"Two Kisses For Maddy" by Matthew Logelin

WOW! What an awesome book Two Kisses For Maddy by Matthew Logelin is! Matt never intended to write a book, but when his wife, Liz, died the day after giving birth to their daughter, Maddy, he did. This book pulls no punches. Matt describes his feelings so well! He takes the reader through the birth of their daughter, his wife's death, funeral and how he has to raise a daughter on his own. All this from a guy who says he has trouble hanging a picture on a wall! I enjoyed the book very much. I just wish like he does, he did not have to write it. I encourage you to read this book—it's very good! Visit his website at http://www.mattlogelin.com/

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.

"The Emergency Teacher" by Christina Asquith

I was disappointed in The Emergency Teacher--the Inspirational Story of a New Teacher in an Inner City School by Christina Asquith.  It’s about a journalist who decides to be an emergency teacher for a year in an inner city school in Philadelphia that has a reputation as a bad school.  The school district was so desperate that it accepted practically anybody—no teaching degree necessary.  Even then, the special Ed class never did get a steady teacher.  This book tells the tragic story about the inequities in education in America.  The author wrote about her own experience in teaching a 6th grade class in a bilingual school.  She soon found out teaching was not as easy as she thought it would be. 

This is not the typical inspirational story about how a teacher goes into a tough class and turns it around, making a difference in their lives.  This one sadly is probably more realistic.  Yes, the teacher tries to teach; yes, she becomes attached to her students and cares about them; and yes, her students come around and like her for the most part.  However, few if any graduate.  It shows more failures than successes.  It started off very slow and I almost gave up on this one but then about halfway through it finally got better.  
(Karen's review)

Here's my teaser.

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.

"The Lincoln Lawyer" by Michael Connelly (UPDATED-We Both Read This)

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly is about Mickey Haller, a sleazy but likeable defense attorney whose ex-wives are his secretary and a prosecuting attorney.  Mickey is used to defending creeps but when he defends a rich realtor scumbag named Louis Roulet on an aggravated assault charge, he discovers his life and the lives of those he loves are in danger.  I am at a loss for words on this one because it portrays the justice system in a very bad light.  Some things were very disturbing to me but it is a good read.   (Karen's Review)

Whether you decide to see the movie or read the book, The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly is not to be missed! WOW! This is good! Mickey is a lawyer who drives around in a Lincoln (thus, the name for the book). He gets a case which seems like a slam dunk but it's not. This novel is full of twists and turns and a super plot will have you hooked with a fantastic ending! The Lincoln Lawyer is a must read!

Here is the link to my teaser from this book.
(Gerard's review)

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.