Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

I have not read this book yet. I have the book because my book club chose it for June. Anyone out there read it yet? What did you think?

Hunger by Michael Grant

I just started the second book in the Gone series. I am so fascinated by this series! I want to find out what the darkness is and where the adults and older teens have gone. This book starts with the death of EZ, a sixth grader who wants to go with Sam to investigate a cabbage field. Mutant territorial worms get a hold of him and... .I think I'll let you read about it! Sam is devastated by this turn of events. And on top of this, food is getting scarce. There are four books in this series, so hunger is not the end of them! Stay tuned!!

Gone by Michael Grant

Imagine being in history class, listening to the teacher talk about The Civil War. One minute it is the North against the South, the next nothing. The teacher has disappeared. In fact, everyone over the age of 14 has disappeared. Poof. Gone. Strange mutations are everywhere. Snakes with wings, coyotes that talk and the mysterious darkness in the cave cause fear and anxiety.

Days pass. Sam reluctantly becomes the leader and tries to protect the rest. Where did the older teens and adults go? What will happen when the 14-year-olds turn 15? How will they keep order and make sure everyone has the basics to survive?

I loved this book! This fantasy/sci-fi read is a page turner! There is talk of a movie. I would go and see it! If you like fantasy, this is a great book for you!

Book Club Tonight!!

Meeting at Rafferty's for book club tonight! Can't wait to talk about The Glass Castle!

So, Fiction or Nonfiction?

Do you prefer reading Fiction or Nonfiction? If Fiction, what kind? Science Fiction? Fantasy? Realistic? Historical? If Nonfiction, what kind? Biography? Memoir? Science? History?

If given the choice, I will choose a fiction book over a nonfiction book. Fantasy or Science Fiction is what I like best. But, recently I have read several nonfiction works in the form of memoirs. These being The Glass Castle and Three Little Words. One deals with homelessness and the other with the foster care system and adoption. I have commented on both of them in earlier posts.

But now I that I have finished them, I am back to Fiction: Gone by Michael Grant. Fantasy, of course. Looks interesting! I'll let you know!

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

This is a memoir about Ashley and her brother's trek through the foster care system.  She had over fourteen foster homes before she found her loving adoptive parents.  She also spent time in The Children's Home, waiting for the perfect family to find her while they went "shopping for a child." 

The three little words that are referred to in the title will surprise you.  They are not "I love you!"

I liked this book a lot.  Ashley is a memorable, likable person with a serious message for those of us who don't know anything about the foster care system.  

 

The Butterfly Effect How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews

Have you ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? I saw part of a movie by that name. The main character kept going back in time and changing one little thing and when he got back to the present, things would be radically different. That is sorta what this book reminds me of. It is a small 109 page inspirational book that is quite moving. At least it struck a chord with me. It starts out with the story of a 34-year-old schoolteacher named Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. You may have heard of him. In 1863, he was the Colonel and leader of the 20th Maine at Gettysburg. It was his command to "Fix Bayonets and charge!" after they had repulsed 5 charges from the Rebel soldiers, caused him and his 80 men to fool the enemy and capture 800 men from the 14th and the 47th Alabama troops. Colonel Chamberlain knew that the Union Army would be defeated if he didn't stand his ground. Quite possibly the south would have won the battle and then the war. One man stood in the gap and helped the North win. Now that seems like a big thing to me, but the consequences of his one action helped win the war and keep the United States united. Can you imagine what would have happened in WWI and WWII if we had been divided and were not able to help conquer Hitler? The book is more than this story. Smaller actions are described later on, but I love this story! Colonel Chamberlain knew what he had to do and he did it! And he spurred others on to do what they had to do and we are still reaping the benefits! This book is worth the time to read it and more.

Jane Eyre the movie

I saw the movie Jane Eyre this past weekend. I really liked it! I could only find it at the Mariemont Theater. The scenery was beautiful! It had been a while since I had read the book, but I do think it was beautifully done. I plan on getting the book and re-reading it soon!

The Clone Codes by Patricia, Fredrick and John McKissack

This book is written by a husband/wife/son team!  Patricia is an award winning young adult author of mostly non-fiction titles, such as Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman.  She is joined by her husband and son in order to produce this fiction work.  They have taken the general idea of slavery and applied it to a fictitious future (2170) of clones and cyborgs.  The Clone Codes state the rules that apply to the clones and cyborgs.  It follows closely the rules of slavery in America in the 1800s.  It is a fast moving story that throws in surprises and interesting ideas of how technology will be in the future. 

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

This is a Holocaust novel. It is a fictionalized account of the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations. During one of these roundups, eleven year old Sarah locked her four year old brother in a cupboard to hide him from the Nazis who had come for their family. She never dreamed she wouldn't be back to save him. In 2002, Julia Jarmond and her husband prepare to move into the apartment that Sarah had lived in those many years ago. Julia stumbles upon the story of the roundups and discovers that Sarah had lived in her new apartment. In the process she finds a secret that threatens her marriage.

Very intense novel. I did find that for me, it took a chapter or two to get into the story, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down! I learned a lot about WWII that I didn't know before. Reminded me somewhat of the Potato Peel Society! I liked it a lot!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir! When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. He promised his daughter that they would build a glass castle in the desert.  Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family or holding a job.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing -- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity.