"Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens -- WOW!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is the coming of age story of Kya, a lonely, abandoned, abused girl who lived in a Marsh in North Carolina. It is a murder mystery and a love story as well. This is an amazing emotional read that starts out slow but picks up as it goes along. It has much sadness but some high points are mixed in. In a way, it is a rags to riches story. There were a lot of heartbreaking events and yet Kya proved to be very strong, overcoming great obstacles with very little help from others. She was definitely a “lone wolf” until as a teenager, the loneliness caused her to make some poor choices.

All I can say is WOW, what a book! This is well written and reminded me of To Kill a Mocking Bird. It includes lots of information about nature and is a remarkable story about how a girl who only attended school one day in her whole life, became a well-recognized author. I especially liked the courthouse cat, Sunday Justice, who befriended Kya. I would recommend this as a book club read because of the many issues it raises.
(Karen’s review 2/15/19, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 2/18/19:
In Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Kya is the last one left of her family.  First her mom left, then her brother and sisters left.  Her pa was the last to leave, but she found a way to survive in their shack in the marsh.  Two young men came into her life during her teen years.  When an incident happens though, Kya is once again all alone and her fate is in other people's hands.

This is a pretty good book!  Kya is a great character and I enjoyed how she got along so well by herself.  More action though would have been nice, but the pacing of this book made up for that.  (5 stars)

Teaser from page 16: “If anybody comes, don’t go in the house. They can get ya there. Run deep in the marsh, hide in the bushes. Always cover yo’ tracks; I learned ya how. And ya can hide from Pa, too.”

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The Maid, The Eighth Day (The 12 Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides Book 8) by Rachel Wesson

The Maid, The Eighth Day (The 12 Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides Book 8) by Rachel Wesson is about a mail-order bride who finds out the man she came to marry is no stranger after all. He was engaged to her older sister before the war and is now a doctor. This book is all about her finding out the truth of Colin’s past. It is a heartwarming story about two kind, compassionate people that I enjoyed and that is a quick read. Although this is part of a series, it can also be read as a stand-alone.
(Karen’s review, 4 stars)

Teaser at Kindle Loc. 65 She couldn’t stop herself from looking out the window. He couldn’t have followed her, changing her name had made sure of that.

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"Carry On" by Lisa Fenn is Inspirational Non-Fiction

Carry On—A Story of Resilience, Redemption, and an Unlikely Family by Lisa Fenn is an inspirational non-fiction read about caring for others that focuses on her ESPN story about Dartanyon, a visually impaired wrestler and his friend, Leroy, a legless wrestler. It follows their story even after they graduate high school. This book is amazing. It is about overcoming all kinds of obstacles and the power of love in peoples’ lives. Lisa Fenn is an amazing woman of faith who really made a difference!

This book challenges the reader to not make assumptions about people but rather, get to know their story and thereby understand them. There are a lot of touching parts in this book and both highs and lows which makes it a very interesting read. The parts I liked the most were the wrestling and Judo matches, but it was all good once I accepted that it was much more than just about sports. I would recommend this to anyone!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


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"The Selection by Kiera Cass is a Fun Read!

I’ve heard so much about The Selection series by Kiera Cass that I finally gave in and started it. The first book of the series, Selection, is a fun, light read about the rags to riches story of America Singer, a teenage girl. This is set in a future time where what once was America is now the country of Illéia. There is a royal family who rules and a caste system in place. America’s family are “fives” which are made up of musicians and artists. Just one level above “sixes” who are servants which is the caste Aspen is in. Aspen and America are in a serious relationship but have to keep it secret since they are in different castes. One day America gets a letter that could change her life forever, inviting her to apply to be Prince Maxon’s princess. Thirty-five girls will be selected for him to get to know and choose his princess from. During the selection process, their families will be compensated for allowing their daughters to participate in the selection. This first book is about the girls being selected and the process of Prince Maxon trying to narrow down the number.

