The House at Sugar Beach

By Helene Cooper

      The author of this autobiography is Helene Cooper, the White House correspondent for the New York Times.  She was born in Monrovia, Liberia, and lived in a privileged class.  Her home was a 22-room mansion at Sugar Beach.  Living by the sea, with her parents, her sister Marlene, and her foster sister Eunice, provided an idyllic existence of wealth and privilege.  Their fall from grace occurred when President Tolbert and his entire cabinet were executed, and the government was seized in a coup.  The author’s class, called the “Congo” class, was now on the run.  Her family fled to America for safety.  Eunice, her foster sister and close friend, belonged to the Bassa tribe and chose to stay behind.  Cooper went from high school to college, fell in love with journalism, and developed a career in which she traveled and reported on everything, except Africa.  Although she missed the sister they left behind, she made no attempt to contact her.

            The first part of the book talks about the history of Liberia and Cooper’s own family history.  It also introduces her family and friends, explaining how her view of the world changed when the coup took place.  Her mother, Mommee, was a strong figure in her life.  Mommee had “gumption” and helped her family survive the roving bands of soldiers, or more correctly thieves and rapists.  Her mother made a deal with a gang, allowing the soldiers to rape her if they would allow her daughters to be left in safety. 

Cooper then describes coming to America and her experience in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1980.  This was the first time she attended a public school system, and she was “the girl from Africa.”  Eventually, her father got an accounting job in Greensboro, North Carolina.  She became involved in her school Journalism class after being inspired by reading “All the President’s Men.”  At first she wrote reviews of TV shows.  She also became involved in the school’s “High IQ Team,” similar to current Scholastic Quiz teams.  She was accepted at the University of North Carolina in 1983, and, of course, majored in journalism. 

Throughout her new life in America, her family maintained their ties with Africa.  Her father, who had a drinking problem, experienced a difficult time making it here, so he headed back to Africa where he would be “a bigger fish in the small pond of Liberia” rather than “trying to swim upstream in the United States.”  Cooper, however, did not go back.  She would not communicate with her sister, Eunice.  It took a near-death experience while she was reporting on the Iraqi War to make her realize that she had unfinished business in Liberia.  The last part of the book describes her reunion with Eunice and with her family’s culture.         

Key Ideas from different club members: 

 Tells about the history of Liberia, interesting that it was settled by American slaves; Interesting story of the family’s struggle during the civil war; Very informative; Her language was a bit difficult to understand; Horrific and deplorable living conditions seen through the eyes of a young girl; Not easy to get into this book; Disappointed; Some parts were just boring; Thought there would be more about her life as a reporter; Slow; Easy to put down and not pick back up.

The Club Members Rating This Book: 

Linda Bowman, Pat Gombita, Mona Herell, Pat Kuna, Lee Ann Schrock, William Simmons, Helen Skalski, Barbara Swanson, and Linda Troll

 Club’s Average Rating: 2.5 of 5           Rating Range:  2.5 to 4   

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

written by Alan Brady

The Fourth Tuesday and Mystery Book Club

There are many varieties of detectives in mystery fiction, but none are quite like Flavia de Luce.  She is a bold, precocious eleven-year-old sleuth who loves chemistry, especially the study of poison.  Life is full of learning experiences, such as an especially interesting one when she finds a dying man in the garden of her home.  He provides her with a clue to his murder.  To protect her loved ones, she attempts to solve the mystery of his death.

Life at Buckshaw, the old English estate of the de Luce family, is filled with solitude for Flavia.  Her sisters do not like her, and her father, the Colonel, is absorbed in his stamp collection.  The people that are closest to her and that show love to Flavia are the “hired help,” Mrs. Mullet, the cook who produces inedible food, and Dogger, the sometimes disturbed but loyal servant to her father.  Harriet, her mother, had died when Flavia was very young.  The eleven-year-old genius focuses all of her time on her chemistry lab in one of the tall towers of the estate, plotting revenge on her sisters or heating up tea.

