The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

 

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I picked this book up not knowing a whole lot about the subject matter and under a deadline to read it in ten days before returning it to the library. Add in a very busy  July 4th weekend and I only had a few days to read it.  I wasn't sure I'd make it, but happily the story grabbed my attention and I've spent the last few nights reading about an amazing librarian: Belle da Costa Greene.  

Belle became the personal librarian of JP Morgan in 1906. JP Morgan had built an impressive private library to house his already impressive collection of manuscripts and rare books. Belle was hired to organize and develop his collection. What JP and everyone around Belle didn't know was that Belle was an African American woman who passed as white. Her secret would drive her career and personal choices for the rest of her life. 

Belle's family history was definitely one that kept her conflicted about her choice to follow her mother's wish to pass as white in a city and country where African Americans were being lynched, denied rights, and only hired for menial, low paying jobs. Belle's job had her dining with the Vanderbilts, attending the opera with well known New York socialites, and most importantly, garnering JP Morgan's admiration and trust. Belle traveled to Europe to spend millions of JP's money at auctions, all the while building his private collection into one that rivaled most museums. 

Belle was an amazing woman--brilliant, hard working, and self-taught. She gave up a lot to keep her secret, and her place as librarian. I was curious enough to google her, and there's a lot out there about her. The Morgan Library and Museum will have a exhibition on Belle in 2024.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel about a woman who blazed a trail during a time when women were struggling to be heard and respected. She was the ultimate career woman and remarkable for her time. 

Both authors have notes in the back of the book detailing their experience writing this novel during the 2020 Pandemic. This would make an interesting discussion for a book club. I'd like to read more about Belle. 

Rating: 4/6 for a fascinating novel about JP Morgan's personal librarian. She was an incredibly smart, talented woman who defied societal norms while creating one of the most important collections of manuscripts, art, and books in the United States. Anyone with a love of libraries, art, or books will find this novel hard to put down. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

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The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

It took me a few weeks, but I finally finished Children of Blood and Bone this morning. I  don't read a lot of YA novels and shame on me for missing some pretty good stuff in the past few years. The buzz around Tomi Adeyemi has been high, and I couldn't ignore it.  I bought a special edition at Barnes & Noble on the day it was released; it has an annotated chapter and a fold out map. It's always fun to read author notes and see what they were thinking as they wrote scenes, so if you have a chance, check it out. 

Adeyemi is a gifted writer, and she doesn't shy away from unpleasant situations. There are torture, death, and oppression in this tale of a people who were once magical, but have been murdered for their gifts out of fear and anger by King Saran, who rules Orisha.  Their children were spared, and without magic, they are the downtrodden; "maggots" taxed beyond their means, and treated like dirt. They are known by their snow white hair, which sets them apart from the rest of the people. 

Out of this, two sets of siblings meet and start on a journey to bring magic back.  Prince Inan and Princess Amari are the children of King Saran.  He's a nasty father, and regularly pits his children against each other in battle training. Zelie and Tzain are brother and sister, living in Ilorin, secretly being schooled in fighting, in the hope that one day the Maji and diviners will have a chance to rise up and regain their magic. When Amari is shattered by a close friend's brutal death, she  steals a scroll from her father that, with a few other tools, can bring magic back to Orisha. Running away from the palace, she runs into Zelie, who is selling fish to raise tax money. When the two meet, the story unfolds, and it's an adventure from that moment on to the final sentence on the last page. 

I don't want to give much away, because you should experience this novel on your own in your own way, without any input from me.  I will tell you that it does break down what looks to be a simple good vs. evil into something that reminds us nothing is ever that simple, and that easy to decide. Family loyalty? Vengeance? If magic comes back, how to keep those who would use it for harm from doing so, and creating another potential war? How do you balance the magic with a peaceful kingdom and those who do not have magic in their blood?  I won't even get started on the horrible parenting that Saran uses on his children. Abused kids for sure, yet Inan fights what he knows he should do with his sense of loyalty towards his father, who has never treated him well. It's a classic abuse issue. Amari is seen as a helpless young lady, but she's the one who grows the most in the novel. It's hard to keep remembering that all four characters, and most of the supporting cast, are teens. Yes, Adeyemi does a masterful job wiping that out of your head. That's why this novel is a great read for teens and adults, and anyone who loves mythology and magic. 

It's an adventure, and the characters grow on you. I will have to read the next novel, and I'm sure it will be just as excellent as the first. It's already been optioned for a movie.  In light of all the race issues we have in the United States right now, the immigration issues, the seeing people (we are all part of the human race!) as less than; well, those are all the bedrock of this tale. It has a lot to say. Definitely a book club selection, and I hope high school English classes read it, too.  

Rating:  6/6 for an incredible tale of rising up, fighting for what's right, even if it means you may lose. This tale of magic, adventure, love, and dreams was fantastic. I think of it, and I see so many colors-you'll find yourself smelling, hearing, and seeing the vibrant world of Zelie, Tzain, Inan, and Amari. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio.

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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Tru and Nelle: A Christmas Tale by G. Neri

 It's very true I haven't read much children's fiction this year. I saw this book and, knowing a little bit about Truman Capote and Harper Lee's childhood friendship, I thought this would be a good read to include in my Christmas picks for December.  It is the continuation of Tru and Nelle, but you don't need to read that in order to enjoy this tale.  

