The Girls Trip

The Girls Trip by Ally Condie, 320 pages

Hope, Ash, and Caro met in a Zoom book club, but soon branched out into their own Zoom meetings to chat and connect with other women going through difficulties in life. Hope is an actress who is losing herself in the glare of the spotlight; Ash has a successful business as a florist, though her success has put a strain on her marriage; and Caro's an anesthesiologist who recently lost a patient and is struggling to find her way back to work. So when Hope suggests meeting in-person for a glamping and hiking trip off the grid, Ash and Caro jump at the chance to connect in real life, and leave their worries behind. However, things don't go as planned, and soon, one of them is missing, leaving the other two second-guessing everything they thought they knew about each other.

For the first 75% of this book, it was compelling, with distinct main characters and a ratcheting sense of tension and distrust. However, the last quarter of the book went a bit off the rails, and the bad guy seems to come out of nowhere, almost like the author picked the character out of a hat. It was particularly disappointing, given how invested I was the rest of the book. I just really wish it had stuck the landing.

Ceremony

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (1977) 244 pages

This is historical fiction from an Indigenous perspective. Tayo is a young man who has returned from WWII, from the Bataan Death March specifically, with serious PTSD. He has been raised by his Aunt and Uncle for many years. He went to serve in the military with his cousin, who is like a brother. His brother, the star athlete and perfect son, does not return from the war. Tayo doesn't fit in the Laguna Pueblo community, being only half Indigenous. The novel is not divided into chapters. There are section breaks and occasional poems. We jump from the present to different times in the past. Sometimes the memories are reflected through Tayo being drunk and sometimes through fever dreams while Tayo is sick. In the middle of the book I found it difficult to follow the changing points of view and time periods. It ends strongly though. Tayo seeks an Indigenous medicine man who helps him connect to his heritage. The man's healing ceremony helps Tayo in a way the white culture's medicine could not. Tayo's Uncle bought a herd of Mexican cattle that he expects will be better adapted to the desert environment on the reservation. The cattle escape and head back south before ever making it to the Uncle's farm (although they are already branded by Tayo's family). As he heals, Tayo goes on a quest to find the cattle and recover his Uncle's lost dream. The whole novel is a journey of self-discovery.

 

The Harvey Girls

The Harvey Girls by Juliette Fay, 384 pages

It's 1926, and former Boston socialite Charlotte is on the run from her abusive husband. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Billie is leaving home to earn some money to support her parents and eight younger siblings. While they don't have much in common on paper, both women end up being accepted as Harvey Girls, the picture-perfect waitresses who staff the first hospitality chain, along the railroad between Kansas and California. Neither Charlotte nor Billie fits the rules of eligibility for Harvey Girls — who must be at least 18 and unmarried — and their secrets bind the women together as they undergo training in Topeka and get their first post at the Grand Canyon. 

This is a part of 20th Century American history that I haven't often seen in historical fiction, and this book made me want to learn more about the Harvey Girls, the first all-female workforces in the West. The main characters and their growth felt realistic, and I particularly enjoyed Charlotte's journey to self-discovery regarding the Indigenous cultures surrounding the hotel at the Grand Canyon. Highly recommended!