Judgment Calls

Judgment Calls, by Alafair Burke

Confession: I acquired this book somewhere solely because it was based in Portland. I love to read books set in my hometown.

It was a solid mystery/thriller, by the daughter of famous writer James Lee Burke. Deputy DA Samantha Kincaid is a solid character. Sometimes the book veered a little too far into legal wonkiness, which led me to think "I COULD NEVER BE A LAWYER"! Far too many obscure legal procedures and technicalities.

I might read more of her to see where she goes as a writer...and where Samantha Kincaid goes as a character.

The Residue Years

The Residue Years, by Mitchell S. Jackson

I always enjoy reading stories about my hometown or seeing it on film (e.g., Grimm), so that's what drew me to The Residue Years. Our local library system featured it for its "Everybody Reads" program.

But this book represents a different part of Portland than where I grew up (in the predominantly white suburbs). What makes it most interesting is that it's an autobiographical novel, based on the author's own life experiences.

Grace is a drug addict, even though she loves her children. She just can't escape the appeal of losing herself (and her troubles) in a haze. And Champ ends up selling drugs, largely because he sees so many people dealing around him...it's the easiest way to make money.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but Jackson's writing is beautiful: “She’s been through fire and got a soft spot for folks that seen the flame.”

The Residue Years raises questions of class and privilege. If I had been born and raised in another part of Portland, perhaps to black parents, would I have faced similar obstacles in my path? Probably.

Jackson opens up our city to bring in different perspectives...some of them not always easy to see.

Evil at Heart (Gretchen Lowell Series)

Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain

I read these books because they're set in Portland and I got the privilege of hearing Chelsea Cain speak in 2010. I read Evil at Heart when I flew to Denver for a business trip--it was a great airplane read!

Gretchen Lowell is an evil serial killer on the loose, and Oregonians are apparently obsessed with her. Now of course I agree about the insidious influence of sensational media on citizens, but this seemed a bit over the top to me. I have to hope that if Gretchen Lowell were really a true character, she wouldn't have hundreds of admirers and fan clubs.

If you can suspend reality, it's a thrilling read. I will wait a few years before reading the next one though...it's a bit too light--and violent--for my regular tastes!

Lean On Pete

Lean On Pete, by Willy Vlautin

I picked this up on a library visit, drawn to it because the author hails from Portland and part of the story is based here. At first, I balked at the writing style because it reminded me of Hemingway--passive voice, telling versus showing, etc. But then I settled into it, and I'm glad. I found this story to be heart breaking and memorable.

It's the story of a 15-year-old boy, Charley, who has bounced all over the Northwest with his single dad who is neglectful and inattentive. Charley's seen way more than a 15-year-old should see, and it only gets worse in this story.

Horses at Portland Meadows

The story opens when Charley and his dad arrive in Portland and he begins hanging out and working (sort of) at Portland Meadows, a once-busy and now shabby horse racing track. He's hired by a crusty, grumpy, dishonest, and mean old man named Dell, who takes advantage of him and constantly insults him. He treats his horses horribly, while Charley befriends them, especially one in particular: Lean On Pete.

Soon marked by tragedy, Charley ends up on the run, not knowing where his next meal will come from or where he will sleep that night. Lean On Pete is the only true friend he has. Although he sometimes has to resort to stealing and breaking and entering, he is a hard-working, ethical young man in spite of it. He heads east to find his aunt, the only relative he has, with very little information to go on.

Stories about children whose safety nets fail them always touch me. This story was profoundly sad, but redemptive at the end. Vlautin exposes the underbelly of horse racing and also of western towns, truck stops, and cities where those of us who lead privileged lives look the other way when we see kids like Charley.

Here's a great book trailer, with photos of some of the locations, and here's Vlautin talking about this book and what prompted him to write it...along with a song.

The Invisible Girls: A Memoir

The Invisible Girls: A Memoir, by Sarah Thebarge

Sarah Thebarge survived grueling breast cancer, and a recurrence within a year, before moving west to Portland, Oregon, my hometown. While on the MAX light rail train, she meets a Somali immigrant and her five young daughters, and a friendship begins.

Thebarge alternates her story between getting to know and helping Hadhi and the girls and her travails enduring breast cancer treatment. She was raised in a strict evangelical religion, but went onto earn a degree at Yale and was in the middle of earning a journalism degree at Columbia when cancer struck. She also had a serious boyfriend and was close to becoming engaged. Ian, the boyfriend, was too weak to stick it out and abandoned her. Her church community apparently also abandoned her. She felt alone and bereft, her faith severely tested, when she picked up stakes to move to the west coast. Given the fact that I've had several friends endure and survive Stage 3 breast cancer similar to Thebarge's, I most appreciated reading about her experience and her feelings about having cancer. I also always like reading books set in my hometown!

When she got to know and began to help Hadhi, who didn't speak much English, she seemed to relate to the "invisible girls" because of what she had endured. She too felt like a stranger in a strange land.

This book has been accused of the "white savior complex." At times I wondered whether she could teach Hadhi how to fend for herself and survive rather than just rescuing her (do they have a sustainable life in the U.S.?). I was touched that Thebarge went out of her way to make this family feel welcome in the United States...a feeling they had not experienced before they met her. So much of their lives was difficult, but Thebarge brought joy to their poor, struggling family.

