Finished 12-1-11, rating 5/5, YA, 213 pages, pub. 2009

Okay. It’s not just the planning to kill Prophet Childs. There’s more.  There’s lots more.

Squished between my sisters I try not to think of my sins but they are all in me.  I know they are here.

First, there are the books.

Section One

Kyra is a 13-year-old girl living on a compound in Utah among the Chosen.  She has 20 siblings with two more on the way and three mothers.  Her father is a good man who treats his wives and children strictly but with moderate punishment.  That’s not so among the other men on the compound.  When Kyra’s family was visited by the Prophet Childs they were all stunned to discover that Kyra was a Chosen One, scheduled to marry Apostle Hyrum, her uncle, and become his 7th wife.

Father kisses both of us on the tops of our heads.  He holds us secure.  But his holding me like this is a lie.  He can’t do anything to save me.  And he’s my father.

Aren’t fathers supposed to save their daughters?

Section 3

Kyra loves her family and can’t imagine life without them, but she does manage to escape the compound once a week to hop on the book mobile.  In books she discovers new worlds, worlds that lead her to believe that escape is possible, but not without a terrible cost.  She is also in love with a boy her age and the two of them try to convince the Prophet to change his mind with disastrous results.

This book blew me away.  I was angry, horrified, sad, scared and enlightened.  I was shocked by the violence, it took me by surprise.  I don’t read a lot of YA and this may be my first book about polygamy and I’m glad that the States challenge made me pick this one up, because I never would have otherwise.  This was a short read and I wish it had been longer to address what happened after the end of the novel.  I was amazed at how the thoughts of this teen were so close to the thoughts of any teen.  Williams captured Kyra’s voice perfectly.    I hope to check out more by Williams even though it’s not my normal genre.

There were some unbelievable scenes but none of them took away from my overall enjoyment of the book.  It was compelling  and I loved it.

I checked this book out of the library (Thanks for the suggestion, Sheree)

Finished Audio 10-23-11, rating 5/5, fiction, 729 pages, pub. 1976

Unabridged audio. 30 hours. Read by Avery Brooks

What is there left to say about this book that hasn’t already been said?  It still resonates today and is just as powerful as when it was first published.  Even before I touch on the story itself I want to heap praises on the narrator, Avery Brooks.  He was perfect and made the 30 hours just fly by (okay, maybe an exaggeration but I’m not taking it back).  I tried to reference the book here and there for clarification, but found when I went to the book it was jarring.  I just wanted to listen to Brooks!

I think everyone has heard of Kunta Kinte, the African boy who was kidnapped from his small village in the Gambia and sold into slavery in America.  I was so caught up in his village life that I was not only horrified by his kidnapping but also mad that the story had to leave that charming village full of people I wanted to spend more time with.

Kunta came to America, an African among American blacks, on the Virginia plantation.  He didn’t understand their ways just as they didn’t understand his even though they were all living the same enslaved experience.   Kunta eventually learned to make friends and even find love.  When his daughter Kizzy was born he and his wife were held in very high regard as was their daughter which made what happened next all the more awful.

This books follows many generations of Kunta Kinte (born in 1750), the most time being spent with Kunta, his daughter Kizzy and her son Chicken George.  The otherwise ordinary lives were made extraordinary in this family saga.  Not only are they important people because they represent whole generations but because their stories are the stories of this country, warts and all.  It’s as much a story of America’s history as any other novel I’ve read.  It made me laugh and made me sad, brought me to tears and left me disgusted, and it never failed to keep riveted.

This book is based on Alex Haley’s own ancestors and their stories.  It was first published as non-fiction, but some historical accuracies were discovered and it’s now marketed as fiction.  Haley also settled a plagiarism suit where he admitted to copying whole passages from another book.  I admit, that these charges made me look at the book differently when I read about it after the fact.  Should the plagiarism stop me from giving this book a 5 rating?  Probably, but after I gave it some thought I decided to just rate based on my reading/listening experience and it was powerful.

I hope to watch the mini-series soon.

