My very favorite Bossy September reads!
This month my favorite reads were a retelling of a Mark Twain story; historical fiction set in North Carolina; contemporary fiction about an unplanned pregnancy; the real story of a beloved figure from stage, film, and song; a missing-person mystery; and a fantasy story within a story.
If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you think!
And I'd also love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads?
01 What the Mountains Remember by Joy Callaway
The historical fiction story about the building of the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, had a romantic element that was bigger than I was anticipating, but I enjoyed Callaway's storytelling on building logistics, the power of class and society, complications of widespread TB infection, visionaries shaping the future, as well as the love story that for much of the book seems destined for failure.
It's 1913, and Belle Newbold hasn't been into the mountains since her father died in a tragic West Virginia mining accident. In the seven years since, Belle's mother has reinvented herself as a society woman and has remarried, while Belle has learned to keep the family's past poverty, hunger, and struggles a secret.
Belle is fearful--particularly for her mother's sake--that her father's true origins may be uncovered and be their undoing. All of this, along with her pain at the loss of her beloved father, keeps her closed off emotionally. For her intended husband Worth, his tragic family past and complicated present seem to be stumbling blocks that can't be overcome.
The ins and outs of the Grove Park Inn's design and logistics of building were fascinating; Belle's research serves as an avenue for sharing this information, which feels thoroughly researched by the author herself.
The romance aspect of the story became more of a focus than I was anticipating, and I enjoyed Callaway's realistically tangled obstacles that persistently thwarted the easy path to love.
I listened to What the Mountains Remember as an audiobook. For more North Carolina stories, check out the books on this Bossy list. For my full review of this book, please see What the Mountains Remember.
02 The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
I'm a big fan of Emiko Jean's writing. The Return of Ellie Black was a disturbing setup followed by a somewhat too-easy-feeling reveal, but in between, I was captivated by the ride.
I'm fascinated by a missing-persons story. In Emiko Jean's The Return of Ellie Black, Detective Chelsey Calhoun is shocked by the reappearance of Ellie Black, a young girl who's been missing for two years.
Chelsey is especially invested in the case because her own sister Lydia went missing years earlier--before falling victim to a tragic murder-suicide carried out by her boyfriend.
The story takes us inside the claustrophobic, twisted, abusive, extremely disturbing compound where Ellie is kept prisoner--and she's not the only girl being kept against her will. When she comes home alive, only Chelsey finds it strange that Ellie has left her captor and remains alive. Has Ellie been released, rather than escaped?
The reveal of the true story behind the abductions, cruelties, and murders seemed far-fetched (every one of the elements--motivations, participants, delusions--were linked to close-to-home situations). But as always, I enjoyed Jean's writing, and I couldn't wait to find out who was behind the infuriating, extremely disturbing kidnappings and why.
Emiko Jean is also the author of the great young adult stories Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming and Tokyo Forever, as well as Mika in Real Life, Empress for All Seasons, and other books.
Click here for my full review of The Return of Ellie Black.
03 Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan
Sarah Rees Brennan offers a funny, dark, clever story within a story in which the heroes and villains are redefined, redemption is always possible, revenge is sweet, and rewriting the story doesn't always shift the plot in the way you'd expect.
I love a story that flips a traditional setup, and Long Live Evil is my newest favorite in the Villains Are People Too book trend (check out two of my other recommendations in this vein below).
Rae has always taken comfort in books. But now she's dying, and in a panic, she makes a magical deal in which she lives on...in the world of her sister's favorite fantasy series.
But wars are being waged, and Rae quickly figures out that she's not the heroine of the story. She's the villain. And only she can organize the rest of the plotting, dark, moody, sometimes exasperating bad guys (and girls) in an attempt to change all of their futures.
When Rae begins tinkering with characters, trying to shift the plot--posing as a prophet telling the future--she figures out that she's not the only one who came from the "real world" and has infiltrated the story. And she also realizes she may not be helping; she may be making everything worse.
This is so funny, sometimes dark, and it has lots of heart. I adore all of the twists on the heroine-villain setup.
I listened to Long Live Evil as an audiobook courtesy of Libro.fm. For other books that take a sympathetic, darkly playful view of a villain, check out Hench and Starter Villain.
Sarah Rees Brennan is also the author of the fantastic character-driven young-adult fantasy In Other Lands.
