Review: The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith

/
Purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

ABOUT THE FRANGIPANI HOTEL

An extraordinarily compelling debut—ghost stories that grapple with the legacy of the Vietnam War
 
A beautiful young woman appears fully dressed in an overflowing bathtub at the Frangipani Hotel in Hanoi. A jaded teenage girl in Houston befriends an older Vietnamese gentleman she discovers naked behind a dumpster. A trucker in Saigon is asked to drive a dying young man home to his village. A plump Vietnamese-American teenager is sent to her elderly grandmother in Ho Chi Minh City to lose weight, only to be lured out of the house by the wafting aroma of freshly baked bread. In these evocative and always surprising stories, the supernatural coexists with the mundane lives of characters who struggle against the burdens of the past.
 
Based on traditional Vietnamese folk tales told to Kupersmith by her grandmother, these fantastical, chilling, and thoroughly contemporary stories are a boldly original exploration of Vietnamese culture, addressing both the immigrant experience and the lives of those who remained behind. Lurking in the background of them all is a larger ghost—that of the Vietnam War, whose legacy continues to haunt us.
 
Violet Kupersmith’s voice is an exciting addition to the landscape of American fiction. With tremendous depth and range, her stories transcend their genre to make a wholly original statement about the postwar experience.

Review

Short stories demand a massive amount of tact and focus. Sometimes they fail to launch and others to land. Fortunately in the case of The Frangipani Hotel, it succeeds on both accounts.

All of the stories in this collection are deeply connected, as they all take place in Vietnam or with Vietnamese characters and have some sort of supernatural element. At first glance you might think it an ambitious attempt at horror, but I found the collection to be more on the side of folk tale. (Which I consider a plus).

All of these stories are moral in some way and connect to humanity's faults. We get a lustful white man drowning, a gluttonous girl neglecting to spend time with her grandma, and the deeply entrenching reminders from spirits showing the negative repercussions of war. The characters who go on all of these journeys are all very unique from one another but easily relatable to, which raises the stakes for us readers.

I think that one way in which this collection especially succeeds is that these stories continually bring up the reverberations of the Vietnam War in a way that makes the stories carry more weight. It adds the necessary context that makes seeing a ghost walk on water believable and substantially effective in giving us readers an understanding of how the ghosts of war literally or figuratively come into all aspects of life.

These stories aren't meant to scare, they're meant to teach and meant to warn, and by all means, they accomplish that. If you're a fan of folktales of any sort, this collection is an excellent contemporary example that'll keep you guessing in every story.

Reviewed by Amy Richardspn

Review: I Only Quote from the Best: Revisiting Hollywood's Golden Age by Candie Graham

/

About the Book

Classic film lovers live and breathe them. Movie-quoting enthusiasts seek to find - and use - the best of them. Film scholars look to them for continued inspiration. And for the curious, I Only Quote From the Best - Revisiting Hollywood's Golden Age, provides an engaging introduction to 500 great untapped movie lines from every genre. Seeing their unforgettable faces in photos from yester-year, you can now connect their names with these celebrated lines. Highlighting some of my personal favorites within each chapter, have fun finding your own. 

Review

This is a lovely compilation from the Golden Age of Hollywood, which brings many of us nostalgic memories of loved ones' favorite movies. There's a tenderness in this book that truly showcases Graham's love of this age and its cinematic history and if you're looking for a book of quotes, look no further.

It is a bit of a straightforward concept, isn't it? Watch old movies and write down the quotes that really strike you. Fortunately Graham does things a little differently, just to spice things up a bit. There are little sections through this compilation that goes into the author's opinions about certain actors and films, which really actually does an excellent job of giving some dimension to a book of quotes. We get an astute (not ever overly long) look into the author's experiences with said films and what really stands out to her. It's nice to have this structural choice through because it ends up making the reading experience more personal and less run of the mill quote book. I was not personally distracted by it and found it quite lovely.

This is a fairly straightforward book and it truly does do what it sets out to do. There are but a few issues. The formatting was a bit clunky with the pictures of actors, and caused me to wonder if we were changing into a different theme of quote topic. There was also the matter of randomly placed clip art which did nothing but add unnecessary pages.

