The Sweetness of Water

The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris, set at the end of the US Civil War is a tale of hope, heartbreak, friendship and endurance.

The war has ended, Union soldiers are in the South making sure that the formerly enslaved people know that they are free to leave if they wish. Tensions are still high as white land owners face the change, Black workers try to understand their options, and town folks adjust to a new reality.

George Walker and his wife Isabelle live on a property outside of the town of Old Ox, Georgia. Being from a family that moved South from Nantucket, George has never had enslaved workers on their land. They never needed workers as George inherited enough from his father to never have to work. He does enjoy wandering his property.

As George wanders, thinking of the news of his son who when to fight in the war, he comes across two brothers camping in his woods. Prentiss and Landry were born on the neighboring farm. When they were told of their freedom, they left. 

George and Prentiss develop a kind of friendship. Isabelle has taken to Landry - a calm, large man who does not talk much due to an injury (read: beating) when he was younger. 

When George hires Prentiss and Landry to help him start a small peanut farm - paying them the wage he would pay any man - some of the people in town do not agree with his ideas.

Harris has written a beautiful book. It is set in a hard time in US history, but he shows the positives and negatives of people at the time. My dread of reading of the time period were unfounded. Though there are hard parts of the book, he does not dwell on them, but gives his characters room to grow and have hope. Read this book.

Harris, Nathan. (2021). The Sweetness of Water. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

The Power

The Power by Naomi Alderman is an amazing commentary on our times. And just what us left leaning women needed in this political climate!

Written as an historical novel, looking back five thousand years to our current day, The Power looks at what happened to shift the political and social power from men to women.

Roxy is the daughter of a London gangster. When men come to attach her mother, thinking she wouldn't be home, Roxy fights back. She has something inside of her that tells her she can hurt the men who are trying to hurt her family.

Margot is mayor. The power in her is awakened by her daughter - teen girls can trigger it in older women. But Margot keeps her power a secret. The political climate is not reacting well to girls being able to defend themselves - and occasionally attacking some guy.

Allie is an orphan who is being abused. When she feels something in her chest she fights back. And her step father reacts as if electrocuted. Then she runs.

Tunde is a witness. He is excited for young women to be able to defend themselves. In some parts of the world they will rebel against religious laws that keep them from having rights. Tunde will start traveling the globe to help document the changes and the revolution.

The Power is so good. Alderman has written a book that shows the opposite future to the one in The Handmaid's Tale where women rule the world and men are seen as the weaker sex. This is a refreshing novel that is brilliantly conceived and written. Go buy a copy today - and buy one for the women in your life.

Alderman, Naomi. (2016). The Power. UK: Penguin.

Invisible City (Rebekah Roberts #1)

Invisible City by Julia Dahl is the first book in her Rebekah Roberts mystery series about a New York journalist. Dahl has been a reporter and editor in print and television. This is her first novel.

Rebekah Roberts is a stringer for the New York Tribune and is sent wherever the paper needs a journalist in the five boroughs. Her latest assignment will be her most important story - one she will not let go after one day's reporting and will change the way she looks at her own story.

When the body of a woman is found in a Gowanus scrap yard, Roberts is there to report what she sees. But when the woman turns out to be Jewish, the police allow the Hasidic community to take the body. Roberts is sent into a world she has often wondered about but never visited. Her past and her current assignment collide while Roberts tries to find a killer the NYPD does not seem to want to find.

When Rebekah Roberts was very small, her mother left her father to return to the Orthodox community. Rebekah has been mad at the mother she does not remember, but this case could give her insight into why her mother left. Maybe as an adult she will be able to understand better why her mother abandoned her.

Combining a mystery with a great character, Dahl has started a series readers will devour. Her writing is excellent, her ability to describe an event or setting honed in years of award-winning journalism, and her plot is one that will draw fans of more than just mysteries. Invisible City is an excellent start to a series readers wait impatiently to continue.

Dahl, Julia. (2014). Invisible City. New York: Minotaur.

Thousand Words

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown is the story of a text gone wrong.

