In search of adventure, 29-year-old Conor Grennan traded his day job for a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month stint volunteering at the Little Princes Children’s Home, an orphanage in war-torn Nepal.
Conor was initially reluctant to volunteer, unsure whether he had the proper skill, or enough passion, to get involved in a developing country in the middle of a civil war. After one day with the children he had no idea how he would be able to stay there for the next few weeks. But he was soon overcome by the herd of rambunctious, resilient children who would challenge and reward him in a way that he had never imagined. When Conor learned the unthinkable truth about their situation, he was stunned: The children were not orphans at all. Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war—for a huge fee—by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.
For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. He would risk his life on a journey through the legendary mountains of Nepal, facing the dangers of a bloody civil war and a debilitating injury. Waiting for Conor back in Kathmandu, and hopeful he would make it out before being trapped in by snow, was the woman who would eventually become his wife and share his life’s work.
Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.
Ok. Seriously. Can you love a book? Of course you can… can you LOVE LOVE a book?
You bet.
Conor’s story touched my heart. When he speaks of his first experience in Nepal of just going for “the adventure” I could relate with that. When I first went to Honduras, I can not honestly say I went for the children…. much like Conor, I wanted the adventure. AND much like Conor, when I first walked into the children’s home in Honduras, the kids ran up to me hugging me like we were life long friends…. how was I to know we would be? I too thought that my time in Honduras would be a one time deal…. now I have been there nine times.
While Conor’s story seemed to collide with my own…. I think anyone would be touched by the experience of Nepal that Conor relays in these pages. I appreciated his sense of humor and his honesty. In the end, I felt I was right there with him.
I found it wonderful that Conor not only worked with these kids, helping them find food, a safe home, and be surrounded by people who loved them – but he also ventured out on foot, sometimes gone for weeks…. searching for these childrens parents trying to reunite families. In many cases, the parents thought their child was dead and they never expected to be reunited.
I am always amazed at people’s stories and the strength they find in themselves that they never knew was there. Conor never planned to spend years of his life in Nepal. he never dreamed that we would work hard between Nepal and the United States raising funds and jumping through hoops to get a school opened for trafficked children…. but that is what he did, and this has forever changed who he was.
I hope in the future Conor writes another book about the little Princes and the school as I would for one would love to know “the rest of the story”.
To learn more about Nepal and the work being done to reconnect children with families, please check out Next Generation Nepal
Jane Margaux is a girl who lives in a fairy tale world. Her mother is the head of a powerful New York Theater and their home is filled with riches.
Yet Jane is a very lonely little girl… her mother, the powerful and feared Vivian, makes time for her daughter once a week where on Sundays they go and admire the jewelery at Tiffany’s.
Jane has one friend who she can confide in and that would be Michael. Michael listens to everything Jane says. He hears and encourages her dreams and he shares with her the sorrows. Michael is everything you would want in a best friend.
Except…
Michael isn’t real.
And then on her 9th birthday, which is an epic disaster of its own, Michael tells Jane that he has to leave her. He tells her while it hurts this day, when she wakes in the morning she will have forgotten him…. that’s the way it works…. that’s the way it has always worked.
But for Jane it doesn’t work that way… she misses her friend every day of her childhood and even into adult life. Now producing her own play, a play about a young girl and her imaginary friend….. she is still under her mother’s thumb. And then one day out of the corner of her eye she sees him….
could it be….
“Michael?”
Did you know Sundays At Tiffanys is also a Lifetime movie? I would like to see it.
My book club chose this book for our April read. As you know from a recent post, I take no issue with Patterson and have found many of his books to be well written. I have read him before when he wrote in this style and was impressed, his book Suzanne’s Diary For Nicholas was read in one sitting and left me in tears of joy and sorrow – all rolled into one.
This was the first time I listened to a book club book rather than read it. I was going to purchase the book but Kerri in our book club has picked up the audio at the library and was done listening to it and offered it to me. I thought, why not? What was funny was with the female narrator (who was very good!) I forgot who the author of the book was. And it read on and the chapters flew by I remember thinking one day while I was driving through town, “wow this author has short chapters just like Patterson does.” Then had to laugh – as I remembered, “Oh yeah… .this is Patterson.”
