Category: Book Review

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson (Banned Books Week)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)59 Comments


Melinda wanders the halls of her school.  She sees the excitement of the cheerleaders (which she has much opinion on this group), the decorations for the upcoming dance, people passing her… passing her… passing her by.  The preps, the  jocks, the human waste, euro-trash, big hair chix, goths, thespians, shredders, country clubbers, suffering artists… all roaming the halls in their little herds… Melinda stands alone.

She is outcast.  And she is not speaking.

There is no point in looking for her friends…. err.. ex friends.  Her best friend Rachel, now goes by Rachelle.  They have moved on without her.  Ever since the day she called the cops during the party she was attending, the entire school population has turned their back on her.

Loser.

What they do not know is why Melinda called the cops that fateful night.  Why…. why …. why…. they don’t know about IT.  They don’t know about the rape.  If only Melinda could Speak.  Instead, she stops speaking… to her parents, to her teachers, to anyone.

 

 

Reposting from my original post on 9/28/2010

Told in the first person of Melinda, I found this book to be filled with  raw and real emotion.  Melinda narrates with a true teenager voice.  She is sarcastic and funnily so.


The first ten lies they tell you in High School:

1.  We are here to help you.

2.  You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings.

3.  The dress code will be enforced.

4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.

5.  Our football team will win the championship this year.

6.  We expect more of you here.

7.  Guidance counselors are available to listen.

8.  Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.

9.  Your locker combination is private.

10.  These will be the years you look back on fondly.

I have to be honest… I picked up this book because I was hearing all the hype around it being challenged and I was hearing also the other side of what this book was about.  After reading it, I am pro this book.  I did not find the subject matter to be anywhere near as strong as it was described and certainly not offensive.  I thought Laurie Halse Anderson wrote in a very tasteful manner about a hard subject.

The book is a quick read and an important one.  I loved Melinda’s inner dialogue throughout the book, and it is interesting to watch her grow in her own self-confidence through the dynamics that Laurie Halse Anderson breathed into other characters.

A book like this may help young girls find their voice to SPEAK.  And that is really what SPEAK is all about.


FYI:  Before she was Bella, she was Melinda.  Kristin Stewart plays the lead in the movie SPEAK.  (Which I am excited to see!)


Why was SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson banned?

The 1999 young adult novel Speak, which chronicles a high school freshman’s struggle with the aftermath of rape, was challenged by a Missouri professor and father of three in June.

Wesley Scroggins, an associate professor of management at Missouri State University in Springfield, made a public complaint to his local school board about Speak and two other books included on English reading lists at Republic High School. Scroggins also issued an editorial in the Springfield News-Leader on Sept. 18, in which he categorized Speak and other books on the high school reading list as “material that should be classified as soft pornography.”

I purchased my copy of SPEAK at Barnes and Noble


Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Banned Books Week)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)42 Comments

 

Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway is preparing for a party.  As she walks through London on a fine June morning, picking up fresh flowers, decorations, and finding just the right dress.  As she prepares her home for the event, she is flooded with memories of her past -from Peter Walsh, whom she spurned years ago, to her daughter Elizabeth, the girl’s angry teacher, Doris Kilman, and war-shocked Septimus Warren Smith, who is sinking into madness.

As preparetions for the party continue, a series of events intrudes on her composure. Her husband is invited, without her, to lunch with Lady Bruton (who, Clarissa notes anxiously, gives the most amusing luncheons). Meanwhile, Peter Walsh appears, recently from India, to criticize and confide in her. His sudden arrival evokes memories of a distant past, the choices she made then, and her wistful friendship with Sally Seto…

 

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself" ~ first sentence

Hmmmm….  as  close the book on Mrs. Dalloway I am left with this one lingering thought…

hmmmm…..

I have never read anything by Virginia Woolf before, and with banned book week upon us I felt that this would be a great time to read this book I picked up earlier this year at a sale… this book, Mrs. Dalloway which is considered to be Virginia Woolf’s best book, as well as a banned book.

