Literary Brooding

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls Grady Hendrix 482 pages, Paperback. First published January 14, 2025 It is the early 1970s and being a pregnant teenager is akin to being a blight on a society. The only way to hide the disgrace is to send them to a home, where they are reminded of their sins until the problem can be adopted away. This is the situation fifteen-year-old Fern finds herself in. Having fallen pregnant, she is shipped off and abandoned at the Wellwood House by her parents. At the home, Fern meets other young women like herself, all scared and unsure of their future. They are all told giving their child up for adoption is the only viable option and that they will be able to go back to their normal life. The control exerted over their lives is stifling. Everything that eat, drink, when they shower, what they read, where they can go is controlled. They are powerless. It is not until Fern borrows a book from a librarian about the occult does she realise she may not be powerless afte...

The Women Kristin Hannah 472 pages, Kindle Edition. First published February 6, 2024 Frances (Frankie) decides to follow her brother to Vietnam and enlists as a nurse. We follow Frankie’s journey as she experiences the lows and highs of war, the personal struggles, finding friendship, love and betrayal. I have not read any of Hannah’s work before but was aware of the hype around her body of work. I was intrigued to read about a group of women who have to navigate the trauma of war and its aftermath. For me the title is a tad misleading for the book centres on Frankie, it is her journey, and all other characters are either supporters or detractors. Frankie when we meet her is naïve and lives a sheltered privileged life in California, where country clubs and high teas are the norm. Frankie is seeking purpose and when her brother enlists, a pathway opens where she sees an opportunity to contribute. Frankie soon comes face to face on a regular basis with sexual discrimination. It is in Vie...

The Ghosts of Paris  (Billie Walker Mystery, #2) by Tara Moss  415 pages, paperback, published 7 June 2022 Billie Walker is a female private enquiry agent, who is trying to carve out an existence in post- war two Australia. She is approached by a woman to locate her missing husband of two years. The woman wants to move on and needs to know if he is alive or dead. To find out Billie must travel to London and Paris to discover the truth. While there Billie is confronted the with the ghosts of her own past.   Moss, again, creates a realistic world with characters that leap of the page.  The plotting is tight and you are treated to a history lesson as you become entwined in the danger that Billie finds herself facing. The supporting characters are realistic, and Billie certainly has to put a couple of them in their place.    This an intriguing read, lots of twists and turns. A great read for those who love historical fiction with a female protagonist....

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson 480 pages, paperback published 2 January 2025 It is 1923, dragons and humans have been working under an ever-straining peace agreement that is on the verge collapse and the drumbeats of civil war are echoing loudly. Viv Featherswallow and her family are aware of the tensions brewing, as it is a constant discussion around the dinner table. However, Viv, is focused solely on her forthcoming admission to university and remains convinced the Prime Minister will set matters straight. When her parents are arrested for siding with the rebels and Viv must care for her five-year-old sister, she decides to take drastic action.  What Viv does creates a chain reaction of events that mire her family and friends into danger and Viv realises, she must be the one to make this right.   Williamson has crafted an ingenious world, with complex governance structures and social constructs. It is a world where your ability to thrive and survive is determ...

The Great Library of Tomorrow The Book of Wisdom Trilogy #1 Rosalia Aguilar Solace 473 pages • first pub 2024 Helia is the Sage of Hope, and while performing duties with her partner Xavier, Sage of Truth, they are ambushed while visiting the Rose Gardens in the realm of Silvyra. Helia realises that the Ash Man or Suttaru, long considered a legend is very real. As he destroys the gardens, Helia and her partner are hurt but she must get back to the Great Library of Tomorrow to raise the alarm and start the fight back.   The story starts of in the thick of it with Ash Man making his presence known and that he is about to wreak havoc on all the worlds. Helia and Xavier are in a battle for their lives, and the pace is frenetic. You quickly learn that Helia and Xavier are accompanied by magical orbs that can communicate. With Helia’s escape that is when things slow down and get complicated.   You are introduced to an additional eight or ten characters that all have bearing...

Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo 453 pages, Paperback, First published 2 May 2019 Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of mainly 12 women tell their stories over several years. Each character has an individual chapter but there is a commonality between the stories as they are grouped into four sets of three.   As you commence with Amma’s story you quickly realise that there are no full stops and no quotation marks. Okay, I can handle this and adjust, even though a couple of times I did lose who was speaking and had to back track. In researching the reasons for the style chosen, I understand Evaristo adopted a style of fluid prose poetry across all 12 stories to enhance the connection.   Back to Amma who kicks everything off, as she heads toward the theatre for her professional debut as a director and playwright at the National Theatre. Amma lets us know about her struggles, challenges, successes and doubts. When you think, you’re about to find out if Amma is a ...