Hope: a novel in stories

Sommer Schafer is a talented storyteller. I thoroughly enjoyed her most recent novel, Hope. It's a novel in stories, all set in the small town of Hope, Alaska. The characters are colorful and there's some fun overlapping in the storylines. Here are some tastes: 

Page 79:  Where Silver Face went after death, Bear didn't know. But there were entire populations of human ghosts in the woods. They were children and parents - families roaming incomplete; Tlingit warriors and Russian soldiers; contemporary folks looking, by their dress, more like the living than the dead; most in clothes, some not. Bear saw them all the time and knew without specifically knowing that they had always been there. 

Page 199:  With Dad at the TV, the three of us could play Scrabble, our old stand-by. We helped Mom clear the table and stack the dishwasher. "Leave the rest," she instructed, and we did, across the counters and in the sink. We were neck-and-neck until Mom strode ahead with the word "quiz" and Amy played off that with "quaff." When I knew that I would lose, as I usually did, Amy said, "Come on. Don't give up so easily." "I'm not!" The laugh I had tried for came out instead like a tired sigh. I had actually been trying really, really hard. 

This American Woman - A One-in-a-Billion Memoir

 Zarna Garg is truly entertaining. I found her memoir, This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir, to be a fun and fast read. For someone so different from myself, she is very relatable. Things like motherhood, womanhood, not wanting to take the expected, established route. Zarna is heartwarming and astounding. She shows the drive and effort that it takes to succeed. And she's funny!

Page 110:  People will remind you every day that you are less than ideal. Don't make it easier for them by pointing out your own flaws. 

Page 147:  If becoming an Indian wife gave me back my security, becoming a mother gave me back my worth. Because of Zoya, I felt tethered to the rest of humanity for the first time. My daughter was clearly human; therefore I must be too. 

Page 154:  It took me years to realize that fixating on being "the perfect mother" is such a waste of talent that could be better used to solve real problems, like creating a robot babysitter that absorbs vomit.

The Frozen People

The first book of an Elly Griffiths series, The Frozen People, is a fun romp into time travel crime solving. Set in England, it's a thoroughly-built world of dimensional characters with interesting conversations. I liked how visceral it felt to be back in time, through Griffiths' carefully chosen details. It was fun that the main protagonist is in her 50s! The genre is mystery but didn't feel formulaic. Not all the murders/disappearances get resolved, but we were warned of this on the cover: "Some murders can't be solved in just one lifetime." It's well-positioned to be a successful series. Here are some quotes: 

Page 35:  "Isaac mentioned you the other day." 
        "Did he?" Ali fills their wine glasses while telling herself to be careful. 
        "Yes. He remembered meeting you at that reception. He was asking about your job. I said you were a police officer and he asked if I ever worried about you being in danger. I said that you were only working on cold cases." 
        "So cold they're frozen." Ali finishes the line. 

Page 121:  "Objects can have strange powers," says Templeton. "Don't you think? One has heard of cursed mirrors, of books that will kill you if read in a certain light. I suppose it's natural that one invests inanimate things with life. If a man sits in a chair all his life, will that seat not retain something of him?"