Starlight Book Review – Ann Dávila Cardinal’s The Storyteller’s Death 🇵🇷

Cover of The Storyteller’s Death on a dark chartreuse background | Image Source: Goodreads

Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Bonus – Puerto Rico

3.8/5 After I posted my last review for the World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I realized I still owed my Gnomies one more Starlight Book Review (SBR) for the RUSA SRC. Initially, the idea of reading something set in a U.S. Territory thrilled me. Since the Book Girls’ Guide inspired this SRC region, I also looked to them for direction on reading. Check them out by clicking here. This, of course, led me to discovering Ann Dávila Cardinal’s The Storyteller’s Death. I chose to read with my ears with the copy narrated by Marisol Ramirez that I purchased on Audible.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): Mention of suicide, racism, colorism, classism 

“From International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal comes a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican woman who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability.… There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family’s house when Isla was a child…Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage… When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family’s cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her… At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can’t solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life.”

Once I finished my library books and began reading The Storyteller’s Death, I read this book with ease. Isla passed the “Dad Test” of sympathetic character, so much so that I cringed right along with her at her mother’s various gaffes. I liked how the author showed Isla’s grieving process. Cardinal set the scenes well enough that I saw that parts took place in Puerto Rico. Yet, I found the ending too tidy. Yet, the author evoked a strong sense of both Puerto Rico and New Jersey. I recommend this to fans of magical realism.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog 🦔🇫🇷

Cover of The Elegance of the Hedgehog on a blue background | Image Source: Goodreads

World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Bonus – France

Translated from French

3.8/5 In my reading life, I felt I ventured to literary darling Paris, France numerous times. For the World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I aimed to read books written in the main language and translated to English for the In Translation Journey SRC. After pouring over scads of reviews, I chose Muriel Barbery’s The Elegance of the Hedgehog despite the fact that the book isn’t the first in a series.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): This novel contains references to self-harm and death by suicide.

“A moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us…. We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. Renée, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, Renée is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the building’s tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence…. Then there’s Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter….Paloma and Renée hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain Paloma’s trust and to see through Renée’s timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.”

While uncomfortable with Paloma’s plan to kill herself, I found myself enjoying The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I smiled when Renée said she liked reading Harry Bosch books because I was on a Michael Connelly kick at the time. I consider The Elegance of the Hedgehog a leisurely stroll of a book. I admit, though, I became impatient for the initial interaction between the two main characters. Also, the booked ended on a rather bittersweet note. Still and all, I liked visiting Paris on the ticket provided by Barbery.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review -Minnie Darke’s With Love from Wish & Co. – 🇦🇺

Cover of With Love from Wish & Co. by Minnie Darke on a purple background | Image Source: Goodreads

World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Australia

4.25/5 As I looked for a book set in Australia, a most stellar Gnomie mentioned With Love from Wish & Co. by Australian author Minnie Darke. This sounded excellent — a rom-com sort of read from a new-to-me author.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

“A heartwarming novel about what we are prepared to give–and give up–in the name of love, from the author of Star-Crossed and The Lost Love Song.… Two boxes, both alike in size and shape . . . Marnie Fairchild is the brains and talent behind Wish & Co., a boutique store that offers a bespoke gift-buying service to wealthy clients with complicated lives. Brian Charlesworth is Marnie’s most prized customer, and today she’s wrapping the perfect anniversary gift for his wife, Suzanne . . . and a birthday present for his mistress, Leona. What could possibly go wrong?… For years, Marnie’s had her heart set on moving Wish & Co. to the historic shopfront once owned by her grandfather. When the chance to bid for the property unexpectedly arises, Marnie–distracted–makes an uncharacteristic mistake. Soon Brian is in a fight to rescue his marriage, and Marnie is scrabbling to keep her dreams alive. With the situation so complicated, the last thing Marnie needs is to fall for Brian and Suzanne’s gorgeous son, Luke. In the end, will it be her head or her heart that wins out?”

