A Desperate Fortune

Finished December 15

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley

This is a novel that I'd been meaning to read for a while since I'd read a later book featuring some of the same characters and really enjoyed it. This is a dual timeline novel, with the outer story in the present day and the inner one in the 1730s, set around the Jacobite community in Europe, exiled from England. 

In the present day IT specialist Sara Thomas is between jobs, when her cousin Jacqui who is a literary agent, approaches her about a freelance job. The job is not in her usual area, but instead involves working to break the code on a diary written by a young woman who was the daughter of a wigmaker in King James the Eighth's household in France. The first few paragraphs of the diary are written in English, but the rest is written in code, and one of Jacqui's authors is interested in using the diary to base his new history book on. 

Sara is on the autism scale, and has been tested as Asperger's, and she doesn't like working on a team, but more independently, which is why she is between jobs. Her affinity with numbers and patterns means that while she hasn't worked to break a code before, it is a natural area for her skillset. Sara will be working in the home of the woman who owns the diary in France, not far from Paris. 

As Sara works to break the code and transcribe the diary, we see adjust to the people in her new environment and make new friends. 

In the second timeline, Mary Dundas is a young woman whose father left her as a child with her French maternal aunt when her mother died. Her diary starts as she is contacted by her older brother to join his household, but she soon finds out that he hasn't told her his real reason for reuniting with her, and she finds a chance encounter with another woman passing through the same household she visits gives her confidence and tools to make the best of her new situation. 

Both woman have facility in more than one language and both face issues outside their comfort zone, and in environments unfamiliar to them. 

I really enjoyed seeing both of them develop. Mary's story is a true coming-of-age tale even though she is in her early twenties, as she has lived in her aunt and uncle's household alongside their children for most of her life. Sara's story also has coming-of-age aspects, even though she is older, as she learns to use the skills her brain has dealt her, find ways to face those times she struggles without being embarrassed, and gains in her confidence on the romantic front. I hope to see more following both these women. 

The Kitchen Daughter

Finished February 2
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

This novel follows Ginny Selvaggio, a young woman who had been sheltered from the difficulties of life by her parents, as she adjust following their sudden deaths. Ginny has Asperger's syndrome, and has spent a lot of time cooking, learning about food, and following food blogs. When she feels uncertain, making food, or thinking about making food, is her comfort.
Ginny's sister Amanda seems to think that she will now make the decisions about what is best for Ginny, without even asking her, but Ginny doesn't necessarily want these things.
As Ginny goes through old recipes looking for comfort she finds that cooking her grandmother's recipe also brings the ghost of Grandmother, with a cryptic message. Ginny is startled and unsure of what to make of this. She wants to decipher the message and she wonders whether cooking other recipes will also bring the ghosts of those people. And she begins to try things.
Along the way, taking comfort from the long-time family house cleaner, Ginny also begins to venture out, to make friends, and to explore the home she lives in more thoroughly, finding family secrets along the way.
This is a coming of age story, a story of loss, of love, and of food.
The author is a food blogger herself, and with food at the core of Ginny's life, this book evokes the tastes and smells of the recipes that Ginny makes.
I read this book quickly, enjoying it thoroughly, even the parts that made me cry.

The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr

Finished May 7
The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr by Frances Maynard

I loved this story of a young woman forced by circumstances to become more independent and engage with the world on her own terms. As the book opens, Elvira (Ellie) is twenty-seven. Her mother has raised her in a very protective way, allowing her only specific, controlled forays outside the house. As the book begins, Ellie's mother suffers a debilitating stroke, and Ellie calls an ambulance for her. Left alone in the house, Ellie tries to keep to her schedule, but must introduce new activities such as visiting her mother in the hospital.
Without her mother, she finds that she has more time to spare and begins to explore the world more. One of the people that helps her in this is her next-door neighbour Sylvia, a woman with grown children of her own. As Ellie learns new things, and tries new activities, she finds herself better than expected at some things. Perserverence helps her manage goals that she sets for herself, and new friends help her enlarge her life experiences.
It was wonderful to see Ellie grow, despite some setbacks, and gain confidence, even pride in some of the things she did. As she tries to follow the rules that she initially set for herself, she finds examples of these, and exceptions to them, and learns that she must carefully think about things before acting on them.

Sophie's Throughway

Finished May 2
Sophie's Throughway by Jules Smith

This short novel was fun and insightful. Sophie is a writer for an unnamed magazine, and struggling with her personal life. She has two teenagers, Bryony, who is 14, and Brendon, who is 15.  Brendon has been recently diagnosed with Asperger's and PDA. I hadn't heard of PDA before, and learned it stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance, and is often associated with Asperger's. Brendon is very bright, but is having behavioural issues, which is particularly a problem at school. At home, it has created enough issus that Karl, Sophie's husband has left the family.
Sophie has been missing work to deal with Brendon's issues, and while she has an understanding boss, and makes up her work from home as much as she can, she worries about how this affects the other staff members.
The novel has a chicklit feel to it, with the social nature of Sophie's job, and her open communication with her children, but also more substance with the insight into having a child affected by these conditions. Sophie's got a good approach to it, and is better able to handle Brendon when he is in the midst of an inappropriate episode than Karl, but she's not a saint and that makes the book feel more real.

Children's Fiction

Finished March 13
I couldn't sleep so I sat up and read a pile of kid's books I've been considering for gifts. And they were all winners!
I started with The Death Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean. This book follows a young boy in France, who has been told that he won't live until his fourteenth birthday. He has lived his life praying and following strict guidelines. As the day of his fourteenth birthday approaches, he breaks away from his life, taking on the persona of a variety of others as he runs from his supposed destiny. From ship's captain, to delicatessen worker, to journalist, to telegram boy, to the foreign legion, he finds himself friends, allies, and adventures. A great tale of belief, self-reliance, and perception.
Next up was When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. This tale follows Miranda a young girl in New York City. Miranda lives in an apartment with her mother, and helps her prepare to compete on a game show. Strange things start happening in her life. Her friend Sal gets punched for no apparent reason by a boy in their neighbourhood, the spare key for Miranda's apartment goes missing, and then she gets a mysterious note. It asks that she do something to save her friend's life. At first Miranda is confused and then scared. As another note comes to her, she begins to wonder if she can do what it asks. Along the way, Miranda makes new friends, and learn new wonderful things. A tale that was delightful.
The third book is Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. Here, Caitlin and her father are trying to come to terms with the sudden violent death of Caitlin's older brother Devon. Caitlin has Asperger's, and she has trouble reading other people's emotions and finding the appropriate response. She works with a counselor at her school who helps her find ways to improve her skills. As she looks for ways to deal with her own grief and loss and help her father deal with his, she becomes engrossed with the idea of Closure and works toward a way of finding it. A wonderful story that lets you inside Caitlin's head to see what someone with Asperger's experiences, and how their unique outlook can affect those around them. A wonderful story.
The fourth book I read was a Canadian fantasy book, Nieve by Terry Griggs. Nieve lives with her parents in a small town near a larger city. Her parents are professional weepers, hired by those experiencing loss or sadness. Her grandmother follows the old ways and has taught them to Nieve. When some of the people in town disappear, including Nieve's best friend Malcolm, she gets worried. Nieve finds strange weeds that start to grow everywhere and a duo, Wormius and Ashe, who arrive in town trailing a cloud of darkness. The darkness spreads everywhere and more and more people go missing. Nieve finally is able to go to her grandmother who shows her how to help her community overcome the darkness that is threatening to destroy them. From evil injections, to spirits, to magical footwear, Nieve finds new friends, strength in herself and great adventure. A very interesting tale of good versus evil.
A very productive night!