As an aside, I find writing these book reviews hard as I try to strike the right balance of information. I'm not trying to sell the books, so I don't find the need to use a lot of superlatives and tantalizing setups. Also, I don't want to give too much away about the story because I often find that more formal reviews tell me more than I want to know- things that I would want to discover while reading it. Basically, I'm trying to give you enough information to look further into the book if it sounds interesting to you. I enjoy reading others' reviews, so I include some here.
Here are a few more things I've been reading recently.
Candle Island by Lauren Wolk, Children's fiction (middle grades), 2025
The story begins when Lucretia and her mother move to a small island off the coast of Maine, seeking solitude after Lucretia's father dies. They also have a secret that they are trying to keep in this remote location.
Candle Island has a few hundred people in the winter, and that number triples in the summer with city tourists. There is tension between wealthy tourists and islanders, and Lucrietia is a victim of it on both sides, being new and an islander. She finds a friend in an island boy, but his cousin, Murdock, is Lucretia's worst enemy. But, as is often the case, Murdock has serious problems of her own that explain her antagonistic behavior. Three other privileged rich kids cause continual problems (culminating in a very serious one) while they are just "having fun". It seems as if Lucretia and her mother aren't the only ones with secrets, and in the end, everyone gets to be themselves and let their talents shine.
Immediately upon starting the book, I felt moved by the writing. Descriptions of the island, its way of life, animals, and wildlife were rich in detail, and within them a moving story was woven. I recommend this book for both kids and adults.
Vanderbilt, The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe, Adult non-fiction (Dewey 973.5), 2021
The Vanderbilt fortune was built by Cornelius (Commodore) Vanderbilt in the early 1800s. Commodore was born on Staten Island, NY, and left school at age 11 to run a ferry for his father. By the age of 16, he had started his own business. He was ambitious and hardworking, and eventually branched out into the railroad industry. He had control over most of what was coming in and out of New York City, which made him one of the wealthiest men in American history. He was said to be obsessed with making money and ruthless.
Commodore had 13 children, and only one of his heirs after him added any money to the fortune. That was his son, Billy. After that, there was a long line of heirs lavishly spending, especially during the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, as they tried to establish their status among the society's wealthy. The book features individual stories of some of the more notable heirs, ending with Anderson Cooper, the author. He considers himself a Cooper and his mother as the last of the Vanderbilts. She had a very tumultuous childhood when her father died early, and there were battles over her custody and the trust fund that came with it. It was played out in court during the "trial of the century" when she was 10 years old.
I found the book interesting as I learned about the rich society 100 years ago. Times were different, as each person tried to outdo the others with their houses and parties. One person actually wore a costume made of cat tails to a costume ball, complete with a stuffed cat on her head. As I said, times were different.
I also found the book tedious at times, particularly when reading about the details of various houses or parties. They also made me feel sad that most of the money was not used in a charitable way. In some chapters that describe a lavish event, the authors include a serious event happening at the same time to put things into perspective.
The book clearly demonstrates that money does not buy happiness, as the Vanderbilts' live were often fraught with tragedy. Their money was more of a curse than a blessing in the long run.
The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen, Adult mystery, 2012
The Royal Spyness books follow Georgie, 35th in line to the British Throne, in the 1930s, as she stumbles onto murder after murder. There are castles, rich people, royalty, and many class restrictions that surround the stories. Despite being royalty, Georgie has no money, which causes a set of problems all its own. The stories are in historically accurate settings, and humorous relief is provided by her inept maid, Queenie.
The Twelve Clues of Christmas is the 6th in the series and takes place in a small village in Devon. Georgie, not wanting to spend Christmas in her brother's cold Scottish castle with his difficult wife and family, takes a job as a hostess for a 12-day Christmas party at another estate. Several locals are found dead, seemingly all of them are accidents, but Georgie is not so sure. Despite being told repeatedly to leave it to the police, Georgie figures out a connection and solves the crimes.
Among the murders are all of the traditions of an old English Christmas. Those are fun to read about, and the back of the book has recipes and explanations for some of them. I found this book a little harder to read than some of the other Royal Spyness books because there were multiple victims and some gruesome parts, but I thought it had a very clever ending. (Can you tell that I'm not a gritty mystery reader?)
Raising Hare by Chole Dalton, Adult non-fiction (Dewey 599.32), 2025
This is another book recommended by Hannah at Squishy Tulips, and I'm glad she did. The book is a New York Times bestseller and is on several Best of the Year lists.
Chole Dalton is a foreign policy specialist and lives a fast-paced life, including frequent travel. During the COVID shutdown, she moved to her country home outside of London, where she found an abandoned newborn hare. Unsure of what to do, she ultimately chose to pick up the hare because she thought it would give it the best chance of survival. Even though hares are almost impossible to raise in captivity, it survived. Dalton walked a fine line between saving the hare and keeping it wild so it could return to its natural habitat in the fields around her.
She learned a lot along the way from extensive research she did on hares, as well as from keen observations of the hare. The first thing she learned (and me, too) was the difference between rabbits and hares. While rabbits are group animals that live in burrows and hide for protection, hares are solitary animals that use stillness and speed to escape their predators. As a result of her time with Hare (she chose not to call it anything but Hare, since she didn't want to think of it as a pet), Dalton became more in touch with nature and found a quieter side of herself.
The book is interesting as we learn about hares and the natural world around them, but it's mostly a treat for its calming, deep prose.
Until next time...
