Book review - Heiress Takes All

Title: Heiress Takes All

Author: Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt

                      Coin Heist by Elisa Ludwig

Rating:

 

righteous wickedness

Summary (provided by publisher): Seventeen-year-old Olivia Owens isn't thrilled that her dad's getting remarried...again. She's especially not thrilled that he cheated on her mom, kicked them out of their Rhode Island home, and cut Olivia out of her rightful inheritance.
But this former heiress has a plan for revenge. While hundreds of guests gather on the grounds of the gorgeous estate where she grew up, everyone will be thinking romance—not robbery. She’ll play the part of dutiful daughter, but in reality she’ll be redistributing millions from her father’s online accounts. She only needs the handwritten pass code he keeps in the estate's safe.
With the help of an eclectic crew of high school students and one former teacher, Olivia has plotted her mid-nuptial heist down to the second. But she didn't plan for an obnoxiously nosy wedding guest, an interfering ex-boyfriend intent on winning her back, greedy European cousins with their own agenda, or a vengeful second wife. When everything seems like it's going wrong, Olivia has to keep her eyes on what really matters: getting rich. And when she’s done, “something borrowed” will be the understatement of the year.

My opinion: A heist story is typically a very careful thing. While we love the story of detailed plans and sneaking around we're left with an important question - is it okay to cheer for a thief? So the author must justify the act and this book handles that dilemma well. Olivia's rationale for stealing from her father is well laid out, certainly, but there are frequent challenges to that reasoning. There are points where even she must question whether she is making the right choice, if it's okay to lead her crew into criminal territory. And there is a great deal of moral complexity. Not only does she have a conscience character reminding her that there are alternatives to revenge, she also questions her loyalty to both parents. While she resents her father, does she also seek his approval? With strong pacing and believable twists, this is a strong, entertaining read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Plain Jane and the Mermaid

 

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol

There are many stories about plucky young girls who go on adventures. Girls who are lovely but come from low class homes and wish to improve their circumstances. This is not one of those stories. Jane is a character who has never been enough. Too plain for her mother. Too female for her father. Too much of a dreamer for her peers. She doesn't have a lot of options in society. And with her home threatened by a predatory relative, she goes after the one thing she thinks can save her - marriage to an attractive but low income young man in town. This sends her on a reluctant quest with mermaids and witches and undersea societies. With dynamic illustrations and pleasantly complex characters this book is a delight to read and leaf through time and again.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

Learning to Fall by Sally Engelfried - A girl spends the summer with her long absent father, learning to reconnect with him and an old passion for skateboarding.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko - Hank has always taken care of his little sister, covering for their mother's addiction and frequent absences. When he asks for help, though, it starts to feel like his life is out of control and all he can do is make mistakes.

What do you think you'll read next?

Rules for Camouflage by Kirstin Conn-Mills

Book review - The Lamplighter

 

Title: The Lamplighter

Author: Crystal J Bell

Genre: historical fiction/horror

Similar books: This Is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes

                      Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power

Rating:

 

a slow burn

Summary (provided by publisher): It’s an honor to bring light to the dark.
The nineteenth-century whaling village of Warbler is famous for its lucky ship figureheads—and infamous for people disappearing into the nightly fog. In this murky locale, the lamplighter is synonymous with safety and protection, and it’s a position Temperance assumes when her father is found hanging from one of the lampposts. Though Tempe proves competent, the town is still hesitant to let a woman handle this responsibility.
When a girl disappears after two lamps go out, Tempe’s ability to provide for her mother and younger sister hangs in the balance. She scrambles for answers, hindered at every turn by the village authorities’ call for her removal. As more villagers vanish under her watch, Tempe discovers unsettling truths about the famous Warbler figureheads and her own beloved father. But her warnings of a monster are ignored, even by her own family. Now she must follow the light out of her own fog of despair, as she faces the choice to look the other way or risk speaking out and possibly dooming herself and her sister to be among the lost.

My opinion: Bell starts out on solid footing, giving us a clear picture of the world of Warbler and Tempe's precarious position. We quickly get the sense that something wrong and potentially evil is afoot which hooks the reader well. What follows is less nail-biting that we might hope as the threat is revealed to be less immediate and physical than it is existential. There is eventually a physical threat that is revealed in a moment that isn't shocking so much as it is the payoff of the slow build of unease and the sense of wrongness. With a final turn that is startling but satisfying, The Lamplighter is a read worth working through the ponderous first half.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

Given the set-up, this book could easily have turned into a cliche. We have a pastor's daughter who's always been "good" floored by the return of her mother's cancer. She doubts her always-been-easy faith and in this state goes to work at a secular summer camp for kids who have difficult lives. This could have turned into utter rejection of organized religion and easy answers about relationships and grief. But it works hard to go deeper. It explores how relationships shift as people grow, how empathy is at the forefront and guides "goodness". While there are some obvious reveals later in the plot, the strong characters and genuine soul searching make up for perceived weaknesses.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6 - mystery

There's nothing like a good mystery for a beach read. Whether you're six or sixty, we all enjoy going over clues and trying to guess the solution before the book's characters do. Here are six new mystery stories published in the last six months.

Six new mysteries for kids and teens:

1. Till Human Voices Wake Us by Rebecca Roque
2. It All Started With a Lie by Denise Brown
3. The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso
4. The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
   
5. Dark Parts of the Universe by Samuel Miller
6. Have You Seen This Girl by Nita Tyndall
   

Book review - Dr. Z and Matty Take Telegraph

 

Title: Dr.  and Matty Take Telegraph

Author: Ari Rosenschein

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: One Night in a Thousand Years by Craig Cunningham

                      Crash Landing by Li Charmaine Anne

Rating:

 

doesn't dig too deep

Summary (provided by publisher): It’s the late ’90s—the final days before smartphones and the internet changed the teenage landscape forever. Zack and his mother have moved from Tempe to Berkeley for a fresh start, leaving behind Zack’s father after a painful divorce. A natural athlete, Zack makes the water polo team which equals social acceptance at his new school. Yet he’s more drawn to Matthias, a rebellious skater on the fringes, who introduces him to punk rock, record stores, and the legendary Telegraph Avenue.
As their friendship intensifies, Matthias’s behavior reminds Zack of his absent dad, driving a wedge between him and his mother. Complicating matters is Zaylee, a senior who boosts Zack’s confidence but makes him question his new buddy, Matthias. Faced with all these changes, Zack learns that when life gets messy, he might have to become his own best friend.

My opinion: It's a set-up we see sometimes in novels - a character takes a move to a new town as a chance for reinvention. It's less common for that character to be a teen boy. And to be fair, Zack doesn't set out to change; the change happens naturally as he adapts to circumstances. He stays open to new experiences which lead him to question things he's held to be true about himself. This allows for a plot that is introspective and thoughtful without digging very deep. Zack draws quick conclusions, not changes wrought through long struggles. While the book doesn't push too hard, it is reflective enough to make for a quiet, contemplative read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley