While I believe a good portion of what he is preaching in this book, I disagree with the way he presents it. I'm overly frustrated with the "I'm right and everyone else are idiots" philosophy.
Fictional account of a life in a small town. She's a good author and I liked her twist at the end. Not highly recommendable but it was good.
Middle grade fiction about a child who has a mom with a severe brain injury. Someone said it was like reading To Kill A Mockingbird. It wasn't. Not even sure I thought it was worth the time spent.
This was work. So very long. I ended up having to get in line again to finish the last 10 hours. Very worth while account of Washington though. My new favorite although I've only read one other. Chernow is a pretty good go to as far as historical authors are concerned.
Junior fiction told from the voice of a Russian horse about his journey with explorers to the South Pole. I had high hopes and it had good moments but I didn't like the overall story or the ending.
Fiction - I suppose it could be "historical fiction" - about two families from Ireland, one gentry one servants. As far as fiction goes this was a good read and would be recommendable. Looks like there are at least three of these. Not sure I'm motivated to read more but if I ever decide to read a series it could be this.
This middle grade fiction was awesome! Well worth the read. Covers bullying, middle school sociality, and a whole bunch of other issues. Nicely done. I loved that the story he was writing parallels his life and what he discovers in the end - so extremely insightful! Kids need more like this.
Was looking for something less intense / lighter so I chose this one. Maybe it was less intense but it definitely was not lighter. Spoiler alert - the woman's husband beat her severely. All - the - freakin' - time. In Bill Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods, he refers to her as being eccentric and somewhat empty headed. I disagree. I think she walked to be alone and get away from life. It was her way of running away. Another testament to know about a persons story before jumping to conclusions. I think it was Fredrik Backman in Anxious People that stated everyone is the star of their own show and therefore make decisions that make perfect sense in their own mind while not making sense to us as we walk around looking down at our phones with earphones in our ear ignoring life in general.
This is the author of Stay and Leaving Blythe River, the first being fantastic, the second okay. I had hopes for this but it was not as enjoyable and I would not recommend. It wasn't really bad per se and had a semi interesting plot but just not worth it in my eyes. I ended up returning the rest of her books I had checked out. There is one more she recently wrote that I may end up reading but I'll let you know.
Interesting historical fiction for middle graders. The girl gets kidnapped so maybe not for younger middle graders, but it's a fascinating look about disabilities and how we put limits on people when they are truly much more. There is also a lot about race, class, and acceptance. Highly recommendable.
This. Wow. Extremely worth while but not an easy read (subject matter, also foul language and broken English). Also not an easy audio book because of the way the author writes as the sparsely educated main character. It's incredible that these things happen in our day. One would think maybe 50 years ago or something but no. This is set 2013 - 2016. The girl has so much insight and so many desires. It is well worth the difficult read.
My first book about the Kennedys. I learned a lot about both Robert and John. The book was well written and interesting however I felt it was pretty bias; but then again most books written by family about family are pretty bias. But most authors sway one way or another.
I had a hard time with this one. It's an interesting story and as long as you don't take it too literally it reads well. But the premise: a boy runs away from home to live on his grandfather's land in the mountains. I also had a hard time with him taking a baby hawk from her mother's nest to train as his own. At the end the family comes to him and says if he won't come home, we'll go to him, and decide to build a home in the mountains. Again, fine and all as long as you read it as fantasy / fiction.
I started out not liking this book, even felt I knew where it was going and wasn't quite interested in going there so I put it aside and read other things. Recently I had trouble sleeping again so I gave this one another go. Glad I did for it turns out way different than I thought. It's got some great insights and good moments; however it is "Christian" literature, which I struggle with sometimes. It's not tremendously preachy but there are a few over the top moments. And the ending was a bit much, but still overall good.
I didn't even know this person existed and yet she did so much for science and for basic womanhood - (1647-1717). It's also a beautiful book. Well worth the read.
It's a children's picture book with a great (true) story. She's from Venezuela and had to leave with her family because of the revolution. Then she came to the US where the Civil War was going on. Music helped her show love and helped people find comfort. Recommendable.
A graphic novel about a girl and her sibling who has a degenerative disease. It's also about Dia de los Muertos and how the girls handle death and so forth. It was okay but nothing I'd recommend.
