Review of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson

Cover of the book from Amazon.com

This heart wrenching story is wonderfully written and shares the story of Cussy Mary a Pack Horse Librarian in Kentucky. However, she is no regular library Cussy is one of the last of the Kentucky Blues. Richardson details the difficult life Cussy leads in a beautiful and intriguing way. While I originally picked up this book because of the news stories surrounding it and how it was similar to The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, I was pleasantly surprised and happy. It is similar to reads that I do enjoy and found the style exciting and descriptive. The only downside is that it is very realistic in many aspects of Cussy's life and is not for those who find mention of rape, death, and the like traumatic or difficult. However, I would recommend this book to those who want to see a realistic view of life in the South for “coloreds.”

Summary

The story details Cussy's life, her forced/arranged marriage, and her love for reading.

Characters

Cussy is a Pack Horse Librarian for her small section of the Kentucky Hills. Each of her patrons has a tragic story to tell. Lorretta a blind old woman living alone, Angeline a child/bride with child, Winnie & her students many of whom are starving. Little Henry who dies of starvation, and RC a young man who wants to become a forest Ranger instead of just a fire watcher. The women Eula & Harriet that run the library are prejudiced against her, However Cussy finds a friend in Qeenie an African American.

Queenie faces similar prejudice because of her color. Raising her children alone is tough. Queenie accepts a job in Philadelphia and goes on to become a librarian, with a degree.

Jackson Lovett is new in town and well off. (spoilers) He falls for Cussy, dispite her color. Each encounter of the two from the first to the final is sweet and endearing, seeing beyond the color of Cussy & Jackson. Eventually they “marry” despite it causing trouble in the end as Jim crow laws rear their ugly head and the Sheriff's need to seek “revenge” cause Jackson to go to prison & only for 'secret' meetings of Cussy & him for years to come.

Opinion of the Story

A delightfully well written story of a difficult time in the South. The backdrop is the Great Depression and the rise of Jim Crow laws. This have a huge impact on Cussy, her father, and neighbors. Richardson writes an fast paced story that drew me in and I found difficult to put down, that is until the traumatic moments at which I was about ready to say “no more!”

[SPOILER ALERT-don't read this next paragraph if you haven't read the book] I was disappointed in the ending of the book. While yes the ending is realistic, I was hoping to see a town/group that would actually see past their prejudice & hate to welcome the happy couple. It seemed that no one else cared, but the Sheriff (yes, Cussy was his cousin's widow) but why Ms. Richardson, WHY did you do it. It felt that the time for Cussy to be happy was finally there, she had fell for Jackson and he was in love with her. The community had come to celebrate the wedding and simply because of one or two prejudice people Jackson nearly dies and Cussy is sent home scared and alone! Why, so this book makes you love the characters but yet I hate the ending.

In Conclusion

I enjoyed the book, with the above exception. It is well written, easy to read, and well researched. While some scenes are dark and traumatic there are scatterings of happiness through out. If you enjoy realistic historic fiction you might try reading this.

References

Richardson, K. M. (2019). The book woman of Troublesome Creek. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks.

Image from Amazon.com (2019)

Rise of the Rocket Girls Review

I picked up this book because I enjoyed reading about the women in Hidden Figues (Link to my post about that). However, Nathalia Holt’s Rise of the Rocket Girls: The women who Propelled Us, From Missles to the Moon to Mars focuses more on the technology they created than the lives and work they did. While I still found the book interesting it was not what I thought it would be. Holt (2016) includes some stories of the women’s lives outside the lab but these are overshadowed by the men at the lab, the events in the world, and the massive technological advances taking place. 

Summary 

Holt’s (2016) story is to focus, as the title states, on the Rocked Girls from the Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) in California from its inception as a small club on Caltech campus to the modern era and its place in NASA. The book starts out not focusing on the women but the three men who founded the Lab and how they were daredevils, trying dangerous experiments. The first woman, Barby Canright, to join the team is there as a human computer alongside her husband.  

The focus shifts to include two additional women as the lab expands into specifically rockets and missiles for the Army. These women, Maci Robers and Barbara Lewis, will play key roles throughout the lab's history for many years. Both train the next generation of “computers” in the skill necessary to survive at the lab and in the world. Maci is the supervisor to replace Barby when she leaves to raise a family, while Barbara is an intelligent woman who will remain at JPL even after starting a family.  

In the next section, the 1950s, Barbra Lewis is joined by Janez Lawson, Helen Chow, and Susan Finley. This section focuses on JPLs interest in missiles and the shedding of its military aims and a move toward scientific exploration using rockets. Alongside these advances JPL has hired its first African American computer, Janez Lawson. However, Holt barley focuses on her and quickly moves on to the other women in the lab. Very little is mentioned about her struggles or how she was accepted in the lab by the engineers or other men there. 

