The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

A number of people receive invitations to move into a new apartment building with low rent and wonderful amenities—even a doorman. There is commercial space for those who would like to open a business, and some do.  Some of the apartments have a view of the old Westing house, a largely deserted mansion where wealthy businessman Samuel Westing used to live before he moved away.

One day, some of the tenants see smoke from the chimney.

The next thing they know, sixteen of the tenants are called to a lawyer’s office for the reading of Samuel Westing’s will.  They have been named his heirs, but only one will get the bulk of the fortune—the one who solves the puzzle.  They are divided up into seemingly very mis-matched pairs and each pair gets an envelope with some words.  Each team is given $10,000.

Now it’s up to them to figure out the mystery.

The Westing Game is a children’s book written in 1978.  I’d heard good things about it for years, but had never gotten around to reading it until the Book Bingo prompt: read a book for children or young adults.  I wasn’t sure what to expect; in the very first chapters when I figured out a clue very early, I was disappointed and lowered my expectations.

I needn't have. What followed turned out to be one of the most engaging books I’d read in a while.  It brims with interesting characters, and while I’ll admit I was a little confused at times but I ended up absolutely loving this book.  Characters I didn’t think I liked at all turned out to be people I admired; some weren’t who I thought they were; and some characters who seemed to have little to offer were ones who touched me most.

I really liked the diversity of the characters; I expected children in a children’s book, but the characters were mostly adults and teens. People were also from different socio-economic statuses and backgrounds:  students, professional people, business owners, and retired people. One of the main characters is Turtle Wexler, a young girl who lives in the shadow of her beautiful older sister Angela. Turtle has a habit of kicking people in the shins when annoyed, and Turtle is annoyed a lot.  Theo, son of a coffee shop owner, is a frequent target, but track star Douglas Hoo comes in for his share. Turtle is paired with Flora, a sweet older woman who is a dressmaker. Dignified Judge J.J. Ford’s partner is the cheerful and somewhat excitable doorman, Sandy McSouthers. Social climber and aspiring interior decorator Grace, Turtle’s mother, is paired with James Shin Hoo, Douglas’ father, who is a frustrated restaurant owner and inventor.  And so on.

In between playing the game, various other mysteries arise and I fully admit I was taken by surprise.  The biggest surprise of all was how much I loved this book.

Found Recipes: Beloved Vintage Recipes Worth Sharing by Betty Crocker

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Opening this book was like opening a box of recipes from my grandma. These “vintage” recipes run from the 1920s to the 1990s, with strong representation from the mid-century when pre-packaged mixes became more popular for those homemakers who needed to whip up a quick dessert. This book doesn’t lean heavily on mixes, but Bisquick and cake mixes are included as time savers through the decades.

Betty Crocker has an enormous database of their recipes (almost 96,000!) but some of them had fallen through the cracks and had been lost. Over 500 Betty Crocker themed cooking magazines were published between 1972-2014, (see page 62) and as some of these have been rediscovered, the company decided to create this Found Recipes cookbook/history. In some cases, customers shared their memories of long ago meals where no recipe could be found, and Betty Crocker recreated them for a nostalgic taste of the past. Quotes from happy customers are included alongside bits of history and inside looks into the test kitchens.

A few recipes that caught my eye, along with the dates originally created (when available) and page numbers…yes, my tastes lean toward the sweets!

“Oven-Baked Chicken and Biscuits” – 1956 – page 71

“Chocolate Cookie Muffins” – page 117

“Luscious Lemon Loaf” – page 125

“Magic Cinnamon Balloon Buns” – 1969 – page 145

“Cardamom Cookies” – page 177

Those are just a few that sound like they would be fun to make with the five-year-old in my life. Maybe I’ll have to pull out a few of my grandma’s vintage recipe clippings as well, whether they came from Betty Crocker or elsewhere.

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Four teenagers are heading home after an evening of fun.  Driving down a mountain road, the car hits a young boy on a bicycle.  The teens panic; Barry, the driver, is eighteen and considered an adult.  If they report this, he’ll do jail time.  The four agree, somewhat reluctantly, to keep the accident a secret, but Ray and Julie are deeply troubled about it. Ray insists on at least calling 911 to try to get help for the boy.

That was a year ago.

Julie, once a bubbly cheerleader, has become a more somber, studious girl.  Helen’s life has only changed for the better: she’s a TV personality with her own apartment away from her struggling family. Football hero and only child Barry has finished his first year of college and is looking forward to a backpacking trip to Europe, away from his doting parents. He’s also more than ready to put some distance between himself and Helen.  They aren’t sure about Ray.  He left town after the accident, headed to California.

