|
Maeve and her younger brother Danny live in a wonderful old mansion named Dutch House. Life is good even though their mother abandoned them one day to the care of their father and staff. One day Dad brings home a young woman with two young girls who will turn Maeve and Danny's world upside down. Life is still ok until Dad passes away and his new bride takes it all out from under the original kids. Maeve and Danny are cast aside and booted out of the one home they have ever really known. They are forced to make it and thank goodness they have each other but the shadow of Dutch House is always looming. Many years later the tables are turned once again and each of them must decide to forgive or not but never forget. Maeve and Danny's relationship is warm and enduring and never predictable. A must-read for lovers of family sagas with heart-warming characters. 
0 Comments
The battlefield is a common story of sacrifice, horror, and loss and is usually one that is limited to men. This story is different in that the characters who affect the most change, strength and compassion are women. Hirut is an orphan whose only possession is a gun given to her by her father. She goes from working in a household as a servant to the battlefields and becomes very involved in her country's fight for freedom against Italy. Hers is a journey of sacrifice, pain, and courage. The author's colorful language paints a vivid picture both on the battlefield and in small gestures of kindness even in a violent setting.  This author knows how to dig into a sensitive subject, shake loose our stubborn bias and educate us with the truth of what it is really like for a single Black woman to adopt a Black baby. We think we know the system, we think that it is corrupt and there is a shortage of healthy babies waiting for adoption. We think all the babies who are out there are damaged or drug-ridden. Ms. Austin gives us the real skinny on how the foster care and adoption system needs to change and she has proven that love, a strong support system in the community and positive guidance can produce a healthy well-adjusted child who will grow up to be a well-adjusted adult. Hats off to her for sharing her story and those of other adoptive parents and providing a shining example of what it means to be a mom.  They told him he was family. They told him to watch over his brother and gave him nicer clothes, manners and filled his head with knowledge. But what they gave, they took away more - his real family and his memory of her. This beautifully constructed and written book is a song of slavery itself - the brutality, the brainwashing and worst of all the stripping of all humanity until only an obedient husk remains. Hiram Walker has the gift of visions and power but it has been beaten down so often by the Quality that the Tasked cannot hope to fill up what has been taken. It will take an amazing journey and a reawakening in a new Northern world and that of the Underground to fully understand what he has lost and what he can now give to others. Ta-Nehisi Coates shares this story in many ways - a quiet whisper, an anguished cry, and gut-wrenching sob and it is the most powerful voice you will hear this year.  There was a lot of distrust between America and the Soviet Union after the war was over and we were involved in a strange, dangerous tango. Part of that dance involved getting anti-communist materials into Russia and getting anything they had that was revolutionary back to us. This story is of the operation that was staged to get a powerful manuscript from a beloved Russian poet out of the country where it was banned and into reader's hands here and all over the world. The story was DR. ZHIVAGO and the men and women who helped make this happen posed as typists and second string government workers to not raise the alarm. This is a historical novel, a love story, and a spy story - both forbidden and dangerous and a debut that will stay with you. For fans of old school spy stories, The Americans and secrets everywhere.  A quiet and introspective look at a middle-aged Chasidic woman in Brooklyn who finds herself at a crossroads. Surie is 57 and almost a great grandmother when she discovers she is pregnant again. Because of her faith, she cannot end the pregnancy nor does she feel she can share her news with her husband or anyone else in the strict religious community. We, the reader, are privy to Surie's inner turmoil, her desire for a life change and her guilt at even thinking that this pregnancy might not be a blessing. She is not abused, neglected or in fear for her life. She has led a full life of a good marriage, children, and grandchildren so why does she want something different now? She questions her faith and how her religion has determined her decisions about everything in her life.  3 1/2 stars just because I like Rose's style! Rose wakes up out of a fog to find herself in a high-security long term care facility. As her mind clears and she feels more her feisty self, she stages a breakout and with the help of her precocious granddaughter, tries to unravel the mystery of what she is doing in a nursing home and why someone wants to keep her quiet. Thank you, Nevada Barr, for writing a zany mystery with a sharp, tough but lovable octogenarian who proves she still has some life in her. Madcap adventure aside there is plenty of violence and scary moments to satisfy the traditional mystery lover.  A madman is causing elevators to plummet all over New York City. Is it the work of a terrorist group or one deranged person? Two detectives and a journalist work to uncover who is creating this madness and stop them before more people are killed. The answer may surprise you as well as keep you out of elevators for quite some time. A solid thriller with likable characters and believable villains, mystery and thrill-seekers will eat this up.  Life, after WWI was hard particularly for the young women left behind to pick up the pieces. Violet was one of those women who lost her brother and fiance and now had to care for the family. One day she wanders in Winchester Cathedral and is welcomed into the Society of Broderers, the women who needlepoint the kneelers for the church. This gives her life a purpose and a friend support group. Her relationship with a bell ringer is also the focus of the story. This is a quiet look at a group of women that time forgot.  This is a story of mothers and fathers and daughters. It is a poetic journey that begins with a loss of innocence and childhood to begin a life of motherhood and that child's journey at the same age. A coming-out party with a dress that was never worn, a mother and father's musings at the life they might have had and their child thinking she was not wanted. In the heat of the moment lives will change and words will be said that can't be taken back. A slim novel that is filled with beautifully constructed sentences - pure poetry that crosses ethnic and economic lines seamlessly.  |
I love to read good books and share the new books that are available and those that are coming soon
Adult Genres
General Fiction Historical Fiction Thriller / Mystery Fantasy / Sci-Fi Non-Fiction All Adult Genres Other Genres Young Adult Genre Kids Books Genre Follow Kim
Review Archives
November 2024
|
RSS Feed