Ruby Falls

Ruby Falls by Gin Phillips, 336 pages

In 1928, a man got lost in the caves outside Chattanooga and found a gorgeous underground waterfall he named Ruby Falls after his wife. Within months, the falls had become a tourist attraction, though Ruby's friend Ada Smith found herself sneaking into the caves to explore beyond the official tour route. Soon, Ada got to know the caves better than almost anyone, which is why she was one of two people chosen to serve as a safety net for a psychic whose latest stunt is finding a hatpin in the caves by only reading the minds of the men chosen to hide it. While the stunt begins innocuously, it slowly unravels, as they pass the deadline to emerge from the caves and still haven't found the pin. Soon everyone is on each other's nerves, which reaches an apex when, after a brief rest, one of the men escorting the psychic is found dead. What was fun now becomes a race to escape the caves before the food, water, and light run out, and with a murderer in their midst.

I enjoyed reading this very claustrophobic book, as I love caves and all the spookiness that they bring. It was hard to tell if this was historical fiction, a mystery, or a thriller, as it certainly had bits and pieces of all three. But in the end, it doesn't really matter, as it was a fun read.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Harper Lee, adapted & edited by Fred Fordham  288 pp.

This graphic novel version of the classic book is impeccably done. It is true to the novel as much as possible. Much of the wording of the original text is used. The artwork is realistic and true to the time period and small town local. Atticus is drawn with dignity, though not as handsome as Gregory Peck. Nothing in this graphic version is exaggerated or overdone. I found it to be an excellent version and good way to revisit the story without reading the original novel again. Also, Boo Radley wasn't as fearsome as Robert DeNiro in the in the film.

West With Giraffes

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge, 356 pages

Looking back on his life from the ripe old age of 105, Woodrow Wilson Nickel realizes that the time has come to tell his story. And it's a doozy! In 1938, Woody had already survived part of the Dust Bowl, ridden the rails to New York City, and started working the docks. That's where he was when a hurricane hit the eastern seaboard, bringing along a pair of giraffes that must be trucked across the country to the San Diego Zoo. West With Giraffes is his tale of the trials and tribulations of helping transport the exotic beasts, getting to know them, and himself, along the way.

Based on a true story (though Woody Nickel certainly wasn't real), this novel brings to life a quirky story that captivated and distracted Americans during the Great Depression. These giraffes were big news during their two week trip, and it's wonderful of Rutledge to bring them back into the collective consciousness. I have new respect for our giraffe friends at the St. Louis Zoo, and I loved this story. Highly recommended, particularly for those who are still waiting to read Kristin Hannah's The Four Winds, or have already read it and are newly fascinated by the era.

The Four Winds

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, 454 pages

City girl Elsa Wolcott has been unloved and ignored for her entire life when she unexpectedly ends up pregnant and married to a farmer. As out-of-place as she feels at first, the farm and her in-laws soon become the sort of loving home she never had before. Yet times are tough in the early 1930s, with a never-ending drought and dust storms that drive her husband to leave for (theoretically) greener pastures. But Elsa can't leave the land and people she's come to love, despite the harm it's doing to her children and herself.

This is a beautifully written and evocative story of Midwestern farmers and migrant workers. Hannah's depictions of both the horrendous conditions and mental strength, the fight for rights and the oppression, echoes through the years and is particularly prescient today. An amazing book. No wonder there's such a long hold list for this one.

The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson  308 pp.

During the Great Depression the Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project was created to bring books to the poor mountain people of the state. In this novel Cussy Mary Carter is one of a group of women who rode from shack to shack delivering books, magazines, newspapers, and human contact. Cussy is also one of the "Blue People" of Kentucky, suffering from the recessive gene disorder methemoglobinemia. Because of their skin color the "Blues" were discriminated against and viewed with suspicion the same as the African-Americans in the region. Cussy and her father live a life of poverty even though he works hard as a coal miner. Cussy is proud of her work and does her best for the people she serves often going above and beyond her duties by bringing food to the starving, medical aid to the ill, and providing companionship to the lonely in spite of her personal hardships. It's a nice story of some little known topics with a little romance on the side. Incidentally the area around Troublesome Creek is where many of the real "Blue People" lived.

The Lonely Hearts Hotel

The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill, 389 pages

Orphans Pierrot and Rose are brought together as children by their odd dispositions and innate talents for performing, dreaming of one day creating a traveling show of their own. But as things for orphans in the 1920s often go, they are torn apart, with little chance of meeting again. By the time they do, more than a decade later, Pierrot has gone from living in the lap of luxury to being a heroin addict, while Rose went from being the mistress of a mafia boss to performing in pornographic films.

O'Neill tells the story in such a romantic, melancholy way that it comes across less like a novel and more like an antique music box that's been bewitched to create a seedy story of crime. It's haunting and sad and somehow beautiful, all at once. While it was perhaps a bit more risque than I was anticipating — particularly for a book that features so many forlorn clowns and an invisible bear — I loved it.

The Storm in the Barn

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan, 201 pages.

A well illustrated juvie graphic novel about a boy growing up during the dustbowl in Kansas. A quick read and appropriate for grade-schoolers.