Note to Shelf: December 2021

Jo tell us about "an intriguing tale that combines true events with fiction. In 1838, members of the elite families of Savannah set off for Baltimore on the steamship Pulaski. Many passengers planned to continue their journey on to their summer locations in upstate New York. Off the North Carolina coast the ship explodes and only a few of the passengers survive. Two of the survivors, Augusta Longstreet and her niece Lily Forsyth, narrate their stories of survival in the days after the explosion. The story shifts to the present day -- 180 years later -- when the wreckage is discovered and personal items are recovered. Everly, a college professor teaching history, and Oliver, fiancé of Everly’s recently deceased best friend, are curating an exhibit on the disaster for a Savannah museum. They are linked by a personal disaster, and Everly’s guilt about her best friend’s death prevents her from moving on with her own life. As she works to uncover the stories of the Pulaski victims, she rediscovers herself. Anyone who has been to Savannah will enjoy walking the streets with Everly and Oliver."

Virginia tells us that "if you are looking for a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then look no further than Falling by TJ Newman. Airline pilot Bill Hoffman is thirty minutes into a routine flight when he receives a text message showing a photo of his wife and children being held hostage. The accompanying message is to crash the plane and kill all 144 passengers or his family will die. He has four hours to decide. The book was written by a former flight attendant and her attention to detail and knowledge of flight procedures takes the intensity of this book to a whole other level. This might be my favorite book of the year and I could not put it down. My only regret was reading it while on a plane.

Colleen shares that "part memoir, part champion for democratic survival, Fiona Hill’s memoir, There is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century has it all! Sharing the harsh realities of being defined by where you come from and how you speak, Hill draws from her personal and professional experiences as she lays out the similarities between small, economically ravished towns in the UK and the U.S. Recognizing the lack of opportunity for his daughter in the 1980s, Fiona Hill’s father tells her, “there is nothing for you here, Pet.” Reflecting on the opportunities seized to improve her station in life, Hill writes with truth and optimism that it is possible to find opportunity in the 21st century. As an immigrant who rose from a destitute coal-mining town in the UK to become a Russian-speaking foreign policy expert serving three American presidents as a national security advisor, Hill has the knowledge and expertise to describe how upward mobility is possible when politics are pushed aside and governments implement well-structured and funded education partnerships with non-profit organizations. This memoir is well worth the read for anyone who may have given up hope of achieving success in the 21st century!