Little Syllables: The Blog
Review - A Likely Story by Leigh Abramson
I received a free review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
A Likely Story is an interesting look at the inner lives of a successful literary novelist, Ward Manning, and his family. Ward portrays himself as a self-made success. He is driven solely by his ego throughout the entire story. His wife Claire is like his brain trust—she is the driving force that got Ward’s career started, and her sacrifices are what have allowed him to maintain his ridiculously large ego throughout his adult life. Their daughter Isabelle worships Ward but loves Claire. She wants nothing more than to write and be successful in the eyes of her father.
This book is told from many different perspectives. Throughout the book, we see the POV of Claire, Ward, Isabelle, Brian (Isabelle’s unlikely best friend), and we get snippets of a book manuscript. There are several timelines at play as well. I felt this head-hopping and time-hopping was a little convoluted and distracting. Each chapter begins with the POV character’s name and the year, but I found myself taking a few paragraphs to reorient with each change.
I would consider Isabelle the protagonist of this book, though she is not a terribly sympathetic character. She is the only character in the book who completes a convincing character arc, though I found myself questioning her motives all the way through to the end. Isabelle was raised an only child, a rich kid with a famous father and a philanthropist mother. She seems incapable of maintaining any relationships except for with her doting best friend Brian.
Isabelle’s father, Ward, is so egotistical he feels like a caricature at times. He doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities.
Isabelle’s mother, Claire, was probably my favorite character in this book. She is smart, generous, insightful, and caring…yet somehow ends up in a lifelong relationship with Ward. I found it hard to understand her motivation for beginning a relationship with him and then maintaining it.
And then we have Brian, Isabelle’s best friend. Their relationship didn’t make any sense to me. It’s almost like she became his friend so she could keep him like a pet, and he worshipped her. When he decides to cut off contact with Isabelle, I thought, “finally!” But by the end, he’s back.
Overall, I thought the premise of this book was very interesting. I think it would benefit from greater focus (limiting how many points of view we see). I also think the relationships within the novel could be more believable.
A Likely Story by Leigh Abramson is available now.
Review - What Have We Done by Alex Finlay
I received a free galley of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
What Have We Done is a thriller by Alex Finlay (side note: I’ve also read Every Last Fear and gave that one 5 stars). This new book follows a group of teens who met in a group home, went their separate ways, and grew up into very different people with a shared past. Now someone is after them all.
We have Jenna, a suburban stepmom with a secret; Donnie, a washed-up rockstar; Nico, a gambling addict turned television professional; Ben, a successful federal judge; and Arty, a wealthy tech head. And they’re all being targeted by the same assassin, who seems to be able to be in two places at once. Once they figure out that all of them were targeted, they begin to work together to figure out who is responsible.
Just like in his previous books, Finlay offers an intriguing mystery and a twisty tale. This one kept me turning pages, and I read it quickly. The author has interwoven memories into the present storyline very well. The reader uncovers things gradually, along with the characters. The characterization was very well done—each of the targets is unique, but believable.
Despite these things, in the end, I found myself unsatisfied with the book as a whole. I felt that the plot was trying to be too intricate. It was difficult to parse out which details were important for the mystery and which weren’t. Perhaps that was intentional on the author’s part, but I found it distracting. Too many red herrings along the way made the actual solution to the mystery underwhelming. And a tacked-on ending felt unnecessary.
Overall, I thought this was a good mystery, but not a great one. If you’re in the mood for a quick read, a thriller with an intricate plot and a good variety of characters, this book could fit the bill. Sensitive readers should know this novel contains violence, mentions of sexual assault, child abuse, and drug references.
What Have We Done is available now!
Review - Nocturne by Alyssa Wees
I received a free galley of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Nocturne is a lyrical fantasy about an orphaned ballerina in Depression-era Chicago. This story is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast or Phantom of the Opera.
Grace has risen through the ranks of her ballet company, seemingly through her own talent and determination. When her best friend, Emilia, is set to retire from her position as prima, Grace is selected to take her place, and a specific role is set for her by a mysterious benefactor.