For most of the audio/book I adored the story. I liked Jane, she starts out a little weak, but she is meant too – after all growing up in a household where you are constantly badgered by your mother on how to look, what to wear, what to eat…. yeah, that is going to leave a mark. BUT – Jane is not all weak and you can see a flicker of her own personality start to slowly flicker and then burn brighter within her as the book goes on.
I even really liked Michael – he is just a sweet guy and when the impossible happens, they find each other again, there is a sweet tone to the storyline – and I was still fine with the book…
Then somewhere along the line it hit me… when Jane was 9…. Michael wasn’t…. he was 32. In fact he is 32 throughout the whole book being whatever he is (my book club tried to figure it out – an angel? A spirit? ) and never ages. Now when they get back together Jane is very close to his age and its all cool – but I could not let go of the 32-year-old imaginary friend when Jane was a little girl. I guess I just believed that when she was 9 so was he and that he just aged along with the rest of the world until they met again with adults.
Ok…. that whole scenario – put a creepy factor in my had on a scale of 1 – 10…. at about a 7.
Overall – the book is a good read. I did like the characters and I thought while the ending was all too neat and tied with a bow, it was still a respectable ending for a Patterson book that gave off a Nicholas Sparks vibe.
My book club met on Tuesday of this week to have dinner together and discuss this book. I love it when we theme the foods to the book and Sundays at Tiffany’s is a dangerous book to do that with as the book is fulled with delights from Jane (and Michael’s) sweet tooth. Thank you to Amy M’s hubby Paul for the delicious chocolate cake (this man can bake!) topped with truffles! AND Laura brought an oreo ice cream cake as Jane’s favorite food is Oreos. We also had a delicious chicken dish served on noodles or rice and Thai Chicken, a salad, and another chicken hot dish. Amy served wine and lemonade, I brought cheese to go with the wine.
I wanted to start out our discussion with everyone sharing if they had an imaginary friend when they were little… turns out, out of our group – I was the only one. I was really surprised and through we would have a big discussion over this but it was just me. her name was Julie…. I guess I was probably around that 8 or 9 age. I remember walking with her at my grandmothers home in town, and I remember her in our home when I would talk to her about everything. The group thought that maybe because I was an only child until I was 7 that may be why I had a “Julie” where they were all surrounded by siblings or other kids. I found that very interesting as I had never thought about who has imaginary friends and who does not and why….
Over all the Bookies found the book to be a slightly higher than average read. Only one other girl in our group found the Michael (32) and Jane (9) friendship to be creepy. They looked at is as Jane’s replacement for the absence of her father in her life. I can see that…. (ahhh the beauty of a book club discussion – you can things differently through others opinions!) 😀
We really did have fun discussing the book and that is one great thing about the Bookies, no matter what the book is like – we just enjoy getting together and always find a way to discuss the book and have fun. We finished up our review with what our “can not pass up” foods are and they were all over the board: Chocolate cake, popcorn with cinnamon sugar and real butter on it, dill pickle sun flower seeds, toast with cinnamon and sugar and butter on it, cheese, anything chocolate….)
In 1947, American historian and veteran of WWII, Martin Mitchell, wins a Fulbright Fellowship to document the end of British rule in India. His wife, Evie, convinces him to take her and their young son along, hoping a shared adventure will mend their marriage, which has been strained by war.
But other places, other wars. Martin and Evie find themselves stranded in a colonial bungalow in the Himalayas due to violence surrounding the partition of India between Hindus and Muslims. In that house, hidden behind a brick wall, Evie discovers a packet of old letters, which tell a strange and compelling story of love and war involving two young Englishwomen who lived in the same house in 1857.
Drawn to their story, Evie embarks on a mission to piece together her Victorian mystery. Her search leads her through the bazaars and temples of India as well as the dying society of the British Raj. Along the way, Martin’s dark secret is exposed, unleashing a new wedge between Evie and him. As India struggles toward Independence, Evie struggles to save her marriage, pursuing her Victorian ghosts for answers.
