Quote of the Day, White Fang, Book Trailer for the Great Alone, Elliott Bay Goes Airport, The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas,Star Wars Leia, Princess of Alderaan, and Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

YES! Storytellers/authors are the "custodians of empathy!"

Quotation of the Day

"When all else is gone, it is stories that can save us. Ambiguity and

complexity are at the heart of human condition and now more than ever we

need writers to remind us of this.... We are the custodians of empathy,

the gateway to otherness. [It is writers who can show] how it feels to

be someone else, or to believe something else. This sometimes horrifies

us, but it is the best books that take us to these places.... Long live

stories, the written world and the publishers who believe in it and

booksellers who press it into hands of readers, agents who help writers

up and everyone else engaged in this great labor of love and faith."

--Writer and broadcaster Sally Magnusson in her keynote speech at the

Scottish Book Trade Conference in Edinburgh

This is awesome, I loved Jack London's stories when I was a kid...they were adventurous and fascinating.

TV: White Fang

Netflix picked up the animated feature White Fang

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36127375,

based on the Jack London story, and is planning a 2018 release, the

Hollywood Reporter wrote. Directed by Alexandre Espigares, who won an

Oscar for his 2014 animated short, Mr. Hublot, the project's voice cast

includes Rashida Jones, Eddie Spears, Nick Offerman and Paul Giamatti.

I just finished this book last weekend, and will review it below, but I think the book trailer is pretty cool.

Book Trailer of the Day: The Great Alone

The Great Alone: A Novel http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36127371

by Kristin Hannah (St. Martin's Press).

Very interesting, that Elliott Bay has decided to branch out into airports. Hopefully, they won't be too snobby about their choice of books to highlight.

Elliott Bay Book Company Landing Next Year at Sea-Tac Airport

Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, Wash., plans to open a bookstore at

Sea-Tac Airport in 2019 in association with the Hudson Group. Located on

the C Concourse, the store will feature "our staff recommendations,

bestsellers and our beloved Northwest authors and titles as well as the

latest releases you can grab when making your next connection," said

Elliott Bay general manager Tracy Taylor.

The Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac Airport, has been putting an

emphasis on adding local and women- and minority-owned businesses,

particularly food retailers. "From kiosks to in-line stores, we are

excited to offer customers more choices for dining and retail

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36127334 at

Sea-Tac Airport, to build a platform for local chefs and shop owners who

celebrate the Pacific Northwest, and to recognize equity and

sustainability practices that passengers can feel good about

supporting," Port of Seattle Commission President Courtney Gregoire told

South Sound magazine.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is her 16th novel (and I've read about 10 of them), and though it just debuted, it has become a huge bestseller and received a number of good reviews from print and online publications. Usually, I eschew bestsellers, because they rarely live up to the hype and I often find them to be formulaic and dull. But after reading and loving Hannah's The Nightingale last year, I thought that chances were good that she wouldn't disappoint with this year's bestseller, either. I was right, and The Great Alone is a page-turner that I devoured in one day, from the moment I woke up until I was ready for bed that night. The prose is, of course, brilliant, but it's the characters and sense of place that really set this wonderful novel apart, and that keep the riptide of the plot whooshing along.

Here's the blurb: Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska—a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

Though I can't fathom why any woman would stay with a man who beats her nearly to death, repeatedly, I do understand that women of that time (I was the same age as Leni in 1974), like my mother, had very few rights, including not having the right to get a credit card without their husband's okay, and having very few rights in court when it came to custody of children or of getting away from domestic violence and abuse. Though women had just gotten the right to a legal abortion, men still ruled the legal system and the police/government. My own mother, a nurse who worked every day to heal people and worked another shift at home raising three children (two with chronic illness), put up with a great deal of philandering and cruelty from my own father, because she knew that in a divorce, the courts wouldn't be on her side, and she didn't want her children to be caught in the crossfire. She waited as long as she could, until the year I graduated from high school and went off to college, to divorce my father, knowing that she still had to get my younger brother through his final year of high school, somehow. But my father wasn't beating her,and wasn't insane like Ernt, who should have been locked up many years before he moved his family to Alaska. Though he was a Vietnam vet and POW, and I gather we're supposed to have some sympathy for him because of PTSD, I loathed the man from the outset, and had no sympathy for his violent and insane attitude. And though I felt Cora should have grown a spine long before she did, I was saddened by what happened to her, and somewhat saddened by Leni's homecoming, though the ending was as close to an HEA as possible for these troubled characters. This book gets a well deserved A, and a recommendation to anyone who wonders what it was like to homestead in Alaska when it was still wild.

Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas is the 7th (or 8th, depending on if you count the coloring book) book in the Throne of Glass series, which I've read though and reviewed on this blog. Tower of Dawn isn't a direct sequel to the last Throne of Glass novel, however, which left Aelin, our heroine, in the hands of the enemy fae queen in the end. This novel takes up the story of Lord Chaol Westfall, who, in my opinion, was a real bastard and treated Aelin like crap because he was frightened of her power (and jealous of it, I think. Most men seem to feel emasculated by women who are more powerful/wealthy/titled than they are). This story picks up when he and Nesryn Faliq (his guard and erstwhile lover) set off to the far eastern lands ruled by the great Kahn to try and drum up an army to fight the demon valg in their homeland and to find healers to help Chaol win back the use of his legs after he suffered a spinal injury from the valg. I knew at the outset that he would fall in love with his healer, Yrene Towers, but I was surprised that Nesryn fell in love with flying Ruks with one of the heirs to the Kahn's throne. Maas' prose is rich and fine, and her plot here moves along at a metered pace but without any plotholes, which is some feat, considering the length and breadth of the other novels in the series. Here's the blurb:

Chaol Westfall has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken.
His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica--the stronghold of the southern continent's mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them.
But what they discover in Antica will change them both--and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

Reading about Chaol's physical and mental recovery was not unlike reading stories of soldiers recovering from PTSD and physical injuries in Afghanistan during our latest war in the Middle East. The fact that it comes down to dealing with your mental demons as well as your physical demons rings true in this fantasy world and in the real world. Still, there was a lot of melodrama around the budding relationships that seemed to get a bit too swoon-worthy for my tastes. But I enjoyed the ending and the set up for the next book,when we will see who wins when the fae queen battles Aelin. A well deserved A, and a recommendation to anyone who has read the preceding books in the series.