Her adventure begins after she overhears her father arguing in his study with a strange man.  She hears the Colonel admit that the two had killed someone.  This worries Flavia and keeps her awake that night.  She goes to the garden and discovers the stranger dying, breathing his last word, “Vale.”  This leads our young detective on an adventure to understand a decade old suicide and the mysterious relationship of her father with the dead man.  The story involves magic, secrets, and many twists and turns.  Before the mystery is solved, Flavia’s life is threatened, and she must escape from an evil murderer.

The author of the book, Alan Bradley, is a first time novelist at the age of 70.  It is a shame he waited this long to provide us with such a treasure.  The best news is that he is in the process of producing a series of Flavia de Luce mysteries.  We highly recommend the eleven-year-old “Sherlock” and her adventures.  We think you will enjoy her as much as we did.

Key Ideas from different club members:

What a great book!  Enjoyed the characters; Characters described well; Fun to read about an eleven year old detective; Flavia was a witty, charming character; Interesting little girl; She reminds me of a young Nancy Drew; Dogger is a great character; Cute, easy read; Lots of twists and turns to the story; Well written, easy to follow; Loved the book; Will read the next books in series.

The Club Members rating of this book:

Linda Bowman, Pat Gombita, Mona Herrell, Pat Kuna, Lee Ann Schrock, Bill Simmons, Helen Skalski, Deb Stewart, Barb Swanson, and Linda Troll

Club’s Average Rating:  4.4 of 5       Rating Range:  3 to 5

Bury Your Dead

written by Louise Penny

The Fourth Tuesday and Mystery Book Club

The author, Louise Penny, is one of the most decorated mystery writers alive today.  She is the only author to have won four Agatha Awards for Best Novel, and she’s not done.  Ms. Penny is a Canadian who lives in a small village south of Montreal.  This explains why her hero, Armand Gamache, is a French Canadian and why her crimes take place in Canada.

This story is a fusion of three events.  The first is an emotionally crushing confrontation with terrorists, which resulted in death and injury to police officers in Garmache’s division.  The second is a murder of a hermit in a small town of Three Pines that has already been solved, or at least someone is in prison for the crime.  The central part of the novel occurs in the walled city of Quebec, the French-speaking center of the bilingual nation, in a rather unusual setting—a library that maintains the history of the English in the city.  The swirling events are much like the swirling snow and winds of Canada’s winter—making it harder to see what is right in front of Garmache.  He must try to make sense of finding a body buried in the library’s basement.  It is the murdered corpse of a fanatical extremist who has spent his life trying to find the burial site of the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain.  Why would anyone want to kill him?  Why would he be buried in the basement of this library?  Garmache has to deal with many personalities and with his own weaknesses and frailties to solve this murder.

Ms. Penny not only ties the three stories together and maintains our attention, but she also tells us about her homeland.  She blends history, Champlain’s life and death, with current issues, such as terrorism and the separatist movement in Quebec.  Her characters are strong but fragile in many ways, relying on good investigative skills but also on love and loyalty to find solutions.  Garmache must relive the horrors and sadness of past events before he can bury his dead.

Don’t let Louise Penny’s approach of swinging back and forth in explaining the three different events throw you.  They will make sense as the author develops the story.  Although each of her books is a self-contained story, it would probably be wise to read this series in sequence to see the development of the characters.  Do not hold back from reading this particular book, however.  It will be a worthwhile experience.

Key Ideas from different club members:

Wasn’t impressed, author didn’t distinguish or describe most of the characters;  A lot of characters, too many, hard to follow;  Starts slow;  I like Inspector Armand Gamache;  Liked the book;  Surprising ending;  Flashbacks helped me understand the story;  Nice book, continuation of series;  Fresh mystery, easy to read.

