Books - Kate Degelau-Pierce

Putting the world in order

What’s it about?
Maisie Dobbs is an independent woman in 1930s London. She is a private investigator, which lends itself well to a mystery series. This is the eighth book in the series; pro-fascist groups are on the rise in London (and Britain in general). Maisie is hired by a national security organization to keep an eye on a private college in Oxford that emphasizes peace in all its teachings. Not because they want to avoid war, but because the security services are worried the pro-fascist factions have infiltrated it. She is supposed to do some light investigating and keep the right people apprised of what she discovers. Of course, the college’s head is murdered and Maisie needs to figure out who did it.

Why should you read it?
A Lesson in Secrets is the first in the series that I’d read; that was a mistake. There are a number of characters and a couple of ongoing plots that were hard to keep track of simply because I wasn’t familiar with the previous seven books. That said, I liked the tone and crisp efficiency of the book and the main character. These are People Who Get Things Done. I think that’s what mysteries are ultimately about: taking a messy situation and putting it in order. This one fills its mission well, and I do love a bit of 1930s London & Oxford. I will definitely go back and read the previous books.

Ominous Oddness

What’s it about?
Trigger Warning is a set of poems and short stories by Neil Gaiman at his Neil Gaiman-iest. It’s full of reimagined fairy tales, leprechauns that aren’t quite what you’d expect, that sort of thing. It’s very good to read when you need a little snippet of ominous oddness.

Why should you read it?
Because you’re a Neil Gaiman fan, and this is him doing what he does. Did I forget to mention that there’s also a Doctor Who short story and Shadow from American Gods shows up in another? It’s weird and British and good for a vacation.

Adventure story

What’s it about?
There was once a man named James Halliday. He liked D&D, then he learned to code, and he and his best friend Ogden started a video game company. They eventually created an immersive VR called Oasis – a place to escape the real world. The real world kind of sucked, so everyone and everything moved into Oasis. James and Ogden became multi-billionaires. Eventually, James dies and starts a game (via his last will & testament) to find an easter egg that he left behind. The first person to find the easter egg will be his will’s beneficiary – they will get all his stuff and all his money. Including his half of the video game company. Parzival – the main character of the book – wants to win. So do a lot of other people.

Why should you read it?
There’s a lot to like about Ready Player One: the constant homage to 80s culture, the quest (I love a good quest), the dystopia that you can totally understand how we got there.* I like that it explores ideas about how slipping into a digital world removes you from the physical world. I do find the idea that life is a game to be won a bit disturbing – winning the quest means money and power. To get all hippy-y, life is necessarily about the journey – it’s about where you go and who you meet and some of what you do, but it’s not about amassing wealth and power. That’s in the book somewhat.

But overall, it’s a fun adventure that was a good story to read on vacation.

* As much as I enjoy Hunger Games, I do not understand how the US gets into a place where that society functions. It seems inherently unstable.

We need more female superheroes

What’s it about?
There are two teenaged girls.

Bonnie is the good one. Her parents died young, leaving her to grow up in group homes. One night, she discovers she has extraordinary strength. She uses it to rescue a necklace that a bully has stolen and thrown away from another girl; later, she takes care of the bully. She wants to and practices using her strength to help people.

Lola is the bad one, killing her mother, feeling like the world owes her something all the time. She takes whatever she wants – jewelry, clothes, people – not caring about anyone else.

They both have super-powers and are basically unkillable. You know how the story goes from here.

Why should you read it?
Well, that’s a hard question to answer. The story of The Girl who Would be King is good. It has lots of action and moves along at a decent clip. The settings are ok – there are a few that are rich, but many are just kind of there. The characters are the same way: a handful of them feel like people, the rest are one-dimensional.

The big problem is the writing – the actual words on the page. The sentences are clunky. It’s distracting. (Not that I have much to talk about here – my own writing’s not that great. I’m working on it.)

So, should you read it? Eh? Maybe? I can’t really recommend it, but I never did want to put it down.

Charmed, I’m sure

Embarassingly, I read The Royal We more than two months ago. I would have sworn that I wrote a post about it. But looking through my drafts and posts… it never made it out of the (very) rough draft stage. So here it is, much later than it should be.

What’s it about?
Bex is going to Oxford to study art. She lands in a suite that includes Nick, the future King of Great Britain. There are some shenanigans, but they fall in love. This is where the story really starts: Bex (a girl from Iowa) learns what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone whose entire life is – and will always be – in the center of a media scrum. What is it like to go from being a fairly laid-back person to not being able to make a move without it being scrutinized? How would it change you? Could you have a normal relationship? What would your life be like? Most importantly, what would you wear?

Why should you read it?
You should read The Royal We because it’s totally adorable. Nick and Bex are a very cute couple (his characterization falls off a bit towards the end); the supporting characters are largely fully realized people; I believe that these are the reactions of normal people put into very weird circumstances. It’s no secret that the story is inspired by the whole Wills-and-Kate relationship; in fact, you could read this as extended fan fiction of the British monarchy. But that’s ok – it’s so charming and lovely (I read it in one sitting, practically) that it’s worth your time.

Adulting

What’s it about?
Shea Walker loves football. LOVES it. She lives in small-town Texas, where she grew up, best friends with the college football coach’s daughter, Lucy. When Lucy’s mother dies (right at the beginning of the book) Shea starts to look at her easy life. She gets kicks in the pants along the way from her loving family and friends, too. It’s not just her.

Why should you read it?
Emily Giffin writes books that take a romantic structure (Shea has three different boyfriends through the novel) and turns it into the protagonist figuring out who she is. It’s a thing that’s shared with some of the better YA books, even though the main character in this one is 33. She’s living in an extended adolescence – it’s time for her to grow up. The One and Only is Shea figuring out how to grow up, and who she is as an adult.

Not a murder mystery

What’s it about?
The Husband’s Secret is about a crime that was committed twenty years ago. A teenaged girl was murdered, the killer was never found. This story is told in the present day, from three different points of view: her mother’s, Caecila Fitzpatrick (a super-organized mom whose husband has the titular secret), and Tess O’Leary (whose husband and best friend have just decided to have an affair). It’s a rich story, not only about the murder, but that’s the impetus driving all the action forward.

Why should you read it?
I love Liane Moriarty’s books. She takes suburban parenthood and uses its typical situations to explore questions of humanity. Issues like fidelity and loyalty and grief all come to the forefront of this book. It’s definitely a page-turner (I think I read it in a matter of hours), and good for a vacation as well as for raising larger issues – if you choose to think about them.

Despicable People

What’s it about?
Trust Me, I’m Lying is written by a PR guy (who used to work for American Apparel, amongst others) to describe how he used blogs and everyone’s need to be first with the news to manipulate stories. It was written a few years ago, and I feel like there’s more skepticism out there now; and even Gawker has moved away from its bonus to writers based on their page views.

Why should you read it?
Because, even though some bits of it are slightly outdated, there’s still a lot there about how the world of online news works. Blogs with big audiences watch smaller news sources for stories, and it’s unclear to me how much fact-checking is going on. I do think audiences are more discriminating – but maybe that’s just wishful thinking. If you are trying to get started in marketing, I wouldn’t suggest the shock tactics he uses, but reaching out to smaller blogs and basically writing the story for them? It’s not a bad way to begin.

Families and friends

What’s it about?
Saint Anything is about a girl who feels invisible. Sydney is 16 and her older brother Peyton is a criminal. He’s handsome and troublesome and he occupies all their parents’ attention. So when he goes to jail for permanently disabling a boy, she’s ready to be done. With all of it. She switches schools and starts making new friends. Her parents only tangentially realize what’s going on with her – she’s always been the quiet, good one. Other than the school switch, their attention is still occupied by her brother. But when she starts figuring out who she is and making new friends, her parents (of course) only see the bad side of it, not the good. How do they go from here?

Why should you read it?
Sarah Dessen has a great way of making everything relatable. Sydney is one of those kids who is quiet and will always fall through the cracks of a system because she is good at taking care of herself and not bothering others. But she needs to figure out who she is. These are not wild circumstances, she isn’t doing anything spectacular or amazing, other than standing up for herself. She could be your friend; in fact, you’d be proud to have her as your friend. She’d get you pizza (many of her new friends work in a pizza restaurant), help you with your homework, and you could help her have a little more fun. Overall, it’s a touching book.