I finished two fabulous books this week both with stand up female characters. One book is an adult fiction, the other an elementary fiction and both celebrate a life worth living!
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) is about a young woman, Aviva Grossman, who makes a mistake as a 20-year-old by flirting with the congressman she interns for one late night in the office. Even though he turns her down in the immediate he begins an affair with Aviva his intern and former neighbor. They are very private for a long time but one night after a car accident the affair comes out. This idea sounds so cliche like Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy but it is how Zevin changes the trajectory of this young Aviva as she reinvents herself. There is a comment on the back that says this is the best slut-shaming book around. While it’s frustrating to read the mess her life becomes because of this affair (an how his life continues on as a congressman) it is also powerful to see how she transforms that makes this book soar. I really want to read Zevin’s new book Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow but the holds are long so I thought I would try another one of her books. Highly recommend. From the public library. (2017)
The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan (I’ll be There & Counting by 7’s) is the story of young headstrong Sila as she impatiently awaits her mother’s return from Turkey. Her mother has been sent back to her home country to retrieve some mis-filed paperwork or risk deportation. She misses her mother a great deal but one day she meets an interesting man, a lottery winner who now owns a vast farm property. Her father is summoned to fix this older gentleman’s broken down truck and an unlikely friendship forms between the three. The story takes a surprising twist when an elephant is rescued from a disbanding circus. All the feels for this delicious story of hope, friendship, and a need to make things right for those you love. I love all of Sloan’s books. Highly recommend. From my school library. (2021)
In other exciting news I finished the first season of The Lincoln Lawyer and have embarked on the amazing journey of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, both on Netflix. When my husband and I are together in the same room for more than a few minutes we continue to catch up Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
Speaking of husbands we celebrated our 21st anniversary this weekend with a trip to Iowa City even though we were married in Galena, IL. I had a library meeting there (always great to talk books for three hours! Before my meeting we enjoyed a delicious brunch at Goose Town in the Northside neighborhood. Our Groovy daughter works there and we had to try the amazing farm-to-table menu. On Sunday night we ate at ReUnion Brewery also very good especially the hand breaded and hot onion rings. We stayed at a the classically remodeled Highlander Hotel which was a supper club years ago and is enjoying a funky new life. Peace, love, and harmony baby!
Peaceful Reader 