Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum

Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss, and Hope in an African Slum

by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner

Genre: Non-fiction

Synopsis:  Kennedy Odede found his first grey hair at six.  Named after John F. Kennedy, he grew up as the eldest of eight children in Kibera, a teeming Kenyan slum without sewage systems, roads, running water, or access to basic needs, like health care and education.  At ten, he was along on the streets.  Homeless and in despair at sixteen, Kennedy was given a book of Martin Luther King's speeches.  Inspired, he bought a twenty-cent soccer ball and started a youth group, determined to bring the hope he'd found into the lives of his fellow citizens.  He called it Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO).

Several years later, Jessica Posner, an irrepressible Wesleyan student, went abroad to work with SHOFCO and, despite Kennedy's incredulous objections, moved into his tiny house.  They fell in love.  When Kennedy was threatened by political violence, Jessica helped him win a full scholarship to Wesleyan and brought him to America.  Torn between his community, Kennedy, with Jessica at his side, decided to start a school for Kibera's most vulnerable population: girls.

The alchemy of their remarkable union and the small, joyful world their brilliant collaboration has made in Kibera have drawn the support of community members and celebrities alike.  With this support, Jessica and Kennedy have been able to provide water, heath care, and entrepreneurial programs, which now serve more than seventy-six thousand people, and have replicated this model in Mathare, another Kenyan slum.  Because of their efforts, hundreds of young girls have the potential to become Kenya's future leaders, and tens of thousands of people living in poverty have access to clean water, health care, and economic empowerment programs.  Their girls attend school every day in crisp blue uniforms and red sweaters.  Filled with hope and ambition for the future, they adhere to a rigorous curriculum and out-performing students from the most expensive schools in Kenya.  By elevating these girls, Jessica and Kennedy have started a subtle yet powerful revolution in each community, and have dedicated themselves to bringing the same resolve and enthusiasm to urban slums beyond Kibera and Mathare.

Jessica and Kennedy's story is many things: a tender love story, a tale of how true leaders are made, and an account of the successful melding of the best in two cultures.  Few have fought as tenaciously and ingeniously against poverty and hopelessness as these two young people.  Their story vividly illustrates the power of young, hopeful people to have an impact on the world, and stands as a testament to the transformations made possible by true loves.

to the book jacket

Review:  The authors of this book are truly amazing people who persevered and never lost hope that they could better their community.  Kennedy overcame so much in his life from abuse, poverty, homelessness, crime, drugs, lack of education, and more to become a leader in his community who works tirelessly to make everyone's situations better.  Jessica is an innocent student from the United States who has no idea to poverty-stricken area that she is walking into but she dedicates herself to helping others and eventually is accepted as part of the community.  I'm amazed by how quickly the two of them were able to build infrastructure once they were able to procure funds.    This book does not sugarcoat events that happened at Kibera and the atrocities that occur to women and girls.  There are parts that are not easy to read and broke my heart to learn about how other people are living.  This book is truly eye opening.  This book makes me think about my life and what I can do to try to help others.

Rating: 5 stars

My Name is Leon

My Name is Leon

Kit de Waal

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): For fans of The Language of Flowers, a sparkling, big-hearted, page-turning debut set in the 1970s about a young black boy’s quest to reunite with his beloved white half-brother after they are separated in foster care.

Leon loves chocolate bars, Saturday morning cartoons, and his beautiful, golden-haired baby brother. When Jake is born, Leon pokes his head in the crib and says, “I’m your brother. Big brother. My. Name. Is. Leon. I am eight and three quarters. I am a boy.” Jake will play with no one but Leon, and Leon is determined to save him from any pain and earn that sparkling baby laugh every chance he can.

But Leon isn’t in control of this world where adults say one thing and mean another, and try as he might he can’t protect his little family from everything. When their mother falls victim to her inner demons, strangers suddenly take Jake away; after all, a white baby is easy to adopt, while a half-black nine-year-old faces a less certain fate. Vowing to get Jake back by any means necessary, Leon’s own journey—on his brand-new BMX bike—will carry him through the lives of a doting but ailing foster mother, Maureen; Maureen’s cranky and hilarious sister, Sylvia; a social worker Leon knows only as “The Zebra”; and a colorful community of local gardeners and West Indian political activists.

