,,#bookreview A Long Petal of the Sea...Isabel Allende

#bookreview
From the book's blurb:From the New York Times bestselling author of The House of the Spirits, this epic novel spanning decades and crossing continents follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War in search of a place to call home. 

My thoughts: This is a love story, a war story, a story of home and a story of exile. There are so many facets to this book that the mind is in a constant state of delight or bewilderment while reading. The characters are well-written, all are important but none overshadowing the other. Even Victor, our main character seems to know when to take a back seat. He is a friend, a lover, and a rescuer.

It is only after fleeing Spain as Franco and the Fascists take over and living a life in exile, always planning to go ‘home” that he recognizes where home actually resides. I think Roser, his wife, was good for him. She gave him so much that he didn't realize at the time. I liked her.

I consider myself an avid reader, but until now had never read Isabel Allende. She will now be on my list of must read authors. She gives us clear descriptions and vivid pictures. She gives us subtlety of ideas, letting us discover and form our own conclusions.

Thank you New Galley and Ballentine Books, Random House for sending this treasure to me in exchange to an honest review.  #netgalley, #isabelallenda

Available January 21, 2020

#bookreview Chilka's Journey... Travel it with her.

Book Review
 Chilka' Journey is another in the field that reminds us of the atrocities of concentration camps of WWII. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it until several pages in. Then Chilka became real to me as she became real on the page. The reader follows Chilka through the author's skillful ability to let us feel what is happening to Chilka. As the war ends, we learn that Chilka's freedom is not at hand. There is hatred, debasement, and horrifying moments, but, there is love, and hope and the message that if we can withstand it, we can overcome it.

Book Review: Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood. A wonderful story.

From the book's blurb: 
Inspired by true events of how far one mother must go to protect her daughter.

Dover, Massachusetts, 1969. Ginny Richardson's heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, was whisked away from her under false pretenses. In truth Lucy was born with Down Syndrome. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded." Ab tried to convince Ginny it was for the best. That they should grieve for their daughter as though she were dead. That they should try to move on.

But two years later, when Ginny's best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth--its squalid hallways filled with neglected children--she knows she can't leave her daughter there. With Ginny's six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines―turning Ginny into a fugitive.

For the first time, Ginny must test her own strength and face the world head-on as she fights Ab and his domineering father for the right to keep Lucy. Racing from Massachusetts to the beaches of Atlantic City, through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to a roadside mermaid show in Florida, Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.

My Thoughts:

After Lucy is born with Down Syndrome, decisions are made and lies are told concerning her care.

The subject of this book is an emotional one and the author could have been heavy handed with her principle message that all children are worthy of love and dignity. Lucy is, in today's terms, a special needs child, but she is so much more.

After two years of believing her daughter is getting the best care possible, Lucy's mother, lied to by her husband and in-laws who have placed Lucy in an asylum, learns of Lucy's circumstances. Lucy is not well cared for and is in fact, neglected. Her mother has to kidnap her to help her. During their time on the run, we see love blossom and a wonderful Lucy bloom and grow. 

I don't know whether to encourage families with a Down Syndrome child to read the book or not. I think they will question the mother's acceptance of the decisions made by others for two years. But I encourage all others to read it and get to know Lucy.

I have a cousin and a dear friend both with Down Syndrome grandchildren. Those youngsters are delightful, full of life and love, and loved so completely in return. Cultural acceptance of these and other Special children is changing, but we still have more we can do for them.

This is an important book, but it is a novel, it does not push attitudes or positions on the reader. It simply introduces the reader to a sweet two year old named Lucy and a mother who will, finally, do anything to help her baby girl.

This book is scheduled for release in August, but is available for pre-order. I suggest that you do so. I was sent a copy if the book by the publisher in exchange for a truthful review.

Truthfully, I love this book.

Book Review: The Best Cook in the World: Tales from my Momma's Table by Rick Bragg

From the book's blurb:
"Margaret Bragg does not own a single cookbook. She measures in "dabs" and "smidgens" and "tads" and "you know, hon, just some." She cannot be pinned down on how long to bake corn bread ("about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the mysteries of your oven"). Her notion of farm-to-table is a flatbed truck. But she can tell you the secrets to perfect mashed potatoes, corn pudding, redeye gravy, pinto beans and hambone, stewed cabbage, short ribs, chicken and dressing, biscuits and butter rolls. Many of her recipes, recorded here for the first time, pre-date the Civil War, handed down skillet by skillet, from one generation of Braggs to the next. In The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg finally preserves his heritage by telling the stories that framed his mother's cooking and education, from childhood into old age. Because good food always has a good story, and a recipe, writes Bragg, is a story like anything else."




