Flying Circus by Susan Crandall

Since we are celebrating the 4th of July, it seemed appropriate to write about The Flying Circus by Susan Crandall which features barnstormers, daredevils and early aviation history in America.  This novel, beginning in 1923, tells the story of three misfits: Henry, Gil, and Cora.

As readers, we know the secrets, frustrations and pain which each faces. One is an orphan running from the law and injustice; another is a former WWI pilot who needs to heal from the wounds of war and star-crossed love; and the third chafes at society’s expectations and struggles to answer a deep desire for risk and fame.  Together, they eventually make a family of sorts and travel to small towns offering rides and performing exciting stunts.

I most enjoyed the historical fiction aspects of this novel: the wonder (and danger) of early, unregulated flight, the ability to change one’s name and re-invent oneself and the relatively rural settings.  Since childhood, I knew that cows often sit down when it is going to rain but I only learned from this story that they also serve as a sort of windsock – facing away from the wind.

Romance, suspense and glamour (there are trips to Hollywood and Miami) each play a part in this story filled with secrets.  However, author Susan Crandall tends towards repetition when trying to fully develop all of the characters, especially Henry who struggles with fate and his conscience throughout the novel. Crandall also wrote the award-winning Whistling Past the Graveyard, another work of historical fiction focusing on the Civil Rights Movement.

The Secrets She Keeps by Deb Caletti

The Secrets She Keeps by Deb Caletti is a book to savor.  I have read and recommended Caletti’s YA fiction (e.g., The Nature of Jade) and I was expecting another YA title, but this novel is geared more to adults because of its reflections on marriage and divorce. The Secrets She Keeps alternates between two stories, one set in the summer of 1951 and one in the present day. Both occur at Tamarosa Ranch, which offered a haven for women needing a six week residency in Nevada in order to obtain a quick divorce in the 50’s. Today, that ranch is significantly run-down when two sisters, Callie and Shaye, arrive independently to escape their own situations and help their aunt, Nash.

It is Nash who narrates the story of herself as a teenager left in charge during that long ago summer. Through her recollections, we meet several society guests: timid Ellen, out-to-shock Veronica, pregnant movie actress Lilly. The chapters truly interweave so well and yet I easily found myself immersed in each time period. In the present, sisters Callie and Shaye are both experiencing marriage issues and reflecting on their own life choices as they try to understand what might be motivating a now elderly Nash’s unusual activities.

I read The Secrets She Keeps quickly, but did not want it to end because I had so much affection for the characters and respect for Caletti’s wry observations.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

• “You know way too much about each other when you’re married; that’s one of the problems.  Another is that you know way too little.”
• “I considered making brownies and eating the whole pan of them while polishing off a bottle of wine.”
• “One thing Nash has realized about love … is how powerful and powerless it makes you feel at the same time.”
• “It was shocking the amount of trouble well-meaning people could cause.”

And those are just from the first few chapters. I am rating The Secrets She Keeps as highly recommended for a certain audience – this story of sisterhood and friendship is one not to miss if you are looking for a “feel good” read this summer by an award-winning author.

Note for Teens: Novelist describes Caletti’s writing for young adults as featuring “teenage characters with strong, authentic voices…. filled with humor, insight, compassion, and inspiring messages“ and suggests starting with Honey, Baby, Sweetheart which was a National Book Award Finalist.

The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson

Isn’t the cover absolutely beautiful for The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson?  It conveys so much of the Caribbean flavor of this story which is set in Barbados and centers on two sisters, Dionne (16) and Phaedra (10). Their mother, Avril, is struggling and has sent the girls away from Brooklyn to spend the summer with their grandmother, Hyacinth.  She is a midwife and local “wise woman” who exposes the sisters to family history and to another culture and way of thinking. The pace of the story, to me, is slow and thoughtful as this debut author movingly explores how both Dionne and Phaedra gradually come of age and learn to deal with loss and opportunity in different ways.

This is a story about love – for family and for people of different generations, for places, especially “home,” and for self. I first read an excerpt of The Star Side of Bird Hill in the Buzz Books promotional materials and I am grateful for an advance copy from the publisher who has an online book club kit.  The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 30th.  It received a starred review from Library Journal.