MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — FEB. 6

Welcome to another Monday from the Interior, in which we share about the books we received in the mail (or bought), and talk about our bookish week, past and future.

Mailbox Monday is hosted this month by Metroreader; and Sheila’s Book Journey leads us in What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week, my mailbox contained two review books and two that I purchased.

1.  Ship of Souls, by Zetta Elliott (Amazon Vine)

When Dmitri, an eleven-year-old bird-watcher and math whiz, loses his mother to breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman. Unaccustomed to the company of kids his own age, D struggles at school and feels like an outcast until a series of unexpected events changes the course of his life.

First, D is asked to tutor the school’s basketball star, Hakeem, who will get benched unless his grades improve. Against the odds, the two boys soon realize they have something in common: they are both taunted by kids at school, and they both have a crush on Nyla, a beautiful but fierce eighth-grade girl. Then Nyla adopts D and invites him to join her entourage of “freaks.” Finally, D discovers an injured bird and brings it home from the park.

D is stunned when the strange bird speaks to him and reveals that she is really a guiding spirit that has been held hostage by ghost soldiers who died in Brooklyn at the start of the American Revolution. As Nuru’s chosen host, D must carry her from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, but the ghost soldiers won’t surrender their prize without a fight.

With the help of Hakeem and Nyla, D battles the Nether Beings who lurk underground, feeding off centuries of rage and pain. But it takes an unexpected ally to help the trio reach the ship that will deliver the innocent souls of the dead back to Nuru’s realm. An urban fantasy infused with contemporary issues and historical facts, Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott will keep teen readers gripped until the very end.        

2.  Whole Latte Life, by Joanne DeMaio (Publicist Request)

Would you leave everything behind to know who you are?

Sara Beth Riley never dreamt she’d walk straight out of her life.  Actually she’d never dreamt a lot of things that had happened this year … From being kidnapped by her own best friend, to throwing her wedding rings into the Hudson River, to calling an old love in France, to getting inked with said best friend, painting the passionate constellation of these choices into permanence.  But mostly, she could never have dreamt what started it all.  How could it be that her mother’s unexpected death, and the grief which lingered painfully long, turned her into the woman she was finally meant to become?

Sara Beth’s escape begins a summer of change – of herself, of marriage, of the lives of those around her.  In a story that moves from Manhattan to the sea to a quaint New England town, Whole Latte Life looks at friends we never forget, at decisions we linger with, at our attempts to live the lives we love.

3.  Home Front, by Kristin Hannah

In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

4.  The Accidental Feminist, by M. G. Lord

Movie stars establish themselves as brands–and Taylor’s brand , in its most memorable outings, has repeatedly introduced a broad audience to feminist ideas. In her breakout film, “National Velvet” (1944), Taylor’s character challenges gender discrimination,: Forbidden as a girl to ride her beloved horse in an important race, she poses as a male jockey. Her next milestone, “A Place in the Sun” (1951), can be seen as an abortion rights movie–a cautionary tale from a time before women had ready access to birth control. In “Butterfield 8” (1960), for which she won an Oscar, Taylor isn’t censured because she’s a prostitute, but because she chooses the men: she controls her sexuality, a core tenet of the third-wave feminism that emerged in the 1990s. Even “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966) depicts the anguish that befalls a woman when the only way she can express herself is through her husband’s stalled career and children.

The legendary actress has lived her life defiantly in public–undermining post-war reactionary sex roles, helping directors thwart the Hollywood Production Code, which censored film content between 1934 and 1967. Defying death threats she spearheaded fundraising for AIDS research in the first years of the epidemic, and has championed the rights of people to love whom they love, regardless of gender. Yet her powerful feminist impact has been hidden in plain sight. Drawing on unpublished letters and scripts as well as interviews with Kate Burton, Gore Vidal, Austin Pendleton, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Smith, and others, The Accidental Feminist will surprise Taylor and film fans with its originality and will add a startling dimension to the star’s enduring mystique.

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Come join us to celebrate the week that has passed, and see what we’ve planned for the week ahead.  Perhaps you’ll find the very book you’ve been hoping to read.

Here’s My Week in Reviews & Blogging:

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI-JOURNEYS

JANUARY READING WRAP-UP

DAWN IRELAND:  WHO IS SHE & WHAT INSPIRED “HOT CHOCOLATE”?

BLOG TOUR-REVIEW OF “HOT CHOCOLATE”

SUNDAY POTPOURRI:  MEMORIES

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS & CREATIONS

Review:    Atonement, by Ian McEwan

Review:    Jonathan’s Story, by Julia London

Review:   The Importance of Being Kennedy, by Laurie Graham

What’s Up Next?

Click the links/photo to read about the books

1.  Rainshadow Road, by Lisa Kleypas (Vine Review)

2.  How to Eat a Cupcake, by Meg Donohue (Vine Review)

3. Iodine, by Haven Kimmel

4.  The Long Drunk (e-book),  by Eric Coyote (Review Book)

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That’s it for this week!

I’m excited about my mailbox and up-next books.  What are you drooling over?  Come on by and share…..