With Love from Wish & Co made my top reads of 2023 list. I enjoyed getting to know Marnie and Luke and felt as though I was reading a movie in which I cast the actors. Also, I found it a bonus that I had to look up some Aussie terms because this transported me to the Land Down Under. Darke created a novel with some meat to it. Yes, I mostly delighted in reading the book but With Love from Wish & Co yielded some food for thought. Along with some of the characters, I wondered about the ethics of gift-giving. As some other reviewers wrote, I, too, found some parts lagging and I had little interest in reading about Leona, the mistress’ point of view. I imagine, however, other readers wanted to know her side of things. Overall, I enjoyed With Love from Wish & Co.

Click here to read the Starry Says Episode on my 2023 Top Reads.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review -Martha Batalha’s The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao – 🇧🇷

Cover of The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha on a green background | Image Source: Goodreads

World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Brazil

Translated from Portuguese

4/5 I have always wanted to visit Brazil. Of course, an easy ticket to this glittering jewel in the Southern Hemisphere is via literature. My search for such a book led me to The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): period typical racism (also showing as fetishization) and sexism.

“Euridice is young, beautiful and ambitious, but when her rebellious sister Guida elopes, she sets her own aspirations aside and vows to settle down as a model wife and daughter. And yet as her husband’s professional success grows, so does Euridice’s feeling of restlessness. She embarks on a series of secret projects – from creating recipe books to becoming the most sought-after seamstress in town – but each is doomed to failure. Her tradition-loving husband is not interested in an independent wife. And then one day Guida appears at the door with her young son and a terrible story of hardship and abandonment. The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is a wildly inventive, wickedly funny and keenly observed tale of two sisters who, surrounded by a cast of unforgettable characters, assert their independence and courageously carve a path of their own in 1940s Rio de Janeiro. A deeply human and truly unforgettable novel from one of the most exciting new voices in world literature.”

At first, I enjoyed reading The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao. I liked and cared about the titular character, Euridice. I often wanted to climb into the book to give her husband, Antenor, a piece of my mind. Batalha painted a vivid picture in this charming work of the Gusmaos’ home life. I docked the book a star, though, because it delved into many of the other characters and I wanted more Euridice. Nevertheless, I highly recommend to fans of historical fiction with a dash of magical realism.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis’ The Boy in the Suitcase 🇩🇰

Cover of The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis on a light cyan background | Image Source: Goodreads

World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Denmark

Translated from Danish

3.8/5 In 2023, I aimed to read books by “new to me writers” alongside the Stellar Reading Challenges (SRC). Since some of my heritage and much of the “Starry Night Elf” persona derives from Denmark, this seemed extra challenging as I previously sought out Danish writers. Of course, I read Hans Christian Andersen. I also read mysteries by Jussi Adler-Olsen and Sara Blædel. At the start, I wanted a book other than something “Nordic Noir” but, just the title alone of The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis compelled me to read the book.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

“Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can’t say no when someone asks for help—even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive… Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy’s are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down.”

The Boy in the Suitcase made for a quick, fast-paced read. Kaaberbøl and Friis pulled me in with a stunning amount of ferocity. Nina Borg and the three-year old child of the title gained my sympathy in an instant; I finished this book because I wanted to see the kid through to a safe and prosperous end. I must also mention that a quarter of the action, possibly a third, took place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius which added a language barrier to the already dire situation on Borg’s hands. In the end, though, I deducted stars from The Boy in the Suitcase for some of the major ick factor (i.e. – who drugs a child and stuffs him in a suitcase?) and that the book seemed written for a Danish audience. Regarding the latter, the book assumed I knew more about Copenhagen than I do. Still, the book riveted me to it and I might try others in the Nina Borg series.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue 🇪🇬

Cover of The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz on an “Egyptian Blue” background | Image Source: Goodreads

World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Egypt

Translated from Arabic

3.6/5 When I sought a books set in Egypt, preferably translated from a language other than English for the 2023 World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), all roads led to Basma Abdel Aziz’s The Queue. In fact, this shorter book, available via my library’s Libby holding, seemed designed for this particular SRC. The cover, an Egyptian-style eye, further compelled me to read it.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): body horror (gun wound), torture, sexism, religion, war, governmental oppression, loss of a loved one

