Book Review - Diane Bracuk's Middle-Aged Boys & Girls

Thank you to Guernica Editions for providing me with an advanced copy of Diane Bracuk's Middle-Aged Boys & Girls, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Diane Bracuk's short story collection, Middle-Aged Boys & Girls, revolves around the theme of middle-aged adults stuck in some type of childish mentality or behavior. Her stories examine what it means to be a "grown-up" and why it's so easy to revert to childish behavior in middle-age.

LIKE- Bracuk has a gift for creating memorable characters and for writing the unexpected. With each story, I had no clue where she was going to take me. The unexpected is what grabbed and held my attention. 

One of my favorite stories was Lord of the Manor, where a couple finds out that the beautiful home that they have been renting is on the market. In efforts to thwart potential buyers, they concoct a plan to kill a groundhog and place the carcass in the air-conditioning vent. Alternating between guilt: from killing an innocent animal and lying to their young son, and pride: that their plan is working, they end up having to live with the stink. 

Another memorable story was Salvation, about a single, childless woman named Donna. Donna has spent her youth and middle-age building her career and is devastated when she loses her job. Unable to find employment, she decides to volunteer at a homework center for troubled kids. Donna is cut to the quick, by Christina, a teenager with an attitude problem. Donna soon finds herself reverting to high school behavior, alternating between trying to impress and show-up Christina.

A similar theme arises in Dissolution, the story of a yoga teacher who takes on teaching a short-term class at a shelter for homeless teens. Janet becomes obsessed with one of the girls in the class and later regrets that this obsession took away time with her husband, who has cancer. 

DISLIKE- Nothing. This is a fantastic collection and frankly, it was difficult to pick my favorite or most memorable stories. I like the theme of the collection. It's relatable. At thirty-eight, I can understand some of the impulses of these characters and can admit to some childish behavior myself. I think there are some things that we never truly out-grow. 

RECOMMEND- Yes! Bracuk is a wonderful writer and her stories take readers on unexpected journeys. They resonate and are affecting. Many of the stories in Middle-Aged Boys & Girls are also award winners! 

Book Review- Ed Warner's Running with Rhinos

Thank You to Greenleaf Book Group for providing me with a copy of Ed Warner's Running with Rhinos, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- When retired geologist Ed Warner, looked to fill his life with adventure, he became a volunteer for The Rhino Conservancy Project in Africa. His memoir, Running with Rhinos, details his highly dangerous and important work to help conserve this endangered species. 

LIKE- Prior to reading Running with Rhinos, I had never heard of Ed Warner or The International Rhino Conservancy. After reading Warner's book, I'm inspired by the valuable conservation work that they are doing. This is a physically dangerous job that is carried out primarily by volunteers. They are constantly struggling to find funding, fight poachers, and work within a government that has endless red tape. To say that it's an uphill battle, is an understatement. 

I've spent many years as a zoo research volunteer, including a study involving a baby Indian Rhino...however, all of my work was observational only, done from the safety of a thick barrier. Warner and his colleagues are hands on, using darts with a sedative that's lethal to humans, and risking being trampled or gored. Warner has plenty of close calls and his stories are exciting.

I've never visited Africa, but it's easy to get swept up in Warner's love and enthusiasm for the country. He paints beautiful images of the landscape, animals, and people, that he has come to love. He makes the reader care about their conservation efforts.

DISLIKE- Warner is an okay writer, but his memoir lacks polish. Maybe this is a positive though, as it makes his stories genuine and down-to-earth, like the stories are being told by a friend. Less could have been more, as some of the stories are repetitive in content. The collection would have been stronger, if he had been more selective over which stories to include, rather than including so many.

RECOMMEND- Yes. Warner is doing good work and his story is important to share. Running with Rhinos is a great pick for anyone interested in animal conservation or those who like reading about dangerous, scary, dare-devil situations.  

Book Review- Kristopher Jansma's Why We Came to the City

Thank You to Penguin Group Viking for providing me with an advanced copy of Kristopher Jansma's Why We Came to the City, in exchange for an honest review. 

PLOT- Four college friends in their mid- twenties have made New York City their home. Jacob is a poet, who makes his living working in a treatment center for mentally ill teenagers. George is an astronomer trying to hide his increasing alcohol problem, while he dates Sara. Sara works as an editor, while attempting to live modestly, like her friends, hiding her family wealth and trust fund. Irene is the enigma. She is a visual artist with a mysterious background involving her absent family and a tumultuous string of lovers. 

The story begins with the reveal that Irene has a rare form of cancer that will likely be terminal. Just as she is diagnosed, Irene meets William at a party for her gallery. William also attended the same college, but he did not run in the same circle as these four friends. To him, they were an impenetrable foursome, whose tight bond was of mythic proportions. William connects with Irene and is allowed a periphery spot in their group, which is expanded as he dates and cares for Irene during her illness. William becomes an insider during a most pivotal, life altering time for these four friends, cementing a strange bond.

Why We Came to the City examines the effect that Irene's death has on each of her friends and the idea of the fleeting nature of time and youth. What is the boundary line between childhood and becoming an adult? How does a tragedy fundamentally alter not only us, but our deepest held relationships?

LIKE - Oh my goodness, where to begin. Why We Came to the City is a novel that begs to be read slowly and savored. Jansma's prose is stunningly gorgeous and wrought with so much emotion, that I could only digest it in small chunks, a chapter a night. 

He handles the heavy themes of the story, especially Irene's death, with tenderness and compassion. The death was such an impactful moment, that I felt a sense of mourning for this vibrant character, as if she was a real person. It's rare for me to have this type of emotional connection to characters, but when it happens, it's a reminder of the magic of storytelling.

Even more mournful was the second half of the novel, when Jansma deals with the aftermath of Irene and the ideas of transitioning from young adulthood into being a full-fledged adult. Although powerful in message, it's melancholy in tone. The idea of resisting change and transition, even when it's forced upon you, resonates strongly with me.

Told in a close third perspective, I liked how Jansma took the time with each character, to explore their transition from pre to post Irene. Although Irene's impact is the common thread, Why We Came to the City, does not have a single main character. Jansma does a clever thing, where the reader even becomes a character in this story. I'm just ten years older than the characters, but I felt that their story, their life trajectory, mirrored my own. It was brilliant and affecting.

DISLIKE- Not a single thing.

RECOMMEND- Yes!!! Why We Came to the City is sure to be one of the most acclaimed novels of 2016. Jansma is a fearless storyteller with an immense talent. He's a "new-to-me" author, that I'm thankful to have discovered.