Star Wars Leia, Princess of Alderaan, and Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray. Though these two novels were written by the same author, you wouldn't know it if you took the book jackets off of both and asked several people to read them in tandem. Both do have strong female protagonists, and both have strong prose and excellent storytelling. However, the book about Leia is light years apart from Defy the Stars in terms of creative characters and plot. This is probably due to the fact that we all know Princess Leia's story from watching the Star Wars movies, so when we learn of her rebelliousness as a teenager, it doesn't seem unusual or out of character. But I was delighted to know more about her adoptive parents, Bail and Breha Organa, and their involvement in the nascent rebel alliance, along with Mon Mothma, a character I'd overlooked in nearly all the Star Wars movies. Since there isn't a blurb for this novel, I will just say that I felt it was like reading a well written script for a Star Wars prequel. While I enjoyed it, it was lightweight  reading, and only appropriate for those who enjoy detailed backgrounds on the characters they've come to know and love in the Star Wars universe. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to Star Wars geeks and fangirls everywhere.

Defy the Stars, however, was a much meatier read, full of wonderful characters, lush prose and a succulent plot that moved along beautifully and kept me turning pages long into the night. Here's the blurb:

She's a soldier -- Noemi Vidal is willing to risk anything to protect her planet, Genesis, including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she's a rebel.
He's a machine -- Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel's advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he's an abomination.
Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they're not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they're forced to question everything they'd been taught was true.
An epic and romantic adventure, perfect for fans of The Lunar Chronicle. Publisher's Weekly:In this poignant and profound SF novel from Gray (the Firebird trilogy), resources are scarce, humans populate multiple planets, and a colony world called Genesis is battling Earth for independence. Noemi Vidal, a 17-year-old fighter pilot from Genesis, is on a training run when an Earth army of humanoid robots known as mechs attacks her squadron. Noemi gets separated from the group and seeks refuge on a broken-down research vessel. On board is Abel, the first mech ever created. A showdown ensues before a quirk in Abel’s code dictates that he submit to Noemi’s command. Using information gleaned from Abel, Noemi hatches a plan to liberate Genesis that necessitates the mech’s destruction. It’s not long, though, until Noemi is forced to wonder whether Abel has transcended his programming. Noemi and Abel share the narrative, and together they weave a tale that examines the ethics of war and tackles questions of consciousness, love, and free will. Gray’s characters are nuanced, her worldbuilding is intelligent, and the book’s conclusion thrills and satisfies while defying expectations.

I completely agree with PW's estimation of the book, in the nuanced characters and intelligent world building. I felt as if I were reading something that was a combination of ST Next Generation, (especially the episodes where Data questions his humanity), The Expanse, a TV show that questions sentience of a created lifeform, and Blade Runner, the stylized futuristic movie where you can see the vast difference between the haves and the have nots, while being amazed at the lack of value placed on artificial life, especially when that life is obviously sentient enough to want to live longer than it was programmed to live.  Watching Noemi broaden her worldview and realize that all mechs are not the same, is a wonder to behold. Being a fan of science fiction romance hybrids and of YA, I thought I'd enjoy this book, but I expected it to be less literary and somewhat dumbed down. Thankfully, it was not dumbed down in the slightest, and should be shelved in with regular science fiction books, in my opinion. It is only nominally YA, and should be read by adults who are looking for a great story about AI. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction/romance and stories about artificial intelligence. 

I would like to make brief mention of a book that I enjoyed but am not going to finish called "I'll Have What She's Having: How Nora Ephron's Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy" by Erin Carlson. I picked up this book because I adore Nora Ephron, and I've loved her spicy memoirs just as much as I loved her iconic movies, like When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Unfortunately, Carlson rambles along about stars and celebs that are barely connected to the films, and thus the whole book devolves into a gossip rag, which is not why I wanted to read it. I loved the behind the scenes stories, but I really didn't like how the book comes to a complete halt for the ruinous gossip. It felt skeevy and I lost interest about 100 pages in. Still, if you are a fan of classic romantic comedies, and of the brilliant Nora Ephron, may she rest in peace, I would recommend you give this book a glance.

Women Authors Highlighted, To Kill a Mockingbird on Stage, Living in a Library, The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff, Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler, Hunter, Healer by Lilith Saintcrow and The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner

This is a fantastic idea, focusing on women authors. I wish they'd do this in America!

Women Authors Only at Penguin U.K. Pop-Up Shop in London

 

To celebrate International Women's Day March 8, Penguin U.K. is

launching a pop-up bookshop

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36059385

stocked solely with titles by female authors. The Bookseller reported

that the shop, called Like a Woman

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36059386, will be open March 5-9 on

Rivington Street in East London in partnership with Waterstones. It will

feature more than 240 writers.