I felt that she could have delved a bit more into how she broke away from her traditional religious upbringing, and her feelings of betrayal when very few were there for her through cancer. And during one of the last chapters of the book she mentions some kind of identity theft or fraud but never explains what happened. (It felt like a big loose end was not tied up...perhaps an editorial oversight?)

The final chapter made me squirm a bit, as Thebarge and her friend reach out to a prostitute and do some proselytizing...mostly because, as a Christian, I'd rather that people learn about Christianity through the way we live our lives and not because we hit them over their heads with it. So even though she felt completely oppressed growing up in such a strict Christian denomination--in which women were not allowed to hold any leadership roles in the church whatsoever--she seems to move back to it at the end. That was a bit confusing. 

But Thebarge did help this family in dire straits. She brought delight into their lives and she helped them muddle through, and she too was enriched by the experience. She decided to write this book so she could raise money for the girls to go to college. I hope she is successful in her goal. 

I love this tidbit I found on Thebarge's blog, which is the ultimate takeaway from this book:

"And I realized this morning that solving the problem of invisibility doesn’t require legislation or institutional intervention.  It’s simple, and it’s easy, and it’s free.  It just takes all of us walking through life with open eyes and softened hearts, taking the risk and the time to tell someone else, 'You’re not invisible any more.  I care that you exist.  I see that you’re suffering.  It matters that you’re here.' 

How would our world change if every day, each of us told one person — just one —'I see you.  So you’re not invisible any more.'”

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Jericho Books. I received a product sample to facilitate my review.

Portland top city for book lovers!

Not that it's a surprise, but livability.com just named Portland, Oregon as #1 in its Top 10 Cities for Book Lovers! Portland has 139 bookstores, arguably the most per capita in the nation (I've seen a few competing statistics). We also have the largest new and used bookstore in the world, the almighty Powell's City of Books.

Powell's



Our local bookstore, Annie Bloom's



It's a little more manageable than Powell's, and equally as fun for browsing

Then there's the Multnomah County Library, which has the second-highest circulation rate in the country, second only to the New York Public Library. According to this news release, "For the ninth year in a row, Multnomah County Library patrons have checked out and renewed more items than patrons of any other U.S. library serving fewer than one million residents. With a population of about 735,000, that’s an average of about 31 items checked out or renewed for every man, woman, and child in Multnomah County."

The historic Central Library downtown

Sheer coincidence that this English major/writer-editor/book lover was born and bred in Portland (well, actually, a suburb)...I think not!

Eating Heaven: Portland food writer undergoes transformation

Eating Heaven by Jennie Shortridge

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I loved the fact that this book was set in Portland. It was about a food writer who had a super-critical mom and has major food issues. She ends up caring for a family friend who is dying of cancer. As expected, she ends up losing weight and developing a much healthier approach to food, in addition to uncovering family secrets and realizing that her mom is not as one-dimensional as she had thought.

I enjoyed it; it was perfect for vacation.

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Heartsick: Thriller set in Portland

Heartsick by Chelsea Cain

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book primarily because I enjoy reading Chelsea Cain's article in the Oregonian and I noted that it takes place in my hometown, Portland. It's seriously grisly and twisted...and I found myself having a difficult time understanding the motivation of many of the main characters (including the psychopath). Many of these types of novels have too many characters and not enough character development. I used to read Patricia Cornwell's novels but ultimately gave up on them for similar reasons.

I will read Cain's next novel...after taking a long break...if only to see what happens next. However, I'm ready to go back into my usual genres of literary fiction, memoir, and nonfiction!



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Sweetheart: Thriller set in Portland (book #2 in series)

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading Chelsea Cain's debut thriller novel, "Heartsick," I didn't expect to read her next book. That was before I heard her speak at the Willamette Writers' annual banquet this summer. She spoke about how she got started writing thrillers, and I found her to be a compelling, engaging, and funny speaker.

Cain has grown in her writing since "Heartsick." I found this book difficult to put down, a sign of a good thriller. I don't read very many thrillers, so I'm not an experienced critic of them.

I continue to enjoy the Portland setting of Cain's novels, although some things about them bother me...such as calling the Portland daily the "Herald" instead of the "Oregonian." (I'm sure there's a reason for this, as Cain used to write for the Oregonian.) Also, her protagonist Archie supposedly lives in Hillsboro, yet Susan and Claire race down I-205 after leaving his house? Also, many of the plot elements are highly implausible (which I suppose is normal with thrillers). I understand that Gretchen is a femme fatale who could make men do all sorts of things for her...but how could she be so well equipped with clothing, whiskey, medication, cell phone, gun, etc., after escaping from prison?

The relationship between Archie and Gretchen is sick, and I cannot understand or relate to it. Archie is completely self-destructive because of what Gretchen did--and continues to do--to him. He is completely obsessed with this toxic woman. Although this book was good, I find that the books I truly love and that really stick with me are the ones in which I can relate in some way to the characters. And I can't really relate or resonate with any of the characters in these books.

But Cain is a good storyteller, even though the story is disturbing...



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