Told through the perspective of nine-year-old Leon, too innocent to entirely understand what has happened to him and baby Jake, but determined to do what he can to make things right, he stubbornly, endearingly struggles his way through a system much larger than he can tackle on his own. My Name Is Leon is a vivid, gorgeous, and uplifting story about the power of love, the unbreakable bond between brothers, and the truth about what, in the end, ultimately makes a family.

Review: Written from the perspective of an eight year old boy, this novel brought to life the harsh realities faced by a biracial boy abandoned by his mother and sent to foster care in the 1980s.  Leon's voice is pure and authentic and brought me to tears several times throughout the novel.  The story starts with Leon taking care of his baby brother Jake while his mother battles mental health issues and drug addiction.  Leon is broken-hearted when the boys are sent to foster care, but he quickly adjusts to a relatively happy life with Maureen, his doting foster mother, until Jake gets adopted and Leon is left alone.  Leon doesn't understand everything that happens to him, but the author captures his confusion and his love for his brother and his desire to bring his family together again in an authentic and remarkable way.  It was impossible not to fall in love with Leon.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Small Great Things

Small Great Things

by Jodi Picoult

Genre: Fiction

Synopsis:  Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience.   During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient.  The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch her child.  The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is along in the nursery.  Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime.  Kennedy McQuarie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy.  Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family-especially her teenage son-as the case becomes a media sensation.  As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others-and themselves-might be wrong.

from the book jacket

Review: This book was hard to read but not because it was poorly written but because of the subject material.  It was difficult because it challenges the reader to consider and confront their thoughts on races, racism, prejudice, and white privilege.  There were so many times that I was angry and didn't want to keep reading because of how mad I was at the characters.  There were other times I wanted to put the book down because I didn't think there could be a happy outcome to the book knowing Picoult's writing style.  There were times that I was in tears and feeling so much empathy towards a character.  This was not an easy book but one that really has made me question my actions, my thoughts, and opened my eyes to the injustices in America, both small and large.

Ruth is an African-American nurse who was not to touch a white child bu the baby goes into distress.  Later Ruth is charged with a crime of hurting the baby .  This baby was the child of white supremacists, Turk and Brit Bauer.  The story is told in alternating perspectives from Ruth's to Turk's to Kennedy's, Ruth's white public defender.  During the Turk chapters, my blood boiled at how hateful and spiteful Turk's and his acquaintances' views were on anyone who wasn't a white Aryan Christian and how wrong I thought they were.  It is so heartbreaking to know that there are people out there who truly believe that the white race is superior to others.  I know this book is fictional but there are certainly people like Turk and Brit out there and probably more than I think there are.  I did like that Picoult included an author's note at the end of the book to talk about how she came to write the book, her struggle with confronting her own views, and her research into the white supremacist movement.

But this book is more than just the outward racism by white supremacists.  It is also about the daily prejudices against those who aren't white by society in general.  Ruth's lawyer, Kennedy, would not consider herself to be racist but Ruth teachers her so much throughout this book.  Before reading this book I didn't really get what white privilege is but this book has opened my eyes to what I do have and made me wonder what I can and should do, as well as what others should do, to change our culture.  This should be a must read book!

**I received this book in a giveaway through GoodReads but that did not affect my honest review of this book.

Rating: 5 stars

Rump

Rump

by Leisl Shurtliff

Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Fractured Fairy Tale

Synopsis:  In a magical kingdom where your name is your destiny, twelve-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke.  But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change.  Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold-as much gold as he wants!  His best friend, Red, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she's right.  With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.

To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen.  The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship-and a cheeky sense of humor-he might triumph in the end.

from the back of the book

Natalie's Review: I really like this book because I like how they solve the problem that Rump had.  This is the true story of who Rumpelstiltskin is.  In the first place Rump didn't have part of his name but at the end he finds out his name.  Other people would like this book because it is kind of funny and that it has fairy tale characters in it like Rumpelstiltskin and Little Red Riding Hood.  There were pixies in the story and they were funny because they would bite people when someone stepped on their nest or when people gold.

Noah's Review:  I thought this book was spectacular because I like mixed up fairy tales and ones that are made funnier and better.  This book is better than Rumpelstiltskin because it tells more about Rump's life and how he learned how to spin straw into gold.  I also liked that he didn't know his name and how he learns his whole name at the end.  People who like made up things and stories that are based on other stories will like this book.  I rated this 4 stars because there weren't exciting events that happened in the first few chapters.

Editor's note: There are many fairy tales and characters that are alluded to in this story but the book never comes out and says that other fairy tale characters are in the story.  These were just passing comments and not connected to the story but it is interesting to see if kids can figure out what character/fairy tale the author is referring to.

Natalie's Rating: 5 stars

Noah's Rating: 4 stars

Furiously Happy

Furiously Happy
A Funny Book About Horrible Things

Jenny Lawson

Genre: Memoir

Summary (from Goodreads): In LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, Jenny Lawson baffled readers with stories about growing up the daughter of a taxidermist. In her new book, FURIOUSLY HAPPY, Jenny explores her lifelong battle with mental illness. A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea. And terrible ideas are what Jenny does best.

According to Jenny: "Some people might think that being 'furiously happy' is just an excuse to be stupid and irresponsible and invite a herd of kangaroos over to your house without telling your husband first because you suspect he would say no since he's never particularly liked kangaroos. And that would be ridiculous because no one would invite a herd of kangaroos into their house. Two is the limit. I speak from personal experience. My husband says that none is the new limit. I say he should have been clearer about that before I rented all those kangaroos."

"Most of my favorite people are dangerously fucked-up but you'd never guess because we've learned to bare it so honestly that it becomes the new normal. Like John Hughes wrote in The Breakfast Club, 'We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it.' Except go back and cross out the word 'hiding.'"

Jenny's first book, LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, was ostensibly about family, but deep down it was about celebrating your own weirdness. FURIOUSLY HAPPY is a book about mental illness, but under the surface it's about embracing joy in fantastic and outrageous ways-and who doesn't need a bit more of that?

Review: It's amazing that someone can write a hilariously funny book about depression and anxiety disorder, but that's exactly what Lawson has done.  She depicts the joys of living a quiet life at home with her family, the frustrations and amusements of disagreeing with her husband, the nervousness and fun of traveling around the world, and the crushing darkness of falling into depression.  What I loved best (besides the delightful bizarreness of her obsession with taxidermied animals) was  when she talked about all the people who commented on her blog because they related to her mental illnesses and were glad to realize that they were not alone.  How amazing that one woman's writing about her life was able to convince 14 people not to commit suicide!

Rating: 5 stars

Maybe One Day

Maybe One Day

Melissa Kantor

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): Critically acclaimed author Melissa Kantor masterfully captures the joy of friendship, the agony of loss, and the unique experience of being a teenager in this poignant new novel about a girl grappling with her best friend's life-threatening illness.

Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn't sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia's crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe's unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

Review:  Looking back, I can see some flaws in this book, but as I was reading it, I was so caught up in the story that I couldn't put the book down.  I loved every minute of reading this book, even those minutes where I was crying so hard I couldn't make out the words on the page.  I'm willing to overlook a few flaws for a book that makes me connect so deeply with the characters.

Kantor does an amazing job of capturing Zoe's emotions as she stands beside her best friend who is battling leukemia.  Sure, Zoe had some selfish and entitled moments, and she made a few bad choices, but what teenager wouldn't when they are dealing with something so tragic? 

This is a book about friendship and hope; Zoe and Olivia have the most beautiful friendship, and as Olivia struggles through her battle with cancer, Zoe is always at her side to encourage her, make her laugh, and bring her hope for the future.  I love to see a book for young adults that focuses primarily on nice girl friendships rather than romance.  There was a bit of romance between Zoe and Cal, but it was definitely a secondary story to Zoe and Olivia's friendship. 

