Mariatu Kamara was twelve years old when she was caught up in the civil war in Sierra Leone. Most of her village was killed in a raid. Boy soldiers cut off both her hands but let her go. She shares the story of how she learned to cope in the new world she found herself Continue Reading…
Salt by Isabel Zuber: Book Review
Title: SaltAuthor: Isabel ZuberGenres: Historical Fiction, Southern LiteratureFormat: Paperback Synopsis: John Bayley meets Anna Stockton when she’s in her late teens. He decides right away that he’s going to marry her. She looks to be a strong woman who knows how to work. After burying two wives, that combination appeals to John. The rest of Continue Reading…
Dark Fire by C. J. Sansom: Book Review
Matthew Shardlake has been asked to defend a young woman accused of the terrible murder of a child. The problem is that the girl refuses to speak in her own defense and time is running out. Luckily, Thomas Cromwell intervenes and gains Shardlake two more weeks to prepare a defense. In exchange, Matthew must find Continue Reading…
Sweet Nothings by Janis Thomas: Book Review
Ruby McMillan’s husband announces out of the blue that he’s leaving one morning. She has her initial meltdown, of course, but then she starts getting on with her life. Walter has left their finances in a shambles and Ruby has to scramble to hold everything together as he sails off into the sunset with his Continue Reading…
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak: Book Review
Ed Kennedy is an underage cab driver with no prospects. He’s the very picture of your average young man. But someone has chosen him to carry out some tasks that require him to be anything but average. I was incredibly nervous about reading this book after reading The Book Thief. That book immediately became my Continue Reading…
The Commitment by Dan Savage: Book Review
As the “gay marriage debate” was heating up back in oh, 2005, Dan Savage and his boyfriend (they dislike the word partner) were in the middle of their own debate. Should they or shouldn’t they? They’d been together ten years, they’d adopted a son together, neither had any intention of leaving the relationship, they fully Continue Reading…
One Child by Torey Hayden: Book Review
Torey Hayden is what I can only call a special ed teacher. At some less-politically-correct point in her career, she agreed to teach the “garbage class” (her words, not mine) that consisted of the abused, unteachable, unreachable kids. The class of eight students, a teacher’s aide who lacked even a high school diploma, a high Continue Reading…
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway: Book Review
A group of friends travel to Pamplona, Spain for the annual running of the bulls and subsequent bullfights and fiesta. I didn’t like it. Not one bit. We read this for my book club because one of our members remembered loving it when she read it in an English class and had been wanting to Continue Reading…
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison: Book Review
Georgia Nicolson is fourteen and full of typical fourteen-year-old girl drama. Through her hilarious diary entries, we learn about her disastrous attempt at plucking her eyebrows, her fantasies about a guy she calls the Sex God (even though she doesn’t seem very clear about what sex actually involves), her fights with friends, and her triumphs Continue Reading…
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: Book Review
Tom Joad, just released from prison, heads back to his parents’ farm only to find that they have been evicted from their land and are on their way to California in search of a fresh start. Thousands of families are in a similar situation and there are many ruthless people along the way who take Continue Reading…
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak: Book Review
Set in the early days of the USSR, Doctor Zhivago is the story of the doctor and the sweeping changes he bears witness to. Oh, I had a hard time with this one. It was sheer stubbornness that got me through. I didn’t particularly like Doctor Zhivago, I thought Lara was crazy, and I couldn’t Continue Reading…