The Club Members rating of this book:

Linda Bowman, Pat Gombita, Mona Herrell, Pat Kuna, Juanita Sanner, Bill Simmons, Helen Skalski, Deb Stewart and Linda Troll

Club’s Average Rating:  3.9 of 5       Rating Range: 2 to 5

That Old Cape Magic

written by Richard Russo

Fourth Tuesday Mystery and Book Club Review

             This book is a story of flawed marriages and weird relationships.  It is about a middle-aged man who has a difficult time dealing with reality.  He cannot let go of the past and grow up.  Jack Griffin has been carrying his father’s ashes in the trunk of his car, afraid to give them up.  His mother is constantly calling him and is driving down to meet Griffin and his wife, Joy, to attend a wedding at Cape Cod.  His family went on vacation here as he was growing up.  They would sing Frank Sinatra’s song “That Old Black Magic” but would change the words to “That Old Cape Magic,” which explains the title of the novel.  This is also where the Jack and Joy honeymooned thirty years ago, and set up a plan for their lives, which they followed to the “T.”  This is now where Griffin reassesses his life and marriage.  He does not want to become his parents.  A year later, Jack and Joy attend another wedding—their daughter’s—but this time, they bring dates along.  How could all of this have happened?

            The novel is a story of deep introspection.  Griffin has to confront his parents, their irresponsibility, their failed marriage, his own troubled marriage, his wife’s family, his daughter’s marriage, and what his own life is all about.  The story is spread over a period of one year, but there are continual flashbacks to earlier periods in Griffin’s life that help him during the soul-searching that he undergoes. 

            There are moments of great comedy mixed with moments of great sadness.  The ending is surprising and uplifting.  This novel received a broad range of response, from those who could not even finish the book to those who liked it.  The author is considered an outstanding writer who has received numerous honors and awards.  Our club feels that this might indicate his other books are better than this one.  It is not recommended.

                Key Ideas from different club members: 

 Very sad; Hard to read at times; Difficult to get the story line; Bounced around too much; Too focused on the psychological aspects; Not as good as the cover says; Took awhile to finish; I wasn’t really enthused about it; It got better toward the end; Sweet version of “Who’s afraid of Virginia Wolfe?”

 The Club Members rating this book:

Pat Gombita, Pat Kuna, Mona Herell, LeeAnn Schrock, Helen Skalski, Julie Shultz, Juanita Sanner, Linda Troll, Barbard Swanson, RaeAnn Weaver, Deb Stewart (and William Simmons)

 Club’s Average Rating:  2.9 of 5               Rating Range:  1 to 5

Yonder the Bridge

by Eva Berck

The Fourth Tuesday and Mystery Book Club

Every reader wishes that they could shout out to an author as they read a book and ask “Why?”  Our book club had the opportunity to do just that at our last meeting.  Eva Berck (Cook) was kind enough to sit with us and answer our questions about her autobiographical book, Yonder The Bridge, for nearly two hours.  She explained why she wrote the book, what it was like growing up in Germany, and meeting her husband, how they got married and began their family.

It is a wonderful story of the life of a courageous young girl.  She tells us about working with a German farm family, badly injuring her leg, and losing her father.  The author grew to be an independent young woman.  She describes her experiences in Greece, as a secretary of the occupying forces, and later in Berlin.  Mrs. Cook explained what it was like in Germany during the World War II and during the peace that followed the conflict.  She, her family, and the German people experienced a lack of food, of resources, and even of hope as they were squeezed between the American victors and the occupying Soviet soldiers.  Although it is a story of her life, it is ultimately a love story, which had to overcome the oppressive Russian forces following the war.  It contributes to our understanding of the history of that time period and what it was like under Soviet rule.

This is one of several books written by Mrs. Cook.  The books are available to read and to buy from the Mary S. Biesecker Library.  They are an important part of the history of our community because they tell a tale of a family that has meant so much to Somerset Borough and to Somerset County.  We highly recommend this book to everyone.

