Tag: Boston

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

- Beth Leave a comment

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant has been on my to-read list for one reason only — I love the cover! Attraction to a cover is a good enough reason to give a book a try, but once I got into this historical fiction story, I’m glad I finally moved it to the front of the line.

The Boston Girl is the Brown Bag Book Club pick for the Wednesday, November 26 discussion at 1pm at Eastern. Join us and share your thoughts on the book. Here are some highlights from my reading of the book:

It’s 1985 and 85-year-old Addie is telling her story to her granddaughter. Settle in.

The Boston Girl really starts in 1915, when, at the age of 15, Addie Baum is brought into the fold of the Saturday Club in the Boston North End neighborhood’s Salem Street Settlement House. Clearly intelligent and eager to learn, the group’s chaperone Miss Chevalier introduces Addie to the institution’s book clubs and evening lectures. Addie is even asked to join the Saturday Club for a week’s summer vacation at Rockport Lodge on Cape Ann, a retreat for lower- and working-class girls to experience the seaside. While there, friendships are cemented and Addie experiences her first taste of romance.

Addie’s home life is tumultuous in comparison. Her parents are immigrants from Russia who work in factories and take in mending to make ends meet. Addie lives in a one room apartment with her parents and older sister Celia. Her other sister, Betty, is not spoken of since she had the audacity to move out of the family home unmarried. To an Americanized family, a woman in her 20s working in a department store and living at a boarding house isn’t something to be ashamed of, but for the Baum parents she is seen as selfish.

But family dynamics continuously change as Celia gets married and Addie starts working for her kindly brother-in-law Levine. Levine also makes sure Betty is included in family celebrations and holidays, bringing new ideas to the family that help them continue to assimilate to American culture.

Through difficult family circumstances, Addie finds relief, comfort and support in her friends. They encourage her to continue in school, help her find jobs and find dates.

Historical moments are seen through the eyes of this average young adult. The 1918 flu pandemic strikes the family; she dates a shell-shocked soldier from World War I and Addie later has a brush with Betty Friedan.

Chapters are short, sometimes filled with family drama and heartache. Other chapters filled with hope and the power of female friendship. The novel is conversational. After all, it is the story a grandmother is telling her granddaughter. A glimpse at life in the 1910s and 1920s Boston, seen through the eyes of one young woman. Her life isn’t extraordinary, but it is interesting and Addie is a character worth spending with. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant will remind readers that even an ordinary life is a life worth telling.

The Boston Girl is available as part of the Davenport Library’s Book Club collection, in regular print, large print, as a Book on CD in Rivershare, and as an eAudiobook on the Libby app through Bridges.

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“Still, there might be something fitting about a friendship based on a common love of words being founded on an exchange of the same.”
― Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library

The Woman in the  Library by Sulari Gentill has been on my to-read list since it was published in June 2022. After listening to this title, I can firmly say that I haven’t read anything like this before. If you decide to read this book, go into it with an open mind. The description of the book barely scratches the surface of what the book is really about, but this review is going to be just as vague because *spoilers* would happen if I didn’t!

The Boston Public Library’s reading room is ornate and quiet. All of that is shattered one morning when a woman’s terrified scream radiates through the room. Four strangers sitting in the reading room reach out to each other, start talking, and become friends. Security guards investigate the noise, instructing everyone to stay put while they look for the source. They find nothing… at first.

Harriet, Marigold, Whit, and Caine are the four strangers brought together by the scream. They all have their own reasons for being in the reading room that day, some with secrets they are reluctant to share. The investigation into the scream casts suspicion upon the four with readers being led to believe that one of the four may be a murderer. Each person in this book has a story to tell, but if they are telling the truth or not is a whole other matter.

“The story of her life etched on her skin… She’s like a walking book. Patterns and portraits and words. Mantras of love and power. I wonder how much of it is fiction.”
― Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library

This book is also available in the following formats:

You’ll Be the Death of Me by Karen McManus

- Callen Leave a comment

My favorite author Karen McManus continues her winning streak with this Ferris Bueller-inspired mystery starring three estranged friends racing against time to discover why one of their classmates has been murdered. Quick-paced with relatable characters, You’ll Be The Death of Me is perfect for fans of mysteries, YA books, and of course McManus’ earlier work.

Ivy, Cal, and Mateo haven’t been close since eighth grade when they suddenly grew apart, but the day after the senior student council election they each find themselves desperate to recapture the spirit of their former friendship and adventures. Ivy just lost the election – badly – to the class slacker “Boney” Mahoney; Cal is trapped in a conflicted relationship that’s making him long for simpler days, and Mateo is exhausted from working multiple jobs to help his family. In an impulsive moment, they skip school together, awkward though it is with all that’s been left unsaid. But then they see the class slacker (and new president) also out of school, and decide to follow him. It may be the worst – and last – decision they ever make. Before they know what’s happened, Boney’s been murdered, Ivy’s a suspect, and if they don’t figure out what happened they’ll lose more than just their friendship.

If we’re being honest there’s too much tension right off the bat to really strike a Ferris Bueller vibe, but the echoes are there in the ways Mateo, Ivy, and Cal relate to each other – Ivy and Mateo’s unspoken attraction contrasts with Cal’s loneliness as an outsider, and they consistently drag each other into variously flawed decisions. Along the way some pretty serious conversations are had, and no one person or relationship will leave the day unchanged. There’s also a sibling/rival figure, a rogue teacher, and a race to beat the parents home (and keep them from finding out what’s really going on). In a way it’s Ferris Bueller if the story had been told from his sister Jeannie’s perspective, complete with a darker tinge and lots of unresolved feelings and secrets to resolve.

I loved how distinct the characters were, and how realistic their different problems were; and as usual McManus expertly shifts between their voices to round out all perspectives. The action is both propulsive and realistic for the characters’ age, and the bit of romance isn’t gratuitous but is entwined with the plot and character development. I also really appreciated the representation of positive, supportive, and involved parenting in several different styles.

If you like Karen McManus as much as I do, or just YA mysteries in general, this is definitely a book you won’t want to miss.

Careful What You Wish For by Hallie Ephron

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Hallie Ephron is known for writing mystery and suspense novels. Her newest novel Careful What You Wish For is her latest offering.

Emily Harlow is a professional organizer. She loves to help people declutter their lives which is a bit ironic because Emily’s own life is a complete mess. Her husband is a hoarder. He has filled their basement, attic, and garage with all of the treasures that he has found at different yard and estate sales. Emily and her husband have an understanding though that she will not touch his finds. This marriage compromise is slowly making Emily’s life more stressful as his belongings spread throughout more of the house.

Desperate to get back to some sort of normalcy, Emily is relieved when she has two new clients sign up. One is an elderly widow finally ready to clear out her house of any reminder of her husband. Said husband also left behind a storage unit that the wife had no idea existed. Emily’s other new client is a young wife who wants to get rid of all of her belongings that have been sitting in the garage ever since she moved in with her husband. You see, her husband didn’t allow any of her belongings into the house. At all.

After the initial meetings, Emily discovers that both of her new clients are hiding something. The mess Emily finds herself in has the power to destroy her life. She must get creative in order to find her way out or she may lose her marriage, her job, or even her life.

This book is also available in the following formats: