"The Murderer's Daughters" by Randy Susan Meyers

The Murderer’s Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers is an interesting read about how a father ruined his daughters’ lives when he killed their mother. This story is about Merry and Lulu who were left without parents. Lulu felt responsible for her mother’s death and so always felt as though she had to take care of her younger sister. LuLu became a doctor and Merry became a probation officer. This book has some interesting family dynamics and deals with issues of grief, guilt, foster care and relationships.

I liked this book and found it interesting how both sisters reacted to their father when he was in prison. It was sad how their mother’s murder overtook their life for so long. I liked this book because it seemed realistic and had a pretty happy ending. I recommend it to anyone who likes books about families and interpersonal relationships. The author worked ten years with men who destroyed their families like the father did in this book.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter (UPDATED 6-1-11)

Wow and wow! I didn't think I would like Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter this much, but I did! Always a good thing when I am pleasantly surprised. Three Little Words is the true story of Ashley and her brother who were put into foster care because their mom was unfit to raise them. It reads like a novel but the sad part is that it is true. It was an eye opener for me that this kind of stuff goes on. I enjoyed it right from the start. It has a super ending! I highly recommend you put this on your TBR list!
(Gerard's review)

Here's our teaser for this. Karen plans on reading this one too.

UPDATED 6-1-11 (Karen's review):
Books like this make me so proud and grateful for parents who were foster parents to two sisters and a brother so they wouldn't have to be split up. The boy was the youngest, age 4, when they moved in and it was the only foster home they ever had. The girls were 5 and 6. Although my parents never adopted them, we were definitely a family!

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter is both heart-breaking and inspirational. When reading this, I was outraged at some of the foster homes this girl lived in and some of the social workers. Fortunately, it is not all bad and shows there were some very special people who came into her life that really helped her find good parents. Ashley and her brother were together in some homes but then were separated. I felt bad that her adoptive parents wouldn't take the boy too.

I really related to her feelings about visiting her mom and looking forward to the day when they would be reunited. The kids we took in always had this same hope that never materialized until after the girls graduated. Then they moved in with their biological dad nearby for a short time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about kids. Maybe it will even prod you to open your home to a child who needs a family!
Sorry for my personal experience tossed into this review, but it really hit a nerve with me.    Thanks, Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time for recommending this book to us!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teasers: "Out Of My Mind", "The Emergency Teacher", "3 Little Words"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading,. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's:

I knew a lot of words, but I couldn't read a book. I had a million thoughts in my head, but I couldn't share them with anybody. On top of that, people didn't really expect the kids in H-5 to learn much anyway.

From page 45 of Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. Click the link to see my review of this one.

Alone in this spooky castle, I crept down the stairs, and then ran down the hallway to the fire-escape door. A heavy chain hung from one side, but had no padlock. Panting, I flung the door open, realizing the next time I came back here the building would be filled with kids.

From page 27 of The Emergency Teacher--The Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner City School by Christina Asquith. (non-fiction)

Gerard's:

The cake smelled lemony as it baked.  My mother handed her parenting class completion certificate to Mr. Ferris.  "There's only a few more tasks on my list before you can come home with me," she said to me.

From page 89 of Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter.

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Finding Katie--Diary of an Anonymous Teenager In Foster Care"

Finding Katie is a fast-moving book written as a diary of a 16-yr.-old girl who came from a wealthy family that was sexually abused by her own father who dumped her on Skid Row in Los Angeles to fend for herself. She was "rescued" by the Salvation Army and tells her story about being in foster homes and finally finding someone who wanted her so ends on a happy note. Even through it all, she shows great maturity and compassion for the other kids in the foster homes she was placed in. She helped several of them by tutoring them, befriending them and caring for them. She found happiness by helping others.
(Karen's review 3/7/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Between Sundays" by Karen Kingsbury

Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury is Christian fiction about how God works in the lives of two NFL players, a low-income foster mom and her foster son. Each of them has their own issues which they turn over to God. I liked this book very much because it is about relationships and how God works in our lives. Although predictable, it is a fun and interesting read. I liked how it focused more on the private lives of the football players and their interaction with each other off the field between Sundays although the game coverage was interesting too. It pointed out some shortcomings of the foster care system and gives the website of www.AlexSmithFoundation.org where you can go to find out how you can help through the Guardian Scholars program. 

I rate this book 4 stars instead of 5, just because of its predictability. Even though I knew the end early on, I enjoyed seeing how it all unfolded and reviewing the discussion questions at the end. It's a quick, enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who likes football or stories about families or the working of God in lives. The message for the readers is what we do between our Sunday "huddles" at church is what matters most.

Please tell us: What categories of literature do you like? What are you reading now? Who are your top five favorite authors? Have you read this one? What did you think of it?