Linked

 Linked by Gordon Korman 246 pp.

This was the last book for the Treehouse Book Club. I think this is an excellent story about middle schoolers learning about racism and intolerance first hand when swastikas begin appearing in their school. The vandalism also brings to light an incident in the town's history that many want to keep quiet. The kids step up to combat the problem by coming together in a project to tangibly show how large 6,000,000 (the number of Jews who died in the Holocaust) is by making paper chains with that many links. With the help of the town and people across the company and the world they reach their goal. When Link, the most popular kid in 7th grade and a known trouble maker learns he is of Jewish ancestry, it changes his life. Eventually the perpetrators of the vandalism are found with shocking results. The story is told from the points of view of several of the seventh grade students. A worthy read.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride  385 pp.

This is the latest book by the author of The Good Lord Bird which I think is an excellent historical fiction novel. This one is also historical fiction which begins in 1972 with the finding of a skeleton and a mezuzah in an abandoned well on Chicken Hill in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The story of the body and mezuzah are then explained by a flash back to earlier in the century and the residents of Chicken Hill which were mostly hard working Jewish immigrants and African-Americans who weren't wanted in the white town. Moshe and Chona Ludlow are the main characters. Moshe runs a theater in town where popular vaudeville and musical acts perform. Chona grew up on Chicken Hill and runs the grocery store on the hill, a store which makes no profit because she makes sure to provide for those who cannot buy. She frequently angers the people in town with her left of center political activity. Nate, the African-American janitor at the Moshe's theater asks the Ludlows for help protecting his deaf nephew, Dodo, who the state wants to institutionalize. But when Chona is attacked by the town's evil doctor and Dodo defends her, he ends up in the horrible state home for the insane. The residents of Chicken Hill join together with the friends and family of the Ludlows to rescue Dodo. The mystery of the body in the well is explained at the end. In addition to the main characters there are many other residents of the hill with small but important parts to the story and interesting names like Fatty, Big Soap, Paper, Son of Man, Monkey Pants, Miggy, and more. All serve to flesh out the story and the plot which is far from linear.   

The Paragon Hotel

The Paragon Hotel by Lindsay Faye  432 pp.

The tale of  "Nobody" Alice James begins on a train to Portland, Oregon in 1921. She is trying to disguise the fact that she has a serious bullet wound and ends up aided by the black Pullman porter on the train. He takes her to the Paragon Hotel, an establishment restricted to Portland's black community. Oregon is a state determined to remain white and the KKK has made its presence known. The residents and managers of the hotel are understandably nervous about having a white woman on the premises, especially one who refuses to divulge just how she was shot. She is taken under the wing of Miss Blossom Fontaine, a local entertainer with secrets of her own. When a young mixed-race boy disappears, Alice James may be the only one able to assist in getting the authorities to find him. The story flashes back to her life in New York where "Nobody's" connection to the Mafia leads to her desperate journey to escape. Surprise revelations about the characters crop up throughout the story which is both tragic and hopeful. I listened to the Overdrive audio version which was adequately read by January LaVoy. 

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg  403 pp.

Somehow I forgot to blog about this one even though I absolutely love this book. It is one of those I just couldn't put down (or turn off, since it was an audiobook). The basis for the 1991 movie, the story encompasses so much. Evelyn, who is struggling with menopause, and Ninny Threadgoode, a resident of the local nursing home begin a friendship when Evelyn visits her mother-in-law there. Mrs. Threadgoode reminisces about her family and the book flashes back to the lives of Idgie Threadgoode, her partner Ruth, other family members and the events that took place in Whistle Stop, Alabama in the 1920s and 30s. Central to the story is the mystery around what happened to Ruth's missing abusive husband and whether or not Idgie killed him. Included in the story are the funny reports from "The Weems Weekly" chronicling events in and around the rural town. Anyone who has spent any time in a small town in the mid 20th century knows how realistic those so-called "news" items are. Even though there a plenty of men in the novel, it is a book about women, their struggles, their love, and their strengths. If you liked the movie you definitely should read the book.

God Don't Like Ugly

God Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe p. 340


This is the story of a young girl born in the south and moved around from house to house so her father is not caught and killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Eventually her father leaves her family for a white woman (how ironic). Her mother decides to move them to the north. So her life begins in Ohio. She comes home one day to find out her mother is moving a boarder into their home. Mr. Boatwright becomes Annette's nightmare. He takes her innocence and makes her life horrible.
Her life is miserable until she meets Rhoda. Annette has low self-esteem because people have called her fat and ugly her whole life. Rhoda changes that and makes her feel pretty. However, Rhoda has her own secrets and causes more harm than good in Annette's life.

This book was good both times that I read it. This is the first book in a series and as soon as I got done with this one I checked out the next one and began reading it. I have to know what happens next.