767 (2017 #65). The Rose of Sebastopol

by Katherine McMahon,
read by Josephine Bailey

This book sounded interesting from its description - historical fiction set in 1854 during the Crimean War.  Due to a family crisis, my listening to this audiobook was interrupted, and the library loan for it expired.  However, I found the characters so unlikeable and their predicaments so unrealistic that there was no motivation to borrow the book again to finish it.  A too-speedy reading by the narrator didn't help - it was hard to keep track of the shifts in time.

© Amanda Pape - 2017

[This e-audiobook was borrowed from and returned to a public library.]

765-766 (2017 #63 and #64). Two Children's Picture Books

Where Oliver Fits, written and illustrated by Cale Atkinson, is a wonderful picture book about "fitting in."  Oliver is a jigsaw puzzle piece who adjusts his shape and color in an effort to fit into various jigsaw puzzles - all unsuccessful, of course.  He ultimately changes himself so much that he becomes unrecognizable.  He fits in, but is unhappy.  The ending is a happy one, and the message is great.  It's also a good lead-in to a discussion about disabilities.  The fun and colorful illustrations, made in Photoshop, will attract age-appropriate children.  Definitely a great book for kids, parents, and classroom use.

Cinderella and the Furry Slippers is another "fractured folktale" retelling of a classic fairy tale by the pair of Davide Cali and illustrator Raphaëlle Barbanègre, who teamed up on Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs.  Once again, Swiss-born Italian Davide Cali has written a slightly feminist take on the traditional tale with a twist at the end.  French-Canadian artist Raphaëlle Barbanègre's colorful, whimsical, digitally-rendered illustrations add a lot to the story - especially the facial expressions!  I could definitely see using this book in a second grade classroom in my state, where students are supposed to "compare different versions of the same story in traditional and contemporary folktales with respect to their characters, settings, and plot."

© Amanda Pape - 2017

[I received these hardbound editions from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.  They will be added to the curriculum collection at my university library.]

764 (2017 #62). Inside the O'Briens

by Lisa Genova,
read by Skipp Sudduth

When I saw this audiobook version of a novel by Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice, I knew I had to hear it.  That book put a face on early-onset Alzheimer's.  This one tackles Huntington's disease (or HD), another early-onset genetic illness.

Joe O'Brien is a 44-year-old Boston police officer with a wife and four adult children, when he starts having some unusual symptoms and behaviors. Actually some of these started seven years earlier, but were attributed to stress.  Eventually he sees a neurologist, and receives a devastating diagnosis:  HD, which has no cure.  Worse, his kids each have a 50/50 chance of having inherited the disease.

The second part of the book focuses on Joe's youngest daughter, 21-year-old Katie, and her struggle to decide whether or not she wants to be tested for the gene that causes the disease.  Impacts of Joe's illness on the whole family, including her siblings, highlight her internal struggle, as she also strives to find direction in her life as a yoga instructor.

The third part of the book goes back to focusing on the whole family, including what happens to Joe, and leads to Katie's ultimate decision.

Actor Skipp Sudduth was the perfect narrator for this book.  He has one of those deep, gravelly voices that I'd expect a blue-collar guy like Joe to have.

Lisa Genova has a doctorate in neuroscience from Harvard, and obviously knows her stuff.  She also researched the work and lives of police officers, going on ride-alongs and into jail, and underwent the training to become a yoga instructor.  I would love to see her write a novel with a protaganist suffering from frontotemporal dementia or primary progressive aphasia next.


© Amanda Pape - 2017

[The e-audiobook, and print book for reference, were borrowed from and returned to my university library and my local public library respectively.]

763 (2017 #61). The Other Alcott

by Elise Hooper

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women was one of my favorite novels growing up, particularly because Alcott used herself and her three sisters as inspiration for Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March.  The "real" Amy was Alcott's youngest sister, Abigail May Alcott Nierriker, known as May, who really was an artist, and really went to Europe to study.

Elise Hooper has taken the facts about May and created a novel with them.  Particularly interesting for me were little details about life in Victoria-era Boston and Concord, Massachusetts, as well as in London, Rome, and Paris.  May knew artists like Mary Cassatt, and they too are part of the story.  It's obvious that Hooper did a lot of research for this book.

There is, of course, tension between the talented sisters - Louisa is the family breadwinner, and Hooper paints her as somewhat bossy and domineering, but May is certainly not perfect either.  That's what makes this historical fiction and not simply a biography, however.  Definitely worth a read.


© Amanda Pape - 2017


[I received this advance reader edition through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.  It will be passed on to someone else to enjoy.]