My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie

My Dear Hamilton is the story of Eliza Hamilton, one of the Founding Mothers of the United States and wife to Revolutionary War hero and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. This is an historical fiction novel, not a biography, so not all of the details are accurate. However, there seems to be a consensus among writers that the craziest parts of historical fiction novels are the true parts. With that in mind, Eliza tells her story in relation to her husband, “the $10 Founding Father without a father.” (Hamilton: An American Musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda)

Betsy Schuyler was the daughter of General Phillip Schuyler of the Continental Army. She met Alexander Hamilton during the winter of 1780, in an under-provisioned Continental camp in New Jersey. Betsy worked with her uncle to help as many American soldiers as possible. After Betsy and Alexander married they lived in a simple home near General Washington so Hamilton could continue his work as aide de camp. After the war, the couple moved back and forth between New York City and Philadelphia, depending on where Hamilton was needed. 

Eliza (still going by Betsy, her childhood nickname) gave birth to nine children. Because of her husband's history as an orphan, she agreed to adopt a friend's daughter and foster another's son during difficult times for her family, both emotional and financial. She watched her husband make questionable decisions and was publicly humiliated by her husband's affair, which is considered the first sex scandal in American politics. She lived for almost a hundred years but she lost three children, two sisters, both her parents, and her husband within a decade. 

Eliza Hamilton was a strong woman who we don't know nearly enough about, but this book is a start. Thanks to Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton: An American Musical, everyone knows who Eliza was, but we still don't know who she really was, at the core of her being. This book is obviously well-researched and extremely well-written. I enjoyed seeing what I know from Miranda's musical from Eliza's perspective. I also liked the personal spiritual crises Eliza found herself in throughout the novel; whether it was her views on slavery in her own life versus the country as a whole or coming to terms with her husband's betrayal of their marriage vows, I felt like I was right there feeling everything she may have felt. 

I was excited to read this book for three reasons. I read America's First Daughter, the first novel co-authored by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, and loved it. I'm also a huge musical theatre geek and I know all of the lyric's to Miranda's musical. (My 4yo knows a few lyrics himself!) I've already recommended this book to five people and I'm sure I won't stop there. My final reason is the American Revolution has always been the only war I've ever been interested in. 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

SPOILER ALERT: This is book 3 in The Broken Earth trilogy.

In the final book of The Broken Earthtrilogy, Essun and Nassun are both trying to open the Obelisk Gate. Essun hopes to bring the Moon back to Father Earth so the Seasons will end at the Stillness might once again be still. Nassun has a darker purpose and a Guardian to help her. Both must travel to the other side of Earth to Corepoint, a city in the middle of the ocean, a city where obelisks were made, the city where it all began and ended. 

Another beautifully written novel, The Stone Skybrings us back in time to a world in which stone eaters were human, although they were never treated as such. In the present, Nassun grieves as she watches Schaffa, the only adult she loves and believes in anymore, slowly waste away while he fights the core stone in his brain stem. Essun is turning to stone as Alabaster did after causing the Rifting, but she doesn't seem to care too much until she wants to use her orogeny. 

This is an amazing story, a perfect ending to a remarkable series!

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

When Nadia and Saeed first meet, their country is being torn apart by war. Islamic militants take over their city and eventually the entire country. Their love is heightened by the atrocities they witness against neighbors and loved ones. When they hear whispers about doors leading to other, better countries, they're desperate to find one. Saving and scrimping, pretending to be married, the couple slips through one door, into a refugee camp. The next door brings them farther from their homeland and everything they know. But it's the final door that makes them question not just each other, but themselves as well.

This is a brilliant book about the horrors people face in the homelands before they become refugees, as well as the indifference, hatred, and bigotry they face as refugees. I love the prose, I think Hamid's writing has a nice flow to it, and I'm amazed that he could be vague and specific at the same time. The only aspect of the story I didn't like was Nadia's insistence on wearing the black robe in public, especially after leaving the country, because she thought it made her safer. 

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Maya is a typical American teenager in a typical small town. The only thing that makes her different from everyone else in her town is her background. She's Muslim and her parents emigrated to the United States from India before she was born. She's torn between doing what her family wants and what makes her happy, as we all are. After a terrorist attack her family is suddenly plunged into violence and hatred from people in their peaceful community. 

DISCLAIMER:

I am a white woman in America and have no idea what it's like to be anything other than a white woman in America.

