Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's selection: Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

Due out April 2012

Product Description taken from Amazon:

Jill Ruspoli is moving forward with her life after a devastating divorce. Her work as a pediatrician is hectic but fulfilling, she’s newly engaged to a kind and loving medical researcher, and her daughter is finally happy again and doing well in middle school, in the aftermath of losing her stepfather in the divorce. But when Jill’s distraught ex-stepdaughter Abby shows up on her doorstep with the news of her ex-husband’s death from an apparent overdose, her life is thrust into turmoil once again. Abby believes her father was murdered and pleads with Jill to help her explore the circumstances of her father’s death. Jill can’t turn her back on Abby, even though helping her threatens to rip apart the fabric of her new family, destroy her hard-earned stability, and sacrifice her future for her past. Along the way Jill learns that motherhood transcends mere biological and legal ties and requires only the power of the human heart.

Destiny of the Republic

The older I get, the more I wished I would have really paid attention during my history classes- in high school and college. Now as an adult, I am fascinated by history and the people and events that shaped our world.

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard tells the story of President James Garfield. Although I could recognize Garfield's name in a line-up of presidents, I knew little more about him. Millard's detailed research shares the story of a remarkable man. Garfield grew up in extreme poverty, yet had a sense of pride about him that allowed him to rise above his lowly financial status. He believed in education as a way to further himself. When he began a life in politics, he never aspired to be elected president. In fact, at the convention where he was asked to endorse a different presidential candidate, he was nominated to run for president by his party. His death at the hands of an assassin changed our country's future.

Although the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy are ones that most people know of, I knew nothing of Garfield's. The man who shot him, Charles Gitteau, had planned this for a long time. Today he would no doubt be considered insane, he was always on the fringe, trying to find a role for himself in the president's inner circle. Garfield was injured from the shot, but not fatally. He continued to try and recover from his injuries, but developed an infection from his wound. Interestingly, the United States did not embrace the idea of sterilization of medical equipment in order to reduce germs, claiming that countries who believed in the idea of germs would eventually recognize their confusion.

While the ending of this story is no surprise, the details of this time in history and how it changed the United States are worth reading. I have a much better understanding of President Garfield as a politician and a person.

Local Author, Local Story

I have lived my entire life in northeast Iowa, and had thought I knew many of the stories and history of this area. This summer during a librarian workshop we had a discussion about different newsmakers in Iowa. The Mark murders came up, which not only had I never heard of, but then learned took place just a few miles from my home.

The Mark murders occurred in 1975, when I was too young to remember them. Now, Scott Cawelti has written a book, Brothers Blood: A Heartland Cain and Abel, that explores this gruesome murder. Back in 1975 near Cedar Falls, Iowa, a young family was murdered on Halloween night in their home. When they were discovered by the husband's parents and hired hand the next morning there was little evidence besides their bodies. Eventually witnesses were interviewed, and Jerry Mark, the victim's oldest brother was convicted of the killing. Cawelti traces the steps Jerry took to commit this murder down to the very smallest detail. Today Mark is serving four consecutive life sentences, and has been in prison for 35 years.

After I finished this novel, there wasn't much doubt in my mind of Mark's guilt. Cawelti does not explore other possibilities. However, my husband read this book as well, and after he finished he questioned Mark's conviction. While I did not read the trial notes at book's end, my husband did, and this seems to have made a great deal of difference in our interpretation. I may still go back and read this portion of Blood Brothers to get a fuller picture, but even without this portion, this is a fascinating (and of course devastating) story of a family taken from this earth much too soon.

Reading about places and people I know is always interesting and adds to a story, and Brothers Blood is certainly something that Iowans should read and know about. I will admit that the cover was an initial turn-off to me, but once I knew what the story was about, I was able to look past that and enjoy (if that's the right word), this account of the Mark murders.

The Daughters Join the Party

I will admit that when I started Joanna Philbin's fourth Daughters book, I was a bit confused. I enjoyed the first three, and without even knowing anything about the fourth, picked it up. I had no idea that a fourth daughter was being introduced to this series, but once I started this installment, I loved the latest addition.

