The written version of the utter beauty in a storm at sea: Cygnet (Butler)

Cygnet by Seasons Butler

I finished this a while ago, but it lingers in my mind. The paperback version that I read as an ARC (with thanks to the publisher and the author for the copy in exchange for my honest review) came out this week so it semed an apt time to write this.

A very basic overview - We meet Kid on the verge of her eighteenth birthday. She had been discarded by her parents (who provided quite limited parenting) and left in the hands of her grandmother who lives and - before our story opens - dies on an isolated island that serves as a retirement community. Many of the residents oppose Kid's very presence (a blatant violation of the age minimums and standards for joining) even though most recognize she has nowhere to go. After all, using the self assigned moniker the Wrinkles, they came to the island (Swan) specifically to escape "the Bad Place" of modern life.

But is there escape to be had or is it a tad futile - esp for the sole cygnet (a baby swan for those who have not yet looked it up) with more years ahead than behind - as climate change chips away at the ground below their feet and takes feet of Kid's yard in moments?

And that's all setting...notable and unique,  but there's more. There's the boy with whom Kid dreams of escape (and while it doesn't bother me, readers who do mind should know there's sex). There's the adolescent rebellion pushing through in Kid's actions and her internal monologue (it is 1st person...always a special feat when done well), placing rough and tumble wit and rage amid the often lyrical prose. There's the story of a woman who hires Kid to digitally alter undesirable memories out of her photos....melancholy doesn't quite fit that story but it is stuck in my mind.  And there are also a few kind friends who keep a loose eye on Kid, including a particularly poignant relationship between Kid and a woman who has dementia - a relationship that deepens whom even as her partner fades further away and the woman's past becomes present with Kid assigned a role.

I felt this book. And that's high praise. Did I like all of Kid's actions? No...but few adolescents would merit that praise (and they'd either be dubbed unrealistic or be as boring as I was and thus not merit a novel!).

Oddly, in my mind this book was shorter than the 240pp listed here, but I thought it lighter in length, not depth. Maybe the poignancy just made it dense...like rich cake. It is by no means an easy read..."dystopian" is bandied about quite often. There is an acute sense of time and pressure building in Kid and Swan idle (maybe that added to the density). Still, I found spirit...particularly in a scene where Kid briefly becomes part of the cool kids club (come on, every place has them)...and hope.

In some ways, this novel is quiet and lovely. But stuff happens. Not all if it good.  And not all readers will approve of some elements (I found they all fit the text and never seemed gratuitous, but for those who avoid it there is harsh language and drug use in addition to the aforementioned sex). But this book is propelled by characters and setting - which blend deeply and irretrievably into each other - rather than action, even despite the constantly altering landscape.  The book stands much like the island, filled with beauty but with waves threatening the very ground below. Which may not matter for some who not see Swan's end, but pushes our cygnet to consider her place.

In some ways, this novel is quietness literary, and lovely. But stuff happens. Not all if it good and not all readers will approve of some elements (I found they all fit the text and never seemed gratuitous, but for those who avoid it there is harsh language and drug use in addition to the aforementioned sex). But this book is propelled by characters and setting - which blend deeply and irretrievably into each other - rather than action, even despite the constantly altering landscape.  The book stands much like the island, filled with beauty but with waves threatening the very ground below. Which may not matter for some who not see Swan's end, but pushes our cygnet to consider her place.

4 of 5 stars (one storyline in particular just didn't fit for me).

Gravity is the Thing (Moriarty) - A Fun, Rich, Unique Ride

Gravity is the Thing by Jaclyn Moriarty

Since she was a teenager...and beginning the same year her brother (less than a year younger) disappeared...Abi has gotten mysterious chapters from something named The Guidebook.  As the present day story opens, Abi has placed her son in his grandparents' care because an all expenses paid trip promises to reveal the truth about the book.  This excursion leads to several important relationships and a series of "formal" lessons....though I wont say what they are about. These chapters fit in with some from her past, including her brother's story, her romantic past, her son's arrival, and the creation of her coffeeshop.

This book is incredibly hard to describe.  There's a lot that seems silly...but that's self-acknowledged at all times. And that makes it more than just tolerable.  We're sharing the giggles with a fascinating cast. I'd have liked to know more about some of those secondary characters and yet I'm also ok with not knowing bc that's what life typically offers....a glimpse, a few details,  but not omniscience.

Ultimately,  this is a happy and heartwarming read. It is original in plot and form. It is quirky but it works.

I adored Abi...even if she frustrated me at times.  She is a far from perfect person, but I like my characters to be fleshy, to have hearts but also scars, strengths but imperfections.  She loves her son, but tries of him too. And she wants love, but is also wholly complete alone.

I can't really put a finger on the answer to what this books is about beyond simply being about life and about living it. Reaching and striving but feeling whole in one's self and at peace in one's surroundings.

4.5 stars. I'm not sure what's keeping it from a true 5, but will round up. Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy.

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton

Maybe I'll catch up more quickly if I let myself post singles...esp when I finish a book and feel compelled to review it that week...

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• The Last Train to London  by Meg Waite Clayton 

Is it wrong to say that I sometimes feel like Holocaust fiction is overdone? It is obviously an important period that must not be forgotten, but... I guess sometimes it just feels too convenient to use as a dramatic backdrop.

And yet some books live up the challenge. Last Train focuses on the effort to save Jewish children who were in the path of evil, whose families were so afraid that they placed their children in the hands of strangers in the hope that it meant the children might survive...even if it seemed doubtful they'd ever see them again. As many books do, this novel relies on several protagonists including a woman instrumental in the effort (a fictionalized version of a real woman), a teenage Jewish who grew up in wealth and with love,  as teen girl whose mother is a true journalist,  another woman involved in the transport effort, and even Eichmann...an architect of death who sadly is better known than the architects of life.

This falls toward the literary end of the historical fiction spectrum but is by no means inaccessible (and, perhaps a bit snobby to say, I can't quite call it literature). It was a fast read and engaging. I wanted to know what happened to the characters and, more importantly (IMHO) I wanted to read at least a bit about the real Tante Truus who devoted her life to serving others well beyond the time of the transport (as if she hadn't done enough for the world!).

4 of 5 stars. Enjoyed Zofie very much, and her admiring young friend. 

Thank you to Harper for the advance readers copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.  And to Ms Clayton for her response to my Goodreads review (linked above)