Ashleigh Maynard is about to start her senior year of high school. Her boyfriend is leaving for college in a few days. At an end of the summer party her friends convince her to send him a picture of herself naked, and she is just drunk enough to do it.

But when Ashleigh and Kaleb break up he proves that he is not the great guy she thought he was. Kaleb shares the picture with his baseball friends - who share it with everyone else.

Now Ashleigh is doing community service. She was charged with distribution of child pornography. Her community service is to create a brochure about sexting and how it can be harmful. Plus she has to go to school every day with everyone staring at her and calling her names.

Jennifer Brown proved she could write a great YA novel about a tough subject when she tackled school shooting in Hate List. With this new novel she cements her place as a brilliant writer.

Brown, Jennifer. (2013). Thousand Words. New York: Little Brown and Company.

The Privilege of the Sword (Swords of Riverside)

The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner is the second book that takes place in Riverside. This book is listed as fantasy but reads more like historical fiction - it is set in a made-up city similar to old London.

Katherine Talbert has heard stories of her uncle the Mad Duke Tremontaine but has never met him. Now, at fifteen, she is summoned to his home in the city. If she agrees to go, her family's debt will be forgiven and their wealth restored.

But the Duke is not bringing her to the city for her coming out season - he means to train her as a swordsman. She will be forced to wear pants and train daily until she has the skills to defend the Duke's honor.

As strange as it sounds to Katherine when she leaves home to join the Duke, nothing could prepare her for the strange and queer happenings at his many homes in the city. Every notion she has about society and morality will be put to the test by the Mad Duke.

This is a swashbuckling novel with a twist. I cannot wait for the next volume featuring the dashing and dangerous Katherine Talbert.

Kushner, Ellen. (2006). The Privilege of the Sword. New York: Bantam.

Graceling (Seven Kingdoms #1)

Graceling is the debut novel by Kristin Cashore. It is the first in a series featuring the same land if not always the same characters.

When people are born with an extreme skill it is called a grace and the person a Graceling. The skill is accompanied by the changing of their eye color so that the eyes are two different colors.

Katsa's grace is the grace of killing - a grace she is burdened with and must learn to control so that she doesn't hurt someone she does not intend to hurt. Her uncle, the king of Middluns uses her grace to keep his citizens in line. Her reputation as a thug has spread across all seven kingdoms that make up the land. But Katsa does not enjoy hurting others.

To balance the pain she causes in the name of the king, Katsa has formed a secret council that helps people. During the council rescue of an old man she meets a strange man from the kingdom of Lienid - the first person she has met who can almost match her skill as a fighter. Together they will explore their graces and try to save a young princess in trouble.

Cashore has written a great young adult fantasy novel in Graceling. I will be watching her closely awaiting her next book!

Cashore, Kristin. (2008). Graceling. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Fire and Ice #3)

A Storm of Swords is the third book in George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series.

The war for a new king continues in Westeros. One of the five possible kings has died, but the battle goes on for the remaining challengers. The land is divided and the smallfolk suffer each time an army passes through.

Robb Stark rules the north but will not be left to rule in peace. While away from home fighting for the kingdom his home of Winterfell will face an attack.

Queen Daenerys is still across the sea amassing power to take with her back to Westeros.

Jon Snow and the black brothers of the Night Watch fight an attack from beyond the wall, with none of the kings answering their pleas for more men to fight off the wildings.

There is little else that can be said without including spoilers... Martin is a fantastic writer whose characters are realistically flawed and compelling even when revolting. This may be one of the best series of books ever written (but I will have to wait until all 7 books are published to be sure).

Martin, George RR. (2000). A Storm of Swords. New York: Bantam.

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Fire and Ice #2)

A Clash of Kings is the second book in George RR Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series.

The land of Westeros is in chaos. There are four kings and one queen claiming power and they are about to clash.

I don't want to give too much away about the first book, so it is difficult to add any plot summary...

The Stark house is spread over the kingdom and by the end of the this book there will be no two in the same place. Tyrion Lannister is finally taken seriously for his wisdom and strategy. Boys who used to listen to their mothers stop doing so when they become kings. Daenerys is still trying to get back to Westeros to reclaim the thrown stolen from her father.

