explore and celebrate American womanhood.

NonfictionSocial ScienceMemoirLGBTQ+

Joy and love, resilience and strength

Feature by Liz Clayton Scofield

Queer communities can find healing through the sharing of stories, creating a web of common experiences that remind us that we are not alone.

These four books contain narratives of triumph, loss, trauma and healing, with optimism toward liberation and new understandings of gender, desire, sexuality, love and family. These stories are accessible and relatable even as they reveal how identity is far more complicated than what social rules or cultural expectations determine it to be. Encompassing a range of emotions and experiences, they declare that queer stories don’t have to end in tragedy, but can reign triumphant despite struggle. Pain and trauma are not glossed over, but also within these tales are the joys and love that are so often threaded into queer experiences.

Acclaimed essayist and editor-in-chief of the literary journal No Tokens T Kira Madden shares a story of incredible resilience in Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls. In her debut memoir, Madden beautifully chronicles her journey to find herself while reckoning with the trauma, abuse and addiction that have surrounded her and emering with a deeper understanding of her experiences. Madden captures the complexities of loving those who wound you deeply, as well as the healing that is possible within those relationships. Through Madden’s achingly raw and honest prose, the extreme privilege she experienced in Boca Raton, Florida, the deep and complex bonds she finds in her adolescent friendships, the transformation of her relationships with her parents in addiction recovery and her queer awakening all become relatable, regardless of how far removed they are from the reader’s own experience. Within this necessary book, Madden weaves together an utterly human paean to belonging, to healing, and to loving and being loved.

Trans activist, writer and performer Jacob Tobia’s debut memoir, Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story, refreshingly defies the typical trans narrative (“I was born in the wrong body, did these things to transition and now live as a boy/girl/etc.”). In their fabulous, fierce voice, Tobia tells their story of coming out as genderqueer. In adolescence, they found themselves falling into society’s familiar and static categories of what is assigned at birth or assumed (“gay” or “male”), but as Tobia came of age, they looked past the binary and began a fluid, exciting exploration of gender. Tobia’s story unfolds in the South, and they contend with their relationships with both family and religion. In particular, Tobia’s relationship with their father and with their childhood church evolve throughout the book, and these growing pains are detailed honestly but hopefully. Tobia is strong and confident (even calling themselves out as arrogant), and as a result of their strength, drive and overachieving nature, they have established themselves as a highly visible trans activist. What many may realize after reading Sissy is that expectations of gender affect not only those who identify outside the binary but also everyone who ascribes to it. There are creative and imaginative possibilities available to everyone through liberation from strict, patriarchal expectations.

By the end of the prologue of The Bold World: A Memoir of Family and Transformation, I was already in tears, overwhelmed by entrepreneur, social activist and former magazine ad executive Jodie Patterson’s empathy, acceptance and willingness to listen to her child, Penelope, when he reveals to her at 3 years old, “Mama, I’m not a girl. I’m a boy.” Patterson travels to Georgia to take a break, to heal, to figure out where to go from there, but even in her exhaustion, she wholly accepts Penelope as her son. Patterson begins the story in her own youth, as a quiet young black girl growing up in a wealthy family on New York’s Upper West Side, coming into her own strength and power as a black woman—in her words, becoming a “badass.” Patterson’s memoir is highly recommended for any parent raising a transgender or gender-nonconforming child. Her struggle is not with her transgender child but rather with a world that may not accept him as readily as she does. 

Robyn Ryle’s She/He/They/Me: For the Sisters, Misters, and Binary Resisters is a choose-your-own-adventure-style book that explores the intersections of identities and how gender impacts every aspect of our lives. There are over 100 ways you can read this book, with paths that lead readers into different societies throughout history. The journey, and the myriad options in how to move through it, reveal how gender affects every aspect of our culture and our experiences in love, sex, careers and more. Ryle empathetically explores the complications and intersections of gender, hopefully illuminating otherwise invisible structures in pursuit of new conceptions of power and being. She/He/They/Me is a recommended read for anyone living in a body in this world.

