Obituary for Jane Yolen, Women's Fiction Prize For The Correspondent, Lady Macbeth Movie, Final Draft by Elizabeth Spann Craig, The Guncle by Steven Rowley, The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco, The Ink that Bleeds by Piper J Drake, and Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

Ah, summer...I'm excited for July and August, which are right around the corner, because they're the final months of summer, and I'm an Autumn loving person. So here's to cooler temps and crisp fall days ahead where you can snuggle beneath a blanket with a hot cup of tea and a good book! 

I met Jane Yolen back in 1993 or 4, before I was married and had my son, and she was a delightfully sharp curmudgeon of an author whose first words to the group meeting her were: "Don't gush over me...I hate groupie behavior." So when I tried to tell her how much I admired her writing and in particular Briar Rose, which was so gorgeous it made me cry, she said "What did I say about gushing?! No crying, either!" She hated what she called "simps" or simpering, sycophantic people. Still, she tolerated us all, and gave a brilliant talk on finding inspiration in the everyday. She will be missed.  (BTW, I read Owl Moon to my son about a million times when he was a toddler, and I cried every time.)

Obituary Note: Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen, who published 450 books "in practically every conceivable genre," died last Thursday at age 87, the New York Times reported, writing that Yolen "never encountered a genre she didn't like; among her early books was a history of kites. Yet running through almost all her writing was a strong through-line of deep psychological insight and a sense of wonder.

Many of her works were fables and folklore, whether retellings of old stories or her own, original tales."She was inspired by the Eastern European Jewish folk stories she heard as a child--her father was born in present-day Ukraine--and by the writers she fell in love with as a teenager, like Robert Louis Stevenson and Joseph Conrad."

Yolen wrote children's books, folklore, fantasy, and science fiction books, and was best known for Owl Moon, illustrated by John Schoenherr, which won the Caldecott Medal; The Devil's Arithmetic, about a Jewish girl who travels in time to the Holocaust in Poland in 1942; two Nebula Award-winning novellas, "Sister Emily's Lightship" and "Lost Girls"; The Emperor and the Kite, illustrated by Ed Young, which was a Caldecott Medal Honor Book; and two series, the Commander Toad and Pit Dragon Chronicles. She published her first book, Pirates in Petticoats, at age 22. Yolen also wrote books with her three children, writer and musician Adam Stemple, children's book author Heidi Stemple, and photographer Jason Stemple.

Among her many awards and honors, Yolen was given a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2009.

Yolen was also a university professor, songwriter, and editor. In the 1960s, she worked at Gold Medal Books, Routledge, and Knopf. From 1990 to 1996, she had a YA imprint, Jane Yolen Books, at Harcourt Brace. Her 450th, Terror Birds, will be published July 14 by Charlesbridge Moves. The title is illustrated by Celia Lowenthal and is book 2 in the Monsters of Fife series.

I adored this novel, and I am thrilled that its winning awards and getting a lot of good ink via reviews and such. I can only hope that Evans will grace us again with more of her epistolary brilliance.

Women's Prize for Fiction Goes to The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

The £30,000 (about $40,225) Women's Prize for Fiction was won by Virginia Evans for The Correspondent (Crown). Julia Gillard, chair of judges for the fiction award, described the book as "a remarkable novel, with an exemplary combination of originality, excellence and accessibility. It is no mean feat to write a life in letters, but Evans makes this feel effortless, asking the reader to consider the choices we make, whilst elevating an ordinary life in the most heartfelt of ways. The sheer skill required to render an emotionally resonant and engaging work in this format is spectacular. This is a novel that captured our hearts, and should be read and savored by all." (Editor's note: AMEN to that! This was the best book I've read this year!)

The Scottish Play from the Women's POV! Yes, please! I can hardly wait for this movie to debut. Before it does I will hopefully find a copy of the book.

Movies: Lady Macbeth

Production companies Curious Gremlin (The Testament of Ann Lee) and Kari Skogland's new banner Take a Trip Media are developing a film adaptation of Ava Reid's 2024 bestselling novel, Lady Macbeth.

Deadline reported that the screenplay for "the gothic feminist retelling of Shakespeare's play" will be written by Emma Donoghue (Room), with Emmy and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Skogland (The Handmaid's Tale) set to direct.

"At Curious Gremlin, we have always aimed to share our excitement for telling fresh, bold, and daring stories that trust their audience to embrace new perspectives and sit with complexity," said co-founder Sinan Eczacibasi. "In that spirit, Ava Reid's Lady Macbeth--a ferocious reimagining of the timeless Scottish Play from a fresh and surprisingly overlooked lens--adapted for the big screen by Emma Donoghue, with Kari Skogland in the director's seat, feels like a natural fit for us. We are delighted to be partnering with Take a Trip on this wonderful film and look forward to sharing it with the world."

