Review: "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly - 3/5 Stars

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly takes us back to the labor shortages of World War II in the United States and explores how events during that time opened previously-barred doors for black women mathematicians both in society and their careers. These brave souls shine on the pages as they take desperate risks (emotionally, financially, and often physically) for a shot at a better life and to show their patriotic duty. 

I found this story intriguing and appreciated that I was being able to read from the perspective of a black woman who grew up in Virginia and new many of these women we meet in the book. These were people who lived and breathed this life, and many assumptions I had about that time and how events progressed were challenged. Tremendous value can be gained by reading about history from multiple perspectives, especially if you choose a perspective that is quite different from your own.

As a woman, it was exciting to see women celebrated in the maths and sciences. Even now, some seventy-odd years later, we're still faced with antiquated paradigms that need to be challenged by saying "Yeah, girls can do math, too!" Fortunately, there are programs and organizations popping up every year to keep this movement going forward. One of which, springs to mind is the Girls Who Code program which has made tremendous progress in reversing the gender-gap in the technology world. For more information on Girls Who Code, click here.

There are also pages and pages of goodies for fans and students of the history of flight in this book. While I'd heard the term "test pilot" before, the ramifications of what that meant didn't really hit home until I read this book. This job was not for the faint of heart. Essentially, a test pilot was told, "Okay, this thing we built, we don't know if it will fly or kill you. So go take it up and we'll record what happens. Best of luck."

And then...if the miraculous happened and the thing didn't crash, the next step was, "Okay, glad you lived. Now, here are all the weakness of this thing we built, where we think this machine will fail. Go back, and push the aircraft to the brink of those weakness. Why? Oh, because we need to see what will happen."

Would you do it? Yeah, me neither.

But that's how the industry of flight got to where it is now. I don't think I can ever look at even a commercial airliner the same again.

Finally, a few comments about the Twentieth Century Fox motion picture released last year that was inspired by this book. I watched the film before reading this book (the film actually inspired me to want to read the book). The film is a very loose interpretation of the book, so if you're looking for more of the same, I would caution you that this is not what you'll get. Treat the two mediums as distinctly separate. If you just want a fun story that barely skims the surface of the history unfolding both on the domestic and international level, then stick with the film because a great deal of the book is focused on the history. If the film looks too watered-down for you, the book is absolutely something meatier you can sink your teeth into. The two work better as companions, and not carbon copies of one another.

Review: "Ashes of Twilight" by Kassy Tayler - 4/5 Stars

Wren lives underground beneath a city that has been completely encapsulated within a giant dome because - everyone is told - the world outside was destroyed in a fire that is...somehow...still burning hundreds of years later. The material the dome is made from is too opaque to see through, but Wren still climbs to the cities' rooftops each morning to watch the light come, even though she hasn't actually ever seen the sun. She constantly dreams of somehow escaping the way things are - because they are not good. Her caste system mines the coal needed to support the upper castes, which they exchange for food. But the coal is running out, and so is Wren's patience.

Ashes of Twilight by Kassy Tayler burns with the same intensity as Susan Collins' The Hunger Games. This is best classified as steampunk-dystopian, and while I'm not new to the dystopian genre, I haven't read too much steampunk (something I expect will change). I am a fan of The Hunger Games but there were a couple of things in "Ashes of Twilight" that made me like it even more.

First of all, there isn't really a love triangle, which usually rears its ugly head in most YA novels. The synopsis already kind of hints that there might be a love interest, and chapter 1 introduces us to a male lead that had me worried we were headed for romantic triad territory. Then that lead was removed. Quite effectively. And although we only know him for a few pages, it's heart-wrenching.

"The tallest buildings look over the fountain and the small businesses. They house the government of our world along with the great library and the museum, all places I'm not allowed to go but am expected to work my entire life to preserve. These are the rooftops I haunt every morning to watch the light come and wonder why."

The second thing I really appreciated about Wren's character is that, unlike many main characters of dystopian novels, she's questioning the rules and "how things work" almost from the very first page. She's not exactly surrounded by rebels, in fact, those around her a stunned when she starts voicing some of her questions and demanding answers.

"They look at me in shocked silence. Have they never thought of these things? Have they never wondered what it is like on the outside? Do they simply believe what they are told without question? If this is my future, then I do not want it."

Unlike many stories that are plot-driven, merely dragging the main characters along after it, this is truly a character-driven story, since Wren refuses to just sit by and watch life happen. She makes choices - sometimes ill-informed ones - and she owns up to her responsibility to those decisions she makes. In this book, it is Wren (not the plot) who is dragging everyone else along for the ride.

The language is this book is lovely and accessible, without going over the top, even if what the words are describing are pretty terrible or frightening. Warning: If you suffer from claustrophobia, there are multiple points in this book where you might have trouble. Wren's entire community exists deep underground in tunnels and caves for their entire lives and Kassy Tayler has no problem describing some of the "tight" places they have to wriggle through in very precise and vivid detail. She even had me holding my breath a couple of times.

I advise you if you get the chance to hold on, take a deep breath, and dive into the domed world of Wren to experience the shocking revelations she uncovers for yourself.

This story continues in Shadows of Glass book 2 of the Ashes Trilogy and I cannot wait.