The Country of Ice Cream Star/Sandra Newman/629 pages

Ice Cream Star is a young woman living somewhat innocently in a dystopian America when her older brother's epidemic illness thrusts her into the leadership role for her small band of children. What follows is a wrenching struggle for survival for herself and her people as she attempts to find a cure to her brother's disease.

Analysis - An impressive exercise in creativity, this book involved peoples from various cultural groups and is told by the narrator in a pidgin English that becomes almost comfortable by the end of the book. 

Originality is the strong suit of this novel. But that originality also makes it hard to classify. While it is dystopian, it is firmly anchored in a very real America. While some aspects of the storyline seem science fiction-ish, the content is not hard-line science fiction. Its epic length and unusual language may make this book a challenge for some. But it is worth a read. The depictions of familiar places that have been shambled by the rigors of war and disease and the emotions wrought by its main character make it a worthy read.

    

Red Rising / Pierce Brown / 400 pgs / Dec. challenge - Swans-a-Swimming

A science-fiction book where humans have the technology to colonize other planets and genetically modify their bodies to create "superior beings" with inhuman strength, speed, etc; yet are still under a caste system society.  Humans are categorized by color with the "Reds" being the lowest level as they are virtual slaves working in the mines on Mars.  The highest are the "Golds" who are modified to have every physical advantage and are trained from birth to value power.  Darrow, a "Red" is taken from his mining colony and is trained to infiltrate the Gold Society and try to take it down from within.

This book is being marketed as the "Next Hunger Games" but for Adults.  I would say due to the violence and implied sexual violence, this is not a book for younger teens.  This is book #1 in a trilogy, and I cannot wait to read book 2!!

(I got an Advance Copy from NetGalley.  This Book is due out: January 28, 2014 - Get on the list Now!)

A Prayer for Owen Meany/627 pages

Owen Meany is an unusual little boy. His voice, which is in permanent scream mode (and shown in all caps), and his small stature make him an oddity in the small town of  Gravesend. During a Little League game when he is eleven, he hits a foul ball that strikes his best friend's mother in the temple, instantly killing her. Owen doesn't believe in accidents. He believes that he is the instrument of God. Throughout the rest of his life, he takes charge of the people and situations around him.

Told from the point of view of his best friend, A Prayer for Owen Meany is often hilarious. The novel goes back and forth between telling the story of Owen and the present day for Johnny, his best friend. The last third of the book loses the humor of the story and focuses on the reasons why Owen believes what he believes. I'm looking forward to my book club's discussion of the novel.

World War Z / Max Brooks / 342 pgs

On its surface, World War Z seems like just another entry in the expanding zombie-fiction genre, but underneath, it is actually a sly commentary about the diversity of the world's different cultures and how we all react and deal differently with crisis.

Instead of a central plot, the story is told through a series of vignettes of survivors' stories, ten years after a global zombie epidemic. There is no main character except for the unseen narrator, described as a UN worker who has compiled the series of survivor interviews. His voice is unobtrusive, used minimally, and only serves to move the stories along. Through the interviews, we get individual accounts of how the zombie war transpired from various viewpoints all over the world. We also get insight into how different individuals and governments effectively dealt with, or mismanaged the crisis - from Japan to India, Iceland, Cuba, Russia, Brazil, United States, etc.

The book paces itself nicely by first describing the initial confusion and ignorance about what is happening, then travels through the thick of things when the epidemic is at its worst, then ends with the eventual control of the situation and delves into the various ways society changed and adapted in the aftermath.

The individual stories portray the horrors that people experienced on a personal level, as well as give insight as to how things were dealt with politically and militarily. Through its mode of storytelling, it manages to explore the different ways we react to epic catastrophe on an individual level as well as a collective basis, while also touching upon the fog of war and the confusion that stems from panic and misinformation.

World War Z was an easy read due to its short bursts of rotating stories. The accounts are realistic and have a sense of urgency and dread. The book is definitely a fun read, but it also contains a deceptively subtle subtext about world cultures, the human condition and history.

Rising Tide / Jeff Shaara 536 p.

Jeff Shaara conveys World War II battles in the style as he did with his American Civil War series, weaving personal stories about Eisenhower, Rommel, Montgomery, Patton, Clark and the front-line soldiers, while telling of the Allies drive to force the Nazi out of North Africa and Sicily.

First in World War II novels series

The Yellow Birds / Kevin Powers 226 pages

For all those who have followed the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past decade or at least knew there were two wars going on, read this book.  The story follows two soldiers, Bartle and Murphy, who become friends (or really, acquaintances) from basic training through their deployment.  Throughout the book, you learn the struggle soldiers experience when they are deployed (IEDs, mortar attacks, fire fights, girlfriends writing the “Dear John” letters) and what happens to them when they return home as well as what happens to their families.  It takes place between the years 2004-2005, a period where the military and government did very little in response to PTSD and mental health.  The Yellow Birds can be a heavy read and somewhat depressing at times (be sure you have a light, humorous read next in line) but it is also one of the most beautifully written books on the Iraq War.  I have read many books written by soldiers or about soldiers during the current conflicts, but this one really stood out to me because of the way it was written… the writing itself, the flow of the words, the vivid illustrations make you feel as if you are there and really immerses you into the mind of the main character.

Fobbit / David Abrams 369 pages

“Fobbit: A U.S Army employee stationed at a Forward Operating Base, esp. during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2011).”

Everyone hears the stories of the conflicts fought during Operation Iraqi Freedom, such as Fallujah, Mosul, Sadr City, Basra and the heroic men behind those battles.  However, little is mentioned about what happens on the FOB (forward operating base) regarding those who sit at a desk for twelve hours a day determining what gets published in the press releases, the incredibly long emails from HQ about whether the enemy is an “insurgent” or “terrorist,” or the true definition of “death by PowerPoint.”  Fobbit starts off a little slow and can be slow in some spots (who wouldn’t want to cringe every time you start to read an email from the higher ranks?) but the wit and humor of the writer with the occasional vivid, nail biting scene (e.g. suicide bomber lodged underneath a tank) is worth the read.  Most might see this book as a satire on Fobbits, maybe even criticizing those who are not on the front lines, but I believe this book satirizes the war in general because whatever occurs during the war, the Fobbits are on it making sure the American people (or the public, for that matter) only see what they want them to see.  To understand what I mean, read the book…

New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2012

Publishers Weekly Top 10 Pick for Fall Literary Fiction

Barnes and Noble Best Books of 2012

Voices on the Wind / Evelyn Anthony 145 p.

In the village of Amdale, England, Katherine Alfurd is something of a local character as she tells anyone who will listen of tales of her fighting in the French resistance. People listen with only half an ear until the Butcher of Marseille is returned to France to stand trial for Nazi war crimes. Katherine becomes a person of interest as she tells of everything she can of those times to Paul Roulier. Katherine remembers how the resistance leader, her comrades-in-arms, and even herself fell into the Gestapo's hands. All had been betrayed and most died in Gestapo custody. Katherine was spirited away by a double agent. She agrees to meet with the "Butcher", perhaps now the voices from the past will be silenced. Unknowingly she becomes the center of attention as her actions may adversely affect people's lives now.