Shannan's Review of "The Help"

This book was written by Kathryn Stockett, and was also recommended to me by Kaitlyn's school teacher. This is set in Mississippi in the 1960s, and is told from the perspective of three women, two who are black, and one white. I really enjoy stories from this era, so I really liked this book. It gives you a perspective of the relationships between blacks and whites, but also the way those relationships begin to change during this decade. I would recommend it and give it 4 stars.

Recommendations

I am trying to come up with a book to do for book club for my month next year. Does anyone have any suggestions? Have you heard of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"? I am thinking of that one, unless my friend choses it. What have you liked reading in your book clubs? What do you think about "My Name is Asher Lev" or "The Chosen" for book club?

Also, I heard of this new blog written by a girl who rates the books she reads for sexaul content, violence, and profanity. I checked it out and thought it was pretty cool. It is goodcleanreads.blogspot.com, just in case you might be interested!

Shannan's Review of "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin

This book was actually recommended to Kaitlyn by her 3rd grade teacher. But I figured I should read it first since I didn't know anything about it. And it really isn't quite appropriate for a 9 year old. There are a few swear words, not a ton, but still, I don't really want Kaitlyn reading those quite yet. And a couple of sex references. We haven't talked about that yet with her, so I didn't want it introduced to her by a book.

That being said, I didn't mind this book. The story is about a girl who has died and her journey after her death in Elsewhere, the place where you live after you die. It was an interesting idea about what happens after death, even though I didn't agree with some of the author's ideas. One I did like is that death is not the end of our life, just a part of it.

While this book was okay, I wasn't super into it and never really felt connected with the characters. I would suggest it if you just want a quick light read, but I wouldn't suggest running out and getting it right away. 2.5 stars