Penguin Random House said the initiative is a celebration of "the way

that women contribute, often under the radar, to every facet of society"

and recognizes women who have "made a difference or fought for change"

in various fields, including politics, activism, writing, art, science,

sports and culture. The hashtag #LikeAWoman will be used online to

promote the pop-up. The bookshop will also host workshops and evening

events, with proceeds from ticket sales donated to Solace Women's Aid

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36059387 and shoppers also having the opportunity

to purchase books to be donated to children housed in the organization's

refuges.

"Women's voices being heard and taken seriously is key to achieving

gender equality, and with the Like a Woman Bookshop we're making room

for those voices to be elevated and celebrated," said Zainab Juma,

creative manager at Penguin Random House. "We're creating a space where

readers can look to incredible writers, activists and pioneers for the

inspiration to go forward and make change like a woman."

Lucy Grainger, Waterstones festival manager, commented: "To create a

unique bookshop and event space which is dedicated to a full range of

women's voices, experiences and ideas is tremendously exciting. We're

delighted to be working together with Penguin Random House and we think

it promises to be a fantastic and inspiring week for everyone that joins

us."

Who doesn't love this amazing classic book, and the movie that was based on it? That said, this old theater major is THRILLED that they are doing a stage adaptation of the book directed by Bartlett Sher, who cut his teeth on the Seattle Rep Stage here in the Pacific NW.

On Stage: To Kill a Mockingbird

  

Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) "will reunite with Aaron Sorkin as he

headlines the writer's stage adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill a

Mockingbird

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36059398,"

Playbill reported. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the production is a

collaboration between producer Scott Rudin and Lincoln Center Theater.

It will begin performances November 1 at a theatre yet to be announced,

with opening night set for December 13.

Daniels, in the role of Atticus Finch, joins a cast that includes Celia

Keenan-Bolger as Scout, Will Pullen as Jem, and Gideon Glick as Dill.

Playbill noted that "the casting of the three--each notably older than

their respective characters--indicates Sorkin's previously reported

intentions to present the drama as a memory play."

I have to laugh and agree with this major publisher CEO on his words about e-books. I never really got on board with them, myself, despite my husband getting me a Nook from Barnes and Noble soon after they became available. I used it a handful of time and then discarded it to a drawer, where it sits and gathers dust. Reading on a screen for hours bothers my eyes, and lessens the joy of holding a real, great smelling book in your hands that you can revisit and enjoy for the cover and the words inside. 

Hachette Livre CEO: 'The E-Book Is a Stupid Product'

"I think the plateau, or rather slight decline, that we're seeing in the

U.S. and U.K. is not going to reverse. It's the limit of the e-book

format. The e-book is a stupid product.... We, as publishers, have not

done a great job going digital. We've tried. We've tried enhanced or

enriched e-books--didn't work. We've tried apps, websites with our

content--we have one or two successes among a hundred failures. I'm

talking about the entire industry. We've not done very well."

 Hachette Livre CEO Arnaud Nourry

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36094561

in an interview with Scroll.in

This young man grew up wealthy, indeed! He could go downstairs and pick up any book that he wanted and read well into the night. I've often had dreams of living in a library.

Library Video of the Day: The Temple of Knowledge

The Temple of Knowledge http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36116930, a

video from StoryCorps, animates Ronald Clark's memories of his father,

who "was custodian of a branch of the New York Public Library at a time

when caretakers, along with their families, lived in the buildings. With

his daughter, Jamilah, Ronald remembers literally growing up in a

library, creeping down to the stacks in the middle of the night when

curiosity gripped him. A story for anyone who's ever dreamt of having

unrestricted access to books."

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff is the March book we are reading in my library book group, here in Maple Valley. As it was yet another tale set during World War 2, I wasn't expecting to get into it as easily as I did, because we've read a ton of WW2 novels in my book group over the years, and, since it seems to be the same story told over and over, just from a slightly different POV, I figured this book would be a slog. I couldn't have been more wrong. The prose is elegantly simple and spare, yet clear, and the plot gathers steam and plunges along like a runaway train. Here's the blurb:

The Nightingale meets Water for Elephants in this powerful novel of friendship and sacrifice, set in a traveling circus during World War II, by international bestselling author Pam Jenoff.
Seventeen-year-old Noa has been cast out in disgrace after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier during the occupation of her native Holland. Heartbroken over the loss of the baby she was forced to give up for adoption, she lives above a small German rail station, which she cleans in order to earn her keep.
When Noa discovers a boxcar containing dozens of Jewish infants, unknown children ripped from their parents and headed for a concentration camp, she is reminded of the baby that was taken from her. In a moment that will change the course of her life, she steals one of the babies and flees into the snowy night, where she is rescued by a German circus.
The circus owner offers to teach Noa the flying trapeze act so she can blend in undetected, spurning the resentment of the lead aerialist, Astrid. At first rivals, Noa and Astrid soon forge a powerful bond. But as the facade that protects them proves increasingly tenuous, Noa and Astrid must decide whether their unlikely friendship is enough to save one another—or if the secrets that burn between them will destroy everything.

The beauty of the relationship between Astrid and Noa, and the heartbreaking lives of the circus performers, plus the fear of discovery of the baby and Astrid, lends a sharp edge to the pages that keeps the novel from sentimentality and preciousness. And I agree with the blurb that it was like Water for Elephants meets The Nightingale, both wonderful books that marry well to create the idea behind this excellent volume. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical circuses and historical romance. 