Otherwise, I found little issue with the book and found it a charming read. If you're feeling nostalgic for the Golden Age of Hollywood, look no further and pick up this quote compilation which was no doubt a process of tender loving care!

Reviewed by Amy Richardson

Review: Dark Turns by Cate Halohan

/

About the Book

Nia Washington is an incredibly talented ballerina. She fought her way up from the streets and was nearing the pinnacle of her profession when an injury and a broken heart derailed her career. Taking a temporary job at an elite boarding school was supposed to give her time to nurse both body and soul. It was supposed to be a safe place to launch a triumphant comeback. It is anything but.

Shortly after she arrives at the beautiful lakeside campus, she discovers the body of a murdered student, and her life takes a truly dark turn. It’s not long before she is drawn into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a ruthless killer. And Nia isn’t the only target. She must use all of her street smarts to protect her dancers, save a wrongfully accused student, and rescue the man she loves.

A stunning and suspenseful tale of passion and betrayal, Cate Holahan’s Dark Turns will take readers deep into the mind of a murderer and the woman who must put an end to the killing.

Review

This book was a (dark) page turner and is absolutely the kind of thriller worth reading if you enjoy gossip, intrigue, and trying to make the judgment call yourself on whether or not someone can be trusted. Dark Turns melts the intensely perfectionist culture of ballet with the question of murder effortlessly and takes the reader along for a captivating ride.

Nia Washington is the new ballet assistant at a private school in Connecticut and she seems to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. To get this new job started in the best way, while getting a tour of the school, she and her boss stumble upon a dead body of a student floating in the campus's picturesque lake. Tough start.

From then on out Nia has to fumble her way through dealing with students, teachers, RAs, police officers, and an orthopedist. Nia comes across as a very legitimate person, one easily relatable to and one who the audience wants to survive this whole murderous debacle. We get her romantic back story and the then present romance in her life, which is less distracting and more of a closer look at Nia, a woman in her early twenties just trying to figure out what she's to do.

The book does an elegant job of putting ballet terms at the start of each chapter, giving us ignorant readers some terminology and also doing some clever foreshadowing for what's to come in the chapter.

The ending of the book (no spoilers) is not totally unsurprising as the truths are slowly revealed throughout the book. One of the big reveals can be guessed by some little hints the author threw in for those of us who might have read a couple classics.

If you enjoy a good thriller that reads a little bit like a gossipy reality TV show (not a bad thing) sometimes, then Dark Turns is absolutely the book you should've been reading yesterday.

Reviewed by Amy Richardson

Review: Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas

/

About the Book

From Koren Zailckas, author of the iconic memoir SMASHED: an electrifying debut novel about a family being torn apart by the woman who claims to love them most
 
Josephine Hurst has her family under control. With two beautiful daughters, a brilliantly intelligent son, a tech-guru of a husband and a historical landmark home, her life is picture perfect. She has everything she wants; all she has to do is keep it that way. But living in this matriarch’s determinedly cheerful, yet subtly controlling domain hasn’t been easy for her family, and when her oldest daughter, Rose, runs off with a mysterious boyfriend, Josephine tightens her grip, gradually turning her flawless home into a darker sort of prison. 

Resentful of her sister’s newfound freedom, Violet turns to eastern philosophy, hallucinogenic drugs, and extreme fasting, eventually landing herself in the psych ward. Meanwhile, her brother Will shrinks further into a world of self-doubt. Recently diagnosed with Aspergers and epilepsy, he’s separated from the other kids around town and is homeschooled to ensure his safety. Their father, Douglas, finds resolve in the bottom of the bottle—an addict craving his own chance to escape. Josephine struggles to maintain the family’s impeccable façade, but when a violent incident leads to a visit from child protective services, the truth about the Hursts might finally be revealed.