You have to wonder if a book that is so incredible looking on the outside could possibly deliver on the inside. Wonder no more. Elle Newmark brought me into her journey
I admit I was a little cautious about reading yet another book that was war related… I feel as of late I have over dosed a bit on this topic, yet The Sandalwood Tree provided more than a compelling cover, on the inside the words fell right into place along side my heart.
I love the idea behind the hidden letters and the flash forwards and backs are done flawlessly so I easily was able to follow along with the time changes and the story lines and they mixed and mingled to weave this much desirable story.
The characters were well written and I found myself drawn to Evie and then again to her son Billy. Honestly there is so much more I would like to say in this review but am censoring myself not to give any bit of the adventure away. I hope you too will experience this book and go on this adventure.
After the death of Maddy’s mother, Martha, during the Japanese attack on Shanghai in 1937, Leo married a hard-hearted woman he entrusted to take Maddy to safety in the U.S. By 1942, 12-year-old Maddy has come to live with her aunt, Martha’s sister, Bernice Mason, in posh Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Bernice hopes to protect her from Leo, a mysterious man she doesn’t trust, who by now has reached North Africa. Leo’s encounters with such real-life American intelligence figures as Col. William Eddy and Carlton Coon lend verisimilitude to his WWII exploits. Maddy’s later romantic travails with Bradley Harrington Gordon IV and New York mobster Gene Mandretti yield unexpected conflicts.
This is the sequel to Heart Of Lies which sadly, I have not read. After dipping into this novel, I really wish I had. This is a literary treat for the historical fiction lovers. Leo Hoffman is a character that will keep you reading. You will want to know more about him and I know I missed out by missing part of this incredible characters story in the first book….
however…
Heart Of Deception still brings much to the table. The book starts with a bit of background story to Heart Of Lies so you can get a bit of what has been happening before you move on. As you follow Leos journey trying to work his way back to his daughter by gaining citizenship. With twists and turns that occasionally lost me on the way to their destination, but I plugged on trapped in this intriguing stary and having to know how it ended.
I met M.L. Malcolm in New York during BEA last year and what an incredible fun woman! Always wearing a hat in what I would say is a signature style for her, Malcolm was a delight to talk to.
Thank you to TLC Book Tours for inviting me to be a part of the tour,
HarperCollins for providing me with a courtesy copy
Two abandoned souls are on the hunt for one powerful man. Soon, their paths will cross and lead to one twisted fate.
Danny Hansen is a Bosnian immigrant who came to America with hopes of escaping haunted memories of a tragic war that took his mother’s life. Now he’s a priest who lives by a law of love and compassion. It is powerful men and hypocrites who abide by legal law but eschew the law of love that most incense Danny. As an avenging angel, he believes it is his duty to show them the error of their ways, at any cost.
Renee Gilmore is the frail and helpless victim of one such powerful man. Having escaped his clutches, she now lives only to satisfy justice by destroying him, regardless of whom she must become in that pursuit.
But when Danny and Renee’s paths become inexorably entangled things go very, very badly and neither of them may make it out of this hunt alive.
Judge not, or you too will be judged.
Cue the scary background music right? And really… you should as Dekker opens his new book with a 10 page written confession written by Danny about what he has done and why he did it.
*gulp*
And just like that I am back in the dark world that surrounds a Dekker book. If you have read Dekker before this book will not take you by surprise. Dekker tends to write Dark, and in my opinion, as of late – his books are even darker. As a Christian author I respect his unique take on putting faith messages into his writing although truth be told – many can read his books and not know they are reading a faith based book.
The Priest’s Graveyard is intense and does speak to the dark mystery lover in me as well as the long buried version of me who in high school loved all things Steven King and then eventually on to Dean Koontz. The two main characters Renee who is from California, has had her share and then some of drug use and knows what rock bottom looks like. Danny on the other hand is from Bosnia and has carried with him a long time agenda and now is a Priest in California with an unusual hobby. 😉 – Think Dexter. 😉
At Dekker’s usual fast pace you will find this book at times gorey, haunting – and much like a roller coaster it will get your heart pumping a little faster as the plot thickens and you go – up – up – up…. before you come crashing and screaming down to the conclusion.
