"Kasey To the Rescue" by Ellen Rogers--An Enjoyable Read!

This video shows some of the things monkeys are trained to do for handicapped people.  Kasey To The Rescue is about a family who got one of these monkeys to help them.





Kasey To The Rescue by Ellen Rogers is a true story of an amazing son, Ned, and his mom, the author of this book.  Ned gets in a horrific car accident but miraculously survived.  The mother brought Ned home to take care of him along with her other children and two dogs.  Taking care of Ned was a major task!  To help with his care, they went to Helping Hands and got Kasey, a monkey.

To me, the mother is amazing and the main story of this book about how she takes care of Ned, runs her family, and tries to keep up everyone's spirits including her own.  Ned too shows remarkable courage.  The monkey, Kasey, is also pretty remarkable in the way he helps.  This is a very enjoyable and encouraging read about a family who did not fall apart when faced with tragedy.
(Gerard's review) Read the teaser.

UPDATED 12/18/10:
This book is really about a super mom (Ellen) persevering in raising her family and taking care of her son Ned, who was in a car accident while away at college and suffered a spinal chord injury which rendered him a quadriplegic. The story is basically all about Ned and how his mother made him her top priority, even going so far as to bring in a monkey (Kasey) from the Helping Hands organization. In actuality, it seemed to me Kasey was more work for her than help; however, it did help Ned stay positive and gave him a constant companion. Ned gained more dexterity in his fingers and arms because the monkey provided motivation for Ned to interact with Kasey. Kasey was entertaining and although it took three months for Kasey to really trust and feel a close relationship to Ned, it was worth it.

I enjoyed reading this book but was anxious to get to the part when the monkey came which is about halfway through. This is the story of a loving family and although the beginning was sort of depressing, the second half of the book is very entertaining and inspirational. I really liked learning more about the Helping Hands organization and how the monkeys are trained to be service animals. 
(Karen's review)

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


Find best posts of the week at Saturday Sampling at Half Past Kissin' Time and submit the one you wish more people would see that you wrote this week!

"Dirty Little Secrets" by C. J. Omololu

I waited a long time for Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu and was rewarded.  This is a fiction book about a teenage girl named Lucy.  She has a secret--her mom is a hoarder.  She doesn’t throw away anything and keeps what people would consider garbage.  She has kept her secret well until one day her mom dies in the house.  If she calls 911, her secret will be out.  What will she do?  I enjoyed this book a lot.  This is this author’s first book--well done!
(Gerard's review)

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

Teaser Tuesday: " Letters From A Skeptic" and "Kasey To the Rescue"

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: This is an excerpt from the son's first letter to his 70-yr.-old father:

What I'd rather propose to you is to engage in an ongoing discussion about Christianity. I'd like to give you an opportunity to share with me all the reasons you have for not being a Christian, and I'd like you to give me the opportunity to share with you all the reasons why I am one.

From p. 14 of Letters From A Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity by Dr. Gregory A. Boyd (son) and Edward K. Boyd (father) (Click on the title to see my review)

Gerard's:

The trainer sat in a wheelchair.  Kasey examined every inch of it with great scientific interest and learned that if she hopped up on her trainer's lap and gently placed her trainer's hand on the joystick, they could zoom around the room together.

 From page 47 of Kasey To The Rescue:  The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle by Ellen Rogers.  Click on the link to see my review.

"Plain Truth" by Jodi Picoult Is Fascinating

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult is about an Amish teen girl who is charged with murdering her illegitimate baby.  At first Katie denied even having a baby and consistently denied killing it.  Ellie reluctantly volunteered to be her defense attorney who becomes her friend while staying on the farm with Katie to comply with the court order as a condition while awaiting her trial.  Jodi Picoult shows the contrasts of the Amish and the English cultures in this intriguing novel of ethics, psychology, mystery, romance and judgment. 

I was drawn into this story immediately and had a hard time putting it down.  The story is told from Ellie’s perspective, and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her when she was trying to get the truth from Katie as to what really happened. The trial was interesting and I definitely came away with a better understanding of the Amish community after reading Plain Truth.  I highly recommend this book, especially to women.
(Karen's review)

Other related reviews:  Debra's Book Cafe
Here is our teaser for this book
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"The Scribe" by Francine Rivers

The Scribe by Francine Rivers is a fictional account of a scribe named Silas who is one of the few left who actually saw Jesus. He wrote letters for Peter and Paul and reviewed, based on scripture, his view of Jesus and his life. In the back are some discussion questions with scripture to study and some personal applications questions that may be helpful.

I did not care for this book, perhaps because I kept trying to place him as the Silas who went on missionary journeys with Paul and preached but then the author finally portrays him as the rich young religious leader who was told to sell all he had and one of the two who were on the Road to Emmaus when Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection.
(Karen's review 4/30/09)

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