The Girls of Good Fortune–justice after a massacre
The Girls of Good Fortune
by Kristina McMorris
Kristina McMorris has written some real gems of historical fiction. The Girls of Good Fortune is added to her portfolio as a page turner about a massacre of Chinese murderers. The historical focus, however, is not the details of the horrible event, but one daughter’s search for the truth and justice for her father and the others who were brutally slain.
Celia is the daughter of a Chinese man and a white woman. Celia, herself, appears white, but realizes that any in her bloodline could have the physical characteristics of the Chinese. While she is not ashamed of her heritage, she is shamed by members of white society when they are aware of her background. Working as a servant in Portland Mayor Bettencourt’s household in the 1880’s, she falls in love with his son Stephen. Their affair results in a pregnancy which he is not aware of before he ships off to study medicine in England.
The book begins with what seems to be a teaser in 1888 and then switches to 1885. These sudden switches occur several times and make the reader want to pull together the connections that are certainly there. A large part of the book is set in 1888 and has a convoluted plot. Neither Celia nor the reader is sure who is lying. With her daughter’s life at stake, Celia can not afford to make any mistakes or give up.
Although I never identified with Celia, I did sympathize with her dilemma and held my breath a number of times as she found herself in difficult situations—drugged, shanghaied, and imprisoned. At one point escape meant jumping in the dark into the icy ocean, joining a homeless encampment, hopping on moving trains, and disguising herself as a man. Most importantly, I felt for her as she tried to decide which of the other characters she could trust. If you like adventure, would love to abolish prejudice, enjoy historical fiction, and relish a well-written, complicated story, I recommend The Girls of Good Fortune.
I received a review copy of this book for free. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Multicultural, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. Additional information in the book is found in: Author’s Note, Themed Recipes, Reading Group Guide, and A Conversation with the Author.
2. McMorris devotes a section of her blog to this book with wonderful ideas for book clubs.
Publication: May 20, 2025—Sourcebooks Landmark
Memorable Lines:
In the role of mayor, he used to be driven by a desire to serve—a key word he’d often cited—and improve the lives of others, those of Chinese heritage included. But he’d since become consumed with climbing the political ladder, not caring who was stepped on during the ascent. How many injustices, how many slain immigrants, would it take?
She recognized more than ever: the stories people tell, to themselves above all, were often what kept them going. When looking back on life, really, who was anyone without them?
Half Broke Horses–stories of ranching
Half Broke Horses
by Jeannette Walls
Lily Casey is the protagonist of this “true-life novel,” and the story comes alive through her point of view. Born in 1901, Lily started life in west Texas on a 160 acre ranch that was too small and too dry. She was a hard worker, but she never felt sorry for herself. Her father had been kicked in the head when he was three years old and had a speech impediment. The family moved to New Mexico when the father was released from jail. Lily managed the ranch while her father wrote about Billy the Kid. Her mother was raised to be a lady.
Lily had a life of adventures. She unknowingly married a bigamist. She learned how to break horses, teach school, drive a car, and fly an airplane. She survived a tornado and poverty. She worked as a maid, but was fired for her attitude. To have a baby, she married Jim Smith who was equally hard working and honest, valuable qualities for the couple living in the Dust Bowl during the Depression. They had two children, Rosemary and Little Jim, who practically grew up on horseback until they were sent to boarding schools which neither child liked.
A British investment company bought a large, remote ranch and hired Jim to oversee it. Lily was an equal partner in their marriage. She came up with a plan to build a dam on the property since no one was getting water from wells. Her ingenuity and their hard work turned the ranch into a success. The couple wanted to have their own ranch, but didn’t want a mortgage. They were frugal and creative with money-making schemes.
Rosemary was an artistic, free spirit with the same determination that her mother had. They did not get along well and much of the book deals with their conflicts.
Half Broke Horses is character driven, but also gives what seems like a first hand view of life in the early 1900’s. It is, however, derived from the memories of Rosemary, the author’s mother, and the tales Lily told her daughter. Lily was always trying to teach her children life lessons although they often rebelled. About three-fourths of the way through the book, there is an incident that is dark, and it changes the perspectives and life trajectories of Rosemary and Lily. There are a lot of sad events in this book, but this one threw a pall over it for me. Regardless, as the author refers to it as a “true-life” novel, the reader expects veracity, and anything less would be whitewashing their lives, thereby diminishing the honest relationship already established between the author and the reader.
Rating: 4/5
Category: (Biographical) Historical Fiction
Notes: Written by the granddaughter of the protagonist
Publication: 2009—Scribner
Memorable Lines:
I was leaving the city with about as much stuff as I had arrived with. But I had learned a lot—about myself and other people. Most of those lessons had been hard ones. For example, if people want to steal from you, they get you to trust them first. And what they take from you is not only your money but also your trust.
I realized that in the months since Helen had died, I hadn’t been paying much attention to things like the sunrise, but that old sun had been coming up anyway. It didn’t really care how I felt, it was going to rise and set regardless of whether I noticed it, and if I was going to enjoy it, that was up to me.