Emmy Conway is also born to great wealth and privilege. Her father, Adam Conway, is thinking about a presidential bid, and suddenly her family is thrust into the limelight. This doesn't seem to be a problem for her older brother, Remington, who is a star student, star athlete, and perfect son. But for Emma? Emma is dyslexic and doesn't do as well in school, she also has a hard time following the rules, and as the novel begins has been kicked out of her boarding school. Now she will be attending the same school as Remington, which is where she meets up with Hudson, Carina and Lizzie, the Daughters from the previous novels. Although Hudson, Lizzie and Carina do make appearances in this novel and are friends with Emma, this is really Emma's story.

She must deal with life in the limelight, being true to herself and finding a way to fit in with her over-achieving family. Add in a little romance, and a few other minor plots, and this Daughters novel is just as fun as the first three.

I am so far behind in keeping up with most series, that the fact that I am all caught up with Philbin's books should be evidence to their quality. I like how they are also very clean novels - free from swearing and sex. Other elementary librarians in my district have purchased these for their upper elementary girls, and my own fourth grade daughter has started the first novel. This series is well written and gives the feel of The Gossip Girls for the younger set.

Thanksgiving Reading

My reading over this four day weekend is not very impressive at all. Instead, our family has put together a 1000 piece puzzle in the course of 24 hours. We are happy it is completed and all had fun working on it, but were slightly disgusted to see that 5 pieces are missing from the finished product. I am sure this is from my daughters who got the puzzle out several years ago when they were much younger.

I took the girls shopping yesterday - just Target where we picked up some DVDs, and then we ended up walking around the very busy mall. Today I want to go back by myself so I can get some real shopping done. Last night we also put up our tree and Christmas decorations. We got it done quickly, but it is still a project to get out and sort through stuff. Tomorrow my sister and her family will be back so we will celebrate Thanksgiving at my parents house.

All of this has seriously cut into my reading plans. ARGH!

However, I did manage to read Crashers by Dana Haynes, the first in a mystery series chronicling a team of Crashers who discover and research reasons why airplanes crash. This first novel was suspenseful as they tried to find the culprit of the crash. While it initially seemed like pilot error, there was much more to the story. A Vermeer One Eleven crashes outside of Portland, Oregon, leaving few survivors. Tommy Tomzak, who recently left the NTSB is named as the head of the investigation, causing initial disagreement among others on the crashers team. Others on the team bring with them unique skills as well as they race to determine how this plane was brought down. Because, although it looks like pilot error, this plane was downed on purpose, and now the group that crashed this plane is planning on downing another one.

The second in this series, Breaking Point, is already out. I enjoyed the first novel, but think as this series progresses and I begin to "know" the characters that I will enjoy these books even more. While I have several mystery series that I read, this is the only one dealing with the airline industry. Mystery and suspense lovers will enjoy Haynes books a great deal.

Before I Go To Sleep

S. J. Watson's novel, Before I Go To Sleep, was a fast and interesting read leaving me with many things to think about.

Christine suffered an accident that took with it her memory. Now each day as she wakes, she must re-learn who she is, where she lives, who she is married to. She can recall a few things from her childhood and a few feelings of familiarity from time to time, but not much beyond that. She is at the mercy of her husband, Ben, who cares for her. Christine has been seeing Dr. Nash, a man interested in treating her and assisting her in retrieving her memories, without Ben's knowledge. Dr. Nash has Christine keeping a journal which allows her to read about her events of previous days but also allows her to record items she does not remember but may not re-learn every day, such as the fact that she had a son named Adam.

I will admit that at times I became confused about what Christine had read in her journal each day, or if what she was recalling was something she had re-learned from her husband. While there seem to be some inconsistencies in what Ben is telling his wife, they are easily explained as his way of dealing with caring for someone who has lost all memory. This book is not the fun romp like What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, yet I was very engaged in Christine's story and found it hard to put down. While this is categorized as a novel, I feel as though it could easily be considered a psychological thriller as Christine tries to determine what "accident" caused her to lose her memory and which people she should trust.

