Addition by Toni Jordan

Shh_ImReading@evpl — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:47:00 GMT

In Toni Jordan's Addition, we meet Grace Vandenburg, who likes to count. No, Grace loves to count. She's loved to count ever since she was a little girl. On her nightstand she keeps the Cuisenaire rods from her childhood and a framed picture of her hero, Nikola Tesla, for whom she has much affection. Grace knows how many paces it takes her to get from her apartment to her favorite cafe, or to the grocery. Her apartment is perfectly ordered. She has daily routines that start at 5:55 a.m., when it's time to get out of bed. Every day she has hot cocoa and orange cake at the cafe and every night she has chicken and vegetables for supper. On Sunday, her mother calls at 8:00 p.m. and her sister Jill calls at 8:20 p.m. So when she meets Seamus O'Reilly, where does he fit into her routines? Seamus makes Grace very happy and she wants to make him happy. On his suggestion, she enters therapy for her obsessive counting and begins taking prescribed medication. With therapy and medication come a new set of problems for Grace and Seamus. Can Grace give up counting and still be her true self? Will she still be the woman Seamus so loved and wanted to help?

I'm already looking forward to reading whatever Toni Jordan decides to write next. She has done something fairly unique with Addition. It is a romance in a way, but in another way it's a real look at identity and what it means to be well. The story is told in the first person, from Grace's perspective, with much wit. So, the book's tone changes when Grace enters therapy, taking you deeper into her experience. Grace is the star of the story, but the supporting cast of characters are fun too. Seamus is both loving and intuitive to Grace's needs, or at least he tries to be. Her niece Hilly (a.k.a. Larry), though a child, is the one who often knows Grace best. The germaphobics in Grace's therapy group are an interesting bunch. Nikola Tesla was as much a part of the story as any of the other characters; Grace liked to compare situations in her life to situations in her dear Nikola's life.

In the acknowledgements, the author gives credit to two books for information on Nikola Tesla. If you're interested, both are available from the EVPL: Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney & Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla by Marc J. Seifer.

I'll confess it was the bright, pretty cover that first attracted me to Addition, but had it not caught my eye, I would have really missed out.

click here for Toni Jordan's website

Barbara Delinsky's "Family Tree" creates a memorable story full of complex and fascinating family dynamics

nblman@evpl — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Delinsky's novel explores how a white, upper-middle-class New England couple reacts when the wife gives birth to an African-American baby. The Clarkes are bastions of New England tradition and pride, tracing their family through significant events of American history all the way back to the Mayflower. Eaton Clarke, the grandfather, in particular has set himself up as an archtypical American through a series of well-received, bestselling historical narratives he has written. The latest installment is about to be published when an unusual event occurs: Little Elizabeth Ames Clarke, his new grandaughter, is born with distinctive African American features, to son Hugh and his wife Dana. Like the mushroom wave of an atomic bomb, the story moves forward in the lives of Dana, who never knew her father, but now feels compelled to find him; Hugh the husband and lawyer who relentlessly pushes for the truth in order to learn whether the child is his; Ellie Jo, Dana's grandmother, who carries a secret that threatens her health; Eaton, the arrogant father of Hugh, who denies the grandchild is legitimate, refusing to confront the truth about himself and his past; Dorothy, Eaton's wife who lives in his shadow but moves out into the light as secrets of the past explode into the present. Minor characters are not spared upheaval in this thoroughly believable, unforgettable novel that asks penetrating questions about race, family and the choices that people make in times of crisis--perfect reading for February, Black History Month.

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Addition by Toni Jordan

Barbara Delinsky's "Family Tree" creates a memorable story full of complex and fascinating family dynamics