Lucci's List: August 2020

FICTION

"The Flight Girls" by Noelle Salazar recounts a fictional take on life as a female pilot during World War II. The main character, Audrey, dreams of opening her own plane field someday, and jumps at the opportunity to fly for the armed services. She is stationed in Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor attack. The gritty action and trauma made this historic incident feel more real to me than any non-fictional descriptions. From Audrey's point of view, we see the devastation and loss of life and psychological effects as well as social changes that occurred in the aftermath of the attack. All the while, the tale drives on incessantly as Audrey flies in hopes of finding her way to her goals, despite all the odds against her.

"Kimber" by L.K. Hingey
"Kimber" by L.K. Hingey is a post-apocalyptic, futuristic, fantastical sci-fi thriller. A solar storm has all but wiped out the Earth, and now, Kimber, along with her family, must fight to survive as mutants in this subhuman world.
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"15 Minutes" by Larissa Reinhart

"15 Minutes (A Maizie Albright Star Detective Story, #1)" by Larissa Reinhart is a fun fast-paced mystery.

Maizie Albright is a former child star who, has recently graduated from college. After a stint in rehab for substance abuse, must follow the protocol of her parole. This includes getting and keeping a new job and staying out of Hollywood. She moves back home with her rich father in a beautiful forested Georgia setting. The town is a mix of old and new, and the characters Maizie meets are amusing. She gets a job as an assistant with a private investigator, and she is determined to be the best she can be.

Her adjustment to the real world is not an easy one. She gets punched in the nose at a beauty parlour; her Jaguar gets repoed, she gains 5lbs from her stepmother's awesome soul-food, and her mother-business manager is still trying to force her unwillingly into the limelight.

Told in first person, this story had me chuckling out loud. Mysteries are usually not on my reading list, but this one was an absolute perfect blend of humour, interesting characters, fast-moving plot, and all without the sticky sweetness of requited romance.

Imagine if Britney Spears gave up her wealthy lifestyle, had a nervous breakdown, moved to a small town and got a job at the local Walmart. It would be interesting to see her reactions to every day normal non-famous people, through her point of view. That is a bit what Maizie is like. She's lovable and pitiful and worth rooting for!

NON-FICTION

"The Art of Asking" by Amanda Palmer
"The Art of Asking; or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help Me" by Amanda Palmer is part biography, part inspirational tome, and empowering. Rock star Amanda Palmer of the recounts her career in the arts from her humble beginnings as a living statue at Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA, to forming the Dresden Dolls, to becoming a solo artist. Through it all she scrimped, scrounged, went hungry, took loans, accepted gifts, and eventually became a leader of self-innovation. Through kickstarter she raised enough money to produce an album and tour with it around the world. Before she could trust her new husband, writer Neil Gaiman, with the vulnerability of a monetary loan or gift, she had to reach her emotional lowest, to when it finally "hurt enough." This happened when her life-long friend became deathly ill and she cancelled everything in her life to be with him. In order to keep her troupe employed, she finally accepted her husband's financial help. Through this, she accepted that even she had difficulty practicing what she preached, and came to better understand the pain of accepting people's help.

As an independent author, I could completely relate to Palmer's artistic need in life, and the financial struggles she experienced. I recognized myself in her lyrics and in her descriptions of couch-surfing and space-sharing. The absolute poverty that comes with being an artist is painful but perhaps at least at some point necessary, in order to grasp the holiness of the ask, and the virtue in receiving the gift.

The gift is as much for the giver as it is for the receiver.