Do You Smell What's Cooking?: Book Review of The Scent Keeper

 

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

Description

In The Scent Keeper, Erica Bauermeister's Reese's Book Club pick, Emmeline has an enchanted childhood—she grows up on a remote island with only her father, the machine he uses to capture scents, and eventually she gets a pet goat. She has never been anywhere but the island--the get most of their food from scavenging and from boxes of staples, which her father tells her are dropped off by mermaids.

One day Emmeline must leave their island and join the outside world, where everything is foreign to her and she has no idea how to manage the senses she’d heightened on the island, which are now overwhelmed by the stimulus of a life with others.

The Scent Keeper is, in part, a discussion of socialization and the ways in which children are taught explicitly and implicitly to ignore their instincts for the sake of fitting in and the approval of others. Emmeline finds herself overwhelmed by all the odors that congregate around humans and the social rules no one explains to her. Her one friend is another misfit who can’t quite fit in, but they fit with each other. 

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Scent Keeper? The Scent Keeper is told in first person, from Emmeline’s naive point of view. There is so much she does not understand about other people and the desires that they have. Her innocence is, at times, as cloying as the scents she describes. In terms of this narration and this outsider perspective, the book is interesting, and invites the reader to question the ways we are socialized, such as at school, where strangeness is often punished. Emmeline’s ability to recognize and eventually pair smells is one that can be used for great gain. Like so many abilities, it can be monetized, and another result of our socialization is how we view and eventually use our talents.

The Scent Keeper has a charm and a wonder that is linked to the story telling, and can certainly offer a rousing conversation. The story telling, however is not remarkable, and moments of the plot seem too farfetched. While it lent to a good discussion in book club, I would most likely not teach The Scent Keeper.

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Mind Over Matter: Book Review of The Institute

 

The Institute by Stephen King

Gratitude 

Thank you to the Montgomery County Libraries for providing Stephen King’s The Institute free for public use.

Description

Stephen King’s The Institute features Luke, a twelve year old kid who is also a genius. He’s about to begin attending two universities at the same time and is excited to begin this next portion of his life. Then everything is upended—Luke wakes up in his bedroom that is not his bedroom, but a re-creation at the Institute. At the Institute, Luke discovers that all the children have ESP or telekinetic powers. None of them know exactly why they’re at the institute. They also don’t know what happens when they leave the intake part of the Institute, but Luke knows it’s nothing good. And while he also knows that there’s no way to escape the Institute, Luke knows he must find a way out.

There are many parallels between The Institute and Firestarter—both feature exceptional children who are kidnapped and tested on. In both, children are separated from their parents. And in both, the children must find a way to escape their captors.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Institute? The Institute, published in 2019, is classic Stephen King, and written in much cleaner and more sophisticated prose than Firestarter, which was published in 1980. The books are similar enough that in my fantasy course on Stephen King, I would probably not teach both. One represents King’s early work, when he was first establishing his presence as a best selling author and the other represents his more skilled work, decades into his career. In considering teaching a class that represents an author’s work, it makes sense to represent different moments in their career.

While The Institute is arguably better written than Firestarter, Firestarter is, again, the classic, and lives in the American psyche in a way that The Institute does not. A book like Fairy Tale might better represent the breadth of King’s work than The Institute. While it is better than many of King’s books, The Institute would not be a good fit for the course I long to one day teach.

I did enjoy reading The Institute--it is a solid Stephen King book.

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Strangers as Friends Not Yet Met: Book Review of Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

 

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

Description

In Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Claire Pooley, Iona has sat in the same spot, riding on the train for many years to her job as an Agony Aunt, as the British call it, or, in the American vernacular, a magazine advice columnist. Every day she sees the same people on the train but never talks to them—until an emergency forces her to speak up. From there, there’s no stopping Iona.

While the chapters of the book are told from alternating points of view, Iona is the star. She is an absolutely fabulous character to get to know—she is dramatic, self-assured, and not ready to be stuffed in the closet with the outdated merch. Although Iona is no longer young, she is quite far from old.

Her backstory is incredible—an it-girl of the 80s and 90s, invited to all of the best parties, and paid to write about her adventures. Also a civil rights activist and performer, Iona is something special. It is difficult not to love her.

The book's ensemble cast is rounded out with Emmie, a young woman in advertising, Sanjay, a nurse, Piers, in finance, and Martha, a high school student. Written in third person, each characters story is mixed and blended with the others.

Much of the book is about Iona fighting ageism and the ways that women are made to feel irrelevant as they grow older. Iona is in an industry in which appearance and being with the zeitgeist is important, and, like other women, she gets squeezed from her place of power by a combination of changing and reducing responsibilities and bullying. As much of culture is shaped around youth, Iona's experience will resonate with many.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting? I read Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting as part of my book club and we had a lively discussion around it. I would have been unlikely to come to it on my own. However, I am glad that I read it. Though there are serious topics discussed, the book does not feel heavy—the ensemble cast and premise give it a light-hearted feel.

Iona Iverson’s Rules of Commuting would fit in a contemporary literature course, perhaps contemporary British literature. I would be less likely to teach it in a creative writing course because the books I generally choose are more literary and daring and don’t follow prescribed plots or characters.