Soon Grace realizes that things are not as simple as they seem, and she becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of her patron, Master La Rosa. Once the show run ends, Grace is taken to live with La Rosa—an exchange that seems to have been made between her Mistress and her patron to secure the future of the ballet company. Grace is cut off from all she has known, isolated from her friends, and spends all her time either alone, dancing with La Rosa, or driving with La Rosa’s assistant Mr. Russo.
The first half of this novel is slow and took me quite a while to get into. Grace has a tragic backstory, filled with the deaths of those she loved most. But she has also been given so much as she was taken in by the Mistress and allowed to train in ballet. Once she joins La Rosa, she must decide if she is to give herself wholly to him or not (though it’s never made clear what will happen if she refuses). The relationship between Grace and La Rosa was supposed to be a romance, but it felt more like abusive grooming to me, especially at first.
Eventually, a plot is uncovered that makes Grace question everything once again. Ultimately, the book ends with Grace having redeemed herself and resumed her rightful position. But the reader is left wondering if she ever really had any choice.
I found the author’s description to be beautiful, but sometimes overdone. There were details within the story that I kept expecting to find were important later on. Some were, but others weren’t. I felt Wees’s strength lies more in describing settings than it does in building complex characters and relationships.
I gave this book 3 stars because I felt that the premise was a good one, though it could have been executed more cleanly. The plot was slow to progress through the first half, then seemed scattered through the second half. Grace is the most well-developed character, though I found myself feeling sorry for her more than I was rooting for her. I would have loved to see more of Lorenzo, Emilia, Beatrice, and a more fully developed relationship between Grace and the Mistress.
Nocturne by Alyssa Wees is available now!
Review - The Witch of Tin Mountain
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Set in Arkansas and spanning a century, The Witch of Tin Mountain is historical fiction with a paranormal twist. The story follows generations of women from a single family—women with powers that many others do not understand. The dual timelines follow Dierdre (in the late 1800s) and Gracie (in the 1930s) as they navigate the emergence of their powers and grow from teenagers into adults.
Each of their lives are upended with the arrival of a mysterious preacher who causes a stir in the town of Tin Mountain. While these preachers perform miracles within the community, they are not what they seem.
Gentry haunts Dierdre, even as she flees Tin Mountain to escape him. He ultimately lures her into a trap, and she makes a deal she will later regret. Bellflower has come to Tin Mountain to collect on Dierdre’s debt. Gracie is forced to rely on herself and her ancestors as she works to thwart Bellflower’s designs.
This book is a tangle of love and loss, power and sacrifice.
Ultimately, I felt this book is about the power of women. I thought the author did a great job with characterization and the overarching storyline. Things get a bit muddy because the stories of the various characters have so many similarities—at times the coincidences felt too contrived.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I think fans of the genre will enjoy it as well. Sensitive readers should know there are references to witchcraft, sexual assault, murder, suicide, and abortion in this novel.
The Witch of Tin Mountain came out yesterday, February 1!
Review - In Herschel’s Wake by Michael Wohl
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
In Herschel’s Wake tells the story of the life and death of the author’s father. Michael learns of his father’s death through unconventional means, but soon the reader learns that nothing about Herschel Wohl was conventional. His death sends Michael and his siblings (Anais and Toby) to a tiny island in the Caribbean to bury their father.
This is a family with complicated relationships, secrets, and trauma, and these three adult children come together for the first time in their lives to take care of someone who never took care of them.
More than anything, this book is about the author’s relationship with his father. He tells stories of Herschel’s break from societal norms in the ‘70s, his drug use, his ever-changing homes, and his quest to be a published author. Ultimately, Herschel is forced to flee the US and live a somewhat transient life in the Caribbean, moving whenever his past starts to catch up to him.
Now Michael, Anais, and Toby have come to Statia to sort out Herschel’s affairs, hold his funeral, and gain some sort of closure. Michael is left to sort through his father’s unsavory digital footprint and jump through hoops to bury the body. The limited services on the island mean that the most minor details are left to Michael and his siblings, from finding someone to build a casket to washing and dressing the body.
