Fiction

The Wanderers / Anna Ziegler

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Wanderers
By: Anna Ziegler
Genre: Drama/ Play
Number of Pages: 80
Published: February 23, 2023
Publisher: Methuen Drama
Dates Read: May 28, 2023
Format: Library Book / Paperback

Esther and Schmuli are Orthodox Jews embarking on an arranged marriage. Abe and Julia are celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite both being married to other people. Just looking, the two couples couldn’t be more different, but once you get to know them, you find a hidden connection.

I haven’t really read a play since high school – over a decade ago. But I found this title while doing a book list for Jewish Heritage Month and decided I wanted to give it a go.

That being said, this play was pretty simple. Mostly interactions between two characters. I liked that because I could easily “see” the characters in their scenes.

I’m going to be honest and didn’t see the connection until a lot later in the story than I probably should have. But overall, I still enjoyed reading the play.

El Flamingo / Nick Davies

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El Flamingo
By: Nick Davies
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 206
Published: March 15, 2023
Publisher: YBK Publishers
Dates Read: March 17, 2023 - March 20, 2023

Lou Galloway is a failed LA actor and he’s come to accept that – by drowning his sorrows in cheap mezcal down in Mexico. Here, at a small little tiki bar, a stranger leaves his fedora and Luo gets taken away to the mansion of internationally wanted crime lord, Diego Flores. They think he is a rogue assassin known as El Flamingo and Lou’s too far in to deny it now, especially after meeting Maria-Carla. Now, Luo is swept up into the dangerous world of espionage in Latin-America that will take him on a crazy journey from desert fiestas of Mexico to the jungle-clad salsa bars of Colombia. To make it out of this alive, Luo must partake in the biggest role of his life – El Flamingo.

This book was fun. A little cheesy here and there, but it worked with Lou’s whitty character and I enjoyed it. This isn’t something I usually find myself reading, but I’m trying to branch out more this year, and this was perfect.

At first, I was worried Lou Galloway was going to be a little much for me (a tad bit full of himself), but that quickly turned around for me as soon as he put on the fedora hat. I also can’t get the monologue scene out of my head he did at a checkpoint with some bad guys as he kind of fully, in my opinion anyway, took on the role of El Flamingo for the first time. I can’t stop laughing thinking about this failed LA actor just taking on this role with full reigns and giving it his all. I hung out with a lot of theater kids in high school, I remember how they can be and this book was just fantastic.

I can see so many readers enjoying this crazy, four day journey that Lou Galloway goes on. This book does have a little bit of everything for everyone: action, witty humor, plot twists. The characters are also well thought out and those that needed background were given it. You can also tell the research Nick Davies did for this about Latin-America and its culture – it comes across wonderfully on the pages and I could almost feel myself on the warm beaches or running for my life from rapid gun fire.

I highly recommend this book – I think readers will have fun with it and won’t be disappointed.

*Thanks to the author for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Kissproof World / William West

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Kissproof World
By: William West
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 246
Published: August 30, 2022
Publisher: TouchPoint Press
Dates Read: March 1, 2023 - March 4, 2023
Format: Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Abuse, sexual abuse, incest

Neva is a young therapist who is grappling with her own past as she tries to help six troubled teens living in a halfway house on the Texas coast. There, she meets Alec, a teen at Morning House who reminds her deeply of her twin brother who passed away. As Neva tries to protect Alec from the same fate as her brother, life at Morning House begins to unravel and begins to lead everyone down a dangerous path.

I honestly kind of struggled with this one a bit – nearly everyone had some form of sexual abuse or incest and yes, it’s kind of hinted at in the description, but not as much as it probably should have.

William West’s background as a social worker shows up in this novel for sure as this does dive into the depths of the abuse and neglect the characters went through. It’s not really a feel-good read, it will probably make people uncomfortable, but it will challenge the reader to experience a viewpoint of life with at-risk youth.

I will say, the last ⅛ of the book is what saved it for me – as they started piecing together the big mystery that was playing out throughout most of the book.

Overall, this book was a bit challenging for me because it had such tough storylines that the characters went through, but it was still worth the read for me.

