Barbie and Ruth by Robin Gerber

I knew the basics of Barbie’s history but didn’t quite appreciate the force of Barbie’s ‘inventor’, Ruth Handler.

It was hard to gauge how much Gerber’s admiration for Handler skewed the story – was Handler loyal or overbearing? I shouldn’t be surprised by Handler’s relentlessness or perseverance but I was surprised by the fact that her risk-taking extended from Mattel to gambling in Vegas. And again, although I knew the basics of her legal trouble, I did not appreciate the extent and length of the legal battles. Gerber makes brief and respectful mention of Handler’s son, Ken, toward the end of the book – this, and also her relationship with daughter, Barbara, was the bit I wanted more of.

3/5

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Above average family saga with well-thought out themes of forgiveness, loyalty and grief. Although a lot happens, Napolitano manages to avoid melodrama, and overall I think this book showed more restraint than her debut, Dear Edward.

“When an old person dies,” Kent said, “even if that person is wonderful, he or she is still somewhat ready, and so are the people who loved them. They’re like old trees, whose roots have loosened in the ground. They fall gently. But when someone like your XXX dies—before her time—her roots get pulled out and the ground is ripped up. Everyone nearby is in danger of being knocked over.”

3/5

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Okay, ‘gardening thriller’ might not be a well-recognised genre, but that’s what Birnam Wood is. No, it doesn’t mean garden enthusiasts living on the edge by planting out of season… it’s actually about a guerrilla gardening group who are somewhat unwittingly caught up in a billionaire’s dastardly scheme. It might sound light-weight but it’s not – there’s politics at play, wrangling over ethics and plenty of situations to test loyalties. And, unlike most thrillers that rely on a final cat-and-mouse chase, Birnam Wood‘s crescendo is dramatic in a different way. Half a point off for some loose ends that I felt could have been tied off.

3.5/5