#IMWAYR November 7, 2016

Hurrah for Monday! #IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. The adult version of this meme is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. The kidlit rendition is hosted by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

In spite of my ongoing, but lessening back problems, I've had a pretty good reading week. In part this is because I figured out how to read with my eyes for part of the day. (Imagine me nesting in my favourite reclining lounge chair with cushions piled up at the sides so I can relax my back and hold a book at eye level at the same time) I still haven't been able to knit. Instead I started back to work on a quilt that I should have finished ages ago. As I sew, I listen to audiobooks. That mostly accounts for my successful literary week. I'm also content with my quilting progress since I've finished around 120 arcs on my son and daughter-in-law's very late double wedding ring quilt. They were married over a year ago!

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

The Perfect Tree by Chloe Bonfield

Jack sets off to find the perfect tree to "chop, hack and stack." Although he spends much time searching in the woods, he is unable to find one. Luckily he makes some new friends who show them their perfect trees. As they do this, Jack learns that trees have more perfection inside them than he could first imagine.

Bonfield's art is just stunning. It's a mixed media combination of paint, collage, three dimensional construction, lighting and digital enhancement. You need to get this book to see how spectacularly it all comes together.

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5 stars

Journey, Quest & Return by Aaron Becker

I read Journey, the first of Becker's wordless, magical, steampunk picture book series ages ago. Then for some reason, I missed Quest. Since Return, the culmination of the trilogy is now published, I decided to check out all three of them and read them together. I'm sure glad I did. What an amazing collection of art! What a glorious story! I'm not going to say a word about plot or characters because if you haven't seen them, I believe you should experience them for yourself without prior knowledge.
Seriously, if you haven't seen them yet, go get them now!

NOVELS

4 stars

Cloud and Wallfish by Anne Nesbit (NetGalley)

I started this a while ago, and then, when I decided I had to finish it, couldn't put it down. As a fan of all those John Le Carré and other adult cold war spy novels, I was fascinated to see this world from a child's perspective. I'm working on a review of it so all I'm going to say is that you should get your hands on a copy of this historical novel set in East Germany in 1989 as soon as possible and read it!

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour & David Levithan, narrated by Matthew Brown & Emma Galvin

I have long been a fan of Levithan because he envisions worlds that open up possibilities into who we humans are, and who we can be. I love that he and LaCour haven't disappointed me in this partner novel.
It is story of two teens who meet and become friends at the beginning pride week. Both of them are in the middle of relationship messes. Their story is revealed alternately with LaCour writing Kate's story and Levinson authoring Mark's.
Ultimately this is a book about friendship. Not just Mark and Kate's, but also their friendships with the other people in their lives. The trajectory of their romantic relationships felt idealistically realistic to me.
The book includes some swearing, kissing and drinking but it is not excessive, so that if someone gave me a copy, I would put it on my grade 7 shelf.

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

4 stars

Montgomery Sole lives with her two moms and sister, Tesla, in the small town of Aunty, California. She has to deal with some homophobia at her high school. Thankfully she has two best friends, Thomas and Naoki. Together the three of them are part of a mystery club that explores unexplained phenomena.
Montgomery feels threatened when a new student, whose father is a right wing evangelical Christian, comes to spread his message in their community.
The book begins with a meeting of the Mystery Club trying out something called remote viewing where they attempt to ‘see’ what is inside a closed box. What we come to realize is that this is a book about attempting to ‘see’ inside the 'boxes' that are other people to find out who they really are. It's a book that celebrates the power of friendship, no matter how successful our viewing is.
I loved the diverse group of characters in this novel almost as much as I appreciated that many of them were Canadian (as is Tamaki!)

ADULT NOVELS

5 stars

In The Woods by Tana French

In The Woods won the Edgar, Anthony, Barry and Macavity awards for best first novel of 2007. There's a reason for this. It is probably the finest first novel I've had the pleasure reading. It is exquisite. There are words, lines, sentences and whole paragraphs that stagger with their beauty and truth. And then there are the characters, individuals imbued with layers upon layers of complexity. It's terrifying and heartbreaking all at the same time.

5 stars

The House Without Windows by Nadia Hashimi, narrated by Ariana Delawari

The best thing about being retired is reading adult fiction. The House Without Windows is a story about women in prison in Afghanistan. While the story focuses on Zeba, a woman charged with murdering her husband, we learn much about the other women in the prison and what perverse rulings have put them there. (Afghanistan has no word for rape so all sex outside of marriage is called zinā, and punishable for all parties. To prove rape, a woman must have 4 witnesses.) The mystery that unfurls here is whether or not Zeba actually killed her husband and if so why, and if not, then who? If you are interested in learning more about what it means to be a woman in an essentially misogynist culture, then this is a book for you. If you enjoy books that celebrate the sisterhood of women, then this is a story you must read. If you are fascinated by the machinations of the legal system, look no further. I'm definitely going to read more of Nadia Hashimi's work!

CURRENTLY

I'm still reading March of the Suffragettes but intend to finish it up before I start any other reading with my eyes! I'm listening to Dark Matter by Blake Crouch.

UP NEXT

I've got The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken, cued up for my next audiobook. For my eyes will be something from the pile of library books. There are 4 due back on the 12th. Summerlost by Allyson Condie, Kids of Appetite by David Arnold, One Awesome Thing by Sara Pennypacker, and When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin. I suspect either some will be late, or I will return them unread.