The topic of memory seems to be popular right now. Read-alikes include: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty, Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante, and Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: So Pretty It Hurts: A Bailey Weggins Mystery

By Kate White

Due out March 20, 2012

Product Description taken from Harper Collins website:

True-crime journalist and sassy amateur sleuth Bailey Weggins has scarcely begun her hard-earned weekend getaway when something comes up: a dead body, belonging to one of the world’s most glamorous supermodels. Now Bailey’s trapped at an upstate New York home amidst the glitterati—and any one of them could be a murderer. She’s determined to find out who’s responsible, but her investigation could provoke the killer into striking again… From Kate White, the New York Times bestselling author of Hush and the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, So Pretty It Hurts is an addictive addition to the Bailey Weggins mystery series, and the book that fans of If Looks Could Kill, Over Her Dead Body, and Lethally Blond have been waiting for.

2011: The Year of Sisters

Every once in a while it does seem that there are certain similarities in books published near the same time. 2011 is perhaps the year of sisters. First I read The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen. Then there was The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown and Sister by Rosamund Lupton . And now, there is The Sisters by Nancy Jensen.

The Sisters is a family novel, spanning generations of women within the same family. Bertie and Mabel are born in the early 1900s, living a hard life with their abusive stepfather after their mother's death. Their paths separate when Bertie feels that Mabel has betrayed her, and the two go on with their own lives. Both Bertie and Mabel narrate chapters, as do their daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Decades pass and Mabel and Bertie age, yet still remember the other, never knowing the truth behind the event that caused them to part ways.

Each generation of women faced their own challenges, and each struggle caused me to nearly groan in frustration with the decisions the women made. And while I was not happy with the choices the women made, I was also not surprised.

I love generational stories, and seeing how the choices made by one generation affects children and grandchildren in future generations. Eighty years pass within this novel, chronicling births and deaths, tragedies and happiness. The Sisters is a wonderful story of two sisters, but also of their families.

Cherry Squares

Each week Beth Fish Reads hosts the Weekend Cooking meme.

This recipe is from a 1973 church cookbook celebrating the church's 100th anniversary. My husband now works with the woman who submitted this recipe.

Cherry Squares

Beat together: 2 sticks of margarine and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add 1 3/4 c. sugar, beating until thoroughly creamed. Add 4 eggs (1 at a time), beating well. Sift the following into creamed mixture and mix until smooth: 3 c. flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp. salt. Spread into large, flat pan or cookie sheet, leaving 1 c. batter. Put 1 can of cherry pie filling over first layer; then dot with remaining batter. Bake at 350 degree for 45 minutes.

This has been a favorite of mine for years. I was first introduced to them at church gatherings and I looked forward to them after every service where snacks were served. Yesterday I made these for my Thirty-One party and unfortunately have plenty of leftovers. It is impossible for me to walk by the pan without taking a bite or two. Last time I made them was a while ago, and to make them a bit healthier I used only 1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour and 1 1/2 cups of wheat flour.

Sunday Salon

Today I am feeling relieved. Yesterday I had a Thirty-One party at my house. There are some people who have parties -Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Silpada, Lia Sophia- often. I am not one of them. In fact, I feel rather uncomfortable hosting parties at my house. My mom had a long lasting (and does to this day) fear of having a home that was not as good as her friends', which seems to have passed on to me. Realistically, I don't analyze and critique homes that I visit, and I doubt my friends are doing that to mine, but as I cleaned on Friday night, I could find lots of little flaws that are easy to overlook because I see them every day, but might be very noticeable to someone not so used to them.
The party itself went well. In addition to receiving some wonderful hostess gifts and incentives, I also have a clean house - at least the main living area. The other areas, where I stashed stuff don't look so good.

Today I finished The Sisters by Nancy Jensen, a novel I received through Amazon Vine. I can hardly wait to review this one, but am still processing it in my own mind. Now I have begun Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson, a book I keep reading about all over.

Not much is scheduled for the week, aside from Thanksgiving at my house. Just my parents and my in-laws are coming, which makes it very low-key. Next Sunday we will gather at my parents' house with my siblings and their families to celebrate the holiday. The family picture below was taken at my parents' farm, to commemorate their 40th anniversary.