I enjoyed this book because it is entertaining and reminded me of the show, The Bachelor. Prince Maxon, however, is a nice guy and not a sleeze at all. I like the humor throughout the book and how America slowly discovers that Maxon is not the snob she expected him to be. In fact, he is nothing but exceptionally nice to her! The love triangle that develops between her, Aspen and Maxon gets a push when Aspen is drafted as a guard at the palace and is assigned to guard America’s room. This is a quick read and I am anxious to continue on with this series. This is a pretty uplifting read with lots of happy moments.
(Karen’s review, 4 stars)

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I linked this up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop in response to the book review prompt.  You can too!

"Ruby--Between the Cracks" by P.D. Workman

In Ruby--Between the Cracks by P.D. Workman, you will meet a young girl named Ruby.  From a very young age, she had to make choices; unfortunately, most of them were wrong ones.  We follow her as she grows up and there is never a dull moment with this girl!  I also found the people in her life interesting.  Some tried to help while others tried to take advantage of her.

I enjoyed this book because the story moved along well and the characters were very believable!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Gray Mountain" by John Grisham

Gray Mountain by John Grisham is about a lawyer, Samantha, who loses her cushy job in New York City at a big firm and goes to Brady, Virginia to work as an intern at a legal aid clinic with no pay for a year.  Her job in New York mainly involved proofreading documents for business transactions but when she joins the Legal Aid Clinic, she feels like a real lawyer, actually making a difference in people’s lives.  When she meets the Gray brothers, nephews of Mattie, the owner of the legal aid clinic, she finds herself unknowing pulled into a dangerous situation as Donovan Gray, an attorney who likes big cases against coal mining companies, takes a personal interest in her.  Samantha eventually must choose what world she wants to work in.  Will she remain to follow-up on her meaningful cases and continue to become a litigator fighting for the poor people who really need her help or go back to the corporate scene where she is paid the big bucks and given a cushy office? 

I liked this book and learned a lot about strip mining and the plight of coal miners who contract black lung disease.  It paints a pretty dark picture of how hard it is for the miners to get the benefits they deserve.  I found the cases Samantha was involved in during her time at the legal aid clinic interesting because they made her feel more like a social worker than a lawyer.  This novel has very little court scenes because it focuses more on the leg work involved in preparing for trial.  

(Karen's review, 3 stars)

 

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"Starters" by Lissa Price--Fun Read full of Surprises

Starters by Lissa Price takes place in the future but isn't too far out that it is unbelievable. After a war, people lived longer, 150 to 200 years old was common and Prime Destinations developed a way for old people to rent the body of a young person, usually a teen. I loved the idea of the old people getting a new body but keeping all their experience and knowledge. Callie decides to rent out her body for a big sum of money that would be enough to provide a home for her and her little brother who is also sickly. After three rentals, she'd get paid; however, the third rental didn't work quite right and she found herself in a terrible situation and is not sure who she can trust.

I enjoyed this book very much because of all the unexpected things that happen to Callie and the interesting concept. I thought it was a fun read and definitely recommend it! (Karen's review)

Starters by Lissa Price:  WOW!  You will meet Callie, a young girl whose parents are dead, and her 7-yr.-old brother, Tyler, is very sick.  Her only hope to get money is to rent her body out to old people to use.  She really doesn't want to do it but gives in to help her brother.  Everything goes fine at first, but then takes a turn for the worse!  I devoured this book in just two days; kept those pages turning to see what would happen next.  Can't wait for the second book to come out in December!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading! We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during June and July to The Wounded Warrior Project which helps wounded warriors and their families returning from current conflicts.

"Behind the Beautiful Forevers" by Katherine Boo

Behind the Beautiful Forevers--Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo is the true story of people who live in the slums of India. The book focuses on Abdul who makes a living by sorting through garbage the rich people throw away. One day he is falsely accused of killing a disabled woman and must stand trial. This was an eye opening book for me. I did not know about the slums of India. It's not pretty.

Most of the story was very good but it bogged down some in parts so I give it 4 stars. I think it is worth reading! (Gerard's review)

 Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during June and July to The Wounded Warrior Project which helps wounded warriors and their families returning from current conflicts.