…I realized that you can get so used to certain luxuries that you start to think they’re necessities, but when you have to forgo them, you come to see that you don’t need them after all. There was a big difference between needing things and wanting things—though a lot of people had trouble telling the two apart—and at the ranch, I could see, we’d have pretty much everything we’d need but precious little else.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel Mystery–time travel adventure
The Blue Ridge Tunnel Mystery
By MJ Rosewood
Although she debuts as a novelist with The Blue Ridge Tunnel Mystery, MJ Rosewood has a lot of experience to back up this middle grade novel. She is a long-time educator, now retired, who spent childhood summer vacations in the Blue Ridge Mountains and currently makes her home there.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel Mystery is a time travel book starring four children of different ages with individual talents and interests. The oldest at age 11, Tucker, is an inventor and a natural leader. His sister Tessa is proudly ready for second grade. She is deaf and can communicate with sign language, but also has cochlear implants. Cooper, age 10, is a voracious reader, and his sister is Haleigh. She may be wheelchair bound with spinal muscular atrophy, but she doesn’t let her disability slow her down. Together the four make a powerful team.
As summer begins, they are with their sitter Pearl when a strange occurrence transports them back in time. In fact, in this book, they time jump several times, landing at various spots important to U.S. history, and they meet people who will make a critical difference in important events. As we follow their individual travels and witness the development of their characters, two crucial questions arise: how will the children return to their own time period and will they be able to land in the same time as the other children? Along the way, they discover people who have met others from their group, but in a different past time.
All four children are brave and ingenious. More importantly, they have good character and want to help others. Despite the unbelievability of their tale, they encounter adults who are convinced of the truth of their story and want to help them, often in repayment for kindnesses the children have done for them. With dramatic rescues and dangerous missions, The Blue Ridge Tunnel Mystery holds exciting adventures and some mystery. Middle grade students will enjoy the story while learning some history. They will also be exposed to students who may need some assistance, but are nevertheless very capable and independent. I appreciated the author starting each chapter with the year the events happened and which characters were the focus of the chapter.
I received a review copy of this book for free. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Middle Grade, Fiction, Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. #1 in the Blue Ridge Kids Series.
2. Includes Author’s Notes that give insight into which parts of the book are accurate historically. The author shares a link to her webpage with more pictures and information about the setting.
3. Also valuable to readers, parents, and teachers are a glossary and a section of activities for further exploration.
4. Recommended for ages 8-12.
Publication: August 30, 2026—MJRW Press
Memorable Lines:
“Why are you feeding an enemy?” Johnny said with a scowl. “Son, we are all human. I would like to think if that young man had been you knocking on someone’s door they would do the same for you.”
Feeling alive, and not thinking about legs that didn’t work or being different, Haleigh and Madeline paddled around the beautiful lake…It was a good reminder, too, that there was more to life than physical limitations. She was truly living out her mom’s favorite saying, “You can’t change what you hide from.” This showed her anything was possible, even finding her way back home.
An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder–books and more books
An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder
By Lynn Cahoon
Meg Gates is trying to start her life over after a triple whammy—dropping out of college, losing her job at a startup that went under, and being dumped by her fiancé two days before the wedding. She considers herself a failure, but her family and two besties from high school don’t. They rally around her as she returns to Bainbridge Island, accessible by ferry from Seattle. Her aunt and uncle let her stay in an apartment over their garage. Her mother gives her a part-time job in her bookstore, and her aunt connects her with a famous author as a research assistant.
When there is a murder at the author’s estate, lots of people including Natasha, one of Meg’s most loyal friends, and even Meg’s boss come under the scrutiny of the police chief, who is Meg’s uncle. Meg’s other friend, Dalton, is everything her ex-fiancé was not, and is very understanding that Meg is not ready for anything more than friendship. Trying to prove the innocence of her friend and employer and discover the actual murderer inspires Meg to begin writing a book about non-professional sleuthing. The chapter titles of An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder are all tips that Meg plans to include in her book, such as “You might catch more flies with honey, but who wants flies?” Using Nancy Drew as inspiration when they were younger, Meg, Dalton, and Natasha used to investigate mysteries as “The Mystery Crew.” In this story, they take their skills to a whole new level, above locating missing dogs, as the stakes are quite serious.
An Amateur Sleuth’s Guide to Murder has some humor, characters with depth who are interesting, and a plot that will keep you guessing as to whodunnit. There were some surprises at the end that resulted in the reveal making sense. A favorite character would be Meg’s rescue dog, Watson, a well-behaved, tan cocker mix, who goes most places with Meg. The setting, with the juxtaposition of the city of Seattle with the isolated tourist island, plays a role in solving this crime. I have enjoyed many of Lynn Cahoon’s cozy mysteries, and this one strikes me as the start of another successful series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #1 in the Bainbridge Island Mystery Series
2. Lynn Cahoon loves to cook, and she includes a recipe for “Murderous Mac and Cheese” which she says goes well with lobster.
Publication: June 24, 2025—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“You can’t trust a man who doesn’t read.”
“I am grateful for the fact that people seem to love my books and for having the chance to meet readers. I like spending time with my characters more.”
“I always volunteered for the early shifts when I was in the Coast Guard. It’s like being at the beginning of the world when you watch the sunrise in the morning.”