We are happy here in Iowa to still have fall-like weather in mid-November, although I did purchase a few new Christmas decorations yesterday. I can't wait to have a four day weekend that will give me time to read a bit more.

Net Galley Love

As if I don't already have enough on my TBR pile, I have added one more way I can get books. Net Galley has become my new addiction. I still have lots to read and catch up on, but I love looking at new things and seeing what will soon be published.

This week I read Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart. I already own a few of Gephart's titles, but haven't read them (for shame, I know). I loved Olivia Bean! I know that part of my interest stems from the fact that I, too, enjoy trivia. Olivia is a girl after my own heart.

Olivia is dreaming of becoming a contestant on Jeopardy during their Children's Week. Not only would she get to fulfill her lifelong goal, she also would be able to visit her father in California. Olivia isn't very excited about her mother's boyfriend, Neil. She is still missing her best friend. Her frenemy Tucker is causing her to stop and re-think their relationship, and Olivia's mom is going through some tough times, too.

This is a great realistic fiction novel for tween readers. It's already in my Baker and Taylor cart to order for my school library. Now I am in search of Gephart's other books so I can catch up on this author's work.

All These Things I've Done

Anya Ballanchine is a teenage girl in 2083 in a world where chocolate is illegal, water is rationed, and crime is everywhere. Although just sixteen, Anya's parents have both been killed in mob hits, and she is responsible for her older brother, Leo, who suffered a brain injury in the accident that killed their mother, and her younger sister who just happens to be a genius.

Anya has several things to worry about: Leo has been lured into the family business, Anya's ex-boyfriend has been poisoned by the bar of chocolate Anya gave him and now she is sent to prison, and Anya has just happened to fall in love with the District Attorney's son despite his strict warnings to her to leave his child alone.

This is a fascinating - if not a little scary - world. Anya's dying grandmother remembers life much as we know it now. She was born in 1995, and tells Anya of a world where people could buy books (paper is now rationed), or go swimming, and travel overseas. And although life is vastly different, there are still a few things that remain the same. Anya's love for her family and desire to protect them, and her attraction to Win and romance with him show that life in 2083 still centers around family and relationships.

All These Things I've Done instantly grabbed me. Although I have looked at Zevin's website, and found no information on this, Amazon indicates that this book is the beginning of a series. While the ending does provide some closure, there is definitely room for future novels, and I would love to see what Anya, Leo and Natty are up to in the future.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay

Due out February 14, 2012

From Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sarah’s Key and A Secret Kept comes an absorbing new novel about one woman’s resistance during an époque that shook Paris to its very core.

Paris, France: 1860’s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, moulding it into a “modern city.” The reforms will erase generations of history—but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.
Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day. Attempting to overcome the loneliness of her daily life, she begins to write letters to Armand, her beloved late husband. And as she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years. The House I Loved is both a poignant story of one woman’s indelible strength, and an ode to Paris, where houses harbor the joys and sorrows of their inhabitants, and secrets endure in the very walls...

Did I Say I Was Back on Schedule?

Clearly I am confused. On Sunday I wrote that I would be back to my regular blogging/reviewing schedule. I am so close to finishing Gabrielle Zevin's new book - loving it- that I will finish tonight unless I happen to fall asleep (again) while reading. This evening I spent my time at the public library getting ready for a fundraiser put on by the Friends of the Library committee. The other excitement at my house is Little Sister's new glasses. She was referred on after a screening at school, and does need glasses. Apparently she is developing a lazy eye (I am taking my husband's word for it since he is the one who took her to the appointment), and we are hopeful that glasses will correct the problem. The possibility of needing an eye patch for a while is still there, too, so we shall just have to see. Glasses or not, she's awfully cute!

Brendan Buckley's Back

Brendan Buckley's Guide to the Universe by Sundee Frazier has been a book I have recommended to students for a few years. I feel like some of my students could really relate to Brendan, who has a white mother and African American father. Brendan's mom has no relationship with her parents because of her decision to marry a colored person, and although Brendan doesn't really know any different, there is a relationship with his maternal grandparents that he is missing out on.