Rating: 4.5 stars

I'll Give You the Sun

I'll Give You the Sun

Jandy Nelson

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell

Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Review:  This is another young adult book that I just loved.  I have to admit that Jude and especially Noah seemed too artistically minded to be realistic, but then again I'm not an artist, so maybe that is an accurate portrayal of how artists see the world.  Do they really say things like "purple starbursts were shooting from his hands while his head glowed gold in the mist of the cerulean forest"?  I made up this quote because I returned the book, so I can't quote accurately, but this is what Noah sounded like all the time.  It drove me nuts in the beginning of the book, but as I kept reading, I got used to his colorful way of using metaphors as part of the artistic quirkiness of his character.

Flowery artistic metaphors aside, I loved just about everything in this book.  The dual narrator and dual timeline worked well in this story, although I always found myself wanting to continue with the current story instead of jumping to the next narrator at the end of a chapter.  That's just a sign of how invested I was in that narrator's story....  I loved how devoted Jude and Noah were too each other; I loved how their relationship with their mother and father were so complicated and changeable; I loved how both of them were trying to handle their romances; I loved how both of them learned to be true to themselves.  The publisher got it right when they recommended this book for fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell; it compares positively with books written by those authors.

Rating: 5 stars

All the Bright Places

All the Bright Places

Jennifer Niven

Genre: Young Adult

Summary (from Goodreads): The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Soon to be a major motion picture starring Elle Fanning!
 
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.

This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.

Review: Oh, what a beautifully tragic book!  I loved watching Violet and Finch become friends, I loved seeing Violet blossom because of their friendship, and I especially loved that the two friends explored little known parts of Indiana together as part of a really cool class project.  It made me want to take a trip to Indiana just to explore interesting places off the beaten path.  In fact, what a good lesson that is for anyone - take the time to discover quirky little places in your own state and celebrate the joy that comes from experiencing small wonders.

On the other hand, this book delves into teen depression and suicide.  Niven captures Finch's depths of emotion so realistically that you feel like you are right there with Finch, soaring through his joyous times with Violet and then plummeting into the dark abyss of his tiny little closet.  I was desperately hoping that the ending would be different, but I have to admit that it was probably perfect for the book. 

Rating: 5 stars

I Will Always Write Back

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives

Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda
with Liz Welch

Genre: Young Adult

Summary (from Goodreads): The true story of an all-American girl and a boy from an impoverished city in Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.

It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. All the other kids picked countries like France or Germany, but when Caitlin saw Zimbabwe written on the board, it sounded like the most exotic place she had ever heard of--so she chose it.
Martin was lucky to even receive a pen pal letter. There were only ten letters, and forty kids in his class. But he was the top student, so he got the first one.

That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends --and better people--through letters. Their story will inspire readers to look beyond their own lives and wonder about the world at large and their place in it.

Marcie's Review: This is the inspirational story of how an upper middle class girl and her family from America help a destitute Zimbabwean boy achieve his dreams of education.  Reading that sentence I just wrote makes it seem like this book has a white-savior complex going on, and it does, but the authors are careful to emphasize how close a friendship they shared in order to make friendship the biggest theme in the book.  It is also obvious that Caitlin grew from a shallow and spoiled middle schooler into a caring and generous high schooler, and that this personal growth was due in large part to her friendship with Martin.

I find it difficult to believe that some of the letters were written by children - they are obviously unusually talented at writing and sharing their deepest emotions.  

As I was reading, I kept wondering what I would do if my child told me that she wanted to send money to her penpal overseas.  I fear that I would be skeptical and worry that she was falling for some kind of scam, but I can only hope that I would respond as generously as Caitlin and her family and make a huge difference in a child's life.

