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

Adrienne's review of "The Scarlet Pimpernel"

After Jeff and I saw the play I really wanted to read the original book. It was a pretty easy read and one that I quickly got into. (Sometimes a concern for me with the "classics".) The book starts off at about halfway through the movie, with Marguerite and Percy already married and estranged from each other and you find out why as you read the book. It has a different story line and ending than the movie and the play. It is just the first in a series of books that Baroness Orczy wrote about The Scarlet Pimpernel and think that they might have mixed parts of different books together for the play and movie. I would give it 3.5 stars.

The Blue Sword

Yay, I finished the book this time! For some reason, it took me a while to get through the first part of this book again, even though I enjoyed the story. The ending went much quicker and I really liked it. I agree with Adrienne, that I love the main character of this story, Harry. I also loved reading this book just because I knew it was one of Adrienne's favorites. I would give it 4 stars. But take in mind that it is written by Robin McKinley, and her writing takes a little getting used to. (I am excited to read The Hero and the Crown now!)

Well you guys are much better at keeping up on this blog than I am. I have been reading but not taking the time to write anything down. Our book club read The Peacegiver last month which is an excellent read. It is a fictional book but gives you unique perspectives about the Atonement and applying it in your life. It is a quick read but very worthwhile so that is a bonus. I would give this 4+ stars.

I have also just read the Christmas Jars. It was a quick read as well (only about 100 pages) and a good book for the holidays. Nothing to astounding or anything but I did want to finish it. I would give it 3 stars.

Adrienne's review of "Love Comes Softly"

This is actually an eight book series written by Janette Oke that I stumbled upon at my library in the DVD section. Michael Landon, Jr. has directed a movie series based on the books and I started checking them out for something to watch while I worked on sewing and ended up checking out the books.

The first book is about 19 year old Marty Claridge, who just after arriving in the west with her husband Clem is left alone when he is killed in an accident. Marty has no money to get back home and doesn't know anyone. After her husband's funeral she is approached by Clark Davis. He's a young widower with a small daughter. He proposes a marriage of convenience. She would be a mother to his little Missy and he would give her a place to live. If she wanted to still go back home in the Spring he would pay her way if she would take Missy with her. Seeing no other way to survive she accepts his offer.

These books have a very similar feel to Little House on The Prairie (the show, I haven't read the books). It's set on the frontier and while it's about Marty and Clark, the story is also about those in their community.

I've only read the first two books in the series, Love Comes Softly and Loves Enduring Promise, but I really enjoyed both of them. I actually enjoyed the second book a little bit more than the first.

(Just an FYI, Janette Oke is a Christian author so there is a strong Christian influence to the books, which I really enjoyed.)