Friends of Dorothy by Sandi Toksvig

320 pages

Publisher: Little Brown Group UK / Virago

Release Date: September 26, 2024

 

Blurb

After much searching, the happily married young couple, Amber and Stevie think they have found the perfect spot in Grimaldi Square. Despite the rundown pub across the way, the overgrown garden and a decidedly nosy neighbour, number 4 is the house of their dreams. Stevie, a woman who has never left anything to chance, has planned everything so nothing can spoil their happiness. But ... upstairs in their new home, seated on an old red sofa is the woman they bought the place from - eighty-year-old foul-mouthed, straight-talking, wise-cracking Dorothy - who has decided that she's not going anywhere. It turns out that Dorothy will be only the first in a line of life-changing surprises.

Friends of Dorothy is a touching, funny novel about a family that is not biological, but logical; a story close to Sandi Toksvig's heart.

 

Review

The last thing anybody moving into their new house expects to find is the former owner still in situ. But that’s exactly what happens to Stevie and Amber when they take possession of number 4 Grimaldi Square. Dorothy Franklin sits comfortably on a red sofa in one of the bedrooms with a suitcase by her side and she has no intention of leaving. Despite Stevie and Amber’s best efforts, there’s no getting through to Dorothy who appears to be staying for a reason she isn’t willing to disclose.

Life with Dorothy turns out to be anything but boring. From a demolished internal wall, via delicious meals, to heart-stopping rides through London, Dorothy keeps the two young women on their toes. She also introduces them to the neighbourhood and the pub across the road that has seen better times and is called The Price of Onions. Without being sure how it happens and while they’re busy trying to come up with a solution for Dorothy that doesn’t involve her living with them, Stevie and Amber find their new life taking shape and their circle of friends growing.

This is mostly a lighthearted, at times laugh-out-loud story. However, it isn’t without its deeper and darker moments. It is also a commentary on parenting, the housing market, the way society deals with our elderly, and LGBTQ+ issues, for starters. It is fair to say that while I found myself crying on numerous occasions while reading this book, most, but not all, of those tears were triggered by laughter. Overall though I would call this a feel-good read. While the book itself states that it isn’t a fairytale, the story does come with perfect happy endings for all the characters who deserve them.

I adored this book. It’s almost certainly going to be (one of) my favourite book(s) this year and goes straight to my ‘extra-special’ list. There is so much to love on these pages. Quirky and charming characters, lively dialogue, and not a boring moment, make this a memorable read. While the stories are different, the atmosphere of this book, the diversity of the characters, and the idea of logical rather than biological families reminded me of the Tales of the City books by Armistead Maupin. Considering how much I loved those tales the comparison is a compliment.

Finally, I’m pretty sure Sandi Toksvig referenced herself in her book when she wrote:

 “That lesbian on the telly – what shername – she has kids.”

And yes, this was one of many times when I laughed out loud.

Long review short: Friends of Dorothy is a delightful book! So much so that I want to live in Grimaldi Square, be part of that world, and become one of Dorothy’s friends.

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

295 pages

Blurb

Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.

Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour—until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.

Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day. . .or are they?

Review

This is such a delightful and heartwarming romance. I think I read it from start to finish (more or less in one sitting) with a smile on my face.

Vivian is a wonderful romantic lead. Full of charm, with a great sense of humour, and an easy laugh she manages to charm everyone she meets and put them at ease. Malcolm is a bit stiffer, more set in his ways, and very recognizable as a ‘typical’ British male in that for the longest time he doesn’t ‘do’ feelings and, ignores whatever emotions he might be experiencing when it comes to Vivian.

Their coming together was smooth and natural, and the progression of their holiday fling was fluent and made perfect sense. In fact, even the aftermath, when they’re on different continents again with, as far as they can tell, no practical way to continue what they started, was logical. Yes, everything happened very fast but I really didn’t have an issue with that. I mean, why would two adults, both more or less at the midway point in their lives, waste time on silly games when they’re face to face with the opportunity to spend time with an attractive person who is obviously interested in them too?

The royal references and Vivian’s awe at everything she encounters were charming and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about two persons of colour falling for each other for a (much needed and very timely) change. It’s not that I actively avoid books about characters who don’t look just like me, it’s more that they are nowhere near as easy to find. Which makes me all the happier that this book found its way to the shelves of my library and I have no doubt I’ll recommend it to those borrowers who enjoy romantic reads.

In summary, I would call Royal Holiday a delightful and light-hearted romance with a bit of a fairy-tale feel to the story. Almost angst-free and filled with witty conversations, this book is bound to make you smile and leave you happy. Just one warning: Don’t read this book while hungry; the descriptions of the mouth-watering food Vivian gets to sample while in England made my stomach growl. 😊

Pumpkin Heads by Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks

Graphic Novel

Juvenile Fiction

Blurb

Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends.

Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say good-bye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September 1.
But this Halloween is different? Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if instead of moping they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years . . .

Review

“It’s about being the flipper not the pinball.”

Pumpkin Heads, or rather Deja’s life philosophy was exactly what I needed to pick me up today. I absolutely adored this story about friendship, loyalty, honesty, and embracing life.

This book literally has everything going for it. It’s a delightful, charming, funny, and uplifting story featuring diverse characters and filled with body-positivity. Which is not to say the book is either boring, preachy, or bland. In their quest to get Josiah to introduce himself to the girl he’s been admiring from a distance for three years, Deja and he learn about friendship while Deja shows Josiah that life needs to be lived rather than endured and that sometimes rules are meant to be broken. And while it may seem as if Deja has it all worked out and knows exactly where she’s at, it turns out that even she still has a lesson to learn about appreciating what you have rather than speculating about what might be.