In the section on the 1960s the Space Race is in full swing and JPL will not be left behind, while the women are not calculating manned missions, they are a part of the excitement. Holt does a small shift and focuses on a few of the personal lives of the women, how they marry, have children, and also see divorces increase. Holt (2016) discusses the shift in society and the fact they are working long hours calculating trajectories for often shelved projects which lead to stress and tensions in their personal lives. In this section the women, Barbra, Helen, Susan, and Sylvia Lundy, are calculating how to reach the planets beyond the moon. They are also beginning to see the rise of new technology from IBM that may replace them one day but not yet it is still too unreliable. The successes and failures of the Lunar missions and trips to Venus and Mars are told in a whirlwind fashion often out of order because of the need to finish one story then tell the next as they are taking place at the same time. 

Finally, Holt (2016) brings the story to the present. Holt (2016) shares how the work the women did in the early days of the lab laid the foundation for trips to the outer planets, the Hubble Telescope, space shuttles, and even the International space station. This final section sees the retirement of many of the women with only Sue Finley remaining until the end of her final mission. 

Review 

I found the book both interesting and disappointing. I was hoping to get to know the women, instead of just their work. Yes, Holt (2016) does share how they shaped the life of JPL and moved from merly computers to full engineers. However, this doesn’t help the feeling that they were still missing from much of the story. I read about the men just as much, if not more, in the text than the women who supported all of the missiles, rockets, and space craft launched from JPL. Holt’s (2016) style is perfect for history text but does shift in time quickly, leaving readers spinning in the whirlwind of activity that was the space race and rise of space exploration over missiles for military use. I did enjoy reading the book but readers must know that while this does focus on female computers and engineers it is very different from Hidden Figures in that it tells as much about the technology they help to develop and use as about them. Their personal lives are still mostly shrouded in mystery behind a few hints that they had troubled marriage or found contentment in their work. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Space Race and how man finally landed on Mars, and explore beyond through the simple means of gravity. Each of these plots was calculated by humans, many before smart computers existed, and some are still done taht way today. 

References 

Holt, N. 2016. Rise of the rocket girls: The women who propelled us, from missiles to the moon to Mars. New York: Little, Brown and Company. 

Cover Image: Photo by me 

Graphic Novel Review: Anne of Green Gables

Mariah Marsden and Brenna Thummler (2017) take on the classic tale of Anne of Green Gables, a strong will free spirit of a girl who is adopted by a brother and sister from Avonlea, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. The book is based on the classic by L.M. Montgomery and while the images are wonderful the story feels disjoined, even as if missing key scenes and events in the life of Avonlea.  One such instance happens early on when Anne asks to go to a picnic. The story starts with her reciving permisison, however and then continues to proced quickly through the events of preparing going from Marilla packing a basket on “Wednesday [at] 1:36 PM” and ending with Anne lying face down on the floor on “Saturday [at] 10:22 AM” (Marsden and Thummler, 2017, 60). This may not be the days of the picnic because next the reader finds that Anne is banned from attending for “stealing” a broach from Marrilla. With the lack of narrative in words and the colorful imagination of Anne sometimes it is difficult to fully follow the sequence of events. Were there two picnics or did Anne imagine the first in anticipation. Marsden and Thummler (2017) seem to be telling single incidents in a string of unconnected life events while lacking character development or world building. This results in a story that leaves the reader feeling dazed and confused. 

Anne & the pastor's wife

Another aspect of seeming convince is the way characters appear for a snapshot but are never scene again. Some examples are the new pastor and his wife, Jane, or Josie Pye. While each appears only for a few panels they provide key information to make the story move quickly to a conclusion. Though there are two characters who remain throughout, besides Marilla and Matthew, Diana and “Gil-…" (Marsden and Thummler, 2017, 88). Anne is seen with her friend Diana more than anyone else and confiding in her and “Gil” or Gilbert is her constant nemesis who she competes with in school. Even these two characters fall flat in the tory because they speak little and are not allowed to come to their own. 

This storytelling style may be typical of the original but makes for a difficult to understand graphic novel because so much happens “between” the panels. Much time is spent silent, leaving the reader to create their own story. I felt that the story touched on key elements but did not connect readers with the character of Anne instead focused on well-known events from the book and shows. This graphic novel would be good for those who know the story but is difficult for a new reader. I personally found it difficult to follow the story and was hoping for more than it was. This feeling however could be because I have watched the shows but not actually read the book.   

References 

Marsden, M. and Thummler, B. [illustrator]. (2017). Anne of Green Gables: A grapic novel. China: Andrew McMeel Publishing. 

Cover Image Goodreads.com. Retrived from https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2878431103 

Page Image taken by me from Marsden & Thummmler