"A Difficult Boy" by M. P. Barker

A Difficult Boy by M. P. Barker is a good story about two young boys working for a shopkeeper. This book kept my interest from page 1. It's funny at times and heartbreaking too! Give it a chance, you will be glad you did!

(Gerard's Review 11/10/11)


I loved reading A Difficult Boy by M. P. Barker even though it is a teen historical fiction book set in Massachusetts in 1839.  It is the story of two indentured servants, Ethan (9 yrs. old) and an orphan named Daniel aka Paddy, a few years older (who become friends and worked together to get their freedom.  This book kept my interest all the way through and I felt sorry for the boys and anger towards their abusive master, Mr. Lyman, the town's well respected storekeeper.  What a creep he was!  My favorite part of the book though was when Daniel taught Ethan how to ride Ivy, Mr. Lyman's horse.  I also liked the ending!

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or stories about friendship.  I think this would make a very good movie!  It is interesting that the author worked as a costumed historical guide in Massachusetts for nearly ten years and this is her first novel!  It won the 2003 PEN New England Children's Book Caucus Discovery Award.  To learn more and view the book trailer, visit her website:  www.mpbarker.net. 
(Karen's review)

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

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"Now and Then" by Jacqueline Sheehan

Now and Then by Jacqueline Sheehan is a nice easy-to-read story about Anna and her nephew, Joseph. After Anna picks up Joseph at a juvenile detention center, that next day they wake up to find themselves in Ireland in the 1800s, back in time! How they cope and what they discover about themselves is the story. My favorite character in the book was Madigan, the dog, who is outstanding! If you are looking for a good story with a happy ending, this book has both.

I also read Lost and Found by this author and liked that one too!
(Gerard's review)

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

Hurry and check out our audio book giveaway of "The Leftovers" by Tom Perrotta. Winner will be chosen Sunday, Oct. 30.

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.

"Sorry" by Zoran Druenkar

Sorry by Zoran Druenkar is about four people who start an agency that will tell people that you are sorry for you. Everything is going along great until one day they get a job and when they arrive at the apartment, a woman is dead and nailed to the wall! This is a very good read! It's filled with a lot of twists and turns; I didn't know what was going to happen next but was anxious to find out. I loved it and finished it in just two days! You will be sorry if you don't read Sorry!
(Gerard's review)

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

Check out our giveaway for an audio book:  "The Leftovers" by Tom Perrotta 

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 Sword" by Gilbert Morris

"The Sword" by Gilbert Morris is a Historical romance that is a good read. It has a mix of action, humor, romance and Christianity. It takes place during the Civil War and is a fascinating read. Chantel, the main character decides to leave home when her mother dies, leaving her alone with her step father who tries to rape her. She finds an elderly Christian Jew peddler who is hurt and saves his life. They become partners and together bring supplies to the soldiers and help a lot of people. The Christian theme is that God brings people together and loves everyone, forgiving and giving peace to all those who trust in Jesus. It's a good story, I enjoyed it!
(Karen's review)

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

Check out our audio book giveaway for "The Leftovers" by Tom Perrotta. All you need do to enter is leave a comment!

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: "Wildwood," "Night Strangers," "The Sword"

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.   

Gerard's:

Nothing her parents had told her, nothing she'd ever learned in school, could possibly have prepared her for this thing that was happening. Or really, what was to follow.

I finished reading Wildwood by Colin Melot but loved it so much that I wanted to do a teaser from it, so here it is from page 8:

"You really don't hear it?" Hallie asked in a small but intense voice. "You really don't hear them?"

There was that word again: them.

From page 64 of The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian.

Karen's:

"God knows you and has known you since before you were born. And He chose you to help a poor old man that was dying."

From page 108 of The Sword--The Last Cavaliers: Two by Gilbert Morris

Check out our giveaway for an audio book:  "The Leftovers" by Tom Perrotta

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.