As I read through this 177 page read I found it to be rather detail oriented, flitting from one topic and one character to the next.  The twenty plus characters al play a role in Clarissa’s memories but also you get a peek into their own as well.  The book is to be a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway as she deals with the present and the past.  Really for a book published in 1925, the idea behind the book is brilliant.

There are strong subject matters that float through the pages…. feminism, suicide, and apparently referenced homosexuality (more on that at the bottom of this review)

I think for me, who has recently been immersed in dystopia fiction, a steampunk novel on audio, as well as a modern-day thriller….  I found Mrs. Dalloway to be a bit of a bore. I hate to say that I do…. but being honest here, the book more than likely came to me at the wrong time.  It happens.

Am I glad I had an opportunity to try Virginia Woolf?  Yes.  But as for me and Mrs. Dalloway, I think we are going to agree to part ways as mere acquaintances.

“It’s not you Clarissa, it’s me. “

 

So… Mrs. Dalloway?  Why are you a Banned book?

Mrs. Dalloway was banned in some communities because of the homosexual attraction of Clarissa to Sally at Bourton.  Apparently there is a reference as well of Septimus being haunted by the image of his dear friend Evans. Evans, his commanding officer, is described as being “undemonstrative in the company of women”.

 

I purchased this book earlier this year at a library sale for my classic collection

 

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (Banned Books Week)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)59 Comments

 

Fern lives on a farm and has a special spot in her heart for a little pig named Wilbur.  Wilbur is a shy, bashful pig, and one day discovers a spider named Charlotte who he discovers making a web in the corner of his stall.

Charlotte has a way with words (literally) and soon Wilbur and her are friends and causing quite a scene in the barnyard. 

As Wilbur fears what will happen to him as after all, he is a pig on a farm… Charlotte helps him discover his true potential and self-worth.

 

Certainly, hopefully, you have spent time with this amazing book.  I did several times as a child, and today I spent time with it again.  Why?  Today kicks off the 2011 Banned Books Week… and yes, Charlotte and Wilbur have done gone and got themselves on this list.  More on that at the bottom of this post. 

 

Originally I thought the re-reading of this book would go quickly and perhaps I would even just skim through it enough to capture the memories…

well…

it didn’t quite go like that.

I had forgotten about how Fern had saved Wilbur’s life when he was a runt.  I had forgotten about the geese saying everything three times… and I had forgotten how Wilbur fainted when he was scared.  I always knew this was a good book… I had forgotten it was a great book.  Terrific even.  😀

I spent two hours in my recliner quietly reading and finding my younger self going back to the barn that in my childhood housed Charlotte, a selfless spider, and a fat rat named Templeton, and an amazing pig called Wilbur. 

And yes…. if you are wondering if it hit me all over again as the book came to a close… it did.  With tear filled eyes I closed the final page with a sense of once again having experienced something remarkable in E.B. Whites famous childrens book.

I cant imagine it not being available for me to one day read to the young children that filter into my life….

 

In 2006, some parents in a Kansas school district decided that talking animals are blasphemous and unnatural; passages about the spider dying were also criticized as being “inappropriate subject matter for a children’s book.”

According to the parent group at the heart of the issue, ‘humans are the highest level of God’s creation and are the only creatures that can communicate vocally. Showing lower life forms with human abilities is sacrilegious and disrespectful to God.’

A junior high in Batley, West Yorkshire, England, which became the center of international attention in 2003 when the school’s Headteacher decreed that all books featuring pigs should be removed because it could potentially offend the school’s Muslim students and their parents.

I hope that if you have this book somewhere on the shelf… pull it down and either read it again to yourself, or share this incredible story with a child.

The Clue needed for the banned books week challenge:

This book is on loan from my local library

This is the second clue given today.  To know more about this please read my post from this morning.

