Forever Friends

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marian Kamali is an impactful, well-written book.

It spans the course of decades (1950-2022) and settings, including Iran, NYC and Massachusetts.

Ellie meets Homa in 1950 after moving to a poor neighborhood with her mother following her father’s death. They become best friends. Their friendship is beautifully developed.

To reclaim status, Ellie’s mom decides to marry her husband’s brother. This allows them to move back to an elite neighborhood. Ellie eventually adapts and becomes popular in the new, prestigious school she attends. Homa is a distant memory, until she becomes a new student at Ellie’s school during their senior year.

Their friendship eventually reignites and continues as they go to University (along with Ellie’s fiancé). Through it, Homa continues her tireless desire to fight for freedom and women’s rights through the changing of regimes in Iran. Her rebellious nature and Ellie’s misguided jealousy end up terminating their friendship.

Ellie moves to NYC with her husband. She unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile with Homa before leaving. Homa has become a mother following her time in prison.

Their paths reconnect when Homa reaches out for help. She is worried for her daughter’s safety and hopes to send her to NYC with Ellie. It’s at this point that their lives become entwined again.

My brief summary and review can’t begin to capture the depth of this story and its characters. There are so many important lines and moments; it’s a story I want to remember.

Multiple Suspects

I Don’t Like Mondays by Maria Frankland is about Cathy’s recovery after being pushed in front of an oncoming train.

She survives the incident with multiple injuries but doesn’t remember the last ten years of her life.

As her memories slowly begin coming together, there seems no end to the possible suspects in her attempted murder. Her competition at work, her husband’s current fiancée, her husband and her brother are all on the list. In the aftermath, she also finds out that her stepsister and closest friend is actually her half sister. A half sister with extreme jealousy over Cathy’s relationship with their dad.

While this book was entertaining, it is not a favorite. The first person narration got on my nerves and the plot’s constant attempts at suspense grew tiresome to me.

Bestowals

Theo of Golden by Levi Allen was highly recommended on social media.

Theo is an older man who decides to move to the small town of Golden, Georgia. The neighborhood coffee shop is filed with portraits drawn by a local artist. Theo makes it his mission to gift each portrait to its subject. With each gift, Theo builds deeper relationships with many people in the community. We learn more about certain residents through their interactions with Theo. Some notable friends are: Tony the bookseller, Asher the portrait artist, Simone the cello player, Ellen the homeless woman, Kendrick and his daughter, Shep the coffee shop owner and others. He is a skilled conversationalist; however, he reveals very little about himself when conversing with others.

Theo’s backstory and purpose for residing in Golden are slowly revealed, with a shocking turn at the end.

This was a slow, steady read for me. I enjoyed the writing and feelings of kindness, friendship and appreciation for life expressed throughout the book.

Bold Beauty

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh is a young adult novel set in historic New Orleans.

Celine and a number of other young women from various parts of Europe are sent to live in a convent. They will be supervised until arranged in a suitable marriage.

Celine is different. There is a spark in her unlike the others which immediately is noticed by the very handsome Sebastien, as well as by his deadly enemy.

She is swept up in a tale of revenge as a string of violent murders begin adding up.

This is a hate to love story with elements of magic and monsters. It evokes the feeling of Twilight and similar vampire-type novels. For me, it was a bit slow and predictable.

Heist

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is first in a two-part series.

It’s a story very much like an “Ocean’s Eleven,” with a high stakes heist as its main plot.

Kaz is the leader of a crew looking to kidnap the head scientist responsible for a drug that deeply intensifies Grisha powers. It’s worth a small fortune to accomplish this feat, and his crew wants the money for various personal reasons. Kaz wants the money and revenge on the man responsible for his brother’s untimely death when they were boys.

Kaz has assembled a crew consisting of his own sharp mind, Inej (acrobat/spy), Nina (Grisha heartrender), Jesper (sharpshooter and secret Grisha), Matthias (the muscle freed from prison to provide inside intel), and Wylan (novice bomb expert).

The story is packed with adventure and near-death experiences as they work toward their goal. Events lead to a cliffhanger as they finish the heist with unfinished business- getting their payment and rescuing wraith.

Haunted

Beloved by Toni Morrison is a book delving into the horrors of slavery and its aftermath.

Sethe is an escaped slave living in Ohio. She moved in with her mother in law and her children, but there is a terrible heaviness upon their home. It’s the ghost of Sethe’s murdered daughter, Beloved. Once they’re old enough, her two sons moved away leaving behind her one living daughter.