This is from my personal library and was chosen by CeeCee, Staci, Jennifer, Sarah, and Angie.  Here’s what they had to say…

“Amazing historical novel about Africa and American slavery.”  Sarah

“You won’t regret reading this.”  Jennifer

“You have to read this because it is IMPORTANT!!!”  Staci

“Seen the series never read this book but it’s in my TBR pile too.”  Angie

Finished 9-9-11, rating 5/5, fiction, 269 pages, pub. 2000

Book 1 of the Big Stone Gap series.

She’s our starlet, so all the girls seek her approval and imitate her.  Tayloe gives them a standard, a marker by which to judge themselves.  Other skills and attributes can be appreciated and duly noted, but beauty is instantly obvious to all.  I have never met a girl (including myself) who did not long to be beautiful, who did not pray for her own potential to reveal itself.  When a girl is beautiful, she gets to pick-she never has to wait for someone to choose her.  There is so much power in doing the choosing.

Chapter 2 

Ave Maria has lived in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, her whole life.  She’s the town pharmacist and amateur director, but she never really feels like she belongs.  Her mother was from Italy and her father was distant and now that they are both dead she’s just passing time with regular visits to the bookmobile and nights out with her best friend, Theodore.  When a letter from the grave rocks the status quo, Ave Maria must decide where her future lies.

This book is full of southern charm and I loved it.  Ave Maria and her misfit friends all made Big Stone Gap so appealing.  The gossips and the haters made the small mining town so real.  Ave Maria had me rolling my eyes at her a few times, but for the most part I was just happy to be along for the ride.

There is nothing earth shattering here, but it was pure enjoyment.  I was unsure about the obvious-from-the-start love interest (and his name) but it all worked in the end and I look forward to continuing on with these quirky southerners in the next book.

This was from my personal library.  I picked it up (and way too many other books from my wish list) from Border’s for practically nothing.

Finished 6-26-11, rating 5/5, fiction, 342 pages, pub. 2004

My name is Sophie Stanton and I’ve joined the grief group because…well, because I sort of did a crazy thing.  I drove  my Honda through our garage door.  I was coming home from work one night and-even though my husband has been dead for three months-I honestly thought I would run inside and tell him to turn on the radio because they were playing an old recording of Flip Wilson, whom he just loves.  Loved.  Ethan had been trying to find a copy of this skit for years, and now here it was on the radio.  If I hurried, we could tape it.  Then I had the sudden realization that my husband was gone, dead, and the next thing I knew the car was lurching through the door.

Chapter 1

Sophie is 36 years old, childless, newly widowed, and unhappily employed.  She had only been married for three years when her husband died of Hodgkin’s disease and she wasn’t dealing with it very well.  She went to work in a bathrobe, wanted to sleep with her grief counselor and had the police come to her house when she started throwing her dish set against the house late at night.  She needed a change and when her job forced a leave of absence on her a move up to Oregon to live with her best friend from college and daughter seemed like a good idea.

Sophie is a mess, but an honest and charming one.  She is not superwoman and she falls and fails at many turns, but she never stays down (well, down for very long at least).  She picks herself up and muddles her way through another day until she has put together enough good days to make a real life for herself.  And as sad as some of this book was it was always tinged with enough humor and wit to make it immensely enjoyable.  At the end I was sad to say goodbye to Sophie and her friends.  I really wanted to continue hanging out with them.

I’m giving this a 4.75 rating, only my second one since starting the blog.  It was so close to being perfect for me.  I wasn’t sure until I started typing where my rating would land, but there it is.  I love Winston’s voice (I also enjoyed her second book) and am amazed that she had the guts to write such a poignant book about being a widow when she’s not one.

I highly recommend this one.  Oh, but don’t read it expecting it to be a grief workbook.  It is still a work of fiction and meant to entertain.

This is from my personal library and chosen by Staci, Jenners, and Margie.  Here’s what Jenners had to say… “I love this author and she only has two books but this one is wonderful. I’m anxiously awaiting her next book!!!”

Finished 12-5-10, rating 5/5, fiction, pub. 2001

This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary.  Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul.  The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it.  Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens….When a library disappears, or a bookshop closes down, when a book is consigned to oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here.  In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader’s hands.  In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner.  Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.  Now they have only us, Daniel.  Do you think you’ll be able to keep such a secret?”