Queer communities can find healing through the sharing of stories, creating a web of common experiences that remind us that we are not alone.

These four books contain narratives of triumph, loss, trauma and healing, with optimism toward liberation and new understandings of…

NonfictionWomen's HistorySocial SciencePoliticsArt

Pride & progress

Feature by Julie Hale

We’re living in a time of transformation—an era defined in no small part by women who are acting collectively to create a more equal world. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’ve selected eight nonfiction books that are essential reading for today’s take-action women and their allies. By focusing on historic victories that led to the present day, these terrific titles provide direction for the future. 

The year 2020 will mark the centennial of the 19th amendment, which prohibits the U.S. government from denying citizens the right to vote based on sex—a major achievement in women’s fight for suffrage, albeit one that primarily benefited white women. In anticipation of that date, an important new anthology, The Women’s Suffrage Movement, brings together a wealth of writings related to the social crusade that changed the nation. Edited by renowned author and women’s history expert Sally Roesch Wagner, the collection features a diverse sampling of historical material dating back to the 1830s. The variety of perspectives and backgrounds represented in the volume is extraordinary. Letters, speeches and articles by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Jane Addams and Victoria Woodhull give readers a sense of the visionary minds that shaped the movement, while pieces focusing on Native American and African-American women illuminate the experiences of minorities in light of the campaign. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem provides the foreword to the book. Capturing the spirit and purpose of a pivotal period in American history, this stirring collection honors the forward-thinking women who fought hard to win the vote.

That fighting spirit is alive and well today, as actor Amber Tamblyn makes clear in her book Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution. Tamblyn, whose show-business career began when she was 12, hit a wall as she approached the age of 30. An aspiring writer and director, she found few opportunities in the male-dominated entertainment industry and decided to take charge of her life. She worked hard to bring her own creative projects to fruition and became an outspoken champion of women’s rights, joining forces with like-minded activists to establish the Time’s Up movement. In this candid, unapologetic book, Tamblyn—now 35—reflects on her awakening as a feminist and discusses vital topics like workplace discrimination and sexual assault. Throughout, she weaves in anecdotes about marriage and the birth of her daughter, her participation in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the challenges of being a woman in Hollywood. An “era of ignition,” she explains, is a time “when dissatisfaction becomes protest, when accusations become accountability, and when revolts become revolutions.” Briskly written, earnest and honest, her book is sure to galvanize a new generation of women.

In She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts, and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women’s Equality, writer Jen Deaderick and artist Rita Sapunor paint a vividly compelling portrait of the women’s movement using rousing quotes and clever cartoons and illustrations. Throughout, they spotlight wonder women such as suffragists Julia Ward Howe and Lucy Stone, African-American activist Mary McLeod Bethune and modern-day role models Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. Organized into 12 sections, the book covers more than two centuries of history, and Sapunor’s dynamic, comics-inspired sketches help bring the past into focus. Rewinding to the American Revolution, when Abigail Adams famously counseled her husband, John Adams, to “remember the ladies” at the Continental Congress, and progressing through the decades, Deaderick covers the ups and downs of the fight for equality in a style that’s lively and conversational. Her advice for women: “We shouldn’t look for leaders to save us. We make change together. We’re stronger together.”

Those are words to live by, and social-justice advocate Feminista Jones shows that women are doing just that in Reclaiming Our Space: How Black Feminists Are Changing the World from the Tweets to the Streets. An update from the front lines of the fight for equality, Jones’ book explores how black women are coming together to make their voices heard. She explains that because the digital world has provided fresh, effective platforms for the expression of ideas, black women are now more visible and vocal than ever before. “Go to almost any social media platform today and you will see a gathering of some of the most important feminist thinkers of modern generations,” Jones writes. In this impassioned volume, she examines how black women are harnessing the power of the internet and using hashtags to bring awareness to issues such as self-worth, motherhood and sex. She also considers the roots of black feminism and takes a deep dive into the concept of black female identity. Featuring insights into her own story and conversations with other influencers, Jones’ book is a powerful call to action.