*Thank you TouchPoint Press and the LibraryThing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez / Claire Jiménez

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The cover of What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez. A drawn photo of the back of a young woman, above her shoulders. She has tan skin, medium hoop earrings, and bright red hair in a bun. She also has a birth mark under her left eye that you can see on her cheek.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez
By: Claire Jiménez
Genre: Contemporary
Number of Pages: 240
Published: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Dates Read: February 19, 2023 - February 20, 2023
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Discussion of rape and molestation, missing child(ren)

13-year-old Ruthie Ramirez disappeared without a trace from a bus stop after track practice in 1996. Her disappearance rocked the Ramirez family and they were never able to fully recover. Then, one night, twelve years later, older sister Jessica spots a splitting image of their sister on a reality TV show called Catfight, she even has the beauty mark under the left eye that is instantly recognizable.

In 2008, Ruthy’s mother, Dolores, still struggles with the loss, older sister Jessica now has a newborn baby and works at the hospital, and younger sister Nina, after four years away at college, is now back and living with their mom and is forced to work a job at the lingerie store at the mall.

After the sisters see the could-be-Ruthy, they hatch a plan to go down to where the show is filming to see if they can confirm who they think she is. When Dolores also sees the could-be-Ruthy herself, she insists on joining, and dragging along her best friend, Irene. The Ramirez women then set on a road trip that forces them to face their past and look towards the future, with or without the could-be-Ruthy.

This is both a heartwarming and a heartbreaking novel. The chapters jump around between the Ramirez women, including Ruthy back in 1996 on the day of her disappearance. By doing this, Jiménez is able to show you each of their thoughts and feelings, which really humanizes the whole thing and makes it feel authentic.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez was also a pretty quick read for me as well, the only reason it took me two days was because I started it later in the evening on the 19th. The writing style and language of this novel are smooth and easy flowing, regardless of whose POV the chapter was written in. This style also keeps the mystery of what really happened to Ruthy up until the very end – did she get taken or did she simply run away and refuse to talk to her family again?

I can easily see this book becoming a Book Club favorite in libraries as well as highly talked about once it’s released in a few weeks. Anyone who likes to read about a complicated family dynamic, especially based around women, will greatly enjoy this book.

*Thank you Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Man Without Shelter / Indrajit Garai

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Photo of a physical book with a cover of cement stairs and metal railing. The title of the book is, "The Man Without Shelter" and the author is Indrajit Garai.
A 4 Gold Star Rating
The Man Without Shelter
By: Indrajit Garai
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 122
Published: September 6, 2022
Publisher: Independently Published
Dates Read: January 31, 2023 - February 1, 2023
Format: Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Homelessness, suicide, murder, mentions of abuse, sex trafficking, rape

Arnault has just been released from prison after two decades when new evidence finally proved he didn’t commit the crime. Lucy is a young lawyer who is determined to help Arnault in his journey to full freedom.

The writing in this novel was a bit different for me. I’ve read a lot of Japanese translated books and some Dutch and Swedish, but I haven’t read many from France. That being said, the writing does dive into a lot of French politics and policies, especially about the homeless/unhoused population.

As a librarian, it was interesting to me to see how Paris’ homeless population was portrayed in this novel. The unhoused are many of my frequent patrons, so I hear and try to help with their struggles as much as I can. The circles one must overcome can’t be done without help: to get an ID, you have to have an address for 3 months, to have an address, you have to have a job in order to pay for address, to have a job, you must have an ID – and so the circle continues. 

Indrajit Garai does an amazing job at giving you characters who you root for page after page. Life wasn’t easy on Arnault, but he kept going and kept pushing and I wanted to know how the universe was finally going to give back to him what he deserved. The man had a tent where he lived with a geese couple and their chick and was content with it! And then with Lucy, even though she was on the complete opposite lifestyle as Arnault, we saw a lot of the world where people don’t care and were only out for themselves. I kept rooting for her that her eyes would be open to this other world (homeless/unhoused/migraint) and that it would change her for the better.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to a lot of my library coworkers for sure. It’s not the greatest, happy-go-lucky book on the shelf, but it shows honesty and a life of someone who has been down and just trying to get back up on their feet honestly.

The Dryer Island Boys / Jeffrey Veatch

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Image of the cover of "The Dyer Island Boys" by Jeffrey Veatch .
A 3 Star Gold Rating
The Dyer Island Boys
By: Jeffrey Veatch
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 192
Published: November 28, 2022
Publisher: Colossal Publishing
Dates Read: January 19, 2023 - January 23, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a feel good, coming-of-age story set spanning from the late 1940’s to recent day.

*Thank you to the author and Reedsy Discovery for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Read my full review here