Mistress of the Storm, a Verity Gallant Tale, by M. L. Welsh. David Fickling Books, 2011.

This fantasy unfolds over one year in Wellow, a fictional seaside village in England. Verity Gallant, unpopular, not pretty, is resigned to never measuring up to the expectations of her family and her classmates.  And then, one day as she is reading in the library, a mysterious stranger gives her a red book and a wooden sphere before hastening furtively out the door. The title of the book is, "On the Origin of Stories, a Disquisition" by Messrs R. Hodge, Heyworth & Helerly.

Immediately, things begin to change. Verity's mother becomes pregnant, and her father becomes distant and unresponsive to his family. The Storm, a big sailing ship, has anchored in the bay. A heretofore-unknown - and very unpleasant - grandmother arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay with Verity's family. A mysterious dark-skinned boy begins following her. An adult friend disappears.

With information gleaned from stories in the red book and the help of her friends, Henry and Martha, the librarian, Miss Cameron, and the dark-skinned boy, Jeb, Verity pieces together the fantastic stories of the families in Wellow and discovers the true identity of her "grandmother".

This is so unlike any other fantasy I have read, I was glued to the pages until the very end of the book. Characters were not who they seemed to be; friends turned out to be foes and vice-versa. All my guesses were wrong; but the author provided a very satisfying conclusion. I especially liked the role of the library as a source of research materials for Verity and her friends. I hope there will be more Verity Gallant tales forthcoming!

The Arabian Nights Cookbook, by Habeeb Salloum. Tuttle Pub., 2010

I borrowed this book without opening it, thinking to surprise Husband with an exotic meal or two. He, having lived in Saudi Arabia for two years, looked skeptical, but immediately found two recipes to try. They were delicious!  Four stars! Who would have thought a cookbook could be a page-turner?

Husband is compiling his next grocery list - can't wait to see what he'll choose to make this time!  In fact, he's decided he wants to purchase his own copy

The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake. Amy Einhorn Books, 2010.

What would you think about a Postmistress who deliberately withheld mail? What would you think about a journalist who deliberately withheld the truth? In the months before the United States enters the Second World War, in the thick of the German blitz on London, Iris, the Postmistress in a seaside Massachusetts town, and Frankie, the radio journalist on location in London, each has a profound effect on the lives of those in their service areas - and on each other.

Told from alternating American and European viewpoints, life in America, England, France and Germany comes into focus through letters, radio broadcasts, and vivid description. The plot ends are neatly tied at the last, though the underlying philosophical questions are not so tidily dispatched.

Although it is set in a time before television, this novel has all the graphic impact of a wartime documentary - it is a journalist's report, after all, a radio lifeline which brought news from the war in Europe to America. It brought home to me the horrors of the London blitz and the mass emigration of Jews on the continent in a way that I will never forget. The author personalized the characters so well, there was never any question about labels or categories - each major and minor character was a Person with a Story.

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007.

Jacob Jankowski, now in his 90s and living in a nursing home, finds memories of his earlier life as a circus veterinarian during the Great Depression rushing back when he hears that a circus is setting up next door. The residents have been promised a visit to a performance under the Big Top. Sandwiched between vignettes of his current situation, memories of the years he spent on the road with the "Benzini Brothers Most Spectactular Show on Earth" come flooding back.

This would be a great book-discussion title. There are many sub-plots, tangled relationships, economic, social, and ethical issues that could provide material for a spirited discussion. The description of circus life is rich in color and detail, evoking both dismay at the lack of political-correctness (by today's standards) and longing for a time when adventure was more easily achieved. And although one reviewer called the ending "predictable", I found it redeeming and totally in keeping with the illusions that keep people coming back to the circus.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat, by Laura Lippman. William Morrow, 2008.

Tess Monaghan, private investigator, is confined to bed during the last months of her pregnancy. Bored, she spends her days watching the people in the park outside her window. Every day, a young woman in a green raincoat walks her Italian greyhound, and talks on her cell phone. One day, the dog appears, running through the park with leash flying, sans owner. Tess, convinced something terrible has happened to her, determines to get to the bottom of the mystery and discovers layers of crimes and cover-ups which lead to a startling - and dangerous - discovery.

I just returned from the American Library Association's annual conference, held this year in New Orleans. The Public Library Association President's program featured the husband-wife team of David Simon and Laura Lippman, who discussed their works and philosophy of writing, and also shared anecdotes from their days as journalists. I bought one book from each author, and read this novella, the 11th in the Tess Monaghan series, on the plane coming home. I found it to be light, tight, and twisted, and have already placed the first book in the series on hold.

Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. Walker & Co. 2008.

A few years ago, I was selecting audiobooks for my mom, who has macular degeneration. She was particularly taken with this title, and I've only just now read it in e-format.

As part of the Cultural Revolution in China, Li Cunxin was selected from a rural town to become a dancer. He was sent as a young child to Beixing and spent many years in rigorous training and indoctrination. But after a 6-week period as an exchange ballet student in Houston and an eye-opening introduction to the western world, he began to doubt the Communist tenets he had believed in. He made plans for a return trip, and ultimately defected.

In retrospect, I can completely understand why my mother found this an inspiring biography. It is a compelling story, a window into a place that was shrouded in secrecy and prejudice; it is a bridge between that place and the world we know and take so much for granted. And it is a powerful paean to the triumph of will in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

90 Miles to Havana, by Enrique Flores-Galbis. Roaring Book Press, 2010.

When Castro takes power in Cuba in a violent uprising, and rebels begin taking over the homes and possessions of families, 9-year old Julio's parents decide to send him and his two older brothers to a refugee camp in Miami for safety. They expect to be reunited in a few weeks. In camp, they are met by a different reality than the one promised: bullies, gangs, poverty and lies. Through Angelita, a family friend, Julio becomes involved in an illicit and daring plan to rebuild an abandoned boat and rescue his parents.

