February 2019 Book Report

Beware of This Shop (1977) by Carol Beach York

A truly creepy YA book. I at first thought that Lia might like it, but then thought again considering Lia’s nature. Maybe when she’s a little older. It’s kind of dark. Hester is a young teen in the late 1800s. She’s an orphan living with her aunt who doesn’t seem to care for her very much. Hester discovers an unsettling shop that sells things that seem to harm whoever buys them. She ends up working in the shop and tries to discover its secrets and stop the bad things that happen. Good book, just very dark.

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Lifeboat (1972) by James White

This sci-fi book is outside the Sector General series that White wrote. Mercer is a new medic on the spaceship Eurydice, never been tried in a serious situation before. Very low man on the totem pole with little respect from the rest of the crew. After a sudden catastrophe early on in the trip, he finds himself caring for the civilian passengers in a way he never expected. The passengers are scattered throughout space in pods while Mercer is in command on the main ship and keeps in contact with all the lifeboats.

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The Year of the Lucy (1986) by Anne McCaffrey

Always a fan of McCaffrey, whether it’s a romance or a sci-fi or a fantasy book. This one is a romance. Mirelle has to juggle being a wife, mother and sculptor in the 1960s. Women weren’t expected to have an outside “job” other than the home and has little respect from her husband for the truly creative sculptures she does. She does a sculpture of her deceased friend, Lucy, who was her best friend. In a drunken fit, her husband destroys it. Mirelle finally comes to realize that she is of worth, if to no one else, then to herself. She finds the strength to hold her own.

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This Time of Darkness (1980) by H.M. Hoover

Good YA sci-fi about the far distant future. Mankind has destroyed most of the Earth, so country-sized Cities, built deep underground, house all the humans. Hester is becoming more and more dissatisfied with the way life is and feels there HAS to be something better. She comes across a wandering boy named Axel, who claims to have come from the Outside and is trying to find his way back. Together, being pursued by officials, they make their way through the lower levels up to the top and find a way out.

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Rich Girl, Poor Girl (1936) by Faith Baldwin

Young Dr. Kimberly sets up practice in a small town, taking over for the beloved retired doctor. The town is ruled by a tyrant business man who will help the doctor only if he tows the main line and doesn’t make waves. Dr. Kimberly makes waves.

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The Alice Network (2017) by Kate Quinn

Fascinating book!! I had no idea there was a female spy network in WWI and how vital it was. The book is historical fiction, but there were several “real” people and events in it. It led me to really look into the whole subject. The Alice Network was in place in WWI and the action there goes back and forth to the aftermath of WWII. A young woman who is pregnant is being taken by her mother to Europe for an abortion. She manages to get away from her mother and comes across one of the members of the Alice Network. Great book. I highly recommend reading it and then looking up some of the people and events mentioned.