Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Reviewed by Kristin

What could possibly turn a Jewish octogenarian grandmother into a pop-culture phenomenon?  After reading Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I’m not sure I can pin down an exact answer to that question.  (But I will certainly try.)  She’s much more than internet famous; RBG has served on the United States Supreme Court since appointed to that highest court by President Bill Clinton in 1993.

RBG was a pioneer early in her life.  When she was a young mother enrolled in law school in the 1950s,   her Harvard Law School class contained only nine female students.  All the women endured questions such as how could they justify taking a man’s place at the prestigious school.  Even as women were admitted to the law school, the playing field was not the slightest bit level.  Certain areas of the library were off limits to women.  The main law building had no women’s restroom.  In the face of professorial derision and societal disapproval, RBG persevered and excelled.  Due to family circumstances, she transferred to Columbia, earning a spot on the Law Review just as she had at Harvard, and graduated at the top of her class.

Nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court.  O’Connor was followed by RBG in 1993, then Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan in 2010.  In the relatively short history of the United States, the Supreme Court has had 112 justices, only four of them women.

Co-author Knizhnik may have provided the impetus which made RBG a household name for the younger generations.  In 2013 Knizhnik created a Tumblr account in tribute to RBG’s dissenting opinion in the voting rights case Shelby County v. Holder.  This case weakened the power of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which protected poor and minority voters from discrimination.  Much fanfare ensued, with RBG’s image spreading like wildfire as a progressive symbol.  With captions such as “Fear the Frill” (referring to RBG’s lacy collars, often worn over her black robes), feminists of all ages have spread her image across the internet.  RBG is a collaborator, a uniter, a builder, willing to work to draw people together rather than to divide.  She is fierce in her defense of the disadvantaged and always ready to lead the way into battle for fairness and equality under the law.  In addition to her sharp mind, RBG is also known for her strict physical workouts.  As a concession to her age, she recently gave up water skiing.  However, she can still do twenty push-ups.  Of course she has to take a break after the first ten.  (Let me repeat: at age 84.)

An appendix gives guidelines on “How to Be Like RBG.”  Based on quotes from RBG herself, the headings include:

·         Work for what you believe in.

·         But pick your battles.

·         And don’t burn your bridges.

·         Don’t be afraid to take charge.

·         Think about what you want, then do the work.

·         But then enjoy what makes you happy.

·         Bring along your crew.

·         Have a sense of humor.

This volume is accessible but informative, a bit irreverent, but still respectful.  It includes pictures of babies, little girls, and other women dressed up like RBG, with her tightly pulled back hair, large glasses, oversized robes and her well known collars.  Who knew that people would want to cosplay a Supreme Court justice?  I learned more about the relationships between justices, not just those tend to agree on their interpretations of the law, but those with widely varying opinions.  I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and it inspired me to read more about other figures in the federal judicial system.  But can they beat RBG?  Not likely.

The Laws of Love by Lisa White

Reviewed by Jeanne

Livi Miller loves her job as a lawyer for Hampton Steel.  In fact, she loves it so much that it’s all but taken over her life.  She spends most of her waking hours either at work or thinking about work.  She lives for “the deal”—and she’s a very good deal maker.  It’s obvious to all her co-workers that she’ll be the one to take over as general counsel for the corporation when Robert Matthews retires, which shouldn’t be too long.

And then Jake walks back into her life.

Jake was the boy she loved in high school, the other half of the “perfect couple” they formed.  They’d planned to spend their lives together but once she went off to law school, they’d drifted apart.  The last she heard, he’d been in Iraq.  Now he’s back in Millersville, and she feels just as she did all those years ago.  It’s enough to set her head and her heart spinning.

Then Hampton Steel is threatened and Livi may have to choose between her two loves:  her job and Jake.

Laws of Love is a good romantic story with a bit of mystery/suspense thrown in.  I particularly enjoyed the small town setting of Millersville, named after one of Livi’s ancestors.  She feels a profound connection to the town, with her own family history tied up with the town’s history. White does a nice job of capturing the feel of the place and the people, where people know each other from high school and fishing is a favorite pastime.

