from the TLC book sale.

A Wishlist RAbck courtesy of the US Tag Game Tag-it-forward option. Enjoy!

]If you aren't familiar with Bookcrossing, take a few minutes to check out this very cool site. Bookcrossers LOVE books, and more than anything, they love to read books and then set them free for other people to find and enjoy. I would love it if you would leave a journal entry -- you can say where you found the book or how you liked it when you read it. Then, when you are ready, pass it along for someone else to enjoy! Thanks and happy reading!

This arrived today. Thank you very much!

I found this book very compelling, but much like its main character, a bit unsettling at times. Alma is a strong, unusual character in many ways, and I found the exploration of effects of the people and world around her on her development fascinating. Yet despite all her personality and great brainpower, she lacked agency, and seemed carried along by the whims of the people around her. On the surface, she seems very self-sufficiant, but her moments of initiative are few. The writing often feels strained, too visibly pushing the story onwards from a small set of events, and too aware of both parroting the time-period while awkwardly offering a heroine who "defies" the setting.

I found the way her sexuality was written a little off-putting sometimes, mostly because it didn't seem well-integrated with the rest of her character. It felt like a afterthought to me, an attempt to give her bolder motivations that didn't feel like her true reasons for action.

Overall, a book I have a lot of mixed feelings on, but a very engaging read nonetheless.

Left on the planter/wall along the side of the building