What I Read This Week

What I Read This Weekend . . .

The Forrester Inheritance by Daisy Vivian -- Regency Romance

Miss Mariana Porter lives in genteel poverty in Dublin with her father, a gamester and painter. They manage to get by but hope for something to come along to help them return to their old lives in London. Perhaps Mariana should accept the proposal of the Marquis, a friend of her father's. If only he hadn't proposed primarily in order to help Mr. Porter. When news of Lyndell Porter's Uncle Josiah Forrester's death, the Porter's hope that the city merchant's fortune will be theirs, but Forrester left his legacy largely to his nephew by marriage, Captain Brion Seymour. Mariana's friend Lucy writes that she's getting married in London and needs Mariana there as her bridesmaid, Mariana wonders if she should go. Then her long estranged Aunt Battledore comes to Dublin to whisk Mariana away to London where the girl enters Society. Mariana makes the acquaintance of Captain Seymour, whom she hates at first because of his newly acquired fortune and later because he is irritating. Captain Seymour is often seen on the arm of the beautiful but catty Lady Blanche. Then Mariana's solicitor makes a shocking announcement: Uncle Forrester left a third of his immense fortune to Mariana but only on the condition that she marry within the extended family or she'll forfeit everything. This leaves Mariana with three choices: Captain Seymour; his gentle poetic cousin Jeremy, a mute; and Tyger Dobyn, a pugilist. She likes Jeremy and even engages the help of a mutual friend, the sculptress Mrs. Damer, to teach her sign language. While Tyger is amusing, he isn't really the type a lady like Mariana should marry. Lucy counsels Mariana to choose one but Mariana refuses to marry without love. Mariana also learns some shocking secrets about her mother which may affect her future and possibly even her safety. This is a nice, quiet comedy of manners Regency. Mariana is young but not too young as to be annoying. She's had a tough life and it's made her grow more quickly than Lucy so she knows her own mind better. I admired her for wanting to marry for love but at times found her cold and snobby. Her three suitors are vastly different from one another. Captain Seymour seems like he might be a rake but he has little personality and not much development. Tyger is unusual but has a cruel streak that neither Mariana nor myself likes. My favorite suitor is Jeremy. He's so sweet and gentle. I would marry him! I liked the introduction of real life characters into the story. The author blended history and fiction quite well with only a few moments of telling too much history outside of the plot. Mostly though, this is a rather unforgettable story. I know I read it once before but for the life of me I couldn't remember anything about the plot except that Jeremy is mute and Mrs. Damer teachers Mariana sign language. 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett -- Historical Fiction