FORBIDDEN by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee (W/ Giveaway!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

The world is no longer as we once knew it.  After an apocalyptic experience, the world seems to have lost that sense of impending doom….  all that is left in a civilization of people who live in peace and fear…. can you have both?

The people left on earth seem to believe so… but really who are these people who are left other than the walking dead… merely shells of what people once were…

Many years have passed since civilization’s brush with apocalypse. The world’s greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace… and fear. But a terrible secret has been closely guarded for centuries: Every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity.

Then a young man comes across a vial of blood with a coded message that he does not understand.  Yet when he drinks the blood (mmmm hmmmm… bear with me here) it seems to lead to real life returning all the human emotions that have long been gone!  The sensation is exhilarating!

… but will it also resurrect the old feelings of hate and greed?

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author best known for mystery and thriller novels, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans. Early in his career he wrote a number of books that would best be categorized as Religious thrillers. His later works are a mix of mainstream novels such as Thr3e, Obsessed, Skin, Adam, and BoneMan’s Daughters; and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore redemptive history. Best known among these are his Circle Series (Black, Red, White, Green), The Lost Books (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, Elyon), and The Paradise Books (Showdown, Saint, and Sinner), as well as House (with Frank Peretti). One of Dekker’s most notable works is his mega-series, the Books of History Chronicles.

As found on wikepedia –

click here to learn more about this fascinating author

In recent years I have had a love/hate relationship with Ted Dekker.  The first books I ever read by him were Blessed Child and A Man Called Blessed… both books took my breath away.   Since then I have found some of his books to be good, others to be a bit confusing, and some just downright… WHA?

Which brings me to FORBIDDEN.  You have to hand it to Dekker, he does know how to strike where the iron is hot and dystopian style reads are a big draw and honestly, I think a great genre to touch on for a Christian fiction author… 

the question is… does Dekker deliver?

I did like the pace of the read.  Within a few pages you have a firm understanding of what has happened to the world.

Fear is a big component of FORBIDDEN and while in this read scientists had figured out how to eliminate the need of human emotion, oddly they never could figure out how to dispose of fear… which in its own self is rather interesting when you think about it and rather smart of Dekker to layout the book this way. 

Fear plays a huge role in our current world and while some are devoured by the overpowering fear of the unknown, others in today’s society seem to live on it like adrenaline junkies… waiting for the next big tragedy so they can feel alive… 

In the end,  I have to say I appreciated what Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee built here in this first book in a series.  I found the message of “blood giving life” to be deeply symbolic of the blood of Christ bringing each of us life. 

I would recommend this book to not only those who enjoy Christian fiction, but also Dystopia, thrillers,and sci fi.

I have a copy of this book to give away – if interested, please leave a comment letting me know if you have read Dekker before, and if so what have you read – and if not… what appeals to you about his books to give them a try?

 

Other Faith and Fiction Participants:

This book was read as part of the Faith N Fiction Group

The ASK and the ANSWER by Patrick Ness

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

In this sequel to The Knife Of Never Letting Go, our boy (MAN) hero, Todd is now trapped in New Prentisstown under the watchful eye of Mayor (errr… President) Prentiss.   Having been separated from Viola, Todd is unsure whether she is dead or alive and he has no choice but to do as he is told until he can find a way to get some ANSWERS.

Meanwhile – Viola, in another part of town, has made connections with a powerful woman named Mistress Coyle, who is not about to accept this new President Prentiss at face value.  Viola, under Mistress Coyles care, learns a few tricks of her own in taking care of herself as well as protecting others.

As Todd and Viola work hard to find each other, each silently ASKING where the other one stands now in this new world.  Todd wonders if Viola still is working with him for a plan to escape, and Viola QUESTIONS Todd’s motives of working directly and seemingly happily under the Prentiss directive.

“ToDD”?

And that is about when the bombs start going off… buildings are mysteriously being blown apart … and then it really gets interesting.

 

One series.... no waiting - all books are available!