Although Frazier never meant to write a sequel to this novel, Brendan Buckley is back in Brendan Buckley's Sixth Grade Experiment. In this novel, due out in January, Brendan meets a girl who is just as interested in science as he is.The two team up to enter a science competition and find a very smelly idea to explore. Although Frazier did resolve some of the issues with Brendan's maternal grandparents in the first book, this installment has Brendan wondering if he and his father can ever have a close relationship. He feels as though his dad doesn't "get" him and the two clash about a variety of things. And, Brendan is growing up. As a sixth grader he is a bit more mature than he was in the first book and starting to think about girls.

I like Brendan as a male role model, and I feel like he is a great character for my boy readers who enjoy school and are more academically inclined. Brendan is a boy much like them.

Frazier included a lot of scientific information she wanted to highlight at book's end. Since Brendan is a scientist, I am sure that Frazier either enjoys the subject herself, and/or also did a great deal of research for this novel.

While Frazier initially stated that she had never planned to write a sequel about Brendan, I am glad she has, and would be happy if future novels about this intelligent boy were to be written.

Working It Out

I have seen The Biggest Loser only a handful of times, although I think this is a show I could really get into. When I came across Abby Rike's book several times, I didn't know her from The Biggest Loser, or why she was famous, yet because I saw her book in so many places, I decided to check it out.

First of all, while this book does discuss Rike's time on The Biggest Loser, I would classify this book as a love story and tribute to the family she tragically lost in a car accident in October 2006. Rike's values and faith shine through in every page of this book, and while at times I felt that she may have sugarcoated things, or perhaps made her life look too perfect, there is no doubt that her loss was devastating. The fact that Rike has managed to go on, can laugh and smile and look forward to her future is amazing and a testament to her faith in God.

While I wish this book included more about her time on The Biggest Loser, that is not really the only message Abby has to share. The Biggest Loser certainly brought Abby the spotlight, but she has capitalized on that by sharing her faith and message of hope with others.

Working It Out is a fast read, inspirational while heartbreaking.

Click here to visit Rike's website.

Sunday Salon

I can't remember the last time I haven't blogged in over 48 hours- a fact that my oldest daughter made sure to point out to me....along with the reminder that I missed the Sunday Salon last weekend as well.

My weekend has been more relaxing than some, although I did host a sleepover for my ten year old and three friends on Friday night that involved an outing to a rec center where they swam and tried rock climbing, and supper at Pizza Ranch where I gorged myself on absolutely unhealthy food. Saturday morning I missed a baby shower I had planned on attending as I was still delivering children to their homes.

My husband and I rarely see movies, and the ones we have seen lately have all been with our children. Last night we managed to go to The Big Year at the dollar theater. Although my husband is not a big reader, he does love birding and has read The Big Year, thus his interest in the movie. We both enjoyed it a lot.

Today I have been in a whirlwind, trying to clean up a bit because I have just allowed too much clutter to accumulate. I am making progress. I have switched my summer and winter clothes and shoes, put the flannel sheets on the bed and done several loads of laundry, made food for meals this week, and am still busy picking things up and putting things away. I would really like to cuddle up with a few good books that are sitting here, which I plan on doing soon.

Because I missed the Sunday Salon last week, I'm sharing the girls Halloween picture now. This year we had a twenties flapper, disco queen, and ladybug. Now we have three huge piles of candy that I am hoping my husband takes to work soon. It is just too tempting.
Now that I feel organized, I should be back to blogging regularly. Here's to a great week at work and school.

FatherMotherGod: My Journey out of Christian Science

I'm not sure exactly how to write the title of this book. Is it FatherMotherGod? or Father Mother God? Before I trash on the title, I want to at least be very clear on my feelings for this book. I loved, loved, loved this memoir. While I found the topic of Christian Science to be interesting, I don't have any extreme desire to know more about this topic, and that was not what I most enjoyed. I just simply thought Lucia Greenhouse's writing was perfect, making me feel as though I were a part of her family. I could understand Lucia's own struggle with her faith and also how frustrated she was by her parents decisions later in the book. Although many family members weighed in with their disapproval of Christian Science and her parents' decisions, wondering how Lucia and her siblings could have allowed their mother's health to deteriorate, I could understand how trapped they felt, and how they really did feel as though their hands were tied.

