Amid a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed. The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho’s best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho's own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice. Read a review by Kathryn Longfellow:
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Maria von Trapp. You know the name and the iconic songs, but do you know her real story? This dramatic novel, based on the woman glamorized in The Sound of Music, brings Maria to life as never before. In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He’s intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron’s sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the power of their voices. It’s an inspirational story, to be sure, and as half of the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein duo, Hammerstein knows it has big Broadway potential. Yet much of Maria’s life will have to be reinvented for the stage, and with the horrors of war still fresh in people’s minds, Hammerstein can’t let audiences see just how close the von Trapps came to losing their lives. But when Maria sees the script that is supposedly based on her life, she becomes so incensed that she sets off to confront Hammerstein in person. Told that he’s busy, she is asked to express her concerns to his secretary, Fran, instead. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship as Maria tells Fran about her life, contradicting much of what will eventually appear in The Sound of Music. A tale of love, loss, and the difficult choices that we are often forced to make, Maria is a powerful reminder that the truth is usually more complicated—and certainly more compelling—than the stories immortalized by Hollywood. Read a review by Debra Blunier:
2024 Honorable Mentions:
Pride, Prejudice & Poison by Elizabeth Blake; Keep It Simple Y'all: Easy Dinners from Your Barefoot Neighbor by Matthew Bounds; Tickle Time! by Sandra Boynton; Assault and Pepper by Leslie Budewitz; The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick; Hello Stranger by Katherine Center; The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center; Canary Girls by Jennifer Chiaverini; The General and Julia by Jon Clinch; Tell No One by Harlan Coben; Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley; Pastabilities: The Ultimate Step-By-Step Pasta Cookbook by Jeffrey Eisner; The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore by Laurie Gilmore; The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn by Shawn Harris; Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood; Human Acts by Han Kang; Idea Jar by Adam Lehrhaupt; The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; The Shift: Surviving and Thriving After Moving from Conservative to Progressive Christianity by Colby Martin; Peekaboo Sun by Camilla Reid; The Shadow of War by Jeff Shaara; The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson; The Eras Tour Book by Taylor Swift; The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski; Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson; Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. We hope you are having a Happy New Year thus far in 2025! We will have two new book reviews up for you in a couple of weeks! |
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May 2025
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