The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters
Cluny Brown, by Margery Sharp
 
I read The Little Stranger because I was looking for a good scare. I felt the book was more sad than scary, since the scary parts are related to us through an unreliable third party. It’s set a few years after WWII in a rural county in England. The story, recounted by Dr. Farady a few years after the events, is about the Ayres family and their crumbling estate, Hundreds Hall. Dr. Farady’s mother was once a servant at the house, and in the family’s twilight years he comes to the house as their doctor. Over the course of the book, we witness the demise of each member of the family.
 
Doing some research at work about Margery Sharp, the author of The Rescuers (the book the Disney movie is based on), I found that she wrote a lot of contemporary fiction and it sounded delightful. I found Cluny Brown as an ebook from the library. It was a sweet book, with a poignant message. The story follows Cluny Brown, a 22-year-old woman who was raised by her plumber uncle. She’s considered strange because she does what comes to mind, despite money or class. Her uncle sends her into service for a family in Devonshire to learn her place. It is 1938 as Britain is on the cusp of war. (The books was published in 1944.) Working as a maid, Cluny’s disregard for class boundaries and her vivacious personality lead her making friends of all sorts across class divides.
 
On the surface, these two books have little in common, besides the old manor house and landed gentry in the country. They were written 70 years apart by women, one writing contemporary fiction, one writing historical fiction. The thing that, in my mind, brings them together is the themes of a dying way of life, class boundaries, and respectability.
 
Dr. Farady, even as he becomes close to the Ayres family, is always conscious of the class boundary that exists between them. When he becomes engaged to Caroline, the daughter of the family, he is blinded to the other things going on by his rising star. It is very apparent that he is obsessed with being respectable and aligning himself with a storied family. A family with a long history that no longer owns most of their land, who have no money, and only pride.
 
For Cluny Brown, the landed family she works for feel like their way of life is fading and they hold on desperately to their respectability. Cluny doesn’t give a thought to respectability and, even when her fortunes change for the good, likely doesn’t understand it. But that’s what confuses the family she works for. That’s the only thing they understand.
 
I feel like Sarah Waters must have been familiar with Cluny Brown. A subtle melancholy of a dying way of life runs just below the plot in both books. For both Cluny and Dr. Farady—both from working class backgrounds—their story hinges on respectability. For Dr. Farady, it is his life’s ambition, even if it is attached to a something no longer relevant. For Cluny, respectability means nothing if it means living life in a closed and measured way.

Truly Devious, by Maureen Johnson
This was highly recommended by a couple of my coworkers. A YA mystery, it is set in an exclusive school—fully paid for and invite only—in Vermont. Since it started in the 1930s, the school has been shrouded in a mystery of the founder’s kidnapped wife and child. Stevie is accepted to the school and her goal is to solve the 80-year-old mystery. This book did live up to its reputation. However! It ends on a cliffhanger and that drives me nuts. I don’t care if a story is a series, but each book should be its own story. I’m waffling on finishing the other two books in the series.
 
Bruja Born, by Zoraida Córdova
This is the second in the Brooklyn Brujas series. The story follows a family of Latina witches, with each book taking on the story of one teenaged sister. This book is about the oldest sister, Lula, a healer who, in trying to resurrect her boyfriend after a terrible bus accident, creates a host of undead. This book was all right. I like the first one better because we went to a magical world and this one is in regular old Brooklyn. Not to say that it didn’t have good worldbuilding, it did, but the setting didn’t intrigue me as much as in the first book. Still, the series has been worth reading.
 
The Hollow Places, by T. Kingfisher
I’ve been on a kick to find books that are scary … in a certain way. In my research, I’ve found that the type of horror that I like is Folk Horror. This is a book that was just out in October. I started listening to it, but was so into it, that I needed to read it fast, so I bought it and tore right through it. Kara, newly divorced, goes to live with her uncle who owns a museum of the unusual—taxidermy, skeletons, etc. She loves it there and has always felt like it was a safe space. Then one day, while her uncle is healing from knee surgery, she finds a hole in the wall on the second floor. With her friend, the barista who runs the coffee shop next door, they open the hole to reveal a different world. What follows is uncanny, creepy, and deadly. And so much fun.
 
Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells
Not out until next April is another novella in the Murderbot Diaries series. I got my hot little hands on a galley for it! This novella follows Exit Strategies and is before the novel, Network Effect. While this story doesn’t have the immediacy of the other novellas and novels, it was still a lot of fun. Set on Preservation Station not too long after its arrival, Murderbot helps to solve a murder (unheard of in Preservation territory) at the behest of Mensah. I seriously can’t get enough of this character.
 
The Willows, by Algernon Blackwood
This is a novella by an English author first published in the early 1900s. It is the inspiration for The Hollow Places and a well-regarded early piece of horror (believed to have influenced Lovecraft). It definitely has some creep factor going on, but it is so vague as to not be really scary—reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw. The story follows the narrator and his companion, known as the Swede, on their canoe journey down the length of the Danube river. They come to a part that is entirely remote and they camp on an island in the river that is covered with willow trees. After a short while, they begin to get a nervous feeling blamed on the wind. But after a day on the island, they know that there are other forces at work against them.
 
The In-Between, by Rebecca K.S. Ansari
A middle grade scary story. I really enjoyed Ansari’s first book that came out last year, The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly. It’s plot was really different and surprising. This book’s plot wasn’t quite as twisty, but I think I liked it even more. Cooper is angry that his father left their family. Jess misses her dad even while dealing with diabetes. They team up for the first time in a long time to discover the mystery of the girl who lives in the newly renovated house next door, with the help of a mysterious new kid. This is kid horror-lite at its best—things are not what they seem! The other things I liked about it was the portrayal of divorce and Cooper’s anger. It’s rare that you get a young character who is truly angry. I felt like that made both main characters more real.

I’m doing this is three parts this month, since I read 14 books. That’s a lot for me, but I was finishing two books at the beginning of the month and we took a short holiday that mostly involved reading for me. I’ll go in order of finishing, as usual, except for two that have a similar theme.
 
Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
Considered a classic of kids’ lit, the story follows Harriet as she keeps a spy journal of her thoughts. She wants to be a writer one day and her nurse encourages her to practice. When her nurse leaves suddenly, Harriet is left without a safety net, and when her journal is read by her classmates, she is shunned. I’ve got to say, I really didn’t like this book. I felt it was mean spirited. Not just everybody who pointed fingers at Harriet, but Harriet herself. There is a whole lot of judging people, without trying to understand. While the perspective is spot on, giving a very realistic view of how kids treat each other, there was not one adult who stepped up. It likely is a reflection of the time, but I was still really frustrated that no one saw how much the nurse leaving undermined Harriet.
 
Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots
I loved this book. I listened to it and narrator had a terrific amount of snark that brought a lot to the story. Anna is a temp for villains. One day, at her villain boss’s event, she is gravely injured by the biggest hero of them all, Supercollider. Now out of work with a shattered leg, she puts together a spreadsheet showing how many civilian lives are ruined or ended because the support network for Supercollider doesn’t regard collateral damage. This brings her to the attention of Leviathan, an A-list villain and mortal enemy of Supercollider. Together, they work to bring down not just the heroes but the idea that there are heroes. I really liked this one. It has some dark moments, but lots of levity—even when Anna is doing some very questionable things. Definitely worth a read for fans of the superhero mythos.
 
The Barren Grounds, by David O. Robertson
A middle grade book written by an indigenous Canadian author. Morgan and Eli, indigenous kids, have ended up at the same foster home. They find a portal in the home’s attic, that takes them to a land where Cree folktales are real. The place has been cursed with winter for many years and the two kids help Ochek stop the curse and save his village from starvation. A lovely story. Morgan and Eli are very different kids with different life experiences which helps to make their characters more fleshed out as those differences play off each other. The world-building is great and I loved the mythology. Looking forward to more books in the series.
 
