Readers and writers: From a Supreme Court thriller to Jerry Seinfeld

We’ve got a pre-holiday potpourri of books in different genres today, including a debut political mystery, a heartfelt young adult novel and — Jerry Seinfeld.

“Holding Court”: by Alan Miller (Calumet Editions, $18.99)

“If he could hide at the top of the stairs, when a hand pushed a food tray onto the top step, he could impale the hand with his nail. Then, with the hand inoperable, maybe he could bargain his way out. He was certain they didn’t want to kill him.” — From “Holding Court”

Alan Miller joins the growing list of Minnesota lawyers-turned-novelist with “Holding Court,” his debut political thriller built around one of the most important coming ecological catastrophes — lack of water. Who gets to decide where water will go? Can the federal Environmental Protection Agency take precedence over private companies? What happens, for instance, if these companies are able to send millions of gallons of water from Minnesota to the drought-stricken southwest without citizen input?

Those are the arguments in a case before the U.S. Supreme court as this story opens. It’s the U.S. government vs. NAWES, a consortium of hundreds of companies buying up rights, leasing, or otherwise controlling aquifers and river flow. J.J. Richter, the court’s most liberal justice, is sure to vote for the government’s right to control precious water. But when Richter is kidnapped, the vote would be 4-4, meaning the lower courts’ decisions that the private companies can buy water would stand.

Danni Rose, an assistant professor in environmental law, has been one of J.J.’s best friends since she clerked for him. She’s sure the kidnapping has something to do with the water case. Besides, her mother, who’s head of a media company with TV and radio stations all over the country, is J.J.’s lover. Danni herself is unofficially engaged to Mort Ahrens, an insecure, slightly pudgy, eyeglasses-wearing reporter for the Washington Post.

When news breaks that Richter has been kidnapped, a whole slew of law enforcement agencies are on the case, including the FBI, Montgomery County police and agents who protect the Supreme Court building and the justices. Mort has inside sources that lead to uncovering bad things, such as bugging of the room where only Supreme Court justices are allowed, the murder of a court official, two former Secret Service agents turned rogue and a pompous FBI director who wants some glory.

This is a quick, fast-paced read, with most chapters not longer than three pages, and it teaches readers a lot about the workings of the nation’s highest court. The cast is large, but Miller keeps all the balls in the air in a way that doesn’t confuse the reader. As for the characters, Danni is not especially likable, but she’s fervent in her beliefs in the rights of citizens over corporations. Mort comes out a hero, much to his surprise (this is not a spoiler), and two old Supreme Court justices make crucial decisions. Lupe, J.J.’s endearing housekeeper, is a secondary character who takes charge by hitting a bad guy in the face with her biggest frying pan. She’d make a great protagonist for her own series.

Miller has spent time in the courtroom as an attorney, as well as teaching in colleges, universities and law schools while winning writing awards. He’s served in several positions in city and state governments and for 23 years has been host/producer of “Access to Democracy,” an award-winning cable access TV show.

The author will read from “Holding Court” and sign copies at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, at Wescott Library, 1340 Wescott Road, Eagan. Free and open to the public.

“Controlled Burn”: by Erin Soderberg Downing (Scholastic Press, $7.99)

“I can still hear that cry, the way she wailed as the flames caught her T-shirt and ripped into her hair. Smoke filled the room, making it hard to breathe as I stared at my sister trapped inside a cage of flames.” — From “Controlled Burn”

Minnesotan Downing plunges right into her exciting/tender middle-grade story as 12-year-old Maia, home alone, has to drag her little sister Amelia from their burning home. She succeeds, but Amelia is burned over half her body and Maia believes it is her fault. She smelled smoke but she stopped to throw up, being afraid of almost everything, and then brushing her teeth. And she might have left a candle burning in her bedroom.

The girls’ parents decide Maia should spend the summer with her maternal grandparents who live on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Maia only wants to be with Amelia, sister and best friend, but their house in Chicago is gone and their parents have no place to live.

Lonely and wanting only to go home, Maia is comforted by a big, stray dog she names Bear and strikes up a brother/sister relationship with Griffin, the boy next door who is Amelia’s age. And she comes to know her loving grandmother and her grandfather, who takes her with him every morning to the fire tower where he watches for smoke even though most of these old structures aren’t used anymore. As they talk during lunch, Maia learns more about her grandfather, a man of few words with a hidden past.

During the summer Maia vows to become strong, but she’s afraid of everything now, especially fire. But when her grandfather is hurt and she sees smoke drifting to the sky miles away, can she overcome her fears?

