Books read in May 2023

1. Oona, by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa (2021)

A sweet and sweetly illustrated picture book. I love especially how the illustrator depicted Oona, our mermaid protagonist - like an actual little girl, wearing a summery tank top rather than one of those cursed shell bras, with the tail of a lion fish.

2. Oona and the Shark, by Kelly DiPucchio (2022)

Sequel. I liked the plot of this one more - the outgoing and stimulation-seeking Oona tries to win over a shy, quiet-loving shark! What a good tale for kids. 

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling (1997)

A reread, of course.

4. Elmer and the Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett (1950)

I reread the first one, My Father's Dragon, recently for the first time in a very long time, and goodness, what a special series. I love the tone, the nonsense, the imaginativeness and especially the maps. A powerful throwback to the childhood road trip where my mom read these aloud to us (and completely captivated us for the duration). 

5. Password to Larkspur Lane, by Carolyn Keene (1933)

Another little something I haven't really touched since childhood (apart from when I read an old edition of the first Nancy Drew in college and discovered the aggressive racism that had been edited out in later editions). It's quite silly how mysteries and clues and coincidences just land in Nancy's lap...also how often she gets conked on the head and knocked unconscious by baddies. I remember even as a child being somewhat concerned about her health. But still kind of fun, and very quick. Also quaint seeing all her 1930s ways of finding information, e.g. an injured carrier pigeon has landed in her yard with a mysterious message? Why, she'll send a telegram to the association of pigeon fanciers with its serial number!

6. Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS, by Azadeh Moaveni (2019)

This one has really lingered in my mind. The author is a journalist whose work I knew from her memoirs about living in Iran as an Iranian-American. She follows a number of individual young women involved with the Islamic State, mostly ones who traveled to join it (from Europe and North Africa) but a few Syrian women as well who found themselves living in an occupied homeland.

I learned quite a bit I didn't know about ISIS, about the global and regional contexts in which it arose (including the Syrian civil war, which I knew almost nothing about previously), and about the various contexts that lead women to choose to work for the group and live in its territory. Most haunting of all to me were the stories of four British schoolgirls who ran away as teenagers to live in a war zone they were told would be an Islamic utopia. 

I continue to find my thoughts turning to the information and stories contained in this book, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for better understanding of the above topics. It's gripping, and though it is serious, it is not as grim or depressing as it may sound.

Humorous side note: my library had this shelved with the books on spousal bereavement.

7. Rosewater, by Liv Little (2023)

Like The L Word, but about black millennials in London, and more artsy in tone. Wasn't much of a fan of the main romance because I wasn't much of a fan of the love object, but it was an engaging read.

8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling (1999)

Enjoyed this one more on a reread than I remembered. So many little buried clues and allusions.