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler is a paranormal fantasy/romance. I've read one of Peeler's other novels, though I can't remember the title off the top of my head, and I don't think it impressed me as much as this book did. Jane True, the half-selkie daughter of a local human is an amazing protagonist, though I felt Peeler took way too long for us to get to the point where Jane's identity in the paranormal community is revealed. Her friend Ryu the vampire comes off as a bit of an arrogant ass, and their relationship develops way too fast (and allows Jane to be a bit too girly and wimpy at times), but as boyfriends go, he seemed sexy and fascinating and worth her time.Here's the blurb:

Living in small town Rockabill, Maine, Jane True always knew she didn't quite fit in with so-called normal society. During her nightly, clandestine swim in the freezing winter ocean, a grisly find leads Jane to startling revelations about her heritage: she is only half-human.
Now, Jane must enter a world filled with supernatural creatures alternatively terrifying, beautiful, and deadly- all of which perfectly describe her new "friend," Ryu, a gorgeous and powerful vampire.
It is a world where nothing can be taken for granted: a dog can heal with a lick; spirits bag your groceries; and whatever you do, never-ever-rub the genie's lamp.
If you love Sookie Stackhouse, then you'll want to dive into Nicole Peeler's enchanting debut novel.

I felt that like Harris's Sookie books, the Jane series is probably meant to be very hip and contemporary and fun, with dangerous mysteries salted into the plot to keep it moving. The prose is kitschy and smooth, while the plot dashes along at a gallop. This isn't the kind of series you look for big truths in, its more of something to keep you distracted and entertained on an airplane or in the doctors office. I plan on reading the rest of the series, as soon as I can get copies from the library. I'd give this flirty, fluffy fun tome a B+ and recommend it to anyone who likes the Sookie Stackhouse books or other paranormal romances.

Hunter, Healer (the Society series, Book 2) by Lilith Saintcrow is the fast-paced sequel to The Society, which I read a month ago. Like the first book, there's a lot of melodrama and perilous rescues in the text, and while our protagonist Rowan the super psychic has grown up a bit since the first book, there's still some moments in this novel where I wanted to shake her and tell her to quit being such a wimpy, whinging baby and get to rescuing her beloved Delgado and blowing up the evil black ops organization called Sigma, once and for all. Here's the blurb:

Their first mistake? Kidnapping her lover. Their second? Thinking she wouldn’t do something about it.

The black-ops government agency known as Sigma has shattered the resistance, destroyed its infrastructure, and taken its best operative captive. It’s about as bad as it can get, but Sigma’s forgotten one thing: Rowan Price.
Rowan is no longer a civilian in the shadow war. Her talents are fully trained, and she’s become something she never dreamed of—a cool, clinical, lethal psionic operative. Working as Henderson’s second-in-command, she’s utterly focused on two things: repairing the Society’s infrastructure and rescuing Justin Delgado. Yet under her shell of calm and gentleness, her rage is simmering . . . and it’s about to break loose.
Delgado knows he can’t remember something important. He puts up with Sigma’s beatings and questioning, the pain and the torture. Sigma keeps asking him the same question—where is Rowan Price? He doesn't know who this woman is or where she is, but if he can escape Sigma one more time, he’s damn sure going to find out. Because Price, whoever she is, holds the key to his fractured memories and destroyed soul.
But first, he has to get out. Then he’ll find Rowan Price.
Unfortunately, that may be the one thing Sigma’s counting on.
Lilith Saintcrow is a wonderful storyteller whose prose is golden, and whose plots rarely disappoint. So any qualms I have about her books are generally trivial, because she's a master at creating characters we care about, especially female protagonists who are complex and damaged and who still manage to kick serious butt in every single story. That said, when she has a protagonist like Rowan, who is trying to deal with the death of her father and best friend, plus the guilt over losing her lover to the Sigmas, and training her psychic powers, I feel there really is no need to have Rowan be so deeply pathetic and whiny. Quit with the self pity and get on with it, already! This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book, I did, and the ending was pretty good. So I'd give it a B+, and recommend the novel to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance with some spicy adventure thrown in. 

The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner is a Doctor Who novel that features the 10th Doctor (my favorite) played by the delicious David Tennant, and his beloved companion, the sassy Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper. I normally do not read dramatizations of TV shows or movies that I've enjoyed in the past. There have been exceptions, like the couple of novels about characters from Babylon 5, or the Star Trek Voyager novels I've read, (and I am reading a Star Wars novel about Princess Leia's teenage years right now) but for the most part, anything fan-fiction-like turns me off due to quality issues. Fortunately, since I wasn't expecting War and Peace, I wasn't too disappointed when this novelization of the Doctor's adventure was like reading a comic book with characters painted in broad comedic strokes. Here's the blurb:
A 2,000 year old statue of Rose Tyler is a mystery that the Doctor and Rose can only solve by travelling back to the time when it was made. But when they do, they find the mystery is deeper and more complicated than they ever imagined.
While the Doctor searches for a missing boy, Rose befriends a girl who it seems can accurately predict the future. But when the Doctor stumbles on the terrible truth behind the statue, Rose herself learns that you have to be very careful what you wish for.
An adventure set in Roman times, featuring the Tenth Doctor as played by David Tennant and his companion Rose Tyler.
The prose was somewhat simplistic and amateurish, and the plot was equally easy to figure out. That said, this is another one of those books that you can pick up and read on an airplane or while waiting in line at the grocery store. It's just a fun book that requires very little concentration and is short enough to keep you distracted for awhile. Doctor #10 is my favorite of all the Doctors, so I enjoyed reading about his adventure in ancient Rome. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to Doctor Who fans who are looking for a little escapist reading to while away the hours.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Movie, Cambridge Book Shops, Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A Cole, A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn and Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey

I loved the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, as did the other members of the library book group that I head up, so we are all excited about this upcoming movie. The trailer looks pretty good.