After her mother in law’s death, Sethe and her daughter receive two visitors. One is a man from her past and the other is the adult version of her deceased daughter. Strange events occur as Sethe wrestles with her past actions and tries to make amends with her dead daughter. The horrors of her past (and the men in her life) are revealed in snippets throughout the book which lends some understanding of the post traumatic stress she inhabits. Meanwhile her living daughter, Denver, is forced to step outside her (self-imposed?) reclusiveness.

This is a strongly written read (of course – it’s authored by Morrison!) which will force one to think about the atrocities white men were capable of during this time period and the horrible after effects on their victims.

Tainted Victory

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is the most recent book of The Hunger Games series.

It’s the 50th quarter quell, and every district must send double the tributes. After a deadly riot, Haymitch is chosen as the unfortunate backup tribute for district twelve on his sixteenth birthday. He is forced to leave his mother, young brother and the love of his life behind.

The book follows his experience along with his districts three other tributes as they prepare to enter the arena. Their odds don’t look great as they are given some of the worst treatment of all the districts. Also, Haymitch has already pissed off Snow so he is marked for disaster.

However, he’s able to spin the public’s view of him to be a rebellious rascal. He is also part of a plan to destroy the arena from within.

In typical Hunger Games fashion, there are grisly deaths, mutated creatures and strategy. Spoiler- while Haymitch may end up surviving, his whole world crashes down after the games.

Royal Romance

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz is a fun, romantic graphic novel.

The main character is a countess who stands to inherit none of her fortune as a woman. Her father gives his blessing for her to become a man, the count, in order to keep her inheritance. She moves to a new area with her lifelong handmaid to protect the ruse.

This is when she begins falling for the Princess. But she can’t allow herself to get too close to avoid her secret being revealed. The Princess develops feelings too, but is also onto her secret which has the potential to change all their plans.

It’s been several weeks since I read the book which is why my review lacks detail. It was a light-hearted, quick read with great cheesy references throughout.

The Real Snake

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is a prequel to The Hunger Games.

Coriolanus Snow is a senior student residing in the Capitol. He aspires to attend university, success and wealth. However, his family consisting of his grandmother and cousin Tigris, are in financial trouble. They are in danger of losing their penthouse apartment and they are starving. His best meals are at school.

There seems to be hope with the upcoming Hunger Games because for the first time the students will be mentors to the tributes. The winner will receive full tuition at the University. However, Coriolanus is horrified when he is the last mentor assigned to the lowly District Twelve’s girl tribute.

But, he soon realizes that his mentee, Lucy Gray, is captivating. She has an amazing presence and sings beautifully. They begin to develop a relationship as they strategize how to win the games.

During the buildup to the games, Coriolanus has to worry about the game creator, Dean Highbottom, who seems to have a personal vendetta against him. There is also the twisted Dr. Gaul. Her experiments on animals and possibly people seems to have no boundaries.

Sejanus is a classmate and former District Two resident. Coriolanus envies Sejanus’s family money, and also can’t stand his rebellious tendencies. But he knows it’s best to keep up appearances as a friend.

Snow’s cheating during the games gets him assigned as a Peacekeeper. He chooses District Twelve in hopes of reuniting with Lucy Gray. And Sejanus ends up joining him.

Lucy and Snow reunite and seem destined to be together. However, Snow begins to realize his true nature. He cares more for acclaim and privilege than building a new life in the unknown.

There is so much more intricate detail to the story. The characters are well written and I was captivated.

The Meanwhile

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood is a beautifully written story full of emotion.

It tells Violet, Harriet and Frank’s stories which inevitably intertwine.

Violet is in jail for vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence with her boyfriend. They were running away together. The victim was Frank’s wife.

Violet is part of a book club while in jail which is led by Harriet, a volunteer and retired teacher. Harriet carefully chooses their books at a bookstore in Portland, Maine. Frank is a part time employee at this bookstore.

Each character’s background is developed with the emphasis on present time. It turns out that Frank was in the process of being divorced by his wife. Although, his grown daughter thinks it was due to his own infidelity.

Meanwhile, Violet is released but is essentially orphaned. Her mom passed while she was in jail, and the rest of her family (aunt and sister) have disowned her. They blame her mother’s death on the stress that her trial created.

Luckily, her connection to Harriet is rekindled on the outs. Harriet’s niece puts in a word for Violet to work as an assistant to an avian scientist, Misha, who is studying the intelligence of parrots. Violet is able to handle his abrupt manner and she loves the birds in their care. And she begins to love Misha too.

Eventually Frank, Harriet and Violet develop a familial relationship toward one another. There is kindness, forgiveness and a beautiful patience and love of story woven throughout.