 

A week ago I reviewed The Knife of Never Letting Go with “SSQQUUEEESSSS” of excitement and soooo glad I had this next book in hand to hop right into it.  Life happenings this past week may have slowed down my reading but this week I was able to spend some good quality time one on one with Todd and Viola.

The Ask and The Answer is not as light a read as The Knife Of Never Letting Go.  This book has put our characters right in the heat of battle… once again told in Patrick Ness’s phenomenal style… we have alternating chapters from Todd and Viola’s perspectives. 

There are so many things I want to rave about Patrick Ness’s writing style.  It is creative.  It is brilliant.  It makes me want to hug the pages and say, “YES!  This is how to write!”  When words make me feel… I am sold out. 

But more than that even, as I told a friend earlier today…. Patrick Ness finds no character indispensable.  In a “take no prisoners” style, Patrick Ness brings characters to the books… and he takes them out. 

Period. 

No holes barred.

And I am left shocked and thinking, “Oh no.. he did not just do that….”

But he did.

And shocked, and confused….

I love it.

If The Knife Of Never Letting Go held me…. The Ask and The Answer stuck me to the wall. 

I absolutely can not wait to leap into the pages of Monsters Of Men. 

My opinion?  If you liked Hunger Games… you will LOVE this series.  If you LOVED Hunger Games…. The Chaos Walking series is about to blow you clean off the planet.  😛

Amazon Review

Goodreads rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include The Ask and The Answer

purchased from Amazon

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (or… I Heart Patrick Ness!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments

Todd Hewitt’s life for as long as he remembers has been in the New World.  When his parents came to the New World , then renamed Prentiss Town, a virus wiped out all the females, caused all animals to be able to talk, and all mens thoughts come right out of there in the open for all to see and hear.  This constant mind chatter is known as The Noise and Todd has never known silence, as his own Noise is always with him.  Nothing is private in Prentiss Town.

Todd, on the verge of becoming thirteen, is the only boy left in the town.  When you turn thirteen, you are said to become a man, and Todd will be the last one in this community to become a man.  He’s not even sure what that means… but he is about twenty days from finding out. 

Then, while out in the woods with his dog, Manchee, Todd discovers something… a skip in the Noise.  Yes, there actually is a silence and now knowing of this, Todd discovers quickly that his own thoughts betray him and soon the whole town knows what he has discovered and his life is in danger.

But why?

“Your Noise Reveals You Todd Hewitt!!!

Now Todd and Manchee are on the run, following the river  and having no idea what is out beyond, but having no choice but to run from the towns people who will not let this last boy go….

“If one of us falls… we all fall.”

 

 

This is a book that shows a great example why it is not smart to judge a book by its cover.  Sure, I heard of this book when it was first released in the fall of 2008 the cover did not appeal to me and I passed on it.

Passed on it.  (This could be the story I tell grandchildren some day…. Yup, I passed on one of the best books I ever read”)  You can imagine their big eyes… and the shame… oh the shame…

The Knife Of Never Letting Go came back on my radar when I seen the awards being won by the third book in this series, Monsters Of Men.  I was instantly drawn in, not connecting Monsters Of Men to this book at all until I dived in further…

here is where the shame begins…

Upon writing a post about my desire to follow this series, the comments started coming in about how amazing The Knife Of Never Letting Go was and how I had better have all three books at once as each is left with an incredible cliff hanger that you will not want to wait to move on from…. so on sheer push and book peer pressures (oh you know who you are :razz:) … I ordered all three books at once….

then sat waiting for them to arrive, hoping I had not made a mistake….

really… sci fi, not my thing.

When I started Knife Of Never Letting Go and in short time I was reading conversations with a talking dog, I thought, “hoo boy… I am not sure if I will get into this,” and then…

I did.

Big time.

I always enjoy when a story line goes outside the cookie cutter shapes that many books follow today.  A leap so to speak, of breaking the mold.  Patrick Ness did just that.  I would not call this book so much sci Fi as adventure dystopia.  At, may I add, it’s finest.