I found this book alternately interesting, disconcerting, and touching. The author works his way through his father’s life and their relationship as he works through his father’s death. Ultimately, I felt this book was about the love we have for some people even if we don’t really like them very much.
In Herschel’s Wake was published in September 2022 and is available now!
Review - Maame by Jessica George
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Maame by Jessica George tells the story of Maddie, a mid-20s office worker who has always taken care of others at the expense of herself. She comes from an unconventional family—a mother who was often absent, a father who was often reticent, and a brother who left as soon as he could. Now Maddie is left in the care of her ailing father while her mother spends most of her time in Ghana and her brother works an unpredictable job. Then her mother returns, freeing Maddie to move out and start to live her own life.
Maddie is sheltered and awkward, inexperienced and isolated. And as she determines to try new things, she makes a lot of mistakes. The important thing is that she learns from these mistakes and continues moving forward. When tragedy strikes, Maddie is left to re-evaluate her role in her family and in her own life.
I felt the main theme of this book is the search for identity. I especially appreciated Maddie’s realization that the identity she has been living in may not be what she would have chosen. Maddie has to come to terms with her life as a Black woman, an aspiring professional, a sexual being, a friend, and a daughter. As frustrating and hopeless as her life feels at times, the reader is ultimately left with a sense of hope for Maddie’s future.
Maame is a book that touched me in several ways and helped me see the empowerment that comes from reclaiming the self. I highly recommend this one!
Maame is set for release on January 31, 2023.
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Review - The Skeleton Key
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The Skeleton Key is a mystery/thriller set in England. It’s narrated by Nell, a 40-something artist who was raised in a very famous family. Her father authored a notorious picture book that led many readers on a treasure hunt that spanned decades. The family’s life has revolved around this book for longer than Nell and her brother Dom have been alive, and it has caused more than its fair share of trauma and grief for the family.
Now it’s the 50th anniversary of the book and Nell’s father Frank has some publicity in the works to put an end to the treasure hunt once and for all. It doesn’t go as planned and the family winds up entangled in a murder mystery.
The Skeleton Key kept me interested to the very end. The characters are well-developed and vibrant, even if their actions are not always sensible. The family dynamics are one of the most interesting parts of the book, seeing how the parents’ actions have shaped their children’s lives.
The mystery in this book is built upon an intriguing premise and the reader sorts through the clues (both past and present) right along with Nell. The stakes are high for her as she works to find a balance between learning the truth and protecting her family.
The solution to the mystery is ultimately explained in detail by one of the characters near the end of the book. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and instead of the solution feeling satisfying, it was uncomfortable and upsetting.
The solution to this mystery is not neat and tidy. The author seems determined to spread the guilt as widely as possible, and that felt like a bit of a cop-out. But perhaps the author’s point is that nobody is blameless in this tangled mess of a mystery? Or maybe the author is trying to show that nobody is perfect, and the wrong combination of imperfections within a group can lead to extremes. Or maybe she just didn’t want to pin it all on one person to make it harder to guess.
Whatever the reason is, the solution to the mystery left me unsatisfied, so I ultimately gave this book 3 stars.
The Skeleton Key is available now (released September 1, 2022), so check it out and let me know what you think!
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Review - Scatterlings by Rešoketšwe Manenzhe
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Scatterlings was a slow, but interesting read for me. This book is historical fiction set in South Africa in 1927, when the Immorality Act was passed. The story revolves around Abram and Alisa and their daughters, Dido and Emilia. Abram is of Dutch descent and Alisa is Black, the daughter of former slaves in the Caribbean who was raised by a white couple in England.
Obviously, the Immorality Act complicates Abram and Alisa’s lives. As Abram considers leaving the country with his family, Alisa commits a terrible act, doing something that she thinks will be best for her children.
This story is built around several different points of view. A large portion of the book is excerpts of Alisa’s journal, and that is how the reader learns her backstory. We see her struggles with mental illness and with feelings of displacement. And we see how her actions affect the lives of her husband and daughters.