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What do you mean, funny? Funny how?: Book Review of Spellbound

 

Spellbound: My Life as a Dyslexic Wordsmith by Phil Hanley

Gratitude 

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Henry Holt for the review copy of Spellbound by Phil Hanley on sale March 18, 2025.

Description

Phil’s story is unfortunately like many others in the public school system: he has a learning difference that was not diagnosed until early adolescence and as a result, teachers treated him like he was dumb, lazy, and not trying. The traumas of school, especially disrespectful teachers, followed him long into his adulthood. Spellbound serves as another cautionary tale about the educational system in the United States. 

Having dyslexia also made his experience significantly different after graduating. Instead of college, he pursued modeling for a time and then a long road to being the comic he is today.

The book has its funny moments, but the majority is not laugh out loud funny. This is not to its detriment. It is an interesting window into the worlds of modeling and comedy. It is also a story of perusing a craft: the long, hard, dedicated life of learning and perfecting, the humility of starting at the bottom, and the stumbling climb of getting to know the business side.

It is refreshing to read about a journey that includes both passion, determination, and the honesty of hard knocks and lumps. Hanley's story involves many failures as well as successes, and he seems to learn just as much from the low points as the high. There is honesty about mental health challenges, taking medications, and seeking professional help. Also impressive is the acknowledgment that while he worked harder than your average bear, he had a lot of help along the way: friends, mentors, and family that supported him emotionally, financially, and by helping to make connections.   

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Spellbound? Spellbound could easily be a part of a memoir class, either for writing or reading. The writing style is clean with an eye for detail. More impressive is the seemingly easy way Hanley chooses when to summarize and condense and when to explore and expand a moment.

It’s also a good book to show how to discuss a profession and educate an audience. There is a lot of information both about living with dyslexia and making it as a comic, but the information is not burdensome to the plot. In fact, the educational aspects make the plot even more enjoyable. 

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Who Said Anything about Fair? Book Review of The Perfect Divorce

 

The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose

Gratitude

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Goodreads Giveaways for the review copy of The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose, available April 15, 2025.

Description

Bob messed up. He cheated on his wife, Sarah. It was a drunken one-night stand with a woman he had no interest in ever seeing again, but somehow Sarah found out--and she is not one for forgive and forget. After all, Bob knows what happened to her first husband when he cheated. When the woman he slept with goes missing, all fingers are pointed at Bob--except his own. He believes that somehow Sarah is behind this, and if he does not figure out how and save his skin, he will indeed end up like Sarah’s first husband--framed for a crime he didn’t commit.

Meanwhile, new evidence appears in Sarah’s first husband’s case, and suddenly Bob, Sarah, and the current sheriff are all swept into the whirlpool of drama.

The Perfect Divorce is told primarily from three points of view: Bob, Sarah, and the sheriff working both the missing person and the reopened case, Sheriff Hudson.

The plot is pretty juicy from the beginning—it starts off with a transcript from a documentary about Sarah’s former husband, who was tried, convicted, and put to death for the murder of his mistress. Sarah defended him, and by all accounts gave a great performance. The first scene is Bob groveling to get back with Sarah after his infidelity and her giving a hard pass.

For Sheriff Hudson, he has taken the former sheriff in to dry out one too many times--now he has killed a woman while drunk driving. Sheriff Hudson knows that he made a grave error, and that is just the beginning.

There are a lot of surprises in The Perfect Divorce, and Rose’s Sarah Morgan is quite the character. She is cold, calculated, and sure of herself. She suffers no fools, and no betrayals. For her, her primary objective is to care for her daughter, her second to lead her foundation, and finally, to divorce Bob quickly and brutally in order to punish him for his mistake. She is far from admirable and not particularly likable, but her clever and calculated decisions make her interesting.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Perfect Divorce? Probably not. I am not in love with the ending, the three perspectives don’t quite hold up, and Sarah is more than a little extra. I have not read the first book in the series, The Perfect Marriage, and perhaps I would feel differently if I had, but there are better books to teach suspense and mysteries. While not perfect, The Perfect Divorce is a decently entertaining read.

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DEI? What's That? Book Review of The Grand Scheme of Things

 

The Grand Scheme of Things by Warona Jay

Gratitude

Thank you GoodReads and Atria for the review copy of The Grand Scheme of Things by Warona Jay, which will be on sale February 25, 2025.

Description

In The Grand Scheme of Things, Naledi, or Eddie as she commonly goes by, has been sending out her play with no bites. Her college mates have all made progress getting their work on stage and Naledi thinks that her play is getting held up by racism--readers see her non-Anglo Saxon name on the cover page and don’t get much further. Her play is being shut out because she is a Black woman, the daughter of Batswana immigrants, and this in the time of Brexit and fear across England.

Tired and frustrated, Eddie comes up with a plan to prove that it is prejudice that is preventing her play from garnering the attention it deserves--with the help of Hugo, that is.

