Each of Doris Perkins-Valdez's books allow readers to look behind the scenes and witness the courage and faith of enslaved people. The author has successfully narrated difficult periods in our country's history (spanning from pre Civil War time through ongoing racial violence in the post Civil war Reconstruction era) which we need to continue to revisit in order to go forward.

Perkins-Valdez's newest book, Happy Land, reveals a how a community of freed slaves moved away from the developing KKK threat to build a safe community protected with their own governance. This unique commune was known as a "kingdom" (modeled after African communities) and remarkably, they gained the freedom of land ownership.

This little known chapter of Black history is presented in an appealing dual timeline. We are first introduced to the group of brave and hardworking individuals who establish the kingdom in the 1870's. Then, a modern account traces the decedents of the Kingdom of Happy Land founders. It was fascinating to connect the dots of the multiple generations.

The only bump in the road I encountered was in the second half of the book. A perplexing plot line develops between two characters in the Kingdom of Happy Land. This felt like a diversion that only delayed learning of the social, legal and technological events that threatened the kingdom. The story finally gets recentered and arrives at a realistic and satisfactory conclusion.

I strongly recommend Happy Land to historic fiction and literary fiction readers. Through the lively and sympathetic characters Perkins-Valdez lovingly puts together, I learned about so much more about Reconstruction era history.

Thank you BookBrowse for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Imagine a typical American collegiate, dreaming of the romance and adventure of travel abroad. Ann Hood will help to take you there with her most recent book, The Stolen Child. The author provides a strong sense of place for Italy and France, most likely from her own extensive travel experience.

Formatted in multiple timelines, Hood balances the perspectives of a young soldier in the Great War with a college coed dropout from 1970s Providence, Rhode Island. Their stories are linked together in an engaging way.

The novel is character rich with personal stories clearly in the foreground and the historical elements of WWI and life in the 1970s in the background. You are gently led through the horrors of the Great War without feeling as entrenched in them. There is an additional timeline that fits in between the other two that takes you further into the romance and cultural history of Italy.

The conclusion felt a bit rushed. This could be the result of stacking resolution for several life stories towards the end. So, although it wasn't a five-star read for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

Any nature or raptor (owls, eagles, ospreys, etc.) lover will be immediately attracted to this book. But, if the owl doesn't draw you in, be sure to give it another look as it will satisfy interests of readers on many other levels. The key is to look closer at the two distinct themes the book's subtitle quietly references: "What Owls Know, What Humans Believe".

The owl knowledge is beautifully described and interpreted by Safina's observations of a rescued owlet. Safina's extensive experience as a conservationist and ecologist qualifies him as a spokesperson. However, Alfie delightfully breaks a few owl behavior rules and teaches Safina a thing or two! I was surprised at how my assumption that Alfie would be at a disadvantage by being "imprinted" with human interaction was overruled by her natural instincts to hunt, mate, and take care of a brood.

The "What Humans Believe" theme is interwoven with the story of the owl. After we learn of a happy or troublesome event in Alfie's journey, Safina provides a philosophic perspective from a comprehensive array of global sources. This includes Native American wisdom, Eastern philosophies (such as Buddhism and Taoism), and more traditional Western philosophers, such as Plato and René Descartes.

Perhaps these philosophic reflections are a poetic way to create a storytelling time lapse to Alfie's life. Watching owls certainly requires stamina and these pauses give readers a sense of the hours and days Safina invested while patiently watching and caring for Alfie. Some interludes have a clear association with the natural world; others require careful consideration and contemplation. Regardless, the segments are short and allow us a quick to catch up and consider our own perspective. Drink it in, dear readers, and enjoy the refreshment of a wider perspective. You'll be amazed at what you learn.

One of the characters in Banyan Moon bravely learns how to swim as an adult. As a reader, I was an awkward swimmer at the start of this novel, treading water and not sure if I could fully appreciate the life stories of the characters. In particular, I was irritated by the youngest (born in 1991) of the three generations of Vietnamese women. She seemed unreasonably disrespectful of her mother. I also wasn't sure if the similarities of all three women's life choices were meant to be a central theme or simply a coincidence.

Thao Thai's beautiful descriptions and engaging dialogue guided me, however, so I could easily make it to the end of my swimming journey. I gained the needed insight to understand the past, present, and, to some degree, the future of these women. Best of all, the author provides a strong sense of place – from South Vietnam to the swamplands of Florida.

I enjoyed experiencing Vietnamese culture through the eyes of the author. Thao Thai introduces the reader to the food, customs, and colloquial phrases of her Vietnamese heritage. Kudos for respectfully including the essential punctuation of the Vietnamese words. Thai is at her best when she describes events from the Vietnamese peoples' perspective. I craved more of it in this novel. Otherwise, a historical event reference felt obligatory and more like watching Walter Cronkite newscast.

I look forward to seeing where Thai goes from here on her journey as an author.

My love of the arts, including theatre, drew me to Priscilla Gilman’s memoir - The Critic’s Daughter. Her father was a drama critic (including Newsweek) and teacher at the prestigious Yale Drama School, so I anticipated gaining a deeper appreciation of theatre.
Although the memoir is structured into “Acts” (like a play), it reads more like a collection of New Yorker essays. The writing is solid but has a tendency to feel intellectual or academic. There are many tender father-daughter moments but I often felt too distanced from their lives to feel emotionally engaged with her story.

Susanne Pari crafted a beautiful immigrant family story that drew me in and kept me captivated. I felt I was witnessing an unraveling of an artful web of multiple viewpoints and history. The story effortlessly describes each character's contribution or thread in that web. I felt emotionally invested in each angle of the various dynamics and family relationships, such as the push and pull of the bond between sisters, the strong love between mother and daughter, and the love-hate struggle of a patriarchal father-daughter duo. I also felt that the pacing of the story was on target, giving just enough time and detail to easily gain perspective and enough momentum to keep the reader compelled and engaged.