The ongoing need to move women out of the margins and into the mainstream lies at the heart of Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. In tackling the topic of big data, Perez makes some startling discoveries. The numbers that impact everything from healthcare systems to workplace conditions and public transportation—figures that affect the day-to-day workings of society in countries around the world—are inherently biased, because they use men as a standard reference. Since women are left out of the equation, Perez says, data is discriminatory. “Most of recorded human history is one big data gap,” she writes, because “the lives of men have been taken to represent those of humans overall.” An activist, feminist and academic, Perez conducted scores of studies in Europe and the United States and presents an engaging account of her findings. By looking at the way women live today—as breadwinners and consumers, wives and mothers—she brings immediacy to what could have been a dry collection of figures. An invaluable study of a critical subject, Invisible Women powerfully demonstrates the dangers of biased data.

Female visibility is also emphasized in Women: Our Story, a comprehensive, impressively organized survey of the triumphs, achievements and differing ways of life for women across the globe. Organized by era, the book opens in prehistoric times and moves forward through the centuries. It’s an ambitious, far-reaching volume that takes stock of how women have shaped every aspect of society, from politics and religion to education and the arts. Along with standout graphics, the book is packed with photos, illustrations, vintage ads and other historical memorabilia. Featuring text by scholarly experts, it tells an epic story through brief sidebars and timelines, as well as substantive sections on the rise of feminism, women in the workforce, the lives of notable figures (Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou, Simone de Beauvoir—the list goes on) and what the future may hold for tomorrow’s reformers. As journalist Rebecca Boggs Roberts writes in the book’s foreword, “When we neglect women’s stories, we aren’t only depriving women and girls (and boys) of role models and empowering lessons; we are getting history wrong.” This spectacular retrospective gets it right.

The importance of looking back in order to move forward is underscored in Pamela S. Nadell’s America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today. Spanning more than three centuries, it’s a compelling and well-researched chronicle of the women who worked behind the scenes and in the public eye to establish a place for Jewish women in this country. Nadell—a noted women’s history scholar—is the daughter of Jewish immigrants, and she imbues the book with urgency and personal insight. From the nation’s earliest Jewish women, who set up homes in Philadelphia, Charleston and New York in the 1700s, to groundbreakers like Emma Lazarus and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Nadell looks at the shifting roles of Jewish women and their influence on American culture. As her research reveals, the meaning and significance of being Jewish has differed among women over the years, as some set their religious practice aside to pursue careers, while others maintained strict, orthodox households. Differences abound, Nadell writes, yet “one thing binds America’s Jewish women together: all have a share in the history of their collective American Jewish female past.” The contributions of these remarkable women shine in Nadell’s impressive book. 

The centuries are rich with inspiring examples of female empowerment, including many a madam president. All Hail the Queen: Twenty Women Who Ruled showcases these lady leaders—notable stateswomen whose accomplishments were often eclipsed by those of men. Writer Shweta Jha contributed the text for this intriguing book, which tracks the careers of Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I and Marie Antoinette, as well as those of less familiar figures, like Japanese ruler Himiko and Maya queen Lady Six Sky. Some were born monarchs; others achieved eminence through marriage. Nearly all of them—as is only fitting for a queen—led operatic existences filled with incident and spectacle. Jennifer Orkin Lewis’ lush, colorful artwork gives readers a sense of the time and place that produced each leader—and of what the lady herself might have looked like. “Had they followed the cultural norms of their times, they ought to have been quiet and unassertive,” Lewis writes of the female leaders. “Each and every one of them overcame those expectations and made her mark on the culture and people she ruled.” Perfectly suited to its subject matter, this regal volume has golden endpapers and a cover that sparkles. Here’s to the royal treatment—and here’s to women who make history.

Eight new books that celebrate female leaders and achievers.
Fiction

Even in the darkest moments, do not be afraid

Feature by Lonna Upton

In each of these inspiring novels, undaunted heroines navigate tumultuous pasts to find joy in the future, as they discover that faith has the power to take them further than they ever dreamed possible.