Within pages I was totally following this new character Todd, and had no problem at all with the talking dog Manchee… in fact, Manchee really (REALLY REALLY) grew on me.  Fast paced, as I like my books, soon I was running with Todd and Manchee, discovering the Silence, and feeling the dangers that lay ahead… and behind.

I found this book to be unique, fascinating, and ranks for me higher than Hunger Games (which is soooo rave worthy!).  I  can’t quite put my finger on what it is that I loved about this book so much, other than the characters feel real, flesh and blood real, dark and spooky real, painfully real.  Even the writing (and those of you who have read this before me know what I mean)… pages of Noise, impacted me as brilliant.  Font size…. touched me also.  Pages of words… let loose feelings of emotion. 

 

My recommendations if you are going to dip into this series –

1.  Set aside some time to READ… really I did not want to put the book down.

2.  Make sure you have book two close at hand – the end of this one will leave you wanting to dive right into the next (The Ask And The Asking)

 

A good 20 tear read… (kleenex also a must) I can not recommend this book enough.  You do not want to be on the outside looking in on this one. 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include The Knife Of Never Letting Go

Purchased from Amazon.com

 

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?

Chances are, you don’t. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in 2001 which ignited a global conversation and helped millions to discover their top five talents.

In its latest national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more (see below for details). While you can read this book in one sitting, you’ll use it as a reference for decades.

I am one of those people that HAVE TO fill out those questionnaires that come by email… you know the ones, “favorite food, restaurant, color, “friend most likely to respond”… 😛  I dont know why, but I love to answer questions.  It is even better if it is a personality quiz or something like that so as you can guess book was right up my alley.

I had never heard of Strength Finders, but at work, our team was each given one of these books to take, and complete on our own.  The book has a code in a sealed envelope in the back of it and once you read the instructions, you tear open the envelope and go on line to take the test.

The test takes about 20 – 30 minutes.  It is important you take it when you are alone with  no distractions as you have 20 seconds to answer each question before it skips it and moves on.  The point of that is they want your first thought, not for you to dwell on how to answer.  The questions look like this:

You check the circle that is closest to how you feel.

The whole point of this book is that many of us are working outside our strengths, and we are all wired differently and some weaknesses (most weaknesses) will always be just that and focusing on them just makes us tired and stressed, and really feeling unworthy.  Instead, Strength Finders focoses on your strengths so tasks can be given you at your job, that you will not only enjoy, but succeed in.  (Did I mention I love stuff like this?)

Once you complete your set of questions you will receive your results within a minute.  This is where the book really comes in.  The results are then all in the book so you can see what certain things mean and how you can use them to better your work, as well as your life, just by knowing how you personally are wired.  Fascinating stuff!  Really!

So… what were my results?

My Top 5 Strengths

Maximizer

Input

Includer

Responsibility

Positivity

The book goes into bigger details about what each of these mean but briefly:

Maximizer:  Excellent not average is your measure.  Taking something from from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion, not worth it.  Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is more rewarding.  I am to seek roles where I can help others succeed.

Input:  I am inquisitive and like to collect information (words, facts, books…) My mind finds so many things interesting.  If I read a lot, it is not to define my theories, but to add more information to the archives of my mind.

Includer:  Stretch the circle wider.  I want all people to feel as though they are part of the group.  I actively avoid groups that exclude others.  I am an instinctively accepting person.  Regardless of race or sex or nationality or personality you cast few judgements.

Responsibility:  I take ownership in anything I commit to.  I am emotionally bound to finish what I start.  My willingness to volunteer will sometimes cause me to take on more than I should.

Positivity:  Generous with praise, quick to smile, always looking for the positive side.  People are drawn to you because your energy and optimism is contagious.

