Best. State. Ever. A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry

 

Second Book Club Book #15

The title of this book is perfectly accurate. Barry spends the entire time defending his homeland of Florida. His methods are a little unconventional though. Rather than convince the reader that Florida is not, in fact, as unusual as it's portrayed, he embraces the strangeness. Weird things happen in Florida. They're often the norm rather than the exception. That's cool for Barry, who uses this book as an opportunity to highlight a few of the more permanent facets of strange you'll only find in Florida.

From a natural spring where "mermaids" perform all the way to an entire city made up of line-dancing retirees, Florida has plenty going on that makes it stand out. Barry gets in deep, experiencing each location he writes about in person, giving us an observational, historical, and sometimes political perspective on where he's at. It's a great combination and an engaging way to learn.

Barry is also funny. His humor, mostly presented like he's side-whispering to us so the rest of the crowd won't hear, fits the mood of the absurd locations in Florida he's hanging out in. I laughed out loud more than once.

This short book isn't going to change your mind if you've already developed a serious opinion about Florida. It's going to reaffirm that there's some strange stuff going on down there, but at the same time it opens up the state. There's nothing warm and fuzzy, but there's a piqued curiosity, a desire to maybe look a little closer at some of those roadside attractions and well-known pit stops. 

This one is a lot of fun to read.

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

 

I have to start off by saying that this was an amazing book. Every character was perfectly written. The flow of the story was ideal. I loved that there's a 'villian,' (no spoilers, I promise.) I loved the connectivity of all the characters throughout the book and on into the epilogue-style ending. I just can't say enough.

To break down the plot, Emira is a mid-twenties babysitter who's about to age out of her parents' health insurance. She loves little Briar, who she cares for, but realizes that this isn't a sustainable career.

While in flux about her future, she begins to form this odd relationship with her boss, Alix Chamberlain, mostly because Alix is extremely interested in getting to know Emira. It's an almost cringe-worthy situation of the older mom trying to connect with a younger person, and having no idea how to really do it.

Emira also, during this time, meets Kelley. He's a little older than she is too, but he likes her, treats her well, and they start dating. Emira also has a strong core group of girlfriends supporting her, who are there for her along the way.

It's all pretty standard, until it isn't. Emira is black, and one night, when she's at the grocery store with (white) Briar, around the corner from her boss' house in a predominantly white neighborhood, her professionalism gets called into question. A white security guard stops Emira and Briar, questions the legitimacy of Emira having Briar in her custody, and refuses to let them leave the store. It's all settled when Briar's dad comes to the store, but holy shit, it's sad the world is like this.

A video of the whole incident is captured, but safely hidden in Emira's email. She wants to forget the whole thing and just move forward. This, however, is just one example of the perspective your race gives you over another that's found throughout the book. Misconceptions about who she is and a need to "help" Emira because she's not white are effectively strewn throughout the book. All of this is often done before anyone takes a moment to get to know Emira, or ask her what she wants. It's such a deep topic inlaid in such a relatable story. Perfection.

While race is a central theme of the book, it's also a story about personal struggles. Each character is dealing with imperfections in their own personality, struggling and sometimes overcoming, their own shortcomings. These themes add a universal quality to the story that makes it something more than a fictionalized breakdown of white privilege and the oblivious nature we sometimes possess when talking to others in different phases of their lives.

And then, you get to the end --- Whoa! It's so amazing. That's all I'll say about that.

This book did an excellent job of hitting on so many current and ongoing themes any individual could face. It was truly a joy to read. I learned some things, felt a lot, and appreciated the opportunity to reflect on my own behaviors when in situations similar to these. Sometimes, I saw myself as the older white lady, but sometimes I was the 20-year-old still trying to find myself. Nice work! Go read this!

Outlawed by Anna North

 

Book club book #14

Well, let me begin by saying that this book had potential. Multiple plot points paved the way for some interesting and thought-provoking stuff. However, with an underdeveloped and choppy plot, two-dimensional characters, and way too much left unexplained, the book falls SHORT.

It's even hard to really say what Outlawed is about at its core. The book takes place in an alternate reality in the 1890's. A massive Flu took out a huge percentage of the population and transformed the US into a series of small, independent towns (I think.) Many of these towns have developed on top of the bodies of those who perished from illness, leaving a superstitious population still willing to accuse women of witchcraft.

This is especially true for women who can't have children. Since they don't understand the science behind barren women, once they marry them off at a young age, if they don't have a baby within about a year, they're kicked out of their husband's home. Some survive, some flee, others are hanged as witches. 

Ada, the main character, is one such woman. After failing to bear a child within the first year of her marriage, she's sent back home to her mother and whispers of her witchcraft begin to rumble through town. To escape, her mother sends her away to a convent. There's a price on her head and a sheriff out looking for her, so hiding out at the convent would be wise, but it's not for her. Off Ada goes to try and join up with the Hole in the Wall gang, led by the infamous Kid.

While in the company of the Hole in Wall gang, Ada discovers her true calling, her true talent. She also learns how to ride a horse, defend herself, shoot a gun, and disguise herself as a man. Like I said, there's a lot going on here. In the end, Ada decides to fight for her true path, giving us a hopeful and inspiring ending minus all the information you were hoping to get about the future of the characters you've been following all along.

This book could have been an ode to feminism in the wake of uneducated, brutal men. But, they give the strongest female a serious weakness. It could have been a book about those on the fringes of a society coming together to find peace, but the gang doesn't really let anyone else in who might have benefited from their protection. We could have just ended up with a good 'ole, female-led Western, but it fails to get there as well.

Something about this story just didn't deliver, and I'm not sure I liked what was there enough to care about what was missing. I wish the author had focused more on a single tangent though, so there was less to follow, and less to wonder about once we reached the end. It also would have helped flush out her characters, in my opinion. A lot of things in here felt a little flat, or too quickly resolved with a single flashback.

You might want to skip this one, or at least go into reading it like you'd watch a single episode of a TV show -- you know most things won't get resolved by the end.