Then Julie gets a letter with no return address.  “I know what you did last summer” is all it says.  Is it a prank—or a threat?

Back in the day, mystery titles for children were mostly those featuring sleuths such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Hardy Boys, or the Three Investigators.  There were a few others, including a personal favorite, Brains Benton. From there it was on to adult authors like Agatha Christie.

Then a few authors began writing books that were edgier, books about real teens who found themselves in dire situations. I Know What You Did Last Summer came out in 1973 and created quite the stir. These teens had committed a crime! They mention smoking pot! They drink beer! (None of which is portrayed.) They have a stalker who means bodily harm!

This was definitely not a Nancy Drew book.

Naturally, this attracted the attention of Hollywood who optioned the novel for a movie.  Duncan was thrilled. When the movie opened, she was in the theater with her popcorn ready to see her book on the screen. She did wonder why there a man with a hook.

She soon found out.

She didn’t even eat her popcorn.

Former teen librarian Pam Neal said Duncan wrote an apology to all her fans, regretting that her suspense novel had become an urban legend slasher film. In an interview Duncan said she was “horrified.” The violence was sensationalized, which was particularly painful because Duncan’s daughter Kaitlyn had been shot to death by an unknown person just a few years before the movie.

Now the rebooted version of the I Know What You Did Last Summer is in theatres and from all reports it bears even less resemblance to the book than the first movie did.  I decided it was a good time to go back to the source material, so I picked up a copy of the book, albeit a slightly altered version.  In 2010, Duncan revised her book a bit, adding mentions of things like cell phones and GPS which didn’t exist back in 1973. She changed the war in the background to Iraq instead of Viet Nam, and made a few other changes to suit the times. Of course, that was fifteen years ago; there are a few things that seem slightly dated now but not so much that it took me out of the story.

Overall, I think the book has held up well. While more modern books may have grittier plots, the core parts of the book—the characters and the suspense—still work for me. This was a groundbreaking book in YA literature, one that led the way for such authors as Joan Lowery Nixon, Holly Jackson, and Karen McManus. It makes me sad that the novel is so little known.

As for the movie, I’ll pass.

Art, Annotated: Your Expert Guide to 500 of the World’s Greatest Works of Art

Reviewed by Jeanne

I like art.  Ever since a long-ago college course in Art History, I’ve been fascinated by it.  My taste is admittedly pedestrian, of the “I know what I like” variety, but I just enjoy looking at various works.  This art book by DK, a publisher known for beautiful illustrations, is a hefty tome but packed full of beautiful pictures and interesting tidbits.  It’s not scholarly, which for me is a point in its favor.  I don’t know enough about painting techniques or art theory to appreciate it on that level.  This one takes a chatty but informative approach, aimed at enhancing the reader’s appreciation of a pretty picture—which I love.

It’s arranged more or less chronologically, starting with cave paintings. Items of interest are pointed out and explained briefly, including sometimes what the item represents or how a line focuses the viewer’s attention.  It’s not just paintings, though; sculpture also makes up a number of entries.  There’s the famous bust of Nefertiti, the Chinese terra-cotta army, Olmec heads, Greek pottery, and Assyrian bas relief.  I learned a lot about items I thought I already knew, giving me a new appreciation for the piece. 

For example, there’s the Venus de Milo— otherwise known as that sculpture of the lady with the missing arms.  From another fragment of the statue found, it appears she might have been holding an apple in one hand; perhaps it was a reference to the myth about the “Judgment of Paris,” though it could also have been a pun as “Milos” sounds like apple in ancient Greek.  Her earlobes are missing, possibly broken off during a theft, as the statue was once adorned with jewelry.

Just as intriguing are some of the works that I didn’t know, which opened new worlds for me.  I prefer older works, but this book also tried to explain modern art to me in ways I could almost understand.

In short, this is a magnificent browsing book, one that can be picked up and enjoyed over and over. 

Nevermore: I Could Pee on This; Dracula; Rabbit-Proof Fence

 

Reported by Rita

I Could Pee on This: and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano is a collection of short poems written from the perspective of cats. Clever, and very relatable to anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes around a cat. Delightful! MS

Dracula by Bram Stoker is the classic tale that many cite as the start of the vampire genre. Although vampires were around long before Dracula, this is the novel that frightened and inspired for generations. Our reader said it is very scary and quite enjoyable. MH

Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington is the remarkable true story of three young girls who cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their home. When black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages are gathered up by whites in Australia in 1931, three young girls make a harrowing escape by following the over 1,000 miles of rabbit-proof fence back to their home. This YA selection is a quick read about determination and resilience. CD

Also mentioned:

We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work by Jimmy Carter

Nation of Victims by Vivek Ramaswamy

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson

Home by Marilynne Robinson

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher

 

 

New books:

 

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula by Koren Shadmi

 

 Reviewed by Jeanne

 

As he did with his excellent graphic novel style biography of Rod Serling, Koren Shadmi presents a fascinating look at another entertainment icon:  Bela Lugosi. The moody black and white drawings seem especially appropriate for a figure whose best known works were filmed that way.  The book opens in 1955 with the elderly Lugosi checking himself into a hospital to try to beat his addiction.  During his delirium, he sees figures, some from his past, some who are just representations, who illuminate his life.