Movies: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The first trailer is out for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie

Society http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36026101,

based on the bestselling novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Producing are Paula Mazur and Mitchell Kaplan from the Mazur/Kaplan

Company (he is the owner of Books & Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36026102

in southern Florida and the Cayman Islands), along with Graham Broadbent

and Pete Czernin from Blueprint Pictures (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, In

Bruges).

Directed by Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Harry Potter and

the Goblet of Fire), the film stars Lily James (Downton Abbey, Darkest

Hour), Michiel Huisman, Katherine Parkinson, Matthew Goode, Glen Powell,

Penelope Wilton, Jessica Brown Findlay and Tom Courtenay. The Guernsey

Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is currently scheduled to open

April 20 in the U.K. There is no official U.S. release date yet.

I have long had going on a trip to England, Scotland and Wales to check out all their wonderful libraries and bookstores on my bucket list. This link is to an article that outlines some of the great little bookshops in England that bookish folks like myself would love to explore.

Road Trip U.K.: Cambridge Shops 'Every Bibliophile Will Love'

"In a city which is all about books and knowledge there must be a fair

few quaint bookshops to tickle those brain cells. And a lazy wander

around a bookshop is a favorite pastime for many," Cambridge News

observed in showcasing "seven charming bookshops in Cambridge every

bibliophile will love

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz36031254."

Zenith, The Androma Saga by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings was recommended on a blog post on the Barnes and Noble SF/F blog as a new and exciting science fiction/romance series. Having been burned by recommendations from B&N before, I got my copy of this book from the library, and after reading it, I am so glad that I did. Wasting money on my own copy would have been a crime. Zenith reads like souped up Star Wars fan fiction. The characters are cliches, there is a ton of melodrama and the authors somehow feel the need to outline each character's every feeling, emotion and thought, so you have to read about any given event from several different points of view, which is boring, redundant and makes the plot drag. It's obvious from the first few chapters who the bad guys/gals are and who the "white hats" are supposed to be, and the main antagonist has a "golden hand/arm," to make her even more sinister (if she'd had a moustache she would have twirled it), while she tortures and brainwashes her brother to get him on board with her evil plan to take over the universe...laughable. Here's the Publisher's Weekly blurb: Androma “Andi” Racella was a rising star in the Arcadian military until she accidentally crashed General Cortas’s personal transport vessel, killing his daughter, Kalee. Andi fled Arcadius to avoid execution, becoming one of the most notorious criminals in the Unified Systems of Mirabel. Now dubbed the “Bloody Baroness,” Andi and her all-female crew of space pirates are planning their next heist when bounty hunter Dex Arez, Andi’s traitorous ex, captures the women and delivers them to Cortas. The general offers to pardon Andi if she rescues his son, Valen, from an impenetrable Xen Pterran prison. But Dex must accompany her, and if they are caught, the Xen Pterrans will likely kill them and declare war on the Unified Systems. First in a trilogy, this sprawling space opera from Alsberg and Cummings (the Balance Keepers trilogy) features plentiful action, complex politics, and a rich mythology. Regrettably, these assets can’t overcome the drag created by clichéd characters, manufactured drama, and an overstuffed and largely predictable plot.

I don't agree that there is complex politics or a rich mythology involved here (they're just borrowed from Star Wars and Star Trek's original series) but there is a lot of action, it is just slowed to a crawl by the melodramatic yammering of each character about their guilt over the deaths they've caused. Snore. The prose reads like fan fiction, amateurish and comic book bubble worthy. I'd give this silly novel a C-, and only recommend it to those who like very simple prose and pre-digested plots.

A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A Cole was on another list of new books recommended to those who like YA science fiction and its hybrids. Unlike Zenith, however, this novel had sturdy and clear prose that served it's rich and lyrical plot well. Here's the blurb:

Enter the vivid and cinematic world of Faloiv in the first book of this dazzling YA sci-fi/fantasy series, perfect for fans of Carve the Mark, Red Rising, and These Broken Stars.
Octavia has always dreamed of becoming a whitecoat, one of the prestigious N’Terra scientists who study the natural wonders of Faloiv. So when the once-secretive labs are suddenly opened to students, she leaps at the chance to see what happens behind their closed doors.
However, she quickly discovers that all is not what it seems on Faloiv, and the experiments the whitecoats have been doing run the risk of upsetting the humans’ fragile peace with the Faloii, Faloiv’s indigenous people.
As secret after disturbing secret comes to light, Octavia finds herself on a collision course with the charismatic and extremist new leader of N’Terra’s ruling council. But by uncovering the mysteries behind the history she’s been taught, the science she’s lived by, and the truth about her family, she threatens to be the catalyst for an all-out war. Publisher's Weekly: Cole’s slow-burning adventure, first in a planned duology, is set in a distant future in which mankind has evacuated Earth (aka the Origin Planet) and established the colony of N’Terra on the planet Faloiv after a temporary pit stop became permanent. Sixteen-year-old Octavia yearns to study the natural wonders and dangers of Faloiv, but when she develops the ability to telepathically hear the planet’s native fauna and encounters one of the reclusive, indigenous Faloii, she is inspired to investigate N’Terra’s secrets. It turns out that some of her fellow colonists are no longer interested in living in harmony with nature or playing by the Faloii’s rules, and it falls to Octavia and her friends to prevent war. Though Cole (Panther in the Hive) offers evocative descriptions of the natural landscape of Faloiv, the underlying critique of colonialism, while valuable, overshadows Octavia’s personal journey, and it takes quite some time for the story to gain momentum.