These are just small samples of the five that are me.  The book is actually very interesting with a full page description of what each of your strengths are, samples of what that looks like, ideas of how to utilize this strength, as well as working with others who also have this on their top five.
It really is pretty cool and I recommend it to anyone who works in a team environment, or if you just like to know what makes you tick.  I felt mine was right on and reading the parts in the book that pertained to me was really eye opening.  This book would make a wonderful gift as well as for yourself. 

Escape by Barbara Delinsky

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Emily Aulenback is a successful 30-year-old lawyer married to James – who is also a lawyer.  While once she dreamed of representing victims of abuse… instead she sits in her cubicle day after day talking to people who drank tainted water. Day after day the job drones on, the long hours, James putting in even more time than she does, the demands of the lifestyle they had created.  Emily lives by her blackberry, her computer, and her watch.

Then one day… suddenly she decided she has had enough.  She walks out of her job, packs a bag, leaves her husband a quick note – and starts to drive.  One word resounds in her mind….

escape.

At first she has no destination… but then she finds herself heading towards a small New Hampshire town that she knew well from her college days.  She knows her friend is still there now running a bed and breakfast and maybe she will find her way…. by going back to when life was just easier.

A New Hampshire image... who wouldnt want to "escape" there?

 

 

I was initially drawn to this book by the title and the cover.  Perhaps a little shallow of me, but come on – the title…. “escape”…. what’s not to like?  I think that may be why as I sit here attempting to write this review… I am struggling a bit.

Why?

Well… there was a lot I liked about the book… I liked the idea of “the escape”, I mean seriously – I have been there… sometimes I have joked that it would be easier to go and live int he woods…. get a little cabin, no internet, no phone, no commitments… just me living off the land.  Of course if you know me… you know this would be cool for about a week before I would be crawling the walls for something to do and ways to connect… :razz:… but still, it is there.

I liked Emily, but did not love her.  I liked her husband James a lot, finding him patient and even likeable even thought their marriage was off track, you could see it was both their doing.  I liked the small town Emily escapes too, her friend Vicki, and the mini saga of Lee… I even think I liked Jude as “the other man” even though… well… he isn’t…

 

It almost felt like one story was being told in the beginning… 1)  Emily is receiving letters from her ex boy friend and decides to escape to where she knows he will be, and then 2) Emily is deeply in love with her husband and is just trying to find a happy medium…

Even as I write this I am still torn, my gut says there was an opportunity for a great story here that was not developed.  It started strong, and quickly fithered (my word)  into just an ok read… I felt many of the story lines never came to fruit…. there was more to the wolves, but we never got there, there was more to Jude, but again… unfinished, … so after all that…. my one sentence summary is:

Started with a strong boil that quickly went to a slow simmer. 

(oh and a funny but annoying tid bit… Amazon and a few other sites have the synopsis of the story with Tim as Emily’s husband.  There is no Tim in the book.  I actually thought I was a bit wackers when I first read that, thinking… I am sure his name is not Tim.  I seen it on a couple other book publisher sites as well…)

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review`

 

My 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include:  Escape

Secrets Of Longevity by Dr. Moa Shing Ni

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

I think as we get uhhhh….. older….. many of us try to make healthier choices in our life style and in our diets.  Key word for m here is – TRY.  😛  However, I know first hand that when I do eat right and exercise I feel (and look) better. 

Books like this one fascinate me.  I love to read up on herbs and spices that burn more calories, or take away headaches, or seem to reduce risks of disease.  When I think about all the junk we have added to our diets the last 50 or so years (fast food, restaurant chains, anything fired and on a stick for serving purposes) it really is a no brainer that we have always had the ingredients and the tools to live healthier lives if we choose to do so. 