Windswept, by Gwen Cole
A potato chip read. A young adult novel about people who can teleport with a bit of romance thrown in. That summary is very basic, but it’s a very basic book. It was a short novel and it could have spent more time fleshing out the characters and world building. Main character, Sam, often tells us who she is, but she never shows us. There were several plot lines (or potential plot lines) that had no significance or just petered out. It was a perfectly fun read, but without a whole lot of substance.
 
Arabella, by Georgette Heyer
The first Georgette that I’ve listened to and it was a blast. I had only read Arabella once before and it wasn’t my favorite. I know it is usually a fan favorite and on second read I understand why. Arabella is the daughter of a minister and one of ten kids. She has the opportunity to be presented for a London season by her godmother. When her temper gets the better of her, she blurts out to some rich dudes that she is a great heiress. Then the rumor spreads that she is. Being a mostly honest girl, she can’t accept any marriage proposals knowing that everyone thinks she’s rich. Enter Beaumaris, stupidly rich and tired of women after his money. The usual Heyer hijinx follows. A fun read.
 
Or What You Will, by Jo Walton
Jo Walton writes the most interesting books. This book is a conversation between an author and her favorite character. It is written mostly from the character’s POV and tells the history between himself and author Sylvia. Now in Florence to finish her last book, and maybe to say goodbye to her favorite city, her character is worried that when she dies, he will too. Instead of accepting fate, he searches for a way for both of them to live on forever. It was hard to get into at first because the narration jumps right in acting as if you already know what’s going on, but once you catch on, the story is fascinating. Highly recommend.

Abigail, by Magda Szabó
In August, I didn’t do as much “women in translation” reading as I had planned, so this book was the first one I picked up in September. It’s by a famous Hungarian author. Written in 1970 and set in 1943, with WWII as a backdrop, it’s the story of spoiled 15-year-old Gina as she’s uprooted from life of parties in Budapest and sent to a remote Calvinist boarding school where suddenly the weight of the war becomes her burden. This was a lovely book and also bittersweet. The marketing copy for this is way off base (thriller, Jane Austen, Harry Potter) and I think the publisher must have been trying to drum up interest, but was way off base. The title comes from a statue of St. Abigail that the students believe performs miracles. And while that is an interesting part of the story, Gina’s transformation from rich brat to brave friend is where the heart of the story lies.
 
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg
The Newbery winner from 1968 and a beloved classic, I finally got around to reading it—someone left a copy in my Little Free Library. The story really holds up, I think. Although, I don’t know if kids today will identify with Claudia and Jamie’s escapade. Living unseen in the Met in Manhattan and worrying about lunches that cost 75 cents is a far cry from today’s tech-heavy world and 8 dollar lunches. Although, I did love The Great Brain books and 1900 rural Utah was a very different world than 1980 Southern California. The story follows Claudia, the oldest of four, and her middle brother Jamie. Out of boredom and feeling unappreciated, they run away and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There they discover a mystery, surrounding a beautiful statue, that Claudia becomes determined to solve. I’ve recommended this book a whole lot, now I can do so with more honesty.
 
The Silver Arrow, by Lev Grossman
This is a great book for fans of The Phantom Tollbooth (at the bookstore, we’re always looking for similar books). I listened to this one on Libro.fm. When Kate appeals to her rich uncle for an exciting birthday present, she was not prepared to get a steam engine delivered to her door. He even arranges for tracks to be laid. Kate and brother Tom are exploring the engine when it starts to run and it takes them to a magical train depot where they get all sorts of wacky train cars (including a swimming car). They then begin to pick up talking animals who have been given tickets and their adventure begins. The story is fun and silly, yet the subtle, underlying message is about climate change.
 
Storm of Locusts, by Rebecca Roanhorse
The second book in The Sixth World series, we find Maggie a month after the events of the first book. She’s becomes responsible for a 15-year-old with strange clan powers. When she finds out that Kai has been sucked into a cult that intends to destroy the Navajo Nation, she and her friends leave the safety of their home territory to prevent the disaster. If you look at the cover of this one (above) you’ll get a sense of just how bad ass Maggie and her friends are. Action-packed, deals with deities, and creating a family, this book is a blast.
 