Key Ideas from different club members:

Fantastic; Wonderful story; Captures the reader at the beginning and won’t let go; A little long and it jumped around at times; Excellent writing; Wonderful journal; Kept me interested, I liked it a lot; Very informative; Appreciated hearing Mrs. Cook in person; I have read the book twice; Her style of writing is so entertaining and gives such a vivid picture of the German Culture.

Club Members rating this book:

Anna Baird, Linda Bowman, Alice Fritz, Pat Gombita, Mona Herrell, Pat Kuna, Lee Ann Schrock, Sharon Shaffer, Julia Shultz, Bill Simmons, Lynn Simmons, Helen Skalski, Deb Stewart, Barbara Swanson, and Linda Troll

Club’s Average Rating:   4.4   of   5           Rating Range:    4   to   5

Scrawl

By Mark Shulman

Published by Roaring Book Press

Copyright © 2010

Is there any way to reach a bully? Well I guess that depends why the bully is a bully.

Tod Munn is a bully. He’s the kid that intimidates you until you give up your lunch money. Unfortunately somebody else is horning in on his territory, so by the time Munn gets to his usual prey their pockets are empty. This isn’t sitting well with Tod and his “droogs”, so they are going to have to do something drastic. This time they get caught, but instead of expulsion the school counselor has a different plan. She sentences Tod to a month of detention with her, where he is to write in a journal every day. Tod might actually prefer to be with his friends who get assigned to outside clean up duty, at least then he could keep tabs on their mutinous ways.

The reader gets to view this story through the pages of Tod Munn’s detention journal. We slowly learn what landed Tod in detention and what his motivations are for bullying others. What we learn is that Tod is very smart, and even talented, but he is from the wrong side of the tracks trying to survive poverty and a bad family life. What we eventually learn is that some kids bully to survive, and some bully because their just mean. While neither path should be condoned the reader will come away with some empathy for Todd, because in addition to his other problems he is also being bullied just not in the straight up, physical, intimidating way that he bullies.

I love books that make me question my perception. Like most other people, I had been bullied a little bit when I was in school, and so I hate bullies. I root against them; I want them to get what they deserve. The assumption is that bullies do what they do because they are mean and horrible people.

 Mark Shulman tells us a story from the bully’s perspective though, and he helps us to see that it is completely conceivable that some kids bully as a survival mechanism. Again, it doesn’t make it right, but this story actually made me feel for the bully protagonist. So, now instead of saying – I hate bullies, I’m more likely to say – I hate bullying.

“Scrawl” is one of those stories that you know is good because you get so invested in the character that you want to know what he goes on to do when there are no more words for you to read. Tod is a character that many teens will be able to relate to whether they are a bully or a victim of a bully, and I can see this book as a great conversation starter.

Perpetual Check

By Rich Wallace

Published by Alfred A. Knopf

Copyright © 2009

“Two brothers. One championship.” One really annoying dad.

Zeke and Randy are brothers. Zeke is a senior and Randy is a freshman. Both play chess and are playing in a regional tournament in Scranton, Pennsylvania with the hopes of winning a $1,000 scholarship and an invite to the state tournament. Randy is easy going and friendly and Zeke is a bit of a jerk. Although these boys are very different from one another and don’t generally get along, It is at this tournament that they both reach their breaking point with their meddling father.

Not too long ago I read “One Good Punch” which was set in Scranton, PA as well, and featured a teen track star with a problem. Now reading “Perpetual Check”, I’m beginning to see that Rich Wallace really has a knack for writing quick reading sports dramas.

I really appreciated how in just 112 pages he takes us into the youth chess world, introduces us to a dysfunctional family, and presents us with signs of a resolution to sibling rivalry and parental interference. It isn’t burdened down with chess match details he just provides enough so that the novice and the experienced player get the picture. In addition, the resolution does not feel forced or contrived. While he occasionally gives us a glimpse into the past of these characters, Wallace mainly just gives us a day in the life of these two characters, and it just happens to be the day that they both come together and have had enough. Teens 13 and up will really be able to relate to this characters, and it may just spark their interest in the game of chess.