I have read many of Ted Dekker’s books and can say I enjoyed this one more than some of his recent ones.
Amazon Rating
I have updated the 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map to Include The Priests Graveyard
This book was sent to me for review for part of a blog tour
Danielle is occasionally known as Sydney, or Rebecca, or Helen – or whatever her mother decides her alias will be this time around. She is eighteen and has been a sidekick to her moms stealing habits since she was a little girl. Together they travel from town to town listening to the towns people talk, making friends but keeping low profiles until they get the information they are looking for on the wealthy and their homes, on the types of security they use – or choose not to…..
and that is when they make their move.
While Danielle’s mom hangs on local men as part of the way she unwinds, Danielle is left to herself. She does not attend school. She has no friends… at least not until they find their way to a beachfront town called Heaven. While Danielle is out on the beach doing as her mother requires of her – finding out what she can about the rich and their homes… Danielle actually meets teens her own age that like her. For the first time, she feels what it is like to have friends and even – a boyfriend… and then she finds out that these new friends… are actually who her mom and her are planning to target.
Ok…. fair warning…. this is going to be a scorcher.
I really wanted to like this book and I did like Danielle…. but unfortunately there was so much about the story I did not like…. I will not give spoilers so I am cautiously going to say that I was appalled at the life that Danielle and her excuse of a mother lived. Danielle is put in all sorts of situations as her mother brings men home through the years – one man and situation in particular had steam coming out of my ears and the way her mother (yes the mother again) responds to the situation made me want to throw the book across the room.
I am not saying that Danielle held no part to blame in this book but she really never had a good example to begin with. Her dad was completely absent and her mother was fine with whatever she did. The mom (what was her name anyway?) had so much baggage and issues that she brought down on her daughter that I wanted to grab Danielle by the shoulders and say, “You are 18!!! Get out of this situation and get into a healthy life style!!!” Yet, Danielle in her not fully present wishy washy way – never seems to come to realize that she does not have to live this way.
Talk about Co-dependency.
While one may argue that in the end things seem to turn around… I have to say for me it was too little, too late.
I have heard good things about Elizabeth Scott’s writing and I would try her again.
The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading map has been updated to include Stealing Heaven
In 1947 Sister Mary Joseph Praise,a young nun, leaves the state of Kerala for a missionary post in Yemen. While traveling by sea to her destination with another nun, a terrible illness falls upon many on the ship as well as on her travel mate. When Sister Mary Joseph searches out the assistance of the doctor on the ship she finds that he as well is gravely ill. Sister Mary Joseph Praise works hard to bring his fever down and saves the life of the English Doctor Thomas Stone.
When the boat docks, Thomas asks Mary is she would like to join him to serve in Ethiopia as a nurse. Mary declines having her own destiny, but destiny turns on her and eventually she finds herself not only in Ethiopia but working with Thomas Stone.
Seven years pass and Sister Mary Joseph Praise is found to be pregnant, much to the surprise of everyone including Thomas who has worked with her seven days a week all of these years and has never seen her with anyone, let alone the fact hat she is a nun! During childbirth, Mary dies – but leaves the legacy of identical twin brothers Shiva and Marion.
This is their story, as narrated by Marion.
This 600+ page read was intimidating. In fact I took one look at the book and thought, “my book club is going to kill me.” This was a bonus review our group was doing which means that in addition to our usual monthly read, a smaller group of us had agreed to take on a couple additional reads the last two months and cook to the books theme. This book being the second of these reviews, the first was last month with Olive Kitteridge.
As I prepared to read this book I had heard from several sources that the book started slow – but do not worry,as it would pick up and was so worth it. I was fully ready to drag through the first 100 or so pages, and then I started reading and found it not to drag at all – but instead pull. This book pulled me from page to page as I lapped up the scenes, the situations and the sheer awe of everything that happened to Sister Mary Joseph and then to heart of the story – the boys Shiva and Marion.
I soaked up every word, jotting down words I was not familiar with, marking down the pages where I found food references for our review. As I read I pulled in images from two other books that took my breath away – Slumdog Millionaire and The Kite Runner….. I easily found that this book deserved a seat next to these smart deep reads on my shelf.
