Dear Friends,
Howdy folks! What a month for sure. The month started out rough due to the charger of my communication device breaking. Imagine not being able to move or talk and your only form of communication with anyone is taken away. I do literally everything with this device: talk, read, control the TV, text people through Whatsapp, get on the internet, and I even control Alexa! Eventually I did get a new charger in the mail and life was back in balance. I have a back up charger now!
HONESTY ALERT
It was also my birthday month and I got super depressed. I loved every one of my visitors, but I got the blues just after they left. I think it is because I never know if it will be my last one. But every holiday has been getting that way. I am trying to just live in the moment. Living is just so dang fun that I don't want it to end!
SPECIAL THANKS to those who wished me a happy #41 (all the way from Hungary), sent cards, visited in person, brought cake balloons ice cream flowers, and decorate my room! You brightened my day!
I was really busy reading this month. There were a lot of good reads. But didn't find that one book that sticks with you after you finish. I did read several different genres this month: several non-fiction, historical fiction (mostly WWII), YA,middle grades, elementary grades, and more. Even though A House Divided was scholastic and for the middle grades, I still rated it 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂 because it was a topic I had never really read about in fiction literature.
I have a friend who teaches fourth grade who appreciated the lower grade books, so I will be adding to my repertoire. I am even thinking about doing a special blog with features school aged books. I will decide that later. In the meantime I hope you enjoy these reviews and find your next book.
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This is the first novel I have read that is set during the Cold War in East Germany. A family finds themselves divided by the Berlin Wall. In an attempt to reunite the family they risk everything for freedom. This is a school age book and if I was a Humanities or History teacher I would totally read this book with my students. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for everyone.
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Where She Went is the sequel to the book If I Stay. In this novel three years have passed since Mia's accident and told from Adam's point of view. Both Mia and Adam have had successful careers. Mia is a cellist about to start a world tour for classical music. Adam is the lead singer in a mega popular rock band about to embark on his own world tour. The two bump into each other by chance in NYC. What happens next? You have to read to find out! This is a total YA book digging into feelings of grief, sorrow, guilt and forgiveness.
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This book is a true account of child abuse about the author, David Pelzer. It was really difficult to read, but important to know the extreme cases going on in homes, who knows, maybe your neighbor. Every teacher or really anyone who works with children should read this story. At the time the book was written, it is estimated that one in five children are/have experienced abuse in some form. I rated the book a four because it piqued my curiosity about what happens to David after he was initially removed from the home and what happened to his brothers. This book is the first in a trilogy. The follow up books are The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave. Before you start reading know you are going to be reading some hard stuff.
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Great book! This is a historical fiction novel about strong women who chose to put their lives on the line by becoming spies for France during both World Wars. The Alice Network's name comes from real life spy Louise de Bettignies under the code name Alice Dubois. The book has two story lines, one taking place during WWI and the other taking place in 1947 after WWII. They merge together for a dramatic ending. It was not the ending I was expecting or hoping for, but it was excellent none the less. An unfamiliar truth of the two World Wars.
**For information on the real men and women and the inspiration for the fictional characters, read the Authors Note at the end of the book.
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The author writes about her own childhood growing up in the 60's and 70's. She was born in Ohio in 1963, but spent her childhood split between North Carolina and New York. This beautiful book is written as a collection of poems about her life through her adolescence. I would say this book is targeted for the middle grades.
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I am really struggling with how to write this review. Basically Henrietta Lacks was a mom of 5 who died of cancer at the age of thirty in 1951. Doctors at John Hopkins took her cells without knowledge or consent. Her cells named HeLa cells were used in medical research that is most popular for curing Polio. Her cells were reproduced many times over and some got rich from selling her cells. Meanwhile Henrietta's family were barely scraping by financially and didn't learn of HeLa cells until much later. Which brings up the debate regarding: knowledge, consent, and compensation. I am not a big reader of non-fiction, but this was a good mix of science and family.
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Michelle Obama definitely has a way with words. Her book follows her life from childhood until her last day in the White House. I learned so much about the Obama's, politics, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that I did not know. The way she supported her husband, protected her girls, and the initiatives she pursued as FLOTUS makes her a truly remarkable woman. This is defiantly a book you want to listen to as an audio book as Michelle narrates it herself. I listened while following along with the book.
