Wildfire by Carrie Mac

Wildfire. Carrie Mac. Random House. January 2020. pb, 272 pp.; ISBN: 9780399556296.

Pete and Annie have been best friends for years.  In that time their mothers have died and Annie’s beloved grandmother, Gigi, died of cancer.  While Gigi was dying, choosing to starve herself to death rather than be put in a hospice or nursing home, Annie stopped going to school and is determined not to return.  Pete wants her to go back as does her father but finally they accept Annie’s decision.  Instead Pete and Annie set off on a ten-day backpack hiking trip through the Washington mountains, their goal a Fire Camp.  The latter is very real as there are multiple wildfires spreading throughout Washington, some close enough to cast fear through these teens’ most optimistic plans.

During this trip, they both speak of past important events including the coming and going of Annie’s Mom as well as her mother’s death which might have been an accident.  Now on this trip Pete has an accident in which his leg is severely gashed.  They do the best they can to clean it and bind it up in a bandage but the outcome very quickly turns deadly as septicemia spreads beyond their ability to cope.  Annie begins to realize she has more than just friendly feelings toward Pete but she never gets to act on that attraction.

There’s not much depth of characterization in this story but the adventurous nature of Peter and Annie’s hiking, camping and discussions makes up for it.  They both begin to realize that dreams and plans are made not only to think and plan about but to actually act on.  Although the end of the story is tearfully poignant, Annie realizes she is responsible to carry out her dream based on her love of mountain climbing and nature.  Preet, who was really Pete’s girlfriend, is sort of a third wheel apparition who enters at the right moments to help Annie make sense out of the chaotic journey and help Annie cope with a funereal ceremony to honor Pete’s life.  Only then doe Annie realize she could love Preet. 

This story is timely given the dangerous wildfires raging in the Wester part of the United States.  Far beyond that obvious tragedy, however, lies the deeper theme of resilience, love and determination in the midst of and after loss.  Strength comes from deep within which is honored and celebrated in this coming of age story. 

Nicely crafted, Carrie Mac!

A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende

A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende. Random House Publishing Group. January 2020. pb, 336 pp.; ISBN #: 9781984820150.

Roser and Victor Dalmau agree to marry in Spain after General Franco wins control of the government over the Republicans in the late 1930’s.  Roser’s husband died during that conflict and his brother Victor, who learned to be a doctor during the Civil War, is determined to get them out of Spain as Franco’s government is tyrannical and devastating to millions.  This novel is their story.  What starts as a brother-sister relationship will develop into a phenomenal, glorious love.

Their journey will take them to France, Chile and Venezuela.  Governments in those countries were also in flux.  Before they get there, Victor has a brief fling with a spoiled, aristocratic Spanish woman.  She has a child who is given up for adoption, a fact Victor never learns until he is much older. Victor becomes a good friend of Pablo Neruda the poet, who writes a poem about Chile, written on the ship called “Winnipeg” that gives this novel its title.  Pablo is a Socialist and becomes persecuted and hunted because of his political beliefs; but it turns out he is mainly concerned with the love of people and freedom.  He is responsible for two thousand refuges being allowed to emigrate from Spain to Chile.  These refugees soon develop a fine reputation for being responsible families who improve conditions in Chile.

This is a family saga about those who face constant trials but do their best to work hard and avoid controversy.  Their debacle in each of these countries is heartbreaking.  Victor becomes a tough man as he experiences the horrors of war which he experienced as a medic and later as a doctor in Chile.  Allende’s earlier novels are more about the Pinochet government in Chile but here we also get a glimmer of the military horrors creating suffering and death for far too many. 

Victor earns a reputation as an intelligent, capable and kind cardiologist. Rosa is pragmatic, hard-working and loyally protective of Victor.  His vanity is shattered when his love Rosa becomes terminally ill.

What is unique about this family saga is how positive these characters are even in the face of the most daunting challenges.  It’s a beautiful tribute to the power of love and loyalty, faith and hope in mankind no matter what the prevailing political challenges and, like the title poem, a tribute to beautiful people and lands prevailing in victory even when caught in the prevailing tides and currents testing the mettle of those riding the formidable journey into a more hopeful existence.

Lacey Goes to Tokyo: Miss Belle's Travel Guide #1 by C. H. Lyn

Lacey Goes to Tokyo: Miss Belle’s Travel Guide #1 by C. H. Lyn. Tirgearr Publishing. January 2020. pb, 277 pp.; ASIN: B0822W3HKV.