Marcie's Rating: 4 stars

Becky's Review:  I loved reading this story about how Caitlin and Martin became friends through letters and how they helped each other become the people they are today.  They began writing letters when they were in middle school and at first their letters were about music they like and other surface topics.  Martin became desperate because of the poverty that he and his family lived in.  Martin knew he needed to stay in school in order to better his life but the family didn't have enough money. He asked Caitlin for help and from there Caitlin's eyes were opened to how privileged her life was and how little Martin's family had.  I was amazed by both families: the generosity that Caitlin's family showed and the positive attitudes Martin's family displayed even in the hardest times.

Becky's Rating: 5 stars

One True Loves

One True Loves

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre: Romance

Synopsis: In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse.  They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of  their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts.  They travel the world together-Emma as a freelance writer, Jesse as a production assistant on the sets of nature documentaries-living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

One their first wedding assignment, Jesse is on an assignment in the Aleutian Islands when his helicopter goes missing over the Pacific.  Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma moves home in an effort to put her life back together.  Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again.  When she and Sam get engaged, it feels like her second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jess is found.

Emma now has a husband and a fiance.  But who is her one true love?
from the back of the book

Review:  I have never read a book by this author before but I really enjoyed the ease in her writing style and how I was swept away in the flow of the story.  This book carries you through two romances, one with Jesse and one with Sam.  As a reader, you fall in love with both couples and once Jesse returns it is hard to decide who you want Emma to end up with.  You feel Emma's pain as she grieves over losing Jesse and then you feel her pain as she is torn between her two loves.  Emma really reflects on what it means to love which is thought-provoking to the reader.  I could not put this book down and read it all in one day.  I am definitely going to look up more books by this author!

Rating: 5 stars

Mother Bruce

Mother Bruce

by Ryan T. Higgins

Genre: Picture Book

Synopsis:  Bruce the bear likes to keep to himself. That, and eat eggs. But when his hard-boiled goose eggs turn out to be real, live goslings, he starts to lose his appetite. And even worse, the goslings are convinced he's their mother. Bruce tries to get the geese to go south, but he can't seem to rid himself of his new companions. What's a bear to do?

from GoodReads

Review:  I don't get to read picture books very often any more and I'm so glad that I asked my kids if I could read them a picture book last night instead of a chapter book.  This book was quite funny and had me giggling at the grumpy bear and his trials.  The humor in this book pokes fun at some things (locally sourced food, organic, etc) and is very clever.  I probably laughed more than my kids.  I love the expressions on Bruce's face throughout the book.  Definitely a fun read!

Rating: 5 stars

A True Princess

A True Princess

Diane Zahler

Genre: Chapter Book

Summary (from Goodreads): Twelve-year-old Lilia is not a very good servant. In fact, she's terrible! She daydreams, she breaks dishes, and her cooking is awful. Still, she hardly deserves to be sold off to the mean-spirited miller and his family. Refusing to accept that dreadful fate, she decides to flee. With her best friend, Kai, and his sister, Karina, beside her, Lilia heads north to find the family she's never known. But danger awaits. . . .

As their quest leads the threesome through the mysterious and sinister Bitra Forest, they suddenly realize they are lost in the elves' domain. To Lilia's horror, Kai falls under an enchantment cast by the Elf King's beautiful daughter. The only way for Lilia to break the spell and save Kai is to find a jewel of ancient power that lies somewhere in the North Kingdoms. Yet the jewel will not be easy to find. The castle where it is hidden has been overrun with princess hopefuls trying to pass a magical test that will determine the prince's new bride. Lilia has only a few days to search every inch of the castle and find the jewel—or Kai will be lost to her forever.

Review: I liked this book a lot; it reminded me of the story of the Princess and the Pea.  It is about a girl names Lilia who is a servant and runs away because she is going to be sent to a mean family.  Her friends Kai and Karina go along with her, but Kai becomes enchanted by the Elf King's daughter.  Lilia has to find Odin's clasp so that the Elf Princess will let Kai go.  I like this book because everything turns out fine in the end.  I liked Lilia because she was brave and kind.  It's the kind of book that I like to read because most of the characters are nice, the characters go on adventures, and it was a kind of mystery.  Oh, and because it was about a girl.

