In London during the WW1, Peg and her identical twin sister, Maude, fold and gather the pages of books in the Oxford printing house along with other women. The men, in a different section, edit and design the covers. Peg wants nothing more than to read the books but her job doesn’t allow her. She eagerly takes home faulty books. While her sister is content at her mundane job, Peg dreams of attending Oxford Somerville College across from the printing house, but what are the chances for a bookbinder? When refugees arrive after the German invasion of Belgium, a few of the Flemish women join the printing house. Lotte immediately draws close to Maude although Peg was assigned to assist her with the folding process. With the war going on and men leaving their jobs to join up, is there hope for Peg to work at something more challenging than her present job? When she volunteers to read and write for wounded soldiers, she meets Gwen, a privileged woman full of confidence and slowly doors open.
Ashley’s family have moved to the northern Canadian village of Nanurtalik where because of her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she fits in with the Inuit people in her village or at school. But vivid dreams of polar bears and storms confuse and frighten her. And when she looks into Uncle Jonah staring at her, she senses fear. Will she be able to overcome and interpret her dreams?
This is a beautifully written YA coming of age story about Ashley discovering her roots and purpose with a window into Inuit culture.
This is a very difficult book to read. It’s not the language—it’s the content. But an important present day view especially important for all women as it explores misogynistic software such as Deepfakes and Metaverse as well as the long term influences this has on men and therefore women’s safety and relationships. There are also chapters on sex robots, image based sexual abuse that is rampant. For example, in Korea, women fear using public washrooms because men are placing hidden cameras in them. Then the author fact checks AI and finds it is not always correct. Additionally, it is stereotyping its responses.
Well written and researched. I highly recommend this book.
During the WW11 a teacher takes a group of children on an excursion into the forest to pick mushrooms. When the children collapse in a comatose state with eyes open, she races back to the school for help. The children eventually recover, all except one boy who is taken to hospital. Decades later, Mr Nakata is that boy who eventually wakes up from the coma, but he’s forgotten everything, including how to read. The only thing he’s capable of is speaking to cats.
Read and Write 
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