He was born Bela Blasko in Lugos, Hungary, the youngest child of a relatively prosperous family.  His father had begun as a baker but had become a respected banker. Bela’s theatrical aspirations didn’t please his family, so he left for Budapest as a youth, taking the name of his hometown as his surname. The novel traces his career and personal life, both of which could be fraught. He was married multiple times and had numerous affairs, including one with Clara Bow. The “IT Girl” finagled a meeting with Lugosi because she wanted to know more about how he learned his lines phonetically, as his English was limited.  Bow had a thick Brooklyn accent and at that time the motion picture industry was transitioning from silent pictures to talkies. 

Of course, Lugosi’s big break came when he was cast in the stage version of Dracula in 1927, which led to his being cast in the 1931 movie. Suddenly, he was a hot commodity, but his accent and typecasting limited his roles. He had a screen test for the role of the monster in Frankenstein but he hated the heavy make-up and the creature’s lack of lines.  The role eventually went to Boris Karloff.

In order to make ends meet, Lugosi took roles in low-budget productions, which did nothing to enhance his reputation as an actor. Of course, near the end of his life he worked with Ed Wood, which is a whole ‘nother story.

Overall, I enjoyed Lugosi. Shadmi uses the graphic art medium to great effect, uniting image and words to make a memorable story.  I especially love the way he uses the art to both set mood and to give a strong sense of time and place.  I found the scenes set in the ‘20s and ‘30s to be particularly atmospheric. 

The author appends a list of the articles, books, and other sources he used to create this book. Some aspects of Lugosi’s life are given scant attention and some incidents are not included, but that’s also the nature of the medium.  It doesn’t help that in reading about the actor there can be multiple versions of an event, making it difficult for any biographer to sift out truth from fiction. If I have a quibble, it is that I would have liked some indication of the source for some incidents Shadmi depicted.

I recommend this to anyone who has an interest in early Hollywood, and especially the dawn of horror movies, or anyone who enjoys a good graphic novel biography.

The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin

 

Reviewed by Christy

            First published in 1959, The Hours Before Dawn tells the story of a young mother named Louise who is struggling with her sleepless infant Michael, not to mention her two older children and all the cooking and cleaning it takes to run a household. Her husband Mark offers no help, only criticisms. With an empty room upstairs, the couple take on a boarder to make some extra money. Miss Vera Brandon, a schoolteacher, seems perfectly respectable but Louise is uneasy around her. Something is…off.

            I stumbled across this title while looking at a list of recommended domestic thrillers. It was republished in 2017 and touted as the “original psychological thriller”. Only one library in our system had it but fortunately, it was the Bristol library! A slim novel, under 200 pages, it does what it needs to do without any extraneous filler. Louise is instantly sympathetic (and who wouldn't be with a husband like that?), but she's also infuriating. She lets everyone walk all over her.  When one neighbor needs a babysitter, she shoves her little one off on a stammering, overworked Louise. Another neighbor literally pounds on their shared wall when little Michael is crying too much. If Mark complains about fried potatoes for lunch I don't think a single person would blame Louise if she dumped his meal into the trash and went and took a hot bath. But no peep from her. I know it was the 1950s but my goodness.

            I did like Louise though; she's much sharper than anyone gives her credit for. Which is why she starts to notice something is fishy with Miss Brandon. Her perceptions are dismissed, of course, as a result of her sleep deprivation and subsequent "nerves".

            Fremlin's writing, particularly her observations about motherhood and marriage, are gently humorous and at times sardonic. It reminded me a lot of Shirley Jackson's domestic fiction, of which I'm a big fan. I found the mystery of what was happening a little surprising and delightfully off the rails. The ending, however, felt rushed and slightly anti-climactic. Like with some of Jackson's works, I believe this is a novel I could re-read several times to savor the writing and pick up anything I may have missed. I recommend giving Ms. Fremlin a shot, and for those looking for more thriller suggestions I recommend the bibliographies at the reference desk!