A year after her debut novel, Missing Isaac, struck a chord with readers, Valerie Fraser Luesse once again directs a symphony of characters, charming readers with her storytelling expertise and captivating dialogue. Set during World War II in Blackberry Springs, Alabama, Almost Home finds Dolly and Josiah Chandler struggling to make ends meet and renting out rooms in their fading family home to folks seeking financial opportunities at a nearby munitions plant. Dolly is the quintessential Southern hostess, whose cast-iron skillet is always serving up delicious meals and whose heart overflows with her faith in God, especially when it comes to guiding her boarders through hard times. The disparate souls who come to Dolly’s boardinghouse share impoverished circumstances and the pain of war, but they discover even more in common as their bonds of trust grow. A sisterhood blooms among the women as they connect the dots of a mysterious love story between a preacher’s daughter and the river pirate who built the family home. Old trunks and journals, abandoned shacks and river caves, speculation and surprise take center stage as the women search for the truth—and in the end find themselves, healed and whole.

Award-winning novelist Kristy Cambron weaves a tale of faith and resilience in the newest of her Lost Castle series, Castle on the Rise. Ireland’s struggles for independence in both 1798 and 1916 provide the background for this modern-day story that hinges on the secrets of Ashford Manor, a castle left to brothers Quinn and Cormac. The brothers, along with Quinn’s wife and her best friend, follow intriguing clues whose answers are revealed in chapters that alternate between the three time periods. The 1916 story, set during the Easter Rising, is vivid and fast-paced, filled with a rebellious spirit and heart-pounding suspense as a photojournalist named Issy battles cultural norms to become a valued member of the rebellion. The 1797-1798 story finds noblewoman Maeve resisting expectations that she cannot become involved in the family estate, even in the midst of uprisings and a strange encounter with an injured stranger. All three stories are laced with love, pain, faith and forgiveness as the characters fight their way to freedom, not just for Ireland but also for themselves.

In The Glovemaker, historical novelist Ann Weisgarber beautifully paints the harsh, lonely environment of the Utah Territory during the winter of 1887-1888 while creating tense moments and life-altering revelations for her heroine, Deborah. While awaiting her husband’s return from his work as a wheelwright, Deborah is visited by a stranger of her own Mormon faith. She knows he is running from the law, and she knows why: The U.S. government has ruled polygamy to be a felony. Although she does not agree with his personal choices, she knows he is a persecuted brother of her faith, so she decides to help him and risk her home and well-being to do so. When the lawman tracking the stranger appears at her door, Deborah has both religious and ethical decisions to make. Is it a sin to lie if a life is in jeopardy? Should the reality of these life-and-death situations outweigh her faith? Through the snow and wind, Deborah balances precariously between the tenets of her faith and her newfound courage. Weisgarber’s strong grip on suspense keeps the pages turning until the last storm passes and Deborah finds peace within herself.

With a masterful dual narrative, subtle romance and spine-tingling suspense, acclaimed author Jaime Jo Wright navigates the lives of two young women seeking a sense of identity in her third novel, The Curse of Misty Wayfair. In the early 1900s, Thea Reed, abandoned at an orphanage at age 4, travels as a post-mortem photographer while searching for her birth mother. Her journey leads her to Pleasant Valley, a small community that is believed to be haunted by the ghost of a murdered woman. When given the chance to photograph asylum patients, Thea begins to solve the mysteries of her own past—and she may also unravel the ghostly legend. In the current day, Heidi Lane has returned home to Pleasant Valley, a place she never felt she belonged. Her mother’s dementia has created even more of a chasm between them, with cryptic questions and answers from her mother that insinuate that Heidi is dead. Everywhere Heidi turns, she sees what the townspeople believe is the ghost of Misty Wayfair. Heidi’s search opens long-closed wounds and leads her to the same asylum where the haunting began years ago. Both women are driven by a passion for the truth and a desire to know that their lives have meaning. By accepting that God created them with a plan in mind, the two women are then able to find that purpose.

In each of these inspiring novels, undaunted heroines navigate tumultuous pasts to find joy in the future, as they discover that faith has the power to take them further than they ever dreamed possible.

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