Summer Reading Celebration

Magic Tree House series book 20. Read with grandson. He loves these books.

This was a somewhat disturbing book. Disturbing in that if you don't happen to be a person if color, you learn what it is like to live in their world. That it would be so bad you would want to "cross over" is telling of the world I do not know. The fictitious story is set in a small town of very light skinned blacks. They pride themselves on their lightness. Some even have red hair and could be mistaken as being white. But as the author notes, even the boy who looks white is not allowed the same privileges that an actual white person would have. The story follows 2twin sisters born in this town. Their daddy dies young and their mothers struggles to support the family. The girls have to chip in and life is very hard for all of them. One of the twins "crosses over" in order to get a job that pays better so she and her sister can afford to live in the city they have run away to. Eventually her white boss falls in love with her. Will she tell him? What happens to the other sister? There are some rough parts in this book, but I appreciated the over all message it told.

Pleasant read of historical fiction set in Ireland in the 1920's during the Irish war for independence from England. The story involves the daughter of the English overseer who has been sent to the area to keep things in check. In an unprecedented move, her father allies her to apprentice at an Irish owned jewelry shop. The owners son is dead st against it because of who she is. While the story feels predictable, the history is well researched. The writing lacks the depth of best sellers, but it was a pleasant enough read.

“We all need to do things that take us out of ourselves.” (p. 364) whether it is embroidery, fly fishing, or bell ringing, the activities we do offer purpose and focus, especially in difficult times. This novel is set in England in the 1930s and the thread that binds characters is sometimes physical, such as yarn to embroider with or ropes in a bell tower, and sometimes spiritual as between friends and lovers. The losses of The Great War are keenly felt by the parents, sisters, and girlfriends of boys who died. How they build new lives through service, activities, employment, and especially relationships create the threads that embroider a new life and society.

By far the best series that takes place in Wonderland.

These novellas should be made into larger stories. Especially water and earth, they are my favorite.

It was such a good book! Can’t wait for Love Arranged.

Runs over the basics of abnormal psychology that makes it easier to digest over a medical textbook so you can understand it on a more human level for anyone rather then where one might feel overwhelmed by a more advanced medical textbook. Feels more of a stepping stone if you wanted to dive deeper into specific chapters the book covers.

Mystery, military operations, international relations, drama, and a little romance

Wonderful, if not sad book about family and the deep history behind the women in the story.