Book Review- Jesse Q. Sutanto's Dial A for Aunties

Meddy Chan feels the burden of not disappointing her family. The love of her life is Nathan, but they break up after college, when she realizes that she cannot pursue a life with him and make her family happy. She moves back to be with her mom and her three aunties as they open a wedding service business. The problem is Meddy never tells her family about Nathan or her choice. She assumes they would not support her, but she doesn’t actually give them the opportunity to prove her otherwise.

The night before working a flashy wedding on a private island in California, Meddy goes on a date with Jake aka Ah Guan, a deceitful jerk who Meddy accidentally kills, when he tries to forces her sexually at the end of their evening. Left with the body and panicking, Meddy calls on her mom and aunties for help. Complications arise as they try to get rid of the body and keep their commitments for the wedding. An additional surprise awaits on the island, when Meddy learns that the owner of the hotel is Nathan and their feelings for each other are still strong.

Dial A for Aunties is a fun read, primarily for Sutanto’s humorous dialogue and family dynamics. I loved aunties. They all have very strong personalities and Sutanto does a great job at explaining the mini alliances and rivalries between the sisters. They squabble, but at the end of the day, they are family.

Meddy’s problem of not wanting to disappoint her family is very relatable. I think many people struggle with this, we make choices based on not wanting to disappoint, rather than actually expressing what we want and giving our loved ones the opportunity to support us.

The plot is a bit absurd and definitely requires a suspension of disbelief. However, the characters are so enjoyable, that I went along for the ride. Sure there’s murder, but at the end of the day, this is a light-hearted comedy-mystery with some good twists. I will definitely read the sequel, Four Aunties and Wedding, and likely seek out Sutanto’s other works. I like her sense of humor and Dial A for Aunties is the perfect vacation read.

Book Review - Listening in the Dark: Women Reclaiming the Power of Intuition

Thank you to Libro FM for an audio arc of the essay collection, Listening in the Dark: Women Reclaiming the Power of Intuition, edited by Amber Tamblyn.

Writer and actress Amber Tamblyn edited this collection of essays from female contributors centered around the idea of women following their intuition. The contributors are from a wide variety of backgrounds and many narrated their own stories on the audio version of the book.

As with many essay collections, Listening in the Dark was a bit hit or miss. I was impressed by some of the contributors, especially our current Poet Laureate, Ada Limon, who just has a magical way with words. I love her writing.

A common thread is the historic distrust of women who follow their intuition or speak out. For example, women labeled as witches for talking about their intuition and it being considered magic and not verifiable. We may no longer kill women for witchcraft, but the essays in Listening in the Dark, reveal how society diminishes women’s voices and perspectives. Personally, I believe in the power of intuition and have found that following my own has served me well in life, or alternately, done me harm when I haven’t followed it. I’m not sure that women have a unique form of intuition, however, I can agree that women are often suppressed or silenced, even in seemingly progressive societies.

I enjoyed enough of the contributions to recommend this thought provoking collection.

Book Review- Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan's The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer

The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer is a chilling 1960’s true crime book set in Cape Cod and is recounted by Liza Rodman with the help of her co-writer Jennifer Jordon.

Rodman had a chaotic childhood, raised by a neglectful mother who worked summers at a local motel. The motel’s handy-man, Tony Costa, was a young, charming man, who Rodman’s mother trusted to occasionally watch her young daughters.

Although Costa never hurt Rodman or her sister, Costa exhibit odd behavior, including taking the girls out to the woods where bodies of his victims were later discovered. Rodman didn’t even realize the truth about Costa, until she inquired about him when she was an adult, just thinking that he had drifted out of their lives. Many of Costa’s victims were not much older than the girls and many had been brutally dismembered.

The Babysitter is part an exploration of Costa’s life and his crimes, but it is also part memoir with Rodman analyzing the events of her childhood. It’s surprising to admit, but Costa’s murders almost seem less shocking than the neglect and cruelty of Rodman’s mother. It makes sense that the girls would find comfort in Costa, an adult who gave them attention and who was kind. Rodman explores this juxtaposition of finding out that someone whom she had fond memories of, was also a monster. It makes her question her own recollections of her childhood and her ability to judge and trust others. Why couldn’t she see Costa for the monster he was? The revelation of Costa’s crimes and Rodman’s inability to truly see him, shakes her to her core.

The Babysitter is a fascinating and shocking book. A must-read for true crime fans.