I don't agree that the underlying critique of colonialism overshadows Octavia's journey, nor do I feel that it took too long for the story to gain momentum. I was engrossed from chapter one right on through to the end. I felt that this novel was a page-turner, and I was glad of the indictment of mankind's greed overcoming reason to turn their science into weaponry in order to murder the natives and take over the planet for the humans. The usual toxic male domination of everything and everyone is shown here for the horror that it is, even among intelligent scientists who should know better due to our shared history on the earth. I'd give this novel an A, and recommend it to anyone who is horrified by what is happening in America and around the world with white male politicians wanting to turn the world back into a place of slaves and women without rights, where people of color and those who are different have no agency, and the environment continues to be trashed and species die because the politicians don't care about the environment, the elderly, children, the poor, POC or women's rights. This novel shows that you can move to another solar system/planet, but you can't change male human nature.

A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn is the third Veronica Speedwell mystery. I've read and enjoyed the first two, and I found this one even more adventurous than the first two. Raybourn, I felt, has upped her game here, and now that the characters are firmly established, she's allowed them free reign in this well-plotted novel. Here's the blurb: London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London.
But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker’s past. Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats—and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe—Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything...Publisher's Weekly: Set in 1888, Raybourn’s exhilarating third mystery featuring Veronica Speedwell and her colleague, Revelstoke “Stoker” Templeton-Vane (after A Perilous Undertaking), centers on the strange case of John de Morgan. De Morgan, the photo- grapher on an archeological dig in Egypt plagued with mishaps, and his wife secretly leave the dig at the same time that a jeweled diadem from the tomb of Princess Ankheset goes missing. De Morgan and his wife travel across Europe to Dover only for de Morgan to vanish from the hotel room where his wife last sees him. Did de Morgan steal the diadem and abandon his wife, or is he another victim of the curse that plagued the Egyptian expedition from the beginning? After discovering that Stoker has an unsavory connection to de Morgan, Veronica determines to uncover the truth behind the alleged curse and salvage her partner’s reputation. In audacious, decidedly un-Victorian Veronica, Raybourn has created a delightful cross between real-life reporter Nellie Bly and Phryne Fisher. 

I was delighted that we got more info on Stoker's previous marriage to the poisonous Caroline de Morgan, and that Veronica finally realizes that Caroline can't and won't ever stand in the way of the budding love that she and Stoker have for one another. And Veronica seemed much tougher and more ferocious in this installment...she didn't take crap from anyone, and she went about solving the mystery on her own terms. The prose was sparkling and full of steampunkish charm. I'd give the book an A, and recommend it to those who enjoy great couples solving mysteries in the Victorian Steampunk era.

Miranda and Caliban by Jacqueline Carey, is a reboot of Shakespeare's The Tempest (my favorite Shakespeare play, BTW) in novel form, with a focus on the innocent Miranda and her hideous companion, the witch-spawn Caliban. Carey does her best to hew closely to Shakespeare's language style, while still modernizing it enough to be understood to today's audience. While everyone knows how the Tempest ends, I wasn't at all certain that this book would allow the same ending for the star-crossed (almost) lovers. But having Prospero become an abusive and vengeful man who uses his magic to frighten, abuse and subjugate his daughter, Caliban and the spirits around him, put a whole new spin on the story that kept me turning pages until the wee hours. Here's the blurb:

Miranda and Caliban is bestselling fantasy author Jacqueline Carey’s gorgeous retelling of The Tempest. With hypnotic prose and a wild imagination, Carey explores the themes of twisted love and unchecked power that lie at the heart of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, while serving up a fresh take on the play's iconic characters.
A lovely girl grows up in isolation where her father, a powerful magus, has spirited them to in order to keep them safe.
We all know the tale of Prospero's quest for revenge, but what of Miranda? Or Caliban, the so-called savage Prospero chained to his will?
In this incredible retelling of the fantastical tale, Jacqueline Carey shows readers the other side of the coin—the dutiful and tenderhearted Miranda, who loves her father but is terribly lonely. And Caliban, the strange and feral boy Prospero has bewitched to serve him. The two find solace and companionship in each other as Prospero weaves his magic and dreams of revenge.
Always under Prospero’s jealous eye, Miranda and Caliban battle the dark, unknowable forces that bind them to the island even as the pangs of adolescence create a new awareness of each other and their doomed relationship. Publisher's Weekly: Carey (the Santa Olivia series) turns Shakespeare’s Tempest on its head, in ways that are always supportable by the original text, with this brilliant deconstruction. On the deserted island where Miranda grows up, her magician father, Prospero, keeps mostly to himself for the sake of his magical studies. Miranda is the childhood playmate and teacher of the orphan Caliban, the island’s original inhabitant, but when they come of age, their friendship grows into romance, which Prospero cannot tolerate. The magician has had plans for Miranda for years—plans involving his enemies, a love spell, and, of course, a tempest. Carey’s version of Prospero is unable to see his daughter as more than a tool, and unable to see Caliban through his preconceptions and academic prejudices. The foreordained pattern of the play mixes beautifully with Carey’s intricate characterization and eye for sensory detail, building mercilessly to dazzling, and devastating, tragic effect.