My thoughts:
My children did not grow up near their grandparents on either side, but that does not stop them from remembering and talking about the good foods and smells they always remember from Mama and Papa's Southern home. Even son-in-law John tells of walking into their home for the first time and seeing and smelling two stoves overflowing with delicious southern food and two refrigerators housing desserts. Real food. Good old-fashioned food. 

That's basically what Rick Bragg is talking about in The Best Cook in the World. Of course, he thinks that title belongs to his mother. In true Rick Bragg fashion, he has given us down home country southerners, his family,'s stories, a glimpse back into the day, an aha moment because we had the same experiences at our best cook's house, and a taste of home. Get ready Alabama families and all Southerners, even those who had to get here later in life or who still live in other places. This is the book you must have. Full of memories, stories, and 74 Southern recipes!

Now available at book outlets and online.

Book Review: Occupied by Kurt Blorstad: A Novel Based on a True Story

From the Books Blurb: 
As WW II breaks out, a father finds himself in the U.S. while his wife and sons are home in occupied Norway. Based on the son’s true-life journals from 1935-1945, this is the story of a family separated by war and uncertainty.

My thoughts:
Occupied is told through one continuous flashback which shows 70 year old Trygve taking his son to the place in Norway that means so much to him and telling his story. It is formatted as a journal might be; each chapter has as its title, the date. This is very helpful and one gets the feeling of reading the actual journal. That feeling is so authentic that in a few instances I thought the narrative was rather long and drawn out, just as a young boy might have written in. This only happened a couple of times and certainly did not detract from the overall reading experience.

As Occupied begins we meet the young brothers, Trygve and Thoralf, and other members of their immediate family in Norway. The boys are portrayed in such a way that the reader feels they know them, or at least someone like them. They're cute, rambunctious, and totally believable. I can just picture those boys questioning their relative about the journey to the bus station. "This isn't the road to the bus station." They are then told that they will be going by small boat across the fjord  to reach the bus station. I would have loved that experience. 

We watch the boys grow from youngsters unaware of the world falling apart around them to young men who want to help protect their world. From small childlike activities that help the war effort to clandestine activities of teenagers, the boys are caught up in the war. 

Many countries in Europe have their WWII stories overshadowed by larger countries, especially in marketplace literature. This story introduces us not only to two special boys, but to the country of Norway and its people as they traverse the dangerous landscape of WWII. It was a welcome adventure into a less traveled land.

I don't think the book was written as a middle school level book, but I think it should be considered at that level as well as for adults. Often middle school boys cannot find historical fiction books with protagonists they can relate to. Here is one that middle school history and literature teachers should consider for their male readers. With some format editing of the longer paragraphs and the margins in the print version (middle schoolers do still like white spaces when reading), I think this could be an excellent middle school historical fiction and the genre needs more of those.

Occupied will be published April 9, 2019. You may pre-order your copy through various book vendors.

Book Review: I Want You Gone! By Miranda Rijks

From  the description:

Laura Swallow is dead. 
A life cut tragically short, says the newspaper obituary.
But that’s a lie. 
Estate agent Laura did not die in a car accident. She is alive and well.
At first, Laura thinks it’s a sick joke. 
But multiple announcements of her death are followed by increasingly sinister real-life events. Already fragile, struggling to recover from a recent divorce, Laura is plunged into a living nightmare. 
Who can she trust? Her new lover? Her clients and work colleagues? What about her ex-husband and his smug fiancée? Can Laura even rely on her best friends? And why is it that Laura’s present troubles are so tied up with her sister’s sudden death all those years ago?
But one thing Laura is sure of – someone out there wants her to suffer. Wants her gone. 
Forever.

I cannot believe how quickly this book pulled me in. I was just going to read the first chapter but simply could not put it down. The main character was well drawn and likeable. The plot moved quickly and held my interest until the end which was unexpected. Great weekend read.
#iwantyougone

                              Available as an ebook for 3.99