Lacey Devaine belongs to a spy ring operating under the guise of an elite escort service.  While in Tokyo with Ned, an ex whom Lacey is trying to adjust being with again, a newspaper reporter pushes his nose where it shouldn’t be and exposes a slave trade ring operating in Asia.  The exposure means Lacey is in full swing action and gets information pivotal to ending the illegal operation but also threatening to cause death to an entire village of Hmong citizens living in Laos.

Lacey and other women under the leadership of Miss Belle are women of style.  They dress to the hilt, are sexy as all get-out and have an upper-class reputation as well as generally being present where there’s trouble.  The cost to the ladies is high and very often they are in need of psychological counseling because of the high risks they run, often life or death situations.  But they’re also cool and suave no matter how fierce the pressure gets.  As a result they earn the respect and assistance of other men when they most need it.  And wow do they need it in the plot of this novel!

Products are designed to make plenty of money for mob-like characters and these men (or animals depending on your point of view) don’t think twice about the loss of lives during their transactions.  But Lacy enlists the aid of another dear friend who has seen this scenario long ago in Africa and uses his military skills to help Lacey end this horrific scene which threatens an entire village.  Thai police and other professional detectives are involved and only Lacey can manipulate all the options so that there is no further punishment falling on these poor people or anyone else for that matter.

Guts are a huge component in Lacey and Miss Belle’s ladies but also a profound sense of integrity sorely lacking for most of the characters in this story.  That ensures the success of Miss Belle’s ladies now and in other similar in this notable and highly recommended series!

Beautifully crafted C. H. Lyn! Keep these novels coming!

Kidnapped on Safari: A Thriller (Mbuno & Pero #5) by Peter Riva

Kidnapped on Safari: A Thriller (Mbuno & Pero #5). Peter Riva. Skyhorse Publication. January 2020. pb, 288 pp.; ISBN #: 9781510749009.

Mbuno is an expert safari guide and Pero is a wildlife television producer.  They are presently filming wildlife hunting on Lake Rudolph in Nigeria.  After a successful filming day, Mbuno receives word that his nephew, Ubo, has been kidnapped in Tanzania.  Ubo’s past is troubled as his father was involved in some illegal business and died during that conflict.

This is an expose of a realistic news story, the capture of young girls by Boko Harem.  The group is involved in running a lumber mill where forests are cut down, cocoa is grown for drugs, the drugs are stored in the logs of lumber and transported out of Tanzania.  It also involves the business arrangement of receiving Russian gold for the drugs and money from the sale of drugs.  It becomes an international incident because it involves Russian and American top security and defense administrators.

Those running the mill are responsible for kidnapping Ubo because they thought he had films that could expose their illegal activities.  Those who team up with Pero and Mbuno risk their lives to rescue the thirty young girls.  It also winds up in some fighting and dying, a massive railroad accident, climbing through muddy swamps and fields, and living in the most wild and uncomfortable conditions.  Fortunately, many of the members of the team have antiterrorist positions and experience.  There are many references to past activities of these individuals in Iraq and elsewhere. 

The growth of the deforestation program in Africa is highlighted with little being done to stop its progress.

Kidnapped on Safari… is full of multiple characters, riveting adventures and danger, and strong individuals determined to preserve a moral good over the threats of negative terrorist activities.  Africa remains a changing, threatened continent with different countries vying for domination economically and politically.  Exciting and compelling read!

The Lark Ascending by Sally Zigmond

The Lark Ascending. Sally Zigmond. The Conrad Press. December 2019. Kindle, 304 pp.; ASIN: B082XCQ9ZH.

In 1919 WWI is over for many but for others, especially those who were conscientious objectors, their memories and suffering continue.  Some died and others were so cruelly treated that their mental and emotional scars linger, affecting their current choices and relationships.

To begin with we meet Alice Fields who yearns for a better job.  After returning an item that a rich woman, Rhona, left in the store where Alice was working, Alice naively is fooled into marrying Rhona’s son Richard.  At first Alice believes she’s in love but that quickly changes at Richard’s cruel, belittling and even violent personality.  Finally, on being accused of adultery after telling Richard of her pregnancy, she leaves him to live on a farm where many of the residents are becoming whole again after their questionable behavior after the war.

As the story continues, Alice finds love again with Michael whose passion has been sublimated into advocating for striking miners and other injustices.  However, Alice is no longer the innocent gal she once was and refuses to wed Michael, even after her divorce.  She wants to make her own way with her own visions and plans, in this case for a school for women who cannot afford education but have the ability to attain learning for a better life. Alice is bright, hard-working and fully capable of realizing her dream and inspires others to the same.

