Barbara_M

Jesse Sutanto shows her writing skill in the easy read, lyrical book Next Time Will Be Our Turn. This is an LGBTQ romance novel that explores the intersects between cultural norms (including family and ethnicity) and women on the brink of the 21st century. I felt like she had to work at fitting so much conflict into the story. I also had my own "cultural difficulty" with the construct of the story…a grandmother telling the story to a teenage granddaughter, which I found unrealistic. Furthermore, an editor really should have caught the timeline inaccuracies! In my opinion Sutanto's exceptional writing and theme were dampened by those issues.

As BIA archeologist Syd Walker investigates missing artifacts, a mystery unfolds highlighting Native American culture and how American colonialism has harmed it. I found the copious dialog detracted from the development of characters and the mystery itself. For me, as one who enjoys learning our rich Native American history and culture, it fell short of expectations.

At first blush Vox is a captivating story about the voice of women in American society. However, it goes far beyond the tale of women limited to 100 words per day: It addresses our current political climate and nearly if not all initiatives taken by a conservative ruling government in such a way that the outcome is nothing short of chilling. I found those references to be humorous and somewhat annoying. The characters were flat, and after page 200 the plot moved too quickly and ended abruptly. That said, it was an entertaining read but I would not urge anyone to purchase the book.

My Last Lament is a tale of one woman's experiences in the post-war Greece. Her life is her last lament, as an archetype of the Greek woman. This novel deeply investigates darkness -- the ravages of war, tragedy, insanity, lost love, abandonment and betrayal. Through it all, I came to love and admire the lamenter, Aliki.

Brown's writing style relies heavily on dialog, and I felt sometimes the detail put the story in slow motion. That said, I would recommend it to book clubs for discussion.

April Smith's novel is more of an ideological treatise than an historical novel. One side is totally self-serving, cruel and harsh, while the other is totally value-centered goodness. The progressive message via flat characters became so pervasive, it disallowed the picture of McCarthyism and the cold war to come alive.

The story itself lacked development and finesse. The second generation murders had a very weak link to the overall plot. The trial lacked intrigue and suspense. The final chapter tied just too neat of a bow for me.
A saving grace is Smith's ability to turn a phrase. Her lyrical descriptions of the land provided a softness to a book devoid of endearing qualities.

Perhaps she should stick to murder mysteries.