1 to 14 of 14
Review Date: 1/18/2016
Helpful Score: 1
Shortly after the Civil War, Mayme, a slave girl, witnesses the murder of her family. She wanders to a plantation several miles away to discover Katie, the only survivor of a massacre at her home. Together they start to put their lives as back to normal as they can. Mayme teaches Katie how to chop wood, milk cows, and shoot a gun. Katie teaches Mayme about Mozart, the minuet, and how to read. Katie convinces Mayme to stay, and share her home in spite of the differences in their background, while keeping the secret that they are all alone, and left to fend for themselves. This is the first book of a series of four. You do have to read them all to find out what happens. I love the message this book conveys, that anyone can become family.
Review Date: 3/28/2017
I read Change of Heart for my book club. I liked it, but there were parts I didn't like. It was typical Jodi Picoult in that she writes from each character's point of view. I like that. The story centers around a young man from a dysfunctional childhood that is accused of killing a cop and his step daughter. The cop's wife is pregnant with their child, and when their daughter is eleven, she needs a heart transplant. The only available donor is the young man who killed her family. He is on death row, but death by lethal injection makes organs not viable. As usual with Jodi Picoult novels, there are all kinds of extenuating circumstances, and many other people involved. For readers who like Jodi Picoult, you won't be disappointed.
Review Date: 1/31/2016
This book picked up right where the previous one in the series left off. I really enjoyed it. The story of Katie, a plantation owners daughter, and Mayme, the daughter of a slave, is heartwarming as they continue to run the plantation after their parents are all killed. They not only become best friends, but family as well. They open their home to others who are in need, while they continue to fool the townspeople into thinking there are adults still around. Their antics will make you laugh, but their love and friendship for each other will warm your heart. I will definitely read more books by Michael Phillips.
Review Date: 10/1/2016
I read East of the Sun for book club. I liked it, but had a hard time keeping the characters straight. I felt like the author dragged the story at times, then hurried up by leaving things out. The story centers around a young woman who chaperone's two younger women and a teen aged boy on a trip to India. All of them have personal issues they must come to terms with. The author did a good job of describing the scenery, and customs of India.
Review Date: 1/25/2018
This is the second book of the four book quartet beginning with The Giver. I liked this one better then The Giver, but it has nothing to do with The Giver. In the Fourth book the whole story ties together. Gathering Blue is a little more interesting as it's a more believable story. The characters are interesting. Looking back on the whole quartet, one minute I felt like I was reading a fantasy and the next it seemed like Science Fiction. Neither genre I particularly like. The Giver was suggested for our book club, and I thought I should read all of them. I'm glad I did, at least I got the whole story by reading them all.
Review Date: 1/12/2021
I really enjoy this story. A young woman returns to her grandmother's farm after losing her baby. Her husband was sent to England to become a flyer during World War II. He left before she was released from the hospital. Left alone to face the death of her child, she goes back to where she spent her childhood summers. One day a plane disappears from the sky into the cove near her farm. Shortly, a stranger shows up in town. She hires him to rebuild the barn. When she gets word her husband is missing in action, she is drawn to the stranger, and discovers he has a secret.
Review Date: 10/20/2018
I really liked Home Safe. I liked that it was set in my home state. The relationship between the mother, Helen, and her daughter was interesting. Helen was an author, who was going through writer's block since the death of her husband. She was totally clueless of household maintenance, or financial responsibilities. Her accountant informs her that her husband had withdrawn 850 thousand dollars from their account, but no one knows why or where the money is. She is also determined to find her daughter a husband, but all her daughter wants is for Helen to quit meddling in her life. My book club picked Home Safe for our November selection.The author's writing was thought provoking, but also made you laugh at times. I enjoyed it!
Review Date: 1/12/2021
This was a very different book for Ms. Hegi. She usually writes about Germany. This book is told through the eyes of a writer as she tries to write a novel amid the intrusions of family. It is comical in places. Frequently her small children are camped outside her door while she attempts to write inside her office. Often the characters get inside her head and argue with her psyche. It can be confusing at times, and after awhile did not keep my interest.
KnitLit : Sweaters and Their Stories...and Other Writing About Knitting
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
28
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
28
Review Date: 2/5/2021
This book is a compilation of stories written about knitters. Some of the stories are written by people who learned to knit from mothers and grandmothers. Other stories are written by non-knitters, but either had a special knitter in their life, or a special object knitted by someone special. As a knitter, I enjoy reading about how knitting touches others.
Review Date: 7/6/2016
I had a difficult time getting into the story. Daphne du Maurier has long been a favorite author of mine, but The Loving Spirit is not one of her better books. It's about a woman who becomes unusually close to one of her sons. She loves the sea, and wishes she had been born a man so she could sail. The story is set in the late 1800's in England. She passes her love of the sea onto her son, and he in turn lives his life devoted to her. The book spans several generations, and covers many branches of the family tree. Keeping the characters straight was difficult at times. The story ends in the 1920's with the granddaughter, and her love of the sea.
Review Date: 2/21/2016
It seemed like this book had two stories in the same book that really didn't have any connection. The one story line concerned the mercy killing of a terminally ill woman by her devoted husband. The other story, takes place in the same town, and concerns the cousin of the husband. That's where the connection ends for most of the book. The cousin, who happens to be the police chief, is having an affair. This story line is the prominent story for most of the book. The mercy killing story line is in the background. It wasn't until almost the end of the book when both men figure out they have lost their wives, that the story comes together. This was not my favorite Jodi Picoult novel, but it wasn't my least favorite either. I will continue to read her books.
Review Date: 9/30/2017
I love the Murder, She Wrote series. This is the story that was used for the pilot of the tv series. It was a fun, quick read.
Review Date: 9/20/2016
This is one of Agatha Christie's earliest books. I enjoyed it.The pairing of young sleuths, Tommy and Tuppence, was very enjoyable. One never knew what mischief they were going to find themselves in next. It was a fun, quick read, with the typical Christie twists and turns.
Review Date: 9/30/2017
I enjoyed The Thorn Birds. It had been many years since I saw the mini series. The book made me want to see the mini series again. It follows three generations of a family in Australia. The story centers around Meggie and her love for a priest. The book also visits the relationships between mothers and daughters, and how that influences the choices daughters make later in life. My book club chose this for our October selection. I liked it.
1 to 14 of 14
