Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Short Reads

  • ORPHAN DREAMER: Little Peach Lies, She Laughs Last, and The Missing Arrowhead (Books 1, 3, 9) by J Nell Brown – Black & African American Sci-fi, Black & African American 90-minute Sci-fi & Fantasy Short Reads, Teen & Young Adult Time Travel

    ORPHAN DREAMER: Little Peach Lies, She Laughs Last, and The Missing Arrowhead (Books 1, 3, 9) by J Nell Brown – Black & African American Sci-fi, Black & African American 90-minute Sci-fi & Fantasy Short Reads, Teen & Young Adult Time Travel

    The Missing Arrowhead

    Daniela Rose Cavanaugh is the Orphan Dreamer, destined to travel time and space and to protect the world from a demon who’s already set his sights on her. But as a young black girl in the American south, all she wants is a friend who understands her well enough to be called a kindred spirit. J. Nell Brown paints a vivid picture of Daniela’s alienation from her peers; her thoughts are clear as she questions God’s choice of her as the Orphan Dreamer, as Daniela’s depression, guilt, and sense of inferiority clash with her divine mission. Daniela desires to be “normal” and love herself with the help of a friend she hasn’t met yet. Her strong character voice carries the story forward, under the crushing weight of the world and the fate of her best friend on her shoulders. When she loses an arrowhead on a journey to the past, Daniela faces disbelief from those around her. What if others label her as ill and lock her away? Orphan Dreamer and the Missing Arrowhead is an impeccably paced story, full of the complex thoughts of a girl who yearns for connection.

     

    She Laughs Last

    Gertrude Smith rides a Greyhound bus to meet her soon-to-be-born granddaughter. She reads about the science of dimensions and muses on the destiny waiting for her granddaughter, Daniela Rose Cavanaugh. The past haunts her ride, as she remembers the murder of her son at the hands of a racist mob in a Greyhound station years ago; grief, love, and fear for her family mingle while she wears a false smile, hiding the turmoil inside her from the other passengers. She Laughs Last explores how false happiness can eat at someone and how much the social obligation to appear good-natured is worth. Can truth and trust be buried by lies and doubt? But surrounded by people—one of whom is the fancy scientist who wrote her book on dimensions—the isolation of being judged presses on Gertrude, adding only more reason to wear a mask. The scenes of Gertrude riding the bus are intimate and filled with emotion, dwelling on her thoughts and memories. Elsewhere, in the cosmos, the demon Nomad plots against the world and the Orphan Dreamer, planning to drown Daniela in depression. Gertrude speaks to her granddaughter, as the story’s themes of truth and faith come together in her words.

    Little Peach Lies

    Charlotte Cairstine McDonald’s research intrudes on her dreams. She sees the ghostly story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and feels a strange connection between herself and the long-dead monarch. In her waking life, Charlotte is embroiled in her own royal drama. She intends to marry Charles Darbyshire, grand-nephew of Queen Elizabeth, but the secret of her pregnancy threatens to throw both of them into a devastating scandal. Charlotte rides the highs and lows of joy and fear at the prospect of her new family, while the phantom visions of Mary grow darker. Charlotte is a lively protagonist whose chemistry with the other characters—particularly Charles—makes Little Peach Lies a delight to read. The descriptions are flavorful and quickly set each scene, giving space for the story to explore the pull between freedom and obligation, independence, and family legacy. The past repeats itself, as secrecy leads to danger.

     

    All three stories, connected over space and time, are powerful portraits of three women trying to move into new stages of life—whether that be grandmother, mother, or hero. The past follows them; fear and guilt are clear to see in their internal monologues and hampers their connection to the people around them at every step.

    Nell Brown illustrates the divide between how the world sees her protagonists and how they want to be seen. The descriptions show what these characters love about the world, what makes them happy and interests them, while complex emotions swirl in their heads. Orphan Dreamer and the Missing Arrowhead, She Laughs Last, and Little Peach Lies are all united by the central theme of family, trying to connect with and do right by the people one loves, the need to have faith in one’s self before that faith can genuinely extend to others. These characters’ unbearable yearning to find someone who understands them, truth and all, will resonate with all readers. Highly recommended.

     

               

               

  • MOROCCAN MUSING by Anne B. Barrialut – Non-Fiction/Memoir/Travel/Morocco

    MOROCCAN MUSING by Anne B. Barrialut – Non-Fiction/Memoir/Travel/Morocco

    Anne B. Barriault fell under the spell of Morocco on a tour of Moorish ruins in Italy. She joined an organized museum group excursion called “Moroccan Discovery” and later would return on her own for an 8-day stay in Fes under the caring eye of a resident family. Morocco, she says in her rich recollections of those journeys, is “sensuous, intoxicating, spiritual, and earthbound.” Here is the memoir-travelogue of Barriault’s, a museum professional, visits Morocco, recording colorful impressions in prose with accompanying pencil sketches by illustrator Shawna Spangler.

    In the first part of this rhapsodic tribute to the country, Barriault describes the various, sometimes chaotic events of the group tour: a first glimpse of the storied mirages of the desert, camel rides in the sand dunes that magically change color, a somber visit to Chellah, the sacred ruins outside Rabat where storks and eels guard the spirits of the dead.

    A scholar as well as author and observer, Barriault explains the meaning and history of the harem, where men protect their women by isolating them, and the hajiba, the ancient laws that require women to enter the homes of their husbands and never again step outside. She examines the veil in all its significant stages through the ages and contemplates the compromises that women must make, whether Muslim or not, veiled or not. She recalls the stares of young Moroccan girls and women at her unveiled freedom, circumspect looks that may hide disapproval or envy. Boys, too, are an important part of her writing. She describes the young men hanging about in city streets and shops, sometimes selling something or simply hoping for some recognition of their open, friendly chatter and attempts to speak English and teach a few Arabic words to the gaggle of foreigners.

    In the second part of the book, she visits on her own, in Fes, where she can immerse herself ever more deeply into the Moroccan culture. Having come to the city particularly for a sacred music festival, she finds herself forgetting all about her concert tickets on an afternoon when her hosts  — an ancient patriarch and his eight grown children all living together — treat her to a homely feast. Dish after dish –salads, couscous, roasted beef, fruits and finally fresh mint tea served with the aroma of incense — are brought forth, climaxed by a gift of a bracelet made of green glass bead, “the color of Islam.”

    She constantly reminds the reader that the Moroccan people, whose history and political life she carefully details, are friendly, open and sincere, happy in the happiness of their visitors, whether tourists on a short trek through the souk (shops) or coming for a longer stay, as she did, to plumb the depths. 

    Barriault writes with verve and emotion, almost poetic at times in her wish to convey the mystical beauty of this North African Muslim civilization. Illustrations by artist Shawna Spangler provide visual souvenirs drawn from the lush, illustrative narrative. Later the reader feels Barriault’s frustration as she realizes that, owing to the continued upheaval in the region, she will not soon be able to return to the Moroccan she loves.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker