Veteran NPR journalist Keith O'Brien succeeds in bringing these female (and feminist) aviation pioneers to life. I very much enjoyed following the arc of narrative that O'Brien constructed using primary and secondary source materials, such as journals, news clips, letters, and such. This necessary approach (as all his characters were dead) and the clever hooks that closed each chapter remind me of Erik Larson's books and certainly Daniel James Brown's _Boys in the Boat_. This book should definitely appeal to fans of _Boys in the Boat_, for its similar focus on unsung, underdog sports pioneers and because it, too, is an excellent example of narrative nonfiction.

A metaphorical journey wrapped in a lusciously evocative journey through Japan, this short, endearing novel is told from interwoven perspectives. Witty street cat Nana speaks to us in a chatty and intimate first-person voice, while a third-person POV fills us in on the relationships that Nana's human, Satoru, has built over the course of his young life.

Frieda Wroth is a compelling character -- a typist, a recreational cyclist, a would-be author, and an independent young woman for the period (1907-08) and the setting (Rye, England). Yet this novel did not appeal to me, as I imagine it will to more avid Henry James-ophiles. I am a very, very casual James reader. His style, to which Michiel Heyns does justice, sets up too many hurdles for my reading enjoyment.

With Manderley Forever, novelist Tatiana de Rosnay has hit two birds with one stone in terms of my reading affinities. First, as a writer of creative nonfiction, I am a huge fan of using fictional technique in nonfiction. I very much enjoyed de Rosnay's novelistic tone and present tense POV to make us feel as if we were in scene with DuMaurier. I am also a huge fan of Daphne DuMaurier, having read most of DuMaurier's novels, with particular faves being The House on the Strand, Jamaica Inn, and Rebecca. In fact, I have read and reread Rebecca and watched and rewatched Hitchcock's film of the book. I enjoyed how de Rosnay wove the inspiration and development of DuMaurier's novels and books into her biography.

I was introduced to the first few chapters of this book via the audio version read by William DeMeritt. His voice nailed the tone of this classic noir thriller, which posits that the Civil War never happened and that four southern states continue to practice slavery. It's a remarkable novel in so many ways, but especially as it serves as one more ingress to our current national conversation about race and #blacklivesmatter. It begs the question: how far from reality is this alternate history, after all?

The child of a meth dealer and a strung-out mother, Wavy is an ethereal creature. Parenting is completely absent, until it isn't; then it nurtures nothing but damage. The only tender, nurturing aspect of her gritty, gritty existence comes from Kellen, a tattoo-smattered gorilla of a biker dude who is 14 years Wavy's senior. He falls in love with her at first sight, and the older-than-her-years Wavy is smitten with Kellen as well. Despite the uncomfortably pedaphilic implications, their story works. Greenwood does a masterful job of creating sympathetic characters -- of showing us the wonderful amidst the ugly. I found myself asking, Am I rooting for the love story of a tattooed bruiser of a biker and the way underage child of a meth dealer? Yes. Yes, I am.

The author drew me in with deft and lyrical prose. She does a wonderful job of setting the scene in language that supports her characters. She describes the dramatic Welsh landscape as would a painter.

That said, the modern-day storyline felt more contrived than that of Arthurian times. I could not sympathize with any of the characters in Laura's storyline. I didn't quite buy any of the characters' motives, and I doubted their responses. The Megan storyline, on the other hand, seemed more lively, and I was more apt to buy into it because of its timeline and the mythology attached to its characters.

I imagine this book might appeal to readers interested in Welsh myths and history. Travelers to Wales might enjoy reading a novel set in the landscapes through which they're venturing.

While this book offers a unique and enlightening look into what is now known as bi-polar disorder, I wanted it to be more compelling in terms of its narrative. The father's journal was fascinating and both parts of the book -- his and Ms Baird's -- featured solid writing. But there was little craft. It laid the story out in a straightforward manner and thereby suffered from a monotone. I wanted less explanation and more reflection in Ms Baird's section.