fiction

In this stunning debut by Sarah Penner, The Lost Apothecary weaves the reader between present day and the late 18th-century London. Part mystery, part women’s fiction, part history, I found this to be a page-turner. Particularly intriguing is the apothecary herself, Nella, who provides poisons to women whose men done ’em wrong. Her body is rebelling against her, in large part, she believes, because of her guilt about her work. Basically, Penner turns a serial killer into a sympathetic character, which is no easy feat.

Caroline, the protagonist of the present-time story, has arrived in London for what would have been her tenth anniversary…but arrives alone. Like many women, she allowed life and marriage to take over and forgot her own dreams. On an outing, she finds an apothecary bottle that awakens her interest in history. Soon she is sleuthing the past to learn more about the woman who owned that bottle.

Nella keeps a record of every woman who came to her shop, including their name, the person who is to be poisoned, and the substance used. It is her way of keeping these women from disappearing entirely. Yet she herself was to disappear before Caroline rediscovered her.

As a side note, my upcoming novel, The Factory Girl and the Fey, also tells of a woman who disappeared from history, and is my attempt to give her the recognition she deserves. Perhaps that is why this story intrigued me so much, the pain of having women fall into obscurity.

I could not put this book down. Enjoy!

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If you enjoy this blog, please consider purchasing one or more of my books. The Factory Girl and the Fey, a historical fantasy, is coming this fall, so stay tuned for more details! For more info on my contemporary women’s fiction, click here.

Starting in June, I’ll add a second blog post about topics not related to book reviews. Stay tuned!

Many of the books I’ve read recently have been well-known and best sellers. This week, I explore the work of emerging author Kerry Chaput and her recent release, My Boring Life.

Set in 1969, the novel centers around Gavenia, a young woman whose first year at Barnard has not gone well, and she’s on the verge of flunking out. She must complete several assignments during the summer to try to earn her place back.

As she returns home to lick her wounds and ponder her future, she faces her brother who has been wounded in Vietnam, a sister who lives at home and spends her days protesting the war, and two parents who are both hilarious and clueless. The family emigrated from Great Britain, with Gavenia being the only child born in the U.S., and there’s a parade of British food and customs, whether Gavenia likes them or not.

Simon, a crush from Gavenia’s younger days, reappears and sparks fly. But will he distract her from her schoolwork?

With humor and heart, My Boring Life explores a turbulent time in history that brought back many memories for me. Chaput uses music, television shows, and other imagery to anchor readers to that time period. Though the tone is light, she does not gloss over the seriousness of the issues she explores, including PTSD, the anger over the war, and Gavenia’s own dilemmas. After all, when someone is coming of age, their problems loom as large to them as any on the national stage.

I found myself wondering what the characters would be like today, decades later. Gavenia would be a few years older than I am, and I wanted to know how she ended up. That’s not a usual response for me.

This is a small press book, and there are a few editorial/proofreading glitches in the book (though I can usually find some in nearly everything I read these days). But the story is wonderful, and I hope we see a lot more of Ms. Chaput’s work.