There is a sweetness to the relationships between these vividly drawn characters. Maia feels so guilty for possibly causing her much-loved sister to be badly hurt, her grandparents love one another even though grandpa sleeps in a trailer in the back yard, and Maia’s parents are in the background of the story but their worry and concern for both their daughters comes through. Griffin, a smart kid who helps Maia overcome some of her fears, is so likable you’d hug him if you met him. Same with the dog, Bear.

Downing, who grew up exploring northern Minnesota and has written more than 50 books, says “Controlled Burn” is her love letter to Minnesota’s great Northwoods and celebrates the healing power of nature.

“As I Am: Love, Acceptance, & Gender Diversity”: by written by Celeste Finn, illustrated by Kristina Neudakhina (Shining Lamp Press, no price listed)

In “As I Am,” Kai, who looks to be a pre-teen, wakes to the cuddles of her cat, Sky: “She didn’t care if I was/a boy or a girl./You see, I’m nonbinary,/not a boy or a girl./I’m beyond either gender.” Identifying as they/them, Kai has long hair and painted fingernails and wears soft T-shirts and overalls with sparkly shoes. Some kids don’t understand Kai and they are lonely. But their best friend Paul understands and “this makes my heart sing.” And after a long day, Kai knows Sky will be there to love her unconditionally.

The second half of this book is a detailed caregiver’s gender guide in which the author discusses how young children are learning and then enforcing rigid gender roles. The answer: Gender-conscious caregivers who create gender-affirming spaces for children. A section on how to talk about gender with children is divided by age; 0-12 months, 1-2 years, 3-4 years and 5-6 years. Another section offers eight steps for gender-conscious caregiving and questions to spark conversation.

Finn, who lives in St. Paul, has been an educator for 14 years, teaching in a tiny village in Nepal, an international school in China, and a preschool on the campus of Harvard University. She says she wrote “As I Am” as an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community after she looked for children’s books with a non-binary protagonist and found none.

“Every Leaf a Hallelujah”: by Ben Okri, illustrated by Diana Ejaita (Other Press, $22.99)

This 94-page environmental fairy tale is hard to classify because the story of a girl who stops tree-cutters will appeal to older teens and adults, especially because the African-inspired illustrations — in black and white and vivid forest colors — are gorgeous.

Okri, a Nigerian-British poet, novelist, essayist, anthropologist and playwright, won the Booker Prize for his novel “The Famished Road.” In “Every Leaf a Hallelujah,” which reads like a prose poem, he tells the story of Mangoshi, who goes into the forest to find a flower that will save her ailing mother and her village. Only a girl who is 7 years old, Mangoshi’s age, can pick the healing flower. As the girl goes into the forest the trees speak to her, telling of their interrelated roots and how they support one another. She makes friends with them, even though they tell her it might be too late to save the forest from clear-cutting. When she comes upon a crew about to take down one of her tree friends, she stands her ground and scares the men. A newspaper photographer captures her image and the people remember how important the forest has been to them.

In a note to readers, Okri says he wrote this story because trees make us happy: “I hope you love trees. They are not what they seem. They are magic and they touch our lives with magic too.”

Picture books

Pride of a Nation: A Celebration of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team”: foreword by Julie Foudy, essays by Gwendolyn Oxenham (Tenspeed Press, an official U.S. Soccer Book, $35)

With soccer in the forefront this month thanks to the World Cup competition, it’s a good time to look at women who play the sport, which this book does so well. It begins with the pioneers in the 1980s and goes by decade to the 2020s. There are shout-outs to some of the most famous players, statistics for the decades, and discussions of the closeness of the players. Spectacular pictures capture the women in competition leaping, stretching, grimacing as they fight for the ball, laughing in victory. This is a lot of information for $35 and a holiday book worth giving.

“The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book”: by Jerry Seinfeld (Simon & Schuster, $35)

Fans of Jerry Seinfeld (and that would be just about everybody), will spend happy hours perusing this book about the comedian’s streaming show, timed to the 10th anniversary of the show’s debut. In the new introduction, Seinfeld admits that at the beginning he didn’t even know whether this was a show.

During the past decade Seinfeld has chatted with Steve Martin, Tina Fey and Eddie Murphy, and paid a visit to President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. The unscripted bits of conversation are short and there is no context, just showbiz people talking about their families, food, relationships, growing up, getting older and performing.

In 84 episodes over 11 seasons, Seinfeld has “created arguably the most important historical archive about the art of comedy ever amassed,” writes his publisher, “with episodes featuring Garry Shandling, Jerry Lewis, Don Rickles, Carl Reiner and Norm McDonald.”

This book’s design captures the energy of Seinfeld and his friends. It’s filled with black-and-white and color photos of Jerry and his guests, as well as shots of cars of different makes photographed from all angles.

Put this book out before the holiday feast and you might have to bribe your guests to come to the table.

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