Please click here to see my full review of Long Live Evil.
04 James by Percival Everett
Percival Everett's James is a fascinating retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of enslaved Black character Jim, who here demonstrates intelligence, ambition, defiance, unbridled fury, and the ability to wrest control of elements of his life.
In James, Percival Everett's retelling of the Mark Twain novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, we hear a version of that novel's story told from enslaved Jim's point of view.
James is secretly teaching other enslaved people to read; sneaking to delve into the library of books in the big house, including works of philosophy by John Locke (he also holds imagined arguments and discussions with noted philosophers during several delirious moments of the story); and is an expert code-switcher who tailors his language to follow white people's expectations of a submissive Black person.
James is beleaguered by the ignorance, skewed power structure, and cruelty of the white people surrounding him. Through a stint as a performer in a minstrel show; a pivotal encounter with versions of the scam artists from Huckleberry Finn, the Duke and Dauphin; and the making and losing of allies and enemies, Everett turns multiple situations from Huckleberry Finn on their heads, frequently empowering James to shift the course of events.
Yet the true horrors of life as an enslaved Black person in the deep South at the time of Twain's novel are brutally evident, and Everett doesn't shy away from depicting the resulting abuse, casual cruelty, and, often, death of Black enslaved people at the hands of white people. The trauma on the page is difficult to read, but more difficult to consider in its origins, as it is rooted in horrifying fact and reality.
I listened to James as an audiobook.
Please click here for my full review of James.
05 Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
Thorpe's irresistible character of 19-year-old Margo discovers her strength, drive, creativity, and vulnerability after becoming pregnant. She defies societal expectations to provide for her baby and to find fulfillment in her personal and professional life.
Margo is a 19-year-old community college student having an affair with her married professor. When she finds that she's pregnant, she begins a winding path to figuring out her life that mainly entails defying most of the stereotypes of a young single mother.
She is told she will receive zero support from the baby's father; she loses two roommates due to the baby's crying; she receives little practical help from her mother; and she loses her job.
Yet she finds a true friend in her last remaining roommate, who until then seemed primarily a source of rent; she finds a strange and fulfilling new relationship with her estranged father, a former professional wrestler; and she dives into an unorthodox new profession in order to secure a financial future for her family.
Thorpe offers lots of joy and offbeat fun, yet doesn't shy away from weighty conflicts between classes, genders, ages, education levels, and levels of wealth or poverty. Margo butts up against--and at times, dismantles--frustrating societal expectations and double standards related to sex, desire, body autonomy, and freedom.
The story and its characters feel unexpected and fascinating; Margo's Got Money Troubles is an edgy contemporary novel with a wonderfully oddball premise and a captivating amount of depth.
For my full review, check out Margo's Got Money Troubles.
06 Maria: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran
I was hooked on the behind-the-scenes feeling of Moran's historical-fiction conversations between Maria von Trapp and an assistant to Oscar Hammerstein.
In Michelle Moran's novel Maria, she uses two timelines to shape the story of the real woman behind Julie Andrews's legendary depiction in The Sound of Music.
In the past, richly built period, we track Maria's path from the nunnery to her position at the heart of the von Trapp family.
In the 1950s timeline, Oscar Hammerstein is striving to bring Maria's story to life on the stage--but is tempted to rework some of the facts to heighten its impact. The demanding, exacting, elderly Maria insists that the depiction track more closely with her real life, and she furiously shares detailed notes with Fran, an up-and-coming young assistant in Hammerstein's office.
I was fascinated by the script and production's departures from the facts within the story--most of which track with the movie version--which Maria highlights in her conversations with Fran. For example, the depiction of the Captain in the script at hand is as the family disciplinarian, but Maria asserts that she was the more strict and demanding parent.
The family's singing is romanticized, but Maria reveals that one daughter had extreme anxiety about performing, and that while the singing was well received by the American public, the grueling touring schedule was rooted in a desperate bid to put food on the table for the family when few other prospects existed.
This is compelling reading, and for all who consider The Sound of Music sacred holiday viewing (and an essential singalong opportunity) like I do, it's irresistible to learn more about Maria through the "behind the scenes" feeling of the book.
I listened to Maria as an audiobook. For my full review, please see Maria.
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