What Martin does in the midst of a well thought out plot, is create characters who are whole and flawed. Each character is an important part of the story and interesting in his/her own right. He is a master story teller.

Martin, George RR. (1996). A Clash of Kings. New York: Bantam Spectra Books.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice #1)

A Game of Thrones is the first book in George R.R. Martin's epic series A Song of Fire and Ice - a brilliant fantasy series without equal.

In a time similar to that of King Arthur and his knights, but in a land unlike our own where the seasons of Summer and Winter can last for years, the seven kingdoms have been incorporated under one throne. King Robert Baratheon now rules.

It has been fifteen years since Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell has seen his friend Robert. He has been in the far North where his family have lived since the First Men arrived. But when the King and his Queen come to Winterfell, it is Lord Stark's duty to accept a position as the King's Hand.

With Summer coming to an end, Lord Stark finds himself in the capital surrounded by intrigue, politics and danger - nothing like the simple life he led on his own lands. The danger comes from all directions and and his children are trapped into a deadly game. When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die. It matters little that Lord Stark did not volunteer to enter the game...

Martin, George R.R. (1996). A Game of Thrones. New York: Bantam Books.

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McCaffrey tells of life in a Weyr of Pern through the eyes of the Weyrwoman of Fort Weyr. (A weyr is any place that houses a dragon.)

It is nearing the end of a pass of Thread, the parasitic substance that falls from the Red Star and threatens life on Pern. The dragonriders are counting the days until the end of the pass when life will resume a quieter pace. After almost 40 years, they deserve their rest.

But then, without warning, a runnerbeast falls ill. Soon hundreds of beasts and people succumb to the strange new illness. Old records are searched by all who can read - trying to find a mention of this plague in the past.

All must work together to find a cure for this new influenza while maintaining a vigilant watch on the Thread at the same time. The most hopeful news, that the virus does not affect dragons, is the only thing that may save life on Pern.

Moreta and the others who have recovered must find a way to protect Pern from this new threat.

McCaffrey, Anne. (1983). Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. New York: Del Rey Books.

The White Dragon (Dragonriders of Pern #3)

The White Dragon is the third book in the Dragonriders of Pern trilogy by Anne McCaffrey.

At the end of the second book, a white dragon is born in Pern. He is the first white dragon ever born. Many think the small dragon has not developed enough to survive. But the boy who Impresses his has higher hopes for this dragon. He wants the dragon, Ruth, to be able to learn to eat firestone and fight Thread like other dragons. He is only half the size of the others, but he is incredibly agile while flying.

And his rider, the boy who helped Ruth out of his shell, doesn't seem to conform to the normal dragonrider. He is, in fact, not allowed to become an official dragonrider - partly due to Ruth's small size, and partly due to other obligations. This doesn't, however, stop them from doing things that other dragonriders would be afraid to try. Like Lessa's jump back in time in the first book, this dragonrider will make a leap that will save all of Pern.

I can't say much else without giving anything away. This is a great series. My only complaint is that out of McCaffrey's 18 books, I don't know if any continue the story where The White Dragon leaves off. I am not ready to let go of these characters!

McCaffrey, Anne. (1978). The White Dragon. New York: Del Rey.

Dragonquest (Dragonriders of Pern #2)

Dragonquest is the second exciting book in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern trilogy.

Dragonquest begins seven years after the first book ends. Treads are still falling from the Red Star, threatening to destroy all plant life on Pern. At the beginning of the Treadfall in the first book, a miraculous between time trip saved the planet.

Now there is a clash of cultures between the Oldtimers and the contemporary Weyrs. There is dissent between the dragonriders and the crafters and the land holders. Something must be done to keep all working together against the Thread.

A few of the more vocal Holders don't understand why the dragons can go between places on Pern but cannot just go between to the Red Star and fight the Tread at its source. It would be a suicide mission for any dragonrider to attempt it, but what other way will the non-dragon people of the Pern be satisfied that the dragonriders are doing their best to protect them?


McCaffrey, Anne. (1971). Dragonquest. New York: Del Rey.