And I'm off!

First book finished and it was a great first one to get things started.  Review to follow once I collect my thoughts but I think it's a worthy 5 stars.

Finished Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin and rolled 5 with so I should be on to square #6 and spent a good hour going all over my audible, kindle and paper books about a half dozen times to find one that fit with Title has a colour word in it.  All good and I finally picked one I thought I'd enjoy, only to go to put my counter on the board and find that #6 has a ladder on it so up I go to #27!.  Back to the shelves.....Set during WWI or WWII.  I don't really have a lot to choose from to fill that square but I decided on One Summer at Deer's Leap by Elizabeth Elgin.  I think it's a a dual timeline story with perhaps a bit of time travel or ghosty going's on but the dude is from Wartime RAF in 1944 so that's okay, right?

.

RULES OF THE GAME:

Everyone starts on 1. There are two alternative ways to move forward.

1. Read a book that fits the description on the space number as listed below and you can roll two dice to move forward more quickly.

2. However, if you can't find a book to fit the square, don't worry about it. You can read any book, and roll one dice on random.org.  This is to ensure that if a reader cannot find a book to fill the square, no one gets bogged down and can't move on.

All books must be at least 200 pages long. Short stories count, so long as you read enough of them from a collection to equal 200 pages. 

You do not need to hit space 100 with an exact roll. In order to win, you must complete space 100 as written.

Spaces:

1. Author is a woman - Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

2. Genre: mystery

3. Set in the twentieth century

4. Published in 2019

5. Published in 2018

6. Title has a color word in it

7. Author's last name begins with the letters A, B, C, or D.

8. Author's last name begins with the letters E, F, G, or H.

9. Author's last name begins with the letters H, I, J, or K

10. Author's last name begins with the letters L, M, N or O

11. Author's last name begins with the letters P, Q, R, or S

12. Author's last name begins with the letters T, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z

13. Author is a man

14. Author is dead

15. Genre: romance

16. Genre: fantasy

17. Genre: horror

18. Set in a school

19. Set in the UK

20. Set in a country that is not your country of residence

21. Set in Europe

22. Set in Asia

23. Set in Australia/Oceania

24. Set in Africa

25. Snake - go back to 5

26. Part of a series that is more than 5 books long

27. Set during WWI or WWII - One Summer at Deer's Leap by Elizabeth Elgin

28. Written between 1900 and 1999

29. Someone travels by plane

30. Someone travels by train

31. Road trip

32. Genre: thriller

33. Set in North America

34. Snake - go back to 1

35. Has been adapted as a movie

36. Set in Central or South America

37. Has won an award

38. Newest release by a favorite author

39. A reread

40. Characters involved in the entertainment industry

41. Characters involved in politics

42. Characters involved in sports/sports industry

43. Characters involved in the law

44. Characters involved in cooking/baking

43. Characters involved in medicine

44. Characters involved in science/technology

45. A book that has been on your tbr for more than one year

46. A book that has been on your tbr for more than two years

47. Snake - go back to 19

48. A book you acquired in February, 2019.

49. Recommended by a friend

50. Has a domestic animal on the cover

51. Has a wild animal on the cover

52. Has a tree or flower on the cover

53. Has something that can be used as a weapon on the cover

54. Is more than 400 pages long

55. Is more than 500 pages long

56. Was published more than 100 years ago

57. Was published more than 50 years ago

58. Was published more than 25 years ago

59. Was published more than 10 years ago

60. Was published last year

61. Cover is more than 50% red

62. Cover is more than 50% green

63. Cover is more than 50% blue

64. Cover is more than 50% yellow

65. Snake - go back to 52

66. Part of a series that is more than 10 books long

67. Set in a city with a population of greater than 5 million people (link)

68. Something related to weddings on the cover

69. Something related to travel on the cover

70. Something related to fall/autumn on the cover

71. Involves the beach/ocean/lake 

72. Involves the mountains/forests 

73. Categorized as YA

74. Categorized as Middle Grade

75. Set in a fantasy world

76. Set in a world with magic

77. Has a "food" word in the title

78. Set in a small town (fictional or real)

79. Main character is a woman

80. Main character is a man

81. Ghost story

82. Genre: urban fantasy

83. Genre: cozy mystery

84. Genre: police procedural

85. Written by an author who has published more than 10 books

86. Author's debut book

87. Snake - go back to 57

88. Comic/graphic novel

89. Published between 2000 and 2017

90. A new-to-you author

91. Snake - go back to 61

92. Reread of a childhood favorite

93. Author's first/last initial same as yours (real or BL handle)

94. Non-fiction

95. Memoir

96. From your favorite genre

97. Title starts with any of the letters in SNAKE

98. Title starts with any of the letters in LADDERS

99. Snake - go back to 69

100. Let BL pick it for you: post 4 choices and read the one that gets the most votes

I've been really busy, so this slender book took me a much longer time to read than I expected. And not because it wasn't good, because it was good. Quite good.