"An Invisible Thread" by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski is the true story of Laura, a white sales executive, befriending a black 11-yr-old panhandler, Maurice. This is a great book about friendship. Maurice is very likable and Laura tells the story very well. It is a feel-good story with a happy ending. I liked it a whole lot!
(Gerard's review:  My rating: 4 of 5 stars)

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We are donating 50 cents to KIVA this month to help the poor change their lives for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs.

"There Are No Children Here" by Alex Kotiowitz

"A World Not Seen By Many"  4 stars
There Are No Children Here is an extraordinary book about living in the projects of Chicago.  This book is dated since this project got knocked down years ago, but it does not make the story any less relevant.  It's about two boys, Lafeyette and Pharoah, and their families living day to day just trying to survive.  You get into this story quick and stay there.  It's a good read.  I recommend it.

Gerard's review 7/22/08)

Excellent book. It was required reading when I was in college. I wish all teacher ed. programs mandated such reading.

By twistedteacher on July 23, 2008 14:39

"Gang Leader For A Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes To The Streets"

Gang Leader For A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh is just awesome!! Sudhir tells the story of J.T., a Chicago gang leader of the BK's, the project that they run and the people in the projects that their lives are affected by. It's just so fascinating!! You will get hooked on page 1 and will find it hard to put it down. I hated to see it end. This is a must read book for sure.
(GERARD'S REVIEW 4/17/08)

Gang Leader For a Day by Sudhir Venkatesch is a fascinating book about a sociology student doing research in a low-income project in Chicago to find out how it feels to be black and poor and how they survive. He started with a questionnaire, but after getting laughed at and challenged to hang out with the people and see how things are, he abandons his questionnaires and hangs out with a gang for several years. This is non-fiction, based on actual experiences of the author who also talked to others in the community to find out their view of the gang and how they live. The funniest part was when J.T., the gang leader let the author be the gang leader for a day so he would find it wasn't at all as easy as he thought and his respect and admiration for J.T. increased. It was surprising to see that the gang was actually a well-run drug business. It's primary purpose was selling cocaine and keeping "peace" in the neighborhood, not fighting with other gangs or stirring up trouble. Whenever there was a fight or someone would get hurt, no one ever called the cops. They'd call on the gang members for help instead. No ambulance would go to the projects.

It gives insight into the role gangs play in the neighborhood, how community leaders cooperate with the gangs, how hopeless some peoples' lives can be and the ineffectiveness of the police and government agencies. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see how life in the low-income projects is, at least in some places. Very educational and a good read!
 (Karen's Review 4/24/08: Fascinating, Educational, great insight)
 

"The Courage To Survive" by Dennis J. Kucinich

The Courage To Survive is enlightening and very interesting.  Even though I am not very interested in politics or political figures, I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography by Dennis Kucinich, former Mayor of Cleveland. It is a fast read because it's so well written and fascinating. He shares how his family lived in poverty and struggled along. He had health problems but still had a desire to help other people. Parts were sad while other parts were cute and humorous. It gave me insight into how the poor live and a new respect for Dennis Kucinich.

(Karen's review 4/4/08)

"The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle was a very interesting but also disturbing memoir about a very strange mother and an alcoholic father raising a family of four and barely scraping by needlessly. Jeannette tells about her childhood from a child's point of view and does an excellent job of communicating the feelings she had towards her parents and their situation. Her dad was a very smart man, but drunk a lot which caused him to have difficulty holding a job and neglected his children. He'd talk about big plans, but did little in handling everyday problems.

The mother was selfish, thinking mostly of just herself, choosing to live in poverty instead of selling land she inherited. She'd rather see her children go without food that get a job. Her priorities were all mixed up.

This was a sad book from the standpoint of the parents being so pathetic. It seemed as though the kids had more sense than they did. Reading her story made me even more grateful for the parents I had and I couldn't help but think that could have very well have been the life my foster sisters and brother may have had if my parents hadn't taken them in. It is disturbing to me that kids actually live in conditions such as in this book.

The author shares many unusual experiences which made for a very interesting book.
(Karen's review 8/10/08)