Flores-Galbis was a child refugee from Cuba and this children's novel is based directly on his own experiences with "Operation Pedro Pan." It is a story that picks up momentum with each chapter, and gives voice to a part of American history that is seldom taught.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch. Amazon Crossing, 2010. (Kindle Ed.)
A young lady asked me for this book last week, and it was available neither in our collection nor in the larger Link+ collection. She said it had been recommended independently to her by three friends in the same week and she thought she should seek it out. Curious myself by then, I bought a Kindle edition and read it on the iPad.

Having so recently read Brooks's Year of Wonders, I found this novel to be a perfect counterpoint. Told in a male voice and set in the same century, this is the story of the hangman in a small German town and his impact on its citizens, businesses, politics, and commerce. There is the suspicion of witchcraft when brutally murdered orphan children are discovered to have the same mysterious mark on their shoulders, and also a blossoming romance between the hangman's daughter and the doctor's son.

The descriptions are graphic, particularly of the tools and methods of the hangman's trade, but they only add to the tension as the tale becomes ever more tangled. I found it to be a very satisfying read, and plan to recommend the library purchase a copy.

Update: The library now owns copies of this title.

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See. Random House, 2009.

Pearl and May, teenage daughters of a business man in Shanghai in the 1930s, are modern and liberated. They model for advertisements, wear western clothing, and speak English. In public. At home, they are still bound by traditional Chinese family customs, and are stunned to learn their father has sold them to be wives of the American Chinese sons of their father's debtor in payment of his gambling debt. Their world is shattered upon discovering their father has lied to cover up his gambling losses, and the lengths he is willing to go to to save himself and his wife.

Thus begins an exploration of the atrocities of the war with Japan, the harsh and impersonal treatment of immigrants to the United States, and the struggle to reconcile the stories of the riches that will be theirs in Hollywood with the realities of poverty, hard work, and deep prejudice.

As with the author's "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", Lisa See tells the story with vivid and lyrical language. Her intimate understanding of the Chinese and American cultures, and deep knowledge of the historical setting allows the characters of Pearl, May, their parents, their in-laws and their husbands to sharpen and develop through the interplay of relationships, and the effects of secrets, war and segregation on their ambitions and dreams. And then, there's Joy, the daughter around whom May and Pearl build their new lives.

I felt the first half of the book set the stage; in the middle, the drama of the tale build quickly and grabbed me, and from then on it was a page-turner that kept me up till the wee hours.

Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool. Delacourte Press, 2010.

In the late 1930s, 12-year-old Abilene Tucker has spent much of her life riding the rails with her drifter dad. But suddenly, he decides to send her to live with a friend in Manifest, KS, where he grew up. She is disappointed that the town doesn't live up to her dad's descriptions, but she soon becomes involved with two classmates in solving the mystery of the spy, The Rattler. She also discovers a cigar box under the floorboards of her bedroom. It is full of mementos and clues which lead to the discovery of snippets of her dad's earlier life.

I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Abilene's more worldly point of view and the more insular viewpoints of her Manifest friends. The characters of Pastor and bootlegger Shady Howard, "Reporter About Town" Hattie Mae Harper, and diviner "Miss Sadie" are quirky enough to be believable as small-town characters. And through Hattie's newspaper and the mementos in the box, we uncover the story of the influence of World War I on the development of the people and the town.

This year's Newbery Medal winner will appeal to all ages.

Year of Wonders: a novel of the plague, by Geraldine Brooks. Viking, 2001.

Anna, an 18-year old widow with two small children, unwittingly introduces the bubonic plague into her village when she takes in a lodger from London in 1665. The rest of the story is predictable, save for one thing: it's based on events that happened in the real English village of Eyam, which imposed a voluntary quarantine upon itself in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease to other towns. At the end of the year, by the time the spread of the disease had stopped, two thirds of the villagers had died.

Brooks's story includes just about every element that could possibly be squeezed into the village boundaries: fear, blasphemy, women's education, herbalism, witchcraft, sex, opportunistism, flagellation, religious tolerance and intolerance - and squeezed them all into a single year. The language and descriptions are powerful and evocative, though I thought the ending was a bit weak - as if she had just got too tired and wanted to be done with it.

What I loved about the book was the use of colorful and contemporary words, that placed the story squat in the middle of its culture and time: handfasted, boose, beastings pie, overweening, oatcake and brawn, unruly tup. Mostly, an approximate inference is possible, but I ended up looking up many words in the OED.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press, 2008.

North America in the future is no longer 50 states, but 12 Districts governed by the Capitol, located somewhere west of the Rockies. To remind the Districts of their defeat, annual Hunger Games test the mettle of two representatives ("tributes") from each district, who compete in an event that is strongly reminiscent of today's "survival" TV shows - there will be only one survivor.

Collins successfully explores the effects of war on young people as they struggle to live in a poor and repressive envronment, and on the emotional impact on the tributes and their families as they deal with murder and the responsibilities of being a victor. She personalizes the message vividly as she follows Katniss and Peeta, the two tributes from District 12 (somewhere near Appalachia), and the repercussions from their first-ever dual win in the Hunger Games.

I've read successful post-holocaust novels before, some written for teens and some for adults (like Hoban's Riddley Walker), but this one grabbed my heart, and I purchased the second title in the series, Catching Fire, as soon as I read the last words.