Book 17-One Day by David Nicholls

This is the story of Emma and Dexter and begins the morning after their graduation from college. It's a Harry Met Sally type of story, but here's the twist: the story is told over the span of 20 or so years...but through the events that happen on one day and one day only: July 15th. This lends a sort of "what if" to each chapter. What if she had said this? What if he had only given her the flower?

I really really loved this book. It was a very quick, easy read, but with so much character development and insight. I don't want to say too much because a lot of the fun is in what happens next...and then what happens....and then what happens... But from the first page, I wanted to know more.

Book 16-Hunger by Michael Grant

This is the second book in the Gone series. In this book, the students have broken into two distinct groups again...the "bad" kids and the "good" kids. They are all starving after wasting a lot of the resources by being, well, kids!

This series is hard to read, with its theme of destruction and anarchy among children. The kids are running wild and the lack of adults has made some students step up and act better, while a lot of kids use the wildness of the times to act evil. There are crazy mobs and beatings and thoughts of cannibalism. It's not a light read, by any means. But it's good in a Stephen King way. My only complaint is that the books are so long and there are supposed to be 7 total in the series. Can I really handle reading 600 more pages...5 more times??

Book 15-The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio by Terry Ryan

I read this book for book club... It is the story of a mother of 10 children, trying to support all the kids with no job and an abusive and alcoholic husband. She earns money and prizes by entering jingle contests that were apparently all the rage in the 40s and 50s. At first, I had a hard time understanding her little one- and two-line jingles, but I got used to them eventually. This book and the characters really seemed too good to be true to me. I've been accused of reading only sad and depressing books, but this is one book that is definitely neither. And guess what?! I didn't like it. I guess I need something to think about when I read a book. If it had been a book where the hard-luck family had survived by doing something that I could do today, maybe I would have gotten more out of it. But as it was...eh. Certainly not my favorite book.

Recommendation: Cane River by Lalita Tademy

I read this book last year, but, as I haven't been finishing books fast enough to keep this blog going, I thought I would recommend it now! I loved this book soooo much. The author was high up in the corporate world, but couldn't stop thinking about the stories of her ancestors she had grown up hearing. So she quit her job and starting researching her geneology full-time. What she found could have filled a book! So she wrote that book. This story starts with her great-great-great grandmother (I think...), who was born into slavery, and follows the lineage down to her great-grandmother. But this is no dull read. Tademy took a risk and wrote the book as a narrative fictional tale and it paid off. Unfortunately, I listened to the book on CD...the actual book is filled with pictures and contracts and all sorts of historical documents that I didn't get to see. This book gave me such an insight into the lives of slaves. Granted, as Americans, we spend a lot of time hearing about and learning about slavery, but I don't think I ever saw it humanized as much as I did while listening to this book. For example, this book drives home the point that slaves had NO possessions. Not the clothes on their backs, not the furniture they carved out of wood, not even the children they bore. Wow. Please, pick up this book and read it. Tademy also wrote about her father's family tree in Red River, but I haven't had a chance to read that one yet.

Book 14-April in Paris by Michael Wallner

An adult novel!!! Hooray! This is the story of a German soldier in Paris during the occupation who tires of being the object of French disdain. With his perfect French accent, he starts dressing in civilian clothes and walking the streets of Paris as a Frenchman in the evenings and translating the confessions of Resistance members during the day. I loved this story. There was so much in it to think about...who is the real enemy? Why are wars so cruel? What does it mean to be accepted? The main character struggles so much with finding where he fits in. This relatively short novel is not an "easy" read, but it is well worth the read. The novel was originally written in German and translated into English...and there are lots of French phrases without an English translation. Might be frustrating for non-French speakers, but I liked it!