Although I have heard stories on the news- mostly about some child who has died from simple illness that was not life threatening because of their religious beliefs and practice of denying any medicine, Greenhouse's book is my first look up close at Christian Science. I have never thought much about what type of people practice this faith, but certainly any vision I had in my head was different than Greenhouse's affluent, intelligent family.

I nearly passed this book up simply because of the title, but I am so glad I read this memoir. Greenhouse writes that this book took nearly two decades to write, and it is evident that every word and recollection has been well thought out and crafted.

Throwback Thursday

There are a few books from childhood that I can still recall verbatim. The B book by Stan and Jan Berenstain is one of them. There are few words on each page, which I will admit does make it easy to remember even now a few decades after it was first introduced to me.

I have used this book with early readers who are "reading" using mostly memorization and picture clues. I have read this book to my own children, and I continue to find students to share this book with.

The B Book is a timeless book for emerging readers. It's still a cute story decades after it was first introduced.

The Lost Crown

Years ago I read a book about Anastasia, the daughter of the last tsar in Russia. I was totally fascinated by this story, and by the claims a woman made about being the Russian princess, despite the fact that the entire family was killed in 1918.

Details of this story escape me, but the story of Anastasia and her family is one aspect of Russian history that I have continued to find very interesting, and sure to appeal to many young readers. Sarah Miller, who authored Miss Spitfire, another amazing story detailing Annie Sullivan's life prior to her work with Helen Keller, has just had her second novel The Lost Crown published. Because I read Miller's blog, I have been aware of this new book and awaiting it for a while now. The Lost Crown is a fully researched, and for lack of a better word, amazing recounting of the four Romanov sisters: Olga and Tatiana (the older two) and Maria and Anastasia (the younger sisters). Each sister takes turn narrating the chapters, which share details of their wealthy life in Imperial Russia. The sisters are on the cusp of womanood, ready to embrace life, when World War I breaks out in Europe. A revolution follows for Russia, and its citizens who once embraced the tsar and his family no longer feel this way about their ruler. Although the ending was known to me before I even began reading, hearing the voices of these sisters made me sad for them, knowing what would await these girls, and how little they suspected the inevitable end.

There were many things I found interesting and note-worthy in this novel. Miller must have conducted massive amounts of research to craft this novel, and every detail seemed perfect to the time and place. I will happily recommend this books to young adult and adult readers. This is a great work of historical fiction that explores a fascinating family and brings to life their story.

To read more about The Lost Crown, visit Sarah Miller's website.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's selection: Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli

Due out March 15, 2012

Product Description from Amazon:

A breathtaking Georgia-mountain epic about the complex bond of mothers and daughters across a century.
In the autumn of 1941, Amelia J. McGee, a young woman of Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, and an outspoken pamphleteer for the NAACP, hastily sends her daughter, Ella, alone on a bus home to Georgia in the middle of the night-a desperate action that is met with dire consequences when the child encounters two drifters and is left for dead on the side of the road.
Ella awakens to find herself in the homestead of Willie Mae Cotton, a wise hoodoo practitioner and former slave, and her partner, Mary-Mary Freeborn, tucked deep in the Takatoka forest. As Ella begins to heal, the legacies of her lineage are revealed.
Glow transports us from Washington, D.C., on the brink of World War II to 1836 and into the mountain coves of Hopewell County, Georgia, full of ghosts both real and imagined. Illuminating the tragedy of human frailty, the power of friendship and hope, and the fiercest of all human bonds-mother love-this stunning debut will appeal to readers of both Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees and Amy Green's Bloodroot.

Wonderstruck

I am one of the few people who has not read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Every person I admit this to tells me of their amazement at this very creative way to tell a story. Selznick's new book, Wonderstruck, again weaves pictures and text together to form a fabulous story.