Carey's prose is, as it was in her Kushiel's series, brilliant and beautiful, while Shakespeare's grand plot goes from being a sad tale that ends well to a tragic tale of abandonment and lost love. Readers will really feel for Miranda, growing up under the magical thumb of her cruel father, while she tries to help poor Caliban to become a more "acceptable" human so as to allow them to be companions and friends when away from home and under her father's eyes. Ariel is a vicious gossipy spirit in this retelling, and other spirits also long for freedom, which Miranda manages to get for them before she and her father leave the Island. While this ending isn't as happy as Shakespeare's, it is still beautifully rendered. This book was a heart breaker, but well worth the price of the trade paperback. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to those who loved the Kushiel's series, because the tenants of Namah, "Love as Thou Wilt" certainly apply here.

Updike's Rabbit Novels Come to TV, Everless by Sara Holland, Wayfarer and Kin by Lili St Crow and The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley

As I've noted many times on this blog, I am a big fan of John Updike and his work, even more so after I met him and talked with him while in grad school at Lesley College in Cambridge, Mass in 1985. He was everything you'd want a classic literature author to be...witty, urbane, sexy and intelligent, oozing charm and talent. I think everyone in the room fell in love with him by the end of the evening. When I admitted to loving his book, The Centaur, he smiled, commented that that was a book written in his green youth and wanted to know exactly what I liked about it. He really listened to what I had to say, and made me feel like I was the only person in the room while I had his attention. At any rate, I will never forget him, and I think it is splendid that his Rabbit books are coming to TV.

TV: Rabbit, Run

 

John Updike's "Rabbit" novels

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz35933503

(Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit at Rest) will be

adapted for television after the BBC Worldwide-backed production company

Lookout Point (War and Peace) optioned the rights, Deadline reported.

Andrew Davies (Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary) will adapt

the four novels. This is the fourth collaboration between Davies and

Lookout Point, including the original House of Cards for the BBC and The

Tailor of Panama.

"This is such an important series of books for me," Davies said. "As a

young man, I read Rabbit, Run when it came out and thought: gosh, this

is what life is all about. For me, no other writer examines the mundane,

everyday details of life with such expressionistic, colorful, spiritual

power."

Lookout Point CEO Simon Vaughan added: "We were talking to Andrew about

whether there was any great work of literature he had always wanted to

adapt and Andrew said without breaking breath that it was Updike's

Rabbit books. Following his adaptations of non-British epics including

War and Peace, Les Miserables and A Suitable Boy, it seems

perfectly logical for him to take on one of America's iconic titles."

Everless by Sara Holland is the latest "hot" new YA novel to come out this year, and while I normally don't pay much attention to trends and bestseller lists, this sounded like a book that I might find interesting. It certainly got plenty of good reviews on websites like Barnes and Noble and Goodreads. That said, the idea of yet another dystopian setting where the young heroine gets involved in a love triangle while trying to figure out her powers set my teeth on edge. Still, Holland manages to make her story original enough that it isn't tedious to read, thank heaven. Here's the blurb:

New York Times bestseller!
In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself. Publisher's Weekly: Set in a world in which blood, iron, time, and currency are inextricably entwined, Holland’s complex debut novel blends myth, palace intrigue, and magic into a tale of self-discovery. To avoid eviction, 17-year-old Jules Ember takes a position at Everless, the estate of the powerful Gerlings. Jules still has feelings for her childhood friend Roan Gerling, but she’s terrified of his cruel brother, Liam, who is the reason she and her blacksmith father had to flee Everless in disgrace years ago. Roan is to be married to the sweet-natured Ina Gold, the adopted daughter of the queen of Sempera. Jules’s father has warned her about the queen, but Jules makes a shocking discovery and must get close to her at any cost. Holland’s lush, intricately drawn world hides an undercurrent of darkness underneath a veneer of beauty and finery, and the twists are genuinely surprising. Jules’s first-person narration reveals a smart, resilient young woman determined to reconcile her past with an uncertain future.

I have to disagree with PW, in that I didn't find Jules to be terribly smart, but she was foolhardy and brave enough to keep questioning what was really going on at the palace, and to fight the real person in power, who turns out to be a goddess in disguise. The whole reincarnation spin adds a twist to the plot that, though I saw most of it coming, was still exciting. While the prose is a bit too "easy" for my tastes, it is also clear and clean and sensible enough to keep that twisty plot from going off the rails. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to those who are into swords and sorcery and medieval story reboots.

Wayfarer and Kin by Lili St Crow are the second and third book in her Tales of Beauty and Madness series following the first book, Nameless, in rebooting fairy tales that star innocent young women, who in this case are teenager besties going to private school together. Nameless was an update of Sleeping Beauty, while Wayfarer is an update of Cinderella and Kin is an update of Little Red Riding Hood. Here's the blurb: 

The Charmer's Ball. Midnight. And one glass slipper...
Newly orphaned, increasingly isolated from her friends, and terrified of her violent stepmother, Ellen Sinder still believes she’ll be okay. She has a plan for surviving and getting through high school, which includes keeping her head down and saving any credits she can earn or steal. But when a train arrives from over the Waste beyond New Haven, carrying a golden boy and a new stepsister, all of Ellie’s plans begin to unravel, one by one.
Just when all hope is lost, Ellie meets an odd old woman with a warm hearth and a heavenly garden. Auntie’s kindness is intoxicating, and Ellie finally has a home again. Yet when the clock strikes twelve on the night of the annual Charmer’s Ball, Ellie realizes that no charm is strong enough to make her past disappear...
In a city where Twisted minotaurs and shifty fey live alongside diplomats and charmers, a teenage girl can disappear through the cracks into safety—or into something much more dangerous. So what happens when the only safety you can find wants to consume you as well?
Kin: Full moon. Glowing eyes. Red lips. And such sharp, sharp teeth…
In the kin world, girls Ruby de Varre’s age are expected to play nice, get betrothed, and start a family—especially if they’re rootkin, and the fate of the clan is riding on them. But after a childhood of running wild in the woods, it’s hard to turn completely around and be demure. Even if your Gran is expecting it.
Then Conrad, handsome and charming, from a clan across the Waste, comes to New Haven to seal alliance between their two families. The sparks fly immediately. Conrad is smart, dominant, and downright gorgeous. Yet as Ruby gets to know him more, she starts to realize something's...off.
Then, the murders start. A killer stalks the city streets, and just when Ruby starts to suspect the unimaginable, she becomes the next target. Now Ruby’s about to find out that Conrad’s secrets go deeper than she ever could have guessed—and it’s up to Ruby to save her Gran, her clan, and maybe even herself....