I could not get this book in me fast enough. It followed me everywhere so I could grab a couple of pages here and there. I wish I would have had someone take pictures of all the places it has been and all the places I have read, including the two times I fell asleep with it.
In the end, I was sad, but satisfied. I had that rare feeling I get when I know I have just read something amazing. profound, and that will stay with me, close to my heart for a long long time.
If you have not read Cutting For Stone I highly recommend you give yourself a treat by doing so.
As I mentioned above this book was a review for our book club. We have completed a bonus read the past two months to really focus on the food as well as the book and this book turned out to be a delight not only for the senses, but for our taste buds too. As we gathered around a counter filled with Doro Wot (an Ethiopian Spicy Chicken dish), Chicken Curry, Ethiopian Fruit salad, substitute Injera bread, two kinds of iab, lentil curry, dabo kola, and warm coke. 😀
The girls agreed – this was probably the best book/food review we have ever done. The food was divine! The spices exploded on our tongue and the iab is actually used in Ethiopia as a follow up dish to the spicy foods to cool your palate. As we dined on our delicious treats we discussed a book that had impressed us all. The characters were real, we had different opinions on who was our favorite character, and found that all the characters carries some sort of baggage from the past that affected who they were today… we pondered over that a bit, finding it fascinating how peoples past can control who they are today…
This book made for a wonderful discussion read. We found Shiva to be a brilliant introvert, so deep thinking that at times words were useless to him and somewhat – beneath him. His remark about saying all women were beautiful showed he seen people differently than most of us do. He liked the way women were put together and he liked what women could do… that said, while he spent time with many women, we found that he lacked any real relationship skills and did not seek out anything beyond the immediate.
Marion on the other hand had a deep compassion. His emotions ran high either when he was wearing his heart on his sleeve or when he was storming out of a building fists clenched to his sides.
Of course we came with recipes…. and here are the foods of Cutting For Stone:
Doro Wot
Doro Wot
2 packages of chicken strips 2 sticks on unsalted butter (I used salted as that is what I had) 1 onion chopped 3 tablespoons fresh garlic 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon cloves cayenne pepper black pepper 1/4 cup sweet white wine (I used what I had on hand) (the recipe called for a cinnamon stick during the simmer process but that scared me so I didnt add it) 8 hard boiled eggs 2 bottles of chili sauce (found by the BBQ sauce in stores)
Melt the butter in your skillet and add the chopped onion, garlic,and ginger…. let simmer uncovered 30 minutes. Then add the cloves, 3 tablespoons of Cayenne pepper, the wine, and the chili sauce, continue to simmer.
Hard boil the eggs, cool, peal, and set aside.
In a separate pan put a little water in it and lightly cook the chicken pieces on each side and then add to the skillet with the sauce mixture. Put cover over over wot and let simmer cook for 30 – 45 minutes. 10 minutes before completion of cooking, take off lid, roughly chop eggs and place them into mixture.
Finish cooking ans serve 🙂
* I substituted Chili sauce when i could not find berbere ( a red chili spice blend used in many Ethiopian foods).
Red Lentil CurryRed lentil Curry
INGREDIENTS: 1 cup red lentils 1/2 large onion, diced 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon curry paste 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon white sugar 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon ginger root, minced 1/2 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree
DIRECTIONS: You have scaled this recipe’s ingredients to yield a new amount (4). The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield (8). 1. Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear (this is very important or the lentils will get “scummy”), put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary). 2. While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil. 3. While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. 4. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready. 5. When the lentils are tender drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water but you don’t want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.
Combine all the cut up fruit. Add the banana at the last minute
Chicken Curry
Chicken Curry
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
salt to taste
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.
Iab is a white curd cheese very much like the Greek feta. Special herbs are added (and sometimes chopped vegetables) which give it its characteristically acid taste. Since the cheese used in Ethiopia is not available here, this recipe is an attempt to simulate Iab. In a 1-quart bowl: Combine cottage cheese or farmer cheese, yogurt, grated lemon rind, salad herbs, chopped parsley, salt black pepper.
