We Need New Names by NoViolet Bualwayo

In a tiny village in Zimbabwe, ten-year-old Darling lives in a hut made of corrugated tin, although before the revolution she had a big house with a swimming pool. One day she will go to the United States to live with her Auntie, but for now she plays games with her friends, such as stealing guavas from the rich people and getting the baby out of her friend Chipo's belly. With humor and honesty, NoViolet Bulawayo tells the story of Darling in We Need New Names, the 2013 debut novel that won the prestigious Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award.

For the character of Darling, Bulawayo writes in a childlike, authentic voice. Darling is not simpering, cute, or simplistic, and her thought process is believable, if disconcerting. In reading the novel, I learned about the history of Zimbabwe, a time and place I had never known about, and while the author does not go into the gory details, (as Darling is too young to know of them) there is an uneasy feeling permeating the novel that something is wrong. Once Darling moves to the United States to live with her aunt, Bulawayo perfectly captures the voice of the immigrant from the perspective of someone who is grateful for and at the same time resents her move to the United States. In this coming of age story, Darling sacrifices so much to be caught between a land that she feels will never accept her and a home that will never take her back. Fans of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah will devour this one whole.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian

The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland

Claudette, a poor theater actress living in France in the 1600's, has a chance meeting with a rich, beautiful young woman who will change the course of her life forever. The woman is Athénaïs de Montespan, better known as the Madame de Montespan, who would go on to become the favorite mistress of Louis XIV, the Sun King. The two women are drawn to each other, and when Athénaïs asks Claudette to be her maid, she jumps at the chance. Claudette is drawn into a splendid court of mystery, intrigue, and politics in The Shadow Queen by Sandra Gulland.

The magnitude and depth of Gulland's research is the first thing that struck me as I read - I had no idea that I would learn so much about French theater in the Middle Ages by reading this book! But perhaps that is this novel's flaw - there is too much emphasis on the intricate workings of a theater in 1600's France, and not enough time at court until relatively late. For a novel with the Shadow Queen as the title character, the reader does not get to know her until halfway through when Claudette becomes her maid, which makes for an unbalanced narrative. However, the characters are fully realized, the historical details are top notch, and when Claudette finally joins the court, the book really picks up. Check this one out if you love the richly detailed historical fiction of Philippa Gregory or Alison Weir.

Shannon Wood, Adult Services Librarian