The characters in this story are complex and deeply wrought.
I appreciate how the author gives the reader intricate people to drive the story forward.
The setting is also very well done. This book provides a very detailed sense of place, and the reader falls in love with South Africa along with the characters.
Ultimately I felt this novel was about finding belonging and coming home. Each character in the book deals with displacement in their own ways, and I love how the author weaved different cultural beliefs together to show how these characters find their own homes (physical and metaphorical).
Scatterlings came out on December 13. Check it out and let me know what you think of it!
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Look It Up
I grew up the youngest of three kids. I have a distinct memory of being told to “look it up” whenever I didn’t understand what my family members were talking about.
As a child of the 80s, I grew up with one of those encyclopedia sets—you know the ones, with the black and red cover, shiny golden lettering. Ours included a matching dictionary. For simpler subjects, I would consult Big Bird’s Sesame Street Dictionary, but these inquiries usually took me to Collier’s. Eventually we graduated to Encarta ’95 on our desktop computer. That felt like I had a world of information at my fingertips!
Big Bird could be trusted to help me out.
But those early years of learning to seek out information have served me well. Now, I look up words and concepts daily. Whenever one of my kids asks me a question I can’t readily answer, I say, “let’s look it up!”
Here are some of the random things I have looked up in recent weeks:
Convert KG to Lbs (Numbers are not my strong suit.)
Hapkido belts (My daughter just earned her yellow belt.)
Yeti vs. Bigfoot (No, a yeti is not just a white bigfoot.)
Moon Phases (Waning gibbous, anyone?)
Ocarina (Apparently this is an actual musical instrument.)
Huggy Wuggy (The twins kept talking about him and I was very confused.)
Can cats see pink? (I feel like my cat Oscar loves pink, but apparently cats don’t see pink.)
What are Agates? (One of my twins broke their sister’s pink agate.)
Fact-checking is an important component of editing, even in fiction. If an author gets a fact wrong, it hurts their credibility throughout their writing. It can pull a reader out of a story. It can bother a reader so much that they stop reading.
As I have edited manuscripts, I have looked up such things as:
Age when babies make eye contact
Types of martial arts
Drive time from Los Angeles to New York
Symptoms of internal bleeding
Chinese monasteries
Distance you can ride a horse in a day
How far is horizon from beach
Size of muskrats
And of course, I look up a lot of words! Merriam-Webster is one of my most frequently visited websites. I even keep a list in my phone of unfamiliar words I come across.
My favorite so far: pulchritudinous.
Review - Keeping Family Secrets by Margaret K. Nelson
I received a free review copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Keeping Family Secrets: Shame and Silence in Memoirs from the 1950s is a nonfiction book that felt more like a summary of more extensive data. Nelson takes several big issues around the theme of shame and silence in the 1950s and then pulls details from a variety of memoirs to explain each issue. She addresses the institutionalization of children with disabilities, same-sex attraction among boys, unwed pregnancies, Communism, adoption, and Jewish ancestry.
This book was an interesting glimpse into the 1950s in the US. Nelson did a great job explaining why each of these issues led to shame and silence throughout the country.
Americans were after the “ideal” family, and all of these issues were perceived as detracting from that goal.
Nelson looks at individual memoirs to pull stories for each chapter of her book. It is interesting to note that most of the memoirs were written by people who grew up with these secrets in their families—and decided as adults to expose the secrets.
I felt that this book gives the reader good information. But it felt very sterile and unemotional to me. Perhaps that was the author’s intent. It also felt like a fairly dry summary of other people’s work.
I suppose my impressions of this book are tainted by my expectations. I began this book looking for a deep dive into some of these issues, seeing the emotions involved, and feeling some sort of redemption for the people who lived through these things and reclaimed their power later in life by exposing these secrets. Instead, I left with more general overview of these six issues and why they were taboos in the 1950s. I was left wanting more depth.
Keeping Family Secrets was released yesterday and is available now.
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