Ben lives in Minnesota in 1977 and shares his story in text. He misses his mother who just passed away, and would love to find the father he never knew.

Rose lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1927, and shares her story in pictures. Eventually her story meshes with Ben's, to provide an amazing resolution.

I wasn't sure I would enjoy this type of story, as I am not always someone who looks carefully at illustrations, However, I was amazed by this book. This has been the latest read aloud at our house and we have spent several nights poring over this book, discussing, and eventually racing toward the end.

Wonderstruck is a book I am planning on purchasing; I loved it!

Growing Up Amish

I grew up in rural Iowa on a farm, although my knowledge and experience with farming was minimal. Near us was a large Amish community, and I enjoyed driving around near their farms, seeing them travel by buggy, shopping at their store, and visiting their school for a field trip.

Ira Wagler's book, Growing Up Amish, tells of Wagler's own experience in an Amish community. While much of this lifestyle I could imagine, and have read about either in various fiction books or have heard about because of our proximity to an Amish community, there were still interesting and new facts I didn't know about. Learning how a preacher was selected was new to me. Also new to me was Wagler's ability to move in and out of his Amish community while he was deciding if he should remain with his family or seek a life outside of what he knew. I have heard of others leaving the Amish, but have not heard of people re-joining their family or being accepted back in the fold.

Growing Up Amish was interesting; Wagler is able to make peace with his decision to leave the Amish lifestyle, and share different aspects of Amish living that most people will not know about.

Bond Girl

Erin Duffy's The Bond Girl isn't due out until January, but thanks to Amazon Vine I had the pleasure of curling up with this fabulous chick-lit novel this weekend. Even from the first pages Duffy's Bond Girl reminded me of The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, a chick lit novel chronicling one 20-something's experience in the magazine industry.

Alex graduates from college and then achieves her childhood dream of finding a job on Wall Street. While her job seems to have little to do with finance at first, and more to do with making sure her company's workers have lunch delivered to them on time, Alex spends all waking hours at the office trying to learn the tricks of the trade. There are few women to befriend her, but eventually Alex does make a few guy friends, although she wouldn't mind dating one in particular. And after showing her dedication to her job, she is finally given her own desk - as opposed to the folding chair she has been sitting on for the first several months. Her boss, Chick, seems to look out for her in a fatherly way, keeping her out of Rick, the slimeball's(and big client) clutches. And then 2008 happens. Working on Wall Street isn't so fun anymore, and Alex is confronted with several challenges both personally and professionally.

Bond Girl was a great read- impossible for me to put down. I don't read a lot of chick lit anymore, but Duffy's novel is every bit as good as The Devil Wears Prada and is sure to be a worthy addition to the chick lit genre.

Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face

This fall I attended a conference that included a presentation by the University of Northern Iowa's Childrens Librarian. She book talked many good titles - titles that are must haves for a limited budget. Among them was Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora. This is a slim novel, yet there is much within these pages.

Zachary and his dad have moved from Colorado to Connecticut after his parents divorce. He is ready for a fresh start and quickly makes friends with the neighbors- or at least he makes friends with teenager Teddy, a gentle giant, and his younger sister, Rachel, who spends much of her time trying to take care of her big brother. Rachel is used to having to defend Teddy and often treats him as though he is a child. Zachary is still trying to come to terms with his mom leaving their family, and takes note of the fact that Rachel and Teddy are also motherless. Rachel and Teddy learn a few things from Zachary and he learns a few lessons from them as well.

I loved this book, but am still on the fence about whether I will buy this book for my elementary library. Zachary is in ninth grade and while there is nothing inappropriate in this book or too mature, I am not sure how many boy readers I have that will be interested in any hint of a little crush between Zachary and Rachel. While the main character in this novel is Zachary and I instantly think of boy readers, I also think many girls will enjoy this book as well. I could see a larger female audience in my school reading this one.

Acampora's first novel, Defining Dulcie, received many honors and starred reviews when it was published. While the cover picture is familiar to me, I have no recollection of reading it. I have already placed a hold on it at my library - I am very interested to read more by this talented author who has created characters that seem very real.

