A book I thought was going to just be sweet and “Christmasy” – turned out to have a deeper purpose for our book club.  ~ Sheila

Its a story of Christmas really.  Set in a small town called Acorn Hill, where three sisters own a place called Grace Chapel Inn.  When the sisters decide to take a break over the Christmas season and not take any guests so they can enjoy the holidays with each other, our story really begins…

First it starts when a group of tourists find themselves without a tour leader and the sisters decide they will help these people out by showing them around their town.  They travel through the towns beautiful Victorian homes seeing traditional pieces and collections (see pictures below). Then it continues when a snowstorm leaves the group stranded and Chapel Inn becomes a place of refuge for those who can not continue on their way.  The quiet Christmas the sisters were planning is soon evaporated into the cold winter air.

Reading this for book club, I found the book just incredibly sweet as seems to be the theme of Christmas reads.  I was a bit dissapointed that the plot did not seem to be stronger and I never developed a real feel for the characters – which is always a plus to be in a book.  I like to connect.  I walked into book club having not finished the read and a little anxious on how we were going to pull a good discussion out of this book.

I should never doubt the power of The Bookies. 🙂

Like a Christmas miracle I watched my beloved group of fellow Bookies grab on to this book and found ourselves in the middle of a fantastic discussion of Christmas traditions.  Just like what happened in the book, we found a common ground within the traditions and it was just enjoying to hear what things we hold on to year to year – either handed down from generations, or started anew with their own family.  I found myself taking notes rapidly, and ended with a deeper appreciation and understanding of this group.

When Angie (my long term partner in crime who has been with the Bookies with me since Aug. 2001) brought out pictures of things discussed in the book so we could understand the Victorian culture more, it was truly the icing on the cake.

Overall, the Bookies rated this book an average to a slightly below average read.  The review however – was top notch and for going in with no idea what we were going to discuss…. I left with a really good feeling and over the next two days – finished the book so I too could share in all that it had to offer.

Author Rebecca Kelly wrote her first book at age thirteen and hasn’t stopped writing since.  When she’s not writing or being a mom, Rebecca volunteers weekly at an animal shelter, creates comfortable quilts that are distributed to children hospitalized for cance treatment and teaches creative writing to local public school students.  Rebecca was recently honored by the United States Air Force for her efforts over the last six years in sending books and other reading material every month to soldiers serving in Iraq.

What I found interesting about this series, Tales From Grace Chapel Inn (this is book #6) is that each book, while focused around Acorn Hill and the Inn, each book is written by a different author.  I think that is awesome as guests to the Inn would be of all different walks of life, and a unique voice to each book seems right.

An eye opening read!  A book not to sit on a shelf but to be passed on as it is meant to be read!  ~ Sheila

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town — and the family — Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

My Thoughts:

The book opened with this sentence: “I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.”

Yowsa.  I had to read it again.  It didnt take long to root myself into this read that was the vision of dysfunctional right from the start.  There are many times throughout the book that I wonder why didnt social services step in… why didnt anyone see this?  I wonder now as people who knew this family as this was happening dnt see Jeanette’s book now and wonder the same thing themselves.

The funny thing is that time and again, people did try to act… and Jeanette’s dad will pull up the family and move – and her mother (and I use the term loosely) just thought life was an adventure and didnt really focus to much on anything that had to do with her children.  Sorry- I am trying to stay even here but I really struggled with Jeanette’s mom.

In our Bookies Book Club discussion of this book this past week, we found the book to be so incredible that it had to be non fiction.  If the book were fictitious no one would find it believable -it would be too over the top.

• Driving a piano through the house
• cutting maggots off ham to eat
• taking leftovers out of the schools garbage and eating it in the bathroom stalls so no one knew…

Jeanette Walls book is written well and Jeanette shares her life story in a matter of fact, occasionally humorous tone.  I dont think I could have made my way through it is she would have written it as bitter and angry – it would have been too heavy.

My book club rated this book as a high 4 rating out of 5.

About the Author:

One of four siblings, Jeannette Walls was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1960. Her family lived in various southwestern towns before settling in Welch, West Virginia when she was ten. She moved to New York City at age 17 and graduated from Columbia University’s Barnard College with honors in 1984. She went on to become a reporter for New York magazine, Esquire and USA Today. She has appeared regularly on television, including the Today Show, CNN and Prime Time Live and is widely known as a former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com.

She currently lives in northern Virginia and is married to writer John Taylor. Her memoir, The Glass Castle (2005) was a New York Times bestseller with movie rights optioned by Paramount (but as of October 2009 there is no sign of the movie entering production). Her next book, Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel, was published in October 2009.

This book was purchased by me. I am an Amazon Affiliate and by clicking on the link to the books above, I will receive a small percentage of the sale should you make a purchase.

I would rate this book PG

A girl and a tree… which one really has the deeper roots?  Which one really is the stronger?  ~ Sheila

Synopsis

A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900’s, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens’ backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead.

When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.

My Thoughts:

A tree grows in Brooklyn was a pleasant read for a classic.  By saying that I mean that some of the classics we have read in the past have just been hard reads – hard to understand and hard to get into.  This books writing was smooth and I could follow the story easily.  The book is centered around Francie and her family in the back drop of World War One.  Told from the perspective of Francie, I quickly was engrossed in the absolute and utter level of poverty they were.

Food is a big theme in this book and while they had very little, Francie’s mom Katie could work wonders with it.  There is always stale bread and crushed pies, and bone marrow to spread on bread as a treat after the bone has been used in soups.  Meat was a rare treat.  This book reminded me a bit of The Book Thief as far as the poverty and making the best of what they have.

I enjoyed the theme of the book, yet found it for the most part non eventful.  The book goes page by page through Francie’s life, what she sees in her parents (her dad drinks too much and her mom works hard cleaning homes to make ends meet).  You see Francie is school and you learn her love for books and for learning.  The book carries you through Francie’s life and through this I see comparable to the tree that grows outside their home… the tree seems to represent Francie – strong and yet with struggles, continuing to grow.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn was published in 1943. The book sold 300,000 copies in the first six weeks after it was published.  How amazing is that!  I find it astonishing that I have never read this book before.  This as well as most of the other greats were never required reading in our local schools.

This was our book club read for October.  Each October we pick a Classic and this was the pick for 2009.  We gathered at my home and we potlucked around the theme of the book.  I made minestrone and strata, which is an egg bake with sautéed onion and mushroom and peppers.  It was actually pretty good and  it was fun to cook for the group.  Some of the other book club members brought bread pudding, and desserts.  We even had Klondike Bars in honor of the Klondike dance that takes place in the book.

We found Katie’s sister Sissy  the most colorful character by far.  She was truly a woman who was 100% true to who she was and even today you have to find those people who do not wear masks, refreshing.  We discussed how Betty wrote this book to show people what Brooklyn was like in that day.

We also discussed the pride that people had then.  Although they were all levels of poor, they would not be the one to raise their hand when pie was offered in class.  Friends and neighbors were more – well friends and neighbors.  You helped one another get through and that is not always the case today.

Overall this book rating by the Bookies came up as an above average read and that would be our highest rating we have had yet on a classic.

My Amazon Review

This book is from my personal library