The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

 Quite a story about Bella da Costa Greene, the woman who worked as J.P. Morgan's personal librarian, taking over the acquisition of famous old books for his private library. An African-American, she passed as White in Racist America in order to be free to accomplish what her intelligence and talents supported. This narrative poignantly describes her daily fear of being exposed that she had to overcome to operate confidently in the male dominated, high stakes world of auctions, and to make essential contacts with the wealthy elites. Facts and fiction blend harmoniously to give the reader an appreciation for this incredible woman.

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Delightful, uplifting story about four women who start out as competitors and end up friends. World War 2 brings stringent food rationing to England. Learning to cook palatable food with limited ingredients is difficult so the Ministry of Food provides recipes for women on the "kitchen front". Competitions become a significant entertainment and this story describes in delicious detail, a competition to choose a co-presenter on a radio food show. Evocative descriptions of nature, honey extraction, preparation of food and scary recounting of war planes flying overhead provide the reader with a visceral experience of life in England on the home front.

Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick

 An inspiring historical fiction about Abigail Scott Duniway, a strong accomplished woman who advocated for suffrage for women during the forty years leading up to the 19th Amendment. A pioneer, a teacher, a businesswoman, a writer, she did it all.

House of Sticks by Ly Tran

So disturbing and so poignant. This memoir of a Vietnamese refugee who arrived in New York as a three year old tells an excruciating story of a family struggling in poverty, living in an unheated apartment, and often experiencing hunger. Ly and her three older brothers attend school but then spend their evenings helping their parents produce clothing in an appalling home-based sweatshop operation. The father, a political prisoner for ten years, not infrequently lashes out at his family members which makes for additional difficulties. This story while not likely unique reveals an world of hardship and also achievement in a family sponsored to come to the United States, and then largely abandoned to pull themselves up by their bootstraps in a foreign country that makes that an onerous process. Ly Tran generously shares her childhood years with her readers in this heartfelt memoir.

 

Winter Sisters by Robin Oliveira

 I did not realize this was second in a series until after I finished this absorbing mystery and provocative story. The reader can pretty soon guess who the culprits are but the gripping part of this book is the engaging backstory and  character development, and then the gripping courtroom drama that starts with one person on trial, and then eventually brings two more into the spectacle. The horrific crime is front and center, and as the full extent is revealed, the denouement becomes spellbinding. Recommended. 

Resistance Women by Jennifer Chiaverini

 This is an incredible story featuring women belonging to the Rote Kapelle, a group resisting Nazism in the years leading up to World War 2. The book focuses on Intellectuals, some with pro-communism sympathies, who passed on information about the Nazi military buildup and intentions to the outside world, eventually sending significant information to the Soviet Union about Hitler's intention to invade. This is historical fiction at its very best because the women, only one of whom is fictional come across as developed characters that engage the reader while the historical events provide a context that is both gripping and horrific.

The Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan by Enjeela Ahmadi-Miller

This is a very heart-wrenching account of one family's multi-year escape from Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation and war. There are some lovely descriptive passages and references to the poetry this family share with so much pleasure. Unfortunately, it is narrated by an 8-10-year-old girl and appears at times to be too informed by adult perspectives to be natural and the very difficult journey through the mountains and weeks of enforced hiding in rural Afghan villages becomes somewhat repetitive. Nevertheless, there is a visceral experience for readers that provides an important understanding of the horrors that many refugees suffer escaping from the endless wars taking place around our world. 

The Puma Years by Laura Coleman

This memoir is a very graphic account of time spent working in an animal sanctuary in the Amazon jungle. The living conditions are harsh and primitive but the author conveys the passion she developed for a rescued puma she took care of in an intense daily regime for three months. The impact of this initial experience becomes a lifelong commitment to rescuing and protecting animal victims of the exotic pet trade. 

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-first Century by Jessica Bruder

  I just finished reading this astounding story of a new group of Americans who roam our country in diverse types of RVs, converted vans, retired school buses, even a Prius, picking up seasonal work to earn gas money and purchase essential supplies, and developing an extensive network of online contacts and support systems, and forging new friendships in shared camping spots. Primarily in their fifties to eighties, these people jettisoned from the largely diminished Middle Class now maintain campgrounds by cleaning toilets, shoveling out firepits, and dealing with obstreperous campers, work for Amazon, walking easily fifteen or more miles on concrete floors while stowing, or retrieving products for shipping to the many consumers who power this mighty corporation or pick fruits and vegetables. The author does not present this story as a sad story. Instead, she introduces her readers to a truly amazing group of people who are creating a functioning lifestyle from the horrible consequences of greedy uncaring Capitalism.

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The Story of More by Hope Jahren

 The author of Lab Girl takes on the subject of Climate Change. She provides a detailed chronicle of the dire consequences the World faces as we continue our horrific consumption of fossil fuel and the conspicuous overconsumption of habitat and resources by the developed nations like the United States. I wish she had acknowledged more the impact of human overpopulation since that is also a dramatic contributor to the dire future she outlines so informatively. Fortunately, she ends with some very specific steps each individual can take to begin to change their consumption patterns. She claims she is hopeful and offers the students she teaches some of her hope. 

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Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar

 This story of an American woman who travels with her Kurdish partner to his homeland to attend a family wedding is painfully visceral. A photographer, she takes what she knows are poignant shots but she also misses other shots as she escapes dangerous incidents, and becomes immersed in observing and experiencing the daily fears and suffering of the family members she lives with on this eye-opening visit to a country beset by sectarian violence. She spends much time musing over her relationship with the man she loves and questioning their ability to remain committed given their significant cultural differences.

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