“Set against the backdrop of a failed political uprising, The Queue is a chilling debut that evokes Orwellian dystopia, Kafkaesque surrealism, and a very real vision of life after the Arab Spring.… In a surreal, but familiar, vision of modern day Egypt, a centralized authority known as ‘the Gate’ has risen to power in the aftermath of the ‘Disgraceful Events,’ a failed popular uprising. Citizens are required to obtain permission from the Gate in order to take care of even the most basic of their daily affairs, yet the Gate never opens, and the queue in front of it grows longer… Citizens from all walks of life mix and wait in the sun: a revolutionary journalist, a sheikh, a poor woman concerned for her daughter’s health, and even the brother of a security officer killed in clashes with protestors. Among them is Yehia, a man who was shot during the Events and is waiting for permission from the Gate to remove a bullet that remains lodged in his pelvis. Yehia’s health steadily declines, yet at every turn, officials refuse to assist him, actively denying the very existence of the bullet… Ultimately it is Tarek, the principled doctor tending to Yehia’s case, who must decide whether to follow protocol as he has always done, or to disobey the law and risk his career to operate on Yehia and save his life… Written with dark, subtle humor, The Queue describes the sinister nature of authoritarianism, and illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.”

The Queue pulled me in early in my reading of it. This book possessed many characters who passed the “Dad Test of Sympathy.” Among these happens to be Tarek, the doctor seeing to the care of Yehia, another sympathetic character. Yet, I doubt one should feel at ease reading The Queue; the realism of this book shook me up for sometime after I read the last page. All these months later, I still vacillate on my feelings on The Queue.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard

Cover of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center on a dull green background |
Image Source: Goodreads

Local Tour SRC -Set in Houston, Texas, USA

4/5 In my aim to read “unfamiliar authors,” I seized upon Katherine Center after seeing other Gnomies sing her praises. Also, I endeavored to read books set in my hometown of Houston, Texas, U.S.A. While Center happens to be from Houston, she also set The Bodyguard in the Energy Capital of the World. Given Center’s popularity, I placed a hold on the eAudio copy.

Check out the Local Tour SRC by clicking here.

“She’s got his back. He’s got her heart. They’ve got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she’s an elite bodyguard and she’s just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker… Jack Stapleton’s a Hollywood heartthrob – captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity… When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah – against her will and her better judgment – finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover… Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done…”

For the most part, I liked The Bodyguard. I saw why many deemed Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” I found Hannah relatable, definitely passing the Dad Test of sympathetic character; Jack also made that cut. The Bodyguard made for a nice read, a good ride. As someone from Texas, though, I cringed when the reader on the audio “mispronounced” some of the words, particularly Brazos. Nevertheless, I look forward to reading other books by Center; they may be in text rather than audio, though.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence – 🇺🇸

Cover of The Sentence by Louise Erdrich on a light cyan background |
Image Source: Goodreads

RUSA SRC – Region #3 Midwest – Minnesota

4/5 I first recall seeing Louise Erdrich on one of the genealogy I enjoy. As I often do, I shelved a number of Erdrich’s books on my To Be Read (TBR) Shelf. Still, it took me until this year to shift any of her books from my TBR. I selected The Sentence as one of Midwestern entries for the Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) as its set in Minnesota.

Click here to learn about the RUSA Tour SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): The Sentence contains references to illicit drug use and overdose, human trafficking, inappropriate handling of corpses, police brutality, and institutionalized racism..

“The Sentence asks what we owe to the living, the dead, to the reader and to the book… A small independent bookstore in Minneapolis is haunted from November 2019 to November 2020 by the store’s most annoying customer. Flora dies on All Souls’ Day, but she simply won’t leave the store. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration that she survived by reading with murderous attention, must solve the mystery of this haunting while at the same time trying to understand all that occurs in Minneapolis during a year of grief, astonishment, isolation, and furious reckoning… The Sentence begins on All Souls’ Day 2019 and ends on All Souls’ Day 2020. Its mystery and proliferating ghost stories during this one year propel a narrative as rich, emotional, and profound as anything Louise Erdrich has written.”