This is my fourth Tey - I've already read Brat Farrar, The Franchise Affair & The Singing Sands. What a sadness it is that she died so young. I'm directly in the middle of her oevre - I've read four and have four left to read. 

Miss Pym is not my favorite of the bunch - that honor goes to Brat Farrar. But there hasn't been a Tey that I disliked, although I was least impressed by The Singing Sands. I'm going to have to give that one another chance, though, now that I've warmed to Tey so much more. 

I really liked this one. The setting at the school was delightful, and the characters of the Seniors were drawn with perspicacity laced with generosity. Like Tigus, I loved Nut Tart. Tey captured that moment in life when school is ending and youth is moving onto, and into, its future. The anticipation, the desperation, the uncertainty, the sense of standing on a precipice. 

Did Miss Pym do the right thing? That's a question that remains. I tend to think not, because her decision absolved a character who is dangerously unbalanced. Perhaps if Tey had lived longer, a sequel would have required Miss Pym to reckon with the consequences of her decision.

I'm reminded of Hickory Dickory Dock, or even Crooked House, a little bit here. Who takes responsibility for the next victim. And the victim after that? Because if there's one thing that Agatha Christie teaches us, it's that a murderer who has gotten away with it doesn't stop at one - especially when the murder is cold-bloodedly motivated by gain.

Anyway, great read!

I didn't manage to get much reading time in over the weekend - a lot of painting and home improvement was happening on my daughter's new house.

I'm into this one now, though, and loving it. Miss Pym and Nut Tart just went to the two-pub village and met Mr. & Mrs. Innes.

I'm so worried about who is going to be the victim, guys!

I wanted to stand up and applaud at the end of this book.

I wasn't entirely surprised but I was deeply satisfied.

I liked the fact that Miss Pym was weighed down by the decision she felt she had to make. The description of her internal struggle over what to do seemed very real to me. I share her sentiment that following the rules may not be doing the right thing and even if it is, it doesn't absolve you of the consequences.

I also enjoyed the twist the ending took, leading me down both the paths I'd seen as possible rather than choosing between them. Both paths were valid and the outcomes and reactions seemed to me to be entirely credible.

One of the abiding things I'll take away from this story is how careful we have to be about the challenges we set the young, especially the young, talented and driven. In a way, the whole tragedy that unfolds here is a product of trying to instil in young people who are searching for identity, community, recognition and affection, the strong to desire to PROVE themselves worthy. 

There's a description of the Seniors, just before they are about to perform in the Demonstration, an event they've been practising for all year and which will validate thm and their achievements in the eyes of the great, the good and of their parents, that demonstrates this. They are nervous because events have forced last-minute changes that their teacher, Miss Fröken, is walking them through, 

"Lucy had a seat at the end of the front row. From there she looked down with affection on the grave young faces waiting, with such tense resolution, Fröken’s word of command. ‘Don’t worry,’ she had heard a Senior say, ‘Fröken will see us through,’ and one could see the faith in their eyes. This was their ordeal, and they came to it shaken, but Fröken would see them through."

 

This faith and this focus carry an enormous responsibility with it. Young people can do anything. We need to be careful about what we ask them to do.

I really enjoyed this novel. Although it's seventy-four years old, it feels fresh and innovative and relevant. It's also a lot of fun. I strongly recommend it.

Eyebrows that sent people to the stake.

Yes, she would write a book about face-reading. Under another name, of course. Face-reading was not well seen among the intelligentsia.

Bwahahahahahaaa... Yes, Tey has done it again. She took another popular trope of the genre in her day and then totally ripped it to pieces!

Well, I am delighted that she goes out with a bang as far as my exploration of the Tey mysteries are concerned. This was delightful!