The mixture should be moist enough to spoon but dry enough to stay firm when served. Drain off excess liquid.
Dabo Kolo
Dabo Kolo (I sprinkled the sugar on top)
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup oil
Procedure
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Add water slowly to create a stiff dough.
Knead on a lightly floured board for about 5 minutes. (To knead, flatten the dough, fold in half. Then turn the dough about one-quarter turn, and fold again. Keep turning and folding the dough.)
Pull off pieces of dough to fit on the palm of the hand.
Press or roll out (using a rolling pin) into a strip about ½-inch thick on a floured countertop.
Cut the strip into squares ½-inch by ½-inch.
Cook in a frying pan on medium heat until light brown in color on all sides.
In 1940, Iris James is the postmistress in coastal, Franklin, Massachusetts. Iris knows more about the townspeople than she will ever say – for example, that Emma Trask has come to marry the town’s doctor, and that Harry Vale watches the ocean for U-boats. Iris believes her job is to deliver secrets. Yet one day she does the unthinkable: slips a letter into her pocket, reads it, and doesn’t deliver it.
Meanwhile, Frankie Bard broadcasts from overseas with Edward R. Murrow. Her dispatches beg listeners to pay heed as the Nazis bomb London nightly. Most of the townspeople of Franklin think the war can’t touch them. But Iris and Emma and Frankie know better…
Who are we to decide what is considered truth and who is allowed to hear it? This is the underlying message in this book and I am thankful to say this is not as much of a war novel as it is the knowledge that there is a war happening.
My first impressions were “whoa – that’s a lot of characters!”… I have mentioned this before, I prefer books with few characters as I like to get to know them. I also struggle keeping a gaggle of characters straight when many are brought in at once or switched frequently and that does happen within this read. As much as I enjoyed the three main female characters and found this to a pleasant read, there was a lot to keep track of and having just read another world war II book it felt a little like work to read.
But hang in there reader. These three women do make for an interesting read. Iris, who resides in Massachusetts is the keeper of all things postal… in this case, the local post office and insists that she be called the “postmaster”, (I am curious as to why the book was not names this, instead of postmistress). Iris’s job is a serious one as in a time where TV’s were pretty much non-existent, radios were the source of entertainment (yup – pre Twitter, texting and hang on to your chair, pre- Facebook.). Iris was in many cases the communication life line between people such as Will and Emma… until one day…
OOPS! Moving on 😉
American journalist Frankie Bard is the voice of the war. Frankie’s job is to find a way to tell the stories of those she meets and this becomes her struggle, as she can not remain neutral. Frankie’s role really becomes a center to this books as much is set around her broadcasts and the other characters (Iris who feels it can not be as bad as Frankie is saying and Emma listening to them.
Emma is a young newly wed to the towns doctor, Will. She also resides in Massachusetts. Through a happening in the book she becomes friends with the much older Iris. Emma waits for Wills letters that come frequently for a while…. and then they slow to the point of stopping, the results are what will bring all three of these women to a heartbreaking togetherness.
While the book at times felt choppy, I have to admit I took great interest in the story line…. what right do we have to withhold information? How is it that while our world is at war we can go on living as though all is well? This applies to the book – and I think to our every day lives. Of course, my thoughts drift to Japan…
Final thoughts: It is a good read but I did not find it to be an easy read and at times it felt a bit like work to follow what was happening. If you are making a decision on this book, please check out other thoughts as well as they are mixed and this is one of those books that holds a sense of mystery around it…. some love it, some hate it…. I liked it. 🙂
The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Postmistress
I received this book to review for the TLC Book Tour
Convinced he has a greater chance to die–of boredom–at his desk job than he ever faced in narcotics, Las Vegas police sergeant Ron Yeager agrees to slip off the retirement track long enough to head up an undercover task force designed to combat the recent surge in auto thefts.