 

Secrest of Longevity in other languages

Secrets Of Longevity is written by Dr. Moa Shing Ni (a 38th generation doctor!).  The book is broke into easy to use chapters:

Chapter One:  What You Eat

Chapter Two: How You Heal

Chapter Three:  Where You Are (environment, ecology)

Chapter Four:  What You Do  (exercise, lifestyle)

Chapter Five:  Who You Are (relationships, faith)

Chapter Six:  Bringing It All Together


Each page is about a paragraph long with bits of information, some of which we know such as:

Smaller Meals four to five times a day

Eat Like a King by Day, a Pauper at night

but many I did not know…

Tea is the beverage most commonly drank by centenarians around the world.  The free radical property of tea is more potent than that of vitamin E, and the antioxidants ward off diabetes and cancer

Honey is better for you than table sugar – and a gauge soaked with honey can help in healing burns and wounds.

Olive Oil regulates blood pressure

Orange peel served in meat dishes lowers cholesterol

Drinking your celery (yup – in a blender) helps arthritis and lowers blood pressure

Ginseng increases energy and stamina and has been used bu China for 5,000 years

Angelica Root reduces menstrual pain, strengthens bones and releases menopause effects

Positions to sleep in to cure insomnia

I took away so much from this book, and will keep it handy for future reference.  Nothing in the book involved going out and buying expensive ingredients or equipment…. is in the book, is already in your home.

This review is part of Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads.  While I have no recipes to share – he tips in this book refer to healthy eating and drinking to enjoy a long, happy, healthy life.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

The 2011 WHERE are You Reading map has been updated to include Secrets of Longevity

I purchased this book in a small shop in Grand Marais MN

Cut by Patricia McCormick

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

A tingle arced across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next.

Callie cuts herself. Never too deep, never enough to die. But enough to feel the pain. Enough to feel the scream inside.

Now she’s at Sea Pines, a “residential treatment facility” filled with girls struggling with problems of their own. Callie doesn’t want to have anything to do with them. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with anyone. She won’t even speak.

But Callie can only stay silent for so long….

 

Injuring yourself on purpose by making scratches or cuts on your body with a sharp object — enough to break the skin and make it bleed — is called cutting. Cutting is a type of self-injury, or SI. Most people who cut are girls, but guys self-injure, too. People who cut usually start cutting in their young teens. Some continue to cut into adulthood. 

~Kids Health.Org

 

How interesting that I recently finished After by Amy Efaw, and find myself right back in a girls treatment facility with this book….. hmmm…. 😛

Cut is a book I have been wanting to read for quite a while.  When I first heard about it I was wondering what a book with the subject of cutting would be like.  With the same YA draw about teen issues as SPEAK had, I was pulled into this story about Callie and the reason she cuts.

This book is told from Callie’s perspective and much of the dialogue is her thoughts as for most of the book…. Callie does not speak… not to the other girls, not to the doctor and nurses, and not to her therapist.  While she does as she is told, she does nothing verbal.

The girls in the facility (the facility is called Sea Pines, but the girls call it “Sick Minds”) have mixed reasons for being there.  Some have eating disorders, depression, substance abuse… yet until Amanda comes, there are no other girls who cut.  Amanda plays a bigger role in this book then you would at first think.  Although she enters late, her being there for the same reason as Callie is huge, and really a step in the right direction for Callie’s start to recovery.

I found this book to be a fairly quick read – while small is size, it packs in a wallop of a topic that is big for teens.  The book had an impact but not as big of one as I had originally thought I was going to experience pre- read.  It was fast, interesting, and hopefully it speaks to anyone who cuts.

 

*On a more person note, I have an acquaintance that cuts.  As a Kinship Partner, I am also a mandatory reporter and therefore must report any activity I notice or may suspect that could be harmful to a child or to oneself.  This acquaintance was my first real experience with cutting and I did not understand why someone would do this to themselves.

When I spoke to her about it she explained that she had been physically abused as a child…. with such turmoil and fear in her life at a young age, she took to cutting because she said she had no other way to release the pain.  Cutting – hurt her, but at the same time was release as she had control over the pain. 

This was how I began to understand the need for some to cut.

Sheila

 

Good Reads Review

I have updated the 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map to include Cut (Well I would map it if I knew where it took place 😛 )

I received this book from a friend (Heidi) who had read it and passed it to me