Regarding the Fountain

I haven't read this bad boys is years, but once I cracked open the first page it all came rushing back! The illustrations, the letters, the punny names, and the town scandal. It all holds up! The story is told through memos, postcards, letters, newspaper clippings, and various other correspondence - it's really unique! Dry Creek Middle School is in need of a new fountain so the principal reaches out to Flowing Waters Fountains to commission a new one - what he didn't bank on was the exuberant nature of the fountain designer - the book chronicles her correspondence not only with the principal but with a 5th grade class as well. They submit ideas for what they want the fountain to look like and in the process get a fun new pen pal. As the students research their town's history they also start to uncover some weird things - why did the water disappear 30 years ago on the exact same day that the middle school opened? Why is the water fountain always leaking? Super fun!

Tools of Engagement

Tools of Engagement wraps up the Hot and Hammered trilogy and it might be my favorite? I like the sexy cowboy the most out of all the men in the series. He's the youngest (only 23) - but he also has the most responsibility of all the men in this series. The only reason he came to Port Jefferson was because his half sister asked him to take care of her five year old daughter while she ran around the country. Taking care of a young kid is not what he envisioned with his life but he is smitten with his niece. He quickly finds a job in construction (where he meets Bethany) and is able to provide a stable environment for the little girl in his care. Bethany is sick of her brother's shit - she wants to do more than staging houses - she wants to flip one. Stephen laughs her off and she throws down the gauntlet - she's going to do her own flip and she steals one his best employees, Wes (the sexy cowboy). Wes and Bethany have amazing sexual tension but they "can't stand each other" - basically they are idiots and it's only a matter of time before the two fall into bed and into love with each other. Cute, steamy, and completely unbelievable. Great fluff! 

Betty

 

I haven't ugly sobbed at a book in years. The last 100 pages were just a cry fest for me. This book has some of the most memorable characters - and this flawed fucked up family is so precious and wonderful that I wish I could know them in real life - I felt right at home in their insanity. Betty was born to a Cherokee father and a poor white mother in southern Ohio in the early sixties. As a middle child of of seven and the only one who inherited her father's "indigenous" looks she often gets into mischief and has trouble fitting in. She loves listening to her father's tall tales and making up stories of her own - in fact there are certain parts of her family's history that she wishes she could re-write. For some reason Betty becomes the repository for her family's dark secrets. Her mother confides in her an awful ugly, truth that she never even told her husband and her eldest sister tries to lie about something that Betty wasn't supposed to see. A very dark coming of age story filled with incest, dark secrets, brutal pet deaths, and depression. I will say though that light shines through particularly well when balanced by the all the dark. There are truly some amazing moments and it isn't all bad, there is a lot of heartbreak though. You want the best for all these amazing characters. A book I won't forget about and will definitely return to. 

Caste

Wow - this compelling (soon to be award winning) look at the caste system in America, India, and Nazi Germany will give Americans a LOT of food for thought. Impressively researched; there is no way you won't be changed after reading this. When most people think of caste they think of India and the untouchables but Isabel Wilkerson dives deep into it's meaning the pillars that support it and then holds it up to a mirror so that we can see just caste driven American society is. It's.... upsetting, but honestly we're long past due for a reckoning; a coming to terms with our shameful past (and present). This book should be required reading. You can't unlearn what's in here but hopefully you can change your perception, your worldview, and start applying it for the betterment of ALL Americans (not just the white ones). Truly an awe inspiring book. 

Someone Knows

A terrible tragedy that occurred when Allie Garvey was only 15 has defined her life. Now 20 years later she's back at the scene of the crime. She's attending the funeral of one of the four who who witnessed that unspeakable event. In 20 years not one of those four teenagers has spoken aloud what happened. In fact, none of them have ever even spoken to each other again. But now it is a time of reckoning. Someone knows and the question is what will happen to those three remaining witnesses. This adrenaline pumping novel discusses grief, guilt, and the power that secrets hold over us. It's upsetting, life altering, and the power it takes to move past and forgive yourself (if indeed you are worthy of forgiveness) is impossibly hard. Fast paced and tragic.  

The Imposter

Normally I am all in on Amish fiction but this one just didn't do it for me. I don't know if my "belief" was suspended by all the modern conveniences (washing machines, pregnancy tests, bobby pins, etc.) or if I just didn't love any of the characters. Our sweet and innocent protagonist turns out to be carrying a pretty big secret that was never alluded to and was in fact, the most scandalous thing ever. My favorite character is hands down, Birdie. The gentle giant that falls for David. I'll continue with the series and hope the rest resonates with me. 

Lizard in a Zoot Suit

Set during the summer of the Zoot Suit Riots (LA 1943)when two young Hispanic Americans encounter violence, prejudice and 5 foot tall lizard. A Navy base has been installed in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood and the white sailors think nothing of tossing out verbal assaults and starting fights, when a 6 foot tall lizard pops out of a sewer grate to save the sisters they realize they've made a new friend. What they don't realize is that the lizard is also being hunted by a crazed Navy scientist. Are they in even more danger for befriending him? The fantastical story is set in an all too real situation and helps readers see it in a new light. Great for all ages.