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Wow! This might have been the hardest books to read. I struggled with rating this book, the reason I kept from giving it a five was because the graphic details. The topic of this book was inspired by the statistic that the average age of prostitutes in the U.S. is twelve years old. This book explores several reasons why a young person might sell his or her body. It was heartbreaking and very difficult to read at times. Even though it was hard it was still a great read (feels weird to say ).
*The statistics came from the Authors Note.
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Another historical fiction book based on the true story of Gita and Lale's life behind the fence of a concentration camp during WWII. Every time a read a story about the life inside a concentration camp, I am horrified. I cannot fathom the evil and anger that lies inside the mind, heart, and soul of a human. And not just a few people, but thousands of people. This story is about the love Gita and Lale found, the crimes committed inside the camps, and the things you will do in order to survive. The Russians fighting the Germans were not very sympathetic either when encountering a liberated prisoner of the camps, this surprised me.
Although I never felt that it was inappropriate for a young adult, I noticed they have a YA edition of the book.
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Cilka's Journey is the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz. While the first book focused primarily on Lale and Gita and life within the walls of Auschwitz, Cilka's Journey focuses on her life after leaving the camp. I was not expecting Cilka's life to go in the direction it did. She was strong, resilient, and a force to be reckoned with. The book is based off the life of Cecilia "Cilka" Klein, the youngest of three sisters. She was only 15 when she was shipped off to the concentration camp. While in the camp she was raped repeatedly by a senior SS officer in order to survive. Her surviving led her down another road to survival. If you read the first book and wondered about Cilka's fate as I did, you should read book two. And don't forget to read the Authors Note to learn more about the real life and fictional characters.
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I think this book had good bones, but I didn't particularly care for the writing. I don't know what I didn't like. Often I would get lost in the words and I would have to reread a couple times to understand. Now, this may just be a personal problem. I give this novel a 3.5 rating. I don't think it was good enough for a 4, but better than a 3.
EDIT: The original title of this book was La Nina Alemana. Which means the problems I had with the writing are probably a translation issue. The author is a Cuban writer.
Like many Historical Fiction books about WW II, this novel was rather tragic. The Rosenthal family flees Berlin before they are arrested for being "impure". They arranged passage on a transatlantic liner, the St. Louis, leaving Hamburg for Havana, Cuba. Due to some Cuban politics only 22 of the 937 Jews aboard are allowed to disembark the ship. The other passengers are left up to fate.
In current day New York a young girl is on a quest to learn her families history, travels to Cuba with her mother to meet her Aunt. There is a sweetness mixed in with tragedy as new relationships are formed.
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I never read the Ramona books as a kid so I told myself I would try to read at least one a month in the correct order. Ramona the Brave is the third book in the series. What stands out to me the most is how much safer it was back when Ms. Cleary wrote these books. Can you imagine letting your first grader walk to school these days? There is a sense of freedom when reading her books. I rated this based on what I think I would say if I were a kid. I gave it three stars because it lacked action and adventure. I appreciate it for its wholesomeness. You know this book is going to be safe handing it to your child. Well done Beverly Cleary in keeping it clean!
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Of the four Ramona books, I like this one best. The essential themes of this book are dealing with a parent losing a job and trying to get a parent to quit smoking. Pretty solid themes in my opinion. Remember I am giving my rating based on what age the book was intended for.
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I will be unpopular by saying this, but I thought this book was just okay. The book takes form as a collection of letters to and from Juliet and her friends both old and new. From the island of Guernsey a small group form a book club during the war when the Germans occupied the island. When a letter finds its way to Juliet in London from a stranger in Guernsey, friendships bloom in an unlikely way. While this book has a love story, it is more about the love of friends.
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I don't know how many WWII books I read this month but it was enough to last a while. This was probably my least favorite. Like The Alice Network, The Lost Girls of Paris is based off real life events of a female spy ring during WWII that did not get the respect that their male counterparts received. Many of the events and characters were fictionalized in the book according to the Authors Note at the end of the book. It has three story lines that merge into one by the end of the novel. I don't want to say too much and give away anything, but there were several moments that I was not expecting to happen. If you are trying to choose between Alice and Lost Girls, I would choose The Alice Network.
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