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books

This is a book for book lovers just in case you couldn’t tell from the passage above.  And the above is pretty much why I haven’t bought an e-reader, but on to the story.  In 1945, Daniel is just a boy when his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books hidden in the back streets of Barcelona and when his obsession with the mysterious author, Julian Carax begins.  Daniel chose The Shadow of Wind to take home and he soon began to search out other Carax titles.  Only there weren’t any.  Someone had been destroying them all one by one.  Daniel was sixteen when he began to search out the books in earnest and he was aided in his quest by the cagey and charming Fermin.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with Daniel and Fermin and I was drawn into the mess they got themselves into when they started asking questions about Carax.  Why were so many people trying to keep the truth hidden?  And who were the good guys?  The characters they meet along the way heightened the suspense and I loved them all (well, I loved their addition to the story!).

It takes a lot to keep my attention these days.  Trying to find a balance between me for 39 years and mother of an infant me is trickier than I thought.  I have the attention span of a gnat these days, but this book kept me reading every spare moment I had, even if it was only a few minutes at a time.  I loved the drama, the mystery, the love, the Spanish setting, the wide cast of characters, and the love and respect of books shown in the story.  This book has a little bit of everything and I loved it.  Since I’m rating this a 5 it is obviously one of my favorites this year!

This was from my personal library and chosen by Vasilly and Alessandra.  Here’s what they had to say…

“Set in Barcelona in the 1950s, a masterpiece about the love for books.”  Alessandra

“You want to dig deeper into the book as you read.”  Vasilly

Finished 6-29-10, rating 5/5, historical fiction, pub. 2002

A jealous anger surged through Fiona.  Sod good relations; Millie Peterson had just crossed the line.  “You feeling ill, Millie?”

“Ill?”  Millie eyeing her like so much rubbish.  “No, I’m fine.”

“Really?  You look like you might fall over, leaning on Joe like that.  Joe, why don’t you get Millie a crate to sit on?

“There’s no need, thank you,” Millie snapped.  She removed her hand from Joe’s arm.

“If you say so.  Wouldn’t want you to faint away.  Maybe your jacket’s too tight.”

“Why, you little cow!”  Millie cried, her cheeks turning red.

“Better a cow than a bitch.”

Chapter 1

Fiona, a tea factory worker, and Joe, a born salesman, grow up and in love in the working class neighborhood of Whitechapel in 1880’s East London.  They are both saving every cent they can so that one day they can open up their own tea business.  But life has  way of changing in a heartbeat.  Joe makes the mistake of a lifetime and Fiona loses almost everyone she loves.  Forced to flee the country Fiona makes her way to New York City and her indomitable spirit and smarts give her a life she had hardly imagined.

I loved it and I feel like that should be enough to convince you to pick it up.  Need more?  It is a heavily addictive, 550+ page saga that will have you reading every spare moment you have.  It covers the true plight of the working class, Jack the Ripper, a new and vibrant New York City, the tea trade, and the forming of the unions.  I listed it as historical fiction, but I do think it is at heart a love story.  Take away all of the excitement, the struggle, and the success and you really have two people struggling with the loss of each other.  It has many elements of a romance, but is so much more.

Fiona is a strong, bold woman, which is why I included the excerpt above, who is capable of making her own way in a man’s world.  The losses in her life are heartbreaking and I was rooting for her happiness.  I loved her story.  And Donnelly also tells the story of Joe, back in London and his plight of finding his own happiness. 

I know there is a sequel and I plan on getting my hands on it soon.  I highly recommend you give this one a read and see what you think.

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Mary, Linda, Melody, Jennifer, ‘Nise, Sandee, Bonnie, and Kathrin.  Here’s what they had to say…

“This is one of my favorite books. Richly written saga based in England and there is a sequel that is just as good.”  Bonnie

“It was a favorite read of 08”  “Nise

“I enjoyed it and hope to read The Winter Rose this winter.”  Jennifer

“A lovely rags-to-riches saga about an Irish girl. I also enjoyed the sequel, and am anxiously awaiting a third book.”  Linda

“Entertaining saga with a sequel to follow it – which is always nice!”  Mary

“I want to read that one in 2010 as well”  Kathrin