Thowback Thursday

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper is a classic childrens picture book. We owned a copy of this title and read it over and over. I recall my mother stating that this was my younger sister's favorite read aloud, which would account for the numerous re-readings of it. I still think the message of perseverance is a good one for children, and I am always a little surprised at how few students I have that have ever heard this book.
The Little Engine That Could brings back happy childhood memories, and seeing this familiar cover makes me want to find my own copy to share with my children.

The Orchard

Theresa Weir's The Orchard is a memoir chronicling the life of a family/marriage/woman on an apple orhard farm. I have read reviews claiming this book was depressing yet I found the writing amazing.

Weir marries Adrian Curtis, a bachelor farmer who is busy on his family's apple orchard. The two are young, knowing little about each other and at first their newfound marriage flounders. To add stress to their fragile relationship, Weir's new mother-in-law is unhappy with her son's selection of a mate, and does nothing to welcome this new member to the family. Coming from a farming community, I already knew that life on a farm is hard, and Weir reiterates that as Adrian sleeps little, working long hours to make a go of this life. Just as happens in most lives, years pass, children are born, ups and downs weathered. Although Weir was originally warned by her uncle and others in the community that the Curtis farm is cursed, she is undeterred from marrying Adrian, and despite the many hardships they face throughout their lives the two find a compatibility and partnership in their marriage.

Weir's memoir is one that I sighed over as I closed the book. I became easily lost in her story, loving the way in which she wrote about this farming life. While the setting is their apple orchard, I still felt this novel was not so much a chronological retelling of the goings on, but a reflection on the different events in her life that led her to this place and the relationships and events that shaped her life as Adrian Curtis' wife.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship and Resistance on Occupied France by Caroline Moorhead

Due out November 8, 2011

Product Description taken from Amazon:

They were teachers, students, chemists, writers, and housewives; a singer at the Paris Opera, a midwife, a dental surgeon. They distributed anti-Nazi leaflets, printed subversive newspapers, hid resisters, secreted Jews to safety, transported weapons, and conveyed clandestine messages. The youngest was a schoolgirl of fifteen who scrawled "V" for victory on the walls of her lycÉe; the eldest, a farmer's wife in her sixties who harbored escaped Allied airmen. Strangers to each other, hailing from villages and cities from across France, these brave women were united in hatred and defiance of their Nazi occupiers.
Eventually, the Gestapo hunted down 230 of these women and imprisoned them in a fort outside Paris. Separated from home and loved ones, these disparate individuals turned to one another, their common experience conquering divisions of age, education, profession, and class, as they found solace and strength in their deep affection and camaraderie.

October Recap

November is here already! Time goes quickly and even though October is a long month, it seems to have flown by. Here's the breakdown for October:

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
3. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
4. Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
5. Second Nature by Jacqueline Mitchard
6. Island's End by Padma Vankatraman
7. Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry
8. Safe From the Neighbors by Steve Yarbrough
9. The Map of Me by Tami Lewis Brown
10. Farishta by Patricia McArdle
11. Beneath My Mother's Feet by Amjed Qamar
12. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins
13. Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson
14. The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate
15. Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen
16. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr
17. The Night Stranger by Chris Bohjalian
18. Silhouetted in the Blue by Traci L. Jones
19. The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark
20. Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks
21. Dancing Home by Alma Flor Ada
22. Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder
23. Something to Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe
24. Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney

12 of the 24 were middle grade/YA, and 12 were adult
3 of 24 were non-fiction, 21 were fiction
21 books were written by females, 3 by males
7 were books from my shelf, 17 were library books
2 were read on my Kindle

A Blast From the Past

What was I reading ten years ago? I am sure I was a sleep deprived new mother, but still managed to get a few books read.

Here are the highlights:

All of these books I can actually remember reading. I was amazed to see that it has been a decade since I read Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn. This title is one I still think about and it feels like it was just a short time ago I read it. There were some great selections a decade ago. I hope November of 2011 also brings some great reads.