Deja is, without a doubt, one of the best female characters I’ve read in recent times. She embraces life and shares her happiness and kindness with anybody willing to receive it. She’s also a fount of wisdom, as the quote I started this review with shows, just as this one does:

People all sort of look the same until I talk to them.

That’s when they start to get interesting. That’s when they start to…shimmer.

As I said, this story is very body positive. Deja isn’t your usual skinny (or white) heroine. Here we have a well-formed girl with brown skin who loves food and isn’t afraid to indulge. What’s more, the story makes it clear that not only is she very popular, the people she works with are also attracted to her. She’s the one with a string of past flings, not Josiah.

I have to admit that I have nothing with Halloween and that a lot of the food and activities mentioned in this story were new to me. And that didn’t matter at all. I laughed, smiled, and grinned my way through this book, delighted to spend time with Deja and Joshua as they cemented their friendship and discovered that sometimes what you think you’re looking for is something you already have.

I’m not much of a graphic novel reader either, because I usually prefer to paint my own pictures in my head rather than rely on somebody else’s interpretation of a character, but the artwork in Pumpkin Heads was inspired. Even my own, very vivid, imagination couldn’t have improved on the pictures of either the characters or the pumpkin patch.

If you’re looking for something to lift your mood and leave you smiling, I highly recommend Pumpkin Heads.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

338 pages

Book Club Read

Blurb

In his much-anticipated debut novel, Hank Green—cocreator of Crash Course, Vlogbrothers, and SciShow—spins a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she's part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined.

The Carls just appeared.

Roaming through New York City at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship—like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor—April and her friend, Andy, make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day, April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world—from Beijing to Buenos Aires—and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight.

Seizing the opportunity to make her mark on the world, April now has to deal with the consequences her new particular brand of fame has on her relationships, her safety, and her own identity. And all eyes are on April to figure out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring for the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye. The beginning of an exciting fiction career, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a bold and insightful novel of now.

Review

“They tell you that power corrupts … They never tell you how quickly.”

I have to be honest and admit that the main reason I picked up this book was to discover what John Green’s brother’s storytelling might be like, and that a small part of me was ready to be disappointed. In the back of my mind was a small voice telling me that Hank had probably gotten himself a book deal because of who he is (related to) and since they are as famous for their Vlog Brothers videos together as John is for those wonderful books of his. It didn’t seem too far of a stretch that a clever marketing person had decided to take advantage of all those facts. And, in a funny way, if that had been the case, it would have tied in nicely with the story in this book.

And, to be honest, for all I know what I imagined above may well be exactly what happened. Now that I finished the book it doesn’t matter anymore. Hank Green, with this book, not only took away my doubts about whether or not he might be able to write a good story, he more than surpassed any hopes I had before I started reading.

In fact, this book captivated me right from the very first, intriguing, paragraph which ends with the words:

“…but simply understanding that I am (or at least was) human.”

But, if you think that’s fascinating, it gets even better when we get to the last line of chapter two:

“That night was probably the best night’s sleep I had until after I died.”

So yeah, this was an intriguing read. The story line is fantastical, ‘science-fictiony’ even. But, while the story about the Carls, the mystery they present the world with, and the consequences of their appearance reads like a fast-paced adventure, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is so much more than a techno-thriller.

As the blurb suggests, the book deals with the issues of social media, fame, radicalization, and dehumanization, the story is deeply human and sensitive. It doesn’t hit the reader over the head with shocking truths and bleak revelations. April May’s seduction by likes, followers, and fame is both gradual and subtle. It would have been so easy to change her from a happy-go-lucky young woman into a media diva with no thought for others, but that’s not what happens. Sure, quite a few of her actions, and those of her friends, are fuelled by the fame they’ve found and the unexpected need to hang on to it, make it bigger. But I never once doubted that April’s intentions came from her heart, even if her executions ranged at times from impulsive to incredibly short-sighted.

“You can only do so much pretending before you become the thing you’re pretending to be.”

I guess it makes sense that a story that looks at social media and shows it in all its glory and horrifying nastiness should be written by someone who happens to have over three million followers on his YouTube channel. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to that sort of fame, and the dangers it brings with it. But this book is about a lot more than that. It is also a story about young people being thrown into a situation they aren’t prepared for, having to find their way in a world as foreign as if they’d landed on a different planet.

I could go on for hours about this book. I haven’t even touched on all the more interpersonal issues the story touched; the friendships, the betrayals, and forgiveness. I failed to mention that April is bisexual and, when the story starts, in a relationship with a woman of colour. I should have because, while neither is a big plot point or issue in this story, Hank Green doesn’t fail to mention that both sexuality and skin colour do cause problems in our world.

Another thing I somehow left out so far is how much I loved April May’s voice as she relates her story. Her honesty, her quirky attitude towards life, and her innate goodness, which she can never completely get away from no matter how determined she is to push her cause forward, all endeared her to me worked wonderfully well.

If, now that I finished the book, I have a complaint it is the following. The book ended on what can only be described as a cliffhanger, and I detest those. And, even worse, that intriguing line from the first paragraph doesn’t really get the explanation it deserves. I guess that won’t happen until the next book, which I’m now very eager to read. Does anybody have any idea when we may expect it?

“Books are the most intensive of all current media. People are willing to spend hours and hours with a book. Additionally, people are still willing to pay for them.”