The Hidden Place (Golem and Jinni #2)

The Hidden Place by Helene Wecker is the second historical fiction book featuring the Golem and the Jinni. This second book is every bit as wonderful as the first!

In the early 1900s Manhattan, there live (at least) two creatures passing themselves off as human - a golem who goes by Chava and works as a baker. And a jinni who works with metal in Little Syria, Ahmad. 

Both Chava and Ahmad have changed the lives of the humans around the for the better. Now it is time for their lives to change a bit, too. 

Sophia Winston lives on the upper edges of Central Park with her family. She has an illness that makes her very cold. She has told her parent that she is to travel to Europe to get better. They have hired two companions to accompany her - and report back to her parents. 

Wecker is an amazing writer. You will be captured on the first page and long for more when you complete both books. If you are only going to read one thing this year, start here. 

Wecker, Helene. (2021). The Hidden Place. New York: Harper.

With the Fire on High

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo is the story of

Emoni Santiago is a high school senior, mother of a three year old, who loves to cook and lives with her grandmother. She loves to cook. Her family and friends say they can feel the emotion she puts into her meals. 

While juggling all of responsibilities Emoni has to figure out what is next for her when she graduates. What is the best plan for her and her daughter.

When an unexpected elective offers her the chance to study under a real chef, she cannot pass it up. How she will raise the money for the end of the year trip to Italy is another question.

Acevedo has piled responsibility on this character. And Emoni is plenty smart and tough enough to handle it. She has decision to make that remind us that while you may not be able to have it all right now, there is more than one path to get to your dreams.

Acevedo, Elizabeth. (2019). With the Fire on High. New York: Quill Tree Books.

The Stars Now Unclaimed (Universe After #1)

The Stars Now Unclaimed by Drew Williams is the first book in the Universe After series, a fast-paced race through the galaxies. 

About 100 years ago, a pulse traveled across known space, knocking out technology as it went. No all planets were hit at the same level. Some sent back to pre-combustion engine and some left virtually untouched. The one positive side-effect is that the intergalactic wars came to a halt.

Another side effect, seems to be some children being both with a skill, or power, to do what the ordinary human cannot.

Jane Kamali is a pilot, soldier and agent for the Justified. Her role is to rescue children with special gifts - children who are often look upon with suspicion on the backwards planets. 

Jane has just arrived on a planet that has about old West technology. She is looking for a child, she doesn't yet know who. Her first stop is the local church - always a good place to pick up town gossip. 

Williams has created a fun series filled with different types of sentient being, in the feel of Becky Chambers, but set in a time of unease. The wars would not have stopped if the pulse had not stranded most spaceships where they were. This is a great, fast read with some wonderful characters. 

Williams, Drew. (2018). The Stars Now Unclaimed. New York: Tor. 

The Secret to Superhuman Strength

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel is an illustrated memoir of her life using exercise as the viewpoint.

After a book on her father and one on her mother, Bechdel tells of her relationship to exercise as both a way of being in shape, following the latest fads, and breaking the gender norms of her childhood.

She looks for enlightenment and the exercise for her in her usual light but poignant way. 

Bechdel is the master of the graphic novel form. It is a high art to be able to convey so much in each panel - limited by space that leads to such succinct dialog.  

Bechdel, Alison. (2021). The Secret to Superhuman Strength. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui is a beautifully told story of her family history.

This is the story of a Vietnamese family from generations before the American war, to living in the United States to raise the next generation. 

Beginning with the birth of her first child - the first drawing is a very pregnant belly - Thi looks back at her family and their history as she takes on the role of teacher for the next generation. 

The history of Vietnam from colonization, war, politics to her family in a refugee camp and emigrating to the US, this is a beautifully told story of hardship and choices for a better life. 

This is an example of why immigration is beneficial to both the people leaving to start again, and the nation that receives their knowledge and different way of looking at things. Immigration makes a country stronger.

Bui, Thi. (2017). The Best We Could Do. New York: Abrams.

A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1)

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is the first book in the Teixcalaan science fiction series. 

Mahit Dzmare is being sent from Lsel Station, a nation that exists in outer space on mining vessels, to the hungry empire of Teixcalaan - a political entity known for subsuming anyone who lives too close. 

Mahit was called with no notice to be ambassador. She doesn't know what happened to the previous ambassador Yskandr. She does have what is common in Lsel - an implant in her brain stem that allows her to access his knowledge. This is how whey pass knowledge on to the next generation. Unfortunately, Yskandr has not been back to update the information so she has no way of knowing the situation she is walking into.

When she arrives at the city-planet at the center of Emperor Six Direction's rule, she finds that Yskandr is dead. Her assigned liaison has trained her whole life to serve an ambassador, but Mahit is not sure who to trust. Three Seagrass has no idea what happened before her promotion but is willing to join Mahit in finding out - even if that means risking her life to do so.

This first book in the series is engaging, filled with political intrigue, confusion of the new ambassador, rumblings of a revolt against the emperor - everything a space opera should be and more. If you are a science fiction fan, read this!  

Martine, Arkady. (2019). A Memory Called Empire. New York: Tor.