I've read most of Lilith Saintcrow's work, so I know that she will always provide sterling prose and solid, inventive plots that move along swiftly, without any annoying plotholes. That said, I was discomfited by the fact that all three of her female protagonists hated themselves to the point of allowing themselves to be continually abused or nearly killed. And while each girl claimed to love and respect her best friends, they never want to "bother" their friends with these horrific problems that they are dealing with at home, choosing instead to just hide the bruises and scars and wait until they're near death to finally be rescued by their friends and their "one true love/boyfriend." Each girl finds herself hideous, while finding her friends gorgeous and elegant and poised. They don't seem to be able to articulate this to one another, however, nor do their protestations of "one for all and all for one" seem to hold much weight when the magical nightmare killers hit the fan. They're also supposedly smart young women, yet even the most rebellious of the lot, Ruby, can't see that her boyfriend Conrad is a serial killer and an abusive asshole, when it is clear from the outset that he's evil and controlling (and he hurts her almost immediately, but she lamely accepts his excuses and apology without a qualm...really? It makes no sense). At least in the Sinder Ellie story, we know that the evil abusive stepmother must be stopped. I do not understand how St Crow can allow these girls to be so passive and with such low self esteem that they nearly die at the hands of vicious boyfriends or twisted adults. I know that in the original Grimms and Perraults fairy tales, the stories had plenty more gore and horror in them, and that the women and girls fell either into the evil or saintly categories, with no real inbetween. But if you are going to reboot the tales, please give the protagonists more agency than they had in the originals! Still, I'd give these two books and this series overall a B, and recommend it to those who like dark fairy tales.

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley is the 9th book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series. I've read every single one of them, and have yet to find a clinker in the lot. Bradley has a thoroughly winning heroine in prepubescent Flavia, who is so precocious and bright that she makes those around her seem dull by comparison. Flavia makes you laugh and cry and want to be her best friend, all at once. Here's the blurb:

“The world’s greatest adolescent British chemist/busybody/sleuth” (The Seattle Times), Flavia de Luce, returns in a twisty new mystery novel from award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Alan Bradley.
In the wake of an unthinkable family tragedy, twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is struggling to fill her empty days. For a needed escape, Dogger, the loyal family servant, suggests a boating trip for Flavia and her two older sisters. As their punt drifts past the church where a notorious vicar had recently dispatched three of his female parishioners by spiking their communion wine with cyanide, Flavia, an expert chemist with a passion for poisons, is ecstatic. Suddenly something grazes her fingers as she dangles them in the water. She clamps down on the object, imagining herself Ernest Hemingway battling a marlin, and pulls up what she expects will be a giant fish. But in Flavia’s grip is something far better: a human head, attached to a human body. If anything could take Flavia’s mind off sorrow, it is solving a murder—although one that may lead the young sleuth to an early grave. Publisher's Weekly: Set in England in 1952, Agatha-winner Bradley’s outstanding ninth Flavia de Luce novel (after 2016’s Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d) finds 12-year-old Flavia contemplating suicide in the wake of a family tragedy. To relieve the increased tension between Flavia and her two older sisters, Dogger, the de Luce family’s long-serving and devoted servant, proposes an extended boat trip on the river. All is uneventful until the skiff nears the site where a notorious poisoner, Canon Whitbread, discarded the chalice he used in his crimes. Flavia’s hand, trailing behind the boat, comes into contact with the corpse of the canon’s son, Orlando. Unperturbed, Flavia uses her handkerchief to swab liquid from the dead man’s lips, and she and Dogger jury-rig a forensic lab to examine the sample. Though disappointed when the evidence shows Orlando was drowned instead of poisoned, Flavia persists with her amateur detecting, even as she runs afoul of the local constable. As usual, Bradley makes his improbable series conceit work and relieves the plot’s inherent darkness with clever humor.

I disagree with PW that the series has an "improbable conceit," any more than any other mystery has an improbable sleuth who can follow the clues when everyone else around them seems stumped. I was eager to find out what was going to happen with Buckshaw, the family estate, now that Flavia's father has died, and it appears that, though the estate was left to her in the will, there's a meddlesome aunt who wants to sell it off and send Flavia's sisters into marriage and college, while Flavia would have to go live with her aunt in London until she comes of age. Though this is only touched on briefly in the book, I assume that the next book will sort out what happens to the sisters de Luce, and we will find out if Flavia is able to get her aunt to agree to allow her to stay with the horrible housekeeper and faithful Dogger (and her wonderful inherited chemistry lab) at Buckshaw. I wonder if Flavia will change once she turns 13 and is officially a teenager, with all the hormonal hoopla that it entails? At any rate, Bradley's prose is of the highest quality, and his plots swift and sure. I would give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys cozy British mysteries with a winning heroine/sleuth and several dollops of dry humor to keep the whole thing together.