Review

If there's ever been a work that was as inspirational as it was paranoid, 'Mother, Mother' would be it. 'Mother, Mother' follows a crumbling family, held together by a cruel barbed wire mother. We see the story from the perspective of the remaining two Hurst children: one who is wrongfully institutionalized, and another who hopelessly spirals into his mother's miserable trap. 'Mother, Mother' is a slow burn, but it's deceptive and wicked wrenches will hook in the readers who stay long enough. Upon reflection, it is no longer just a story: it makes you question your own mother. What are her intentions? Is the only descriptor that comes to mind for her "evil?" Koren's razor-jabs are deceptive and sneaky and first, but as they novel comes to a close she pulls no punches in a glorious twist of karma. Shining through all this pain and pleasure is a genuinely inspirational message of hope that - even if you are unable to connect with Violet Hurst or even Will - is too important not to read. The best part about it is that she is not blatantly sentimental about it; her happy endings still have a few emotionally-irreparable holes. Koren puts so much of her heart, pain and love into 'Mother, Mother' that it's difficult not to take something away from it - even if you're running away from your mother as fast as your shaking legs can carry you.

Reviewed by Catherine Lynn

Review: If Lost or Found by Jackie Mae

/

About the Book

Traveling abroad, Sabrina’s grand adventure is about to change. Needing to go home and rectify the wrongs that are hovering ever constant around her, she finds herself thrust into a whole new set of truths she must confront. What if she had chosen differently? What if she had followed her parents’ guidance? Acceptance, freedom, being a worldly woman, had all seemed so important. Now, however, her path will lead her into the unknown. On her own, she must confront her fears head-on. When she meets “dream man,” she dares to hope, but life has its own plan. Is she strong enough for what destiny has in store for her? What will the cost be this time? 

Review

I feel very torn in my criticism of this novella but I will begin with how much I appreciate and genuinely enjoyed the basis of the story being told. With that said, I’m not saying that it wasn’t good, I believe the quality of the story was good as well as the characters but what fell short for me was in the cohesive execution transitioning the story being told. There were several moments that I was drawn into and wanted to read more but as I read, I was left feeling like puzzle pieces were missing or didn’t fit. There were many questions that I had as the story progressed because it either felt forced or advanced without an explanation of a little backstory and simply just needed some more of the story for an easier transition.

For me personally, 20-30 pages more would’ve made this rock for me because the story is definitely there and that gravitational sustainability of interest throughout the book would’ve been there for me had there been a little more. This being a novella, I’ve read others similar in the amount of pages where there was more of the story and it came together a bit easier which is why I’m so critical because the potential is there and it would’ve been more of a compelling read for me. With that said, I will definitely venture into her others books to give them a chance because I did enjoy the overall theme of the book. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Review: Saint Money by Jacinda Townsend

/

About the Book

Fourteen-year-old Audrey Martin, with her Poindexter glasses and her head humming the 3/4 meter of gospel music, knows she’ll never get out of Kentucky—but when her fingers touch the piano keys, the whole church trembles. Her best friend, Caroline, daydreams about Hollywood stardom, but both girls feel destined to languish in a slow-moving stopover town in Montgomery County.

That is, until chance intervenes and a booking agent offers Audrey a ticket to join the booming jazz scene in Harlem—an offer she can’t resist, not even for Caroline. And in New York City the music never stops. Audrey flirts with love and takes the stage at the Apollo, with its fast-dancing crowds and blinding lights. But fortunes can turn fast in the city—young talent means tough competition, and for Audrey failure is always one step away. Meanwhile, Caroline sinks into the quiet anguish of a Black woman in a backwards country, where her ambitions and desires only slip further out of reach.

Jacinda Townsend’s remarkable first novel is a coming-of-age story made at once gripping and poignant by the wild energy of the Jazz Era and the stark realities of segregation. Marrying musical prose with lyric vernacular, Saint Monkey delivers a stirring portrait of American storytelling and marks the appearance of an auspicious new voice in literary fiction.

Review

Saint Monkey, by Jacinda Townsend is the phenomenal story of two girls whose lives take different turns as they grow up. The story is filled with ups, downs, curves, turns, and everything that makes a story worthwhile. The reading is eventful and dramatic enough to provide the opportunity for immense character development, which Townsend successfully takes full advantage of. I fully recommend this book to all age groups because of its colorful story line, vivid characters, and entertaining presentation of mid-1900s racial and gender issues.

Reviewed by Sofia Millar