The City We Became - by N.K.Jemisin

I just finished this story last night. This was a 4 star read for me. I enjoyed it. I really wanted it to "wow" me but it somehow missed that mark. I think there's several reasons for this. One is the ending, I wanted a bit more of a cliff-hanger, and the other is the world building.

The world building in this book is deliberately slow and what I liked about it is also what I didn't like about it -- I was a bit confused in the beginning, seeing things happening to my main character who I had no time to really get to know -- and being as confused as the character was disorienting. However, I would much rather "learn" as the characters do, rather than be "told" what's happening. It made for a slow start, however, whenever your discovery is the character's discovery time-frame it causes something magical. It bonds you more to that character.

 My concerns for this trilogy was that this first book did not end on enough of a cliff hanger. I'm not entirely sure that I need to read the 2nd book, however, due to the slow world building in this one, the next one will most likely not be as confusing. One thing is for sure - I will enjoy finding out how Staten Island turns out - will she evolve or be destroyed? Will NYC survive? Or will the multiverse survive instead? Which is the moral conclusion?

This story definitely finds ways to explore some heavy questions like - if our world lives - is it moral if it destroys countless others? Is it morally wrong for the Woman in White to try to save those multiverses, even if it means destroying ours?

The things I enjoyed the most about this story are the discovery and development of the "boroughs" - each with its own strengths and biases. I enjoyed the diversity in the book with excellent representation, although for once, the antagonist is not just white, but envelops everything in white "feathers" which controls people, or "influences" them to be racist against people of color. The symbolism of the "white" feathers was not lost on me. The racism of Staten Island and the portrayal of the only white woman in the story as a moronic racist was disappointing, but on the flip side, it was great to see that the city was being saved by a variety of people of color. White (the color as well as the skin) is definitely not "right" in this book, but I'm okay with it; I get it. My favorite character in the story was Bronca, the Bronx borough. Her reactions and commentary on things cracked me up and I loved that she represented an older woman. Older people are always shoved aside in literature, so it was great to see her character as an older native american woman.

I'm hoping it's sequel, now that The City we Became has laid the foundation, will deliver the wow factor I'm looking for. I'll be counting on it!

Hidden Valley Road - Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

Hidden Valley Road - as the photo above implies - I listened to this on audio rather than traditionally reading it. I find that non-fiction on audio is so much more engaging, and this one was no exception to that rule. I really enjoyed hearing about the scientific treatment history of schizophrenia in America from about the 50s to today, as well as the parts about the family history itself.

In the Galvin family, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, 6 of the 10 boys in the family developed schizophrenia, the other 4 boys and 2 girls did not. When the boys first started showing signs of outrageous behavior and psychotic breaks, this must've been really difficult for their mother. After all, we're talking about the 50s-70s here where most ill-behaved children were believed to have just "not been parented well." The huge debate of "nature-vs-nurture" has been around the 1870s but for inability to prove the nature aspects (things like genes, DNA), it was just so easy to point the finger at the nurturer (usually the mother, but whomever was the principle care-giver) or to some traumatic incident in childhood. Thus, as a mother in high society, such as the Galvins were, the need to present this "perfect family" or to avoid scorn and the spurn of distrust, their mother - Mimi - had a hard way to go. She did attempt to get help for her sons, but perhaps where she went wrong was in the way she made excuses for their behavior, the way she coddled and gave them all of her strength, leaving little (so the others claim) for the healthy children. Several of the children claimed abuse of various kinds from the affected boys such as physical and sexual abuse. To think that this was overlooked or missed as a parent must be devastating. I wouldn't have wanted to be in ANY of their shoes - not the boys so unlucky to have developed schizophrenia, nor the parents, nor the healthy children. I really think this book probably only hits the edge of the full gamut of the nightmare it must've been to be in this family.

All this aside, the most interesting thing was how many of the children developed this in one family. The research that came from studying this family (and others with multiple members positive for schizophrenia) is amazing. Eventually they were able to pinpoint certain DNA/genes that can cause the development of the disease. They studied the brain via MRIs and other technology to confirm that the brains of those with schizophrenia look different than those of a brain without the disease. It also, much like autism it is not necessarily obviously present at birth - and develops over time, albeit autism much earlier in life - with schizo usually developing in late teens or early 20s.

In the realm of genetic research, I believe they did find the genes that can develop into schizophrenia, but the fact is, it doesn't necessarily mean it will develop. But why? An interesting spin on nature vs nurture is the discoveries/assumptions made about a chemical substance called Choline. Choline is one of the substances found in cigarettes. One researcher, upon noting that schizophrenia patients craved constant cigarettes, found proof that the choline in the cigarettes produced a calming sensation and that is why for those patients, they heavily used them. The researcher then tried to tie that to diet, to see if choline consumption in diet could affect the fetus's chances of later developing schizophrenia, however, the only way to do this was via a clinical trial that will last for at least another 20 years. They took patients who had the genes of schizophrenia, and when they became pregnant, had them take supplements that increased choline, then will study those children over the next decade or so to see if they develop schizophrenia or not. Will the patients with the placebo (rather than the choline) be at greater risk of developing schizophrenia? Will choline in utero be the answer to eradicating this brain disease? It's just fascinating to think in less than 50 years, this may be the key to ending Schizophrenia and perhaps other brain-related diseases.