Hugo is a blue blood, White and as privileged as can be. His father is a prominent attorney and since graduating from college, Hugo lives in one of his properties, where he is meant to be getting started on his own law career. But Hugo is not interested in the law, so when Eddie suggests a scheme to expose the prejudice in the theater industry, Hugo is eager to be of service.

The Grand Scheme of Things is told in sections that alternate between Eddie’s first-person narration and Hugo’s. As the play leaves their hands and becomes a thing of the world, so too does the plot line seem to no longer be theirs and certainly not Eddie’s. Eddie and Hugo’s relationship status also brings further complications, as the outside world tries to decipher the connection between them.

While The Grand Scheme of Things is set in Great Britain, all the markers of prejudice could just as easily exist in the United States. With the current ridiculousness of the outlawing of DEI, I could see such a plan to highlight structural racism being implemented. For reference, the Tony Award for Best Play has not gone to a woman in the past ten years, let alone a woman of Color. Racism and sexism are alive and well in the United States theater industry.

 

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Grand Scheme of Things? The Grand Scheme of Things is an intriguing novel that questions how willing we are to take on the prejudice around us and challenge structural racism. I would hope that many would be moved by Eddie’s story, but I wonder how many are so resistant to seeing the existence of racism and would rather suggest that truly we live in a meritocracy and that it is not prejudice that keeps some away from success but merit--that efforts of inclusion mean that less worthy candidates are chosen. Yes, I would teach this book, and yes I would want to know what students make of it.


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Not Your Average Heist: Book Review of Ruth Run

 

Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman

Gratitude

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Penguin for the ARC of Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman to be released April 15, 2025.

Description

Ruth grew up poor, and she knew she didn’t want to stay poor. When she finished college, she had no prospects and so took an IT job at her school. From there, Ruth found her way to a scheme in which she could divert significant money from banks into offshore accounts. One night a trip wire she set goes off and Ruth knows that it’s time to close up shop and get out. She thinks she has more time, but as soon as she goes to warn her partner, she sees that the guys who are out to get her are one step ahead. So begins Ruth’s efforts to escape the people who have the money and the guns, AKA the government.

Ruth Run is told from two points of view: Ruth, as she tries to get away, and Mike, the man whose job it is to find her and who has been tracking her already.

In her escape, Ruth must improvise, decide who to trust, guess what the government knows about her, and figure out some way to stay off the grid. Along the way, she meets some interesting characters and learns some more about the guys who are out to get her. It’s not just her life at stake, but the life of pleasure she dreamed of.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Ruth Run is a suspense novel that also examines gender roles and has a light commentary on socioeconomic class. While Ruth is not the most likeable character, she is certainly more likeable than the men who pursue her. There are few things that give me the ick more than Mike. Read Ruth Run and you’ll agree with me.

The book did keep me guessing about Ruth’s next move and if the guys would catch up with her. In that way, Ruth  Run would certainly work well for teaching about writing suspense and cyber heists. It would also be fun to discuss the different moves of Ruth and the guys chasing her–are they believable? Would they work in a movie? Would there be other ways to handle a scene? There were certainly a few moments that I questioned, and discussing the plot could be a useful tool in a novel writing class. I would be willing to try it.


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Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear: Book Review of A Pigeon and a Boy

A Pigeon and a Boy by Meir Shalev

Description

I read A Pigeon and a Boy written by Meir Shalev and translated by Evan Fallenberg for my book club. One of the reasons that I love being in a book club is that it leads me to books that I might not have chosen for myself, and A Pigeon and a Boy is one of them.

Yair, the main character, narrates the story as if he were telling it to his mother. As it unfolds, we learn about Yair’s family, his wife, his mistress, and the home he seeks for himself.

In the hospital, at the end of her life, Yair’s mother gives him a large sum of money and instructs him to buy a house. She gives specifications for the kind of house he should buy, and Yair sets out to find a home of his own. With his job as a tour guide, Yair travels great distances and knows the area quite well. He knows where to look for the kind of out-of-the-way place his mother suggests and that he desires.

Along the way, we meet Yair’s family: his father, an acclaimed pediatrician, his mother, who eventually decides to live separately from the family, and his golden brother. All three of them are described as being light and lithe, while Yair is dark, short, and thick. His wife is more like his family than him--tall, beautiful, rich and successful; but living a separate life from Yair in the same house, as she has been for years. And finally, his mistress, his oldest friend, who is more like Yair in appearance.

Intertwined with Yair’s story is that of a boy growing up on a kibbutz who is taken with raising homing pigeons. The boy meets a girl who is also a pigeon handler, and their relationship begins.

Would I Teach This Book?

A Pigeon and a Boy is much quieter than most books I read and teach. It is light on plot and heavy on thinking about and retelling the character’s history. Yair is a nuanced character and his observations are curious--I often wondered how accurate his take on things was. I did not find him particularly likeable, due to how he treats his wife and mistress--though they do not treat him so well, either.

Though not my favorite book, it might be a good choice for a multicultural literature class. The book is set in Israel and translated from Hebrew. It has a distinctively different sensibility from most American fiction and sets up a wonderful conversation about what makes a home a home.

Not a beach read, but A Pigeon and a Boy will transport you and introduce you to a type of storytelling unlike the typical American best seller.

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