The Girl Who Reads on the Métro, by Christine Féret-Fleury
A slim novel with a big impact. Ordinary Juliette is bored with life when she stumbles across an unusual bookstore that instead of allowing shoppers in, it sends out books with passeurs who will match the book with the right person. She hesitantly becomes a passeur and then becomes close to the owner, Soliman, and his daughter, Zaida—both fierce lover of books. The story is about Juliette learning to take risks and to live a life of boldness. I wrote a shelf talker for the book and only used this quote from Zaida, “This book is amazing, it will make you clever, it will make you happy.” All true.
 
Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
Another audio book. This is the story of Esther, a young gay woman living in a dystopian “old west” future that has adopted strict biblical morals. She stows away on a cart belonging to the Librarians—two women who travel the southwest of the former U.S. delivering approved (and definitely unapproved) materials. The librarians reluctantly take on Esther as an apprentice and they travel with their assistant heading towards the wilds of Free Utah. They take on passengers—women like Esther who need to escape—and face bandits, evil lawmen, and more. I liked this one all right. It was an interesting world, but I felt like the story had too much agenda. It reminded me of the book Slow River, by Nicola Griffith. The world building in that book was fantastic, but the plot didn’t really know what it wanted to be other than to be a book about gay women. Which is not a bad thing, of course. I’ve read stories about gay characters (Red, White, and Royal Blue comes to mind) where the characters’ sexual orientation makes the plot better. This one didn’t do that for me.
 
Death of a Fool, by Ngaio Marsh
And another audio book. I was interested in reading/listening to a mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers and found Ngaio Marsh—a New Zealand writer who was their contemporary. It was a really good story and mystery. The person who committed the murder was fairly self-evident, but how they did it was quite interesting. I really enjoyed the background of the story. Probably the first third of the story was build-up to the murder and discussed old England folklore and folkloric celebrations. I’m excited to read some more of her mysteries.
 
Soul Music, by Terry Pratchett
It was a rough month and I needed a little Terry in my life. I hadn’t read this one before. The main characters are Death and his granddaughter Susan (this is her first appearance). A druid named Imp goes to Ankh Morpork to become a famous musician. He comes across a mysterious music shop that has a guitar that almost plays itself. He and his band, The Band With Rocks In, create a whole new type of music that has everyone going fanatical. But the guitar requires a sinister price. Very much a Discworld novel and a whole lot of fun.
 
By the Book, by Amanda Sellet
A fun YA romance that basically describes parts of my life. Mary is a well-read 15-year-old who goes from a freeform private school to public school. Her new friends there rely on her encyclopedic knowledge of literature and the archetypes within to navigate romantic relationships. It turns out that the boy she has labeled a rake, is in fact a really good guy and she begins to fall for his charms. As the literature nerd in high school in college, I was the person people turned to for advice, so I really identified with this book. It’s charming and sweet and a delightful read.
 
Feminist City, by Leslie Kern
A nonfiction entry this month! This is a short read, but absolutely fascinating. Kern describes how cities are designed and built with the white, abled, cis-gendered man as it’s average person. Cities are not created to make it easier for mothers to take care of their children, or for women to walk alone at night, or for queer people to feel at ease. Those spaces have to be carved out from the average design. Kern doesn’t talk so much about what a feminist city would look like, because that could be a lot of different things, but instead points out to how cities can be hostile to those it wasn’t expressly designed for. Super interesting subject. It made me want to study the intersection of geography and feminism even more.
 
Suncatcher, by José Pimienta
Beatriz is a young, aspiring guitarist who must create the perfect song in order to free her grandfather’s soul which is trapped in his guitar. Set in Mexicali, Mexico in the early 2000s, the book contrasts the emerging indie punk scene with Beatriz’s obsession with freeing her grandfather. It’s a graphic novel, and the art is kinetic and different. It reminded me of anime and manga art from the late 1970s. I really enjoyed the background, the story, and the unheard music.

I bought a book of literary cross-stitch patterns. This is my first try. It was a super fun project.