I found The Sentence intriguing, especially with how Erdrich inserted herself as a minor character and set the book at Birchbark Books. Some of what main character Tookie endured forced me to set aside The Sentence for a little bit, reading the book in bursts. The Sentence impressed me but I found I read it too soon after events of 2020. Maybe I might revisit the book in a few years.

Check out more information on Erdrich’s Birchbark Books & Native Arts by clicking here.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Laurie Gelman’s Class Mom – 🇺🇸

Cover of Class Mom (Class Mom #1) by Laurie Gelman on a brick red background |
Image Source: Goodreads

RUSA SRC – Region #3 Midwest – Kansas

3.75/5 I came across Laurie Gelman’s Class Mom on the Book Girls’ Guide. (Check them out by clicking here, Gnomies!) When I read their blurb on this book set mostly in Overland Park, Kansas, a burb on the Kansas side of Kansas City, as opposed to the Missouri side, I knew I wanted to read the book. Let’s just say cities lying in more than one state fascinate me. I also read in the blurb that this book made for an enjoyable read and happened to be written by new to me author Laurie Gelman, wife of television producer Michael Gelman.

Click here to learn about the Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC).

“Jen Dixon is not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom–or mom in general. Jen already has two college-age daughters by two different (probably) musicians, and it’s her second time around the class mom block with five-year-old Max–this time with a husband and father by her side. Though her best friend and PTA President sees her as the-wisest-candidate for the job (or oldest), not all of the other parents agree… From recording parents’ response times to her emails about helping in the classroom, to requesting contributions of-special-brownies for curriculum night, not all of Jen’s methods win approval from the other moms. Throw in an old flame from Jen’s past, a hyper-sensitive -allergy mom,-a surprisingly sexy kindergarten teacher, and an impossible-to-please Real Housewife-wannabe, causing problems at every turn, and the job really becomes much more than she signed up for.”

Class Mom made for a quick read. Narrator Jen Dixon made herself known to the reader with relative ease. Some of her adventures… and misadventures reminded me of anecdotes my mom shared with me about serving as who we knew as “room mothers” and on the Parent Teacher Organization (not association) board. I also liked when Jen spoke of “KCK” and what living in Kansas might be like for one person. I docked Class Mom 1.25 stars for a personal pet peeve of books written in the present tense instead of my prefered past tense as well as the somewhat rough start with the email/epistolary fiction. Still, I must place other books in the Class Mom Series on my To Be Read (TBR) Shelf.

For more information on why there is a Kansas City, Kansas and a Kansas City, Missouri, click here.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Caroline B. Cooney’s What Child Is This…

Cover of Book – What Child Is This? A Christmas Story by Caroline B. Cooney – centered on a deep army green background with the “Starry Night Elf” Logo in the lower right hand corner | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

4/5 As a nod to Christmas in July (July 25), I chose to revisit a Yuletide favorite of mine which I read as a teen. More than likely I picked up What Child Is This?: A Christmas Story because one of my favorite writers, Caroline B. Cooney, wrote this short book. I always wanted to review a Cooney book for a Starlight Book Review (SBR) and what a stellar time to for this novella.

“Katie, a foster child, wants only one thing for a family. However, there are no wise men coming from the East or shepherds watching in the fields. There’s also a teenager named Matt, who believes in doing a good deed. And another teenager, Liz, whose family decorates and celebrates but leaves her wondering where the true meaning of the holiday has gone. And Mr. Knight and his son, Tack, who run an inn and put up a tree each season, on which children’s wishes will hang as they hope and wait for them to be granted… It’s the season of joy, hope, and miracles, but will the Christmas spirit be strong enough to grant those wishes that seem impossible?”

Oh, the nostalgia I experienced for this SBR! The characters in What Child Is This?…, Katie and Liz in particular, seem like old friends. This sweet novella made for a quick read. I dropped a partial star because I wanted more about these characters.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.