Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

 Klara is an Artificial Friend - a human like robot assigned to help her real child Josie get through the difficult years from 14 to college.  Josie is "lifted" - a process available to the privileged members of society to give them advantages in life.  Josie's best friend Rick is not among the privileged but he has been loyal to her through all of her vague, unspecified illnesses.  Klara learns through observation and believes the sun to be a source of power that can help all of them.  But what is she really? She is purchased in a shop where she converses with other AFs.  She is to act like a friend but is compared to a vacuum cleaner.  The book is an interesting exploration into the range of AI possibilities in a time that seems not so far in the future.  There is also the question of what is it about being human that makes us different from machines that exhibit intelligence.  What is the role of memory? of history? They all play out in the relationship between Klara and humans around her.  Interesting? Foreboding? Inevitable?

West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

 At the age of 105, Woody Nickel decides to tell his story of a trip he took in 1938 with a pair of giraffes.  The giraffes had survived a storm on their journey by sea from Africa.  Riley Jones was hired to get them across the country to the San Diego zoo.  Woody, then 17, had hit a serious rough patch in his life and by telling just a few small lies (like sure I can drive a truck) is hired to help Riley.  Woody loved the giraffes and in the magical way that animals can tell good from bad people, they surrendered to his care.  In 1938 there  were not many ways to get from the east to west coast and there was a lot of nothing or dangerous something along the way.  They encountered both good and bad, much of it recorded by reporter Augusta (Red) Lowe who served as a worthy partner in discussions about life, choices, and giraffes.  It is quite the story and the best part is that much of it is true!

The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts

 "The true Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across America"

In 1954, 62 year old Annie Wilkins is given 2 to 4 years to live if she lives a quiet life - not so easy to do as a struggling farmer in Mynott, Maine.  Instead she decides to act on her dream of seeing the Pacific Ocean before she dies.  With no money, she buys an older horse named Tarzen, packs a few things and heads west - well, south then west - sort of.  Riding with her is her small dog, Depeche Toi (aka Hurry Up).  Some bad but mostly good things happen on the way.  It is an interesting view into a time when people were less afraid to welcome a stranger particularly after she becomes a news worthy story. Heart warming along the way but not the ending I expected.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

 Black Cake is a dense, rum soaked, fruit filled cake - a part of every Caribbean celebration in spite of its colonial roots - a favorite treat for Eleanor Bennet to bake.  It is a mystery then why Eleanor leaves a note to her children, who travel to Southern California for her funeral, that there is just such a cake for them to share when "the time is right".  But first they are asked to listen to a long audio recording Eleanor left behind.  Daughter Benny and son Byron are not expecting surprises. They have always known they were children of Jamaican immigrants who faced the discrimination rampant in American society together as a family.  But there are secrets that go back to the time when Eleanor was named Covey, a fierce swimmer who fought against the constraints in her traditional upbringing in Jamaica.  And their father - well that's another story.  So back and forth between times and many places the truth is shared, the definition of home and family is challenged and connections between things like black cake and identity are explored.  It's a rich, complicated journey.

Fast Girls by Elise Hooper

 In the 1928 Olympics, Betty Robinson won a gold medal in the 100m race. It was the first time women could compete and there were many who thought this was a fluke and women should not be competing in such a demanding sport.  Inspired by her win, women continued to find ways to race.  This is the story of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. While the light shone brightest on Jesse Owens that Olympic year and on the rise of Nazi Germany for many years after, there were women who also felt they had something to prove.  This story focuses on three of the women.  Helen Stephens, a farm girl from Iowa; Louise Stokes, a young Black woman from the Boston area; and Betty.  Through their stories we learn about the racism, sexism and homophobia these women had to struggle against to compete and how the power of team work helped them overcome the obstacles in their paths and lead to a golden moment.  Enlightening and inspiring, it is not a surprising that we didn't know about these women - just sad that it took so long.

The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson

 Honey Lovett is the daughter of the blue skinned pack horse librarian we met in The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.  It is the 1950's in these hollers of Kentucky but not much has changed from the poverty, lack of education and prejudice that Honey's mother so bravely overcame. Now it is Honey's turn. Even though some real libraries have been established in the small towns, they are still not accessible to the people in the hills. Although only 17, circumstances make it necessary for Holly to take up her mother's old route. It turns out that she has much more to contribute to the people on her route than books.  This is feel good historical fiction.

Happiness by Aminatta Forna

 I found the two main characters interesting but I think this novel was just trying too hard.  Attila Asare is a noted psychiatrist from Ghana who specializes in trauma due to conflict.  As an expert he has travelled to many of the war torn areas of the world.  In fact many of his former patients turn up in this London based story.  Jean is an American urban biologist studying the fox population in the city.  They bump into each other on the Waterloo Bridge (symbolic? over-thought?) and the connection is made. Back and forth through time and place, we are offered multiple thoughts about war, family, environment, death, love and even happiness.  There is trouble with immigration officers, a lover with Alzheimer's, estranged family members, conflict between nature lovers and city dwellers, a lost niece - just to name a few.  In spite of all of this, it made for a great book group discussion.