By now you probably know what the story is about, but assuming you don't, let's begin with a summary. Aibileen Clark is a maid for Miss Elizabeth, a twenty-three year-old mother and wife in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. Miss Elizabeth pays little attention to her girl Mabley Moe, so Aibileen works to install confidence and caring into the little girl while silently putting up with abuse from her white employer. Miss Elizabeth's best friend, Miss Hilly, president of the Junior League, has the grand idea to install separate toilets for "the help" for ridiculous untrue racist reasons. Miss Elizabeth and Miss Hilly's friend Skeeter wonders aloud to Aibileen if she ever gets tired of the injustice. Minny Jackson is a maid for Miss Hilly's mother Miss Walters. Miss Walters is becoming senile and is sent to a nursing home. Miss Hilly desires Minny to work for her but Minny's big sassy mouth gets her into a heap of trouble and she finds herself without a job. No one in Jackson will hire her except Miss Celia, a former poor white girl from the country who lives with her wealthy husband far from town. Minny is puzzled by Miss Celia for the young woman is not at all like the other white ladies Minny has worked for. She keeps secrets from her husband, she can't cook and spends all day in bed. None of the other white ladies will even speak to her because they believe she stole Miss Hilly's boyfriend, now Miss Celia's husband. Minny is determined to keep out and keep her mouth shut this time for she has a husband and five kids to support. Eugenia Phelan aka Skeeter was born to a cotton family is college educated and dreaming of a career as a journalist, much to the dismay of her mother who wants Skeeter married and married fast. Skeeter has always felt like an outsider. She's too tall, her hair is too frizzy and she feels hurt by her mother's critical comments. Only her family's maid, Clementina, helped Skeeter become more confident. Now Clementina is gone and no one will tell Skeeter where. Skeeter feels lost and alone. When a Harper & Row editor decides to take a chance on Skeeter if Skeeter can write about something that really matters, Skeeter decides to interview the local maids to find out what it is like being "the help." She learns that many of the women are unwilling to talk to her because her of race and for fear of losing their jobs. Only Aibileen, who dreams of writing, believes in Skeeter. She enlists the aid of Minny and the three women begin a slow and painful journey towards civil rights. This is a very powerful novel that really makes you think. The characters are fairly fleshed out so the reader gets a sense of what drives them and motivates them, aside from the main villain who is truly awful. Aibileen's story broke my heart and is the most moving of the three narratives. She's a strong, proud woman who has been broken down by years of hardship and heartache. Her conflicted feelings towards change are understandable given her life so far. Minny is a loud-mouth, brassy woman yet also fiercely proud and loyal. She's thinks she's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in but yet when the time comes, she is afraid for her family's sake. It really made me think about what a difficult position she was in and how hard it would be to want to change but have circumstances working against you. Skeeter is the character I can most relate to. Her story reminded me a lot of To Kill a Mockingbird and I can see young Scout growing up to be like Skeeter. Skeeter learns courage from the amazing women she meets while writing her book and her journey is nearly as emotional as Aibilene and Minny's. Miss Celia's story is also heart-breaking and the author does an excellent job portraying her loneliness as an outsider while the queen bee character dictates the actions of others. I had a hard time putting this book down because I wanted to find out what happened to the characters in the end. The ending is a bit of a hit-you-over-the-head preachy moment and doesn't quite fit the rest of the story, but nevertheless provides a satisfactory conclusion. I had a hard time understanding the dialect at times but once I got into it, it was easier to read. I can see how this novel might be controversial written by a white woman in black women's voices in a time period that the author did not grow up in. Her author's note reveals more about her motivation and inspiration for writing the novel. I enjoyed it and it made me glad to live in 2012 and hope that the book inspires people to look at the world around them and make changes for the better.

Bird in a Box by Andrea Davis Pinkney -- Middle Grades Historical Fiction

This book is set in Depression-era Elmira New York and alternating chapters tell the stories of three young people whose lives are changed by the radio and Joe Louis. Hibernia Lee Taylor secretly listens to Swing Time at the Savoy on her Daddy's radio, given to him by his Baptist parish and dreams of being a jazz singer like her Mama who went away to pursue a dream before Hibernia got to know her. Rev. Taylor doesn't approve of Hibernia's dream but she's determined anyway. Rev. Taylor listens to broadcasts of boxing matches on the radio eagerly awaiting news of Joe Louis "The Brown Bomber" as he contends for boxing's highest title. At the Mercy Home for Negro Orphans, two boys also listen and wait and dream of boxing's greatest African-American hero. Willie once dreamed of being a boxer himself but his abusive father put an end to his dreams and sent Willie running into the night. Otis clings to his Philco radio, one of the only things he has to remember his parents by. His loves riddles and can rattle them off faster than Jack Benny. The riddles bring him comfort. The boys spend their days in the care of Lila Weiss, a kindly, loving woman who teaches the boys that life goes on. They spend their nights trying to thwart "The Bleach Man" as they call the head of the orphanage. The three children will meet and come together united by a common bond - Joe Louis. Joe Louis represents the hopes and dreams of the children and hard-hit African-Americans. If "the Brown Bomber" can win, then dreams can come true. This is a moving story set in a time and place I know little about. It's different from other Depression-era novels because it focuses on the radio and the power of the machine to inspire people. I found the theme very moving and uplifting. I liked the two boys and their stories are tragic yet beautiful and inspiring. Hibernia is a brat and I didn't like her very much. She doesn't really grow up or learn anything in the course of the novel but she provides comic relief. The author did an excellent job with Hibernia's voice and I could heaaaarrr her in my heaaaddd as she talked and saaaannngg. The boys were less vivid and distinguishable. The slightly less than perfect characterizations are made up for by a plot that made me cry, smile, hope and cheer right alongside the characters, though I already knew who Joe Louis was. I did not think this book was as good as her recent Dear America novel, but it was a good effort and I think it's a good read for young people and will inspire hope in those who may feel like they have none.