Final Draft by Elizabeth Spann Craig is a cozy Librarian mystery that was not only short and sweet, it was a great palate-cleanser for some other, heavier novels I've yet to tackle on my TBR. I've read one other book by this author, despite the old saying of "never read a novel whose author name is longer and more prominent than the title." LOL. Here's the blurb: 

Every story has a final draft. This one is murder.

Ann Beckett is finally settling into married life. The cottage renovation is complete, Fitz has claimed his sunroom, and quiet evenings with Grayson have become her favorite part of the day. After the chaos of wedding planning—and murder—she's ready for something resembling normal.

 

But normal doesn't last long in Whitby.

 

When an out-of-town dealer is found dead inside the local typewriter repair shop, Ann is pulled into another investigation. The victim wasn't well-liked—he'd made enemies among collectors, rattled old acquaintances, and been asking questions that made people uncomfortable. Someone in Whitby wanted him gone, and Ann suspects the reason lies buried in the past.

As she digs deeper, Ann discovers that small towns have long memories—and some secrets are worth killing to protect. With Grayson's support and the library community beside her, she'll need to separate old grudges from deadly intent before the killer strikes again.

The prose employed by Craig is clean and easy, and the plot percolates along like a well oiled machine. I was particularly fond of Fitz the kitty, and wished for more scenes with him making his mark on the investigation. But all in all, a nice short (under 300 pages) work that I'd give a B+ and recommend to anyone seeking a light read for the beach or just for the summer.

 

The Guncle by Steven Rowley is a delightful LGBTQ humorous family fiction novel that will give you all the feels. This book has won so many awards, that were I to list them it would take up the rest of the blog space. But it deserves some accolades, as its rare to find a book with a gay male protagonist who is both snarky and sweet, in a story that is heartwarming in the best way. Here's the blurb: From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous gay sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew for the summer.

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is, honestly, overwhelmed.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick's brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of "Guncle Rules" ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting--even if temporary--isn't solved with treats and jokes, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you're unfailingly human.

With the humor and heart we've come to expect from bestselling author Steven Rowley, The Guncle is a moving tribute to the power of love, patience, and family in even the most trying of times. 

While I adored GUP, I really hated his siblings, especially Greg, the selfish and idiotic drug/alcohol addict who has to go to rehab because, as his wife is dead, he's the only parent left to raise his two children. So instead of taking on that responsibility, he checks himself into rehab and leaves his children with his gay brother Patrick, and makes sure he knows that there's no alternative, though both Greg and Patrick know that their sister Clara would be glad to take on her niece and nephew for the summer. But Clara is one of those tight-arsed Republican Karens who make everyone around them as miserable, so GUP allows himself to be manipulated into taking the kids (who are both kind of jerks). Though I felt the kids needed a lot more boundaries and discipline, I was Glad that they both learned to love their free-wheeling GUP, and had fun learning the LA lifestyle from him. I felt that GUP treated the kids as smarter versions of lap dogs, fully indulging them when he shouldn't, but I also liked that he seemed to grow more compassionate as the summer wore on (and more responsible, thank heaven). The ending, which was HFN, could have used more work, as it was disjointed and not satisfying at all. Hence, I'd give this book an A-, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys oddball LA/Hollywood sagas.

 

The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco is a YA early 20th century family fiction novel that was promoted as middle-grade fiction, when, like the Harry Potter series, it is actually a well told tale that should appeal to teenagers and adults alike. Here's the blurb: Hurricane is quiet while her Aunt Claire is a force of nature with very particular ideas--and a host of Latin sayings to back them up. When Hurricane gets stuck living with her, she retreats into herself...until a series of unexpected friends, including a mangy cat, help her find her voice in a whole new way.
A recipe for The World’s Most Comforting, Twelve-Layer Honeycake: 1 quiet girl named Hurricane, who runs like the wind along the Mighty Atlantic with her old dog Brody-Bear.

1 imperious aunt, who steps up when Hurricane’s world turns upside down.
1 kind-hearted boy, who helps wounded animals (and may smell a little of fish) 1 lonely and flea-bitten cat with a ragged ear and a crooked tail.

1 gentle chauffeur, who knows exactly what to say…and when not to say a thing.Mix them all together in big, fancy house in the city. What you get might surprise you. 