Rating: 5 stars

The Greatest Star on Earth

The Greatest Star on Earth

Kate Klise

Genre: Chapter Book

Summary (from Goodreads): The rascals from the world s friendliest family circus are back in the second installment of this smafunderful * fully illustrated series.

Everyone knows Sir Sidney's Circus is the best in the world. But who's the "star" of the show? "The Circus Times" is having a contest to find out. Just thinking about it gives Sir Sidney a worrywart, and it's quickly clear why. Soon after he goes off to rest, the performers start thinking too much about winning the trophy and not enough about putting on a good show.

Meanwhile, it looks as if ringmaster-in-training Barnabas Brambles might need some help managing the crew, so Bert and Gert, the sly brother-and-sister mice who travel with the show, set out to write a book to teach him how it's done.

Does Bert and Gert s plan work? And who" is" the star of the circus? All will be revealed in "The Greatest Star on Earth." 

Review: I like this book because Sir Sidney, the owner of the circus, is very kind, and I like how all the animals in the circus are kind and funny.  It is especially funny when Leo the lion thinks he should sing high because he might win the trophy, and Tiger the cat thinks she should sing low so she could win the trophy, and it's very funny because if I could actually hear them singing they would sound really really hilarious.  This book has a lot of pictures, at least one on every page, and the pictures make the book extra fun so that kids have a good image of what is happening.  There are other books in the series, called The Show Must Go On, The Circus Goes to Sea, and Pop Goes the Circus.  I like all those books, too.

Rating: 5 stars

Tuesdays at the Castle

Tuesdays at the Castle

Jessica Day George

Genre: Chapter Book

Summary (from Goodreads): Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic.

Review: I like this book because Celie has so many adventures and always seems to be having so much fun.  The castle that she lives in, Castle Glower, seems very interesting because it adds a new room or switches things around every Tuesday.  One time it added a room with a bouncy floor; it would be really fun to have a bouncy room in your own house!  While having her adventures, Celie figures out that one of the princes visiting the castle is a bad guy and she has to stop him.  I like Celie because she is adventurous and usually cheerful, and because she is brave and smart.  I would recommend this book to girls who like adventure.  But it has dragons and griffins in it, so I think Noah would like it, too.  There are two more books in the series that are really good, too: Wednesdays at the Tower and Thursdays with the Crown.

Rating: 5 stars

Be Frank with Me

Be Frank with Me

Julia Claiborne Johnson

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): Reclusive literary legend M. M. “Mimi” Banning has been holed up in her Bel Air mansion for years, but now she’s writing her first book in decades and to ensure timely completion her publisher sends an assistant to monitor her progress. Mimi reluctantly complies—with a few stipulations: No Ivy Leaguers or English majors. Must drive, cook, tidy. Computer whiz. Good with kids. Quiet, discreet, sane.

When Alice Whitley arrives at the Banning mansion, she’s put to work right away—as a full-time companion to Frank, the writer’s eccentric nine-year-old, a boy with the wit of Noël Coward, the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star, and very little in common with his fellow fourth graders.

As she gets to know Frank, Alice becomes consumed with finding out who his father is, how his gorgeous “piano teacher and itinerant male role model” Xander fits into the Banning family equation—and whether Mimi will ever finish that book.

Full of heart and countless only-in-Hollywood moments, Be Frank With Me is a captivating and heartwarming story of an unusual mother and son, and the intrepid young woman who finds herself irresistibly pulled into their unforgettable world.

Review: Oh, I loved this book so much because I loved nine-year old Frank.  A very very smart child with a penchant for dressing like Fred Astaire, his adult-sized intellect combined with his little-boy emotions made him so sympathetic and lovable.  The rest of the story was good, too, although Alice the kind-hearted nanny kind of disappears into the cast of larger quirky personalities.

Rating: 5 stars

Orphan X

Orphan X

Gregg Hurwitz

Genre: Thriller

Summary (from Goodreads): The Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It's said that when he's reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them.

But he's no legend.

Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He's also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets—i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X. Evan broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear.