I also liked that Livi and Jake don’t make big production out of resisting the attraction: too many authors try to build artificial tension that way. The love scenes are appropriately steamy but not too graphic. The tension in the story comes from a very real threat, one that Livi doesn’t see coming until it’s almost too late.

Lisa White is a lawyer and author who believes in the power of a good story.  Her next book is entitled Discovery and is the first in a trilogy.  It will be available in April. You can read more about White and her work at lisawhiteauthor.com

Carolina Cases: Cathy Pickens's Avery Andrews Mysteries

Reviewed by Jeanne

Avery Andrews was a corporate lawyer with a respect for the truth. That’s the reason she brow-beat her own witness when she knew he was committing perjury. It was a moral victory but at a personal price: Avery, once a fast track attorney with a bright future in Charleston, is fired and sent packing. With few other options, she heads back to Dacus, her small home town in the Appalachian foothills. She’ll have a quiet place to stay while she regains her equilibrium and decides what to do next.

When a rusty car is dredged up from a lake with a body inside, Avery finds herself trying to unravel a murder from years before.

Such is the premise for Southern Fried (F PIC Main), the first book in Cathy Pickens’ fine Avery Andrews series. Pickens, herself a lawyer, likes to call her books “puzzle mysteries” rather than cozies so that readers don’t feel misled. I would label it a “humorous regional mystery” because the sense of place is so important. Pickens writes her books with love and respect for the area and its people as does Margaret Maron. (Maron fans should give Pickens a try; I find their styles very compatible.) There IS humor, but we laugh with the characters and not at them. Even those we think might be stereotypes end up being real people. In the case of the first two books, don’t judge a book by its food-ladened cover or by the jacket copy: these books aren’t peopled by unbelievably zany Southerners nor are there recipes.

As for the writing, Pickens seems to get better with every book. Her sympathetic portrayal of small town Southern life rings true: the characters, the bullies, the steel magnolias, the sense of family, are all well done. Avery herself is a work in progress. She comes home feeling chastised, wanting only to recover and head back out to the faster paced life in the city, but gradually reconnects. More than that, she changes her opinions of people. There’s an especially fine scene in Can’t Never Tell when Avery considers the situation of someone she’s viewed as an adversary and makes a good-will gesture. It’s a small thing but telling.

Also obvious is that Pickens knows about what she writes: she grew up in Walhalla, South Carolina on the Georgia/North Carolina border. She’s been a lawyer, business professor, university provost, clog dance instructor and choir director, which gives her a great deal of practical experience from which to draw.

Done Gone Wrong: Lured back to Charleston to consult on a case, Avery's research into drug trials may lead her to a murder. (PBK black Main)

Hog Wild: Maggy Avinger is upset by her late husband's will: not only does he want his tombstone to accuse her of his murder, but he wants a huge tacky angel to mark his grave. (For me, this is the book in which Pickens really hit her stride. The writing is relaxed and sure, the characters very well done and the plot is intriguing. If you don't mind reading out of order, start with this one. Personally, I am one of the "must read in order" sorts.) (F PIC Main & Avoca)

Hush My Mouth: Avery's new client is concerned about her friend Neanna, who had come to Dacus and then disappeared. Even more sinister: Neanna's mother was murdered in Dacus twenty years earlier, and the crime was never solved. (F PIC and SSB F  PIC Main)

Can’t Never Tell: A carnival’s Fright House becomes really frightening when Avery discovers a mannequin is really a corpse. Then she’s goes on a picnic and a woman is killed in a fall, leaving Avery with two deaths but is either a really a murder?  (F PIC Main & Avoca)

Alas, Ms. Pickens declined to accept a contract for more Avery Andrews books. She said it was a difficult decision but she wanted to write on her time, not to deadline. According to her blog, she misses Avery but she now she has the freedom to remember why she wanted to be a writer in the first place. If she hadn’t made the decision before she wrote Can’t Never Tell, I think she was at least in the process. There’s no feeling of finality—the series could continue, and still may at some point—but I also felt there were some signs of parting. I hope it will be a temporary condition as this was a very fine book indeed.