I was very excited to read this book, I love reading anything about different cultures, especially the ones that bring the culture into America. I was very disappointed, however, because Maya doesn't seem much different from other Muslim or Indian characters I've read about in the past. I enjoyed the scene snippets before each chapter, a kind of foreshadowing of events to come. I think the portrayal of the aftermath was very believable, as bigoted white folks are known for attacking minorities in this country. 

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

Book 3 in the MaddAddam trilogy.

In the final novel of the series, Atwood combines the characters of the first two books in their fight to survive not just the end of the world, but the ruthless criminals who are hunting them. Toby becomes something of a prophet to the Crakers while Snowman-the-Jimmy recovers from his festering foot wound. The group of former God's Gardeners, former MaddAddamites, and Crakers makes an even odder alliance in order to defeat the Painballers before they're attacked. Our flashbacks follow Zeb, a God's Gardener who ripped the cult in half years ago. He's desperate to find Adam One, just for the peace of mind of knowing if he's alive or dead.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I think it's the best of the series. While there are plenty of flashbacks into Zeb's childhood and life before the God's Gardeners, I feel like this book stayed in the present more than the first two. I loved the interactions between the humans and pigoons, especially the Craker involvement. I had quite a few laugh out loud moments when Toby relates stories to the Crakers. All in all, a great ending to a great trilogy.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, a Native American of the Wampanoag tribe of Martha's Vineyard, was the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. This fictional account of his life is told by Bethia Mayfield, the daughter of the pastor who educates Caleb on Martha's Vineyard. Both Caleb's and Bethia's lives are marked by death when they are still teenagers. Bethia feels like Caleb is her brother and she stops at nothing to save his life. 

Bethia is a wonderful narrator, showing us exactly what life was like on the island in the mid-17^thCentury. As the daughter of a Calvinist minister, Bethia is torn between her religion and the Wampanoag beliefs she learns about from Caleb. Her home life is disrupted when Caleb comes to live with her family after the deaths of most of his tribe. This is exacerbated by the jealousy and hatred of Caleb by Makepeace, Bethia's older brother, because he believes a “salvage” shouldn't be smarter than an Englishman. 

As with Brooks' other novels, this is a beautifully written story of love, family, and hope. 

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

In the second book in the Broken Earth trilogy, we follow Essun and now her daughter Nassun as they explore their orogenic powers by connecting to the obelisks floating above the continent. Castrima is threatened by another comm demanding they give up every orogene if they want to live. Nassun learns how to control her power in the Antarctics under Schaffa's watchful eye while Essun learns everything she can from Alabaster in his weakening state. But is it enough to bring the moon back?

Jemisin's magic continues as we see through both Essun's and Nassun's eyes. You are still Essun, but there is a new POV, there is an I. The jumps from first, second, to third person flows seamlessly because each POV is written so well that it's not as noticeable as one would think. While both Essun and Nassun believe they are trying to save the earth, at this point we have no idea whose methods will win, or even if that win is good for not only earth but humanity as well. 

Ringer by Lauren Oliver

SPOILER ALERT:

This is book 2 in the Replica duology. I do not have a review of Replica because I read it before starting this blog. 

Three weeks after Gemma returns home and Lyra is reunited with the father she doesn't remember, the Suits come after the Replicas. When Gemma tries to warn Lyra she is mistaken for a Replica and herded into an abandoned rural airport. Lyra travels to Pennsylvania with Caelum, the Replica who helped her survive the fire at Haven. Lyra and Caelum search for Haven's “God” to save Lyra from the prions eating away at her brain. Gemma, once she's locked up with four Replicas who look exactly like her, can't convince anyone she's not really a Replica. After befriending one of her Replicas, Calliope, she realizes just how different the Replicas are. 

When I read Replica, I read all of Gemma's story and then all of Lyra's story. So this time I decided to mix the stories up. Lauren Oliver gives us the choice as to how we read this story and it's wonderful. When you have multiple narrators, most authors switch back and forth when they want to, meaning they're controlling how you read and interpret the story. But what if you could choose who to follow and when you follow them? Would it change your reading experience? 

I started with Gemma and read the first half of her part one before reading all of Lyra's part one, finishing with Gemma's. Part two was Gemma, Lyra, Gemma, Lyra. Part three was Gemma, Lyra, Gemma. 

This is a crazy book, however you read it. Oliver weaves science (prion disease) with the dystopian (the government using clones and “orphans” for human medical testing). While Lyra, our “Replica” isn't actually a clone and her friend Gemma is one of the first, they have uniquely different experiences. Gemma fights against Calliope, one of her Replicas, while Lyra fights against the disease the Haven “Gods” gave her, just to save Gemma.