Now, however, someone is on his tail. Someone with similar skills and training. Someone who knows Orphan X. Someone who is getting closer and closer. And will exploit Evan's weakness—his work as The Nowhere Man—to find him and eliminate him. Grabbing the reader from the very first page, Orphan X is a masterful thriller, the first in Gregg Hurwitz's electrifying new series featuring Evan Smoak.

Review: Wow!  This was a fast pace thriller full of non-stop action, with a dangerously skilled, highly trained rogue secret operative hero who has turned his considerable powers towards helping those in desperate trouble.  Full of twists and turns, lies and conspiracies, this book will keep you guessing until the very end.  I enjoyed absolutely everything about this novel, and I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book in the Evan Smoak series!

Rating: 5 stars

11/22/63

11/22/63

Stephen King

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten...and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.

Review:  I loved this historical fiction novel by Stephen King!  He has this amazing ability to take a hypothetical question (in this case, what would happen if someone could go back in time to try to stop the JFK assassination?) and turn it into a fascinating and impossible to put down story.  Sure, there are a few creepy references to something devilish, and a few disturbingly gory descriptions of violence, but overall this was the unbelievable story of an ordinary man trying to live an ordinary life while trying to do something quite extraordinary.  I didn't know too many of the details around the assassination, so it was interesting and educational to learn more about Lee Harvey Oswald's life and King's take on the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK's assassination.

Rating: 5 stars

The Nightingale

The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:  In love we find out who we want to be.

In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime. 

from GoodReads

Becky's Review:  This is a heartbreaking tale of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, during World War II who live in France during the German occupation there.  They both sacrifice so much and do whatever it takes to survive during the war but also are so brave to stand up for what they believe is right.  The story shows us what happened to the women and children who watched their men go off to war and the loss of innocence in childhood because of the horrific things that happened all around them.  My heart just ached for all the characters in the story and their struggle.  Vianne puts up a quiet struggle against the Nazis later in the war and Isabelle is bold and daring and ready to storm into the war working for the Resistance.  Isabelle is a hard character to like at the beginning because she is so young and brash but her transformation throughout the book makes us love her by the end and root for her to survive.  By the end this book had me in tears and the story has stayed with me.

Becky's Rating: 4.5 stars

Marcie's Review:  I agreed with Becky.  A beautiful, heartbreaking book.

Marcie's Rating: 5 stars

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

Katarina Bivald

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen...

Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy's funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don't understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that's almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend's memory.

All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love.

Review:  If I think about this book objectively, I would probably give it 3.5 stars.  But this book contained so many themes that I'm a sucker for - socially awkward book loving girl moves to a town full of nosy but kindly strangers and opens a bookstore while working to bring the townspeople together to save their town - that I can't help but give it a higher rating.  There were some flaws in my mind - I didn't think the romance added anything to the book, the initial premise seemed improbable, and at times it was overly cheesy - but it was such a feel-good book-lovers book that I couldn't help loving it.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Place Last Seen

Place Last Seen

Charlotte McGuinn Freeman

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): During a day hike in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada, the Baker family's life turns upside down when the youngest, a six year-old girl with Down Syndrome, disappears while playing hide-and-seek with her brother. Place Last Seen follows the paths of two stories--the Rescue and Search team's efforts to find Maggie and her family's attempts to come to terms with their loss. Clear, moving, and never sentimental, Place Last Seen explores the complicated bonds of family life.

Review:  When I decide on my rating for a book, I take into consideration whether I emotionally connected with the characters and whether I had a hard time putting the book down.  This book met both of those criteria.  Although I had very little in common with Maggie's mother, the author portrayed her emotions so realistically that I couldn't help putting myself in her shoes.  Even the rescuers were interesting characters with back stories and deep emotions.  Although their stories ended somewhat abruptly when the search was over, this didn't bother me as much as unconcluded endings normally do, because it was in keeping with the search and rescue.  The technical information about undertaking a mountain rescue was interesting to read about, although it did bog down the story in a few parts.  And the descriptions of the scenery were so detailed and realistic that it was easy to picture myself in the area.  If you are sensitive about the disappearance of a child, be prepared to cry while reading this.

Rating: 5 stars