Book 48 I Wish You All the Best

 

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver fulfills the prompt “Book by a Trans or Nonbinary Author” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. I was a little lost for the category and asked for help. One of my writer friends, Tib, recommended this title, and I cannot thank them enough. I loved the book. It made me cry so many times.

The novel depicts the story of a young person, Ben De Backer, revealing to their parents they are nonbinary. The parents promptly kick their child out into the cold on a winter night without shoes. My mama-bear senses bristled right from the start. Luckily, Ben has an older sister they can turn to for help. With a new home, a new school (they are eighteen and finishing high school), and new friends, Ben starts a long journey of healing, acceptance, and possibilities.

I’m not doing this story justice. It’s a coming-out story, it’s a growth story, it’s a redemption story, it’s a “learning to see the world as it is” story, and there’s some romance in there too. There’s so much to talk about I could write a thesis, but I won’t. I know you hate when I do that. But here are some of my big thoughts on this amazing book.

I live in the Northeast and am pretty liberal in my thinking. People are people. I don’t care who they love. Just be nice and treat others nice is my philosophy. When a friend came out to me in college, I said, “So?” He hugged me hard. I have no problem accepting, but other people do.

I’ve told my own children many times the cure for hate, racism, and homophobia is love. When you love someone who is a different race, religion, creed, sexuality, gender (in all its forms), you accept better. You love them. You see the issue as a person, not an abstract. And then the hate doesn’t make sense anymore. They are still the same person you loved before they came out. Love them for the person they are, not who you want them to be. I’d be one of those older women at Pride with an “If your parents don’t accept you, I’m your mom now” t-shirts.

I saw some info that Mx. Deaver wrote a book that they would’ve liked to have around when they were a struggling teen. I’m so glad they put this story into the world. Because they tell the tale in first person, present tense, the reader is in the middle of the action. They feel all the emotions that Ben does. We experience their struggle over so much more than the issues with parents. It’s school, friends, identity, and a big crush too. All the things teens deal with, but Ben must face abandonment and mental health issues too. As I read the book, I thought of the kids who have no support or poor support for their issues. Today, there’s more freedom for everyone to be who they are, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to declare it to a judgmental public. I was glad the book included mental health and seeing someone to talk about depression and anxiety. Those two conditions are rampant in today’s youth. The book showed it was okay to ask for help.

I loved the romantic element too. Ben is such a sweet character, and we feel for them in deep ways. When they crush on Nathan, all we want is for Ben to finally declare their feelings and tell the boy. Just having the crush, brings up issues of sexuality beyond gender. I think that Mx. Deaver did a wonderful job illustrating Ben’s trouble with the situation. Having Ben work through the crush showed the reader the reality that is being young, nonbinary, and in love with your best friend.

I know it would never happen, but this book would be a fantastic choice for a high school English class. Conservatives would probably ban it, but so many teens could learn and enjoy this story.

I give I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver Five Paintings All in Yellow.

Book 47 True Grit

True Grit by Charles Portis fulfills the category “A Western” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. The novel takes place in 1878 in Western Arkansas and the Indian Territories to the west (eventually, Oklahoma).

Mattie Ross plots to avenge her pa, killed by a farmhand at Fort Smith. How’s that for an elevator pitch (short version of the storyline)? A fourteen-year-old girl goes to collect her father’s body and takes the town in hand—hiring guns to go after the killer. The girl is a force of nature. She is straightforward, hard-lined, and honestly, the title is about her. In the course of events, she secures her father’s things, gets cash for his horses, and hires a marshal for the manhunt. Then, with her daddy’s gun, she marches into Indian Territory to hunt down the guilty party. What fourteen-year-old does that? Mattie Ross.

I both loved and hated this book. I should have adored a story of a young girl fighting her way toward a goal, not letting her gender or other people’s opinions stop her. Mattie was an amazing kid, but never really a child. She was more of an adult than many characters. She knew what she wanted and went and got it. The childish part was her not knowing that most of what she wanted was impossible. But it never stopped her from getting the money and the help she needed to do an impossible task.