Hurricane is what would be called nowadays "on the spectrum" of autism/neurodivergent. She's smart but doesn't understand most other kids, or society's rules and regulations. BTW, I kept hearing Alanis Morrisette's "One Hand in My Pocket" while I was reading this book, and I think it fits the general theme of the work. I could identify with Hurricane's love of rescuing animals, her need for time to be alone and roam free, and her need for adult understanding, kindness and steadfast empathy. I felt that same kind of loneliness and need for understanding and compassion many times as a child and a teenager. I had an aunt, whom I didn't see often enough (RIP Aunt Barb) who was like Mr Keats, in that she never talked down to me or treated me with anything but kindness...my mother used to sneer at her "laziness" for not wanting to clean and cook like the other women in the family, and gossip cruelly about everyone they knew, but instead spent her after-supper time with her bookish niece, (Me) discussing science fiction and fantasy books, being harassed (by men/boys) as a young or older woman, being a person of size (plus sized) in a world full of diet scams, etc. I felt SEEN by her, and she always left me feeling better about myself and my life, which was quite hard at times. Still, Hurricane was a bit of a snot, and I wish that someone had been able to give her more boundaries and guidelines to help her navigate the world outside. Well written and full of interesting characters and a swift plot, this book deserves an A, and I'd recommend it to anyone who was an "oddball" kid.

 

The Ink That Bleeds by Piper J. Drake is the first in the Mystic Bookstore series. Though its self-published, I found this Pacific Northwest paranormal romantic mystery to be a lot of fun and full of fascinating locales and characters. Here's the blurb: The Mystic Bookstore is keeping a secret. In fact, the whole town is.

Amihan Chanthara is ready for a new beginning when she arrives in the little harbor town of Wolfsound, Washington, nestled in the San Juan Islands. Settling in as the new owner of the town bookstore is easy. Figuring out who killed the bookstore’s previous owner is not.

The town sheriff has asked the sexy, ill-tempered werewolf, Lucien Allard, to help investigate and Ami is torn between heady attraction and irritation as the bookstore continues to be the center of the murder investigation.

Is the killer human or supernatural? Why was the previous bookstore owner murdered? Is Ami next?
Every new friend could be the murderer and even the one theoretical witness can’t tell anyone what happened. Will Ami survive long enough to learn what it means to be chosen by the mystic bookstore as its new Scribe?

 

Drake's  prose is excellent, concise and lyrical, while keeping the rapid-fire plot moving along like a bullet train. I liked the "magic" bookstore, which was a character unto itself, and the werewolf sheriff, as well as Taffy the immortal bookstore Corgi, who kept everyone in line. The book is only 165 pages, yet it felt like the author took us on a full adventure, leaving readers with a very satisfying ending that was heartfelt and made sense of all that had gone before. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys enchanting books set in the PNW.

 

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi is a (somewhat) Christian literary fiction novel that surprised me with its poignancy and wisdom-filled chapters that became more addictive the longer you read them. Here's the blurb: One spring morning, a stranger named Theo arrives in the small Southern city of Golden. He doesn’t explain much about where he came from or why he’s there—but when he visits the local coffeehouse, where pencil portraits of the people of Golden hang on the walls, he begins purchasing them, one at a time, and giving each portrait to the person depicted. In exchange, he asks only for the person’s story. And so portrait by portrait, person by person, secrets are revealed, regrets are shared, and ordinary lives are profoundly altered.

A story of giving and receiving, of seeing and being seen, Theo of Golden is an unforgettable novel about the power of generosity, the importance of connection, and the quiet miracles that happen when we choose kindness and wonder.

 

Though they don't make it too overt, there is more than a little Christian proselytizing in the later chapters, and while it's mild and gentle, it still might be a bit uncomfortable for those who are atheists or from other faiths who read this book. I did find it interesting that this novel was written by a judge/attorney who also claims to be a singer/songwriter (and now, of course, novelist/writer).What an unusual combination of careers. I wasn't really expecting to like this book as much as I did, considering all the good ink and hype that it has gotten, but it turns out this page-turner had plenty of relevance and beauty to bring to the table, and contained stunning prose that moved along the elegantly rendered plot like sugar dissolving in a glass of lemonade. This profound novel is at once a tribute to art and to life, told by an elderly male protagonist whose charming old world ways change everyone around him. It reminded me a little of reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull when I was a teenager, and discovered that books could change you at a soul-deep level, like all great art. Theo of Golden deserves an A, and a recommendation to anyone interested in the intersection of life, art, and the soul.