Endpapers

Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly (2023) 336 pages

I loved this novel by a trans author with a nonbinary protagonist. The synopsis on the book jacket inside the front cover sums it up perfectly. "A queer book conservator finds a mysterious old love letter, setting off a search for the author who wrote it and for a meaningful life beyond the binary in early-2000s New York City." The background setting just shortly after 9/11 works so well. I'm totally into the mystery of the hidden love letter from Gertrude to Marta and the research involved for Dawn to find them. The author explores Dawn's close friendships at home and at work. We follow Dawn's creative process and self doubt as she creates a "Project" for a group exhibition about imagined cities at an emerging art gallery. We learn about the Lavender Scare in NYC targeting queer people, which happened concurrently with the Red Scare. Dawn tentatively looks for inspiration from her Jewish roots at an especially low point, and ultimately finds courage through this and what she learns from Gertrude. Books featuring queer characters that were passed secretly back in the 1950s always ended tragically. Readers from oppressed groups crave stories of hope and joy. This book sees both the hate directed at queer people back in history and in recent years, but ends with feelings of hope that Dawn's life and self expression are supported by those who matter most to them.

 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967) 162 pages

I'd been meaning to read this Newbery Award winner for the past dozen or so years, ever since my daughter enjoyed it in grade school. Claudia, the oldest of four children (and the only daughter) is coming up on age twelve, feeling unappreciated and bored with life. She saves her money and recruits one of her younger brothers, Jamie (age 9), to accompany her in running away from home. (Jamie has saved almost all of his allowance, plus he regularly wins money in ongoing card games of War with his friend.) He agrees, and with extra underwear and socks stashed in their musical instrument cases, they take a train to New York and take up residence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They're smart kids who have pre-planned how to avoid detection. The reader is kept alert by the periodic insertions of the narrator, whose identity we learn near the end of the story. I can empathize with Claudia's general blah feeling about her life, and I appreciate how the story wraps up.

The First Day: a Novel

The First Day: a Novel / Phil Harrison, 214 p.

Samuel and Anna meet in Belfast and fall into an intense love affair.  The problem is that Sam is married, has three children, and is a charismatic minister.  A lot of what happens to the characters here is predictable; what's not obvious at first is just how damaging the fallout will be, and how that damage will continue to play out over many years.  Suspenseful and sinister, and definitely engaging for a short read.  The religious elements were thoughtful if occasionally overwrought.