During the course of Alice’s residence at the farm she will learn the story of how conscientious objectors were treated and the tragic costs that followed.  This is an issue too long ignored but now getting public attention.

Sally Zigmond has written a fascinating, albeit painfully poignant, account novel which is fascinating reading.  It leaves the reader with many thoughts and questions about courage, resistance, integrity and debasement of those who are weaker than those with money and power.  It’s fine, highly recommended historical fiction!

A Midwife's Song of Freedom: Oh Freedom! (Hope River Novel #4) by Patricia Harman

A Midwife’s Song of Freedom: Oh Freedom! (Hope River Novel #4) by Patricia Harman. Flying Squirrel Publishing. November 2019. pb, 478 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-1702575003.

In 1956 the Civil Rights movement is beginning to pick up steam as well as the threats from America’s Cold War with Russia.  Patience and her dear friend Bitsy share the unfolding events, both decrying their ancestral memories of slavery and freedom as well as current events that threaten the stability they have come to know.  Their work as midwives has slowed but is now gaining prominence as the new “painless” childbirth methods often are nothing but drugs and more forceful ways of helping mothers give birth such as the use of forceps to rush delivery of newborn infants.  Women are learning that childbirth may be better when occurring naturally, but the fear of things going wrong gives some expectant mothers trepidation and fear to try the natural method.

While sharing their story, someone drops off on Patience’s porch some journals of Grace Potts, a “white slave” who chronicles her realization that she is owned chattel and her journey to freedom through the Underground Railroad throughout America and into Canada.  It’s an emotionally devastating tale and some of the scenes are sure to haunt readers, but the scenes that she and Bitsy read are real and remind them of the cost of freedom that only fuels their Civil Rights protests and fervor.

However, their children have new problems for the new century.  Patience’s daughter becomes pregnant outside of marriage and her son drinks too much.  Bitsy’s son comes home from the Korean War emotionally hurting.  Both mothers have to and will learn to let their children go to a new freedom where things heal beyond parental patterns and dominance.

So what does one do when freedom is looming on the horizon?  One sings and many of the Civil Rights freedom songs are written, sung and shared by all who yearn for the change of true freedom.  Freedom began in the 19^th century but still has fulfillment to attain. Patricia Harman has deftly and ably presented that journey in a way that is readable, exciting, emotionally riveting and memorable!  Enjoy and look forward to more novels in the Hope River series – both past and those to come soon!  Recommended historical fiction books!!!

The Giver of Stars: A Novel by Jojo Moyes

The Giver of Stars: A Novel. Jojo Moyes. Penguin Publishing Group. October 2019. pb, 400 pp.; ISBN #: 9780399562488.

Kentucky in the Appalachian Mountains is a gorgeous gem of nature.  However, during the Depression years, families suffered from poor mining conditions and they were hamstrung by ignorance.  However, Eleanor Roosevelt began the project of traveling libraries, and this novel is about the five women known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.  Initially, they are composed of a motley crew of women.

Meet Alice Van Cleve, an English woman who married Bennet Van Cleve so that she would escape the stifling existence of British life and wound up strangled from the worse situation she was living in, with her father-in-law cruelly stifling her husband’s romantic expression.  Then meet Margery, a single woman with a hugely independent streak, who always did the right thing and couldn’t care less what anybody else thought about it.  She was loved by a young man but wouldn’t marry him because she wanted to maintain that independent status.  Then there is a gal with a physical injury who thought she had nothing to give life but turned out to have a gorgeous voice.  And meet Sophie, an African-American woman who has all the skills of a professional librarian; nothing will stop her although the racists of the area certainly have their say to try to stifle her presence.

You will find people falling in love with fairy tales, comics, romances, adventure stories, Bible stories and even a book about romantic sex.  Little by little the rural readers are reading and passing along more books than the Packhorse Librarians can handle.  Others begin to help them. 

Two marriages will fall apart, two new marriages will eventually happen, a woman will be physically battered, a woman will be charged with murder, and a family is disgraced for their brutal treatment of miners and their families.

This is a gorgeous, lovely novel readers will love!  It covers just about every form of virtue and vice, beauty and ugliness, defeat and victory that the imagination can consider.  It’s about victory, friendship, loyalty, honesty, truth and love in the worst of circumstances!  It’s joy-full.  Highly recommended historical fiction!