Then Ron gets a good look at his inexperienced team he has been assigned. Jesse Lunden is a cocky maverick who feels this job is beneath him and he really should be taking the lead. Then there is Dozer who can not seem to stay awake beyond the morning debriefing, Mackenzie “Mack” Hazard who insists on wearing her faith on her sleeve – all the while trying to be a convincing undercover blue eye shadow, short skirt wearing, wrong side of the tracks girl….and well Whiz… lets just say he didn’t earn this nickname because he is smart… Oh, and lets not forget Kyle, Yeager’s youthful Pastor in desperate need of a sabbatical who really is interested in the whole under cover excitement and would really like to (hint hint hint hint) be a part of the team.
Yeager needs to find a way to make this motley crew a team… and the way it looks now… he has half a mind to turn tail and run, not walk back to retirement as fast as his cane can take him.
Snitch is the second book I have read by Rene Gutteridge and I flipped through the pages with great joy. The storyline was fun and quick – yet also carried a solid plot that held everything together. The characters were interesting and diverse.
Snitch happens to be the second book in this three book series… Scoop being the first one which I have not read. (Short story – I wanted to try Rene Gutteridge, I put in for several of her books at the library and this is what came in, so this is what I read. :D) However, I did not feel that I had missed out on anything by not having read Scoop first. Snitch is a self-contained book and while I enjoyed it enough to be curious about the first book and interested in pursuing the third book,, I do not feel I would need to in order to complete the story.
What I really found in this book was a bit of humorous mystery that was enjoyable to read. A nice mix of suspense, humor, and even a little romance – but not to the point of sappy. I liked this book very much and for the second time can say I am impressed with Rene Gutteridge’s style of writing.
Lizzie, Reenie, Sweet, and Mawu are four slave women who meet when their owners vacation at the same resort in Ohio. Each of these women have a story and each of these women are mistresses to their master… in some cases willingly. While at this resort they see the first time free blacks and Mawu leads the group as she talks about escape and freedom.
Reenie and Sweet are on board with the dreams of running to their freedom but Lizzie feels she really loves her master Drayle, and she believes he loves her as well… after all they do have two children together.
In the end, as they spend their third and final summer together in Ohio, the women have a decision to make….
but will it be one of freedom?
This was a fascinating read. Initially when my book club chose this for our March read I was nervous that it may be like The Help. I loved The Help, but do not like it when books (or movies for that fact) build off what another pulls off successfully.
I did not have to worry – Wench is a book all in its own. I was able to learn much through the stories of the women, and enjoyed each of their takes on their lives and their worth – from mild-mannered Lizzie who felt she was the rightful wife of her master if not legally by heart then, to wild Mawu whose master is cruel and violent and Mawu feels she would rather die trying to escape than continue living in this manner.
I really felt uneducated going into this read as I knew that in some cases the masters of these black women would force them into sex … but I guess I did not realize it was so common. The complexity of the women’s relationships with their masters as well as in their friendships with each other made for a fascinating read. In the end I came to appreciate a lot more what these women went through in a time that no one stood up for them…. this book is a read of heartbreak and in a way – triumph as well.
Our book club had a wonderful discussion about this book. We discussed in great detail the different lives each of the four main women had with their masters and with their friendship as well. The discussion was quite detailed and I enjoyed how deep we dived into the subject of slavery and especially into the relationship of Drayle and Lizzie.
I love it when our group does the little extras and Angie (By Book Or By Crook) had taken the time to find and print out for us the use of the popular songs of slaves. Follow The Drinking Gourd – the video above, is one of those songs. It was interesting to hear the words, that were not written down as the songs contained codes of where they would meet when they escaped – and were used by Harriet Tubman when she helped slaves escape
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The resort, Tawawa House, mentioned in the book, does exist and on Dolen Perkins-Valdez’ website you can read about the history of this resort. As the masters who took their slaves to the resorts and left their wives at home, this was truly a case of what happens in Tawawa House – stays in Tawawa House.
And of course, when the Bookies meet – we do like to go all foodie on the theme and the girls out did themselves with the delightful treats we had for this review. Grits, corn bread, stuffed potatoes, a stew, rice and beans with Louisiana hot sauce, sour dough bread, strawberry shortcake, chocolate cake, cinnamon applesauce, a Feta and Craisin spinach salad with poppy seed dressing…. Oh man….
Book Journey 