A Good Day for Chardonnay

A Good Day for Chardonnay: A Novel by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sheriff Sunshine Vicram is back in the second installment of the hilarious series that bears her name. A few months have passed since we last saw Sun, and since then her parents managed to con her into going on some really terrible blind dates. The current one is definitely the worst, so it's a huge relief when her deputy calls with an emergency, cutting the date short. A raccoon emergency. At his own house. But hey, it got her out of a creepy coffee date, so there's that!

All too soon her attention is diverted from Randy the Attack Raccoon to a stabbing and hit-and-run at the bar owned by Levi Ravinder, the man she's been in love with since childhood. One man is taken to the ICU, one refuses medical treatment, and a third has his body dumped down a nearby ravine. But before she heads out to track down witnesses to an altercation between the stabbing victim and unknown assailants earlier in the day, Sun receives a message from one of Levi's uncles, claiming to have information about her abduction 15 years ago, and her destination changes. Upon returning to Del Sol, Sunshine is stunned to recognize the face of a young kidnapping victim on security camera footage from the previous day--a child who went missing years ago. Meanwhile, Sun's daughter Auri decides to enlist the help of her boyfriend and best friend in investigating a serial killer from decades ago.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The witty, snappy dialogue and multiple plot threads interwove with tender personal moments. One minute I was laughing out loud, and the next (OK, mostly later in the book) I was sobbing and trying to explain to my kids why Mommy was so sad. I am grateful some questions from the first book were answered or at least partially resolved, even if the answers to the biggest were completely obvious the entire time to everyone but Sun. As per usual, the breakneck pace made putting my iPad down nearly impossible. Plus, I just wanted to spend more time with the characters. And hug them. And join the secret club.

For readers' advisors: story, character, and language are all very strong doorways. There is quite a lot of swearing, some sexual content, some on- and off-screen violence, some alcohol, and a couple of scenes where children or teens are in danger (they survive).

Many many thanks to NetGalley, Darynda Jones, and St. Martin's Publishing Group for letting me read an eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review. Um, when does the next book come out? Is it soon? Please may I read it right away? Please??

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Front Desk

Front Desk by Kelly Yang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This #OwnVoices story of a 10-year-old immigrant from China who wants to be a writer and helps her family manage a motel for a racist owner who cheats them and intimidates them into accepting below-poverty wages grabbed me from the start and made me wish I could leap into the pages and rescue all the immigrants from those who take advantage of them. Finding out that many of the events in the book are based on real-life experiences of the author just made that impulse all the stronger. Sadly, I do not have the ability to protect fictional people. Now I need to focus my attention on ways to help their real-life counterparts. The story is set in the 1990s, but as we've seen in the recent days, weeks, months, and years, many people's racist attitudes towards Asians, Latinx, and African Americans haven't improved.

The extra sections at the end of this book, especially the author's background and the discussion questions, make this an excellent book club selection. Because so much of the story is based on the author's life, I am categorizing the book as "biographical fiction" as well as "realistic fiction."

For readers' advisors: Character doorway is primary, but story is also very strong. No sex or swearing. Mia's mother is beaten up, as is a friend they aid early in the story, but the violence is all off-screen. Strong themes of friendship, respect, care for others, hard work, and persistence in following your dreams.

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Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is absolutely outstanding and, in my opinion, should be read by every adult and teenager in America and India. I am so incredibly thankful the Courageous Conversations group at my church chose to read and discuss it because there was just So Much to think about and absorb, it really helped to have a group of people to share in the experience. Isabel Wilkerson is a phenomenal writer--taking horrendously heavy subject material and making it so readable and accessible. Her research is detailed and very thorough. I learned SO much. I had no idea just how much I, a very well-educated white woman, did NOT know about US history! My knowledge turns out to have been just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It will take me a while to digest and process everything I learned from this book, but I am even more determined to do whatever I can to disrupt the caste system in this country whenever and however I can make a difference.

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Ramona and Her Father

Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ramona is just timeless. I'm so glad my daughter is old enough to fully appreciate these books now. She begged me to read her an extra chapter one afternoon, in addition to our regular bedtime chapters, and would have happily read the whole thing in one sitting if there had been time.

This book takes place as Ramona's father loses his job and struggles to find another one. Her mother has to increase her hours at her job to compensate, but money is very tight (because of the sexist pay gap, but that's not addressed in the book). After Beezus mentions how smoking turns your lungs black and makes you sick, Ramona begins a campaign to get their father to stop smoking. Given the current stresses and job losses of the pandemic, the themes in this book feel especially relevant right now, although the particulars aren't to my daughter, whose parents have never smoked and who remain employed. But the FEELINGS--those transcend time and place, a testament to Beverly Cleary's brilliant writing.

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