Sashi lives in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, has four brothers, wants to be a doctor and is the narrator of Brotherless Night. However, it is 1981 and a civil war has broken out in her country. The war is atrocious with all sides unreasonable and violent. Because of the war, Sashi’s family is forced to leave their home, some of her brothers join up to fight with disastrous results and Sashi’s medical school closes.

This is a novel that takes some time to get into. The names are foreign, and there are many characters. Also, many of the scenes in Brotherless Night are graphic and upsetting. However, if you stick with this fine novel,are not squeamish, and want to learn about a part of history that is not well known, you will be rewarded.

Jennifer Dulos nee Farber grew up in the lap of luxury in New York City. Liz Claiborne was her aunt and her father, Hilliard Farber, was a well-to-do banker and philanthropist. Born in 1968 she later attended Brown and then went on to become part of a drama group. In 2004 she met and married Fotis Dulosa, a Greek immigrant, and quickly gave birth to five children. While going through a messy, drawn out divorce in May of 2019, Jennifer disappeared. Evidence pointed to Fotis as the murderer and his girl friend as an accomplice. Jennifer’s body has yet to be found.

Although I read only a few mysteries, I find true crime stories fascinating. And this one is a doozy! Even though I knew the outcome, I was totally absorbed in Murder in the Dollhouse. Rich Cohen writes in “reporter style” and keeps his readers eager to learn more about Jennifer, her privileged life and her tragic death.

Madeline Hill’s life changes drastically when Reuben Hill pulls up to her house in a PT Cruiser. Reuben’s father deserted him and his mom in Boston. After his mother dies, he hires a private detective to help him find his long lost dad. Seems Charles/Chuck/Chip and Carl Hill did the same thing in Tennessee leaving Madeline and her mother. He then went on to Oklahoma and again left a daughter and mother, then left a small family in Salt Lake City and finally ended up in Northern California. Reuben wants to collect all of his half siblings and confront the man who deserted all of them.

Kevin Wilson’s novel is a fine easy read. The characters are likeable(even the father), the plot is easy to follow, and the journey to California only hits a few bumps along the way. Run for the Hills is thoroughly enjoyable and takes no time to involved in Hill children’s search.

The Lotus Shoes tells the story of Linjing and her slave Little Flower. Told through their alternating narratives, readers learn much about the caste system in the 1800’s in China, the importance of bound feet, what it is like to be sold into slavery at a very young age, and how chauvinistic the Chinese culture was back then. Linjing is a mercurial mistress. Some times she wants to be Little Flower’s friend, other times she is cruel and manipulating with little empathy for what the life of a slave must be like. Little Flower is a skilled embroiderer, and this talent will eventually help her rise above her station.

Jane Yang’s debut novel is a good, engrossing “women’s” book. I recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction and want to learn more about life in China years ago.

Emilia Del Valle is raised by her mother, a devout Catholic, and her stepfather, her nurturing parent, in San Francisco in the 1870’s. She becomes a reporter for The San Francisco Examiner. Emilia is an adventurous, independent woman, a novelty at the time, and after much begging and pleading, she is permitted to go to Chile to cover its civil war for the newspaper. Emilia experiences danger, bloodshed and death in Chile but also love.

I run hot and cold with Isabel Allende. I admired House of Spirits and Paula, liked A Long Petal to the Sea and was indifferent to The Wind Knows My Name. My Name Is Emilia Del Valle is a good read about a strong woman and the descriptions of the civil war in Chile are interesting and informative, but it is certainly not Allende’s best.

In Goldstone’s There Is No Place for Us, the author follows four women, Britt, Kara, Michelle and Celeste and a married couple, Maurice and Natalia. Everything is factual in this work except for the real names of these individuals. All have children, live in Atlanta, are Black and have been employed in low paying jobs since before the pandemic. All are intent on finding a permanent place to live with their families, but many factors make that dream a herculean task.

This work of nonfiction is heart breaking. All six of these individuals spend their days working, trying to find child care, searching for more ways to make more money, helping family members, phoning and meeting with government and nonprofit officials looking for a way to subsidize there rent, searching for better and/or cheaper housing, and trying to pay for rent and utilities with money they don’t have. And when the pandemic hits, life gets even tougher. There are sections in this meticulously researched work where I was literally exhausted reading about what their days were like. There were other portions where I had to stop reading because I was so upset learning what these families had to endure. There Is No Place for Us is a must read for those who care about the future of our nation and its citizens.

This book was recently reissued since it was banned in Ireland since 1961. The Pilgrimage takes place in Ireland, and the main characters are Michael, Julia, Jim and Stephen. Julia and Michael are married. He is the wealthiest man in their small town, totally incapacitated and gay. Julia is having an affair with Jim , Michael’s doctor and nephew. One day Julia receives a letter in the mail describing to a tee what she and Jim are doing behind closed doors. This exact same letter appears at her home almost daily. Julia suspects Stephen, their servant, but is not sure how to get him to confess.

By today’s standards, The Pilgrimage is tame. It is not shocking, but Julia’s promiscuity and several gay characters seem to be the reason it was banned in Ireland for over fifty years. Is The Pilgrimage a great read? No, but it is interesting to see how much morals and sexual standards have changed since 1961.

This wonderful, delightful rhyming poem was written in 1888 by Edward Lear. Lear is famous for his nonsense poems and limericks. Nicholas Santore and his late father, Charles, are responsible for the magnificent illustrations that adorn each page of The Scroobious Pip.

I will not summarize The Scroobious Pip because it will be more fun to discover it on your own. It is a joyful read for children and adults of all ages.

If you are an animal lover and concerned about global warming and industrialization and how they affect the animal kingdom, read Vanishing Treasures. Katherine Rundell describes 22 creatures ranging from the wombat to the seahorse to the crow and how their existence is diminishing and why. Her short chapters on each of the 22 includes folklore, facts and histories of each. Vanishing Treasures is sometimes humorous, often times serious and full of little known facts and stories. Most importantly, it is a wake up call to the human animal.

Adichie’s novel tells the story of four Nigerian women-their friendships, their relationships with men and their lives in Nigeria and The United States. Chiamaka is beautiful, wealthy, has had many boyfriends and dabbles at being a travel writer. Zikora believes she has found the man of her dreams until she becomes pregnant. Kaditou works for Chiamaka and has a hard life which soon will become even more difficult. Finally, there is Omelogor who is brilliant, hard working, and tries to repair some of the injustices in our world.

Don’t be turned off by the foreign names; it is not confusing because each of the four women have a distinct personality. Dream Count is a fine “woman’s” book. Most of the men in the novel do not come off well, and although the four main characters are not heroic, they are for the most part strong and caring.