Three to Read: Anna Corbin
In each Three to Read essay, the writer suggests three books that share a connective thread of interest. Anna Corbin continues the series.
I have always had difficulty making friends. I was a tiny child with health issues, which, instead of making me meek, gave me a boisterous personality that seemed to overwhelm my peers. I was quiet and reserved in the classroom but outspoken and bossy on the playground. I wanted so desperately for others to be exactly like me that it impeded my ability to develop relationships. The harder I tried to make my friends be who I wanted them to be, the more they seemed to evade me.
When I finally matured enough to begin to connect with others, it was not because I actively sought out those who were similar to me, as I had done in the past. On the contrary, some of the deepest connections I have ever made had little in common with me at all. Reflecting on our twenty-four years together this past Valentine’s Day, my husband and I shared a laugh at how our relationship has endured despite our differences.
Whereas I prefer books to people, my husband has never met a stranger. He is spontaneous and carefree; I am a compulsive planner, riddled with anxiety. He is a peacemaker; I am constantly ready for battle. Yet it seems like destiny that we met those many years ago in a Walmart photo lab, for somehow, we make the perfect match.
It took years for me to appreciate the value of surrounding ourselves with those who challenge us instead of mimicking us. How boring life would be if everyone always related to everyone else or if we were all simply clones of each other. In my experience, life is far more exciting when relationships form between unexpected people, sometimes in the most surprising of places.
Inspired by this revelation, I would like to recommend three books sharing the connective thread of main characters forming unlikely relationships.
When I read The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin last year, I was in mourning. A few months prior, two very important people in my life had passed away within weeks of each other. I was unsure if I wanted to embark on a journey that takes place in a terminal ward, knowing that it was sure to be a tear-jerker. However, it was so highly recommended that I could not pass it up.
The main character, Lenni, is a seventeen-year-old who is facing the reality that she is dying. Margo is an enigmatic eighty-three-year-old with a penchant for breaking the rules. A chance encounter in the hospital they both reside in draws these two to each other, and an indelible friendship is formed. After realizing that they have lived a total of one hundred years combined, Lenni and Margot decide to create works of art devoted to each of their one hundred years. Everyone around them is then granted the privilege of hearing their respective life stories, told out of order, as these women grow closer and come to terms with both the past and the present.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is a delightfully bittersweet testament to embracing both the choices we have made and the circumstances in which we have no choice. It is a beautiful tale of friendship, loss, and all the love that occurs in between, and it serves as a haunting reminder that knowing you are dying is no reason to ever stop living.
While the story of Lenni and Margo is devoted to an unlikely friendship between two women of different generations, A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare is a historical romance that joyfully explores the popular “enemies-to-lovers” and “opposites attract” tropes.
For decades, I turned up my nose at the historical romance section of bookstores, the covers featuring cliché titles and shirtless men ripping at the bodices of swooning women. However, I was severely misjudging the content of such books and denying myself access to an incredible genre that does not deserve the stigma associated with it. A dear friend turned me on to historical romances a few years ago, and I have been plowing through them ever since. It goes without saying that they are much steamier than mainstream fiction, but just past those erotic covers and passages are stories about intelligent, strong-willed female main characters like none I had ever read before. One of my absolute favorite characters is Minerva Highwood, the heroine of A Week to Be Wicked.
Minerva has no interest in getting married and joining society, as was expected in the Regency era. A geologist whose only dream is to have her presentation accepted at the Royal Geological Society in Scotland, Minerva decides to bribe the notorious rake Lord Payne to accompany her, as she cannot travel alone. This sets in motion a wild road trip by carriage, leading to one adventure after another, culminating in an epic love story.
Where A Week to Be Wicked diverges from the typical romance tropes is that the unlikely couple does not fall for each other because they find they have more in common than they thought. By the end of the novel, they are still as different from one another as they are in the beginning. That is what makes the story so compelling. They accept each other for who they are and bring out the best in one another in the process. Neither expects the other to change, and they embrace their differences as a benefit to their relationship rather than a detriment. If you have ever considered trying out the historical romance genre, A Week to Be Wicked is the perfect place to begin.
I often judge books by their covers (though not always successfully), and it was the cover of The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune that drew me to it initially. It features a tall, rickety home perched atop a cliff against a gorgeous sunset, with the sea – a lovely shade of cerulean, of course – flowing below. It made me want to visit there, and coincidentally, I would later learn that a recurring line in the novel is, “Don’t you wish you were here?”
The House in the Cerulean Sea tells the fantastical tale of Linus, a caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. Linus lives an obedient, mundane existence in an extraordinary world where registered, magical adults live among society and magical children are kept in orphanages in the name of protecting them from themselves and others. When Linus is sent to a faraway island where the most “dangerous” magical children are kept, his life is turned upside down.
He spends weeks with the children and their eccentric caregiver, Arthur, who are unlike any of his previous cases. As time passes, Linus slowly learns the real danger lies in those who fear what they do not understand and that the innocence of children transcends magic, bigotry, and all “Rules and Regulations.” The House in the Cerulean Sea is a marvelous example of love, resilience, and creating a family out of the most unimaginable situations.
This book has it all - exceptional storytelling, a gorgeous setting, and the most phenomenal cast of characters I have ever encountered, as well as a fantastic soundtrack that plays its own role in the story. The soundtrack was so good, in fact, that I added each song mentioned in the novel to my own music library, and I get to relive the best parts of the novel in my mind every time they play.
The House in the Cerulean Sea appeals to all who have an open heart, regardless of age or gender. Not only do I love it, but my husband loves it, and even both of my teen sons love it. That is a feat that has never been achieved by any other book I have begged them to read. I dare you to read it and not fall in love with it.
The unlikely relationships found in these books I have recommended validate my firm belief that you do not always have to search in order to find what you are looking for. These novels give readers hope that their next best friend or love of their life is waiting for them somewhere - maybe in a hospital hallway or, in the English countryside or even on a magical island. As The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, A Week to Be Wicked, and The House on the Cerulean Sea demonstrate, there are no deeper relationships than those forged in fate and driven by destiny, in spite of and against the odds.
Perhaps we should all take those odds more often.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
- John Steinbeck
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margo, by Marianne Cronin
A Week to Be Wicked, by Tessa Dare
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
Anna Corbin (she/her) is an avid reader and aspiring writer with two novels and a memoir in various stages of development.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anna spent her time advocating for health care on a local and national level, giving speeches and presenting at conferences across Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. As a result of her efforts, she received multiple awards and was chosen to be the guest of United States Senator Bob Casey at the 2018 State of the Union address.
Taking an indefinite break from the rigors of activism, Anna now spends her time pursuing her dream of becoming a published author, curling up with a good book, listening to 90s R&B, and starting craft projects that she never intends to finish.
Anna lives in Hanover, PA, with her husband, two teen sons, a dog named Eloise, and an axolotl named Alfie. She can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (X).
All works copyright
Anna Corbin, the Authors, Publishers, and/or Andrew T. Smith
