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Little Beauties Poet Kim Addonizio’s first novel, Little Beauties, tells the story of Diana, an obsessive-compulsive former child beauty queen recently dumped by her husband, and Jamie, a teenager about to give birth to a child she doesn’t want. Aside from their immediate problems, the two characters are also both coping with defective parents, a cycle destined to continue with the arrival of Jamie’s child. From the beginning, the baby - later named Stella - is as strong a character as jaded, sarcastic Diana and capricious, immature Jamie; giving Stella her own voice from the womb adds a unique perspective to the story and explores the idea that we can choose our parents, but it doesn’t provide much insight into why she chose irresponsible Jamie (“If only she’d asked Kevin to use a condom, but she didn’t feel she knew him well enough”) as her mother. Ultimately, Little Beauties is about two women who, despite their foibles, find the courage to take control and change the course of their lives. I thought the ending was a little formulaic, but I loved Addonizio’s wit and lyrical writing style and look forward to her next book. - Jennifer Elks |
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Oh The Glory of It All In this engaging and endearing memoir, Sean Wilsey writes of growing up in an incredibly dysfunctional - and incredibly rich - San Francisco family. After his parents’ acrimonious and very public divorce, his father married his mother’s best friend and settled in a mansion in Pacific Heights, while his mother became depressed and suicidal, at one point asking her son, “Would you like to hold hands, so it won’t be lonely, and jump off the deck together?” Wilsey’s mother soon recovered, only to take her son on whirlwind trips around the world with a group she started, Children as Teacher of Peace, to meet Cold War leaders and build world peace. At home, Wilsey’s father became deeply entrenched in his new family, while his stepmother coldly and deliberately froze her stepson out of their lives. After spending years in private boarding schools and then a series of reform schools to help him deal with his rage, Wilsey finally finds peace in Italy and crafts a relationship with his family again. Though his amazingly descriptive narrative style carries his absorbing story, Wilsey often relies too much on gimmicks to provide ballast. But despite these diversions, this retelling of his incredible life journey makes an entertaining, emotional and often very humorous page-turner. - Kalpana Ettenson |
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The Nitrogen Murder One of the cardinal rules of writing is to know your subject, and author/retired physicist Camille Minichino certainly does. She weaves her intricate knowledge throughout this fast-paced mystery, while showing off her familiarity with the local San Francisco/Oakland area with vivid descriptions that capture not only the physical landscape but also the essence of the City. Her heroine, retired physicist Gloria Lamerino, reappears in this, the seventh book in Minichino's Periodic Table mysteries. Gloria and her homicide detective fiance, Matt, visit California to attend the wedding of her best friend and, of course, murder and mayhem ensue. Minichino has a refreshingly different approach to concocting a mystery; she doesn't rely on convoluted plot twists to keep readers interested, instead peppering the story with scientific references that might teach you something along the way. And her senior characters have numerous faults and limitations but they approach their situations with humor and resourcefulness. If you like a challenging and entertaining whodunit, consider The Nitrogen Murder a "must-read"! - Marge Parnas
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House of Thieves This debut collection of short stories, by 28-year old San Francisco author Kaui Hart Hemmings, shows great promise. Gardenias, mangos, mock orange and, of course, the wild Pacific, provide a stunning backdrop to these compelling tales set in the lush tropics of Hawaii. The vibrant setting and its sweet rot act as a metaphor for the decay of an ancient culture and its clash with the modern. Angst-ridden teenagers
with the cool air of privilege narrate many of the stories, in juxtaposition
to their parents, who are “jealous of [their] easy existence.”
Every festering familial secret, from incest to sibling rivalry, rears
its head in this collection. A young surfer girl, medicated by her parents,
attacks an estranged older brother who goes too far when wrestling with
his little sister, while another teenage girl cunningly confronts a neighbor
who is sleeping with her father while her mother dies at home. House
of Thieves is a voyeur’s delight, offering an intimate look
at kids growing up in paradise, doing bad things in pretty places. |
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Choir Boy Berry Sanchez has an angel’s voice and wants to keep it that way. But there’s one major obstacle: puberty. The confused, insightful thirteen-year-old lead in Charlie Anders’ Choir Boy finds solace in the divine hymns of the church choir (despite being raised atheist), away from his obtuse parents; Orlac Junior High, where he is forever on the outside looking in; and his fellow choristers, with whom his friendships are tenuous and fraught with male energy that makes Berry weary. After a desperate act involving cutlery and his most tender anatomical bits, Berry sets out on a quest to preserve his heavenly pipes that involves hefty doses of hormones, a social life turned upside-down, and an unexpected questioning of gender. While some episodes of Choir Boy seem too fantastic, violent and traumatic for one adolescent to handle, Anders maps out Berry’s unstable world as one where nothing is assumed and everything is possible. Acceptance, redemption, and self-awareness are the hallmarks of this gritty tale, and while Berry braves his battles, he inadvertently sets off a chain reaction that opens the doors to truths long hidden in those around him. - Trina Lopez |
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