If we think on mental illness as a brain disease, it takes so much more of the stigma from it. One cannot help from which genes one comes from, and these types of ailments are just a combination of genes - it's really a luck of the draw genetically. What if we could eradicate all brain disease related mental health issues from us as we eradicated polio? Just from something as "simple" as our nutritional supplements? It's amazing to think of how complex our bodies and brains are.

As for the audiobook, I'll give the narrator a 4.5 - I enjoyed listening and he was engaging in the telling of the story.

As for the story itself, I do have some criticisms - such as - I felt like the story did not have to be 13 hours long. I would've rather it have been about 8 hours long, because that is where i found myself starting to wish it was just over. Personal problem perhaps. LOL.

I also am a bit confused about why only ONE of the sibling's children were discussed. Perhaps the others did not want to be involved in the project, but it would've been interesting to get some statistics on how many of the brothers with the disease have children that developed it? Did any of the children without the disease manage to have children with the disease? In addition to following the children of Choline through a clinical study, it would be great to see Mimi's descendents also participate in a study for a few more generations to see how many of 12 children produced children with the disease as well? This piece of the puzzle for me is missing.

The ending, focusing on Lindsey's family (one of the two sisters), was really not needed unless we were going to look at everyone's children for context. I disagreed with Lindsey's assumption that since she was able to get her son (anxiety) expensive help, that this is why he "turned out so well" - that may be true, however, her son did NOT have schizophrenia. And she does not have 12 children to take care of. I also did not care for Lindsey's judgement of her sister's decision to cut ties with the family. Lindsey found strength and healing through serving her family; her sister found strength in divorcing herself from those that hurt her. In the world of therapy, probably each of those avenues has it's merits. No two people can heal the same way, so I although I personally in my heart think that families should work to heal together and keep their relationships, I totally understand why for some so abused would choose not to - and that's totally their right and they should not be made to feel less than for choosing it.

Overall I'd give this audiobook a 4 star rating, but I do believe it would've been better if it had been shorter, and if the statistics of the family after the decades of hearing them grow up, would've been a nicer closure. I still recommend this book, it was very informative on the disease and very eye-opening on the history of the disease. Those of you interested in psychology, psychiatry, or neurological studies, would especially enjoy this book!

Dance Away with Me by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

In this contemporary story, Tess Hartsong flees her life after she realizes she just can't cope with the unexpected death of her husband. It is three years since and she still is full of anger and restlessness and sorrow, so she uproots herself and decides to go to the mountains of Tennessee where she can heal and reimagine her life. She chooses a  remote cabin in the woods, where she locks herself up teetering between despair and intense anger and restlessness. When she shakes off her sadness, it's anger that drives the wild dances she does on her porch, along with blaringly loud music, even in the rain, in her underwear - and why not -- she's in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors for miles. Or so she thinks...

Along the path comes a man yelling at her to turn down the music at whom she yells right back. This man is Ian North the IV, a famous street artist who ironically came from NYC to the "middle of nowhere" to reimagine his art, to find focus. Instead, he finds Tess, who is disturbing his solitude. Along with this grumpy miserable man comes a very pregnant woman after him, sending him back to their place, a refurbished old schoolhouse now a beautiful mountain home. This woman, Bianca,  who Tess describes as "ethereal" a "wood sprite" promptly removes all of her clothes while talking to Tess, insisting that she's uncomfortable in them due to the heat and her pregnancy, but is really just the type of woman to jump into immediate intimacy with people. She strikes up a friendship with Tess, but there is friction from Ian, who seems to resent Tess's presence at every turn. 

Ian just wants his art to evolve and still be relevant. Bianca just wants to play house and have her baby. Tess just wants to heal from the unexpected loss of her young husband. But just as in real life, they wont all get what they want, and what they want will change and evolve, sometimes by choice, sometimes by fate.

Being familiar with the beauty of the Tennessee mountains, I found this setting really unique and I loved the small town in it, and how it evolves along with the newcomers. Ms. Phillips did an excellent job of creating believably flawed and cautious characters, while also creating some delicious sexual tension, as well as developing some friction between Tess and townsfolk.

Although contemporary, or women's lit, is not my usual genre (historical fiction), I do enjoy reading something that has a familiar modern feel that has the tension and plot to move it along and make it enjoyable, especially when I enjoy the characters, as I did in this story.

I decided to read this and found it relaxing and enjoyable. After this last week being full of stress, national, and local turmoil, this book was a safe haven to ease my frazzled feelings, and soften those edges in my mind. I appreciate a book that can do that.

A big thank you to my contacts at William Morrow who somehow put me, and keep me, on their contact lists and sent me this book to highlight and review. 

I recommend this book to anyone seeking a sweet story that will have just the right amount of tension vs heartwarming moments! I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author.