But with Mattie as the narrator, we missed most of the emotion of the piece. We had only the fire of her desire to finish the task. There was no love, no hate, a little disgust, but nothing deep. That’s who the character was, and I can embrace that.

I’ve let the book sit for a while because I didn’t want to trash another classic. I can see why this tale is embraced as a true American tale. And if anyone tells you the title is about the man Mattie wanted to help her, kick them in the shins. Mattie is one of the few characters in the story with true grit. Anyway, I listened to it as I do many books. Westerns aren’t my favorite genre. And this one was as dry as the desert. But again, that was our narrator. I digress.

I even listened to the audio reader’s essay at the end, telling how much she loves the story, how generations of women in her family love the book. And I was like, why? It’s okay, but…

I didn’t get it. I still don’t.

The book is good for learning something about the Old West, having a strong female hero, and… I don’t know. It was kind of boring and dry. Plus, the audio reader kept pausing and smacking her lips. Seriously, she smacked her lips! Who lets a recording of a classic novel go out into the word with that kind of sound added to the story? I thought it was from the Arkansas accent, but the essay was sans lip-smacking. Anyway, the problem with the reader doesn’t resolve my bland response to this story. It was okay. If you have to read a western, then it’s a good pick. But will I have generations of my family picking up this book and gifting it to everyone? No. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, though—that’s a yes.

I give True Grit by Charles Portis Three and a half Spunky Ponies, one named Blackie (I have no idea how you get half a pony. Don’t ask.)

 

 

Book 46 Divided in Death

 

Divided in Death by J.D. Robb fulfilled the “Favorite Prompt from a past PopSugar Reading Challenge” category for this year’s challenge. This novel also fits the categories: series with more than twenty books, and author who has written more than twenty books. I chose the Audio Book prompt as it’s my favorite. I read tons on audio, and this was an easy fill.

Actually, I read most of my novels that way this year as I merrily cross-stitched over fifty bookmarks I plan to sell at book events. (Hit me up if you need a handmade bookmark for the holidays.) To be honest, I listened to thirty-four audiobooks for the challenge, but not all made the blog.

I went with Divided in Death instead of two other novels because I realized I have few romances on the list this year. I’m a romance writer, so you’d figure I’d have tons of romance in that list of fifty books. But I’ve tried to have a wide variety of titles for the blog to appeal to a wider audience. Then I forgot my regular audience. Sorry. So, I grabbed a Nora Roberts, and here we are. (For those who don’t know, J.D. Robb is a pen name for Nora.)

This is novel number eighteen in the In Death series. I’ve read the previous seventeen, enjoying the mix of romance, mystery, police procedural, and a splash of sci-fi. The novels take place in the near future, and Ms. Robb gets to invent any kind of tech she needs to solve the case. But it’s done so well and flawlessly, you don’t notice. That might sound like I’m trashing the course and this story.

No way.

I love these books. Ms. Robb creates the perfect mix of the genres. She thumbs her nose at the idea romances are limited to one story per couple. The series has fifty titles with the same couple, and at eighteen, they are still in love, still hot, and still learning about each other.

The main plot deals with the murder of two people and a false accusation of an employee of the hero. But the couple subplot was my favorite part. The two main characters, Dallas and Rourke, are very different but share a passionate, almost heart-breaking love for each other. In Divided in Death, they are at odds about a huge issue that could tear them apart. The tension between them runs through the murder mystery, heightening the stakes, pushing all their issues and the main plot points at the same time. Hence the title.

This book is a template for anyone writing a mystery with romantic elements. Just look at the way Ms. Robb weaves the subplots together, never missing a beat. The flow is seamless, the action intense, the love scenes still blush-worthy after eighteen full novels.

I like the In Death series, but I loved this title.

I give Divided in Death by J.D. Robb Five Bizarre Metal Art Statues.