I read the author's note after finishing the book, and learned that most of the people in this novel were actual real-life folks in Truman and Nelle's lives. Set in 1935, just a few days before Christmas, Tru is a runaway, hitching a ride on a train from his military school in New York to Monroeville, Alabama.  He had moved to New York with his mother and step-father, preferring the bright lights of New York City.  But once his mother was granted full custody after a bitter divorce, Truman finds out he's in the way, and shipped off to a military school where he doesn't fit in at all.  He decides he can't take it anymore and hops a train, getting back to his friend Nelle and his family:  Jenny, Big Boy, and Sookie.  He's welcomed back with open arms, but isn't there very long before bad things start to happen around Tru.  Suddenly homeless, his family ends up staying with Big Boy's family on their farm for Christmas.  A mysterious murder happens, and Nelle--trying to be helpful for her father, A.C., ends up creating a disaster when she notices two black men hanging around near the murder scene.  

While Christmas is approaching quickly, Tru and Nelle are struggling to find the meaning of Christmas, and the hope for justice to be served after it becomes quite clear the two men are not guilty of anything but being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  But the South in 1935 is no place for justice when it comes to race, and A.C. has his one and only criminal case in Monroeville, defending the two men.  

Through all of this turmoil, Tru and Nelle are rediscovering their friendship, evolving in their love of storytelling, and struggling with their identities--neither one is a typical tween and they don't fit in anywhere.  But Christmas has a special pull, and the love of family and friends means a lot in a time of despair and racial injustice.  

I really did enjoy this novel.  I thought it was a good balance between what the climate was like for 1935 Southern America--so many people with nothing, the KKK, racial tensions; but still that important pull of family and sticking together. Of being a good neighbor, of taking that one extra step to help, be kind, and understanding.  Tru and Nelle's struggle to move their relationship from a childhood friendship to a young adult friendship is something most of us have had to go through with dear friends we've know for a long time.  And justice.  As A.C. tells Nelle, sometimes the most important thing we can do is to be a witness to events, even when we can't do anything to prevent the outcome.  

This is a young reader novel, but very suitable for adults and teens, too.  Truman Capote's memoir A Christmas Memory is still available in bookstores and libraries.  

Rating:  4/6 for a novel about Truman Capote and Harper Lee's childhood friendship, and one special Christmas.  

Available in hardcover and ebook. 

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Tru and Nelle: A Christmas Tale by G. Neri

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

This was a powerful novel, and if not for folks around me talking about it, I probably would have passed it by.  However, fate intervened, and I'm happy to have spent the time reading about Jende and Neni Jonga's experience as immigrants in America.  There is so much to talk about, it is definitely a novel you'll want to discuss with friends. 

Jende is a native of Cameroon, and is living in New York City with his wife Neni and their young son, Liomi.  Jende had arrived in New York City alone, and spent a few years working hard, scraping up enough money to marry Neni and bring her to America.  His dream was to leave Cameroon, where opportunities to succeed were slim to none.  Jende is extremely hard working, of noble character, and polite to a fault.  He's also living in the U.S. without a green card, and an expired visa.  

Jende's chance to make a huge leap in providing for his family comes when he's offered a job as the chauffeur to Clark Edwards, an executive with Lehman Brothers.  It's 2007; Barak Obama is running for President, and the financial crisis that rocks Wall Street is looming. Neni attends school, with the dream to be a pharmacist.  Jende and Neni are two hard working people who save every penny they can, live very modestly on very little, and dream of providing a future for their son that wouldn't be possible in Limbe, their hometown.  America is their dream, if only Jende could receive a green card.  

Jende's employment with the Edwards family extends to Clark's wife Cindy and their sons, Vince and Mighty.  As he chauffeurs them around New York City, he learns that money cannot buy happiness.  Cindy is a closet alcoholic, deeply unhappy with life, and haunted by a terrible childhood.  Clark is desperately working to keep Lehman Brothers from falling apart; Vince loathes everything about America and longs to run away to India.  Mighty, Clark and Cindy's young son, is watching everything he knows crumble and fall apart. 

Jende's life is also hanging in the balance; he has an upcoming court date with Immigration, and chances are good he may be deported. What will he do if this happens?  How will it change his life, and that of his family, if he's forced to return to Cameroon, a place that is at once home, but also a place of failed opportunities?  Jende's anxiety and desperate hope that he will stay in America is palpable throughout the novel, and I kept getting anxious every time his looming immigration court date was mentioned.  As the Edwards' life implodes with the Lehman Brothers scandal, Jende's life is also affected in ways that are startling and for me, unexpected.  Neni's anger at the prospect of leaving America is so powerful; as a woman I could understand her desire to make a better life for herself;  and her willingness to work very hard to do so. Neni's fierceness in protecting her family is a welcome part of her character development.  For most of the novel, she's quiet, hard working, and supports Jende in everything he does. But as their life takes a sudden turn, she finally opens up and demands to be heard, not only by Jende, but by everyone in her life. 

One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is the idea of home and where we come from.  How it can be both the most wonderful place, and the one place we never want to return to because we see it as a sense of failure and giving up.  We see it in both Jende and Neni, and the Edwards family.  Success can be measured in so many ways, and it changes depending on where we are in life.  But it doesn't matter if you're black, white, an immigrant, or a citizen. 

This book was very good, and I'm hopeful Imbolo Mbue writes more.  This was an extraordinary first novel.  Random House has helpfully provided reading group discussion questions, as well as an interview with Imbolo Mbue in the latest paperback edition of the book.  Both sections are worth reading.  A timely novel that will generate many discussions on immigration policy, and the plight of immigrants not only in America, but throughout the world. 

Rating:  6/6 for a novel that explores immigration, race, dreams, family,  and the meaning of success. 

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook.

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Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue